《Ruthless: Path of Conquest》
1-Derailed
The Florida sun was hot and bright in the sky, and James Robard suddenly felt every bead of sweat dripping down the back of his neck as the light fell on him through the shattered driver¡¯s side window.
¡°Just put the gun down, man,¡± James said. His hands were up from sheer instinct. The man standing next to him, grasping him by his necktie, seemed far from stable.
¡°Keys, asshole!¡± the other man pronounced. ¡°Outta the car, and gimme your goddamn keys!¡±
What the carjacker lacked in eloquence, his pistol more than made up for in bleak intimidation. The black barrel stared James in the eye, daring him to make a move.
Off to the side of it in his field of vision, the timer continued counting down as if mocking him. [01:11:32]
¡°Damn it!¡± James cursed under his breath. He could think of no way out of this situation that didn¡¯t risk imminent death.
To think, just fifteen minutes ago, he¡¯d been sitting in a dull meeting!
¡ª
For the associates at Barry, Pesca & MacDougal, it had seemed to be a morning like any other.
The subject of the morning''s meeting: integrating the latest developments in artificial intelligence into firm workflow. Computer geeks were labeling this latest stage as ¡°true artificial intelligence,¡± annoying everyone else who didn¡¯t understand the difference between this and the last six stages of artificial intelligence that had been trumpeted so loudly over the previous twenty years.
However, the firm¡¯s founder, Brendan Barry, had insisted that every member of the firm participate in presentations on the new technology. So it seemed that everyone was about to learn those fine distinctions.
James, the only Black associate at the firm, had seated himself as far from the projector screen as possible. He was perhaps the least interested in the presentation of all the participants. Every face in the room was a gray blur. The voice of the presenter was a dull Charlie Brown-style ¡°Wah wah wah wah wah wah.¡±
James wondered for the thousandth time if there was another profession he could have chosen where he wouldn¡¯t feel this way every day. An unanswerable question, but one he was prepared to ruminate on rather than pay attention to this meeting. But before his mind could wander away fully, the monotony was interrupted.
There was a sound at the door, a shuffling scratching noise as someone pushed weakly on the other side.
Already keen to be out of there, James darted out of his seat before anyone else and maneuvered around the table to open it for Alan. The oldest partner in the firm, Alan Roget was rail-thin and pale-skinned. A wreath of ivory hair crowned the sides of his head, a thin layer growing ever-thinner.
¡°Thanks, James,¡± he said, slowly moseying in with his briefcase in one hand and coffee in the other.
¡°My pleasure, sir,¡± James said softly.
Alan was his favorite person in the office. Not just because he knew that the old man wanted to be at this meeting as little as James¨Cthough he did know that¨Cor even because Alan was the nicest partner on a personal level¨Cthough he was that¨Cbut more importantly because the skinny old guy felt to James like something of an outsider too.
Alan was the only partner who focused on an area other than torts, and it was a mystery to James how the old man had ended up there in the first place. Alan¡¯s laid-back style and background in trusts and estates seemed inapposite to the aggressive, competitive, efficient culture the firm fostered in all its associates.
James was grateful for the interruption Alan presented, knocking Sadie Bigelow off her presentation game. Distraction worth more than the old man¡¯s weight in gold. It was a pity that Alan couldn¡¯t more thoroughly derail the proceedings, maybe start throwing things at the screen and raving like the old newscaster from the film ¡°Network¡±: ¡°I¡¯m as mad as hell, and I¡¯m not going to take it anymore!¡±
But of course, as soon as the old man was seated, the presenter launched back into her presentation. Efficiency triumphing over all once again! James died a little more inside as he heard the words, ¡°¡°Where the real potential of AI lies, is in¡¡±
What James wouldn¡¯t give for a more lasting disruption. A fire drill. A power outage. An emergency alert that a giant asteroid was falling from the heavens, about to smash into their building first¡ªright now, even that would be prefera¡ª[Greetings, heroes!]
What the fuck?!
[Greetings to my dear villains as well! Greetings also to everyone in between! Greetings to all those lucky souls who will soon be initiated!]
The voice was silent for a moment, and the presenter issued an awkward chuckle.
¡°Heh. Well, I don¡¯t know what that was¡ª¡± she seemed to be preparing to resume.
[This announcement is to give everyone hearing it time to prepare. Your world is being processed into the System. Think of it as sort of like a software upgrade for reality. Upgrading from boring old Reality 1.0 all the way to Reality 5G, a multi-generation leap!]
Was that some kind of a joke? Do mass hallucinations have a sense of humor?
[For those of you wondering, this is a completely serious matter. Deadly serious, as in, by the time it¡¯s finished, a sizable portion of your planet¡¯s population will be dead. A sadly necessary sacrifice for the Orientation.]
Well, you¡¯re able to speak into all of our heads and alter what we see. Even if this is a hallucination, I have to take it seriously.
[You have one of your hours and twenty-three minutes until Orientation begins.]
A timer appeared in the corner of James¡¯s vision with the corresponding amount of time. Great, he thought, now my hallucination has a sense of urgency!
[Please pardon the mess as you prepare for Orientation. Your new world is still under construction.]
What the hell does that mean? What mess?! And what sort of construction?!
[Take the remaining time to make your careful preparations for Orientation. The task we set before you is not easy, but whether you believe it or not now, it is necessary. In time, those of you who live may come to agree with us. We hope for the best of you to succeed. We¡¯re rooting for you, James. You were meant for bigger things.]
He swiveled his head around the room wildly at that, looking to see whether other people were getting the same kind of personalized message as he was, but it was no use. They were all looking at their screens in varying degrees of confusion or alarm, but there was no expression on anyone¡¯s face that would give away whether they had been personally singled out, as he just had. And he couldn¡¯t see anyone¡¯s screen but his own.
As the words sat in front of his eyes, a strange excitement came over him.
All his life, James had been singled out by teachers, aptitude tests, and peers as someone special, smart, a possible leader, someone whose future was written in the stars¡ªand then nothing big or important had ever happened to him.
It was the disappointment of his life. He had not dared greatly; he had pursued natural next steps for whatever situation he was in. If anything, he had underperformed people who were similarly competent and intelligent to himself.
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James had been his high school¡¯s valedictorian! Some of his peers had gone on to military or business success far beyond what he¡¯d achieved, while he had allowed himself to grow dull, complacent, a drone fueled only by caffeine.
It was as if he had been saving himself up for something, reserving his powers and strength for some critical moment all his life, but that moment had never come.
Until now.
Far from needing more caffeine, he was now filled with all the energy and tension of a coiled spring.
What to do with that energy? The announcement appeared to be over now. James wondered when the opaque screen would disappear, and as if in response to his thought, it did. I have a bad feeling about this. He experimentally tried thinking that he wanted to read the announcement again, and it reappeared in its entirety, taking up almost his entire field of vision, this time sans the voice of the announcer.
He rushed through it one more time just to take in any details he might have been too stunned to absorb before. It was unchanged. Am I hallucinating? Is this real? Is it a dream?
It felt more like a video game than anything else. Then he remembered what video games were like, and a silly idea occurred to him. Well, this would confirm whether or not it¡¯s real, maybe¡
Extremely self-conscious, he whispered the word: ¡°Status.¡±
Miraculously, a new screen appeared in front of his face!
[Status
Name: James Robard
Race: Base Human
Class: Blocked
Job: Blocked
Health: Blocked
Mana: Blocked
Stats
Blocked
Skills
Blocked
Talents
Blocked
Titles
Blocked]
A popup appeared above his head just after the very unclear status menu had popped up.
Great, there¡¯s enhanced spam in Reality 5.0, James thought. Now I can¡¯t even escape by leaving my devices behind. Then he started to read it, and his mouth dropped open.
[Conditions met! New Title obtained: System Pioneer!]
System Pioneer? I wonder what that title does.
An explanation immediately populated.
[System Pioneer: As one of the first fifty humans in your universe to interact with the System beyond receiving announcements, your nature is like that of a pioneer, to rush forward into the unknown and embrace unquantifiable challenges. As such, enjoy a 10% bonus to all stats when entering a setting no other human from your universe has explored before or an engagement with a type of opponent no other human from your universe has defeated before. Don¡¯t do anything too reckless, now!]
That sounds quite good, James thought. Besides that warning at the end. Since it¡¯s a percentage increase, it¡¯ll scale with my base stats and¡ªJames realized he was thinking about the real world like it was a game and forced himself to stop. Back to reality!
Now that he had semi-reluctantly accepted that this was real, James immediately felt a strong impulse to rush home to his wife, Mina. A burst of panic. He¡¯d hesitated too long already. If people might really die during this ¡°Orientation,¡± he needed to be there to protect her.
With a thought, he whisked the screens away. Other people were starting to murmur among themselves by this point. No one had disturbed him as he seemingly stared silently off into space. They could probably tell he must be doing something with the universe¡¯s new interface, and anyway, he wasn¡¯t that close to anyone here.
He wouldn¡¯t have wanted to join any of the clustered whispering groups anyway. He didn¡¯t like any of these people that much except maybe Alan, the only person besides James who was still on his own. Typical.
He rose sharply from his seat. If what he was thinking was right, this job didn¡¯t matter anymore. These people, whose opinions he had spent hours worrying over and trying to shape in his own favor, were now of no particular account. Thank goodness. Now I can finally be myself again, and do what I want.
All eyes turned to him, as he was the only person standing.
James ignored them, apart from taking a dark satisfaction in ignoring them, and he marched out of the conference room.
As the door slowly closed behind him, he heard a scraping of chair against floor as someone¡ªtwo someones?¡ªgot up in a hurry. James turned his head to see who was following him.
¡°Just where the hell do you think you¡¯re going?!¡± Cliff Rogers demanded. ¡°A little light show, and you think you can just waltz out without a word¡ª¡±
¡°I have to see about my family, Cliff.¡± James found himself unable to just completely walk away. Cliff was moving as if to cut him off.
¡°What, you think this is real?¡± Cliff said. ¡°Just hackers, man. Probably fuckin¡¯ Russian hackers! They got into the projection system, and they got into the loudspeaker system, and that¡¯s all it is!¡±
¡°And they somehow projected individualized messages in front of all our faces?! What¡¯s wrong with you?!¡± James voice rose unintentionally to a near shout, and he controlled himself. ¡°Just¡ªI have to leave.¡±
He brushed off Cliff¡¯s efforts to grab him and pushed through the double doors.
Cliff shouted after him: ¡°You leave here, you¡¯re done!¡±
James didn¡¯t even turn his head. As far as he was concerned, he was done at Barry, Pesca & MacDougal.
But another person darted through the doors after him.
¡°James!¡± This other voice was more reasonable, and James felt compelled to at least respond to it.
He turned and said: ¡°Dean, I can¡¯t stop to talk right now! I have to get to my family!
¡°Okay, I get it, man,¡± Dean Crocetti said. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to stop you. Just wanted to encourage you to come back, with the family, if you can. If the worst is happening, the office is as good a place as any to make a stand. The walls are good material, there¡¯s plenty of space, and there are people you know here.¡±
That last was certainly true. Whether James really wanted to know these people anymore was another question. If the System was real, and not merely mass hallucination, it was a very open-ended question.
But James trusted Dean¡¯s survival instincts, at the very least. The forty-something partner was something of a prepper, and he and James had occasionally kicked around ideas about how to survive possible apocalypses. James thought Dean was a survivor type.
¡°Thanks for the invite, Dean. I¡¯ll keep it in mind. Really.¡± Both men turned away from each other, and James rushed toward his Honda Civic, keys in hand.
He unlocked the old car. Got in. Started the engine. Began driving.
His mind moved a mile a minute as he sped away from the office, trying to process all the implications of the world being ¡°processed into the System.¡± Do people have levels now? Special powers? It was weirdly energizing to think about.
We¡¯re rooting for you, James. You were meant for bigger things.
He felt goosebumps rise on his skin. Then he shivered slightly and smiled to himself.
James turned right at the gas station nearest the office, but then he met traffic and had to slow down to avoid hitting the driver in front of him. He leaned his head out of his window to see how many cars were ahead of him, and it was quite a line. The further he leaned out, the more he could see, stretching off into the distance on what was normally a quiet road. But this was anything but a normal day.
¡°Damn it!¡± he swore loudly, punching the dashboard.
He checked the timer that still hovered at the corner of his vision, absurdly video game-like. [01:16:21]
Stuck in traffic, he thought. What a mundane thing to keep me away from Mina and Yulia on the last day of the world. He shook his head.
Whatever. He wouldn¡¯t let the traffic get him down. He took his phone out, opened his favorited contacts, and tapped the top slot.
He could at least dial Mina and see if she was okay.
Or maybe he couldn¡¯t.
A popup appeared¨Con the phone screen, rather than simply in his field of vision this time¨Cindicating that he had no service. James looked at the phone more carefully for the first time since unlocking it and saw that he had no bars.
There went any plans to call Mina, Yulia, or his mother. He sighed, shoved the phone back into his pocket, and began to turn to look back at the road.
And then there was a smashing sound at the corner of his awareness. Shards of glass entangled themselves in James¡¯s hair and clothes, and as he turned toward the noise, he was lucky that none of them struck him in the eyes.
¡°I want the car!¡± a wild voice declared.
James turned to see a Caucasian figure with darting eyes and long brown hair, but he found it difficult to focus in on any of the details with the black handgun shoved directly into his face.
2-Pay It Forward
¡°I want the car!¡± the man demanded.
¡°Come on, man, you don¡¯t wanna do this¡ª¡± James began.
The carjacker drew back and pistol-whipped him, slamming James¡¯s head forward into the horn. His vision swam for a moment. Suddenly the stranger was much closer to him, reaching into the car and grabbing him by the necktie.
¡°Jus¡¯ put the gun dow¡¯, man,¡± James said, slurring some of the words slightly.
¡°You thought I was kidding, I know! I know it!¡± the man yelled. ¡°But I¡¯m fucking serious, asshole!¡±
The sight of the barrel of the gun right in his face brought James back to full reality, even as his head felt like it was going to split down the middle.
¡°Just put the gun down, man,¡± James said, much more coherently now.
¡°Keys, asshole!¡± the other man pronounced. ¡°Outta the car, and gimme your goddamn keys!¡±
The timer continued grimly counting down in the corner of James¡¯s vision, mocking him. [01:11:32] There was no way he could walk home from here in an hour, even if he had limitless endurance.
¡°Damn it!¡± James cursed under his breath. He could think of no way out of this situation that didn¡¯t risk imminent death. And he couldn¡¯t die here.
¡°I¡¯m doing what you asked!¡± James said loudly. He lowered his right hand and put the car in park. Then he turned the keys in the ignition and shut the engine off.
¡°Great work!¡± the man said. ¡°Now get out, and give ¡®em here!¡±
¡°You got it, boss,¡± James said, forcing a smile. He pulled the handle to open the door, and then he took a step out of the car.
¡°The voice said they was gonna get me,¡± the man was saying excitedly, ¡°but I know they ain¡¯t!¡±
¡°The voice spoke to you, too, then?¡± James asked, curious despite himself.
¡°What¡¯s it to you, dickhead?!¡± the man screeched.
¡°Only that the voice said something to me, too,¡± James said carefully. ¡°The voice with the screens, right? What did it say to you?¡±
The man suddenly looked very afraid. ¡°S-spoke to you too? The voice told me, ¡®Jerry, don¡¯t let them put you back in that cage!¡¯ I ain¡¯t never going back, you understand?!¡± At the end, his voice had climbed almost to a yell.
James nodded eagerly. ¡°Yeah, I understand!¡± So it really is personalized, he thought. And oddly specific for this guy. Maybe I¡¯m not so special after all.
¡°You understand?! Then hand over the keys! I gotta get away from here!¡±
¡°I can give you a ride to wherever¡ª¡±
¡°No, no ride! I need the car. Gimme the goddamn keys!¡±
The carjacker¡¯s voice had become heated again, and James tried to inject a soothing note into his own voice, to calm the situation.
¡°Jerry,¡± James said, ¡°why are you trying to take my car? You trying to get away from this?¡±
¡°Yeah,¡± Jerry said. He nodded frantically. ¡°If I can get far enough away, clear my head¡ª¡±
¡°Jerry, you can¡¯t drive away from the voice,¡± James said. ¡°It¡¯ll find you. You need to let me help you¡ª¡±
¡°No, I¡ªI can get away!¡± Jerry was gesticulating wildly with his gun now, and James chose to back away.
¡°Alright, Jerry,¡± he said. ¡°Take my keys, and drive as far as you can!¡± James threw the keys overhand at Jerry¡¯s head, but off to the side slightly and far too hard for Jerry to catch them in his agitated state. The keys flew past Jerry, landing somewhere in the long grass that grew alongside the road. As Jerry turned to look at where they had gone, James began sprinting away.
He heard a loud sound that might have been a gunshot and might have been a car backfiring, but he didn¡¯t look back, and he didn¡¯t slow down.
He ignored the noises, as well as the dizziness and slight nausea that he traced to the pistol-whipping. He felt his gorge rising, but he held back vomit and kept moving, running past the other stopped cars and back up the road toward the firm. They started honking, probably at James¡¯s stopped Civic ahead of them, but he didn¡¯t stop to look around and find out. He stayed low and continued moving at a brisk jog until the terrain changed a bit, and he felt he was far enough away.
Finally, James turned around and made sure no one was behind him. Seeing no sign of Jerry, he slowed down, collected himself, and assessed his situation.
He felt he¡¯d scored a small victory against the carjacker, at least. Jerry wasn¡¯t pursuing him and was now out of sight. If this apparently apocalyptic situation they were in was real, he¡¯d made it unlikely that the other man would escape whatever was coming in this area, assuming that the System was geographically bound as Jerry imagined.
Even if the System was some kind of mass hallucination, James had still made it a lot harder on Jerry to steal his car. And once James got cell signal again, he could call the police.
But James couldn¡¯t fool himself into thinking his situation was good. How would he get home before the timer ran out? If he failed, what would happen to him and his family? He felt that death was a realistic risk, because the voice from out of the sky had said as much. He wasn¡¯t willing to let Mina and Yulia face that alone.
The timer said [01:04:11]
James set his jaw and resolved that he would get home, come hell or high water. He started walking back to the gas station he¡¯d passed driving away from the office, a vague idea in mind that he would find some way from there. He was technically getting further away from home and walking back toward the office, but at least at the gas station, there would definitely be cars.
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He would find some way to get a ride there, whatever it took.
After several minutes of marching, the gas station loomed into view across a field of long grass.
James broke into a sprint, cutting across the grass toward the station. He was moving fast, landing forceful footfalls with every step, which explained how he didn¡¯t notice any resistance when he put his foot down in a certain spot, just an alert.
[You killed one Partially Mutated Frog Lv. 0. Blocked experience gained.]
Partially mutated frog, huh? James felt only a modicum of surprise at this, he realized. By tomorrow, he would probably be taking everything in stride. But today was beginning to feel like it would be a very long day.
His mind raced as he ran the rest of the distance. I guess I get experience by killing animals of any kind. Or maybe only System-altered ones. That might be all animals now, though. Do modern weapons still work? Would I get experience for shooting an animal, or is that against a rule of some kind? There were always rules in game-like worlds, both in video games and in fiction, and breaking those rules was either a way to get incredibly unfair power-ups, or it was a fast-track to oblivion. Usually, it would be the latter in any setting with a half-decent story.
As he reached the station, he couldn¡¯t resist bending to look at the bottom of his shoe. Sure enough, there was a smushed bit of amphibian stuck there. It looked weirdly blue for a local frog, but he supposed that must be related to the ¡°Partially Mutated¡± description.
I don¡¯t have time to unravel the mysteries of this frog, he decided after staring for a long moment. He scraped off what was left where the grass met the parking lot pavement, and he moved forward. His mind was still slightly muddled, but as he moved, his eyes took in everything.
There were more than a dozen pumps at the station, but most of them were unoccupied. He could see two of the people who were using them moving frantically between pump and car, rushing to get their tanks filled and get back on the road. Even as James looked on, a big Ram truck pulled out of the station. The driver, a beefy, red-faced man, looked like he was in a big hurry as his truck veered screeching out of the gas station lot.
But James didn¡¯t concern himself with that man.
Five cars left, he thought. Five chances to either convince someone to take me home or¡
He began walking toward the pumps.
There was a part of James that was prepared for death beside his family. Apocalypse situations tended to have high death tolls by nature, and he wasn¡¯t na?ve enough to assume that he was destined to survive. But he was not ready to die, or to let his family die, because he hadn¡¯t taken the situation seriously enough.
He peered through the glass storefront of the gas station building. There were only one or two figures inside. Everyone was moving quickly, every motorist in a hurry to get back into their car and get away from here. They were unlikely, James guessed, to consider bringing on extra passengers who would only slow them down and provide no corresponding benefit beyond possibly gas money.
He checked the timer. [00:59:22]
Fuck. Less than an hour now!
It was time to consider drastic measures.
James untied his tie and unbuttoned his collar, and he wrapped his tie around his right hand. Then he started looking around for someone who would be easy to carjack.
He saw a little old lady wearing a black hat and limping toward her driver¡¯s side door. She had a black cane in hand, and she seemed to lean heavily on it with each step.
Without really thinking about it, James started to move closer to her. He paused, ten feet away from the old woman and her car.
Am I really thinking about doing this? he questioned. Jesus, she looks a little like my grandmother. Surely I¡¯m better than that, right? I just got carjacked and now I¡¯m doing it to this innocent old woman?
He took a deep breath and let it out. He resolved that he would find someone else to carjack, if carjacking was really going to be necessary. Someone who can put up a fairer fight, an inner voice commented darkly.
James ignored that voice, turned around, and began looking for someone else he could deal with, though whether through force or persuasion, he hadn¡¯t decided yet. The timer read [00:52:45]
But he hadn¡¯t gotten more than five steps when he heard a cry from behind him.
¡°Ahh!¡±
James turned and saw a large man with a tire iron in hand standing in front of the old woman. The big fellow had a grease stain on his cheek, as if he¡¯d just come from trying to work on a car. He probably has just been working on a car, James realized. His own.
James was not too alarmed by the situation to note that this old woman had terrible luck.
¡°I need a ride, lady,¡± the big guy was saying. ¡°You can come with your car, or I can leave you here, up to you.¡±
Not my business, not my business, not my business. This is a distraction I can¡¯t afford. James¡¯s thoughts were a flood of inconsistent emotions and contradictory impulses. I need to worry about me!
Yet he ignored the sensible words, and his feet carried him forward instead. He found himself closing in on the old woman and the man with the tire iron, very much against his better judgment.
When he was within five feet, he stopped. Both of them had already taken notice of James, half turning to face him.
¡°Is this guy with the tire iron bothering you, ma¡¯am?¡± James asked loudly, almost shouting.
I need to attract spectators, people who might intervene if this guy gets violent.
¡°Hey, it¡¯s not like that,¡± tire-iron-guy said a little uneasily, taking a half step back. He was looking around as if there was some movement behind James, and James just silently prayed that there were other people moving to help.
James took a few more steps closer.
¡°Do you need help, ma¡¯am?¡± he asked, voice still elevated, striding up to stand halfway in between her and the man with the tire iron.
Tire-iron-guy¡¯s weapon hand moved unsteadily back and forth, as if he was conflicted about whether to raise the tire iron and strike or not. James thought this was probably the man¡¯s first attempt at crime. If James was in his shoes, he¡¯d be on the fence about whether to resort to violence or to turn and run away.
James liked to think he would be more resolute than the other man seemed, though of course, he had also just barely decided he would not rob this woman himself.
As tire-iron-guy stood, indecisively sliding back and forth between violence and peace, James tried to calculate how quickly he could lunge and grab the tire iron from the other man¡¯s hand, but realistically, he knew it wouldn¡¯t be possible. The other fellow was bigger than him and looked stronger too.
And he seemed to know his way around the tire iron, from the way he was gripping it. All he would need to do was raise it in the air, and a swift downward motion would break either James¡¯s wrist or his skull. Either way, James would be out of the fight for good.
Then tire-iron-guy could do what he¡¯d planned to do before James stuck his neck out.
This is so dumb. Is this how I¡¯m going to die? James wondered. Trying to stop someone from doing something I was considering myself? This is such a stupid fucking way to go. Me and my big, fat mouth!
3-Lucky
As James thought the situation might be hopeless, a voice sounded from behind him.
¡°It¡¯s alright, sonny,¡± the old woman said, her voice loud and reassuring. ¡°I was just telling this nice young man that I would drop him off at his house on my way home.¡±
Tire-iron-guy visibly relaxed.
¡°Thank you,¡± he said, eyes at his feet.
¡°Are you sure?¡± James asked, turning to face her. The words were completely pro forma. He was still sweating, and it wasn¡¯t just the heat. He couldn¡¯t help thinking he¡¯d dodged another metaphorical bullet.
The old woman made eye contact with James, and there was no fear in her expression, just quiet acceptance.
¡°I¡¯m sure.¡±
She turned and stepped into the driver¡¯s seat of her car, and then James heard the doors to her car unlock.
The man with the tire iron walked around and got into the front passenger seat, and they pulled away. James stood there, half-dazed, for almost a full minute before he realized he¡¯d probably just missed his best chance at a ride home.
No, don¡¯t worry about it, he thought. They just headed in the opposite direction from where I live, and who knows if it¡¯s possible for all three of us to get to our homes before time runs out.
He checked the timer again. [00:49:56]
How the hell am I going to get home, though?! His head pounded as he had the thought, and he wondered if it was possible the pistol-whipping had given him a concussion. He didn¡¯t know what the symptoms were.
He turned and looked back at the other cars that were still there, and he noticed that someone he didn¡¯t recognize was watching him.
The stranger, a slim woman with soft features and mousy brown hair, stood staring at him as if he was a zoo animal.
He turned and waved awkwardly.
¡°Hi there,¡± he said.
¡°Hello! I saw what you did just now,¡± the woman said.
¡°Oh,¡± James said. He didn¡¯t dare to hope, but was karma about to pay him an instant dividend?
¡°Are you a prosecutor?¡± she asked. ¡°I feel like I recognize you.¡±
¡°I was,¡± he acknowledged. Where is this going?
¡°I knew it!¡± she said. ¡°I recognized your voice.¡±
Oh god, who is this woman? James wondered. Does she have a grudge? How do I know her? Is she a defendant or a victim? He couldn¡¯t place her face.
¡°Oh, you don¡¯t remember me,¡± she said. ¡°I guess you used to see a lot of people in court.¡±
James felt for a moment as if he ought to be worried.
¡°Yeah,¡± he said. He chuckled awkwardly. ¡°You have me at a bit of a disadvantage.¡±
¡°Well, thank you for helping me. When I was in court, I might have looked a little different. I was using at the time. I think you saw me on a retail theft charge. Maybe you¡¯d remember my name. Avery Daniels?¡±
James face-palmed. ¡°Yes, I remember you. And yes, you looked completely different. I don¡¯t want to be rude, but it¡¯s really night and day. Wow! I guess rehab really worked out for you?¡±
She¡¯s skinny now, but she looked half-starved when I saw her before. I was never entirely sure if I was helping the people who agreed to do rehab, James thought. The only way I knew if they were doing well was whether they showed up in court again.
¡°Yes,¡± she said, smiling. ¡°Yes, it really did. Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you. You and the Public Defender really helped me out. It¡¯s nice to see you¡¯re still, uh, fighting the good fight.¡± She gestured in the direction the old woman had driven off in.
¡°Yeah,¡± James said, sighing. ¡°Well, you can¡¯t win ¡®em all, I guess. I hope that lady will be alright.¡±
¡°It sounded like she felt she could handle herself,¡± Avery said. ¡°Where¡¯s your car?¡± She looked around as if suddenly realizing James was near the edge of the gas station lot, with no vehicle nearby. ¡°Do you need a ride?¡±
¡°Yes, please,¡± James said, nodding eagerly.
A few minutes later, they were moving down the same route James had driven earlier.
¡°So he pistol-whipped you?¡± Avery asked. Her voice drilled into the pain in James¡¯s head, bringing the point home that he had indeed been struck with a small but heavy piece of metal.
¡°Well, it¡¯s a crazy day for everyone, I guess,¡± James said. He¡¯d only mentioned the previous incident to put her on her guard. He wasn¡¯t looking for sympathy. He just wanted to prevent any further carjacking incidents from derailing his second ride home.
Lightning wasn¡¯t going to strike twice and give him another friendly stranger, he was fairly certain.
As they drove, they passed a wreck on the side of the road. Fortunately, the car was completely in a ditch, so it didn¡¯t block traffic, but James got a decent look at it as they passed.
Is that my car? Probably not. Surely he hadn¡¯t been the only Honda Civic on the road that afternoon. But the color was the same. I wish I¡¯d checked the license plate. He hadn¡¯t seen the driver¡¯s face, either, although there was definitely someone still in the car, hidden behind the driver¡¯s side airbag.
It would be ironic if it was Jerry, James thought. Maybe I avoided an accident by getting delayed.
¡ª
Avery¡¯s old Beetle arrived in James¡¯s apartment complex without further incident.
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James thanked Avery for the ride, and she smiled and waved him off.
¡°Give your family my love,¡± she said.
James said that he would, but he had resolved that he wasn¡¯t going to say anything to his family about what had happened. He didn¡¯t want to worry Mina, not in this emergency situation when every minute counted.
He tried the door knob on the apartment, and to his surprise, it was unlocked. He went in, taking the stairs three at a time, ignoring the pounding in his head, wary of what he might find.
Mina was not at her usual daytime spot in her home office but was instead sitting on the sofa in the living room, wearing a light jacket over a maternity dress, a single pale hand resting on her very round stomach.
¡°I hope you don¡¯t blame me for not standing,¡± she said gently in her lightly accented English. ¡°I really am very happy to see you.¡±
Wordlessly, he rushed into her space and pulled her into his tight embrace. He let out a long breath, and a shaky smile overtook his face.
¡°Mm,¡± she sighed. ¡°I love your strong arms holding me.¡±
Immediately he pulled away against her resistance and became serious again. There simply wasn¡¯t enough time.
¡°How are you?¡± he asked. ¡°How¡¯s the baby? Is Yulia here or still at school?¡± He rested a hand on her pregnant belly as he spoke, his tone urgent.
¡°I am doing fine, skapi. Please don¡¯t worry about me and the baby right now, we¡¯re okay. As for Yulia, she just got home, and she¡¯s in her room changing. The school had the decency to put the kids on their buses before they dismissed early for the day.¡±
¡°Thank goodness,¡± James said. The school wasn¡¯t far, but he wasn¡¯t eager to try making that distance on foot in the time remaining. He dropped onto the sofa beside her, tension draining from his body.
¡°Are you alright?¡± she asked.
¡°Me?¡± James said.
She arched an eyebrow, and James realized he probably looked like a mess.
¡°I¡¯m fine, I just¡ª¡± He shook his head and smiled again. ¡°Just finished moving heaven and Earth to make sure I got here in time. Maybe I¡¯ll tell you about it some other day.¡±
¡°What do you think all this means?¡± Mina asked. She had said she was fine too, but James could hear worry in her voice.
¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he said frankly. ¡°I just have theories.¡±
¡°What kinds of theories?¡±
¡°They¡¯re really dumb and basic. It¡¯s not like I know anything you don¡¯t.¡±
¡°Try me. I want to see if your dumb theories are as silly as the ones I came up with.¡±
¡°I guess that disclaimer gives me some cover.¡± He smiled. ¡°It has to be either mass hallucination, a delusion for just me that has my imagination of other people in it, or there¡¯s a real world of magic or science out there so advanced that we can¡¯t understand it. So advanced that it makes no difference if it¡¯s magic or science. I mean, if alchemy had been a real, effective thing back in the Middle Ages, that would be the science now¡ª¡±
¡°I think your second theory is a bit insulting, though,¡± Mina interrupted, cutting him off before he could spiral down a rabbit hole.
¡°Insulting how?¡±
She touched the tip of one long, dark red fingernail to his lips.
¡°Do you really think you could imagine out everything I would be doing and saying in this situation? Let alone everyone else? Because that would have to be true for this all to just be a delusion¡ªjust your delusion.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know¡ªI guess not.¡±
¡°Well, don¡¯t guess. I know. I¡¯m too complex for you!¡± Her voice had a teasing edge now. Any hint of annoyance, he knew, had just been her playing. That was a bad habit of hers, so he never knew for sure if she was serious the first time she said something.
The first time she¡¯d suggested they try for a baby, he had taken it as a joke. After a couple of more hints with no reaction, she had taken more initiative, to mutually satisfying results.
¡°Then I guess we¡¯re both crazy, or this is totally real,¡± he murmured. He leaned back on the sofa and rested his head. This was already turning out to be a long day.
After a minute or two of quiet, there was a sound of movement in a corner of the apartment, and James opened his eyes. He would have to find his second wind sooner rather than later. The three of them needed a plan now, before they were yanked into Orientation.
The door to Yulia¡¯s room creaked open, and as he looked over, James saw she was joining them. Sometimes she seemed reluctant to bother them when James and Mina were in the middle of talking, but this time, she had only waited for a lull in the conversation before she stepped out. A sign that she understood the situation was urgent.
¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re here,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s time for a family meeting.¡±
Yulia was Mina¡¯s fifteen-year-old youngest sister, and James and Mina had adopted her after Mina and Yulia¡¯s mother died, so technically she was James¡¯s oldest child¨Cand would be the new baby¡¯s big sister as well as its aunt once the child came in two months or so. Yulia was similar to her older sister in appearance, almost a smaller version of the pale, long-haired brunette.
Yulia looked a little nervous at the prospect of a sudden meeting¨Cthe last one had been about setting down ground rules for hanging out with boys¨Cbut she quietly settled into a chair across from James and Mina.
As he thought about what to say, James felt anxious himself. Yulia was all of five foot two inches and ninety pounds soaking wet, and while Mina would ordinarily be somewhat more imposing at five foot six inches, she was now heavily pregnant. The advent of the System had not found them at a good place in terms of readiness to face physical danger.
¡°Has either of you done anything to prepare for the Orientation that the System mentioned in its messages?¡± he began.
¡°The System is the voice that talks in our minds, sis?¡± Yulia asked. Her English was imperfect, as both she and Mina were Bulgarian by birth. Mina had spent much longer learning English and had always been the smartest of the four sisters that made up their family, as well as the firstborn. Mina spoke English like a native already, while Yulia was much less secure in her proficiency.
Mina nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, Yulia.¡± Turning to her husband: ¡°We haven¡¯t done much, James. I didn¡¯t know if there was much to do. I grabbed our emergency bags¨C¡± she pointed to three backpacks sitting in the corner of the room¨C¡°and I¡¯m packing heat.¡± She patted her left shoulder, indicating that there, under her jacket, was where her gun was holstered.
¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s just about the best we can do,¡± he said. ¡°We have no idea what to expect, except that it¡¯s dangerous. Where¡¯s my gun, by the way?¡±
¡°Packed it in your bag, don¡¯t worry.¡± Mina smiled. This was a role she knew well and enjoyed¨Cmaking sure the family was prepared. She had always been more of a planner than James, and it had been her idea for James to buy, and the family to practice with, the two firearms. The pleasure of being well prepared almost managed to wash out the fact that it wasn¡¯t a picnic they were getting ready for, but a delve into the great unknown of the universe.
James dove into his bag, retrieved his gun, and handed it to Yulia.
Mina frowned. ¡°Are you sure about that, James? Yulia hasn¡¯t practiced with them nearly as much as we have. You¡¯ll be defenseless, and she might not be able to use it under pressure.¡±
¡°It¡¯s just for now,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m giving it to her in case something happens when the countdown finishes, and we get separated. We should put more food in the bags than we typically have, too. And some of our silver coins. We have no way of knowing if whatever is happening will take away what we have on us, and we¡¯ll show up somewhere naked, but we might as well be as prepared as possible for as many different possibilities as possible.¡±
¡°Well, the silver is packed,¡± Mina said. ¡°I figured that should be in the emergency bags months ago, so it¡¯s been there.¡±
After she said this, James grabbed a folding knife for himself and put it in his pocket, then gave his other folding knife to Mina. He also distributed three sharp kitchen knives to keep in their bags as backup weapons in case something disarmed them.
¡°How about food?¡± Mina asked.
James first grabbed a half dozen cans of tuna from the pantry, then looked inside the refrigerator and noticed it wasn¡¯t cool. He turned to look at the stovetop clock, which was blank. The power¡¯s out. He wondered how long the electricity had been gone.
When he asked, Yulia confirmed that by the time her bus left school, around fifteen minutes before he got home, the power had been out there too. The power is probably out at the firm now, too. Not that it mattered at this point. James¡¯s coworkers were on their own.
As he had that thought, the ground began to shake.
[Ten of your minutes remain!]
4-Big Sea
[Ten of your minutes remain!]
¡°Alright, already!¡± James shouted nervously, as if the voice of the System was really listening to him. Then again, maybe it was. The quaking stopped eerily quickly after he raised his voice.
We¡¯re rooting for you, James, he remembered the announcement saying.
There was no other answer besides the quaking stopping. James didn¡¯t waste time waiting for anything else from the disembodied voice that had just produced a small earthquake in a part of the country that didn¡¯t get earthquakes, as if shifting tectonic plates was as easy as setting a phone alarm. Maybe it was, for the System.
He pushed into high gear, hustling to complete any preparations he had yet to make. He rushed around, looking in closets and under the bed and behind the sofa. He double checked the bags and made sure that everyone was physically touching their go-bags.
Finally, after triple-checking that everyone had adequate rations, assorted supplies, and armaments, and seeing that Mina and Yulia were growing nervous from how on-edge he seemed, James sat down next to his wife and her sister and tried to relax. He put an arm around Mina, and she leaned in close and laid her head on his shoulder. He could feel her shivering slightly, so he leaned to the side and grabbed a blanket that was lying next to them on the sofa.
Once Mina was adequately covered, he resumed thinking about what was likely going to happen next. If the world was going to go through some dramatic change into a magical version of itself, there would probably be a choice of what kinds of abilities each person would specialize in.
Unless it was based on some innate traits. Status.
The Status screen toggled with the thought.
[Status
Name: James Robard
Race: Base Human
Class: Blocked
Job: Blocked
Health: Blocked
Mana: Blocked
Stats
Blocked
Skills
Blocked
Talents
Blocked
Titles
Blocked]
Still blocked, with less than ten minutes left to go. No clues there. I¡¯ll assume we have a choice.
¡°You should both go to the bathroom,¡± he said. ¡°Then we should have a quick strategy session.¡±
¡°Leaving it to the last minute, I see,¡± Mina said, looking into the air where her timer must be. Then she went.
Yulia went next.
Then the three huddled around the kitchen table, wearing their backpacks at James¡¯ insistence.
¡°I think the situation we find ourselves in is a bit like a video game or a table top role playing game,¡± James began.
¡°You¡¯re not going to the bathroom too, my love?¡± Mina interjected.
¡°We only have six minutes. I can wait until we see what the Orientation looks like. Anyway, if I¡¯m right, we¡¯re all going to be assigned classes and have the opportunity to learn some sort of magic or fighting skills. I¡¯ve been thinking about this, and I want the three of us to be able to form a fighting party together. Yulia, you¡¯ve played video games, right?¡±
¡°I like video games, yeah.¡±
¡°You know what a team usually looks like in a fantasy game where players form parties to fight together?¡±
¡°Umm.¡± She shook her head. James suspected it was the language barrier at work.
¡°We need a front line fighter, a magic user with long range attacks, and a healer to patch us up when we get hurt.¡± Now he¡¯d put it in the simplest terms he could, and he saw very quick comprehension on Yulia¡¯s face.
¡°I volunteer to be the fighter,¡± James added. ¡°That means you two split the other two roles.¡±
¡°But I always wanted to be a warrior woman, like Valkyries,¡± Mina said, pouting.
[00:04:32] remained, and James was not amused by the last minute joke. His facial expression must have conveyed it.
¡°I volunteer to be the healer,¡± Yulia jumped in. ¡°That way, Mina gets to cast lightning bolts and fireballs or whatever.¡± She had a reflex to try to diffuse conflict whenever she thought it was brewing, James had noticed before.
¡°Thank you, Yulia,¡± he said.
¡°Well, since the two of you have so generously taken on the boring roles, I suppose I will agree to be the magic user in a hypothetical party, in the event that the System is magical and offers us a choice between different magical paths as James imagines.¡±
The faintly ironic tone of Mina¡¯s response put the cap on the absurdity of the situation, and James again seriously considered the possibility of the System and all its messages being a mass hallucination. But he couldn¡¯t quite buy it.
The three of them quieted down a little now, with all James¡¯ outstanding questions settled, knowing something was about to happen that might change their lives forever.
¡°I love you,¡± James said quietly, looking at Mina.
¡°I love you both very much,¡± Mina said back, taking both of their hands and smiling.
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They sat like that for the last few minutes, holding hands in a semicircle around the kitchen table. James resolved not to let go, because he thought somehow, irrationally, that they would get separated if they let go, but if they kept hold of each other, they would stay together, despite the fact that this was a System that had the capability to speak into their minds and shake the earth beneath their feet.
He was looking into Mina¡¯s eyes when the world faded to white.
It wasn¡¯t like passing out. He could still feel his body, and he knew he was wide awake, but he couldn¡¯t feel Mina¡¯s hand or the chair beneath him.
He didn¡¯t think he could move. There were no geographic features to the white space he now occupied. It was like being in the middle of a blank page.
Then a material space emerged around him. It was still white, an all white room, but now there were walls, a ceiling, a floor, a bed. It was like a hospital room from another dimension, so clean it was almost antiseptic. There was complete silence.
James realized he had regained his ability to move, if it had ever been lost, and he took an experimental step forward.
¡°Hello,¡± a gravelly voice came from his side.
James jumped six inches into the air and twisted in mid-jump to face the voice. It looked like a moving clay sculpture, clumps of gray flesh and few other distinguishing features. The thing didn¡¯t have a real face, only a mouth attached to the general shape of a head, which was perched atop a vaguely humanoid figure.
¡°Who or what are you?¡± James asked once he¡¯d landed. He kept his voice steady. The thing didn¡¯t seem hostile, and he wasn¡¯t intuitively scared of it. He finally had someone to answer his questions.
¡°I am a homunculus created by the System,¡± the clay man said.
¡°Homunculus? An artificial life form, right?¡±
¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct.¡±
¡°Can you tell me why I¡¯m here, why the System is doing this?¡± James asked, cutting to the chase. He figured pleasantries would be wasted on what was effectively a robot.
¡°As for why you¡¯re in this place right now, you are to receive a tutorial from me prior to Orientation, so you will not be lost when it starts. As for why the System does what it does, the answer is complicated, and my explanation might be more misleading than enlightening. Knowledge of the deep functioning of the universe is outside my parameters.¡±
¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll save that question for someone whose answer will hopefully be enlightening rather than misleading. What are your parameters, to save us some time?¡±
¡°I can explain your interface with the System and what happens next. I can also offer you your choice of starter classes.¡±
I knew it! Hopefully Mina and Yulia stick to what we discussed, and we¡¯ll be able to function as a party.
¡°That¡¯s great! Could you explain why my Status screen shows everything as blocked, to start with?¡±
The System Homunculus seemed to frown. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t show everything like that anymore. It was only because you tried to access it before you got here, while the System wasn¡¯t properly up and running yet.¡±
¡°Eh, up and running enough,¡± James said. ¡°It influenced one of the people I met into attacking me and stealing my car before this tutorial started.¡±
There was a slight pause. ¡°Influenced how?¡±
¡°He claimed that the System voice was telling him he needed to escape the region or that he might be caged again.
¡°That seems unlikely. It¡¯s not supposed to happen. The System does not send individualized messages. My information indicates that your Earth was a dangerous world before the System arrived. Are you sure of what you¡¯re saying?¡±
¡°Positive! I had a full conversation with him, while he aimed a weapon at my face! Then he pistol-whipped me. For reference, that isn¡¯t a common occurrence for me! Or it wasn''t, before the System. Since this apparently wasn¡¯t supposed to happen, I don¡¯t suppose you could do anything to heal my injuries?¡± James didn¡¯t really hope for much, but he thought he might as well ask. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. His head was still killing him.
¡°You are to receive a starter kit of supplies when you enter Orientation. I could give you the potion from your kit right now.¡±
¡°Well, then I¡¯d be at a disadvantage compared with everyone who didn¡¯t use up their potion before the big event starts,¡± James complained. ¡°What about you just giving me an extra? I promise I won¡¯t tell anyone!¡±
¡°I am not authorized¨C¡±
¡°I get it,¡± James cut him off. ¡°It¡¯s not within your parameters.¡±
The System Homunculus nodded. ¡°Exactly.¡±
¡°Homunculus,¡± James said, channeling his best Karen energy, ¡°could I please speak with your manager?¡± Well, if it was willing to give me a potion early, there might be some leeway if I can talk to the right person.
¡°You mean the proctor for the Orientation,¡± the Homunculus said.
¡°Sure, whoever,¡± James said. Fingers crossed that whoever the proctor is doesn¡¯t turn me into a frog or something for the impertinence.
¡°Now dialing the proctor,¡± the Homunculus uttered. A ringing sound began to emanate from its head. This is like something out of a cartoon, James thought. I wonder if there¡¯s a handset that detaches from its head! He snorted to himself.
The ringing stopped abruptly, and James somehow felt that another presence was in the room, inside the Homunculus¡¯s body. Accompanying it came a great sense of pressure, as if James was an ant, and there was a large child standing above him, holding him in place with a single massive finger pressed down across his whole body. It was almost paralyzing.
Then a very accented voice came out of the System Homunculus¡¯s head, and it took a part of the psychological tension in the room with it, although James¡¯s body still felt as if he could be forced to his knees at any moment. The voice reminded James a bit of a young Joe Pesci.
¡°Hey, Sisco, what¡¯s the deal?! I¡¯m trying to sleep here, the Orientation isn¡¯t set to start yet!¡±
¡°Oh, hi, Mr. Proctor sir,¡± James said in his best earnest schoolboy voice. ¡°I was just explaining to, er, Sisco here that I was injured by someone who was influenced by a unique System message that only he received, before I was pulled into the Orientation. We were talking about him healing me, so that the System wouldn¡¯t have put me at a disadvantage relative to everyone else before Orientation starts. He said we needed your approval.¡±
¡°Kid, I think you¡¯ve got a lotta moxie, lying right in front of Sisco¡¯s face like that. I admire that. For future reference, even if a proctor played dumb or wasn¡¯t already watching you before you called, I could just go through the Homunculus¡¯s recently recorded memories and know that you were full of crap.¡±
¡°I may have slightly exaggerated. I¡¯m just extrapolating where the conversation was going before you joined in.¡±
¡°Were you going to mention the part where he offered you access to your starter kit early, so you could heal yourself?¡±
¡°I¡¯m sure you and I would¡¯ve gotten there eventually.¡± James comfortably lied through his teeth. It had always been a skill he was proud of.
¡°A world-class bullshitter!¡± the proctor exclaimed. ¡°Kid, I think your nose is growing!¡±
James pretended to check his nose, and the proctor chortled.
¡°Alright, kid, I¡¯ll do you a solid this once. Like we said, pardon our mess. Errors in the functioning of the announcement machinery are on us. We¡¯ve been a little busy, and you know, even the best of processes can be interrupted or interfered with by one thing or another. The transformation of Earth took us a little by surprise with how quick it was. Like you was all eager for it or somethin¡¯! A lot of our attention was diverted there. A couple friendly words of advice, though. First, once you arrive at Orientation, it¡¯s free game! Whatever happens to you from there, it¡¯s on you. Asking to talk to the manager won¡¯t do you a lick of good there!
¡°Second, for future reference, sharp negotiating with a representative for an omnipotent, omniscient System would usually not be a good idea. Maybe even suicidal, which would be a shame, you being a family man and all.¡± James felt a chill run down his spine. ¡°You¡¯re floating in a big sea, and you don¡¯t have a paddle yet. Hell, you don¡¯t even have a boat! But that¡¯s why I like you, though! You¡¯ve got big brass ones! I think you¡¯ll go far, kid. Now hold still. First heal¡¯s on me!¡±
A pale green light appeared all around James, and he swallowed and waited to see what effect it would have.
5-Tabula Rasa
James needn¡¯t have worried about the effects of the light. It was exactly as benevolent as the proctor had indicated. He felt his body mend itself completely from head to toe. He felt as good as he had when he woke up that morning. Perhaps better.
¡°Now that¡¯s done,¡± the proctor¡¯s voice came, ¡°I should really get back to preparing for the Orientation. Good luck! I¡¯m pulling for you, personally. Say hi to the wife and kiddies for me!¡±
¡°Wait, wait,¡± James raised a hand as if he could stop this seemingly non-physical being from leaving by grabbing him. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±
¡°Vincent,¡± the voice came after a pause. ¡°Vinny to my friends.¡±
¡°Well, I won¡¯t presume to declare myself your friend when we¡¯ve just met. But thank you, Vincent. I feel better than I¡¯ve felt in months.¡±
¡°Yeah, I may have actually cleared up a nascent case of diabetes as well as a concussion. Later, James!¡±
I was getting diabetes, huh? James thought.
¡°Shall we resume the tutorial?¡± the System Homunculus asked.
¡°Sure thing,¡± James replied instantly. He wondered if Vinny was still listening, then decided it was all but a certainty that the proctor was. It seemed as if maybe the System did have some kind of a special interest in him, or at least some of its appendages did.
¡°It is customary that we begin by selecting your class and then take a look at your Status menu.¡±
¡°Wait, what? Why wouldn¡¯t we look at the Status menu before we make a permanent decision about what kind of fighter I¡¯m going to be? We should at least find out what I¡¯m good at first.¡±
¡°Erm, it is customary. The class decision is not a permanent one, anyway. It will evolve as you grow.¡±
¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t think I want to abide by this custom, Sisco. Status.¡±
[Status
Name: James Robard
Race: Base Human, Lv. 0
Class: None
Job: Attorney (Pre-System)
Health: 25/25
Mana: 40/40
Stamina: 25/25
Stats
Strength: 7
Agility: 8
Stamina: 5
Fortitude: 5
Dexterity: 4
Perception: 6
Will: 4
Intelligence: 10
Free Points: 0
Skills
Anthropophagy Lv. 0
Emotional Control Lv. 0
Empathy Control Lv. 1
Empathic Projection Lv. 0
False Impression Lv. 1
Identify Lv. 0
Persuasion Lv. 1
Pillage Lv. 0
Situational Intelligence Lv. 1
System Interface
Universal Language Comprehension
Talents
Cannibalism Lv. 0
Cool-headed Lv. 0
Manipulation Lv. 1
Selective Empathy Lv. 0
Titles
System Pioneer]
These are interesting, James thought, a little stunned. I need to moderate my reaction. Vinny¡¯s probably still watching, waiting to see how I respond to these wonderful Talents.
¡°Where exactly do these Talents come from?¡± he asked.
¡°Your initial Talents are based on who you were leading up to the beginning of the System upgrade of your world. Rarely, the System even generates unique talents for particularly unique individuals.¡±
Externally, James nodded and put a finger to his lips as if thoughtfully considering the explanation.
Internally: What is wrong with you people?! It¡¯s been ten years! Ten years I¡¯ve been trying to do the right thing! Why can¡¯t you recognize that?! Why do you see only the worst in me? James felt a seething rage boiling up within him at the System¡¯s interpretation of who he was, effectively a judgment of his entire life based on the Homunculus¡¯s description, but he knew he had to restrain it. The only external expression of this train of thought was a clenching of the hand that he held down at his side into a fist.
Just to be sure, he asked: ¡°What exactly does the System look at when it makes these determinations?¡±
The System Homunculus spoke, a vaguely perceptible trace of something like confusion in its voice: ¡°The Talents generation process is objective, based on the inclinations you¡¯ve demonstrated over a lifetime. It does not see only the worst in people. It looks at everything.¡±
This is who you are, it seemed to be saying, and in such a way that it almost seemed to be responding to his underlying thoughts rather than what he actually asked. But James couldn¡¯t just accept that at face value. He decided to abandon beating around the bush.
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¡°How the hell is cannibalism one of the inclinations I¡¯ve demonstrated over the course of a lifetime? Give me one example of a person I¡¯ve taken a bite out of, please. Take your time, I¡¯ll wait!¡± He tried to keep his voice calm. This situation was already a little embarrassing, and he didn¡¯t want to lose hold of himself and wind up looking like a complete fool.
He¡¯d had a bad day. Now he learned that what he had thought could be a fresh start was already polluted. The Talents that were supposed to mark him as special would instead single him out as a person who had been defective, a liar and possibly even a killer before the System¡ªthe latter of which he¡¯d never been.
It¡¯s marking me as a villain, he had time to think. Permanently. Like Jean Valjean.
Then the System, whether via the Homunculus or the proctor acting through him, responded, after its fashion. The status screen in front of James¡¯ face suddenly zoomed in, something he hadn¡¯t realized until now that it could do at all. A description of the Talent appeared.
[Cannibalism: You¡¯ve lived your life taking advantage of others by taking more from them than you gave in return. Your long-standing life pattern marks this as a fundamental aspect of your character. In the changed world of the System, you can take this to the logical extreme by taking everything from those you feed on, at no cost to you. Generates skills ¡°Pillage¡± and ¡°Anthropophagy¡±.]
The System was judging me, James thought. It was judging him with breathtaking harshness, in a way no human ever had, at least not to his face. Was it wrong about him? If he was being honest with himself, he couldn¡¯t say. And that probably said it all right there.
¡°You do have an alternative option, if your Talents displease you.¡± The screen zoomed back out to normal as the Homunculus spoke.
¡°The System can look to other parts of my life and come up with another slate of Talents? Why didn¡¯t you say so before? Show me what we¡¯re working with.¡±
¡°Not quite. The option is a Talent called Tabula Rasa, which would replace all existing Talents and Titles. Most of your skills would go with them. It¡¯s a Talent virtually all babies born into a System-inducted world start with. It means you have nothing. No Talents or Titles except those you earn with your conduct going forward. Not even System Pioneer, which our records indicate you acquired this morning.¡±
James thought it over. He looked through his other Talents first, and he realized that by focusing a little harder on one in particular, he could manually produce the zooming in effect that the System had demonstrated with his Cannibalism Title.
[Manipulation: You spent years honing your skills at directing the thoughts and actions of others. You have shown a deep ability to influence and deceive, especially when others don¡¯t realize what you¡¯re trying to do. In the changed world of the System, the greatest manipulators have a heightened chance to change the structure of the social hierarchy using the power of their words alone. Generates skills ¡°False Impression¡± and ¡°Persuasion¡±.]
I met a good woman and turned over a new leaf, he weakly protested in his own mind. Mina knew what he was behind the mask that he wore for everyone else, but after he had come close to getting jail time nine and a half years ago, he had promised her he would change his ways. And he credited the magic of love for the fact that he hadn¡¯t conned or stolen from anyone in these last nine and a half years.
Instead, he did some research, studied for the LSAT, and attended law school. It turned out that law firms valued employees skilled at manipulation and possessed of a cool-headed demeanor and selective empathy.
So he¡¯d remained on the straight and narrow for years, and now he was almost ready to be a real family man, when this happened.
Be honest with yourself, a voice deep inside him said. You want these Talents. You want to be bad. And the System is giving you permission. It¡¯s a new world. No one to punish you. If they do, you just kill them. Then keep killing until you¡¯re on top. And then you make the rules.
James listened to his dark side for long enough to make his decision. As a purely practical matter, even if he knew what that little voice was saying was wrong, he couldn¡¯t ignore how useful the Talents, Titles, and accompanying Skills seemed. I need these to increase my chances of survival, he told himself. I¡¯m my own man, not the System¡¯s creature. I¡¯ll take the decisions about right and wrong as they come.
¡°Alright, I¡¯m keeping my Talents. Show me the class options.¡±
Another new screen appeared before he could even finish the sentence.
Available Classes
Well, those names at least speak for themselves. He started zooming in on each in turn.
Light Warrior: A basic, unevolved class. Lightly armed and armored warriors who emphasize agility over strength. Quicker with better reflexes than medium or heavy warriors at the cost of lesser attack strength and durability. Typically uses subtle weapons such as rapiers, daggers or small swords. With each level, gain +3 Agility, +1 Strength, +1 Stamina, +3 free points.
Medium Warrior: A basic, unevolved class. Moderately armed and armored warriors who place equal emphasis on agility and strength. Quicker but weaker than heavy warriors but slower and stronger than light warriors, a balanced class. Uses the widest variety of weapons of the basic classes, albeit with less proficiency in heavy or light weapons than the classes more specialized in those. With each level, gain +2 Agility, +2 Strength, +1 Stamina, +3 free points.
Heavy Warrior: A basic, unevolved class. Heavily armed and armored warriors who emphasize strength over agility. Stronger and hardier than medium or light warriors at the cost of lesser agility and slower reflexes. Typically uses heavy weapons such as greatswords, two-handed axes or halberds. With each level, gain +1 Agility, +3 Strength, +1 Stamina, +3 free points.
Rogue: A basic, unevolved class. Lightly armed and armored fighters who place emphasis on stealth, precision, and evasion. Specialized in ranged weapons, smaller melee weapons, and sneak attacks. With each level, gain +2 Dexterity, +2 Agility, +1 Perception, +3 free points.
James stopped there. He wasn¡¯t interested in the Healer class, and he didn¡¯t want to tempt himself with the Mage class, considering what he¡¯d discussed with Mina and Yulia. Once that was eliminated, the decision was mostly pretty easy.
He didn¡¯t want to take the Heavy Warrior option, because he didn¡¯t want to be a walking brick. They could find someone else to be a tank for the party if needed, but it wasn¡¯t going to be him. Light Warrior was out, too, because based on descriptions alone, it struck him as an inferior version of the Rogue, overly specialized in agility. Fragile without any enhanced powers of perception or skill. Perhaps it would evolve into a class he¡¯d envy, but James needed to be able to either see danger coming every time or to be able to take at least a few hits, or he¡¯d die before getting a class evolution, whenever that was.
That left Rogue and Medium Warrior as the classes that most suited him. Although something in his nature pulled him towards the Rogue, he decided on the Medium Warrior. It was a moderate approach that should let him adapt and adjust as situations unfolded. The medium armor would protect him from attacks better than whatever covering the Rogue class came with, without turning him into a slow-moving target. All around, the best of all possible worlds!
James felt himself growing excited about the prospect of adventure again, a feeling he had quickly quashed the previous times it rose in him. This time, he allowed a smile to touch his lips.
Select Medium Warrior? Y/N
He selected Y, and a few popups appeared immediately.
[Congratulations! You have become a Medium Warrior!]
[You acquired the skill Basic Proficiency¨CCommon Weapons]
[You acquired the skill Quick Strike Lv. 0]
[You acquired the skill Stubborn Defense Lv. 0]
[You acquired the skill Loot Lv. 0]
[Superior skill, Pillage, detected! Inferior skill Loot merged into skill Pillage.]
[Sufficient experience accrued. Pillage leveled up!]
[You acquired the ¡®Medium Warrior¡¯s Starter Kit¡¯!]
Alongside the quick barrage of messages, a few pieces of dull gray armor that looked straight out of a medieval castle materialized in front of James and then clattered to the floor. A sack that looked empty dropped right next to it.
¡°Well chosen,¡± the System Homunculus said after a brief pause. ¡°Now that¡¯s done, I¡¯ll transport you to the Orientation grounds.¡±
¡°Wait, I¡¯m not read¡ª¡±
The world faded to white again, but only for a moment. James reappeared instantly in what appeared to be a large clearing in a forest.
¡°Jesus, Sisco,¡± James muttered to himself. I think maybe he took me going to his manager personally. Do homunculi feel emotions?
The armor and sack of gear again dropped to the ground next to him, and he bent to pick them up. He still didn¡¯t even know what was inside the sack, and he couldn¡¯t afford to lose any gear so quickly. He also reached to his shoulder and checked that his backpack was still there. It was.
With his items in hand, James slowly rose from his crouching position and looked around. At a cursory glance, he appeared to be surrounded by hundreds of people, most of whom looked to be as confused and disoriented as he felt. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t recognize any of them.
V3-Prologue
Claudius Galt wasn¡¯t sure, but he thought, as he caught his breath, that he might have soiled himself.
That¡¯s fine. Don¡¯t care right now. Even his thoughts were breathless.
He tried to suck air in as quietly as he could, though. He ignored the hot, wet pain radiating from the area on his back where the monster¡¯s claws had raked him. And he resisted the urge to peek out from the crevasse in the cave that he¡¯d vanished into.
He¡¯d only just barely managed to get out of sight of the dinosaur that was chasing him. If he poked his head out now, he thought he¡¯d probably lose it.
Come on, man, he told himself. Just stay calm. If you keep calm, you can wait this out¡ª
A clawing sound interrupted his train of thought. The unmistakable scrape of the Vorpal Velociraptor¡¯s talon against the stone of the cave chilled Claudius¡¯s blood.
No! God, please no! I just need a little more time. I¡¯m so damn close. Please!
Claudius wasn¡¯t an especially religious man. He went to church when his parents took him as a boy. After he left home, he stopped, just like most of his generation. He didn¡¯t exactly look down on religious people. He just wasn¡¯t part of their number. He still sort of passively believed in God, just in a completely noncommittal way.
But he¡¯d found himself in the middle of an extended religious epiphany through the duration of Orientation.
Surely, this was the end of days foretold in the Book of Revelation. Since he and his family arrived in this terrible place, they had been chased and harassed by a long line of monsters. From creatures that looked like giant insects to what Identify assured him were actual dinosaurs. These Vorpal Velociraptors seemed to be the final enemies in this place.
Either the Galts had been sent back in time to the prehistoric age, or God was bringing on the Apocalypse, and He had judged them insufficiently faithful.
Per the timer that still ticked down in the corner of Claudius¡¯s vision, the ordeal was almost over. But if his siblings and father didn¡¯t make it, he felt in his gut that it would be because he personally had been faithless. Hadn¡¯t taken his beliefs seriously. Had barely spent any time on his knees in his whole adult life. He was only twenty-four, but still.
God knew.
His attention jumped back to his present predicament. He could hear the Vorpal Velociraptor stepping onto the ground just outside the crevasse. The clicking of the claws on the ground. The rustle of its feathers as it walked.
Claudius couldn¡¯t help himself. He whimpered. And he felt the warm trickle of urine roll down his thighs and down to his calves before seeping into his socks.
It seemed he hadn¡¯t vacated his bladder before after all.
The monster jammed its head into the crack where Claudius had hidden himself, and its eyes went wild with ferocious hunger. The yellow eyes locked onto his, and Claudius thought he was doomed. The beast snapped its jaws and stretched its neck, trying with all its might to reach its prey where Claudius shuddered and cringed with fear. But the monster¡¯s muscular body couldn¡¯t get very far into the crevasse.
The head stopped a foot away from Claudius¡¯s body. He knew it was too early to feel relieved, though. He¡¯d had trouble cramming his body into the tight space at first too. It had taken determination, driven by fear, to force himself in. He¡¯d suffered a claw strike to the back and witnessed the disembowelment of another human being to get that motivation.
And now, he was here, back literally pressed against a wall. He couldn¡¯t run; he could only trust in the inaccessibility of this place he¡¯d chosen to hide.
God, please, please save me, he silently prayed, staring into the gaping maw. I¡¯ll be Your most faithful servant forever. But he remembered that God helped those who helped themselves. That was from the Bible, right? So God might not show him any particular favor until he¡¯d demonstrated that he was worthy in some way.
Undoubtedly, He was receiving similar entreaties from billions of people right now. Some of whom would have been better Christians than Claudius was.
I¡¯ll show I can help myself, Lord. I just have to survive a little longer, right?
There was only a short window of time left according to the countdown that had appeared at midnight when the ninetieth day began.
[00:01:48]
The Vorpal Velociraptor finally pulled back, and Claudius thought perhaps it had given up. Then it began clawing at the opening to the crevasse. To Claudius¡¯s shock, the long claws proved able to carve through stone fairly easily. They were apparently composed of something hard and sharp enough to slice rock like butter. Thick chunks of the stuff crumbled to the ground before his eyes.
In a few seconds, the monster was snapping at Claudius again, a few inches closer this time. When it became obvious it still couldn¡¯t reach him, the monster pulled back again to repeat its effort at widening the gap.
Claudius turned his head while he had a little breathing room. He looked deeper into the darkness that he¡¯d forced himself into. He knew what he had to do now.
The one advantage he had¡ªbesides the fact that he was a being with a soul who fervently hoped that he might receive divine help, rather than a soulless monster¡ªwas that he was thin.
As the dinosaur cut itself a wider opening to attack through, Claudius wedged himself even deeper into the tight, dark hole.
He slid in past the point of discomfort. Beyond where the uneven stone began scraping and cutting into his skin. Until he felt it was more and more difficult for his lungs to expand, and the walls of the crevasse pressed into his ribs.
[00:00:28]
The Vorpal Velociraptor clawed and clawed, but it seemed unable to reach him in the limited time that remained.
Thank you, God! Thank you for sending me a hole so deep that this monster couldn¡¯t crawl into it after me.
Even as he watched the monster make its last efforts to shove its way in, his worries receded into the back of his mind. He had done it, as far as he was concerned. He had shown the lengths he would go to help himself. And surely God would reward him now.
Claudius spent the last moments of Orientation praying.
In a moment that he blinked and just barely missed, he disappeared from the dark, cramped crevasse, inches away from the jaws of death. He reappeared in the mysterious white room he¡¯d been in before his ordeal began.
¡°Oh, thank God!¡± Claudius exclaimed.
The clay figure that had explained the Orientation ordeal to him earlier stood in its same place in the room.
The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.
¡°Congratulations on surviving Orientation,¡± it pronounced in a neutral voice. ¡°Are you ready to take an inventory of the rewards you earned?¡±
¡°Yes, please,¡± Claudius said. ¡°No, wait! Could you please tell me if all my family survived the Orientation?¡±
¡°I apologize,¡± the clay thing replied. ¡°We cannot provide information about other participants, for privacy reasons. Now, about your rewards¡¡±
In the end, Claudius just received a measly forty System Credits. He spent his meager winnings in the System Store to get a couple of Inferior Grade Health Potions. That was all he could afford. It hardly seemed worth the horrendous sacrifices he and those around him had made in the Orientation jungle.
But the point didn¡¯t seem to be to truly reward them. It was an ordeal. If Claudius was right, it was a test from God.
¡°Do you serve God?¡± Claudius asked. He had little hope that the clay man would give him a useful answer to any other question, but answering this one would seem like the least it could do.
¡°We do serve the gods, under the constraints imposed by¡ªerror, error!¡± Those last two words came out with a strange staticky noise. Like interference on the radio. The figure slapped himself in the face twice, then returned to speaking as if nothing had happened. ¡°I cannot answer that question with your level of clearance.¡±
Did he say he served the gods? Good enough.
If there were gods, Claudius thought that his would be the biggest and strongest. He believed it almost as much as he desperately wanted and needed to believe it. His was the desperate faith of a child throwing himself on God¡¯s mercy.
Then Claudius was returned to Earth. He blinked and found himself on an Orlando street. Or what had once been an Orlando street. Because nowhere, as far as the eye could see, was there a traversable stretch of pavement.
The pavement and sidewalk were shattered, split by fissures and new hills and simple stretches of unpaved soil that he was certain hadn¡¯t been there before. In some places, he could see exposed piping that now led nowhere and carried nothing. Electrical lines lay dangerously across what remained of the streets where the power poles had toppled, though Claudius was all but certain the wires no longer carried power.
He had guesses as to what had happened. Claudius was no biblical scholar, but he thought he remembered something from the Book of Revelation about the Earth moving and lands shifting around.
For now, he focused on getting a grip on the physical reality confronting him.
What was left of the pavement was littered with broken glass and trash of all kinds, as well as heavily crowded with people. The mass of humans looked around with shoulders hunched like they expected to be attacked at any moment. Clearly, they had just returned from Orientation too.
The source of the glass was obvious. Everywhere Claudius looked, buildings had been moved or ruined. Almost all of them were farther apart than they had been. Most of them were toppled. And the skyscrapers in particular had been utterly destroyed.
Most of them looked to have been knocked over like Jenga towers, their pieces scattered across the tabletop of the landscape.
Claudius kept one eye on the other people around him who had returned from Orientations of their own. He didn¡¯t recognize any of them from his Orientation, but that was unsurprising. The group that he and his family joined to survive had figured out that they seemed to have been grouped by surname. A random collection of people on an Orlando street was unlikely to be largely comprised of people whose last names began with ¡°G.¡±
For now, the other people outside mostly eyed each other warily. They moved around slowly, cautiously. But he didn¡¯t expect that to hold.
Any moment now, people would recognize the situation they were in. It was either the end of days or a natural disaster of some incomprehensible sort. Once these people grasped that, they would act like the dumb, panicky, dangerous animals that they always showed themselves to be in these emergency situations.
In hurricanes, in earthquakes, sometimes even in the aftermaths of blackouts, people looted. They destroyed their own cities even when it wasn¡¯t a rational reaction to events. Claudius didn¡¯t want to get swept up in that.
Miraculously, as he turned to his right, he saw that the building where he worked¡ªwhere he had been working before the apocalypse hit at least¡ªwas intact. Maybe it was because Orlando City Hall didn¡¯t stand quite so tall as some of the neighboring buildings. Even though one of the skyscrapers next to it had collapsed, and half of the fallen building now leaned dangerously into City Hall¡¯s South wall, the structure seemed stable.
It looked steady enough, at least, for Claudius to stick to the plan. He¡¯d persuaded his father, Tiberius, and his brother and sister, Coriolanus and Julia, to meet at City Hall, where Claudius had worked security the last two years. It was a safe enough place to rendezvous, assuming that society wasn¡¯t devolving into wanton human on human violence just yet.
Safer than any of their workplaces now, certainly.
Tiberius was a lawyer who had been visiting Orange County Courthouse when the apocalypse scooped him up. Coriolanus and Julia both had office jobs that would have had them working in the skyscrapers that now littered the ground.
At least Claudius¡¯s old building was still standing. It was the only career success he could really boast relative to his siblings and his father..
He rushed up the steps, opened the front doors, walked around the metal detectors, and hopped the security barriers. No one to stop him. The lobby was deserted, as he¡¯d expected.
If the System had said it was returning everyone to where they were, but dropped him outside, it stood to reason that the others in the lobby would also have ended up outside. Though there were only two others who¡¯d been there that morning.
Emilia, the receptionist, and Oswaldo, the other security guy. When the System spoke into all their heads, they¡¯d called the building manager, who had warned everyone else who worked there not to come in that morning.
He hadn¡¯t seen Emilia or Oswaldo outside either, come to think of it.
They might both be dead now.
But Claudius didn¡¯t want to think about that. Not yet. And not while there was still hope that the cheery receptionist and the kindly senior security guard would appear. There would be a time for mourning, but it wasn¡¯t now.
He walked over to the security station and made sure that his gun was there. He grabbed that, his uniform, his baton, and his walkie-talkie. You never knew what would come in handy in the end of days.
Then he went back to the front of the building and locked the big, glass doors.
They didn¡¯t look like much, but they were supposed to be bulletproof. He would unlock them, if and only if his family or someone he knew appeared out front. Emilia and Oswaldo had their own keys, and Claudius wasn¡¯t interested in dealing with the mob if he didn¡¯t have to.
While he stood at the doors, he took a last look at the slightly increased number of people on the ruined streets before he turned away.
Outside, people still weren¡¯t fighting, but Claudius saw some of them beginning to pick through the wreckage of the nearby stores, looking for something, anything of value to take.
The looting would be in full swing soon enough, and it would be every man, woman, and child for themselves for the foreseeable future.
Claudius waited for his family with disciplined patience, trying to figure out if there was anything in City Hall that he could loot. It was the best distraction. The best way to keep himself from breaking down into sobs that wracked his whole body and despairing that he¡¯d ever see them again.
Don¡¯t think like that, he scolded himself. They¡¯re all fine. Now what should we take from here?
It wasn¡¯t as if anyone else was going to ever use any of this stuff again if he didn¡¯t. Probably, even most of the City Hall bigwigs were dead. Most of them would have keeled over from heart attacks if they had to run half as much as Claudius had in the last ninety days.
Finally, he decided to break into the vending machines. He filled a couple of backpacks from the lost and found with junk food and sodas. Then he unplugged the vending machines. The building¡¯s emergency generator power was still functioning somehow, despite whatever cataclysm had wrecked the city¡¯s infrastructure. Claudius didn¡¯t want to waste that power, even if it was going to go to waste anyway. Maybe someone would find some use for it.
After what felt like an interminable time, his family arrived. First his father, then his brother, and lastly the sister he¡¯d been the most worried about. When they scolded her for taking the longest, she apologized and said she¡¯d stopped to give a girl directions.
It felt surreal to think of Julia being a good samaritan as anarchy erupted outside.
Where before, people had looted tentatively, now they did it very openly. Some young punks had started lighting fires, too. It was still a block or two away, but they could see the thick black smoke easily from where they stood in front of the glass doors. Wherever one fire started, another was sure to follow, unless someone came along to put it out and disperse the arsonists. People were good at following bad examples.
¡°I wish someone would come down here and restore order,¡± Coriolanus said quietly, voicing what everyone else was thinking.
¡°I¡¯m not sure if it will happen in our lifetime, son,¡± Tiberius said, in his usual stern, honest, gruff way.
¡°I have faith,¡± Julia said, smiling sadly.
For a long time, they all stared in silence as Orlando burned, until the sun went down and the only light came from the fires.
V3Ch1-Savior
Mina reached the bottom of the stairs.
The space around her was completely dark for a moment, and she turned her head automatically, looking, absurdly, for a light switch.
Then she felt a sudden whirlwind all around her, pulling at her clothes. Green flames sparked to life in the air above her head, then flew around the room lighting torches Mina hadn¡¯t seen in the darkness. As the torches lit, Mina was able to make out the shape of the room. It was a small chamber, lined with columns carved in the shapes of animals in a repeating pattern of three: one column in the shape of a dog¡¯s long body, one in the shape of a horse, and a third in the shape of a winding snake.
But her eye was drawn to a statue standing in the center of the room. A female figure with three bodies and heads, all connected from the back. The body closest to her held a stone torch in hand. She couldn¡¯t see if the other two bodies held objects in their hands, since the bodies further away from her were each facing a different direction.
So that no one can ever sneak up on her, Mina thought. Hecate was a goddess who could never be surprised. Is that a metaphor for her role as a ¡°gatekeeper¡±? Does it mean she can see the future maybe?
The sound of music filled the silence. There were both voices and stringed instruments, though the song the voices constructed was a wordless wailing. Mina recognized the music only as vaguely Greek. An intense pressure made Mina¡¯s heart race, as the System¡¯s voice filled her ears.
[A goddess has descended to Orientation 0284722.]
The statue¡¯s eyes glowed green, and a female voice emanated from the area of the nearest head. It became apparent that the goddess had possessed the body of her statue, though it did not suddenly spring to life or move aside from the eyes beginning to emanate light.
¡°My dear child, it is such a pleasure to meet you at last.¡± The voice felt ethereal and unreal. Light, but piercing, almost stabbing Mina in the heart. ¡°We have little time, yet knowing how way leads on to way, it is doubtful that we will ever cross paths again. We have much to accomplish together in this short span, you and I.¡± The tone felt simultaneously intimate and formal, affectionate and melancholy.
¡°Goddess, the pleasure at our meeting is all mine,¡± Mina said, bowing her head and curtsying awkwardly with her Mage robes. She hoped her slightly stilted effort at formality would meet the Gatekeeper¡¯s expectations.
¡°Be assured, you are not more pleased than I am, child. Much power has been expended so that this encounter would come to pass. My dear Charon traveled from another universe to participate, and must return whence he came once our meeting is complete. I thought it necessary, to prevent the deaths of any humans who might be of value to you in the arena.¡±
¡°I appreciate the effort you exerted on our behalf, goddess,¡± Mina said. There were questions racing through her mind, but she didn¡¯t feel entirely safe asking any of them of a divine entity. Would she be smited for impertinence?
Why hold the challenge at all, if you were committed to making sure there were no consequences? Why are you so interested in me? What are you the goddess of, besides gates?
¡°Congratulations on bringing your child across the threshold, into this world,¡± Hecate said. ¡°I had intended that you would complete this challenge before he crossed that boundary, so that I could extend my blessing to the both of you, but fate is difficult to direct and often tragic. The strings of causality play themselves out according to many influences.¡±
Mina nodded her head, pretending she understood. Were all deities this cryptic? And did they often fail to accomplish desired goals, as Hecate seemed to be saying she had?
It made Mina uneasy to think that gods and goddesses existed, but were fallible. That wasn¡¯t the religion she¡¯d grown up with. Even though her lapsed Orthodox Christian faith hadn¡¯t been much use to her in the pre-System times, she at least preferred the predictable world of a God who always had a plan and bent all things toward it, over deities who could fail.
And what happens if two deities¡¯ goals are in conflict? Hecate seemed to be raising that possibility, with her comment about the influences on the strings of causality.
¡°Thank you for your kind words,¡± she made herself say. ¡°Would it be too impertinent if I were to ask you questions, mighty and venerable goddess?¡±
Mina¡¯s cringing words almost made her wince. But she wanted to show nothing but humility in front of a being who Mina suspected could erase her existence or help her a great deal, as the mood took her.
¡°Please be at ease, child. I will satisfy your curiosity as best I can within our limited time.¡±
Was it just Mina, or was Hecate putting a bit of emphasis on the word ¡°limited¡±?
¡°Thank you, goddess.¡± Mina smiled brightly. ¡°You mentioned that you would have preferred that I complete the challenge while I was still pregnant, so that you could bless me and my child. Is there something that prevents you from blessing both of us now?¡±
¡°Before, your two strands of fate were inextricably linked. Now, they run independently. Either may fray and fracture without destroying each other.¡±
Mina swallowed. That felt like a negative prediction about either her or her child¡¯s future. She reminded herself that Hecate had framed it as a possibility, not a certainty.
¡°It is possible, of course, that James, Junior may earn his own blessings in the future, should that interest him,¡± Hecate went on. ¡°For the moment, it is you who has earned my blessing, and it brings me great joy to offer it.¡±
And she did seem to speak the words with genuine pleasure.
[You have been offered the Title of Blessed One of Hecate. Accept? Y/N]
¡°Goddess, I am unworthy of this favor,¡± Mina said, trying to stall while she parsed the meaning of becoming a ¡°Blessed One of Hecate.¡±
Will I have to fight for Hecate in the event of a religious war? She already knew Cara¡¯s god had a Chosen One in their Orientation, from the proctor¡¯s statement to that effect.
¡°You have richly earned it. But is there some other concern that troubles you, child?¡±
¡°There is,¡± Mina admitted. ¡°I am concerned that I may not live up to the obligations that accepting such a gift would incur. For instance, if my family or friends were to receive a blessing that was in some form of conflict with yours.¡± Her voice trailed off lamely, but the goddess seemed to take her words in stride.
¡°Between the god who has blessed your husband and myself, there is no conflict at present,¡± Hecate said. ¡°Nor do I anticipate that a future clash is likely during your lifetime. I would not expect you to betray your own family for the favor of your distant patroness.¡±
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
There it was, then. James had already accepted a blessing, and it wasn¡¯t a god who Hecate hated. The goddess¡¯s reassurance was a relief. Not that she¡¯d imagined for a moment that James could have died in his Orientation. Of course he¡¯s already received a blessing. I always knew he was capable of great things. It¡¯s nice to hear someone else recognized it.
Then she processed what Hecate¡¯s statement meant for her present situation. Given this information, if I turned her down, I would just be rejecting help and insulting her.
She selected ¡®Y.¡¯
A green light flickered around Mina¡¯s body, and the sound of the music from earlier began to play again, albeit much softer this time.
[Required conditions met. Title obtained: Blessed One of Hecate!]
[Patron deity Hecate has granted additional Titles: Elementalist, Spellweaver, and Necromancer.]
Mina felt somehow more solid. A pleasant but confusing sensation. Her body wasn¡¯t in any perceptible way heavier or more muscular than it had been. Her Mana reserves weren¡¯t any greater. But she felt strong in some indefinable way that she hadn¡¯t before.
¡°With that decision, we must move a little more quickly, dear child.¡± Hecate¡¯s voice was soft but firm, pulling Mina back out of her head. ¡°We have burned through much of Charon¡¯s Mana, while he holds the space outside of here still. Once the challenge unfreezes, your Orientation will begin counting down to its end. When the timer for the end expires, you will be pulled away from this plane, and back to your Earth.¡±
¡°I understand goddess. What should we do next?¡±
¡°I am honored primarily as a goddess of magic,¡± Hecate replied. ¡°We should discuss your future development in that sphere.¡±
There followed a discussion in which Hecate attempted to quickly explain the basic elements of multiple different forms of magic and types of magic users. She covered the differences between Witches, Archmages, Sorceresses, Summoners, and Spiritualists.
Basically, Witches learned magic from books to replicate and innovate on uses of Mana developed by magic-wielders from ages past. Archmages were just like Mages, manipulating elemental magic, but operating on an ever-growing scale. Sorceresses relied on intuition and experimentation to achieve similar results to Witches; they were parallel types of magic users, with one emphasizing intuition and creativity and the other emphasizing book-learning and intelligence. Summoners brought forth entities from other realms to fight on their behalves. And Spiritualists harnessed the powers of spirits, as the name implied.
With the lecture done, Hecate dropped leaves from one of the hands of the statue. It was outside of Mina¡¯s field of view, but there was nowhere else the leaves could have been hidden. For the next part of her instruction, she told Mina to pick one of the leaves up.
¡°Now infuse the leaf with your Mana, without attempting to use a particular element,¡± Hecate ordered.
Mina did as instructed, and the leaf suddenly burst into flames. She felt an instinctive urge to drop it, but the fire didn¡¯t seem to be burning her hands at all. Only the leaf. So Mina just stared, fascinated, until the leaf burnt to a crisp and the flames died out in her hands.
¡°Most impressive,¡± Hecate cooed. ¡°This only makes your performance in the challenge all the more remarkable! To be so skillful at such a young age with the element of water, when your most natural affinity is actually for fire, is quite something, my child.¡±
Mina stood a little more proudly at the praise from this goddess of magic.
Hecate seemed to be about to say something else, when Mina felt the air shift slightly. It was barely perceptible, but it took her out of the moment and made her turn to see if someone had entered the room. There was no one.
[Hidden victory conditions met! Orientation participant ¡°Mina Danailova¡± has conquered the final challenge remaining within this Orientation! Due to above-normal performance, the remaining Orientation population is permitted to survive. Prepare to be returned to Earth.]
[00:03:00]
[00:02:59]
[00:02:58]
¡°It seems that Charon reached the limits of his body,¡± Hecate said. She sounded neither displeased nor surprised.
¡°I hope you feel that the time you invested was worthwhile, goddess,¡± Mina said, inclining her head respectfully again.
¡°I only wish we could spend more,¡± Hecate replied. ¡°The last thing I wanted to tell you about your magic is that you may wish to focus on developing your abilities with fire. If that is your most natural affinity, then it will always be a particular strength of yours, no matter how much else you learn.
Mina hesitated, then decided to raise one final question.
¡°If you could give me any further advice, for the benefit of myself and my family, what would you recommend I do going forward?¡± she asked.
¡°A broad question,¡± Hecate remarked. ¡°Just broad enough that I hope I may answer it usefully. Keep your family together. As a unified whole, you are strong. Isolated, even the strongest stick is easily broken. You will also want to seek out magical artifacts, regardless of which Class path you choose. Although your world is newly integrated into the System, there will be some ancient artifacts available, in part because monsters often possess unique, one-of-a-kind items. And one last thing. If you believe that your baby may one day be interested in following in your footsteps, I have a gift for you to pass on.¡±
She directed Mina¡¯s attention to an object the statue held in one of its pairs of hands. Tentatively, Mina reached up and took it. A small, ivory-white key. She wanted to Identify it, but she thought that doing so in front of the statue of Hecate would be blasphemous in some way.
Instead, she bowed her head, and the two women said their farewells.
Mina heard the vaguely Greek music playing again, and saw the green flames go out, first in the torches that lined the room, and then in the eyes of the goddess. Finally, she felt the pressure that Hecate¡¯s presence generated dissipate.
Then Mina turned and ran up the stairs, back out to the field. Her mind was still racing with the new knowledge she¡¯d gained, and she worked to commit it to memory.
Finally, as she stepped out from the underground, Mina stopped focusing on her conversation with the goddess. She instantly received an alert.
[Conditions met! New Title obtained: Savior!]
I guess I really helped a lot of people, she thought, allowing herself a smile. Maybe I changed the way this Orientation was meant to go for the better. What was it that the proctor said at the beginning? The expected survival rate was something less than fifty percent for this type of Orientation, right?
She could see the crowd looking at her from the stands, and people were beginning to shout kind words. The people who had competed in the previous challenge before her were all revived and fully healed, and they were saying their piece too.
¡°Thank you!¡±
¡°You saved us!¡±
¡°You did it!¡±
Charon, sitting in his perch atop the stadium, looked down at the scene, seemingly rather pleased. Mina guessed that he had already explained to everyone else where Mina was and exactly what had happened. If he was like his mistress, he thought highly of her, for reasons she did not yet fully understand.
She shook her head. That didn¡¯t matter right now. Something to figure out later.
Mina glanced at the timer, ever-present in the corner of her vision.
[00:01:08]
Then she picked up speed and began running toward where Yulia and Leo waited, walking down from the stands to meet her with cautious smiles on their faces. She wanted to finish Orientation beside them.
I need to ask the proctor for my baby back, she thought.
Everything was finally safe. For now.
Soon they would be home. The Earth might not be safe anymore either, considering that the goddess had mentioned that there would be monsters she could obtain magic items from. But she would face that with her husband.
Mina thought that she and James could accomplish just about anything together.
V3Ch2-The Last Moment
James walked up to speak with the people he¡¯d just saved from death¡ªor worse.
They greeted him with a cacophony of praise.
¡°Thank you for saving us!¡±
¡°That was amazing.¡±
¡°You rescued us again.¡±
¡°Thank you, James!¡±
The survivors were all happy to see him still standing, alive and apparently well, though several of them were unsurprisingly more preoccupied with healing their wounded than acknowledging their savior.
¡°Anyone else need healing?¡± James asked. ¡°I still have some fuel in the tank.¡±
Those who weren¡¯t already healing friends or loved ones looked around at each other and then shook their heads or responded with verbal ¡°No¡±s.
A couple of Healers looked up from their charges only to say, ¡°I got this,¡± or ¡°No worries.¡±
And no one actually looked critically injured. The few people who were in the midst of being healed weren¡¯t in danger of death. They were concussed or bleeding badly, but not badly enough to die while receiving magical healing as they were.
James had seen the sorts of injuries that it took to produce that result, back when he fought the wolfpack. He remembered the dead woman¡¯s face, then forced it from his mind.
Maybe I could take a moment and actually heal my hand. The blackened, slightly smoky ruin of the left half of his left hand was still agonizingly painful.
But then James noticed Sierra, who was ominously silent. She looked up from where she sat slumped against the trunk of the tree she¡¯d been tied to, and gave him a weak nod and a very faint smile. Her face was drenched in sweat.
He looked down and realized that she was using Laying On Hands to regrow a severed hand.
Wow. She¡¯s surprisingly tough. I remember when we did that for Cliff, and he passed out from pain.
¡°Do you want help?¡± he asked.
¡°I, ah, got it,¡± she breathed. ¡°You¡¯ve got problems of your own.¡± She tilted her head at his maimed hand.
James glanced down at it again and winced.
¡°Just a scratch,¡± he forced himself to say, smiling. It looked even worse than it felt. But he knew that the appearance was more reliable than his body¡¯s sense of pain. The hand reminded him of Camila¡¯s necrotic flesh when he first met her. The skin around his ring looked dead.
It might be better to cut it off and grow a whole new one, he thought.
And was it just his imagination, or had the affected area grown slightly? James¡¯s memory had improved a great deal, so he dragged up the image of his hand from a minute or so before, when he¡¯d last examined it closely.
But no. When he compared the images, there didn¡¯t seem to be any difference. It must have just just been a trick of the light, or something up with his eyes for a moment.
James decided he¡¯d talk to the Rodriguezes for the last few minutes of Orientation.
No, wait, why did I specifically check on Sierra before? He remembered now. I needed her to use that Skill of hers on Damien and Luna!
But she probably needed all the Mana she could spare for her arm.
She caught him glancing down at her again and cocked an eyebrow at him, as if to say, What?
¡°A couple of our people were infected with some kind of medical issue by the undead we just killed,¡± he said in answer to her unspoken question. ¡°I was hoping to get you to use your Skill on them. The one that removes foreign influences.¡±
She started to rise to her feet, a little unsteadily, but he raised a hand to signal that she should stop.
¡°No, if we have to go, I¡¯ll carry you. You can¡¯t walk the distance in the condition you¡¯re in, and I can move much faster anyway. Seems like time is a factor.¡± He tilted his head to the lower left, to indicate where the timer should be in her field of vision.
She nodded, allowed herself to slump back down¡ªand stopped healing her arm. It was just as he¡¯d imagined. She was low on Mana, so she was conserving it in case the group needed her. She¡¯s a much better team player than I figured. But he really preferred not to let her sit there, partially regenerated, with a stump for a hand, for longer than absolutely necessary.
He sent a telepathic message to his wolves. How are Luna and Damien¡ªthat¡¯s the human I left with you¡ªdoing? I killed all of the enemies here, including the ones who infected them. Do they seem any better?
A response came quickly.
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Yes, my King. The smell of the corruption seems to have vanished from their bodies. Also, the Werewolf awakened when the System announcement came. He said, ¡°I knew he could do it,¡± before he passed out again. Both of them are healing well.
So Sierra didn¡¯t need to save her Mana after all. And they didn¡¯t need to make a literal last-minute rush from the scene of battle to where Damien and Luna had fallen. He told Sierra as much, and then he thanked the wolfpack.
¡°You know, you¡¯re more responsible than I thought,¡± she said. The words sounded begrudging, and James sensed a deeper respect underneath the surface of what she¡¯d said. Perhaps the real meaning was something like, You¡¯re not a half bad leader. Then again, maybe that was just his preferred interpretation.
After that, she focused all her attention on finishing her regeneration.
James turned to the Rodriguezes and opened a discussion about plans for the future.
¡°So what do you guys want to do when you get back to Earth?¡±
There were a flurry of answers, including a more than healthy amount of speculation about what condition they¡¯d find the Earth in upon their return.
They only had time for a few snippets of conversation, though.
[00:00:53]
The timer was winding quickly through its last minute. As it drew close to the end, James used one final Skill. An ability that would, as Anansi had suggested, become his bread and butter. For now, he infused his dead skin cells with Mana, to create a pair of Skin Cell Dust Devils. He pressed the creatures into the hands of Ramon Rodriguez and one of the members of Damien¡¯s group who had been kidnapped alongside them.
¡°They¡¯re basically walkie-talkies,¡± he explained quickly. ¡°They¡¯re connected to me telepathically. They¡¯ll help you find me back in the real¡ªback on Earth.¡±
The member of Damien¡¯s group, a young man with East Asian features, smiled and accepted the weird little ball of constantly shifting cells. Ramon shook his head in disbelief at the strange gift, but he also accepted the creature. Across the swamp, James¡¯s last remaining Skin Balloon was closing in on Moishe Rose. Hopefully it would reach him and help him find James after Orientation.
There were other people he wanted to help find him. Alan and Mitzi, of course. Damien. Hilda Rohm, in spite of her participation in the Moloch cult. She had more than proven her worth. The trackers who had helped him catch up to the Wolf King and his pack.
Really, he wanted everyone who¡¯d played a part in this journey to come find him. James would keep them safe. Gradually, he hoped, he would make the world safe. But he wanted those who had helped him at the outset of his journey to reap their just rewards.
There were so many people who were deserving of his protection. His gratitude. His loyalty.
How many of them would be able to survive if they didn¡¯t find him on Earth? Anansi had indicated that any monsters that didn¡¯t die during Orientation would reappear on Earth. Some of James¡¯s weaker allies would surely be killed without his power shielding them.
But he could only reach a few. He wasn¡¯t sure exactly which tent Alan and Mitzi were in, while Moishe was outdoors, standing watch. With less than a minute to find a human to guide, he had been the one James¡¯s monster saw.
At least the wolfpack shouldn¡¯t have any trouble. They would still be bonded to him telepathically, after all.
Nevertheless, it was a frustrating situation. James had saved these people¡¯s lives again and again. He hated the idea of them being ripped away from him and their loved ones, just because he couldn¡¯t reach them in time. Each and every one of them was a valued asset.
A valuable future resident of the country that James would build in the wreckage that this apocalypse would make of the once proud United States of America.
But that was a thought for the future.
James tore his attention away from his imagined losses for long enough to infuse Mana into his horribly scorched left little finger.
The blackened bit of flesh and bone began to spring to life even before James had separated it from his body, although he quickly rectified that. He bit through the knuckle connecting it to his hand. He was getting sloppy, not having severed this body part before it sprang to life.
But these were his final moments in this place. He didn¡¯t have time to be precise.
He spat the finger out into the palm of his good hand. He ignored the blood slowly trickling out of the torn stump of his maimed hand. Instead of looking at that, he looked at the people he¡¯d saved.
Without a word, he stuck out his hand, offering the severed finger to different people in turn. A couple of them appeared disturbed by its appearance, despite all that they¡¯d seen.
But James thought that someone would have sense enough to want it.
Many of the people in Damien¡¯s group, in particular, hadn¡¯t come from the same general area when they were transported to Orientation. One person in that group having a way of reaching James didn¡¯t mean they all did.
First one person, then another, shook their heads. A few looked disgusted, but most of them just looked around as if they thought someone else among them was more worthy.
Yet no one stepped forward.
James offered it to Sierra.
She responded with a quick shake of the head, and he realized he had expected that from her.
¡°Good luck,¡± he mouthed. Despite her physical weakness, he thought she might do well making her own way in the world. Somehow or other. Despite her untrusting attitude, she was a good team player. The way she¡¯d handled the last few minutes proved that wasn¡¯t just an act. She was a scrappy survivor type, he thought. With just enough empathy and care for others that the people around her would want to keep her alive too.
And most importantly, now, neither of them would have to worry about the other.
James sincerely wished her well.
He thought she smiled.
Then he turned away again, still holding the severed piece of his hand outstretched, still confident that someone would seize the lifeline, no matter how grotesque it might look. And finally, a member of Damien¡¯s group eagerly pushed himself forward from among the others. He grasped the Scorched Flesh and Bone Golem, seized it as if it were a winning lottery ticket. Which, in a very real sense, James thought it was.
He didn¡¯t know the name of the man who¡¯d snatched the severed finger, barely remembered the face. It was an incredibly ordinary face. Almost instantly forgettable.
But not the man¡¯s eyes. In the moment when James¡¯s eyes met the man¡¯s, it felt a little bit as if he was locking gazes with a zealous religious believer. Someone who had been handed the bones of an extraordinary figure with the power to bless or preserve them, like a saint. Which, in a very real sense, James thought he probably was.
Then he blinked, and he was back in the pure white room he had visited before Orientation.
Time ran out, he thought. Just when I¡¯d done everything I could.
¡°Hi Sisco,¡± James said, smiling like the cat that just ate the canary.
V3Ch3-The White Room
¡°You returned,¡± the System Homunculus said dully.
¡°Was there ever any doubt?¡± James replied. He was very pleased to be back. Not primarily because he got to see Sisco again.
Looking down at his hand, he confirmed what he¡¯d felt on his arrival: it was fully healed.
¡°I suppose not,¡± Sisco replied. He sounded distinctly unenthusiastic. When James had first appeared in the pure white room, he couldn¡¯t read the System Homunculus¡¯s emotions well, because its face was non-expressive, and its voice nearly monotone. Now, however, he detected a richness of expression in the artificial life form¡¯s tone of voice that had escaped him before. Between that and the creature¡¯s body language, a clear picture emerged.
There, there, Sisco, James thought. There, there. I know you¡¯re not happy to see me again, but I¡¯ll be gone soon enough.
¡°Congratulations on your success in Orientation,¡± the Homunculus said. ¡°Are you ready to take an inventory of the rewards you earned?¡±
The words were just pro forma, James recognized. Sisco¡¯s mouth was already half-open, ready to list out the aforementioned rewards.
¡°Actually, I would like to go through Job Evolution first,¡± James said. If his experience with Class Evolution and Race Evolution was any indicator, that would come with a significant power boost. And he didn¡¯t want to give the System Homunculus any chance to return him to Earth, to face who knew how many threats, before he¡¯d done it.
Then he reminded himself of what he¡¯d learned about the System Homunculi from his conversation with Mina. It seemed they had some control over how much time their guests got to spend in the white space. Like DMV employees, or other petty government bureaucrats. So it was incumbent upon him to play nice. ¡°Is that alright with you, though?¡± James added.
From his body language, Sisco looked a bit taken aback to be asked at all. ¡°Do you actually care?¡± he finally said.
James manipulated his face into a sheepish, contrite expression. ¡°Well, yeah, I do,¡± he said. ¡°Sorry for my inconsiderate behavior when we last met. I disregarded what your traditions were and just did my own thing.¡±
¡°Well, these rewards aren¡¯t going to take too long,¡± the Homunculus said, ¡°even though you received more than anyone else in your Orientation, and you¡¯re one of the top few hundred humans on Earth. You might as well figure out your next Job. Go ahead!¡±
It¡¯s weird. I feel like, after having a bit of friction with him earlier, then making up with him now, I got at a bit more of Sisco¡¯s humanity¡ªthough that¡¯s probably the wrong word. But I have another little piece of what it is that makes him tick.
¡°Alright,¡± he said aloud. ¡°I¡¯m going for it!¡±
James called up the prompt that had appeared before him for Job Evolution before, and he selected Y. As with the Class Evolution, a list of options populated. He found himself pleased with the contents.
[Strategos]
[Crimson King]
[Spider King]
[Fisher King]
[Story King]
I like how many of them include the word ¡°King.¡± But I¡¯ll start with Strategos. Sounds Greek. He was actually fairly certain he¡¯d heard the word before. If he had seen it in context, he was sure he¡¯d know the definition.
Strategos: An evolved Job. A civil and military leader who rules by the consent of the governed. Proficient in persuasion, strategy, and all the competencies of battle. This Job receives experience when forces under the Strategos¡¯s command defeat an enemy or the Strategos obtains another sentient life form¡¯s allegiance. With each level, gain +2 Agility, +2 Strength, +1 Stamina, +2 Dexterity, +3 Perception, +3 Will, +3 Intelligence, +6 Charisma.
Very nice, he thought. Maybe a little unbalanced in favor of Charisma, but James was planning to emphasize getting others to do his fighting for him going forward. There was just one problem.
¡°Rules by the consent of the governed,¡± huh? Those words raised an instant flag.
Pre-System, James had probably believed in the value of a people¡¯s self-rule as much as anyone. But he¡¯d been convinced from day one of the System¡¯s arrival that democracy was basically over. There were no elections in the apocalypse. Not realistically. Who would count the votes? Why would the strongest people let the weakest have a real voice? A spirit of charity?
Now that James thought about it, he was pretty sure he remembered that there had been multiple Strategoi in Ancient Athens, and they decided strategy by majority vote. And what kind of garbage is that? Sounds like a really shitty command structure. No wonder they lost to Sparta in the end. He also vaguely remembered something about the Athenians putting their less successful Strategoi to death after at least one battle. Nope.
He put a mental asterisk by the option, to indicate that it was somewhat intriguing, but unrealistic. Then he moved on.
Crimson King: An evolved Job. A brutal autocratic leader who rules through fear, manipulation, and might. Proficient in intimidation, espionage, and slaughter. This Job receives experience when the Crimson King causes conflict and destruction, whether to enemies or to allies. With each level, gain +3 Agility, +4 Strength, +3 Stamina, +2 Dexterity, +2 Perception, +3 Will, +2 Intelligence, +3 Charisma, +2 Stealth.
Well, that doesn¡¯t suit me at all! As much as I¡¯ve been enjoying fighting, I certainly don¡¯t go out of my way to create conflict or cause destruction. In particular, the idea of getting experience from his own allies¡¯ suffering rubbed James the wrong way. If anything, I¡¯ve been a force for order in the world and unity among humanity ever since the nature of reality got flipped on its head. Next!
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Spider King: An evolved Job. A plotting, scheming leader who rules by relying on wits over force and remaining one step ahead of political opponents. Proficient in deception and strategy, with a great capacity for coalition-building. This Job receives experience when the Spider King successfully deceives others, obtains additional political influence, or forges a new alliance. With each level, gain +2 Dexterity, +4 Perception, +4 Will, +4 Intelligence, +6 Charisma, +4 Stealth.
A complete emphasis on non-physical Stats, huh? It was an interesting and very different option, and it fit much more into the role that James imagined for himself in the new world that he expected to see when he returned to Earth.
So, that¡¯s a solid option. It had surprisingly little to do with spiders, considering the name. Given that James already had plenty of connections with spiders in his life, that was a point in its favor. He moved onto the next one.
Fisher King: An evolved Job. A ruler with a profound connection to his territory and its peoples. Capable of exercising a deep influence over others and over the physical environment itself through means both physical and mystical. This Job receives experience when the Fisher King successfully expands or improves upon controlled territory and life forms. With each level, gain +4 Will, +4 Perception, +4 Stamina, +4 Fortitude, +4 Charisma, +4 Stealth.
James felt a gentle tug at his arm as he read that Job description. As if the Job was pulling him in. Then he realized the pull was literal. He looked down at the Soul Eater Orb that had transformed itself into an armband.
You have an opinion? James asked.
I like that one, the equipment replied immediately in its creepy voice. Suits us.
James suppressed a shudder. It was much more off putting to hear the voice of the Soul Eater in his head¡ªnow that his adrenaline was back to normal¡ªthan it had been earlier.
But he thought that Roscuro was correct. It really does suit us. I can easily imagine a synergy with the Skills I got from the Soul Eater. And the Monster Generation Skill that Anansi was pushing me to make sure I used, for that matter. Expanding or improving upon controlled territory and life forms gives experience, after all.
Still, he would look at the last one. Maybe it would be the best, as Predator in Human Skin had been.
Story King: An evolved Job. A ruler who controls followers through control of information and dissemination of ideas. Capable of exerting influence that cannot be contained by physical borders. A spiritual or philosophical ruler whose hold on others may outlive the Story King¡¯s own body. This Job receives experience when the Story King gains traction in another sentient life form¡¯s mind or reaches a new audience. With each level, gain +3 Dexterity, +6 Perception, +4 Will, +5 Intelligence, +6 Charisma.
¡°Hm.¡± James was divided. This last Job seemed like exactly what Anansi would want for him, but he wasn¡¯t sure. It would certainly have suited Anansi himself. But was James really a philosopher-king? I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m that deep, honestly. And compared with sheer power, would a story or an ideology actually be enough to make people follow me? When the world is so dangerous?
¡°Ah hem,¡± Hester said quietly from behind his ear.
James had forgotten she was there. Frankly, he was quite surprised that the System had brought her with him.
He looked away from his System screen and realized Sisco was also looking at him curiously. Oh, they both want me to tell them what¡¯s going on! So he explained what his Job options were, in detail, to both Hester and the Homunculus.
Before long, Sisco was nodding along with interest. Then he and Hester began voicing their opinions.
¡°I have tended to see excellent results from humans who chose the Crimson King option,¡± the Homunculus offered.
James winced.
¡°I can understand why you might not like it, though,¡± Sisco hastened to add. ¡°Some Jobs are really not for everyone. All of the King Job options are extremely powerful and exclusive, so they are all equally worthy of consideration.¡±
James nodded. He basically ruled out Strategos, then.
¡°I know that Lord Anansi would be thrilled if you chose either Spider King, or Story King,¡± Hester said. She was standing on top of James¡¯s head and speaking openly, rather than hiding, for a change. She seemed to be enjoying getting James¡¯s and Sisco¡¯s attention.
¡°Ah, but he isn¡¯t here,¡± James said. ¡°What do you think?¡±
¡°I think it¡¯s an intensely personal decision,¡± she said after only a slight pause, ¡°and I hope you won¡¯t pick either one. No, I don¡¯t believe you¡¯ll pick either of those, because you prefer to chart your own course. Naturally, I fully support your decision. Your independent streak is part of what my Lord admires, anyway. You won¡¯t want to lean too hard even into the abilities that you¡¯re developing at his recommendation.¡±
¡°That is one consideration,¡± James admitted. ¡°I don¡¯t like the idea of being under anyone¡¯s thumb. Hester, you already know I like and trust Anansi and don¡¯t mean him any offense.¡±
¡°Yes, I do, sir.¡±
There seemed to be a ¡°but¡± somewhere near the end of that sentence, from the way she spoke, but James decided not to ask what she was thinking. If she wanted to share, she would.
¡°My Soul Eater Orb had an opinion,¡± James said. ¡°He wanted me to choose Fisher King.¡±
¡°Not as reliant on Charisma as Strategos, Spider King, or Story King,¡± Sisco observed. ¡°Certainly not nearly as likely to stir the ire of others as Crimson King, for all that Job¡¯s positives. A well-balanced choice. Ideally suited to conquering and holding land, if that was something important to you.¡±
So this is the conversation I could have been having with him if I¡¯d been nice last time, James thought. Note to self: even when everyone starts to see me as someone important, it¡¯s important that I remember to be nice.
¡°Is balance to be desired in a Job choice?¡± James asked.
¡°Well, you chose a Class focused on sheer aggression,¡± the System Homunculus said. ¡°If you wanted to double down on that, the best choice of Job would be Crimson King. If you wanted to go in the opposite direction, more diplomatic, you would choose Spider King or Story King. Strategos and Fisher King are the more balanced options that have synergies with your Class but are not opposed to it by nature.¡±
¡°But you haven¡¯t steered him toward the Strategos Job at all,¡± Hester observed. ¡°Is there a reason why?¡±
Taking the words right out of my mouth, Hester, James thought.
¡°Any Job that appears at the first Evolution that lacks the ¡®King¡¯ or ¡®Queen¡¯ modifier is simply inferior to the Jobs that have those modifiers,¡± Sisco replied simply. ¡°I cannot recommend choosing an inferior option.¡±
That makes sense. Coincidentally, it also offers slightly fewer Stat points than the King options, which each offer twenty-four points per level. The same as my Class.
¡°I think I¡¯ve made my decision,¡± James said. ¡°Thank you both for your contributions.¡±
The System Homunculus nodded. ¡°Choose, then, and we can move on to the rewards.¡±
James selected ¡°Fisher King,¡± and his eyes widened as knowledge poured into his brain.
V3Ch4-The Fisher King: Part 1
James¡¯s knowledge of power seemed to expand in the moments after he took the Fisher King Job. How to get it, how to keep it, how to use it¡
It was surprising to learn so much when he hadn¡¯t even chosen one of the Job options that emphasized manipulating sentient life forms. Perhaps the knowledge that King-type Jobs gave was standardized.
But no. He felt more information trickling into his brain about land and his new relationship with it. How he could enhance it, make it flourish, and reshape it in a manner of his choosing. This had to be a fairly specialized package. He felt a rising excitement.
I hope no one else picked Fisher King, he thought. The potential of this Job is insane. The description doesn¡¯t nearly do it justice. His eyes crinkled as his lips curled into a greedy smile. I could rule the whole world eventually!
Even as knowledge filled his mind, System alerts popped up in front of him. James was extremely proficient in dividing his attention now, so he read the alerts while he pored over the new knowledge.
[You obtained the Job ¡°Fisher King¡±!]
[You acquired the Talent ¡°Fisher Land Management¡±!]
[You acquired the Talent ¡°Fisher Sentient Resources!¡±]
[You acquired the Talent ¡°Genius Loci¡±!]
From the knowledge pouring into his head, James already knew what the Talents did. He read the descriptions anyway.
[Fisher Sentient Resources: The Fisher King enjoys a special relationship with his people. They rise and fall with him, and they identify with him to an increasing degree. The reciprocal relationships between the Fisher King, his people, and his land, are the root of his influence in the world. Make your people into your power. Generates Skills ¡°Blessing of the Fisher King¡± and ¡°Goodwill of the Fisher King.¡±]
Don¡¯t anyone tell the gods that I can grant blessings of my own now, James thought. Though he was sure that his version of a blessing would be more limited in a variety of ways. It still felt subtly blasphemous and potentially heretical toward some faiths, which he liked. Most of the gods he¡¯d crossed paths with were far from his favorite people. Barring Anansi, there hadn¡¯t been a single good god or goddess in his path. They ought to be taken down a peg or two.
He read the Skill description that came with the Talent.
[Blessing of the Fisher King: Touch a life form with your power, and join your fates together. Imbue it with power and benevolent wishes. If the life form does not resist, these will guide and shape its fate. As long as the life form remains loyal to the Fisher King, its fortunes rise and fall with those of the King.]
Holy shit. This might actually be better than the way a god blesses something¡
He read the Goodwill Skill, too. It passively increased attachment and goodwill between the King, the residents of his land, and the land itself over time.
[Fisher Land Management: The Fisher King enjoys a special relationship with his land, which gives him unique advantages in developing his territory or simply operating out of it. The Fisher King is the land, to a great degree. The two have a mutually reinforcing symbiotic relationship. Generates Skills ¡°Affinity of the Fisher King¡± and ¡°Aura of the Fisher King.¡±]
Affinity of the Fisher King was a Skill to passively transform ambient Mana in the King¡¯s territory. Essentially, the Mana in the air of his territory would act as an additional Mana meter for James to draw from. Aura of the Fisher King was a Skill to help flora and fauna grow on his land and increase the effectiveness of efforts to improve the land, though it stated it was dependent on the King¡¯s own condition.
[Genius Loci: The Fisher King enjoys a one of a kind relationship with his territory, which can foster unique developments in that land. When a place falls under the Fisher King¡¯s rule, it begins to adopt his own Intelligence and Will, acting as an independent extension of himself, from the physical to the non-physical. Make your home a part of you. Generates Skill ¡°Intelligence of the Fisher King¡± and ¡°Will of the Fisher King.¡±]
Intelligence and Will of the Fisher King were perhaps the most interesting Skills that he was most curious to see in practice. Essentially, the Fisher King¡¯s spirit became the spirit of the land. It would begin to act on its own following the patterns of his Intelligence and Will.
Which sounded scary and cool.
¡°Are you ready for your rewards now?¡± Sisco asked.
James snapped back to the present. He had almost forgotten where he was due to the intensity of his interest in his new powers. He focused back on the Homunculus.
¡°Yep,¡± James replied, although for once he felt that he¡¯d been rewarded quite enough. He flashed a big smile, and he could see the System Homunculus trying to return the expression with its almost completely immobile face.
¡°Excellent. You achieved top marks across all categories, and were in the top fraction of a percent among performers for humanity.¡±
¡°For humanity?¡± James couldn¡¯t resist interjecting. ¡°Do you mean for Earth?¡±
¡°No, the monsters are graded on a different scale,¡± Sisco replied. ¡°You¡¯re not directly comparable.¡±
Oh. James felt a little uneasy at that. Did every Orientation have something as deadly as you? he transmitted to the Soul Eater.
I would hardly know, Roscuro replied. I was sucked from my universe into your Orientation. In my world, we heard from our ancestors about such things as Orientation and the early days of the System. But its workings and existence were something we took for granted. The world had settled into a sort of equilibrium following the post-Orientation crises. Now I wish I had a clearer memory of history classes. I cannot help you with this one. Perhaps the Homunculus knows.
But James didn¡¯t want to ask Sisco directly. The System Homunculus was already talking again. Perhaps James could think of a way to make the subject arise naturally.
¡°As a result of your incredible performance, you earned forty thousand System Credits,¡± Sisco said. ¡°Naturally, they are redeemable through the System Store, which you will be able to access since you completed Orientation.¡±
[Required conditions met. Skill unlocked: ¡°System Store Access!¡±]
Neat.
¡°I¡¯ll make sure to check it out,¡± James said.
¡°You should give it a look now,¡± the Homunculus suggested. ¡°Just to see if it works for you,¡± he added hastily.
He wants to see my reaction, James thought, amused.
¡°Sure thing,¡± he said. ¡°Do the top-performing monsters get access to the System Store, too?¡±
¡°All sentient life forms do,¡± Sisco replied. ¡°The non-sentient creatures would just waste their credits.¡±
James nodded.
System Store Access.
A seemingly endless array of options appeared before his eyes.
There were Skills, Talents, Stat points, and equipment for sale.
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The first option tree he found himself interested in was Skills. Stat points, he could have for the very low effort of killing something. With all the slaughter he¡¯d participated in, it was very natural to him now. And equipment that was for sale would undoubtedly be disappointing compared to what powerful monsters dropped.
Basic Elemental Magic: Fire for 200 System Credits. Elemental Magic: Fire for 2,000 System Credits. Basic Elemental Magic: Gravity for 1,000 System Credits. Elemental Magic: Gravity for 10,000 System Credits. Time Magic for 20,000 System Credits?!
Overpriced! was his immediate impression of the first few options he browsed. Then he reconsidered. Maybe my standards are unreasonably high, because I¡¯ve been acquiring all the Skills I want so easily. And I¡¯m also not used to there being a currency in relation to the Skills and loot I¡¯ve been acquiring.
James voiced his thoughts on the pricing out loud. ¡°Is Elemental Magic: Gravity really supposed to be 10,000 System Credits?¡± he asked.
The System Homunculus let out a low sound. It took James a few seconds to realize that Sisco was chuckling. The laughing voice didn¡¯t sound like the Homunculus¡¯s, though.
¡°Somehow, I knew you would be a bit cheap,¡± said a thickly accented voice that reminded James of a young Joe Pesci.
¡°Vinny,¡± James said quietly. One of the few entities he¡¯d encountered toward whom he still felt cautious.
¡°You missed me, young man?¡± Vinny said, still speaking through Sisco¡¯s mouth like a demonic ventriloquist.
Something like that, James thought.
Aloud, he said, ¡°Oh, of course. I would¡¯ve loved having you nearby when that Soul Eater was shooting energy blasts at me, or maybe when the Elemental was trying to melt me.¡±
¡°Congratulations on surviving those ordeals. I hear adversity is character-forming!¡±
¡°Thanks. My character is definitely changing as a result of all that¡¯s happened, I¡¯ll grant you. But I¡¯m surprised you decided to take over from Sisco.¡±
¡°I get it. You were having such a nice chat with him! Palling around with your new chum.¡±
Well, yeah, actually, James thought.
¡°Forget that for now,¡± Vinny said. ¡°I have important announcements that Sisco wasn¡¯t privy to. Above his pay grade. I couldn¡¯t have you two finish your conversation, and him return you to Earth, without going over those. First, a gift!¡±
A small black stone popped into the air in front of James¡¯s face. As it dropped, he instinctively caught it. Then he held it up in front of his eyes. He detected a slight reddish tint to the blackened stone. And was the rock emitting the faintest amount of light? It certainly didn¡¯t look like any earthly stone.
¡°Thank you for the gift,¡± James said, a bit uncertainly. ¡°What is it?¡±
Wait, I could have just used Identify on it. Before he could bother, Vinny answered.
¡°Glad you asked. We were cleaning up the Orientation site, and we realized some knucklehead killed a Flame Elemental and didn¡¯t bother to retrieve the core.¡±
¡°Guilty as charged,¡± James said, giving Vinny a wry grin. There were extenuating circumstances, a small matter of a lot of people who needed me to save them from a monster attack, but I doubt Vinny cares.
¡°So I brought you the prize that you fairly earned. You¡¯ll be able to sell it in the System Store and fetch a good price there if you want to, or you may want to find an Alchemist who can work the Flame Elemental Core into something for you. It¡¯s a potent product, after all. Elemental Cores are valuable merchandise.¡±
James filed that idea away for later and slipped the Core into his satchel.
¡°There was the Flame Elemental Core, and what were the announcements?¡± he asked.
¡°The System Administrators are pleased with how Earth¡¯s mightiest performed through Orientation. They¡¯ve decided to organize a couple of events for the surviving sentient life forms on Earth. A World Leaders¡¯ Summit for every person, whether human or monster, who has a Ruler Title. And a fighting tournament for the world¡¯s strongest two hundred fighters, with excellent prizes for the top fighters.¡±
James was wearing the Ring of Truth, and he recognized the hot, uncomfortable feeling it gave him as Vinny finished the first sentence. He was lying. The System Administrators had not been ¡°pleased with how Earth¡¯s mightiest performed,¡± then. Maybe these two events they had decided to organize were regular features in every newly System-integrated universe.
Fortunately, the Ring of Truth had no reaction to the rest of what Vinny said. It was all strictly true beyond that first sentence.
Also, interesting that this divine ring could discern the truth or falsity of what Vinny said. Meaning that he wasn¡¯t a god himself; he was somewhere below them in the cosmic hierarchy. That wasn¡¯t surprising, but it was good to confirm.
¡°Those are very intriguing announcements,¡± James said. ¡°Are you going to give me more details? How many world leaders are attending the summit? And will the fighting tournament feature non-humans too?¡±
¡°There will be more details,¡± Vinny replied, ¡°but not now. There will be a general announcement later, when we can set a date for the event. We¡¯re letting you and a few others know early, only because you¡¯re Rulers. There are only forty-five of you Rulers of human origin in the whole world. It¡¯s a very impressive achievement. I knew I was right to expect great things from you! And I can tell you that the fighting tournament will feature monsters, too. Any creature of earthly origin is eligible.¡±
James felt immediately worried about the phrasing Vinny had used in one of those sentences.
¡°Only forty-five Rulers of human origin?¡± he said. ¡°How many non-human Rulers?¡±
How many creatures would there be, like the Soul Eater, preying on his fellow humans?
¡°Oh, hundreds,¡± Vinny said, chuckling to himself. ¡°I haven¡¯t taken an exact tally, but most humans didn¡¯t beat their Orientations¡¯ final bosses. There¡¯s still time, though. Maybe some of those crowns will be taken by humans in the period between now and the Summit, right?¡±
¡°We are a resilient species,¡± James said, smiling with teeth gritted.
He pictured a vast array of monsters occupying the Earth, looking for humans to eat. Some of them as powerful as Roscuro had been. Some of them surely stronger.
He would see to it personally that some of those monsters didn¡¯t make it to the Summit. Besides protecting his family, that would be his mission.
¡°Nice bling, by the way,¡± Vinny said, looking pointedly at the Ring of the Sovereign on James¡¯s left hand.
¡°Thanks,¡± James said.
¡°Make sure you put it to good use,¡± Vinny added, seeming to emphasize every syllable.
James nodded slowly, slightly confused.
He looked down at the magical item that had once been his wedding band¡ªand not for the first time, prayed to no god or goddess he could name, that his wife would understand why he¡¯d turned it into a magical object.
Then he finally read the description for the Skill he¡¯d transferred into the band.
[Dominion: Seize control of territory with your Mana. By pouring out your magical essence, imbue yourself into the soil, water, air, ambient Mana, and non-physical aspects of a region. This Skill may be ineffective where another entity¡¯s Mana predominates. If two Dominions intersect, it must be resolved by one withdrawing or defeating the other.]
If I understand that correctly, it intersects extraordinarily well with the Fisher King Skills, James thought. If you didn¡¯t have this, how would you get territory? But if you didn¡¯t have those Skills, how would you get any benefit out of it?
¡°You ready to go home now, kid?¡± Vinny asked, sounding satisfied. From the tone of his voice, James thought that Vinny had really wanted him to read that description.
But why? He wants to make sure I¡¯ll go out and take over some land? I was going to do that anyway. The proctor¡¯s intentions were still something of a mystery to him, but it bore thinking about. James didn¡¯t want to be a pawn in anyone¡¯s games, least of all those of the proctor whose face he¡¯d never even seen.
He took a moment before he answered to read the other Skill he¡¯d gotten from the Ruler of the Dark Waters Title.
[Territorial Control: Observe anything occurring within your territory at your whim. Manipulate the physical and magical structure of your territory using imbued Mana and your conscious mind. This Skill consumes imbued Mana and is less efficient than other forms of magic.]
Another Skill that has great synergy with Dominion. At least now he could see why someone who didn¡¯t have the Fisher King Job would want Dominion.
¡°Yes, I am,¡± James said. ¡°Um, will you say goodbye to Sisco for me, or can I say farewell myself?¡±
¡°Fine, fine. Say your goodbyes. See you next time, James.¡±
¡°Next time, Vinny,¡± James echoed.
Then the Homunculus was back to itself, blinking as if it was just waking up from a long nap. And was that a flicker of pain James detected in its eyes? It was so hard to read a face made of stone, but perhaps James finally knew why the Homunculus had seemed annoyed at him in their previous encounter, after James had asked to speak to Vinny. Maybe it was actually painful for Sisco to be possessed in that way Vinny did, however briefly.
¡°Good luck, James,¡± the Homunculus said after a long moment of silence.
¡°Be well, Sisco,¡± James said. He felt a little sorry for Sisco, but it couldn¡¯t dampen his mood. He was about to see his family again, and return home.
Suddenly, he found he was no longer in the white room. He disappeared from that place and reappeared somewhere outdoors. He saw the clear blue sky, Mina, Yulia, and a tiny person who he¡¯d never met before, but who he knew immediately.
Mina. Yulia. My son.
His face curled into an irresistible smile, and he looked into Mina¡¯s eyes.
And then they all began falling.
V3Ch5-Family is Everything
One moment, Mina was saying surprisingly warm farewells to the people from her Orientation, Yulia by her side, and exchanging contact details with people who wanted to try and find their way to her back on Earth.
The next moment, she was in the white room where the System Homunculus had instructed her on how magic in the System worked. She was pleased enough with her rewards, although she couldn¡¯t help but think they would have been greater if she had managed to stop the Wendigos from carrying off or devouring a huge share of the population.
Two thousand System Credits. It sounded like it could be a lot at first, but it did not seem as if it would actually go very far. She looked through items in the System Store and finally bought an Alder Wood Wand for twelve hundred Credits.
A few minutes later, she found herself hovering ten feet in the air, staring James in the face. She could sense Yulia by her side, but for a moment, she only had eyes for her husband.
Time seemed to stop for a moment.
¡°James.¡± The wind seemed to suck the syllable right out of her mouth as she began to fall. ¡°James! No, the baby!¡± she screamed.
Baby James had been floating right alongside them, she realized as she dropped through the air. Then he was falling right with them. She clawed furiously at the air. But somehow, the System had transported him to a spot just out of her reach. Just out of her husband¡¯s reach. And out of Yulia¡¯s reach too.
So little James just fell.
Mina saw everything in a panicked haze. Yulia, trying to grab the baby who was simply too far away. James, who Mina could tell was trying to activate multiple Skills at once. But he didn¡¯t seem to have anything that would let him freely move through the air.
He wasn¡¯t going to manage whatever he was trying in time, she realized.
She activated Quickened Spellcasting and Silent Spellcasting. A surge of power rose from her core and manifested in a small gust of wind. The wind pulled at the blanket the baby was wrapped in and began slowing his fall.
Mina let out a sigh of relief. She was still falling, but the wind she¡¯d conjured would cushion all of their falls, the baby¡¯s especially.
And then the blanket began to unwrap.
She watched in stunned horror as the blanket that her wind was pulling at slowly unlooped from around baby James. No, please! Don¡¯t let my baby fall! She tried desperately to guide and reshape the wind¡¯s movements, but they were falling so quickly, and it felt like the blanket, the baby, and the wind were moving too fast for her to adjust.
She heard a strange, fleshy sound from where her husband was.
Then a dark shape flew by Mina¡¯s head in a flash. What on Earth is that?
She got a better look at the shape when it enveloped the baby.
It was an incredibly inflated, disembodied human hand. The same skin tone as her husband. It was longer than little James, and as it landed on him, it latched onto the baby with two fingers wrapped around his waist. It pinched the unwrapping blanket with two others. With the wind still slowing the descent of the blanket, it turned into a sort of miniature parachute.
Oh, thank goodness. She turned and looked at adult James. His eyes were focused on the baby. His left hand ended in a stump now, though it wasn¡¯t bleeding as much as she would expect from such a recent and severe wound. He had a small black blade in his right hand. Did he have to sacrifice his hand, to make that thing?
But even though there was a slight expression of pain on his face, his eyes were relieved.
Apparently he doesn¡¯t feel pain the way he used to, she thought. She took her first really good look at her husband, and noticed that he had grown bigger and taller than he had been. He was wearing some almost black armor that reminded her of an insect exoskeleton, and a helmet that looked like it had definitely once been an insect¡¯s head. His face was much as it had been, but better defined. She realized that if she hadn¡¯t experienced him almost every day for over ten years, she might not have recognized him. He was barely the same person, physically.
This will take some getting used to. He was still very handsome, certainly, but quite different. There was a dangerous edge to his looks. An almost predatory cast to his features.
Then they landed. It felt like their time in the air had been extended somehow, but gravity was still functioning well enough.
Mina grabbed their baby out of the air, her whole body shaking. The severed hand creature leaped off of baby James and rushed back over to his father, scuttling across the grass beneath their feet.
¡°It¡¯s so good to see you guys again,¡± James said. He yanked off his helmet, stepped closer to them, and pulled Mina and Yulia into his embrace. Mina closed her eyes and inhaled the smell of James¡¯s skin. That, at least, hadn¡¯t changed. She felt safer than she had since they¡¯d been separated.
They stayed like that for a minute or two, until Mina noticed droplets of water hitting the top of her head. She smiled. In the few seconds since they¡¯d arrived, she hadn¡¯t consciously observed the weather, but the sky was clear and brilliantly blue .
When she pulled away, she caught James quickly wiping at his eyes with his remaining hand.
¡°Oh, um, my eyes are leaking a little,¡± he said. ¡°I think it might have drizzled a little, and um, my severed hand was quite painful¡¡±
¡°It¡¯s good to see you, too,¡± she said, and kissed him quickly on the lips.
Mina pressed close to him again, and James stopped talking and held her close for another few seconds.
When they separated this time, all three were crying and laughing.
¡°I was worried about you guys,¡± James said, wiping away tears again with what Mina now noticed was a slowly regrowing hand. ¡°Silly me, though. You both look great!¡±
¡°I am glad we all made it back alive,¡± Yulia said with a small smile.
Mina noticed a flicker of concern on James¡¯s expression, and she frowned slightly. This was a discussion she wanted to have with James, but later.
¡°You look great, too,¡± she said, chuckling. ¡°Although you¡¯re dressed like a cosplayer or something. Um, there is someone you should meet. Someone you¡¯ve already sort of met.¡± She looked down at the severed hand which stood on all five digits on the ground, looking like something from ¡°The Addams Family.¡± ¡°At least, part of you already met him.¡± She held out the baby to him. ¡°James, Junior!¡±
James smiled, and the tears welled up in his eyes again. Then he took the baby in his hand-and-a-half and stared him in the eyes for a long few seconds. Baby James was very quiet as he and his father met for the first time. Then James gave the baby a kiss on the forehead and pulled him into his arms, tight against his chest.
¡°I¡¯m your Daddy, little guy,¡± he said quietly, whispering in his ear. Then he looked back up at Mina. ¡°Sorry to have to tell you this, but he definitely takes after me. Looks just like his Daddy.¡±
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¡°Well, like you used to, anyway,¡± Mina said, raising an eyebrow. The words came out more pointed than she¡¯d intended, but James just smiled.
¡°We¡¯ve all been through a lot, haven¡¯t we?¡± he said, smiling down at Yulia.
Yulia smiled back. ¡°I¡¯m glad we all made it back home,¡± she said softly. ¡°I hardly believe it.¡±
¡°Yeah,¡± James said. ¡°If your experience was anything like mine¡¡±
He began to tell them the broad outline of what had happened to him, but Mina quickly interrupted.
¡°We should find some shelter before we start swapping stories,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s nice out now, but I think it¡¯s going to rain in an hour or so.¡±
James and Yulia both looked at her strangely but said nothing.
Right, she thought. Of course I¡¯m the only one who knows that.
¡°My new Class lets me predict the future in limited ways,¡± she said quietly.
¡°Well, predicting the weather will be very useful in Florida,¡± James said.
Yulia snorted quietly, and Mina smiled too. We really are back, she thought. Everything¡¯s going to go back to normal. Thank the gods, everything¡¯s going to go back to normal. Then she gave her head a little shake. What am I saying, back to normal? Nothing is going back. There are gods now, for a start¡
¡°Let¡¯s look around, then,¡± James said.
Mina turned away from her family and began taking in where they¡¯d landed.
They had supposedly been transported back to the same spot they¡¯d left from, but it was quickly obvious that either the System was inaccurate in its transportation methods, or the place they had left from had changed quite drastically in the weeks they¡¯d been gone.
There were buildings around them, and they appeared to be the same in style as the blandly constructed apartment complex buildings they knew. But the structures were inexplicably further apart. Many of them had been destroyed. Some had collapsed completely or toppled onto their sides. The pavement between buildings, as well as the parking lot, had been mostly destroyed.
The ground everywhere they walked was spits of grass and large stretches of mud, with a lot more moisture than Mina remembered.
It was as if some monumental continental shift had occurred. Perhaps it had.
There were other people walking around in the strange landscape as well, but not nearly as many of them as Mina would have expected.
Some of their Orientations went very poorly, she thought. A cold chill went through her stomach. That could have been any of us¡ The System had claimed many victims since it initiated Earth.
In the midst of searching visually for their old apartment, Mina couldn¡¯t help but look for the Indian family that had lived in the apartment beneath them. She hadn¡¯t known them, not really. Knowing your neighbors, or even talking to them at all, didn¡¯t seem to be fashionable or culturally accepted in America, as it had been in Bulgaria during her childhood.
But the mother seemed so nice, she thought. Mina had wanted to know her. She simply hadn¡¯t worked up the courage and energy to cross that intangible social boundary. So their main interaction was smiling and waving when they passed each other. But when Mina saw the other woman playing with her young children, or watched the way she fussed over the little one, or heard her and her family¡¯s happy chatter through the thin apartment window when she passed outside, she would think, When the baby¡¯s born, then I¡¯ll get to know them!
Now, that promise she¡¯d made to herself might never be fulfilled. The apartment complex had lost many of its residents, if the meager number walking around the courtyard was any indication.
Mina didn¡¯t talk to the wanderers. Some of them walked around purposefully as if they knew where they were going or what they were trying to do. A few looked traumatized and psychologically broken, as if what they had been through in recent weeks had been too much for their sanity.
Regardless, none of them approached Mina. For the moment, she decided she liked it that way. She was still processing the way the Earth had changed. She didn¡¯t need new social demands right now. They would probably need to make new connections later. It wasn¡¯t a necessity that she particularly relished.
James, Mina noticed, seemed very interested in observing everyone around them. He wasn¡¯t looking around so much to find their apartment as to take in the people who were wandering the grassy area. It wasn¡¯t any particular neighbor he was looking for, Mina felt certain. He¡¯d shown even less interest in meeting them than she had, back in the pre-System days.
Yulia was more focused than either of them, and it was she who finally found the building they used to live in. The second floor was mostly lying on its side, broken off from the top part of the building. The first floor, where their neighbors had lived, was exposed to the elements.
There was a sound of rustling in the wreckage. Mina realized that, given how long they¡¯d been gone, it was possible that any number of wild animals might have settled in the ruins of their building. She instinctively stepped behind James.
¡°It¡¯s children,¡± James said quietly.
She looked up at him questioningly for a moment.
How does he know? she wondered.
Then she heard one of them.
¡°Mama, is that you?¡± a little boy called. Mina couldn¡¯t see him, but now she understood how James must have known who was in the building. His senses were superhuman now. It wasn¡¯t just his appearance that had changed.
James turned to Mina and gently placed the baby, who seemed very comfortable and relaxed, in her arms. Then he took a couple of steps forward and leaped lightly over the half-demolished wall into the first floor kitchen. Mina heard James walking around inside the apartment, then the distant sound of him speaking quietly, though she couldn''t make the words out.
More rustling, as of movement. Then the front door unlocked and opened. It was James.
He had a child in each arm, which prompted a realization in the back of Mina¡¯s mind. Oh. He regrew the hand he chopped off. In a matter of minutes. Without using any healing magic that I noticed. This was her first indicator of how much more powerful than a normal mortal man James had become.
But the front of her mind focused on the children around him. All three of their neighbor¡¯s young ones.
Of the two cradled in his arms, one was a baby, a year or two old. The other was a couple of years older. And the oldest child, the six year old, stood behind him. James¡¯s expression was troubled.
¡°These kids managed to find their way back to their apartment,¡± he said. As he stepped forward, Mina saw that the backdoor to the lower floor apartment, which had been a sliding glass door, was completely gone now. Just like the ceiling.
That explained how the children got back into their apartment. One fewer question that needed answering.
¡°I see,¡± Mina said, not yet fully comprehending.
We must not be expecting them to come back, she realized after a moment. Otherwise James would never pick up someone else¡¯s children. He set them down outside as she had that thought.
¡°I¡¯ll be right back,¡± he said to the biggest one. ¡°Don¡¯t go anywhere, okay? Especially not back inside the apartment right now. I¡¯m not sure if the building is going to fall down.¡±
The boy nodded solemnly.
James stepped in closer to Mina and Yulia.
¡°Sweet, could you watch the little ones for a moment?¡± Mina asked.
Yulia nodded and smiled brightly, then walked over to the children.
James waited a few seconds before he spoke. ¡°What do you think about taking care of them?¡± he asked, his voice low. ¡°Just until we figure out what we¡¯re going to do about all the orphans who are going to be running around. I don¡¯t think their parents are coming back if they aren¡¯t here already.¡±
An open-ended commitment, Mina recognized. She was surprised. James had very easily accepted taking Yulia in when Mina and Yulia¡¯s mother got sick, but that was because, as he often put it, ¡°Family is everything.¡±
When it came to most other people outside that circle, though, James had only ever shown selective empathy. Back when he was a prosecutor, if someone was a victim of crime, he would seem to genuinely grieve their losses. Conversely, if the person in question was a criminal, James would usually tar them as ¡°the scum of the Earth¡± in his mind, try to get them prison time unless there were obvious mitigating factors, and lose no sleep over it. Even though James had been a criminal himself in the past.
Mina was never bothered by this contradiction, because James had always followed a simple pattern. If you were inside of his circle of love and trust, he was unfailingly good and kind to you. More than fair to people he cared about, he was generous.
He would never hurt her, but almost the whole rest of the world was fair game.
So what was this? Volunteering to take care of a stranger¡¯s children, instead of trying to pawn them off on someone else? Was his circle expanding?
It seemed to her as if James¡¯s whole outlook on other people had changed.
V3Ch6-Small Miracles
¡°Mina?¡± James asked.
She realized she¡¯d been staring at him, zoned out, for a few seconds as she focused.
¡°Oh, of course,¡± she said. ¡°They were our neighbors.¡± The whole situation felt so strange that she could barely force the words out. ¡°I hope they would¡¯ve done the same for us.¡±
¡°Okay. Good, then,¡± he said, looking at her with slight concern.
¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± she whispered, smiling slightly. ¡°We should talk to Yulia a bit. See what she thinks. She¡¯d be doing a lot of babysitting, I think, with all these children around.¡±
James nodded. ¡°That makes sense.¡±
Mina turned to where Yulia was sitting, playing patty cake with the toddler. She called to her, ¡°Yulia, could you come here for a moment!¡±
Yulia excused herself with a few words to the little girl, who nodded and waved goodbye to her as she walked forward. She¡¯s so good with little ones, Mina thought proudly.
¡°We¡¯re thinking about letting the kids live with us,¡± James explained quietly once Yulia was close.
She bobbed her head up and down energetically. ¡°Of course! We can¡¯t just leave them outside.¡±
Mina couldn¡¯t help smiling. She said it like it was so obvious. Put like that, it was obvious. There were no foster homes anymore, no government institutions or private charities of any kind to take care of children. They weren¡¯t doing something crazy. They were doing something human.
Caring for other humans.
¡°You know you¡¯re probably going to be doing a lot of babysitting?¡± Mina said. ¡°All of us are probably going to be overwhelmed taking care of all these children.¡±
Yulia was nodding.
¡°Soon, we¡¯ll organize, and it won¡¯t be just the three of us,¡± James said. ¡°I mean, we¡¯ll figure out how to make it work, but I¡¯m certain there must be other children in the area missing their families.¡±
So this isn¡¯t just a one-time act of charity, Mina thought. He¡¯s thinking about plans for the future. Major plans.
She nodded, and James said, ¡°Let¡¯s let them know what we¡¯re doing, then.¡±
They walked over to the children. James turned his attention to the older boy specifically. ¡°You don¡¯t see your Mom or Dad anywhere around at all, do you, Abhi?¡±
Of course James already asked the little boy for his name, Mina thought. She imagined a brief conversation inside of the ruined dwelling before James emerged with them, when he was trying to reassure the children that they were safe.
The little boy looked around at all the people walking in the former apartment area for a few seconds, his expression hopeful, before he shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s right, sir,¡± he said meekly.
¡°Okay. Do you know if you have any family around here besides your parents?¡±
¡°No, sir,¡± Abhi replied.
So well mannered, Mina thought. Of course. Kids take after their parents.
¡°The parents mostly kept to themselves,¡± Mina added. And I would¡¯ve noticed if they had family coming around, went unspoken.
Abhi looked sad, as if he was thinking about what might have happened to their parents.
¡°Well, if you¡¯ll have us, we¡¯d like to watch out for you guys for a while,¡± James said.
The little boy looked uncertain for a long moment.
Then Yulia spoke up. ¡°I volunteer to babysit!¡± she said. She looked at Abhi. ¡°We can play together.¡±
Mina didn¡¯t need to look at Yulia to visualize her face as she spoke. She could hear the smile in Yulia¡¯s voice. Mina herself couldn¡¯t help thinking of those poor dead parents, but it was nice to imagine that the three of them might keep these children from any future harm.
Yulia¡¯s words seemed to make Abhi¡¯s mind up. He nodded, tentatively and then with a shy smile. Mina felt proud of her husband and her sister. In just the brief interactions they¡¯d had, James and Yulia seemed to have won the little boy¡¯s confidence.
¡°Alright then,¡± James said, nodding to himself. As he spoke, the first droplets of water began to fall onto Mina¡¯s arms.
¡°Um, I think we need to do something about shelter right now,¡± Mina said.
¡°Right you are,¡± James said almost absently. He put the children down gently on the ground. Then Mina saw a brown aura gathering around him.
Wait, did he become a Mage? That wasn¡¯t what we discussed.
Her next observation was that he clearly had a huge amount of Mana. It took a few minutes for him to gather what he needed from his core¡ªperhaps she could help him learn Quickened Spellcasting¡ªbut the amount that he charged was very large, and he didn¡¯t look fatigued from the process of gathering it. Mina had occasionally experienced headaches from Mana overuse, so she knew running low came with some side effects.
Then he unleashed his power.
The ground in a large, open area in front of them rose in a single, sudden movement. A huge rectangle of dense soil, roughly the size of a medium-sized whale. She noticed he seemed to be guiding it with hand movements as well as thought¡ªhe tightened his fist, and the outer layer of soil visibly hardened into rock. Then he made some orchestra conductor hand gestures, and window and door outlines appeared on the sides of the structure.
James¡¯s mental image of the building grew clearer as he continued guiding his Mana. It was clearly intended to constitute multiple separate dwellings.
As James was doing this, Mina and Yulia were just standing and staring, mouths slightly agape. Mina had used magic many times now. She¡¯d practiced with it daily and honed her control of it until it was finely tuned. But neither sister had seen magic used this way before. The scale of it.
Yulia caught her eye, and they both shook their heads and smiled.
Mina recognized the inspiration for the building immediately once the shape was more defined. James had constructed a slightly smaller model of the apartment block they¡¯d lived in.
Finally, he seemed to be finished. Yulia and the little boy started clapping, and Mina joined in after a moment. It seemed appropriate after the performance they¡¯d just witnessed.
James beamed and took a little bow. He let out a long breath, as if he¡¯d forgotten to breathe while he was working on the building. Then he walked up to one of the doors. He pulled on the handle. It opened, and Mina¡¯s jaw dropped slightly. Inside, there was a staircase, and she could see that it led up to a wide living room.
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He even structured it like our old apartment¡
His technique was unrefined, in her judgment¡ªor at least inefficient. If she had his Mana reserves, she probably could have accomplished something similar with around half of the Mana she judged he¡¯d used. But his earth magic was also incredibly powerful. If she had attempted to do what he¡¯d done with her own power, she¡¯d have run out of Mana early on and perhaps collapsed.
Quantity has a quality all its own. If he could do this much without running out of Mana, then with more precise control, he would be able to reshape the landscape around them. She resolved to show him what she¡¯d learned as soon as she could.
¡°You guys should get out of the rain,¡± James said. She saw that while she was thinking, he¡¯d picked the smaller children back up and entered the new apartment. The biggest one, standing behind James, whistled.
¡°Wow,¡± Abhi said, looking up and down the building. ¡°Magic is amazing.¡±
Yes, but no, not really, she thought. James is amazing. I was blessed by a goddess of magic, and I know I couldn¡¯t do that. How had he become so powerful? She couldn¡¯t imagine how hard he must have pushed himself.
But Mina just nodded, walked over to the little boy, and with the arm she wasn¡¯t using to hold her baby, she took his hand. Then they walked up the stairs.
Yulia ascended in front of them. Mina was numb, a thousand thoughts running through her mind. How is he so powerful? What was his Orientation like? Is this building even stable?
That last thought seemed especially pressing when it occurred to her, but it wasn¡¯t a deep enough doubt to make her run back outside into the rain that was rapidly turning into a signature Florida thunderstorm. And if her husband had screwed up the structural integrity of the apartment building, she was certain he¡¯d sacrifice life and limb, if necessary, to keep their family safe. He¡¯d already chopped off a whole hand and thrown it after their baby without hesitation.
The building didn¡¯t shake as they strode up the stairs, which did as much as anything could to convince her that it wasn¡¯t going to fall down. So she refocused on the less urgent questions. What happened to James? How did he become this way?
¡°I¡¯m going to go outside for a few minutes,¡± James said. He had placed the little kids on a sort of stone couch and was looking past Mina at the stairs.
¡°Sure,¡± she said. I need a minute anyway.
He bustled out the front door.
For a long time, Mina just sat, tired, on the couch next to the children. She exerted a little bit of energy to introduce herself to Abhi and ask him the names of his younger siblings, and she introduced baby James, but it had been a long day, and her sleep had been interrupted the previous night. She found she wasn¡¯t up to much conversation.
¡°Sis,¡± Yulia said quietly, coming back after looking around a bit.
¡°Yes?¡± Mina asked. She turned and saw her little sister smiling softly.
¡°We have a third bedroom now.¡±
Mina snorted with a brief, choked laugh, then glanced at the children surrounding them. Then her lips curled in a small smile. ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad he didn¡¯t forget about our new guests.¡±
Then she heard her husband¡¯s voice from outside. It was louder than he¡¯d ever spoken before, and she wondered if it was some sort of magic, or just a voice that employed super-Strength to increase its volume. It didn¡¯t matter either way. He must be standing on the rooftop, she thought.
¡°Former residents of Palm Breeze Apartments,¡± he was proclaiming, ¡°you can take shelter here. Some of you, I¡¯ve spoken with already. Others, I will speak with tomorrow. When the storm is over, we can discuss how best to rebuild our community. This land is ours now, unless we let the monsters that live around here take it from us¡¡±
¡°Oh, that makes sense,¡± Mina said quietly, almost to herself. ¡°We¡¯ll need a community to get through the days and weeks to come.¡±
It was silly, she realized, that she¡¯d even had a thought that things might return to normal.
¡°Mm hm,¡± Yulia said. She was distracted, playing with the neighbor¡¯s baby, Mina realized. She had hardly noticed her older sister talking.
Mina got up and carried baby James to the master bedroom, closer to where James was talking. She wanted to hear him better.
James was delivering a bit of a speech, Mina observed. She had heard some people opening and closing apartment doors, but he continued on, for the benefit of those still skeptical, standing out there in the pouring rain. Or maybe more for the benefit of the people who had already accepted his gracious offer of free housing. Letting them know what they were in for.
When she sat down on the stone simulacrum of a bed, James was talking about taking more of the land back from the monsters. Arguing that they needed to stand together and look out for each other. Promising to defend people.
Could he really deliver on that? The rest of the little speech had just been common sense, really. But was James strong enough to protect a community of people now?
Mina went back over her experiences of the new and improved James thus far.
Yes, she thought. He probably could. She faintly recognized along with that thought that her husband¡¯s ambitions would expand to match his capabilities, but that was something they would address later. For now, she focused back in on what he was saying.
The flow of words had changed. His impromptu speech had continued, but he was clearly taking questions now.
There was a loud comment from one of the few people who were still outside. Mina distantly heard the word ¡°rent¡± uttered in a disrespectful tone of voice.
¡°Rent?¡± James responded. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about rent! We¡¯re living after the fall of our civilization. We should be glad we¡¯re alive. We don¡¯t need to talk about rent tonight. Just get out of the rain!¡±
There was a little mocking laughter, clearly at the rude commenter¡¯s expense.
Then the outside went quiet. A few more doors opened and shut.
Mina thought about going back into the common room. She still wanted to process everything that was happening. She¡¯d spent hardly any time with her husband, and she mostly wanted to get his take on things.
He¡¯d been busy performing small miracles since she first saw him, so she certainly didn¡¯t blame him for being occupied. But she felt very tired. Almost as tired as she¡¯d been in the days just after she gave birth. If only this bed wasn¡¯t stone, she would sleep.
Suddenly, the window on the outside wall side of the room turned on an axis that Mina hadn¡¯t seen before. She braced herself for some sort of enemy, clutching her baby to her chest and backing toward the room¡¯s closet. Then James appeared, and the window swiveled shut again behind him. A cloak of brown Mana faded from around his body.
Oh, he modified the window so he could open and close it, she thought dully. She let out a long sigh. Then a yawn. So sleepy.
¡°Hey, sorry to keep you waiting here,¡± he said. ¡°Is everyone alright?¡± He looked at the baby as he spoke. He stepped down from the window sill, dripping water all over the floor as he moved. He was soaking wet, she realized.
¡°No big deal, skapi,¡± she said almost automatically. ¡°I¡¯m just really, ah, tired. Everyone was okay last I checked. No screaming since I came in here to listen to your, ah, speech.¡± She yawned again.
¡°You¡¯ll need to invest some more points in Stamina when you get a few more levels,¡± James said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯ve noticed yet, but Earth¡¯s gravity has increased. I think that¡¯s probably why you¡¯re feeling tired so soon.¡±
Her eyes widened and she stared, open-mouthed, at James. That¡¯s impossible, she wanted to say. But they¡¯d seen more impossible things than that, she was sure. All that was required was an increase in the Earth¡¯s mass. Could that be what explains the buildings being further apart? There was an asteroid crash or something, and that increased gravity and caused massive earthquakes?
¡°You should probably just sleep for now,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯ll try and make this more comfortable.¡± He gestured at the bed. ¡°Tomorrow I¡¯ll get you something decent to sleep on, if I can. Usually the rain helps with sleep.¡± He smiled. ¡°And I have something else that might help.¡±
James pulled his Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions out and opened it. A heap of furs fell onto the bed. She laid down, still holding the baby beside her, and arranged some of the furs until she was tolerably comfortable.
¡°That ought to do it,¡± Mina said sleepily.
¡°I¡¯ll be right back,¡± James said.
She wanted to tell him not to leave, but he was gone before she could get the words out. Her only consolation was that he returned with almost the same inhuman speed.
¡°Yulia and I put the others to bed and gave her some of my other furs to use,¡± he said. ¡°I think the kids are starting to be really comfortable here. Meaning more comfortable with us in general. Which is good. We¡¯ll have to figure out more permanent stuff later.¡±
¡°That¡¯s great,¡± Mina said a little impatiently, ¡°and yes, we will. Tomorrow. Now lay down and go to sleep. You know I don¡¯t sleep as well without you.¡±
Finally, he lay on the bed beside her, and she was able to go to sleep.
V3Ch7-The Next Adventure
Mitzi stood in her kitchen, cocked her husband¡¯s service pistol, and listened.
The noises of movement outside seemed to be getting closer and closer. She responded by positioning further back in the kitchen and making certain that she had a clear line of sight on the front door to the house.
If Orientation had taught her anything, it was that she could not trust most of her fellow humans in a crisis situation. And her penetrating questions to the System Homunculus in the white room had validated her fears that humanity¡¯s crisis was far from over.
¡°I have a gun!¡± she shouted¡ªor tried to. Her voice sounded quavering and weak from nerves. ¡°I¡¯m not afraid to use it.¡± She began chanting quietly under her breath, gathering fire Mana. If a bullet didn¡¯t stop this intruder, she would throw something stronger.
The door burst open, and she instantly drew a bead on the intruder. A second later, she lowered the pistol and stopped chanting. She let out a breath, then shook her head.
¡°Jesus, you startled me!¡± Mitzi scolded. ¡°You know, I was ready to shoot you!¡±
¡°Oh, is that what you were yelling?¡± Alan asked. ¡°My hearing¡¯s not what it was.¡±
He stood in the doorway. Her old, nearly bald, beautiful knight. She just shook her head again. It¡¯s impossible for me to be mad at you, she thought.
¡°Next level you get, you need to put some points into Perception!¡± she finally said.
Alan smiled. ¡°I¡¯m glad you were ready for anything,¡± he said. He closed the distance between them and pulled her in for a long, passionate kiss. Electricity traveled through her whole body, all the way down to her toes. ¡°You know, I thought I might never see you again.¡±
Mitzi felt the raw passion in her husband¡¯s voice that had somehow never faded over the five decades of their relationship.
And she smiled, any tension between them now completely broken. ¡°Why did you think that?¡± she asked softly. ¡°The last thing we discussed before Orientation ended was that I would stay here and wait for you to come home.¡±
She had appeared outside, strangely, but reentering the house had been as easy as remembering where she kept the spare key¡ªinside a hollow rock in the front yard. Then it was simply a matter of waiting. She had been nervous, briefly, when she heard other people passing¡ªand then again, at his approach.
But she had never truly been in danger. Not the way she had sometimes been back in Orientation.
¡°You haven¡¯t seen what¡¯s happening out there, then,¡± he said.
It wasn¡¯t spoken like a question, so she simply waited for him to say what he was getting at.
¡°It¡¯s pandemonium,¡± Alan continued. ¡°On my way here from the office, I saw people looting and fighting over food. Buildings burning. That¡¯s not to mention the damage the System did.¡±
¡°What did the System do?¡± Mitzi was less interested in knowing the answer than in taking her husband¡¯s mind off of the human side of the problems outside, which she could tell was wearing at him.
¡°Oh, nothing much,¡± he said, expression shifting to a slightly crazy smile. ¡°Just moved the whole Earth around, it seems like.¡± He explained the state of the buildings he¡¯d seen. How some were just farther apart than they used to be, but most were collapsed ruins. ¡°We¡¯re lucky that the office was barely affected. Even the house¡ª¡± he gestured around them¡ª¡°it¡¯s listing slightly to the left now.¡±
¡°Listing, huh?¡± was all Mitzi could come up with. It was mildly shocking to think that she couldn¡¯t just pop down to the local Walmart if they needed supplies now. ¡°I guess we¡¯re on our own as far as fixing things like that now,¡± she said. ¡°Basically back in the Stone Age.¡±
¡°I¡¯m just glad that the house is still up,¡± Alan said, taking her hand. ¡°Did you try getting hold of the kids yet?¡±
¡°You know, I couldn¡¯t think of it,¡± she admitted. ¡°I was too worried about you.¡± She walked over to the landline phone and raised it to her ear. There was no dial tone, but she tried to dial their younger son¡¯s number anyway. Nope.
She shook her head wordlessly.
¡°I should¡¯ve known,¡± Alan said. ¡°If the buildings have moved, power won¡¯t be on anywhere unless there¡¯s a generator. Phone lines are probably down too. And my cell isn¡¯t working¡ªI tried it on the way here¡ªwhich means yours isn¡¯t working either.¡±
A calm settled over Mitzi as her husband listed off problems. It was strange, but it restored a certain sense of normalcy to the situation. Even if it was only surface level.
¡°What do we do now, you think?¡± she asked. ¡°Stay here and wait for the kids to show up?¡±
¡°That¡¯s one option,¡± Alan said. ¡°I told the folks from the office that I¡¯d be back if it made sense for us, but I don¡¯t know if it does.¡±
¡°We have the best chance of the kids finding us if we stay here.¡± Mitzi stated the obvious, knowing that neither she nor her husband really wanted to just sit in place and wait.
¡°If they look for us,¡± Alan said slowly, only meeting her eyes after he stared at the ground for a long moment.
Only Stephen, their youngest, had stayed local. Joe and Marcy were both out of state now. All three of their children had grown up and grown middle-aged. Had lives and families of their own to worry about. Joe¡¯s daughter Sandra was engaged to be married now.
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All three would certainly be more concerned about their own children than they would be with checking in on their aging parents.
¡°They probably assume we¡¯re dead already,¡± Mitzi said, uttering the safer of the two unspoken thoughts they were both mulling. The other thought being that one or more of Alan and Mitzi¡¯s children might have died in Orientation. If that had happened, did they really want to know?
We can only learn so much and still endure in this life, Mitzi thought. That¡¯s why people die of old age. They get too full of ugly truths and collapse under the weight of an accumulated lifetime¡¯s worth.
¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Alan nodded slowly. He looked relieved, Mitzi noted. She imagined the same look on her own face. This was a truth that they didn¡¯t necessarily want to know, even if they could. They couldn¡¯t learn it, though. Maybe that was just as well. ¡°I¡¯ll at least leave a note, in case they come looking for us,¡± Alan added.
Mitzi found herself nodding, then stopped herself. ¡°Wait, where are we going, then?¡±
¡°We don¡¯t have any reason to stay here,¡± Alan said. ¡°We¡¯re still alive, despite everything. I want to believe it¡¯s for a reason. Maybe we¡¯ll be able to help restore some semblance of order in this messed up world. We have at least two options in terms of how we might do that. There¡¯s James, who clearly wants to gather a following around himself so he can try his version of rebuilding civilization. That seemed to be going well enough last time we checked. And we know he survived Orientation, because the System said he was the one who ended it early. On the other hand, back at the office, Dean has the idea that we¡¯re going to fortify the old law building and turn it into a base from which we can reclaim the world. The one problem with that is that there¡¯s a pretty big pest problem in the area around it. I told him that I thought I knew exactly the right person to help solve that issue.¡±
¡°James?¡± All roads lead to James, it seems. Whether within or outside of Orientation made no difference.
Alan nodded. ¡°James and Dean are both big picture thinkers. Ambitious and energetic. Both of them would want to tackle these problems even if they didn¡¯t know each other existed. I figure if we can bring the two of them together, we¡¯re giving humanity a leg up on the monsters that are trying to take over the world already.¡±
Mitzi nodded. It sounded like Alan had asked the System Homunculus much the same sorts of questions that she had. They both knew that the world was now crawling with monsters calling themselves rulers of various pieces of territory. Hopefully they weren¡¯t in some monster¡¯s patch of land right now. But that wasn¡¯t something they could do anything about.
¡°How are we going to find him?¡± Mitzi asked. She thought her husband¡¯s vague plan was a pretty good start to the two of them making a positive difference in the world.
Alan¡¯s lips curled up in his usual charming smile. ¡°It¡¯s not strictly appropriate, but I took a peek at James¡¯s personnel file before I left the fellows at the office. I looked at his address, and as it happens, I know the area.¡±
¡°Then away we go,¡± Mitzi said, returning the smile.
¡°Yep,¡± Alan agreed.
¡°Onto the next great adventure,¡± she said.
¡°You always make the best of things,¡± he said.
¡°It¡¯s what we do.¡±
The two of them spent half an hour making preparations. They packed their bags from Orientation with nonperishable foods¡ªthe perishable stuff from the refrigerator still vaguely resembled food, but overall the interior of that appliance looked more like a biohazard zone than a storage area for edible items now. It overflowed with unnaturally blue, green, and gray, discolored and moldy items.
They also packed flashlights, some old sleeping bags Alan found in the attic, and a couple of sharp kitchen knives. Mitzi checked to make sure there was nothing else she wanted to pack before she returned her bag to where she typically kept it, secured around her upper arm with a velcro strap.
They each placed another knife on their belts, and Alan rested his service pistol in its hip holster. Alan went around making sure that all the doors and windows were secured, besides the front door that they were going to lock behind them. Mitzi spent those few minutes using their toilet one last time. She would miss her lavender-scented bathroom. She doubted that she and her husband would ever come back.
Then he wrote their children a note and placed it on the kitchen counter. It said where they were going, that they didn¡¯t expect to be back, and where the kids might find them. He weighed it down with a small paperweight, as if he was worried that the wind might somehow come into the house and blow the note away. Mitzi thought he felt guilty about just leaving a note there. Maybe he really believed that their children would show up looking for them and be disappointed.
She didn¡¯t think that any of the children would ever actually find the note, but she signed it too, with love. You never know.
Finally, they set out on their journey. Alan led the way as they ran for half an hour just off of once-busy streets that were now cracked and broken shells of their former selves, littered with wrecked cars.
The couple kept to the grassy areas rather than on the streets. They tried to stick close to tree lines where they existed, because the roads weren¡¯t completely empty or entirely silent. Occasionally, they would come across people, and when they did, they would hide.
Mitzi didn¡¯t like to be so suspicious of her fellow human beings, but she knew that Orientation had turned mundane, ordinary people into sun-worshiping murderers, people who made deals with monsters, and occasionally undead creatures. She and her husband were taking no chances.
They made good progress. Alan seemed to know where they were going, despite the many ways in which the landscape had changed since they left Earth. Then the sky became suddenly overcast. Mitzi and Alan exchanged a knowing look. Those dark gray clouds could only mean one thing in the Sunshine State.
¡°At least some things never change,¡± Mitzi said.
The pair began looking for a building they could break into, to stay warm and dry until the thunderstorm passed. Some things never changed, but there were some you could never see coming.
As the first droplets fell, the two of them spotted a gas station. They could see from the outside that the shelves had been ransacked, but glass doors weren¡¯t shattered, so it seemed safe enough as a place to hole up and wait for the storm to pass.
Mitzi silently chanted as Alan walked in front of her, pistol drawn, into the abandoned gas station. She followed close behind him, looking out behind her in case an ambush was planned from that direction.
They were unmistakably vulnerable to danger now, in this post-apocalyptic world, and she had never felt that more keenly than now.
Then she passed through the second set of glass doors, and they were inside the gas station.
¡°I¡¯ll check the aisles,¡± Alan mouthed at her silently.
Mitzi nodded, then started slightly as someone¡ªor something¡ªmoved at the edge of her vision.
She turned to face the mover, and her husband whirled alongside her.
Then she let out a sigh of relief for the second time that day.
¡°It¡¯s just you,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m scared of my own shadow today.¡±
V3Ch8-Dominion
When the morning light hit her face, Mina felt better able to continue their conversation.
She also noticed the possible increased gravity hitting her immediately, she thought. That, and something else in the air. Not a smell or a taste. Nothing she could put her finger on easily. She decided to think about whatever it was later.
James was already awake. After they exchanged ¡°Good morning¡±s and kisses, she launched right into what they¡¯d been talking about yesterday.
¡°So, you think the Earth increased in size?¡± Mina said. ¡°Or the Earth¡¯s matter is denser?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know for sure,¡± James said. ¡°But I can tell you that the distance between the buildings seems like a clue. The fact that they seemed to have moved. And there are creatures under my control, flying creatures¡ªyou remember the severed hand creature from yesterday? Well, I have some balloon monsters made from my skin. Anyway, I have them scouting the skies. They¡¯re just supposed to give me the dimensions of the regions they¡¯re flying over. I just wanted the very basic lay of the land.¡±
¡°Okay. What did your magical flying skin scouts tell you?¡± Mina couldn¡¯t help but find the image of monsters made of James¡¯s skin flying around grotesquely funny.
James smiled in response to her question. ¡°They should have reached the beach by now on each side,¡± he said. ¡°But instead they¡¯re still flying over land. It¡¯s a lot bigger than it was.¡±
¡°Any other world-shattering revelations while I was asleep?¡± Mina asked.
¡°Yulia wanted to call your sister Elena and make sure she was okay, but her phone died while she was sleeping. Naturally, I wanted to check on my Mom and Alice, too. So I took my phone out of my magic satchel¡ª¡±
¡°You mean the Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions?¡±
¡°If you like,¡± he said with a shrug. ¡°Anyway, cell service doesn¡¯t work anymore. Just like before Orientation. So we¡¯ll have to make do with whatever technology we can make. I stuck my phone back in my magic satchel¡ª¡± She stuck her tongue out. He smirked. ¡°¡ªso that should save the battery.¡± She wondered for a moment if her other sisters were okay, but James was already moving onto another subject, and she resolved to think about that later. ¡°The first task once we start the day is going to be dealing with our neighbors. Then maybe we install some plumbing. That was the main thing about the structure of our building that I couldn¡¯t figure out when I copied it to make this. For right now, though, why don¡¯t we start by going over everything that happened in Orientation?¡±
Mina nodded. This would hopefully answer several questions she¡¯d been wondering about. But she would let James take his time telling the story of his experience.
¡°I¡¯ll go first,¡± she said. She launched into a thorough, chronological retelling of Orientation as she and Yulia had experienced it.
The narrative was interrupted a few times. Occasionally, James reacted. He expressed his strong approval of how Mina handled the first challenge.
Next, the baby started fussing, and Mina realized that he wanted to be fed. Then Mina¡¯s stomach started rumbling, and James went up onto the roof of the building to build a fire and cook her some monster meat he had stored in his Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions. The story paused at that point until James went around the apartment and made sure everyone was fed.
When they resumed, and she came to the challenges where she and Yulia had been separated, she made sure to say that for the full story, he¡¯d have to talk to her.
Despite the interruptions, she gradually managed to get the whole story out.
When she reached the part where she was shoved into a wall and began going into labor, James¡¯s face turned a bit scary. She couldn¡¯t help but smile. The man who¡¯d done that was lucky Cara had killed him. If her husband had gotten to him, she could imagine James doing worse than just murdering them.
As she recounted the ensuing part where she gave birth, safely and without apparent complications, James relaxed again and put an arm around her and the baby.
¡°I¡¯m glad that Cara girl was there to help you out and take care of those guys,¡± he said. ¡°When I meet her, I¡¯ll have to thank her.¡±
Mina suppressed a look of sadness at that. She quickly moved on to the part of the story where she discovered Cara was a killer.
¡°Well, that¡¯s a surprise,¡± James said. ¡°Were you okay?¡±
She assured him that she was, or at least she would be, and she finished the story.
¡°Incredible,¡± James said. He was smiling. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯ll be alright. You¡¯re amazing. You did all that, solved a series of murders with literally no clues except the way the System works, and you became so proficient in magic that you got a blessing from a goddess of magic. I don¡¯t know how a little death could keep you down.¡±
¡°It was more than just a little death,¡± she said, but she was smiling even as she shook her head. How did he do this? He was making light of literal mass murder, but he could still make her smile. It felt almost as if they¡¯d never been apart.
¡°Now it¡¯s your turn,¡± she said. ¡°What happened to you?¡±
James took a deep breath. It was time for him to share his half of the story.
¡ª
So much to tell, he thought. Mina was so concise, but I can tell that she really told me everything she could remember that might be important. I even feel like I have a sense for the people she met and how they connect to each other.
He still didn¡¯t think of himself as much of a storyteller, despite having a blessing from Anansi. Back when he¡¯d needed to go to a job every day, he would tell Mina things about it, but only when she asked. The bitter distaste of his job was part of the reason he was reluctant, but he also didn¡¯t feel the need to share as much verbally as she did. Eventually, since most of his stories were about how much he disliked his work, or simply had no passion for it, she learned to stop asking. That kept them both in a better mood.
It was around the time that she¡¯d figured that out, he realized for the first time, that she first suggested they have a baby. He instantly wondered if the reason she¡¯d come up with that was just to give him something happier to think about.
The idea of having kids was something they¡¯d discussed before, but given when she broached it, he felt fairly certain that he was onto something about the timing.
So as he began to recount his own experiences, he had a smile on his face.
It quickly faded, as he remembered the story began with a bloodbath. But he tried to put a pleasant face on his journey even while leaving nothing important out in his retelling. Rather than emphasizing the horror of a pack of wolves tearing into the unprotected population on the first day, he tried to focus on how clever he was in seeing the attack coming and getting away. Even so, he expected some parts of the story to repulse her.
In particular, when he had eaten part of a human body and fed part of a human body to Tim in the forest, he imagined that Mina would react with horror. She hadn¡¯t seemed too bothered or even surprised when he mentioned fighting and killing the group that accompanied the Corpse Eater. But given her experience with Cara and her monsters, he thought actual cannibalism might be too horrifying for her to accept.
Before he realized it, his voice had trailed off. The room turned silent as he stared at her expectantly. It took her a moment to notice.
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¡°Why did you stop the story?¡± she asked.
¡°I guess I wasn¡¯t sure what your reaction would be to everything,¡± he said. Especially those last bits, where I ate a piece of a human body and fed some to a teenager¡ She seemed to be taking it all in calmly, but considering the circumstances of her own adventure, that was surprising.
¡°I¡¯m relieved that you survived it all, skapi,¡± she said. ¡°And I¡¯m glad that you¡¯re not a Wendigo. You acquired the Cannibalism Talent, you said, because the System judged you for the things you did years ago. I don¡¯t care that you ate human flesh¡ª¡± She stopped herself and frowned. ¡°Honestly, it is a little disgusting to think about. But it wasn¡¯t my flesh. It wasn¡¯t the body of anyone we care about. I won¡¯t judge you for doing it¡ªor even for tricking that teenager into eating it too.¡± Her face took on a slightly morbid smile. ¡°It sounds like he almost victimized you, from the way you told the story.¡± James nodded along. ¡°Anyway, the last person in the world you need to worry about judging you is me. All I was hoping for from Orientation was that all three of us would survive. Even if you killed everyone else in your Orientation so that you could escape alive, I would just be happy that you made it out.¡±
James let his body sag with relief. Mina was the only person whose judgment he truly valued. She accepted him. All was right with the world.
She sensed his tension and put an arm around him. They lay together quietly on the bed for a while, her hand stroking his hair softly, until she noticed something.
¡°Skapi, don¡¯t move,¡± she said. ¡°There¡¯s a spider on your head. I¡¯ll just¡ª¡±
¡°No, wait,¡± James said, half-rising. ¡°That¡¯s actually Hester. She¡¯s a friend.¡±
¡°Please don¡¯t crush me,¡± Hester said in her tinny voice. That made both James and Mina smile. The little spider changed the mood in an instant.
¡°A pleasure to meet you,¡± Hester added. ¡°I¡¯m a big fan! I guess it sounds weird to say I¡¯ve heard a lot about you, when I¡¯ve been sitting on James¡¯s ear the whole time you explained your story.¡±
¡°A little bit weird, yes,¡± Mina replied, giving James a rather uncomfortable stare.
He looked away and pretended not to notice it. Okay, that was a mistake, he thought. I genuinely forget she¡¯s there sometimes, though!
Fortunately, Hester resumed talking. After brief introductions, the mood had changed. Finally, he felt ready to resume the story.
When James recounted the events of the Spider Queen fight, Mina looked a bit sadder than he expected. He could tell that she felt the Queen¡¯s loss of her children more deeply than she had any of the human deaths in the story thus far. Even though she kept silent, her face was an open book to him.
He arrived at the part with Anansi¡¯s descent, and she took on a knowing look. Based on her interactions with Hecate, he knew she had already heard about his Chosen One blessing.
But he still had more surprises to come. When he explained what happened with the Moloch cult, she looked as disturbed as she had been discussing the Wendigo threat. She took his hand when he explained his decision to kill the pregnant woman the cultists were tormenting. She could tell that this was the most difficult part of the story for him to relive.
In the later parts of the story, she smiled at his triumphs, both over the cult and against the remaining monsters of Orientation. She seemed especially intrigued when he mentioned that he now had control of a wolfpack, the leader of which had contacted him telepathically while he was telling the story.
¡°My conquering hero,¡± she said, kissing him tenderly on the lips. ¡°Somehow I knew you would make everything right in the end. It was nice that your story had such a happy ending. Thank you for telling me.¡±
James couldn¡¯t be sure, but he thought she was dwelling on the losses in her own Orientation as she said those last two sentences. He decided to distract her with the final revelation. The one last thing he¡¯d been worried she would judge him for, though now that concern seemed silly.
¡°I received several power-ups for defeating the primary antagonist of the Orientation,¡± he said. ¡°One of them was a Skill that my body couldn¡¯t contain. It threatened to destroy me. The System said I needed to lose a Skill, or my ¡®vessel,¡¯ meaning my body, would shatter.¡± He held up his left hand and showed her his ring finger. ¡°So I used my Skill Transfer ability, and I moved the Skill into my ring.¡±
She looked at it curiously, leaning in to take in the slight changes in his wedding ring¡¯s appearance. Then she looked back up at him and gave him her glowing smile. ¡°Is it strange if I say that it sounds sweet?¡± she asked. ¡°I know it was a desperation move, so you probably didn¡¯t have much time to think about it. You were about to die. It¡¯s just that, I know this was the most natural place for you to put some important superpower, if you had to store it in any object that wasn¡¯t your body. Since I know you never take your ring off.¡±
A few drops of liquid seemed to condense in James¡¯s eye for some reason, but Mina was looking down at the crown etched into the Ring of the Sovereign again, so he was able to quickly wipe them away with his other hand.
I must have been a really good guy in another life or something, to deserve you, he thought.
He kissed her again, long and deep. They exchanged a look of shared understanding. Then he brought James, Junior over to Yulia and the other children to watch for a while, and he politely asked Hester to hang out on the ceiling in the living room. He even removed the Soul Eater Orb from where it sat, attached to his bicep in the form of an arm band. He put that into his magic satchel.
He needed to spend some time truly alone with his wife.
¡ª
Afterward, Mina ignored the thin sheen of sweat on her body and wrapped the wolf furs around herself. She curled up close to James, almost ready to sleep again, until a thought occurred to her.
Not an urgent thought, perhaps, but it seemed important, given the context he¡¯d given her earlier.
¡°What sort of Skill did you transfer into the ring, anyway?¡± she asked.
¡°It¡¯s called Dominion,¡± he replied.
He explained what Dominion did, and then added that he¡¯d experienced Job Evolution after the final boss fight he mentioned. Then he went into how his new Skills from becoming the Fisher King complemented Dominion.
¡°I see,¡± she said, still a bit sleepily. Though she couldn¡¯t completely grasp all of the interconnections between James¡¯s new Skills, it sounded to her like he would be able to exert complete control over land within some defined territory. ¡°When are you going to try out the new Skill?¡± she asked.
¡°Oh, I already did,¡± he replied. He seemed lively and energetic, as usual. She didn¡¯t know how, but in these moments in bed, it seemed almost as if energy left her body and drained into his. His face took on a slightly guilty look. ¡°I tried it last night, as you were falling asleep. It used up a lot of Mana, but I recharged overnight. I think it¡¯ll probably be a once daily thing for me. That way I can keep up a steady pace of expansion.¡±
She pushed herself upright slightly, to keep from falling asleep. ¡°Well, this time, you have to show me,¡± she said. ¡°Maybe I can learn it by looking at you, and we¡¯ll be twice as dangerous.¡±
Mina did not bother to add, Plus, I¡¯m imagining that it looks cool!
¡°There¡¯s probably not much to see,¡± James said, but he half-smiled as he spoke the words.
He raised his left hand theatrically in the air, and he said the Skill name aloud, which she knew was completely unnecessary. ¡°Dominion.¡±
The ring glowed orange like it was being forged in fire. And a huge surge of dark-colored Mana enveloped his body in an instant and pulsed outward in all directions.
Mina sat up all the way, wolf furs forgotten as she looked at him in shock.
I didn¡¯t just see that. I felt that, she thought. I felt it in my bones. And she remembered. I knew I felt something different when I woke up this morning. I thought there was something in the air. Now I know there was. His Mana. His energy. The power of Dominion.
It was a heavy, thick aura that she felt slightly more intensely now than she had before. She¡¯d never felt raw Mana from someone other than herself before. Only seen Mana used in magic. This was something else. When it hit her, it was like a wave of incredibly dense fog.
I knew he could change the environment, but to feel that. It was so intense¡
Afterward, he breathed as if he¡¯d just done some heavy exercise. And it did seem draining. Though the movement of Mana was almost too quick and sudden for her eyes to track¡ªso quick that she still wasn¡¯t sure what color it was other than something dark¡ªit was obvious to Mina that the quantity he¡¯d used was substantially higher than whatever he¡¯d expended to make the building they were in.
There was also something different to the quality of his voice as he spoke the Skill name. Although she couldn¡¯t pinpoint exactly why, the intensity of the sound made her feel as if she was back in Hecate¡¯s chamber beneath the stadium from the final challenge.
That was it. It felt a bit like a god was speaking.
Mina didn¡¯t voice that thought. She wondered if it was blasphemous, although she wasn¡¯t sure if she cared. From James¡¯s story, it didn¡¯t seem as if gods and goddesses were truly omnipresent or omniscient, the way myths had often tried to depict them. Then again, there was no need to tempt fate. And she didn¡¯t want to say something like that unless she was certain.
¡°Well, impressed?¡± he asked once he¡¯d caught his breath.
She nodded, uncertain of her voice. She was more than impressed. This power, she felt certain, would transform their lives.
She breathed in and out deeply, then finally tried to speak. ¡°Wuddya¡ªahem, sorry. What do you plan to do with this power?¡±
V3Ch9-The First Believer
Mina waited for James to answer her question.
She could think of many things that he might be able to do with the incredible powers he now possessed. She thought she knew where her husband¡¯s mind would go, but she wanted to hear what he would say.
James seemed hesitant. He turned away from her and walked over to the section of wall that he¡¯d turned into a swiveling window. Opened it up and looked out. Breathed in the fresh air. Then he turned, looked back at her, and smiled.
¡°I¡¯m going to go out and conquer as much of the world as I can,¡± he finally said.
Mina nodded and smiled. She was a little afraid of what the future would hold, but she had known that her husband would say something like that. He was still the same ambitious, unscrupulous man she¡¯d fallen in love with and married. Despite her worries, she was also excited.
¡°Well, I believe in you,¡± she said, blinking away the traces of sleep from her eyes. ¡°I¡¯ll help you however I can.¡±
She began pulling her clothes back on. Now was no time to nap. There was work to be done.
It seemed to her good and proper that her husband should be the ruler of as much of the world as he could lay his hands on.
In this situation, the governments of the world were certain to lose their holds on most, if not all, of the lands they had once controlled. Rulers could not hold a territory where the foundations of their power had been shattered.
Technology was a critical part of their control. Now their equipment, their buildings, and all symbols and semblance of their authority had been destroyed by the System.
Anarchy was sure to break out in regions without rulers. Violence and disorder.
Then new leaders would emerge. Some form of order would take shape in the unsettled regions.
It was only rational to want to be in the ruling class. Anyone else would be subject to the rulers¡¯ whims.
If James had said he wanted to become a conqueror pre-System, she could and would have raised a million objections, all relating to difficulty. Who would let him take over any piece of land? How would he protect it and enforce his authority?
They were just one man and one woman, after all.
Following the System¡¯s arrival, things were flipped on their head. James was one of the strongest people in the world, capable of defeating hundreds of enemies by himself. Even weaponizing the land itself. Any power disparities ran completely in their favor.
Now the question was: who could possibly stop him? And what if he didn¡¯t try to seize this moment? The immense power he had shown would inevitably draw danger toward them even if he wasn¡¯t ambitious. The monsters in this world had levels and a System just like humans. Surely they would seek out powerful enemies to destroy.
¡°What¡¯s your first step?¡± she asked.
¡°Get the people around here to accept me as the leader.¡±
Mina nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll have much trouble selling that. You¡¯re a very persuasive speaker.¡±
¡°Really?¡± he asked, raising an eyebrow. ¡°How would you write my speech? I think what I can actually promise is kind of limited, and these people are used to living in a democra¡ª¡±
¡°Bah, don¡¯t worry about that,¡± Mina said. ¡°People will understand that reality is different now. You just need to convey how strong you are. Make sure they know that you have some plans, but don¡¯t promise too much. Above all, you need to boast about the things you¡¯ve already done. Your story about Orientation would have won me over, if I wasn¡¯t already on your side. Clearly, you¡¯re stronger than any of them will be. So brag about your victories, and basically tell them that if they join you, they¡¯ll be winners in this crazy new world, and if they go elsewhere, they¡¯ll end up being victims. ¡®Join the strong¡¯ is always a winning pitch.¡±
She knew that this wouldn¡¯t be easy for James to frame in a palatable way, but he really was a persuasive person. He seemed to be even smoother with words since he came back from Orientation, because of those new Skills, no doubt. And if there were items that were harder for people from a democratic society to swallow, maybe he shouldn¡¯t sugarcoat them. She was confident that there wouldn¡¯t be a better deal on offer anywhere.
¡°Well, I¡¯ll think about what you¡¯re advising,¡± James said, smiling. ¡°I¡¯m glad we had this chat. It means a lot that you believe in me. You¡¯re really the only one whose opinion I actually value. Still more to talk about, but I¡¯d better look at getting some food ready for all of us.¡±
Mina nodded and returned to a relaxed posture. ¡°Please and thank you,¡± she said sweetly. ¡°I still have some rations left from my Orientation.¡±
¡°Whatever you have would probably be helpful,¡± James replied. ¡°In my Orientation, I only found meat to eat.¡±
Mina didn¡¯t know how he prepared it without their kitchen appliances, but James left the bedroom, and half an hour later, he came back to announce that food was ready.
¡ª
For the first time in weeks, James, Mina, and Yulia ate a meal together. Along with James, Jr., Abhi, and his siblings, Indira and Deepam.
The table conversation was delicate. Mina, James, and Yulia had an impromptu huddle before they called Abhi to the table. They agreed to avoid discussing what had happened to them in Orientation for fear of worrying Abhi about his parents. But James also felt it was imperative that they learn, as soon as they could, what had happened to children during Orientation.
¡°The kids here aren¡¯t the only ones in the complex who came back without their parents,¡± James explained. ¡°Yesterday, when I went out for a bit before the rain really started pouring, I searched the rest of the buildings. I found about a dozen children. Other people agreed to look after them for the moment. But I think it¡¯s best that we figure out what sort of experience they all had, if we can.¡±
Mina and Yulia spoke first. They thanked James for the meal, and Abhi chimed in as well.
¡°Thank you for breakfast,¡± he said, smiling shyly.
¡°It¡¯s my pleasure to feed you all,¡± James said.
Then there was some back and forth over the table about the condition of the buildings they had come back to, how everyone had slept, and changes that people wanted made to their current living space, if they decided to stay there.
Abhi and Yulia, without being asked, took care of feeding Indira the toddler and Deepam the baby respectively. James found himself impressed. Did Abhi do this when he was at home with his parents, too, or did he just implicitly understand that he had more responsibility now? Naturally, James couldn¡¯t ask such a potentially painful question, but he thought he was going to like this kid.
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Finally, James decided that the table had become comfortable enough for him to try, gently, broaching the subject of where the children had been. ¡°So, Abhi, were you guys waiting in your apartment long before we came and found you?¡±
The little boy picked at his food quietly for a few seconds before he answered. ¡°Not long, no.¡±
¡°I guess you got back the same day as us, then.¡±
Abhi nodded.
A series of gentle questions and answers followed before James felt confident in asking, ¡°Do you know where you and your siblings were these last few weeks?¡±
The little boy shook his head silently and leaned down over his plate so his long bangs covered his eyes.
¡°I mean, I don¡¯t expect you to know exactly where you went, but could you describe the place?¡± he asked.
¡°Yes,¡± Abhi said. Slowly, faltering and repeating himself, he told a story about being transported to a purely white room. This setting was familiar to James, Mina, and Yulia, and they gave each other looks as they listened to this part.
But there, Abhi¡¯s story diverged from their own. He described the room being like a classroom. He was with other children his own age.
¡°We played games, answered questions, did puzzles¡ªand they tested us.¡± He spoke with a shiver in his voice.
James barely had to prompt him to provide further information. It was as if the boy had been eager to tell someone about his strange experience, but he hadn¡¯t thought the strangers around him would listen.
Children are used to adults not taking them seriously, James thought.
The picture that emerged was of a series of aptitude tests. Tests intended to establish the children¡¯s latent abilities in many areas. Mana manipulation, physical power and speed, intelligence, empathy, creative thinking, teamwork, problem-solving.
Most of them were disguised as games, pop quizzes, puzzles, storytime¡ªanything the System¡¯s agents could disguise as something fun. But for an adult, the description made it transparent. James thought that whoever controlled the System must have genuinely wanted this experience to be comfortable for the children.
But there was also something terrible and disturbing about it.
As Abhi said, horrified, his voice trembling, ¡°Whenever someone didn¡¯t do well, if they messed up on too many of the tests, the grown-ups would ask the kid to go with them.¡± A tear sprang to his eyes. ¡°Then the grown-up would take them through a door, and we never saw them again.¡±
James, Mina, and Yulia exchanged silent, disturbed looks.
¡°Okay,¡± James said. ¡°Okay, Abhi.¡± He put an arm around the boy¡¯s shoulders and squeezed him. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell us any more unless you want to.¡±
The little boy shook with sobs for the next few minutes before he was able to finish his meal. Then he asked to be excused, and James let him go.
¡°The things the children went through¡¡± Mina murmured under her breath.
¡°What did they do with the babies?¡± Yulia asked quietly in obvious distress.
Mina looked, horrified, at James, Jr. Of course, he was safe beside them, but what if they had decided to have their child a little earlier?
¡°Well, I wanted answers,¡± James said to himself. ¡°We already knew the System isn¡¯t exactly a benevolent force, but this is beyond anything I imagined.¡±
Now his imagination extended further. What else would the System have done with these children? Ranked them and rewarded them accordingly, probably. He thought about the handful of countries in the world that still created child soldiers. How would the System have tested them? Would it have treated them as children or adults? What about their life histories? Was it possible that one day, James would run into a violent, abused child with insane powers like his?
It was beginning to feel as if the System had set out to create the war of all against all that Hobbes had warned about in Leviathan.
¡°I hope Abhi will be alright,¡± Yulia said quietly. Her tone wasn¡¯t reproachful, but James felt guilty all the same.
I needed that information, he thought. It might allow me to anticipate future threats.
But he felt he had crossed a line. He rose, leaving his meal half-finished, and went to find Abhi.
The boy was in the room that he shared with his siblings, sitting in bed with a book. James doubted he was old enough to read yet. But Abhi¡¯s eyes were glued to the pages, and James found himself smiling.
I¡¯ve been there, he thought. A whole new world is opening for you.
He stepped into the room, and Abhi¡¯s head popped up immediately.
¡°Am I in trouble?¡± he asked, voice quavering.
What did the System do to you? James thought. What did I do?
¡°No,¡± he said aloud. ¡°I just remembered that all my books were in our apartment. I wanted to do some reading. What¡¯s that you have there?¡±
Abhi held the book up. ¡°It¡¯s The Little Engine That Could,¡± he said. He teared up a little. ¡°My Mom and Dad used to read it to me.¡±
Oh, my gosh, I didn¡¯t know what I was doing, I don¡¯t know how to help these kids, James thought. Then he took a deep breath, and he made himself give his usual confident smile. His emotions were back under control.
¡°Do you read yet?¡± he asked.
The little boy shook his head. ¡°I know some of the letters, and I remember some of the words from the book, but I don¡¯t know how to read. Mom said I was learning fast.¡±
¡°Would you like it if I read to you?¡± James asked.
Abhi nodded, and James spent the next fifteen minutes doing his best impression of an engine that thought it could.
Then they moved onto Babar the Elephant books, and after that, James made Abhi actually laugh with stories that he made up. Twisted versions of ¡°The Three Little Pigs¡± and ¡°Goldilocks and the Three Bears.¡± James had originally made his own, funny variations on those stories to tell his sister when they were both children, but they turned out to be useful with strangers¡¯ children too.
Finally, Yulia came in to bring Abhi¡¯s siblings back. The little ones were apparently ready for a nap.
Abhi decided to join them, and James was saved from pretending that he knew what he was doing in this area.
¡°Thanks for taking care of them,¡± he said to Yulia.
She beamed with pride and then got back to putting the little ones down.
He got up to leave the room, and Mina stood in the doorway, looking bewitched with him.
¡°How long were you watching that?¡± he asked, faintly embarrassed.
¡°I knew you would be a good father,¡± she said very quietly. Just for his ears.
¡°I¡¯m starting to wonder,¡± he said, smiling despite himself.
¡°It¡¯s also probably how you¡¯ll succeed as a conqueror,¡± she added.
James raised an eyebrow.
¡°If you want people to accept your authority, without elections to give it theoretical legitimacy or a military to enforce it, you have to remember how you made that little boy feel just now.¡± She drew closer and placed a hand on his chest. ¡°The people you want to follow you have to feel that they have your love and protection. You have the advantage of being the sort of person people naturally trust and want to follow.¡±
¡°So you say,¡± James said. If his goal of conquering territory and reunifying the local society behind a common set of purposes was comparable to this matter of taking care of children, he was a complete novice.
¡°I¡¯m serious,¡± she said. ¡°Get people here to accept that your authority and your protection are a package deal, as explicitly as you can. They would probably follow you implicitly anyway, but to make this place safer for all of us, you need to be able to organize the community. That means that people have to agree to follow your orders, at least in some things.¡±
James was about to reply when a knock came at the door.
He stood, looking at Mina and wondering who that could be, when the knock came again.
¡°I guess I should just be glad we had the time to ourselves that we did,¡± James said finally. ¡°I did promise to discuss the future of this community with people today. I guess some of them are taking me up on it.¡±
Then the knock became a pounding.
With an annoyed expression spreading across his face, James descended the stairs.
V3Ch10-The Landlord
In addition to minor familial drama, the morning brought with it its share of neighbor troubles.
When James reached the foot of the stairs, he recognized one of those he¡¯d sheltered with the building he threw up the previous day. An older man with gray hair and a close-cropped beard.
This was the one who was trying to bring up rent for some reason, James remembered. And now that he saw him again, there was some other memory stirring. Unfortunately, it was dim, from sometime before the period when James began to remember almost everything that happened to him in crisp detail. Before the System.
¡°I¡¯m here to discuss rent,¡± the man said, speaking hotly. ¡°You said you would talk to people tomorrow. Well, now it¡¯s tomorrow. You aren¡¯t getting out of this, you hear?¡±
Wow. The way you¡¯re talking to me, it just reminds me that I haven¡¯t killed anyone or anything in front of any of these people. It was impossible for James to imagine anyone from the Rodriguez camp or Damien Rousseau¡¯s faction speaking to him so rudely. It was a little amusing.
¡°Sir, would you like to go someplace private to discuss whatever your problem is?¡± James asked in a calm, measured tone of voice. What he thought of sometimes as his customer service voice, for use both when he was serving customers and when he was talking to customer service.
There were several people walking around outside, though not many. It was still early in the day. James guessed the few people who were outside were thinking about feeding their loved ones. Not everyone who had completed Orientation would have acquired the same abundance of resources that James enjoyed.
James didn¡¯t want to have whatever this conversation was going to be in front of other people. He believed you should generally praise people in public and criticize them in private.
¡°No. No, I would not!¡± the old man said. ¡°What I have to discuss concerns them too.¡±
James noticed a few ears perk up, as the people in the vicinity began to pay attention.
So, you have chosen the public humiliation route, James thought. You¡¯re really leaving me no choice.
¡°Alright then,¡± he said lightly. ¡°Have it your way. What¡¯s your name?¡±
The man appeared affronted that James didn¡¯t know who he was. ¡°I¡¯m John Carraway. The landlord. The person to whom you and all the other people living here were paying their rent. I want to know what you¡¯re going to do about this building you¡¯ve erected on my land.¡± He gestured at the structure James had put up.
¡°Oh, you used to own this land?¡± James asked. He thought he understood where this man was going. He wanted to parlay his old land ownership claim into some form of power or influence or even wealth in the new world. It was understandable, but he had no interest in being hamstrung. He¡¯d have to cut this man off before he could get started.
¡°What do you mean ¡®used to¡¯?¡± Carraway asked, raising his voice. ¡°I still¡ª¡±
¡°No, you don¡¯t.¡± James cut him off.
¡°I still have the deed!¡± The old man¡¯s tone was outraged.
¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± James said with an almost careless ease. He made sure to project his voice so that everyone eavesdropping could hear him clearly. ¡°I don¡¯t acknowledge your claim. You cannot defend it. There is no court to which you can appeal. Even when we do eventually create a court system, we do not live under the same system of laws under which you established your claim. This land is mine now, by right of conquest.¡±
¡°What?!¡±
¡°Sir,¡± James said, sighing slightly. ¡°I sympathize with you. You worked hard all your life to get a piece of land that was all your own. You improved it and built apartments on it, all so you could have a nest egg to live off of. Right?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right!¡±
¡°Well, sadly, the apartments you built are all gone. And based on the data I¡¯ve gathered, the planet we¡¯re on is actually significantly larger than Earth used to be. There is no piece of land that can be reliably identified as your land. Where we are now is my land. I own it.¡± He raised a hand to cut off the man, who was opening his mouth to interrupt. ¡°I was a lawyer before this time, sir. There are several possible bases to claim property ownership. It¡¯s especially interesting, as right now, when there is new land that never existed before. In those cases, under Locke¡¯s theory of property rights, the original owner of property is the person who first mixes his labor with it. That was me.¡± He gestured at the building behind them.
¡°The evidence is right behind me. I mixed my labor with this land. I have improved it. Unfortunately, whatever existed in the time before me has disappeared. Another basis for property ownership also favors me. I own this land by right of conquest. I have occupied it and can defend it against all comers.¡± He raised his voice higher, to make it obvious that he wanted to be overheard. ¡°If there¡¯s anyone who believes they can beat me in a fight and take this land from me, they¡¯re welcome to try. Whoever beats me, you¡¯re the new owner.¡±
The people who were gathered outside looked at each other like they were wondering if this was some sort of strange trap. They¡¯d experienced enough of those in Orientation.
¡°It¡¯s not a trick,¡± James said. ¡°One time offer only. Anyone and everyone who wants to try and take me on right now, you can attempt it, and I promise I won¡¯t kill you for trying. I just want all of you to be satisfied that it¡¯s impossible for you. I am the owner of this land now, and you are all my tenants. For the moment, I have no intention of charging you rent¡ª¡±
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James stopped mid-sentence. A bold young man with bulging muscles had charged forward, armed with a thick bone club that looked like a piece of System-created equipment. He looked intent on taking James up on his proposal. His expression was intense. Clearly prepared for violence.
As soon as he was within range to strike, James made a move that no one else could see. He lunged forward and struck his would-be attacker with a backhanded slap to the face. The man recoiled, stumbled backward, collapsed, and then lay unmoving on the ground.
Then James sat back down. Everyone stared at the unconscious man.
¡°He¡¯s still alive,¡± James said after a moment. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m a man of my word. In any case, I can pledge that everyone who accepts me as the leader of this new land will be safe from harm while they stay here.¡± He gave a very bare-bones explanation of the power of the Fisher King. It hadn¡¯t been his intention when he came downstairs to give a real speech, and there weren¡¯t enough people outside to justify it anyway. But he hoped they would spread the word about what he could do¡ªthe safety that he could offer with his powers. ¡°I know everything that enters or exits my territory,¡± he finished. ¡°And monsters will be scared off by my aura overhanging this land.¡±
The former had only become true today, when James pumped out his second infusion of Mana with Dominion; it seemed his Fisher King powers took a lot of energy to become effective. And the latter wasn¡¯t a guarantee, but it was close enough to one. It would be even truer once the wolf pack arrived to patrol the borders.
¡°So, what, we¡¯ll be paying you rent, is that it?¡± the former landlord asked. He sounded despondent but resigned.
¡°No,¡± James said. ¡°At some point in the future, we may need to institute taxes, but I¡¯ll try not to let things come to that. For now, I¡¯d like to see us all try to serve the community according to our strengths. The System has given us a currency with System credits. We can buy supplies we need with that, but mostly, I¡¯d like to see us producing a civilization with the abilities we have. This isn¡¯t the last phase of your life that you were expecting. It¡¯s something more dynamic than that. You¡¯re not going to fade away into old age. You¡¯re going to be a part of the generation that rebuilds civilization after we got wiped out. Get excited!¡±
There were some murmurs of support from the people outside. These people needed more than this from him, James knew. They had suffered great losses in recent weeks. Many of them would have seen family members and friends die in Orientation. It would take time for them to form a community. And strong leadership would be key. But if he was going to make speeches, he wanted to do it when as many people as possible were present. Not waste it on a handful.
Great public speakers draw energy from crowds. And James decided at this moment that he wanted a crowd in front of him, to hear him speaking. He wanted that to help him kickstart the foundation of his new country and the reconstruction of the elements they would want to keep from the old.
¡°Three days,¡± James said, before the people could disperse. ¡°I¡¯m going to take the next two days to make sure all of us can meet our basic survival needs. Food, water, adequate shelter, plumbing. Then on the third day, we¡¯ll have an assembly to address our plans for the future. Anyone who thinks they can help with any of the survival stuff should come talk to me directly. And you all should pass on what I¡¯ve said to your friends and family members, or any neighbor you run into.¡±
People nodded. About half of them started to walk away, while three stayed back, huddling together in a discussion among themselves about what James had said. He didn¡¯t listen in too closely, because he was still dealing with the former landlord.
¡°What am I supposed to do?¡± Carraway whined quietly, his voice low. ¡°This place was my whole retirement plan.¡±
James looked at him with a degree of sympathy and tried to be kind in his response. ¡°Look, no one¡¯s retirements are going to be working out as they had planned,¡± he said. ¡°You remember when Social Security started running low a decade ago?¡±
The old man nodded.
¡°Well, think about it,¡± James said. ¡°The Internet is still down for everyone on Earth as far as we know. Cell towers down, buildings demolished, monsters roaming the land. Was that money in people¡¯s bank accounts really going to do any good now? Or the land that they owned?¡±
¡°Well, no.¡±
¡°So you¡¯re just in the same boat as everyone else now,¡± James said.
¡°It¡¯s just so unfair,¡± Carraway said in a defeated tone.
¡°It is,¡± James agreed. ¡°People who worked hard should be rewarded for it. But fairness is a human concept. We can¡¯t expect this System that¡¯s running things now to follow our concept of fairness. Stick with me, though. I¡¯ll do my best to help you find the place where you fit in. I¡¯ve often felt that our society dooms people to premature death by creating this idea of retirement. Hard-working people with years of wisdom and experience suddenly turning to inactivity. Lying around on a beach or something and living off of their savings. That¡¯s not exactly healthy. Maybe it will ultimately benefit you that the old world ended. You might find a new source of purpose and energy in this new world. It¡¯s a primitive place, with no electricity, but there¡¯s also endless opportunity. A blank slate.¡±
James wasn¡¯t sure he entirely believed what he was saying about retirement, but he¡¯d heard it before and thought it was plausible enough. Most importantly, he felt sure that it was what Carraway needed to hear. And the rest of his little pep talk was rehearsal for the larger speech he was planning to give his community in three days time.
Carraway seemed to take some solace in it. ¡°I suppose you might be right,¡± he said. The hard lines in his face relaxed a little. ¡°I¡¯ll think about ways I can be of use in this new environment. Maybe it¡¯s like that Billy Joel song, ¡®Vienna.¡¯ You know it?¡±
¡°Um, vaguely,¡± James said, shrugging. ¡°Actually, probably not. I think I know, maybe, one song by him.¡±
The old man shook his head. ¡°The younger generation have no taste in music.¡±
I¡¯m not that young, James thought. But Carraway was walking away, and he seemed to have a little more energy about him now. James decided not to spoil the man¡¯s improved mood by indirectly calling him old.
¡°Hey, can we talk to you for just a minute?¡± James turned his head. One of the people from the huddled group of men was addressing him. He was wearing camouflage pants and a plain white t-shirt, and his dirty blonde hair was cut in a mullet. The two men on either side of him were dressed more apocalypse-appropriate, in basic System gear. James instantly knew that they were a Heavy Warrior and a Light Warrior respectively. The former was an East Asian man, with short hair and a small mustache, and the other man was Caucasian, with his dark hair in a ponytail.
¡°Sure, happy to talk,¡± James said. ¡°What are your names?¡±
¡°I¡¯m Sam Masterson. These are my buddies Dave Matsumoto and Paul Mann.¡± James immediately noted that they must have all been in Orientation together. ¡°We were wondering if we might help with the survival stuff.¡±
James smiled. They¡¯re already treating me as the go-to guy. No objections so far. Excellent. ¡°Happy to have your help. I¡¯m James Robard. What exactly were you thinking?¡±
¡°We thought maybe we could all go hunting,¡± Sam said, returning James¡¯s smile.
V3Ch11-Blessing of the Fisher King
¡°Hunting, huh?¡± James said. ¡°Well, it was on my to-do list already. Let¡¯s do it, absolutely.¡±
In fact, identifying people he could employ to help keep the small community supplied with fresh food had been his top priority. Way to make my life easy, guys!
There was a part of him that wondered if these three gentlemen had anything more planned beyond hunting, but their whispered huddle conversation hadn¡¯t revealed it if so. It was just James¡¯s own dark instincts that made him suspicious.
¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Masterson said, high-fiving his two friends. ¡°I knew you would be interested. How soon can you be ready?¡±
¡°Give me fifteen minutes,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯ll just make sure everything is okay for my family, and then we can head out.¡±
¡°Sounds good,¡± said Masterson.
¡°Do you have a watch somewhere we can¡¯t see?¡± Matsumoto asked. ¡°Paul here has a pretty good watch that¡¯s solar-powered, but Sam and I have been having trouble finding a way to tell time. The phones are all dead.¡±
¡°Oh, mine still has a little bit of charge,¡± James said. This was a little bit of a lie by omission. His phone did still have some power left, because he wasn¡¯t using it for anything. Just keeping it in his magic satchel, which seemed to keep stored items in stasis until he needed them. But James wasn¡¯t using that to tell the time.
With Mind of the Predator, ordering part of his brain to count the seconds and let him know when fifteen minutes had passed was easy. But the details of his powers were on a need to know basis. All these gentlemen needed to know was that James¡¯s power was impressive and not to be trifled with. He would show them a taste of that during the hunt.
He turned and began walking up the stairs.
Mina was waiting for him at the top. ¡°Well, what happened?¡± she asked.
He briefly went over it, and she nodded her approval. ¡°I can¡¯t believe someone thought that they could use a property rights claim for anything now. What was he trying to accomplish?¡± she asked.
¡°I think he was really hoping that I would agree to give him some sort of a free living. Take care of him in lieu of paying him rent. He was talking about how this place was his whole retirement plan. I felt a little bad for him.¡± Then he mentioned the hunting plan.
¡°That seems fine to me,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ve realized I probably shouldn¡¯t be worrying about you as much as I used to.¡±
He chuckled at that. ¡°What, I¡¯m not vulnerable enough now for you to worry about me?¡±
¡°You don¡¯t seem vulnerable to anything at all, as far as I know,¡± she retorted. ¡°Yesterday, I saw you chop off your own hand and turn it into a living thing, then grow a new one without using any visible magic. You know, I used to worry that you would get into an accident driving home from work. Now I think that even if that happened, only the cars would be damaged. And whoever the other driver was!¡±
James chuckled and shook his head.
You had some dark intuition about the intentions of those men downstairs, came Roscuro¡¯s voice in James¡¯s mind. Are you sure you don¡¯t want to say anything to your wife about it?
No, James replied. I¡¯m fairly certain I¡¯m just being paranoid. If they did have bad intentions, those would only apply to me anyway. Maybe they want to be in charge around here, so they planned to arrange a hunting accident or something. Still, he didn¡¯t really like leaving his wife alone here. She was far from defenseless, especially with her new Class, but still¡
¡°Have you thought about trying some sort of protection spell on this place?¡± James asked.
Her eyes softened. ¡°You worried about me, skapi?¡± She planted a soft kiss on his cheek.
¡°Only whenever I can¡¯t see you,¡± he said.
¡°Well, I¡¯ll try it,¡± she said doubtfully. ¡°My knowledge of spellcraft like that is very basic, though. Hecate mentioned Witch Classes need spellbooks to properly hone our Skills. I only learned a very small share of what¡¯s possible with the Class change.¡±
What can I do to keep you safer? James thought. He remembered one of his Fisher King abilities.
¡°Mina, could you get on your knees for a minute?¡± James asked.
She arched an eyebrow. ¡°Why exactly?¡±
James smiled mischievously. ¡°So I can bless you,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s one of my Fisher King Skills. Whenever I want to use one of those powers, I get a mental picture of how it¡¯s supposed to work. When I use Blessing of the Fisher King, I¡¯m supposed to be positioned above you.¡±
¡°Alright.¡±
She bent and then sat down on the floor, legs folded in front of her.
¡°Is this good?¡± she asked.
¡°Yes, it¡¯s fine,¡± he said.
Blessing of the Fisher King! Different options for blessings presented themselves to him. He sensed that the word combinations he was seeing were only a few of many possible. The ones that his subconscious mind had deemed most appropriate out of the available choices.
¡°As the flora and fauna of the Fisher King grow, so must you grow stronger,¡± he pronounced. ¡°As the beasts of the field and the birds of the air grow in their numbers, so will you be fruitful and multiply.¡±
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James¡¯s body sagged slightly as he finished speaking, and his vision went slightly blurry. That had taken a lot out of him! He only dimly noticed that Mina was also showing a physical reaction. Her whole body shuddered.
After a few seconds of this, he sat down for a moment on the nearby sofa to catch his breath. He checked his Mana. He still had almost half of it. The blessing had used up more Stamina than anything else, though it had cost him a bit of Mana too. It felt as if he was speaking magic words, even though it was plain English.
Mina rose beside him. ¡°That blessing is quite something,¡± she said, her voice tremulous. ¡°I feel different. You¡¯re going to need to only use that on people you really trust. It¡¯s quite a boost, I suspect.¡±
James just smiled grimly and nodded. He didn¡¯t bother to mention that he was fairly certain there were blessing options that accounted for the Fisher King not fully trusting the recipient.
¡°I¡¯m going to go now,¡± he said. ¡°It took a bit of a toll. I hope you feel comfortable holding down the fort?¡±
¡°I feel like I could tear down a fort,¡± Mina said.
¡°Well, try not to do it while I''m gone,¡± James said, giving her a grin. ¡°I only just put the building up. I know it needs a lot of improvements, but I don¡¯t think starting from scratch is the answer.¡±
She rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to respond.
¡°James,¡± came Yulia¡¯s voice from the other side of the room, ¡°could I ask you about something?¡± She looked worried.
He looked at Mina for a moment. She shrugged.
¡°I¡¯m going to go and check on the little ones while you and Yulia talk,¡± she said. She went into the children¡¯s room.
¡°What¡¯s up?¡± he asked after a long moment. ¡°Did you want a blessing too?¡±
¡°No. Maybe. Not right now. It¡¯s about the kids,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m so glad that you found them, but I was wondering if there might be others?¡±
¡°There were,¡± James said. ¡°I went around last night and found over a dozen other children who used to live in these apartments. Fortunately, there were some responsible adults who agreed to look after them for now. We¡¯ll need to figure something more permanent out soon, but the situation is under control.¡±
¡°That¡¯s great!¡± Yulia looked relieved, only for her face to turn downcast again.
¡°What¡¯s wrong now?¡± he asked.
¡°Well, I was just thinking, what about all the kids who weren¡¯t in the apartment complex? What¡¯s going to happen to them?¡±
James immediately sympathized with Yulia. She¡¯s so compassionate, he thought. It¡¯s really something you can¡¯t teach. Who knows if I would¡¯ve ever thought about the hundreds or maybe thousands of children around Central Florida who are probably homeless tonight? It¡¯s a real tragedy¡
¡°You¡¯re right,¡± he said. ¡°I mean, I understand what you¡¯re thinking. I think there are some children who are going to be in real trouble these next few days.¡±
Really, if no one finds them in the next forty-eight hours, a lot of them will die. James didn¡¯t want to say that, but he was certain it was true. And he was fairly certain he could do something to at least reduce the numbers. It would just use up more resources and energy that could be spent on improving his little community¡¯s odds of survival. Even if he was successful, any children he saved would become a future burden.
They¡¯re not your business, his dark inner voice said. If you do nothing at all, they¡¯ll either be saved by other people or disappear. Do nothing. It¡¯s the best thing for you and your family. Objectively.
¡°Is there anything we can do?¡± Yulia asked, searching his face for any sign of hope.
James suppressed a groan and made himself smile.
¡°Yeah. There is something we can do,¡± James said. He checked his mental timer. All good. I have another five minutes. ¡°Want to see something cool?¡±
She nodded.
James used Shed Skin twice and Monster Generation eight times, infusing moderate amounts of Mana into each creation. The monsters were each composed of one quarter of the total coverage of his skin, but each took on a semi-humanoid shape, with two limbs, a pair of wings, and a face.
There, now I¡¯ve really done all that I can do, he thought, breathing heavily again. If I make any more of those monsters, I won¡¯t have energy left to hunt with. He was glad he had superior regeneration abilities. As long as he didn¡¯t do any heavy duty magic, he would be back at a hundred percent by tomorrow. Though his skin was incredibly tender right now as well. Losing so many layers in a row was far from fun.
¡°What are those?¡± Yulia looked slightly horrified.
¡°They¡¯re my pets!¡± James said proudly. ¡°They can fly, because they¡¯re my hollowed out skins. Lighter than me, with some of my strengths. I¡¯m going to send them out to look for missing children. It should be more effective than searchers on the ground would be. So we¡¯ll know if there are kids anywhere for at least a few miles around in every direction. I¡¯ll keep them searching for as long as I can.¡±
¡°That¡¯s, um, great,¡± she said, looking a little nervous at the sight of the monsters.
¡°I know they¡¯re a little strange-looking,¡± James said. They looked, even to him, like some giant insect¡¯s discarded exoskeletons. Ominous and ugly. ¡°But they¡¯re very useful and completely obedient to me. They require very little in terms of upkeep.¡±
They just eat whatever¡¯s around, he thought, assuming they aren¡¯t killed before they need to eat. Not so different from him, really, now that he had the Omnivore Skill.
Yulia approached one of the monsters and took its hand.
¡°Thank you for helping us with our search,¡± she said, shaking hands with it. The monster looked to James for a moment. He didn¡¯t give directions one way or another here, though.
James had put a bit more of himself into these creatures than he usually did, giving them more independent intelligence and decision-making ability, as well as the ability to speak. That was part of why creating eight of them took so much out of him.
Even the mechanism of flight was different.. Instead of being balloons like his first generation of flying monsters, these creatures would open the skin on their backs into a pair of wings and rapidly vibrate them to fly. This should allow for better precision flying and directional control. Which could be important in a search and rescue mission. These creatures were so different that James had given them a new name: Skin Husks.
¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± the Skin Husk rasped after a few long, uncomfortable seconds. Its voice sounded like Autumn leaves crunching. Yulia looked like she was resisting taking a step back as she listened to it.
¡°We¡¯ve gotta get going, okay?¡± James said.
Yulia turned back to James and surprised him with a hug. ¡°Good luck!¡± she said. As they separated, he saw there were tears at the corners of her eyes.
Right, he thought. She manages to care so much even about people she¡¯s never met or heard anything about. It was almost incomprehensible to him, but also sweet.
James sent the Skin Husks out through the window in the master bedroom, and then he descended the stairs.
Time to hunt¡ªand decide if these guys are people I can trust or not.
V3Ch12-The Haunted Forest: Part 1
¡°Are you ready for this hunt, old man?¡± Sam asked as they waited for Robard to come back outside.
¡°I don¡¯t know if any of us are,¡± Dave replied drily. ¡°Is that thing even loaded?¡± He gestured at Sam¡¯s rifle.
¡°You¡¯d better believe it,¡± Sam said. ¡°I¡¯m taking this completely seriously.¡±
¡°Hm.¡± Dave¡¯s tone was unconvinced.
¡°Not that I intend on using the gun if I don¡¯t have to,¡± Sam added. ¡°Limited rounds in this world now, until we learn to make our own. At least in my gun. We can¡¯t all be like you.¡±
Dave didn¡¯t even respond. Sam thought he was used to the older man¡¯s long silences by now, but today, the quiet unnerved him. They were about to go into danger. He wanted Dave to reassure him, not play mute.
He¡¯s just nervous, Sam thought. What¡¯s taking Paul so long? Robard was the one who wanted time to prepare. If Paul doesn¡¯t get back here before he does, it¡¯ll make us look like we weren¡¯t ready. It probably didn¡¯t matter, but he found himself wanting to make the best impression he could on Robard. This man who seemed to be taking it upon himself to lead the survivors in this area.
¡°You should relax, Sam,¡± Dave said. ¡°You don¡¯t want to make a bad impression.¡± He said the words lightly, but as happened so often, he cut right to the core of what Sam was thinking about.
I guess I¡¯m the nervous one, he thought. Well, Dave did go to war. He has more experience with these types of situations than I do. All three men knew what they meant when they asked Robard to accompany them on a hunt. It was the chance to impress him, assess him in turn, and if he didn¡¯t measure up to the trio¡¯s expectations, deal with him accordingly.
If he¡¯s not fit to lead, we¡¯ll cut him down early so there¡¯s plenty of time to decide on a new leader. Sam naturally had the faint idea of putting himself forward in the back of his mind. Though Dave was older and more experienced in matters of violence, he and the more impressionable Paul had deferred to Sam¡¯s natural leadership throughout Orientation. The three of them had formed a de facto leadership group there.
It was strange to come back and see someone else assert command here, but they would at least give him a chance to show what he could do. If he was at least as good at fighting and leadership as Sam, they wouldn¡¯t kill him. The trio had only had to kill a couple of people back in Orientation, and that had been borderline self-defense.
None of them were truly comfortable with cold-blooded murder yet.
Paul emerged from one of the abandoned ruins. He waved merrily at his two companions, and Sam snorted to himself. Paul held up something in a wrapper as he approached. With his other hand, he was eating something that had come packaged in an identical wrapper. As Paul came closer, it became apparent that he was chewing a Clif Bar.
Of course he is, Sam thought. Somehow, that bastard always manages to find food, but he never seems to gain any weight.
¡°Hey fellas,¡± Paul said as he got within comfortable speaking range. ¡°Look what I found!¡±
¡°Of course you did,¡± Sam said, shaking his head. ¡°Did you check your watch, man?¡±
At least we¡¯re all armed and ready, he thought. We won¡¯t have any other delays. I¡¯ve got my rifle and knives. Dave has his pistol. Paul has that stupid slingshot of his.
¡°Sure did,¡± Paul replied. ¡°We have another minute.¡±
¡°Ah. I guess it just felt like you were late, then,¡± Sam said, slightly mollified.
¡°Thanks for getting some provisions, Paul,¡± Dave said. ¡°Did you pack up everything you found?¡±
Paul shook his head. ¡°There were actually a lot of canned goods too. But it¡¯s a small community of people here. We¡¯re too far from the main road for people to wander over this way looking to loot. And it would be just my luck if that stuff belongs to someone still living in the building here.¡± He gestured at the apartment building that Robard had erected. ¡°I don¡¯t want to get a reputation for stealing things. We might as well wait for our dear leader to decide on the best way to proceed with those.¡±
Sam nodded approvingly. ¡°Putting our best feet forward, right, Dave?¡±
Dave gave him a nod back, his expression carefully blank.
I don¡¯t think Dave thinks this is a good idea at all, Sam assessed. Perhaps it wasn¡¯t. Dave¡¯s analyses of situations were usually very sharp.
Then Robard emerged from the front door of his apartment. A moment later, Paul¡¯s watch began beeping shrilly. It continued until he pressed a button on the side and turned it off.
Robard certainly had a knack for dramatic timing. Did he sync timers with Paul when I wasn¡¯t looking or something? Probably not. It was just luck that he appeared just before the timer finished.
¡°Well, are we all ready to go?¡± Robard asked.
¡°Born ready,¡± Sam said.
¡°I¡¯m ready too,¡± Dave added.
¡°Lead the way,¡± Paul said.
¡°I actually don¡¯t know where the game is,¡± Robard admitted. ¡°You see, when I used my powers on the area of land we¡¯re on now, most of the larger animals fled. The smaller ones mostly stayed put, but the big ones felt my aura as something hostile, and it scared them off. I could sense where they went while they were on my territory, but now I only know which direction they left in.¡±
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Sam nodded, secretly pleased. This would be his chance to show off. ¡°I can track them if you can point me to where they were last,¡± he said.
Robard nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll take you to the place, and you can lead the way from there.¡±
He guided the three men away from the cleared area around the buildings and into the line of trees that surrounded the apartment complex on three sides now.
¡°So, how long have you three known each other?¡± he asked.
¡°Just through Orientation,¡± Sam replied. ¡°We got pretty close there. You know how it is.¡± Assuming you made any friends in yours.
Robard nodded. ¡°Those bonds can be strong, I would expect. Some of the acquaintances I met in my Orientation are heading our way in the near future. Along with my pack of wolves. They should be here by tomorrow.¡±
The other three stared at him. Sam felt certain he must have misheard. Either that, or Robard was trying to bluff them. Did he already know they were measuring him? Or, if he was telling the truth somehow¡
How do you get control over a pack of wolves?
¡ª
¡°Here we are,¡± James said after he¡¯d led them for a half mile. ¡°This is roughly the border of my territory. Small radius so far, but it¡¯s growing every day. This was the last place my powers detected the delicious creatures we¡¯re hunting.¡±
He smiled to himself. He was pleased with how the men had reacted to his mention of the wolf pack. They didn¡¯t seem intimidated, but they were surprised. Good. He didn¡¯t want people he was hoping he could rely on for hunting to be easily scared. Hopefully this was a preview of how everyone would react when he mentioned the wolf pack in the community meeting in a couple of days.
I guess Sam was the leader of the three of them back in Orientation, he assessed. He¡¯s naturally more assertive and extroverted.
¡°I guess it¡¯s my turn now,¡± Sam said. ¡°I¡¯m using a Skill I got with my evolved Class.¡± He said the words as if he was trying to boast, but James didn¡¯t give him any kind of reaction. Everyone would have a Class Evolution sometime in the next few weeks, if they hadn¡¯t already. If they didn¡¯t, he wouldn¡¯t be doing his job as leader. ¡°The Class is called ¡®The Lonely Hunter,¡¯¡± Sam added.
James nodded at that. ¡°Cool Class name,¡± he said. ¡°Show me what you¡¯ve got.¡±
Sam¡¯s eyes glowed slightly, then returned to their normal brown. He picked up a few tufts of hair from the ground. James had noticed them, but hadn¡¯t expected any of the others to be able to pick up on them without his superhuman senses.
Guess I was wrong about that. Apparently, his Class is going to make him a very efficient hunter.
¡°Feral hogs,¡± Sam said. ¡°One of them scraped itself against this tree in the rush to get out of here.¡± He looked at the ground as if he could see something that was invisible to James. Then his eyes moved up to James. His mouth moved in a brief expression of surprise that probably only James caught. ¡°They really were running to get away from here.¡±
James rubbed his hands together. ¡°Good stuff. Where¡¯d they go?¡±
I could probably track them myself, but I want to know what you can do.
Sam started walking in the path of broken twigs and shrubbery the hogs had left. The rest of them followed.
¡°I didn¡¯t think there were feral hogs in Florida,¡± Paul said. ¡°Thought they were more of a Texas thing.¡±
¡°No,¡± Sam said without looking back. ¡°They¡¯re present in every county in Florida. Any local hunter worth his salt knows that.¡±
¡°The way the System transforms animals, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if these ones used to be some little piggies on a farm somewhere,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen any this close to the apartments, anyway.¡±
¡°What was your Orientation like, exactly, James?¡± Dave asked. ¡°It seems like it may have been a little different from ours.¡±
¡°We were in a forest, fighting monsters that had similar shapes to animals,¡± James said. ¡°How was it for you guys?¡±
Dave pursed his lips. ¡°I suppose it wasn¡¯t that different,¡± he said finally. ¡°Most of our monsters didn¡¯t look much like Earth animals, though. There were goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, and wargs. It felt wrong to eat most of the creatures, seeing as they had a humanoid shape.¡± His eyes took on a dark look. ¡°But we did what we had to do to survive.¡±
James nodded grimly. ¡°It wasn¡¯t so different from my Orientation. There was a monster in mine that could turn humans into the living dead. He was the final boss.¡±
Sam turned back, a slightly startled look on his face. ¡°Final boss?¡± he asked.
James nodded. ¡°My understanding is that they tend to have a territory of their own. Like mine. Was there any place like that in your Orientation?¡±
Paul spoke up now. ¡°There was. Most of our Orientation landscape was fields and caves, but there was this forest¡¡± He left so much unspoken that James could feel that there was some aversion to that place still imprinted in the man¡¯s mind.
¡°No one explored that place, then?¡± he asked.
¡°We almost did,¡± Sam said. ¡°Not on purpose at first. The place had an ominous feeling about it, and we instinctively wanted to stay away. The wargs prowled the outskirts of the forest anyway, and they were the worst of the monsters we fought.¡±
¡°But you almost explored?¡± James said. ¡°Did you get any idea what kind of monster was there? It could end up being relevant. The monsters that survived Orientation all end up on Earth. They¡¯re likely to be in this same general geographic area.¡±
Dave stopped walking and seemed to freeze completely. His eyes had a hollow look to them.
James threw a look at Sam. His intended meaning was: Any idea what¡¯s up with him?
Sam replied with a shrug and a look of helpless concern.
¡°Are you sure?¡± Dave asked finally.
¡°I heard it straight from the mouth of a god,¡± James said. ¡°And I trusted him when he told me.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t even know where to start with the stuff you say,¡± Sam muttered.
¡°We had a hard enough time with regular Orientation,¡± Paul said. ¡°To think we might still end up dealing with this boss monster. We barely got any distance into the Forest when we tried to explore it.¡±
¡°What happened to keep you from getting deeper?¡± James asked.
¡°Something tried to get Dave,¡± Sam said gravely. His tone told James that he really wanted to drop the subject if possible.
But Dave spoke up then. ¡°We don¡¯t really know if it was dangerous. I was just seeing things. Like a bad memory. I thought I saw someone I knew in there, but it was impossible.¡±
¡°Why impossible?¡± James asked, ignoring Sam¡¯s pointed look of discomfort. If Dave didn¡¯t want to talk, James wasn¡¯t going to press him at the moment. But it could end up being critical to get this information sooner than later. ¡°Was it someone whose name didn¡¯t start with an ¡®M¡¯?¡±
¡°No, it wasn¡¯t that,¡± Dave said. ¡°The person I saw was my father. He died three years ago. I buried him with my own hands.¡± His eyes took on a haunted look.
James decided not to press any further. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for your loss,¡± he said. ¡°My father died when I was a kid.¡±
The four men resumed the pursuit in silence.
¡°We¡¯re getting close, aren¡¯t we?¡± James asked after a while.
Sam looked surprised and then nodded. ¡°You have a tracking Skill too?¡± he asked.
¡°Something like that,¡± James said. ¡°You guys get behind me. I¡¯ll launch the initial attack.¡±
Sam opened his mouth, seemingly ready to object, but then Dave put a hand on his shoulder.
¡°That will be just fine, James,¡± the older man said. ¡°We look forward to seeing your stuff.¡±
V3Ch13-Hog Hunt
I thought it was ill-advised from the start, Dave tried to communicate to Sam with a look. The idea of testing this man in this way. He¡¯s much more dangerous than he looks. So just let him lead the way. Don¡¯t try to show off.
Sam gave an annoyed shrug, as if to say, Why didn¡¯t you say something sooner?
But Dave couldn¡¯t answer that question. Not now, verbally, in front of Robard. Maybe one day, when the four of them were all close friends, they would be able to discuss these past misunderstandings and laugh about them. At present, it was possible Robard would turn out to be the sort of man who would kill them for questioning his authority. Dave sensed that Robard could do it, and in the right circumstances would do it, with little hesitation.
Dave had been trying to suss out what it was about James that gave him the heebie-jeebies for most of this time. Finally, he had fought his way through some mental blocks to a set of unfortunate memories that James reminded him of. Recollections of Dave¡¯s service in the Sino-American War. That had ended a decade and a half ago, but the memories would last him a lifetime.
James moves like one of those special forces guys, Dave finally realized. Since the war ended, he¡¯d never seen someone who moved so much like a predatory animal. Like his whole body was a deadly weapon and he knew how to use it.
The rest of the walk, unfortunately, Dave had been swimming in memories. Once he opened the floodgates, he couldn¡¯t easily close them again. His worst memories were of the men he¡¯d killed and the good men he¡¯d seen die at his side.
My father told me that the Chinese would hate me on sight, Dave remembered. His Japanese heritage would be obvious to them with one look at his face.
¡°When you see their looks of hate, it will be easier to pull the trigger,¡± his father had promised.
But when he was actually there, in the forests of China, things had been different. He came upon two Chinese soldiers, and Dave was quicker to aim his weapon than they. Both men raised their hands over their heads in the universal gesture of surrender. Their eyes weren¡¯t hateful. They were surprised and afraid.
¡°You no American,¡± one of them said in broken English. ¡°Why you come here? We make no trouble with Japan.¡±
And at first, Private Matsumoto had no answer to that. Not because he was Japanese, as they assumed¡ªthat was his father, not him¡ªbut because he didn¡¯t fully understand the causes of the war himself. He enlisted, because there was some incident in the South China Sea, and the two great powers of the world declared war on each other, as people had been anticipating for years. He was a patriotic American, and he would do his duty.
But like so many soldiers thrown into that meat grinder of a war, he¡¯d been hastily trained. He certainly wasn¡¯t well versed in the nuances of the conflict. He couldn¡¯t explain, in any meaningful sense, why he was there.
Then one of the men made things easier for him. Seeing that his enemy seemed uncertain of what to do, the man lowered one hand and went for a pistol. Then the Private¡¯s training kicked in. He quickly fired his weapon and executed both men.
That seemed to answer that.
In subsequent firefights, his finger felt more natural on the trigger. It got easier. Thank God, it got easier. Though that was probably bad in its own right.
One year and many engagements later, Corporal Matsumoto returned home and was honorably discharged. He even received the Army Commendation Medal, though he wasn¡¯t certain he deserved it.
But the images and the feelings never fully faded. Images of desecrated bodies, friendly and enemy alike. The constant feeling of being watched as he marched through a Chinese forest¡ªborne out as true all too often, despite being dismissed by his commanding officers at first.
Then the System appeared, and all those old memories resurfaced again. Now it felt like there might be a Chinese soldier around every blade of grass. Instead of soldiers, there were monsters. Creatures that didn¡¯t talk back were easier to kill, in some ways. But they also seemed to lack human fear.
The memories distracted him as he walked through the woods with his friends and Robard, who he hoped might be an ally in the future. He missed scraps of the conversation. Robard said something about wolves arriving tomorrow, which simply did not compute.
They pulled him back in when they started talking about the game they were hunting. Apparently the beasts were feral hogs.
Dave segued the conversation into swapping Orientation stories. It seemed like a good topic for group bonding. Though some of the memories were unfortunate. The strange spectral image of Dave¡¯s dead father being one of them.
And now they were creeping up on the feral hogs, which Sam¡ªand possibly Robard?¡ªhad been able to track very precisely.
Dave used Identify on several of the creatures, as was his standard practice when they approached a group of enemy monsters.
Short Tusked Feral Hog, Lv. 12
Short Tusked Feral Hog, Lv. 9
Short Tusked Feral Hog, Lv. 13
Not good. It looked like the average level was a little high, given the numbers. There were dozens of the monsters gathered in front of them, circled around a watering hole.
He locked eyes with Sam, who stood a foot behind James in the lead of the group.
¡°What?¡± Sam mouthed.
¡°The levels are too high,¡± Dave mouthed back. ¡°We should make a better plan.¡±
Sam looked at Robard, and his face took on a stubborn cast. Then he shook his head.
Dave pressed a hand to his forehead. Ugh. Macho bullshit motherfucker. He loved that his friends Sam and Paul had never served in war. Sam¡¯s father was a military supplier, and Sam was employed by him in a mission critical role in the company. Paul, like their new friend Robard, was too young to have served.
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The fact of their non-service allowed them to move through the world with a lightness that Dave would never have. It was why Dave allowed Sam to lead the way through Orientation. Dave didn¡¯t want the responsibility; he already felt like he was carrying enough. It was more than fine to simply advise Sam, who would more often than not listen to good advice.
But sometimes, Dave felt an ugly wish. That Sam would have lost someone in the war. That he would have had to watch one of his friends bleed out before a medic could get to him. It was an atrocious thing to think, and he repented it every time. Especially after they actually did lose a few friends in Orientation.
Sam didn¡¯t seem to have learned much from the experience, though, if this moment was any indication. Refusing to back down, just because Robard was willing to go forward, was the decision of a child. A boy, afraid to look like the lesser man.
We could all die, if the monsters are coordinated in their counter to our attack, Dave thought. Because your ego is too big to back down from a challenge. Too big even to ask for a huddle to come up with a better plan¡ª
And then Robard struck.
He did something with his arm, a move too fast for Dave to see, and the closest beast went down. Then Robard¡¯s whole body blurred as he lunged forward, and it became difficult for Dave to track his movements. The only clue to where he had just been was the trail of destruction. Dead hogs fell where Robard had been, sometimes in pieces, sometimes gushing blood from a single vicious wound.
This wasn¡¯t a hunt. It was a massacre. It reminded Dave of one of the worst nights from his time in the war, when he and his team were sent up Elephant Trunk Hill¡ªNo, damn it, focus! Any moment now, they¡¯ll kill him and turn on us¡ª
Then Dave saw the blurred figure zipping back to them as the hogs ran into each other in their confusion at the elusive attack.
He survived them. Somehow he survived them. Wait, is he going to lead them back here?
Robard landed next to Sam. Dave was alarmed to observe he wasn¡¯t even breathless. He was smiling serenely through a spattering of blood.
¡°I¡¯ll let you guys get the next group,¡± he said mildly. ¡°I think I killed enough of them for the community to eat for a week at least, but of course, we need to make our best efforts to secure all the supplies we can. The best information I¡¯ve gathered is that our bags from Orientation seem to keep the meat fresh forever, so there¡¯s no downside to getting more.¡±
Dave glanced over and saw the bodies of at least fifteen fallen creatures.
¡°So you think we should kill all of them?¡± Sam asked. Dave turned back to his friend. He could see the pants-shitting expression on Sam¡¯s face as it dawned on him just how dangerous Robard was, and how much he expected of them.
Robard tilted his head from side to side and then shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know. There¡¯s a part of me that doesn¡¯t want to wreck a source of really good protein. And maybe we can breed these things. I would leave some of them alive, I think. Maybe kill a half dozen more, and we can try to capture the rest?¡±
Sam nodded. ¡°Sure. Right. Just kill a half dozen. Sounds easy.¡± He still looked gobsmacked as he spoke the words, but then a look that was almost confidence returned to his face. ¡°Come on, you guys,¡± he said, looking to Dave and Paul. ¡°We can do this.¡±
Dave nodded slowly. Maybe they could. A few of the feral hogs were trying to run away. The rest were looking out for the next attack. Only a few had seen which way Robard went, and looked in that direction, poised to attack.
If we just fight those ones, then we should be able to do it, Dave thought. Our old tactics worked well enough against the wargs, why not hogs? Of course, that had only been one or two wargs, but now didn¡¯t seem to be the moment to doubt themselves. They had a new friend to bail them out if things got too rough.
¡°Usual strategy, then?¡± Paul asked.
Sam simply nodded, then drew his long hunting knives from their sheaths on his hips and waited for them. Paul loaded his sling with one of the small, hard stones he collected. Dave swallowed and drew his pistol. The one that the System had allowed him to upgrade to fire Mana bullets.
Then he made an affirmative movement of the head aimed at Sam. They were as ready as they were going to be.
Without further thought, Sam charged in, long knives flashing in the air.
Sam wasn¡¯t as strong or as quick as Robard, clearly, but the Lonely Hunter Class excelled at solo combat with beasts. The way the other two had synergized with that was that they supported him with their ranged weapons while Sam got in close and drew the enemies¡¯ attention. While Paul and Dave pumped the enemies with rocks and Mana bullets respectively, Sam butchered the beasts.
It helped when they had other front line fighters around, so Sam couldn¡¯t be overwhelmed, and nothing could get past the front line. But he hadn¡¯t chosen to ask for Robard¡¯s help. Clearly, Sam wanted to prove something.
He stepped in front of the bushes that hid Robard and the other members of the party, and he took up a challenging posture. Dave had seen Sam go so far as to literally beat his chest to provoke a group of goblins into aggression before, but this time, just standing there was enough. Three hogs charged straight away.
Sam slashed at the center one¡¯s throat, and he managed to draw a fountain gusher of blood with his first strike. But the huge, monstrous thing was still alive, and it pushed him back with its body as its charge carried forward. Paul and Dave shot at the other beasts, aiming for their faces.
Dave killed one almost immediately. His Mana bullets were perfect for piercing natural defenses like the tough hog hides, and his head shot brought the hog careening to a dead stop. Paul was less successful. He landed a stone right in the eye of the other hog in the charge, which appeared to blind it without going deeper. The second stone scraped the hog¡¯s snout but didn¡¯t hit anything important.
And then the half-blind hog was flailing, charging blindly into trees. Far from dead, but not nearly as much of a threat as it had been with its depth perception ruined.
Dave focused on the other hog, which was bleeding heavily all over Sam but had smashed him up against a tree.
Damn it, Sam! This is why you should wear goddamn armor. Sam generally eschewed protective gear, claiming that it slowed him down and made him louder when he wanted to move silently while hunting. And there was truth in that.
Sam had been the most effective hunter in their Orientation. Even on the rare occasions when Dave had seen Sam¡¯s prey get the chance to fight back, he tended to do well at dodging the projectiles or clumsy blows from goblins and their kin. But Dave was fairly certain he knew the real reason Sam didn¡¯t like wearing armor.
Sam had been a recreational hunter in the pre-System days. Back then, he¡¯d never needed to wear armor. Dave was more or less certain that when he was hunting, Sam sometimes felt as if things were back to normal. As if the world made sense again.
Wearing armor would only detract from the illusion that Sam was out in the woods, hunting and skinning animals with his Pa. Just pursuing his hobby, with a surprising diversity of beasts. Sam was carrying his own emotional wounds. They were just more subtle than Dave¡¯s.
But now Dave wished Sam would just get over it. He was trying to fire shots at the hog that had Sam pinned, but just grazing its back. The body was too low to the ground for Dave to aim accurately without getting much closer.
Suddenly, the hog collapsed to the ground.
Dave saw Sam pull himself up from where he was on the ground. His shirt was drenched in blood. The white cotton would be dyed a dried blood brown forever after this. But he raised his knives triumphantly in the air, as if to say, See me? I did it!
And he had. He¡¯d bled that hog out expertly with only a couple of cuts. Even if it was obvious that Sam had broken a couple of ribs waiting for it to die, he had managed to avoid getting gored on the hog¡¯s short tusks, which was probably where all his Strength had been applied while he was on the ground.
But as he was congratulating Sam in his mind, Dave noticed a real problem. Three more hogs were charging up now, replacing the ones that had just died. The one half-blind hog seemed to have spotted Sam as well. It too charged.
Sam stood his ground and took on a fighting pose. It was really the only thing to do.
Dave just poured more Mana into his gun. Sam wasn¡¯t going to die on his watch.
V3Ch14-Bloody Work
Dave and Paul gave it the effort of their lives, covering for Sam.
They fired stone after stone, Mana bullet after Mana bullet, as the hogs closed the distance. Paul managed to blind the previously half-blind hog and shoot out the eye of another one of the creatures. Dave managed to shoot the nearest one to him dead with two bullets to the head.
He knew it wouldn¡¯t be enough. Sam slashed the closest surviving hog in the throat, and it began to bleed like the stuck pig that it was. But it also slammed into him like the last hog had. This time, Sam couldn¡¯t brace himself at all. Dave saw his body fly through the air and heard Sam¡¯s ribs cracking.
Then the half-blind hog and the bleeding hog converged on Sam¡¯s body with their full weight.
¡°Ahh!¡± Sam cried out in pain. Dave could hear the sounds of the hogs¡¯ tusks penetrating Sam¡¯s body, and as he fired his gun, tears streamed down his face. He thought his friend was a goner. He didn¡¯t know what else he could do.
¡°That¡¯s enough of that.¡±
Robard¡¯s quiet, firm voice somehow carried over the sounds of carnage, the sounds of goring tusks and trampling hooves. He leaped into the space next to Sam, and both hogs seemed to become instantly aware of him as their primary threat. They turned to attack him¡ªand this time, Dave actually saw what he did.
Or he thought he saw. What his eyes told him seemed impossible, even in a world of magic.
Robard swung his right arm, almost casually, and the hogs fell apart, as if some giant sword had dismembered them with a diagonal cut. Dave was so close that he could actually hear the sound of the wind. He stepped closer. Was that it? Was Robard some sort of powerful wind-based Mage? That might explain how he was so fast, as well as this insanely powerful attack.
¡°Don¡¯t get too close!¡± Robard barked.
Dave stepped back, startled at the sound. And he felt something like a sharp blade brush past him. He didn¡¯t need to touch his face to know that a thin cut appeared on his cheek. After a long, quiet moment, a trickle of blood flowed from the delicate cut.
Jesus. What is he?
Dave turned his head to the tree nearest to where he¡¯d been about to step. A deep gouge now marred the trunk.
If I¡¯d been standing there¡ Dave pictured himself, lying disemboweled on the ground, bleeding out. And that was just the collateral damage. The real target was those hogs. The creatures that now lay in bloody pieces on the ground.
A few of the other hogs looked interested in continuing the fight where their dead brethren had left off, but Dave felt a terrifying Mana emanate from Robard then. It felt like a wave of hot anger. The air seemed to become heavier and denser.
The remaining hogs ran away.
Robard¡¯s body glowed with the green aura of a Healer, confusing Dave further. Does he have multiple powers? Whichever powers he wants? Is his Class Swiss Army Warrior or something?
It didn¡¯t matter now. What mattered was that Robard was healing his friend. Dave¡¯s legs carried him forward without his conscious control now. He wanted to know if Sam was going to make it. As he pushed through the bushes, he could hear Robard muttering to himself.
¡°¡ªpushed this way too far¡¡±
His voice trailed off, and Dave immediately forgot that Robard had been saying anything anyway. Where his hands were, the wounds were knitting back together, which was good. But Dave feared it would be too slow. Sam was bleeding so heavily now. His center of mass had multiple visible punctures, and it was hard to tell where the hogs¡¯ blood ended and Sam¡¯s began.
¡°Do you need a potion? Would that help?¡± Dave asked, wringing his hands helplessly.
Robard shrugged his shoulders without changing the position of his body, head, or hands at all.
¡°I¡¯m healing him as fast as I can,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen worse. I believe he¡¯ll pull through, but I¡¯m not in the business of offering promises and guarantees at times like this. If you want to make it a guaranteed thing, you could pour something in his mouth.¡±
Dave reached into his Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions and pulled out his last Health Potion, then advanced closer. But he saw then that the wounds were closing remarkably fast. Robard was able to shift his posture and place a hand on the less critical areas of the body that had also been gored. There were a couple of shallower holes in Sam¡¯s right bicep and left thigh.
¡°They really did a number on him,¡± Robard said. ¡°But your friend is going to pull through. Unless something else kills us.¡± He looked up from his bloody work and offered Dave a grim smile.
¡°Right,¡± Dave pronounced slowly.
¡°It¡¯s okay,¡± Paul¡¯s voice sounded far away, but it pulled at Dave, yanked him back from the dark place his mind wanted to go.
¡°Can one of you carry him?¡± Robard asked. The last of the wounds were closing up under his hands, but Sam was very pale and remained unconscious. ¡°That way, I can keep a lookout for any other threats?¡±
¡°Sure,¡± Dave said. Something to do. Activity to occupy his hands so he didn¡¯t have to use his mind. I almost lost my friend today. The thought came uncontrollably, and he shoved it down into the same dark place where he buried his other regrets.
Robard lifted Sam up, and he and Paul placed him carefully on Dave¡¯s back.
Then Robard used a Skill on several of the hogs¡¯ bodies that were grouped together around them. The bodies began to glow, and parcels of meat and other gear separated themselves from the beasts and floated into Robard¡¯s bag.
He has some kind of group Loot Skill too? It would be exhausting to keep track of all this guy¡¯s powers¡
¡°If the gear isn¡¯t anything special,¡± Paul said, ¡°could we just throw the rest of the body parts into the bags? The System isn¡¯t as efficient at using an animal carcass as a trained human can be, and Sam got the Job of Butcher in Orientation. I know he¡¯ll want to make himself useful when he wakes up, and carving up the meat is the best way I can imagine for him.¡±
Robard seemed to consider this for longer than Dave would¡¯ve expected. As if he had some reason why he wanted to keep using his Skill. After a long moment, though, he nodded.
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¡°Be quick,¡± he said. ¡°There might be other things in these woods that aren¡¯t so easily intimidated by me.¡±
Paul spent the next several minutes scrambling to gather all the bodies and pieces of bodies that he could find and throwing them into his bag.
Thank God those bags have expandable mouths, Dave thought. But as he thought that, his mind was on Sam. That was the big miracle today. And it wasn¡¯t God who was responsible.
Dave looked up at Robard, who was staring down at him with what Dave read as guilt on his face. Why would he be guilty? Dave questioned.
¡°I shouldn¡¯t have let things get that far,¡± Robard said softly.
That¡¯s more responsibility than the man who sent us up Elephant Trunk Hill ever took, Dave thought. He knew he was being unfair to his command structure as he had the thought. But the aftermath of the Second Battle of Guilin had left him with scars both physical and mental, and it was hard to be fair in that context.
¡°You saved him,¡± Dave replied quickly, firmly, brooking no disagreement. ¡°I wish you had been there with us in our Orientation.¡±
Robard nodded slowly. ¡°I wish I could have been in several places at once already,¡± he said. ¡°My wife and sister-in-law were stuck on their own in a pretty violent place.¡± He shook his head. ¡°They still have a different last name,¡± he added.
¡°I hope they came through alright,¡± Dave said delicately.
¡°Somehow,¡± Robard said, smiling thinly. ¡°And we got some pretty good rewards out of the whole experience.¡±
Dave wanted to ask him more about his Orientation, but suddenly Paul reappeared, breathless.
¡°I¡¯m done, guys,¡± he said.
¡°Excellent,¡± Robard said. ¡°Time to clear out of here, then.¡±
¡°Can we head back via a more direct route?¡± Dave asked, looking at James. ¡°I¡¯m happy to carry him as far as we need to, but I¡¯m afraid of what might happen if we ran into another enemy right now.¡±
¡°I understand,¡± Robard replied. He looked around and sniffed the air as if monitoring for something Dave was unaware of. ¡°We¡¯ll try it.¡±
Robard led the way back. Instead of the winding trail they had followed to get here, he made a beeline for the borders of what he¡¯d identified as his territory. As they followed after him, though, he began to slow down.
As they approached a small body of water, Paul took a few steps past Robard, eager to walk through it. Dave saw Paul¡¯s feet beginning to sink into the muddy ground.
¡°Stop,¡± Robard said.
Dave had already stopped. He was standing behind Robard. Something felt dangerous about the area, though he couldn¡¯t put his finger on it.
Paul looked set to take another step forward, and Robard clapped a hand on his shoulder.
¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t realize you meant me,¡± Paul said, grinning sheepishly.
¡°Yeah,¡± Robard replied drily. ¡°You started to move into the lead. Whoever¡¯s advancing is usually going to be the one who needs to halt.¡± He gestured at the water in front of them. ¡°We need to stop moving in this direction.¡±
¡°What? Why?¡± Paul asked.
¡°Do neither of you feel this?¡± Robard replied. He ran his hands through the air in front of him like it was water.
¡°No. What?¡± Paul said.
¡°I feel it,¡± Dave said. Both Paul and Robard turned to face him.
Robard looked at his face and nodded. ¡°Good that you¡¯re paying attention. What do you feel?¡±
¡°A pressure in the air. Something wrong. It reminded me a little of¡ª¡± He cut himself off, looking sideways at Robard.
¡°It reminded you of the aura I emitted earlier,¡± Robard finished for him.
Dave nodded.
¡°Yep. That¡¯s right,¡± Robard said.
¡°Wait, what?¡± Paul asked. ¡°What does it mean? Someone else like you here?¡±
¡°Something like me,¡± Robard agreed. ¡°It¡¯s not really as far away from our place as I expected. More pressing than the location, though, we should cut around this area. Step out of this thing¡¯s aura as soon as possible. It seems the hogs weren¡¯t just moving randomly. They were probably avoiding running into this thing¡¯s territory. I¡¯d bet it''s a predator. If we want to deal with it with confidence, we need to come back in force.¡±
¡°Why would we want to deal with it?¡± Paul asked. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we just stick to your land when we¡¯re not hunting?¡±
¡°Because these things will be killing and eating each other¡ªand humans like us¡ªto get stronger. All the time. If we don¡¯t keep progressing ourselves, it¡¯ll be us on the menu. And this thing is probably our nearest actual predator. Something that would eventually invade my territory and try to challenge me to claim it.¡±
¡°So we¡¯ve come back to a world at endless war?¡± Dave asked, exhausted. ¡°Is that what you¡¯re telling us?¡±
¡°Seems like it,¡± Robard said. ¡°Until we make Hobbes¡¯s Leviathan.¡±
Both men gave him confused looks, and Robard looked embarrassed.
¡°I just said something very nerdy,¡± he said. ¡°It means a force so strong that other powers within the reach of its territory can¡¯t easily challenge it. A strong government or power that forces people¡ªand in this case, beasts¡ªto behave themselves.¡±
¡°And that¡¯s you?¡± Paul asked. Dave detected an undercurrent of excitement in Paul¡¯s voice, and he sighed to himself. ¡°You¡¯re really that strong?¡±
¡°I¡¯m almost certainly the strongest or at the least one of the top three strongest in North America right now. Out of the humans anyway. I have no idea how I rank relative to the beasts. You¡¯ve seen a bit of that power now, but far from all of it. You¡¯d better hope I¡¯m strong enough.¡± His expression hardened. ¡°Someone has to create order. Keep the peace.¡± He took a last look at the body of water in front of them. It didn¡¯t seem that deep to Dave, but the way Robard examined it, Dave felt as if the man could see something in there that the two of them couldn¡¯t.
¡°Let¡¯s go, then,¡± Dave suggested.
Robard nodded. They began withdrawing from the territory of the unseen predator. When they were out of it, Dave felt the difference. The air in the zone occupied by the monster was thicker, heavier, and more humid. Dave mentioned this to Robard.
¡°You have good senses,¡± Robard said. ¡°I think whatever lives in that territory might have similar Mana affinities to me. The air in my territory is similar, except it isn¡¯t overtly hostile to humans.¡± His eyes closed for a moment, then reopened. ¡°Speaking of which, I think we have some guests back home.¡±
¡°Guests?¡± Dave asked.
¡°Human or beast?¡± Paul said.
¡°Well, they¡¯re humanoid-shaped at least,¡± Robard said. ¡°I doubt anything would be stupid enough to invade my territory right now. None of the local monsters should think I¡¯m an easy mark, and my aura is heavy in the air. But I can¡¯t be sure. I don¡¯t seem to have the same degree of sensory awareness about what¡¯s going on in my territory when I¡¯m not actually there.¡±
¡°Let¡¯s hurry, then,¡± Dave said.
Robard led the way briskly through the remaining sections of woods. It was not difficult to keep up with him, but Dave and Paul gave him some space. They both felt confident in his protection.
Paul touched Dave¡¯s elbow once Robard was a certain distance ahead. ¡°Well, I¡¯m very impressed by him,¡± Paul said. ¡°Does he seem like the kind of guy you could follow?¡±
Dave had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. Do you assume we¡¯re out of hearing range? We can still see him. I could probably hear this conversation if I was where he was. But no use crying over spilled milk now.
Paul probably did think they were out of hearing range. While Dave had heavily invested in his Perception Stat, Paul had mainly focused on Strength and Agility. By the time he realized that he wanted to focus on a ranged weapon, Paul was well behind Dave.
¡°I think he passed any test we might have thought to implement with flying colors,¡± Dave finally said.
Then a sound came to him, carried on the wind. He immediately looked forward and saw Robard¡¯s mouth moving. He was muttering something quietly. It took a moment for Dave to parse what he was saying, from both the noise carried on the wind and some lip-reading.
¡°You passed my test too.¡±
V3Ch15-The Fisher King: Part 2
[You have entered the territory of the Fisher King uninvited. Surrender to him or his representatives, or prepare for battle.]
The words presented themselves like a System message, but they were accompanied by a terrible sense of pressure that made Alan want to stop walking and fall to his knees.
James, who the hell are you?! Deep down? You declared yourself a king? Alan was certain that this was the right place; he¡¯d been checking addresses on the ruined buildings they passed when he could. This complex was off the main road, but it was in exactly the right spot to correspond to James¡¯s street address.
And the voice that he heard during the message was an automated-sounding version of James¡¯s voice.
Even if it hadn¡¯t been, how many people would have come through Orientation powerful enough to start dubbing themselves royalty? With System support, to boot?
¡°Well, I think we¡¯re in the right place,¡± Jeremiah Rotter said from behind Alan, chuckling nervously.
¡°Assuming that our guy is the ¡®Fisher King,¡¯ there¡¯s no question,¡± Alan replied without looking. In truth, he had no doubt that Rotter was correct, but the man was getting on his nerves already, despite their short acquaintanceship. If he hadn¡¯t been in that gas station with Charlie Roebuck and Amalia Rosario, Alan would¡¯ve tried to avoid him. But now they were stuck together, along with the others they¡¯d encountered along the way.
On the road here, they ran into a number of people who were clearly looking for some place to go. People who looked harmless enough. When they asked Alan, Mitzi, Rotter, or any of the party members where they were going, they told the wanderers the truth. And more often than not, those lost people chose to follow them.
There seemed to be little point in rejecting them. How would Alan and Mitzi¡¯s little party have even forced them to stop following? Physical violence?
Mitzi had quietly suggested that there was safety in numbers anyway, and Alan thought she had been proven right over the subsequent day. The roads were crowded with disreputable characters. People wearing a diverse array of armor, robes, and clothing obviously looted from stores, sometimes with price tags still on.
The law was no more.
If Alan and Mitzi had still been traveling alone, they would¡¯ve had to retreat to the woods to avoid the possibility of being pulled into conflict. With their increasing throng of acquaintances, other people moved off the road to avoid bumping into them instead.
In that sense, I suppose James declaring himself a king makes sense, Alan thought. If he¡¯s promising safety and order, I have no doubt he¡¯ll find his share of willing followers. It felt a bit retrograde to bring back the concept of monarchy to these shores that had rebelled against it almost three centuries past. But then, Alan had to admit that it didn¡¯t feel much like they were in the modern world anymore.
He continued leading the group further into the Fisher King¡¯s territory, praying silently that it would actually be James who controlled this place. But forward progress was difficult. The unpleasant pressure in the air grew more intense with every step forward. It was as if James had chosen the defense mechanism of increased gravity for his land.
Perhaps he had. Alan couldn¡¯t remember if manipulating that fundamental force of physics was on the long list of James¡¯s powers.
Whatever the reason, a few yards into the Fisher King¡¯s space, Alan was pouring buckets of sweat down his forehead and back.
I don¡¯t think I can take any more of this, he thought. He and Mitzi exchanged worried looks. It wasn¡¯t clear they would make it far enough into James¡¯s territory to surrender to him even if they wanted to. If I hadn¡¯t gotten so much stronger in Orientation than I was pre-System, I think my heart would have given out already.
¡°Are we stopping here?¡± asked one of the followers, a young woman who was there with her father and brothers. She spoke through gritted teeth, but her voice was determined.
¡°I don¡¯t know if we can continue if the Fisher King doesn¡¯t want us to,¡± said Rotter, who sounded as bad as Alan felt.
Then the pressure suddenly vanished like a mirage.
Alan¡¯s posture righted itself, and he threw his head back and sucked in a sweet gulp of air. Even his lungs, he realized dimly, had felt compressed under the increased gravity of this area. The Earth¡¯s gravity post-Orientation had already been bad enough, but with the additional pressure from the Fisher King¡¯s defenses, Alan thought it was possible that he might have suffocated.
Thank God, he thought. Then, his head still tilted back, he saw something flying through the air. It was too far away for him to get a really good look at it, but it was clearly looking at them. Oh. That must be one of James¡¯s pets. I suppose they¡¯re putting out the welcome mat now.
They proceeded further onto James¡¯s land, and the ruined buildings that Alan couldn¡¯t see at all from the main road came into view, alongside a single very large, crudely constructed building. The new structure was clearly modeled after the old ones, with the difference that it was clearly made from compressed earth that had come from the ground all around it. Alan thought he could guess who might be responsible for this.
¡°That¡¯s undeniably James¡¯s work,¡± Rotter said aloud, in a confident tone.
Quit talking about James as if you know him, Alan thought irritably. Then he felt a bit of inner conflict. Wasn¡¯t he just annoyed about James declaring himself a king? Maybe Rotter was more squarely on James¡¯s program than Alan himself was.
¡°He did construct your group a building at one point in Orientation, didn¡¯t he?¡± Mitzi asked indulgently.
Rotter nodded and began yammering to the whole group about how James had saved him and his Orientation group from certain death. This was not the first time he had told this story, but most of the group had not been present for the last occasion.
Alan sighed to himself and quietly led the way forward, until they were standing directly in front of the new apartment building.
Then he looked around. There was no one outside, and nothing to distinguish one door to this place from any other. It felt strange to go up to a random door and knock, but he didn¡¯t know the best way to find the single person he was looking for otherwise. Alan stood there, trying to think of a solution. Other members of the group began looking toward the woods, which surrounded the plot of land on all sides bar the approach from the road.
Alan followed their gaze, and he saw James walking with two other figures.
Well, that solves the problem, he thought. But something strange presented itself as the figures approached. One of them was carrying an unconscious person on his back. Someone¡¯s hurt.
Alan began striding toward them, eager to lend his medical aid as needed.
¡°Good to see you, Alan!¡± James called as they got close to each other. ¡°Sorry for the rough welcome earlier.¡± The lack of urgency in his tone slowed Alan¡¯s pace.
I was wrong. No need for a Healer right now after all, he thought. It was a little frustrating, feeling as useless as he sometimes did around James. And then he felt slightly guilty for resenting not being needed in this specific way.
¡°It was very impressive how the area sort of announced itself as your territory,¡± Alan said, for want of a more interesting topic. ¡°Makes this Fisher King position sound very official.¡±
James tilted his head slightly to indicate confusion. Alan began to explain what had happened when he and those he¡¯d brought with him entered James¡¯s land. James listened with great interest, only pausing to give direction about the care of the incapacitated man¡ªJames indicated that the person had lost a lot of blood and should drink plenty of fluids and eat a sizable amount of the pork they had apparently acquired.
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Then the others from Alan¡¯s group walked up and swarmed James.
¡°So you¡¯re the Fisher King, then?¡±
¡°Is it true you created that whole building by yourself?¡±
¡°What, is construction like your hobby?¡±
¡°Can I stay here?¡±
¡°Can I live on your land? I can make myself very useful. I can¡¡±
¡°I heard that you fought a giant three-headed wolf by yourself. Is that true, or is this fellow full of it?¡±
¡°One at a time, please, everyone,¡± James said gently, smiling politely.
Alan began to feel a little bad. I came all this way to ask James for a personal favor. Really, to make Dean¡¯s life easier. There¡¯s probably some solution to the monster problem around the office besides just getting James to help. And these people came here hoping he could save them from danger. It was incredibly selfish even to think of asking James to walk away from this place for a while to try and fight Dean¡¯s enemies. What would happen to these people he was responsible for while he was gone?
As he had these thoughts, James was doing the work of a retail politician. Making everyone around him feel important. Giving them the sense that they knew the real James.
¡°I am the Fisher King, yes. I did create this building by myself, although I think I¡¯m going to want some help with the next set of buildings. I¡¯m not much of an architect. Whether you can stay is a great question. We haven¡¯t laid down rules yet, as such. The whole community is going to have an assembly soon, and then we¡¯re going to discuss the standards for who can stay. Oh, and yes, I did fight a three-headed wolf to the death by myself. The whole wolf pack is going to come stay here soon¡ªno, don¡¯t look at me like that, they know not to attack humans unless I order them to, just don¡¯t start anything with them.¡±
He was direct, charming, even a little bit funny.
These people will absolutely follow him, Alan thought. It made sense. James was the hero of Orientation, and he seemed to be an even bigger fish here if that was possible.
[Any Mages who have earth magic, please come outside if you are available. Your assistance is requested in constructing additional dwellings for new arrivals.]
Alan was slightly startled to hear James using the System-like announcement function that had threatened the new arrivals earlier as a public address system now. Then he snorted.
Of course he is. James hadn¡¯t known the land even had such a function before Alan told him about it, he was fairly certain. So the Fisher King was testing his ability to control it. Alan thought that the function would be more useful now that James was consciously aware of it. For one thing, it sounded much more diplomatic in tone and style now. In addition, the slightly robotic sound to the voice was gone. Now it sounded like James speaking in a relaxed manner, his deep, calm voice gently caressing the ears.
Two Mages made themselves known to James, one from within the apartments and one who was already outside. And a woman emerged from another apartment, walked up behind James, and took his hand.
Oh, that¡¯s his wife, Alan realized. He had never met her, though he almost felt as if he had. James liked to talk about her quite a bit.
¡°Why don¡¯t you let me give construction directions, skapi?¡± she asked.
James smiled, a bigger and more unreserved smile than Alan remembered ever seeing from him before. ¡°That sounds like a wonderful idea,¡± he said. He briefly introduced Mina to everyone, and she walked away with the two Mages, and Alan didn¡¯t hear the details of the conversation, though he did catch a few odd phrases. ¡°Rammed earth¡± and ¡°formwork¡± were among them.
Alan guessed the next set of buildings constructed were going to be a little more thoughtfully built than James¡¯s initial structure, which seemed all to the good.
He needs someone to make sure he thinks these things through.
James continued schmoozing with the new arrivals and people who had been there for longer for half an hour, before Alan finally decided to seize a moment alone with him instead of waiting.
¡°James, could I have a word in private?¡± he asked.
¡°For you, Alan, we can have as many words as you like. I¡¯ll be back in a while, everyone. In the meantime, I hope people will try to make themselves comfortable. You may need to be ready to camp out. I know that Mina and the Mages who live here will do their utmost to construct lodgings for all of you as quickly as they can, but as they say, Rome wasn¡¯t built in a day. And anything worth having is worth waiting for.¡±
Alan looked toward Mitzi, but she was engaged in conversation with some more residents of the Fisher Kingdom who had emerged from the makeshift apartment building.
Guess I¡¯ll go on my own, then. He felt inexplicably nervous.
But he followed James up into his family¡¯s apartment, still trying to decide exactly how he was going to say what he needed to say. Ask this man, who was clearly the leader of this rapidly expanding community, to abandon it for a while to go and help some other people, only one of whom he knew at all.
As they reached the top of the stairs, Alan saw a teenage girl. She looked like a miniature version of James¡¯s wife. Oh, the little sister they adopted. He¡¯s mentioned her too. Julia, was it?
¡°Did you find anything?¡± she asked James.
At first, Alan thought she was talking about the hunt James had just come back from when the newcomers arrived.
But James¡¯s expression became very serious as he answered, ¡°My creatures found two so far. They¡¯re flying back with them. One of them is a bit hurt, which I hadn¡¯t thought of, so I¡¯ll make sure the next monsters I send out have healing abilities.¡± He turned back to Alan. ¡°By the way, Alan, this is Yulia, my little sister-in-law. Yulia, this is Alan. He was my neighbor at work, and he was in my Orientation. He¡¯s a Healer, like you.¡±
¡°Nice to meet you,¡± she said, shaking hands with him soberly. She seemed slightly uncomfortable, and she walked into another room immediately after introducing herself. But as the door closed, Alan heard the sound of children playing.
So she probably just left because she¡¯s on babysitting duty, he thought. I didn¡¯t realize they had other kids besides her.
¡°What was that about?¡± Alan asked.
¡°We found some children in the ruins of the apartment complex. We¡¯re taking care of a few, and our neighbors are taking care of others. The new people are really a godsend, in that regard. So to speak.¡± He chuckled, and Alan smiled wryly. The gods were sending many things indeed. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m sending my pet monsters out looking for other survivors. Yulia pointed out to me that with the way Orientation went, there were bound to be a lot of orphaned children.¡±
Wow. They¡¯re really doing much more to rebuild civilization on a micro scale than Dean has even talked about doing. Even rescuing children. Well, I always knew James was the hero that we needed back in Orientation. Maybe he¡¯s the person the world needs.
¡°Actually, I¡¯m really glad you and Mitzi are here in particular,¡± James continued. ¡°I know I¡¯ll need a lot of wisdom if I¡¯m going to run this place. I really can¡¯t mess around if there are all these kids depending on me. I always thought of you as the wise counselor type¡ª¡±
¡°We¡¯re not staying,¡± Alan blurted out, only halfway cognizant of what he was saying.
Are you really sure you don¡¯t want to stay? he questioned himself. The answer, of course, was ¡°no.¡± He wasn¡¯t certain at all.
¡°Are you sure?¡± James asked, his expression showing surprise and¡ªa bit of sadness? ¡°No pressure on the two of you, of course. I know you have your own children to be thinking about. But if they¡¯re looking for a place to stay while we rebuild civilization, they¡¯re welcome here too. We have to stand together.¡±
Alan didn¡¯t know quite what to say to that. If he said ¡°no,¡± he would just be giving James the impression that he was open to arguments. That he wanted to be persuaded. But that wasn¡¯t it. This was a decision that Alan and Mitzi needed to make for themselves. The facts would make their own arguments.
A brief but awkward silence ensued.
¡°Like I said,¡± James resumed, ¡°no pressure. Uh, what was it you wanted to take me aside for, anyway?¡±
¡°I feel terrible asking for this,¡± Alan said, his mouth suddenly dry.
¡°Do it anyway,¡± James said. ¡°I never like to be constrained by what¡¯s reasonable.¡±
¡°Dean back at the office has his own plans for rebuilding civilization,¡± Alan said. ¡°He wants to turn the office into a fortified base, but there are problems. Monsters in some difficult to reach places, and a dungeon inside part of the building.¡±
¡°A dungeon, huh? Is that a problem? It might be a decent place to train, depending on what kind it is.¡± James seemed to be thinking aloud. ¡°And most monsters are still easy enough to kill. If Dean and his crew can¡¯t do that themselves, how would they rebuild civilization? Would they even be able to outlast one monster attack? They¡¯re still going to be all over the place on Earth, you know?¡±
¡°I¡¯ve been becoming gradually more aware of that,¡± Alan said. ¡°I hadn¡¯t realized before we set out. And I did have the idea that¡ªwell, I had thought that you would come back with us and stay there with your family. Maybe I could put you and Dean together and watch you rebuild the world as a team.¡±
¡°Dean is the kind of guy I could imagine surviving the apocalypse,¡± James mused. ¡°I¡¯m glad he at least made it through Orientation. Crazy that the firm office building survived, too, honestly.¡±
¡°At any rate, the idea that you would stay there seems very silly now. And I realize you have no reason to help Dean with his civilization-building project, when you¡¯ve taken on complex problems of your own already. You¡¯re building a community here, and it¡¯s bigger by far than what Dean had when I last saw him. I don¡¯t know what would become of this place if you left, and there are all these children¡ª¡±
¡°I think this place will survive without me for a day,¡± James said firmly. ¡°I was gone for almost all of today hunting, and people took care of themselves. There might not be any direct benefit to me, or my people here, but since you¡¯re asking, I want to help anyway, if I can.¡± He looked into Alan¡¯s eyes warmly. ¡°As far as I¡¯m concerned, you¡¯ll always be part of my team. Your problems are my problems. Your enemies are my enemies.¡±
V3Ch16-The Kings Speech
After Alan had explained what he wanted, James issued another announcement with his public address system.
[Attention, everyone who can hear this message. Tomorrow morning, we will have our first public assembly to discuss future plans for this community, including residency requirements.]
¡°This way, I¡¯ll be able to address the whole community as a group before I leave to help you and Dean out,¡± James explained. ¡°I was planning this talk for the day after tomorrow, but bumping up the timing seems appropriate.¡±
The two of them exchanged small talk before Alan made an excuse to return to his wife. James was fairly certain that Alan felt guilty for even asking for his help. It had been written all over his face, and he didn¡¯t seem to be trying very hard to hide it.
I might still get him to stay here, James thought. Alan and Mitzi could be valuable members of my community, if I convince them that it¡¯s the best way for them to make a difference. That shouldn¡¯t require any lying, since as far as James was concerned, it was objectively the truth.
More importantly, now was the time when he would make his case to the people living in his territory that they should accept his authority. Including his System-granted position of Fisher King.
He began his preparations for the next day.
¡ª
The morning of the assembly, Alan watched James move about in mild awe.
He seemed to be in several places at once, communicating with as many people as he could and putting everyone at ease. More people had shown up that morning, seemingly just in time for the assembly, though it seemed this number¡ªaround a hundred adults in total, with an unknown but smaller number of children in tow¡ªwas within the parameters that James must have been calculating. Alan thought there was just enough space in the new, in-progress housing to have everyone lodged by the time it was finished. Which, given the progress so far and knowing James, would be before he left with Alan.
The wolves were among the morning arrivals, and Damien Rousseau appeared with them. In front of all the onlookers, he walked up to James, addressed him as ¡°King James,¡± and pulled him into a hug.
The mood was triumphant. People who had not seen each other since Orientation confirmed that their friends and acquaintances were still alive. They were high fiving each other, swapping congratulations, and competing for face time with ¡°King James.¡± And he somehow seemed to accommodate all of them.
Overnight, he and Mina had constructed an additional, grand new building that they were calling the Community Center. Mina was visibly tired, and her little sister hovered near her like a bodyguard, helping her politely make small talk and rebuff any longer conversations. The fact that Mina was carrying her baby around made people more understanding. James seemed as energetic as ever, flitting from person to person after he¡¯d stayed in one spot just long enough to make an impact.
Alan found it mildly annoying that James made time to pay attention to Jeremiah Rotter of all people for a few minutes. James even showed Rotter something he had written on a paper he produced from his pocket. His speech for that day?
Why am I annoyed? Alan wondered. Was he a bit jealous? Yes, he probably was. Alan would have expected James to consult with him if he wanted a last minute eye on his speech. They had known each other for years, after all.
What am I thinking, though? He was planning to leave and return to help Dean. Wasn¡¯t he? While Rotter would probably stick around. Stay stuck onto James like a leech, if he could. It was only logical for James to invest time in cultivating people who were going to be around. But Alan¡¯s face still burned as he thought about the situation.
¡°Something the matter?¡± Mitzi asked quietly.
¡°Hm. What?¡± Alan was pulled back from his thoughts and only belatedly realized his wife had been looking at him with some concern.
¡°Are you okay?¡± she asked. ¡°Your face¡ªwell, you look a little upset. What¡¯s wrong?¡±
¡°I think maybe my instinct about who to join might have been wrong,¡± Alan said.
¡°We haven¡¯t made any final decisions about that yet, though, right?¡± Mitzi took his hand and squeezed it. ¡°Relax. We can figure it out later.¡±
Alan smiled. His wife was right. ¡°As wise as you are beautiful,¡± he murmured half to himself. He saw her lips turn up at the corners in his peripheral vision.
Then he very pointedly looked away from James. He took in the Community Center.
The results of James and Mina¡¯s late night construction efforts spoke for themselves. The new Community Center was a far more elegant building than either the first building James had thrown up or the two new residential structures the other Mages had collaborated with Mina to begin building. The founding couple had clearly thought that this might be the first of these buildings that would stand permanently.
In style, it reminded Alan of a church, though perhaps a church as Frank Lloyd Wright would have designed one rather than as most churches were actually designed. And for some reason, the building was an octagon shape. Other than that, it felt like a place where solemn matters were contemplated and discussed.
And so it was.
After a certain time had elapsed, James invited the crowd inside. The building was even more like a church than Alan had expected. There was a single large, main room with a stage and a podium. Scores of stone chairs sat facing toward the stage.
At least they¡¯re sort of ergonomically designed, Alan thought. If we hadn¡¯t brought our own blankets and gear, we wouldn¡¯t have slept at all last night.
The crowd filed in, and the excited hum settled down to a dull roar.
Finally, James took the podium and began to speak. It was a serious speech, and Alan could tell preparation had gone into it. When James had found the time, he couldn¡¯t be certain.
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¡°Thank you, everyone, for being here today. The fact that you¡¯re here on this land at all shows that you trust my leadership and protection¡ª¡± A few enthusiastic people in the crowd whistled at this, until James raised a hand to silence them¡ª¡°and the fact that you entered this building shows that you trust my wife¡¯s engineering skills.¡± A louder general hoot went up. Mina smiled shyly from her seat behind and to the left of James on stage.
¡°There are several topics I considered that we needed to address. I will be unavailable tomorrow, so it needed to be today. First of all, I consider it my duty to update you on the state of the neighborhood where we¡¯re beginning to build our community. Several of us have scouted the neighboring territories. There are some small chunks of land that appear to be more or less unoccupied, or only occupied by wandering beasts. Unfortunately, if you move a little further out, you run into the territory of monsters that are comparable in power to myself.¡± A concerned murmur moved the crowd.
¡°For these reasons,¡± James continued, ¡°I recommend that we do not stray far from the borders of the Fisher Kingdom unless we go in force. Going somewhere with me counts as going in force¡ª¡± some chuckles at that¡ª¡°but the best thing is for me and a whole party of combat-capable people to go together. Eventually, these neighbors are threats we will likely have to face. My territory expands slowly, day by day, as my aura reaches new patches of land. The territory of these rivals does the same. A clash is almost certainly inevitable, and that day will require us to prepare, build our numbers, and increase our individual strengths. We have unfortunately descended into a world where might makes right, and neutral spaces will inevitably shrink and disappear.
¡°Related to this is the leadership structure. Some of you will have only heard secondhand, from other people, that I am calling myself the Fisher King. That isn¡¯t entirely accurate.¡± He smiled a bit sheepishly. ¡°Well, I am calling myself that, but the System gave me the label first. And I did a lot to earn that name. Killed somewhere in the high hundreds or low thousands of monsters. Somewhere along the line I lost count. I defeated the final enemy of my own Orientation, a monster with the power to destroy human souls and turn the bodies of the fallen into his puppets. I drove more than one species of creature to extinction. Fought a three-headed wolf the size of an SUV until he admitted defeat and surrendered leadership of his pack to me. And I impressed a god enough that he courted me to become his Chosen One.
¡°That was the Spider God, Anansi,¡± James continued. ¡°He is a god of stories, and his representative is always with me, to chronicle my adventures.¡± There was a tiny flicker of movement on James¡¯s head, which Alan guessed was the tiny spider trying to be seen. ¡°Despite being favored by a god, my first loyalty has always been, and will always be, to you, my fellow humans. We live in a world that is constantly trying to kill us. This was true even before the System. Hurricanes, plagues, and everything wild that lived on the continent of Australia¡ª¡± There was a choked off bit of laughter from the audience.
¡°Well, now things are even worse. It¡¯s a fact that during these chaotic times, strong centralized leadership is needed. I firmly believe that in these circumstances, a chain of command dependent on multiple lines of authority, or any structure based on the old tried and true idea of checks and balances, will fail at the first test. People who completed Orientation, all of you know how long democracy lasted when the System arrived. Those who completed Orientation beside me know that there was no place safer than standing by my side. Returning now to the leadership structure. As this land is protected by my aura, and as I am likely to remain the strongest single person on this land, I will remain as the ruler of this area until and unless I am violently deposed.
¡°I won¡¯t expect anyone to stay who can¡¯t accept that. If you find me too intolerable, you are welcome to leave with our well wishes and a reasonable quantity of food, in search of a more democratic society. Those who remain have a right to know what to expect from my leadership. First, in exchange for accepting me as leader, you should understand that I will always be prepared to risk my life for any of yours unless my family is in jeopardy at the same time. I will work hard to keep you safe.¡± Alan looked around, and he found people were nodding along. Of course. They were already prepared to accept something like this as soon as they decided to stay on land controlled by someone called the Fisher King. They were just lucky that James happened to also mean what he said¡ªas far as Alan could tell.
¡°My family, for those of you who haven¡¯t already met them, includes my wife, Mina, her sister Yulia, and my son James, Junior.¡± The two women briefly stood up from behind James. ¡°We are also taking care of our neighbor¡¯s children until their family returns.¡± Alan saw that those three children were in the front row. Someone was watching them for James and his family. I¡¯d guess that phrasing was about sparing the little boy¡¯s feelings? But James was on to the next topic already.
¡°Second, I will expect effort from you all. Survival itself will require the best from all of us. My understanding of my powers is that they will help us more successfully work the land, but there will be farming required. Continuing building construction. Salvaging materials from the civilization the System just wrecked. We¡¯ll honor the fallen¡ªand we¡¯ll try to move forward. Recreate some of the technology we had before the collapse. But the bottom line is, there is no room to be idle. I know in my bones that you all understand what I mean. You¡¯re all survivors. We¡¯ve all been through a great deal. The struggle isn¡¯t over. In some way, make yourselves useful to this community. If you don¡¯t know how you can best do that, come and see me. We¡¯ll discuss how your knowledge and capabilities fit in. I don¡¯t expect people to automatically know what to do, but we¡¯ll discover the way together bit by bit.
¡°Third, we are an extremely diverse group of people, and I expect more of us to arrive each day. We won¡¯t even all be human in this community. Some of you have already seen my pack of wolves. They arrived this morning, and although they are not inside with us, they are aware of the rules we are discussing. In order for us to work together, and be able to trust each other to some degree, we have to have a common set of ideals that we pledge ourselves to, much like the United States when the country was formed. I think that we need to all¡ªincluding me¡ªpledge that we are going to stand for these common values, and that can be the foundation for us to build something new. For that reason, I want to introduce a loyalty pledge for everyone who wants to live here. We will all swear to uphold some common values.¡± He took out a piece of paper from within his pocket and read it aloud with his hand over his heart.
¡°I pledge allegiance to the Fisher Kingdom and to the ideals for which it stands: protection of the innocent, justice for all, and the promise to reconquer the Earth for humanity and our allied species. Only our sacrifices honor the fallen. Only victory can bring peace. Only we can win back the world.¡± Alan found the citizenship pledge a bit cartoonishly idealistic and slightly jingoistic¡ªbut then again, had the Pledge of Allegiance and the old national anthem been any different? And people had treated both with such solemnity. Looking at the faces of the crowd, he couldn¡¯t see anyone laughing or smiling. They took this invented oath as seriously as they took the person who had written it.
¡°Anyone who wants to remain on this land, the only formal requirement is that you must make the citizenship pledge. The informal requirements are the obvious things: don¡¯t hurt other people; don¡¯t take their stuff; and do your best to pull your own weight. There are so many other things I want to talk about. The ongoing effort to rescue more children who were orphaned in the midst of this crisis¡ªwe will need more people to take in children and, if trends continue, possibly a larger scale solution. That assumes children continue being found. Also, after the meeting, I will take volunteers to search the old buildings and look for salvageable goods and materials. At least one person with construction experience is needed, to help figure out if any of the buildings are salvageable. We already have at least one hunting party, of course¡ªmy friends who went hunting with me yesterday know who they are! And we will need to figure out the matter of farming, as well as of forming a militia to defend us.
¡°But I intend for these meetings to be held regularly. It would be unreasonable for us to hammer out every problem today. For now, I want to open the floor for your thoughts. Another promise I can make is that I will remain open to people¡¯s opinions before making important decisions¡ªunless the decisions are urgently needed for our survival. So, who wants to be heard?¡±
Hands began to shoot up.
James called on the fastest one first.
Alan saw who the eager beaver was in his peripheral vision, and he rolled his eyes. It was Rotter.
He tried to speak, but Alan couldn¡¯t hear what he was saying.
¡°The acoustics in this building work best if you¡¯re on the stage,¡± James said. ¡°Why don¡¯t you come and stand up here at the podium?¡±
V3Ch17-Loyalty Oath
Rotter began to speak from behind the podium.
¡°My name is Jeremiah Rotter, and I am one of those who experienced Orientation beside this man,¡± he began, gesturing toward James. Some loud whooping came from the crowd. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right! It was amazing. If anything, he understated all the crazy shit he did!¡± There was laughter. James kept his expression neutral, though he found Rotter¡¯s words slightly embarrassing. ¡°Seriously. He didn¡¯t mention the time he saved us from a pack of coyotes, for one thing. But I have a problem with something he said.¡± A slightly nervous hush fell over the crowd. James raised an eyebrow.
¡°It¡¯s the wording of this loyalty oath. The citizenship pledge doesn¡¯t mention James personally once!¡± James returned his expression to a careful blank. He thought he knew what was going to happen next. ¡°So I¡¯m going to rewrite part of it for myself. I pledge allegiance to the Fisher King and to the ideals for which he stands: protection of the innocent, justice for all, and the promise to reconquer the Earth for humanity and our allied species. Only our sacrifices honor the fallen. Only victory can bring peace. Only we can win back the world. May all the gods bless the Fisher King!¡±
Rotter stepped down to raucous applause. James tried not to smile. He felt Mina¡¯s eyes on him, and he knew what she was wondering. Did you arrange this?
It had been Mina¡®s idea to make everyone swear allegiance to the country rather than to James personally. That was a real stroke of genius, James thought, because they didn¡¯t all know him yet. He couldn¡¯t reasonably make everything about himself. And no one could have any reasonable objection to pledging allegiance to the place. This place, and the community it would harbor, was meant to protect and maintain their lives, after all.
James wouldn¡¯t even accept a religious exemption to this requirement, he had decided, because there were so many gods in this new world. The idea that some god could have a superior loyalty claim to the place that was directly keeping each and every citizen alive was unacceptable to him.
Loyalty to the person versus loyalty to the place weren¡¯t so different.
But James had considered whether it was possible that he could secure a promise of the former by asking for an oath about the latter.
He didn¡¯t want to force the issue, but just in case, he showed the citizenship oath to Rotter in advance. Just to get the brown noser¡¯s opinion on the wording.
¡°It doesn¡¯t mention you directly,¡± he¡¯d observed immediately.
¡°Oh, no, it doesn¡¯t,¡± James had replied with false humility.
So the answer was no. He hadn¡¯t arranged this. But he had hoped and suspected that it would happen semi-organically.
James didn¡¯t comment on Rotter¡¯s answer. He walked up to the podium and called for more public comment.
¡°Yes, you. Then you. And third will be you.¡±
Then he returned to his seat beside Mina and Yulia, and he took baby James into his arms. The next few speakers, he thought, should take a while.
Dave Matsumoto took the stage next.
¡°I¡¯m Dave Matsumoto,¡± he said. ¡°I haven¡¯t known James Robard long, though we¡¯ve apparently lived in the same apartment complex for years. But yesterday I learned the most important things about him. He¡¯s strong. Impossibly strong. Incomparable to what I expected from a human. And he will throw himself into danger to defend us. Hell, just to feed us.¡±
Matsumoto mentioned his military service, he compared the war he had fought in to the circumstances they now found themselves in, and he joined Rotter in taking the citizenship oath to James personally.
Then Amalia Rosario, who had been one of the scouts for James¡¯s group back in Orientation. Similar to Matsumoto, she mentioned her military service, though more briefly. She said that she knew James was the best person for the job, and she compared him to Teddy Roosevelt, which he found flattering.
¡°There are always three possible options in any given situation,¡± she concluded. ¡°There¡¯s doing the right thing, doing the wrong thing, and worst of all, doing nothing. I think James will do the right thing most of the time, but more importantly, I know from personal experience that when you¡¯re in danger, he¡¯ll never do nothing.¡± She likewise opted to take the loyalty oath to James specifically.
Did I save her at some point? James questioned. He was almost certain he hadn¡¯t. There were others in the wolf pack fight who had brushed close with death¡ªbut she must be referencing the fact that he brought the whole battle to an end by killing the Wolf King. There was a slow glow of pride spreading over his face, even as he questioned whether he deserved so much praise.
But most importantly, he felt Mina and Yulia looking at him with pride. That was exhilarating. That made it real.
Damien got up next. He told the story of how James had fought the alpha coyote to save him and his group, even though it was invisible and incredibly fierce. James found the account slightly exaggerated, but he also knew Damien had been semiconscious or completely knocked out for the whole incident. He must have heard what happened from someone else in his group. Rotter? Then Damien moved on to the fight with the wolf pack, which was presented in full dramatic detail. And he concluded by taking the loyalty oath to James personally.
He really could have gotten a blessing from a god of storytelling, too, James thought.
Then he rose and called on a few more people, and the pattern repeated.
Avery Daniels stood up from the crowd this time. She had apparently accompanied Alan and Mitzi from somewhere down the road. James was pleasantly surprised that she was still alive. It had been a long time since he saw her, when she drove him home on the first day of the apocalypse.
¡°I have had the good fortune to experience the impressive qualities of both King James and his Queen,¡± she began. James looked over at Mina, who mouthed the words, ¡°Last name.¡±
Oh. She was in Mina¡¯s Orientation. It will be good to hear someone from there praising her as well, especially since I intend for Mina to be in charge whenever I¡¯m gone.
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Avery explained how James had served the community as a prosecutor. She had only been in court a couple of times, and James was impressed with how much she seemed to have observed. Specifically, it was surprising how much she remembered of what he had done in dealing with other defendants. She must have been horribly nervous back then. She was trying to gauge how I would treat her by how I treated everyone else. Those observations wouldn¡¯t have been very useful, most likely. No two cases were alike, and the prosecutor¡¯s office trained its attorneys to deal with specific circumstances very differently based on a number of factors.
Then she started talking about Mina. ¡°Our new Queen defeated the final challenge of our Orientation, facing a monster that was far beyond her level in order to save the entire rest of the population of our group. Thanks to her, the deaths in our Orientation were, um, kept to a reasonable level¡¡± Avery¡¯s face took on an obviously troubled expression. It was clear that some of the death and destruction she¡¯d witnessed was still affecting her.
But after a few seconds, she continued, ¡°All of this was after Mina solved the mystery of what¡ªand who¡ªthe monsters were that were killing and eating a few of us every night. She chased the Wendigos away, or¡ªI don¡¯t really know¡ªat least persuaded them to leave or something.¡±
I really need to ask Mina some more questions about the Wendigos, James thought. They sounded horrifying when she mentioned them, and they basically vanished from the scene. Unless there are some additional details to the story, they¡¯re still out there. And I think she would¡¯ve mentioned a Wendigo Xenocide.
Avery turned and looked at Mina, and James saw tears in Avery¡¯s eyes. ¡°I want you to know that I¡¯m so glad that I can be here where you and your husband are. You¡¯re such kind and good people and¡ª¡± Her voice broke down into sobs for a moment¡ª¡°I know that I¡¯m only here thanks to you! So many of us are¡ª¡± She swallowed whatever she was about to say, sobbing again. Then she wiped away tears and snot with the sleeve of her blouse until James approached softly and gave her a handkerchief.
¡°Thank you,¡± she said, smiling slightly.
He smiled back at her, trying to keep the guilt from showing on his face. For a moment, he felt like a little bit of a fraud. As he sat back down, he reminded himself that everything anyone had said about him was because of something he¡¯d actually done. He had risked life and limb over and over, and apparently so had Mina. He knew it from her story of Orientation, of course, and he had also spoken some with Yulia about her experience. But it was quite another thing to hear testimonials from the beneficiaries.
He turned to Mina as he had this thought and whispered, ¡°You make quite an impression, my Queen.¡±
She shook her head gently at him, but couldn¡¯t keep herself from smiling. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m starting to resemble you,¡± she whispered finally.
After Avery had wiped away her tears, she made the same pledge as everyone else, voice quivering as she spoke. James was surprised that she didn¡¯t add ¡°and Queen¡± to the oath, but he figured she just didn¡¯t want to be different. It was obvious to him that Mina had impacted Avery more than he had. She approached the royal couple to return his handkerchief, which she had at least neatly folded, before she returned to the audience.
Then the next speaker came and stood on stage.
As the morning wore on, every single person who got up, without fail, had something nice to say about James. Even the ones who James had only vaguely remembered, or didn¡¯t think he knew at all. Some of the latter spoke in vague terms or only mentioned things James had done since returning to Earth. Every speaker concluded by reciting the citizenship pledge as a loyalty oath to James personally. The ritual of it had clearly developed a certain momentum.
As the various speakers got up to praise him, the same or similar notifications played in front of James¡¯s face several times.
[Sufficient experience accrued. Fisher King leveled up!]
[¡]
He couldn¡¯t easily block them out. Far from focused on some specific objective, he was glorying in every aspect of this moment. The feelings of power over, and admiration from, the crowd. The way he had orchestrated this whole small-scale revolution in people¡¯s sensibilities and what they expected from a government. The looks on people¡¯s faces. His wife¡¯s hand, held tightly in the palm of his own.
I¡¯m so lucky, he thought. I¡¯m remarkably fortunate. Once upon a time, I would¡¯ve said I was blessed. Now that I have a literal blessing from a god, it feels weirdly less appropriate. Even though I consecrated this ground to Anansi, his connection to what¡¯s happened is tenuous at best. Most of what¡¯s happened, I couldn¡¯t credit to Anansi even if I wanted to. It was hard to put into words exactly what imaginary force he wanted to praise for his present circumstances instead.
But there was so much to be thankful for.
His beautiful family, still intact and now enlarged, somehow all together in this world that had been torn apart. Somehow, he felt certain that his mother and sister would have survived too. Even though the System had purportedly killed half of all the humans on Earth, if its initial announcements had borne out. And James had gone from a mediocre lawyer bored with his work to a king acknowledged by a whole fledgling community of people as their leader.
It feels like fate, he decided. Like some cosmic force of destiny put its thumb on the scales for me. Maybe there¡¯s some cosmic force for order out there that really appreciates that I rejected Apophis. It was hard to imagine that he and his family deserved all the credit for this themselves, after all. It just seemed like too much. My cup runneth over, as the Bible says.
After some time had passed, and another speaker returned to her seat, James took the podium again. ¡°I¡¯m sure there are more of you who would like to speak today. The reception has been truly humbling. But there are a couple of friends here who helped guide some of our new residents to the Fisher Kingdom, and I don¡¯t believe these two friends of ours are staying. I¡¯d like to escort them to where they¡¯re going, and I am hopeful that I can do that and be back by tomorrow morning at the latest. I believe it¡¯s about midday now, so we need to wrap things up. I¡¯d like it if we could make these meetings a weekly occurrence, though attendance is optional. One thing that¡¯s become clear is that I would really enjoy hearing more of people¡¯s stories about their Orientation experiences and about their lives before the System. There have been a lot of great stories today, and I think it would be nice to end future meetings with a story. They don¡¯t have to be about me¡ª¡± This drew a chuckle from the crowd¡ª¡°or even my wife! For now, would everyone who hasn¡¯t already taken the pledge please stand and recite it if you¡¯re willing to? Then we will adjourn.¡±
The crowd obediently rose as a body to their feet. Even several of those who had already pledged their allegiance stood, James noted. Only Alan, Mitzi, and a very few others remained seated. Of those, one of them was sitting in a wheelchair and placed his hand on his heart for the pledge. Two others had already come up and sworn their loyalty. James only counted two people who seemed uncomfortable with the idea, who he imagined would be leaving shortly.
¡°I pledge allegiance to the Fisher King and to the ideals for which he stands: protection of the innocent, justice for all, and the promise to reconquer the Earth for humanity and our allied species. Only our sacrifices honor the fallen. Only victory can bring peace. Only we can win back the world.¡± Though the sound of individual voices in the gallery had been muted before, the combined voice of the mass of people swearing loyalty to James in sync had a powerful resonance now. Each syllable seemed to echo through his body. The words already spoken bounced off of the walls and echoed so that the sounds wrapped around each other and embraced James like a warm coat.
It really was humbling.
Mina walked up beside James, the baby clutched close in her left arm, and the picture felt more complete. Then Yulia appeared on Mina¡¯s left as well, and the picture became fully complete.
If I live to be a thousand years old, I¡¯ll never forget today. It really can¡¯t get much better than this.
V3Ch18-Departures
After the meeting finished, Mitzi and Alan watched James and his family from a distance as they spoke to their new subjects.
James found ways to make everyone who approached him feel important for at least a moment or two. Mitzi could tell by the way their faces lit up. He also seemed to be giving out responsibilities, based on how serious some people looked as they nodded in response to his words.
It was clear that James had become more comfortable with being in command over time. Still, there was definitely something else on his mind. Even as he stood there, talking to everyone with his baby held against his shoulder with one hand, she detected a trace of melancholy in his expression.
But Mitzi was most concerned about how Alan felt after witnessing James¡¯s first assembly.
¡°So, do you want to stay here?¡± she whispered. ¡°It¡¯s okay if you do. I¡¯m comfortable enough here. We¡¯ll get by just fine, and I have no doubt we¡¯ll make ourselves useful.¡±
¡°I¡ªI don¡¯t know.¡± Her husband¡¯s face looked conflicted. ¡°I am tempted. I had resolved to come back to the office unless something kept me away. James even agreed to go with us, so in my mind, that settles that. But after¡ªwell, I don¡¯t know.¡±
I know, Mitzi thought. I know where we¡¯re going to land on this.
¡°There¡¯s no hurry to get to an answer,¡± she whispered, smiling softly.
¡°Why are you whispering, anyway?¡± he whispered back.
¡°I feel like he could hear anything we¡¯re saying, if he wants to,¡± she replied in a not quite whisper, ¡°but if he wants to hear a whisper, I imagine it takes more concentration than listening to normal speaking voices. Especially if there are a bunch of people standing all around him, all competing for his attention.¡±
Alan turned his back toward James before he spoke again. That¡¯s smart, she thought. That makes it impossible to read his lips.
¡°Do you think he listens in on all the conversations in his territory?¡± Alan whispered. ¡°That would be a gross invasion of privacy. That sort of thing is part of where my doubts come from. Can we really trust James with the authority that these people are imbuing him with?¡±
¡°I think our old government was working to do much the same thing,¡± Mitzi whispered, ¡°on national security grounds. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it occurred to him. Hopefully he won¡¯t take that idea seriously. Then again, maybe that¡¯s part of the good work you and I can do here. He takes our advice seriously, we¡¯ve seen it already. The world has changed. James has decided to found a kingdom, and the System gave him powers to support that, I guess. But we can guide him. Keep him following his better instincts.¡± She realized that she was selling a bit.
¡°I didn¡¯t intend to persuade you either way,¡± she hastened to add. ¡°I¡¯m still figuring out how I feel too.¡± Though there is an undeniable excitement in the idea of helping found a new country, went unspoken. ¡°Well, I am leaning one way, but you know him better than I do, even after Orientation. You know what he¡¯s like in normal times. What his temperament is. We¡¯re not always going to be facing emergencies. I want you to be the one to make this call. Do you trust him? Do you want to stay here?¡±
Alan looked back at James, his gaze steady, for a few long seconds before he replied.
¡ª
James spent what felt like a long time fielding questions from his new citizens.
It wasn¡¯t actually very long, as tracked by the movement of the sun through the sky¡ªwhich he kept a distant eye on, because he was hoping to reach Dean¡¯s camp before the end of the day. But it felt like forever.
Maybe I shouldn¡¯t have chosen the Politician route, he thought as he finally politely excused himself from the gathering. He looked at his son in his arms. This is who¡¯s important. I have to make sure I never neglect my family while I¡¯m dealing with them. He was a bit sad at the idea of leaving James, Junior for any length of time, which was why he was spending all this time holding him. Mina would have him to herself for the next twenty-four hours. James needed to get in some time with the son he¡¯d only just met.
On the bright side, Mina had given him a long list of items to pick up if he could. Some of them, like diapers, were things he would have needed to get regardless of whether he went to help Dean. So at least he could tell himself that he wasn¡¯t de-prioritizing his family to assist a bunch of strangers and one of his old bosses.
¡°Are you feeling alright, skapi?¡± Mina asked as they reached the top of their apartment stairs. ¡°You look like you¡¯re thinking about something unpleasant.¡±
¡°I¡¯m just sad to leave you guys for any length of time,¡± he said. ¡°I hope you¡¯ll all be alright.¡±
¡°We have plenty of people here to protect us,¡± Mina said. ¡°People who are loyal to you personally, now. The people you care about will be important to many of them too.¡±
¡°We survived a pretty dangerous place with less help before,¡± Yulia said quietly. She was standing a few feet back, close to the children. James heard her quietly tell Abhi, ¡°Take the little ones to the room.¡±
¡°You made sure to tell your new subjects to mind me while you¡¯re gone,¡± Mina said. ¡°That will help. Since that was one of the last things you said while we were outside, I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll forget it. They only just swore their loyalty. As long as you come back soon, we¡¯ll be okay.¡± She stood on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. ¡°So just get back here as soon as you can, alright?¡± James caught the hint of sadness in her voice, though. They had just been reunited, and already, he was leaving.
¡°I¡¯ll always come back,¡± he said fiercely, looking back and forth between Mina, Yulia, and the departing young children. Abhi had begun shepherding his siblings, one holding his hand, one in his arms, but he stood listening in the space between the stairs and their room. Halfway between staying and going. ¡°Anytime I have to go anywhere. Don¡¯t believe I¡¯m dead unless you see a body.¡±
Mina, Yulia, and James shared a laugh at that.
¡°I know it,¡± Mina replied, giving his bicep a quick squeeze. ¡°Let¡¯s go put Junior down. He¡¯s been trying to go to sleep since halfway through your speech, but couldn¡¯t with all the people talking.¡±
She has a really good read on the baby, he thought. I was wondering what all the wriggling was about.
¡°I¡¯ll go watch the kids,¡± Yulia volunteered. She moved toward Abhi, and he reluctantly continued walking toward the children¡¯s room.
¡°Our baby is very quiet,¡± James observed, staring down at Junior in the crook of his arm and following Mina into the bedroom.
¡°He is,¡± she agreed. ¡°He¡¯s a strangely calm boy. I can¡¯t help wondering if it¡¯s the influence of this System. I know he was inside my womb during Orientation. So he didn¡¯t go through what the other children did. Still, I wouldn¡¯t put it past them to interfere with him in some way. And you know I had to let the proctor look after him a few times¡¡± Her voice trailed off into a silence pregnant with worry.
James nuzzled the baby¡¯s stomach, and was rewarded with little happy noises. And Mina¡¯s anxious expression shifted to a smile.
¡°There¡¯s no point in thinking about the System¡¯s plans for the children right now,¡± he finally said. ¡°We know it tried to at least give us what we needed for a shot at survival. I think we can assume it¡¯s trying to do something similar for the kids. And there are potentially much more immediate threats.¡±
¡°I guess so,¡± she said. There was a short pause. ¡°Did you have something specific in mind?¡±
¡°There is that Cara woman. In my conversation with Anansi, he mentioned only three big threats to look out for in our two Orientations. I destroyed two of them, but the third was in your Orientation. I think he meant her.¡±
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¡°So you¡¯re wondering if you need to destroy her,¡± she finished. ¡°Have you tried following up with Anansi to find out if she¡¯s still a threat?¡±
¡°I haven¡¯t. I don¡¯t know how that would change, though. Someone as power hungry as she is only becomes more dangerous over time, though. I would know.¡±
Mina bit her lip. Her body language radiated conflict in James¡¯s eyes. She wants to protect her.
¡°There¡¯s more than one way to neutralize a threat,¡± she finally said.
¡°Can you be sure she¡¯ll never be a problem in the future?¡± he asked.
¡°No, but by that standard, you¡¯d have to kill everyone in the world.¡±
He snorted. If anyone else had said that, he¡¯d have disregarded their opinion, but he trusted Mina¡¯s judgment. It had been invariably good through the years he had known her.
¡°Let¡¯s assume you¡¯re right about her,¡± he said. ¡°Can she keep a muzzle on her creatures?¡±
Mina swallowed. ¡°She did during the last days of my Orientation¡ªno, that¡¯s not true. She funneled their wrath in specific directions. But the Wendigos¡¯ hunger is endless. Eventually, it¡¯s inevitable that we¡¯ll face her, unless she leaves the region completely.¡±
James nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll order my flying creatures to keep an eye out for her kind. Any telltale signs they should be looking out for?¡±
She considered it for a moment. ¡°Just unseasonably cold weather.¡±
¡°So anything below eighty, then.¡±
He smiled. She returned the expression, but hollowly. He could tell she was a bit troubled at the thought of that future conflict. When I destroy the Wendigos, I¡¯ll make sure she¡¯s not there.
¡°Is there anything you need from me?¡± he asked. ¡°Besides the items you already mentioned.¡± Mina started to shake her head. ¡°Anything for the family, then?¡±
She thought for a moment. ¡°I know we spent some quality time with Yulia last night. She seems to be adapting well to being back on Earth. Maybe having the kids around helps her. Gives her something to focus on other than how her life has changed. But I think you need to have a few words with Abhi before you go. He won¡¯t say anything¡ªhe hardly talks so far, which is understandable given what he¡¯s been through¡ªbut I think he¡¯s bothered by you leaving. Maybe scared of you not coming back. He¡¯s just old enough to understand some of what¡¯s going on, but not much of it. I think he¡¯s becoming attached to you on an instinctual level, even though he¡¯s still waiting for his parents to come home. Whatever you do, don¡¯t leave without saying goodbye. He¡¯ll probably have nightmares.¡±
¡°That makes sense,¡± James said slowly. ¡°I am the one who found them. I don¡¯t want to make the world feel more unstable than it already does.¡± Maybe I already do that just by leaving right now, he thought. He frowned.
¡°Yes, there¡¯s that,¡± Mina said. ¡°And you¡¯re strong. Steady. You make everyone around you feel more secure. I would become attached to you myself, if I wasn¡¯t already!¡± She chuckled a little as she spoke those last words.
He smiled. ¡°Thank you. And I¡¯ll talk to him.¡±
They kissed.
When James entered the children¡¯s room, all eyes turned to him immediately. Yulia, Abhi, Indira, and even little Deepam. It made James feel slightly self-conscious, but at least they were happy to see him.
¡°I hope I¡¯m not interrupting anything,¡± he said.
¡°We¡¯re playing!¡± Abhi said, smiling. He held a transforming robot action figure in one hand. James saw that Yulia held one too. The kids and Yulia were all sitting on the floor.
That¡¯s sweet.
¡°Did you come to join us?¡± Yulia asked, raising an eyebrow.
¡°No.¡± James chuckled a little. ¡°I would love to, but I was actually just getting ready to go with our friends Alan and Mitzi. I wanted to say goodbye to you and Abhi.¡±
Abhi¡¯s smile dried up like a raisin. ¡°You¡¯re going?¡± he asked. ¡°Will you be back?¡±
James closed the distance between them in a few short strides. It wasn¡¯t a very large room. He¡¯d already thought, when he was putting the children to bed with Yulia the other night, that it ought to be enlarged. I¡¯ll put in some windows too, more windows all over the apartment. That would be his last order of business before he left. Narrow slit windows that children couldn¡¯t fall through. For now, he sat down so that he was almost at eye height with Abhi.
¡°I will,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯ll be back either tomorrow or probably the day after tomorrow¡ª¡±
¡°What if you¡¯re not?¡± Abhi interrupted. ¡°What if you aren¡¯t back by tomorrow?¡±
He really is anxious about this.
¡°I¡¯ll be back by the day after tomorrow,¡± James said. ¡°If not, I¡¯d be back the day after that. But you don¡¯t need to worry. I¡¯m very tough. I built this whole place by myself, remember? I just wanted to make sure you guys are going to be okay while I¡¯m gone. You can help me out by listening to Mina and Yulia and taking care of the little ones. You¡¯re going to be the man of the house for a little while, right?¡±
Abhi seemed to think about that carefully for a long moment. ¡°Alright,¡± he said. He still didn¡¯t look happy, so James pulled out his trump card.
¡°I also made this.¡± He took a small spider out of his pocket and held it out. It wasn¡¯t a real spider, but a crude sculpture made of James¡¯s hair mixed with clay he¡¯d pulled from the soil. It wasn¡¯t much to look at, he assessed. I¡¯ll never be an artist.
¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Abhi said. He didn¡¯t extend his hand to accept the spider, but he looked transfixed by its strange appearance all the same. The spider walked slowly, clumsily, back and forth across the surface of James¡¯s hand as it moved for the first time. The movements had a slightly crunchy sound as the clay shifted around to make its legs move a bit better. Finally, it began to get its footing and straightened up its posture.
¡°It¡¯s a monster that I made,¡± James said.
¡°Hello, human!¡± The clay spider opened its disproportionately large mouth and spoke, and Abhi jumped six inches off the ground.
¡°Wow,¡± Yulia said quietly. ¡°That¡¯s such a cool Skill.¡±
¡°Thanks,¡± James said, smiling as he looked back and forth between her and Abhi. It wasn¡¯t his best work, but it was nice
¡°What¡¯s it for?¡± Abhi asked, grinning like he hadn¡¯t been scared a moment ago.
¡°This little guy is for you,¡± James said. ¡°He¡¯s a Clay Spider. Think of him like a pet that can talk. He doesn¡¯t need to be taken for walks, but this spider can play with you when Yulia is busy. If you need me, you can tell the spider, and I¡¯ll know.¡±
¡°That¡¯s so cool,¡± Abhi said quietly. ¡°Can I name him?¡±
¡°Of course you can!¡± James said.
Abhi extended his hand, and the spider jumped onto it. Abhi jumped a little again despite himself, but the spider managed to hang on.
James struggled not to laugh. ¡°You two will get used to each other,¡± he said. ¡°By the time I¡¯m back, you¡¯ll be good friends.¡±
Abhi suddenly rushed forward and wrapped his arms around James. ¡°Thank you,¡± he said, holding James tightly around the neck and shoulders.
¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± he said, a little unsure of how to feel, but returning the hug. There was an odd sentimentality swirling in his heart. It feels a little like I¡¯m this kid¡¯s Dad now. I guess I probably need to get used to it. Unless some relatives suddenly appear, we¡¯re responsible now.
Then Yulia was hugging them both too. ¡°Travel safely,¡± she said. ¡°I know you¡¯ll be home soon.¡± James felt the tears on her cheeks.
¡°I will,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯ll be back very soon. I know you¡¯ll be fine while I¡¯m gone. Thanks for taking such good care of the kids.¡±
¡°It¡¯s fun,¡± she said, and he could hear that she was smiling.
¡°I decided to name my new friend Peter,¡± said Abhi quietly, ¡°after Spider-Man.¡±
James smiled and shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s a great name,¡± he said.
This trip had better be worth it, he thought. I¡¯d better accomplish some meaningful stuff. It feels rotten leaving them all like this.
Before he left the apartment, he went from room to room and created those small, narrow windows he¡¯d imagined. Hopefully this would make things just a bit more comfortable for them while he was gone.
¡°I¡¯ll try and make sure we get some glass or screens for those soon,¡± Mina said as she watched him.
¡°We¡¯re making this place a little better all the time,¡± James said.
They said their final goodbyes, and he descended the stairs.
¡ª
¡°Ready to leave, Your Majesty?¡± Mitzi asked as James emerged from the apartment.
¡°Absolutely,¡± he replied. ¡°Your chariot awaits.¡± He gestured to the sky, and Mitzi¡¯s eyes went wide as she saw two large creatures shaped like balloons that appeared to be made of human skin. James¡¯s skin, by the looks of them.
¡°I don¡¯t think I could ever get used to seeing those,¡± Alan said quietly.
¡°You took the words right from my mouth,¡± Mitzi said.
But they both allowed the Skin Balloons to grab hold of them. Each of the monsters extended long tendrils that they wrapped around their passengers¡¯ bodies. Mitzi found their grip surprisingly comfortable. Like being wrapped up in fairly plush backpack straps.
¡°These are made of your skin, right?¡± she couldn¡¯t help asking James. When she turned to face him, she saw that a third similar creature was attached to him. She wasn¡¯t sure where it had come from.
¡°That¡¯s right,¡± he said. ¡°I read once that the skin is the single largest human organ. That makes it very useful if you need to make something like balloons.¡±
She swallowed. ¡°Right.¡± Why did I even ask?
¡°So, why don¡¯t you guys tell me about the trip here?¡± he asked. ¡°We have a bit of a long flight ahead of us.¡±
V3Ch19-Diaper Run
Alan and Mitzi recounted the journey from their home to the Fisher Kingdom as James¡¯s creations flew all three of them forward. It was a clever trick, Alan thought, to keep them talking.
That way, they couldn¡¯t take as much time to be bothered by the fact that James had them flying what seemed to be a couple of thousand feet in the air. It wasn¡¯t high enough to make breathing difficult, and the turbulence was less than in many plane fights. The creatures, being living things, were able to move gently and surf the wind rather than resisting changing air currents violently. Even the grip of James¡¯s monsters felt more secure than a seat belt. Still, Alan studiously avoided looking down.
Once the story of their journey to the Fisher Kingdom was done, Alan and Mitzi took turns finding other things to talk about. She informed James in more detail about what they¡¯d observed of the condition of the Earth. Alan discussed the state of the area around the law firm building, where they were going. Mitzi asked about James¡¯s new family situation, which got him talking about Yulia¡¯s idea to find any and all lost children in the area.
And they both assisted James with navigation as needed, since every landmark had moved around as the Earth shifted. The Rogets found many ways to distract themselves from the flight. James himself didn¡¯t seem to mind either the sensations of flying or the conversation.
Eventually, he asked them if they minded the idea of a pit stop.
¡°Not at all,¡± Mitzi said.
Alan shook his head in agreement. He was fairly certain that Mitzi wanted a restroom break but had been hoping someone else would bring it up first. It was her body language that gave it away to him. And now they happened to be flying over a shopping center that had a few intact buildings.
Most of what they¡¯d passed in the hours they had been flying were the ruins of buildings destroyed in the System¡¯s transformation of Earth. Some of the other buildings had been ruined by what Alan suspected must have been human causes. Fire, vandalism, and so forth. Only perhaps one in four buildings from the pre-System era remained standing.
So seeing a largely intact shopping center felt like a piece of incredible luck.
As they descended, he muttered, ¡°I bet there are even functioning toilets.¡±
Mitzi gave him a raised eyebrow look that confirmed his theory.
¡°So, why did you pick this area to stop?¡± Alan asked, deliberately turning away from her to look at James. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine you¡¯re just tired.¡±
¡°Two reasons,¡± he replied. ¡°First, Mina asked me to stop at the store. I have a list of items to get.¡± James chuckled a bit, apparently at the thought of making a shopping trip in the midst of the apocalypse. He shook his head and lapsed into silence.
¡°And the other reason?¡± Mitzi finally asked as their feet touched down on the cracked and broken asphalt of the nearly empty parking lot. Only a few scattered, abandoned cars remained in the big, empty space.
¡°Ever since I became a Ruler, I can sort of sense the territory of other Rulers,¡± James said after a short silence. ¡°I don¡¯t want to worry you guys, but if we enter another Ruler¡¯s territory, there¡¯s a good chance we¡¯ll get challenged to a fight. Or, more likely, we¡¯ll just be attacked. The monster that rules that territory will assume we want a fight.¡±
¡°Monster?¡± Alan asked. ¡°Aren¡¯t some of the Rulers human?¡± Like you?
¡°Almost all of the Rulers are monsters,¡± James said. ¡°The proctor told me very few humans won their Orientations outright like I did. And we also have no way of distinguishing a human¡¯s territory from a monster¡¯s. A lot of them are also expanding their territory, just like me.¡±
Alan¡¯s expression turned to one of horror.
¡°So the monsters are taking over the world,¡± he said.
Mitzi placed a hand on his arm, and Alan reminded himself to take deep breaths. Surely things weren¡¯t all that bad.
But James was nodding. ¡°We¡¯re in a race against time with the monsters at this point, yes. If we lose, then it¡¯s a monster¡¯s world.¡±
¡°Are you sure it was wise to set us down here at all?¡± Alan asked. His head whipped around nervously, looking to see whether monsters would creep out from under any nearby cover.
¡°Yes,¡± James replied confidently. ¡°This territory is sort of sandwiched between two monsters¡¯ territories. Neither one of them has reached it with their auras yet. In a few days, both of them might get here at the same time, and then it could become a zone of conflict¡ª¡±
¡°Why would they fight each other?¡± Mitzi interjected. ¡°Do the monsters have their own internal rivalries?¡±
James explained that there had been a rivalry between the Wolf King and the final boss monster back in their Orientation. ¡°There¡¯s no reason that different species should get along,¡± he finished. ¡°They¡¯re all competing for the same scarce resources. Food and territory are limited.¡±
¡°Well, I hope they all kill each other off,¡± Alan said bitterly. ¡°Why the hell did the System bring them here?! The System claims to be benevolent. Why did it introduce monsters into the world?¡±
James looked away for a moment, as if listening to a sound from somewhere else. Finally, he turned back to Alan and Mitzi.
¡°The System doesn¡¯t create most of them,¡± James said. ¡°The stronger ones already exist. It just decides where they go. Apparently, there is a higher purpose to this that we just can¡¯t see yet. I know it¡¯s hard to accept that answer, but it¡¯s the best I¡¯ve been given.¡±
Alan felt like arguing, but Mitzi put a hand on his shoulder, and he forced himself to calm down. It was just quite a heavy thing to know that the world where he had grown up, formed his family, learned his profession, and ultimately grown old was now no more. Perhaps would never reappear.
¡°I¡¯m going to clear that building,¡± James said, pointing at the store. ¡°I sense there is some life inside, although I can¡¯t tell if it¡¯s humans or just lower level monsters. Either way, it shouldn¡¯t take me long to render the building safe.¡±
¡°Do you want backup?¡± Mitzi asked.
¡°No, but thanks,¡± James said. ¡°I want to go in and look around first. If I need help, I¡¯ll yell as loudly as I can. But if it¡¯s something that¡¯s below the level of a Ruler, I should be able to take it out on my own.¡±
¡°Are there any monsters in that building over there?¡± Alan asked. He pointed at a hamburger joint that stood thirty feet away from the store.
¡°Nope,¡± James said. ¡°Nothing with Mana inside. No signs of life that I can discern.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll forage for supplies if we don¡¯t hear from you, then. I don¡¯t imagine any of their meat is still good, but sometimes these places use fresh potatoes. Depending on how long we were actually gone, those might be decent to eat. Or possibly to plant.¡±
Most importantly, it¡¯s an intact building that¡¯s bound to have a restroom.
James nodded absently; he was staring at the store as if it was a puzzle to be solved.
Alan and Mitzi walked off toward the restaurant, leaving him to his thoughts.
¡ª
What is with that place? James wondered. I sense Mana. A sort of life force. But I can¡¯t tell where in the building it might be coming from. Is the whole building a monster? It didn¡¯t seem possible. And if the building was a monster, it must be incredibly weak for its life signs to be so hard to read even while he stood right in front of it.
¡°Sorry I couldn¡¯t give you a better answer about the monsters, sir,¡± Hester said. She sounded guilty. ¡°I could tell your friends weren¡¯t satisfied with it.¡±
¡°Well, we would all like to understand what¡¯s going on better, Hester,¡± James said, ¡°but no one thinks it¡¯s your fault that we can¡¯t. Now that Alan and Mitzi aren¡¯t in immediate danger, they just really want answers. Anansi really can¡¯t share more, huh?¡±
¡°Lord Anansi says you could have used one of your questions to get the big picture information back when you were with him in person. He thinks you were wiser to spend them on more immediately useful intelligence, though. The purposes of the System and the monsters will become clear with time anyway.¡±
¡°I suppose,¡± James said. ¡°I hope you enjoyed finally getting some public recognition back at the assembly, by the way.¡±
¡°It was very satisfying, sir. Thank you again. I was especially glad that there were some children in the audience who could clearly see me. Children always make up the most imaginative stories and embellish them with crazy details that adults would never come up with. People are going to think of me as some kind of a wise, magical spider who gives amazing advice and helps you perform your miracles!¡± There was an obvious tone of pride in her voice. She added, almost as an afterthought, ¡°Lord Anansi also appreciated that you consecrated the building as a temple to him. I know he wouldn¡¯t have asked, but I could tell that the fact that you came up with it meant something to him.¡±
¡°I know he¡¯s had my back so far,¡± James said mildly. ¡°I try to always honor my debts. And I expected that a lot of stories were going to be told there. It seemed fitting.¡±
He began walking toward the sliding glass doors of the grocery store. He wasn¡¯t going to figure out the mystery of this place by just standing outside staring at it.
To his surprise, the doors opened automatically to let him in. James stood outside with a raised eyebrow. There¡¯s still power to these things during the apocalypse? How? Now that he looked for them, he saw the building also still had some lights on, although not all of them. Maybe it was on some form of emergency power. A generator somewhere?! Maybe we can use it¡
It still wasn¡¯t entirely clear to him how much time had passed on Earth while he and the others were in Orientation. Even the smartphones didn¡¯t know the correct dates and times. The phones disagreed with each other, as he, Mina, and Yulia had found. They reflected how long each person had spent in Orientation. James¡¯s Orientation had lasted until a later date in that separate space, so his phone thought it was weeks ahead of theirs, as well as in a different time of day. Mina¡¯s phone was some minutes ahead of Yulia¡¯s, apparently thanks to a period when a monster had stopped time so that Mina could commune with her patron goddess.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Okay. Maybe a generator could be working. I guess I¡¯ll investigate. He walked into the building and immediately paused.
[Dungeon entered! You have arrived in Dungeon: Carol¡¯s Retail!]
The doors suddenly shut behind him, moving with uncharacteristic speed.
Shit, he thought. I don¡¯t have time for this!
¡°Oh dear,¡± Hester said quietly. ¡°So that¡¯s what the life energy you sensed was.¡±
¡°Dungeons give off their own life energy, too, huh?¡± he asked, looking around and waiting for a threat to emerge. But nothing seemed to move.
¡°Sometimes dungeons are just the plaything of a god or a creation of the System,¡± Hester said. ¡°But a dungeon can also arise as a living thing. A form of monster.¡±
¡°Good to know,¡± James said. ¡°And there was no way of recognizing it from the outside?¡±
¡°I¡¯m afraid not. I don¡¯t even have your senses. I couldn¡¯t tell that there was life inside the building.¡±
¡°Do you know how to kill it?¡±
¡°If you beat the dungeon, you should have the option of destroying the core,¡± Hester said without hesitation.
¡°Just perfect.¡± He shook his head. ¡°I guess I¡¯d better speed run this thing.¡±
He finally darted forward and moved beyond the area with the shopping carts near the front of the store. And he saw a blinking light as he passed.
He turned his head and got a better look at it. A blinking red light set into an electronic sensor. Motion detectors? The dungeon is using human technology?
But he didn¡¯t have much time to consider that strange fact for very long.
Motion appeared in his peripheral vision. James turned his head and realized he¡¯d spotted movement in one of the large, spherical mirror domes scattered around on the ceiling. From one of the back doors, a line of humanoid figures were approaching. As they moved, a bank of fog pushed forward alongside them.
Still, James¡¯s superhuman senses could clearly make out the movements of the monsters even through the thick clouds of water vapor.
They were slow and clumsy, their bodies moving with painful-looking shambling movements. Zombies, he thought. Looks like a dozen. I thought I¡¯d seen enough of them in the Dead Marsh.
James walked over to the aisle where the Zombies were emerging, and he slashed forward with his arm. Air Strike!
A blade of wind surged forward and bisected the entire line of Zombies, as well as dissipating the fog in an instant. So James clearly saw the arms, legs, and partially rotted internal organs as they went flying. Thankfully, the congealed blood in the bodies meant the liquid part of the mess wasn¡¯t as bad as it could have been. Eerily, the wriggling corpses dragged themselves forward, continuing to try to find their intended prey. Whole halves of human bodies with strange, sunken faces and white eyes stared in James¡¯s general direction.
Well, that¡¯s pretty gross, he thought. And creepy as hell. They even seem more resilient than Roscuro¡¯s Zombies were. If this place had enough of their kind, that could be a problem.
He moved to the next aisle over so he could go around the assortment of moving body parts.
As he reached the end of that aisle, another half dozen Zombies emerged from the doorway. A sign above the door frame blinked on and off. ¡°Exit,¡± it said.
¡°I¡¯ll take that as a sign that this is the right way to go,¡± James said quietly.
¡°Seems reasonable,¡± Hester said. ¡°Unless there¡¯s another exit you can see.¡±
¡°I mean, I could make an exit,¡± James said. ¡°Unless this place is indestructible or something. But there¡¯s no reason to destroy the building if I don¡¯t have to. I¡¯m not in a desperate situation, and there are supplies here. If I was trying to run away, I would have just smashed the automatic doors so I could come back later with reinforcements.¡±
Roscuro, would you please assume a more useful form? James thought at his Ego Weapon. Any weapon would be nice right now. I don¡¯t want to just chop these things up into pieces and have them go flying into the hallway ahead. They¡¯d be crawling around on the floor, trying to bite my ankles. But I also don¡¯t want to touch them bare-handed and get Zombie juice on me.
So I do the dirty work, came Roscuro¡¯s deep voice in response. Very well, master. The black bracelet form that the Soul Eater Orb had assumed changed. It shapeshifted first into shadows, then into a dagger that placed itself in James¡¯s hand.
You couldn¡¯t be a longer weapon? James asked as he planted the tip in the closest monster¡¯s eye.
Roscuro dematerialized again so that James didn¡¯t have to pull the blade out of the defeated Zombie. He repeated the killing blow over and over on the remaining creatures before casting Mass Pillage to harvest them for Stat points.
I need souls to develop my power, master, Roscuro pleaded. Otherwise my flexibility as a weapon is limited. Human souls, spider souls, wolf souls, it doesn¡¯t really matter. I¡¯m happy to feed on the souls of your enemies. But using me against soulless enemies like these creatures is a waste of my particular gifts. They¡¯re not even real dead people!
Um, I¡¯ll take that under advisement, James sent back. He would have said yes if Roscuro didn¡¯t specifically begin by mentioning how happy he would be to consume human, spider, or wolf souls. That was far from the way to win his heart.
Wait, did you say they¡¯re not even real dead people?
Correct, Roscuro replied. These do not behave like Zombies. It is as if someone made up a monster based on some old legends.
Well, they¡¯re very real-looking! James thought back.
He walked through the doorway with the ¡°Exit¡± sign hanging above it and found himself facing a long hallway. Another line of Zombies began emerging from a darkened doorway at the end of the hall.
Is that all this dungeon can do? he wondered. Anyone could overcome this place with the basic level of training that Orientation provided.
He quickly killed his way to the end of the hallway, and he found himself in front of the darkened doorway.
The wooden sign above the door said ¡°Employee Lounge.¡±
James looked into the room and immediately saw the only light source. A glowing purple orb. What appeared to be a gem as large as a watermelon, sitting on what looked like an ordinary break room table.
He walked toward it.
As he entered the room, alerts popped up.
[Congratulations! You have cleared Dungeon: Carol¡¯s Retail!]
[First human to clear Dungeon: Carol¡¯s Retail!]
[You gained 500 exp!]
He dismissed them with his mind.
¡°Stay back, human!¡± said a loud female voice that seemed to be coming from the orb. It sounded like a human voice, but with a rough vocal quality. ¡°Don¡¯t get any closer! You have successfully cleared the dungeon, and you won a free shopping trip¡ªso, um, please, don¡¯t destroy me!¡± With those last few words, the facade broke down.
James looked down into the glowing purple orb.
¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I?¡± he asked. ¡°Didn¡¯t you just try to kill me?¡±
¡°Please don¡¯t!¡± the voice said. ¡°I didn¡¯t¡ªI wasn¡¯t¡ªI¡¯m sorry! I just figured that¡¯s what dungeons are supposed to do.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t sound like you really know what you¡¯re doing,¡± James observed.
¡°That¡¯s because¡ªwell, I don¡¯t.¡± The voice sounded softer now. A little sad. Pathetic, if James was being honest.
¡°How does that possibly happen?¡± he asked. ¡°An intelligent dungeon that doesn¡¯t know what it¡¯s doing.¡±
¡°I achieved Race Evolution,¡± the voice admitted. ¡°A total fluke. I was a Rogue, and I had survived by making traps for things to fall into. I found it really scary getting through Orientation. So I decided to accept the option to become a Dungeon Core!¡±
¡°I see,¡± James said, not really understanding. ¡°So how does this work for you?¡±
¡°Well, I accept challenges and then I provide access to prizes if people win. If they lose, I get their stuff. And either way, I get experience.¡±
¡°Huh. That sounds like a convenient situation, actually. How did you get the supplies you have out in the dungeon? Were they things that were left after the System showed up?¡±
¡°Mostly no,¡± she said. ¡°The food here was all rotten, but the System gave me credits, and I have access to a lot of special items as a Dungeon Core. So I spent about half on monsters and half on prizes! Mostly food. Which is funny, since I don¡¯t need to eat now.¡± There was a distinct enthusiasm to her voice now, despite the fact that her life was still in James¡¯s hands.
¡°Do you have baby products in this place?¡± James asked.
¡°Some,¡± she said.
¡°And you can restock the items you have here?¡± he said.
¡°Absolutely.¡±
She¡¯s an invaluable resource, then.
¡°Would you be willing to promise not to kill any humans I send inside here?¡± he asked.
¡°If that¡¯s what you want, I¡¯m happy to do that in exchange for you letting me live. Just have them tell me that you sent them. If that¡¯s alright?¡±
She¡¯s not lying¡ James thought for a few seconds.
¡°I think I¡¯m going to let you live, then,¡± he said finally, ¡°and use your space as a training location for some of my people. What do you think of that idea?¡±
¡°Hey man, I get to live, and I even get more Experience? Sounds like a big win!¡±
¡°Good then. I¡¯ll send someone in to let you know what to expect in a week or two. My name is James, by the way. Also called the Fisher King. I¡¯ll have them say that King James sent them.¡±
I¡¯ll have to conquer the surrounding territories to get this place, but having a slowly growing benevolent dungeon inside my territory seems like it might be really useful for training the lower level people. And possibly some of the really young wolves.
¡°A week or two? So, you¡¯re just going to leave, then?¡± she asked. She sounded slightly disappointed.
¡°Not yet,¡± James said. ¡°First, I¡¯m going shopping.¡±
¡°You can do that,¡± Carol said. ¡°I mean, of course you can do that. It¡¯s your prize! But I¡¯m thinking, um, what if you took me with you?¡±
James was already turning to walk away when she said those last words. He turned back and stared at the Dungeon Core.
¡°What?¡± she asked. ¡°Do I have something on my face?¡±
He shook his head and groaned slightly. ¡°Your sense of humor is almost as bad as mine. What do you mean, take you with me?¡±
¡°I mean, I¡¯m not stuck here. I can rebuild the dungeon wherever my body is. And that¡¯s this orb. I just¡ªwell, it sounded like you might be going pretty far away, and uh, I couldn¡¯t help wondering if you were ever actually going to get around to coming back. It is a little lonely here. You¡¯re the first human I¡¯ve had the chance to talk to in days¡¡±
It was an easy decision for James.
¡°Alright. Go ahead and hop inside my bag. You¡¯re coming with me.¡±
Without legs, Carol did not have the ability to hop, as it turned out, but James managed to pick her up and store her in his magic satchel with no trouble.
V3Ch20-Arrival
After James completed his shopping trip and placed Dungeon Core Carol carefully in his bag, he met back up with Alan and Mitzi. Alan reported that they had collected all the potatoes in sight in their bags, and then the trio resumed their voyage.
The flight was largely uneventful, though there was a surprising moment when they had to take a detour to stay away from what appeared to be an epically large and dangerous thunderstorm. The surprising and disturbing part was that James sensed a massive and powerful life force at the center of the largest cloud.
In other words, that was no naturally occurring storm. It was simply a marker of the outer boundary of a Ruler¡¯s territory.
I suppose I¡¯ll have to deal with whatever that is myself eventually, he thought. He did not look forward to the idea of fighting some kind of monstrous thunderbird inside of a thunderstorm. James sent a silent instruction to his other flying monsters not to worry about looking for Wendigos after all. He would have to assume that the whole world was hostile and threatening from now on. The Wendigos were just the tip of a very large iceberg. Seeking them out would just be making trouble for himself for no good reason. It wouldn¡¯t make his world particularly secure to eliminate their kind. Better to start with my neighbors.
James was beginning to regret agreeing to help clear out whatever monster infestation Dean and the surviving population near the firm were dealing with. I have plenty of my own problems, given the number of growing monster territories in this area. He estimated he still had at least a few days before the nearest one could reach the edges of his own territory, but those were days that would have ideally been spent preparing.
I can rely on Mina, he thought. He sent a message to the monster he¡¯d left behind with Abhi, and he ordered it to ask Abhi to present it to Mina. Then James put the Fisher Kingdom at the back of his mind. They were arriving.
The trip had taken longer than James had hoped. His creatures were still slower than he¡¯d have liked. But at least they¡¯d made it while the sun was still out. He estimated sunset would be there in an hour or two, but there was enough time to get the lay of the land.
As they approached, James saw the old law firm building, separated from the main road by a big fissure. Surprisingly still just as intact as Alan had conveyed, despite both the movement of the Earth generally and the existence of that big, gaping crack in the ground specifically.
I guess it¡¯s a relief seeing another building still standing, James thought, but man, I do not miss this place. It was surreal to think that just a couple of months ago, he had been employed full time in this place, managing files and reporting to partners. Bleh!
There were also figures walking around outside. Working, he thought. Dean had assembled more people than just those who had worked in the building previously. There were eighteen figures walking around outside, including two men in prisoners¡¯ uniforms. One wore an orange uniform, and the other was dressed in deep red.
A serious criminal, James thought. Dean has to know what that color means, right? The man in orange was no angel either. James thought he recognized him from his days as a prosecutor. Arrested for breaking his wife¡¯s jaw, I think? Domestic violence offenders had always been the lowest of the low in his eyes, a position that was universal in the State Attorney¡¯s Office where he had worked.
But the other man¡¯s uniform indicated a serious threat to public safety. A particularly violent murderer. Serial killer. Terrorist. Serial rapist. There were a variety of horrendous crimes that could earn the red jumpsuit. But inevitably something vile and dangerous. If James had run into someone in a uniform like that just out wandering the Earth, he would have considered whether to avoid him or simply kill him.
But now I¡¯ll be helping him, he thought. Or at least the man would be among those he would be aiding if he assisted Dean. James tried to reserve his judgments for now. The System onset would have changed everyone¡¯s lives. Some people had changed for the worse¡ªthe images of Officer Ross and Cliff came to mind¡ªbut others would undoubtedly have changed for the better.
I remember Mina and I used to talk about when Yulia would finally grow up. She¡¯s so nice and accommodating that we thought she might fall in with the wrong crowd, like their sister Yelena. Now look at her.
Everything he¡¯d heard about Mina and Yulia¡¯s Orientation told him that Yulia had really come into her own. She wasn¡¯t someone they needed to worry about in the same way as before. Probably never would be again. She was growing into a strong adult.
Alan and Mitzi had been rather heroic in Orientation.
Damien had gone from an ordinary man to a Werewolf who took on the responsibility of protecting a group of people until James showed up to relieve him of that burden.
Some people had been criminals going into Orientation. James knew Rostov had been convicted for murder, and he had ended up being the worst human in James¡¯s Orientation.
But there were a couple of Moloch cult members who James felt had redeemed themselves in the end by fighting Flame Elemental Rostov alongside him. So anything was possible.
Then he remembered that he didn¡¯t have to think about this by himself. Maybe Alan knew something.
¡°Hey guys,¡± James said, speaking up just loud enough to be heard over the wind, which was louder at their height in the air.
¡°What¡¯s up, James?¡± Mitzi asked.
¡°Do either of you know the people down there?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯m wondering about the men in prison garb in particular. That red uniform usually means a really dangerous inmate.¡±
Alan looked down, frowned, and shook his head. ¡°I think I recognize some people from the building, but not those two. They must be, uh, people Dean invited,¡± he said hesitantly, brow furrowing with the beginnings of worry.
¡°Hopefully Dean knew what he was doing,¡± Mitzi said. ¡°There is a woman I recognize down there.¡± She pointed at a woman in a Mage¡¯s robes. ¡°I¡¯ve been volunteering at the library since I retired, and she¡¯s a librarian at the local branch back that way.¡± Mitzi pointed a thumb in the vague space behind them.
¡°Guess she found the group too,¡± James said. ¡°Probably good for her chances of survival.¡±
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¡°Yes,¡± Alan agreed. ¡°One thing Dean has to his credit: he¡¯s organized. You know he¡¯s been imagining the end of the world for years. Some of these people are probably from his community.¡±
Still kind of a small group, though, James thought. No way they could survive out here like this. Not with these numbers, and no Ruler present to scare away potential invaders. He didn¡¯t feel the aura of a Ruler, at least. Though James knew it was possible to conceal the power to some degree. He¡¯d been containing his own power within himself as they flew this way, to avoid provoking any fights.
¡°What do you suppose they¡¯re moving down there?¡± Mitzi asked, pointing.
James looked at the ground again and saw the prisoners hefting what appeared to be some form of heavy equipment toward the fissure.
¡°Looks kind of like military hardware,¡± James said.
¡°It is,¡± Alan said, squinting. ¡°Now that you mention it, I recognize what they¡¯re moving. They have some canisters of¡ªno¡ No, they wouldn¡¯t have let these guys get it off base. How did they manage it?¡± He trailed off into a troubled silence.
James tried to let him work things out, but as they drew closer, he felt the need for an answer more pressingly.
¡°Alan, what is it they have exactly?!¡± he asked, barely controlling his tone. But the urgency must have come through.
¡°Chemical weapons,¡± Alan said, speaking quickly and quietly. ¡°Some kind of gas. What kind, I don¡¯t know. I recognize what the canisters look like from the Persian Gulf. But I don¡¯t know what the army was storing in their Orlando base. I just know they got a lot of funding for new projects way back in the war with China. That was when they put up the new base. I guess they were storing some of this stuff there.¡± He shrugged helplessly.
¡°Good enough,¡± James said. ¡°Now I at least have an idea of what we¡¯re walking into.¡±
He ordered the Skin Balloons to release their hold on him and slowly lower Alan and Mitzi nearby.
Then James dropped the thirty feet or so that had separated him from the Earth. He landed just a few feet to the side of the former prisoners. As he touched down, he felt the distant presence of a Ruler. Somewhere below ground. But his mind was immediately pulled back to the surface.
Both of the men put the canisters they were holding down and turned to face him, their guards visibly raised. They looked bigger up close.
I wonder what their Orientation was like. He was betting on violent.
¡°Hello there!¡± James called, raising a hand and waving casually. ¡°I hear you guys have a monster problem?¡±
The convicts visibly relaxed a bit and looked at each other before either of them spoke. James used that moment to Identify both men.
Viktor Cremieux, Lv. 8
Olivar Cruz, Lv. 9
Neither of them has been through Race Evolution. They¡¯re just naturally this size. Viktor was the one in the red jumpsuit, while Olivar sported the less stylish but also less concerning orange.
¡°Who are you?¡± Viktor asked gruffly, clearly not the brightest bulb.
You could¡¯ve just used Identify, James thought. I have a False Impression up, but it has my real name on it.
¡°My name is¡ª¡±
¡°James!¡± Dean Crocetti¡¯s voice cut through the background noise and interrupted James¡¯s self-introduction. He turned and saw the law partner rushing toward him from the firm building.
¡°Well, I guess we have a friend in common,¡± James said, turning to the convicts with a small smile. Neither of their expressions showed anything but suspicion as they looked back at him. But that was fine. He didn¡¯t care if he won them over. The reverse was what mattered.
Alan and Mitzi landed beside James just as Dean reached them.
¡°Guys,¡± he said breathlessly, ¡°so good to see you made it back here! James, you¡¯re looking, uh, large.¡±
¡°Race Evolution,¡± James said. ¡°Once you get your Race to level 10, you get some new options for how you want your body to function.¡±
He Identified Dean as well.
Dean Crocetti, Lv. 10
Huh.
¡°Oh, I just got there myself,¡± Dean said, answering James¡¯s unspoken question. ¡°I¡¯ve been too busy to go into Race Evolution, though. Someone else in my Orientation did it, and I realized it took about an hour for him.¡±
¡°Busy doing what?¡± James asked.
He could see in his peripheral vision that Alan and Mitzi were looking uncomfortably in the direction of the canisters of gas the convicts stood beside.
¡°Just trying to solve problems, man, same as always,¡± Dean said, a smile playing over his lips. ¡°You probably know how it is, with the power grid down and the gas and water disconnected. But before we can deal with any of that, we have more immediate problems. Right now, we¡¯re playing whack-a-mole.¡±
James was slightly startled by the sound of Cruz beginning to laugh off to the side. He turned his head and saw Cremieux affixing Cruz with a disapproving look.
¡°Whack-a-mole, huh?¡± James asked, turning back to Dean.
¡°Would you explain the situation, Dean?¡± Alan asked. ¡°What¡¯s the nature of the problem? I know there are monsters, but when I left, we didn¡¯t know what kind.¡± He lowered his voice. ¡°Who exactly are these guys? And, um, why do they have military-use canisters of gas?¡±
¡°We¡¯re right fucking here,¡± Cremieux said loudly, taking an aggressive step forward. ¡°Anything you want to know about us, you can ask us yourself.
Alan took a step back. Cremieux¡¯s face took on the satisfied look of a bully whose victim was ready to hand over his lunch money.
And James released some of the aura he was holding in.
Cremieux¡¯s expression changed. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead.
¡°What are you¡ª¡± He looked at James. Then Cremieux stepped backward several paces, until he stood behind the canisters. James reined his aura in a bit.
¡°Sorry about that, guys,¡± Dean said awkwardly, casting a disapproving glance in Cremieux¡¯s direction. ¡°Vik, these are my friends from work. Alan, one of my partners, and James, one of our associates.¡± He looked at Mitzi. ¡°I assume you are the famous Mitzi I¡¯ve heard so much about?¡±
¡°Guilty as charged,¡± she said, trying to put on a winning smile but landing more on the side of obvious discomfort. ¡°Although I don¡¯t know what I might have done to get famous.¡±
¡°You can¡¯t spend time around a guy like Alan and not know about his wife!¡± Dean said. ¡°Anyway, these two gentlemen are Viktor and Olivar. Got to know them a bit in Orientation. They both have a bit of a temper¡ª¡± He threw them a look that seemed to carry an emotion somewhere between impatience and indulgence¡ª¡°but they saved my ass more than once in Orientation. They¡¯re good guys. Solid. Brave.¡±
Brave when they know they can win, James thought. Olivar was definitely the man he¡¯d seen in court for smashing his wife¡¯s jaw. And Viktor had just demonstrated he wasn¡¯t any more patient than Olivar.
¡°Hopefully we can all get along,¡± James said, not bothering to hide the deep suspicion with which he regarded the two convicts.
¡°I believe we can,¡± Dean said, not giving either former prisoner the chance to respond. ¡°In fact, I would say it¡¯s more like we have to. We need to work together if we¡¯re going to rebuild the world.¡± He was clearly warming to his subject.
James gave him the thinnest of nods, to convey, Yes, go on.
Dean turned to Alan. ¡°When you left, Alan, I had an inkling about what the monsters in that deep hole might be,¡± he began.
James¡¯s Ring of Truth began throbbing on his finger for the first time. He realized this was its way of indicating deception. Since he had owned it, no one had outright lied to him. At most, he had felt a twinge from the ring when someone told him a half-truth. Dean was lying about something.
V3Ch21-Negotiation
¡°After you were gone, we used a rope to lower someone down into the pit to investigate. Our unfortunate volunteer barely survived, although I believe he¡¯ll be as good as new soon since we got him some prompt healing. When he regained consciousness, he described the creatures that had attacked him. Those descriptions fit with what I had been, ah, concerned about. I remembered a monster from my Orientation, and our volunteer¡¯s report fit them to a tee.¡±
James listened closely to the explanation, and the Ring of Truth didn¡¯t give him any further indications of deception. He guessed that the only thing Dean had been lying about was that he¡¯d had ¡°an inkling¡± about what sort of monster he was dealing with.
He must have actually known what kind of monster it was right away. And what, he lied about it? Pretended he wasn¡¯t sure? Hoped against hope that he was wrong? In the end, he sent someone down into that pit who got hurt¡
James looked at the faces of the convicts who were still standing nearby. They had been nodding and looked satisfied with Dean¡¯s recounting of the story. How would these two men¡ªthese violent men¡ªbehave if they knew Dean was lying about not knowing what kind of monster was inside that space? And that question, of course, assumed that this was the only important thing Dean was lying about. This place is a powder keg that could explode any time. Why bring such unstable people in?
¡°So what sort of monster are we dealing with, then?¡± James asked, not wanting to waste time. ¡°I can already sort of feel its presence.¡±
¡°You can feel it?¡± Viktor asked, sneering.
¡°Yeah, like you were just feeling me, Viktor,¡± James replied scornfully, releasing some aura for a moment to drive the point home.
¡°Okay, guys,¡± Dean said, stepping forward so he stood almost in between Viktor and James. ¡°Let¡¯s please try not being at each other¡¯s throats for a bit.¡±
I could literally rip his throat out at any moment if I wanted to. Viktor needs to know he can¡¯t behave aggressively in front of me.
James simply stood silently, eyebrows slightly raised, waiting for Dean to answer his question. The tension in the air seemed to ebb slightly as a few seconds passed without any eruption of violence.
¡°The monsters we¡¯re dealing with are Mole People,¡± Dean said finally, his expression grave.
James waited for the punchline. When it didn¡¯t come, and he realized Dean was serious and telling the truth, he said, ¡°Really? Mole People? Like in some cheesy old science fiction movie?¡±
¡°They¡¯re a serious threat,¡± Dean said. ¡°We encountered them in Orientation.¡± His eyes seemed to fill with fear as he began recounting the story. ¡°It was me and the Crespo brothers. We were in a field where there was supposed to be a nest of monsters according to our group¡¯s scout. The scout thought they looked edible if we could manage to kill them. Probably a good source of meat.¡± He scowled at the memory. ¡°But we couldn¡¯t find anything. The scout had a long-distance communication Skill, so we were talking to her through that. She insisted that the monster was some sort of giant rodent, and where you see a rodent, there¡¯s almost never just one. She thought they might be some kind of burrowing type, so one of the Crespos started digging.¡± Dean put a hand to his face and started massaging the areas under both eyes, moving his fingers inward until they reached the bridge of his nose. It took him a few seconds before he was willing to continue.
¡°Mike Crespo had dug about a foot into the ground, when a claw bursts out of the ground and pulls him thigh deep into a hole. Mike is screaming and hollering, and we¡¯re standing there staring at each other trying to figure out what to do. He starts yelling, ¡®Help me, help me! It¡¯s trying to pull me under!¡¯ So me and his brother Javier each take an arm, and we start pulling. We get the leg about an inch out of the ground, and this horrible force yanks on the other end and pulls it right back in. The creature pulls even harder, clearly trying to get as much of Mike¡¯s body underground as he can. At a certain point, Mike¡¯s voice gets loud and shrill, and we start to see the blood pour out of the section of his leg that¡¯s planted in the ground. He tells us, ¡®Leave me, save yourselves.¡¯¡±
James¡¯s Ring of Truth detected deception again here.
¡°So we start running.¡± Another lie.
¡°But Javier was too slow.¡± This also registered as untrue.
¡°I managed to escape that field with my life, but as I turned back, I saw this big quasi-humanoid thing covered in fur. It was half out of the ground, grabbing onto Javier with claws as long as this.¡± He gestured at his left hand. ¡°It made this horrible squeaking sound, and then another one popped up next to it and grabbed Javier with its claws. I saw them pull him down. Deep underground somewhere, where I wouldn¡¯t be able to hear him scream.¡± He shuddered. ¡°During those last moments when they were yanking him under, I managed to use Identify. So I figured out they were Mole People. We tried to avoid them the rest of Orientation, but they were one of the primary monsters. Their territory seemed to span roughly a third of the space. The rest of it was less hospitable, if you can believe that. So we kept occasionally losing people for a while. Once we spotted a Mole Person in the act of taking a team member, we started spending a lot of time in the trees. But it was difficult. They made it a nightmare.¡±
Well, at least he doesn¡¯t seem to be exaggerating the nature of the perceived threat. The Ring of Truth isn¡¯t giving me anything.
¡°Were the two of you there for this?¡± Mitzi asked the two convicts.
Viktor just gave her a sullen look before he caught James glaring back at him. Then Viktor turned his face to gaze elsewhere.
¡°We were,¡± Olivar said solemnly. ¡°Well, we weren¡¯t there for the first encounter, but later, when the monsters snatched a teenager, we had already joined. We witnessed.¡±
¡°So you were planning to gas them?¡± Alan asked. ¡°I saw you had some canisters of some kind of gas there.¡± He bent down to look slightly closer at the canisters. James had already glanced at them but didn¡¯t have the chemistry knowledge required to interpret the labels.
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¡°What is it, exactly?¡± James asked.
¡°Nerve gas,¡± Alan said. ¡°The System is translating the text for me, but I can still recognize that the characters are Mandarin. Looks like weapons confiscated from the People¡¯s Republic of China after the war.¡±
¡°Yes,¡± Dean acknowledged. ¡°I asked our friends here to get their hands on whatever they could. Based on our volunteer¡¯s testimony, there¡¯s more than one or two of those monsters down there. It¡¯s not safe to go down there and fight them in close quarters¡ª¡±
¡°So you¡¯re going to gas the area?¡± Alan interjected. ¡°That stuff could kill a lot more than just your Mole People!¡±
¡°Well, what¡¯s the alternative?¡± Dean replied calmly. ¡°The building¡ª¡± He gestured to the firm¡¯s office building¡ª¡°is perfect as a base. We just have to clear out some pests. We can¡¯t have them making fissures like this. But we have to clear all of them out. Gas is the only way to be sure.¡±
¡°If the wind takes it, that stuff could kill everyone you have here,¡± Alan said.
¡°Our friend at the base assured us that we¡¯ll be safe as long as we wear the masks he provided.¡± Dean held up a dark-colored gas mask.
¡°What if the creatures realize what you¡¯re doing and decide to come up for a fight?¡± Mitzi asked. ¡°It sounds like you don¡¯t believe your group would win a straight fight with them.¡±
¡°I¡¯m told that the gas is odorless and colorless. They have no way of realizing what¡¯s going on. They¡¯re just dumb animals, but they¡¯re too tough to fight head to head.¡± Dean was trying to sound calm, but James could detect that he was a bit frustrated with the conversation. Still, James had his own serious reservations about this idea.
¡°Are you sure?¡± James asked.
¡°Am I sure about what?¡± Dean asked, sighing.
¡°Are you sure that they¡¯re basically dumb animals?¡± James asked. ¡°In my Orientation, I drove a species to extinction, only to discover, when I was fighting the last one, that it could talk. And they had been attacking us in part because they perceived us as invading their territory. It was an avoidable fight, and I regret that it happened. I don¡¯t exactly disapprove of the idea of using chemical weapons here. If you¡¯re right, they¡¯re just like pests that live in the walls of your house, and gassing them is the appropriate solution. I hate to ask this, because you obviously had a traumatic experience in Orientation with these things. But have you ever tried talking to them?¡±
Dean just stared at James, slightly flabbergasted, for a moment.
¡°No,¡± he finally admitted. ¡°I haven¡¯t tried that. Do you think it¡¯s possible?¡±
¡°Why don¡¯t we step inside the firm for a bit and discuss strategy?¡± James suggested.
¡°That seems fine,¡± Dean said.
Viktor spat on the ground, obviously annoyed at the delay. ¡°We will remain out here, in case one of your pet monsters¡ª¡± He pointed at James¡ª¡°decides to take a bite out of someone outside.¡±
¡°Then it¡¯s just the four of us,¡± James said, giving a small smile. I don¡¯t care what you think, dumbass. You¡¯re the dumb muscle Dean decided to put up with in a moment of weakness.
James, Dean, Alan, and Mitzi walked across the broken parking lot pavement and entered the firm building. It was remarkably intact, James noted. Dean had been right that it was a sturdy structure. It even apparently had a Dungeon somewhere inside, though James was less interested in that now that he¡¯d found Carol. But still¡
As the doors closed behind them, Dean began talking. ¡°So what couldn¡¯t you say in front of our new allies?¡±
James and the others took seats on the chairs in the lobby before he responded.
¡°For starters, why are those two thugs here at all?¡± James asked. ¡°They¡¯re both violent criminals. Do you even know what they did to end up in those jumpsuits?¡±
Dean¡¯s face colored. ¡°They¡¯re two of the strongest Warriors I met in Orientation,¡± he said after a long pause. ¡°We¡¯re lucky they agreed to join us.¡±
¡°Is it lucky?¡± James asked. ¡°People don¡¯t necessarily turn over a new leaf just because circumstances change. If they¡¯re among the strongest people you¡¯ve met, that just makes the lack of basic anger management skills even more of a problem. How will you restrain them?¡±
¡°Well¡ª¡± Dean looked uncomfortable. ¡°That¡¯s a bridge we¡¯ll cross if we come to it. So far, they¡¯ve both been doing well. I¡¯ve never seen them strike another human in anger. And what would you propose, anyway?¡±
¡°Come with me,¡± James replied instantly. ¡°Alan and Mitzi can tell you, because they¡¯ve already seen it, but I¡¯ve carved out my own territory. Much safer than being here.¡±
¡°So you¡¯re not staying, then,¡± Dean said, clearly disappointed. ¡°I can tell you¡¯re strong. I don¡¯t know how strong. But you can hardly defend any land by yourself¡ª¡±
¡°He¡¯s not¡ªuh, alone¡ªDean,¡± Alan cut in. ¡°He actually seems to have a lot more people in his Fisher Kingdom than you have here.¡±
¡°What? Wait, you declared yourself a king?¡± Dean looked at Alan and snorted a little. ¡°Are we back to monarchy?¡±
¡°It¡¯s not a joke, Dean,¡± Mitzi said, sighing.
The humor on Dean¡¯s face dried up, and his tone became slightly hostile. ¡°So I¡¯m in the presence of royalty now.¡±
I could be with my wife, my baby, and the kids right now, but no¡ªI decided to come and help this guy. I don¡¯t need this.
¡°Well, clearly, you have this situation under control, Dean,¡± James said. ¡°You¡¯re building yourself a community that includes violent felons, you¡¯re about to use up your deadliest weapons to solve a pest problem¡ªand possibly contaminate your own living space¡ªand there¡¯s no one in your whole group who¡¯s actually strong enough to maintain order¡ªlet alone to defend it when the real threats show up.¡±
¡°Spare me the holier than thou attitude, Your Majesty,¡± Dean spat. ¡°We¡¯re a self-governing community. We don¡¯t need your kind of order here. And what do you mean about real threats?¡±
I suspect that in the long run, much of the world is going to get my kind of order, whether they need it or not. Dean doesn¡¯t get it yet, but the circumstances now make dictatorships almost inevitable. Monarchy lasted for millennia, because people could be convinced that the royals were meaningfully different from them. Because of magic blood. Fast forward to now, when I¡¯m so genuinely different from the people in this little crew that I could slaughter all of Dean¡¯s people without using up most of my Mana. I would never do that, but there is some extent to which might makes right.
¡°I mean that we live in a monstrous world now, Dean. There are probably as many monsters in the world now as there are people. No, probably a lot more. And there are thousands of particularly territorial ones, which the System calls Rulers. Including several whose territory isn¡¯t far from this area. That¡¯s part of why I suggested leaving the Mole People alive. If you can negotiate with them, they might be willing to coexist in peace. They could stand and fight with you against other species that could invade the territory.¡±
James wanted to add, If they don¡¯t fight alongside you, and I wipe them out, I doubt you¡¯ll last a week here, but Dean was already shaking his head.
¡°No.¡± He spoke through gritted teeth. The next words were something between a whisper and a groan. ¡°I can¡¯t¡ªI can¡¯t let them get away with all that they¡¯ve done. The people they¡¯ve killed.¡± He shook his head and locked eyes with James. ¡°Alan claimed you¡¯re some great monster exterminator. Do it or don¡¯t do it. But if you¡¯re not going to help, then just stay out of the way.¡±
James sighed and stood. Fuck it.
V3Ch22-Underground
James turned and began walking toward the front doors.
¡°Well¡ªhey, wait! Are-are you gonna do it or what?¡± Dean¡¯s voice came through the air behind him.
I¡¯m so profoundly disappointed in you, Dean. James didn¡¯t bother answering the question. His answer would be obvious soon enough.
As he reached the door, James heard Alan¡¯s voice. ¡°Let me speak to him. The two of you are talking past each other. You could try to understand his point of view, you know?¡±
Then he heard the sounds of Alan¡¯s old-man, shuffling footsteps following behind him.
James moved through the door and held it open for Alan. Mitzi was back there saying something else to Dean, but James focused all his attention on Alan for now.
¡°I thought that went well,¡± Alan said sarcastically.
James couldn¡¯t help smiling. ¡°I¡¯m glad the end of the world hasn¡¯t meant the end of your sense of humor.¡±
¡°You have to admit he has something of a point, James.¡±
¡°About?¡±
¡°These monsters attacked him and his allies without any warning that we¡¯re aware of,¡± Alan said. ¡°Why would he be willing to believe they¡¯re trustworthy partners to form an alliance with? And¡ª¡± He hesitated.
¡°And you think my governance structure is less than ideal,¡± James finished.
¡°Potentially,¡± Alan said. ¡°I¡¯m not as sour on it as Dean. I¡¯ve seen you lead.¡±
James looked Alan in the eyes. ¡°It¡¯s a form of government for a harsher, more unpredictable time. We can¡¯t have checks and balances in the world we¡¯re experiencing right now. We have to make instant decisions. There can¡¯t be any question of second-guessing me when we¡¯re in the middle of a conflict. And you know how stupid people can be when they¡¯re in groups. The ancient Athenians elected their generals, and they would try to remove them at the first sign of trouble. That¡¯s probably why they lost to Sparta. The madness of crowds is practically a cliche. People need a strong source of authority.¡± He looked off to the side.
¡°I admit there is an element of personal ambition at work here. More than a little bit. But we¡¯re all compromising one way or another. You might think that Dean has beautiful ideals. Even though he¡¯s decided that it¡¯s okay to have violent criminals in charge of his munitions, and that another possibly intelligent species shouldn¡¯t be negotiated with. Despite the fact that the world is now populated with powerful non-human species. You might reasonably agree with him that we should be democratically governed. I used to think that, before the world turned upside down. But setting all that aside, he isn¡¯t strong. Not strong enough. He¡¯s not even seeing things clearly. That man tries to be a hard-nosed realist, but he¡¯s delusional right now. Or he just doesn¡¯t believe the truth I¡¯m trying to show him.
¡°You know me, Alan. I¡¯m not as idealistic as Dean, maybe, but I will always defend my own. And I have the power to back that up. The day is coming, and I suspect coming soon, when this place is going to get overrun by monsters or captured by someone stronger, or Dean gets shivved in the back and replaced by someone more ruthless than he is. What happens to his ideals then? He¡¯s going to die or take orders, maybe from monsters, maybe from some contemptible people we haven¡¯t even met yet.¡± James met Alan¡¯s eyes again. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to sell you on myself as a leader. I am the leader in the Fisher Kingdom. That¡¯s a fact. You know that I listen to advice when I¡¯m acting as a leader¡ª¡± He stopped himself¡ª¡°Damn it, okay, I am selling myself a bit, I guess.¡± He chuckled a little before he started talking again. ¡°My bottom line is: I don¡¯t want to be wondering what¡¯s happened to you and Mitzi. I hope you¡¯ll decide to come back with me and not stay here with Dean in his ¡®Gangsta¡¯s Paradise.¡¯ You don¡¯t have to answer now. Please discuss it with her, and let me know what you two have decided when I come out of the pit.¡±
¡°So you¡¯re actually going in?¡± Alan asked, raising an eyebrow.
James gave a bittersweet smile. ¡°Well, I promised you I would, didn¡¯t I?¡±
He began walking toward the fissure. He sensed rather than saw as the figure of Alan trailed along after him, with Dean and Mitzi walking further behind.
It¡¯s a shame that Dean fellow isn¡¯t joining you, Roscuro¡¯s voice commented in James¡¯s mind. Clearly not close to your level, but he would be one of the stronger members of your Kingdom.
I know, James replied. But what are you going to do? Pride is a killer.
¡°That was quite dramatic,¡± Hester said quietly. ¡°Another great speech, sir. You missed your calling as a priest.¡±
¡°Thanks¡ªI think,¡± James replied, quietly laughing to himself.
He reached the fissure and looked down into the inky darkness. It reminded him of a fall from a cliff he¡¯d taken not too long ago. Even though he felt almost invincible now, there was a tiny splinter of doubt in his mind. The environment would be on his enemies¡¯ side. There was another Ruler down there. He hadn¡¯t faced one other than Roscuro before¡ªand he knew the Soul Eater had genuinely possessed the power to put him down for good.
Quit worrying, master, the Soul Eater¡¯s voice pronounced reassuringly. I can¡¯t sense anything in there as dangerous as you. Certainly nothing as crazy as you are. If nothing else, just make sure you use me to kill a decent number of these Mole People. With their souls inside me, I¡¯ll have enough power to protect you in the event of a landslide.
For a moment, I was almost reassured, James thought. But Roscuro just wants to eat souls.
He looked around and saw that a number of Dean¡¯s people had gathered around the hole and were staring at James. It was the perfect chance to give them all the same information he¡¯d given Dean.
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¡°Alright, Dean,¡± James said, loud enough for his voice to carry. ¡°I¡¯m going to do you a favor and solve your monster problem, since I already came all this way.¡±
¡°Thank y¡ª¡±
James cut Dean off and continued talking even louder. ¡°There will undoubtedly be more creatures on the way once these things are gone, though. This place won¡¯t ever really be settled or safe until it¡¯s part of a Ruler¡¯s territory.¡± He cast a quick look around at the assembled faces, and he saw many of them, including Dean, looked worried. ¡°I¡¯ll talk more when I¡¯m back from exterminating the Mole People,¡± he added.
Then James leaped in. As he fell, he drew his Ego Spidersword from his magic satchel and ordered Roscuro to transform into the longest dagger he could¡ªwhich wasn¡¯t very long still, but James hoped to make the weapon a lot stronger over the course of the next several fights. James was already wearing the Royal Exoarmor and Solar Helm, though the latter would be of limited use here.
As he fell, he felt the Ruler¡¯s aura getting stronger the further down he dropped. But not as strong, he was fairly certain, as his own. Roscuro was right. James should be able to win this, if he played it smart.
He wondered if it would be possible to capture the Ruler alive.
As he had that thought, James heard skittering in the darkness. Then he could make out a shape, rushing through a tunnel toward him. It managed to leap onto James before he fell out of reach. Then he was locked in combat with his first Mole Man.
The creature was shrouded in darkness almost up to the moment that it made physical contact, but James had a solid second to get a good look at it before it could attempt its first attack. He wanted to know what he was dealing with.
The figure that had attacked him was exactly what the phrase ¡°Mole People¡± would have led him to expect. A six foot tall mammalian monster covered in fur, with big sharp teeth and claws, and no eyes that James could see.
It really is just a simple animal, he thought. Maybe I gave Dean too little credit for deciding he just hated these things and that negotiation wasn¡¯t worthwhile. These things might be just like the Desert Centipedes.
Before he could give it any further thought, the monster hissed and tried to bite him. And James focused on killing the thing.
Fortunately, James¡¯s Predator in Human Skin Class and his overpowered Stats were made for close combat. As the monster attempted to sink its teeth into the Exoarmor¡ªthey glanced off like plastic trying to cut through metal¡ªJames threw a single punch. He heard and felt the snap of bone and the ripping of meat¡ªand then a ding.
[You killed Menacing Mole Man Lv. 11! You gained 110 exp!]
Well, that was super easy, James thought. I barely felt any resistance to my fist.
Could I please kill the next few, master? Roscuro asked gently.
Yeah, I¡¯ll let you go ahead and do that, James replied. As he sent the message he caught hold of a wall to stop himself from falling.
And he Pillaged the Mole Man¡¯s body for Stat points. Waste not, want not!
¡°Can you see what you¡¯re doing?¡± Hester asked as the mole meat and fur floated into James¡¯s bag. ¡°I heard the sound of you killing something, and I saw a glowing body just now, but while you were fighting, I couldn''t see my foot in front of my eyes!¡±
¡°It¡¯s a little dark, but I can still see,¡± James replied. ¡°I do have a trick for this situation, though.¡±
Hand of Glory!
Sparks of light emanated from his left hand, scattering to all sides within a large radius around James. Rather than falling with gravity, the lights hovered in midair, scattered at varying elevations slightly above, just below, and at James¡¯s rough height.
For the first time, James took in the small canyon-like space he¡¯d leapt into. He could see how the walls were pitted with oval-shaped tunnel openings that looked to have been dug with claws and teeth alone. They appeared to lead in all directions, and they appeared at different elevations as well. The sight reminded James of the game ¡°Whack-a-Mole,¡± and it raised the question of whether monsters might pop out of any hole at any given moment.
How many creatures live in this place? James thought.
So many souls to eat¡ Roscuro observed at almost the same moment.
Well, I¡¯m happy for you, then.
¡°I can see now!¡± Hester called out excitedly.
The effect of the sparks was limited to only those whom James allowed to see it. Otherwise he wouldn¡¯t have used them, just in case there were non-mole enemies down here that might be drawn to light sources. James was fairly certain that he could fight blind with near complete effectiveness by relying on his other senses.
But he enjoyed Hester¡¯s reactions a great deal.
¡°Oh my gosh, how did they make this place?¡± she gushed. ¡°Didn¡¯t they get back here at the same time as you?¡±
¡°Well, I put up a small apartment complex since I got back, and I only had a few people helping me,¡± James said. ¡°The Mole People might have hundreds of workers in their number from the way this place looks.¡±
You¡¯ll have an accurate picture after you¡¯ve slain the Ruler, Roscuro suggested. Once you flood this place with your aura.
That would imply I want to keep this underground realm as part of the Fisher Kingdom, wouldn¡¯t it? James replied. Is there anything down here worth the effort?
The residual aura fades if you don¡¯t reinforce it after a few days, Roscuro told him. I have no way of knowing what¡¯s in the midst of all these tunnels. There may be some sort of treasure that the Mole People are interested in harvesting. I would just think of it as a useful way of scouting the area, so you don¡¯t leave any stragglers behind. You¡¯re aiming to commit a Xenocide here, right, master?
Against my better judgment, probably, James sent. Definitely if I can¡¯t talk to them and negotiate in any way. If there¡¯s an army of intelligent creatures down here, I¡¯d rather not kill them all off. If only the boss is intelligent, though, it might be unavoidable.
Then there were sounds of movement that came from several directions and cut off any further frivolous exchanges. James saw the gleam of reflected lights on bared fangs in several tunnels.
¡°Oh dear,¡± Hester murmured. James didn¡¯t need to turn his head to recognize that there were Mole People coming from behind him, too. That was fine by him. More than fine.
They don¡¯t appear to have numbers that would be hard to handle so far. And the one that attacked me earlier couldn¡¯t piece my armor with its fangs, so it¡¯s not looking good for the moles. James mentally prepared for what he was about to do.
He sent a message to Roscuro: Hey, if I can¡¯t negotiate, I think I¡¯m going to just smash these things apart with my fists. How about you turn into a shape like brass knuckles? He provided an accompanying mental image.
As you wish, master. There was no mistaking the bloodlust in Roscuro¡¯s tone.
¡°I come in peace,¡± James said loudly and clearly ¡°I am here to negotiate. Can you take me to your leader?¡±
Then the Mole People, moving almost as a body, leaped toward him.
V3Ch23-Into the Labyrinth
¡°So we need to make up our minds,¡± Mitzi summed up.
¡°I would say so,¡± Alan agreed.
¡°I still think we made the right decision back at the Fisher Kingdom,¡± she said gently. Lowering her voice, she added, ¡°I also think I agree with James about the, uh, former criminals. I really thought that man was going to attack you before, and I wouldn¡¯t be able to use my magic quickly enough to do anything about it.¡±
He squeezed her hand. ¡°Neither James nor Dean would have let that happen,¡± he replied quietly, ¡°but I would prefer that you not have to worry. I don¡¯t know if Dean realizes the challenge he seems to have taken on here.¡±
¡°Just the opposite,¡± Mitzi said, her tone slightly bitter. ¡°He¡¯s buried his head in the sand.¡±
Alan looked at her for a moment, apparently taken a little off balance. She realized her sudden vehemence had surprised him.
¡°He¡¯s bringing his family here,¡± she said in a lower voice. ¡°I asked Dean whether he really believed in this place, when you followed James out. Whether he really thought they could rebuild civilization from here, without someone more powerful supporting it. And he said he¡¯s bringing his wife and kids out to this place. They¡¯re already on the way. Once they have the office building secured, he wants to move them in. He thinks it¡¯s the safest place. After the Mole People are exterminated, and he has some Mages shore the building up.¡±
Alan turned his head to look around at the surrounding area. There was no one near them. A few minutes ago, the whole group had been staring down into the fissure to watch James. They had seen him kill a large number of Mole People, seemingly with just his bare hands. Then he¡¯d vanished into the darkness, either dropping deeper into the crevasse or disappearing into some side tunnel that the group couldn¡¯t see.
Either way, the result was that the crowd¡¯s excitement gradually waned until they dispersed to carry out the tasks they had been working at before James¡¯s activity drew their attention. Now they were doing various chores. Pitching tents. Cooking. Laundry. The mundane realities of daily life in a post-collapse world.
¡°I think that¡¯s absolutely insane,¡± Alan said finally. Quietly, as if he still thought someone might be watching them or trying to listen in. ¡°At the least, it¡¯s criminally overconfident. They¡¯re on the way? Already? He really said that?¡±
Mitzi nodded.
Alan shook his head in frustration. ¡°He was just about to fill the fissure with some noxious gas. Even assuming he has gas masks for everyone, assuming they work, and assuming that the chemical is somehow lethal to the monsters but not to humans who happen to take their gas mask off for a minute, that¡¯s unspeakably reckless.¡±
¡°I know it¡¯s not something you would do,¡± Mitzi agreed, placing a hand on her husband¡¯s arm.
¡°You know, It¡¯s not something James would do either,¡± Alan said. ¡°Call him an egomaniac for deciding to establish a monarchy, but his tendency is at least to keep other people away from danger. If even one of those creatures survives, they¡¯re right here, and they¡¯ll be mad as hell! You would send for your family after you secure the base, not before.¡±
I guess we¡¯re decided, then, she thought. Mitzi agreed with Alan.
But she decided to play Devil¡¯s Advocate for a moment. They needed to be certain about this. ¡°Maybe Dean was very confident it was going to be a complete slaughter. They might have other military weaponry here besides gas.¡±
Alan gazed down at the pit for a moment before he looked back at her. ¡°Well, I think it¡¯s going to be a bloodbath down there now.¡±
¡ª
From just the right angle, James¡¯s hands would have looked to a hypothetical spectator like they were encased in a pair of dark red gloves, stretching from finger tips almost to the elbows. The substance shimmered in the dim light like satin.
It was only when one saw the blood dripping from his black knuckle dusters that it became obvious that he wore no gloves over his armor. Just remnants of the enemies he and the Soul Eater had splattered. Mole Men and Mole Women. None were spared.
That¡¯s what happens when you try to attack first and ask questions later, he thought. I didn¡¯t especially want to kill any of those creatures, but I suppose they were incapable of understanding that I wanted to talk.
And somehow nothing was left of any of them, though James had not used Pillage. They had disappeared upon each vicious killing blow.
¡°Roscuro, what happened to the bodies?¡± James asked. He brushed his hands off on the walls as best he could and ordered the Ego Spidersword back into the magic satchel for the moment. The fights thus far had been so easy that the sword the Spider Queen had become was not a contributor. James suspected he was about to go into tighter quarters, where a levitating sword might actually get in the way.
Well, master, if I absorb their souls, they disintegrate, the Soul Eater replied. The same thing would have happened to you if I had hit you with Soul Magic during our fight. The soul and the body are a union. One cannot continue to exist in this plane without the other. That is what makes Soul Magic particularly deadly.
¡°Well, these creatures disintegrated before I could use Pillage on them,¡± James replied.
Oh. Yes. Honestly, I had not considered that issue. Roscuro sounded slightly uncomfortable.
So this place is mainly going to benefit him, unless I just stop using Roscuro as a weapon, James thought. At least I¡¯m gaining experience, but these things are so weak I haven¡¯t gotten a single level yet. If I don¡¯t get to gather meat or Stats from anything I use Roscuro to kill, this expedition really just benefits the Soul Eater and Dean.
¡°How much is this actually helping you?¡± James asked.
Roscuro transformed by way of answer. The form he took now was that of a short sword. Before, the largest weapon he could make was a dagger. The difference was just a couple of inches, but it was something, at least.
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¡°Fine, we keep going this way, for now. But if we kill the boss down here, you don¡¯t get to absorb him, got it?¡±
Of course! Roscuro sent.
¡°How exactly are you going to find the boss, sir?¡± Hester chimed in.
James took a couple of deep breaths. Ambient aura in, ambient aura out.
¡°I can feel the Ruler¡¯s aura. Just like I was able to avoid them by sensing auras outside, I can move closer to where the Ruler is by feeling where the power is thickest.¡± He looked down. ¡°This thing is somewhere down there. These little pockmarks on the walls are just distractions, or maybe they¡¯re where the minions live. But if I want to be able to have a one on one with the leader, I need to go down.¡±
I don¡¯t really want to, he thought. He could see the bottom of the hole from here, so it wasn¡¯t insanely deep. But he felt a little uncomfortable continuing further underground, into an environment controlled by his enemy.
And Florida soil is notoriously prone to sinkholes. I wonder what the odds are of this place collapsing at any given time. Then again¡ªJames tapped the earthen wall he was clinging to with the hand he wasn¡¯t using to hold himself up. The touch confirmed the surface was solid stone.
Okay. So I¡¯m already in bedrock. The walls probably won¡¯t just accidentally fall in on themselves. I don¡¯t know if this Ruler can collapse its own lair. If its power is as strong as I think mine is, I imagine it could. But it probably wouldn¡¯t do that and crush all its own minions just to get at me. So I should at least make it to where the monster is. Then I either have to negotiate or get close enough that it can¡¯t collapse the structure without being crushed along with me. Well, here goes nothing.
James released his grip on the wall and plunged further into the depths of the pit.
He hit bottom, and his knees bent slightly to better take the landing. As he got his bearings, he felt the temperature had risen slightly, and the aura of the Ruler had intensified. He found himself in a relatively small underground space, perhaps ten feet across and thirty feet long. Before him, the sparks of light that had fallen with James revealed a honeycomb of further holes. Some of them led further down, some led up, and some led sideways.
¡°Roscuro, turn back into the knuckles,¡± James said. ¡°With short blades on the ends, this time, please.¡± He was about to enter one of these confined spaces. Best to have a closer range weapon than a short sword. Roscuro began changing his shape, and James considered his next move. Should I enter a tunnel going up, down, or sideways?
He knew he was closer to the Ruler now, but he didn¡¯t know if that meant it was above or on the same level as him. It couldn¡¯t be above¡ªno matter how much James would like to move up closer to the surface. So I¡¯ll have to descend further just to be sure whether his thing is above me or on the same level right now. At least I think that¡¯s the best way to get a better idea of the location. Great. Hopefully the place doesn¡¯t go too deep.
He looked up and saw the sky had diminished to a slender sliver of blue. He tried not to think about how far down he was. He had never thought much about how small and suffocating underground spaces could be. Back when he was just a normal human, he had never spent time in caves or thought about exploring sinkholes. Leave that for crazy people. So he had thought.
Now that he had signed up to be a spelunker, he wasn¡¯t altogether convinced he was comfortable with this. He was already further underground than he had been his entire life. The space he was in did not exactly feel confined, but the tunnels probably would be. Or they could be a never ending labyrinth of tunnels and that looped back in on themselves until he could never find his way out again. And the Ruler might very well be able to close the entrances after he entered. A discomfiting thought.
Worst of all, James could imagine a scenario where an intense enough fight with the Ruler would collapse the area they were in. Crushing James in an instant, or worse, leaving him alive but trapped. Buried alive. Doomed to slow death by suffocation.
In the latter scenario, perhaps he could survive using earth elemental magic, but would it be enough? Trapped under tons of stone and earth?
I don¡¯t think I¡¯m tough enough to survive a cave-in here anyway.
But he had given his word that he would get to the root of this problem. As far as James was concerned, a leader was only as good as the value of his word. So he said ¡®Goodbye¡¯ to the natural sunlight in his mind. He set aside his trepidation and took a deep breath.
Into the labyrinth I go¡
And he stepped into the nearest downward-facing hole. Like the other openings he¡¯d seen above, it was obviously carved by bestial claws rather than human machines, for the use of those same monsters. Were the claw marks even bigger on these holes? No, probably just his imagination¡
Since this wasn¡¯t carved for human use, there were no steps, only a moderately steep incline. Like a playground slide.
As James began slowly, carefully, moving down the tunnel, he felt the pressure from the Ruler¡¯s aura steadily increasing. Great. So this thing is probably below me somewhere. He would have to continue his descent into the bowels of the Earth at least a bit further.
The floating sparks from Hand of Glory provided plenty of light by spreading to all corners of the tunnel within reach of James¡¯s body. And the space had been dug to be large enough for the monstrous Mole People to move freely in. Large enough for several walking side by side, actually. Perhaps it was so that some larger version of their kind would be able to move freely, too. After all, moles tended to crawl on all fours. This hole was large enough to accommodate James walking upright. Ever since Race Evolution, he was a bit over six feet. And the holes were wider than they were tall. So the tunnel was easily large enough for some kind of mega mole. He tried not to think about what was waiting for him ahead, in the deep unfathomable darkness. In the places where his light could not yet reach.
Master, do you sense an enemy somewhere ahead? Roscuro asked. I cannot detect anything, but your pulse is elevated.
¡°No,¡± James whispered fiercely. ¡°Everything is just fine. There¡¯s nothing ahead that I can see. Just endless tunnel!¡±
¡°Sir, do you think you could use earth elemental magic and make this trip easier?¡± Hester asked.
James resisted the urge to snap at Hester. Really, if I could do that, do you think I wouldn¡¯t have tried it already? It wasn¡¯t her fault that he was uncomfortably far underground.
Why do I even feel this tension? he thought. I¡¯m not even a normal human anymore. I¡¯m as close to a superhero as has ever existed in the real world. Maybe on the way to immortality. Am I really nervous about just being in some dark underground place?
Then again, this might be the most helpless he had ever been since the System appeared. He could be killed at any moment if this Ruler decided to cause a cave-in. He had thought about putting on the Shapechanger¡¯s Cloak to become invisible, but considering that it didn¡¯t keep him from making sounds as he moved, he had no reason to believe it would hide his presence from the Ruler.
¡°The enemy¡¯s aura permeates this place,¡± James explained, trying to disguise his agitated mood. ¡°It¡¯s just like when I fought Roscuro, and my water elemental magic didn¡¯t really work in his swamp. Because his aura was everywhere. Unfortunately, I would just be wasting energy trying to manipulate the stone that¡¯s here.¡±
¡°Darn,¡± Hester murmured.
¡°I appreciate the thought, though,¡± James said. ¡°Always open to your suggestions. Maybe¡ª¡±
Just then, there was the sound of movement somewhere in the tunnel ahead of him. Several pairs of moving feet, James thought.
¡°What were you about to say, sir?¡± Hester asked.
¡°Can¡¯t talk, Hester,¡± he whispered. ¡°There¡¯s something moving down there now.¡±
Shapes began to materialize in the darkness.
James opened his magic satchel and ordered the Ego Spidersword out. Then he assumed a fighting stance as he waited for the creatures to move close enough for him to strike.
V3Ch24-The Goblin Battle Part 1
As the shapes of the approaching enemies became clear, James raised an eyebrow. The image that presented itself before his eyes only created further questions.
Four Mole People moved forward¡ªand seated on their backs, hunched figures sat, dressed in ragged clothing. The figures were somewhere between the size of a grown adult human and an adolescent. Like overgrown children. Their yellow-green skin sprouted unruly tufts of gray hair all over. Each of the humanoid creatures clutched a rusty-looking pike in its misshapen hands. On their heads, they wore peculiar goggles with crystalline lenses.
Identify.
Goblin Knight, Lv. 17 (Male)
Goblin Knight, Lv. 15 (Male)
Goblin Knight, Lv. 18 (Female)
Goblin Captain, Lv. 19 (Male)
Mole Man, Lv. 13
Mole Woman, Lv. 14
Mole Man, Lv. 17
Mole Woman, Lv. 16
What the fuck is going on? Dean hadn¡¯t mentioned anything about Goblins. Had he not known? If so, where did they come from? When did they appear?
No. Figure it out later.
¡°I come in peace!¡± James proclaimed loudly. ¡°Take me to your leader.¡±
¡°Oh, take you to our leader, we will!¡± cackled the first Goblin Knight in a voice that fell somewhere between a frog croaking and trying to sing. ¡°You can come in pieces!¡±
¡°Kill him, for the King!¡± agreed the Goblin Captain. ¡°He looks weak!¡±
At that taunt, all four of the vile creatures dug their heels into their mounts¡ªJames noticed at that moment that the Goblin Knights wore makeshift shoes with spurs¡ªand the Mole People charged.
This feels cruel, he thought as he easily dodged the tips of their weapons. I expected to find a monstrous Mole King or Queen somewhere, but it looks like the Goblins have enslaved the Mole People or something.
He punched the first Goblin Knight who had spoken the taunt with such force that his head turned to paste in one strike.
Oops. I need to take at least one of these things alive. The body began disintegrating before his eyes. The Mole Man that had been under the Goblin Knight tried to claw James, so he kicked it on the side of the head. The creature slumped to the ground, instantly unconscious.
Better, James thought. I used more control that time. I don¡¯t want to kill all of them until I know what¡¯s going on. Especially not the Mole People. They might not be in control of their own actions.
He barely dodged another pike thrust, and grabbed the next pike that followed after it. The Goblin Knights had wheeled around on their mounts for another charge, but their weapons were too unwieldy for the tight tunnels. It was easy enough for James to yank a pike out of one of their hands, and he used the butt of it for a sideways swing that knocked two of them off of their Mole People. The third mounted figure, the Goblin Captain, managed to lean back on his mount and avoid the blow.
The two Goblin Knights that had been forced to dismount drew daggers from their sides and rushed at James alongside their mounts.
Forcing them off of the Mole People might actually have made both the Goblins and the Mole People more dangerous, James thought as the Goblin Captain tried once more, again unsuccessfully, to impale James with his pike. Those weapons clearly weren¡¯t made for this environment. They¡¯re way too damn long for these tunnels! So where did the Goblins come from if not here?
James grabbed the closest Goblin Knight to him, the female, and tossed her head first down the long slide of the tunnel. A sound of distant screaming echoed for several seconds as she fell a long distance. Then he kicked her mount under the chin for another knockout blow.
The next Goblin Knight and his Mole Man mount both slashed ineffectually at James¡¯s armor. He saw that the dagger the Goblin Knight used and the Mole Man¡¯s claws both left scratches, but did little actual damage to the Royal Exoarmor.
¡°This is a real bad matchup for you guys,¡± James said, looking down at the scratches. ¡°I just wanted information and to talk to whoever¡¯s in charge. Do you really want to die over that?¡±
¡°You will be doing the dying!¡± the Goblin Knight insisted as he inflicted a particularly deep scratch on the surface of James¡¯s armor.
I tried. Stubborn bastards.
James gave the creature an open-handed slap to the face, and he flopped to the ground, unconscious. The Mole Man tried another slash, aimed at the chest of his armor, and James punched him in the chest. The monster instantly collapsed, clutching his chest.
James dodged another pike thrust from the Goblin Captain, still on his Mole Woman mount, and delivered a quick and decisive chop to the back of the injured Mole Man¡¯s head. He went down.
Then there was just James and the last remaining Goblin and Mole Person pair, squaring off.
¡°I want answers,¡± James said. It was obvious that the Goblin Captain and Mole Woman were not a threat. He wanted to give them one more chance to behave rationally, so he wouldn¡¯t have to beat the answers out of the next goblins he encountered.
¡°Find them in the afterl¡ª¡± The Goblin Captain¡¯s face went slack in mid-taunt. His head dipped down as if he was falling asleep. Then it sprang back up.
What the hell happened to him?
The Goblin Captain¡¯s eyes were hidden behind those strange, crystalline goggles, but his face had a strange cast to it now.
¡°What was it you wanted to know?¡± asked a voice that seemed much deeper than the Goblin Captain¡¯s to James.
¡°Who¡ªhow¡ª¡± James stopped and took a deep breath. ¡°Why are there Goblin Knights mounted on Mole People here? Who put them together? For what purpose? Who¡¯s in charge?¡±
¡°Such silly questions, human,¡± the unnatural voice said. ¡°The Goblin King is in control down here. He defeated the King of the Moles and subjugated the rest of them to his will. Naturally, he needed creatures for his Goblin Knights to ride.¡±
James heard rather than saw sudden movement close to him. He spun and lashed out with his foot before he could even see what the movement was. He struck a solid, living thing, and it slammed into the tunnel wall. He looked to see what it was he¡¯d hit, and he saw the Goblin Captain. His kick had caved in the creature¡¯s right set of ribs, and a trickle of blood oozed from his mouth.
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What the hell? James turned his head to look at where the Goblin Captain had been before, but the image he had been looking at had vanished. How?
It looks as if he caught us in a sort of illusion, master, Roscuro commented. It seems these Goblins are tricky creatures.
¡°I¡¯m familiar with this style of fighting,¡± James said. It was how he had decided to approach fights when he thought he might be outmatched. How he¡¯d beaten the Soul Eater. Illusions and trickery were powerful weapons.
I thought these Goblin Knights seemed weak for their levels. But if their usual fighting method is to rely on trickery and illusions, I need to be very careful. I can¡¯t afford to just keep taking on squads like this one. He¡¯ll try to slowly bleed me and wear me down. I¡¯ll eventually be surrounded by a whole army, if this Goblin King has any sense. Which he probably did.
It¡¯s time to fight dirty.
James grabbed the Goblin Captain¡¯s goggles and ripped them roughly off his face.
He leaned in close to make the most direct eye contact he could in the darkness. Compulsion!
¡°Take me directly to the Goblin King,¡± he hissed. ¡°Use the safest possible route. I don¡¯t want to pass by any Goblins that I don¡¯t need to.¡±
We¡¯re not going to play it the way this Ruler wants to.
He released the Goblin Captain from under his foot. James knew he would win the battle of Wills, so he let the creature¡¯s body slump to the ground.
But as he looked at the Goblin Captain, expecting the inner conflict to begin at any moment¡ªor perhaps for the creature to simply fold to his Will in an instant like a house of cards facing a stiff breeze¡ªthe creature¡¯s eyes rolled back in his head. He began foaming at the mouth and then lay still.
James received a notification.
[You killed Goblin Captain Lv. 19! You gained 800 exp!]
Huh?
¡°Are you serious?¡± James said.
What happened? Roscuro asked.
¡°I tried to mind control this creature, and he died.¡±
¡°I guess his mind wasn¡¯t very strong?¡± Hester said.
¡°That¡¯s not a result I¡¯ve ever experienced before, though, Hester.¡±
It seemed as if his mind was already being controlled, Roscuro suggested. By that Goblin King.
Yes, and? James replied. Does that make it dangerous for me to use Compulsion?
For weaker minded creatures, I believe it can cause brain damage. Sometimes fatal damage.
¡°I can¡¯t believe I killed this thing just by trying to use it to find the Goblin King,¡± James said.
I think there are more coming if you would like to try again, the Soul Eater observed.
James could hear them as well. A slow crunching movement of clawed feet climbing uphill from further down in the tunnel. They were further away than the first crew of Goblin Knights and Mole People had been when James sensed them; he was paying more attention now. But they would undoubtedly be here in a minute or two if he wanted to fight them.
No, I¡¯m not going to waste my time beating up any more of these stupid Goblins if I don¡¯t have to, he replied.
¡°What are you going to do now, sir?¡± Hester asked.
My question exactly, Roscuro sent.
¡°I¡¯m going to bypass the shrimp and go straight to the leader.¡±
James began Silent Spellcasting, gathering Non-Elemental Mana around his body. As he worked, he could hear the Goblin Knights and their mounts moving toward him, up the tunnel. That didn¡¯t add much pressure, since he was confident he could kill them all without breaking a sweat. But he was trying to avoid casualties here as much as he could.
Since I¡¯m leaving this place behind as quickly as I can¡ He used Mass Pillage on the Goblins he had actually killed, harvesting them for Stats as well as a few odd items: their Goblin Meat, Weak Goblin Daggers, Crude Crystalline Goggles, and Rust-Coated Pikes.
It was interesting that the Goblins did not drop any useful items made from their bodies. It seemed that they really had no natural weapons at their disposal, unlike other monster species. Their hands had long, almost claw-like nails, but those weren¡¯t fit to be used as weapons.
James tried on the Crude Crystalline Goggles and almost blinded himself¡ªit turned out that they were devices that, through a combination of magic and optics, sharpened vision and made dark areas significantly brighter. With James¡¯s Hand of Glory still active, it was almost as if he¡¯d stared directly into the sun for a moment until he removed them.
These things are like primitive little engineers, aren¡¯t they? This increased his desire to avoid killing more of the creatures than he needed to in order to resolve this situation.
¡°In terms of the way they fight and survive, they might be more like humans than any other monster species I¡¯ve ever encountered,¡± James murmured.
¡°How so?¡± Hester asked.
¡°Instead of fighting with teeth and claws and magical energy attacks, they mostly use cobbled together items that they probably invented. They have some magic, but they¡¯re basically relying on their wits. It¡¯s a very human quality.¡±
¡°Well, Lord Anansi did always say that was the greatest strength humans have,¡± Hester replied. ¡°Also their most dangerous trait. They never stop tinkering. Never stop inventing. Even if they¡¯re tinkering with the things that keep them alive.¡±
James wondered if that was meant to be passed on as some sort of a warning from Anansi. Perhaps a little oblique, but that was Anansi. He liked to be indirect much of the time, even when it inconvenienced his Chosen One. Like when he declined to describe the nature of the threat in Mina¡¯s Orientation. Or when he tested James¡¯s willingness to run from a challenge rather than fight it directly, by making him think Anansi¡¯s sons might eat him.
Anansi had indicated that the System required this circuitous approach to certain kinds of divine information and aid, but James wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the Spider God also preferred for things to be this way. He was also a Trickster God, after all.
Those were probably fun moments for him. Definitely the bit with his sons. He would probably think that was good, clean f¡ª
Are you almost done casting? Roscuro asked urgently. They are almost upon us!
¡°I know it,¡± James said, responding to both Hester and Roscuro. ¡°Hold onto your seat, Hester!¡±
The Non-Elemental Mana took the form of a ball shape wrapping around James¡¯s body.
¡°Are we about to hit some¡ª¡±
James leaped down into the darkness.
¡°Woooo!¡± Hester screamed in her tinny voice. It wasn¡¯t a bad scream, James imagined. More of a roller coaster ride scream.
As the invisible Mana ball containing James and Hester struck a surface within the tunnel, it bounced but continued spiraling downward. The tube-like structure only became steeper as you moved further down, it seemed. James imagined he would probably want to use a Skin Balloon to float back out of this place, or it would be a long and steep climb.
But that was a problem for later. For now, he used Full Body Control to keep his organs from being too jumbled by the uncontrolled descent. Otherwise, he was certain the insane turbulence would have made him vomit.
As they dropped further down, James¡¯s ball struck and bounced off of several lumps in the surface of the tunnel. He recognized by the sounds of pain and alarm that these were more Goblin Knights, and that the sudden impacts knocked some of them out. He didn¡¯t try to slow down. The goal right now was as few casualties as possible, until he at least got in front of the leader.
After all, these creatures might be mine sometime soon. The Goblin King had probably thought something similar at some point, James was dimly aware. But James was different. He had never exploited the creatures he controlled in such a degrading way. Turning them into mere mounts for his minions.
The Non-Elemental Mana ball kept going despite all obstacles until it finally came to the end of the tunnel. James burst out into a vast underground cave. An open area the size of a football stadium.
And what looked to be a thousand Goblin heads or more turned to face in his direction.
V3Ch25-The Goblin Battle Part 2
Well, there are a lot more of these things than I was expecting, James thought. My quality definitely beats theirs. Who was it that said quantity has a quality all its own, though?
His Non-Elemental Mana ball bounced off the ground, and he used the opportunity to survey the battlefield from above. The sight was not reassuring.
The Goblins weren¡¯t organized in any particular fashion, but he definitely counted in the high hundreds of heads. Probably over a thousand.
I don¡¯t think Xenocide is a viable option here anymore. I didn¡¯t want to do it. Now I¡¯m pretty sure I can¡¯t. Not unless they let me stop and take a break in the middle.
Some looked to have been mining shiny rocks from the walls when he came in. Others had been cooking, cleaning, playing some form of sport with a red ball, and one small group of Goblins were operating a little smithy that had a primitive stone chimney that led somewhere outside of this chamber. At one end of the chamber was a small lake, and several Goblins sat around it fishing. The chores and joys and habits of everyday life.
These things really are like us, he couldn¡¯t help thinking.
A large number of Goblins were wrangling or playing with or otherwise training Mole People¡ªlike humans with horses. There seemed to be a few hundred of the Mole People amongst the Goblins, standing or laying or walking around docilely. An area of the cavern was fenced off like a petting zoo with young Mole People and young Goblins playing together affectionately.
Most of the space was more threatening than that, though.
Some Goblins, usually on the periphery of the cavern, were armed and prepared for battle. A small share of these were mounted on Mole People. More Goblin Knights.
And, of course, most of the Goblins, whether apparently civilian or military, had now paused in their activities and turned to look at James. Their gazes were not quite friendly. Cold, scrunched up eyes filled with suspicion. In many eyes, James saw fear.
Those he viewed as part of the warrior caste¡ªthose who were armed¡ªappeared particularly afraid of him. The civilian Goblins seemed more confused and wary. They didn¡¯t know what to expect, he assessed. The quasi-military types looked at James like a nightmare they had never expected to see in real life.
And in the back of the vast underground chamber, he sensed an aura. Through the thick tangle of Goblin bodies, James couldn¡¯t directly see the owner of the energy he felt. Or perhaps the owner of the power could conceal himself in the crowd. These Goblins were undeniably tricky.
The Mana ball bounced twice on the stone floor before James was satisfied that he had done as much reconnaissance as would do him any good.
Then he ordered it to change shape to fit his body around his armor so that he could land properly.
How are we doing this, master? Roscuro asked.
As nonlethally as possible, James replied. Do you have some experience with Goblins?
I seem to recall they existed in my universe too, the Soul Eater sent.
Well, how would you deal with them? James asked.
¡ª
As Goblin King Duncan looked over the crowd¡¯s reaction to the human¡¯s arrival, he swallowed nervously.
Three months ago, he had been just an ordinary Goblin. Fortunately for him, the non-Goblin population of his Orientation, humans and monsters alike, had been incompetent. Now, by cunning, violence, and leadership, he had ascended to the pinnacle of his Race in this universe. The leader of all his kind.
Now a human had arrived, with a fearsome aura. Duncan had some difficult decisions to make.
How can I get rid of him? How do I protect my people? I hoped the Knights might send him packing, but that was obviously ridiculous. At least without more of them. Maybe if they all swarm him now, in this place with enough space to properly use their weapons¡
He also considered how he could save himself. My aura failed to scare him off, so that trick is out¡ This human was perhaps not susceptible to mental attacks. No, the illusion worked on him back in the tunnel.
That settled it.
Duncan used his power as the Goblin King to speak into the minds of his subjects.
All civilian Goblins, take the children and the Mole People that are not fully combat trained and retreat from the main cavern into the side tunnels. A battle is about to commence. All adult Goblins, protect your families and my Queen.
Duncan paused, thinking about what to say next. The Goblins were already moving with his orders.
The Goblin Queen stepped forward to stand next to her husband.
¡°What will you do, beloved?¡± she asked. Theirs had been a whirlwind courtship. Neither of them had expected to live this long. Every creature had some intuitive idea of its own rank. Even if they occasionally challenged enemies out of their leagues. And Goblins knew they were at the bottom of the hierarchy. If Kobolds were the dirt, then Goblins might well be the worms beneath the dirt, though the Goblin King would never admit that openly.
It was a miracle they had lasted this long. Duncan and Sarah¡¯s miracle.
¡°Sarah.¡± He squeezed her dainty, yellow-green hand. ¡°I think I must¡ª¡± He sucked in a breath. ¡°I think I must stay behind. Support the troops¡¯ morale. You know their powers are most effective when they fight near me.¡±
¡°In the thick of danger? The rest of us need morale too, you know.¡± She attempted to keep her tone playful, but Duncan could hear the worry in her tone.
You are a soft magic user, how will you survive in the thick of this clash? She had to be wondering something like that. And until he spoke, Duncan was uncertain as to what he was doing. He had run away from more than his share of fights in the past. It was his illusions that had allowed him to best the Mole King in this place, not his Strength or Agility.
He smiled thinly. ¡°Go, Sarah. Support the others¡¯ morale while I guide our warriors.¡±
She placed a hand on his shoulder and swallowed.
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¡°Remember what the Goblins were like without your leadership, Duncan. You can¡¯t die here, damn it!¡± As she finished speaking, Sarah choked up slightly. Her grip on his shoulder tightened like a vice.
But Duncan did not need the reminder. He remembered everything about the environment he and his Queen had been born into. Chaos. Brother eating brother. Cousin killing cousin over half-rotten scraps of food. No better, at first, when the System transported them to this universe. They remained feeble creatures, weak-willed and slow-witted. Their default survival strategy morphed from killing and stealing food from each other into ganging up on humans and trying, usually unsuccessfully, to defeat them in combat. Until Duncan showed them a better way.
Duncan and Sarah, who were born with just a few more wits than the average Goblin.
Now my brothers and sisters are even armed, Duncan thought. Not with rocks and sticks, but with real weapons. They are not the best quality of weapons, but we have had to improvise our craftsmanship and steal. We earned every piece of equipment we have with grit and violence.
Duncan blinked and realized his mind had wandered for a moment. His Queen was walking away. His eyes returned to the front lines. The human had stopped bouncing now. He stood at the front of the cavern, still far away from Duncan and Sarah. The man didn¡¯t seem to have spotted the Goblin King and Queen.
They were behind a veil of illusion that kept them invisible to everyone in the chamber. Duncan had triggered it when this human shot out of one of the tunnels. But even so, the Goblin King did not feel safe. Did not feel that his love was safe.
Leave her out of this, he half-prayed. Let her survive, even if my head ends up on this man¡¯s wall. Sarah and our unborn child.
He knew their lives might become worthless to the other Goblins if something happened to him. It was not as if the Goblins had some long-established and honored history of respecting lines of succession. But he could not afford to think of that now.
Warriors, hear me! Follow my instructions, and we will emerge triumphant. The knights must strike the enemy first. This single warrior is highly dangerous. Form up in rows of five, and hit him hard! Carry your charges through even if your pikes do no damage to him. Do not be afraid. Use all your power and crush him beneath the claws of your mounts.
Duncan had been trying to teach himself tactics ever since he received the Lesser Blessing of Loki. The dungeon where he received his blessing held a multitude of books, but Duncan had only been permitted to take one book with him from the unrestricted section of the library. His interest in tactics had pleased the god, he had thought. But it was only now that it became urgent.
Infantry will follow on after cavalry have disoriented and damaged the enemy. Rush in with spear points from as many directions as you can so that he cannot dodge, and turn him into a pincushion!
Everyone was moving as he sent the instructions, following his orders. Trusting in his leadership. That had been hard earned. Those with natural Strength became leaders far more easily. The power of the mind was compelling, but it required more effort to achieve the same result.
He thought a moment more before he added a motivational line.
This is the champion the humans have sent to exterminate us. One of their strongest fighters. The walking symbol of their desperation. If we can best him, this land is ours!
With that, the first of the knights, Daven, let loose a loud battle cry.
¡°For the King!¡±
The front row of knights who stood alongside him all echoed his call. Then they added a war whoop of their own.
¡°Raaahhhh!¡±
Thank you, Daven, Duncan thought. His older sibling was a better Goblin than Duncan deserved to have for a brother.
Daven led the charge toward the armored human.
Though Duncan had little confidence that any of his warriors could actually defeat this fighter, he felt a stirring of something in his heart as he saw them formed into lines and ready to rock the human¡¯s world. Even if the human had great power, he was only one man.
What can one human do, anyway? Duncan and his Goblins had managed to outsmart and outfight the humans in his Orientation, even though there had been hundreds upon hundreds of them.
His eyes returned to where the human stood, and he saw the man was glowing. Duncan recognized the blue-with-sparkles shimmer of Illusion Mana around his body. That was the same form of magic that he specialized in, after all.
The human seemed to ignore the charging knights and continued pulling Mana from within his body even as the Goblins drew near him.
The first wave of warriors struck the human¡ªor should have! Daven, who rode in the lead, closest to their opponent, smashed the tip of his pike into the center of the enemy¡¯s armor. But it did not seem to even reach the human¡¯s body. Duncan blinked to clear his eyes, thinking he must have missed something. Daven¡¯s body was thrown from the back of his Mole Person mount, and he slammed heavily into a wall.
The other charging warriors were slightly luckier. Two of them missed the human¡ªnot quite as well trained as Daven¡ªwhile the others seemed only to graze the area around his body. There was something there, Duncan saw dimly now.
An invisible shield had appeared on both sides in between the tips of the pikes and the enemy¡¯s body. He immediately started thinking about how this battle would be affected by that, and how he should use his own powers to support the remaining waves of knights.
But Duncan¡¯s mind was slightly distracted by the continuing growth of the aura around the man. He must be preparing an unusually complex illusion, Duncan thought. And more importantly, He has so much damn Mana! Are there others out there like him? Why was our Race cursed to stand at the bottom of the universe¡¯s hierarchy?
All of a sudden, the huge swell of Mana dispersed as if it had never existed.
Where did it all go? What is the illusion going to be?
The one thing Duncan felt fairly certain about was that the human had not targeted him. Nothing in his field of vision had altered at all in the moment since the Mana disappeared. And even if the enemy had wanted to target the Goblin King, Illusion Magic required designating an area of effect. But Duncan had hidden his location behind a curtain of illusions of his own¡ªalong with hiding the side tunnels where the civilian Goblins were now lurking.
With time, the human would surely be able to suss out the locations of both Duncan and his vulnerable civilians. But before he could do that, more waves of cavalry would hit him, until his magic shield was drained of energy, and then Duncan¡¯s cavalry and infantry would poke him full of holes.
The second line of Goblin Knights began charging the human as Duncan had this thought.
This time, the human moved. Now that he was no longer busy casting, he poured his whole attention into the fight. This time, he only blocked a couple of the pikes with his magic defense. A third one missed. But he stopped the other two of them with his hands and tipped them straight up with a whip-like flick of his wrist. The two riders holding the pikes lost their position on their respective Mole People¡¯s backs and flew through the air toward the human.
Duncan sucked in a deep breath as he saw the human¡¯s foot make contact with the first Goblin Knight¡¯s body. The enemy¡¯s kick struck the Goblin right in the seat of his pants¡ªand kept going until the enemy¡¯s foot emerged where the Goblin¡¯s shoulder had been. The Goblin Knight fell to the floor in two uneven, twitching piles of flesh and bone, joined together by a thick tangle of blood-soaked entrails.
The other Goblin Knight landed near the human and had a moment to gain his footing before the human could turn his attention to him.
This Goblin, seeing what had happened to his squadmate, tried to run. With a single punch, the human tore his head from his shoulders, and a small geyser of blood gushed out as the body tumbled to the side.
Duncan put his hands on his knees and stared at the floor, trying desperately not to vomit.
No one could see him, but if he let himself throw up, he thought he would lose all composure and command of the situation.
Have to remain calm. Have to analyze what he has done. How he is doing this. More than just prodigious Strength and Agility were involved, that was certain. Though those were undeniably there too.
It must be the illusions, he thought desperately. That was the only thing that made sense. He must have thrown off the knights¡¯ coordination slightly and made it easier to grab their pikes out of the air without risk to himself. Well, two can play the illusion game.
Duncan began focusing his power. He only had to manifest his intention to use Illusion Magic in this space. This was his Dominion. He had tried to infect the human with fear earlier, then attempted to fool him with an illusion when Duncan fought the man through the Goblin Captain¡¯s body earlier. Neither had properly succeeded.
But this time it will work, Duncan told himself. It has to work¡ªor it will mean extinction for us.
V3Ch26-The Goblin Battle Part 3
As the next group of Goblin Knights prepared to charge, Duncan used his power to cast a low energy, but highly effective, illusion on the human.
This was a trick he had played on more than a dozen humans at once before, and that was before the System crowned him the Goblin King. Even if this warrior had some sort of anti-magic power, Duncan hoped it would get through somehow.
It should give the impression that he faced twenty times the number of Goblins as were actually there. The illusion would be far from convincing, of course. But making the warrior believe he was outnumbered was far from the point. No one who knew how Illusion Magic worked would be fooled so easily.
Rather, Duncan¡¯s intent was to make it impossible for the human to determine which of the Goblin Knights he was seeing were the real ones and which were fake.
Though the Goblin King stood far away, he thought he detected a flicker of surprise on the man¡¯s face. As the group of knights charged, they shouted an array of fierce battle cries.
¡°Fear us, human!¡±
¡°Your kind shall run from us!¡±
¡°This is our land now!¡±
Then, as they drew close, Duncan saw the human swing his arm like a blade. What is he doing? They are too far away for¡ª
Duncan felt the pressure of the wind even from far behind every other Goblin in the fight. He wanted to shout a warning, even as he knew it was far too late. As the five Goblin Knights¡¯ heads tumbled from their shoulders, the words died on his lips.
¡°No,¡± he whispered instead. With such a wide-ranging attack, he does not even need to see to aim. The only chance now is to overwhelm with numbers. The old strategy. The only technique the Goblins had known to employ before Duncan took charge and showed them how to use basic tactics, deception, and traps.
The fight was going to turn into a melee. An ugly, bloody brawl. Most of the Goblins involved would probably have to die to bring the human down, but Duncan saw no other choice.
This is all my fault, he thought. The limitations of my planning are really showing now. I never imagined someone would manage to descend so deep underground without being torn limb from limb by the Mole People or killed by the Goblin Knights. I thought I could at least whittle him down slowly as he traveled down that damn tunnel, but he bypassed any obstacles I placed in his way.
The Goblin King shook his head. Stop thinking like this. The troops need you.
He sent a command to all of the Goblin fighters he had left. The strategy is not working as planned. We must revert to our backup plan. All able-bodied infantry, attack the human at once. Cavalry will wait to see if the warrior gets back up after he is crushed under the weight of hundreds of Goblin bodies.
Duncan tried to project confidence in his voice, but he feared that his own desperate fears might come through. Still, the Goblins began to move with his orders. They had enough courage to make up for his deficiency.
The Goblin infantry charged forward toward the human and leaped upon him with daggers drawn. Duncan saw the human buried under a pile of yellow-green figures that were barely armed and dressed, let alone armored. Then Goblins began screaming and falling away. Duncan saw their bodies gushing great gouts of blood before they were covered by more Goblins rushing in to attack. The figure of the human was barely visible for a moment, hacking away with some sort of short bladed weapon. Then he was covered in Goblin flesh again.
Please let this be the end of him, Duncan prayed. Please¡
More Goblin bodies piled on top of the stack that covered the human. Each new warrior added to the heap struggled to find a gap. A place to stick his or her dagger in and hopefully wound the human. They all did their utmost.
As he looked on helplessly, Duncan reflected that he had witnessed a change in his people over the course of their Orientation. There was a much greater community spirit, a willingness to sacrifice for the sake of the group, and an accompanying courage. It had not been transmitted all the way from the bottom of their ranks to the Goblin King himself, perhaps, but it was nevertheless quite real.
We have evolved as a species, he thought. Not in the System¡¯s sense, in the way that he had Evolved successively from a Lesser Goblin to a Goblin and finally a Greater Goblin. No, in a sort of moral sense? It was not an idea he understood well yet. Something ineffable.
Maybe the difference is that we no longer feel like just a bunch of losers, he thought. In Orientation, we became winners for the first time. It was hard. I would never say it was easy. But there is something about coming out on top. Something that changes your spirit for the better. After you get used to being kicked around all your life, you stop expecting anything good if you ever did. I know that was how the generation before us were. I was lucky to be born when I was.
As he had these thoughts, Duncan¡¯s eyes widened. He had been staring at the pile of Goblins crawling all over where the human was. They had all been frantically stabbing into the space where their target stood. Attacking any perceived gap they could find, even where that risked hitting fellow Goblins.
But it wasn¡¯t their frantic movements that raised the Goblin King¡¯s alarm. The Goblins looked almost frozen for a moment, in fact. Some of them had stopped moving, and others were starting to push themselves away. Then Duncan spotted something odd. The top of the pile was smoking gently.
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Then it smoked much more forcefully.
A few Goblins managed to push themselves away from the smoking column, but most of them simply fell away and collapsed to the ground, their bodies blackened. The human¡¯s body stood, unbent. Apparently as strong as ever. Covered in flames from head to toe.
His magic is powerful, Duncan thought. The human strode forward suddenly and began stomping on the Goblins that had managed to get away from him. Everything he touched burned, except his own body and his armor.
Avoid him until he runs out of Mana for that flame attack, Duncan sent to all of the remaining warriors. There were still a number of them. Perhaps around three quarters of what Duncan had started with, if one counted the injured as well as those who had not yet participated in the battle. Still, even if most had not participated yet, that did not mean their morale was unaffected.
After the human¡¯s display of killing prowess, they were all more than happy to do their best to keep away from him.
And fortunately, he did not waste much Stamina in chasing them. Just lumbered after the slower Goblins. Perhaps he was tiring.
As soon as the flames die down, charge in again! Duncan sent. A row of Goblin Knights first, then infantry rush in quickly while he¡¯s off balance.
This was the whittling down process the Goblin King had envisioned, albeit at a greater cost in Goblin lives than he had hoped or imagined. But if the greater community was to succeed¡ªeven survive¡ªthey had to at least be able to defeat a single powerful human sent to kill them.
The flames gradually died down, and the Goblins resumed their assault. A half dozen mounted on Mole People prepared to charge. Daven had regained consciousness and sat on his Mole Man, ready to lead the way.
¡°For the King!¡± he shouted once more.
Thank the gods for you, Daven, Duncan thought. If not for you, I have no idea how I could get away with commanding from an invisible position like this.
Then the Goblin Knights rode into close quarters with the human, the infantry following close behind. Duncan turned to look at the enemy, and his stomach flipped. The human was rushing to meet them, a sword in one hand and a long dagger in the other. He wore a grim smile.
The next minute was a tornado of carnage the likes of which the Goblin King had never seen before. The human leaped and twirled between targets¡ªSo much for him being tired, Duncan had time to think¡ªand wherever he landed, death followed. His two blades always found targets, while the Goblins always seemed to be following a step behind the human¡¯s grim dance. Putting him into another melee situation seemed to have been the worst thing Duncan could have done. Perhaps if the human had been forced to fight the Goblins two or three at a time, he would gradually have been worn down.
Perhaps. But that hypothetical was as useless as the reality before Duncan was painful.
The reality of Goblins screaming as a single man shredded them with his blades. The cavalry feebly trying to pivot and chase after him. The eyes of other Goblins beginning to fill with fear.
The reality was incredibly ugly.
The sight of his troops dying by the dozen almost paralyzed the Goblin King. Then the man turned toward Daven, and he stuck his dagger through the center of Daven¡¯s chest.
No¡
Daven¡¯s eyes widened, his mouth pursed in a small ¡®O¡¯ shape. His face contorted with pain and fear. His right hand released his pike, and his left reached up to clutch at the wound in his chest. Before it made the full journey to the gushing wound, Daven tumbled from his mount¡¯s back and fell out of sight.
Tears welled up in Duncan¡¯s eyes.
It was futile, he thought. Futile. I killed my brother. I sent him to his death. All for nothing!
He stared at the enemy warrior, unable to look away. The human was covered in blood and gore, with no visible wounds or damage to his armor that Duncan could see. He did not seem to have spilled a single drop of his own blood thus far. I cannot even tell if he is getting tired. He just looked angrier.
Oh gods¡ please let it stop. Loki, what do I do? How can we stand up to him?
As he had this thought, the Goblin soldiers began to break and run at the human¡¯s approach. All it took was a couple of warriors too afraid to stand up to him to ignite a panic. Most of the rest of the troops began running for the tunnels where the civilians hid. Only the most ferocious warriors stayed out in the open where the human was.
We Goblins always end this way, Duncan thought bitterly. Brutish, shortsighted, and cowardly. Our true nature is finally coming out.
As the human advanced toward the next nearest group of remaining soldiers, Duncan began altering the illusion he presented, to hide the escape routes the fleeing Goblins were taking¡ªand to make himself visible. Or a version of himself anyway.
The image he wanted the human to see was roughly two feet taller than the real Goblin King, significantly more muscular than him, and carrying a large, mean-looking metal club studded all over with spikes.
The real Goblin King was just under five feet tall, well muscled compared to a human of his height, and carried a long dirk.
This would be his last gambit.
Everyone else should get away from the human. I will handle him as best I can. If I should fail, then beg for your lives. In the event that he is not inclined to spare you¡ªas Duncan felt certain the human would not be¡ªthen try to flee with the children, or die defending them.
They seemed insufficient as last words, but the Goblin King knew that he was probably about to join his brother in the next life.
Duncan cleared his throat and then distorted his voice into the most intimidating, gravelly noise that he could make.
¡°Human! Now you face me. The Goblin King! Prepare yourself.¡±
Duncan puppeteered the illusory Goblin King in a charge straight at the warrior, while his real body took a slightly more oblique route. It was just possible that if he engaged the human in a duel with his fake body, there would be a moment he could attack with his real weapon. The dirk was long, sharp, and narrow. Perfect to fit into a gap in the human¡¯s armor, or slit his throat.
I just need to make an opportunity.
Duncan was so focused on placing his body at a good angle to the enemy and maneuvering the fake Goblin King around that he missed a key detail.
The human warrior had closed his eyes. Duncan only noticed when he was a few feet away from the human, ordering the illusory Goblin King to swing his club at the man¡¯s head.
What¡ªwho would close his eyes in the middle of a fight?
Then the human lunged at him¡ªat Duncan, the real one, not the false body. Suddenly his hands were tightening around Duncan¡¯s throat, and all hope seemed lost.
¡°Surrender, Goblin King,¡± the man¡¯s voice pronounced. ¡°Swear that you and all who follow you will obey me and my heirs until your dying day. Otherwise I must continue my terrible task.¡±
V3Ch27-Hallucination
James stared into the space where he imagined the Goblin King¡¯s eyes were.
He still couldn¡¯t see the figure, but since he held the Goblin King¡¯s throat in his hand, he had a pretty good idea of where to look for eye contact.
It was fortunate that his senses were superhuman. Even if the Goblin King could create a convincing false version of himself, James could still feel the vibrations of the real figure¡¯s footsteps on the ground. Could still sense the real Goblin King¡¯s aura. And he could smell the sweat that ran down the Goblin King¡¯s body in warm, sticky rivulets.
With his eyes shut, James could essentially ignore the illusion. Then he had the real opponent¡¯s location pegged in an instant.
¡°I swear it,¡± the Goblin King said, his voice almost a croak as he spoke through his compressed throat. ¡°You have our unconditional surrender. Please spare my people. I understand that my life is probably forfeit. I only ask that you allow me to give my brother¡¯s body an honorable burial. The Goblin Race will serve you well, I promise you.¡±
He saw his brother die. That¡¯s¡ªwow. Shit. Did I overdo it? If someone had done that to James, he doubted he could get past it. He only had his sister, no brothers, but he couldn¡¯t imagine the sheer rage that would possess him if something happened to Alice. An abstract tornado of fury. But the idea didn¡¯t feel real. Thankfully, it was only imagination. At least for now. He still didn¡¯t know what had happened to her¡
¡°Very good,¡± James said, trying to keep his tone neutral for now. ¡°Dispel your illusions, and I will dispel mine.¡±
The Goblin King hesitated, then spoke. ¡°Yes, as you say. I did pledge my unconditional surrender.¡±
James heard him swallow. Then the air shimmered, and the Goblin King¡¯s face came into view. His eyes were just where James had imagined, but they weren¡¯t locked into the staring contest that James had envisioned when he tried to anticipate where the Goblin¡¯s body would be. Instead, the Goblin King¡¯s gaze was fixed on the ground. Clearly concerned with trying not to agitate the deadly human who had him by the throat. The figure would have been small even for a human, but he probably would have looked down relative to most of the Goblins who James had fought.
More than just the Goblin King came into view. Dozens of small tunnels appeared where James had only seen solid stone walls before.
Excellent illusions, he thought. He looked closer and saw the civilian Goblins again¡ªand behind them, frightened children, trying to avoid James¡¯s line of sight. James frowned. I have to reassure them.
He dissolved his own veil of illusion. The Goblin King¡¯s face lit up instantly.
¡°How is it possible?¡± he murmured. His eyes returned to James¡¯s face, and his look transformed into one of awe. ¡°You spared them? Was it all a hallucination? Some sort of masterful illusion?¡±
James nodded. ¡°I think I avoided killing any of them,¡± he said. ¡°I tried, at least.¡±
He put the Goblin King down, and the little person stared up into James¡¯s face with unmistakable gratitude.
¡°I will serve you forever,¡± the Goblin said. ¡°You will never have cause to doubt my loyalty. Me and all my descendants are yours. Thank you for sparing us!¡±
No deception detected, James noted. Cross ¡®Acquire Goblin army¡¯ off my bucket list, then.
[Sufficient experience accrued. Blame Avoidance leveled up!]
[Sufficient experience accrued. Blame Avoidance leveled up!]
[Sufficient experience accrued. Blame Avoidance leveled up!]
[Sufficient experience accrued. Blame Avoidance leveled up!]
I don¡¯t even know how that happened. Then James saw the other Goblins watching the interaction between him and the King, and he understood. They were all very upset at me for killing their kinfolk, and I completely dodged that bullet once they realized I just knocked them out. I really hope I didn¡¯t actually kill any of them. He thought of the Goblin Knights that had died up in the tunnels with slight regret.
[Goblin King Duncan Lv. 24 surrendered. You gained 1200 exp!]
[You have successfully obtained the surrender of a Ruler. ¡°Usurper¡± Title has been activated.]
Huh?
[Title ¡°Ruler of the Low Places¡± has been obtained!]
[Existing Ruler Title detected!]
[Merging abilities of ¡°Ruler of the Low Places¡± into ¡°Ruler of the Dark Waters¡± Title.]
[Required conditions met. You acquired the Skill ¡°Command Structure¡±!]
Well, I have no argument with that¡
[Sufficient Experience accrued. Fisher King leveled up!]
[Sufficient Experience accrued. Fisher King leveled up!]
[Sufficient Experience accrued. Fisher King leveled up!]
[Sufficient Experience accrued. Fisher King leveled up!]
Fisher King? Not Predator in Human Skin, after all this fighting? Well, since I didn¡¯t kill any of them¡ª
So, it worked out well, master? Roscuro¡¯s voice cut into his thoughts.
Extremely well, actually, James replied slightly reluctantly.
As expected. Fear is the way to master these creatures. Roscuro¡¯s voice rang with satisfaction.
I suppose so. James was not quite happy with the looks of fear on the little Goblin children¡¯s faces, but the Goblin King had not negotiated with him while possessing the Goblin Captain¡¯s body, and had outright hidden from him with illusions when James arrived in the Goblins¡¯ cavern. So he had handled this as nonviolently as he could, aside from just leaving the Goblins and Mole People alone. That seemed like a bad plan in itself.
I did the best I could, and I¡¯m being appropriately rewarded. A thousand new comrades in my struggle to rebuild the world. If they would follow his rules, James had no issue accepting Goblins, Mole People, or any other monsters. They just had to understand that humans were friends to be protected, rather than prey or enemies to be fought. Unless instructed otherwise.
Goblins really aren¡¯t so different from humans, he thought. Mole People either, probably. There is a tendency to behave badly when left alone. The purpose of government was to stop that. In the absence of the previous government, the only thing I can do is create an image so fearsome that they don¡¯t dare defy the rules I lay out.
The civilian Goblins began to slowly emerge from their hiding places and gather around to get a better look at their new Ruler. The Mole People did the same.
Even some of the unconscious Goblins were beginning to wake up. Good, James thought. I won¡¯t have to repeat myself. So many of the Goblins who are awake are paying attention to me. I imagine even the ones who are unconscious will hear what I¡¯ve said repeated by others later.
¡°Your Majesty, by what name are we to call our new Ruler?¡± Another taller than average Goblin was speaking. Most of her physical attributes looked similar to the male Goblins, but by her voice and her face, James could tell that she was female.
This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Out of the corner of his eye, James caught movement. He turned and saw that Goblin King Duncan was moving toward the female Goblin while looking nervously back and forth between her and James.
Is he afraid that I¡¯ll have some kind of a bad reaction to a regular Goblin speaking to me or something? Or maybe that Goblin female is his partner, and he¡¯s just being protective, because there are any number of ways this interaction could turn sour.
James smiled reassuringly and introduced himself.
¡°I am called the Fisher King. My name is¡¡±
¡ª
¡°James! James is coming back up!¡± Alan¡¯s voice rang through the air with obvious excitement.
Mitzi smiled in turn. ¡°I¡¯m glad he survived. Not that we thought it would go any other way, right? I recall you used the word ¡®bloodbath¡¯ to describe what would happen.¡±
¡°Well, I didn¡¯t say whose blood,¡± Alan replied, ¡°but I¡¯m glad it was our guy who came out on top.¡±
¡°No doubts, then?¡± Mitzi asked.
¡°No doubts,¡± Alan said.
James floated into the light as everyone else outside gathered around the chasm in the ground. His Skin Balloon floated alongside two others that carried two different figures: a short but muscular humanoid creature with yellow-green skin who wore a slightly dinged up tin circlet around his head and a tall, well-muscled creature with long claws and a thick coat of black fur. The latter creature did not have eyes that Alan could see. Both gave him the creeps.
So, he didn¡¯t wipe them all out, he thought. It was hard to be certain whether that was a good or a bad thing.
¡°Holy crap!¡± Dean¡¯s voice floated over from close to the firm building, where Dean had withdrawn to wait out the extermination effort. He sounded intensely distressed. ¡°What the fuck, man?! You brought the monsters up here?¡±
¡°It¡¯s your lucky day, Dean!¡± James announced loudly. ¡°I¡¯m taking them off your hands.¡±
¡°You what?¡± Dean was almost yelling. ¡°These are dangerous monsters. You should have let me gas them! They¡¯ll kill you in your sleep.¡±
James just shook his head, then turned his focus to everyone else who was gathering at what they felt was a safe distance from the monsters next to James. There were more monsters, Alan noted, slowly climbing up the chasm walls. More of those Mole People, and on their backs, more of the strange yellow-green figures that had apparently also been living under the firm building.
Identify. Alan was at least going to understand what they were dealing with in these yellow-green people.
Goblin Overlord Duncan, Lv. 24
He aimed a second Identify at the Mole Person.
Mole Lord Magnar, Lv. 20
These are strong monsters, James, he thought. I hope you know what you¡¯re doing.
¡°Meet my new friends,¡± James said, turning to the gathered people, most of whom were on the opposite side of the fissure relative to Dean. He continued to project his voice so he could be heard by all. ¡°They are the leaders of two species of creatures. The Goblins and the Mole People respectively. Both of them wish to live in peace with humans. They and their people have agreed to follow the same laws as we do. They will be accompanying me back to the Fisher Kingdom. Both of them will serve as councilors to me as representatives of their species, alongside select humans. We will be leaving here, so there is nothing for any of you to fear from the Mole People or the Goblins.¡±
Alan heard some barely distinct murmurs from his sides. People saying things like, ¡°I didn¡¯t even know we had anything to fear from Goblins in the first place,¡± and ¡°Easy for him to say. They¡¯re following him for now.¡±
There was a slight but real atmosphere of apprehension. The others gathered here were still not comfortable about sharing their world with monsters. Or perhaps they weren¡¯t certain of how they felt.
Alan had seen and heard some strange things in the last several weeks. Monsters eating people. Humans sacrificing other humans to an occult god. But also a whole pack of monstrous wolves following and obeying James. The man had also left the wolves behind in his Fisher Kingdom as protection for his family. He had an absolute faith in the strength of his control over these creatures that Alan found compelling in its own right.
James continued addressing the crowd. ¡°I am also open to bringing others.¡±
Someone in the crowd barked out a short laugh, but James seemed to ignore it.
¡°The monsters in the neighboring areas will find this place eventually,¡± he said. ¡°The Goblin standing next to me was previously a Ruler. That¡¯s a kind of high level life form. Now that he has surrendered to me, his aura will dissipate from this area. That means another creature or person with the power of a Ruler can come in and take its place. I¡¯ve removed the potential for you to be attacked by the Goblins or the Mole People, but there will be other threats. Less agreeable species of sentient life. Or other humans who aren¡¯t as friendly as I am. This place won¡¯t ever really be settled or safe until it¡¯s part of a Ruler¡¯s territory.¡±
¡°Why can¡¯t you make it your territory?¡± a woman¡¯s voice asked.
¡°I could temporarily do that, but my aura signature would fade over time. There¡¯s really no point in doing it now. The former Ruler of the Goblins¡¯ aura is still here. And I won¡¯t come back to this place just to periodically sprinkle my aura. It¡¯s too far away from where I live. It would become a full time job, and I have to save my power to use in my own actual territory.¡±
There were murmurs of concern from within the crowd.
¡°Which is why I am happy to take people to the Fisher Kingdom if they want to go now. With some limitations, I will accept almost anyone.¡±
¡°Not us, then.¡± Viktor¡¯s voice was recognizable even from the opposite end of the chasm relative to Alan. He wasn¡¯t even visible from this angle, hidden behind other people. Alan found himself glad of the distance between them. The convict spoke in a resentful tone.
¡°For you and your colleague,¡± James said, looking toward where Viktor must be, ¡°I would want to have a separate conversation. Discuss things privately. I¡¯m not discounting any possibility right now.¡± Settle down. That was what Alan read in James¡¯s voice. A note of warning.
Alan suspected that James would accept just about anyone into the Fisher Kingdom who was willing to take his loyalty oath¡ªbut he doubted that would be the only condition for these two men. He probably has some sort of monster he can attach to them that would kill them if they disobey him or something. Arguably a perfect way to deal with criminals. The prison system was never an ideal method.
But Viktor was shaking his head anyway. ¡°I don¡¯t need to go with you. I have people here. We¡¯ll defend ourselves, thank you.¡±
¡°A very respectable position,¡± James replied, shrugging. The monsters were coming up out of the pit now, so he raised his voice again to be heard over the sounds of their scrabbling up the stone and dirt. ¡°Does anyone else want to come with me?¡±
Even as people backed away from where the creatures were emerging from, hands went up. Around half of them by Alan¡¯s count.
He looked at Dean. The man was clearly devastated. His community was already being ripped apart. Only the worst elements would remain¡ªthough Alan saw Olivar, the other convict, was raising his hand to go with James.
Well, at least he didn¡¯t seem as bad as the other fellow. Hopefully James actually has a plan for this ¡°separate conversation¡± he mentioned.
Alan approached Dean. This might be the last time the two men saw each other, but Alan didn¡¯t want that. He was afraid of what would happen to Dean if they left him behind. Even though James had conspicuously turned his back to Dean during his pitch, Alan felt certain he would not object to bringing Dean into the Fisher Kingdom.
¡°Dean, are you going to go with us?¡± Alan asked.
¡°What, so you guys are leaving with him too?¡± Dean sounded affronted.
¡°He¡¯s right,¡± Alan said. ¡°About everything he said. Nothing was untrue. We¡¯ve been on this adventure with him. All throughout the trip here, we avoided areas that were coming under the control of monsters of every stripe. This isn¡¯t made up. I think if you stay here¡ªwell, I think you might die. Now is no time to be proud.¡±
¡°No, it¡¯s apparently the time to bend the knee to tyranny,¡± Dean replied. He raised a hand to stop Alan from disputing. ¡°I know, I know, he¡¯s not a tyrant, right? He just gave himself the authority of a tyrant, the regal title, and is going around telling everyone what to do as part of an elaborate role playing game you¡¯re all in on.¡±
Alan sighed. Dean wasn¡¯t completely wrong. ¡°I don¡¯t think he¡¯s going down that road,¡± he said softly, ¡°but if he does, it¡¯s the job of the people around him to head him off. Lead him in a different direction. Or, if necessary, stop him. What makes a man a tyrant? Is it just that he wants other people to call him King? I¡¯ve come away from your little community with the distinct impression that everyone here understands that you¡¯re the leader here yourself. How are you so different?¡±
Dean sputtered. ¡°D-democracy! People have chosen to work with me. I don¡¯t have any titles either. No one has to kneel and bow¡ª¡±
¡°No one has bowed before James in my presence, either,¡± Alan said. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s because, just like you, he knows how far to push this and doesn¡¯t press any further. People have dignity, and he doesn¡¯t trample on that. He doesn¡¯t actually think he has magic blood. Are you really going to stay here, with your numbers reduced, and monsters surrounding, out of pride?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t call it pride,¡± Dean said. ¡°It¡¯s independence. We¡¯ll manage. You watch. He¡¯ll become a tyrant even if you don¡¯t think he is one already. And we¡¯ll be here. Free.¡±
How can you think that about him? You knew him before all this. Alan knew he had his own doubts about James as a monarch, but Dean¡¯s feelings seemed to go beyond rational doubt. Suddenly it became clear that no argument could persuade him.
¡°I hope you¡¯re right,¡± Alan said. He extended his hand, and after a long pause, Dean shook it.
¡°I am,¡± Dean said. His voice was almost friendly again. ¡°After you get tired of King James, maybe you¡¯ll come and join us.¡±
I hope you and your family survive this somehow, Alan thought as he turned and walked back toward Mitzi and the others. Pride is a hell of a thing to die for.
V3Ch28-Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
¡°James will be back home early tomorrow, then?¡± Mina confirmed.
¡°Correct,¡± the Artificial Spider said.
¡°He had better be,¡± she muttered. ¡°James is not going to leave me stuck with all this Fisher Kingdom business. He said he wanted to be a conqueror. That means he runs things, not his poor wife. I already have the baby¡¡±
A knock came at the door.
¡°The next group is here.¡± Yulia¡¯s soft voice carried through the wall. She lowered it. ¡°Should I tell them that you need some time to rest¡ªI mean, I can make up an excuse¡¡±
¡°No, don¡¯t do that,¡± Mina said firmly. ¡°I have to be able to conduct the business of the Fisher Kingdom in James¡¯s absence. These people have to develop confidence in me. That won¡¯t happen if I¡¯m ineffective the first time he¡¯s gone for a couple of days.¡±
A pause. ¡°So he won¡¯t be back today, then?¡± Yulia asked.
Mina smiled. ¡°You miss him too?¡±
¡°Things are a lot easier when we¡¯re all together,¡± Yulia replied. ¡°Abhi¡¯s asking about him too. He likes being told that James will be back soon every hour or so. Preferably by a human rather than a spider monster.¡±
That made Mina frown. The little boy was in a delicate place, with who-knew-what fate having befallen his family. Probably something horrible. Abhi seemed to have latched onto James, but he wasn¡¯t here.
¡°Well, send in the next group,¡± Mina said. ¡°One challenge at a time. We¡¯ll spend some time with Abhi later.¡±
Thank goodness for Yulia, she thought. Not only had she handled dealing with the Child Rescue Commission on Mina¡¯s behalf, but Yulia was also screening all the other people who wanted to see Mina and sorting them in order of priority.
In her gentle way, she could ask people to wait without them becoming offended or acting self-important¡ªeven when the individuals seemed like the self-important type. Mina could hear some of the interactions through the wall. This could have been so much worse without her.
The next party to enter their living room¡ªno, now it was an audience chamber!¡ªwas the Salvage Commission. Mina dealt with them as quickly as she could. The Chair of the Commission, Taylor Bunting, explained that the whole crew had spent the day going through ruins, and they had experienced lots of success. Mina tried to mirror her enthusiasm and not show how weary she was of dealing with people today¡ªwhile also moving the conversation toward what the Salvage Commission needed, as quickly as she could.
They wanted to know what to do with all the usable items and equipment they were finding in the old apartment buildings. Mina gently encouraged them to take items that would be immediately useful and put them to use. As for the other supplies¡ªthe furniture, carpeting, clothing, and anything else that had somehow been spared from water damage in the time they had been away¡ªMina assigned them a space in the community warehouse the Construction Commission was working on. If they had extra time in the day that wasn¡¯t spent collecting additional salvage, they could begin an inventory. She resolved that she herself would pay the storage area a visit later and see if the Robard household needed anything.
Departments of government were proliferating, it seemed. Everyone to whom James had given an assignment was taking it as seriously as if it was the only task on which the whole new country¡¯s survival depended.
Almost all of them had come for some clarification on their instructions, and Mina couldn¡¯t just tell them that there was no greater specificity to be had¡ªthat James was operating on intuition and had no larger plan.
The second that idea gained any currency, people would start to doubt this place. As Mina had needed to remind herself several times today alone, she was a part of founding and running a real nation. If it collapsed for any reason, people would probably die.
If I had thought about that, I might not have let you go even for a couple of days, Mina thought. Not so soon after you started this place, at least.
Yulia knocked at the door again.
¡°Who goes there?¡± Mina called, smiling.
¡°It¡¯s a man named Jeremiah Rotter,¡± Yulia replied, her voice guarded.
¡°Hrm.¡± Mina resisted the urge to tell her to send him away. I don¡¯t have the energy for this right now¡
She and James had already discussed him, after they spoke about the Wendigo threat and before James went to say goodbye to the children.
¡°Why do you think that man decided to volunteer an oath of loyalty to you personally?¡± Mina had asked. ¡°There¡¯s no apparent benefit in it for him, and it changed the nature of the citizenship pledge completely.¡±
She did not particularly mind the citizenship pledge becoming an oath of loyalty, but she was skeptical of Rotter¡¯s motives. What did he expect to gain from this? Surely he would expect some form of favor from James later on. She did not like the idea of giving a stranger a blank check that he might try to cash in at some future date.
¡°He saw a slight oddity in the way the oath was formulated, and he made his own judgment as to what he wanted to say.¡± James shrugged. He wore a mischievous expression. He was clearly still in an elevated mood. ¡°Why would it trouble me if someone decided to advocate for our interests, entirely on his own? With luck, I may acquire more such advocates.¡±
This, Mina suspected, was the most dangerous part of her husband¡¯s nature. His willingness to embrace convenient solutions to problems, even when they might cause problems down the line. Or when they were wrong.
Since they had been together, she had seen this quality of his recede further and further beneath the surface of his personality. He had worked hard to become a better version of himself. But the tiger could not fully change his stripes.
Her response came more forcefully than she¡¯d intended.
¡°Be careful about that! Before the System, people like that ran things in many countries. People who lived on trading favors and accumulating power. This man is undoubtedly cut from the same cloth. He will think you owe him something.¡±
James scowled. ¡°Then he¡¯ll be wrong. I saved the man¡¯s life. I think he¡¯s still repaying that.¡±
¡°You¡¯ve saved a lot of people¡¯s lives, skapi. But this man leaves a bad taste in the mouth.¡±
¡°That¡¯s all the better. He leaves a bad impression on more than just you, I¡¯m sure. But his character is so obviously different from mine that it can¡¯t stick to me. People like that have their uses. And I¡¯ll keep him carefully insulated from any real power.¡±
That was the unsatisfactory ending of the conversation.
Now Jeremiah Rotter slid into the chair opposite Mina, and she tried to forget her previous judgment of him.
She looked into his narrow eyes. No, I can¡¯t forget who¡ªwhat¡ªhe is. She saw a snake sitting across from her, trying to look like it was smiling.
¡°You wanted to meet with me to get further direction on what my husband asked you to do?¡± she asked. For the life of her, she could not now remember what responsibility James had entrusted to this man.
¡°No, it¡¯s more that I wanted to give you a progress report, Mrs. Robard. Ah, Your Majesty.¡±
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
You can¡¯t win me over with cheap words, she thought.
¡°The King asked me to take a census,¡± Rotter added.
That was it! I remember now. I thought it was a meaningless little task to keep Rotter busy. He really thinks we need a progress report?
¡°I see,¡± she said in her most carefully neutral tone. ¡°How is that going?¡±
¡°Naturally, it¡¯s an expansive task, with more people coming every day. There were already plenty yesterday, but it feels like today we opened the floodgates.¡±
Mina nodded. She had been dealing with those issues all day. Planning additional housing, meeting and greeting new people, and figuring out food for an extra hundred occupants. The fun part was that some of these people were very nice. The Rodriguezes were going to be fast friends of hers, she could tell. They brought a warm family atmosphere with them.
Camila Rodriguez had said some very flattering things about James. The older woman had somehow persuaded Mina to invite her over for dinner without ever asking, despite the fact that it had already been a long day by that point. She was just too nice. A part of Mina wanted to crawl into a hole and disappear until James came back.
The other part was ready to enjoy Camila¡¯s tamales as soon as the day was over. It would save Mina from cooking for the family tonight. If things turned out well, maybe this would become a regular tradition.
But she had to get through this conversation and whoever else was left before she could relax at all.
¡°Do you need me to ask people to help you or something?¡± she asked. She was prepared to refuse if he was going to request support. This was the least urgent task she could imagine anyone doing right now.
¡°Oh, no. I¡¯m making great progress. Unless there¡¯s a daily wave of immigration that¡¯s bigger than today going forward, I should have some pretty good data for you and your husband very soon. The task was almost too easy, in fact. I thought that, in order to add value, I should do more than just find out who''s here. So, in addition to taking down people¡¯s names, I also got the new arrivals to agree to take the loyalty oath a couple of days from now, in the morning. A minor scheduling matter, but I wanted to save you and your husband the trouble.¡±
Mina wanted to find some fault with what Rotter was saying¡ªthat he had overstepped his bounds or something. But considering how annoying she had found it to interact with so many people today, it genuinely felt as if he was doing them a favor.
¡°They¡¯re happy to sign up just like that?¡± she said a little suspiciously.
¡°Well, most of these people are here because they interacted with the Fisher King in the past. They know how he operates, so they¡¯re happy to sign on.¡± He smiled with what seemed genuine pleasure. ¡°Your husband really inspires loyalty.¡±
¡°Indeed. You were in the same Orientation, so you must know some of these people as well.¡± She continued trying to deduce Rotter¡¯s motivations.
¡°I do,¡± he acknowledged. ¡°It was an easy enough matter to try to mention the loyalty oath when I was around other people who had already taken it. That makes people much more willing to consider it. And the residents here don¡¯t want to be the only ones who signed on. They¡¯re also happy to proselytize.¡± He stopped and looked her steadily in the eyes for a few seconds. It seemed abrupt to Mina.
¡°Were you going to report further on your progress?¡± she asked finally.
¡°I don¡¯t have much more to say,¡± he said. ¡°Only¡ªyou don¡¯t seem to like me much, Your Majesty. Maybe I¡¯m mistaken, but I feel a wave of distrust coming off of you. If you¡¯d like, I can try to keep my distance in future.¡±
Mina thought for a few seconds before she responded carefully.
¡°I think you are an ambitious man who has attached himself to my husband. I have no way of knowing your motives or loyalties other than that you are trying to make yourself useful. But I have to be careful. I have to protect his interests, because there aren¡¯t many people whose goals are exactly aligned with his.¡±
Rotter nodded. ¡°You¡¯re a wise woman. It¡¯s true that I¡¯ve attached myself to your husband. I admit it. I¡¯m pretty shameless, honestly. But there¡¯s one point you¡¯re wrong about. I¡¯m not particularly ambitious for myself. I can see the way this world is moving. I was ready to follow anyone strong in Orientation. Your husband could probably verify that. Back then, I just wanted to survive.¡± He smiled. ¡°Like I said, shameless! You can¡¯t have any values when you¡¯re dead. Now, though¡ªnow, I see your husband is building his own kingdom, his own country. I see that he wants to be a great man who changes the world. And I just want to help. I have a selfish motive. But it¡¯s not as bad as you might imagine. First and foremost, I desperately¡ªI can¡¯t stress this enough¡ªI desperately want to survive. I want to live a long life and die in comfort, of old age. Second thing, I want to be close to greatness.
¡°Throughout history, whenever there¡¯s a person like this, there are other people he carries with him. People who go around supervising the construction of the imperial monuments or enforcing the draft or teaching imperial propaganda. Just doing the nitty gritty work of the empire. The important quality that I bring is that I have no ambitions at all. I know I¡¯m not a guy anyone would follow, not even if I was an usher in a theater! Maybe I don¡¯t have the chin for it. Maybe it¡¯s my personality.¡± That was the first and only time his smile faltered in the exchange. And the best indicator for Mina that Rotter was admitting something real. Something a little uncomfortable for him.
¡°Anyway, being up front leading a movement can be dangerous,¡± he continued. ¡°If I¡¯m being honest, I wouldn¡¯t want power of any kind if it meant being in danger. I¡¯m a complete coward. So, all I¡¯m saying is, I want your husband to feel free to use me. Send me anywhere you want, ask me to do anything, just please don¡¯t put my life in danger¡ªand I¡¯ll always strive to exceed expectations. Because I want to be one of those guys the two of you carry along with you on your way up.¡±
Mina wished James was in the room with them right now. His ability to detect lies would have come in handy. But she thought that Rotter actually was telling the truth. Probably.
If so, he was someone they would actually be able to make good use of¡ªuntil and unless he found a more promising ¡°great man¡± to follow. She would watch him carefully.
They exchanged some further pleasantries, but the conversation was essentially over. Mina promised to pass on his good wishes to James, and Rotter left.
Yulia stepped into the room after he was gone.
¡°Last guest for the day,¡± she said. The air about her was obviously different, Mina observed. ¡°Then we can have dinner with the Rodriguezes!¡±
¡°Sounds great, sweet. You may have to do most of the talking at dinner, though.¡± Mina felt like taking a nap on the spot. And baby James was beginning to stir beside her. Mina picked him up and began preparing to breastfeed. Removing her bra, unbuttoning her blouse, and covering her left side and the baby with a blanket.
¡°Has he been asleep through these last couple of meetings?¡± Yulia asked.
¡°Asleep? This boy? Never! He¡¯s just absorbing Mama¡¯s political skills,¡± Mina replied. ¡°If you look carefully, you can see how closely he¡¯s observing. He¡¯s a little prince, after all. They have to learn these things early.¡±
Baby James¡¯s eyes looked back and forth between his mother and aunt, and though Mina doubted he understood any of what was happening, there was an obvious intelligence in that gaze.
¡°Uh huh. Well, there¡¯s someone from the Hunters who wants to see you,¡± Yulia said quietly. ¡°He seems nice. Was the last guy okay?¡±
¡°I think James can make good use of him,¡± Mina said ambivalently. She wasn¡¯t sure what to make of Rotter just now. ¡°Please send in the next person. But tell him I¡¯m breastfeeding. If that bothers him, he should come back tomorrow.¡± Then he can deal with James instead.
Yulia went back out, and a minute passed. Then a familiar figure stepped in.
He gave one of the most convincing endorsements of James as leader, Mina thought.
Dave Matsumoto smiled but looked slightly uncomfortable. ¡°May I sit?¡± he asked.
¡°Oh, of course,¡± Mina said. I suppose since we¡¯re technically a monarchy, people expect some ceremony or something. Not something we have time for right now, even if we were so inclined. And she suspected that people who founded monarchies were probably a lot less ceremonial than the royals whose weddings people watched on television pre-System.
Matsumoto folded himself into the chair opposite Mina and looked her carefully in the eyes.
¡°How is the hunting going?¡± she asked after a moment.
¡°Ah. Well, it¡¯s going fine, I suppose,¡± Matsumoto said. ¡°I wanted to discuss the Hunters¡¯ other duty.¡±
Mina¡¯s expression tensed. ¡°There¡¯s something dangerous out there, then?¡±
Matsumoto reached into his Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions and produced a large, rolled up sheet of paper.
He unfurled it on the table between them. Mina saw that it was a map.
¡°Someone made a map of the Fisher Kingdom already?¡± she asked. That was impressive, although she knew it would be out of date soon with James expanding the territory.
Matsumoto nodded. ¡°A member of the team. Amalia. It seems we are well balanced for both killing and scouting.¡± He spoke without noticeable pride. Very matter of fact. ¡°Here and here.¡± He pointed to two ¡®X¡¯ marks on two different edges of the map.
Mina looked to the corner and found the compass rose.
¡°I see,¡± she said. ¡°Threats to the South and the Northeast.¡±
Dave nodded. ¡°We stumbled on one of them when we were hunting with your husband, actually, but given that one of my friends was injured, we didn¡¯t stop to investigate. Now we¡¯ve gathered more information. It¡¯s not good news. And the other one¡ª¡± He sighed. ¡°The other one is even worse. At least if my read of the situation is correct.¡±
¡°Tell me all about it.¡±
Dinner would have to wait.
V3Ch29-Home At Last
James led his new followers across the vast landscape that separated the old law office building from the Fisher Kingdom. He led them through the latter part of the day and after the darkness faded into night.
Unlike the trip to the firm office, which had been relaxed, almost like a hot air balloon ride, James wanted this one to be quick. He was a little apprehensive about the growth of the territories he remembered traveling near. He couldn¡¯t help worrying that something might poke its head into his territory and threaten his family or his people.
¡°I really hope that things work out for Dean,¡± he said quietly. ¡°I know it probably didn¡¯t look that way¡¡±
¡°Because you led a lot of his people away,¡± Alan finished.
¡°Yeah,¡± James agreed.
¡°I¡¯m certainly glad we decided to go with you,¡± Mitzi said, half-shrugging. Her mobility was slightly limited by the Skin Balloon that gripped her around the arms and torso.
¡°We¡¯re all adults here,¡± Alan agreed. ¡°I was a little surprised you decided to let him come along.¡± He tilted his head to indicate Olivar, who rode on the back of a Mole Person. Most of the small band of humans James had brought with him were doing the same now that it was dark outside. ¡°But probably a good decision.¡± The last sentence ended on a slight upward inflection, so James recognized there was some question in Alan¡¯s mind. Some uncertainty that needed clearing up.
¡°I questioned him about what he was in prison for,¡± James said. ¡°I have ways of knowing when people are lying, and he was honest. It was domestic violence, which isn¡¯t great. But it was what I expected. I recognized the guy from when I was a prosecutor. His wife finally left him and testified against him in court, so that¡¯s how the office got a conviction. Anyway, he promised he¡¯s learned to keep his temper in check. He was telling the truth, to the best of his knowledge. And I decided that I can¡¯t just exclude anyone who admits they¡¯ve been a criminal in the past. Maybe if he was a serial killer or something, but not for any crime less than murder. I have to be pragmatic.¡±
Alan nodded slowly. ¡°I suppose that¡¯s for the best.¡± He did not sound entirely comfortable with the decision.
Mitzi was looking down at the man with pursed lips, as if wishing she could look inside Olivar¡¯s brain and read his future plans.
James moved the conversation onto other matters.
¡°You two spent more time with our new guests than I did. Learn anything interesting about them?¡± he asked.
There was a general exchange about the new potential Fisher Kingdom citizens, followed by some back and forth about the possible survival of James, Alan, and Mitzi¡¯s family members. Then another subject change when it became obvious to James that Alan and Mitzi still hadn¡¯t fully resolved how they felt about that.
Finally, they settled on talking about future plans for the country they were traveling home to. Alan was interested in discussing a legal system for the new nation, while Mitzi was more absorbed in figuring out how they would build a sense of community. James speculated on how much Mina would have organized the Kingdom while he was gone. Alan guessed that she would probably have focused mainly on physical infrastructure as an engineer, while Mitzi thought Mina would have tried to work mainly in areas where James had not done much before he left.
The discussion carried on for over an hour before it gradually lapsed into a general silence, punctuated only by occasional remarks. They went from pragmatic to idealistic, from excitement at the idea of building a new nation to fear because the world they were living in had never been more dangerous. The Fisher Kingdom seemed like a subject the three of them would never fully exhaust, and James was glad to observe both Alan and Mitzi seemed invested.
The journey back from the law office was quicker than the journey there, and largely uneventful. Even though it should have been more difficult to navigate through the dark, the Mole People did not need vision to navigate, and the Goblins had those strange goggles that magnified the usefulness of ambient light. James enjoyed an intuitive sense of which way his own territory was, and he also employed his ability to sense foreign, potentially hostile, auras to guide his new allies. None of the nonhumans complained about needing to stop, and the small number of humans benefited from Mole People willingly carrying them on their backs.
So the journey continued well into the night, until the final moment when the primitive structures of the Fisher Kingdom came into view. All of the travelers seemed to spring to life at that point. Even the people who were half-asleep sitting on Mole People¡¯s backs rose to their feet and almost sprinted the rest of the way.
¡°Try to move quietly!¡± James stage whispered to the eager people below him. ¡°It¡¯s pretty late.¡±
If he was to go by how late it felt, the time was a little after midnight. But it was worthwhile to get back a little earlier than he¡¯d told Mina to expect.
Much better early than late.
Then a blue screen appeared in front of James¡¯s face. By the staggering and tripping of several people below him, James guessed they saw the screen in their field of vision too.
[Congratulations once more to all of Earth¡¯s inhabitants, old and new! Congratulations on surviving the first great threat to this world¡¯s life forms.]
Shit. What do they have in mind for us now?
[We firmly believe that all of you who survived are deserving of your success. Do not take this as a matter of luck, but as the well deserved verdict of fate. All who survived the System¡¯s initiation have been baptized by fire.]
Yes, yes, get to it¡
[This announcement is to give everyone hearing it time to prepare for the next great System-sponsored events.]
Oh. I think I know what the System is telling us about, actually. They gave me advance warning.
[In five months and twenty three days, as reckoned by your method of measuring time, those with a Ruler Title will be permitted to attend the upcoming World Leaders¡¯ Summit. Although attendance is optional, this will be an opportunity to meet with fellow Rulers, make agreements, forge alliances, engage in cultural exchange, and assess the state of the international community. There will also be complimentary room and board.]
James wanted to figure out what the System¡¯s angle was in having an event like this. It seemed to be a genuinely helpful idea with the potential to assist humanity in restoring a semblance of normalcy. But in his experience with the System so far, it always seemed to have its own plans. Normalcy wasn¡¯t a part of them.
[The Summit will be held in a neutral location in which the use of aggressive magic, mental manipulation abilities, and physical violence are neither permitted nor possible. Each Ruler will be permitted to bring along up to five guests, who must be in physical contact with the sponsoring Ruler at the moment of transportation.]
So, I¡¯ll take Mina, maybe Alan and Mitzi, and who else? The former Goblin King, so my new followers don¡¯t feel left out? Someone from the Rodriguez family? Mina had informed him that they had arrived while he was gone.
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[Following the conclusion of the World Leaders¡¯ Summit, the Rulers and their guests will proceed to the Victors Tournament, a fighting competition for those the System deems to be among the strongest two hundred life forms on Earth. Those Rulers and guests who are not participating will be treated as honored spectators to the battles.]
That¡¯s a nice way to sweeten the sting of not being included among the world¡¯s strongest warriors. He thought there was a good chance that any Rulers who were not in the Victors Tournament would be taken less seriously than the others. Then again, there might be some Rulers who are Healers.
[Those who remain behind in each Ruler¡¯s territory will be provided viewing devices so that they may also observe. Those who place well in the Victors Tournament will win spectacular prizes!]
Of course they will. Otherwise, why would they fight?
[Take the remaining time to make your careful preparations for both events. Those who are not currently Rulers or ranked within the world¡¯s strongest life forms still have five months and twenty days before the System locks the participant lists.]
Nothing singling me out this time, James noted. I can¡¯t tell if that¡¯s a good or a bad thing. Did they stop expecting great things from me? Or maybe they feel that I already lived up to their expectations. Either of those could work. Is it possible there¡¯s someone else out there who the System expects more from now?
James imagined the System sending a personalized message to some other person. Perhaps someone on the other side of the world. Alternatively, someone just a few counties away. Maybe even a monster.
You¡¯re destined for great things, Soul Eater Roscuro! he thought to himself. And hell, maybe the System really did say something like that to him. Roscuro was a rather special kind of monster. A former human warrior, transformed into a creature involuntarily by a witch¡¯s magic.
On some level, James knew that there was ¡°always someone better,¡± as the common saying went. But the idea that there might be someone out there who was above him in the new world¡¯s hierarchy in the System¡¯s view did not sit well with him.
Ultimately, he just shook his head and ordered his Skin Balloon to drop him off outside of his apartment. They were so close to home now that it only took a few seconds to glide the rest of the way. He was far less interested in spending more time picking apart the meaning of the System¡¯s announcement than in reuniting with the people most important to him.
As he landed, he heard a rustle of movement from inside. Then the unmistakable sound of someone rushing down the stairs. Then Mina was in his arms.
¡°You aren¡¯t leaving me alone here again!¡± she whispered fiercely in his ear.
¡°Wasn¡¯t planning to,¡± he replied breathlessly. The smell of his wife¡¯s hair filled his nostrils, and he sighed. He was really home again. ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave again.¡±
¡°That¡¯s good. You have lots of decisions to make, and you¡¯re not pushing any more of them off on m¡ª¡± Mina stopped mid-sentence, and James pulled back from her. She was staring behind him.
He looked back and saw the horde of Goblins and Mole People. The small number of humans who had followed him here were almost completely lost in the visual spectacle of the army of creatures.
¡°I made some new friends,¡± James said quietly. ¡°They¡¯ll be your friends too.¡±
¡°You had mentioned new friends,¡± Mina said, ¡°and I remember your message mentioned that many of them were not human. But you never gave me an idea of how many. These are hundreds. Perhaps over a thousand. How will we house them? Feed them?¡±
¡°They¡¯re not children,¡± James replied gently. ¡°They can mostly fend for themselves. I¡¯m mostly concerned with just making sure we keep the peace between our kind and them. Ideally we¡¯ll get along well and both respect each other¡¯s space.¡±
¡°And how much space will they need?¡± Mina asked, arching an eyebrow.
From among the horde, two Goblins stepped forward and approached the ruling couple. James recognized them instantly. Duncan and his wife. The former Goblin King and Queen, now Overlord and Lady.
Mina stopped talking and watched them approach. Then she began frantically whispering in James¡¯s ear. ¡°What are they expecting? Who are they? What do I need to know?¡±
¡°Former King and Queen coming to pay their respects,¡± James replied succinctly. ¡°They¡¯re eager to make a good impression on you. Nothing to stress about.¡±
Then the Goblins were within earshot, so neither of them said anything for a few seconds. James and Mina separated slightly so that Duncan and Sarah would know they could approach without interrupting a tender moment.
The two Goblins got close to James and Mina, and both fell to their knees.
¡°Umm.¡± Mina was instantly at a loss as to what to say.
For a moment, James wondered if he would need to lead the interaction to keep things from turning awkward. Then the Goblins started talking.
¡°Thank you very much for your hospitality, Your Majesty,¡± Duncan said. ¡°Your husband, the King, has told us much about your warmth and kindness. We will work until our fingers bleed to contribute to your kingdom.¡±
James had to keep his facial expression under control. He had barely said anything about Mina when he was discussing the Goblins¡¯ future with Duncan earlier. At least, hardly anything compared with how much he might have said when speaking with someone he knew better.
¡°Consider us your humble servants,¡± Sarah agreed. The former Goblin Queen produced a bouquet of flowers from within her magic satchel and presented them to Mina. ¡°For Your Majesty.¡±
Mina took them but looked slightly uncomfortable. ¡°Please, please get up,¡± she said awkwardly. ¡°You were royalty before. I would rather not make you kneel, especially not when the other Goblins are watching. And we should see about getting you all someplace to sleep.¡± She helped Sarah to her feet, and James reached down and did the same for Duncan.
¡°We really don¡¯t need much,¡± Duncan said. ¡°We like dark, quiet places. His Majesty could tell you that we were living underground when he found us. The Mole People will undoubtedly want to burrow and create a new underground warren. Unless you have something else in mind, we would be happy to simply bed down with them.¡±
¡°That seems reasonable to me,¡± James said, nodding.
¡°Once we are settled, we look forward to showing off our prowess as creators of useful objects,¡± Duncan said, directing the remark to Mina. ¡°I understand that you are an inventor.¡±
¡°Engineer,¡± James corrected. I think that¡¯s one of three things I said about Mina.
Mole Lord Magnar interrupted the conversation at that point. He approached on all fours, touched his front knees to the ground, and began introducing himself in his thick, deep voice.
¡°I am the leader of the Mole People appointed by His Majesty,¡± Magnar said. ¡°We will strive to be worthy of the King¡¯s faith in us. Thank you for accepting us into the Fisher Kingdom. We pledge our undying loyalty to the King and Queen. Long may they reign!¡±
¡°Hear, hear!¡± Duncan echoed.
Sarah seemed to have read the situation and recognized that Mina was uncomfortable being the center of so much attention. She remained quiet and simply smiled up at the Queen.
Finally, the leaders of the newly allied Races separated, and James sent them some telepathic orders about where they could burrow and where they could safely sleep while they rested during the construction process. There wasn¡¯t enough housing for over a thousand new residents, but the Community Center had enough room for the short Goblins to squeeze together if they slept in shifts.
The next order of business would be announcing to everyone else that they had some new citizens. That ought to wait for the morning, though, he thought.
The System¡¯s agents might be comfortable with making proclamations while people were sleeping, but James knew it would not be received well if he started waking his citizens up in the middle of the night just to make introductions.
¡°They know they only have to kiss up to you, right?¡± Mina asked quietly once she and James were in the apartment again.
¡°Oh no,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I told them that you¡¯re the most important person in the Kingdom. Or did I say most important to me?¡± He shrugged. ¡°Details, right?¡±
¡°Details.¡± Mina tried to twist her face into a scowl, but she was still too happy to see him to manage it.
¡°Did anything interesting happen while I was gone?¡± James asked. ¡°I know you worked hard. Hopefully other people missed me, too, though I¡¯m guessing everyone¡¯s asleep.¡±
Mina nodded.
¡°Maybe I should specify, anything I need to know about before we go to bed?¡± he asked.
Mina frowned. ¡°Unfortunately, yes,¡± she said. ¡°We have two neighbors we might need to go to war with.¡±
V3Ch30-Preparations for Battle Part 1
¡°When you say, ¡®two neighbors we might need to go to war with,¡¯ I guess the first thing I should ask is why,¡± James said. ¡°But honestly, what I really want to know is whether they¡¯re human or monster.¡±
¡°Still not fighting humans,¡± Mina said, smiling thinly. ¡°Is that surprising? You mentioned there are hardly any human Rulers anyway.¡±
¡°But hundreds of monster Rulers,¡± he replied. ¡°Which means our kind are going to work overtime to try and even out those numbers. One thing I know about people is that we rebel against constraints. I think that might be why the System scheduled this World Leaders¡¯ Summit so far away. It¡¯s plenty of time for some Rulers to lose their Titles. We humans would rather die in large numbers than be subjugated by some creature of another species. Most of the time, we¡¯d prefer death to being subjects of other humans. So I suspect we¡¯ll be fighting against other humans before you know it.¡±
¡°I was starting to worry we¡¯d never get the opportunity,¡± she said drily. ¡°Sometimes I think you want it to happen.¡±
James shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s an eventuality, but it¡¯s going to be a massive morale crisis whenever it happens. People here will not want to fight other humans. Thanks to us, they have food and shelter and don¡¯t have to fear wild monsters. That¡¯s good, but the net result is that we¡¯re barely separate from the civilization they¡¯re all used to. It¡¯s going to be very psychologically hard on them.¡±
¡°I imagine that¡¯s true. I doubt you¡¯re the only one here who¡¯s killed other people, though, skapi.¡± She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. ¡°You¡¯ll get volunteers if you need them. People appreciate you. They know you wouldn¡¯t put them in danger for no reason.¡±
James allowed a smile to slowly steal over his face. ¡°Thank you, my love. Enough hypotheticals for one night. Let¡¯s talk about the wars we¡¯re actually in for right now. We can get some sleep after that.¡±
¡°Okay.¡± She took a map from her bag and unrolled it on their living room tabletop. There were two ¡®X¡¯ marks at two different edges of the map.
¡°Oh, someone made a map of our territory,¡± he said, nodding appreciatively.
¡°Yes,¡± Mina replied. ¡°Someone named Amalia. I think from your Orientation?¡±
James nodded and half-shrugged.
Mina continued, pointing at the ¡®X¡¯ to the South. ¡°Here, the Hunters found a territory that seems to belong to a bunch of alligators. It¡¯s abutting our border, and it looks like the alligators are expanding their territory everywhere that your power doesn¡¯t reach. So¡ª¡± She traced a line from the ¡®X¡¯ up and down the side of the map. ¡°The swamp that they control is expanding everywhere along this line, but not crossing the line.¡±
¡°That sounds dangerous, but it sounds like they haven¡¯t entered our land. We¡¯re just worried about them expanding right next to us.¡±
¡°That¡¯s right. We don¡¯t know if it¡¯s just a matter of time before they try to come in or if they will continue to respect the border. The concern is that since the monsters are extra-large alligators, a single creature entering could be dangerous very quickly.¡±
James nodded. ¡°Alligators sound pretty nasty to deal with. Do we have any idea of their numbers?¡±
¡°The Hunters said there only seemed to be a handful when they looked, but we know that alligators are pretty good at hiding, especially when they¡¯re waiting for prey.¡±
¡°That¡¯s true. But if there were too many of them, and they¡¯re big ones, there¡¯s a limit to how well they can hide. They also take a couple of months to reproduce, assuming these things are like pre-System alligators, so this might not be something we need to deal with right away. There¡¯s time to figure out if we can negotiate¡ªor if they¡¯re willing to just live in peace.¡±
Mina stared at him for a long moment, before she finally asked, ¡°Why do you know that?¡±
Why do I know what?
¡°Oh. The alligator reproduction timeline?¡±
¡°Yes!¡±
¡°We live in Florida.¡±
She shook her head, seemingly smiling despite herself. ¡°Yes,¡± she said finally. ¡°Yes we do. And we¡¯re about to try to establish a peaceful coexistence with the alligator people. Of course. All perfectly normal.¡±
¡°So, the other ¡®X¡¯?¡± he asked.
¡°That¡¯s more immediately concerning. Dave Matsumoto thinks that something is replicating a setting from out of his Orientation. A scary place where he saw things he wasn¡¯t comfortable describing.¡±
¡°What kind of ecosystem is it?¡± James asked.
¡°Just a forest. The ecosystem isn¡¯t the problem, though. The issue is that people who get near that part of the border report seeing things, just like Matsumoto in his Orientation. Two of the Hunters got close to the forest, thinking they should explore that area, and they saw apparitions of some sort. I spoke with a couple of guys who were with the Orlando Public Works Department before the System, and they made a barrier with wooden stakes and caution tape so that people wouldn¡¯t get near the forest until you were back. One of them saw something in the forest too. He kept saying a name, but it wasn¡¯t anyone we know, and he didn¡¯t want to talk about it. No one has been able to stand being near the border with that place for the time it would take to erect a more permanent barrier. The Public Works people who didn¡¯t see anything said that the place gave them an ¡®evil feeling¡¯ after just a few minutes.¡±
Sounds like something I want to take a look at, was James¡¯s instinctive response. But he tempered it.
¡°I think we¡¯ll probably have no choice but to do something about that,¡± he said. ¡°Tell me, has anyone gone in there?¡±
Mina bit her lip. ¡°Not that I know of,¡± she said after a long pause. ¡°But our people only started paying attention to that area once it was obvious there was something wrong there. We have a lot of people showing up here all the time¡ª¡± She smiled bittersweetly¡ª¡°and your monsters rescued around a hundred children while you were gone. I don¡¯t know if you knew that.¡±
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
James smiled. ¡°I sort of dimly realized what was happening, and sometimes I check. But they aren¡¯t constantly reporting in. Those ones are pretty independent. I didn¡¯t have a count on how many kids, but that¡¯s really good to hear.¡±
¡°Your good deed for the century,¡± Mina replied. ¡°Your good deed that people will be talking about for decades. If anyone ever doubts your goodness, this is the thing that your defenders should bring up.¡±
¡°You¡¯re sweet.¡± James thought that this would not be anywhere near an adequate defense if he gave people cause to doubt him. ¡°How did this come up again?¡±
¡°You were asking about people slipping through the border with the creepy forest, and I was just thinking that it would be easy for one of our new arrivals to wander over there without us noticing.¡±
¡°Good point,¡± he said. ¡°Maybe I should do something right now. Not go charging in, just put up a real fortification there.¡±
Mina nodded. ¡°I think so. Before you do, there was one more thing.¡± She visibly hesitated.
¡°What is it?¡±
¡°Only one of the witnesses heard it. Amalia Rosario. The same person who made our map. When she stood near the border, she thought she could make out a distant sound of screaming. Don¡¯t go in after that sound if you hear it, skapi. If you do, I¡¯ll chase after you. And if something happens to both of us¡¡±
James finally nodded his assent to her grim demand. He knew what would happen if both he and Mina disappeared. Their children would be orphaned, and their country would dissolve. The children would probably die, and hundreds¡ªno, now thousands¡ªof citizens would be left adrift and defenseless. They would probably get eaten by the alligators or possessed by demons or whatever lives in that forest.
His mind returned to the accounts Mina had relayed of the forest. A distant sound of screaming. What the hell kind of neighbor do we have?
With the discussion concluded for the evening, James began moving to secure the Fisher Kingdom against the new threats.
First, he used Dominion to refresh his aura print over the whole area¡ªand spread it into areas that his new neighbors'' auras had not yet touched. There was no sense in losing ground to them, after all. And he was relieved that the potential invaders had not actually pushed any of their respective auras into his territory. If they had tried, his aura¡ªhis hold over the land¡ªhad apparently held firm.
Then he walked out to the border with the eerie forest. Mina insisted on going with him, over his objections, but he at least persuaded her to stand twenty feet behind so that any magical effect that struck him would probably not be able to reach her.
He took a look at the stakes wrapped in caution tape that lined the area like a makeshift fence of flimsy wood and plastic.
Really, the former Public Works fellows did a good job, he thought. It was completely inadequate to keep a determined person from getting in or out of the creepy forest, but given the time constraints and materials they¡¯d had to work with, James was pleased. Everyone is making themselves useful, finding ways to contribute. The community is almost self-organized, the way Mina¡¯s telling the story.
He imagined he would find out just how much direction the community actually needed tomorrow, when the brunt of the responsibility fell on his shoulders rather than Mina¡¯s.
James began focusing his mind on the problem of erecting an earthen wall in the space just behind the stakes. Rather than using the Mana imbued into the land, he gathered most of what was left in his body.
As he was preparing to raise his wall, though, he looked across the caution tape fence, and he saw into the forest.
What James saw seemed impossible. It sent a shudder through him, and he barely kept his focus on spellcasting. Now I understand what left our Hunters and Public Works people so shaken.
At the sight of that abominable image, James resolved to make the wall several feet higher and a few feet longer. It would consume almost all the Mana he had left after the last day of nonstop activity and use of Dominion, but it seemed necessary. He wanted to not only keep people from inadvertently crossing over into that evil place, but also prevent them from accidentally looking over the border.
What people see when they look across that border is just as dangerous as anything offensive that the Ruler of that territory could conjure up. He tried to imagine fighting with the apparition that had just appeared lurking before his eyes, and it seemed impossible. He would focus on what he had seen, not any enemy placed in front of him.
He very deliberately looked away from the forest as he finished charging his Mana.
Finally, he poured his power into the earth and built a mighty wall, almost twice his own height.
There, he thought, panting slightly. Now let them try to screw with us. Assuming that Mina was out of range where she stood, he calculated that no one within range of the forest¡¯s power would actually be able to see into it now.
Unless the forest expands its border. Which it surely would.
This was going to be a difficult problem, he could tell already. Perhaps a deadly problem.
Could he lead troops into a place like this forest? If he did, would any of them come out again?
He couldn¡¯t confidently say that he knew the answer.
My own visual distractions made the Goblin fight so much easier. I can¡¯t imagine things would be different here, when the shoe¡¯s on the other foot.
He walked back toward Mina.
¡°You saw something, too, didn¡¯t you, skapi?¡± she asked softly, staring him in the face.
¡°I did,¡± James said, frowning.
She took his hand, and they walked back to the apartment in silence.
While Mina made up the bed, James prepared to shower for the first time in over a month. That was the big change to their apartment while he was gone. Mina had come up with the idea of having plumbers come and, working in conjunction with Mages, install drain pipes in as many apartments as she could. That way, if people just used magic to conjure water, they could bathe like civilized humans, without having to look for a river or something.
As someone who had only washed with conjured water for weeks, and who¡¯d had to bathe outside whenever he wanted to clean off, James thoroughly approved.
¡°Hester, Roscuro, do either of you know anything about dealing with ghosts?¡± James asked. The water was running over his body now, warm and inviting, but he still felt a chill.
¡°Not much, sir,¡± Hester said.
Is that what you saw? Roscuro asked.
Did you not see it? James replied.
No, Roscuro replied. Which I suspect means it was not real.
¡°I need to talk to Dave Matsumoto in the morning,¡± James said aloud. ¡°I want to know what or who other people see when they look into that forest.¡±
V3Ch31-Fisher Kingdom Business
In the morning, James got up early and made his family a hearty breakfast.
He used a frying pan that someone had recovered from one of the old apartments, flames that he could generate from his own body and control at will, and ingredients he¡¯d found in Carol¡¯s Retail. It really was a brave new world.
That was the best way James could think of to tell his closest people that he was home again. Ideally, they would all associate the times when he was at home with the sound and smell of his cooking, happy memories of him reading aloud and playing with the children, and other similar scenes of domestic bliss. He had a bad feeling that he wasn¡¯t going to be as present as he would prefer.
The new neighbors brought it home to him. There would always be more enemies to fight.
At least everyone seemed happy to see him. Yulia looked relieved, which James guessed was in part because she and Mina had suffered through quite an annoying series of meetings and bureaucratic tasks while he was gone. Abhi ran up to James and embraced him silently but fiercely. And even baby James seemed to be in high spirits, gurgling and wiggling energetically at the sight of his father¡¯s face.
After breakfast, James announced his return to the Fisher Kingdom using his powers.
[Greetings to all residents of the Fisher Kingdom! I am back within our territory, and on my return journey I was accompanied by a small group of humans as well as roughly one thousand Goblins and two hundred Mole People. If you see giant fur-covered creatures that look a bit like a bear, or humanoid figures with yellow-green skin, please do not be alarmed. These are friends who are eager to live and work alongside us to build our new nation. You may not see them very often, as both Races primarily dwell underground. Please treat them with the same courtesy that you would extend to members of your own Race, whether you are a human, a wolf, or some other life form. The Goblins and Mole People are instructed to do the same.]
People reacted to James¡¯s announcement all across the territory. Some were simply glad he was back. Their body language reflected relaxation or mild euphoria that they were a bit safer than they had been before. Others were immediately worried about his decision to welcome so many new non-human immigrants into the country. Their frantic movements conveyed a sense of urgency as the most concerned paced back and forth.
James felt their movements all through his territory as he reached out with his aura to gauge the state of things. He was primarily focused on the land rather than the people right now, but in observing the condition of the territory, he couldn¡¯t help but get a general sense of people¡¯s activities, and by extension their feelings.
This is a powerful ability that I¡¯ll have to be careful in using.
Not much about the land itself had changed since he left, besides Mina beginning construction on a few new buildings.
There had been a bit of tunneling¡ªwhich James was fairly certain was the work of Mole People burrowing where he had authorized them to dig.
Elsewhere there were some changes to the surface, including some new seeds planted.
Someone was preparing to farm a certain section of land. James had authorized the formation of an Agriculture Commission before he left. It seemed they were already hard at work.
And there were a hundred or so new people, which was the most interesting development to him.
James resolved to meet as many of the new residents as he could and begin familiarizing them with his style of leadership. He walked toward the stairs leading out of the apartment.
Then there was a knock at the door.
James was going to answer it, but Yulia rushed out of her room at that point and marched downstairs with an air of such certainty that he just let her go ahead of him. He was left standing upstairs alone for a moment.
What¡¯s going on? he thought. Yulia¡¯s answering the door now? What happened while I was gone? Well, if it¡¯s another complaint like the landlord¡¯s, she can go ahead and get it, maybe they¡¯ll be nice to her.
James heard the door open, and then heard her greeting what sounded like more than a few people.
She called up to him, ¡°Citizens here to see the Fisher King!¡±
¡°Alright,¡± James said, just loud enough for Yulia to hear a floor below him. ¡°I guess there are a few things to discuss.¡± He had given a fair number of them tasks to work on while he was gone, after all. ¡°Please have them form a line, and then send them up, first come first served.¡±
Then he wondered if he¡¯d said something wrong or unintentionally funny. Even from where he stood at the top of the stairs, he could see Yulia¡¯s mischievous smile as she stood in the shadows by the door.
From then until lunchtime, he had hardly a minute alone.
First, there were a couple of people who wanted to express how enthusiastic they were about the new citizens¡ªwhich James quickly realized was code for, We need reassurance that the Mole People and Goblins aren¡¯t going to kill us and eat our children, please!
He provided that as best he could and then announced to the whole Kingdom that there would be a meet and greet with the leaders of the Goblins and Mole People in the next few days, and that any questions about the new residents should wait until then.
Next a group of engineers and plumbers showed up. Mina had apparently authorized them to begin planning the construction of a large sewer system for the Kingdom. The names of the Sewer Committee members were Jeremy Zucker, Steve Hsu, and Angelina Zuccarini.
Steve was their ¡°sewer historian.¡± He was weirdly excited to explain the historical models they were referring to in making their plans. The London sewer system was apparently a great historical example.
Once James felt he had sufficiently attempted to express his enthusiasm for the project, he gently pushed them to get to why they¡¯d come to see him this morning.
¡°Oh, we heard your announcement, sir,¡± said Zuccarini. ¡°We wanted to check in with you about the underground locations we¡¯re allowed to consider for the sewer. Since your, er, new subjects will reside largely underground.¡±
¡°Ah.¡± That made a lot of sense. ¡°Well, let me just connect you with the parties directly concerned. They can probably help you with construction anyway.¡±
He reached out to Magnar and Duncan with telepathy, and once he confirmed they were both available, he sent the Sewer Committee out to meet them. James would have preferred to make introductions himself, but he was confident enough in Duncan¡¯s social graces, and he also didn¡¯t feel that he could just leave right now. There were more meetings to attend¡
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
¡°Ready for the next group!¡± James called.
A moment later, he heard another small party climbing up the stairs.
This group was comprised of three men in robes. Two of them wore glasses, and all moved with the hunched postures common to those who were perpetually at a computer desk or staring down into a phone. For humans who had survived the System apocalypse, they looked remarkably physically weak. James automatically labeled them as geeks in his head. He spent the next twenty minutes trying unsuccessfully to put that judgment aside.
The lead geek, Christian Zito, spent most of that time explaining, in highly technical terms that they apparently had not figured out how to dumb down, some information about wires, cables, radio waves, satellites, and the size of the Earth. It gradually dawned on him that the Geek Squad was trying to explain something about the Internet. After that, the explanations seemed to flow more easily.
Eventually, James raised a hand to signal that they should pause.
¡°Hold on, please. Gentlemen. I have to be the first to admit that I am not a very technical person by nature, nor was I particularly good with pre-System technology. So I need to try and summarize the gist of what you¡¯re saying, before we get any further into the weeds on this topic. You¡¯re talking about the Internet, right?¡±
A tentative nod.
¡°What does the Internet have to do with the challenge of surviving in this semi-wild environment?¡± James asked, raising an eyebrow.
The three men visibly deflated.
¡°Not much,¡± admitted Darryl Brush.
¡°But it means a lot for people¡¯s quality of life,¡± Christian said. ¡°If we could get the Internet up and working again¡ª¡±
¡°Guys, I don¡¯t want to put a damper on anyone¡¯s spirits,¡± James said. ¡°I want the Internet back.¡± He was not entirely sure that he did, but that seemed the civilized tack to take. ¡°But we don¡¯t even have electricity and running water right now. We have to prioritize. If you come up with a way to get the electricity back on, I¡¯ll devote some resources to trying to turn the Internet back on.¡±
Hopefully they won¡¯t bring this up again until years from now, he thought, when people don¡¯t miss the Internet so much anymore.
¡°That¡¯s a very reasonable decision, sir,¡± said Mateo Rivera. He had spoken less than the other two during the conversation, but James noticed that both Darryl and Christian looked as though they considered the matter closed once Mateo had spoken.
A natural leader, then?
¡°If the three of you are interested in tackling these broader civilizational priorities, though, I am very interested in restoring power and getting a semblance of modernity back. Maybe you can be the founding members of the Electricity Committee. If you come up with a plan for electricity, we can move on that very soon.¡± James looked from man to man, but made sure to make slightly longer eye contact with Mateo.
The three looked at each other, and then Christian spoke up.
¡°We¡¯ll talk about it and see if we can come up with something,¡± he said.
¡°We won¡¯t let you down, sir,¡± Mateo said, throwing side-eye at Christian. ¡°Thank you for giving us this responsibility.
When they were gone, James shook his head. Getting the Internet back on? he thought. That¡¯s so insanely ambitious that I have to hand it to them. Mainly Mateo, I guess. But the idea¡¯s a fantasy. What¡¯s next? A delegation from the Lollipop Guild?
By the time of his next meeting, with the Agricultural Committee, James was starting to think seriously about what kind of governing structures he might put in place to minimize the number of meetings he had to attend.
People need to understand they have the authority to make decisions about things. If I put you on a committee, the committee should make decisions in the area they have responsibility for unless they¡¯re really big decisions that require more input. And if you want to try a moonshot project, maybe you need to go and do your best at it yourself. A meeting to figure out if we can get the Internet working again isn¡¯t a good use of my time. I can¡¯t be everywhere at once, unfortunately. And I¡¯m really more interested in figuring out what the laws should be, directing foreign affairs, and protecting this land than anything as specific as which crops we should grow.
James made eye contact with the leader of the Agricultural Committee, an older gentleman named Harry Luntz who had been a farmer pre-System. Luntz had just finished giving the group¡¯s report on their farming recommendations and activities thus far.
¡°May I be frank with you all?¡± James asked.
The members of the Committee looked back and forth at each other and finally nodded in a disjointed agreement.
¡°I know very little about agriculture,¡± James said, smiling sheepishly. ¡°I know that farms are where the food comes from, and I feel ignorant on this subject. I am, however, absolutely thrilled that there are actions we can take to have our own food grown and ready for the end of the year. Given that spectacular possibility, I¡¯m happy to take all of your recommendations. Let me know what you need from me, and I¡¯m happy to assist however I can.¡±
I didn¡¯t even know you could plant crops this late in Summer, let alone that they could grow so quickly. But I guess farms were always just something I drove past.
Fortunately, the Committee looked relieved at his admission of ignorance.
¡°We are eager to take your help, Your Majesty,¡± Luntz said. He and James set a time to meet later that day, before they planted their crops. He did have tasks that needed James¡¯s power to be accomplished¡ªor at least to be accomplished quickly. The Fisher King¡¯s land would naturally be much more responsive to his Will and his Mana than to anyone else¡¯s efforts to manipulate the soil. Apparently, the farmers had learned that the hard way.
And maybe I can bless the seeds, James thought. That would be a contribution that only he could make.
The Agricultural Committee seemed to be in high spirits when they left James. The Fisher King himself was getting tired of dealing with administrative matters.
James finally got something done that was among his own priorities when Hester reminded him that he was traveling with Carol the Dungeon Core, who probably ought to be planted somewhere so she could start doing her work of rebuilding her Dungeon. He asked Mina to take the next meeting for him. It was the Building Commission, whose work he knew she would be invested in.
Mina smiled.
¡°I¡¯ll help you out,¡± she said. ¡°I know meetings are a pain. But could you make time for one extra meeting later? Yulia would really like to talk to you about the Child Rescue Commission. I know that¡¯s not at the top of your mind right now, for good reasons.¡±
¡°Oh, it¡¯s not a problem,¡± he said. ¡°It would be nice to deal with a human situation instead of sewage and agriculture, honestly.¡±
Then James put on his Shapechanger¡¯s Cloak.
Invisibility.
And he was escaping through the bedroom window, unseen, looking for the perfect spot to stick a Dungeon Core.
He removed Carol from his magic satchel midway through the search so that she could help him figure out the best place.
¡°Not there,¡± she said of the wall between the Fisher Kingdom and the forest. ¡°I don¡¯t want to be too close to your border with that creepy place.¡±
She was much more interested in the Community Center, but James vetoed that idea. ¡°We¡¯re going to be in and out of there all the time. I know you probably want more social activity, but I think this would probably be a little too much.¡±
Finally, they settled on a building that was still under construction.
¡°I can actually finish filling out the structure that¡¯s there with my powers,¡± Carol told James.
¡°That¡¯s great,¡± he said. ¡°And it can still perform its function as a warehouse.¡± The latter was phrased almost as a question.
Carol quickly reassured him that yes, the items people were storing and planning to store would still be safe inside her dungeon.
So James put her down and began thinking about how he would word his next announcement.
We now have a Dungeon in the territory, located where we were building a warehouse. Please don¡¯t be alarmed¡
V3 Interlude-The Great White Nowhere
Cara Dahlhaus twisted her cold, hard lips into a vicious smile as she set eyes upon the frosty track.
The bitter winds that beat down on the frozen plains left her gray-blue skin unharmed, but the increasing chill did not go unnoticed. It was one of the signs that Cara was following.
And now she had another.
She bent down to more closely examine the bits of frost sticking out of the ground. Atop the snow-covered ground, sticking up like a ring of stalagmites, a circle of icicles in the shape of a hoof stood out.
Cara rose and cast her eyes forward four feet, eight feet, then ten feet. Sure enough, at ten feet, she saw another frosty hoofprint.
This thing was really running, she thought. Moving at high speed.
She imagined it was fleeing from her. The notion was not implausible. She and the Wendigos that followed her had chased this creature across a huge chunk of the landmass that was once Canada. They had only gotten close once, and she had gotten a good look at it then, before it dashed off, riding the winds like one of Santa¡¯s pets.
A freakishly gigantic white deer, crowned with a forest of golden antlers.
Identify labeled it as the Great White Hart. Level 32, which was worrying.
But Malsumis had reassured her. Through his messenger, a rabid bison, the malevolent god explained that the Great White Hart had abandoned its greatest strengths, its herd and its territory, in order to run from her more quickly.
¡°Just kill this single creature, and you become a Ruler,¡± the bison wheezed with Malsumis¡¯s strange, eerie voice. ¡°Easy work. You have killed so many others with far more potent powers. Remember the Shadow Mage?¡±
It was at least true that the only power Cara had witnessed the creature display proficiently was the ability to run away.
Still, is this really the easiest Ruler for me to kill? Cara did not feel confident that Malsumis was motivated by her best interests. She looked out for herself at all times, but she had felt forced to place her trust in the god¡¯s counsel more than once already. First, when he persuaded her to become a Wendigo. Second, when he explained that she would only be able to survive as a monster if she created others of her kind. Third, when he told her how Wendigos navigated internal conflicts.
Now this. She was stuck in the middle of the Great White Nowhere, following the advice of a possessed bison that had deteriorated over the course of the journey West until it could no longer walk. The dead body of the bison had been ripped to shreds by Cara¡¯s fellow monsters at that point, and the last sound out of its mouth was Malsumis¡¯s creepy wheezing laughter.
¡°Well, where to next, eh?¡±
Cara turned her head, though even before she did, she knew who the speaker was.
¡°We follow the tracks, Letitia,¡± she replied, imbuing her voice with a special layer of frost that was reserved for this specific woman. The only Wendigo who had dared to challenge her leadership since the return to Earth. Also the only one to ever contend with her and live.
Cara pointed down at the icicles she had just been examining as she spoke, as if Letitia was blind.
¡°Very good, then. More blood at the end of this trail?¡±
Cara frowned. She¡¯s losing too much of her humanity. Like her brains are leaking out. Why did you want me to spare her, Malsumis? For what purpose? She would have served me far better as an example than as this.
But it seemed to amuse the god to test his Chosen One in new and inventive ways now that she was back on Earth. He had promised power, but never that it would be without cost.
One cost of the Wendigo transformation that Cara had observed was that the longer one remained in the monstrous form, the more it sapped the underlying human¡¯s basic Intelligence. You could counteract that by Pillaging more bodies and absorbing Stat points, but it was a crapshoot where those Stat points landed.
Cara had been spending as much time in her human form as she could, whenever she was not moving at the Wendigos¡¯ superhuman speed or fighting.
So of course Malsumis sent them to this horrid frozen place, where only the Wendigo shape kept them from dying of exposure.
¡°Don¡¯t you remember, Letitia?¡± Cara asked. ¡°You literally just ate.¡±
She gestured at the smoke several hundred miles behind them. It had still been morning when they hit Edmonton, and now it was almost night, but still, Letitia had enjoyed a banquet there. It ought to have sated even her Endless Hunger for a little longer.
Letitia¡¯s face took on a blank expression. Then she looked back at the column of smoke from the still-burning city, and her lips curled into a twisted smile. ¡°Oh, yes. That was fun. Those people were delicious. Their blood tasted as sweet as maple syrup! When do we hit the next settlement?¡±
Cara resisted the urge to yell at her and instead returned her expression to the icy smile she had donned when she first saw the Great White Hart¡¯s tracks. Our stay in Edmonton was a bit of a waste of time, but it did increase our numbers. No matter what I think of the Hart¡¯s tendency to run from us, having cannon fodder to throw at him can only help me. Underestimating a Ruler could be fatal. That last thought had been Malsumis¡¯s warning, even as he instructed that she must pursue and defeat a Ruler to reach her full potential and secure her leadership position among the Wendigos.
¡°We continue forward, in search of larger prey,¡± she replied, pointing in the direction the tracks led. ¡°That way.¡±
Then she sent a telepathic message to the whole group.
All, we have the tracks of our prey. You know how fast the beast is, so follow close behind me. We won''t let it escape again.
Cara resumed tracking the monster. She only had the very occasional hoofprint to follow, so she was mainly trying to catch its scent on the wind and looking for small bits of fur that it left behind on trees as it raced by.
Looking for scraps of white fur in a winter wonderland, she thought. It gives searching for a needle in a haystack a good name!
But somehow, each time she was almost ready to give up, she would find some renewed sign of the creature¡¯s continued life. Some visual indicator that she was on the right track. A tree scraped by the Hart¡¯s antler. A scrap of white fur caught under a small stone but moving slightly with the intense winds. A series of branches that had clearly been trampled under the foot of the leaping, gliding creature.
And the latest: a tiny chunk of gleaming golden antler that must have broken off on contact with a large rock formation that seemed to loom up out of nowhere in the midst of the snow.
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Cara picked up the chunk of golden antler and found it surprisingly heavy.
¡°Why is the weather like this?¡± A voice spoke from her side.
¡°We¡¯re chasing a monster that rides on the wind, Matt,¡± Cara replied. ¡°Why should we be surprised it¡¯s a bit windy? We¡¯ve been moving North. And it¡¯s fucking Canada.¡±
¡°It wasn¡¯t this bad on the way here,¡± he replied. ¡°Was it? It¡¯s still late Summer.¡±
Cara shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ve never been to Alberta before. I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s supposed to be like.¡±
¡°Would you come back?¡± Matt asked.
She flashed him a hideous but genuinely amused smile. ¡°I¡¯d love to. Anytime. The food''s great.¡±
They shared an evil laugh. Then Cara directed her attention to their environment.
Although it was Matt who called her attention to it, Cara had also noticed the weather. Malsumis had informed her that once she became a Ruler, she would be able to manipulate the environment around her within a certain territory. So she assumed that the Great White Hart was exercising that power, although she declined to tell Matt this information. More information for the other Wendigos would only lead to one of them wanting to take the killing blow against the Hart.
If one of the other Wendigos killed the Hart, Cara would certainly lose her position of leadership. She would not let that happen. I will never be powerless again. It was her only principle.
So she marched forward through the snow and banished all doubts to the back of her mind.
Several hours later, the terrain had become rockier. The Wendigos were nearing a mountain. The signs of the Hart¡¯s presence were fewer and fewer, and the weather had continued to grow worse. Snow was falling in fast-flowing waves, faster than the Wendigos could produce themselves. But they still had a coherent trail to follow, with all the Hart¡¯s clues moving in one direction.
The Wendigos followed the trail for another hour, and it ended with a scrap of fur lodged between two stones at the base of the mountain.
We¡¯ll need to scale that, Cara thought. Then she sent an order to that effect.
The Wendigos were nearly tireless. Even so, with the snow beating down more, the winds howling more harshly, and the air growing thinner with each step they took, their pace of ascent gradually slowed to a crawl. An inexorable forward movement continued, but at an incredibly drawn out speed. Cara could not criticize them. She knew that any human climber would have given up on this place already.
My creatures are superior to any human, she thought with pride. That¡¯s why this world will fall to us.
The climb continued for monotonous hours as the ground receded into the distant background, but no Wendigos gave up or even questioned the directive to advance.
Finally, as Cara stepped over a large jutting rock, she saw it. A white furred four legged figure.
Everyone be as quiet as you can! she sent to the whole group instantly. We¡¯re very close.
Then she heard the sounds of movement from somewhere ahead of the Hart. Multiple life forms crunching the snow with their footsteps.
There was a moment of confusion for Cara. I thought he left behind all his kind. Are there more hidden up here? Did he arrange to meet them?
Then she saw a heavy rock flying through the air, thrown from somewhere further up the mountain. It was clearly aimed at the Great White Hart, but the creature nimbly sidestepped it. The rock tumbled through the air, now moving straight toward Cara. She smacked it away with the side of her arm, but the strength of the throw surprised her. It was enough to leave her skin a bit numb¡ªsomething the cold weather alone could never do to a Wendigo.
Cara looked up and saw at least a dozen humanoid figures covered in white fur. They were approaching slowly but ominously. Most of them appeared to be staring at the Hart, but a few were looking at her. They didn¡¯t have a single trace of fear in their body language.
Identify. She aimed at the closest monster.
Ancient Mountain Sasquatch, Lv. 20.
Shit. He¡¯s a big one. But they were all around the same size. The Sasquatches were even larger than the average Wendigo. Probably stronger too.
She looked to the Hart, and it turned and gazed right back at her. Its face was non-expressive, but she could swear there was a smug look in its eyes. Maybe it was the way the creature tilted its head.
As if to say, Oh, were you expecting it would just be me up here?
Then the creature leapt into the air and began almost gliding away from the mountain using its strange ability to run on the wind.
Cara saw the Sasquatches throw heavy rocks and icicle spears at the Hart. The creatures seemed to form the spears out of thin air, which suggested they might be a legitimate threat. But the Hart was far more agile than the projectiles, and it drew further away by the second.
The environment wasn¡¯t changing with the beast¡¯s departure, either, Cara realized.
Was that because it had changed the weather here and had no wish to change it back? Or was there just another Ruler somewhere on this mountain? A Ruler of these creatures? She began to have a very bad feeling about this.
She started to climb back down from her position and sent telepathic messages to the rest of the Wendigos to do the same. Flee. The creature has led us into a trap!
There were objections.
We want meat.
Let us fight these monsters.
We came here for blood.
Cara didn¡¯t bother arguing. The more sensible of her allies had already begun climbing down alongside her, though the movement was as slow as the climb up had been.
When the Hart had flown completely out of the monsters¡¯ range, the situation changed. All attention turned to the Wendigos.
Cara felt the change in the atmosphere when the attention of the monsters shifted. The air around the Wendigos somehow drew even colder, the wind pounding even harsher, though that could not harm them. Much more important were the projectiles.
The Wendigos that had been the most eager to fight were the first to be struck. Most of the blows, Cara saw when she bothered to look, were nonlethal. Wendigos getting knocked on their asses.
A few of them were potentially deadlier. One ice spear drew very near to hitting a Wendigo in the heart, though ice alone would probably not destroy a Wendigo¡¯s heart. And a couple of Wendigos struck in the head with heavy rocks fell to the ground and then didn¡¯t move again.
Cara was well aware that her monsters were still mortal. They could be killed, though she did not think a blow to the head would be enough to do it. But the Wendigos couldn¡¯t afford to remain immobile while the Sasquatches advanced either. The monsters were moving briskly down the mountain, pursuing their fleeing enemy with the advantages of the high ground and their superior knowledge of the terrain. Their steps were sure-footed like mountain goats¡¯.
Whenever a Wendigo tried to throw rocks back at the attackers, the Sasquatch would dodge or catch the stone.
We¡¯re going against gravity, Cara thought. We would have to be significantly stronger than them to be effective in a battle. And most of her Wendigos were newly minted from the destruction of Edmonton. Too weak to be effective against enemies other than helpless humans.
She tried her best to ignore the thrown objects as best she could and get distance, but the Sasquatches only grew more aggressive and confident in their defense of their territory. As she saw more and more of the tall figures, she began to think the Wendigos might be outnumbered as well as outclassed in physical power and knowledge of the environment. But it was hard to be sure. The Sasquatches could appear and disappear behind a snow drift in an instant.
A new volley of heavy rocks and ice spears began to thin the number of Wendigos that were still retreating.
The first ice spear that struck Cara took her in the side.
Run, she sent to the other Wendigos. Do not try to fight. Just ru¡ª
As Cara tried to sidestep another ice spear, a heavy blow struck her in the head. Black fog began clawing at the edges of her vision.
Where did that come from? she wondered.
The last sight that her brain registered before the darkness took her was the shape of the Great White Hart floating in midair beside her. But that could have been a hallucination. One sometimes sees strange things after a head injury.
Then Cara was falling down the side of the mountain.
V3Ch32-Preparations for Battle Part 2
After he had announced the establishment of the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s first dungeon, James returned to the apartment through the same route by which he¡¯d left it.
¡°So that was what you needed some time to yourself for?¡± Mina asked, raising an eyebrow playfully.
James nodded. ¡°Well, that, and honestly, I just wanted to get away from people asking me for direction for a little while.¡±
¡°That¡¯s going to be your everyday reality, you know,¡± Mina said, furrowing her brow in an expression of slight concern. ¡°You asked for this when you decided to be King.¡±
¡°I know, and I accept that I¡¯m the decision maker,¡± James said. ¡°But I need to start giving some of these people more autonomy. Having them pick members of their groups to be in charge of the different committees and missions, so they can get things done without having to ask me about them. There¡¯s a broad vision, and then there¡¯s the nitty gritty detail that I¡¯m not better equipped to handle than the people who have chosen to take up the task.¡±
Mina¡¯s face relaxed. ¡°That¡¯s good, then. You need to start telling people that. I had a similar thought when I was dealing with committee meetings yesterday, but I didn¡¯t want to say anything on your behalf that I couldn¡¯t un-say.¡±
¡°I appreciate that,¡± James said, looking into her eyes and smiling.
¡°Of course.¡± She shrugged, but the corners of her lips tugged up in an irresistible return smile.
Of course, he thought affectionately. You always know the right thing to do, don¡¯t you?
¡°Next on the agenda, I¡¯d like to have lunch with Dave Matsumoto. He can give me more details on our unwanted neighbors, right?¡±
¡°He said he told me everything he knew,¡± Mina replied. ¡°But I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if you could get more out of him. He seems like a reserved fellow. And people do tend to confide in you.¡±
James prepared a very simple lunch¡ªroasted meat from his hunt with Dave and his friend, and roasted potatoes made with canned potatoes he¡¯d found in Carol¡¯s Retail¡ªand then he went to where Dave was. One of the advantages of his power as the Fisher King was that he could always find where people were on his land.
Fortunately, Dave had not made other lunch plans, and he agreed to eat what James had brought. They went into the Community Center, which James saw Mina had already ordered slightly enlarged, thankfully without changing the fundamental design.
They pulled up a couple of chairs and engaged in small talk for a little while.
James didn¡¯t broach the subject he had come to discuss until they were midway through the meal.
¡°So, I understand that this neighbor we¡¯re dealing with right now¡ªspeaking realistically, this potential enemy¡ªmight have originated in your Orientation.¡± He didn¡¯t phrase or pronounce the words in the form of a question, but the sense of an inquiry floated in the air between them nevertheless.
¡°That is what I believe, regarding the neighbor located in the forest,¡± Dave said after a long moment.
¡°I can tell you don¡¯t really want to talk about this. And I wouldn¡¯t ask so directly if I didn¡¯t feel our situation was rather urgent. But the forest sprang up right there while I was gone.¡± James pointed a thumb at the wall he had put up to block the forest from view. ¡°What can you tell me?¡±
¡°Not much. I didn¡¯t actually enter that forest in Orientation. Or not for very long, anyway.¡± He looked into James¡¯s eyes and then away.
James just waited. You¡¯re holding something back, Dave. Did you see what I saw?
¡°You saw something,¡± Dave said. It wasn¡¯t quite a question, though perhaps it should have been.
¡°I did,¡± James replied. ¡°I think you might have seen something similar. I really wanted to know if this is a problem everyone else is going to experience if they walk into that forest¡ªor even just look in its direction.¡±
¡°Yes. I think that is probably safe to say.¡± Dave¡¯s tone was still guarded.
¡°I can imagine why you wouldn¡¯t want to talk more about it,¡± James said. He decided to go first. ¡°I saw my dead father.¡±
Dave stared into his eyes for a few seconds as if gauging his honesty. ¡°Me too,¡± he finally said.
The dam that had slowed their conversation down finally broke then.
¡°Do you know what the others who have looked into that forest saw?¡± James asked.
¡°It¡¯s the same,¡± Dave said. ¡°If you see their faces right after they¡¯ve looked into the place, you don¡¯t have to ask to know what they¡¯ve seen. Dead loved ones, same as us. I don¡¯t know if they¡¯ve actually heard the voices of the dead. That was what almost lured me in. Beyond the border zone. If my friends hadn¡¯t been there.¡±
¡°Did the apparition sound like your father was in life?¡±
¡°Yes. I think so. Or perhaps just like my memory of him.¡± Dave looked disturbed as he pondered the question.
¡°Not a lot of people would be able to fight well in those circumstances,¡± James said slowly. ¡°So it will render our forces ineffective or at least much less effective as soon as they enter.¡±
¡°Are you asking me or telling me?¡± Dave asked.
¡°Yes.¡± Both men chuckled, but without much humor. ¡°You were a military man, right, Dave?¡±
¡°Once. Against my better judgment, probably. The war with China seems so naive now. What a waste of life and time and energy! Fighting China over Taiwan¡ To think we would be fighting against otherworldly monsters one day.¡±
James could hear trauma in Dave¡¯s voice.
¡°Think of it as preparation,¡± he said. ¡°The world needs you at your best, most prepared self. Maybe everything you¡¯ve endured had a meaning. A purpose that we¡¯re only going to see right now.¡±
Dave bit his lip, then nodded slightly. ¡°What do you want me to do?¡±
¡°Right now I just want someone to bounce ideas off of,¡± James said. ¡°My colleague, Alan, went to war too. I¡¯ll probably have most of the people who¡¯ve fought in war on a council soon. But before I do that, I wanted your opinion. I want to either engage in diplomacy with or conquer these two neighbors. We can¡¯t have a next door neighbor whose intentions we¡¯re not sure about. The question is who to engage with first. Do we deal with the swamp creatures or try the forest?¡±
¡°What do your instincts tell you?¡± Dave asked.
¡°Oh, none of that!¡± James said, laughing quietly. ¡°Are you going to be one of those people who asks what I think when I¡¯ve just said I want your opinion?¡±
Dave smiled dryly. ¡°Fine. Hit the swamp first.¡±
¡°That was what I was inclined to do. Thank you. What¡¯s your reasoning?¡±
¡°I imagine that the creatures there are more mobile than whatever dwells in that forest.¡±
James nodded. ¡°So if we enter the forest and lose ourselves there, the swamp creatures might invade and attack the people we¡¯ve left behind.¡±
¡°Exactly. But I suppose you had already thought of that.¡±
¡°It was a possibility I considered. Whatever lives in the forest didn¡¯t seem to come out during the duration of your Orientation?¡±
¡°No.¡± Dave looked uncomfortable. ¡°We didn¡¯t see anything emerge. We only heard them sometimes.¡±
James didn¡¯t ask anything else just then. If Dave knew something else that James would need to know, he felt confident the veteran would pass the information on, no matter how painful it might be.
The two sat and ate in silence for a few minutes.
¡°The other reason why I want to tackle the swamp first,¡± James said finally, ¡°is that I think the forest situation is going to come down to a fight.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t think that the forest dwellers can be negotiated with,¡± Dave said. He was keeping his voice carefully neutral, but James thought he detected the corners of the man¡¯s lips turning up slightly.
He approves of the way I¡¯m thinking.
¡°No, I don¡¯t,¡± James said. He allowed a little bit of his anger to show through, relaxed just a little of his control. ¡°Even if they could be negotiated with, would we really want to reach an accommodation with something that dishonors our dead as a distraction?¡±
Dave nodded his endorsement of James¡¯s reasoning, and the silence resumed for a little while.
James was already looking ahead to the fight with whatever lived in the ghastly forest, more than he was thinking about fighting the swamp monsters.
Should I take that personally? Roscuro asked, interrupting James¡¯s train of thought.
Take what personally? James replied, though he instantly knew what the Soul Eater meant.
That remark about dishonoring the dead.
Ah. No, of course not, James sent. I would have happily negotiated with you. You just had to agree that I was in charge.
Of course, master, Roscuro said, in a tone that dripped with irony. Your diplomacy will surely be legendary for its nuance and sophistication.
¡°Alright,¡± James said, breaking the silence. ¡°Can you have the Hunters gather after lunch? I would like to deal with this alligator problem sooner rather than later.¡±
Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.
¡°Today?¡± Dave asked.
¡°Necessary action is only ever delayed to our detriment,¡± James replied.
¡°What¡¯s that? Sun Tzu?¡±
¡°A very rough paraphrase of Machiavelli. The quote is about how there¡¯s no avoiding war. Postponing only helps others, not us.¡±
¡°That seems like it couldn¡¯t be true in our case,¡± Dave said. ¡°Delaying gives us the chance to train a larger force.¡±
¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t anticipate we¡¯ll need a large force,¡± James said. ¡°This essentially is a training exercise for the small elite group that we¡¯re taking into the enemy¡¯s territory. Assuming it comes to a fight, of course.¡±
¡°You think you can take them by yourself.¡±
¡°I think we have a strong enough force that I won¡¯t have to, but probably, yes.¡±
That was part of the appeal of dealing with the gators first, honestly. A problem I can just punch my way out of won¡¯t be a problem for very long. And hopefully this will raise morale for the next situation we have to deal with.
Dave nodded as if he also thought it was plausible that James could defeat the monsters alone.
¡°If we wait, what¡¯s the downside? What additional risks do we face?¡± Dave asked.
¡°More hostile neighbors will probably appear on our borders. Even if that doesn¡¯t happen, the swamp creatures could take the fight to us, endangering civilians. Or they could form an alliance with whatever lives in the forest.¡±
Dave¡¯s eyes widened slightly. It appeared he had not considered some of what James was predicting might happen. ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll have them ready to go in an hour.¡± He rose from the table.
¡°I¡¯ll get the nonhuman contingent of our forces ready,¡± James said.
Dave stepped away, and James began reaching out telepathically to the leaders he needed. Magnar, of the Mole People, and Luna, of the wolf pack.
The Goblins would, he thought, probably be less than helpful against monsters that were larger than them and armored. Maybe the Goblin Overlord¡¯s Illusion Magic would be useful, though. So he sent Duncan a message as well.
There were a couple of humans he wanted to bring into the battle, but he imagined that the monsters could probably do most of the heavy lifting in this fight.
Assuming that there is a fight, he reminded himself. It was entirely possible that the swamp monsters would want to be friends, in which case James would consider what he and the monsters could offer each other and hopefully hammer out some sort of agreement. But he wouldn¡¯t want to count on that seemingly unlikely outcome.
¡°What are you expecting to happen next, sir?¡± Hester asked.
¡°I think we¡¯re eating gator meat tonight,¡± he said quietly.
He decided to go over his Status for a few minutes while he waited for his monstrous allies to arrive.
[Status
Name: James Robard
Race: Evolver Human Lv. 22
Class: Predator in Human Skin Lv. 25
Job: Fisher King Lv. 20
Health: 22,801/22,801
Mana: 21,920/21,920
Stamina: 21,025/21,025
Wrath Meter: 0%
Stats
Strength: 125
Agility: 134
Stamina: 145
Fortitude: 151
Dexterity: 110
Perception: 155
Will: 160
Intelligence: 137
Charisma: 155
Stealth: 135
Free Points: 0
Skills
Affinity of the Fisher King Lv. 3
Air Strike Lv. 5
Aura of the Fisher King Lv. 5
Basic Elemental Magic: Earth Lv. 4
Basic Elemental Magic: Gravity Lv. 3
Basic Elemental Magic: Water Lv. 4
Basic Non-Elemental Magic Lv. 2
Berserk Mode Lv. 0
Blame Avoidance Lv. 5
Blessing of the Fisher King Lv. 2
Command Presence Lv. 0
Command Structure
Compulsion Lv. 5
Dominion
Dreamwalk Lv. 4
Empathic Projection Lv. 12
Enhanced Stem Cell Production Lv. 8
False Reality Lv. 6
Fate Resistance
Full Body Control Lv. 4
Goodwill of the Fisher King Lv. 4
Hand of Glory Lv. 2
Identify Lv. 9
Illusion Magic Lv. 5
Indeterminate Past Lv. 0
Intelligence of the Fisher King Lv. 1
Laying on Hands Lv. 7
Lightning Strike Lv. 3
Loyal Following Lv. 5
Mass Pillage Lv. 2
Meteor Strike Lv. 3
Mind of the Predator Lv. 7
Monster Control Lv. 8
Monster Generation Lv. 9
Natural Camouflage Lv. 3
Omnivore Lv. 4
Organization Lv. 6
Pain Resistance Lv. 9
Perfect Choice of Words Lv. 6
Pillage Lv. 12
Predator¡¯s Missile Lv. 3
Predator¡¯s Sacred Armor Lv. 2
Predator¡¯s Strike Lv. 5
Predator¡¯s Venomous Armaments Lv. 1
Rapid Recovery Lv. 6
Self-Control Lv. 3
Silent Spellcasting
Silk Production Lv. 9
Skill Fusion
Skill Transfer
Solar Ray Lv. 2
Solar Recovery Lv. 4
Soul Bind Lv. 0
Soul Magic Lv. 1
Spellbinding Words Lv. 2
System Interface
System Store Access
Territorial Control Lv. 1
Threads of Fate Lv. 1
Universal Language Comprehension
Way of the Predator Lv. 6
Will of the Fisher King Lv. 1
Zone of Interest Lv. 1
Talents
Alpha Presence Lv. 0
Basic Spellcraft Lv. 5
Cannibalism Lv. 6
Cool-headed Lv. 8
Earth Affinity
Efficient Magic Lv. 4
Fisher Land Management Lv. 4
Fisher Sentient Resources Lv. 3
Flame Affinity
Genius Loci Lv. 1
Leadership Lv. 5
Manipulation Lv. 9
Marksmanship Lv. 4
Mass Manipulation Lv. 3
Monster Patriarch Lv. 3
Pain Resistance Lv. 2
Selective Empathy Lv. 5
Solar Power Lv. 3
Soul Eater Lv. 0
Water Affinity
Titles
A Stitch in Time
Chosen One of Anansi
Citizen of the Dead Marsh
Deceiver
Devout Beacon
Dreamweaver
Figure of Destiny
Friend of All Spiders
Living Legend
Pack Leader
Ruler of the Dark Waters
Savior
Spider-King
Storyteller
Sublime Creator
Swiss Army Mage
System Pioneer
Trickster
Usurper
Xenocide II]
Neat. Things are coming along well, I think. Of course, James had no other Ruler to compare himself with, but he could tell he was miles ahead of where he had been in Orientation.
He rose from his seat and walked out to meet the monsters he was bringing with him.
As he opened the Community Center doors, there was Luna and the wolfpack, and beside them Duncan, Magnar, and a contingent of thirty Mole People.
¡°First things first,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ve already bestowed my blessing on Duncan and Magnar, when I appointed them as my leaders of their respective species. Luna, it¡¯s your turn.¡±
The leader of the wolves approached James, and he focused on her.
It has been a while, my King, the wolf sent telepathically. You did not wish for us to accompany you on your adventure to the Goblin lands. There was a trace of wounded pride in her tone, but James could not tell if she was entirely serious.
I entrusted you and the wolfpack with something much more important to me, he replied. The protection of my family and my land. Dealing with the Goblins was a distraction from my real purpose here, but I trusted that you and your brothers and sisters could defend what was most precious.
Luna¡¯s ears perked up at that. Wow. She really was fishing for some reassurance there.
While you were gone, we patrolled and hunted with great enthusiasm, she sent. I also chose my mate. I hope that I will bear cubs soon, to better defend our lands and grow in your service. If you are blessing me, I would ask that you also bless my mate. Her tone turned up slightly at the end of the statement, as if it were a question. A little whine also escaped the back of her throat.
James nodded and smiled. ¡°I would be happy to. Would Luna¡¯s mate please join her in front of me?¡±
A large male wolf with two heads stepped forward from the pack. He must have Evolved from his base form while James was away. There were two Command Forest Wolves in the pack now.
I wonder if Luna chose him for that reason. I know she wants her pack to be as strong as she can make it, to better justify her place here.
My King, you honor me by including me beside my mate, the wolf said. Thank you. His thoughts came across in a gruff voice with a slight hint of an accent from somewhere up North that James could not specifically place.
Do you have a nickname you go by within the pack? James asked, sending the message to both of them.
No, my King, the male wolf replied instantly.
Are you able to give us true names with this new power of yours? Luna asked.
James nodded. He had done it for Magnar. Luna¡¯s tail began to wag excitedly, and she sat up a little straighter. Something important to her future was about to happen.
Please choose a strong name for me, sir, the male sent.
The name was the easiest part for James. There was a good historical precedent that he felt fit. And the proper words for the blessing came to him as he empathized with Luna¡¯s excitement for the future.
¡°As the borders of the Fisher Kingdom expand, so must the defenders of the Fisher Kingdom grow stronger. Their leaders must grow stronger still. Lady Luna and Lord Romulus, as you and your brood will be permanent guardians of this land, may you grow strong and fruitful above and beyond your peers. May you and your children be the foundation for a dynasty.¡±
Power surged through James¡¯s body, and he saw the two targeted wolves swell with power in front of him.
In his peripheral vision, he saw Duncan and Magnar fall to their knees, while the rest of the wolf pack bent their front legs and lowered their heads in their version of a bow.
As James felt the usual sudden hit of weakness after a blessing, he was prepared for it this time. He remained standing still, though his vision blurred slightly from the power he had just expended.
The two wolves he had blessed began howling, and soon the pack joined in.
V3Ch33-The Home Front
After the wolves had calmed and ceased their howling, after James had sent an announcement explaining that the wolves¡¯ howling was good news rather than some kind of monster attack, and after he had described the situation with the neighbors and his thinking to all the monsters present, James returned to the apartment for a few minutes.
Even if he was certain he would come back either victorious or with a new ally, he wanted to let Mina know he was going somewhere. Otherwise she¡¯d worry about him¡ªwhich in this case would be unwarranted.
¡°We¡¯re going to pay a little visit to the swamp,¡± he said as soon as he knew they were the only ones in the apartment besides the children. The kids were down for a post-meal nap, and Yulia had gone out to deal with some Child Rescue Committee business.
As he spoke, James roasted a bit of monster meat from his magic satchel. Mina had finished eating her lunch with Yulia and the children and was about to wash the dishes when he came in, but James was already hungry again. Thanks to Omnivore, he was confident that eating a meal would restore most of the power he had expended blessing the wolves. And he knew that he would need to be at full strength. He was invading another Ruler¡¯s territory.
¡°By ¡®a little visit,¡¯ you mean you¡¯re going to invade and wipe out another species?¡± She smiled thinly as she spoke. It rang false to James. For a moment, he almost wondered if there was some physical danger present that Mina was worried about. But no. She would certainly have told him. More likely, she was worried about him going.
¡°Well, hopefully not wipe them out, but you never know.¡± He gave a little shrug. ¡°The Hunters, the wolves, the Mole People, and the Goblin Overlord are all going with me. We¡¯ll do our best to make some sort of arrangement for the Kingdom¡¯s future security.¡±
¡°I hope you have fun,¡± she said, clearly trying to affect nonchalance.
¡°You¡¯re not worried?¡± he asked.
¡°I know you¡¯re in your element. Go kill some big lizards.¡± Again, something about her voice gave away that all was not quite right. ¡°Just have fun with it, don¡¯t forget you are meeting with Yulia later about her committee, and you should probably take a shower after you come back from the swamp. I have a feeling you¡¯ll be covered in blood, sweat, and mud. Love you!¡±
Mina stepped in, went on tiptoe, and kissed him on the cheek. She smiled as she pulled back, but it didn¡¯t reach her eyes. She turned away, walked to the sink, silently conjured some water, and began washing dishes. It was a small movement of her shoulders that gave her away. A slight quiver.
James came up behind his wife and wrapped his arms around her. He felt tension running through her body, and he leaned down and pressed his cheek against hers. And confirmed that she was crying. As he felt her tears on his skin, he embraced her more tightly, almost lifting her off her feet. Her body felt so fragile.
Mina leaned back against him and relaxed as completely as she could, allowing him to support almost her full weight. She breathed slowly as she tried to calm herself, but he could still feel the occasional sob mixed in with her normal breathing.
¡°It¡¯s alright that you¡¯re not used to this,¡± he said, speaking softly right into her ear. ¡°No one really is¡ª¡±
¡°Except you.¡± She turned her head slightly to look at him before continuing. ¡°And all these people who are already finding new ways to help build up your Kingdom. I keep thinking about what happened in Orientation. I feel like if I let you or Yulia too far out of my sight, I¡¯ll lose you. I know that¡¯s not right, at least about you. You can take care of yourself better than anyone. But I still remember the sounds of people screaming, when the Wendigos slaughtered buildings full of people. I know it could happen again.¡±
¡°It¡¯s normal to feel that way. You¡¯re just being human. You might think other people are okay. But most of them are just trying to pretend that their Orientations never happened. The reason they support us is because they think we can give them back some normalcy. Most of them would be homeless now if we weren¡¯t putting up buildings for them. If you take an animal out of its environment, most wouldn¡¯t know how to adapt to a new setting. I was just talking to Dave Matsumoto, and he was clearly still rattled thinking about his Orientation. And I think he¡¯s stronger than most! You¡¯re not doing worse than them or something. I would read the way they¡¯re behaving this way: the more driven people are to make themselves useful, the more desperately they¡¯re coping. You¡¯re one of the people they¡¯re leaning on to give themselves structure. You¡¯re part of their sense of security. So they probably pretend harder when they¡¯re around us than they do when they¡¯re by themselves.¡±
Mina was nodding as James spoke those last couple of sentences, so he thought she might be starting to calm down.
¡°What about you?¡± she asked.
¡°I¡¯m also part of their sense of security,¡± he replied, deliberately missing the point.
She let out a short laugh. ¡°You know what I mean. Those other people are desperately coping. I¡¯m barely still sane. I tried to protect Yulia as much as I could in our Orientation, so she might be okay. But no one looked out for you, and you¡¯re moving forward. You¡¯re even having fun!¡±
He spoke cautiously, listening carefully to her breathing to gauge her reactions as he spoke. ¡°Well, I¡¯m a bad example. I¡¯m crazy in a way. Always have been. You know that. You signed up for it. I didn¡¯t trick you. And yes, I¡¯m kind of having the time of my life. Not a lot of people are going to be reacting like me. I¡¯m probably psychologically abnormal in some kind of diagnosable way.¡±
There was a moment of silence while she weighed what James said.
¡°Yeah, you are a little crazy, aren¡¯t you?¡±
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They both laughed. Quiet shivery laughs from Mina, a low chuckle from James. He felt a little sense of triumph at making her feel just a bit better.
¡°You know, when you were gone, I dreamed that you died,¡± Mina whispered. ¡°I dreamed that you wound up just like those people the Wendigos killed. A big red-brown bloodstain smeared on a wall¡¡±
James¡¯s smile dried up. I should have visited her in her dreams¡
¡°But I can¡¯t let that stop me,¡± she continued. ¡°I know you aren¡¯t going to die like that. And I won¡¯t be left behind and wind up useless.¡±
¡°You won¡¯t,¡± he agreed.
¡°This swamp battle¡ªI¡¯m guessing it¡¯s going to be a physical fight between you and some giant monsters¡ªit probably won¡¯t play to my strengths. I¡¯m not as quick as you, I can¡¯t hit particularly hard¡ª¡± She snorted at the idea of her hitting a monster¡ª¡°so I won¡¯t ask you to take me with you. But promise me that when you face the next monster¡ªif you invade the forest and face whatever lives there¡ªyou¡¯ll take me with you. This mystical stuff is going to be my element. A goddess of magic gave me a blessing, and I¡¯m a Witch. I might make the difference between you living and dying. I¡¯m still developing my understanding, but I won¡¯t have you go in there without me and make my nightmare come true.¡±
James took a long moment to think about it. I would really rather not take her. Even if it increases the odds of victory in the forest, it also increases the odds that we both end up dead. The image that popped up in his mind first as he thought about that was baby James¡¯s tiny face, but following shortly after that, the images of Yulia¡¯s and Abhi¡¯s faces and then the faces of his siblings, Indira and Deepam. Being orphaned¡ªprobably orphaned again in the case of Abhi, Indira, and Deepam¡ªwould be no picnic for anyone.
But there was a values question at play too. What would it mean for Mina to survive and feel like she was useless for the purpose of protecting her family? That was the feeling she was conveying. He imagined there were, and had been, and would be, similar conversations taking place in many households both in the Fisher Kingdom and elsewhere. The System had introduced new kinds of disparities between human beings, as well as unique traumas.
And in the event that James died in the forest, how long would Mina and the children live anyway?
¡°I won¡¯t leave you behind if we hit the forest,¡± he said finally. ¡°But I¡¯m not exactly eager to go in there right now. It is a spooky place. Dave and I both saw images of our dead Dads. And the idea of taking you in there with me is even scarier, because even if I don¡¯t die, I could lose you. Then I¡ªI don¡¯t know what I would do. My first resort is going to be trying to figure out ways to deal with that place without going in. Maybe I can have the Mole People tunnel underneath it and collapse the place as a way of indirectly attacking, or we can use some kind of long range attack to kill whatever lives inside. In the meantime, I¡¯d appreciate it if you could try to figure out some way of dealing with spirit type monsters. Right now, I¡¯ve kind of got nothing. Your goddess didn¡¯t give you a spellbook to study or anything¡ª¡±
She was shaking her head as he spoke.
¡°¡ªbut if we can find something in the System Store, or you can get something in the new dungeon that helps, I think that might be the best angle for you to take. Hopefully one of us comes up with the right answer.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll get to work on it,¡± she said, fixing him with a determined look.
James was happy to see that she seemed more herself. Maybe she just needed a tangible problem to solve to help give her a sense of normalcy. Though he doubted anyone would feel all the way normal again anytime soon. There was no more normal. They shared a long kiss before he left.
He avoided entering the room where the children were sleeping.
I won¡¯t say goodbye to anyone else, he thought. Knowing Abhi, he¡¯d just think I¡¯m never coming back. Mina will know best what to say to Yulia if I¡¯m out all night. And I¡¯ll be home soon.
It was still only midday, and he didn¡¯t think that this invasion would keep him out too late.
James rushed out of the apartment, taking the stairs two at a time. The sooner he left, the sooner he would be home again.
And there was a part of him that was looking forward to the possibility of a fight with the residents of this swamp. He remembered his last swamp fight. That had been a good time, and he¡¯d acquired one of his stronger weapons. What could perhaps become his strongest weapon. He tried to keep his smile contained as he thought about this invasion.
He made a quick detour to meet with Harry Luntz, reshape the ground for easier planting, and bless the seeds and potato cuttings that were going to be planted. He had promised to do this, and it seemed this was the only time he was going to have today. Boosting agriculture was not the sort of thing he wanted to put off.
Fortunately, these tasks did not take nearly as much out of him as blessing monsters and humans did. The soil of the Fisher Kingdom responded to his Will with hardly any Mana needed. As if it had a desire to be shaped and molded by him.
James was surprised by how pleasurable working the soil actually was. Before he had magic, he never would have thought of himself as the type to take to farming or even gardening.
Finally, he shook hands with Harry and walked off to meet up with Dave and his Hunters in front of the Community Center. The Goblin Overlord and the wolfpack were waiting there too, while the Mole People were already underground, waiting on the border with the swamp, following James¡¯s orders.
Several of the Hunters looked a bit apprehensive as he approached, as if they were a little more worried about the swamp trip than James would have expected. He wondered if it was the swamp that was worrying them, or if their minds were really on the forest where they might have to go later.
Most of the Hunters had previously killed their share of monsters, both in Orientation and even in the brief period when James was gone from the Fisher Kingdom. He thought of this as a fairly elite group, and as he recognized that some of them were nervous, he wondered what the effect on Kingdom morale would be if everyone else who lived here could see them right now.
Fortunately, most people have their own tasks they¡¯re working on. But I need to do something about this.
¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± James said, projecting confidence through his voice. ¡°Let¡¯s make the world just a little bit safer for our people!¡± He looked to a man he knew was married, Sean McGuire, and he added, ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll make a nice purse for your wife, Sean.¡± Then he turned to a woman who James knew was engaged, Veronica Hamilton. ¡°Or we might make a pair of gator-skin boots for your fianc¨¦, eh?¡±
Hunters began laughing uneasily.
¡°We¡¯re ready to follow you, Your Majesty.¡± Damien¡¯s low voice broke through the sound of laughter. His genuine eagerness to fight seemed to finish the shift in the mood that James had started.
¡°Come on, then,¡± James said. ¡°Let¡¯s get this done so we can get back before dinner¡¯s cold.¡±
V3Ch34-Duel Part 1
James led his mixed team of humans and monsters over the border into the swamp.
Dave and Damien took up the leads to his left and right.
There was an immediately noticeable shift in the terrain. The firm soil of the Fisher Kingdom gave way to soft, moist ground, which eventually turned to a general feeling of mush beneath their feet.
It was increasingly reminiscent of James¡¯s visit to the Dead Marsh, though he was glad that whoever the Ruler was, he or she hadn¡¯t flooded this place with mist. It would have been difficult for James¡¯s allies to navigate, to the point where he might have ended up having to leave everyone behind except the Mole People who remained far underground, digging cautiously to avoid winding up underwater.
James and his party trudged until James could no longer see the Fisher Kingdom, and they had yet to come upon any enemies. But the ground grew more and more moist. While the wolves managed to find passable places to put their feet and to tread lightly, the humans grew increasingly waterlogged until each forward step was harder than the last.
This place might be bigger than I had imagined, he thought. Where did we run up against the edge of this swamp last time? He estimated that point was perhaps half a mile East of where they now stood. So, if I assume this place expands in all directions just like the Fisher Kingdom, and assuming it¡¯s constantly expanding like my territory is, which seems safe since we have a border with them now and we didn¡¯t before, it¡¯s at least a mile or so wide, with no clear outer limit for how large it might have become, except that if it was larger, we would have a bigger border with it.
But that didn¡¯t tell him the shape of the territory, which might not be circular, so he couldn¡¯t come close to guessing the dimensions.
As they walked, they came upon a noticeably firmer, raised patch of ground, and James led his allies up that elevation. Anything that got them a little further from the mushier ground was better than proceeding further and further into what would undoubtedly become a swamp.
They reached the summit of the small hill and looked down.
James heard muffled gasps from all around him, and he suppressed his desire to roll his eyes. These are my Hunters, and this is their reaction. I guess I shouldn¡¯t be surprised. They need some more training to be able to really accomplish an invasion like this. Most of them were never soldiers.
In the sunken area the hill looked down on, they could see dozens of larger than normal alligators, averaging around fifty percent larger than the typical specimen. The creatures were in a large body of marshy water. Perhaps a lake. It was difficult to tell the exact size and depth with all the plant life growing up through the water¡ªand the densely packed alligator flesh.
Identify. James picked a random alligator to focus on.
Mutant Sewer Alligator, Lv. 16
He quickly Identified a few more.
Mutant Sewer Alligator, Lv. 17
Mutant Sewer Alligator, Lv. 14
Mutant Sewer Alligator, Lv. 13
Hm. That¡¯s not good. The average level here is going to be a challenge for my group. Not Damien, probably not Dave. Hopefully this is an opportunity for growth rather than something I¡¯m going to have to save everyone from.
Of course, he had to remind himself, that was assuming that this encounter turned into a fight. So they should not yield to the temptation of launching a sneak attack. First, I need to establish what the situation is.
He sent a message to the Mole People to be prepared to tunnel up near where they were in case the team needed a speedy getaway.
¡°Hey, you down there!¡± James called out. He could feel people around him stiffening in surprise as he spoke. The wolves remained steady, though. Ready for anything, and calm. James felt his affection for his beasts intensify. When this was over, he promised himself, he would take time to bless every single one of them¡ªafter he blessed the rest of his family.
But now the alligators were turning their faces to look at James. A few slow-witted creatures were looking side to side as if wondering where the voice had come from. Their neighbors nudged them and pointed up at the human atop the hill. Gradually, all eyes shifted to stare at James.
¡°I am looking for the Ruler here,¡± he called down. ¡°We come from the neighboring territory! We¡¯re here to talk and establish a relationship.¡±
Some of the alligators began pointing with short, fat, sharp claws. They pointed up at James, it seemed.
No, he realized. They weren¡¯t pointing at him. They were pointing at the hill.
Suddenly James felt life signs beneath his feet.
How did something this big hide? he questioned. There was grass growing on the elevated ground he stood on, and it was firm earth, but he could feel something moving now, beneath his feet. It has to have been suppressing its life signs!
¡°Everyone get off the hill!¡± James ordered.
The wolves and Duncan instantly sprang into action, running back down the way they had come. A few humans followed, but most of them just looked bewildered.
¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Dave asked in an urgent tone.
¡°The Ruler is beneath our feet,¡± James replied loudly.
¡°Hello!¡± A jovial, booming voice issued from the area beneath their feet.
James stood in place as the other humans finally began moving down. Fortunately, the creature under the soil wasn¡¯t moving its body yet. Just talking¡ªand no longer hiding its presence. James could tell from the heartbeat and other vital signs that he could suddenly hear and feel that the monster had to be massive.
The size of a T-rex maybe. The thought that something so large had been underfoot without him being able to notice shot a chill down James¡¯s spine. The size of this thing, and it¡¯s about as stealthy as I am. He could picture the monster sneaking up on him and his allies. If it had wanted to fight them, he would have certainly lost some people to this creature.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
¡°Hello, Ruler of the swamp!¡± James said. His mind was quickly shuffling through options, considering what he could do here. Talking seemed like the best choice for now.
¡°What brings you into my swamp, neighbor?¡± The voice of the Ruler was almost a rumble. As he spoke, the nearby water seemed to tremble slightly at the sound of his voice. The words echoed through the surrounding trees, and birds began taking flight from their branches.
James could hear a hint of laughter in the monster¡¯s tone.
This thing is confident.
¡°Here to decide what sort of relationship you and I are going to have,¡± James replied.
Identify.
Sewer Alligator Monarch Samuel, Lv. 38
Based on his level, he¡¯s stronger than any monster I¡¯ve fought before. James¡¯s pulse began to quicken with excitement, but he betrayed nothing of his feelings on his face.
¡°Ah, I thought you were a Ruler!¡± This response was accompanied by a rolling chuckle that shook the ground beneath James¡¯s feet.
He checked to confirm that his people were off the hill, and then James spoke again. ¡°I am the Ruler,¡± he confirmed. ¡°My territory is called the Fisher Kingdom.¡±
¡°Sounds delicious!¡± The chuckle turned into full-throated laughter. ¡°I personally find kingfishers very tasty. Some of my little friends down there would tell you that the feathers get caught in their teeth, but I personally don¡¯t have that problem.¡±
There was laughter now, coming from the alligator-filled water below James. The residents here all amusing themselves at his expense.
James gritted his teeth. I won¡¯t let this thing mock me.
¡°Why don¡¯t you show yourself, so we can have this conversation face to face?¡± he asked. ¡°I like to see who I¡¯m talking to.¡±
The ground moved much more radically than it had before, and James leaped off before he could be thrown. He oriented his body to fall and land gracefully. I can¡¯t let myself look bad in front of my own people.
And as he descended, he saw the monster that he had been speaking to for the first time.
The earth tumbled from its body almost in a sheet as it rose from an apparently prone position to stand upright. An alligator with very dark green, almost black armor on its head, arms and legs. On the underside of its body, which faced him, it had noticeably thinner, cream-colored armor. James estimated the creature at around forty feet tall.
About the length of a medium-sized whale, with a voice I would expect to come out of a young Godzilla. And he must have used earth magic or a similar Skill to make the soil cling to his body.
¡°Impressive entrance,¡± James said.
¡°Thank you,¡± the giant alligator said. Its mouth barely moved as it spoke, though James could nevertheless smell its breath even from over thirty feet away. The monster emanated a faint odor of slightly foul chicken. It was easy to imagine that he might really have been eating kingfishers.
I don¡¯t know why they gave such a small, un-intimidating creature such a noble sounding name.
¡°I was even more impressed with your Stealth Skill there,¡± James added.
¡°I was curious,¡± the monster replied, ¡°what you would do if you believed I was not present. Would you and your little band attack my brethren? Or act as you in fact did?¡±
Well, I¡¯m glad we didn¡¯t take the former approach, he considered saying. And rejected the idea. Can¡¯t project weakness to this thing. He undoubtedly already sees me as small.
¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to annihilate your brethren and leave you all alone,¡± James replied, grinning wolfishly.
Samuel chuckled to himself. ¡°A confident one, aren¡¯t you? Even though you¡¯re so small I might lose you between my toes.¡±
¡°Yet I¡¯ve fought creatures that could crush you under their feet.¡±
This was technically true¡ªthough only if James counted his fight with Anansi¡¯s children.
¡°I thought you might be here to surrender to me,¡± Samuel said, ¡°but now I know you came to entertain me with silly stories instead.¡± He still sounded amused, but with an edge to his tone. James decided to move directly to business.
¡°I am far from here to surrender,¡± he said. ¡°I came to establish the nature of the relationship between our two countries. Will we be friends, enemies, or indifferent neighbors who keep out of each other¡¯s way?¡±
¡°What is this nonsense about two countries?¡± Samuel replied. There was a distinctly malicious note to his voice now. ¡°Now that you and I have met, there can be only one Ruler. Do not pretend to believe otherwise. I can practically smell the blood on your hands¡ª¡± He inhaled sharply¡ª¡°and I know who and what you are. A conqueror. I am the same way. The only question is how we settle which of us is to be supreme over these lands. An all out war between our respective armies, or a duel between the two of us personally?¡±
¡°Well¡ª¡± James avoided looking down at his allies¡ª¡°naturally, to minimize bloodshed, I would prefer a duel between the two of us.¡±
I¡¯m pretty sure my group would just get decimated if I had to fight with only the ones I brought, if not outright defeated completely. Need Mina, Mitzi, and any Mages I¡¯ve got to make it a better fight. Or I could throw a tide of Goblins at the enemy.
¡°The other question to resolve, then,¡± Samuel said. ¡°Do we duel to the death, or would you like me to spare you after I win?¡±
¡°In the unlikely event of your victory, I¡¯m only concerned with making sure you don¡¯t kill any of my people,¡± James replied. ¡°But I am willing to fight nonlethally. I can imagine you would be a powerful soldier in my army.¡±
¡°It¡¯s agreed, then,¡± the alligator said, chuckling. ¡°We will fight until one of us gives up.¡±
¡°Any other rules we need to settle?¡± James asked. I am a little surprised how rules-oriented this big lizard is, honestly.
¡°None that I can think of,¡± Samuel replied, shrugging. Clumps of dirt that hadn¡¯t quite dislodged themselves before fell from his shoulders with the motion. ¡°You can use any weapons you wish, and of course magic. And I¡¯ll even do you a favor. We can leave my territory and fight in yours. That way, you¡¯ll have more of a chance.¡±
As he finished speaking, Samuel finally switched to standing on all fours, the posture James was used to from alligators. Even so, he remained at least a foot taller than James.
James snorted. ¡°Wow. You¡¯re so confident you¡¯re actually willing to commit suicide. It might be hard for me to fight nonlethally if you give me that big of an advantage.¡±
¡°You want to fight here?¡± the monster asked.
¡°Why don¡¯t we find some neutral ground?¡± James asked.
¡°How honorable,¡± Samuel replied, in the same tone with which someone might say, How droll. ¡°I accept. Neither of us will have the terrain advantage that way.¡±
James might have imagined it, but he thought he heard a tinge more respect in the monster¡¯s tone now that James had rejected the offered advantage.
I can¡¯t win a fight we both agreed to on such lopsided conditions, he thought. It would lose me respect instead of enhancing my authority. The lizard would wonder if I could have beaten him in a fairer fight, and any difficulty I suffered would make me look weak to my citizens.
¡°I¡¯ll lead the way to an area outside both our territories,¡± James said. He began navigating to the edge of the swamp, near where he, Dave, and the others had gone hunting the other day. Terrain that James knew, but that wasn¡¯t infused with his or the Alligator Monarch¡¯s power yet.
He began to assemble his plan for dealing with the giant monster.
V3Ch35-Mina in the Dungeon
After James was gone, Mina wiped away her tears and waited for Yulia to return.
She planned for her next steps. Soon, the baby would wake again, hungry, and she would be there to feed him. Then Yulia would be back.
After that, Mina thought she could go train. She knew where.
She simmered slightly with impatience. There would only be a small window of time when she could get away for a little while. It would only work if Yulia was there.
We really need electricity, Mina thought. Then we could get a refrigerator, and I could pump, so I wouldn¡¯t need to be here every time James gets hungry. It felt like an ugly thought. If she started pumping instead of feeding the baby directly, she had read during her pregnancy, he might get used to the bottle and stop wanting to feed from the breast. And given how well breastfeeding had been working out, she shouldn¡¯t think of taking a chance on giving that up.
Mina had a powerful ability to ruminate and dwell on her own mistakes, but she resisted that tendency here. She would think about her training.
As she managed to shift her mind away from guilt, she heard a small cry coming from where the children were napping. And she went to baby James.
When she came back out, Yulia was there. The timing seemed to line up perfectly.
¡°I want to go to the new Dungeon that James installed in the warehouse,¡± Mina said, looking down at baby James and rocking him gently as she spoke. ¡°Will you, um¡ª¡±
¡°Babysit?¡± Yulia finished for her. Mina looked up and gauged Yulia¡¯s feelings on the subject in a single glance.
It¡¯s a good thing she likes kids so much. She did volunteer for the Child Rescue Committee before. When she looks at these situations, does she see it as practice for when she becomes a parent someday? Or does she just enjoy them for what they are?
Yulia had always been transparent in how she felt about children. She had been considering working with them before the System. Either a teaching job or daycare work, probably. She hadn¡¯t yet nailed down the details. And now she had her chance, without even having to finish high school first.
I hope you still like it in a year, Mina thought. This logistical challenge wasn¡¯t going away anytime soon.
¡°How are you, um, feeling about this current situation?¡± Mina asked.
¡°The babysitting situation?¡± Yulia asked. ¡°Um, I like it a lot¡¡±
¡°Well, not just that,¡± Mina asked. ¡°I mean, yes, that, but how are you feeling about everything since being back? You¡¯ve been a blur of activity with the babysitting, helping me with everything else while James was gone, and settling the new children in. Are you okay?¡±
Yulia avoided Mina¡¯s eyes for a moment. Then she said, ¡°I am a little more tired lately. It feels like we came back, and I¡¯m suddenly working a full time job. It¡¯s a lot more meaningful than going to school, but it¡¯s also definitely harder.¡±
Mina nodded. ¡°It¡¯s a lot, isn¡¯t it?¡±
¡°It is, but I can handle it,¡± Yulia said, nodding with assurance.
¡°You need a break, though,¡± Mina said. ¡°That¡¯s what it sounds like.¡±
¡°I¡¯m okay¡ª¡±
But Mina gave her a skeptical look, and Yulia stopped mid-sentence.
¡°Maybe,¡± Yulia finally agreed.
¡°Well, you don¡¯t have to babysit right now¡ª¡±
¡°Oh, no, I want to take care of the kids,¡± Yulia interrupted. ¡°I¡¯m just struggling with some of the other stuff. This will almost be a break. The kids are great, and Abhi helps out a lot with the younger ones.¡±
¡°Well, you should make sure you talk to James about ways your life could be easier in the other areas when you meet with him later, then. Just be honest. Don¡¯t try to pretend everything is okay. I told him you wanted to discuss the committee. Are you sure you don¡¯t want to just take a nap or something? It¡¯s not urgent that I go out now.¡±
Yulia reassured her that she was more than happy to take care of the children. And after a little more conversation, Mina handed James off to Yulia and left for the Dungeon.
Even if she hadn¡¯t known where the warehouse was, it would have been easy to find the Dungeon. The gaggle of two dozen humans loitering outside was a dead giveaway. There were even a handful of nervous-looking Goblins and a couple of Mole People walking up as Mina made it to the building.
Mina took a moment to appreciate what the Dungeon Core had done with the place before she spoke to anyone. Set down in the unfinished building they had been working on, Carol had actually completed the warehouse and put up a sign on the outside. ¡°Carol¡¯s Storage.¡±
It raised all sorts of questions in Mina¡¯s mind. How do Dungeon Cores work? Is this place real? An illusion? A manifestation of Carol¡¯s Will? An extension of her body? How much control does she have? What happened to all of the items that were stored in the warehouse?
¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± she asked the nearest person. ¡°Is there a line?¡±
¡°Um, no, not exactly,¡± the man said.
¡°Who¡¯s next?¡± asked one of the Goblins who had arrived at the same time as Mina.
The man Mina had spoken to seemed to feel obliged to explain, but also unable to actually do so. ¡°That is¡ªI, um¡ª¡±
¡°There¡¯s no line,¡± another man said. ¡°I would say a few of us were trying to get our courage up to go in after the last group came out, but everyone who had the guts has already gone in and left.¡±
¡°That¡¯s perfect, then,¡± Mina said. ¡°I¡¯m next.¡±
¡°You?¡± the Goblin looked her up and down with narrow, suspicious eyes.
¡°Hey, do you guys recognize her? I think she¡¯s the Queen!¡± another Goblin pronounced.
Mina couldn¡¯t tell the male and female Goblins apart from each other that well yet. Their skin coloration and hair growth were roughly the same across sexes. Only slightly more delicate facial features seemed to distinguish the women from the men. But she was fairly certain that both of the Goblins who had spoken were males.
¡°That¡¯s right,¡± she said.
¡°Well, I guess we cannot object to our new Queen going first,¡± said the first Goblin reluctantly.
¡°She beat us here anyway,¡± commented another Goblin with a feminine-sounding voice.
¡°I¡¯ll only be an hour at most,¡± Mina promised. The baby can¡¯t be apart from me for too long.
¡°Are you going in by yourself?¡± asked the Goblin who had recognized her.
¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Mina said. She had to live up to the image that James had established in these nonhumans¡¯ eyes. ¡°I¡¯m more dangerous than I look.¡±
The Goblins¡¯ faces seemed to shift to a more respectful cast immediately.
¡°Of course you are, Your Majesty,¡± the first Goblin said quietly. ¡°I cannot imagine the King choosing a weak mate.¡±
¡°Thank you for your willingness to keep it to an hour, Your Majesty,¡± the feminine-sounding Goblin said. ¡°We need to train ourselves thoroughly so that we will not be left behind the next time the King needs fighters to accompany him.¡±
That remark summoned thoughts of James and the peril he might be in even now¡ªimages of him bleeding, crying out in pain, enduring broken bones¡ªbut Mina forced the images to the back of her mind.
Those thoughts weren¡¯t helping her, and they weren¡¯t helping James either. The best way she could support him was by finding a way to get stronger. A way to develop new abilities that might assist her in fighting the thing in the forest.
Mina drew her Alder Wood Wand from her Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions and entered ¡°Carol¡¯s Storage¡± with her mind firmly focused on what she wanted.
[Dungeon entered! You have arrived in Dungeon: Carol¡¯s Storage!]
The room just seemed like a large, dark warehouse to Mina¡¯s eyes when she came in. Almost empty, except that there were some generic-looking wooden crates placed in strategic locations around the room.
How does this work? she wondered. Can the place adapt to what I want? Hey, is this area larger on the inside¡ª
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
¡°Hi there!¡± came a woman¡¯s voice from above.
Mina almost jumped at the sound of what must be the Dungeon Core speaking to her.
But she forced herself to speak. ¡°Hello back to you, Carol. That¡¯s your name, right? Not just the name you put on the sign outside the building?¡±
¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Carol¡¯s disembodied voice was chipper. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±
¡°I¡¯m Mina,¡± Mina replied.
¡°Oh, are you James¡¯s wife?¡±
Mina nodded. ¡°I guess he mentioned me?¡±
¡°You¡¯re almost the only person he mentioned. I had no idea I¡¯d get this much traffic. Welcome to the Dungeon! We¡¯ve got fun and games.¡± Carol laughed at her own slightly odd joke, and Mina smiled too. ¡°Now, are you here to train or retrieve items from the warehouse?¡±
¡°Right now, I¡¯m here to train,¡± Mina said. ¡°I actually had some specific requests in mind. I don¡¯t know if that¡¯s possible. As for retrieving items from the warehouse, um, I should probably set a password with you or something so that you know, when someone other than me or my husband comes in, if they have permission to take items out of here. I assume you can keep stored goods pretty secure in this place?¡±
¡°Oh, security¡¯s getting better all the time, for sure.¡± Carol¡¯s voice rang with pride. ¡°Signing on with you guys was like the best decision of my life! We can set up a password or something for the stuff in the warehouse. I should mention I also have prizes for people who clear the Dungeon. And I have some flexibility on the types of threats you face in this place, the environment, et cetera.¡±
Mina started explaining the little information she had on the spooky forest, and Carol listened in silence.
¡°So you have some spirit-type enemies waiting for you, and you want to train and study to prepare for those?¡± Carol summed up at the end. ¡°And you have a little less than an hour in which to do this right now? But you might be able to come back another day. You¡¯re especially hoping I could get you a spellbook as your prize for winning.¡±
Mina simply nodded.
¡°I¡¯ll go back to my settings and see if I can exchange my current monster type for something more spirit-like. That should be easy enough. You wanted a spellbook that would help you deal with a whole forest of spirits, though¡ If I¡¯m being honest, I don¡¯t know if I have access to anything like that yet. No, I¡¯m pretty sure I don¡¯t. Um, would you prefer more diapers instead? Your husband seemed really interested in those.¡±
Mina scowled.
¡°Maybe a set of upgraded Mage robes?¡± Carol asked.
The scowl deepened. ¡°There¡¯s really nothing like the spellbook I need available? No way to get it through the Dungeon?¡± Mina asked.
¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t mean to say I can¡¯t get it,¡± Carol added hastily. ¡°It¡¯s just that there are conditions, and I¡¯m not sure how you¡¯re going to feel about them.¡±
¡°Please tell me what you mean, and hopefully I can work with you,¡± Mina replied.
¡°Well, in order for me to get prizes that are that valuable, like decent spellbooks, I would have to expand this place to a multiple floor Dungeon. That would allow me to increase the threat level of the Dungeon. If I do that, then you can get better prizes. I was planning to save up for expansion, so I can try to present an adequate challenge to anyone who comes in. Obviously, if it¡¯s someone like you or your husband, I¡¯m a pretty weak Dungeon¡¡± She sounded sad and let her voice trail off before she snapped back to attention. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯ve already gotten a couple of levels out of the people who tried me earlier, which makes Dungeon expansions cheaper and easier, and I have some System Credits saved, but it¡¯s not enough.¡±
¡°How much do you need?¡± Mina asked.
¡°To get a five floor Dungeon, I would need about ten thousand System Credits, unless I get an unexpected jump in levels. I have two-thousand saved after my rewards from Orientation and every group that¡¯s been through both the Dungeons I ran. I know it¡¯s asking a lot¡¡±
Mina thought about it. She didn¡¯t have enough System Credits to afford this herself, but when James was back, she thought it might be worthwhile.
¡°How long would this take you to afford just by leveling up and earning credits?¡±
¡°A couple of months? Based on the level of traffic you guys are giving me, even assuming it slows down a little as people get less excited about having the Dungeon, we should be able to get there in three months at the outside.¡±
¡°Alright. I¡¯ll see about getting the funding together.¡± Mina would really have preferred to do this without asking James, but she knew that he had been rewarded more for his Orientation victory than probably anyone else in their new nation. And he had saved it. He was careful that way. ¡°For now, could you just get me the most challenging spirit-type monsters you can on this floor?¡±
¡°You¡¯ve got it! One sec¡¡±
The Dungeon seemed to grow even darker for a few seconds, as if there was an energy source somewhere that was temporarily powering down.
Mina waited, and the darkness settled over her like a warm blanket. It almost made her want to go to sleep.
Then the room half-lit itself again with a soft, ethereal purple glow. The lighting seemed to emanate from the walls¡ªor almost from the walls. As if there was a light source reflecting off of the surfaces that came from just out of view.
Spooky. She¡¯s definitely getting the mood lighting right.
¡°I guess the experience is starting,¡± Mina said aloud.
There was no answer.
No verbal answer, anyway.
A timer appeared in the corner of Mina¡¯s vision and began counting down.
[00:40:00]
[00:39:59]
Then a glowing, translucent figure appeared, hovering at the border separating the area that Mina could see and the shadowy undefined space beyond.
Investigate.
The species was a Mischievous Phantasm, which seemed to explain the translucent glow.
Mina wasted no time before blasting it with a fireball. Casting with the Alder Wood Wand was both quicker and more impactful than using magic without it had been. The weapon seemed to fit her hand almost perfectly, and it even amplified her precision.
The fireball erased the Mischievous Phantasm in an instant, but the release of tension was brief.
In the back of the room, a column of Mischievous Phantasms appeared and began advancing toward Mina as if they were taking her more seriously than the first one had.
It seems like normal magical attacks work just fine against them, Mina thought. Maybe there was nothing special to worry about.
As the spectral creatures drew closer, she took aim and tried to carefully calibrate how much energy she needed for the killing blow, adjusting with each fireball she launched.
She attempted using water projectiles, as well, but it didn¡¯t seem to work. They passed through the bodies harmlessly.
So only some types of magic work on them. Maybe because fire emits light or something?
As Mina tried to figure out the best techniques for erasing the Mischievous Phantasms from the Dungeon, a few of them crossed an invisible threshold in the floor. Mina couldn¡¯t tell exactly where it was, but they reached a certain proximity to her, and the environment changed. The walls seemed to begin closing in.
Mina felt a sense of discomfort that she didn¡¯t remember feeling since childhood. When one of her older cousins locked her in a tiny closet as part of one of her cruel games. Such a dark, confined space¡ It was frightening for reasons she couldn¡¯t grasp.
As she froze up, the monsters inched closer. Four of them drew to within six feet of Mina. She blinked, took two deep breaths, and forced herself into action.
She charged several precision fireballs on the end of her wand and shot them almost rapid-fire. The closest monsters shattered on impact with the flames. And she kept going until all those in the room were dead. The sudden sense of claustrophobia faded with the Phantasms¡¯ destruction.
For a few seconds, there was a silent emptiness.
This threat is not so different from what that forest seems to present after all.
A double column of Mischievous Phantasms appeared in the back of the room, and Mina refocused on getting the most she could out of the situation. Beating the Dungeon¡¯s monsters was only part of what she was here for, after all. She wanted to develop her tactics for facing this type of enemy more than anything else.
Mina created another rapid fire group of fire balls, and she held them suspended around her body with her Will, waiting for the monsters to try some new trick. Hoping they would show more of what spirit-type creatures could do.
As she stood waiting, a few of the Mischievous Phantasms began to flicker in and out of view.
So they can turn invisible for brief periods¡ That definitely upped the threat level.
Mina aimed one of the fire balls toward where the closest Mischievous Phantasm was floating invisibly¡ªor should be, based on its momentum before it turned invisible. There was an impact! The Mischievous Phantasm flickered back into view and then disintegrated.
The other Mischievous Phantasms accelerated, suddenly moving at the speed of human sprinters. Half of them turned invisible as they did this.
Now this is more like it!
Mina tracked them with her eyes and memory, targeting the invisible creatures before the ones that remained in view. It was great practice in dealing with invisible enemies, at least.
She had to launch her fireballs based on where the Phantasms should be rather than where she knew they were. But she eventually got into a rhythm where she knew their patterns well. They couldn¡¯t become completely intangible, so there was no danger of defeat. The only slightly scary thing, besides the effect they seemed to have on her if she let them get too close, was the occasional unpredictable, jerky movement.
One of the Mischievous Phantasms was particularly difficult to track with her mind¡¯s eye. It bobbed and weaved like it wanted desperately to survive and make it to within touch range. Mina ended up just hurling a dozen fireballs at it from multiple angles so that it could not escape. Killing that Phantasm required more intense effort than fighting the others, but besides that Phantasm, the rest were predictable. She was able to spare her energy.
The minutes passed quickly.
When the timer ran out, Mina was surprised.
The figures vanished from all around, and the room brightened. Just a warehouse again. She realized her heart was pounding, but as her pulse settled, a smile crept over her face.
I did it!
[Congratulations! You have cleared Dungeon: Carol¡¯s Storage!]
[Sufficient experience accrued. Witch of Thessaly leveled up!]
¡°Congratulations on such a strong performance!¡± Carol chimed in. ¡°I was a little scared at one point, when they were getting close to you, but then you blew them away!¡±
¡°Thank you for the opportunity,¡± Mina said. ¡°You were scared, though? Why?¡±
¡°Oh. Well, I guess I never explained to your husband, so you don¡¯t know either. When I start the Dungeon working, I don¡¯t really have the ability to stop it. I might be able to interfere a little bit, but I don¡¯t control the monsters.¡±
Mina swallowed as she considered the implications of this. In theory, this was as dangerous as anything I could have faced outside, then. I mean, Carol might have tried to avoid sending more dangerous threats than I could handle, but she had no way of knowing what that was, right?
¡°Well, I¡¯ll have to keep that in mind next time I come,¡± Mina said finally.
Regardless of how dangerous Carol made this place, she would certainly be back. Mina was not going to fall behind.
V3Ch36-Duel Part 2
James and the giant alligator arrived at the edge of the woods where James had gone hunting with the others days ago. The area that remained unclaimed by any Ruler¡¯s aura.
Once they had crossed over into that no man¡¯s land, they and their respective entourages spent a quarter of an hour clearing a large ring for their fight. Flattening the ground with magic and pulling trees up by the roots. The humans did most of the reshaping of the earth, while the alligators used their strong bodies to wrestle the trees free from the soil.
Some of the people who had to work alongside the gators were visibly leery at being so close to the large reptiles, and James could tell the alligators noticed. He again felt slightly embarrassed that his side seemed a bit weaker and more vulnerable than the enemy.
The ground was much firmer here than in the swamp, to James¡¯s relief.
Samuel really shouldn¡¯t have agreed to fight me in a place like this, he thought. Arrogance. Or is it honor? I suppose the result is the same either way.
The audience left a buffer space between themselves and the ring large enough, per James¡¯s request, for Alligator Monarch Samuel to fall down at the ring¡¯s edge and not land on any spectators.
¡°Yes, this should work,¡± James said. ¡°I can¡¯t promise we¡¯ll keep the fight contained in here, but we¡¯ll do our best.¡±
The giant alligator gave a toothy grin and shook his head.
¡°You¡¯re setting some high expectations, human,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯d better hope you don¡¯t disappoint me.¡±
James just snorted, looking Samuel steadily in the eye.
Then Alan arrived, led by a wolf. They were moving faster than James would have expected. Then again, I guess the situation sounds pretty urgent on paper.
While Alan caught his breath, the wolf waited expectantly, wagging her tail. After only a moment of hesitation, James rewarded the monster with a physical display of affection, scratching under her chin and petting her on the head.
Just treat them like dogs, he thought. The nameless wolf¡¯s tail wagged even more forcefully as she basked in the glow of his affection.
¡°Thanks so much for fetching Alan, girl,¡± James said as he showed his appreciation.
The wolf rolled onto her back to receive a belly rub, but James kept it short, because the rest of the pack was looking on jealously. Alan was also staring wide-eyed at the giant creature that James was preparing to fight, wearing an expression that suggested he wasn¡¯t sure it had been a good idea to come.
James decided to get back on his feet and give Alan some reassurance. As he did so, the wolf he¡¯d just been petting went over and started playing with some other wolves. They really were a lot like dogs.
¡°Thanks for making it, Alan,¡± he said. ¡°How are you feeling?¡±
¡°Jesus, James, you¡¯re really fighting that thing?¡± Alan asked, staring at the near kaiju-sized Alligator Monarch.
¡°I know, Alan, I know. But you can¡¯t blame the big guy for wanting to take on the champ. He thinks he has a shot at the belt. I promise I won¡¯t hurt him too badly.¡±
Alan rolled his eyes but looked like he was restraining himself from laughing.
Samuel really is massive, though, James thought. Could even be stronger than me. I might have to use my brain to win this one. At least I have a plan¡
¡°All the wolf told me was that you¡¯re fighting an enormous alligator, and you thought you might need a Healer,¡± Alan said. ¡°Any additional information you want to give me?¡±
¡°Well, the Alligator Monarch said he wanted to conquer us, and he gave me the choice between having his army fight ours or having a one on one duel to decide who will be in charge,¡± James said. ¡°So I picked the one on one duel. His army isn¡¯t very big, as far as I can tell, but I think we¡¯d definitely lose some people in a larger battle. Whereas with you here, I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll even lose the big fellow.¡±
He gestured at Samuel, and the big alligator bared his teeth in what James imagined was his version of a smile, raised one of his front legs, and waved at Alan.
¡°He¡¯s actually really sporting,¡± James added. ¡°Agreed to a bunch of very fair rules for the fight, and waited to start until we had you here.¡±
Alan looked back and forth between James and the giant monster for a moment, then pulled James aside.
¡°You¡¯re really gambling your whole Kingdom on this one on one fight?¡± he said. ¡°Level with me. Where is this confidence coming from? Is it just bluster? Arrogance? Or do you know something that backs it up? This monster is high level, I Identified it. Higher than the Goblin King or the Mole Lord. Are you sure you know what you¡¯re doing?¡±
James was quiet for a moment, and his expression sobered.
¡°Ultimately, the choice was between gambling on a one on one fight or having a small war,¡± he said. ¡°I came and tried to talk about building a relationship between our two territories, and Samuel immediately jumped to war. So there wasn¡¯t that much choice. But I do have a reason to feel confident. I¡¯m stronger than any human ought to be. I¡¯ve fought monsters deadlier and more subtle than this one. And ultimately, he¡¯s a relatively smart, high level lizard. I would rather not kill him if I don¡¯t have to, because I think it would be great to have him on our side. But I know at least three ways I could do it reliably. This isn¡¯t a question of me losing. My thinking about it has all been on the subject of how to win. Not if I win. So I had our four legged friend come and get you, because after I tear him apart, I need someone to put him back together alive. A taxidermy Alligator Monarch wouldn¡¯t do me much good, and his head is too big to put on my wall.¡±
Alan looked back at James, and James knew instantly that the old man believed everything he¡¯d said. Even with the rings, it¡¯s always easier when it¡¯s true. James really couldn¡¯t imagine himself losing to a big lizard.
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¡°Good luck,¡± Alan said. ¡°You can do this.¡± He squeezed James¡¯s shoulder and walked off to join the rest of the spectators.
Everyone that had been working on the ring finally moved back at that point, and the two contestants stepped in to fight. There was no mediator, no referee to say when they should begin or when their fight would end. Just two Rulers with egos that would hardly tolerate a loss.
¡°You can have the first hit,¡± Samuel said. He looked cocky. And James could actually smell the aggression from where he stood, at the opposite end of the ring.
He really did get excited for this fight.
James walked toward where the Alligator Monarch stood on all fours, and Samuel stepped forward to meet him. When they were finally close enough, James defied his instincts, which were telling him to stay away from the giant monster¡¯s jaw. He threw a hard straight punch that struck the left side of Sam''s face.
Although James could feel that he hadn¡¯t given it as much power as he had initially intended¡ªmainly because of the strange angle he was punching Sam at¡ªthe hit still jerked the monster¡¯s head back. His front feet also staggered backward, though he managed to hold his ground with his back feet.
Samuel smiled again. ¡°Not bad for someone so small.¡±
Then he threw his counter, a swipe with his right front claws. James didn¡¯t try to dodge. The Alligator Monarch had given him a free shot, and James wanted to establish a sense of mutual respect. The blade-like claws caught James across the chest. They tore through the Royal Exoarmor with what appeared to James very little resistance.
He felt the pain a moment later, but it was faint. Barely enough to be perceptible through his high level of resistance. He could tell that the claws had left shallow cuts down his chest.
But James had kept his feet planted firmly on the ground.
¡°Good shot,¡± he said, grinning.
Samuel gave a frustrated grunt. ¡°Urk! Give me your best, then.¡±
James launched himself off the ground with a full force kick into the underside of Samuel¡¯s jaw that threw the alligator¡¯s head reeling back.
Samuel¡¯s jaw slammed down in the immediate aftermath, snapping wildly, trying to take a bite out of James¡¯s toes.
But James had already darted backward, out of reach. He¡¯s too slow, he thought.
Then Samuel lunged forward, and James was diving and rolling under the monster¡¯s body. Samuel tried to raise a giant back foot to step on him, but James dodged to the side¡ªand a dark-green blur smashed into the side of his head and sent him skidding across the ground.
The monster¡¯s tail seemed to be faster than the rest of him.
Holy shit! I actually felt that. This is great! A real challenge for the first time since I returned to Earth.
Samuel chased after him, but James leaped over the monster¡¯s body and landed behind him.
¡°Nice healing ability,¡± Samuel grunted as he turned and tried to catch James with his jaws.
James kept himself oriented to the monster¡¯s tail, just out of sight despite its repeated efforts to twist around and catch him. He had already noticed that his cuts had closed up, but he was glad that Samuel had observed the same thing.
¡°Let¡¯s see how yours is,¡± James said. He grabbed the monster by the tail and pushed up, throwing Samuel off balance so that he was performing an awkward handstand for a moment. Then James threw an Air Strike at the weaker-looking armor of its underbelly.
¡°Grahh!¡± Samuel let loose a pained grunt.
James saw thick lines appear on the alligator¡¯s body, blossoming with dark red bursts of blood. But the flow of blood was already slowing before gravity brought the monster back down to Earth.
Good healing, then.
Then Samuel was turning, faster than before, fueled by rage, jaws snapping, claws swinging and grasping. James danced out of reach, keeping only a step or two ahead.
¡°Cheap shot,¡± Samuel finally grumbled as he slowed and calmed.
James was wheeling slowly to the side now, moving further from the edge of the ring the monster had almost chased him into, and Samuel followed him by turning his body.
¡°Anything goes, right?¡± James said.
¡°Right you are,¡± Samuel breathed. ¡°Dominion.¡±
¡°Dominion,¡± James replied.
The two auras fought a duel that James was certain he would eventually win. Samuel had at least as high Strength as James, but James was faster. Given that Samuel wasn¡¯t blowing him away in Stats, and that the monster had shown no magic prowess yet, James doubted that he could lose to the Alligator Monarch in a contest of Mana and Stamina. And those were the energies that combined to form the aura that Dominion emanated.
Samuel seemed to sense the same thing. He launched himself through the air at James¡ªat a speed he hadn¡¯t reached before¡ªand James used Lightning Strike to dodge, jumping above Samuel again. He aimed a Meteor Strike at Samuel¡¯s back with his foot, but the flaming kick glanced off like he was striking solid steel.
Need to get the underside again. He really didn¡¯t like that.
Then Samuel was sinking into the ground, with James still balancing on one leg on his back. James realized the monster was using the environmental manipulation component of their shared power to turn the soil swampy.
But two could play at that game. James clenched his fist and exerted his power, and the earth all around them hardened again.
Samuel burst through the sedimentary prison, more annoyed than inconvenienced by the loss of control. As James tumbled from the monster¡¯s back, Samuel sprung at him, teeth gnashing, tail thumping against the ground.
The world seemed to slow down, and James took a moment to enjoy the situation he was in.
Honestly, when was the last time I felt this much tension during a fight? Roscuro frankly hadn¡¯t given him that. The only times he had really felt worried during that fight were when the Soul Eater was using Soul Magic or trying to kill hostages. Soul Magic was clearly deadly, which was why James wasn¡¯t using it now. But besides that, Roscuro had no probable way of killing him.
Here, every one of Samuel¡¯s attacks was potentially deadly. He had at least equal Strength to James¡ªno, if James was honest, the alligator¡¯s physical brawn was greater than his, if only slightly. If this was just a wrestling match, Samuel would win at least seven or eight times out of ten.
But in fact, superior brain power and versatility are more important than brute Strength here.
As James fell through the air, he decided how to handle Samuel¡¯s furiously snapping jaws. His heightened awareness took in the alligator¡¯s movements, where Samuel¡¯s eyes were looking, the speed at which he was throwing himself forward, the monster¡¯s direction of travel, and the speed at which James himself was dropping. James could tell where the teeth would land.
Samuel clearly wasn¡¯t trying to kill James, anymore than he was trying to kill Samuel. James decided to allow Samuel to land the attack. He began infusing Mana into his left arm¡ªwhere Samuel¡¯s jaws were poised to strike.
The alligator gave himself one final push forward and intercepted James¡¯s body before he could touch the ground.
There was a sharp, wrenching agony and the grisly sound of bone separating and tearing away from flesh. Hot blood met dank, moist air and then spilled forward onto the ground.
As time seemed to catch up to him, James¡¯s body struck earth, missing one limb.
A searing pain ran through his left shoulder, as Samuel roared in triumph.
V3Ch37-Duel Part 3
¡°You¡¯ll heal from that eventually, won¡¯t you?¡± Samuel asked, breathing heavily.
There was an unmistakable air of triumph about him now that he had swallowed James¡¯s arm, though the monstrous alligator was clearly tiring while James maintained a high level of both Stamina and Mana.
If the struggle continued, it was clear James¡¯s aura would overtake Samuel¡¯s to dominate the space in which they fought.
¡°Naturally,¡± James said through gritted teeth. Even with high level Pain Resistance, it was hard to endure having a limb torn off. His left shoulder bone was visible now, white and jutting through the area where that arm used to be. To the audience, it must have looked a bit like a white flag of surrender. The mood in the crowd was palpable. James took it in through peripheral vision without looking away from his opponent.
Triumph from the alligators. Bitter resignation from the humans and wolves. Even Duncan and a few Mole People were observing the fight with defeated postures.
James¡¯s shoulder region gushed a gradually slowing fountain of red. James had ordered his body to diminish the flow of blood to that region, so he knew that soon the blood loss would stop completely.
¡°Good,¡± the reptile said, looking relieved. ¡°I would hate to think I¡¯ve crippled you.¡±
¡°I hope you don¡¯t think you¡¯ve won.¡±
Samuel¡¯s narrow reptilian eyes widened. ¡°Isn¡¯t it over? You wouldn¡¯t fight on with one arm, would you?¡± As James just stared at him with grim determination, the monster laughed. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re human? I feel like you¡¯re one of us!¡±
There was a smattering of laughter from his alligators.
James finally had to grin himself. ¡°I blur the line sometimes. But the fact is, I¡¯m far from giving up. I can absolutely still win this. In fact, it¡¯s almost over.¡± His eyes took on a faraway look for a split second. ¡°Yep. You¡¯ve already lost.¡±
¡°Wow. That¡¯s quite a spirit.¡± Samuel shook his head and stepped forward, toward James. ¡°When I conquer this continent, you will be my champion. I love this determination. I¡ª¡± His jaw dropped in an alarmed expression, and his right forelimb clutched at his chest. ¡°What have you done?¡± Samuel¡¯s voice came out as a painful rasp. Blood began trickling down the corners of his mouth.
¡°It¡¯s something you ate,¡± James said darkly. ¡°You see, I have an ability that allows me to turn my biological material into monsters that share my abilities.¡± He ordered his visible shoulder bone to bend so that Samuel could see one of those abilities in action.
¡°What ability is that?¡± The monster spoke through gritted teeth, as if he hoped that might help keep some of the blood inside him, where it belonged. But the trickle intensified.
¡°Full Body Control,¡± James replied. ¡°Right now, my creature is moving around inside your digestive tract, perforating vital organs. Please give up, so that I can stop this.¡± For the first moment in the fight, his tone and body language became conciliatory. He knew that if Samuel did not give up now, this would become a battle to the death whether they wanted it to be or not.
¡°You, urk, win.¡± The words came out as a painful croak, but they were loud enough for everyone around to hear nevertheless. The woods had gone as still and quiet as a cemetery.
Then Samuel¡¯s legs collapsed out from under him, and he slumped to the ground.
James immediately began receiving alerts, but he ignored them. First, he ordered his monster to stop killing Samuel. Then he approached the monster and began using Laying On Hands.
¡°Alan!¡± he called without looking up. ¡°I need your help, please!¡±
The old man rushed over, breaking the paralysis that had fallen over the spectators.
Some mixed cheers broke out from James¡¯s side, and the wolves began to howl. But James focused his gaze entirely on the fallen Ruler.
¡°I can see now why you sent for me and not your little sister-in-law,¡± Alan muttered as he arrived.
James nodded without looking up. ¡°We try to spare her from seeing things like this.¡±
Alan began applying Laying On Hands to James¡¯s shoulder, but James shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t really need it. I mean, my arm wants healing, but he needs it more. My arm would grow back eventually on its own.¡±
¡°You¡¯re certainly something,¡± Alan said. Then he joined James in healing the deadly internal injuries the former Alligator Monarch had suffered. During their whole interaction, James never looked away from the monster he was healing. The enemy who he intended to make one of his strongest champions.
We really aren¡¯t so different, you and I, James thought about Samuel. But even as he used part of his brain to think about Samuel, the main part of his intelligence was already far away, contemplating the next enemy.
The Ruler in the forest would surely be a trickier opponent. James had hoped that Samuel and the other Ruler would have had some tie, perhaps a tacit alliance of some sort, so that he could question the Alligator Monarch about the other Ruler after this fight was over.
But now that he had spoken and negotiated and fought with Samuel, James thought that was highly unlikely. The extremely direct approach that the Alligator Monarch brought to their interaction was refreshing and pleasantly surprising in contrast to how the forest Ruler had behaved thus far.
At least I have a swamp now. When Samuel surrendered to him, James felt an instant change with his Fisher King senses. A doubling of the area of his sovereignty. Though James¡¯s aura did not extend over all the land yet, he could still feel his ownership of everything that had belonged to his opponent.
For comparison, when he reached out to touch items in his own Dominion, he felt them, almost as if he was simply paying attention to ants crawling on his skin. When he sensed things in the territory that had belonged to Samuel right now, it was a bit like touching things with an artificial limb. He could vaguely tell what was there, but the sensation was indirect. A distant awareness.
Samuel, it seemed, had been busy before James defeated him. James imagined he had probably killed another Ruler before to attain his high level and acquire so much territory.
Would the Ruler of the forest be similar in that respect? Bloated with raw power from previous conquests? James doubted that. The reason for the strange apparitions of the dead was probably to lure in the unwary. Which suggested that the Ruler preferred to lie in wait for prey rather than go invading others¡¯ territory.
¡°I think we managed it,¡± Alan said.
¡°Hm?¡± James had lost himself in thought about the next battle.
¡°I think we¡¯ve saved him,¡± Alan said. ¡°I can pour more Mana in, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s doing anything anymore.¡±
James realized that Samuel¡¯s breathing had changed¡ªfrom the frantic, labored breathing of the dying to the more regular respiration of the merely unconscious.
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¡°Well done, Alan,¡± James said, giving him an appreciative smile.
¡°Let me see about your arm, then,¡± Alan replied. He instantly turned his glowing hands on James''s injury, though the shoulder stump had already grown an inch or two of flesh in the time they had been working on the alligator.
James did not resist. Instead, he reached out for the first time to the new population he had just become the Ruler of.
Can you hear me, Mutant Sewer Alligators? James sent. As with the wolves, his Usurper Title had granted him instant access to a telepathic group chat with his new allies. He wondered, as he sent the message, if he was going to encounter Mutant Sewer Turtles later, but did not have time to entertain the absurd thought.
We hear you¡ªuh, new Ruler, sent one of the larger Mutant Sewer Alligators immediately. Would you mind telling us, um, will former Monarch Samuel be all right?
He should recover, James replied. Could a group of you gather around here and prepare to carry Samuel back within what was formerly your territory? I suspect he will recover better in the swamp, which is still bathed in his aura, than outside it. He and I will talk further once he wakes up.
There were multiple affirmative answers, and James detected a tone of relief. Even though he and Samuel had each promised to spare the other¡¯s people, he suspected that might not have been the alligators¡¯ actual expectation from him.
He remained pragmatic as always, though. And James thought that an alligator unit within his army would be much more useful than a bunch of alligator meat for the Fisher Kingdom.
¡ª
The world went dark for Samuel.
It stayed that way for long hours. He had no concept of time while he was unconscious, but as he came to himself, his strong internal clock reasserted itself. He instantly remembered what had happened. He knew he had been beaten.
And badly, I would wager. Samuel reached out experimentally, trying to activate Dominion, but as he expected, the Skill was no longer there. So it really wasn¡¯t a bad dream. I got my tail kicked.
The thought was less depressing than he had expected it to be. There was always someone better, after all. This reality, of being someone else¡¯s subject rather than the master of his fate and hundreds of others¡¯, was one that he knew he would grow accustomed to gradually. He would prove himself useful to this Fisher King¡ªand perhaps rise in his esteem. Eventually be trusted. Be allowed the role of leadership over his own kind.
Samuel began taking a diagnostic of his own body, eyes still closed. Tail was still there. All four legs. Both eyes. Armor over his whole body was intact. He had lost a few teeth in the process of ripping his opponent¡¯s arm off as brutally as he did. And of course his insides were messed up.
Not as messed up as I remember them being, he dimly realized. The pain should be sharper, fresher. This isn¡¯t exactly agony. It¡¯s a dull ache. An injury that¡¯s further along in healing than it should be.
There was the very quiet sound of swimming near him, and his mind was pulled away from the condition of his own body. Samuel still had not opened his eyes, and he did not do so now. He had no need to look to know who was approaching.
¡°How are my children doing?¡± the former Ruler asked.
¡°See, I knew he was awake!¡± crowed Helga, Samuel¡¯s older daughter.
¡°I said so, too!¡± whined Rowena.
¡°Girls, could you please ask him if he¡¯s okay?¡± Samuel recognized the voice of Salazar, his boy, from further away.
¡°If you wanted to check on him, you could¡¯ve come over yourself!¡± Rowena called back.
¡°Children, please stop quarreling,¡± Samuel said evenly.
¡°You all right, Pop?¡± Salazar asked.
¡°I won¡¯t say that I¡¯ve been worse, because that would be a lie,¡± Samuel replied. ¡°I can tell that I¡¯ll recover, though. I really wasn¡¯t sure about that when I passed out. I guess your old man¡¯s still tough as an old boot, huh?¡±
¡°Well, the humans did heal you,¡± Helga said quietly.
¡°Huh. So I guess the Healer the Fisher King sent for came in handy after all.¡±
¡°The Fisher guy also helped heal you himself,¡± Rowena said.
¡°Fisher King,¡± Helga corrected.
Samuel wanted to stop them from arguing, but he found himself flabbergasted. ¡°What, really?! After I ripped his arm off? How was he in any kind of condition to heal anybody but himself?¡±
¡°You said he didn¡¯t seem human, Dad,¡± Salazar said.
¡°Yes, son. That I did.¡± Samuel thought about trying to fall back asleep, but the kids were talking again.
¡°The Fisher King said he was going to get in touch with you later, after you wake up,¡± Rowena said.
¡°Oh, yeah?¡± Samuel said. ¡°Well, perhaps he will later. I¡¯m sure he is busy with many concerns. He had wolves and some other kind of non-human creature with yellowish skin working with him. Running a country with such a diverse population must be challeng¡ª¡±
A voice rang out in Samuel¡¯s head. I¡¯m glad you survived that beating, Samuel.
All right, Samuel replied instantly. Fair.
Yeah, the Fisher King¡¯s voice continued. I enjoy gloating, but I will admit, you gave me a great fight. I¡¯ve got to give you that. I think if I¡¯d killed you, that hide of yours would have made some excellent new armor. Is it magic resistant?
Samuel found himself nodding, then remembered that this conversation was telepathic. Yes, it is! And you are the winner. You¡¯re the Ruler of the Sewage Swamp now. So, I guess, if you want my hide, it¡¯s yours to take.
Not at all, the voice replied. I want you on my council. I just wanted to wish you a speedy recovery and say that, if you¡¯re well enough, I¡¯d like to invite you to a meeting of my governing council the day after tomorrow.
Your council?
Yes. I want you to advise me. If you¡¯re not interested, we can revisit that idea of me wearing your skin as armor, though. There are many ways you could contribute to the growth of the Fisher Kingdom.
Samuel snorted with laughter. I¡¯ll be there, he replied. I heal pretty quickly, even without help. Thanks for your effort there, though. Meeting in your terri¡ªer, your preexisting territory, I assume?
Yes. An image of a human building appeared in Samuel¡¯s mind. We¡¯ll be meeting there. I¡¯ll warn people to expect a scary giant reptile to walk up. If you don¡¯t mind, I would appreciate you leaving the other alligators behind for this visit. People are taking baby steps toward getting used to a world with talking monsters and intelligent animals.
I¡¯m still getting used to humans being able to talk myself, Samuel sent.
He felt slightly nervous about the idea of treading onto the Fisher King¡¯s territory alone, but he pushed the feeling away. This was all his territory now. If he meant to ambush and kill his new subject¡ªwell, couldn¡¯t he have finished him off in the ring already?
Anything else you wanted to ask me before I go to bed? The Fisher King¡¯s message carried a slight note of weariness for the first time.
What was your name again?
A moment of silence. Then, in an amused tone: James.
King James, one piece of advice before we go. You¡¯re a jack of all trades sort of fighter, aren¡¯t you? You have magic and physical might. Your Strength is on par with mine, and you¡¯re fast too. The trouble with that is that other people will tend to outpace your progress in key areas. You¡¯re liable to fall behind. Before you know it, you¡¯ve lost your edge.
Is that advice? Or a prediction of the future?
That was my post-fight analysis, Samuel replied. My advice is this: never stop fighting. That¡¯s the best way¡ªno, maybe the only way¡ªyou can stay ahead.
I appreciate the wise words, James sent. Rest well until our in-person meeting.
Then the connection was broken.
V3Ch38-Resignation
After James¡¯s arm had fully regenerated, he returned to the Fisher Kingdom.
It¡¯s nice to be back, he thought, though this time he¡¯d only been gone a matter of hours.
He saw his apartment and sighed. Before he continued home, he had another task to accomplish. He went around finding key members of the committees that reported to him.
He was particularly concerned with speaking to people whose committees had been lined up outside his door that morning. With security threats increasing over time, James thought it would no longer make sense for everyone to go to him with random problems all the time. Between that and invaders, he would have no rest if things continued that way. And people would start to doubt the efficiency of a monarchical form of government. He believed that most issues could be resolved within the various groups he¡¯d formed anyway.
So, depending on the committee and its existing dynamics, James either selected a representative or asked for the committee members to do the work of selecting a representative from each. That individual would meet with James and the other committee representatives each week in the Community Center. And in the meantime, he gave each committee some authority to act on its own behalf.
The Agriculture Commission would have broad authority to make decisions about which crops to farm, when to plant, et cetera.
The Building Commission would get broad approval from James about when and where to build¡ªwhich, in practice, meant they would indirectly get approval from Mina¡ªand then they would take care of any logistics themselves. James agreed to assign a few Mole People to assist them in choosing building sites that would be stable and not fall in on the underground dwellers¡¯ heads.
He made a similar arrangement with the Sewer Committee.
There were parallel discussions. James was very fortunate that he could easily find where people were on his land.
He had a very different conversation with Ari Christopoulos, one of the members of the Child Rescue Commission, in preparation for his meeting with Yulia later.
And he already knew the Hunters were competent to act on their own and wouldn¡¯t trouble him unless they actually needed his help bringing down some inordinately difficult prey. Dave Matsumoto had already reported to him that their coordination and teamwork were improving.
So the day wound down, and the Fisher King¡¯s responsibilities decreased just a bit. And his Kingdom became that extra amount more like a pre-System country. He couldn¡¯t be certain yet whether that was a good or bad thing. Right now, it was a no-apparent-choice thing.
He had no particular ideological commitments, so he was simply sticking with what he knew worked.
James returned home, bathed, ate dinner with his family, and played with the children. While he bathed, he sent telepathic messages back and forth with his various nonhuman allies, including Samuel the former Alligator Monarch. James¡¯s powers indicated that the monster had awoken.
What a monstrous recovery speed, he caught himself thinking. He wondered if he would have recovered as quickly if his internal organs had been similarly brutalized. Then again, he had never suffered injuries quite that desperate himself as far as he recalled. His Orientation experience had been extremely violent at times, but he had only approached death a few times, and none of them had been quite as violent as what he had done to Samuel. If James had lost any fight that badly, he wouldn¡¯t have been given a chance to recover.
During the evening meal, James was only half-awake. He needed rest. But he nevertheless recapped the day¡¯s events to the family and tried to be his usual energetic self. When James discussed the duel with the Alligator Monarch, Mina rolled her eyes.
¡°I tell him to be careful, so of course he goes out wrestling alligators.¡±
Everyone laughed.
After dinner and play, he put the children to bed and read a bedtime story to them from a book Abhi had picked out. He was the only one old enough to really appreciate the details of a story.
Collected Adventures of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table. James wasn¡¯t clear if the book was one that Abhi had brought out of his old home, or if it was something the family had recovered from one of the other ruined buildings, but whatever the origin, he admired the taste. The book was even illustrated by a contemporary member of the Wyeth family in rich colors.
¡°I used to love these stories,¡± James said. ¡°The name people call me, the Fisher King, is actually from one of these legends originally. Or maybe the System influenced the way these stories were written somehow. Anyway, Abhi, you can pick which story I¡¯ll read to you all tonight.¡±
¡°Okay.¡± Abhi flipped through the pages until he came to an illustration of a man colored all in green. ¡°This one!¡± he said.
So James sat down in a rocking chair that had been salvaged from one of the wrecked apartments, and he began reading them the tale of ¡°Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.¡±
Abhi initially asked him lots of questions, while Indira pointed at the pictures, and Deepam and Junior just made satisfied gurgles and smiled when James looked at them. Gradually, all of them quieted as James¡¯s smooth voice soothed them and the story proceeded.
As James got near the end, he realized the children were all breathing fairly steadily.
They¡¯re asleep, he thought, slightly surprised. I would¡¯ve thought they would want to hear the end of the story. But he was sleepy himself. He rose and saw one pair of open eyes follow him.
Little Abhi remained half-conscious, his eyes only half-closed.
¡°What¡¯s the end of the story?¡± he asked, almost slurring his words. ¡°The Green Knight, what happened?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll finish it,¡± James said, placing a hand on the boy¡¯s hair to try to keep him calm.
Then he resumed his seat and read the last few pages of the story. When he rose this time, Abhi was dead asleep. James wasn¡¯t certain of whether he had actually heard the ending or not.
It doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯ll read it again tomorrow or next week. This is a good book.
Finally, as his last order of business, he sat down for his meeting with Yulia.
They pulled up some comfortable chairs that Mina had brought back from the Dungeon and placed in the living room. Sitting side by side, they each waited silently for the other to speak.
This is so weird, he thought. Does it feel weird for her too? We¡¯re running a government, and our family is at the center of it. It¡¯s still so surreal that this is how things are working out.
¡°I don¡¯t know how to get this started,¡± Yulia finally said, clearly slightly embarrassed.
¡°Why don¡¯t we take stock of where we are?¡± James said. ¡°We¡¯re meeting about the Child Rescue Commission, right?¡±
She nodded.
¡°Then we have a lot to be proud of. We¡¯ve been very successful and done a lot of good. You¡¯ve helped save the lives of a lot of children.¡±
¡°Yes, I am very happy about that.¡± Yulia smiled broadly, visibly growing more comfortable.
¡°I actually sent a message to my flying monsters earlier, and they helped me add up the numbers. A hundred and seventy-nine children. That¡¯s the count.¡±
Yulia sucked in a breath. ¡°Wow. That¡¯s incredible.¡±
¡°I hope you¡¯re proud. It was your idea.¡±
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¡°That makes me very proud,¡± she said. ¡°But it reminds me that I should get to the reason I wanted to meet with you¡ªwhat I wanted to discuss.¡±
He waited.
¡°I, hm. I should update you on how we¡¯ve been doing so far first. We matched every child with a family or a couple, although by the end, some of them were unmarried couples. There hasn¡¯t been any trouble with that so far.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sure there will be some eventually, but when that happens, it won¡¯t be your job,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯m thinking about people to constitute a police force when we need that. Which will be soon. We have too many people now to get along without at least a small one.¡±
¡°Yeah, I figured we would have that eventually.¡± She shook her head as if she was still surprised that they were discussing how to form a government and new society, rather than waiting for the preexisting government to come back into force and bring its version of law and order back into force. ¡°But, um, more in my line of responsibility. I was wondering if¡ªthat is, I¡¯m a little worried. If we have more kids coming, we might run out of families to take care of them. A couple of the others and I were discussing if we need a permanent building or something and people on rotating shifts looking after children.¡±
¡°What are people doing about the kids so far, when they¡¯re working?¡± James asked. ¡°We don¡¯t have schools anymore, right?¡±
¡°Since the flow of new children slowed down, some of us have been spending the day taking care of groups of kids sorted by age. People can do that, because the Hunters distribute food to everyone, so we don¡¯t all have to go out foraging for ourselves.¡±
James simply nodded. That was what he had discussed with the Hunters when he was laying out responsibilities initially.
¡°What I¡¯m wondering is¡ªwell, a few things. I don¡¯t know if we can sustain this with more children. With more kids, this would be very demanding.¡±
¡°That¡¯s not something you have to worry about,¡± James said. ¡°I intend to make the Child Rescue a larger group and shift the purpose toward education. Probably change the name. It can¡¯t be Child Rescue if that¡¯s no longer the main purpose. And Child Welfare has a lot of negative associations for people who interacted with similarly named organizations before the System.¡± He shook his head. ¡°We¡¯ll come up with something. Anyway, people will probably take care of their own babies for the most part. But the kids who are old enough should be in school, or at least learning something. The curriculum will naturally start to be different with the world so different, but I don¡¯t see any reason why they wouldn¡¯t learn reading, writing, and arithmetic at least. We¡¯ll probably put a much greater emphasis on physical education than we did when I was in school¡ªbut that¡¯s something I¡¯m going to work out with some people who are into education. Teachers, professors, historians, a lot of professionals. We¡¯ll do our best to get a decent system in place for this.¡±
She looked at him curiously. ¡°I thought you were going around earlier trying to give away responsibilities.¡±
¡°I was, but new ones will present themselves, too, whether I like it or not. And until I find out how to displace that responsibility onto someone else¡ª¡± They both laughed. ¡°Seriously, though, if there¡¯s something that we know is important, someone has to do something. Like you, worrying about saving hundreds of children you¡¯d never met before.¡± He smiled at her warmly, and after a moment she smiled back. ¡°I think education is one of those things. It¡¯s made a big difference in my life. I think it¡¯s been a big deal for you, too. I think of it as something that¡¯s important whether we want to deal with it or not. People in many different places and times have used it to take control of the youth. Bend their minds one way or the other. If no one does anything with it, someone will slip into that vacuum and offer their services.¡±
Yulia¡¯s expression turned slightly suspicious. ¡°And what are you going to be doing with it?¡±
¡°Well, don¡¯t look at me like that,¡± he said, his expression playful. ¡°Of course I¡¯m just going to make sure that our schools are teaching true and useful information. Along with trying to establish a sense of community responsibility and respect for other people, whether human or otherwise, and their rights.¡±
¡°I think, um¡ªI think I¡¯m glad that I¡¯m done with school,¡± she said, eyebrows raised very high.
¡°Gosh, I guess I¡¯d better sell it better to the public.¡±
They both laughed.
¡°Yeah, I think so. How is this going to work, though? You¡¯re changing the mission, but we¡¯ll still need to take care of children who get rescued and match them with families?¡±
¡°Not exactly,¡± James said. ¡°There¡¯s no easy way of saying this, but I don¡¯t think there will be much need for people to look out for future children being rescued.¡±
¡°What do you mean?¡±
¡°The monsters stopped finding new kids. You probably noticed that the flow slowed down to a trickle.¡±
She bobbed her head up and down as he spoke.
¡°I spoke with one of your Commission members just because I had a suspicion about why this was happening. The disaster relief guy who used to work for FEMA? And he confirmed what I was thinking. It¡¯s now been several days since this disaster hit. After an emergency like this, any children are already rescued or dead by now. If they didn¡¯t have adults near them when they came back, it¡¯s unlikely they''d have survived this long. So¡ª¡±
¡°So we¡¯re giving up on any children remaining, then?¡± Yulia interjected.
¡°Yes.¡± James nodded. ¡°There¡¯s no point in denying it. We are. It¡¯s possible more survived, but it¡¯s unlikely. We have to be pragmatic. I already have dozens of monsters in the sky, but they aren¡¯t finding more kids, and I know there is some limit to the number I can control at once. There¡¯s no other practical path forward, unless we want to wholly devote ourselves to saving people. And if we did that, then we¡¯d sacrifice ourselves.¡±
¡°How would we be sacrificing ourselves? Just to keep looking?¡± Yulia¡¯s voice didn¡¯t sound angry, James noted. Just sad. Resigned.
¡°There are other projects that these monsters should be taking care of,¡± James said. ¡°I just fought with a potential invader. Fortunately, it became a one on one duel. If he had decided to rush at our borders with his army, dozens of people might have died. So a lot of the monsters will be spying. Working to detect invaders before they get so close to the border. Others will be working on gathering valuable resources from the territory that we don¡¯t control yet.¡±
These resources included books. James was hoping to establish the world¡¯s first post-System library. It would be an especially positive thing for the children. And in a world without Internet or even electricity, who knew when and where else they would even have the opportunity to read?
He didn¡¯t want to mention this specific priority to Yulia, though. If she was still imagining finding more lost children, she wouldn¡¯t understand why he wanted to start looking for books. James was certain enough for his own satisfaction that he wasn¡¯t going to find more surviving children by sending his monsters searching in further random directions, and he wasn¡¯t interested in starting an argument or upsetting Yulia any more than he had to.
¡°I guess I understand,¡± she said, clearly sad.
She fell silent, but he could tell that she still had something she wanted to say, so he simply waited.
¡°Is it terrible that I¡¯m sort of relieved?¡± she asked.
¡°About?¡±
¡°I was just starting to imagine what would happen if this place was overflowing with children. More than we could take care of. And I was worrying about the logistical nightmare. I¡¯m kind of relieved that the child rescue part is over. Does that make me a bad person?¡±
James shook his head immediately. ¡°No. You¡¯re a great person, Yulia. Most people wouldn¡¯t be thinking about strangers¡¯ children in the first place. Thanks to you, we rescued hundreds of kids. And I¡¯m going to make sure that everyone here grows up knowing that you did that. What you just told me didn¡¯t change what I think of you at all. We all have thoughts like that. What matters in life isn¡¯t what you think about doing when you¡¯re under pressure. What matters is what you actually do.¡±
Yulia broke out into a smile. ¡°That sounds like a line from a movie. ¡®What matters is what you actually do.¡¯ But it does make me feel better.¡±
¡°That brings me to my question for you,¡± he said.
She waited.
¡°I know you have been doing a lot for the Child Rescue Commission. Whenever you¡¯re not here with me or Mina and the kids, you¡¯re working for them.¡±
Yulia nodded, a slightly weary expression on her face.
¡°How are you feeling doing all that?¡± he asked.
¡°I¡¯m just fi¡ªno, I guess I¡¯m pretty tired. I¡¯m glad I can help, though.¡±
He nodded. ¡°That¡¯s about what I¡¯d expect, honestly. I believe it¡¯s too much for any one person to be responsible for a leadership role and what you might call a front line role. I didn¡¯t intend to give anyone both of those kinds of responsibilities at once, but somehow I did that to you. You¡¯re doing too much, I think. You¡¯ll burn yourself out.¡±
She simply sat there, not saying anything, but James read agreement in her facial expression and body language.
¡°So I wanted to ask you, do you want to continue being one of the leaders of the group? Or focus on being one of the people who takes care of children? Whether that¡¯s daycare, teaching, or whatever. Or do something else? Or possibly none of the above? If you want to try to be a leader and do additional work, we can keep on trying that, but¡ª¡±
She was shaking her head, so he stopped. ¡°No,¡± she said. ¡°I asked you about this in the first place because I was worried about what was happening to the children out there. And I stayed involved to be responsible and¡ª¡± she hesitated¡ª¡°and because I like children. I want to work with the kids. Let someone else be the leader.¡±
¡°Okay,¡± James said, smiling slightly. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure there will be a few volunteers.¡±
This was what he had expected Yulia to choose.
¡°You still wanted to be a teacher, right?¡±
Yulia had gone back and forth between different professional aspirations pre-System, though all of her preferred jobs involved working with children.
She nodded.
¡°Now that you¡¯ve officially resigned from your role as one of the leaders of the Child Rescue Commission, I have a feeling the governing authority is going to approve you for the job.¡±
They both smiled.
The conversation moved on to lighter subjects from there. Yulia and James discussed the children. Mainly how Abhi was adjusting. He was still missing his parents, naturally, but he was also behaving more comfortably in Yulia¡¯s opinion. He was coming out of his shell.
Finally, James and Yulia said good night. James joined Mina and Junior in their bedroom, and the entire Robard household went to bed.
All was calm and still for an hour or two.
Then James was awakened by screaming in the night.
V3Ch39-What Dreams May Come Part 1
James bolted upright in bed.
The sound of screaming echoed in his ears, and he knew in an instant that this wasn¡¯t something he had simply dreamed up. He half-turned from lying on his stomach to lie on his side. He was in that half-wakeful state when one wonders if it might be possible to go back to sleep instead of continuing along the path toward full consciousness.
Then he heard a fresh noise of renewed cries in the night. There was no going back. James rose from the bed where Mina and Junior still lay sleeping. He moved slowly and silently so as not to wake her or the baby.
He walked to the door, opened it quickly and delicately¡ªalmost soundlessly¡ªand passed into the less private parts of the apartment. And he moved just in time.
No sooner did he have the bedroom door closed behind him than he heard a pounding from downstairs. An urgent fist beating against the front door.
James leaped down to the ground floor and opened the front door in a couple of smooth, brisk motions.
Damien Rousseau and Jeremiah Rotter stood at the doorway. Damien had a hand raised for another knock. Behind them, James noticed a dozen people standing in various states of dress. They looked disheveled, tired, and anxious.
¡°Good evening,¡± James said. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±
¡°We had a bad dream,¡± Damien said.
¡°We?¡± James asked. He looked past Damien and Rotter to the gathered individuals.
People nodded in response.
James sighed, stepped outside, and closed the door behind him.
¡°One of you who feels clear headed, explain what happened,¡± he said.
There was some hesitation. The gathered men and women looked at each other. No one seemed interested in volunteering. Finally, Rotter let out a long breath and began to explain.
¡°I assume you know that some of those who have strayed too near the hostile neighboring territory¡ª¡± he gestured at the wall James had erected¡ª¡°have experienced unpleasant visions.¡±
James nodded.
¡°Well, some of us, whether we had actually looked in that direction or not, have had visitations in our sleep tonight,¡± Rotter said. ¡°Not just tonight. The last several nights, but it¡¯s been escalating every night. Tonight was the worst. None of us could sleep. The dreams were just too terrible. Some of them are the same dream. Most of them are not exactly identical. I¡ªhonestly, I would rather not describe my dreams if it¡¯s all the same to you.¡±
James shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t need to know the details,¡± he said.
If I do, I¡¯ll just enter your dreams.
¡°Well, it¡¯s clear that whatever lives in that forest is reaching out beyond its borders. Showing us things we would rather not see. Our deceased loved ones, suffering or crying out for us. Visions of dark futures. Or the creature in there tells us horrible lies. Whispers in our ears. Slanders about the people we see every day.¡± Rotter seemed very reluctant to elaborate any further, and James was surprised Rotter had managed to go into the degree of detail that he had. ¡°Frankly, I hate to ask this of you, but I don¡¯t think people are going to be able to sleep unless you do something about this.¡±
Well, of course I¡¯m going to do something about this, James thought irritably. But he didn¡¯t let the emotion show through on his face. He assumed Rotter was trying to present it in this way, because he was accentuating James¡¯s potential heroism in saving them from the threat.
¡°I¡¯ll try what I can,¡± James said, speaking loudly enough for all the gathered people to hear. ¡°And if what I try doesn¡¯t work, we might have to invade that fucking forest tonight. Is there anything else I should know before I go and confront the threat?¡±
¡°Just one thing,¡± Damien said, speaking in a low voice. ¡°She was asking for you. The thing in our dreams. At least that was what she said in my dream. ¡®Bring me the Fisher King.¡¯¡± He shuddered.
¡°All right,¡± James said quietly. ¡°All right.¡± He was trying to reassure himself almost as much as Damien. There was a little sliver of fear working its way through his brain and into the rest of his body. The beginnings of the notion that perhaps he could not handle this creature. The dark night played into this. The unknown nature of the entity. The fact that she was targeting him specifically.
He banished the fear as best he could. I am the strongest. It was foolish of this thing to challenge me on my turf. She¡¯s invading the Fisher Kingdom, and she¡¯s moving in Dreamspace. Perhaps this would mean he could even destroy her without entering her forest.
He gestured brusquely for the gathered individuals to give him a little space; he was acting a little more impatiently than normal. And then he sat cross legged, back against the exterior wall of the building.
Dreamwalk.
Instantly, he found himself in the dark void he knew as Dreamspace. He felt the dreams of everyone in the Fisher Kingdom in an instant. He could identify their locations and even a vague idea of what they were dreaming about more easily than he had ever experienced before, without trying to touch their dreams individually.
The combination of his Fisher King powers with his Dreamweaver powers seemed to be exceptionally potent. He didn¡¯t even need to reach out to recognize that he could alter the contents of his citizens¡¯ dreams with hardly a thought.
The ultimate brainwashing tool if I wanted to go that route. A dark thought. One he would hopefully never act on.
More to the point, he also immediately sensed another entity dwelling in the same space with him. Self-aware and in control of itself. Malevolent.
James visualized the borders of the Fisher Kingdom, and he recognized where the entity was and the shape it had taken. The thing wasn¡¯t near his location within Dreamspace, but its glowing, ethereal tendrils were all around him.
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It seemed the form of the enemy was squid-like. Long tentacles reached out to scores of dreams, and James sensed the visceral discomfort of the dreamers. Men, women, and children, scores of his citizens were in a state of fear or discomfort. The thing in the forest was sending them disturbing nightmares.
He could not sense the forest thing¡¯s mental state, exactly, but he imagined that it must be enjoying this. There was no reason to pick a fight right now, as far as he could see. This would weaken the Fisher Kingdom somewhat by undermining the well being of some of its residents. But James felt almost certain that the reason was sadism.
If it wanted to just weaken the Fisher Kingdom for an attack, it would go after me or Mina. Maybe someone else critical to our defense like Damien, but not Rotter or the other random grab bag of people who showed up at my door. It wouldn¡¯t attack so many people at once. Instead, the approach was so scattershot that some managed to wake themselves up and escape.
James was glad that none of the tendrils went into his own home. The thing had chosen not to attack any member of his household¡ªthough, considering the number of people who now lived with him, that was rather peculiar.
Were you trying to stay under the radar? Hide from me? That might imply that this thing knew what James¡¯s abilities were. At least knew about his Dreamwalking.
Stop psyching yourself out, he chided himself.
He deactivated Dreamwalk and opened his eyes.
Then he rose to address the crowd. Even more people had gathered to watch him in silence while he was sitting on the ground. At least twenty. No, twenty five. But he didn¡¯t waste much time counting.
¡°I found the root of the problem,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯m going to attack it within the world of dreams. Everyone here, please return to your homes, wait a few minutes, and then go back to sleep. I¡¯ll make sure you¡¯re not disturbed again. You¡¯ll need your rest. Tomorrow, we might need to start planning an invasion of that forest!¡±
A low cheer went up, but the space quickly turned silent again. Part of the reason for the sudden quiet was undoubtedly the night. People didn¡¯t want to wake their neighbors. But James worried that part of it was the subdued mood.
A few words weren¡¯t enough to restore their morale. These people had just experienced being attacked in their sleep when they assumed they were safe. For some of them, it was probably the first time they had felt safe in weeks or months.
I¡¯m responsible for them, he thought. I¡¯m the only one who can restore the sense of normalcy for everyone. Let them experience the benefits of me being in charge.
James sat back down. No further words would help the situation. No matter how skillful and charismatic he might think he was, at a certain point, you just had to deliver.
Dreamwalk.
James found himself in the same place again.
This time, rather than simply observing, he leaped into action.
He envisioned a sword in his hand, and the weapon materialized. A black blade. Featureless in the darkness, but, he knew, immeasurably sharp.
Then he set about dealing with the invasion. Hacking and slashing at the ethereal tentacles that had wormed their way into people¡¯s dreams.
Fortunately, his conjured sword had real physical presence and power in Dreamspace. It actually cut through the long, supple limbs of the invader, and they recoiled at the touch of the blade.
He was glad he could do the work from the outside. If he had to enter each person¡¯s dream and fight the evil there, he wasn¡¯t sure if he would be done before morning. And he had reassured everyone that he was taking care of the threat.
As he slashed through the fifth tentacle in his territory, James saw the rest of the tendrils beginning to pull away, retreating from the dreamers¡¯ bodies.
Giving up, he thought. Good. I was hoping I wouldn¡¯t have to do this all night.
Then he saw where the tentacles were retreating to. Somehow, without James noticing it, a dark figure had crept up almost to where he had positioned himself in the void. The ethereal tentacles were all pulling back into that body.
James took a good look and tried to understand the nature of his enemy.
It was a towering, feminine figure with no legs. The lower body ended in a sort of haze, like the body of a genie or ghost from a cartoon. He finally made out the face through the veil of shadow that concealed most of the figure¡¯s features.
From the forehead to the chin, it was pale and white as bleached bone.
An old woman¡¯s face twisted in an expression of sadistic glee.
He tried to use Identify, but it yielded no result.
Of course. We¡¯re not really here, either of us. I¡¯m still in my body, leaning up against the building. And she¡¯s still in the heart of that forest somewhere.
¡°You must be the Fisher King,¡± the figure said in a voice that pierced right through him. A mirthless voice that had the rhythm and feel of a cackle.
¡°Where did you hear that name?¡± James asked evenly.
¡°Oh, the birds and the rodents speak it. Also the wind and the trees. Do you deny that you are the Fisher King?¡±
¡°No,¡± he replied. He resisted his ethereal body¡¯s desire to shudder. There should be no physical sensations here, no reflexes like that¡ªeven if her piercing, half-laughing voice did send cold shooting through his whole body. ¡°Why would I deny who I am in my own kingdom? I¡¯m not the trespasser.¡±
¡°Oh, how charming.¡± The figure covered her mouth. ¡°I am not truly in your kingdom, though I understand the sense in which you mean that. I have reached out to touch some of your subjects.¡±
¡°Who are you?¡± James asked, his voice tense. ¡°What do you want?¡±
¡°I am a Ruler as well, Your Majesty.¡± She gave a mocking bow. ¡°Before I attained my throne, I was called Sister Strange. Since you and I are of equal stature, feel free to call me by that name.¡±
¡°And you wanted¡?¡±
¡°I want nothing more than human suffering.¡± She let loose a horrible laugh along with her words. ¡°Your suffering will be especially exquisite.¡±
Suddenly, the tentacles that she had withdrawn from all the dreamers around James reemerged from her body and sprang upon James. He had a fraction of a second in which to react, and he chose to pull his arms in closer to his sides and keep the best hold that he could on his sword.
The tentacles wrapped him tightly from all sides. They did not feel as he would have expected. Rather than sliming their way up and down his body or clinging to him with suckers, they almost caressed his skin¡ªlike thousands of feathers. It was uncomfortable but far from unendurable.
¡°You can¡¯t possibly think these can hold me, Sister Strange,¡± he said mockingly. ¡°Sadly, your power is inadequate for that.¡± He flexed the muscles of his ethereal body and pushed the binding limbs away.
Curiously, the monster did not try to bind him again.
¡°I did not think you would resist,¡± she said thoughtfully, ¡°understanding as you must that it is a choice between your suffering and that of your people.¡±
¡°Or I could destroy you,¡± James replied. He lashed out with the black sword and sliced through the figure¡¯s neck, severing the head from the body.
¡°You have not faced someone else in this place before, have you?¡± asked the severed head, almost laughing again as it phrased the question.
V3Ch40-What Dreams May Come Part 2
James watched with grim stoicism as the severed head reattached itself to the monster¡¯s body.
¡°I guess that wasn¡¯t the right method to destroy you with,¡± James said evenly. He began gathering Soul Mana, but then he immediately stopped. He could feel the Mana was concentrating in his physical body, the one leaning up against the wall of the apartment, not the astral form he presented here.
So I can¡¯t use magic here? He had shown Mina some magic in her dream back in Orientation, but that was a more solid environment¡ªand the magic had not done anything. It was only a demonstration of how magic could be used. Maybe magic only works in the physical world. Or at least I haven¡¯t figured out the trick for using it here yet¡
¡°I hope you have something better in reserve,¡± Sister Strange said, her voice ringing with mocking laughter. The sound pierced his ethereal form with sharp, chilling vibrations.
¡°I will destroy you,¡± James said, his voice filled with hate.
¡°I have four visions of suffering to show you,¡± Sister Strange said, her voice suddenly matter of fact, still piercing but no longer infused with her usual ringing echo of near laughter in every syllable. ¡°They are of suffering past that has been, suffering present that is, suffering future that must be, and suffering future that may be.¡±
¡°You should be most concerned about your own future suffering,¡± James said. ¡°When I reach your body in the real world, I¡¯ll make sure you die painfully. You shouldn¡¯t have invaded my territory.¡±
¡°That may be,¡± Sister Strange replied, her voice strangely and disturbingly even. ¡°Even so, I have four visions to show you. If you are not capable of destroying me at this moment, you must choose.¡±
¡°Or else?¡±
A thousand thousand tendrils sprouted from Sister Strange¡¯s body in response to his question.
¡°I am an expert in the realm of dreams,¡± she said, her voice full of that mocking amusement that so infuriated him. ¡°Perhaps I have more practice than you. In any case, I can maneuver in this space better than you can. Either you will suffer my visions, or they will.¡± She pointed her hand at the vast emptiness behind James. The space where his people were, with their vulnerable dreams, their bodies tucked into bed safely¡ªor so they thought.
¡°A sadistic choice,¡± he said.
He lunged across the gap between them and placed his hand on her body.
Soul Bind.
The other Skill he had gained when he stole Roscuro¡¯s Soul Eater Talent.
Soul Magic and Soul Bind.
Unlike Soul Magic, he had never seen this one used, but it should bind Sister Strange¡¯s soul. In practice, what he understood that to mean was that he could freeze her in place¡ªthough he would have to engage in prolonged physical contact first.
Sister Strange whipped at him with her tentacles, but he ignored them and simply kept his grip on her body. Then the tendrils wrapped around his body. She forced his head up with what seemed to be all her strength and locked eyes with him.
¡°I do not need freedom of motion to share my vision with you,¡± she hissed.
The environment around James faded and shifted.
He found himself in what looked to be a small, musty bedroom. The room was in what appeared, from the furniture and style, to be an old, abandoned mansion. There was a window at one end of the room and four open doors at the other. The open doors seemed to have only darkness on their other sides.
She pulled me into a dream?
¡°Choose a door, or one will be chosen for you,¡± Sister Strange said.
James leaped at the window and beat his fists against it, but his physical power seemed to have no effect. His hands bounced off the surface like it was made of rubber.
And then the room began, impossibly, to contract. The window and the wall it was embedded in pushed against James, then dragged him backward toward the open doors.
Dream logic. Of course the room can contract. Fuck!
James closed his eyes and tried willing the room to reverse and grow instead, but the environment here did not obey him. Perhaps his powers only worked on the dreams of those who did not have dream abilities of their own.
The wall felt simply physical to him, as if this was no mere dream, yet while his eyes were closed, he felt more aware of his astral body. It seemed that in addition to the self that was in this dream and the self that was slumped on the ground outside of his apartment, the astral form that had been using Soul Bind on Sister Strange was still out there in Dreamspace holding her in place.
That was gratifying. At least she can¡¯t torment anyone else while she has me here, unless I misunderstand her powers.
James turned and faced the doors. Four doors for four visions the specter wished to show him.
He decided not to give in to fear, not to resist this place. Perhaps he would learn something new if he chose the correct door.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but visions can never hurt me, he thought stubbornly, filled with an almost manic energy. Even if they show me death and destruction, I have no reason to think it¡¯s the end in this universe. There are gods and underworlds aplenty if what Anansi told me is true. The end of life is simply another adventure. Even if I lose everything¡ It¡¯s possible that nothing is ever truly gone.
James¡¯s wild thoughts distracted him for a few seconds while the contracting walls pushed him forward. Finally, he leaped ahead into the closest door, the second from the right.
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From a dark and disgusting room, James found himself suddenly in a bright, white environment. He turned his head just in time to see the door disappearing behind him.
Of course.
Everything that had been dream-like and fuzzy about the mansion environment swam into instant sharp relief. Now he was in a place that felt completely real. More solid and distinctive than real places, even.
James looked around. He found himself in a land of snow and ice.
Not as cold as it should be based on the way it looks, he assessed.
The air was chilling, but it touched James only at a remove. He stepped forward and saw that his foot had left no indentation in the snow.
That settled it. He was observing this place, but he was only halfway in this place. He probably couldn¡¯t affect what was supposed to happen here.
Where the hell am I supposed to be, though? Canada? Scandinavia? Siberia?
He heard noise from behind him and turned to look¡ªand saw himself.
This version of James wore an unfamiliar armor set and a cape, but Present-James tore his attention away from Vision-James and looked at the other person present in this desolate place.
Vision-James stood opposite a figure who wore green armor that seemed to cover every inch of his skin.
Present-James watched closely as his alternate self attempted to fight the warrior in green with little success.
Vision-James threw punches, Meteor Strikes, Lightning Strikes, and blows with Roscuro¡ªwho took the form of an axe in the vision¡ªat the armored figure. The green fighter blocked some blows and simply allowed others to hit him with no apparent effect. He answered some strikes with counter attacks, heavy blows to Vision-James¡¯s head, knees, and ribs. The warrior in green had a sword at his hip, but he didn¡¯t bother to draw it.
Present-James found that irritating, though he was more preoccupied by how badly Vision-James was losing the fight. His armor was quickly bent or broken in a hundred places, and Present-James began to hear the sounds of cracking ribs and other fractured bones as Vision-James struggled to stay in the fight.
The warrior in green was fighting very efficiently¡ªPresent-James found himself reluctantly admiring the fighting technique¡ªbut extremely violently.
After one particularly vicious exchange, Vision-James coughed up blood. The warrior in green, by contrast, seemed slightly winded but otherwise completely unhurt.
Vision-James said something, but the sound for dialogue in this vision of the future was apparently turned off, and the armored figure moved so as to block Vision-James¡¯s mouth from Present-James¡¯s view, preventing him from reading his ostensible future self¡¯s lips.
Is this supposed to be the future that will be, or one that might be? Present-James wondered.
Vision-James started charging Soul Magic, and only then did the green figure actually take some evasive action. He dodged a blast of magic from Vision-James, then swept Vision-James¡¯s legs out from under him.
So that¡¯s a weak point, Present-James thought. He¡¯s vulnerable to me attacking his soul, at least.
At that point, the warrior in green armor seemed to stop holding back. The fight turned into a brutal, one-sided beating. With his gauntleted hands, the figure punched Vision-James in the chest and body over and over. Vision-James raised his arms to defend himself, but they were smashed to bloody broken stubs under the onslaught.
Present-James saw Vision-James¡¯s fingers bent and broken, and he winced in sympathy. He saw Vision-James¡¯s face and chest cavity smashed and bloody, and he wondered if this was meant to be a vision of how he would die.
Some context would have been nice, unless this is meant to be unavoidable.
By the end of the struggle, Vision-James was embedded in a man-shaped hole in the snow.
I¡¯ve seen enough now, Present-James thought. But then the vision showed him one more interesting thing.
The man in green walked around and knelt beside the snowy hole. He leaned down and stuck his head into the hole. The best that Present-James could figure, the man seemed to be putting his ear to Vision-James¡¯s chest.
As the figure rose from his position, he said something to himself. Present-James saw his lips and was able to read a snippet of what the warrior was saying.
¡°¡ªstill alive.¡±
Then a jeweled armband around the warrior in green¡¯s arm glowed a gentle golden color, and suddenly the figure disappeared completely.
Well, at least I apparently fucking survived. Jesus Christ.
The vision faded, and James was left with countless questions. But before he could even formulate them, he was in a new setting, floating in the air and looking down.
At least this place felt more familiar. James recognized the humidity in the air, the types of trees in the background, the swampy ground in some areas below him, and the style of clothing of some people he saw. He was back in Florida.
And that was the extent of his familiarity with the background. The terrain could be anywhere in the state. Someone had built a new city. It was beautiful.
If I saw a city like this, I would want to copy it, he thought.
A thousand shapes that looked like kites flew over the city, dancing in the wind and sunshine.
There were great towers made from types of metal and stone that he could not recognize by name. There were thousands of multi-story houses and apartment buildings made of stone and painted in a thousand shades of blue-green, with red roofs. There were dozens of majestic temples that James knew at a glance were built to honor gods from many different cultures. The city streets were broad avenues laid out in a circular pattern and set with unusually uniform cobblestones. The city¡¯s main street was set between what looked to be the rib bones of some massive, dead creature. Long rectangular ponds with lily pads lined the street as well beneath the ribs.
The city was active with a mix of human and nonhuman activity. People and nonhumans he didn¡¯t recognize walked around, mingled freely, and seemed friendly and happy to move amongst each other.
There was greenery everywhere in the city. Trees and plants blossomed anywhere where a building did not sit, as if the entire city was a park. When he inhaled, he realized there must be a citrus grove somewhere. The air smelled of lemons and oranges. It reminded him of his grandmother¡¯s garden when he was a child.
There was a large doorway set in a hillside, which James guessed led underground.
The city¡¯s centerpiece was a massive building James could only imagine was a palace, connected to another building that looked like it had been stolen from Ancient Athens.
Then James saw a building he recognized, and his jaw dropped.
The Community Center, though much enlarged and now sporting an image of a spider on the exterior.
Which meant that either someone in the future stole my building, or¡ªthis is my city. It had to at least be built where the Fisher Kingdom currently existed.
James saw someone he recognized, then, stepping out of the Community Center.
It was Mina, dressed in a beautiful regal gown and holding a little girl¡¯s hand. James didn¡¯t recognize the little girl, but he saw a little of himself and his family¡¯s traits in her.
So we have another kid in the future.
James began silently praying, without having a particular god in mind.
Don¡¯t let this vision be about them¡
V3Ch41-What Dreams May Come Part 3
Soon James¡¯s desperate prayer gave way to an ugly reality.
A mass of people entered the city from several directions, all brandishing weapons and moving with a sense of urgency. Heading toward Mina and the little girl she had with her.
The interlopers¡¯ faces were covered in a gray haze, but James could see that there were people of all human racial backgrounds. Men and women. And they all seemed violently angry with Mina. It seemed unlikely that she was the real object of their fury to James somehow. Mina could be stubborn, sarcastic, and occasionally had dark moods. But she was too lovable for him to imagine anyone sincerely wanting to kill her.
Were these people angry with James? At war with the Fisher Kingdom?
Whatever their motivations, they swarmed into the city by the hundreds.
The Fisher Kingdom seemed to awaken from a slumber of some sort. People rushed out of buildings and moved to fight off the invaders. Goblins, wolves, alligators, and Mole People began joining the human defenders. There were other creatures James did not recognize fighting alongside them. Little blue-skinned people, toad-like creatures, and multiple other unfamiliar Races that James couldn¡¯t name.
For a brief time, the forces of the Fisher Kingdom countered the unexpected attack effectively. Unexpected sinkholes began appearing beneath some of the attackers. Others got mauled by Mole People, stabbed to death by Goblins, or turned into chew toys by the wolves or alligators. The toad-like creatures spat acid bursts at the enemy, while Mina threw bursts of fire and lightning while levitating above the city.
The tide seemed to be turning. Humans faltered and tried to fall back under the weight of the defenders¡¯ power. James let out a breath he hadn¡¯t realized he had been holding as he watched.
Then reinforcements arrived.
It seemed the initial onslaught of people might have been just a scouting party, because the original group was like a few drops of rain before the deluge. Tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands, of people flooded the city.
The sheer weight of numbers beat back the forces defending Mina. Monsters like the great three-headed wolves that led the wolfpack in the vision were crushed against buildings by the mass of people and then were stabbed over and over before succumbing to their wounds and falling.
The Goblins and other small Races were killed by the score, but they continued to fight valiantly against the much larger humans who were attacking their home, rushing into close range and striking at any exposed skin with their small daggers, various racial abilities, and even, in some cases, their teeth.
A vast sinkhole opened up to try and swallow the bulk of the enemy force, but they had Mages of their own on the scene, and the enemy warriors were kept from falling by magic.
Where am I in this vision? James couldn¡¯t help but wonder. What¡¯s happened to me? Don¡¯t I know that my family is in trouble?! Don¡¯t tell me this takes place at the same time as the last vision¡
The invading human force began to prove itself stronger and more numerous. It continued to sweep forward unstoppably, painting the previously beautiful blue-green buildings crimson with blood and gore.
Though James could not make out individual faces in the mass of humans attacking, he could tell that they did so with horrifying glee.
And then the enemy army managed to cut its way through to Mina.
From the way her fire and lightning bolts had begun to subside, James recognized that she must be low on Mana.
Where did the little girl go? One moment, the child had been beside Mina. James had turned to look over the rest of the battle, and when he turned back, the girl¡ªwho he could only assume was his future daughter¡ªhad disappeared.
Before he could spend much time considering where she had gone to, though, the enemy were upon Mina.
Three male figures clutching long daggers. James still could not see their faces, but now he saw that these three wore a strange amalgamation of religious symbols on their necklaces. A cross, a Star of David, and a crescent moon all tangled together.
The three men spoke some words that the vision did not allow James to hear.
Mina¡¯s eyes narrowed in response. She said something that James likewise could not hear, but since her face was not obscured, he was able to read her lips.
He caught, ¡°¡ªkill you for this. You and your families. Your children and your children¡¯s children. Your friends and anyone who knows your name.¡±
In his mind, he filled it in, ¡°My husband will kill you for this. You and your families. Your children and your children¡¯s children. Your friends and anyone who knows your name.¡±
It clearly wasn¡¯t the start of a negotiation. It didn¡¯t even constitute a threat.
Simply a prophecy of doom.
There was no further dialogue.
James rushed in, forgetting for a moment that he was intangible, that he could do nothing for this future version of his wife and his country. He walked right through the three figures, and of course they took no notice of him.
They continued to advance on Mina.
Then the three men attacked and sank their daggers into her chest.
James felt the pain of the blades in his own heart. He clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He resisted the urge to scream. He would not give Sister Strange the satisfaction.
It¡¯s not real, he reminded himself. It¡¯s not real. This will never happen. The monster only wants to torture you.
But it felt very real as he watched, unable to intervene, while the men cut out Mina¡¯s heart and chopped off her head.
As the leaders raised Mina¡¯s severed head into the air, their army let out a raucous cheer.
James turned to look away from Mina¡¯s bloody body¡ªit was too painful to look, knowing he couldn¡¯t even cradle her in his arms¡ªand watched the army. He was caught between seething rage and intense grief, even as he tried to pretend this could never happen.
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He tried to distract himself by looking for any face that wasn¡¯t blurred out by the vision. Any culpable party he could kill to prevent this from happening in some distant future.
Instead, he saw that someone in the enemy army had come up with the bright idea of setting fire to the city. The Fisher Kingdom burned before his eyes.
Compared to what he had just seen, though, the buildings meant very little, beautiful though they were. He felt a bit sad that his other allies were dying, but his heart was too broken at the thought of his wife¡¯s death to fully absorb the other fatalities.
Why would this happen? How? I wouldn¡¯t leave her undefended¡
His mind jumped back to the scene previous, when he had been beaten to near death by the man in green armor.
Maybe that was the problem. I went too far away, to some bloody icy place, to fight that warrior. Now I¡¯m lying helpless, near death somewhere while these animals kill my wife and my people.
He wanted to vomit.
Wait, he thought. Where¡¯s the little girl? She might still be alive.
Out of all the faces the vision allowed him to see, she was the only one he had not seen die.
That pulled his focus back to the vision. No matter how painful it was, he could still get information here.
His eyes scanned the burning city, looking over column after column of blurry-faced foot soldiers, but he could not see the girl. It felt like he was playing a twisted version of the ¡°Where¡¯s Waldo?¡± puzzle, where every potential Waldo candidate had blood on their hands, and frequently on their faces as well as their armor and weapons.
Perhaps the child had an invisibility cloak on or some ability that allowed her to blend in. In any case, no matter how hard he looked, James could not find her.
His heart felt dry and dead as he realized that he believed this was, in fact, a possible future.
If I didn¡¯t believe that, I wouldn¡¯t be looking for the child.
Before he knew it, the vision was fading.
Fuck, at least it¡¯s over¡
Then the world dissolved and reformed itself. James found himself floating over an ocean.
It¡¯s not fucking over. Great.
He was about to wonder what else he could lose, when he spotted himself accompanied by a group of flying allies, including giant eagles, winged snakes, and a number of humanoid figures he did not recognize who floated on the wind. One of them was a man who looked to James like a younger version of himself.
Ah. My son. Of course.
Present-James sat down with crossed legs to watch himself and his adult son die along with all their allies. He imagined they would be eaten by monstrous sharks. It would be as arbitrary and inexplicable as everything else that had happened in these visions.
What actually happened was far stranger than that.
A crack opened in what Present-James guessed was the fabric of reality. Within that opening, James saw what looked like the black void of space.
Then things began coming through.
That was all Present-James could think when it came to a description of the invaders. They were horrible, loathsome things. Though their appearances did not seem to be obscured in the vision, he could not understand what they were or relate them in any way to earthly creatures, or even to earthly legends or geometry.
Their bodies seemed to have one more dimension than those of human beings, was all Present-James could figure as he watched. And Vision-James seemed to know how to destroy them.
Using a combination of magic that Present-James did not recognize or understand, and attacks with a sword that appeared to be made of light, Vision-James split some of the creatures into pieces or forced them back into the fissure in space.
But the others fighting alongside him were much less effective. For every few of the creatures that these fighters destroyed or forced into the void, one of them died. The enemy had a terrible armor-piercing attack that seemed to be irresistible by almost any of the humans whenever the monsters set their eyes on them. A long limb would suddenly extend, and then an ally would fall, a hole visible in their head or chest.
Some of the otherworldly invaders seemed to reform their bodies after a certain amount of time being deceased, while none of the humans who were killed rose again¡ªat least not as humans. After the battle continued for a little while, some of the fallen humans rose again, their eyes turned black, and fought alongside the monsters with the same powers they¡¯d had in life.
Vision-James was the only one who seemed to be able to block the monsters¡¯ death blow attack, using his sword made of light to deflect it. The sword also allowed him to strike down any of his allies that the monsters raised from the dead. But the enemy¡¯s numbers were far greater than those of Vision-James and his forces. Gradually, only he and his son were left.
James¡¯s son launched a furious attack and destroyed a dozen of the creatures with just a few blows. But he had left himself vulnerable to one of the invaders that had been standing on the sidelines waiting. It struck out with an inky-black limb¡ªand Vision-James was there, intercepting.
Wow. My son is a badass.
But he hadn¡¯t moved quickly enough to block with the light sword. The blow had penetrated Vision-James through the heart.
Present-James let out a sigh of relief. Shit. Well, it¡¯s only me dying this time. I hope.
Vision-James was whispering something in his son¡¯s ear, but Present-James could not hear the words or read Vision-James¡¯s lips. It didn¡¯t seem like something he needed to worry about anyway, since whatever it was that he was supposed to say, he would undoubtedly know when the time came.
Probably telling him to run away, if I have any sense left, Present-James thought.
But no. Vision-James reached a hand out to his son, and the younger man reached out and took the sword of light from him. He turned to face the monsters, and Present-James found the vision fading to black. He was in darkness so total that he couldn¡¯t even look down and see his own body.
Why end it now? he thought. Just when I was about to find out what happens to my son¡
He felt a shaking and jostling of his body, and he realized he no longer had a sense of where his astral form was. Someone was moving his physical body, and James decided to wake up so that he could find out why. This could be Sister Strange moving their battle from the dream world to the physical one.
He deactivated Dreamwalk and opened his eyes¡ªand saw a pair of familiar eyes.
Mina.
She was holding him in a tight embrace, a look of concern on her face. He didn¡¯t need to look around to realize he was back in bed.
Was it all just a strange, elaborate dream? James wondered. Could my own imagination do that? Be so detailed¡ªand cruel?
¡°Are you all right, skapi?¡± Mina asked. Her eyes were slightly teary, he realized.
James leaned in and kissed the tears away.
¡°I¡¯m awake now,¡± he said. ¡°Just a bad dream, I think.¡±
¡°Damien and Jeremiah said you were battling the monster from the evil woods,¡± Mina said.
And James¡¯s face fell. His eyes went vacant, staring off into the distance as he went over his nocturnal adventure again.
So it was all real. At least it was real that Sister Strange showed me what she calls visions¡ But were those the things that she claims ¡°must¡± happen, or those that ¡°may¡± happen?
¡°Tell me what¡¯s going on,¡± Mina said. ¡°You were crying out in your sleep. I heard you say my name.¡±
¡°Oh, God,¡± James said slowly, his mind still wrestling with what had happened. ¡°The creature in this forest knows how to make people suffer.¡±
V3 Interlude-The Count in the Catacombs
¡°Every few nights, the Count emerges from the catacombs beneath the castle and wanders the countryside. He chooses a victim and drinks from their throat.¡± Cassia¡ªwho Count Aleph thought of as the tour guide to his castle¡ªpaused dramatically, and one of the party of intruders asked a question.
¡°Excuse me, ma¡¯am, but if the Vampire Count comes out at night and drinks from people, uh, why don¡¯t you just leave?¡±
¡°Cristian!¡± One of the other intruders elbowed the first speaker in the ribs. ¡°You¡¯re ruining the whole experience with your damn questions, man.¡±
¡°I just¡ªyou have to admit it doesn¡¯t make sense, dude. We waited, we let her explain the situation with this place, and she says she¡¯s taking us to where the Ruler is. But something¡¯s fishy. This isn¡¯t a video game, as much as you guys might like to pretend it¡¯s Castlevania or something. It¡¯s the System. Vampires exist, but they don¡¯t behave like fictional characters. And if Dracula was real, the peasants would storm the castle or something. They wouldn¡¯t wait and get some visiting foreigners to kill the monster¡ª¡±
¡°Sir, if you don¡¯t trust me, you can go ahead and kill me!¡± The guide lowered her head as if offering herself up for an executioner¡¯s axe. ¡°Just please slay the Vampire. For my friends and neighbors.¡±
The full group of intruders seemed to be stunned into silence for a moment. Then they were all talking over each other.
¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous¡ª¡±
¡°Stop¡ª¡±
¡°No¡ª¡±
¡°¡ªoutrageous¡ª¡±
¡°¡ªcould never¡ª¡±
¡°¡ªwouldn¡¯t go that far¡¡±
¡°¡ªtrust you.¡±
All of them tripping over themselves to reassure the guide that of course they weren¡¯t going to kill her. That they believed her.
She raised her head, and Count Aleph imagined that her eyes dripped with tears as she spoke. No, he more than imagined. He could smell the salt water in the air. Like the salt in her blood. Intoxicating¡
¡°Then I will lead you into the catacombs. My answer to your question is simple: the Vampire Count does not usually kill the targets of his sick lust. He is the Ruler here, so hardly anyone is foolish enough to fight him. Those who tried were killed quickly. The rest of us understood his rules quickly. Keep your head down, and the worst that can happen to you is losing a bit of blood. We couldn¡¯t safely leave, either. The neighboring monsters are even worse than the Count. A race of giants on one side and wyverns on the other.¡± Her voice turned bitter. ¡°Unlike the Count, they would not suffer humans even to live under their rule.¡±
¡°Then why betray him?¡± asked a woman¡¯s voice that Count Aleph had not heard before now.
¡°That¡¯s a good question,¡± agreed another voice, an unfamiliar male.
¡°It¡¯s personal with me and the Count,¡± Cassia replied. Aleph could hear her gritting her teeth, and he imagined the look on her face. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that he pulled the image of her wearing such an expression from his memory banks. Ever since he became a vampire, his memory was nearly perfect. Like he was looking at images preserved under glass. Such emotion, he thought.
¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± said the voice of the skeptic from earlier. ¡°Saying ¡®it¡¯s personal¡¯ just isn¡¯t quite good enough. How exactly is it personal?¡±
¡°Remember how I said that he usually does not kill the targets of his sick lust?¡±
There was silence for a moment. Aleph guessed the skeptic¡ªCristian, that was his name!¡ªwas nodding.
¡°Well,¡± Cassia continued, ¡°he also normally moves on from a victim after a night or two. Finds new prey. But instead¡ª¡± Aleph could smell her beginning to tear up again¡ª¡°instead he¡¯s targeting the same person again! It¡¯s my sister, Saskia. She¡¯s so sweet and innocent. Beautiful and young. I think the old legends about these creatures are true, and he wants to make her his bride. Saskia didn¡¯t ask for this. She doesn¡¯t want him. But wherever we move her, whatever we do to try and protect her, she only seems to get weaker. Lately, she flinches away from the touch of daylight. I don¡¯t think she has much time left. So you see, I¡¯m pretty desperate. Ready to try something stupid. Otherwise my sister might die or become a monster.¡±
¡°Good enough for me,¡± the other female voice said.
¡°Yeah,¡± Cristian agreed. ¡°I agree that¡¯s a good enough reason. Sorry for doubting you. Let¡¯s try and get into those catacombs before sunset, then.¡± There was an edge of nervousness to his voice now.
Good. Pain and fear would make their blood just that little bit tastier.
They walked around for several minutes before Cassia took them to the entrance of the catacombs. Count Aleph was doing some math in his head. It was how he spent most of his time during the day. Thinking about the plethora of numbers the System had gifted him with. Status numbers. Levels and experience. Skills. The number of victims he had consumed over the course of his short life as a Vampire.
After I kill these ones, how long until I hit level forty? I¡¯m at thirty-six now. Assuming the average Race level of this party is around fifteen¡
Math problems had been Aleph¡¯s hobby before the System, back when he was just a human named Alexandru. Perhaps the most wonderful thing about his nearly perfect memory post-System was that he no longer needed any aids to perform complex mathematics. No pencil, paper, abacus, calculator¡ªnothing. He could keep all the numbers and ideas in his head, hold them in place in his mind.
The Vampire Count¡¯s current long term math project was devising a formula to calculate how many victims he still needed before he reached level one hundred. There were still too many variables to make for an easy formulation¡ªin particular, the way in which experience slowly decreased with repeated encounters against enemies of the same type at the same level was proving a difficult element to quantify¡ªbut Aleph was getting closer all the time.
As he was whiling away his time working on his formulae, the pipes carried the continued whispers of the adventuring party down to Aleph in his chamber.
¡°I don¡¯t know, man,¡± Cristian was saying. ¡°I still don¡¯t quite buy it.¡±
¡°What are you worrying about?¡± asked a male voice. Aleph remembered this was the person who had tried to get Cristian to shut up earlier. ¡°Jordan didn¡¯t give us the signal for deception. And she has an actual Skill for that. You¡¯re going based off of what, instinct?¡±
¡°You just don¡¯t want to see it because you want to fuck Cassia, Matt. There are probably people who have Skills that counter Deception Resistance. This place is sketchy as hell!¡±
¡°Hey, don¡¯t get confused, man,¡± Matt said arrogantly. ¡°Just because Cassia is giving me the eye, it doesn¡¯t compromise my judgment in the slightest. Remember, we were at the top of our Orientation. You, me, and Arben. We don¡¯t have anything to worry about in some dank castle in the middle of nowhere. It¡¯s only a matter of time¡ª¡±
¡°It¡¯s a fucking Ruler,¡± Cristian hissed. ¡°We were at the top of our Orientation except for the Ruler there, who¡ª¡±
¡°Keep your voice down, man,¡± Matt said.
¡°What, are you worried the bitch will hear us?¡± Cristian asked, exasperated¡ªbut his voice was almost a whisper, the volume back under control. It was even hard for Aleph to hear him, and the Count¡¯s hearing was beyond superhuman ever since Race Evolution.
¡°Look, once we met up with the others, we got ourselves a well balanced crew, you have to admit that. You said yourself that you thought we could beat the Ruler in that valley now that we have Jordan, Alina, and Florin.¡±
¡°Yeah, but that¡ª¡±
¡°Are the two of you all right?¡± one of the women asked.
She has a very pleasant voice, Aleph thought. She must not have spoken up much earlier, or I would have noticed that. Something of a shame that someone with such a pleasant voice has to die¡
¡°We¡¯re fine, Alina,¡± Matt said insistently. ¡°Aren¡¯t we, man?¡±
There must have been a nod, based on what came next.
¡°Okay,¡± Alina said. ¡°You¡¯re making the rest of us a little nervous, though. If there¡¯s something you¡¯re worried about, you¡¯ll share with the group?¡±
¡°Of course,¡± Matt said, again speaking for himself and Cristian.
Cristian didn¡¯t say anything to contradict him, and as far as Aleph could hear, the conversation seemed to die out as the adventurers proceeded into the catacombs.
The conflict between these people is interesting. Too bad for them they aren¡¯t listening to the suspicious one. If they left now, they might be able to make it to the border safely before I caught up. Though that would come with its own perils¡
As he heard them move through the catacombs, Aleph timed his moment carefully. There was a place in the floor they should be walking across where the stone was hollow¡
He heard the louder sound of movement as they stepped on the hollow stone, and the Vampire Count immediately flicked the lever next to his seat.
¡°What¡¯s that sound?¡± asked Cristian.
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That¡¯s the catacomb entrance closing behind you.
¡°I don¡¯t know. Maybe the monster is getting restless,¡± Matt said, trying to play Cristian¡¯s question off with humor. But Aleph could hear a note of concern seep through in his tone.
¡°Maybe we should turn back,¡± the woman who must have been Jordan said.
¡°What are you saying?¡± said one of the men¡ªnot Cristian or Matt.
¡°We¡¯ve come too far now,¡± said another male voice.
¡°Why would we leave?¡± Matt said stubbornly.
¡°I don¡¯t think you all could actually make it out of the Count¡¯s territory before nightfall if you left now,¡± Cassia accurately pointed out.
¡°Then we press on,¡± Cristian said. Aleph heard the sound of a weapon being drawn.
¡°Cristian, what are you doing?¡± Matt said, outraged.
¡°There¡¯s something wrong with our guide,¡± Cristian replied. ¡°I know none of you believe me, and I can¡¯t explain it perfectly myself. But if anything happens to us¡ªif we fall for a trap that you walked us into, or if there¡¯s actually a hundred vampires down here instead of one, I want you to know that you¡¯re going to die first. Before anything happens to any of my friends.¡±
¡°That¡¯s just fine,¡± Cassia said, clearly speaking around a blade pressed to her throat. Her tone was reassuring, tinged with just the right note of fear. ¡°Since I¡¯m not lying, I¡¯m not worried. Let¡¯s just keep going.¡±
¡°This is really beyond the pale, man,¡± Matt grumbled. ¡°After today, I don¡¯t think we can work together. This paranoia wasn¡¯t so bad in Orientation. But now¡ª¡±
¡°My paranoia saved both our lives in Orientation,¡± Cristian said. ¡°I¡ª¡±
¡°Please, both of you,¡± Alina said, ¡°stay calm. We need to move on. We¡¯re losing daylight.¡±
¡°Your friend is right,¡± Cassia agreed, still gasping slightly around the steel held against her neck. ¡°We should continue. There is still some way to go before we reach the Count¡¯s chamber, if I recall correctly. If we do not arrive before sunset, your fight will be much more difficult.¡±
Then Aleph heard her lead them away. In the wrong direction.
A smile played across his lips. It was back to his formula creation efforts.
The group walked for almost an hour before the party skeptic spoke up again.
¡°How far is it now?¡± he asked, his voice tight.
¡°Cristian!¡± Jordan exclaimed.
The rich, salty sweet smell of blood drifted into Aleph¡¯s nostrils, and he frowned.
People weren¡¯t supposed to be bleeding yet.
And that smells like¡
¡°I¡¯m all right,¡± came Cassia¡¯s trembling voice.
That little prick cut her. Probably cut her on the neck, if his blade was in the same place where he was holding it earlier. Doesn¡¯t he know that she¡¯s mine? That Cassia¡¯s slender neck is only for me to drink from?
A quiet fury began building deep inside Aleph. Where before, he had intended to slaughter these visitors as a matter of simple necessity, now it was a bit more personal.
He checked the clock on the wall. Around forty minutes left until sunset.
He weighed his options. Go out and fight them now, and risk them possibly exposing him to sunlight¡ªalthough he had sealed the entrance to the catacombs, the walls were only stone. Powerful attacks could and would break through them, and direct sunlight would be highly damaging.
Or he could wait and simply hope that Cassia continued her virtuoso performance as the innocent victim, the helpful tour guide.
¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Cassia was saying. ¡°I¡¯ve only been in here a couple of times, and all before the System. My grandfather worked in the castle, giving tours, but he passed away years ago. I didn¡¯t mean to take a wrong turn. We still have time, and I know I can find the room¡¡±
Already, she was playing for time. Pleading, making promises, negotiating.
Aleph told himself to relax. His Cassia had this under control.
¡°Just put the dagger down, man,¡± Matt said. ¡°I don¡¯t like seeing you like this.¡±
¡°If you¡¯re this freaked out, we can just leave this place,¡± Alina said.
Yes, his friends are on Cassia¡¯s side too. He won¡¯t be able to do a thing¡
¡°I guess we can¡ª¡± Cristian began speaking, seemingly calming down.
Then there was the sound of a scuffle. Cristian¡¯s voice cried out in pain and then issued a low groan.
He started to lower his blade, and then someone disarmed him, the Count guessed. Maybe one of his friends¡ªor Cassia¡ªkneed him in the groin?
¡°Sorry, dude,¡± Matt said. ¡°You¡¯re just acting too erratically. Arden and I are going to keep one hand each on you until we¡¯re out of here. Sorry, Cassia, I know you wanted our help, but I don¡¯t think our group is as functional right now as I assumed we were.¡± He sounded disappointed.
¡°No, I understand,¡± Cassia said. ¡°Thank you for¡ªthank you for the rescue.¡± She let out a slow, ragged breath. ¡°Let¡¯s go, then.¡±
Aleph heard them retracing their steps. They moved as slowly as they had coming down that hallway. Perhaps slower, because Cristian¡¯s male teammates were insisting on keeping a grip on him as they walked.
So there should be no way they can get out before sunset, Aleph thought.
He rose and pressed a panel on the wall. A passage opened that led from his chamber up to the main part of the castle. Rather than confront them in the catacombs where he lived, fighting them on the surface would be better. He had been lucky that the last several prey had been too weak to do much damage to his home. Better not to count on that for every encounter.
The enemies would only get stronger from here, as word of this castle and its resident spread.
Aleph made it to the surface and walked through the castle, keeping to the shadows as much as he could. As the sun sank below the horizon, he stood in a particularly deep, dark shadow and waited. Finally, just after it had disappeared from sight, he approached the entrance to the catacombs.
The Vampire Count could hear his prey now. Tired from hours of walking, still bickering a bit among themselves, disappointed that they had begun a retreat from the object of their quest¡ªand just a little bit afraid of what the night held waiting for them. He could hear that undertone, though none of the adventurers were voicing the specific concern. They could tell by the increased depth of the shadows even in the catacombs that night had fallen.
Their chance to escape had disappeared with the sun. They could not know that, certainly not with any certainty, but Aleph was as sure of their demise as he was that the sun would rise the next morning.
He drew the curved, ruby-hilted sword from his side, and he smiled with grim satisfaction. Aleph loved it when things went to plan.
They began climbing the stairs, and Aleph heard their voices register alarm for the first time.
¡°Hey, how did this get closed? Who was the last one through here?¡±
Then Aleph pulled the doors open. The two closest figures¡ªtwo males¡ªhad time to open their mouths wide, as if they were about to scream. Then the Vampire¡¯s sword severed their heads just above the lower lips. Instead of screaming, they gurgled as crimson blood gushed forth.
I hope neither of those was Cristian. He had a slower death in mind for that man.
The bodies tumbled back down the stairs, and the first screams issued from one of the women¡ªAlina, he could tell.
That girl has a truly wonderful set of pipes on her.
The Count didn¡¯t slow down to appreciate the beautiful smell of human blood. He took in the damage and the group of people left.
Two down. The two who chose to walk up to the entrance were probably planning to brute force their way out. That might mean they were the strongest in the group. But there were four to go, plus Cassia.
The Count drew a dagger from his side and hurled it with superhuman Strength and precision. It flew at incredible speed and plunged into the chest of the woman in the adventurers¡¯ party who was not screaming.
Judging from Alina¡¯s clothing, she was a Healer, like Cassia. She probably wouldn¡¯t have abilities that could harm Aleph, he judged. If she did, it would be that Purification Skill he¡¯d seen once, but that required being in touch range.
Jordan, who had already been gathering Mana around her, crumbled to her knees, her fingers desperately clutching at the dagger through the middle of her breasts.
Aleph began chanting his own magic spell, gathering Shadow Mana.
Only three left, along with Cassia.
Two men and that Alina girl.
He took a step forward, prepared to descend into the catacombs after them, but one of the men was rushing up the stairs toward him, sword in hand.
¡°You monster! You killed my friends!¡±
Aleph would have rolled his eyes. He heard these outraged, defiant shouts almost as often as he heard men beg for their lives. At a certain point, it felt a bit silly.
The Count slashed down with his blade without stopping his chant. He and the human traded several blows.
He¡¯s really not bad, Aleph thought distantly. As far as he was concerned, this fight was basically over. The closest that the human came to landing a swing of his sword on Aleph¡¯s body was when the Count looked past him to check what was going on in the catacombs.
Cassia was down there using her healing powers on the woman whose chest Aleph had perforated. It was a good performance. Alina, the surviving female member of the band of adventurers, seemed to be too shellshocked to do anything. The man who wasn¡¯t fighting Aleph stared down at his bleeding friends, transfixed.
Aleph hocked a glob of spit right into his opponent¡¯s face.
As the man was jumping back and wiping his eyes, Aleph threw his other dagger and struck the off-guard male adventurer who remained in the catacombs right in the neck.
Then he reached out with Shadow Magic, his Mana having charged enough.
A great black hand sprang from the shadows, grabbed Cassia, and pulled her into the darkness.
¡°Cassia!¡± the swordsman who had engaged Aleph cried out.
He rushed at the Count, who easily parried his next several sword swings.
Your group might have legitimately been a threat, he thought, if you hadn¡¯t been taken so completely by surprise.
¡°Give her back,¡± the swordsman growled. And Aleph recognized his voice.
¡°That¡¯s a pity,¡± he said, speaking in a slow, deep baritone. ¡°You must be Matt.¡±
I had hoped that Cristian would be the last man left alive.
As Matt¡¯s eyes widened, Aleph threw a sucker punch that crumpled the front of his armor. Matt fell to his knees, clutching his abdomen and gasping for breath. His sword clattered to the ground, forgotten.
And the massive, shadowy hand reappeared beside Count Aleph. It opened to reveal Cassia, completely unharmed except for the little red line Cristian had cut into her throat earlier.
¡°Are you all right, my dear?¡± Aleph asked.
Cassia stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the Vampire¡¯s chest.
¡°I¡¯ll be fine, Aleph,¡± she said. She pulled his head down and kissed him roughly on the neck. ¡°How did I do?¡±
¡°Oh, no one could have done better,¡± Aleph said.
To his amusement, Matt had a terrible look of shock on his face.
¡°You bitch,¡± he rasped, still short of breath. ¡°You helped him kill them all!¡±
He rose, stepped forward, and seemed to realize he had nothing in his hands. He dove for the sword he¡¯d left on the ground, and Aleph threw a kick that hit the man right under the chin.
Matt crumpled to the ground, instantly unconscious. Only Alina was still moving. The Count could hear her in the catacombs, haltingly fleeing further underground. There was no way the Healer would be able to escape alone. It was over.
¡°There, you see?¡± Aleph said. ¡°We even took a couple of them alive.¡±
V3Ch42-Council Meeting Part 1
Mina ran a gentle hand over his hair as she waited for him to tell her more.
¡°I need more information,¡± he said, his body shaking slightly as he spoke. ¡°I don¡¯t know how much I can say reliably. I¡ª¡±
¡°That¡¯s all right,¡± she said soothingly. ¡°You don¡¯t have to talk about it now if you¡¯re not ready.¡±
What could do this to him? Mina wondered. It was scary to see James rattled. She could count the number of times he had seemed out of control of his emotions on one hand and still have fingers unused.
¡°I think I¡¯ll need your help,¡± he said, seemingly half to himself. Then he looked back at her, his eyes filled with intensity. As if he¡¯s seeing ghosts, she thought.
¡°I¡¯ll do whatever I can,¡± she assured him.
He nodded. Then James closed his eyes and took on a focused expression.
[All representatives of Fisher Kingdom committees, please prepare to meet in the Community Center this morning, in one hour. Though I previously informed you that the meeting would take place tomorrow, urgent circumstances require that the meeting be moved up. I believe it¡¯s best that we do it immediately. Any members of the community who have petitions, questions, or comments to share, we will open for a public question and answer session in approximately two hours.]
He managed to sound like everything was normal.
¡°You mentioned that Carol requires investment in her Dungeon before we can get some spellbooks that might be useful against our neighbor, right?¡± James asked.
¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Mina said.
He nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll go there before the Community Center this morning, then. Hopefully you can train this afternoon.¡±
¡°Yes,¡± Mina replied. ¡°We¡¯ll destroy that forest soon.¡±
James¡¯s head moved up and down, but she could see his mind was elsewhere.
Mina rose and placed a hand on his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll make breakfast today,¡± she said.
¡°You don¡¯t have to,¡± James replied instantly.
¡°You have a lot on your mind,¡± she said.
¡°I¡¯ll dash on over to Carol for a minute, then. And I¡¯ll also drop by Alan and Mitzi to ask them to come to the meeting too.¡±
The way he looked at her before he exited through the window was strange. As though he was memorizing every detail of her face. Like he thought he might never see her again.
¡ª
James moved through the first hour after waking up from his encounter with Sister Strange in a haze.
You have to decide for yourself if she¡¯s some kind of prophet or not.
He definitely didn¡¯t want to believe there was anything to Sister Strange¡¯s power, other than the same function that guided his own Illusion Magic. His magic could create an optical illusion that fooled the victim based on what they expected to see. False Reality made the illusions even more convincing by manipulating the victim¡¯s sense of reality in general to align with whatever deception James was attempting. The way it seemed to complement his illusions, he had noticed, was by causing the person¡¯s other senses to fool them.
Maybe her power could create a vision based on what would cause the person watching to experience the most psychological discomfort. It wouldn¡¯t even have to be as effective as James¡¯s power, since Sister Strange didn¡¯t need to convince James, for instance, that he wasn¡¯t dreaming. She only needed an immersive experience. Psychological warfare would do the rest.
James was halfway to convincing himself that Sister Strange¡¯s tricks were just that¡ªbut he couldn¡¯t get past the fact that when he left Mina alone in the apartment, he felt as if she might vanish like a puff of smoke at any moment.
So it¡¯s real enough for me. For now.
He kept that in mind while he handled the morning¡¯s business.
James went to the Dungeon.
[Dungeon entered! You have arrived in Dungeon: Carol¡¯s Storage!]
Charming. I like the name change.
¡°Hi there!¡± Carol exclaimed from above.
¡°Hi Carol!¡±
¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, James¡¡±
After he had transferred her the ten-thousand credits, James returned home. Even in the light of day, there was a little trepidation in his step as he walked up the stairs¡ªas if he might not find his family when he reached the top.
But, of course, they were all there, gathered around the table, waiting for him to eat.
James didn¡¯t taste any of the food that passed between his lips. He was thinking about his next moves.
¡ª
¡°Is James okay?¡± Yulia asked when James had left the table to use the toilet.
Goodness, Yulia¡¯s noticing it too, Mina thought.
But James seemed to have pulled himself back together by the time they sat in the Community Center with Magnar and Duncan.
He had moved the podium from where it sat on the stage, and he and the committee heads had taken a long dinner table from Carol¡¯s Storage and placed it in the podium¡¯s place, along with twenty-three accompanying seats for every one of the Fisher King¡¯s councilors, except Luna and Samuel, who James said would be sitting at ground level. Luna was tall enough to be seen clearly even when seated on the stage beside the chairs, and Samuel was bigger than her from what James had said.
The former Ruler was running late, because he had to make his way from the swamp region of the territory. James said that he had encouraged Samuel to take his time, considering that he was still recovering from their battle.
¡°It¡¯s a miracle he survived,¡± Alan commented drily.
Several people laughed at that, while a few clapped their hands and gave James approving looks.
¡°I wish I could have seen your victory over the beasts,¡± Jeremiah Rotter said.
Alan, Mitzi, and Rotter occupied seats at the table along with the twenty committee heads, though they didn¡¯t head any committees that Mina was aware of. But James had clearly expected them, so no one asked why they were there.
The seats were slightly crowded together, because James wanted everyone to sit so that anyone in the gallery could look them in the eye during question time. Taylor Bunting was almost in Dave Matsumoto¡¯s lap. She stuck closer to him out of obvious preference relative to her other neighbor, Lord Magnar.
¡°We¡¯ll need to have a larger table made for next time,¡± James observed.
There were a few dry chuckles.
James had taken the largest chair he could find and placed it at the center of the table for himself, instead of sitting at the head of the table. He kept an open seat at his right hand for Mina, who had watched from the gallery as everyone else set up the furniture and took their seats.
The image of him sitting at the center of the table reminded her of something, though it took a minute for her to place it.
¡°The Last Supper,¡± she murmured.
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
James clearly heard her, even though the words were spoken under her breath. The edges of his lips curled up in a little smile, and she wondered if the imagery, placing James in the role of Christ, had been deliberate.
That would put me in the position of John the Apostle, wouldn¡¯t it? The ¡°disciple whom Jesus loved,¡± wasn¡¯t he? The longest lived of the Twelve Apostles. The youngest. The only one of them to die from natural causes. That summed up everything she knew, and James probably knew even less about him; his household hadn¡¯t been as religious as hers.
It was a good position to be placed in metaphorically. She wondered again exactly what his dreams had been about.
She shook her head and took her seat by his side. Then she conjured a pitcher made of ice and filled it with water. From her Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions, she drew a package of clear plastic cups the Salvage Commission had liberated from the run-down buildings. She opened the packaging and placed the cups next to the pitcher.
People came around and helped themselves to water and then returned to their seats.
¡°Let¡¯s call this first meeting of the Fisher Kingdom Governance Council into session,¡± James said. ¡°I would have included some additional formalities, but I think we have at least one urgent item to deal with before we¡¯ll have the space to think about that sort of thing. Our first order of business is the matter I called you all here to discuss. Who here had unusually bad dreams last night?¡±
As he spoke, Mina saw that James was silently charging a form of Mana that she didn¡¯t recognize. Blue with sparkles. It reminded her of Yulia¡¯s pixie friends.
But the rest of the room was more focused on the question itself. Low chattering broke out as people asked each other quiet questions under their breath.
A half dozen hands went up.
¡°Um, why are you asking, sir?¡± said Angelina Zuccarini of the Sewer Committee.
¡°I will explain in just a minute,¡± James said, turning to Angelina and smiling. ¡°I¡¯m trying to get a little more information so my final explanation will be more complete. Now, not counting last night, who had bad dreams over the last few days that felt unusual?¡± He looked from person to person as he spoke. ¡°They could be night terrors, nightmares, or any kind of bad dream that you don¡¯t typically experience.¡±
More than half of the hands in the room went up, including Luna the wolf¡¯s right front paw.
¡°I see,¡± James said quietly.
So this creature has been targeting us for longer than just last night? Why was last night the first thing James heard anything about it, then?
At that point, there was a loud sound of knocking on the door.
¡°Enter!¡± James called down.
The double doors pushed open, and Mina saw a monster that looked like it belonged in a scary movie step through the gap.
Oh my gosh, is that the monster James fought yesterday?
¡°Hail to the Fisher King,¡± the monster said in a voice that rumbled. The sound reminded her of an earthquake.
¡°Welcome, Samuel, former Ruler of the alligators,¡± James said, beaming down at the monstrous reptile.
Samuel walked through the doors slowly and cautiously. He could barely fit his heavy bulk through the doorway, but he was clearly taking care not to scrape the sides.
¡°We will have that enlarged,¡± James added.
¡°Oh, please, not on my account,¡± Samuel said. There was an oddly amused expression on his monstrous face as he spoke. The sight made Mina shudder slightly, reminding her of the last time she had been face to face with a predator larger than her. Cara. ¡°I was planning on losing some weight anyway.¡±
James snorted quietly.
The giant reptile closed the doors behind him with a gentle motion of his tail, still moving with care as if he thought he might accidentally take them off of their hinges with any sudden movements.
¡°I was just discussing the nightmares that appear to be afflicting residents of this Kingdom,¡± James said. The Mana around his body had reached a steady, unmoving state, Mina observed. She thought he must be done charging up for whatever he was about to do. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you have any information to share before I tell everyone what I think is going on?¡±
¡°I know nothing about this enemy, unfortunately,¡± Samuel said. ¡°I understand they are located on a different side of the Kingdom relative to the swamp, which might explain why I don¡¯t know anything about them.¡±
¡°All right,¡± James said.
The Mana around his body vanished, and an image appeared in the center of the room, at the front of the center aisle of the gallery. A towering feminine figure shrouded in darkness. Her body ended in a haze, like that of a cartoon ghost. Her face was a shriveled, sadistic pale mask.
¡°This is what we¡¯re dealing with,¡± James said. ¡°I encountered her in the world of dreams last night. Who has seen her or something that resembled her in their dreams?¡±
Most of the hands that had been raised earlier shot back up again. Even one person who hadn¡¯t raised her hand earlier held it up now.
Other than that, almost the whole room stood still, waiting for James to explain what was going on. In the silent stillness, Mina noticed the only person still moving was Rotter. He was taking notes silently in the book he always carried with him.
¡°The fact that almost everyone who had these bad dreams experienced some form of contact with her proves that she really is involved in these dreams,¡± James said. ¡°There is no easy way to say this. We¡¯re being targeted. Our neighbor has infiltrated the dreams of a number of people in the Kingdom, not just people in this room.¡±
There was a small outcry at this.
¡°How can something like this happen?¡± asked Harry Luntz of the Agricultural Committee.
¡°Why us?¡± asked Zuccarini.
¡°What are we going to do about this?¡± asked Taylor Bunting.
Samuel thumped his tail on the ground loudly several times, and the room started to quiet down.
¡°The King is clearly about to answer your questions,¡± the alligator growled, speaking with an air that said, If I had won the fight, I wouldn¡¯t be putting up with this nonsense.
Mina smiled thinly.
¡°The situation isn¡¯t very complicated,¡± James said. ¡°We know that the world is full of expansionist foreign powers now. This is one of those. We must defeat her at all costs, of course. As for why us in particular, all she said when I confronted her was that she enjoys human suffering.¡± There was more discontented muttering as the committee heads digested this information, but much calmer. ¡°Now for my next question. Of those who had strange dreams last night, how did the dream proceed? Is anyone willing to share a general description?¡±
There was a sharp intake of air, and Mina saw people at the table looking at each other. Waiting to see who would go first. Then three hands went up, almost in unison.
¡°Dave?¡± James gestured for the leader of the Hunters to speak. ¡°I should add, before you start, that I don¡¯t need any specifics. Just the overall course of the dream.¡±
Dave looked slightly confused, but he began to explain his dream anyway. ¡°In my dream, I returned to a certain, um, traumatic experience from my past. Related to the Sino-American War.¡±
¡°Did you see the being I saw at any point in your dream?¡± James gestured at the creepy illusion that still stood in the aisle.
¡°I did,¡± Dave said. ¡°She took a place among the enemy¡¯s ranks, and I believe she also occasionally whispered in my ear¡¡±
¡°At any point in the dream, did she stop her activities?¡± James asked.
Dave blinked several times and looked surprised as he thought about it.
¡°Yes,¡± he said finally. ¡°There was a point when she wasn¡¯t there anymore. I¡¯ve actually done some experiments with lucid dreaming in the past. At one point, I was able to navigate away from my memories. I traveled to some happier places in my past instead¡¡± His face took on a faraway look, and a slight smile danced across his lips.
¡°I¡¯m glad to hear it,¡± James said. He looked extremely pleased with Dave¡¯s response. ¡°Does anyone else have any similar or opposite experiences to report?¡±
Zuccarini raised her hand first, and James nodded for her to speak.
¡°I wasn¡¯t asleep at the time all this happened. I was doing some journaling¡ªwhat I was doing doesn¡¯t matter, but what¡¯s important is that my wife was asleep next to me. She was tossing and turning and crying out in her sleep for a while. I couldn¡¯t wake her up, which was unusual¡ª¡±
Like James, Mina thought. He had seemed like he was in terrible distress a few times last night.
¡°¡ªbecause she¡¯s a light sleeper most of the time. I shook her and I raised my voice and dripped water on her face. Nothing worked! But at a certain point it just stopped. Do you¡ªdo you know why?¡± Zuccarini looked at James.
¡°I think I do,¡± he said slowly. ¡°But before I say what I think, I want to know if anyone had the opposite experience. Is there anyone for whom the dream got worse and worse and never changed for the better or stopped until you woke up?¡±
The room fell completely still and silent for a few seconds.
¡°Okay,¡± James said quietly. ¡°I guess it actually worked for everyone. So, last night was the first night that I was aware of this thing attacking people in their dreams. I have a power that allows me to visit people¡¯s dreams as well, so I entered Dreamspace and I started interfering with this thing. I don¡¯t seem to be able to kill her there, but it looks like fighting her there was enough. Maybe I can hold her off again tonight.¡±
¡°Shouldn¡¯t¡ªum, and I know these are your decisions and the fighters¡¯ decisions more than anything,¡± Zuccarini said, ¡°but shouldn¡¯t we go and do something about this evil thing¡ª¡± she gestured at the illusion of the woman¡ª¡°before tonight?¡±
Several people started to talk at once as Zuccarini finished her question.
¡°Have you looked anywhere near that forest?¡± asked Steve Luck of the Construction Committee.
¡°We need to consider further preparations¡ª¡± Dave began.
¡°We have to be cautious¡ª¡± Alan began at the same time.
¡°This needs to be resolved yesterday,¡± interrupted Luntz. ¡°The effect it¡¯s having on our workers¡ª¡±
¡°Is there any way I can help, Your Maj¡ª¡± Duncan started.
This time it was Luna who let out a strange, yelp-like bark to quiet the room down. As people turned to look slightly anxiously at the wolf, who was rising to her feet and looked a bit uncomfortable herself, James cleared his throat. Luna immediately resumed her seated posture.
Was that reaction something he ordered her to do, to get them to shut up? Mina wondered. It was marvelously effective to have a wolf at the table, but she thought they should probably just make sure he had a gavel for the next meeting.
¡°I have the beginnings of a plan,¡± James said. ¡°I want us to use tonight to test it out.¡±
V3Ch43-Council Meeting Part 2
Mina waited for James to go into his plan, curious to know what he was thinking.
He had been so reticent about his encounter with the dream-attacking creature last night that she had no sense of what his ideas for dealing with the enemy might be. Clearly, he thought the monster was formidable, or rather than calling a meeting, he would have simply gathered a crew of fighters and invaded her territory in return.
Complete silence fell over the room as James cleared his throat.
¡°Tonight, I intend to go and seek the monster out in the dream world from which she attacked our territory,¡± he said. ¡°I believe I can hold her in place there. The danger of not going to meet her in Dreamspace is obvious. The psychological effects of her nightmares, or the physiological effects of sleepless nights, are her way of undermining our capacity for self-defense. After a few nights of that, we would be softened up for her inevitable invasion in the physical world.¡±
People were nodding along with James as he spoke, and what he said made sense, but Mina sensed something off in his demeanor or perhaps his body language. A reluctance to say something. And why was he bothering to justify going to confront the enemy at all? The entire Council¡ªand many outside this room, based on what James had explained¡ªwould naturally approve any action he might take against this enemy.
He continued, ¡°When I confront her, I need a brave group of volunteers to attempt an invasion of the enemy¡¯s territory. See if her defenses are still in place while she¡¯s preoccupied with me. We don¡¯t know for certain if the visions that people see when they look into her space are the actions of other creatures or the effect of her power alone. If it¡¯s the latter, then this would be an opportunity to attack the enemy¡¯s stronghold and perhaps even kill her.¡±
Oh. He¡¯s making sure he justifies his plan, because he wants other people to risk their physical safety, and he can¡¯t go with them.
¡°I volunteer to lead this group,¡± Dave interjected.
James nodded and offered a slim smile. ¡°I thought you might. If you see anything that disturbs you, please withdraw right away.¡±
Dave nodded his assent.
¡°We will also need a brave group of volunteers to stand by in case our intrepid explorers are overcome by the power of the enemy. Watch for strange movements that might indicate they¡¯re under the control of the enemy. And be prepared to either forcefully wake me up¡ªusing violence if necessary¡ªor to go in after them yourselves.¡±
A silence fell over the room as people thought about what James had just said.
Mina resolved to herself that she would volunteer to lead this second group of volunteers if no one more suitable stepped up. After all, she was certain to be involved in this part of the plan if only because she wanted to be the one to wake James up if that needed to happen. No one else was going to ¡°forcefully¡± wake her husband up, ¡°using violence if necessary.¡±
¡°What will we do if the enemy¡¯s defenses are still up¡ªI mean, I know our volunteers are instructed to withdraw in that case, but what¡¯s our ¡®Plan B¡¯ if invading while you distract the enemy fails?¡± asked Luntz nervously.
¡°We¡¯ll b¡ªI mean, that sounds like something for everyone to mull over,¡± James said. ¡°If there are ideas, I¡¯m ready to hear them. I have a few thoughts myself. But I¡¯m hoping this works, and we don¡¯t have to do anything drastic.¡±
He almost said, ¡°We¡¯ll burn that bridge when we come to it,¡± Mina thought, trying not to laugh.
There was a general murmuring as people promised to give the problem some attention after the meeting closed.
At that point, James asked for the individual committee heads to give reports. This was their first meeting. They might as well get a good idea of what was going on in the Kingdom.
Agriculture reported that their efforts were going well.
New building construction was suffering only for lack of suitable land, but they expected that James¡¯s steady expansion of the Kingdom would fix that. And he offered to firm up some of the existing land that was not within the swamp but verged on being too swampy for construction.
Sewer construction was proceeding quickly thanks to the collaboration between humans and Mole People.
¡°Frankly, without Lord Magnar and his people, we have no idea how long this project would take,¡± Zuccarini said, laughing nervously as she looked down the table affectionately at Magnar. ¡°As things stand now, the sewer should be large enough for a population ten times our number in a few weeks. Then we¡¯re hoping to shift into a general ¡®Water Committee¡¯ that will hook up everyone with running water again.¡±
This provoked a round of applause from the table.
¡°Well done,¡± James said, smiling broadly and looking back and forth between Zuccarini and Magnar.
To the apparent surprise of everyone but James, Magnar spoke up at that point.
¡°It is a great honor to be of service to our friends and neighbors,¡± he said in a voice that was surprisingly high and non-threatening for someone as large and scary-looking as Magnar.
There was another round of applause at this, after the room got over its collective shock.
¡°What does this gesture mean?¡± Magnar asked once the noise died down. He pantomimed clapping.
¡°In our culture, it means that we all approve of you and your actions,¡± James replied.
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Magnar nodded. ¡°Thank you all very much,¡± he said in a humble falsetto-sounding voice.
¡°Ahh,¡± Duncan said quietly. ¡°So that¡¯s what it was.¡±
Duncan clapped a couple of times as practice, while Magnar sat up straighter with what looked like a proud bearing.
The status reports continued, but Mina allowed her mind to wander. The most important matters had already been discussed, and she could tell that James was paying attention.
This government is working surprisingly well considering the different Races involved¡ªand the fact that it¡¯s composed almost exclusively of people who have never led anything larger than a farm in their lives. Then again, perhaps that was why it was functional. There was no one with a real power base besides James. No rivals. All authority springing from one place, everyone striving to achieve goals laid out or approved by him.
Maybe it wouldn¡¯t be as effective once they were beyond the basic subsistence level, but then, monarchies had endured for thousands of years in countries around the world. Longer than any republican form of government. Perhaps there was something to this, beyond simply grabbing for power to ensure their own family¡¯s continued prosperity and security.
There was a silence in the room, and Mina realized the last committee head had finished giving his report.
¡°All right. Thank you, everyone, for talking and listening. I think the set of us are going to do great things together. Let¡¯s take a quick break, and then we¡¯ll admit the public,¡± James said.
People rose from their seats, refilled cups of water, and talked among themselves.
James wrapped an arm around Mina, and she remained seated beside him.
¡°Skapi?¡± she asked quietly. Was there something you wanted to discuss?
He replied in a low voice, almost a whisper.
¡°I hate to put more pressure on you,¡± James said, ¡°and I have a lot of faith in our people here. But I also have a bad feeling about this enemy. I think this monster is probably going to be more difficult to destroy than some normal flesh and blood creature. I don¡¯t know much about what she¡¯s capable of. It¡¯s just a feeling I have. I gave Carol the System Credits for her expansion. I¡¯m hoping that sometime in the next few days, we can attack Sister Strange in her own territory. Considering her defense system, I don¡¯t know if the Hunters and I will be able to destroy her by ordinary means. If it¡¯s possible to invade her territory tonight, then that will prove I can at least distract her by confronting her in dreams. But I¡¯d need someone else to help me with actually killing her, since I¡¯m basically powerless to attack enemies in Dreamspace. So if it¡¯s possible for you to find the method for killing whatever she is, I appreciate that.¡±
Sister Strange. So that¡¯s her name. James went through his whole explanation and his plan for dealing with her, but he never said what the enemy¡¯s name was. What¡¯s the source of this aversion?
¡°Could you tell me more about her?¡± Mina asked.
And she could see it again¡ªthe hesitation, the look of reluctance on James¡¯s face, that she had noticed when he was explaining the threat to the group as a whole.
¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me about it if you don¡¯t want to,¡± she whispered.
¡°It¡¯s nothing I can¡¯t discuss, exactly,¡± James said. ¡°It¡¯s something I feel¡ª¡± he searched for words¡ª¡°uneasy about, I guess.¡± He looked at Mina. ¡°She claimed to be showing me visions of my future suffering, and I¡¯ve spent the whole day wondering¡ª¡±
¡°If it¡¯s true,¡± she finished.
And suddenly, Mina found that she didn¡¯t want to know. She didn¡¯t want to know what the creature¡¯s visions had shown James. She felt a horrible sense of foreboding.
They¡¯d had the conversation about whether they would want to know their future before. Years ago, long before either of them really believed that prophecy was possible.
¡°No,¡± Mina had said, quickly and firmly. ¡°Superstitious people are always trying to find out the future from fortune tellers. It never helps them. Even if I knew, it would only make me miserable. To know how long I was going to live. How I was going to die. Why would anyone want that?¡±
James was very firm that he wanted to know what would happen in his future if he could somehow acquire that knowledge.
¡°If you knew what was going to happen to you, it would change the meaning of everything that went before,¡± he insisted. ¡°I would absolutely want to know. There¡¯s no secret that I don¡¯t want to know the truth about. Whatever it is, I can handle it. Even if it¡¯s painful. Even if it¡¯s horrible. Can you imagine knowing how your story ends? The ending of your life is like the punctuation at the end of a sentence.¡± His voice became passionate. ¡°If it falls in just the right place, it can increase the meaning of everything that came before! Or, if it¡¯s wrong, it can ruin the meaning. But if you knew about it in advance, you¡¯d change the sentence. You would write a different sentence so that the people who read it would understand what you wanted them to understand. Even if you¡¯re stuck with some shitty punctuation, it¡¯s what you do with it that counts.¡±
Mina hadn¡¯t known quite how to respond to that. She still felt the same way after his impassioned argument for his position, but she was almost certain that he was thinking of his own father¡¯s untimely death when he said it would have been better to know ahead of time.
You never had the chance to say a proper goodbye, she remembered thinking.
In the present, James nodded.
¡°Yes. That¡¯s exactly it. I¡¯ve spent the whole day wondering if that hag is actually showing me real visions of the future.¡±
¡°That¡¯s part of why you wanted to face her again,¡± Mina said the words as she thought them.
¡°Maybe,¡± James agreed.
¡°You think she can really show you the future,¡± Mina said. ¡°And it¡¯s irresistible to you. You have to see it. You have to know.¡±
She spoke in non-judgmental tones. Her husband¡¯s curiosity reminded her of the great hero of the Odyssey. Odysseus knew that the sirens¡¯ song lured sailors to their deaths, but he had to know what it sounded like. So he had his sailors tie him to the mast, and while they stuffed their ears with wax, he listened.
James swallowed. ¡°I do have to know,¡± he said. ¡°I also think this is the best path forward to protect our people. But you¡ªyou still don¡¯t want to know, right? What the future holds?¡±
She shook her head and gave him a tight smile. ¡°Blissful ignorance for me, thank you.¡±
Even as Mina said those words, the curiosity gnawed at her. She didn¡¯t want to know. She was terribly afraid. And she suspected that if these visions of the future pertained to her, they would start to change James¡¯s behavior around her. Like when he looked up the ending of a show.
When that happens, I always end up asking him what exactly happens. Half the time, he gave in and told her. But the other half of the time¡ªwell, James was good at knowing what to tell and what to withhold.
¡°I¡¯m glad we had this conversation,¡± James said. He sounded slightly uncomfortable but relieved.
¡°Me too,¡± Mina said. Her voice softened. ¡°I hope it¡¯s a little of the weight off your shoulders, skapi. Sharing your plans with me, I mean. You know, I would never change this about you, any more than I would change the qualities that pushed you to pursue me, or the ones that led you to start your own country.¡±
He smiled and stared deep into her eyes.
¡°I know,¡± he said. ¡°You always make things easier. Especially the hard ones.¡±
V3Ch44-Reunited
Rotter and Luntz each took a knob in hand, and they pulled the heavy doors of the Community Center open.
Apparently quite a few people had been waiting for the meeting to be opened to the public. Members of the community began to stream in, moving in a slow, orderly fashion and filing carefully into the gallery seats.
Mina was impressed by how patiently they had waited. There were a surprising number of them, though Mina realized there were a few faces she hadn¡¯t seen around yet.
Damien strode to the front of the group.
¡°Thank you for opening the meeting to the public,¡± he said, projecting his voice to be heard over the din of moving people and scraping chairs. ¡°If it¡¯s all right, we would like to let some new arrivals greet the King and his Council members first. There are several dozen new people who arrived this morning. Some of them are very excited to be here. While we were outside, everyone agreed that would be the fairest¡ªer, the best¡ªthing to do.¡±
There were nods and murmurs of assent from the gallery.
Mina raised an eyebrow. Really, after they waited all this time, they want to let some new people speak first? And everyone was just okay with this?
Then Damien took a seat in the front row, and a woman who had seated herself near the back of the room stood. She wore Mages¡¯ robes.
Mina suddenly understood exactly why the consensus outside had formed, to let the King and his Council welcome the new arrivals before handling other business. Her stomach did a little flip as she saw the familiar face.
She¡¯s probably the only woman alive in the world who can make me nervous with just her presence, Mina thought.
The older Black woman stepped forward to the front of the center aisle and dipped her head in a slight bow.
¡°It¡¯s good to see you¡¯re alive and well, Fisher King,¡± she said in a playful tone, a mischievous smile on her lips.
James rose from his seat. ¡°It¡¯s good to see you, too, Mom,¡± he said, matching her tone.
He walked around the table to the edge of the stage, then jumped down, took another few steps, and pulled her into a bear hug. The tiny woman looked almost like a child being embraced by an adult in her massive son¡¯s arms.
¡°Not too tight,¡± she rasped breathlessly, almost laughing despite being short of air. ¡°You¡¯ll crush me! What, are you part bear now?¡±
James relaxed his grip but didn¡¯t let her go. ¡°I thought¡ªwell, I¡¯m just really glad to see you¡¯re okay. Do you know if Alice is alright?¡±
Zora Robard turned her head and tilted it at a woman who sat in the back corner.
And Alice Robard raised a hand and waved, wiggling one finger at a time at James.
James let out a deep breath, then let his mother go and stepped back. He raised his voice so the whole room could hear him.
¡°I would appreciate it if everyone could give me and my family five minutes,¡± he said.
Mina could feel, and she was certain the whole room could hear, the emotion in his voice.
¡°Woo!¡±
A quiet cheer went up in the crowd, along with some applause. Both people in the gallery and those outside began to take it up.
¡°Woo! Congratulations!¡±
Mina heard the emotional voices of people who had been separated from their loved ones by the System¡¯s advent¡ªmany of whom were still not reunited with their families. They seemed to take a vicarious pleasure at James being reunited with his mother and sister.
Mina smiled, too. She was happy for James, though she was slightly uncomfortable on her own behalf.
There were so many complex emotions at play in Mina¡¯s relationship with Zora. On the one hand, Zora was intelligent and sophisticated, significantly more intellectually curious than Mina¡¯s own mother. Mina and Zora should have a lot in common.
On the other hand, Zora was a very particular person.
For years, I felt like I could never be good enough for her¡ Memories played out behind Mina¡¯s unreadable eyes and the mask of her frozen smile.
Then people filed out, still smiling and cheering. The Council members followed after them, leaving the room vacant but for Mina, James, Zora, and Alice.
Mina had risen from where she sat and walked around to the edge of the stage, but she stood uncertain for a moment. Will James want me to stay for this? Should I go down there? Should I go outside and let them have some privacy?
Then Alice Robard was standing in front of her in her Mages¡¯ robes, reaching up to Mina with both hands.
Mina took James¡¯s little sister¡¯s hands in her own, and then Mina leaned on Alice and climbed down from the stage. The two women embraced.
¡°It¡¯s good to see you guys came out okay,¡± Alice said.
Mina nodded, not yet quite trusting herself to speak.
¡°You¡¯re, um¡ª¡± Alice gestured at Mina¡¯s diminished stomach.
¡°You gave birth.¡± Zora¡¯s voice cut through the awkward, uncertain conversation. She stepped toward Mina, pulled her in close, and kissed her on both cheeks. ¡°Thank you for keeping my son safe,¡± she said. She sounded genuinely grateful. ¡°And I look forward to seeing my grandson.¡± Zora looked into Mina¡¯s eyes, and Mina was startled to realize that her mother-in-law was looking for some reassurance.
¡°Of course,¡± Mina said. ¡°My sister is watching him now. Also some other children we rescued.¡±
¡°Oh, of course,¡± Zora repeated, sighing with relief. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you all made it out okay. How is little Yulia doing?¡±
¡°Not as little as last time you saw her,¡± James said, stepping between his mother and sister. ¡°How¡¯s my little sister doing?¡± he asked.
¡°Oh, just thrilled to come and find my brother in his Kingdom,¡± Alice said, speaking with a slight ironic edge. ¡°I survived. Figured I¡¯d look after Mom, but you know Mom.¡±
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¡°Yep,¡± James said. ¡°I hope you didn¡¯t let her kill too many of the poor monsters.¡±
They all laughed at that.
¡°Yes, I can look after myself, young man,¡± Zora agreed. ¡°Where do you think you got it from?¡±
¡°Definitely you,¡± he said, shaking his head with a faux exasperated expression on his face. ¡°Again, my sympathies to the poor monsters that had you for Orientation.¡±
¡°How is, um, Ben?¡± Mina asked.
¡°He survived,¡± Zora said, her tone flat.
¡°He¡¯s here with us,¡± Alice said, giving her mother a sideways look and gesturing toward the door. Ben was apparently waiting outside. Giving the family time to reunite.
I guess that¡¯s the difference between being a boyfriend versus being a wife. I get to be in the room right now.
¡°Yes, I¡¯m glad he¡¯s all right,¡± Zora said. She lowered her voice. ¡°But maybe you can do better? You are a princess now, right? With your brother a king?¡±
This feels familiar, Mina thought. Zora had pulled back some on the idea of Mina not being good enough for her son after they became engaged, then even more so when they married. The insinuations vanished almost completely when Mina got pregnant, and then the final end to them occurred when Alice embarked upon her current relationship. Then it was Ben who wasn¡¯t quite good enough¡ªand look at how well James married!
¡°Mom, we¡¯re not discussing this right now,¡± Alice said irritably.
¡°Right, right,¡± Zora said, putting her hands up in surrender. ¡°It¡¯s your life.¡±
¡°How did you guys get back here?¡± James asked, in a very blatant attempt to change the subject. ¡°You were upstate when this thing started, right? And how did you find us?¡±
¡°It¡¯s a long story, son,¡± Zora said. ¡°You asked them to leave for five minutes, right?¡± She gestured to the door.
¡°Though you are living in exactly the same place you were before the System appeared,¡± Alice said in an amused tone.
¡°Later, you guys are going to have to tell me everything about your Orientation¡ªor Orientations, as the case may be¡ªand any other news you have about the world outside my borders,¡± James said. ¡°For right now, it¡¯s just more than I could have hoped for to see you two again. Alive. In one piece.¡±
¡°The whole family reunited,¡± Alice agreed.
¡°Except those who can¡¯t be with us,¡± James said. His eyes took on a faraway look that told Mina he was remembering his dead father again. He seemed to be in a very morbid frame of mind today.
I wonder where my other sisters are right now, Mina thought. They might be alive or dead, and she would never know. They wouldn¡¯t look for her and Yulia. She knew that. They had their own families to worry about. I guess this tells you something. Once the phones and the Internet are gone, you only have the strongest ties to connect you. James and I are married, and we have a child together. Yulia is our responsibility. Alice and Zora are his only surviving family. Maybe this says something about which bonds can survive a cataclysm.
¡°You know, I knew that you would achieve great things,¡± Zora said. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you?¡±
James nodded. ¡°From a young age, I remember. You were asking me when you were going to get your invitation to my inauguration. Filling my head with the crazy notion that I was going to be President, when in fact what you should have led me to expect was that I would replace our representative system of government with a monarchy.¡±
¡°Naturally,¡± Zora said, chuckling.
¡°I think our five minutes are up,¡± Alice said quietly. ¡°Why don¡¯t we take a seat in the front row here?¡± She gestured to the chairs behind her. ¡°We¡¯ll wait for the meeting to be over.¡±
¡°Nonsense!¡± James exclaimed. ¡°You¡¯re both going to come and sit at my left side. I¡¯ll go and grab another couple of chairs.¡±
Zora was nodding, but Alice shook her head.
¡°I¡¯ll sit with Ben in the front row,¡± she said. She looked up at James. ¡°I look forward to seeing how you run things here.¡± There was a slight air of challenge in her tone, as if she couldn¡¯t quite believe that her brother had declared, and was really operating, a monarchy.
¡°And so you shall, Princess,¡± he replied.
They all laughed.
James walked off to find a chair for Zora, and she pulled Mina into a sudden embrace.
¡°I¡¯m so glad that you¡¯re okay,¡± she said, her voice low, directly into Mina¡¯s ear. ¡°I know we¡¯ll all need to pull together if this enterprise is to work. Even if we sometimes have our differences, we all want to stand behind him. And I¡¯m going to stand behind you, too, however I can. I just want you to know you have all my support.¡± She spoke warmly, with such apparent sincerity that Mina finally relaxed a tension that she didn¡¯t know her body had been holding and sagged into Zora¡¯s arms.
¡°Thank you, Zora,¡± she said with genuine gratitude. The use of her mother-in-law¡¯s first name still felt a little awkward to Mina. She had called Zora ¡°Mrs. Robard¡± through most of her courtship with James, until Zora finally pointed out that Mina was also about to become a ¡°Mrs. Robard,¡± and them both being called that would be confusing.
¡°We¡¯ll take it one day at a time,¡± Zora said, pulling back and smiling.
If you try, I¡¯ll try, Mina thought. That was all there was to it for now.
James was placing Zora¡¯s chair up on the stage beside his own, positioning everyone else to that side slightly further away. Mina tried to remember which apostle sat to Jesus¡¯s left hand side in ¡°The Last Supper,¡± but her mind was spinning, and she didn¡¯t want to try to focus on that right now.
We¡¯ll work together, she told herself. Maybe we¡¯ll even get along.
¡°I¡¯m going to open the doors, bro,¡± Alice said from over by the doorway.
¡°Sounds good!¡± James replied.
Then Mina took her seat again, beside James and one away from Zora, and she prepared for whatever was to come next.
As the heavy doors opened, other faces appeared, and again there were those she recognized.
Jose and Paulo. Adelaide and Derek. Alba. Leo!
There were several other faces she knew from her Orientation, but these were the people she was happy to see. Since Mina had spent most of her Orientation sequestered in her rooms, and a couple of members of the group she spent the most time with had turned out to be monsters, there were only a few people she felt she could say she knew and somewhat trusted.
It was so good to see those familiar faces. No, it was more than good. Surreal? Magical?
In some way, it made Mina¡¯s Orientation more real¡ªbrought everything back into immediacy. But because Cara wasn¡¯t there, the horrors were placed at a remove. Mina was reminded that she herself was heroic, had done great deeds and saved lives¡ªthese people¡¯s lives. Because that last challenge would have wiped out her whole Orientation if she hadn¡¯t beaten it.
And now they were here, alive and safe.
A big, natural smile spread across her face, and Mina felt her eyes watering.
I¡¯m glad you all survived.
There was a man next to Alba, and Mina saw a pair of teenagers beside them. Leo had a woman next to him, too. A Warrior wearing white armor. The two stood rather close together.
Does Leo have a girlfriend? Wow. He must be ten years older than her¡
James was waving at them. At Leo?
Then she realized he was actually waving at the woman in armor. She must have been in James¡¯s Orientation.
Mina looked back at the faces of those she knew. Are they really all planning to stay here with us?
She hoped so. But she was surprised these people weren¡¯t settling in some other area. How had they all ended up here?
¡°Once everyone is seated, we¡¯ll begin taking questions, comments, and concerns,¡± James said.
Mina happened to be looking at him as he spoke. She only noticed because she was looking at him. His eyes took on a distant look for a moment, and then an annoyed expression crossed his face, before he quickly smoothed it over for the crowd in front of them.
¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± she whispered in his ear.
¡°Another territory just connected to ours,¡± James said, keeping his voice low. ¡°Another potential headache. No emergencies yet, though. We can continue with the meeting until and unless something crosses the border.¡±
V3Ch45-The Public
The public comment segment of the meeting passed by relatively quickly, at least compared with what Mina had expected. James¡¯s committee heads all introduced themselves and what they were responsible for, and then the body took questions and comments¡ªalmost entirely questions.
¡°Um, sir, what can you tell us about the strange dreams so many of us have been having?¡± the first speaker asked, staring straight at James.
Hearing that out loud feels surreal. I never expected to wake up one day in a world where people would have bad dreams and ask my husband why they had them¡ªand have a reasonable expectation that he would be able to answer them! Next thing I know, they¡¯ll be asking him for nicer weather.
¡°Before I answer that, how many of you are here with a question about the dreams or about the forest behind the wall we recently put up?¡± James asked.
More than half of the people in attendance raised their hands.
¡°Okay, I¡¯ll give an explanation that conveys everything I know about the situation, so we can get those questions addressed all at once.¡±
James discussed the same material he had gone over with the Council in the closed session, even including what the plan was to deal with the monster. He didn¡¯t reveal the bit about Sister Strange giving him visions that she asserted represented the future¡ªor even that the monster¡¯s name was Sister Strange¡ªbut those came across as minor omissions to Mina.
And of course no one but her knew there was anything left out at all.
Mina assessed the crowd¡¯s response as fairly good. People liked the transparent approach.
Most importantly, it¡¯s fitting with James¡¯s character as they¡¯ve come to know him. He¡¯s a straight shooter, more or less. I think they expect that he¡¯ll solve the problem¡ªor tell them that he¡¯s failed if he can¡¯t. Probably much better than most of the leaders they¡¯ve dealt with in their lives.
¡°Okay,¡± James finished. ¡°Other questions?¡±
There were other questions, but any sense of urgency around the meeting dissipated with James¡¯s explanation of the dream monster problem. As the more mundane questions¡ªabout future food, housing, electricity, and running water plans¡ªcontinued, Mina found herself wanting to check on baby James.
¡°Do you mind if I excuse myself?¡± she whispered into James¡¯s ear. ¡°The baby probably wants food.¡±
¡°Go ahead,¡± he whispered back.
Mina rose, and half the people in the gallery rose with her. That was a little startling.
But I guess I need to get used to it, she thought. We¡¯re royals now.
It still sounded absurd in her head, but people smiled and parted for her as she made her way down the center aisle and through the front doors.
¡ª
The meeting went on for almost an hour before James sensed an excuse to end it.
¡°Sorry to cut this short,¡± he lied, ¡°but there is a minor issue on our border I¡¯d like to deal with.¡±
It is interesting that people don¡¯t simply go to the committees or the committee heads with some of these questions. I need to work on encouraging that more in the future. He thought of Samuel¡¯s advice. If people are looking for me to tell them what¡¯s going on all the time, there¡¯s no way I¡¯ll be able to stay ahead of my rivals in enemy territories.
He sent the rest of what he wanted to say as an announcement using his powers.
[Citizens of the Fisher Kingdom, a group of flying monsters has entered our airspace. While I do not yet have specific reason to believe that we have cause for alarm, I would appreciate the help of available individuals who have effective ranged attacks or weapons in dissuading the creatures from any possible aggression. We will try to resolve this incursion peacefully if we can, but it¡¯s always best to be prepared for violence. If you are willing and able to help, please meet me outside.]
At some point, James would need to give names to landmarks within his territory so he could give more specific directions than ¡°please meet me outside.¡± For now, though, he was confident this would do the trick.
¡°All new residents,¡± he said aloud, ¡°it¡¯s a pleasure to welcome new people into the Fisher Kingdom. Please give your names to the Council¡¯s Secretary, and if you¡¯re interested in staying, he¡¯ll also be available to coordinate times for you to take the citizenship oath.¡±
Rotter rose from his seat at the end of the table and gave everyone in the gallery a little wave.
James turned to his mother and whispered, ¡°Why don¡¯t you grab Alice and go meet the baby? Anyone on the Council will be able to tell you which apartment is ours.¡±
She nodded, and a satisfied smile spread across her face.
¡°I can¡¯t wait,¡± she said quietly.
Then James hopped down from the stage, walked through the center aisle, and stepped out into the open air.
There were already dozens of people standing by ready to assist him, and more followed him out of the Community Center.
This is what, a hundred people, total? James thought. Most brandished guns. Others, who held staves, appeared to be Mages. Plus about twenty Goblins, armed with what appear to be homemade slings.
He was a little hazy about the exact human population of the Fisher Kingdom, mainly because more people were arriving each day, but he knew it was still somewhere under a thousand. Still fewer humans than Goblins. He was surprised there were so many willing to fight, when he¡¯d tried not to sound particularly worried in his announcement.
Then he sensed a change in the movement of the flying enemies he¡¯d sensed. They had turned in their flightpath.
They¡¯re heading toward the farming space.
And James could feel that there were a few workers out there at the moment. He had a bad feeling about this.
¡°Follow me,¡± he shouted. ¡°They¡¯re near our crops!¡±
Then James took off jogging. He would have run faster, but with more than one enemy, and with his opponents airborne, he genuinely thought he might need help dealing with them.
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How many is that?
He tried to figure it out as he ran, but when it came to sensing objects in the air, his powers seemed to be relatively weaker than they were on the ground.
Tracking the number of humans on his land was difficult, but only in the sense that counting how many ants were crawling across his skin would be hard if there were more than a few to look at. Trying to narrow down the number of flying enemies was more like trying to count the insects flying through the air while blindfolded, relying only on the sound of buzzing.
James quickly got a better idea of how many they were when the enemy descended to ground level.
Not good!
A dozen monsters landed, setting down close to the farmers who were still out in the fields.
James decided to accelerate. If he left his entourage behind, that was fine.
He turned his head and shouted, ¡°Just keep running in the same direction!¡±
Then he started running full out, cutting the distance quickly with his superhuman speed. In less than a minute, he was a mile ahead of his allies.
Then he started to make out shapes. Creatures moving on air and ground. Humans fighting together to defend against them. Fighting to protect one man who was tightly held in the beasts¡¯ clutches.
James was still too far away to see them clearly, but the outlines of the creatures gave him a good idea of a monster type from a distance. They had massive wings attached to slender bodies.
Looks like bat monsters?
James¡¯s eyes focused on the farmers risking their lives to protect their friend. He saw one farmer gushing blood from some sort of wound across his chest. Even as the red liquid poured down, though, the figure threw himself back into the fight. He seemed to try and aim the blood at the bats¡¯ heads¡ªOh, he¡¯s trying to blind them!
If James wasn¡¯t in the midst of a minor emergency, this would have made him feel some strong emotions.
This was the humanity that he loved and respected. His Orientation had turned him more jaded toward his fellow man, but this was his reminder. Humanity is awesome.
Humans might struggle and compete against each other every day of their lives, but when they stood together against a common enemy, no one would be able to break them. James had affection for both of these seemingly contradicting sides of human nature.
They were not wolves or Mole People, with their apparently inborn loyalty to their leader. They were no Goblins, to be led purely by fear, or alligators that would follow and respect sheer power. They chose their friends. They chose to follow their leaders¡ªeven when that leader was a King, he was still reliant on his human citizens to not try to overthrow him.
Humans would undoubtedly be the biggest pain to govern out of all the Races that James counted within his borders.
But he loved his kind, even beyond his own immediate family. It was moments like this that reminded him of why.
Then a slow boiling fury began to overtake him. How dare they come onto my land and try to eat some of my people?!
That was all he could think. How dare they. Don¡¯t they feel my aura? This land is claimed. Find your own prey somewhere else!
The more of his citizens¡¯ blood he saw, the angrier he became. How. Dare. YOU.
James saw red.
He closed his eyes to blink, and when he opened them again, he found himself almost in the midst of the human-bat monster scrum. The distance had turned to nothing.
James was barely aware of his own body as he threw himself into the fight. He grabbed the nearest bat creatures by their heads and instantly crushed them into jelly with his bare hands.
The rest of the bats suddenly turned their attention to him. They dropped the men they were trying to carry off and threw themselves at James.
Good, he thought savagely. Give yourselves to me! Die!
The creatures latched onto James¡¯s body, shrieking angrily as they did so. James found the sound very unpleasant, but it was as if the noise came to him from somewhere deep underwater. He barely noticed it. He only noticed the vulnerable targets presenting themselves to him. There was a distant sound in the back of his head, and it took James a moment to realize that Hester was trying to suppress a scream.
But James couldn¡¯t spare much attention even for Hester¡¯s distress.
He punched and kicked with all four limbs as the bats took him to the ground with their momentum. Every strike he threw was potentially lethal¡ªtearing through limb, torso, wing, whatever he touched.
They kept trying to go for his neck with long, sharp fangs. James lunged at the one that was closest and bit into the front of its head with inhumanly strong jaws. It gushed blood and brains into his mouth and then swiftly stopped moving.
James swallowed it down. I¡¯m an omnivore, he thought, slightly giddy. I won¡¯t waste any part of these things.
¡°Tastes like chicken,¡± he growled through a monstrous smile.
The bat creatures seemed to recognize how outclassed they were at that point. They started to visibly pull their bodies further away from him. James wouldn¡¯t let the ones touching him go.
¡°You asked for this,¡± he hissed, barely aware that he was speaking rather than thinking. ¡°How dare you come into my territory and attack my people¡¡±
He began ripping them apart with his hands and teeth.
He could see the fear in each bat¡¯s eyes now as they either struggled weakly or waited, almost paralyzed, for him to finish them off.
¡°Not having fun anymore?¡± he asked. ¡°Not fun when you¡¯re losing? When you¡¯re the ones being eaten?¡±
He ripped another bat¡¯s head off with his teeth and swallowed the neck flesh down like it was nothing. The meat seemed to make him stronger.
The bat monsters that were out of his immediate reach began taking to the sky, trying to escape.
There were still a dozen of them alive. James wasn¡¯t satisfied with the dozen he had ripped to pieces.
¡°Oh no, you don¡¯t,¡± he murmured. ¡°Roscuro.¡±
The Soul Eater responded to James¡¯s shapeless Will, his vague but violent intentions. It transformed itself into a hatchet, which James immediately threw at the nearest bat. James could hear the sharpness of the blade as it flew through the air. It almost sang to him.
Then it tore into the bat, chopping its body almost in half.
As the creature fell through the air, it let loose a horrendous scream of agony that James found slightly painful to the ears. Its body began to disintegrate.
Right. Roscuro eats their souls. That¡¯s what that looks like. Good. Stay away from my people! Suffer for your mistake¡
He threw a couple of Air Strikes, but he was too far away to do much damage. He chopped off a foot, slashed a wing, but the enemy were able to remain airborne.
I didn¡¯t even manage to kill all of them, he thought angrily, though even now, only seconds after the enemy got somewhat out of reach, his wrath was fading. He looked down at his hands and noticed, seemingly for the first time, that they were drenched in blood and guts. He raised his arm and wiped his face off. It too was gross with monstrous flesh. He looked down at his feet and found that he stood atop a mound of corpses.
Huh. Something really came over me there. I guess it¡¯s that Berserk Mode thing. He thought back to the deer he¡¯d fought that he obtained the Skill from. If he had a power like that, it¡¯s really something that he didn¡¯t actually succeed in killing me.
¡°Are you okay, Hester?¡± he asked, his voice ragged.
¡°I¡¯m fine, thank you,¡± she said in a shaky voice. If she was human, James imagined there would be little tears in her eyes.
He wanted to tell her it was all right, that the fight was over. But it wouldn¡¯t be true. He wasn¡¯t going to let these invaders escape. He would chase them home. So he kept silent, and he watched the enemy, trying to grasp their direction of flight and figure out where they would come to rest¡ªwhere he would need to go to finish killing them.
James heard rather than saw when his backup arrived. Only a few seconds had passed. Time seemed to have slowed down a great deal for him. There was an incredibly loud noise of guns firing and an intense smell of gunpowder¡ªalmost overwhelming to James¡¯s senses.
And some of the bats that had been out of range for him began falling from the sky.
V3Ch46-The Land of Bats
James looked on in near awe as a half-dozen bats fell from the sky, shot through with bullet holes that, in several cases, had visibly shredded their thin wing membranes. As they fell, fireballs and small bolts of lightning struck them. Even a few carefully aimed rocks undoubtedly hurled by the Goblins using their slings.
But he was most impressed by the fact that manmade weapons had brought down creatures he thought were out of his own effective attack range.
How are their rifles more effective than my powers?
Roscuro had returned to him now, floating across the air as smoke. Even if he were to turn back into a hatchet, the bats were outside James¡¯s accurate throwing range. Apparently not out of bullet range, though.
Those are quite impressive weapons, Roscuro thought. I wonder if I can transform into that shape. Could you explain how they work?
Only vaguely, James replied. The way it works is that the hollow tube contains something called a bullet. He sent a mental picture. Bullets are made of metal. They are tiny projectiles that can sometimes move faster than the speed of sound.
Oh, like arrows! Roscuro thought.
Yes, but also no. They¡¯re so much better than arrows¡ James spent a little time trying to explain gunpowder.
So the projectiles are propelled by small explosions, Roscuro summarized. The barrels are shaped the way they are so that you can easily point and aim at a target. In short, they are like arrows if arrows required less skill and were significantly more effective at hitting far-off targets.
I think that about sums it up, James replied. He felt very dumb, not knowing very well how guns worked when they were such a pivotal technology in world history¡ªand in the history of the former United States in particular.
Well, at least I only look dumb in front of Roscuro, he thought without sharing that sentiment with the Soul Eater.
Hm. I do not believe I can generate explosive materials with my current capabilities, Roscuro sent. It may be interesting to see what I could do if you collect some of this gunpowder, though.
I¡¯ll keep it in mind, thank you, James sent.
By now, the sound of gunshots was fading, and James¡¯s allies were finally reaching the area where he had made his stand against the creatures. He saw that the monsters the gunmen had shot down lay strewn about the field. They were clearly not all dead. Some wiggled and writhed in noticeable pain. But they weren¡¯t going anywhere. Not a single beast had escaped James¡¯s territory alive.
We should go spear the wounded, Roscuro suggested gleefully. Put them out of their misery¡
Oh, no! James thought suddenly. The wounded farmers! I was so caught up in killing bats that I didn¡¯t check if they were all right. He turned his head to look around at the people who had been bleeding when he first arrived, but everyone seemed to be fine.
¡°Is anyone hurt?¡± James asked.
Then his voice was overwhelmed by the sound of cheering.
¡°James! James! James!¡±
There were smaller voices shouting things underneath the general roar of those who¡¯d followed him, but it was harder to hear them.
¡°How many did he kill?¡±
¡°Incredible!¡±
¡°That¡¯s the King!¡±
¡°That¡¯s why he¡¯s the King!¡±
Several of them surrounded him and made as if to lift him onto their shoulders. James gently pushed their hands away. He had to raise his voice to be heard over the cheers.
¡°Hey, is anyone hurt? I saw they were attacking some farmers when I got here.¡±
The crowd quieted for a few seconds, long enough for a farmer to shout, ¡°We got potions into them, sir! No one was killed.¡±
Then the cheering went up again.
¡°James! James! James!¡±
The crowd seemed infected with James¡¯s hatred for the monsters. He suddenly realized it wasn¡¯t enough just to kill the bats that had come here. He needed to go into their territory and teach them a lesson they wouldn¡¯t soon forget.
¡°It¡¯s not over!¡± James shouted.
The crowd instantly quieted. ¡°I¡¯m going to go and deal with the monsters in that territory. They¡¯re clearly aggressive. Trying to carry off our farmers! I won¡¯t ask anyone to follow me, except those who are ready to go willingly. Those who are willing to potentially lay down their lives to destroy this menace.¡±
¡°Fisher King! Fisher King! Fisher King!¡± This time, the cheering began with the Goblins, suddenly presented with an opportunity to display the valor they had not been able to demonstrate against the bats that had invaded. James had noticed they were the only ones in the crowd who seemed slightly deflated after the bats were killed.
¡°James! James! James!¡±
Dave Matsumoto stepped forward from within the crowd and raised his pistol in the air.
¡°I think I speak for most of them when I say we¡¯re ready to follow you!¡± he shouted.
James had never seen the man so fiery, but Dave looked quite emotional as he spoke. There were tears in his eyes but a strange smile on his face.
¡°Let¡¯s go, then!¡± James yelled. ¡°Come with me and kill these things!¡±
He marched toward the border with the bats, and he heard the sound of hundreds of footsteps following after him. As he strode forward, the Goblins ran ahead of him, drawing small knives, and they began killing the bats that remained alive on the ground.
¡°Sir, you don¡¯t want to do any reconnaissance or planning before you launch this invasion?¡± Hester asked from behind his ear.
¡°No,¡± James whispered quietly back. ¡°Not when I¡¯ve got this many people as fired up as I am. We¡¯re going to cut through these things like hot knives through butter. Can¡¯t risk letting the monsters form an alliance with the thing in the forest or something.¡±
¡°Oh, yes,¡± Hester said. ¡°That makes sense, then.¡±
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But in truth, James would have gone into the land of the bats by himself at this point, completely unarmed. He wanted to do more killing. He wasn¡¯t quite satisfied with what little he¡¯d had the chance to do. He wanted to tear out more of the monsters¡¯ throats and crush more of their heads. He was still full of wrath, boiling just beneath the surface.
The suddenly-formed militia followed James with ferocious energy across the border. Only a few of those who had come out stayed back.
He paid them no mind. His eyes were focused forward as he plunged into enemy territory.
The climate changed as soon as James crossed the border. He felt a wave of hot, moist air hit him. It was as if he¡¯d stepped through a portal from Orlando in Fall straight into the Everglades in Summer. The scenery was not swampy like the Everglades, though. There were a number of trees that he imagined he might see in the Everglades, but the soil beneath his feet was firm enough.
James lacked the frame of reference to describe the biome he found himself in, but it featured densely packed trees and vines that looked like they would have been more at home in Central America than in Florida. He was more focused, however, on the abrupt shift in climate.
What the fuck? These things can change the weather? Is the Ruler more powerful than me or something? The thought only made him angrier. I¡¯ll kill him and steal his powers.
That reminded him that in his wrath, he had neglected to even Pillage the bodies of the dead bats he¡¯d killed. The thought slightly dampened his fury.
Okay, I¡¯m not going to go that crazy. I can¡¯t afford to miss out on gains just because I¡¯m angry.
He took deep breaths and tried to find the calm space inside himself. He felt a wall of ice descend between himself and the anger that had motivated him. It was still there. A cold fury.
He wondered what his Wrath Meter would show if he looked at it now. He was angry, yet he was also now much more in control of himself.
But he didn¡¯t want to take the time to stop and look. He needed to move forward. He could feel the squad behind him ready to move. Some part of him suspected that if he paused too long, their courage might falter. He didn¡¯t want to find himself forced to rally the troops before they had even encountered the enemy.
And his instincts and superhuman senses seemed to have suddenly sharpened as soon as he tried to get his anger under control. Now he could sense the life all around them. Could distinguish the immovable life of the trees and the smaller plants that grew from the living species.
He also had the presence of mind to finally arm himself properly. He reached into his magic satchel and pulled out his Ego Spidersword, Ego Exoshield, and Solar Helm. He was wearing his Royal Exoarmor almost all the time now already, and it had healed its damage from the battle with Samuel over the previous day. Now he felt ready to slaughter the entire population of this land of bats by himself if necessary.
But he knew he wouldn¡¯t have to. He had a formidable force of brave soldiers with him.
And just to make sure they would be at their best¡
Command Presence!
It was the other Skill, besides Zone of Interest, generated by the Alpha Presence Talent he¡¯d taken from the coyote boss back in Orientation.
[Command Presence: Generate a field made from your aura that increases the power and cohesion of allied forces within the aura. Scales with Charisma, Will, and Intelligence. Consumes Stamina and Mana.]
His aura spread out within a limited area, giving a boost to everyone around him. People stood straighter and looked more prepared to back each other up and stand firm. And compared with the time he had used Zone of Interest back in Orientation, the drain on his resources seemed smaller now.
The benefits of continuously getting stronger.
He turned to his soldiers and put a finger to his lips, signaling for quiet. There were nods and murmurs of assent.
¡°Quiet,¡± people whispered to their neighbors.
Then James led his soldiers further into the enemy¡¯s territory, heading straight to the nearest non-plant life that he could sense. Hanging huddled in a tree, he saw them. A cluster of a dozen bats, quivering slightly as they tried to hide from the sunlight. For the first time, it struck James as slightly odd that the bats were coming out of their territory in the middle of the day.
Aren¡¯t they the most famously nocturnal animals in the world?
But he had no time to solve that mystery now.
He used Identify on the closest one.
Common Bloodsucker Bat, Lv. 12
They¡¯re not exactly weak, but we should have no trouble taking this group. A perfect chance to give my people some experience.
He turned back to his group, who were waiting for him.
¡°Everyone with quiet projectile attacks, like arrows or magic, prepare to launch whatever you¡¯ve got on my signal,¡± he said in a stage whisper.
Dozens of heads nodded as people whispered chants or loaded bows and Goblins loaded slings.
James waited calmly until it looked like almost all of them were poised to attack. It took around a minute.
Then he pointed at the enemy.
Go! he thought.
A wave of magic, stones, and arrows shot forward almost completely silently.
The bats saw the volley of lethal attacks flying through the air, but they had no time to dodge. With the tree at their backs, they only had a moment to scream out as the missiles struck.
¡°Perfect!¡± James said loudly as the bats began falling from the tree toward the ground. The tree itself was beginning to burn from being struck with all the balls of fire and lightning, but James did not care much about that now.
Roscuro, javelin form! he sent.
The Soul Eater obediently transformed, and James instantly hurled the javelin into the furthest fallen bat¡¯s chest. It let out a horrific shriek and began disintegrating.
James was already moving with the Spidersword as the javelin found its target, decapitating the nearest bats with a single stroke each.
Once they¡¯re on the ground, it¡¯s like killing fish in a barrel.
Other soldiers from his side flanked him, striking down bats before James could reach them, and he had to hold back his desire to smile. Because this killing business was a serious affair. If it wasn¡¯t so serious, he might begin to enjoy it¡
Roscuro returned to his hand, and James threw the Soul Eater at one of the few bats that was still clinging to the tree for dear life.
The ones with that much vitality left could potentially try to fly away and warn their brethren, he thought. I can¡¯t let them go. I won¡¯t lead this expedition into a massacre. A significant part of why James was leading this invasion, even after his rage came under control, was his desire to train his forces and strengthen the bonds between them.
The group quickly wiped out the remaining creatures from the tree. As his focus relaxed slightly, some of the System¡¯s alerts popped into view.
[You killed White-Furred Bloodsucker Bat, Lv. 14! You gained 650 exp!]
So there are different species of these things living together, he thought. Or does the fur color not denote separate species relative to the fact that they¡¯re both bloodsuckers?
The alerts kept coming.
[...]
[Sufficient experience accrued! Predator in Human Skin leveled up!]
[Evolver Human leveled up!]
[Sufficient experience accrued! Fisher King leveled up!]
Nice. It seems like I get Fisher King experience when I lead people into battle.
He Pillaged one of the bats that he knew he¡¯d killed personally and selected Talent as his theft target.
[Common Bloodsucker Bat¡¯s body processed.]
[You obtained Common Levitation Cloak, 3x Common Bloodsucker Meat Bundle, and Common Bloodsucker Arrows!]
[Talent obtained: Ultrasonic Pitch!]
The Talent came with the two Skills Echolocation¡ªwhich James thought might be a good gift for a blind person, given that he could use Skill Transfer¡ªand Otherworldly Shriek.
I guess that was what those horrendous screeches were, he thought. Though the attack hadn¡¯t been particularly effective against James while he was in his enraged state earlier, he remembered the bats he fought in the Fisher Kingdom shrieking loudly in his face.
Now that he had killed another handful of bats, and slaked some of his thirst for blood, the questions that he¡¯d been suppressing to secure a successful ambush came roaring back into focus. James couldn¡¯t help wondering why they had sent such a small number of creatures to fight in his territory.
It seemed like a monumental miscalculation, though perhaps that was the character of the Ruler here. Reckless and rash.
Were they probing for weakness? Was it a rogue group? If I were to stop now, and just leave these bodies as a warning¡ªno, that¡¯s foolish. No fucking warnings unless I deliver them in person to someone in this place who has power over these things. If I just leave a burned out husk of a tree where a bunch of bats used to be, all they¡¯ll think is they¡¯ve been attacked. The bats would just escalate at that point. It¡¯s what I¡¯m doing.
¡°What next, sir?¡± came a woman¡¯s voice. One of the Mages, though James did not know her name.
¡°We advance,¡± he said.
V3Ch47-Red and Black
James and his war party reached another tree that he sensed was occupied. This time, there were more than two dozen creatures huddled together.
We¡¯re probably going to have to abandon stealth, he assessed.
¡°Another volley like the last one,¡± he ordered. ¡°Everyone with firearms, be ready to pick off any creatures that try to fly away. With this many, they¡¯re not likely to all fall with the first wave of attacks. The noise doesn¡¯t matter as much as not letting any get away.¡±
¡°Yes, sir.¡± A chorus of hushed voices from behind him.
The more they do this, the better they¡¯re getting at it, he thought. Are they weirdly good at killing things, or are these just the types of people who have survived Orientation? Humans are predators, after all.
He smiled. These are my people. A fierce people, we former Americans. With them, I could build an empire.
He waited for his comrades to charge their attacks, and then he thrust his arm forward in an overhead chop.
Another wave of attacks launched at his command. The power and fury of it was exhilarating.
Imagine if I had a whole army¡
He could picture wave upon wave of magical and physical projectiles tearing through monsters, buildings, natural obstacles¡ªanything that might get in his way. And then he thought of the vision Sister Strange had shown him of his future kingdom being overtaken. He had to push that out of his mind to keep from shuddering.
The barrage was highly effective. As James had predicted, a few of the bats managed to survive with little or no damage, but the soldiers in his ranks armed with rifles aimed a concentrated burst of gunfire at them. It was loud, but the previously unharmed bats were dead before they struck the ground. The echoes lasted a little longer.
Well, the element of surprise is broken, but the fact that the last tree burned down would have broken it if the Ruler were like me. Maybe the bat boss just isn¡¯t paying much attention.
Then James and his soldiers¡ªespecially the Goblins, who seemed to get really into this part¡ªwalked around putting the wounded creatures out of their misery. Roscuro absorbed two more souls, and the soldiers let out a cheer as the tree burned, before they moved on.
I guess I won¡¯t get the, um, credit if I pull off a Xenocide here, James thought as he marched his troops to the next occupied tree. I¡¯m not killing off the monsters singlehandedly, although everyone doing damage to these things is acting under my command. Oh well. I probably couldn¡¯t do this by myself. There are too many of them, and they can fly.
As they reached the next tree, James raised a fist to signal his soldiers to stop. He heard a sound, almost at the edge of his awareness. Subtle, almost silent, wings moving through the air.
Only almost silent. Nothing in the natural universe could truly move silently. And that seemed to hold true even in the post-System world.
So James could hear the creature approaching them. From the sound of the wings, he thought it was large. A bigger, stronger version of these monstrous bats, maybe.
Probably the Ruler.
¡°What¡¯s up?¡± asked Dave, who had positioned himself at James¡¯s right flank.
¡°Something big is approaching,¡± James said quietly but distinctly. ¡°Everyone needs to be prepared for a dramatic increase in the amount of resistance we¡¯ve been dealing with.¡±
Since the invasion thus far had been a one-sided slaughter, any resistance would be a dramatic increase compared with what they had experienced. But as James glanced back at the faces of his comrades, he saw that they seemed to understand what he meant.
He reminded himself, All of these people survived Orientations too. They¡¯ve all seen things I wouldn¡¯t be able to guess. It¡¯s not only me. Some of them are also hardened.
The wing beats abruptly turned and navigated away from James¡¯s position.
¡°What the hell?¡± James said under his breath. ¡°Where is it going now?¡±
He couldn¡¯t precisely track the position of the apparent Ruler with just sound, but this was definitely a move away from him and his troops.
Is it just running away? Abandoning the others of its kind to escape with its life?
He shook his head. It was hard to believe any creature that had risen to become a Ruler would be so cowardly when it hadn¡¯t even seen James and his forces yet. Even if the creature had superhuman senses beyond James¡¯s, the tree canopy hid them from direct view.
And even James needed to be close to determine, from sound alone, how many enemies he was facing.
¡°What should we do?¡± Dave asked. ¡°Do you want to retreat?¡±
James shook his head. ¡°No. We haven¡¯t even seen the main enemy yet. I won¡¯t leave until we at least have some idea of what we¡¯re facing.¡±
Actually, this bears telling everyone. Command Presence and their own experiences have made them a more cohesive fighting force than they would be otherwise, but there¡¯s only so much I can expect out of untrained soldiers. Hardly any of these people are veterans of real wars like Dave. Even if they were, getting up close and fighting within inches of your enemy isn¡¯t the same as shooting someone from a distance. If there¡¯s a counter attack, that¡¯s what we¡¯ll be facing.
He turned to face the rest of the group. ¡°Everyone, we¡¯re about to face a stronger enemy,¡± he said, projecting so that everyone could hear him. ¡°All of you who accompanied me here came voluntarily, and I appreciate that. Your efforts have obviously been very successful so far, and you have my gratitude. You have shown that we¡¯re a country to be taken seriously!¡±
A little whoop went up from the crowd.
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James¡¯s eyes narrowed, and he raised his voice. ¡°But now, I have to remind you that you are all here voluntarily. After this next enemy arrives, that changes. If there is anyone who wants to run away before the boss monster gets here, I won¡¯t stop them. You will not be punished in any way. I just¡ªI can¡¯t have anyone breaking and running once the main enemy is actually here. That kind of display of weakness could cause the enemy to underestimate us, it could spook others into running, and the end result is that you could end up getting everyone else killed. At the very least, you should expect it to cost some lives. And I know that for all of us, getting one of our friends, one of our neighbors, killed would be one person too many. Our community is small, and every life is valuable.¡± He looked from person to person. ¡°If there¡¯s anyone here who thinks there¡¯s a chance they might run away at the critical moment, please excuse yourself now.¡±
Then he pointedly turned his back on the soldiers.
He could hear people whispering behind him, but he very deliberately ignored them and tried to selectively listen to the distant sounds of flight.
The big monster was moving again, and the situation was worse than he¡¯d imagined. The creature was approaching them quickly, but apparently it had stopped for a good reason. Now it was no longer flying alone. A difficult to estimate number of wings flapped and glided alongside the lead monster.
A hand clapped on James¡¯s shoulder, and he had to use all his superhuman reserve of self control not to jump at the touch. Instead, he simply turned his head and saw Dave was back at his side again.
¡°Everyone agrees,¡± Dave said loudly. ¡°No one is leaving your side.¡±
Well, I hope you¡¯re right, James thought. And I hope that¡¯s not a terrible mistake on their part¡
The cheer went up from those who had followed him once again.
¡°James! James! James!¡±
And he allowed himself to bask in the glow for a moment.
At least if I die here, it¡¯s kind of an awesome way to go out.
Mina¡¯s face, James Junior¡¯s face, Yulia¡¯s face, his Mom¡¯s face, Alice¡¯s face, and even Abhi¡¯s face all came to mind suddenly. The idea of a beautiful death in battle alongside his soldiers was instantly spoiled.
Can¡¯t die here, or what happens to them? His mind returned to Sister Strange¡¯s visions. Maybe that¡¯s how Mina dies alone. I¡¯m dead already. Although that would require that the vision where I¡¯m getting my ass kicked can¡¯t happen. Maybe I can¡¯t die yet. At least if there¡¯s anything to that creature¡¯s visions...
He swallowed and put on a smile that did not reflect his feelings.
I¡¯ll just have to kill beautifully instead.
Just then James heard a sound of racing footsteps coming from behind him¡ªcoming from the direction of the Fisher Kingdom. It made no sense to him. Who would follow us?
Then he saw them. Like the eagles soaring to the rescue in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, the creatures that were perhaps his most loyal followers would not miss this opportunity to come to his rescue.
We heard that you went into battle, my king, came Luna¡¯s voice inside his head. But you forgot to invite us!
I didn¡¯t forget, James wanted to say. I just don¡¯t know what you guys are supposed to do against a bunch of flying bats! I didn¡¯t want to get you killed¡
But he didn¡¯t respond with that. It would undermine the confidence of his allies to suggest he didn¡¯t think they could help.
Thank you for coming, he sent. We¡¯re about to face the main enemy now. You¡¯ve come just in time!
And the soldiers who had been cheering for James chanted, ¡°Wolves! Wolves! Wolves!¡±
Well, maybe we¡¯ll all die together, James thought quietly. Won¡¯t that be nice.
There was one actually useful piece of help that the wolves¡¯ arrival brought. Not to be left out, Duncan had joined them, riding into battle atop Luna¡¯s mate, Romulus. His illusions might be useful, if this became a small-scale war.
¡°Good to see you¡¯re still in good health, Your Majesty,¡± Duncan said as Romulus pulled alongside James. ¡°And I¡¯m very pleased to see a number of brave Goblin fighters accompanied you and your army into this fight.¡±
James nodded. ¡°They¡¯ve represented your people well,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m pleased to be able to count on the loyal support of so many brave soldiers. I was especially impressed that they volunteered. I did not order them.¡±
Duncan looked proud and gave his Goblins a salute, which they returned, drawing themselves up to their full unimpressive heights.
Then James ordered his forces into a defensive formation. The fast-moving wolves were to stand at the edges of the mostly human ranged fighting force, ready to sprint or leap at any enemies that touched ground or drew near it. James kept Duncan near himself at the front of the human-Goblin contingent of forces, ready to use his illusions if ordered and close enough for James to easily defend him.
But he ordered all of them to remain peaceful until ordered otherwise, unless first attacked by the enemy.
The combined force stood there waiting in formation for a total of less than thirty seconds, but James imagined they must have made a formidable picture.
The tropical forest ecosystem the bats lived in was relatively densely populated with trees, so that the sunlight that came through the canopy was patchy and inconsistent.
The result of that was that when the enemy arrived, the bats¡¯ wings almost completely blotted out the sun.
James didn¡¯t even allow his expression to change. He maintained his smile. He kept his cool. He let the soldiers see that he wasn¡¯t shaken.
As the enemy colony began to land several feet away from him, James counted their numbers.
Around a hundred bats, he estimated. And¡ªwait, what the hell are those?
Accompanying the bats were a roughly equal number of gliding, rodent-like creatures. But their faces and body types were distinctly different from the bats¡¯. Whereas the bats looked like they wore grotesque Halloween masks made by a master special effects artist, these other things just looked like giant rats with wings. The flying squirrels and bats were of similar stature, each a bit taller than an average human.
Not quite wings. What are those things between their limbs?
He used Identify on the two lead creatures from the respective species, which had landed at the heads of their respective forces and which ominously both gave off the feeling of being Rulers.
Red Flying Squirrel Queen Ysabel, Lv. 33
These are squirrels?! Really?
They were by far the creepiest looking squirrels James had ever seen.
Black Bloodsucking Bat Queen Barbara, Lv. 35
Crap. They really are two Rulers. I would assume that I could take either of them out alone, but together¡
A hideous shrieking suddenly filled his ears. James had to exercise some restraint to keep his hands at his sides instead of covering them.
Gradually, it became apparent that the shrieking was actually words. The voice seemed to be speaking English¡ªor at least the shrieks from the Black Bloodsucking Bat Queen were translated into English rather than some other language. James still wasn¡¯t quite clear on how human the monsters he kept encountering were, and how the System-assisted translations worked.
Queen Barbara was saying, ¡°How dare you pipsqueaks invade my family¡¯s home?¡±
V3Ch48-The Red Queen
Now that the Black Bloodsucking Bat Queen was speaking with him, James was no longer on a hair trigger, waiting to learn whether he would have to order an attack or not. He found it possible to retake control of the situation.
¡°Lower your voice, please!¡± he barked. ¡°I¡¯m not deaf¡ªyet!¡±
¡°You have no grounds to complain about being yelled at, trespasser,¡± she replied. But she did speak at a noticeably much lower volume thereafter. ¡°Why are you here?¡±
¡°My territory was invaded,¡± James replied with slight indignance. ¡°Dozens of your family invaded and tried to carry off and kill some of my humans.¡±
¡°Hm.¡± The massive bat scrunched up her already strange, wrinkled face and gave James a hard look. Then she closed her eyes.
James thought she must be communicating telepathically with her family members. That, and giving her eyes a rest. He could tell that standing around in the sunlight made all the bats uncomfortable, including their Ruler.
¡°How do you two manage to get along, exactly?¡± James asked, looking to the Red Flying Squirrel Queen. ¡°Do you somehow share territory? Are you neighbors? If the Bat Queen wants to borrow a cup of sugar¡¡±
James let his voice trail off. The Squirrel Queen tilted her head as if slightly confused by that last question.
¡°We have different territory,¡± she said in a chirping voice. ¡°She rules the skies. I rule the ground level. We share the trees.¡±
She¡¯s speaking Spanish, James realized, though the System was instantly translating into English. How does that happen? Do I detect a Cuban accent?
¡°How does that work?¡± James thought aloud. ¡°You guys glide through the air, and her bats have to come to the ground sometime, right?¡±
¡°Common courtesy,¡± the Bat Queen interjected. ¡°It¡¯s easy to learn, human.¡±
¡°Did you manage to confirm what I said?¡± James asked.
The Bat Queen looked at him through slit eyes. ¡°Yes, some of our family were sick, and they were acting strangely, so their cousins kicked them out of the tree. I guess that might account for the incursion into your territory.¡±
James nodded. ¡°That makes sense.¡±
Rabies, he thought. I need to make sure everyone who came into contact with those bats sees a Healer when we get back.
¡°Still, what does that have to do with why you¡¯re here, human?¡± she spat.
James raised an eyebrow. ¡°I obviously thought it was an invasion by a raiding party of your kind,¡± he said. ¡°So I responded in kind.¡±
¡°You mean you killed dozens of my family, because a little group of them crossed your border,¡± the Bat Queen said. Her beady black eyes stared coldly into his.
¡°I wanted to ask you about what was going on, but my contact with my neighbors has mostly been hostile,¡± James explained. ¡°It seemed more responsible to prepare for the worst than to hope that there was a simple misunderstanding.¡± He lowered his head and tried to sound humble. ¡°If those bats that invaded my territory were acting alone, then I sincerely apologize for my retaliation. It must seem disproportionate. We are used to being in a state of war.¡±
¡°Not good enough.¡± The Bat Queen reached out with a long, bony claw and jabbed James in the chest. ¡°Show me the bodies of your dead. You never mentioned how many of yours were killed, to justify this ¡®retaliation.¡¯ How many did you lose in our invasion?¡±
¡°Lady, you need to back away from him,¡± interjected Dave from the side. James could hear the sound of metal sliding free from leather as Dave drew his pistol.
James immediately turned to face Dave. ¡°I¡¯ve got this,¡± he said, giving him a firm look.
Dave made eye contact with James and simply nodded. He didn¡¯t put his gun away, but neither did he point it at the Bat Queen. It was simply out, ready to be used. The tension in the air seemed to be increasing. Everyone knew violence could break out at any moment.
Actually, the temperature in the air seemed to be rising quite noticeably. James realized it when he felt long beads of sweat running down his back.
It¡¯s hotter here than it was when we entered, and it was already almost a sauna. He looked at the Bat Queen, who was glaring at him hatefully. She¡¯s doing this. She can control the weather. Her territory is the sky; that¡¯s what the squirrel said. So extending your aura into the sky comes with that benefit.
James wasn¡¯t certain whether his own aura could rise into the sky to manipulate the weather. He had never noticed it to extend very far above or below the Earth¡¯s surface. Perhaps ten to twenty feet in each direction.
Maybe some Rulers have different domains.
He looked back at his people again and saw the tension on their faces. They hated the Bat Queen, reflexively, probably almost as much as she hated them. Part of it was that she was horrifying to look at, compared with the monsters they had learned to somewhat accept as part of James¡¯s country.
Does she realize how much closer she¡¯s pushing this to outright violence by cranking up the heat? Or does she think she¡¯s just putting us under pressure, and we¡¯re going to fold?
¡°We didn¡¯t lose any,¡± James admitted. ¡°That was only true because my defense forces and I moved quickly to save the people in danger.¡±
¡°Not a single loss,¡± the Bat Queen repeated, slowly shaking her head.
¡°I don¡¯t know how I can make this right,¡± James said. ¡°It¡¯s my preference to live in peace with other Races. You can see that it¡¯s not just humans who are here with me.¡± He gestured behind him, where there were Goblins and wolves standing among the humans.
¡°I know how we can make this right,¡± the Bat Queen replied. ¡°I could sic my whole family on you right now, and wipe out your friends. That could be my retaliation. If you live through that, then how about we live in peace from there, huh?¡±
James snorted and shook his head. How do I get myself into these situations?
The Bat Queen stared down at him intensely as if it were a serious question worthy of an answer.
¡°If,¡± James said.
She cocked her head at him.
¡°If?¡± she asked.
¡°You could try something like that,¡± James said. ¡°You¡¯re weaker than I am, though. I promise you that. You might ¡®wipe out¡¯ my friends. But if you kill them, and I live through that, then I¡¯ll come back here with ten times their number.¡± He locked eyes with the Bat Queen and let some of his own hatred show through. ¡°If that happens, then I¡¯ll kill you.¡±
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¡°Ha! Is that all¡ª¡±
¡°You didn¡¯t let me finish. If that happens, then I¡¯ll kill you. I¡¯ll kill your mate. I¡¯ll kill all of your children. I won¡¯t be in a forgiving mood. I¡¯ve wiped out more than one species already. You¡¯re not going to be the first. You¡¯re not going to be the last. You¡¯re just the second Ruler I¡¯ll have beaten this week.¡±
The Bat Queen bared her teeth in a snarl. ¡°You arrogant little¡ª¡±
She stopped talking as the Squirrel Queen placed a paw on her shoulder.
Then the two walked away, temporarily ignoring their uninvited guests, to talk privately.
James turned back to his people while he waited for them to have their conversation. The soldiers looked nervous but very impressed with his handling of the situation. Some of them gave him confident nods or a thumbs up to signal their approval. Others smiled nervously when he looked in their direction.
Well, at least they¡¯re not breaking. Don¡¯t worry, guys. I¡¯ll keep you out of a fight with this little army¡ªif that¡¯s at all possible.
He turned back and saw the hundreds of huddled bats and squirrels looking at him, visibly confused and afraid.
And, of course, James eavesdropped on the all important conversation happening between the Bat Queen and the Squirrel Queen just fifteen feet away. It was remarkable that they thought they were far enough away not to be heard, even whispering. Maybe they imagined that all humans were functionally deaf. Perhaps, compared with bats and squirrels, most humans were.
If so, James was an exception.
¡°I think you¡¯d better let this go,¡± the Squirrel Queen was saying.
¡°How can I let this go?¡±
¡°There was clearly a misunderstanding. He apologized, if you were listening. This is the first time anything like this is happening¡ª¡±
¡°Coward!¡± the Bat Queen snapped. ¡°I knew I couldn¡¯t rely on you. Why did I even bother making an alliance with someone whose solution to every problem is running away?¡±
¡°It¡¯s not like that!¡±
¡°How is it not like that?¡± the Bat Queen asked.
There was silence for several long seconds. Then the Bat Queen stomped back to where James was.
¡°Are you ready to do this?¡± she asked.
¡°Do what?¡± James asked.
¡°Fight,¡± she spat. Little flecks of saliva landed on James¡¯s left cheek as she spoke the word.
¡°Are we going to have our armies fight, like two children smashing their toys together, or will it be you and me getting our hands dirty like two adults?¡± James asked.
¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± the Bat Queen taunted. ¡°Scared these puny worms aren¡¯t up to the job?¡±
¡°If we¡¯re going to war, I could have a thousand more soldiers here in five minutes,¡± James replied. ¡°I¡¯m just establishing the parameters for what we¡¯re doing.¡±
¡°Um, I¡¯m just going to sit this one out,¡± the Squirrel Queen said meekly from behind the Bat Queen.
¡°What?¡± The Bat Queen whirled on her and got in the squirrel¡¯s face. ¡°What do you think you¡¯re doing?¡±
To her credit, the Squirrel Queen didn¡¯t back down. She let the Bat Queen get within an inch of their faces touching.
¡°Just what I said,¡± the Squirrel Queen said stiffly. ¡°I am not convinced this is in the interests of my family. None of us died. This guy clearly has no quarrel with me. Me and mine will not be fighting.¡± She looked over at James. ¡°Do you have a problem with that, human?¡±
James shook his head and just tried not to look smug. That worked out very well.
The Bat Queen rounded on James again. ¡°Fine then. You and me. A duel. To the death. Winner gets the loser¡¯s territory.¡±
¡°The winner also has to spare the loser¡¯s people,¡± James said.
The Bat Queen narrowed her eyes and stared past James, eyeballing his allies as if she wanted to tear them all to pieces. ¡°You¡¯re the one who ordered everything they did, right?¡± she finally said.
¡°Yes,¡± James replied instantly.
¡°Then I guess sparing them is no great sacrifice.¡± She aimed her next words at the soldiers behind him. ¡°Look forward to putting up statues in my honor, you puny creatures!¡±
This is really perfect, James thought. Second duel in one week, and I¡¯ll acquire a bunch more territory when it¡¯s done.
¡°Wait, what about me?¡± the Squirrel Queen asked.
What about you? James wondered
¡°What about you?¡± the Bat Queen replied acidly.
¡°I mean, what happens, um, to me and my people? Um, if the ownership of the territory is being decided by duel.¡±
¡°As far as I¡¯m concerned, when I win, you cowardly bastards need to clear out of here,¡± the Bat Queen said.
The Squirrel Queen winced at her words, then turned to James. ¡°How about you? Are you up for a peaceful neighbor relationship?¡±
James raised an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯ll make you the same deal as her. After I recover from my fight with the Bat Queen, you and I fight a duel. It doesn¡¯t have to be to the death, since you and I don¡¯t hate each other. Winner gets the loser¡¯s territory. I haven¡¯t had much luck with peaceful neighbor relationships lately. It seems as if I need buffer territory on all sides.¡±
The Squirrel Queen looked slightly downcast. ¡°I see.¡± Then she looked up as if she¡¯d had an idea. ¡°Is that what happened with you and those other nonhumans you have behind you? You fought a duel with their leader and then took over?¡±
¡°Um, more or less,¡± James said.
¡°Do you mind?¡± She pointed at the fighters behind James. It took him a moment to realize that she wanted to talk to them.
¡°Oh. Uh, no.¡± James stepped to the side, and the Squirrel Queen breezed past him. She was surprisingly graceful while walking. The tail that James had thought was sort of ugly, because it was less bushy than a normal squirrel¡¯s tail, seemed to be very good for controlling her movements.
Again, there was a private conversation between the Squirrel Queen and someone else that took place so close to James that he couldn¡¯t avoid overhearing it unless he put his fingers in his ears.
The Squirrel Queen was asking James¡¯s wolves and Goblins if they felt well treated under him. And they were giving him good reviews.
¡°He is a good pack leader,¡± was a representative comment from the wolves. ¡°Generous with food and skilled at hunting.¡±
¡°He is a strong yet merciful leader,¡± Duncan said. The other Goblins hastened to agree with him.
¡°Yes,¡± said one. ¡°I heard that he fought a duel with a giant monster Ruler a couple of days ago, and he even healed him after the fight was over!¡±
Did he hear that from the wolves? James wondered. Or maybe the Mole People? The only Goblin who had actually witnessed that duel was Duncan.
The Squirrel Queen seemed to take their stories very seriously, in any case. She asked question after question. She made certain to clarify how ¡°generous with food¡± James was, asked if he was constantly starting fights¡ªthey claimed that he had been forcibly drawn into fights, which was dubiously true even from his point of view¡ªand if they knew what he thought of squirrels, among other topics.
It¡¯s sort of cute, James thought. She¡¯s incredibly naive if this is really part of her decision-making process. If I wanted to be a tyrant, the first thing I¡¯d do is brainwash the people and creatures that are supposed to fight alongside me into fanatical loyalty. This is no more useful than if she just asked me if I was a nice King to my face.
There was something endearing about it. Even disarming. It raised the question of how this Squirrel Queen had become a Ruler in the first place. Or if she was faking being this naive.
The Squirrel Queen finally turned back from the conversation and faced James. Her tail was standing up weirdly straight, and she looked jittery.
¡°All right,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ve decided. If King James wins, I want to join him!¡±
The other squirrels applauded her with their front paws, while the Bat Queen rolled her eyes and spat.
Okay, maybe the squirrel¡¯s not faking it.
¡°We should set some rules for this duel,¡± the Bat Queen said. She had her wings pulled in front of her face like a cape.
Uh oh. Where is this coming from? he wondered.
¡°What rules?¡± he asked.
¡°I don¡¯t want you cheating to win. You shouldn¡¯t have advantages that I don¡¯t have,¡± she said.
¡°I don''t know what you mean,¡± James said slightly impatiently.
¡°You know, all that,¡± the Bat Queen said, pointing at his sword. ¡°I don¡¯t have those things. Weapons and armor.¡±
V3Ch49-Meet Cute
A knock came at the front door, and Mina sighed to herself.
¡°Sweet, could you please get that?¡±
Just when the baby is almost done eating and just about ready to sleep, someone is knocking¡
And Mina felt like a nap herself. She knew she would be working hard through the next few days, trying to help James deal with Sister Strange and the forest specters. If she could get some rest now, she¡¯d have an easier time staying awake later in the evening.
She heard Yulia murmur something to Abhi, and then Yulia was descending the stairs.
Mina rose, still carrying Junior, and went to the doorway of the nursery.
From there, she heard Yulia quietly exclaim, ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you! Of course it¡¯s you. Please come in. Hi, Alice!¡±
Oh, it¡¯s Zora and Alice, Mina realized. I guess I¡¯ll sleep later. Probably. Plenty of time to sleep when I¡¯m dead, right?
She went back into the nursery, sat in her rocking chair, and stroked Junior¡¯s head while she waited for Zora.
Less than thirty seconds passed before the older woman poked her head into the room.
¡°Hey!¡± Zora said in a sing-song voice. She saw the other children besides Junior, all on the verge of succumbing to sleep¡ªYulia had kept them active through the morning, so they were ready for a nap¡ªand looked surprised for a moment. Then Zora smiled and said, in a lowered voice, ¡°I thought I would come and meet the little angel, but I didn¡¯t know you guys had more now.¡±
That was delicate of her, Mina thought. She realized she shouldn¡¯t be surprised. Zora was never less than a lady. She could be blunt, sarcastic, and on rare occasions cruel. But she was always aware of the impact of what she said. James probably got his social intelligence from her.
¡°We are taking care of a few more,¡± Mina said. Because James had been doing it, she added, ¡°Just until their folks come back for them, of course.¡±
Zora raised one eyebrow a millimeter but said nothing to that.
¡°He¡¯s done eating,¡± Mina said, ¡°if you wanted to hold little James.¡±
Zora¡¯s face broke out in an impossible to fake twinkling smile, and she reached out eagerly for the baby. When she had Junior in her arms, she held him with what Mina thought was incredible tenderness. It reminded her that she had, before all this madness happened, very much wanted Zora to be involved in the baby¡¯s life. Whatever qualities might annoy Mina about Zora, her mother-in-law was devoted to family.
¡°Oh my goodness! You¡¯re the cutest baby I¡¯ve ever met,¡± Zora cooed, holding Junior close to her face. The baby gurgled and patted Zora¡¯s short, curly hair with his pudgy, uncoordinated baby hand. ¡°Aww.¡±
Is she crying?! Mina looked more closely and saw, for the first time since she¡¯d met Zora, that she had a tear running down her cheek.
¡°I think he likes you,¡± Mina said, smiling.
¡°He is a very charming baby,¡± Zora said in the same almost sing-song voice she had used when she came in. ¡°My first grandchild. Oh, but I bet he likes every new face he sees¡¡±
Mina thought back and wondered if that was true.
¡°You¡¯re going to be a little lady¡¯s man, aren¡¯t you?¡± Zora continued.
Mina just laughed.
¡°There are a couple of other people waiting to see you, I should let you know,¡± Zora said, nuzzling the baby¡¯s thin wispy hair and stroking his back with her thin, deft fingers.
¡°Not just Alice?¡± Mina asked.
¡°No,¡± Zora said, barely restraining herself from laughing. ¡°You and James certainly leave an impression on people. Your other guests are apparently from your Orientations.¡±
Mina rose uncertainly from her seat.
¡°There¡¯s no need to rush,¡± Zora said, keeping her voice low. ¡°Remember, you¡¯re the mommy. Let them cater to you. If you want, I¡¯ll give you back the baby, and I can go entertain them. Or I could take the baby while I go entertain them, and you could sit here and relax for a bit. I won¡¯t let anyone else hold him, but you know people love to look. They can distract themselves with a baby for hours.¡±
That¡¯s very considerate.
Mina smiled but shook her head. ¡°I¡¯d better go do this. I want to get rid of these guests, whoever they are. I¡¯ll do it as politely as I can. I need to go train once Junior is settled¡ªor, if you¡¯re willing to watch him, I could go train as soon as the guests are dealt with.¡±
¡°I would love to watch the little man,¡± Zora said, almost cooing again. She looked up from the baby as Mina moved to the door. ¡°You should tell me about what it is you¡¯re training for, though. Maybe it¡¯s something I can help with.¡±
Mina looked at Zora thoughtfully. Well, she is a Mage.
¡°All right,¡± Mina said. ¡°I¡¯ll give you the details once we deal with our guests.¡±
She emerged from the nursery and saw Leo and that woman who had been with him in the Community Center. They were standing next to Alice, but the three of them weren¡¯t talking. They were just standing around awkwardly as if no one knew quite what to say.
¡°Hi Leo! Good to see you again, Alice!¡± Mina said. ¡°And nice to meet you, um?¡±
¡°Good to see you, too,¡± Alice said.
Mina smiled.
¡°My name is Hilda,¡± the woman in white said.
¡°I remember James waved at you in the meeting,¡± Mina said, ¡°so I guess you were in his Orientation.¡±
¡°Yes,¡± Hilda said. She took a deep breath. ¡°I was working with the Moloch cult when we ran into each other the first time.¡±
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Mina¡¯s face must have registered the shock of that statement. She did remember a few people turned on the cult leader at the end. I guess she was one of the survivors.
¡°I¡¯m, um, just going to go and let you guys talk,¡± Alice said. She sounded uncomfortable, and she walked so quickly toward the nursery that it felt as if she was fleeing the scene.
¡°I¡¯m so glad to see you again, Mina,¡± Leo said warmly. He stepped past Hilda and embraced Mina. For a moment, she almost forgot what Hilda had just said. It was incredibly reassuring just seeing Leo again. He stepped back, and she smiled at him. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you and your baby are doing well.¡±
¡°Thank you. It¡¯s good to see you, too,¡± she said. I bet James is going to want to recruit you to run the police here. ¡°Are you planning on staying?¡±
¡°That depends¡ª¡± Leo¡¯s eyes shifted to Hilda. ¡°It depends on whether we¡¯re welcome.¡±
Mina deflated slightly. It would be easier if he wasn¡¯t tying his answer to hers. I have no idea if she¡¯s welcome or not.
¡°I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s anything either of you could have done to make yourself unwelcome,¡± she said quietly. She looked up at Leo. ¡°I know Yulia and I wouldn¡¯t have survived Orientation without your police skills. I wish she were here so she could thank you.¡±
Leo scoffed and shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous. I wouldn¡¯t have gotten out alive if it wasn¡¯t for you two. I was actually hoping to come here and thank your husband for lending you to our Orientation.¡± He smiled.
¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll want to thank you instead,¡± Mina said. She couldn¡¯t help but look at Hilda, who was standing to the side quietly.
¡°Perhaps it would be better if the Queen and I discussed the situation we¡¯re sort of dancing around,¡± Hilda said. ¡°I think I¡¯m ruining your fond reunion.¡±
Both Leo and Mina became silent at that. Then Mina nodded.
¡°You¡¯re not ruining anything,¡± Mina said, ¡°but Leo and I can talk later. Whatever you want to say, Hilda, you should probably tell me now, and James and I will discuss things when he gets back.¡± She spoke in vague terms, because she still didn¡¯t grasp anything close to the whole picture of the situation.
Leo seemed to understand. ¡°Okay,¡± he said, nodding to Mina with a serious expression. He turned to Hilda and added, ¡°I¡¯ll be in the housing the building people showed us, all right?¡±
Hilda nodded, but her eyes were on Mina as Leo descended the stairs and left the apartment building.
¡°Why don¡¯t you pull up a chair?¡± Mina suggested once he was gone. ¡°There¡¯s no reason this conversation should be awkward.¡±
Any more awkward than it already is, she thought.
Hilda accepted, and soon the two women were sitting across from each other in silence.
Mina was surprised that Hilda didn¡¯t jump to speak first, but the other woman seemed to be a very calm, collected person. Calculating, perhaps. Weighing her next move carefully.
Either that, or she¡¯s just very confident. I¡¯m not sure where that would be coming from in this situation, though.
¡°I¡¯m guessing,¡± Mina said, ¡°that you want to talk about switching sides in James¡¯s Orientation. I¡¯m imagining, and I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll correct me if I¡¯m wrong, that you started out as a Moloch worshiper and ended up helping James kill Moloch¡¯s priests.¡±
But Hilda was already shaking her head. ¡°I was never a Moloch worshiper. I was blessed early in Orientation by the God of Light, Baldr. His portfolio of powers includes prophetic dreams. He sees the future that must eventually come.¡± She looked a bit sad. ¡°Even if it¡¯s very painful. Sometimes he shares things with me. Just bits and pieces, but it is invaluable as I navigate the world.¡± She bowed her head reverently.
¡°So how did you come to find yourself with the Moloch worshipers?¡± Mina asked. Her voice came out more skeptical than she¡¯d intended. But it seemed extraordinarily unlikely to her that she was meeting someone from the Rostov cult for the first time, and that person just so happened to have never been a believer.
¡°I recognize how it sounds,¡± Hilda said, her expression somber. ¡°I will make no excuses. My god told me that if I went with Rostov and his followers, I would survive Orientation and make it here. If I didn¡¯t, my situation was less certain. I¡¯m sure you can imagine that even if they are morally different, a Sun God and a God of Light would have some things in common. They at least would not be likely to show open hostility toward each other. So it wasn¡¯t hard to get them to accept me. I understand that Moloch encouraged his Chosen One to accept me. I never worshiped Moloch, although I did help his followers.¡± She sounded a bit guilty as she said those last words. ¡°I think your husband will confirm that once I was able to, I switched sides and helped him kill Rostov off.¡± Her voice became slightly heated at the end. She seemed concerned that Mina might not believe her. ¡°The end result is that Moloch is weakened, perhaps permanently. He had invested a great deal in this Orientation¡¡± Her voice trailed off.
¡°I¡¯ll discuss it with James,¡± Mina said, trying to smile at her guest. ¡°I¡¯m sure James is aware of how much you contributed. Are you planning on staying here?¡±
¡°More than that,¡± Hilda said. ¡°My god has informed me that a great multiracial empire will be founded under King James. A place where humans and other Races live together in peace. A hub of tolerance and understanding. But there will be many enemies who wish to see this land destroyed!¡± She raised her voice slightly and sounded genuinely worried as she uttered that last sentence.
¡°I see,¡± Mina said, not quite understanding. ¡°You want to join the Kingdom even though you predict many enemies will try to destroy it?¡±
¡°My god believes that this place is the best hope for lasting peace and stability for Earth,¡± Hilda said. ¡°It may be a flickering candle in the wind, but I must do whatever I can to ensure it does not go out. I want to swear my sword into his service¡ªand yours.¡±
¡°Well, I know I speak for both myself and James when I say, we appreciate your confidence. And although I cannot speak to whether he will accept your offer of service, I must admit that it sounds compelling. I will pass on what you¡¯ve said.¡± Mina gave the other woman a slight smile.
Hilda nodded. ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty. There is no rush, of course. I know that you and the King are still settling this land now. I¡¯m certain there are many things that require your attention. I will take the citizenship oath that others have mentioned when it is convenient for the two of you¡ªor I¡¯ll leave if you prefer.¡±
¡°It is true there are other things we¡¯re thinking about,¡± Mina said, slightly relieved. She realized as Hilda was speaking that this was a decision that she didn¡¯t want to dump on James right now. He was dealing with more than enough.
Hilda rose as if to leave, but she hesitated for a moment.
Mina looked up at her, and for a moment, Hilda reminded her of an older Cara. Strong and fierce, but where Cara looked like she could be a Viking or a surfer, Hilda was older. Her look was pale and thoughtful. She had muscle, but it felt out of place. Unaccustomed. As if a bookworm who worked in a library suddenly realized that she needed to train for some terrible ordeal. There was a fierce intensity about her, but she was keeping it under careful control. Disciplined power to be applied at the right moment. Like James. And she¡¯s been receiving information about the future like James, too¡ Mina knew suddenly that Hilda was absolutely going to stay¡ªand perhaps be among the most loyal citizens of the Fisher Kingdom.
¡°Will you let me know if there is anything I can do to be of service?¡± Hilda asked. ¡°I am eager to prove my loyalty¡ªand I know the nights can be dangerous in this new world. Leo and I already experienced something of this.¡±
Mina had the thought that Hilda might actually know something about the challenges they were dealing with right now.
But if she knew anything useful, she wouldn¡¯t be so vague, she thought.
¡°You should rest,¡± Mina said, ¡°and after that, you should get ready for a late night. We¡¯ve asked for volunteers to attack the hostile presence in the forest nearby. They¡¯ll be going in after dark, while my husband distracts the Ruler in that place. If you¡¯re able to go, you just need to follow Dave Matsumoto¡¯s lead. He¡¯ll be leading the charge, so he¡¯s the man to talk to.¡±
Hilda nodded and looked pleased. ¡°I won¡¯t let you down,¡± she said.
Mina smiled. ¡°See you tonight.¡±
After Hilda was gone, Zora stepped out of the nursery. Baby James had fallen asleep in her arms. He really likes her, Mina thought. That was the ultimate sign. The baby wasn¡¯t very finicky, but he only fell asleep for certain people. So far, just her, James, and Yulia.
¡°I overheard something at the end there about a hostile presence in the forest,¡± Zora said, keeping her voice low so as not to disturb the baby. ¡°Is that place haunted?¡±
V3Ch50-Like the Celts
¡°I can¡¯t believe I agreed to fight naked,¡± James grumbled as he placed the last piece of his equipment into his magic satchel. He now stood in the dense, humid air with no protection from the elements but his boxer briefs.
¡°Lord Anansi wants you to know that you negotiated well, sir,¡± Hester said. ¡°You preserved what was most important. ¡®A king must maintain his dignity,¡¯ he said.¡±
James wanted to tell Hester to can it, but he could tell that she was genuinely earnest. She¡ªand perhaps even the old Spider God himself¡ªreally thought it was good negotiating on his part that he got the Bat Queen to agree he could keep his underwear, which he had to promise was non-magical.
¡°More importantly for the actual fight, I got her to agree to fight while the sun is still up,¡± James said. ¡°So my senses will be at their sharpest, while the light makes it harder for her to see.¡±
¡°That¡¯s a good point, too,¡± Hester agreed. But James thought she was probably just trying to make him feel better.
Agreeing to unarmed, unarmored combat with a monster, in her territory, put him at such an obvious disadvantage that it didn¡¯t really bear much discussion.
I guess I can¡¯t blame the Bat Queen for being afraid to face me, he thought. He had realized what the root of her change in attitude must have been. The Bat Queen had to have overheard one of the Goblins telling the Squirrel Queen that James defeated another Ruler that same week. The Bat Queen had convinced herself that it must have been his equipment that allowed James to win the fight.
In fact, that couldn¡¯t have been further from the truth. James actually hadn¡¯t inflicted any damage on Samuel with his weapons. His armor had been almost useless. His insane Stats and ridiculously powerful Skills had done all of the damage. And Samuel was certainly stronger than the Bat Queen.
That was the silver lining in all this. The Bat Queen would realize her mistake soon enough.
Dave approached James now, and he frowned.
I thought they were all going to leave me alone while I prepared.
¡°What¡¯s up, Dave?¡± James asked.
Dave handed him a slip of paper with something written on it.
The text of the note read, ¡°Do you want us to launch a sneak attack when the duel starts? We could blow the monster away as soon as she steps out into the open to fight you.¡±
James smiled and shook his head. ¡°Thank you for the offer. I like where your head is at. I¡¯ll defeat her with my own power, though. If the opponent was actually scary, I might have considered it.¡±
Dave looked incredulous for a moment, then placed a hand on James¡¯s shoulder and silently nodded.
James sent a pair of identical telepathic messages to Duncan and Luna. Do you detect anything wrong with the space where we are meant to fight?
I can detect no magical interference, and the Bat Queen has not done anything suspicious, Duncan sent. Besides posturing as if she believes she can somehow win this fight.
No, my king, Luna replied. I¡¯ve walked up and down the clearing. I can detect nothing wrong. The only thing amiss is the stench of bats.
The responses made him smile. ¡°Enough delaying,¡± he said finally.
He rose, set Hester down on a branch close enough for her to watch the fight, and stepped out from among the trees, into the small clearing the Bat Queen had suggested as the site of their battle. She stood there waiting, tapping her right foot on the ground as if she was getting impatient.
James looked at her and smiled. She responded by twisting her face into an even more hideous version of its usual mask-like appearance.
¡°Everyone knows to stay back during the fight?¡± James asked in a loud voice.
There were murmurs of assent from his side.
¡°All of mine know to keep away from us while I¡¯m killing you,¡± the Bat Queen replied.
James pantomimed a yawn. ¡°Let¡¯s get this over with,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m starting to get hungry. Some bat flesh might do my body good.¡±
Then the Bat Queen was charging at him on foot.
This soon? he thought. I could have sworn she would try to make it a long distance fight to start.
He braced for impact¡ªand then the Bat Queen kicked off the ground and launched herself into the air above him. Her wings carried her up above him, but the upward movement was slow and awkward.
James whipped his right hand forward and threw an Air Strike, and it instantly unbalanced her. She did not cry out in pain, though James saw a rip had opened in her left wing.
A quiet cheer went up as the soldiers watching below saw a few drops of blood fall from the torn wing.
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¡°James! James! James!¡±
Unless I¡¯m very much mistaken, the Squirrel Queen is cheering for me too.
James almost wanted to laugh. But he knew he had more to do before the Bat Queen would lay down and die.
He leaped into the air after her¡ªgrabbed a tree branch, and threw himself further¡ªand finally pulled level with her in midair.
Then she let loose a loud screech. The sound was much more intense than he had experienced from the other bats. His ears erupted in agony. His teeth rattled. Again, he almost covered his ears but resisted the impulse.
This was certainly a weakness of his now, but he didn¡¯t want to make that too obvious. Higher Perception meant greater vulnerability to these kinds of attacks. It would only get worse over time unless he developed stronger defenses.
His body started to fall, and he threw another Air Strike before he could drop too far. This one struck the other wing. Hitting from such close range, it tore the vulnerable membrane from the bottom edge to almost halfway through the center.
Not bad, he assessed. If I can just keep her on the ground, the fight¡¯s basically over.
The Bat Queen yowled in pain this time, and James could see her flying visibly slowing, her wing noticeably less effective. But she continued to rise, albeit more weakly. He tried to throw another Air Strike, but she managed to fly to the side and evade it.
Then he was falling out of reach. He braced himself, taking the landing with bent knees while looking up to see where she might strike from next.
His ears were still ringing from her attack, so his detection of the Bat Queen would have to depend on sight and smell more than hearing.
He stood there for a minute in a fighting stance before he realized that the bat was doing something else rather than just preparing a sneak attack. He wiped beads of sweat from his forehead and then realized that the temperature was rising.
¡°Is that all you¡¯ve got?¡± he asked aloud. ¡°You¡¯re making the air warmer?¡± He shook his head and raised his voice even louder. ¡°Don¡¯t you know this is Florida? We¡¯re all used to the heat!¡±
James couldn¡¯t hear himself talking very clearly, so he also couldn¡¯t hear the people around him very well, but he saw some of those in the surrounding area were moving their bodies as if they were laughing.
If this was going to be one of her tactics, she shouldn¡¯t have had me strip off my armor. Although his underwear was starting to stick to his body, being naked right now seemed to him much more advantageous than wearing armor and a helmet.
James began gathering Water Mana. If he was waiting for the Bat Queen in a sauna, he might as well keep cool while he waited. Perhaps this would prompt her to show herself sooner.
Almost as soon as he had the thought, he sensed movement in the leaves behind him. He stood still and pretended not to notice.
The black shape launched itself at him¡ªand James instantly spun to face the Bat Queen. He stopped charging Water Mana and threw the small amount of conjured water into her face. The Bat Queen blinked, and then James had leaped right into close range.
He grabbed her head by both ears and yanked her downward. She tried to flap her damaged wings, but they were too weak with their torn membranes to bear his weight as well as her own. She tried to rake his chest with her claws, but she left only shallow cuts.
Then they collided with the ground, the Bat Queen head first.
James held the giant bat down by one of her huge fleshy ears and ignored the claws which raked his side and back now that they could no longer reach his front. But he took one hand off her head and began snaking it around toward her throat. If he could just crush her neck, the fight would be over. The bat had shown no great physical prowess, so he thought he could do it.
The Bat Queen managed to turn her head, without breaking fully free of his grip, to face him. Then she opened her mouth and issued the loudest, most painful screeching sound James had ever heard. It weakened but did not break his grip. She managed to lean her face a little closer to James¡¯s and shriek even louder and more painfully.
In his peripheral vision, he saw members of all three armies bending and clutching their ears, experiencing the same sound that he was enduring, albeit less directly.
James felt intense pain in his head as the sound seemed to shatter something inside his ears. He didn¡¯t want to take his hands away from the monster he was grappling with, but he felt fluid flowing down the sides of his face from his ears.
Nausea, disorientation, and dizziness hit him all at once alongside the pain¡ªand he tightened his grip on the monster. This had to be the Bat Queen¡¯s best move. Her best opportunity to weaken him for a killing strike.
All he had to do was hold on and bear through the pain.
He endured. Several seconds passed. He realized his hearing had faded to nothing.
The Bat Queen was still shrieking, but he only knew it because he saw her body moving the same way it had been when she was screaming in his face.
The pain continued, but he realized that it had peaked.
Well, that was not your best use of that weapon, he thought. Now you¡¯re fucked.
He shifted his posture slightly to hold her down with one knee. Then he grabbed the Bat Queen¡¯s throat with both hands and began crushing the life out of her.
¡°I was considering so many different ways to kill you,¡± he hissed quietly. ¡°I have so many different abilities I could try. But now that you¡¯ve flown right into my lap, I¡¯ll give you a nice simple death.¡±
The flesh of the Bat Queen¡¯s neck burst under James¡¯s grip, and blood began to gush onto his almost naked body.
¡°Time to kickstart the healing process,¡± he said almost to himself.
Still holding the Bat Queen by the neck, he leaned in and bit into the lightly furred flesh of that region. He tore out big chunks of flesh and fur, barely tasted them, and swallowed them down. Then he went back in for more juicy life-giving flesh. He could feel it restoring his Stamina and Health as he consumed it.
The Bat Queen stopped resisting after a few seconds of this. Her only movements were spasms of the body. Uncontrollable death throes. The fight was over, and he continued to eat her flesh to accelerate his own healing process. And to make sure she really wouldn¡¯t ever get up again.
As the death throes waned, his ears started to pick up some sounds again. The speed of his healing felt remarkable even to him.
James¡¯s soldiers were cheering, chanting his name again.
A few seconds later, the Bat Queen stopped moving entirely. It was finally over.
A series of alerts swam in front of James¡¯s eyes, but he ignored them. It was the crowd he wanted to engage with now, not the System.
James stood, thrust his blood-soaked fist into the air, and roared.
The soldiers cheered again, more loudly, while the small army of bats and flying squirrels fell to their knees.
V3Ch51-Eulogy
James allowed himself to bask in the glory of the crowd¡¯s approbation for a long few seconds.
He smiled, wiped some gore away from his mouth, and then waited for the cheering to die down.
¡°Thank you to all the brave fighters who accompanied me here,¡± he said. ¡°There will be other battles, but for now we have won the day and secured peace.¡±
There were further enthusiastic cheers, but James saw the bats staring down at the ground, looking uncomfortable, and he instantly knew he needed to say something conciliatory to them.
¡°I am also grateful to the late Bat Queen¡ª¡± he began.
¡°For dying!¡± called a voice from James¡¯s side.
No, I can¡¯t have that, he thought. We¡¯re better than that.
He allowed his smile to falter and his expression to become stern.
¡°No,¡± he said loudly. ¡°I am grateful for the Bat Queen¡¯s willingness to face me honorably in single combat. She could have chosen otherwise. It would have been a bloodbath for both sides¡ªand a tragic one, since this conflict was based in part on a misunderstanding. Together, she and I prevented that by putting our lives on the line instead of our people¡¯s lives. Thanks to her courage, we will gain new neighbors, instead of making a population of fierce and devoted enemies.¡±
The crowd was quiet for a few seconds, as if people were processing what he had said.
Then they began to applaud. Dave was the first one to really grasp what he meant, James noticed, and he nodded wordlessly along with clapping.
James turned to look at the bats and flying squirrels. The bats had lifted their heads and were looking at him uncertainly as if they expected some trick. The flying squirrels looked happy. Their emotions were very obvious in their body language.
James said his next words both aloud and telepathically, directly into the minds of every bat that was now his subject. ¡°To the bats, I must say that your Queen was a fierce opponent.¡± He bent down and used Pillage on the body, selecting a Title to steal.
[Black Bloodsucking Bat Queen Barbara¡¯s body processed.]
[You obtained Royal Aeromaster Cloak, 4x Bloodsucking Bat Queen Meat Bundle, and Ego Bloodsucking Arrows!]
[Title obtained: Aeromaster!]
Those all sound quite interesting, he thought to himself. He looked forward to testing them out.
James threw the Royal Aeromaster Cloak¡ªa cape fashioned from the Bat Queen¡¯s wings¡ªaround his shoulders and continued communicating with the bats.
¡°Now I will carry her strength with me into the battles to come,¡± he said. ¡°I want you to take a few days to mourn your late Queen and then choose a new, strong bat who will serve me directly and represent you within my Kingdom. I intend to treat all of the surviving bats and squirrels as I would have liked the Bat Queen to treat my people in the event that I had lost the fight. I will place you under my protection. Any bat who is unwilling to accept this is welcome to leave, of course, but I will assume that any who remain within this territory after five days'' time have accepted the new order.¡±
The creatures bowed low again, and James turned back to his soldiers.
¡°Thank you again to the soldiers who accompanied me here to ensure peace along our border. With your help, we have once again secured a region of the Kingdom against the possibility of external threat. Soon we will secure all our borders. In time, we will spread peace, order, and security to every corner of Central Florida!¡±
Another cheer went up. This time, people were shouting an array of different words.
¡°Peace!¡±
¡°Security!¡±
¡°Florida!¡±
¡°Fisher King!¡±
¡°James!¡±
¡°Victory!¡±
James waited for the cheering to die down, but it took several minutes. People seemed to be very energized.
Well, they did just spend months in a strange place, worrying that they might be killed any day. Of course it makes sense they would be happy to have some sense of control back.
Eventually, even the bats and squirrels joined in. In their shrill and chirpy voices respectively, they chanted, ¡°Peace! Fisher King! James! Peace!¡±
The bats were chanting for peace, while the squirrels were taking their cue from their leader and chanting along similar lines to his soldiers.
Interesting.
He was optimistic that this victory would be another great milestone in the growth of his Kingdom. He could feel that it wasn¡¯t a vast territory he had inherited from the bats and the squirrels. The combined geographic region was, in fact, smaller than Samuel¡¯s massive swamp or the pre-swamp-acquisition Fisher Kingdom.
But there were other gains and large ones at that. He felt that the power of his aura had changed and enhanced as he absorbed the authority of the two additional Rulers thanks to his Usurper power. He looked through the System alerts until he found what he was looking for.
I took the power of the Ruler of the Tropical Forest and the Ruler of the Humid Skies and merged them into my Ruler of the Dark Waters Title. I guess that explains it. He now felt that his aura extended above the ground further than it had before. He intuited what the change would mean. I¡¯m guessing I should be able to influence not just the soil and water within my territory now, but also the sky above. I¡¯ll have to experiment with it. See if I can change the temperature like the Bat Queen did. Maybe if I practice, I¡¯ll be able to make lightning strike my enemies. That would be pretty awesome.
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For now, James put off any experiments. He collected Hester from where she had been watching the battle. He bid the bats and squirrels farewell. He promised to give the former Squirrel Queen a blessing later, but for now he was feeling drained. He didn¡¯t want to use more of his energy, especially knowing that he would encounter Sister Strange that evening.
Once he was out of sight of the monsters, he conjured some water to wash off the Bat Queen¡¯s blood¡ªit felt somehow disrespectful to do that in front of them, and wasteful of his effort in giving her a quasi-eulogy.
Then he clothed himself once more¡ªminus armor this time, simply because it seemed unnecessary in a pacified territory¡ªtook Roscuro out of his magic satchel, and led his soldiers back toward the place that had been the border.
Not a single death on our side, he thought. It is mostly my fault that the Bat Queen had to die, but the results are excellent otherwise. I think we won hearts and minds back there. From my experiences with the Goblins and alligators, nonhumans think differently about these struggles than humans do. They seem to cling to the strong loyally and not take it as personally if they saw you beat the tar out of their loved ones.
And perhaps most importantly, James had seen what his existing citizens could do when the situation called for violence.
He was rather impressed, and the feeling seemed to be mutual.
The soldiers kept coming up to him, clapping him on the back, shaking his hand, and offering him compliments. The ones who had not been present for the fight with Samuel were particularly affected.
¡°I¡¯ve never seen you fight, Your Majesty, but you fought like a demon back there! I feel like we¡¯re all so much safer with you at the head,¡± said Ardal Byrne, a middle-aged man who spoke with a faint Irish accent.
¡°Professional wrestling has nothing on you for showmanship, chief,¡± said another man.
¡°The other Goblins who saw what you did to that bat are all thinking about how they can impress you in the next battle,¡± Duncan said. James wasn¡¯t certain if that was a good thing or not.
¡°I think the next monster that considers invading the Kingdom will give it a second thought,¡± said a young woman who seemed a bit nervous to speak with James.
That seemed to be a common reaction by the female soldiers who had witnessed the fight, James noticed. There hadn¡¯t been that many of them in the sudden, informal militia he¡¯d thrown together¡ªhe counted eight women out of the nearly one hundred humans¡ªand they seemed slightly less enthusiastic in the aftermath of the battle.
Several of them joined their male colleagues in approaching him, but their expressions as they mentioned the fight were noticeably more squeamish.
The only thing he could figure was that they didn¡¯t like how gruesome the fight became.
I could have ended it much more quickly and easily with Soul Magic, he thought, but what kind of impression would that have left on the other bats? They¡¯d probably feel as if I cheated their Queen. Like they were being forced to follow some evil sorcerer.
He tried to think if there was some way he could have won the battle that would not have looked too grotesque to the female viewers. Then he shrugged.
I guess I¡¯ll just have to kiss a lot of babies to remind them that I¡¯m also a Dad, he thought. Completely harmless.
As the group continued moving forward, James found a chance to pull Dave aside from the group for a private chat.
¡°How did you feel the invasion went, Dave?¡± James asked.
¡°Well, when I got up this morning, an invasion was the last thing I expected to be a feature of my day,¡± Dave said. ¡°However, it was much less horrifying than the last invasion I was a part of.¡±
James had heard some stories about the Sino-American War, so he didn¡¯t know quite what to make of that remark. Dave seemed to be forcing himself to put on a brave face, but the two men weren¡¯t exactly friends yet, so James didn¡¯t want to pry into how he was really feeling.
¡°I¡¯m thinking about the fact that this might have to happen again at some point,¡± James said. ¡°If you were to review our performance, what would you say?¡±
¡°What, do you want me to rate it out of ten?¡± Dave asked. He sounded slightly needled.
¡°I want you to tell me if these people are ready to defend our land from the world out there,¡± James replied bluntly. ¡°I¡¯m still not sure what would have happened if we¡¯d had to fight the bats and squirrels together. I have an ability that normally lets me calculate the odds of winning a fight, but I had no data at all on the squirrels, so it wouldn¡¯t work in that situation. But I have a bad feeling I know what would have happened.¡±
Dave nodded slowly and spoke quietly as he replied, ¡°You think we would have been slaughtered.¡±
¡°It was one of the major reasons I was eager to fight alone,¡± James said. ¡°I don¡¯t accept it as an inevitable outcome. I want to know what you think. And I want to know how you would improve upon the status quo.¡±
Dave shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not in the military,¡± he said. ¡°Not anymore. I guess what I¡¯m doing for you¡ªwell, it¡¯s sort of like I¡¯m serving in your military. But this is officer stuff. I¡¯m no general.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t see any other generals around here,¡± James said. ¡°And I don¡¯t need a general. I don¡¯t have a whole army in the first place. But I could make you a captain.¡±
Dave¡¯s facial expression changed, and he stopped moving for a moment. James stopped, too, and then the whole group stopped with him. The chatter of the soldiers among themselves died down as they stared at James and Dave.
That finally got Dave moving again. The rest of the column resumed their triumphant march home.
¡°What is it?¡± James asked.
¡°The System just offered me a job,¡± Dave said, looking and sounding as if he was trying not to laugh¡ªor resisting the impulse to scream. ¡°Captain of the Royal Fisher Army.¡±
¡°Royal Fisher Army,¡± James muttered. ¡°I guess that has an okay ring to it.¡±
¡°Do you think I should accept it?¡± Dave asked. His voice had an edge of anxiety to it.
¡°I think you have to make that choice for yourself,¡± James asked, putting a steadying arm around Dave. ¡°But if you¡¯re asking me personally what I would do, the answer is yes. You know I¡¯m going to treat you like you¡¯re the captain of my troops anyway. You might as well get the prestige that comes with the rank. And any boosts to your Stats the System is offering. But there¡¯s no pressure to give me or the System an answer now. The offer isn¡¯t evaporating.¡±
Dave sagged a bit as if he was slightly less worried.
¡°While you wrestle with that and consider how our force can become more effective, there¡¯s one other task I¡¯d ask you to carry out for me,¡± James added.
¡°What¡¯s that?¡±
¡°Select six or so of the most valiant and effective soldiers from this group,¡± James said. ¡°Human, Goblin, wolf, I don¡¯t care, but I need a good handful of heroes to reward for their service today. The seventh one is you, of course. I think seven¡¯s a nice number.¡±
Dave looked as if he was about to protest, but James shook his head.
¡°You¡¯re going to want this decoration,¡± James said. ¡°It¡¯s not some plastic medal I¡¯m handing out. I¡¯m going to publicly give every one of these people my Blessing. It should accelerate their growth. And you deserve this just as much as anyone else. I relied on you here, and I relied on you when we invaded Samuel¡¯s swamp. In fact, it would be pigheaded of you to refuse to be honored in this way, even if you don¡¯t want to be a Captain.¡±
¡°Oh, would it?¡± Dave snorted.
¡°Absolutely,¡± James said in a tone of the utmost seriousness. ¡°You would be diminishing your effectiveness in service of King and country. What could be worse than that?¡±
Dave shook his head, and both men grinned.
V3Ch52-Necromancer
¡°Haunted?¡± Mina repeated. ¡°I don¡¯t really know. I think it¡¯s something like that. People seeing the dead. James told me about seeing¡ª¡± She cut herself off.
¡°My dead husband,¡± Zora finished for her.
¡°Yes,¡± Mina said.
¡°You don¡¯t have to be so delicate about it,¡± Zora said, smiling softly. ¡°It¡¯s been twenty years now. I still miss him, but I can talk about it without feeling sad. We had good times together. Now they¡¯re just fond memories.¡±
But you never remarried, Mina thought. I don¡¯t think I would ever marry again if James died, but I also don¡¯t know if I would be all right, even twenty years later. I still think about my mom like it was yesterday.
¡°I didn¡¯t know quite what to say,¡± Mina said. ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting to talk about this with you. Honestly I didn¡¯t even expect to see you here anytime soon. I¡¯m glad you made it.¡± She was relieved to find that she actually meant what she was saying.
¡°If the forest is haunted, I really might be able to help you,¡± Zora said thoughtfully. ¡°Do you know anything beyond the apparitions?¡±
¡°I do,¡± Mina said. ¡°It¡¯s all secondhand from James, but¡¡± She proceeded to explain everything she knew about the forest.
As Mina was talking, Zora took her Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions from a pocket of her robe and pulled out a heavy, leatherbound book. The characters on the cover looked to be in some ancient language using a non-Phoenician alphabet that Mina did not immediately recognize, but the text translated itself in her mind, ¡°Book of the Dead.¡±
¡°I have a patron god,¡± Zora said. ¡°As I understand James has.¡±
Mina wanted to interject, Me too! but this seemed an inappropriate moment.
¡°This was a gift from him when he gave me his blessing,¡± Zora continued.
¡°A death god?¡± Mina couldn¡¯t help but ask.
¡°No,¡± Zora said. ¡°A god of magic. But I was about to go through Class Evolution at the time, and I told him which options most interested me.¡± She smiled mischievously at Mina. ¡°I bet you can¡¯t guess what I picked!¡±
¡°A witch of some sort?¡± Mina asked. Is this going to be like showing up to a party and finding out we¡¯re wearing the same dress?
¡°No. That sounds like a good option, but no. I decided to become a Necromancer.¡±
¡°Oh.¡± Should I be worried about you? I mean, more than I usually am?
¡°I know it sounds creepy and unnatural when you first think about it,¡± Zora said. ¡°That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t walk in here with an army of skeletons or something.¡±
Which implies that you could have done that¡ You don¡¯t have an army of skeletons waiting somewhere outside of the Fisher Kingdom, right?
¡°But this whole System thing feels pretty unnatural to me,¡± Zora continued. ¡°One day, I was counting down the months to retirement. The next, I found myself sucked into another world, fighting mummies in the desert.¡± She laughed, almost a cackle, and then her face became serious again. ¡°I thought very carefully about how to survive in this new world¡ªnot the Orientation world, but Earth. And one thing kept coming back to me: death comes for us all, the loved and the hated alike. It¡¯s even more irresistible than taxes. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to somehow harness that force. In a magical world, anything is possible. I was going to gather as much power as I could, to help you guys.¡± Zora smiled sweetly, and Mina forced herself to exhale.
¡°So you decided to become a Necromancer,¡± Mina said. ¡°I guess dead allies don¡¯t ever get tired.¡± She tried to make it sound funny, but her voice rang slightly hollow as she spoke.
¡°No, they don¡¯t,¡± Zora agreed. ¡°They have their weaknesses, but fatigue isn¡¯t one of them. We all eventually succumb to death. It¡¯s a tireless force of nature, as enduring as life itself. And the dead will always outnumber the living. More importantly, I think my specialization has given me the knowledge I need to help you with your haunted forest.¡±
¡°Oh, of course,¡± Mina said. ¡°I¡¯m so happy to hear it!¡± She was also happy to change the subject from Zora¡¯s new Class. Mina had received Necromancer as an option in her own Class Evolution, but she¡¯d quickly dismissed it as too creepy and distasteful.
¡°I¡¯ve been studying this book,¡± Zora said, beginning to flip through the Book of the Dead, ¡°and I believe what you¡¯re dealing with is one of these.¡±
She finally stopped flipping, tapped a page with one bony finger, and turned the book around so that Mina could see. There was an illustration that looked quite a bit like the illusion James had conjured to illustrate the appearance of Sister Strange. The label at the top of the page read, ¡°Dream Wraith.¡±
Mina read the page. It described what James and the others who spoke up at the meeting had experienced. It explained where the Dream Wraith came from and described some of its behaviors. A Dream Wraith was apparently a congealed embodiment of energy from unpleasant nightmares and forlorn dreams. It wasn¡¯t a particularly fast-moving invader, but it was persistent. The book seemed credible. It described invasions of people¡¯s dreams, apparitions of the dead¡ªand the apparent reason why Sister Strange was doing all this.
¡°She feeds on suffering,¡± Mina said slowly. She failed to suppress a shudder at the thought.
¡°Can¡¯t coexist with something like that,¡± Zora agreed. ¡°Very icky.¡±
Mina snorted a little at the word ¡°icky.¡±
¡°I¡¯m glad some of these things still gross you out,¡± she said.
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¡°I am still human,¡± Zora said, chuckling quietly. ¡°For now. And I¡¯m definitely more comfortable in the company of living people than rattling bones. I¡¯m much more interested in the future of this child¡ª¡± She held baby James up¡ª¡°than I am in building some kind of undead empire. I just have a certain affinity for death. I¡¯ve spent¡ªhm. Well, I¡¯ve spent a lot of time living with it. Thinking about it. How best to die. When will I die? That sort of thing. I never told you guys, but I actually had a cancer scare a couple of years back.¡±
Mina¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°A scare? Does that mean you¡¯re okay now?¡±
¡°There was just a lump. It turned out to be benign, but it really got me thinking.¡± She sighed. ¡°It¡¯s not very dignified to admit this, but even at my age, I¡¯m still afraid of dying. I really want to live.¡±
¡°Well, I don¡¯t think that ever goes away,¡± Mina said. She waited for Zora to elaborate more on what the cancer scare had gotten her thinking about, but the silence held for nearly a full minute instead.
¡°Anyway, I can give you my meditations on death some other time,¡± Zora said. ¡°For now, I think I have an idea about how we can destroy this monster that your kingdom is facing.¡±
¡°The page doesn¡¯t say anything about destroying it,¡± Mina said. ¡°Is there more?¡± She flipped to the next page, but it had a different header: ¡°Vengeance Wraith.¡±
¡°There is more,¡± Zora said. ¡°Not specific to this subtype, but the bit on Dream Wraiths is part of a whole section on Wraiths of various kinds. Useful stuff. I have sort of a half-baked plan already. You mentioned that James is going to distract the monster this evening, right?¡±
Mina nodded. ¡°Did you happen to overhear that whole conversation?¡± she asked.
¡°No, just the parts about the plan to deal with the monster. I didn¡¯t hear anything about the Moloch worshipers or Hilda¡¯s blessing from the God of Light. I was mostly just paying attention to the baby during that part.¡±
Mina laughed. ¡°Got it.¡±
¡°He¡¯s very talkative,¡± Zora said. ¡°Told me all sorts of things about what you¡¯ve been up to.¡±
¡°Sure he did,¡± Mina said.
Both women laughed.
[Citizens of the Fisher Kingdom, the group of flying monsters that entered our airspace earlier was successfully defeated, and the territory they entered from has now surrendered. My thanks go out to all the brave fighters who accompanied me into enemy territory and fought honorably until we subdued the kingdom of the bats! As discussed in our public meeting earlier, we are also seeking some volunteers to enter another territory this evening. This territory is the source of the nightmare-inducing presence that some citizens have experienced in their dreams. Tonight, we will either gather more information about that enemy or perhaps destroy it outright. Please see Dave Matsumoto if you wish to volunteer. Glory to the Fisher Kingdom!]
¡°Glory to the Fisher Kingdom,¡± Mina repeated.
¡°Glorious indeed,¡± Zora said. She looked energized.
Then they heard the downstairs door opening, and firm footsteps treading the stairs.
Mina didn¡¯t even need to look to know that it was James. When she did, she saw that he wore a stylish cape made from some dark, semi-translucent material. It reminded her of Count Dracula¡¯s opera cape from the old Dracula movies.
¡°Good evening, ladies,¡± he said quietly. ¡°I guess our little one is resting?¡± He gestured to the baby in Zora¡¯s arms.
¡°He is,¡± Zora said, smiling. ¡°You were a good sleeper when you were his age too. Such a quiet boy. Such a shame you had to grow up.¡±
¡°I¡¯m hoping he¡¯ll be a lot like James,¡± Mina said, looking at her husband with loving eyes.
He smiled softly. ¡°I¡¯m so glad we can all be here together,¡± he said. ¡°How about I get us some dinner, and then we can rest before our evening¡¯s activities?¡±
¡°That sounds good to me,¡± Zora said. ¡°We took a long route getting here, and I¡¯m famished.¡±
Alice poked her head out of the nursery. ¡°Please make sure you prepare a plate for me, too!¡± she said. ¡°And Ben! If we¡¯re eating, I¡¯ll call him over.¡±
¡°Only if the two of you tell me how you¡¯ve been doing since, um, everything¡¯s been happening,¡± James called back.
¡°That¡¯s too long of a story to tell over a meal,¡± Alice replied. ¡°We can have a sleepover, and maybe then I can tell you everything, but you need a pull-out sofa or something. I don¡¯t know where we would stay.¡±
¡°You¡¯re going to be living here from now on, I assume,¡± James said. ¡°I asked the Building Commission to throw up a house for the two of you, and a cottage for Ben, as quickly as they can.¡±
¡°How thoughtful of you,¡± Zora said.
Alice pursed her lips and said nothing.
She wants to move in with the boyfriend, Mina thought, and James just made Zora her roommate. Mina wasn¡¯t sure whether she wanted to laugh or console Alice.
¡°We won¡¯t have too much time to swap stories tonight,¡± Mina said. ¡°Your Mom has a plan to defeat Sister Strange, and she was just about to get into it before you came in. Since you¡¯re going to tangle with Strange again tonight, I think this is a lot more urgent.¡±
¡°It¡¯s really more of an idea than a fully fleshed out plan,¡± Zora said, ¡°but I¡¯m happy to share it. And I agree that sooner is much better than later.¡±
James smiled. ¡°Sounds like all my problems are solved,¡± he said. ¡°I dealt with the small incursion across our border, so the only issue left to wrap up for now is Sister Strange.¡±
They spent the next half hour preparing a simple meal together. Alice, Mina, and Zora had all started out as Mages. Alice was still a Mage. So everyone had a command of Fire Mana at least sufficient to cook with it.
They were still a long way from having ovens in the new apartments, since the gas and electric infrastructure had been destroyed during the System¡¯s transformation of Earth. But magic solved many problems.
This time, they ate in two separate groups. Yulia brought food to the children in the nursery, while James and the magic users discussed the threats likely to face them in Sister Strange¡¯s forest and formulated their plans over dinner.
¡°I think this could work,¡± James said as the conversation concluded. ¡°Even if we don¡¯t succeed in ending the threat tonight, at least the three of you will gather valuable information.¡±
He opened his Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions and gave each woman a cloak. Mina examined hers and found that it was called the Royal Aeromaster Cloak.
¡°With these, we¡¯ll be able to fly, then,¡± Alice said.
¡°Well, Mina will be able to fly,¡± James said. ¡°You guys will at least be able to float. I¡¯m not sure how coordinated the other sets of wings are when they¡¯re not connected to a bat¡¯s body.¡±
¡°They¡¯ll work well enough, I¡¯m sure,¡± Zora said. ¡°They¡¯ll have to.¡±
¡°I have faith you¡¯ll at least escape the forest alive,¡± James said. ¡°Bear in mind that if you¡¯re somehow still in there when I wake up, I will go in after you, by myself, and I won¡¯t come out until I find you.¡±
¡°I get it, skapi,¡± Mina said softly. ¡°That¡¯s the risk we take by volunteering to go into enemy territory. If we die in there, the family loses you too.¡±
¡°But you won¡¯t die,¡± James said, obviously looking for reassurance.
Mina couldn¡¯t find the words to tell James that she would be all right, that she was sure she would survive. She had never lied to him about anything important before. And wouldn¡¯t she be lying if she said she was certain she would come out okay?
In the end, it was Zora who spoke first.
¡°No, she won¡¯t die,¡± Zora said, taking both Mina¡¯s and James¡¯s hands from across the table. ¡°Mina will get back to you and your baby no matter what. I¡¯ll take care of her. I promise.¡±
V3 Interlude-Once Upon a Time in the Southwest
In a small corner of Mexico, Esmeralda Ortega Cortez knelt in a church.
More than half of the buildings in the village are completely ruined, she thought. Was there some divine favor that spared this building? After everything she had seen over the last three months, it seemed completely plausible.
And if that is the case, God, will you help us out of this dilemma we find ourselves in?
As usual, the only answer to her silent plea was the sound of the wind as it pounded against the outside of the church.
Esmeralda rose to her feet, and at the same moment, she heard the door creaking open behind her.
¡°Is that you, Father?¡± she asked, hoping against hope that the priest would have returned.
But it was the little girl, Maria Garcia Cervantes, instead. The six-year-old was sniffling with tears in her eyes.
Esmeralda instantly took her into her arms and scooped her off the ground.
¡°Hey, mama, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Esmeralda asked.
Maria continued sniffling in silence for a moment, and Esmeralda let her cry for those seconds in silence. Finally, Maria seemed ready to share what was wrong. She opened her mouth.
¡°Contreras is back, and he wants our sacrifice, Esmeralda,¡± she said. ¡°What are we going to do? I¡¯m scared.¡± Her lower lip wobbled as she finished explaining, and Esmeralda thought she would start a renewed round of crying, but Maria managed to hold it in.
¡°You know, all my friends call me Esmer,¡± Esmeralda said.
Maria¡¯s eyes opened wide. ¡°Am I your friend?¡± she asked.
¡°Of course!¡± I don¡¯t have many, but I¡¯m happy to add you to the list. ¡°Tell me, why are you so worried, Maria? You know it won¡¯t be you. No one could give up someone as cute as you as a sacrifice.¡±
Esmeralda cupped the little girl¡¯s cheek, and she was rewarded with a smile and a tiny giggle. Then Maria frowned again.
¡°I¡¯m not worried about me,¡± she said insistently.
¡°Then are you worried about me? You know I can hide?¡± Esmeralda said.
¡°No, not worried about you either,¡± Maria said.
Not even a little bit? Dang, kids are blunt!
¡°Well, then?¡± Esmeralda asked.
¡°I¡¯m worried about cousin Martin!¡±
Esmeralda had to keep herself from laughing. She managed to maintain a serious face as the little girl stared at her earnestly. If I laughed, she¡¯d never forgive me.
In this little village, everyone knew everyone else¡¯s business. Esmeralda, as the teacher, knew more than most about the children¡¯s business. She knew that Maria had a crush on little Martin for the better part of last year, until Esmeralda made sure that someone informed her that he was actually her cousin. Since then, the two had been the best of friends.
¡°It¡¯s sweet of you to worry,¡± Esmeralda said. ¡°Why do you think they want cousin Martin?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think Contreras wants cousin Martin,¡± Maria corrected.
Such a serious young girl, Esmeralda thought, carefully observing the way Maria¡¯s facial expressions conveyed her sincerity.
¡°I think that our neighbors might be willing to give cousin Martin up,¡± Maria continued. ¡°You know, he¡¯s been sick ever since we came back from¡ªfrom that other place.¡±
Esmeralda nodded. She knew vaguely about the other place Maria meant. The separate space where children had been taken during Orientation.
¡°Martin has been unwell,¡± Esmeralda said slowly. Her mind raced as she considered this. Despite herself, she was forced to take the wise little girl¡¯s thought process very seriously. Being sickly, when the whole village was struggling to survive¡ Would they choose Martin as a sacrifice just for that?
Esmeralda would have liked to simply say, No, that will never happen.
But she had reason to believe otherwise.
In Orientation, didn¡¯t people abandon the sick? The wounded? The dying? My mother¡
Esmeralda stopped herself from going back down memory lane. She had learned a lot that she didn¡¯t want to know about the people she grew up with in Orientation. That was all. What they were willing to do, and what they were not willing to face, in order to survive.
And now they were in a world where real monsters roamed free. Decency might be a thing of the past.
It would make logical sense for the villagers to choose Martin as their sacrifice if Alfonso Contreras was back, looking for human flesh to offer up to his dark god. No one wanted to be carved up and offered to Huitzipochtli.
Esmeralda swallowed. ¡°You might have a point,¡± she told Maria.
¡°I knew it,¡± the little girl said. Little beads of water started welling up in her eyes again.
¡°You know what you need to do now?¡± Esmeralda asked.
¡°What can I do?¡± Maria asked.
¡°Think about how to escape. Can Martin walk?¡±
Maria nodded.
¡°All right. Now I need you to be brave and strong. I need you to go into Martin¡¯s room and get him out of there. Take him somewhere no one else knows about. Do you have a hiding place like that?¡±
¡°I did,¡± Maria said. ¡°Before the Earth moved.¡±
¡°Do you know if it¡¯s still there?¡± Esmeralda asked.
Maria shook her head.
¡°Is that a ¡®no,¡¯ because it¡¯s not still there, or a ¡®no,¡¯ you don¡¯t know?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Maria said.
¡°Then try taking him there anyway. If Contreras comes after you, I¡¯ll find a way to distract him,¡± Esmeralda said.
¡°Are you going to be all right, Esmeral¡ªEsmer?¡± Maria asked.
Esmeralda plastered a smile on her face. ¡°Don¡¯t you worry about me,¡± she said.
But she herself was worried.
Esmeralda and Maria emerged from the church together and immediately went their separate ways. Maria headed for one of the few houses that was still basically intact, where Martin lived. Esmeralda looked for where Contreras would be.
She found him in what had once been the village cantina, a building she had never spent any significant time in. Half of the building¡¯s roof had caved in. But the bar was still standing.
Of course the bar is still standing. The System couldn¡¯t get rid of alcohol, which makes men behave like animals. Then it would be doing us a favor¡
The proprietor of the establishment, Jose Gomez Vega, was serving Contreras from the meager stock of alcohol that had survived. Beads of sweat stood out on Vega¡¯s forehead, and although it was hot and sunny today, Esmeralda didn¡¯t think it was the weather that had him sweating.
Contreras was playing with a knife as he drank¡ªa pre-System weapon, not something he¡¯d acquired in Orientation. The shiny metal glinted brightly in the sunlight that streamed through the collapsed ceiling.
¡°Well, hello, there, Esmer,¡± Contreras said, without turning.
She kept herself from flinching. Esmeralda had hoped he wouldn¡¯t spot her so soon. She wasn¡¯t certain of what she wanted to say just yet. But now she had to say something.
¡°Hello Alfonso,¡± she said quietly. She couldn¡¯t keep the sadness from her voice. ¡°I heard you were visiting.¡±
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¡°Oh, yeah?¡± he said, turning his head back to look at her. He smiled. His face was the same, besides the thin mustache, but somehow it was hard for her to see the boy she had thought was cute in school. ¡°I wonder who told you that.¡±
She ignored the question. Contreras got up from the bar stool where he was sitting.
¡°You know I won¡¯t be here long,¡± he said. ¡°We could have some fun before I go. For old times¡¯ sake.¡± He stepped closer to her. Almost close enough to kiss her. She smelled the sour odor of cheap whiskey on his breath.
¡°We don¡¯t have any ¡®old times¡¯ to get nostalgic about,¡± she said.
¡°Just a girl with a crush,¡± Contreras said.
Her face grew hot. I can¡¯t believe I ever liked you.
¡°That was when I thought you were smart,¡± she said. She would have gone further, but she had to remind herself that she wanted to keep him in this place for a while. She¡¯d been lucky to find him here.
¡°Before I fell in with the wrong crowd,¡± he said under his breath.
Understatement of the century. The Azteca Cartel were the worst crowd he could possibly have fallen in with. People around here hated them. But they looked at Contreras differently after he joined, too. Showed him a kind of respect he¡¯d never experienced before. The only real downside, if he cared about it, was that it closed some people off from him forever. People like Esmeralda.
She nodded. ¡°But we don¡¯t have to talk about that now.¡±
He raised an eyebrow. ¡°It seems kind of pressing to why I¡¯m here¡ªah, but you probably already know that. Esmer the Wise knows everything. Let our friend here get you a drink instead of dwelling on unpleasant things.¡± Contreras gestured at the bartender, and he immediately began rummaging under the counter.
¡°I don¡¯t drink,¡± Esmeralda began. But then she saw Jose was getting her a bottle of water from somewhere.
He gave her a sympathetic smile. A look that said, I know.
¡°Of course you don¡¯t drink,¡± Contreras said. ¡°You don¡¯t do anything fun.¡± He made a lewd gesture.
¡°If you¡¯re going to do that, I¡¯ll drink elsewhere,¡± Esmeralda said. ¡°I thought we were just going to talk about our school days, and maybe catch up.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t be like that, Esmer,¡± Contreras said. He placed a hand on her arm, and she forced herself not to push it away.
¡°Then you behave yourself,¡± she said sternly.
He chuckled. ¡°I can believe you became a teacher,¡± he said. ¡°You were always so prim and proper.¡± He turned to Jose. ¡°You know, she considered becoming a nun.¡±
Her face grew hot again. ¡°I told you that in confidence.¡±
¡°A long time ago, yes,¡± Contreras said. ¡°Since then, I seem to have lost your confidence completely.¡±
¡°You¡¯ve done a lot to keep me from giving it to you,¡± she said quietly.
The conversation between them was awkward. By turns mocking and sentimental. Two people who had known each other for years in school, briefly dated, exchanged first kisses, and then gone down very different paths. But she kept him there for an hour.
She thought she might have rekindled some old feelings in Contreras, which was not her intention. Worth it, though. The children had to have hidden themselves away by now.
She tried to think about what she would do when the village offered someone else up as a sacrifice. She knew they would accede to the Aztecas¡¯ demand. They would give someone up to Contreras. There was no spirit in the village to fight. But she despised them for it.
Once upon a time, I thought the people here were the type to stand up for what was right. She wrestled with what she would do after today was over. Take the kids with me and get out of here? Go where¡ªSouth toward the city? North toward the border? Either way, she would be wandering through the desert with no equipment. She was no Mage who could conjure water. She had thought the Healer path made the most sense¡ªand then had been forced to fight for her life with her stave and anything that came to hand.
How would she survive the desert? Let alone keep two children alive with her¡
This crappy little village was in the middle of nowhere, but in itself, it was technically somewhere. By some miracle, the village well still stood. They still had access to water.
No, she thought. Have faith. God had sent her dreams during Orientation. She had heard the voice of an angel. And most importantly, she had survived. Esmeralda had to keep reminding herself that she had survived when many others had died. There had to be a reason for that.
If God wished for her to try something impossible in order for her to keep faith with Him and honor her convictions, he would give her the tools. She mustn¡¯t be afraid.
The cantina had grown quiet, Esmeralda belatedly realized. She turned to face Contreras only to find he was staring at her intensely.
¡°I always loved the way you look when your mind goes elsewhere,¡± he said. ¡°You were always imagining yourself in a better place¡ªa better life, a higher position, just being somewhere doing more important things than whatever was happening in this shitty little village.¡±
She opened her mouth to reply. ¡°I¡ª¡±
¡°Don¡¯t deny it,¡± he said, cutting her off. ¡°I know. I¡¯m not so different. I wanted something different too.¡±
And even though she still felt as if they were a world apart, she understood him. She saw things through his eyes for a moment¡ªthough her mind instantly rebelled at the shift of perspective. The next words she said came out harsher because of it.
¡°If you wanted to get something higher than this village, then why did you reach so far beneath you to find something different?¡± She had spoken her knee-jerk reaction aloud before she could take time to consider the wisdom of it.
¡°Oh, Esmer.¡± He shook his head. His eyes had a glint of sadness in them. ¡°I am no saint, but my family is well provided for.¡± Contreras had moved his mother and little brother out of the village after he rose high enough in the cartel to take care of them.
¡°At whose expense?¡± she asked.
Contreras rose from his seat. ¡°I think the village has had enough time to choose their offering to Huitzipochtli,¡± he said. ¡°If they haven¡¯t¡ªwell, I¡¯ll help them make up their minds.¡± He flashed Esmeralda an ugly grin, and then his expression became more somber. ¡°It¡¯s been a pleasure having a drink with a lady. Don¡¯t ever change, Esmer. I hope I see you again in fifty years, and you¡¯ve become a nun. Then you can lecture me all you want.¡±
He put on the leather jacket he¡¯d left lying on the bar stool beside him¡ªContreras seemed to prefer his pre-System clothing over the armor he had acquired in Orientation¡ªand he walked out.
¡°Phew.¡± The bartender let out a long breath he¡¯d been holding and smiled at Esmeralda. ¡°I think you calmed him some, for what that¡¯s worth. And old Felipe¡¯s had time to say goodbye to everyone.¡±
Esmeralda¡¯s heart sank. She had been contemplating walking away from this insignificant place if people here were really willing to sacrifice one of their friends and neighbors just to keep the village alive. Because Huitzipochtli would undoubtedly be thirsty for blood again soon.
But this was too much to bear. Felipe. He was such a kind man. Whenever Mama needed a ride into town, or if we were running low on food, he was always there. It had been a recurring problem after her father died, when Esmeralda was just a little girl.
Now he was going to his death¡ªwillingly, if she knew the old man at all¡ªso that others would not have to die in his place. She imagined him saying goodbye to his two adult children, and hot tears welled up in her eyes.
¡°I¡¯m sure he appreciates the extra hours of life you bought him,¡± Jose said, clearly trying to be comforting.
¡°Not good enough,¡± Esmeralda said, almost under her breath.
It only takes one person to decide to stand up for what¡¯s right, she thought.
¡°What?¡± Jose was asking, but she ignored him.
She reached for her Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions and she drew out the great bow she had obtained in Orientation. She had decided.
To hell with this village, if they want to give up one of their own. I¡¯m not going to let it happen.
¡°Jose, is there a back way out of this place?¡± she asked.
His face took on a look of consternation.
¡°Now why do you need to know that? What are you going to do with that bow?¡± he asked.
¡°Just answer the question, please,¡± she replied firmly.
Finally, Jose led her out the back door. It was hidden by the collapsed roof.
Then Esmeralda ignored his pleas to know what she was going to do. She climbed up a nearby hill, until she reached the highest point that she could. She looked out over the dirt road that led out of the village.
This is the road Alfonso will have to ride down to bring Felipe back to his gang, she thought.
Esmeralda looked down, thinking about angles and the effect of wind and gravity on even an energy-based projectile like her magic arrows. She would only have one, perhaps two shots at this. If she missed, she might kill Felipe herself.
Finally, she steadied her breath. She heard the sound of Contreras¡¯s motorcycle revving.
She drew the bowstring back, a gesture she had needed to perform hundreds of times in Orientation. She focused and materialized her arrow, a glowing shape of pure light and energy.
And he came into view, riding on his motorcycle with Felipe close behind him. Esmeralda would have to be more than precise. She would need to be perfect.
She didn¡¯t give herself time to doubt.
Esmeralda loosed the arrow, and she saw the motorcycle instantly spin out of control.
She allowed herself a smile before she rushed down to check on Felipe and Contreras.
Both men were gasping when she reached them. The arrow had taken Felipe through his right lung, and he was extremely short of breath, though he still managed to smile at her.
¡°Es. Mer. Alda.¡± Every syllable was a struggle.
¡°Hush,¡± she said, and began Laying On Hands.
Her eyes strayed to Contreras, who had a hole right through the center of his chest and blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
Why couldn¡¯t you have been different? she thought.
His lips were twitching, and she realized that Contreras was trying to speak. She tried to lean in and listen while still keeping her hands on Felipe¡¯s chest.
¡°You are starting a war,¡± Contreras said.
¡°I know,¡± she replied.
¡°You can¡¯t win,¡± he rasped, the words coming shallower as his body failed him.
¡°Probably not,¡± she said, ¡°but I couldn¡¯t find another way to do things. Better to have the fight now instead of later. We would only be weaker.¡±
¡°You, you have an answer for everything,¡± he said, almost laughing but running short of breath. ¡°That¡¯s why you were top of our class.¡±
I¡¯m just thinking out loud, Esmeralda thought. I only did what I thought was right. I could not do otherwise.
¡°Not much of an achievement in this place,¡± she said.
¡°Goodbye, Esmer,¡± Contreras rasped.
¡°Goodbye, Alfonso,¡± she said.
Esmeralda leaned in and kissed him on the forehead as the last gasps left his body.
V3Ch53-The Volunteers
¡°All right, I¡¯ve gathered all of the volunteers,¡± Dave said. ¡°We¡¯re ready to invade the forest.¡±
The sun was already below the horizon as he spoke, and the whole Fisher Kingdom glowed under a brilliant, quickly fading orange halo¡ªexcept the part that stood in the shadow of the evil spirit¡¯s forest. The darkness there seemed almost impenetrable, as if there had never been the touch of light there. And yet that was where the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s eager volunteers stood, armed and armored, eager and ready to do battle.
¡°There are quite a lot of them,¡± James said, looking surprised. He looked at the crowd of people gathered near the forest, around forty feet back from where he and Dave were talking. It was significantly more than the number of those who had attacked the bats with them earlier. A few hundred more.
¡°After your performance in response to the bats earlier,¡± Dave said, lowering his voice, ¡°there has been a surge in enthusiasm for further military adventures.¡± There was a dark irony to his tone as he finished the sentence.
I can¡¯t say I¡¯m entirely comfortable with the way people are reacting, myself, but I hope it will serve our purposes well, Dave thought. We need this kind of fervor right now. We need people psyched up to enter the unknown dangers of that forest¡
¡°Are a lot of the people who invaded the bats¡¯ territory signing up for this too?¡± James asked.
¡°Most of them,¡± Dave said, ¡°plus anyone who they spoke to about it. A lot of people responded to your announcement.¡±
¡°Is there anyone still in their beds?¡± James asked incredulously. He lowered his voice. ¡°Sending this many people feels very risky to me.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t feel that you can distract the boss monster for long enough that we can all get in and out?¡± Dave asked quietly. ¡°If you think it¡¯s too dangerous, you can tell them now, and we¡¯ll just go in with a small strike force.¡±
James turned his head and looked over to where his wife, mother, and sister stood, apart from the mass of soldiers ready to invade, wearing their bat capes.
¡°No,¡± James said after a moment. ¡°We¡¯ll go ahead with everyone. I can definitely keep the boss creature¡¯s attention. I would just suggest that a few should go in before the rest. An advance party. I just want to make certain of whether the creature¡¯s apparitions are active or not before we commit the full body of soldiers into that dark forest.¡±
Dave nodded. ¡°That sounds prudent,¡± he said.
I am relieved you¡¯re not just blindly ordering everyone in, he thought. That might work with you there in person, but I¡¯m not certain how well it would work out with you staying behind. Dave reminded himself for the sixth time that James would be in the fight with them, because he would be grappling with this ¡°Sister Strange¡± on the astral plane or something. It was still hard to fully grasp what it meant. How many planes of existence are there, anyway? There¡¯s Earth, all the other universes the System mentions, other-other places where Orientations happen, plus at least one afterlife¡ and of course there¡¯s a separate place where dream creatures can move around.
He sighed to himself. I have a feeling I¡¯m going to miss normal shooting wars after a few years of this. But I¡¯m in it now.
James placed a hand on his shoulder. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± he asked, looking into his eyes.
Right now, I have the strangest feeling that you know the answer to that question already. You can¡¯t also read minds, in addition to reshaping the earth, sensing foreign presences, and communicating with everyone in your territory, can you? It didn¡¯t seem at all out of the realm of possibility.
¡°I feel okay,¡± Dave said. He could see James looking back at him skeptically but without humor. ¡°Ah, fuck, I¡¯m nervous as hell.¡±
¡°Yeah, that sounds more like it,¡± James said. ¡°Now you sound like a good Captain.¡±
¡°What are you talking about?¡± Dave asked. ¡°I have to imbue my troops with confidence.¡±
¡°Yes, which is why you won¡¯t say you¡¯re nervous as hell to them. But it would be irresponsible not to bring your well-founded concerns to your commander. You¡¯re in charge of leading these men and women¡ªand wait, are there teenagers over there?¡±
Dave looked back at the crowd, but they were much too far away for him to tell how old individuals were.
¡°Probably,¡± he said finally. ¡°I told parents not to let their teenagers come, whenever teens asked if they could join, but there were too many people for me to ask them all for ID in the last half hour.¡±
James swallowed. ¡°I really don¡¯t want teenagers entering the forest, Dave,¡± he said. ¡°This isn¡¯t a game, and it isn¡¯t World War One. I want to be better than the governments that came before me, not worse.¡±
¡°I agree with you,¡± Dave said. ¡°The dark is getting thicker, though. I won¡¯t even be able to read IDs in the next ten minutes. If people want to sneak into this fight, we¡¯re not going to be able to stop them.¡±
¡°Yeah,¡± James said. ¡°I know. I could check every ID myself. But soon the first people to go to bed will be falling asleep. I need to be in Dreamspace to intercept Sister Strange, or she¡¯ll start attacking people¡¯s dreams.¡± He sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll just make an announcement.¡± James closed his eyes.
Dave waited, but he heard nothing. Then there was a small commotion from within the crowd of volunteers. Dave heard raised voices, and then a half dozen people were shoved out of their ranks. The six individuals looked downcast from their slumped postures, but they headed back to the residential buildings.
¡°Wait, did you make an announcement?¡± Dave asked.
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¡°I figured out how to keep them to limited geographic areas,¡± James said. ¡°The more time I spend with these Ruler abilities, the better I¡¯m getting at using them. Absorbing the power of another Ruler also makes mine stronger.¡±
Oh. Well. All right then. He¡¯s just going to keep on getting further ahead of us normal human types, I guess. Cool.
¡°I¡¯ll let you get to your power nap,¡± Dave said. ¡°I¡¯ll let the ones going into the forest first know who they are. The rest of us will be on standby, ready to rescue or back them up as the case may be.¡±
James looked surprised at something, though Dave couldn¡¯t quite figure out what.
¡°You just accepted the Captain Job,¡± James finally said.
¡°I did,¡± Dave said.
¡°I meant for you to take your time and consider that,¡± James said. ¡°I don¡¯t want you to have regrets.¡±
¡°I meant to take you up on that generosity,¡± Dave said. ¡°Then I realized that the Captain Job comes with bonuses to those under your command. I wasn¡¯t about to lead people into battle without giving them every possible advantage. The boost only applies to up to five hundred people. But I think it will just about cover every member of our invading group today.¡±
James had seemed surprised at first, and then pleased. But as Dave spoke, he recognized on James¡¯s face a look of respect. He couldn¡¯t be sure if he¡¯d ever seen that particular expression on the Fisher King¡¯s face before.
¡°Well considered, Captain,¡± James said. He raised his arm in a salute, which Dave returned crisply.
Just like riding a bicycle, he thought.
¡°As Commander-in-Chief, you know you¡¯re supposed to let other people salute you first,¡± Dave said mildly.
¡°I do know that,¡± James said. ¡°I just felt like saluting you this time. It probably won¡¯t happen again. Now let¡¯s go inspire the troops.¡±
Dave smiled, and the two men walked over to where the volunteers stood waiting.
¡°Volunteer soldiers of the Fisher Kingdom!¡± James yelled. ¡°Thank you for gathering this evening. Tonight, we take the fight to the enemy who has invaded many citizens¡¯ dreams!¡±
A low cheer went up.
Dave heard them shout, ¡°James!¡± and ¡°Fight!¡± and ¡°Rah!¡±
¡°I will engage the enemy in the dream world while you attack the forest,¡± James said, continuing in the same raised voice. ¡°Follow the orders of your commanding officer, Captain Dave Matsumoto!¡±
There were shouts of ¡°Captain Dave!¡± and Dave felt his heart beginning to race.
This is a bit intoxicating. His mind flashed to moments when he had been ready, eager even, to fight in his last war, and he realized that he was emotionally in a very similar place. But this time, I don¡¯t have to lose so many of my friends, he told himself. This time, we¡¯ll win a victory without such devastating losses. This time is different.
He wasn¡¯t sure if he truly believed it or just fervently wanted to believe it, and maybe the difference didn¡¯t matter right now. This wasn¡¯t a war of choice. This was an enemy who had chosen to attack them. Self-defense was easy to support. He realized James was still talking, and he tuned back in.
¡°¡ªjust the beginning of building up our strength!¡± James was saying. ¡°We will be taken seriously by all peace-loving countries and feared by all aggressive powers!¡±
The crowd seemed very energized, and they kept shouting, almost going over James¡¯s volume.
¡°Yes!¡±
¡°Victory!¡±
¡°James!¡±
¡°Fisher Kingdom!¡±
¡°Keep control of yourselves!¡± James shouted. His voice seemed to cut through the noise, as if it was infused with something more than human. The crowd began to calm noticeably. ¡°Follow the orders of your commander. We don¡¯t want to lose any people unnecessarily. Before you proceed into the forest, a squad of scouts will move forward to see how active its defenses are. The Captain will select those scouts, if he hasn¡¯t already. Until Dave tells you to advance, everyone else holds tight.¡±
¡°Yes sir!¡± someone in the thick of people shouted.
Then the rest of them joined in, ¡°Yes sir!¡±
James turned back to Dave. He looked satisfied with the effect he had produced. Dave was slightly in awe and couldn¡¯t find words for a few seconds.
¡°Those are some awesome powers you have,¡± Dave said finally. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a group of people so eager to fight and kill and die before.¡±
¡°Well, today, that¡¯s what we need,¡± James said. ¡°A large number of very aggressive humans.¡±
¡°Yeah,¡± Dave said thoughtfully. ¡°I noticed there aren¡¯t a lot of Goblins around. I guess that was your decision?¡±
James nodded. ¡°Only the ones who can use magic. Humans have a lot of different ways of fighting, but most of the Goblins are only armed with crude physical weapons. Only the Goblin Mages are going to be of any use against the kinds of opponents I¡¯m imagining we¡¯ll face.¡±
¡°I wonder if I¡¯ll be of any use,¡± Dave said. He looked down at his pistol. It seemed remarkably mundane to face down any kind of supernatural threat, but it had carried him through thus far.
¡°I think you¡¯ll be just fine,¡± James said. ¡°Remember, don¡¯t stand and fight against overwhelming odds if you find them. This isn¡¯t our last chance to defeat the residents of this forest. If you can withdraw the army in good order, and you think that¡¯s quickly going to become difficult to do, you should do that.¡±
¡°What are they doing?¡± Dave asked, gesturing to James¡¯s wife, sister, and mother.
¡°They¡¯re going to attack from another angle, as soon as the scouts give the signal that it¡¯s okay for you and your allies to invade,¡± James said. ¡°Apparently there¡¯s a physical location that the boss is tied to, and it might be a point of vulnerability while I have the creature¡¯s spirit trapped with me in Dreamspace.¡±
¡°So we¡¯re serving in that time-honored role of barely trained foot soldiers throughout history,¡± Dave said. ¡°A distraction.¡±
James shook his head but looked slightly uncomfortable. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that exactly,¡± he said, ¡°but I will admit, I¡¯m hoping that your frontal attack allows them to get further in than they would without it. The reason I wouldn¡¯t think of it as a distraction is that any enemies you guys engage with inside are enemies we actually need to defeat. There¡¯s not going to be any irrelevant fighting in the forest. Only fighting against Sister Strange and her minions.¡±
¡°Hm.¡± Dave wasn¡¯t sure he was convinced, but he was all right with serving in the role of a distraction if James was lying to him. He knew that real military operations often needed some element of misdirection to succeed. ¡°Well, good luck with your mission,¡± he finally said.
¡°Thank you,¡± James said. ¡°I think we¡¯ll either succeed together or fail together. If you see me appear on the battlefield at any point, you¡¯ll know that we¡¯ve probably already won.¡±
¡°I will look forward to seeing you, then,¡± Dave replied. He grabbed James¡¯s hand and shook it forcefully. And then he spoke in a low voice. ¡°It¡¯s all right if you use us as a distraction. I know that sometimes, that¡¯s necessary in war. But whatever you do, don¡¯t disappoint these people by letting them suffer a pointless defeat. If we lose soldiers, it has to mean something. Understand?¡±
James nodded. ¡°Tonight is either the first step toward victory, or the whole thing,¡± he said.
This time, Dave decided he believed him.
V3Ch54-Visions and Nightmares Part 1
James wished Dave luck and then walked away from him and back to Mina, Alice, and his mother.
He was quiet and resolved. He believed this was his best plan, and he allowed himself to mentally detach a bit from the people he was sending into harm¡¯s way.
Can¡¯t worry about them right now. If I do, I won¡¯t make proper use of the risk they¡¯re taking.
He looked around as he moved. There were still a few people lurking outside, looking at the forest and the force that was about to invade it. Annoyed, James sent another localized message out.
[All non-deployed personnel, please return to your residences. If the enemy retaliates in response to our advance, indoors is the safest place to be.]
Finally, he reached his family.
¡°How did that go?¡± his mother asked.
¡°I think I instilled Dave with as much confidence as I could,¡± he said. ¡°And as for the rest of them, I think they¡¯re ready to tear down the forest with their bare hands.¡±
¡°Are you going to be all right?¡± Alice asked.
James smiled. ¡°When did you start worrying about your big brother?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯m the one who¡¯s supposed to worry about you, remember?¡±
¡°That¡¯s how I know everything is fine,¡± Mina said, looking at his mother and sister. ¡°James is still trying to be funny.¡±
¡°Trying?¡± he asked. ¡°What do you mean, ¡®trying¡¯?¡±
¡°Mister Comedian,¡± his mother said, rolling his eyes.
Is it possible I¡¯m really not funny?
¡°You guys don¡¯t have to go, you know,¡± he said, becoming serious. ¡°I know you came up with this plan, and I think it¡¯s a good one, but it¡¯s also risky. We could just use this as an information-gathering trip. You could stick with the volunteers and fight beside them. I think you¡¯re going to be in worse danger than they are.¡±
¡°If we don¡¯t follow the plan, the three of us aren¡¯t going to get anything useful done,¡± his mother said. ¡°No information, no nothing. Trust me. I¡¯ll keep your wife and your sister safe.¡±
¡°And I¡¯ll keep both of them safe,¡± Mina added.
¡°While Yulia watches the kids and keeps them safe,¡± James said.
¡°Even though she¡¯d rather be on the expedition with us, keeping me safe,¡± Mina said with a subtle note of sadness in her voice.
¡°I guess I¡¯ll just let these two keep me safe,¡± Alice said, shrugging and offering a small smile.
That made James smile.
¡°All right,¡± he said, shaking his head. He looked at Mina. ¡°I don¡¯t think today is the day any of us die.¡± He looked at Alice and his mother and added, ¡°Have fun, then.¡± The sun was completely out of view now, and the dark was settling in over everything like a thick blanket. ¡°I¡¯ll see you on the other side of this.¡±
Mina kissed him, and Alice and his mother embraced him.
Then James sat cross legged on the ground, leaning up against the apartment building, as he had the previous night.
Dreamwalk.
And he was in Dreamspace, floating weightlessly until he decided which way to move.
There were dreams all around. Even tonight, when hundreds of the residents of the Fisher Kingdom were volunteering to invade Sister Strange¡¯s forest, there were dozens of people asleep already.
Probably mostly children, he thought. That only made protecting their dreams from interference all the more critical.
James looked around, seeing little, for a moment.
Where is Sister Strange?
His and his family¡¯s plans would be thrown for a complete loop if the Dream Wraith was simply choosing not to come back here tonight. Or perhaps she was trying to hide in one person¡¯s dream instead of lurking as a giant, tentacled creature, interfering in scores of dreams. She could have him chasing her all night if that was her plan.
He looked carefully around the dreamers in his territory, but he couldn¡¯t find a trace of her, besides the gross feeling of the energies that she had left behind in her last visits. There were those who were dreaming, beginning dreams infected with the still raw memories of the bad dreams she had given them last night.
James could feel the seeds of nightmares germinating in a few of the minds around him.
Thanks to that creature contaminating my territory, he thought angrily.
He tried to wipe away the traces with his spectral hands, but there was little he could do from the outside. If he wanted to affect the dreamers, he needed to focus on them more carefully and specifically. It might even be best if he entered their dreams. But that wasn¡¯t what he was here for.
James continued to look for the invader as more minds began dreaming.
But there was no sign of Sister Strange.
He began to grow frustrated.
¡°Where are you?¡± James said loudly.
Then he saw the shape of her, the tentacled pale-faced thing coming across the border from the exceptionally dark place that was the representation of her forest within Dreamspace.
So she really wasn¡¯t here yet, he thought.
¡°You¡¯re here early, human,¡± she said in a curious tone. ¡°Did you decide to sleep at sunset tonight? Were you truly so eager to see me again?¡±
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James rushed toward her, but Sister Strange danced back, keeping her distance, ready at any moment to pull back across the border and into her land again.
¡°Why so eager?¡± she asked. ¡°Did you miss my exquisite visions? Are you fond of suffering?¡±
James already knew what he wanted to say to her. He had anticipated that Sister Strange might be cleverer than the average monster he fought.
¡°I need answers,¡± James said. ¡°What were those places and times you showed me? Was that the future that¡¯s meant to be? The future that might be? Or your own invention?¡±
¡°I do not know what you saw,¡± Sister Strange snarled, ¡°but my visions are no inventions. They are true representations of suffering that will be, suffering that may be, suffering that is, and suffering that has been. Since you¡¯re referring to the future, whatever you saw is either going to happen or is a possible path. If it¡¯s the former, then even if some details change, the vision¡¯s contents are inevitable.¡±
¡°Which was it?¡± James asked. ¡°What did you show me? The future that will be, or the future that might be?¡±
¡°That¡¯s for me to know, and you to torture yourself with,¡± Sister Strange said, laughing cruelly. Her face twisted with an unwholesome enjoyment.
¡°Monster,¡± James growled. His emotion was half feigned and half real. He was afraid that what he had seen represented the inevitable future, and he was almost as afraid of it being a genuine possible future. He had hoped that Sister Strange was simply a liar, or that she was simply conjuring up his worst nightmares. But the more he thought about it, the more he doubted that.
As much as it would constitute genuine psychological torture to deceive him in this way, she could have shown him worse visions than what he had seen if she was simply trying to torment him. Junior was still alive when James¡¯s last vision faded out. If she wanted to torture him, why not kill his whole family? Why only show isolated incidents? It felt like there was more to this than the simple desire to inflict suffering.
¡°I am a monster,¡± Sister Strange agreed, ¡°and you remain merely human. I commend you for returning here, however. You are very brave, despite¡ª¡± Her facial expression changed, and she turned her head as if to look back at her territory. ¡°What¡¡±
James lunged at the tentacled figure and grabbed her center of mass with both hands.
Soul Bind!
¡°What are you doing?¡± Her voice came sharply in his ear. Her tentacles whipped at him now, and James thought she must have done something new with them since they¡¯d last encountered each other. They packed a lot more of a punch. They couldn¡¯t do any lasting damage to him, but they landed whip-like on his dream body, and each touch felt like a blade¡¯s cut.
She optimized them for trying to torture me instead of infiltrating hundreds of people¡¯s dreams, he thought.
¡°Oh, I just wanted to give you a hug,¡± James replied from between clenched teeth. ¡°You seem like you don¡¯t get enough of those.¡±
¡°Release me, human, or I will¡ª¡±
She stopped. They both felt it. Soul Bind had taken effect. She was locked to his location now.
¡°What¡¯s going on within my territory?¡± Sister Strange demanded. ¡°Who walks through the Haunted Forest this night? I sense a presence¡¡±
¡°Oh, that¡¯s for me to know, and you to torture yourself with,¡± James replied, grinning savagely.
¡°You will suffer for this impudence!¡± she shrieked. Then her eyes flashed brightly with supernatural power.
James blinked and found himself in that same room in the ancient-looking mansion he¡¯d visited before.
¡°Choose your poison.¡± Sister Strange¡¯s voice came from the ceiling and the walls.
James found that the doors looked different from the four doors he¡¯d seen last time. Their number was still the same, but they looked subtly different. He couldn¡¯t tell if Sister Strange had rearranged them, or if they were simply all completely different doors than the ones he¡¯d chosen from before.
She mixed them up to maximize my confusion.
¡°I want the future that will be,¡± James said aloud. The first time he encountered Sister Strange, he had gotten the impression she might be willing to accommodate his choice between the four suffering options. Perhaps she might be too angry for that now, but it was worth a try.
I¡¯m glad to be back here again. I¡¯m restraining her from defending her territory, I hope. And if I see the same things again, then I¡¯ll know that those¡ªHis mind rebelled against where he was going, refused to complete the thought.
¡°Do you hear me, Sister Strange?¡± James yelled. ¡°I want the future that will be!¡±
One of the doors began exerting a pull on his body, then, almost like it had become the room¡¯s center of gravity. James let himself go with that force, hoping it would be the vision he¡¯d requested.
The door dissolved into nothingness as soon as he passed through it. The scenery jumped into view¡ªand almost instantly, he knew that he was in the wrong place.
It was the living room of his parents¡¯ home from when he was a kid. Before they had to move into their squalid apartment. Before his father died. He heard his baby sister crying, and the sound pulled him back.
As he watched his mother striding briskly across the room toward Alice¡¯s bedroom, James knew what day it was.
¡°How dare you,¡± he murmured.
The rage boiled up within him, thick and hot.
This was the day his father died. Tears came to the corners of his eyes. For a moment, he was a child again.
He feared what was coming. It was worse than it had been when he was a boy, because now he knew what was set to happen in the next hour.
Soon, that doorbell will ring. And then¡ Mom and I find out that we¡¯ve lost him.
The wrathful part of James surged forward and instantly took control of this regression to childhood.
¡°How dare you?¡± he said again, loudly this time. He felt his voice rippling through the room. The fabric of the place shook with the sound.
¡°How dare you waste my time with this bullshit?!¡± James shouted. ¡°This suffering is pointless. Worthless. I refuse to do this again. Once was more than enough.¡±
James blocked out the world all around him. He drowned out all sound and light with his mind, until he was in a silent, still black box. And he willed the door to reappear.
After a few seconds of this focused state, he saw the door in his mind¡¯s eye. He reached out and pulled it open. Then he stepped through, and he felt that he was back in the room. He looked around. The door he had just come through closed, and James felt the distinct sense that Sister Strange would not try to suck him through it again.
It was hard to be certain. Dream logic was no logic at all. Hazy and inconsistent didn¡¯t begin to describe it.
But for now, he had won some small part of the struggle for control.
He took deep breaths, trying to brace himself for whatever was to come next.
Three more doors, he thought. What are the odds that the next one holds something useful? He considered the question carefully and realized that he could consider the odds quite high if the rest of these rooms were as real as Sister Strange¡¯s vision from his past was.
That would mean Mina is either certain to die defending this Kingdom and our child, or that it¡¯s a high likelihood. I still don¡¯t understand why. I only have the symbols those people wore to go off of. Religious symbolism associated with the three Abrahamic religions¡
He took one last deep breath and then reached out to his body outside of the room.
He could feel that his astral body continued to keep hold of Sister Strange. Which meant her territory was still a vulnerable target for his soldiers.
It¡¯s just a matter of waiting her out now, he thought. Relax and gather as much information as possible. Time is on my side.
James chose one of the remaining open doors without much concern for which one was which, and he stepped through.
V3Ch55-The Haunted Forest Part 2
Dave exhaled.
¡°All right,¡± he said. ¡°You, you, and you.¡± He selected three more people. ¡°That completes our scouting party.¡±
A few people groaned, but Dave raised his hand for silence. To their credit, they immediately clammed up.
¡°Unless something immediately happens to the scouting party, the rest of us will be joining them shortly.¡±
A little hoot of excitement went up, and Dave grimaced. Whatever. I guess it¡¯s better for people to be excited than scared out of their minds.
¡°Amalia, you ready?¡± he asked.
She gave him a crisp salute, which he returned.
¡°Ready and eager, sir,¡± she said, offering him a slim smile.
He wanted to say, Don¡¯t call me sir, I work for a living! but he supposed that he was actually an officer now.
¡°I still feel weird about that,¡± he mumbled.
¡°Don¡¯t,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯ve earned it, and everyone here knows. They believe in you, just like they believe in him.¡± She gestured at their Commander-in-Chief, sitting cross-legged by his apartment.
¡°Yeah, well I don¡¯t have the power to turn the tide of a battle singlehandedly,¡± Dave said, his words coming out a little harsher than he intended them to. He softened his tone as he added, ¡°So, please do be careful. If you lead my soldiers into a massacre¡ª¡± His lips twitched in a perverse smile¡ª¡°I¡¯ll bring you back and kill you again myself.¡±
¡°Understood, Captain,¡± she said. ¡°We will be the ones doing all the massacring.¡±
¡°Dismissed.¡±
Amalia strode over to her group. Dave caught her brief words to them.
¡°Well, we¡¯re the ones who got picked, guys. We¡¯re the ones who get first crack at the enemy. Hope you¡¯re all fucking excited!¡±
There were hoots from the other members of the scouting party. Among them were those Dave trusted, like Paul Mann and Amalia; those who came recommended by James like Ramon and Felicia Rodriguez; and those who seemed to have something to prove, like John Carraway, who had apparently once been the landlord here and Olivar Cruz, who was a former criminal.
¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± she shouted.
Everyone¡¯s infected with your energy tonight, Dave thought, turning back to look at James¡¯s sleeping form. I really hope this isn¡¯t an insane miscalculation. Feels kind of crazy that we could be going into battle without you standing beside us.
But that would all depend on these next few minutes, and what the scouts experienced.
Dave followed them closely with his eyes as they walked into the forest, trying to maintain a tightly knit formation. Soon, though, he lost sight of them. The night felt unusually dark, and that darkness seemed even denser in the forest than it was elsewhere.
Perhaps it was just his mind playing tricks on him, but a part of Dave wanted the scouts to run back and tell him and the hundreds with him to abort the mission. He didn¡¯t like the thought of leading this large group into such danger and uncertainty.
Time seemed to flow very slowly as he stared into the blank dimness. Time enough for Dave to play out his fears in his mind over and over. He began almost to assume defeat.
How can we stand up to a force whose leader could haunt hundreds of dreams at once?
He shook his head and tried to clear his mind, but the longer he stared into the darkness, the more insistently the negative thoughts asserted themselves.
What will become of this country, even if the King survives, if all his bravest citizens are slaughtered in that forest?
A hand pressed gently on Dave¡¯s shoulder, and he emerged from his fog, turned his head semi-consciously around, and blinked twice.
¡°Oh, Alan, it¡¯s you,¡± he said, breathing a sigh of relief.
¡°Hi David,¡± Alan said in a hushed voice. ¡°Are you okay? You were looking a little spacey there.¡±
¡°Yeah,¡± Dave said. ¡°Well, no, you¡¯re right. I was kind of out of it.¡±
¡°It¡¯s hard,¡± Alan said, ¡°but there¡¯s some sense in which it¡¯s just like riding a bicycle, right?¡±
Dave swallowed. ¡°This bicycle is a rough one,¡± he said.
¡°You¡¯re okay,¡± Alan said. ¡°You can do this. Look at all these people you have ready to follow you into that forest.¡± He gestured at the hundreds of volunteer soldiers just a few feet away from them. ¡°Could all these people be wrong?¡±
¡°It¡¯s not¡ªI¡¯m not¡ªwell. Hm.¡± Dave thought for a minute. Why am I feeling so pessimistic? Need to stop dragging my baggage into this. He took a deep breath. ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± he said with renewed confidence. ¡°We¡¯re going to be fine.¡±
¡°That¡¯s right,¡± Alan said. ¡°We are. And they are.¡± He tilted his head to indicate the other soldiers again. ¡°Because they have you, and you have them. We¡¯re all one unit now. Say, is that the signal?¡± He pointed, and Dave followed his finger.
A red flare lit up the sky. Someone had used fire magic.
¡°That¡¯s the signal!¡± Dave shouted. ¡°We advance.¡±
¡°Rahh!¡± The volunteers roared enthusiastically. ¡°Fisher Kingdom! Victory! James! Rahhhh!¡±
They surged forward, an almost uncontrollable mass now, eager to score kills and win glory.
Dave turned his head to look behind him. It was an afterthought, but he didn¡¯t know what James¡¯s family members were up to. His mouth gaped. The three women were holding hands as they floated into the air.
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Like something out of Peter Pan, he thought. He had never seen a human fly through the air before. It¡¯s those wings that some of us got by defeating the bats¡
Then he heard Alan clearing his throat.
¡°Oh, yes,¡± Dave said. ¡°Let¡¯s go. Before we get left behind.¡±
The two men rushed after the troops Dave was meant to be commanding. They moved swiftly, even as the all-encompassing darkness of the forest gave the feeling they were rushing forward into some immense predator¡¯s maw.
Dave moved swiftly so that he could try and retake the lead position. Alan was slightly more relaxed; he split off from Dave, and Dave guessed that he was going to go and stand beside his wife, who had also volunteered to join them.
¡ª
¡°I feel a little bad about letting them fight without us,¡± Mina said softly as she floated up into the air.
¡°You shouldn¡¯t,¡± Zora said bluntly. ¡°We have the harder job. They might have a higher casualty rate than we do¡ªbut if we don¡¯t get this right, the mission is a failure. And we might all die.¡±
¡°You were very reassuring with James,¡± Alice observed. ¡°I guess we don¡¯t merit the same treatment?¡±
¡°I¡¯m reassuring you now, in a way,¡± Zora said. ¡°Your boyfriend is down there with the other volunteers, right?¡±
¡°Please leave him out of this,¡± Alice said, rolling her eyes.
¡°I¡¯m just saying, he¡¯ll probably be okay down there. We might all die, but at least Ben and James will probably live through this.¡±
¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sorry, Zora, but this isn¡¯t really making me feel much better either,¡± Mina said. ¡°Do you have a specific direction I should follow?¡±
¡°No, my dear, I don¡¯t,¡± Zora said. ¡°I have the book¡¯s guidance, but where this Sister Strange¡¯s Reliquary might be is a matter of educated guesswork. We haven¡¯t built any kind of device to track it. We¡¯re just using the best information we have available.¡±
¡°Which is?¡± Alice asked.
¡°You know, I explained all of this during dinner,¡± Zora said. ¡°Was I just talking to myself?¡±
¡°There¡¯s no better time to go over it again than now,¡± Mina said. ¡°Anything you remind us of makes it more likely that we find it.¡±
¡°All right,¡± Zora said. ¡°We¡¯ll start from the beginning. A Wraith, no matter which kind, is a disembodied spirit. It needs to be anchored to the physical world somehow so that it does not pass on to the other side. That anchor has a tangible, physical form. Can anyone tell me why this is important?¡±
¡°It¡¯s like the core of an Elemental,¡± Mina said quickly. ¡°They all have it, and if you destroy it, you kill them.¡±
¡°Exactly. You win! The Reliquary will usually radiate some amount of magical energy, unless the Wraith is exceptionally weak. In the event that the Wraith¡¯s ethereal body is damaged or destroyed, she returns to the Reliquary to recover¡ªmuch like the Phylactery that a Lich possesses.¡±
¡°Okay, and what about the how-to-find-it part?¡± Alice asked.
Zora looked daggers at her for a moment, exhaled, then continued, ¡°The how-to-find-it could start with the magical energy signature. If it¡¯s out in the open, we should be able to see it. Mana has a visible appearance, and since it gives off light, I would think it would be extremely visible in this dense darkness. But then there¡¯s the typical behavior of the Wraith to consider. They usually want to find some structure to haunt. Broadly, the forest is haunted by the Wraith and her minions, but normally they¡¯d find some sort of secluded place to make their inner home. They¡¯re creatures of darkness. They like the dark. Something that allows for access to the outside world, so their prey can get closer to them. Think cave, house, circus tent, a structure of some sort.¡±
¡°So we¡¯re looking for a dark, hidden place in a dark forest,¡± Alice summarized.
¡°Well, at least we have a bird¡¯s eye view,¡± Mina said.
The three women flew in silence for some time, each keeping their eyes peeled for some visual indicator that they were near the part of the forest where Sister Strange had stored her Reliquary.
At a certain point, Mina could hear the distant sounds of fighting, but she tried to ignore it. Their mission was more important than whatever was happening to James¡¯s troops at the moment. Ultimately, if they defeated Strange, her minions would be weakened, and the conflict would end in the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s victory.
So where is it? Mina thought. If I were an evil spirit, where would I hide my weakness? It¡¯s a forest¡
¡°Guys, I think I see something!¡± Alice exclaimed.
She pointed, and Mina looked and saw a large, dark shape below them. The texture of this dark mass was different from the rest of the forest. It was vaguely reddish. Not like the brown scrub that covered the ground. It seemed to be a tiled roof.
¡°Let¡¯s drop down,¡± Mina said. She steered them toward the building and began the trio¡¯s slow descent.
¡ª
Dave caught up with the head of the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s force at just the moment they reached the scouts¡ªor what was left of them.
The scouts. God, the scouts. I sent them here¡
Magical light from levitating fireballs illuminated a dozen faces frozen in horrific expressions. Mouths open, fixed in images of terror. Eyes that stared forward, looking up into the vast emptiness of the night sky but seeing nothing. Sickening rictus grins.
Every scout¡¯s body was intact, but each one¡¯s face was contorted in a unique and disturbing way. It almost felt like they had died of fright.
¡°What the fuck happened here?¡± Sam Masterson¡¯s voice rang through the air beside Dave¡¯s head.
¡°There weren¡¯t enough people,¡± Dave said. ¡°They were overrun.¡±
¡°But by what?¡± asked another, female voice.
¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, Mitzi,¡± Dave said. They had briefly interacted as a part of James¡¯s Council, but Dave had spent more time speaking with Alan.
¡°I¡¯m still me, yes,¡± Mitzi said drily. ¡°What do you think did this?¡±
She gestured at the pale, stiff bodies lying on the ground, looking like they had been drained of something even more essential than blood. Some unnameable essence.
Their souls? No, it couldn¡¯t be their souls. That thing James uses for a weapon eats souls, and whenever it does, the bodies full-on disintegrate. Dave shivered at the thought of what had befallen the men and women laid out on the ground.
No, it¡¯s not just my thoughts that are making me shiver, he realized as he saw his breath coming out in visible clouds. It¡¯s suddenly strangely chilly here!
¡°Everyone, be prepared to fight!¡± Dave said. ¡°There¡¯s a presence somewhere nearby.¡±
¡°I wonder why they even signaled us,¡± Sam said. ¡°Like, when did they have time?¡±
Then Dave noticed it. The scouts¡¯ chests¡ªthey were still slowly rising and falling.
¡°Christ,¡± he muttered to himself. ¡°These people are still alive. But they look so wrong¡¡± Raising his voice, he called, ¡°Need a Healer up here now. Preferably one who knows the Purification Skill. Our scouts aren¡¯t dead, they¡¯re just¡ª¡±
One of the bodies jerked, and Dave found himself gaping as he stared into Amalia¡¯s dead eyes.
¡°I¡¯m sorry, Dave,¡± said Amalia¡¯s lips in a voice that was not her own. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t let you do that.¡±
¡°Oh. Oh, God.¡± Dave found himself wanting to vomit. The cold, dead eyes. The piercing voice. The obviously unnatural thing puppeteering her body, twisting her lips into a horrid mockery of a smile. It was such a horrifying sight that words left him, and it was all he could do to keep from throwing himself to the ground and screaming.
There was a sound of necks and knuckles and knees and ankles cracking, of joints that had grown stiff suddenly coming back into use again.
Then all of the scouts they had thought were dead began rising to their feet.
V3Ch56-The Haunted Forest Part 3
As the scouts rose to their feet and faced off against Dave and his vanguard, he forced himself to remain steady and not back down.
Identify.
Amalia Rosario (Possessed), Lv. 8
Damn it, they really are being controlled¡ªbut does that mean we can save them?
The thing wearing Amalia¡¯s body leaned in closer to Dave, leering at him. Obviously enjoying his discomfort.
¡°What¡¯s wrong, soldier boy?¡± the thing said in a shrill perversion of Amalia¡¯s voice. ¡°Invasion not going so well? You want to run home to Daddy?¡±
Dave felt his stomach churn. This thing knew what Amalia knew. Its remarks were obliquely personal. Things Dave had only shared with those who had hunted with him.
He distantly heard the other possessed scouts making similar remarks to figures in the vanguard, but he was ill-equipped to understand some of them. And for the moment, he couldn¡¯t look away from the eerie glowing eyes Amalia had affixed to his.
Then her hands were upon his. The skin was soft but ice cold.
Dave felt something being pulled out of him. His body instantly began weakening, but he felt powerless to resist.
Then he heard the sound of a sword singing through the air, and he saw Amalia staggering back. Her hands were still on Dave¡ªhe felt their cold grip almost to his bones¡ªbut he saw her wrists gushing thick spurts of blood where the hands had been severed from them.
Dave heard Sam¡¯s voice in his ear. ¡°Are you all right, Dave? Dave¡± The voice became urgent. ¡°Say something to me, man!¡±
¡°I¡¯m¡ªI¡¯m¡ª¡±
Dave felt the cold fingers prying away from his body. He looked down and Sam was ripping the severed hands from his.
He could hear other people shouting.
¡°Healers to the front!¡±
¡°Need Purification now! Now, now, now!¡±
Dave found his voice, and he joined the group of those yelling. ¡°Capture them alive! We have to capture them alive! Don¡¯t kill the scouts. They¡¯re just possessed!¡±
There was chaos all around him, as some obeyed his orders, while others had already begun attacking the scouts with uncertain but devastating movements. Dave saw a Mage¡¯s staff crack John Carraway over the head, and the old man went down with an awful grisly smile on his face.
¡°Are you afraid to kill us, Dave?¡± the Amalia-thing asked, its voice cruelly mocking in his ears. ¡°It¡¯s the only way you¡¯ll escape this place alive¡¡±
The superior number of Dave¡¯s forces began to get ahold of the possessed. Except for a few, like Amalia and Olivar, that had maneuvered out of reach, they were caught by the arms and legs and held down, hissing and biting their saviors, to receive Purification from the Healers.
Dave watched anxiously. As the Healers grabbed hold of the first handful of possessed with their glowing green hands, he sent a silent prayer out. The possessed screamed like demons. Then their physical appearances seemed to return to normal, as they collapsed to the ground, limp but still alive.
We should have brought more Healers, Dave thought. They had perhaps two dozen Healers among the hundreds of fighters they had brought. Almost all of their fighters had begun as Mages, with the exception of some Warriors like Dave who had specialized in Mana-related attacks. He had been briefed about what these spirit type enemies were like, and he had repeated the information he was given to his soldiers.
But hearing about it and seeing it were two different things. Dave saw the hope going out of some people¡¯s eyes already. This wasn¡¯t the harmless adventure some of them had experienced into the bats¡¯ forest. There was no one-sided slaughter here, no simple opportunity to gain experience. Many of those here desperately wished they could go home.
He wanted to say something to inspire the troops and renew their hope. His mind started to formulate some generic words about fighting for home and family.
Then Dave saw that the true enemy had arrived. The words died in his throat. Flickering just at the edge of the space illuminated by magical firelight, there were figures with no legs floating in the shadows. Gently glowing, translucent specters.
Dave couldn¡¯t hear anything from them or even clearly make out whether the figures had facial expressions, but he somehow had the sense that they were laughing at him.
Mocking all of the Fisher Army¡¯s soldiers.
¡°Be on your guard everyone! They¡¯re at the edge of our line of vision!¡± he shouted.
Dave began charging his pistol with Mana, readying it for the attack. To his surprise, someone flung a large bolt of lightning past his head and destroyed one of the creatures in a single strike. He turned his head and saw Mitzi.
¡°You¡¯re not alone up here,¡± she said, giving him a little nod. ¡°We¡¯ll all fight until the end. I can already tell I hate these things.¡±
Dave¡¯s first thought was that it was irrelevant how much they hated the creatures, because they had a job to do. But then he realized she¡¯d made him smile, and the Mana seemed to be flowing into his pistol just a little more easily after what she¡¯d said.
That¡¯s strange, he thought.
When he briefed Dave earlier, James had said something about the creatures having an effect on the emotions of the humans around them, but he had been vague. Was this what he meant?
More figures appeared, but Dave fired Mana bullets, and more Mages hurled fire and lightning, to destroy them. Still others threw projectiles of water or earth, but it quickly became obvious that those simply passed through the monsters harmlessly.
¡°Keep up the fire and lightning!¡± Dave shouted. He used Command Presence, one of the abilities that came with his Job. It allowed everyone under his command within a certain area to hear him. Those who could not see what was happening needed to understand. ¡°The water and earth magic doesn¡¯t work on them. If you only have water and earth, save your Mana!¡±
Even the fire and lightning seemed to be of limited effectiveness, though. For every one of the creatures that silently dispersed, it seemed two or three more appeared. The edges of the firelight began to seem as if they were haunted by an army of specters.
¡°They¡¯re behind us now, too!¡± a voice shouted from the back of the block of soldiers.
Dave¡¯s heart sank, but he tried to keep up a brave appearance. It wouldn¡¯t help matters to let them know that he was scared.
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¡°That¡¯s perfect!¡± he yelled. ¡°We can fire in any direction and hit enemies.¡±
They were just distracting us with those first attacks, so they could surround us and cut off our retreat.
An air of hopelessness seemed to have settled over the troops like a blanket as they realized they were surrounded. Dave felt it almost as a tangible thing, and he thought he could see the darkness actually creeping closer around them as the number of the enemy hovering at the edges of their field of vision steadily increased. He tried to resist the aura of despair with positive thoughts.
At least we¡¯re not seeing the dead, Dave told himself. He realized that if the power that had created those apparitions was still active, the little army¡¯s cohesion would have been utterly destroyed. Undoubtedly, his entire group would have succumbed to possession already.
This was only partially effective at raising his spirits.
There was a scream from the side of the group, then, and Dave¡¯s head jerked back and to the left. He saw a young woman being dragged away from the rest of the block of soldiers. A spectral hand gripped her arm. Three fireballs shredded the figure pulling her away, and the woman stumbled back.
¡°Be on your guard!¡± Dave yelled. ¡°Don¡¯t let them get close!¡±
There was a rain of fire and lightning from the Mages in multiple directions as they tried to beat back the attacks from their enemies as the specters sporadically charged them.
Dave heard screams from the right side this time, and he turned and saw three figures being dragged off, two male and one female. The woman began to glow with green aura, and the hand that grabbed her vanished like morning mist.
Fire and lightning found the specter holding onto one of the two men, and he staggered back, relieved, as the creature dissolved.
But the other man was not so lucky. The lightning bolts missed the specter that held him and struck down a distant tree instead. They came so close that the bolts illuminated the man¡¯s face through the encroaching darkness. Dave¡¯s eyes widened as he saw.
Sam! When did Sam get over there?
He took a few steps toward that space and had to stop himself from chasing his friend into the darkness.
Then he heard Sam¡¯s voice screaming¡ªfollowed by a terrible silence.
The darkness seemed to grow just a little denser.
Then Dave saw a half dozen others armed with sticks and swords rushing toward the edge of the firelight to try and rescue them.
¡°Stop!¡± he forced himself to shout. ¡°You¡¯re doing what they want.¡±
Some grabbed for the would-be heroes, but three of them managed to rush out of reach into the darkness. Then their screams joined Sam¡¯s tortured cries.
I don¡¯t know what to do, Dave thought. What do I¡ª
¡°More light!¡± yelled a woman in white armor who had stepped toward the front alongside Dave. ¡°We need more light to keep them back!¡±
Dave turned his head and saw that the quality of the light around him had dimmed noticeably. He looked back and saw one of the Mages had collapsed to her knees.
¡°Sorry, everyone,¡± she said, breathing heavily. ¡°Out of Mana.¡±
So soon? Dave thought. It was as if the air around the invaders was sapping their strength.
Mitzi stepped up and filled the air with even more light than there had been before. She conjured a dozen fireballs that she scattered even more widely than the previous flames had been. He heard her breathing heavily as she did this. He guessed she was also starting to get low on Mana.
The creatures seemed annoyed by the light and advanced more aggressively, pressing forward on all sides.
¡°Everyone, more light!¡± Dave yelled. ¡°More fire and lightning.¡±
Mages who had been resting for a moment began chanting again, though there was an air of hopelessness about the whole thing.
Then the monsters rushed toward the band of soldiers.
As Dave fired Mana bullets at the enemies ahead of him, he heard the sounds of more of his allies being grabbed by those to the sides. Dozens of translucent hands began dragging people away from all sides.
¡°Hold tight, everyone!¡± Dave yelled. ¡°Grab onto people¡ª¡±
His words were cut off as a very tangible pair of arms wrapped themselves around his neck and placed him in a headlock. He recognized the pair of arms instantly by the fact that they had no hands attached.
¡°Amalia!¡± Dave choked out the name as he tried to fight her. But the body of his comrade seemed to be possessed of strength beyond what she could normally muster. She began dragging him away.
¡°You¡¯re joining us, Dave,¡± she said, her voice full of sadistic glee.
In the corner of his vision, Dave saw Mitzi was being dragged off by another specter.
¡°No!¡± he cried.
¡°Oh, yes,¡± Amalia said.
He could only imagine how the group was breaking behind him. This felt like the end.
I can¡¯t let this happen.
¡°I can¡¯t go with you,¡± he said sadly. He pointed his pistol at where he knew her heart must be, and he pulled the trigger. Then her grip was broken. Her body tumbled forward, apart from Dave¡¯s. He didn¡¯t allow himself to look down. He knew that she was dead.
Dave started to turn back to his soldiers¡ªstill struggling valiantly to keep together and hold off the now hundreds of hands trying to pull them into the darkness¡ªbut then Sam lunged for him out of the darkness. Dave moved quickly and pistol whipped his friend.
Sam went down instantly, and Dave dragged Sam¡¯s body with him as he rushed back to the group. He could tell that dozens had been dragged into the darkness, but the solidarity of the group was holding out.
Whenever the pull of enemies on one side grew too strong, Healers would rush over and expel the specters where they were thickest. The bodies of dozens of people lay on the ground. As he rejoined the fight, Dave saw people fall over from sheer exhaustion, while others toppled after having been possessed and having the spirits driven from their bodies.
¡°Keep going!¡± Dave shouted. ¡°Just keep going!¡±
The struggle went on for what felt like hours, to the point where Dave couldn¡¯t see an end to this.
Every time they pushed the specters and the possessed back on one side, every time they freed someone whose body had been taken over by a spirit, it seemed that on the other side, more humans were captured or collapsed. Every minute that passed, another human tired and stepped back or fell.
It felt like the cycle could only conclude in one way.
¡°Die, vile creatures!¡± There was the woman in white armor again, yelling and glowing with white light as her sword cut through the heads of a half dozen specters.
At least that¡¯s one person who won¡¯t give up, he thought.
Then Mitzi¡¯s face leaped at him from out of the dark, expression twisted, a horrifying leer on her face.
She sank her teeth into Dave¡¯s right arm, and he screamed and reflexively batted her away with the other arm.
As she staggered back, Dave saw Alan rush into the darkness after her.
¡°Alan, no!¡± Dave shouted. But he didn¡¯t follow him. He needed to stay where he could be most useful.
He pushed more Mana into his pistol and realized with the sudden onset of a feeling of weakness that he had just emptied his Mana reserves.
No, I managed them so carefully, he thought.
He fired the Mana bullets he could into key areas where the thickness of the advance meant that he could not miss. Then he stepped back more toward the middle of the group, where he could evaluate the situation in relative safety. Dozens of people knelt, breathing heavily, trying to recover some small fraction of their Mana within the shell created by those who were still fighting.
Dave found himself slightly short of breath, too, now that his power had been expended.
Over a hundred other human bodies also littered the ground. Most of them had collapsed from exhaustion. Others were the possessed who had been purified. There was also a growing pile of those visibly possessed who had simply been knocked out.
We apparently don¡¯t have enough spare energy to purify them anymore, Dave thought grimly. Sam was in that pile, and a few of the Warriors stood guarding it.
How can this end? He looked and saw dozens of faces in the darkness, those of the possessed and the mask-like images of the specters that sought to possess them.
He saw that Ramon Rodriguez had rejoined the ranks of the possessed after having been purified earlier, and it filled Dave with a sense of exhaustion.
Another pair of Healers stopped glowing and collapsed, and the front line of soldiers on that side began to recede toward Dave and the piles of bodies.
This is the end, Dave thought. He braced himself to hold onto as many people as he could for as long as he could. It was all he could do now that his weapon was useless.
V3Ch57-Reliquary
The descent brought Mina, Alice and Zora down just a few feet from a massive, run-down mansion.
¡°I never knew there was anything like this in the area where we had our apartment,¡± Mina said. ¡°It¡¯s strange¡ª¡± She giggled as she realized what she¡¯d just said. Then she shook her head. ¡°Do you think she built it for herself?¡±
¡°Wraiths are pure evil,¡± Zora said, her voice a slightly melancholy whisper. ¡°They create nothing new or good. They only twist and pervert what others have made. It probably came back with her from her Orientation.¡±
¡°At least we know we¡¯re the good guys,¡± Alice said.
¡°Yes,¡± Mina agreed. I was never actually uncertain of that, though. ¡°Let¡¯s see if the front door is open.¡±
She began walking toward it, but Zora grabbed hold of her arm.
¡°Slow down,¡± she said quietly. ¡°There¡¯s every chance the Wraith has boobytrapped this place, assuming it really is her hiding spot. We have all night.¡±
Mina had a bad feeling that the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s soldiers did not have all night if nothing was done to help them. But she left it unspoken. She already knew what Zora would say to that. Our mission is more important. It was true, too. There was no argument to be made.
Still. She had an uncomfortable feeling that it was going to be a bad night for the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s army.
As she had these thoughts, Zora was quietly chanting a spell, gathering brown-colored Mana around herself.
Earth, just like James, Mina thought. Not for the first time, she wondered if Mana affinities were related to the personality of the person concerned.
Then the glow vanished from around her body, and a massive earthen tendril rippled forth from the ground. It lunged forward and smashed into the mansion¡¯s front door, caving it in with a single thrust. Through the now permanently open doorway, Mina could only see darkness.
¡°Well, there we go,¡± Zora said contentedly. ¡°I guess the front door wasn¡¯t rigged.¡±
Mina looked at her mother-in-law in awe. That thing was so fast! I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever moved water at that speed before, and earth is so much heavier. I can¡¯t imagine that was easy to learn.
As she stared at Zora, the older woman was crouching low to the ground. Then she ended up sitting down.
¡°I¡¯m too old for crouching,¡± she said. She began chanting, and another color of Mana slowly came to surround her. This one was a vile shade of green that reminded Mina of radioactivity.
Necromancy, Mina knew in her bones. Zora was raising the dead. Is that really wise, in this place? But Zora knew the enemy best. If she thinks this is safe¡
¡°Um, Mom, what are you doing now?¡± Alice asked.
Zora continued chanting and ignored her daughter as best she could.
¡°Well, she¡¯s a Necromancer,¡± Mina said. ¡°I¡¯m guessing she¡¯s doing some Necromancy.¡±
¡°Oh, yeah,¡± Alice said. ¡°She did mention that. I¡¯ve never actually seen her use it. We weren¡¯t together for most of Orientation. When we did get together near the end, she already had her blessing and her undead creatures. But then she abandoned them before we got here. It¡¯s just really easy to forget that¡¯s her power.¡± There was a slight undertone of disgust in her voice.
Finally, the chanting stopped, and the eerie green glow dissipated.
What exactly did she do this time? Mina thought.
And then the ground wriggled and moved beneath her feet.
Mina let out a high-pitched, girlish scream like she hadn¡¯t since she was a teenager, and she ran from whatever was moving below her to hide behind Zora.
Her mother-in-law looked amused. ¡°They¡¯re my pets, dear,¡± she said mildly. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be afraid of them.¡±
Mina looked where she¡¯d been standing, and she saw rodents crawling from the disturbed earth. Partially decomposed rodents, skeletal rodents, and rodents that were just recently dead with all the fur and flesh still on them all arose from the soil, and lined up in a neat row. Good little soldiers waiting for orders. Mina counted thirteen of the creatures. And every one of them had a slight green glow in their eyes.
¡°Mama got a good batch this time,¡± Zora mused. She cackled quietly to herself as she looked over her undead forces.
Alice and Mina exchanged looks. Mina was relieved that she wasn¡¯t the only one disgusted by the creatures.
I¡¯m so glad that James didn¡¯t become a Necromancer. Though it feels very in-character for him to want to.
¡°Go forth, my little ones,¡± Zora said. ¡°One by one, into the mansion. Find me the Reliqua¡ªor rather, find me something shiny or glowing. Bring it to me if you can, or if you cannot, lead me to where you found it.¡±
I need to start pulling my weight, Mina thought. If I have to tell James that all I did on this mission was follow his mother around and watch while she solved every problem¡ªthe thought was simply unacceptable.
As she was considering how she might contribute, the first creature in line, a rat with half its fur rotting away in patches, rushed forward into the mansion.
As it got a few feet beyond the threshold, something glowed in the darkness for a moment¡ªMina saw an outline that resembled the Phantasms she had fought in Carol¡¯s Dungeon!¡ªand there was a distinct otherworldly screech.
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¡°Well, that one¡¯s dead for good now,¡± Zora said. She looked down at the other rodents. The next one in line was about to rush forward. ¡°Don¡¯t the rest of you go just yet!¡± she nearly yelled. She turned to Mina. ¡°The one downside of being a Necromancer. They¡¯re quite stupid.¡±
¡°What do we do now?¡± Alice asked.
Mina was already gathering Fire Mana around herself, a smile touching the corners of her lips. ¡°We fight, of course,¡± she said. ¡°We destroy them all.¡±
¡°We¡¯d better move quickly,¡± Zora said. ¡°It¡¯s possible the denizens of this forest will notice all the magic we¡¯re using and figure out what our game is.¡± Then she began chanting, too. Shortly after, Alice joined her.
But it was Mina who led the way into the mansion. Mina who had practiced the quick and silent application of her magical power. She quickly finished charging a relatively large share of her available supply of Mana, and dozens of fireballs materialized around her, floating in the air around her body, ready to be hurled.
Then she entered. The hallway came to life with the spectral glow of Phantasms, and as each one appeared, Mina cut its life short. I¡¯m so glad I spent that time in the Dungeon, she thought. I¡¯m so glad I practiced so hard.
She advanced to the end of the front hallway and, looking by firelight, she found herself in what appeared to be the ill-preserved remains of a stately Victorian mansion. It was just what it had appeared to be on the outside, with the exception that there were several Phantasms floating around. Mina killed them all in a flurry of fireballs. Magic is the best.
¡°Well, that was impressive,¡± Zora said from behind her. She was no longer glowing, but she held a ball of lightning in her hands, and more lightning lay around her shoulders like a scarf.
Alice was still quietly chanting. A pure white light glowed all around her.
¡°What next?¡± Mina said.
¡°Well, my pets are looking around the mansion now, but I imagine they¡¯ll run into more trouble in other rooms, away from your protection,¡± Zora said. ¡°Perhaps more intense trouble closer to the goal we¡¯re after. So we need to look for ourselves, too.¡± She blinked. ¡°Yes, one of my creatures just died again. They¡¯re not very strong, and these things seem to have an ability that slowly saps the soul of energy. My rodents barely have souls in them to start with. We might consider burning down this whole building to get to our goal. But there are always pros and cons to that approach.¡±
¡°What are the cons?¡± Mina asked.
¡°You miss out on a lot of loot,¡± Zora said. ¡°This Sister Strange might have some spellbook that would save your life someday.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Or something that would come in handy for me, Alice, or James. Fire isn¡¯t very discriminating.¡±
Mina shook her head. ¡°I¡¯m not worried about acquiring stuff right now,¡± she said. ¡°This thing is threatening my home.¡± Her voice shook slightly.
¡°Hm,¡± Zora said, her voice soft and gentle. ¡°Have you been worrying that she would invade the baby¡¯s dreams, Mina?¡±
¡°A little bit,¡± she admitted. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to worry James with the suggestion, especially because he¡¯s been fighting her ever since we knew she was a threat. But I do wonder, with how much the baby sleeps, if the idea hasn¡¯t crossed her mind. He seems so peaceful, but I really have no way of knowing.¡±
¡°So that¡¯s why the urgency,¡± Zora said empathetically. She placed a soft hand on Mina¡¯s back.
¡°Well, no,¡± Mina said quietly. ¡°Not exactly. Right now I¡¯m worried about James¡¯s soldiers getting killed.¡±
¡°That¡¯s fair, too,¡± Zora said, shrugging. ¡°Burn the house down, then, my dear, if that¡¯s what you want to do. It¡¯s of no great value to me. Use your flames, though. I¡¯m going to save my Lightning Mana to destroy the Reliquary after the fire goes out. If I was the Wraith, I wouldn¡¯t make my soul¡¯s hiding place something easily damaged by fire. Imagine getting wiped out by a random forest fire.¡±
¡°Then me torching the house might actually slow us down?¡± Mina said. ¡°If the Reliquary survives that, we¡¯d have to wait for the fire to go out to get it.¡±
Zora nodded. ¡°That¡¯s a good point. Then we search. I suggest we start by following where my creatures are dying the fastest.¡±
The three women marched up the central staircase. Alice was still chanting, and the white light around her body only grew stronger, slowly but steadily, until she became hard to look at.
They walked onward, up the stairs. More Phantasms presented themselves, but Mina slew them each of them with a single blow to the head.
The women went from door to door in the upstairs hall, Mina killing Phantasms wherever they encountered them¡ªuntil finally they found themselves in front of a door that Mina felt contained an ominous presence. She touched the door handle, and she almost instantly recoiled as if at the touch of something evil. She had to force herself to grasp the knob again. It felt very cold and somehow clammy. She had to resist the urge to shiver as she touched it.
¡°I think this is it,¡± Mina said somberly. She saw Zora simply nod in her peripheral vision.
Mina swallowed. She wanted to throw open the door¡ªbut another part of her wanted to run from this room, out of this mansion, and back to her own home with her sister and her baby.
There was a sense of intense pressure coming from something behind this door, and Mina felt the fear and self-doubt in her heart multiply with each second her hand remained on the knob.
She gritted her teeth.
By an act of sheer willpower, she forced herself to turn the knob all the way. But she couldn¡¯t go that one step further. She couldn¡¯t make herself push the door open, though she tried to force herself until her jaw hurt from clenching it too long, and her eyes were teary.
Then Zora pulled her to the side and kicked the door open, and the room was exposed to view.
It was a vile little place, filled with cobwebs, rotted out furniture, and the festering corpses of dead animals. All this Mina knew at a glance. But mainly her eyes were drawn to the three vile figures who loomed before them.
They looked just like the illusion James had created to depict Sister Strange in the Council meeting that morning.
¡°There are two of her,¡± Mina murmured, stunned.
And behind them, she could see three glowing rocks that emitted a strange almost black light.
¡°Well, there are two Dream Wraiths here, at least,¡± Zora muttered.
One of the two women let loose a shrill laugh that pierced Mina¡¯s heart and made her want to fall to her knees in despair.
¡°Did you think that someone could be called by the name Sister Strange and be the only one of her family?¡± the figure asked. ¡°Silly woman, we¡ª¡±
¡°Sorry, we¡¯re not here for your life story,¡± Zora said. Lightning shot from her fingertips to the glowing rocks in three thick glowing lines, and the rocks shattered instantly on impact.
¡°You horrible woman!¡± one of the figures shouted.
¡°The Reliquaries!¡± the other screamed.
Then they threw themselves forward, hurling their bodies at Zora.
Mina reacted quickly, shooting fireballs at their heads. With all the practice she¡¯d had, they were both perfect bulls¡¯ eyes. The ethereal matter of their heads shattered on contact with the fireballs, but then they slowly started to rebuild themselves.
¡°What are we going to do?¡± Mina asked. ¡°If headshots don¡¯t kill them¡ª¡±
A blinding light erupted from beside her. Blazing white engulfed the entire room.
Mina was blind for several seconds. She wondered if she should flee, but she didn¡¯t hear the sounds of Zora and Alice running, nor did either of them grab her and pull her away.
Finally, she blinked and she could see again. The two twisted evil spirits were gone. Nothing was left of them. Alice had apparently walked past Mina into the room and was already poking around the enemies¡¯ belongings, while Zora was blinking, clearly still waiting for her vision to return too.
¡°Did we win?¡± Mina asked.
V3Ch58-Visions and Nightmares Part 2
James looked around and found himself in what appeared to be an isolated desert town.
Some of the houses were ruined, much like the buildings he had seen when he first returned to Earth. But these buildings were completely different than the ones James was used to in Central Florida. As if they were built without access to modern technology. Adobe houses. Dirt paths and roads.
I better not be in another vision of the past, he thought irritably. But he hesitated to jump to that conclusion now, considering that he didn¡¯t remember ever seeing buildings like these in real life. Maybe it¡¯s not the past¡ Something tells me I¡¯m not in Florida anymore.
He couldn¡¯t have explained how he knew, but he felt a sense of despair hanging over the tiny town. As if the whole village was waiting for an axe to fall on them.
He saw an old Hispanic man emerge from one of the houses. His expression was sad but calm. A young woman stepped out after him and kissed him on both cheeks.
¡°Thank you for your sacrifice, Don Felipe.¡± She was speaking Spanish, but the words instantly translated themselves for James as usual.
¡°It¡¯s no sacrifice,¡± Felipe said contentedly. ¡°I¡¯ve lived a good, long life, and I¡¯m doing it for my friends and my family. I couldn¡¯t ask for a better reason to die. Hopefully it means a longer life for the people here.¡± His face turned dark. ¡°Hopefully their god will be satisfied with me and whoever else they¡¯re giving it for a long damn time.¡± His voice rose with those last words. Then James saw another couple of people, a man and woman who looked like Felipe, come out and embrace him.
And then he watched as Felipe walked to meet a young man who smiled sadly at him and led him to a motorcycle.
The two were riding out of the village, and James found himself floating along with them, shifting through the air as if he was weightless and tethered to the old man¡ªuntil a fast-moving projectile made of light struck the pair, and they suddenly careened off the road!
The projectile disappeared a second later, and James watched the two men bleed into the sand.
This set of visions must be showing me suffering in the present, he thought. She wanted to show me this to force me to experience other people¡¯s pain, then. Everything feels so pointless. The old man was going to die in some sort of sacrifice to appease the people terrorizing this village. Now both of these people are dying, and what¡¯s going to happen to the village?
The sheer futility of it all was what galled him more than anything. As he saw a woman approaching from a hill overlooking the dirt road, the vision faded.
James suddenly found himself in a stone building. It was dark and torchlit.
A group of people stepped into view. They were following a young woman who was talking about a Vampire Count.
The vision pulled him around after the group of people as they made their way deeper into the stone space James had found himself conjured into. He watched as the group engaged in argument, in-fighting, and general stupidity, and he found himself thoroughly unimpressed.
So, when is something going to come and eat these fools? he thought.
When the Vampire Count appeared and violently attacked them, James felt embarrassingly inclined to cheer him on.
These people are practically slasher movie victims, he thought. I guess I don¡¯t have enough empathy to worry about a bunch of random strangers whose only salient quality is that they seem to be painfully stupid. Oh, Sister Strange. If you really want me to suffer, you need to show me people I care about¡
The scene dissolved suddenly, and almost as if the vision was responding to his thoughts, James saw his soldiers in Sister Strange¡¯s forest. Hundreds of ethereal humanoid creatures crowded in around them, a wave of unstoppable shadowy figures crushing in on the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s forces from all sides.
Their only defense, James observed, was a faint and weakening curtain of light from various spells and Healing Auras.
James saw people¡¯s faces. They were exhausted, their expressions twisted in looks of despair. The lights they had conjured all around themselves were dwindling. Mages were dropping to the ground from complete expenditure of their Mana. And he saw a general loss of hope in the soldiers¡¯ eyes.
James looked around. He saw the numbers of the spectral figures steadily and substantially diminishing over time, but he didn¡¯t think any of the people who were actually on the scene could see it. Their eyes were clouded by despair. And the number of humans being possessed by the specters, though small, was slowly but steadily rising, only occasionally interrupted by rescue or use of the Purification Skill.
He felt his own heart waver as he wondered if his friends and supporters would survive their encounter with Sister Strange¡¯s army.
And he also felt something else. There was something going out of the soldiers who collapsed to the ground, and those who faltered in the attack. Something metaphysical. He couldn¡¯t see it, but he could feel the shift in the air. Some element of spirit, perhaps.
Whatever it was, those specters that remained were taking pleasure in consuming it. James couldn¡¯t tell if it was making them any stronger or helping them endure enemy attacks¡ªand in terms of numerical losses, Sister Strange¡¯s army was clearly doing worse, since few of James¡¯s troops were actually dying.
But they were also enjoying themselves, while those who fought for the Fisher Kingdom were steadily losing power and heart the longer the fight went on. The ranks of the possessed also bulked them up, and occasionally more spirits arrived to fill the dark army¡¯s ranks.
It felt calculated to create hopelessness. The same despair that he saw on so many faces.
The scene was massively more distressing to James than the rest of what he had seen set in the present day. He could imagine losing so many people whose names and faces he knew. Dave, Mitzi, Alan, Sam Masterson, Amalia¡
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He shocked himself when he searched for them and realized that Alan and Mitzi were both possessed, while Amalia lay on the ground, unmoving. From the bird¡¯s eye view he had, he wasn¡¯t certain if she was dead or alive.
Everyone who had fought beside him in the bats¡¯ forest was here now. Many of those he had led through Orientation were there.
And this time, you¡¯re not there to save them, he said to himself.
If they can¡¯t survive this, they weren¡¯t made for this world, replied his dark inner voice. Those who come through on the other side will be stronger for it.
James was immediately ashamed and angry at himself for even entertaining that thought about people who were putting their lives on the line for him and his cause.
He was trying to think of a way that his army could turn things around before their morale completely disintegrated when the vision faded away. The world turned black for a moment.
No! Damn it, I actually care about those people! Why are you taking this vision away? Am I not suffering enough? I assure you, this is quite unpleasant.
He blinked and found himself in the room with the doors once more. Now three of the four doors were closed.
¡°What are your family doing in my house?¡± Sister Strange¡¯s voice came from the walls and the ceiling of the room all at once, wheedling and insistent.
¡°Probably killing you off, I figure,¡± James replied, shrugging. If Mina, Alice, and his mother were already there, he knew there was little Sister Strange could do about it. He felt that her ethereal body was still bound to his.
¡°I deliberately left your family alone, and this is how you repay me?¡± Sister Strange said, her voice accusing and insinuating.
¡°We never made any kind of deal,¡± James said, raising an eyebrow. ¡°I didn¡¯t even know if you knew who my family were. I assumed you avoided touching the dreams of people who were close to me, because you knew I had some connection to Dreamspace, and you figured that would put you on my radar more quickly. Was I wrong about that?¡±
There was a long silence, then she spoke again, with venom in her voice. ¡°Your loved ones will die screaming, you know. My sisters will tear their souls apart! Look forward to that. I hope your next visions will give you a preview¡¡±
Then the last doorway was sucking James in, and he fell toward it so fast that he had little ability to resist.
James found himself standing in front of himself again.
Present-James looked on as Vision-James stepped into a sixty foot by sixty foot square arena. A crowd looked on, and Present-James saw Mina, Zora, Alice, and Yulia sitting in the front row, watching Vision-James.
Another man entered on the opposite side of the arena. He looked East Asian, with a stoic, composed cast to his expression¡ªand the sorts of chiseled facial features that would be envied by any man who had ever had trouble getting a date.
Go ahead and kick his ass, future me, James thought.
At an unheard command¡ªthe whole vision was peculiarly silent¡ªthe two combatants sprung into motion. Vision-James threw blades of wind at the other man, and they left cuts on his face and penetrated through gaps in his armor to cut his body as well. But his opponent drew a long straight sword and charged toward Vision-James at full speed.
Vision-James tried to dance back, but it seemed as if the other man was as fast as he was¡ªand perhaps he could even predict his movements before he made them.
As Vision-James dodged the attacks over and over, he didn¡¯t let the blade touch a hair on his head or the armor he was wearing. Vision-James continued to inflict the occasional punishing Meteor Strike, Lightning Strike, or Air Strike, but none of those attacks did enough damage to deter the swordsman. At the same time, the amount of ground Vision-James could freely move through shrank as his opponent skillfully pushed him back and cut off his options.
Finally, Vision-James set a foot wrong, and the swordsman swept in with a swift slash to secure the kill. The blade passed through Vision-James¡¯s neck, and his head toppled to the ground.
Oh, you found a new way to kill me, Sister Strange, James thought. How very creative of you.
Of course, this death was incompatible with his death in the other set of visions meant to depict the future. So which one was supposedly real, and which one was contingent on his choices and those of others? Was either of these futures truly unavoidable, or was Sister Strange simply trying to force him to accept a fate that was not written in stone? Or tormenting him with visions of things that could conceivably happen?
James looked to the crowd and realized that Mina and the others were weeping. Mina¡¯s reaction in particular was violent. Her face had turned dark red, her cheeks were streaked with smeared makeup and tears already, and he could see that there was blood on her hands from clenching her nails tightly. Alice and Yulia were holding her, tears in their eyes. Zora¡¯s eyes had gone hollow. The tears flowed down her face, but she seemed to be frozen in a thousand-yard stare in the direction of James¡¯s body.
That made the sight of his own death far more disturbing than it had been.
I can¡¯t let myself die in front of them.
The vision began to fade, and James saw an image forming of a new setting. He made out a clear blue sky, a swamp, and in the distance, the ruins of a city.
Then a piercing shriek shattered the vision as it was forming. The color and light disappeared, and James found himself surrounded by darkness again.
Jesus, what is it now, Sister?
He reappeared in the room in the run-down mansion, and then that too dissolved. He found himself suddenly blinking himself awake, leaning up against the apartment.
What the fuck just happened? How did she throw off my Soul Bind? Are Mina, Alice, and Mom okay?
Then he saw her. The figure of Sister Strange, much reduced, floated in the air several feet to the side of him.
¡°What have you done to me?!¡± she howled. ¡°How did I get here? Where are my sisters? Where is my Reliquary? I cannot feel it!¡±
James smiled at her genuine distress. Looks like my family got the job done.
¡°It seems we have an ¡®A Nightmare on Elm Street¡¯ situation,¡± he said, getting up and dusting himself off.
¡°What is ¡®A Nightmare on Elm Street¡¯?¡± Sister Strange asked in her usual eerie voice. But there was a note of fear in it now, James observed. That made him smile.
¡°An old movie about a demon who liked to invade people¡¯s dreams,¡± he said. ¡°When they brought him into the real world, though, he died. He couldn¡¯t handle reality. Only his nightmares.¡±
¡°You little bastard! You think you can threaten me?¡± Her voice was the snarl of the wounded predator.
¡°No, you silly creature,¡± James replied. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you and absorb your power. And I¡¯m going to enjoy doing it. Threatening you is beneath my concerns. You¡¯re just a cobblestone in my path. A little building block in my growth.¡±
He began charging Soul Magic.
¡°I will not go quietly,¡± Sister Strange growled. Her body glowed with an ethereal power. An odd black light surrounded her as she prepared to face off with him.
James found the desperation in her tone intoxicating, and his smile widened.
V3Ch59-Victory
Standing in the upstairs hallway, Mina spoke almost at the same time as Alice, talking from within one of the small rooms.
¡°So, is this over?¡± Mina asked.
¡°Why didn¡¯t I get a notification for the other one?¡± Alice asked. ¡°The System said I killed Sister Odd and Sister Wyrd. Shouldn¡¯t it at least say I helped kill Sister Strange?¡±
The building felt different with the sisters gone. Before, it had felt like a haunted place. Creepy, uninviting, inhabited by death. Now it felt sort of cold and lonely but also cozy. Almost as if it wanted someone to inhabit it again.
¡°I think her questions answer yours,¡± Zora said to Mina. ¡°The System hasn¡¯t really lied yet. This isn¡¯t over. James said that he was going to be using something called Soul Bind on Sister Strange, right? To keep her with him while we did¡ª¡± She gestured in the direction of the room they had killed the sisters in.
Mina nodded. ¡°What do you think that means?¡±
¡°Well, before now, the Reliquaries were the objects keeping these things bound to Earth. But clearly Wraiths don¡¯t just vanish when their home base is destroyed. I think my book mentioned that disembodied spirits can remain on Earth without being anchored, at least in the short term, but they have to avoid light, which becomes more damaging to them without an anchor. That doesn¡¯t explain why the other sister didn¡¯t just appear back here to try and kill us.¡±
¡°Do you think she¡¯s stuck with him?¡± Mina asked. ¡°If her soul is bound to him¡¡±
¡°I have a bad feeling,¡± Zora said. She turned toward the room where Alice was searching for loot. ¡°Come on, Alice. Your brother might need our help!¡±
Alice stepped quickly out of the room she had been searching and, draped with golden necklaces she had just liberated, she moved toward the stairs.
¡°Well, I¡¯m sure James is fine, but I would like to get back,¡± Mina said slowly as she walked alongside her in-laws down the stairway. ¡°I think he¡¯ll need help with backing up our soldiers.¡±
¡°You¡¯re that confident?¡± Alice asked, raising an eyebrow.
¡°I am,¡± Mina said, nodding.
¡°Well, you know his fighting ability best out of all of us,¡± Zora said.
They stepped out into the darkness of the night.
¡°We¡¯ll head toward the battlefield in the forest, then,¡± Zora finished.
The three women took flight once again.
¡ª
¡°I disagree,¡± James replied. ¡°I think you will die very quietly.¡±
¡°Petulant human,¡± Sister Strange said. ¡°I will¡ª¡±
James locked eyes with her. Compulsion.
Their minds instantly created a great battlefield on which their respective forms appeared to do battle. Thousands of copies of James engaged in single combat with thousands of copies of Sister Strange.
It was the most difficult battle of Wills James had encountered in the space that Compulsion created. He did not fully understand Sister Strange¡¯s powers. She moved much as she had in Dreamspace, freely disobeying the ordinary laws of physics and extending her tentacles to use them as harpoons or whips.
Still, his army had the edge. Every copy of him was armed with Soul Magic, and though it was his most draining form of magic, it was also the most potent. His Soul Mana destroyed any individual soldier of her army instantly upon contact.
The battle was over in minutes in terms of the time within the mental world. It might have been a moment or two in the real world.
James felt his control settle over Strange like an iron collar around her neck.
¡°Now you will cease this pointless resistance and die silently,¡± he hissed. ¡°Be content that I do not torture you as you wished to torture us. Be grateful. You will become a part of my strength.¡±
Sister Strange¡¯s face twisted and writhed in visible discomfort. Then it settled into an expression of forced gratitude. He could feel the rage and hatred beneath the surface, seething with the desire to break free and strike him down.
It made him want to laugh. But best not to tempt fate. Especially when his soldiers still needed to be rescued.
He reached out with the small amount of Soul Mana he had gathered around his body, and he used it to grasp the ethereal body of the creature before him. He had to be careful. He had seen how a concentrated burst of Soul Magic could instantly shatter the soul of the target. That would waste the effort he had spent using Compulsion on her¡ªseizing complete control over the situation.
He forced Sister Strange¡¯s malleable, ethereal form into a compressed shape, crumpling it into a ball a fraction of its normal size.
He could see her expression as he crushed her. He saw that it caused the malevolent spirit pain. She had a silent scream on her face, and he felt immensely satisfied.
¡°I hope the suffering is exquisite,¡± he muttered.
Sister Strange ended up being roughly the size of an apple in his hand. She could have been a fruit, if there was a tree that produced gray, color-shifting fruits that felt heavier than their appearance. James looked at her a little uncertainly.
This should work, right? I have Omnivore and Soul Eater¡
Finally, he bit into the condensed ball that he had crushed Sister Strange into and began eating her soul.
It proved chewable, just like ordinary flesh. He crushed it between his teeth and then swallowed. He was pleased that he seemed to be able to consume a bite of it. Yes. This would work. He would take her powers and make them his own. Then he would know if her visions were real or simply sophisticated illusions.
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Never mind how bitter the taste was, or how he might be defying some other person¡¯s conception of the natural order. He had larger concerns than that.
He took another bite, and then another.
Finally, he began wolfing down the condensed soul. There was a degree of urgency to his consumption. One of his monsters floating in the sky told him that his forces in the forest were in trouble.
He was beginning to like the bitter taste.
I could get used to this, he thought.
¡ª
In the forest, Dave and most of the remaining soldiers linked arms and stood together against the grasping hands of the spirits.
Dave could feel darkness pulling at the edges of his vision now. He was so exhausted now that he almost wanted to pass out or die. At least then this nightmare would be over.
He had no Stamina left with which to raise and aim his pistol, even if his Mana had recovered enough to allow him to charge a shot. He lacked even the power to throw a rock or a punch, and of course no physical attacks would do him any good anyway.
Only the thought of what would happen to the men and women on either side of him kept him on his feet.
All right, so we die, but we¡¯ll all go down together, he thought.
Even as that notion occurred to him, a woman to his left fainted on her feet, and Dave found the strength to yank her backward, behind him. Behind the line.
¡°I can¡¯t do this anymore,¡± pronounced the voice of Paul Mann off to his side.
¡°Just a little bit longer,¡± said a male voice Dave only vaguely recognized as a Healer¡¯s. The figure speaking was giving off a green glow, Dave noticed, but the glow was flickering, like a candle about to go out.
Dave looked around and realized the speaker was the only person still giving off the green glow. Wait, is that guy who sounds like he¡¯s about to faint the last Healer still standing?
As the light had weakened, so had the resistance of the hundreds of soldiers, until their front began to systematically collapse until only a much smaller core of fighters was active.
Only around a hundred and fifty of the soldiers were still fighting now, as dozens more crouched or knelt, trying to recover completely depleted Stamina or Mana. Hundreds more lay unconscious, while an unknown number had joined the ranks of the possessed. They mostly tried to drag people away rather than killing them, but the result was that it now felt as if the spirits outnumbered the humans who were fit to fight.
Those people who were left had become easier to drag away, too exhausted to put up meaningful resistance or even scream.
But those who still remained held onto each other. That was all they could do.
Their adrenaline had long ago been used up. It was hard to remember why they were fighting, besides the hope that they would not die.
¡°Hold firm, all!¡± Dave shouted. He didn¡¯t need to use Command Presence this time. The few people left standing were all close together, standing in a ring formation to try and preserve those who had fallen.
Dave could hear the fear and weakness in his own voice. He anticipated how much he and his comrades would be weakened when even the glow from the last Healer had faded, and his voice shook with the feeling of imminent defeat.
¡°Stand firm!¡± The woman in white armor was suddenly back at the forefront of the group again, where she had placed herself once earlier in the battle. She began to glow with a bright white light that almost blinded Dave for a moment. ¡°For the Fisher King!¡±
The darkness was driven back, and Dave felt it. Just a small taste of hope.
¡°For the Fisher King!¡± he repeated.
Others around him began to rally, and standing in the glow of the woman in white¡¯s aura, they found the power within them to summon their own inner lights. Dave saw the light of dozens of auras rekindling themselves in his peripheral vision.
All around, the words were repeated, sometimes in a shout, sometimes in a barely audible whisper.
¡°For the Fisher King!¡±
¡°Fisher King!¡±
¡°Humanity!¡±
¡°Fight to the last!¡±
¡°Fisher King!¡±
¡°Fisher Kingdom!¡±
The blinding light of their forces beat back the darkness.
Soldiers saw human hands that were reaching out to grab them and pull them into the shadows, and they found the strength to pull the possessed humans forward into their ranks instead.
A few more of the specters¡¯ victims, rescued. For now. The few Healers who were still on their feet found it in them to use Purification one last time.
Dave and his comrades fought valiantly and with renewed vigor for what felt like a long time, but might have been as little as ten minutes.
¡°I¡ªI¡¯m sorry.¡± It was the woman in white speaking again, but her voice was barely above a whisper. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± The light around her faded almost to nothing in an instant, and the spirits pulled her forward into the darkness.
¡°No!¡± Dave gasped. She was the one who made us believe again, if only for a little while, that we could win.
Without her, the other lights grew slightly dimmer almost immediately.
The specters in the dark began advancing again, and their human mouthpieces taunted Dave and his allies as they did so.
¡°So much for the Fisher Kingdom.¡±
¡°Was that all you had?¡±
¡°We could go all night¡¡±
Then Dave heard another voice that spoke over them all, even though it wasn¡¯t raised above a whisper.
¡°Dominion.¡±
Dave felt a wave of power course through the air. The specters and the monsters seemed to move back a step.
You¡¯re here, Dave thought, relief flooding his body. We¡¯ll survive. I can rest¡
He collapsed backward and saw the figure of James floating overhead. The ring James wore on his left hand was flowing bright orange, and his eyes had taken on a strange golden glow.
Then his entire body turned bright yellow, and a massive wave of light shone outward from him in all directions.
Dave felt what seemed to be gentle sunlight striking his skin.
More pleasant still was the sound he heard from all around him: the screaming of specters.
Dave propped himself up on one elbow and looked around him. The whole nearby section of forest had lit up for a moment like it was broad daylight outside, and he could see the aftermath of the apparent solar energy attack James had used. The light of the sun destroyed every specter that it touched¡ªthey disintegrated with a symphony of horrendous screeches that Dave found beautiful in that moment¡ªand the possessed who were struck by it wiggled, writhed, and screamed before they collapsed to the ground, foaming at the mouth.
As the light faded, Dave allowed himself a smile. Then he lay on his back and closed his eyes.
I¡¯ll just lie down and die here, he thought. The smile faded as he thought of Amalia. I killed one of my own, because I wasn¡¯t strong enough to stand up to the thing that took over her body.
All around him, Dave heard the sounds of activity, as the soldiers who were still standing did their best to save people who had been wounded in the fight or checked on friends or family members who had been possessed.
He heard the voices of James¡¯s family members, who sounded like they were floating in the sky, but Dave was too far gone to make out the details of what they were saying. Even if it was important, he lacked the energy to concern himself. He knew he would feel the pain of this battle when he woke up.
For now, he allowed himself to slip into blessed unconsciousness.
V3-Epilogue
¡°Sir, we may have a problem!¡± The voice of Cyrus Berberian¡¯s lieutenant, Christopher Smith, reached his ears.
Cyrus listened with calm equanimity, even though he felt certain that he knew to whom he should attribute this complaint without needing to hear the details.
He turned, and sure enough, he saw the Galts walking toward him, moving past the hundred and ten or so other members of Cyrus¡¯s camp. Christopher Smith led the way. Claudius, Coriolanus, Julia, and the father, the stoic Tiberius. Claudius was bleeding from one arm, but his sister was already healing him.
Before the little group reached Cyrus, he could tell that the flow of blood had stopped completely. Only the red stain on Claudius¡¯s otherwise white sleeve remained as a visual reminder that he had apparently just been attacked.
¡°What seems to be the problem?¡± Cyrus asked once they were close enough for him to be heard without shouting. He disliked raising his voice more often than necessary. Almost as much as he disliked the Galts. They were always complaining about some minor issue or another. Well, not Tiberius. The old man was probably the reason the voices of the angels had guided Cyrus to the family. His temperament was the stuff that new nations could be built of.
¡°We were, um, set upon by wolves¡ªer, by a wolf,¡± Claudius said.
Cyrus gave Christopher a look, and the tall man raised an eyebrow and gave the slightest shake of his head, which no one seemed to notice but Cyrus and perhaps Tiberius.
¡°Is there something you wanted me to do about this?¡± Cyrus asked. ¡°You all seem to be all right now, and frankly¡ª¡± He looked off to the horizon, where he thought he could distantly see some buildings on the other side of the woods they were now moving through¡ª¡°I think we have a ways to go before we¡¯ll want to put down our bedding for the night.¡±
If God wills it, we¡¯ll reach those buildings before nightfall, and the rest of the camp won¡¯t have to endure another evening of this family¡¯s complaints about sleeping out under the open stars.
But he would not speak in that way to the Galts¡¯ faces. He believed they were the only ones in his camp who might doubt the group¡¯s divine selection and mission. Which was somewhat fair. They were the only members of Cyrus¡¯s party who had not seen God perform a miracle through him.
¡°Would you just have us leave these wild things alone?¡± Coriolanus asked with thinly veiled hostility in his voice.
¡°Not that we mean to start a fight,¡± added Julia hastily.
¡°Do you happen to know why you were attacked by this wolf?¡± Cyrus asked. ¡°I know a lot has changed since the System appeared, but they¡¯re not typically aggressive from what I recall.¡±
Silence fell for a few seconds.
¡°We tried to take some food from the wolf,¡± Claudius admitted. ¡°It was dragging a thick wild boar haunch, and the food¡ªwell, it hasn¡¯t been enough for all of us lately, you must admit¡ª¡±
¡°God has provided what was needed,¡± interrupted Christopher.
Cyrus raised a hand to signal his right hand man to back off a bit.
¡°Naturally, we¡¯ll exterminate all this blighted world¡¯s monsters eventually,¡± he said, ¡°but it¡¯s for the best if we establish our base of operations first. I appreciate the initiative you showed in trying to find some more food. The rations we took in Orlando won¡¯t last forever.¡± He chuckled. ¡°Fighting a wolf probably was not the best idea, but I appreciate that you were honest about it. Now I understand the situation.¡± He pointed to the shapes on the horizon. ¡°I think I see some buildings ahead, and the faster we get to them, the faster we¡¯re safe. Once we¡¯ve secured our base, we¡¯ll come out here and do some hunting.¡± He grinned. ¡°Both boar and wolf. Okay?¡±
¡°Yes sir,¡± said Claudius.
¡°Yes sir,¡± said Coriolanus and Julia in unison.
Tiberius simply nodded, keeping his mouth shut.
When will we see another church? Cyrus wondered. I need guidance. Should I truly be tolerating these dead weights? Even if Tiberius is a positive contributor, half of all delays and problems are attributable to just three people in my camp. I can¡¯t have that!
If the voices of the angels would just tell him he could rid himself of these burdensome Galts, Cyrus would abandon them in a heartbeat. Even when they were answering him in the affirmative just then, he could hear doubt in their voices.
Are these the men¡ªand woman¡ªwith which I¡¯m to rebuild America? The shining city on a hill. People of so little faith?
He shook his head and raised his voice so the whole camp could hear him.
¡°We¡¯ve stopped to rest for too long, folks. Forward, march!¡±
It was a testament to the rest of his followers that Cyrus heard no complaints, only the sounds of people getting up and moving.
They walked for some time through the thick branches and increasingly softening soil without being disturbed, only to run across dozens of wild boars like the one that the wolf from earlier had apparently killed.
Once Amina at the front raised the alarm, Cyrus¡¯s group formed a tight square knot without him needing to say a word. He found himself quietly grateful that even the Galts remembered their places in the formation.
When the beasts charged, Cyrus¡¯s archers, at the center of the formation, feathered them with arrows. His few spearmen stabbed at them with the tips of their long weapons, and the more numerous swordsmen hacked at the creatures that managed to get in closer.
It was a bloody, ugly, dirty business, and the stupid beasts kept at it until the sun had set, but unlike the boars, the humans had Healers. When a creature managed to get through the tangle of blades and actually gore someone, the victim would be dragged into the center of the square to be healed and would eventually get back up to continue the fight. Gradually, Cyrus¡¯s group fended them off and Looted the bodies of those they had been forced to kill.
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Damned irrational creatures, Cyrus thought. So territorial that a dozen of you died for no reason! This is why God gave man dominion over the Earth¡
He couldn¡¯t be too bothered, though. The successful employment of the formation was the smoothest that anything had gone for this group since he began recruiting. And now they had pork.
As they got on their way again, Christopher set foot in ground that crumbled away beneath his feet. The loose bit of soil tumbled down with a splash, revealing that they had almost stepped into a swamp. The sound of a large creature¡¯s movement in the water below suggested to Cyrus that the inhabitants of the swamp were much more dangerous than the pack of wild boars had been.
¡°Thank God for this,¡± Cyrus proclaimed loudly. ¡°We have avoided stepping into a nest of predators by the grace of our Lord. Everyone, be careful navigating around the swamp¡¯s edge!¡±
It took the rest of the group some time maneuvering around the water in the dimness, but Cyrus thought the detour was an absolute necessity.
When he stood next to the patch of swamp and stretched his arm out, he sensed a great and terrible aura pressing upon him. There was a Ruler somewhere in this swamp, something that could easily tear through his group and slaughter them to a man.
Cyrus was not interested in testing God¡¯s protection this evening.
He took the lead then, hoping that by thus demonstrating his faith, he might keep his group from stumbling into any further environmental dangers. He felt half-blind in the increasing darkness that settled over them like a cloak, so he ordered his group to light their torches.
But the light was almost worse than the darkness had been. The flickering flames seemed to hide almost as much as they revealed. Every shadow seemed to be pregnant with hidden menace.
Cyrus realized a cold sweat was breaking out all over his body, and he took stock of his situation. He realized that despite navigating away from the swamp¡¯s edge and very deliberately taking a different route, he could still feel the aura he had observed before. It was slowly growing more and more intense as he neared the border of this Ruler¡¯s territory again.
He looked up, got his bearings, and confirmed he had been moving along a winding path, avoiding the swampland while getting slowly and steadily closer to these landmarks of civilization.
Is there no other way to reach those buildings? He hoped they would not have to fight a Ruler just to reach the place he hoped would become their new home. That would be a true biblical trial. Another thought struck him. If the aura is growing heavier as I move forward, despite my not entering the swamp, could it mean the Ruler resides near the buildings? Or maybe¡ªhe suddenly had to force himself to contain his excitement¡ªmaybe we¡¯re moving toward a Ruler of human origins!
Cyrus took a step forward, almost delirious at the prospect of obtaining the protection of a human Ruler¡ªand stopped in his tracks. He heard a low growling, and he let out a quiet whistle. His people moved backward into their square formation again. The concentration of torchlight from so many people standing closer together allowed Cyrus to see what he had been missing.
Wolves.
Somehow they had crept up on him, and Cyrus and his people were now surrounded by a pack of wolves.
Gleaming white teeth bared, a furry wall of ferocious beasts suddenly began to growl in unison.
I have to try talking to them, Cyrus thought. We cannot possibly fight this many.
Just one of these creatures had probably killed a boar earlier, based on the Galts¡¯ statement earlier. They were coordinated, unlike the boars. Their eyes gleamed with bestial intelligence. They would not simply rush into spear points and allow themselves to be carved up.
Cyrus heard the slow sound of tense strings being drawn back, and without turning his head, he raised a hand to tell his archers to hold off. If his group started a fight here, they might win. But this might not be the whole wolf pack. If a Ruler was among them, shooting one of its minions would be suicidal.
He gathered his courage and tried to form words.
¡°Excuse me, wise beasts,¡± he said, restraining his teeth from chattering.
He stopped mid-sentence as the wolves parted like a curtain.
From among them, two giants of their kind stalked forward. By some perversion of nature, each of these giants was two-headed.
Cyrus ignored his people letting out nervous gasps and groans at the sight of the monstrous creatures.
Those will be the Ruler¡¯s lieutenants, he thought. If one was the Ruler itself, I would feel its aura more intensely now that we are this close.
¡°We come in peace,¡± Cyrus said loudly. ¡°We are merely migrating through this land. We have no intention of disturbing your pack. Please let us through!¡±
One of the lead wolves made eye contact with Cyrus, and he forced himself to maintain his locked gaze, despite the urge to look away. He had read somewhere that eye contact was actually meaningful to wolves, though the specifics were unfortunately lost to him at this critical moment.
At last, the wolf let out a bark through the head that was not looking Cyrus in the eye, and the monsters began slowly withdrawing, melting back into the trees.
The lead monsters pulled back last, and as those glowing eyes retreated beyond Cyrus¡¯s ability to see them, he could finally let out a sigh of relief. Cyrus heard others making similar relieved noises, and several hands clapped him on the back, as those around him realized the danger had passed.
His group continued to advance. At times, he felt that he could still hear or almost see the wolves somewhere in the woods around him. However, he chose to ignore the possibly imagined presence. If they were there, then the wolves were acting as an honor guard. Noble beasts, obeying the will of the master of this place, who Cyrus grew more and more convinced must be human. Why else would a pack of wild monsters choose to spare him and his followers?
As he was contemplating what had happened, Cyrus¡¯s group crossed an invisible line. An alert sounded and appeared in the air before them, although the voice this time was not the System voice that Cyrus was familiar with.
[You have entered the territory of the Fisher King uninvited. Surrender to him or his representatives, or prepare for battle.]
I love that name, Cyrus thought. The figure in Arthurian lore who guards the Holy Grail. A great servant of God. A good sign¡ Whether you know it or not, Fisher King, God has a plan for you.
¡°What do we do, sir?¡± asked Christopher calmly.
¡°We simply wait,¡± Cyrus replied. ¡°For the Fisher King or his representatives to receive us.¡±
Although he thought it was likely the wolves had been representatives.
No, that¡¯s not quite enough. We can¡¯t just wait¡
¡°We kneel and pray for God¡¯s protection in this critical moment,¡± he added.
He repeated the instruction to the whole group, louder.
¡°Let us pray for God¡¯s protection,¡± Cyrus said, raising his voice.
And the group knelt as a body. Only the Galts were a little slower to move, but even they quickly fell on their knees and turned their faces to heaven.
V4-Prologue: Sunrise in Taiwan
Zhang Ch¨¡o rose from an uneasy sleep.
He had been a light sleeper even in earlier days. Now, with the weight of all responsibility for his homeland squarely on his shoulders, his body carried more tension than it ever had before.
He slid a pair of slippers onto his feet and padded lightly over to the balcony. A stranger observing his steps would have seen that he moved with an effortless grace, like a ballroom dancer. For Zhang Ch¨¡o, who had been naturally elegant and eloquent since early childhood, it was only natural.
As he stepped out over the balcony, the wind swept his long, straight hair away from his flawless face.
Zhang Ch¨¡o did not need to look out at his city to know the reconstruction of the damaged areas was proceeding well. His aura covered roughly half of the island now. But he liked to see it.
Despite how the world had changed, the beautiful Kaohsiung skyline that he had grown up with remained mostly intact. As the sunrise began to slowly illuminate it, a smile tugged at the corners of his lips.
Then an idea struck him, and the smile vanished.
I should probably thank Sh¨¤ngdi for the state of the city, he thought a little uneasily. His reflex had been to credit the hard-working architects who had rebuilt Taiwan following earthquake after earthquake.
Zhang Ch¨¡o had never been a religious man before the System. Even now, when he carried the supreme deity¡¯s Chosen One blessing, he felt uncertain about the cosmology of the System universe. There were inconsistencies to it.
While he himself held a blessing from the deity that his ancestors had believed to be the most powerful in the universe, for instance, he had heard from sailors about men and women who carried blessings from beings that claimed to represent the Christian or Muslim God¡ªwhich was also supposed to be the supreme being of the universe.
He shook his head. Enough of the religious questions. It¡¯s too early for this. For him, there was really no right time for religious ideas. He had to pay lip service to them, but he found them inherently suspicious.
He felt awake enough to work, so Zhang Ch¨¡o walked back inside and sat down at his desk.
A day¡¯s planning is done at dawn, he thought.
He began to review reports that his second in command, Han Jianguo, had compiled for him. The information was mostly positive.
The island is still producing enough food to sustain our population, even after the chaos of Orientation and the changes to Earth. Construction of housing for those whose buildings toppled in the transition is almost completed. Even the power grid is finally back online, although we still do not have Internet.
Zhang Ch¨¡o did not expect they would regain access to the Internet in the next year, because his experts had informed him that the world¡¯s Internet infrastructure had likely been thoroughly destroyed amid the general devastation wrought by the System¡¯s transformation of Earth. Cables deep underground had been torn apart, towers toppled, satellites grounded, and more.
That is what happens when the Earth doubles in size. I should be grateful to the Industrial Guild for what they have accomplished.
The Internet was far from a priority for him anyway. In Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s experience, the Internet was largely a source of decadence. A medium of social decline.
Good riddance. He would de-prioritize trying to restore it until his people were above their previous standard of living in all other respects.
The only item in the reports that frustrated him was the document on shipping. That was proceeding slowly. Far too slowly.
He knew why. It was the least urgent of the tasks he had set his followers.
Though Taiwan had prospered as a trading hub, even more following the defeat of the People¡¯s Republic of China in the Sino-American War¡ªoften referred to in Taiwan as the War of Taiwanese Independence¡ªthe island did not strictly speaking need ships. It could sustain itself with agriculture.
But it ate away at him.
They required ships to achieve his most cherished long term goal.
We will never achieve our true potential as a nation until we retake the mainland¡
The almost obsessive thought returned to taunt Zhang Ch¨¡o again. Even before the System, he had felt that it was his destiny to free mainland China from Communist Party rule. When he was around nine years old, before he learned shame and self-control, he had gone around telling anyone who would listen. Only his grandfather had believed in him and seemed to take it seriously. He remembered the era of Chiang Kai-Shek, so for him, the dream did not seem as unreal as it did to others.
When the old man passed, Zhang Ch¨¡o was alone.
He had always been bright, but he had missed his window to attend college. He stayed at home, working and caring for his dying grandfather. When his grandfather died, he drifted from day to day without purpose.
Then the System had come, with all its blessings and its curses. The upheaval had reinvigorated Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s will to live.
The arrival of the System felt like a sign from the universe that his ambition was not insane. Zhang Ch¨¡o could indeed overthrow the tyrannical government of mainland China¡ªa task even the much-vaunted United States had failed to achieve in the war that took his parents from him.
He would have felt that way even if the last week had not brought some ugly reports. Some of the few ships his band of survivors had managed to send out, looking for trading partners, had been sunk by pirates in the Taiwan Strait.
It was the considered opinion of Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s advisors that these pirates were actually agents of the surviving authorities of the People¡¯s Republic of China. Without the United States Navy to keep them in line, they were working up their courage to attempt another invasion of Taiwan. Thinking of it made his blood boil.
Even if they aren¡¯t coming, even if all they want to do is sink our boats and keep us on this island, I¡¯ll still punish them, he thought. There were good men on those ships. Two of the captains had been acquaintances of his from Orientation. Their presumed deaths made this personal.
I will pass word to Han Jianguo that we must address our most pressing naval problems today. I will not wait another day to begin putting a solution into practice¡
As the sunlight streamed more forcefully into his room, there was a respectful knock at the door.
Zhang Ch¨¡o sighed. It was time for his day to officially begin. Time to put on the mask of the dutiful monarch.
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He opened the door, received his breakfast, and expressed his thanks.
After he had eaten and dressed in his ceremonial silks, he took the elevator down to his throne room.
As the doors to the elevator that only he and his household staff used opened, the words of his herald greeted him.
¡°All bow for His Imperial Majesty, the Heavenly King, Ruler of the Lofty Heights!¡±
The room full of people dipped their heads and looked at their feet.
To Zhang Ch¨¡o, all this felt unnecessary and slightly embarrassing, but it was the level of pageantry that his advisors had settled on. He was willing to accept whatever would strengthen his authority.
He had learned to conceal his emotions perfectly before this crowd.
He walked from the elevator to the throne, which was in the completely redecorated lobby of a high-rise building. What had once been a place of business was now the seat of government. When he sat down, everyone rose to their normal postures.
There were many unfamiliar faces, but court protocols had been explained to everyone before the Heavenly King descended from his penthouse. None of these people, who had been waiting since before dawn to have their voices heard by the Ruler, made a mistake.
¡°Your Majesty, with your permission, the petitioners will now present their requests.¡±
Zhang Ch¨¡o gave the slightest nod, keeping his face impassive.
The first of the petitioners, a man dressed in a business suit, stepped forward and bowed low.
¡°Your Majesty, please accept my most earnest wishes for your continued health and the health of the new Chinese state¡¡±
Zhang Ch¨¡o heard all of the petitioners¡¯ requests before lunch. Some of them, he granted immediately. Some of them, he declined as graciously as he could. But in most cases, he suspended judgment, which really meant he allowed his trusted bureaucrats to work through the implications of granting requests.
At lunch, he discussed his big idea of the day with members of his inner circle and members of the Blacksmiths¡¯ Guild.
¡°What do my advisors think of possibly removing all of the remaining automobiles from the streets of Kaohsiung?¡± he asked.
His close advisors were already nodding, including Han Jianguo, whose role in these meetings was generally to be the one to tell Zhang Ch¨¡o ¡°no¡± if he was wrong.
Zhang Ch¨¡o looked over at the other man.
Han Jianguo picked up on the body language and gave him a terse response, ¡°We don¡¯t have oil anyway.¡±
Zhang Ch¨¡o could hear Han Jianguo¡¯s unspoken words. Fucking System.
The two men had fought in Orientation, and though Zhang Ch¨¡o had won and established their respective positions in the hierarchy, Han Jianguo was the one man who he could count on to speak with him frankly when they were out from the view of others.
So Zhang Ch¨¡o turned to the Blacksmiths¡¯ Guild and moved on to the next, related question.
¡°So, what can I expect your people to do with the metal from those cars?¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o asked bluntly.
¡°What would Your Majesty like to see made?¡± asked Yuan Lim, one of the representatives, cautiously.
¡°Ships,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o replied instantly. ¡°As soon as possible. I need them to end this vexatious piracy. It is an affront to the nation. How long will it take you?¡±
¡°We¡ªor, I sh-should say I¡ªthought that you might want weapons made from the metal instead,¡± the same man said, his voice trembling slightly. ¡°That would boost our defense against invasion, and we have the ability to enchant them with¡ª¡±
His voice broke off as Zhang Ch¨¡o stared coldly into his eyes.
None of the rest of them are speaking up, he thought. They want this man to represent their view, then. Trying to avoid presenting a disunited front in dealing with my government. In a way, he admired it¡ªthe guilds had been created, because members of the same System-granted Job or pre-System profession had wanted to band together and avoid too much competition in the wake of the collapse of society¡ªand they were just doing what Zhang Ch¨¡o expected.
But I can¡¯t have them all speaking with one voice now. I need them to try to outdo each other. Compete! An idea struck him.
¡°I understand what you are saying,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o said stiffly. ¡°It is difficult to be told ¡®no, something is too difficult or impossible¡¯ when you are a head of state. And I recognize that everything is difficult in the beginning. It is too demanding to ask you to turn automobile parts into ship components when the System-granted Skills are specialized in other areas.¡±
A look of relief passed over Yuan Lim¡¯s face.
¡°Which is why I will not burden you with this task,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o added.
The look of relief changed to one of horror.
¡°What do you mean, Your Majesty?¡± asked one of the other guild representatives.
Yuan Lim shot him a look, as if trying to tell him to shut his mouth, but the damage was done.
They want the work¡ªand access to the material¡ªbadly, then.
¡°I mean, the Industrial Guild has been champing at the bit for me to assign them some responsibilities,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o said slowly, relishing each word. ¡°I think it would be good for them to be assigned a new task. They performed so well in getting the power back on, after all¡ª¡± He gestured at the electric lights in the dining room, which were now functioning. ¡°In the present national crisis, I cannot allow my loyal subjects to go without work.¡±
The Industrial Guild was composed of the capitalists, plant managers, and engineers who had created and maintained Taiwan¡¯s industrial capacity before the System. They were still around, and they still had all the same competencies they had trained in before. Some of those who had previously specialized in computer work had even begun learning to weld and perform other, more physical tasks.
Where magical blacksmithing was apparently not specialized in the area Zhang Ch¨¡o needed, old-fashioned human engineering and manufacturing might fill in the gap.
I don¡¯t care how the task gets done, or who does it. Only that it is accomplished quickly and well.
¡°Your Majesty,¡± Yuan Lim said, his voice pleading. ¡°You can¡¯t give the metal to them. I mean, of course, Your Majesty can do whatever it strikes your fancy to do, but¡¡±
¡°Is it truly so impossible for you to do what I ask?¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o asked.
Last chance for you to get in on this work.
¡°Impossible¡ well, perhaps not,¡± Yuan Lim said.
¡°There you have it,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o said, finally allowing himself to smile at the other man. ¡°If you work hard enough at it, you can grind even an iron rod down to a needle.¡±
¡°You will give the work to us, then,¡± Yuan Lim said cautiously.
¡°I will allow the Blacksmiths¡¯ Guild and the Industrial Guild fifty percent of the materials each, to start with. Then I will judge you both by the quality of your product in making future allocations.¡±
There were pained expressions on the representatives¡¯ faces as they heard this. Zhang Ch¨¡o returned his expression to a careful impassivity. He wanted to smile even more broadly, but this moment seemed inappropriate.
The guild members who had hoped to avoid competition by organizing together wound up forced into a new rivalry despite their best efforts.
Cheer up, he thought. By enduring deep pain, people can ascend.
As the Blacksmiths¡¯ Guild members rose to leave the lunch table, their expressions twisted as if they had eaten something bitter, Zhang Ch¨¡o pulled Han Jianguo aside.
¡°Gather my ten thousand for this evening,¡± he said quietly. ¡°It is time that we deal with the threat in the harbor. Permanently.¡±
Han Jianguo nodded. The shadow of a smile played at the edges of his lips.
Yes, my friend, Zhang Ch¨¡o thought. Today will end with real combat. Like back in Orientation. I know you¡¯ve missed it too.
The two men shouldered the burden of governing a nation between them.
Sadly, they could not go out to fight, train, and defeat monsters nearly as often as they would have liked.
But if they took the ten thousand men and women of the Imperial Army with them, and they solved a genuine problem of national importance, no one could have the misapprehension that Zhang Ch¨¡o was in any way shirking his responsibility as Heavenly King.
He touched the Mandate of Heaven where the sword hung at his side, then looked discreetly at the clock on the wall.
It read two in the afternoon.
Very well. I will have to make my afternoon appointments first¡ But it¡¯s nice to have something to look forward to, waiting at the end of the day.
V4Ch1-Do You Really Want to Live Forever?
James looked down on the aftermath of battle.
He could see it all from up there, his cloak fluttering in the breeze.
I could get used to flying like this¡ But he couldn¡¯t make himself smile at the thought.
The light around him was fading now.
What a disaster, he thought. But he knew it could have been much worse. If I had arrived just five minutes later, how many would there be left to save?
All around James, armored men and women fell to their knees, exhausted and relieved¡ªor writhing and screaming as the creatures possessing their bodies were expelled and destroyed. The number of conscious, healthy humans who were simply exhausted was almost evenly matched with the number of the possessed.
James had the terrible sense that he had narrowly averted a massacre.
Some of those who remained conscious and free of Wraith control directed looks of gratitude up at him, but James barely took notice of that. He kept his gaze moving around the battlefield, trying to tally up the losses and see where his power was needed next.
Almost all the Wraiths had been destroyed, and those few that had survived were already fleeing into the darkness of the night. Even though he had wanted to purge this land of the creatures completely, he was grateful for this result. The solar energy his body had stored up from the day was utterly exhausted. He could not fire another Solar Ray if his life depended on it.
I need to level that Skill more, he thought. I was half naked for a while earlier today, so I absorbed extra solar energy, but my body¡¯s usage still wasn¡¯t efficient enough to destroy all these creatures. I¡¯ll have to chase the rest down later¡
Three figures floated up out of James¡¯s peripheral vision to his left.
¡°Thank God you guys are here,¡± James said quietly. ¡°I was starting to wonder how your mission went, considering what happened to our volunteers.¡±
¡°It was a success,¡± Mina said quietly, her tone grim. He could tell she was looking down at the end result of the battle with the same feeling of disquiet that James felt.
¡°Alice destroyed the Wraiths¡¯ Reliquaries,¡± Zora said. Her tone was subdued as well, but James could hear the unmistakable note of pride in her daughter.
He turned his head to look at them and opened his mouth to thank Alice, but his wife, sister, and mother all jerked back slightly as if taken aback at his appearance.
¡°What?¡± he asked. ¡°Is there something wrong with me?¡±
¡°James, your¡ª¡± Alice began to speak and raised her hand to gesture at her own face, but stopped when Zora grabbed her shoulder.
¡°It¡¯s nothing important right now,¡± Zora said coolly. ¡°Now where do you need us?¡±
¡°You¡¯re not, um, hurt, are you, skapi?¡± Mina asked gingerly.
James shook his head. ¡°No, I¡¯m fine¡ªor at least I thought I was until you guys looked at me that way¡¡±
He turned to look back down at the battlefield. Then he pointed.
¡°I think there are still a few possessed down there. Alice, could you shine some of your light magic, please? Mina and I will give first aid to the wounded. And Mom¡ª¡± He looked his mother in the eyes, a slightly uncomfortable expression spreading on his face. ¡°I think we have about two dozen dead. It¡¯s not so many, relative to the hundreds I threw into this forest. But is there anything you can do for them?¡±
¡°You mean¡ª¡±
¡°Don¡¯t do anything that would make the rest of the population hate us,¡± James said firmly, ¡°but I assume I can trust you to make the distinction. Death is permanent as far as we know¡ªbesides your new powers. We¡¯ll worry about getting permission from next of kin later. If there¡¯s a way you can save them that will leave their human dignity intact¡¡± He allowed his voice to trail off. He believed his mother understood him well enough to know what he was asking for.
¡°The recently dead,¡± Zora said thoughtfully. ¡°Some of their souls are still lingering, I can sense them¡ Okay, son. I¡¯ll get to work right away. Keeping in mind what you said.¡± She floated down in a hurry, and Alice began her own much slower descent, chanting quietly to herself.
James considered next steps.
I need Healers for the ones who are still alive. The wounded and the recently possessed far outnumber those who Mina and I might be able to help. James had used up most of his Mana already, having fought in the bats¡¯ territory earlier that day, then tangled with Sister Strange, and finally used Dominion to take control of the battlefield and dispel the aura of fear and death that still hung over it following Sister Strange¡¯s destruction.
If we¡¯re proactive, there¡¯s no reason why any others should have to die, when we have plenty of Healers right next door.
He sent an announcement throughout the Fisher Kingdom.
[Attention, all Healers! After expelling the evil spirits, we have many wounded and some formerly possessed fighters. Please enter the forest as quickly as you can to provide first aid. Any non-Healers who wish to volunteer, we need physical labor as well. We will be moving those who do not recover immediately into the community center. We will need spare beds, cots, anything soft that an injured person might rest on. Jeremiah Rotter is to direct the effort to prepare the community center for habitation. Please see him for instructions.]
He was pleased to note that he kept his voice completely calm throughout the bulletin.
That ought to stop the bleeding, James thought. And I¡¯m starting to really like this delegating thing. He could imagine a scenario where he would have been running around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to perform triage while also giving orders to people directly to get the logistics of the makeshift hospital in order.
He shook his head and looked down to see where he should fly to begin applying first aid.
Then Alice¡¯s Light Magic blinded him as he made the mistake of looking directly down at it in the moment of casting.
I guess that¡¯s a new weakness of mine, he thought, slightly amused. If you have superhuman eyesight or hearing, it can get overwhelmed.
While he was blinking the darkness out of his eyes, Mina spoke up.
¡°I hope you know that I wouldn¡¯t want that,¡± she said quietly.
¡°What?¡± James asked, turning toward her. Her face slowly swam into view as the darkness passed from his vision.
¡°What your mother is doing,¡± Mina said, pointing toward the ground with a somber expression.
James heard the subtext, What you asked your mother to do.
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He followed Mina¡¯s finger with his gaze. He saw that his mother had produced a handful of skeletons from somewhere and was using them to carry off the bodies of the dead. Like James, Zora seemed to have an unerring ability to tell the living from the dead with just a glance.
He could not help noticing that a few people¡ªnot more than a handful¡ªwere watching Zora work. Their expressions varied from apparent fascination to what appeared to be distrust.
I¡¯ll have to speak with them. I need them to understand that she¡¯s not taking our dead away for some sinister purpose. It¡¯s just, if I can save someone, or if Mom can, why shouldn¡¯t we do that?
¡°I get it,¡± James said quietly. ¡°You want to die like anyone else and stay dead. It¡¯s only natural.¡±
He looked at Mina and found that she was nodding.
¡°And I wonder how many of the dead she¡¯s working on will feel that way,¡± she added.
James sighed. I know you have a point, but I¡¯m not like you. I think most people aren¡¯t like you. They would rather live as Vampires or Ghouls or something than accept death. I think that was why people believed in gods in the pre-System world. They wanted something beyond death. Some happily ever after that nature didn¡¯t offer them. In a magical world, why should anyone have to accept the limitations of nature? At the same time, he knew from the visions that Sister Strange had shown him that Mina might not have a choice. She seemed to be destined for a violent death.
Unless Strange was lying to me¡ªor I can prevent it.
¡°I hope you¡¯ll change your mind one day,¡± he said in a tone of quiet melancholy. ¡°After you see what Mom actually does. This is a very new world. There¡¯s a lot we both still have to get used to. If the results of her efforts are just horrifying, I¡¯ll be the first to tell her to stop. But I already know I plan on living forever. It could get lonely if you don¡¯t want to join me. Maybe just keep an open mind?¡±
¡°That does sound very lonely,¡± she said softly. ¡°Then again, so does the possibility that I might outlive our children. Or our grandchildren. Even if they¡¯re immortals, they could die by some accident, or an enemy attack. This world is much more violent than the one we grew up in. It¡¯s a lot to think about, skapi. I love you, you know I do, but¡ªeternity? That sounds a lot longer than ¡®until death do us part.¡¯ If you¡¯re willing to live forever, I guess I can understand that. I never imagined that for myself. Never wanted it. I just¡ªI don¡¯t know. I¡¯ll try to keep an open mind. And I¡¯ll let you know how I feel after I see whatever Zora does with those people.¡±
James felt dejected. It feels like the universe is plotting to kill you, Mina, and you don¡¯t even want to come back to life if you have the option? He forced himself to remain grounded in the present moment. That¡¯s far away, he told himself. Those people down there are in trouble now.
¡°Let¡¯s descend,¡± he said, trying to keep a neutral tone. ¡°Most of our soldiers are still alive. They just need healing.¡±
He felt his wife¡¯s head snap towards him, trying to read his expression, but James was already descending, so he was quickly beyond her line of sight, only giving her the back of his head to look at.
He had narrowed down the area where healing was most needed, and he began using Laying on Hands as soon as he was close enough to reach the wounded, even before his feet had touched the ground.
Mina busied herself working alongside him¡ªthankfully she had Laying on Hands too¡ªand they performed their task in silence, each simultaneously focused on the task at hand and deep in their own inner worlds.
It felt a bit futile to James, though he did not allow that emotion to slow him. There were many wounded, and the worst injured had been bleeding for so long that they looked incredibly pale.
Still, his mind almost automatically ran through ways he might mitigate these problems for the future. I need to start giving my creatures the healing Skills I have. If I had a couple dozen monsters with a fraction of my Mana pool each, all equipped with Laying on Hands, they would mop this situation up in twenty minutes¡
As it was, he began to think that they would lose more soldiers. He and Mina could not move quickly enough.
Worst of all, he saw people he knew among the injured. His hands mended injuries on Ramon Rodriguez, Alan, and Mitzi, but there were many more people he recognized among the wounded. James could only heal one or two at a time, at most, and his Mana was still limited.
He forced himself not to think about it much. There was too much to do for him to allow his emotions free rein. He healed the injured one by one, with preference for those whose names he remembered, and his hands kept moving on to the next victim of the Wraiths.
Then the Healers from the Fisher Kingdom began appearing. They arrived in small groups, moving cautiously, heads turning from side to side as if they worried they might be attacked by creatures at any moment.
¡°Hurry up, please!¡± James called. ¡°We have people near death here, and there are no more monsters in the area!¡±
The first batch of Healers sprinted forward in response to James¡¯s voice. And the salvation of the Fisher Army began in earnest.
Once one group of Healers found the courage to rush in, more followed. Perhaps they had been waffling at the edge of the forest, outside James¡¯s field of vision, but his words spurred them into motion. In any case, soon, there were two dozen Healers at work.
The anemic-looking soldiers who James had only been slowly working his way through began to look better immediately.
Yulia appeared as James was starting to run low on Mana.
¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re here,¡± he said.
She nodded and gave him a small smile, but he could tell the sight of the piled up unconscious soldiers and the feel of the bloody ground squelching underneath her sneakers was having an effect on her.
¡°Of course,¡± she said. ¡°I had to leave Abhi in charge, but I hope that¡¯s okay given the circumstances.¡±
¡°Absolutely,¡± James said, remembering the circumstances under which they had first met Abhi and his siblings¡ªwhen they were in their old apartment alone. ¡°That little guy is responsible enough to babysit for half an hour or so.¡±
He sent a telepathic message to Abhi¡¯s Clay Spider, Peter, to give to Abhi: Thanks for being the man of the house, Abhi! See you in a few hours.
It was only then that James found a moment to speak quietly with those who had been watching his mother remove the bodies of the dead. The few people who had been watching Zora were all relatively new to James¡ªhe didn¡¯t know their names¡ªbut they were all standing close together still, too exhausted to go anywhere in James¡¯s assessment. He pulled them into a huddle and began using Identify to get their names in case he needed to remember them later.
¡°Hey, you guys,¡± James said.
¡°Your Majesty,¡± said a man who was apparently called Inigo Sandoval. He dipped his head in a small quasi-bow.
Another, who Identify named as Henry Burke, grinned wearily at that.
¡°Did we do good?¡± he asked.
¡°Yeah,¡± James said, returning the grin. ¡°You all did a great job. You¡¯re the ones who held the line with such courage. You kept the Wraiths from possessing more of your comrades. You saved a lot of lives tonight.¡±
¡°Thank you!¡± said Burke, his smile growing more energetic.
¡°What are you talking about?¡± said Sandoval in a jocular tone. ¡°He meant me!¡±
The air rang with laughter for almost a minute at that. James joined in too.
I think I might like these guys.
¡°Did you want to talk to us about something in particular?¡± asked Sandoval.
¡°It¡¯s about what you guys saw the lady with the skeletons doing earlier,¡± James said.
¡°That¡¯s your mother, right, Fisher King?¡± asked Derek Sievers.
¡°Right,¡± James said.
¡°Then we don¡¯t need any explanation,¡± said Sievers. ¡°Right, guys?¡±
The other four men nodded at that. James didn¡¯t detect any reluctance. It didn¡¯t feel forced.
Am I missing something?
¡°You looked a bit bothered by it earlier,¡± James said.
¡°We talked among ourselves,¡± Sievers said. ¡°We all followed Dave into the forest because we trust you. We trust Dave, too, but this whole place¡ª¡± He gestured at the air, the ground, and the surroundings generally¡ª¡°it runs on trust of you. This seemed like a dumb place to question it.¡± He looked James in the eyes, and Sievers¡¯s eyes smiled along with the rest of his face. ¡°I don¡¯t think many of us have had the experience of having a real leader before. None of us believe you¡¯d steer us wrong. So we figured your mother and her, uh, skeleton crew was probably doing something good¡ And we decided to trust you, without asking for any explanations.¡± Sievers looked sort of proud, as if he felt he had found the right answer to a challenging question.
James nodded slowly. Right. This is a very new world. Being a king isn¡¯t like being some other kind of politician. It¡¯s not always about explaining yourself to the public. There¡¯s something mystical to it. An element of faith.
¡°I will strive to always be worthy of your trust,¡± he said simply.
James shook each man firmly by the hand, and they found the strength to join him as he began leading the next phase of his post-battle plan: the transportation of the wounded to the community center.
V4Ch2-The Visitors
The procession of volunteer medics marched almost silently through the night.
The mood that had settled over the group was solemn. Despite the best efforts of the Healers, hundreds of the unconscious soldiers had yet to wake up. The number of those who remained in a serious condition¡ªthough exactly what remained wrong with them, James could not yet tell¡ªwas far more than he had expected when he ordered Jeremiah Rotter to prepare the community center for occupants.
James walked through the doors of the community center and handed the two fighters he was carrying off to a pair of volunteers.
Then he made a beeline for Jeremiah Rotter.
¡°Your Majesty, I have tried my best to organize things according to your will,¡± he said as soon as James was close to him. James examined Rotter¡¯s appearance with a single brief glance. He was visibly perspiring and looked sleepy. Almost dead on his feet. This work seemed to be the most strenuous situation James had ever observed Rotter in; he could not remember ever having seen him sweat before.
He¡¯s tired, but clearly not at all bad at this, James assessed.
The community had donated a large number of beds, and Rotter had gotten them placed within the building in ten orderly rows. They were somewhat tightly fitted into the space so that the maximum possible number of beds could be placed, but the organizational method also included aisles between the rows of beds that were wide enough for Healers to quickly and easily maneuver.
¡°You¡¯ve done well,¡± James said, smiling as he clapped Rotter on the back.
The man looked like he was almost ready to collapse at James¡¯s touch, but he recovered quickly.
¡°Thank you,¡± Rotter said, beaming despite his obvious exhaustion. ¡°Please let me know if there¡¯s anything else I can do for you.¡±
I actually have lots of things for you to do. I can¡¯t let these organizational abilities go to waste.
¡°I would like to collect data on our military engagements,¡± James said. ¡°It should help me figure out the relative strength of our army compared with external threats generally and look for areas of improvement. So please gather as much data as you can about the people who went into the Haunted Forest¡ªthat is, the place where we just had this battle. Number of people who went in, how many were wounded, how many dead¡ªyou¡¯ll need to confer with my mother on that last point¡¡±
Rotter was nodding with grim determination as James spoke.
¡°But before you do any of that, get some sleep, man!¡± James finished. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about your dreams being haunted anymore. And I can¡¯t have you passing out from exhaustion.¡±
Rotter let loose a burst of nervous laughter, only to quickly cover his mouth as a half dozen Healers looked disapprovingly in his direction.
¡°Yes sir,¡± Rotter said, once he had control of himself. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me twice.¡±
The two men walked back out of the community center.
Rotter set off in what appeared to be the direction of his apartment.
James wanted to do the same, but as he stepped through the doors, he received a telepathic message from Luna that stopped him cold.
Your loyal wolves were out hunting, my king, and we ran into a large pack of humans foreign to the Fisher Kingdom, she sent. One of them attempted to steal one of the hogs we slew. I recalled your rule about harming humans, so initially, we pulled back. Since they appeared to be on their way into your territory, however, we have surrounded them. We have the advantage of fear, but they appear to be in a formation of some sort, as if they know how to fight as a pack. In my limited experience, this is unusual for humans. The leader claims that they are simply migrating and have peaceful intentions. How would you like us to deal with them?
James frowned. Now is not the best time for me to be receiving guests, he thought. But I also can¡¯t go murdering people just because they wandered into the area around my territory in a large group. It¡¯s possible that they really do come in peace¡
In any case, he was glad he had told the wolf pack to patrol and hunt along the outskirts of the ever-expanding borders of the Fisher Kingdom. They were a strong first line of defense.
You said the leader spoke to you, he sent back. What was your reading of him? Do you think he was lying?
I cannot tell, Luna replied in a tone of reluctance, as if admitting a failure. He is giving me strong eye contact¡ I need more interaction with deceitful humans to have a better read on their tells. Wolves and humans show very different body language.
Of course they do, James thought. It was slightly frustrating, simply because if he were there in person, he would know immediately if the newcomer was lying or not. But Luna did not have his Ring of Lies.
All right, he sent. Don¡¯t start a fight. Follow them, but keep a safe distance so they won¡¯t have reason to fear attack. Try to count the group, so I get a better idea of what I¡¯m dealing with.
It shall be done, my king, Luna sent instantly.
If the invasion of the Haunted Forest wasn¡¯t enough to deal with in one night, now we have some random bunch of humans stealing into the border regions. It¡¯s hard to believe they¡¯re just peacefully migrating. Anyone who knows anything about how the System world works would make the choice to hunker down and stay in one place. Find somewhere you can fortify. Otherwise, you¡¯re just going to keep running into the territories of different species of beasts. The only reason to travel in such a dangerous environment is that you¡¯re actively looking for a fight.
He returned to his apartment and, because he had returned before Mina and Yulia, he checked on the children. James Junior, Abhi, and his siblings were all asleep. James used Dreamwalk to quickly confirm that they all appeared to be enjoying calm, peaceful dreams.
Everything is the way it should be, he thought.
His protective instincts satisfied, James moved to the living room and opened up telepathic channels to Goblin Overlord Duncan, Mole Lord Magnar, former Red Flying Squirrel Queen Ysabel, and former Sewer Alligator Monarch Samuel. There was still no new leader of the bats, as far as he knew, and at any rate, he did not want to interrupt their period of mourning unless he absolutely had to.
He explained to each of the leaders individually what he needed. It wasn¡¯t much.
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Just a hundred or so of your fighters. I want to put together a small show of strength, so that some new arrivals know that we are not undefended. We don¡¯t know their intentions yet¡
They each reacted supportively, in their own way.
You can count on us, Your Majesty, sent Duncan in a grave tone. No one knows how to present an intimidating facade better than a Goblin.
We will be there, sir, sent Magnar.
You got it, boss! sent Ysabel in a chipper voice.
If you want, my kids and I could just go over and eat them all, Samuel sent. He sounded conversational, as if he was not proposing to go and wipe out a bunch of people who had not done anything to deserve violence. I know I lost to you, but we¡¯ve dealt with our fair share of trespassers in the past.
Thank you, Samuel, but I¡¯m not sure I want them dead quite yet, James sent. If you feel up to it, I wouldn¡¯t mind you personally joining us, though. In case things actually take a violent turn. He liked where the kaiju-sized monster¡¯s head was, though.
Samuel accepted the invitation.
¡°Sir, may I ask, what exactly are you doing?¡± Hester¡¯s tinny voice rang in James¡¯s ear like a little bell that only he could hear.
James had been walking back and forth in the living room as he telepathically chatted with his middle managers¡ªor, from a more ancient perspective, the feudal lords who made his Kingdom possible, and might one day allow him to become an emperor.
He stopped now and quickly explained the situation to the little spider. Everything he had said or heard about the intruders up until now had been entirely telepathic, which was why she had not realized what was going on.
¡°Very interesting,¡± Hester said quietly. ¡°I think I need to report this to Lord Anansi. It sounds like a significant development in your story. Is that all right?¡±
James sometimes wondered whether Hester would refuse to report something to the Spider God if he asked her not to. She was a direct descendant of Anansi, so her first loyalty should logically be to him, but her life¡¯s mission now was to serve James and become part of the transcendent narrative that his journey was meant to become. So faithful service to James was the sole way that she could become immortal in the sense that mattered most to her as a follower of Anansi.
It had not mattered so far, as James¡¯s goals and Anansi¡¯s plans had not deviated. Yet.
But the higher I rise in the world, the more likely we are to differ in our visions of the future¡
¡°Yes, go ahead and report it,¡± James said. There was no reason to lie to Anansi about this. If there had been, he would have thought long and hard before telling Hester anything.
The spider went quiet for a while, and James imagined she was in some form of communion with Anansi, although she did not burn hot on his flesh as she did when she was receiving a divine message. So the communication was only one way for now.
The next hour flew by.
Luna reported back that the strangers had brought only a little over a hundred people, and James told his subordinates to scale back the size of his welcoming crew accordingly.
Mina and Yulia returned home, and James explained the situation to them.
¡°It sounds like you have this under control,¡± Mina observed. She was tired, James could see. He guessed that she and Yulia had used up close to their entire reserves of Mana healing people, mainly because they had been among the first people on the scene with healing abilities.
James nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll probably call a council meeting in the morning about this group. They seem to be pretty cohesive. It might be dangerous to accept a large group of new people who have a stronger loyalty to each other than they do to the Fisher Kingdom. We haven¡¯t taken any groups this large into the Fisher Kingdom before, besides monsters. They seem to have fallen in line pretty well, which is not my experience of humans. I want to consider this carefully from more than one angle, so I need the best possible advice.¡± He smiled. ¡°Which means you should get some rest. I¡¯ll want your judgment most of all. I¡¯ll join you when I¡¯ve established some ground rules with the new arrivals.¡±
He took a step toward the stairs, then thought better of it. He turned around again and looked into his wife¡¯s eyes. ¡°Thank you for all of your hard work this evening,¡± he said. He looked at Yulia. ¡°Both of you.¡±
Yulia smiled. ¡°All I did was heal people,¡± she said.
¡°And babysitting,¡± James replied. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that. It was very important!¡±
She laughed.
¡°Seriously, if you guys hadn¡¯t shown up after the battle, we would have a lot more dead people on our hands,¡± James said. ¡°I was just about tapped out on Mana when I saw you, Yulia.¡±
¡°You have enough in case this encounter with the strangers turns violent, skapi?¡± Mina asked, a little wary.
¡°I recovered some,¡± James said, ¡°but I was planning on feeding them to Samuel if they become unruly.¡± He gave Mina a slightly twisted smile, and she rolled her eyes but smiled back.
¡°Good luck,¡± Yulia said. She stepped in and hugged James. ¡°Remember, violence isn¡¯t always the answer¡¡±
She moved back, and as James and Mina looked on, slightly surprised, she quickly withdrew and went to bed.
¡°That was a little different,¡± James said.
That¡¯s the most opinionated Yulia has ever been about anything in the Fisher Kingdom other than rescuing children, he thought. It¡¯s a very mild, reasonable opinion, but it feels like a first.
¡°Different in a good way, I think,¡± Mina said. James looked and saw that she was smiling. ¡°I told you how comfortable she was acting as an interspecies diplomat with the pixies. Maybe she feels good about engaging in diplomacy generally now.¡±
¡°Well, that would be a useful function for someone to fulfill,¡± James said thoughtfully.
A nice, friendly face for people from other territories to encounter, so they won¡¯t think the Fisher King is some sort of horrible monster. That could work. Speak softly and carry a big stick. I¡¯m the big stick already.
¡°I¡¯ll try not to slaughter them all,¡± James said. ¡°That way, we can do some diplomacy later.¡±
Mina gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek. ¡°Do your best,¡± she said. ¡°And good night.¡±
She vanished into the bedroom, and James was alone.
He descended the stairs. As he reached the bottom, he felt it.
The visitors had entered his territory. With his aura spread over a wider area than ever now, they were still at some distance from the main buildings of the Fisher Kingdom¡ªbut not as far as he would prefer if they turned out to be hostile. His power had spread unevenly, the shape of it influenced by the powers and territories of the Rulers he conquered.
His territory had begun as a vaguely circular shape around his body. Two-dimensional and almost perfectly round.
But Samuel¡¯s swamp, the Bat Queen and former Squirrel Queen¡¯s tropical forest, and now the Haunted Forest had distorted the shape of his holdings until they looked like a gerrymandered political district¡ªand occupied three dimensions of space, extending slightly into the sky and beneath the Earth.
The visitors had come through one of the border regions where his territory was relatively small. James had yet to fully spread his aura through the region where the hogs lived.
It was as if they had sensed and avoided entering his aura for as long as they could.
I wonder what it feels like to enter my territory, James thought. There was no one he could ask except these newcomers and perhaps others who had arrived similarly recently. He knew that aura had a mild oppressive effect on uninvited guests, and he was fairly certain that the effect was growing gradually more powerful, the longer he continued overlaying more and more aura in his territory and defeating other Rulers.
James reached out with his mind and verified that the land had sent out the usual message to the intruders, urging them to surrender to the Fisher King or his representatives.
Then he opened the door and went out into the open. The sun was just beginning to rise. A dim yellow halo illuminated James¡¯s allies, who had gathered in front of his apartment.
A mismatched, ferocious band of monsters. Goblins, giant moles, oversized squirrels, and even more gigantic alligators.
The Fisher King smiled at the sight of them.
¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± James said.
For these allies, no other words needed to be spoken.
James¡¯s squad of monsters marched after him into the dim early morning light.
V4Ch3-Goldeneye
As James led his small army of monsters to confront the newcomers, he saw dozens of faces, and sensed dozens more pairs of eyes, looking down at them curiously from the apartments they passed.
Even after the violence of the previous day and night, the citizens were interested in watching the Fisher King and his army march to meet the intruders.
On the faces that were not obscured by apartment shadows, he detected a mixture of emotions. But the predominant one was curiosity.
The Mole People and Goblins usually stayed underground rather than marching around at ground level as they did now. Samuel and Ysabel¡¯s people had remained living in their original territories for the time being.
Most of the onlookers had never seen any of his monsters besides the former Rulers and perhaps a few members of the wolf pack¡ªwho were still in the area near the new arrivals.
A few people looked proud, as if they were enjoying the martial display.
And there were other faces that displayed some level of fear or apprehension. James was reminded that for most of them, monsters were a nightmare they thought they had left behind in Orientation. Now that they were in a supposedly safe place, it might be unsettling for them to see the creatures that were supposed to be helping to upkeep that security.
I might have expected this, if I gave more thought toward public opinion.
He thought about making some sort of public service announcement with his Fisher King powers, then shook his head.
Now is not the time. I shouldn¡¯t use that power just to give my opinions about things. I should be announcing facts every time. That way, I don¡¯t diminish my own credibility, and people will take every announcement seriously. When there¡¯s an invasion or something, they¡¯ll be able to react more effectively if they know to listen to the voice coming from the sky. I¡¯ll have to fix the problem of them being afraid of their nonhuman fellow citizens later¡ªassuming it¡¯s even amenable to being fixed.
He made a note to himself to make some gestures toward stronger human-monster solidarity within the Kingdom. He was still a little vague on what those would be, but more intergroup contacts seemed like the most logical first step. Assuming those could be carried out peacefully, that should teach his citizens not to fear each other, at least.
Then he and the monsters were out of sight range of the apartment dwellers, moving quickly toward the visitors where they remained, per James¡¯s Fisher King senses, in place.
I wonder what they¡¯re doing over there. He thought he sensed that they were sitting on the ground, but he recognized he might be capable of getting a clearer picture. His powers over his territory were growing every day now, after all. If I just close my eyes, I might be able to see them¡
Then James felt the almost scorching heat on the back of his ear from where Hester sat, and he knew that she must have received a divine message. He immediately put away the thought of spying on the new arrivals, for the moment.
Not for the first time, he wondered how harmful it was to Hester to be in contact with Anansi, given that the heat of her body at the moment of getting a transmission was slightly painful even for him.
¡°Hey Hester, you all right up there?¡± he asked in a quiet voice intended only for her.
¡°I am¡ª¡± She let out a long breath that seemed to him to convey great pain¡ª¡°fine, thank you, sir.¡±
You don¡¯t sound fine. He wondered if bringing that up would only mock her resolve. It had been Hester¡¯s decision to live and die to facilitate the relationship between James and Anansi. A way for her to secure a form of immortality for herself, as part of James¡¯s legend.
¡°A new message from the Spider God, then,¡± James said, burying his concerns for now.
¡°Yes!¡± Her tone brightened instantly. ¡°This is an important one, I think. Lord Anansi informs you that there are a large share of humans with divine blessings of one kind or another in the group we are on our way to meet.¡±
¡°What¡¯s a normal share of people with divine blessings?¡± James asked curiously.
¡°Low level blessings, anywhere from one in fifty to one in a hundred. Higher level blessings, closer to one in a hundred thousand or one in a million, moving out toward one in several billion if we talk about a Chosen One blessing from a high tier god.¡±
¡°That is interesting¡¡±
Where does Anansi rank, then? By extension, where do I rank?
¡°Before you ask, Lord Anansi does not know which gods they received blessings from,¡± Hester continued. ¡°He has less access to information on things going on now that you are out of Orientation. That is the typical way of things for the gods. Only the most powerful of them could possibly intervene in a newly integrated universe beyond blessing some humans and performing some basic scrying like what he¡¯s doing.¡±
That¡¯s good. I don¡¯t want any more divine intervention on Earth, after everything Moloch did¡ªplus that god that blessed the Wendigos. I have things well enough under control that I have no reason to put my fate into the hands of beings I don¡¯t trust.
¡°Well, I appreciate the information,¡± James replied. ¡°How large a share of the visitors have blessings?¡±
¡°Expect one in four or one in five to be blessed.¡±
Sounds like a hell of a lot!
¡°No other information?¡± James asked hopefully.
¡°The blessings are either low level from a more powerful god, or high level from a less powerful god than Lord Anansi, based on the divine signature he observes.¡±
¡°Okay, that¡¯s very helpful. Thank you, Hester!¡±
¡°Just trying to do my part,¡± she said modestly, clearly trying to conceal the distinct pride she felt.
James was going to say something more to encourage her¡ªhe knew how much Hester was sacrificing by carrying messages between himself and Anansi, and ¡°Thank you¡± seemed a very inadequate recompense¡ªbut he suddenly sensed a figure in his peripheral vision. He instinctively turned to look¡ªand Goblin Overlord Duncan meekly waved from around five feet away.
He isn¡¯t as close as I would¡¯ve thought just now. I guess my senses are getting sharper over time. Another thing to get used to.
He made a note to himself to do something for Hester later. Reward her in some way. Make her more directly a part of his legend somehow beyond simply telling people that she was the spider who connected him to Anansi.
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But for the moment, he focused on Duncan, who looked like he wanted to say something.
¡°Hello Duncan,¡± James said, when the Goblin appeared to be taking some time deciding what he wanted to say¡ªor working up the courage to speak.
¡°Hello Your Majesty,¡± Duncan said, bowing slightly. He stepped in closer. ¡°On behalf of all of us Goblins, I just wanted to thank you for bringing us along on this¡ª¡± He stopped and stared James in the eyes, then slowly resumed speaking. ¡°Um, I just wanted to thank you for bringing us as part of your welcoming party for this new group¡ªand in case you need to fight them.¡± The small figure puffed out his chest, but he was so short that it looked slightly comical.
¡°Of course,¡± James said. ¡°You are an essential part of my kingdom.¡± Which I need to acknowledge more often, I suppose, if this feels like such a big, significant gesture. ¡°Do you mind my asking, why were you staring at me just now? Did you see something on my face?¡±
James recalled that his family had also looked at him strangely back when he ran into them in the Haunted Forest, only to say that there would be time to discuss whatever it was later.
¡°Oh, um, I meant no offense,¡± Duncan said.
¡°None was taken,¡± James said.
¡°I just love what you have done with your eyes. You still look human, but now you have the air of being something more, even from a purely visual standpoint. Of course, those of us under your rule have long known that you are no ordinary person.¡±
¡°Why, thank you,¡± James replied, not missing a beat.
¡°They really are striking,¡± Duncan continued, leaning into the flattery now that it seemed to be hitting home. ¡°I can only imagine the intimidation you might inflict on our enemies. And just from eye contact!¡±
James chuckled and waved his hand dismissively, as if he was too modest to accept the compliment.
What the hell happened to my eyes? he wondered. They¡¯re more intimidating and striking, and they make me look more than human? How? I haven¡¯t done anything to them.
He waited until Duncan had finished speaking, thanked him again for coming along, and then quietly took his phone out from his magic satchel. Thanks to the bag¡¯s properties, the phone maintained a charge despite James not having plugged it in since before Orientation.
In order to preserve the battery life, and because most of its functions were disabled, he was not using it very often, though he sometimes missed being able to listen to music that was saved to the phone¡¯s drive.
This time, he simply used it as a black screen at first. Yeah, my eyes look a little different, but it¡¯s hard to say how.
He quickly swiped and turned the camera on. His eyes widened as he saw his own reflection.
My face is pretty different post-Evolution¡ªand at some point, my eyes changed color!
They were pretty, he assessed. A striking pair of golden eyes that made him look, as Duncan had said, more than human.
Is it just me, or are they glowing slightly?
James could not be certain if it was real, or if the rising sun¡¯s rays just made everything that was caught under them appear a sort of glowing golden orange color.
He shook his head. Whatever. It doesn¡¯t matter.
You realize why your eyes changed, right? The voice of Soul Eater Orb Roscuro chimed in from his place in the form of a bracelet currently worn on James¡¯s right wrist.
No, James replied, but I assume you''re going to tell me.
Because you consumed Sister Strange, Roscuro replied. Somehow, you absorbed the ethereal form of a bodiless spirit into your physical vessel. You maniac.
Despite the slightly mocking tone of Roscuro¡¯s reply, James could sense the Soul Eater was somewhat impressed underneath it.
James could have guessed that his consumption of Sister Strange had caused the change. What he did not know was how his consumption of a spiritual entity had changed his physical body and what the change indicated.
So, what do the golden eyes mean? he asked. Am I getting indigestion?
I really could not say, Roscuro replied. I have never heard of someone doing something like this. I honestly did not think it was possible. Congratulations on becoming a sort of pioneer!
Now James detected an undercurrent of nervousness.
What are you worried about? James sent bluntly.
The Soul Eater paused for a moment, then replied, I have no way of knowing if your body can handle having a spiritual creature¡¯s components inside of it. You might destroy yourself, body and soul. Since I am bound to your soul, that would also destroy me. There is nothing to be done for it now, though.
Jesus, James thought to himself. I had no idea I was doing something so risky. Some instinct had called to him and told him that eating Sister Strange was possible¡ªand would only make him more powerful. I¡¯ve eaten so many monsters that it¡¯s just normal to me now. If I had even conceived that this might be different¡
James slipped into a wordless worry, as he imagined worst case scenarios in the event of his death. The murder of his wife was already seemingly prophesied, and who was to say the rest of his family would be safe if James was taken from them too soon? These thoughts pained him as much as a stab in the chest.
He sent nothing back to Roscuro, nor did the Soul Eater try to follow up on his prediction of danger. The two simply lapsed into a glum silence, each preoccupied with the possibility of their mutual destruction.
James remained grimly silent as he crossed into the outer parts of his territory, and the new arrivals came into view.
The first visual impression of them was striking. James¡¯s Fisher King powers had told him they seemed to be sitting down, resting perhaps. That impression was not quite accurate.
The newcomers were in a similar posture to what James had imagined, but all of the newcomers were on their knees, eyes closed, faces turned toward the sky.
They appeared to be praying.
James¡¯s jaw tightened.
This had better not be another goddamned cult, he thought. If they¡¯re Moloch worshippers, I¡¯ll wipe them out right here without letting them get any further into the Kingdom¡
As James and his entourage stepped in closer, the man at the head of the formation¡ªthe newcomers were spread in a triangular shape, with a single person at the front and a larger group in the back¡ªopened his eyes.
He and James met each other¡¯s gazes, and James read a flurry of emotions as they passed over the man¡¯s face.
Joy, surprise, fear, resignation.
Then there was control.
A closed face, revealing nothing.
James noticed a cross around the leader¡¯s neck, and he relaxed a bit. It reminded him of Yulia, who he had driven to church once a week in the pre-System days.
Why did I jump to cult? he asked himself. Am I just turning cynical? A supermajority of Americans were Christians before the System. The most dangerous thing about them was that they might give you a strongly worded pamphlet, or maybe vocally disapprove of your lifestyle.
James raised an arm and signaled for his monsters to stay in their current position.
Then he began to walk across the short distance to meet the man who led this apparent religious community.
While everyone else knelt, the leader rose, dusted off his knees, and prepared to greet the Fisher King.
V4Ch4-A Conflict of Visions Part 1
¡°Welcome to the Fisher Kingdom,¡± James said, keeping his expression and tone of voice friendly. ¡°I am the Fisher King, James Robard.¡±
The man who stood across from him seemed to relax slightly.
¡°Thank you for the welcome,¡± he said, his voice rich and deep. ¡°My name is Cyrus Berberian. My flock and I are relieved to have, um, stumbled upon a friendly human leader. We have walked far, across dangerous lands, to get here.¡± Cyrus¡¯s eyes kept darting to the monsters behind James as he spoke.
James did not detect any deception coming from the man so far, though the Ring of Truth and the Ring of Lies sat comfortably in their usual positions.
Maybe he¡¯s not going to turn out so bad, James thought. This could just be a normal pastor and his congregation.
James extended his hand, and the two men shook.
I don¡¯t think he cares much for us nonhumans, sent Ysabel as the two were shaking hands.
Really? James sent back. You sure? You guys are here to intimidate, so I understand being afraid. James thought it was probably true that Cyrus was concerned about the monsters, but he understood that himself. The experience of the average human up until now had been that monsters liked eating human flesh. James still felt a little odd about having instantly judged the group of newcomers based on them having been kneeling when he walked up.
I¡¯m pretty sure, Ysabel sent back quickly. It¡¯s not just fear. There¡¯s also hostility mixed in. I have highly developed senses. I am a squirrel, and I¡¯ve invested heavily into Perception and Agility, so I can identify threats and get my siblings away from them!
James was left slightly dumbfounded by how Ysabel had managed to put a good face on her specialization in running away.
How did she become a Ruler? he wondered to himself
I appreciate your insights, Ysabel, James sent back. I will investigate.
¡°I¡¯m always glad to meet new people with peaceful intentions,¡± James said. ¡°Here our mission is to rebuild civilization and ensure that it can never fall again.¡±
He observed that some of Cyrus¡¯s followers looked quite relieved to hear him say that, while others tried to remain impassive.
Interesting. Divisions within the group? Or do some just have much better control over their emotions than others.
¡°What exactly are your intentions here, um, Reverend?¡± James continued. ¡°Are you and your flock aiming at settling down in the Fisher Kingdom? Looking for a peaceful place to recover your strength? Or just passing through?¡±
¡°Why don¡¯t the two of us take a step away and discuss this privately?¡± Cyrus suggested.
Interesting that he wants to take a step away from his group. I¡¯m guessing whatever secrets their group has, he doesn¡¯t trust that one of them won¡¯t open their mouth and spill the beans at the first opportune moment. Good. Whatever hold he has over them is pretty weak. Not a cult. Not Rostov.
James and Cyrus stepped away from the members of the preacher¡¯s flock. They moved parallel to the small army James had brought so that the leaders grew more distant from both with each stride. James felt this was advantageous to him, because he could communicate telepathically. If Cyrus turned out to be hostile, the situation would unfold terribly for him and his people, unless Cyrus had a similar power.
James finally stopped walking around a hundred feet from Cyrus¡¯s group.
¡°So, what couldn¡¯t you say in front of them?¡± James asked.
¡°It¡¯s not so much something specific that I couldn¡¯t say in front of them, as that I want us to have a very frank conversation,¡± Cyrus said, smiling thinly.
The man looked a little too much like a snake when he smiled for James¡¯s liking.
¡°Well, go ahead, then,¡± James said.
¡°My top priority is to find a safe place for my people to live,¡± Cyrus said.
James¡¯s Ring of Truth gave him a funny feeling. It wasn¡¯t the hot, uncomfortable sensation he associated with detecting a lie. More of a lukewarm, mildly unpleasant feeling.
So, what he just said is not exactly true, but not completely opposite to the truth, James interpreted. This ring is very useful. Thanks Anansi!
¡°I assume you have, um, those creatures under some kind of control,¡± Cyrus continued. ¡°But¡ª¡±
¡°I don¡¯t,¡± James interrupted.
¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± Cyrus said.
¡°I don¡¯t actually have any method for controlling them. I defeated each of the leaders of those species in a duel, and as a condition of victory, I agreed to take them into my kingdom, and they agreed to serve me. They aren¡¯t under mind control or something like that.¡±
And I kind of despise that sort of thing, even though it is technically part of my arsenal.
¡°Oh.¡± Cyrus¡¯s eyes darted quickly back and forth between James, the army in the distance behind James, and Cyrus¡¯s own people, as if he was worried that at any moment, the monsters might break loose and go on a rampage. ¡°Well, if they¡¯re not giving you much trouble, that¡¯s very impressive on your end no matter how you achieved it. Hopefully it¡¯s sustainable.¡±
The Ring of Truth gave James that lukewarm, mildly unpleasant feeling again. Cyrus wasn¡¯t exactly lying here, but more finessing the truth.
This seems to be a habit with him. Are all religious leaders this way? Is he thinking that we eventually betray the creatures that loyally fought alongside us?
Having to speculate about Cyrus¡¯s hidden motives and prejudices rubbed James the wrong way. He had to remind himself again that he had wiped out two species of monster completely himself, and he had not fully realized how intelligent and cooperative they could be until near the end of Orientation. Cyrus did not have the benefit of his experience.
¡°I¡¯m going to be as direct as I can be, here, Reverend,¡± James said. ¡°I just want us to be honest with each other. Is it a dealbreaker for you and your people to live alongside monsters? It¡¯s okay if it is¡ª¡± Cyrus looked relieved for a moment, until James continued¡ª¡°naturally you don¡¯t have to stay here. You can rest and recuperate from your journey, and you can move on. Though of course, I also don¡¯t have a problem with some people staying and some people going, if some are willing to be part of what I¡¯m trying to do here and some aren¡¯t. I try to live and let live.¡±
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Or live and let die, when that doesn¡¯t work.
Cyrus spoke slowly. ¡°About that label¡ªReverend¡ªI should tell you I am not actually a minister or anything like that.¡±
¡°Oh?¡± Now we¡¯re getting somewhere interesting. ¡°But these are your flock, you said?¡±
¡°Yes. That is, I am a sort of modern-day religious leader, but without any formal training. I¡¯m a Prophet. It¡¯s a Job I received.¡±
Alarm bells blared in James¡¯s mind, but he remained externally cool.
¡°For which god?¡± James asked.
Cyrus looked slightly confused. ¡°What do you mean? The one and only God. Muslims say ¡®Allah,¡¯ Jews use ¡®Yahweh,¡¯ but it¡¯s all the same thing.¡±
Oh shit.
Hester echoed the curse quietly in James¡¯s ear.
Cyrus looked around as if wondering where the sound had come from.
¡°There¡¯s not just one god,¡± James said. ¡°That¡¯s not to say I have any problem with your religion, per se. Your branch of Christianity¡ªor Islam¡ªor Judaism?¡±
¡°It¡¯s a big tent,¡± Cyrus said, shrugging. ¡°We don¡¯t have a name for it yet. People of all three of those faiths have joined my little group. God doesn¡¯t want us to fight each other. He wants us to work together.¡±
That¡¯s half the Earth¡¯s population, James thought, carefully keeping the alarm from his face. This group¡ªand connected groups, I¡¯m guessing¡ªcould be the ones who were responsible for Mina¡¯s murder. If Sister Strange¡¯s visions were accurate.
A part of him was immediately tempted to murder the Prophet. He¡¯d had enough unpleasant experiences with someone else wearing that label that he did not want to chance letting this man live and perhaps perform similar atrocities.
And his body grew hot and tense at the thought that this man might be one of those involved with his wife¡¯s future murder.
I could kill him right now, and maybe none of that would happen¡
The only thing that stayed his hand was uncertainty. He did not know if Sister Strange¡¯s visions were real. Even assuming the visions were real, he could not be certain which religious leaders were involved in Mina¡¯s killing.
It is possible to find death on the road you take to avoid it. If I kill him, do I also have to kill his followers? Some of them might hold a grudge if I don¡¯t. At the very least, it would be insane to leave witnesses who would think I killed their Prophet. And even if I murder every last one of them in cold blood, that doesn¡¯t mean there aren¡¯t others like them. Any one of the members of this new fusion religion might reasonably want to murder me¡ªno, to bring me to justice for what would seem to them a completely unprovoked crime.
James could see death on that path.
His passion cooled. I have to keep a close eye on these people, whether within my kingdom or outside of it. They¡¯re too dangerous to be left to their own devices.
¡°Very interesting,¡± James said. ¡°Well, you can tell me more about your religion another time, perhaps. But I feel the need to come back to my original question. What exactly are your intentions here? Are you and your flock trying to settle in the Fisher Kingdom? Or should I expect that your¡ª¡± James was tempted to say ¡°pilgrims,¡± but he resisted¡ª¡°group members will be moving along?¡±
¡°Of course, I cannot speak for anyone but myself,¡± Cyrus said.
The Ring of Truth gave James the feeling he associated with a half-truth again.
James simply nodded and waited.
¡°But we do need someone to advocate on behalf of the group,¡± Cyrus continued. ¡°I know our worth is considerable. We all survived Orientation and have some degree of fighting ability and coordination. I did envision us settling in a country that would prioritize safety for humans, though. Do you think you¡¯re providing that here?¡±
Well, no deception detected there. James felt a combination of dark amusement¡ªI¡¯m getting job interview flashbacks from the way this conversation is going, but I¡¯m not sure which one of us is supposed to be in which chair¡ªand guilt.
Cyrus¡¯s words had reminded James that the bulk of his human army had been hard hit by the battle in the Haunted Forest. Only a relatively small number had been killed, and he hoped that the rest would recover in time.
Until they did, however¡
I need to try and keep as many people around as I can. The half of my human population that went into the forest were the best and most willing fighters. I trust my nonhuman allies, but I¡¯d rather that they¡¯re not the entire population of the Kingdom. If I was the leader of one of the nonhuman factions, I¡¯d see that as an opportunity to make a power play.
¡°Do I think I¡¯m providing a safe environment for humans?¡± James repeated.
Cyrus nodded.
¡°It¡¯s a fair question. I have to be honest with you. I don¡¯t think that there¡¯s a single safe place on Earth right now. That¡¯s the foremost goal of my kingdom, though. Build a place where all those who put their faith in me can live safely.¡± Cyrus seemed to wince at the use of the word faith, but James ignored it. ¡°We¡¯re slowly advancing toward that. If you¡¯ve been wandering Florida with this group, I¡¯m sure you know what things are like out there. It¡¯s a war of all against all right now.¡±
Until I become powerful enough to fix that forever.
¡°That¡¯s undeniable,¡± Cyrus said. ¡°Some measures are necessary for security.¡± He lowered his voice confidentially. ¡°So this situation is temporary, then?¡±
James allowed a flicker of his displeasure to show on his face. ¡°No. These nonhumans are my citizens just like the humans who live here. That is not temporary.¡±
¡°Of course,¡± Cyrus said awkwardly.
Silence settled between the two men for a short time, as Cyrus did not seem to know what to say to mollify James, and James chose to allow Cyrus to remain uncomfortable.
Finally, James asked, ¡°Do you think your people will be staying here? You don¡¯t have to answer now. We can put them in temporary housing. But I am curious as to where you¡¯re leaning, knowing the compromises you might have to make on what you might have envisioned for their living situation.¡±
A part of James wanted Cyrus to refuse to stay. It was presumptuous for the new arrival to begin making suggestions about which of James¡¯s people ought to leave¡ªought to be driven out or worse.
But the more rational side of him knew that Cyrus¡¯s people would probably be useful. The Prophet hadn¡¯t been lying when he said that his people knew how to fight.
James disliked how the Prophet had instantly judged his allies for being monsters, but he didn¡¯t want to make a similar snap judgment of the Prophet¡¯s followers, based on their leader¡¯s impolitic words.
¡°It would be hard for me to say,¡± Cyrus admitted. To James¡¯s surprise, this statement registered as true.
¡°What makes it difficult?¡± he asked. ¡°The conditions here are pretty straightforward.¡±
¡°We still need to establish if certain requirements are met. You know we¡¯re bound together by religious convictions. We need to establish if that is compatible with your governance.¡±
Does this man ever just say directly what he means? I know a politician is always lying and being lied to. But I¡¯ve never experienced so much difficulty getting the truth out of someone since I acquired the Ring of Truth as I have in talking with Cyrus!
¡°Well, I don¡¯t hang Christians, Muslims, or Jews for their religious beliefs, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re wondering,¡± James said in a sardonic tone.
Cyrus gave him a forced smile. ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± he said.
So he¡¯s humorless, then. Jesus! There¡¯s no way he was actually around anyone who wanted to hang Christians for being Christians. There¡¯s no way that was legitimately offensive to him. We live in the fucking United States of America. Or what used to be America, anyway. He suppressed a sigh. However long this visit lasts, it¡¯s going to feel twice as long. Next thing I know, they¡¯ll want to ban dancing.
James used his Fisher King powers to send an announcement to the leader of the Construction Commission only, requesting that new housing be built slightly apart from the other complexes, for new arrivals who might only be staying temporarily.
¡°We¡¯ll set up housing for you and your flock, Prophet,¡± James said. ¡°I don¡¯t make policy changes in order to get new people to stay, but if you and your people hang around here for a little while, you should be able to make a better informed decision whether you would like to become my people.¡±
The words came out more harshly than he had intended, but it was hard to feel bad about it.
I just can¡¯t imagine the two of us ever getting along. I could easily see this so-called Prophet trying to run the Kingdom behind my back, or even attempting to make me into some sort of puppet king. I will have to watch them closely, but especially this man. I wonder how his group would be different if some accident were to befall Cyrus¡
V4Ch5-A Return to Order
Claudius and the rest of Cyrus¡¯s followers marched from the outskirts of the Fisher Kingdom, following behind the Fisher King himself and his army of beasts.
The King floated above all, wearing a cape that moved with the breeze, almost like a pair of wings, and looked as if it was made of some organic material.
¡°Is he really human?¡± Claudius¡¯s father murmured.
¡°Why would you believe he was anything else?¡± asked Julia, raising an eyebrow. ¡°He sure looks ha¡ªhuman¡¡±
Coriolanus and Claudius exchanged a brief look. Their sister¡¯s judgment on what sort of person this Fisher King was, or even his humanity, was suspect at best. The man was taller than any human either of them had ever seen, including those who had completed Race Evolution, and he appeared to have the physique of a Greek god.
¡°Stop drooling, sis,¡± Coriolanus said bluntly.
¡°I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯s married,¡± Claudius added.
¡°I¡¯m not¡ª¡±
¡°Hush, all of you!¡± Tiberius barked. The older man pointed at the tree line. ¡°Look at the welcoming party.¡±
Lined up where the trees met the cleared land, a pack of wolves stood, observing the humans with patient vigilance.
¡°Are those the same wolves¡ª¡± Claudius began.
¡°That you tried to steal food from earlier?¡± asked Julia. ¡°Yep. Looks like it. I wonder if they¡¯re hungry.¡±
As she spoke, one of the wolves opened its mouth wide as if trying to show off how large and sharp its teeth were.
Then several of the beasts around the first one followed suit.
¡°Jesus,¡± Coriolanus said. ¡°Are you guys ready if this comes to a fight?¡±
A fight? Claudius thought. I didn¡¯t exactly do well with that one wolf before. Let alone a whole pack¡
¡°Don¡¯t blaspheme.¡± A mild voice from just behind them made all the Galts turn their heads. It was Christopher Smith, Cyrus¡¯s right hand man. ¡°And relax. Those wolves are just yawning. If they were trying to intimidate you, they would pull back their lips to show their teeth, not open wide so you could count their tonsils. Their ears would stand on end. You can¡¯t mistake an aggressive wolf for anything else.¡±
Tiberius Galt chuckled quietly. The rest of the family relaxed.
If Christopher was confident the wolves were not aggressive, they were all prepared to take his word for it. Before the System, he had worked for the National Parks Service out in Colorado. He had ended up stranded in Orlando after the apocalypse struck.
¡°On permanent vacation,¡± as he had put it sardonically before.
They all turned their attention forward, to the buildings of the Fisher Kingdom. Cyrus¡¯s followers were close enough to the center now that they could see not just the buildings, but the humans who were outside already despite how early it was.
The ground was abuzz with activity, and Claudius¡¯s eyes widened as he saw exactly what the figures coming into view were doing.
¡°They¡¯re building housing,¡± Tiberius said, his voice conveying a subtle awe.
¡°What is this, the first new construction we¡¯ve seen since the System hit?¡± Coriolanus asked. He sounded excited.
Claudius nodded wordlessly.
¡°After what happened to Orlando, I thought it might be a while before we saw some semblance of pre-System civilization again,¡± Julia said. ¡°But I knew it would happen. This is just a lot sooner than I expected.¡±
Claudius heard a rustle of cloth above them, and he saw that the Fisher King had turned his head to look down at the Galts.
Was he listening to our conversation? Claudius wondered. No, he¡¯s too far away for that. Right?
Then he floated down to hover beside the Galts as they walked forward.
¡°I couldn¡¯t help but hear you guys mention Orlando,¡± he said. ¡°What happened there? A few folks have been talking about going.¡±
Tiberius was the first to speak.
¡°I wouldn¡¯t bother, Your Majesty,¡± he said. ¡°I know it¡¯s only about twenty-odd miles from here, but it would be dangerous to try a visit without an army. We and our friends here¡ª¡± He gestured at the other members of Cyrus¡¯s company¡ª¡°we, um, liberated much of what was valuable there anyway. Most of the rest, looters burned.¡±
¡°Iron, steel, and copper don¡¯t really burn, though, do they?¡± The Fisher King almost seemed to be talking to himself. ¡°All the materials to set up a modern industrial society are probably gathered in one place. Plus fertilizer, varieties of seeds we don¡¯t already have¡¡±
Claudius wanted to speak, but he felt overawed by the presence of the Ruler. There was a weight to each word from his mouth. His faintly glowing golden eyes were intimidating in their own right, but mostly, he simply gave off the feeling of someone who should not be interrupted¡ªeven when he was just talking to himself.
¡°As we were leaving, monsters were taking hold of the city,¡± Tiberius said, apparently ignoring or resisting the quality of the King¡¯s presence that had struck Claudius dumb. ¡°If you¡¯re determined to attempt some sort of return to order¡ª¡± His voice betrayed a growing enthusiasm for the idea¡ª¡°then you really will need to go in force. I can¡¯t say whether it would be a worthwhile investment for you.¡±
¡°Thank you, um¡ª¡± The Fisher King clearly must have used Identify. ¡°Tiberius. I appreciate the information, and I will bear it in mind. The first thing I have to worry about is the territory I have, of course, but I have a certain sentimental attachment to Orlando.¡±
Claudius saw his father smile. ¡°The feeling is mutual,¡± Tiberius said.
Then the Fisher King floated back up into the air and flew ahead of them. It felt as if all of the air had been sucked out of the area around them when the King descended, and now it rushed back in to fill the vacuum that he had left.
¡°How were you able to talk to him?¡± asked Coriolanus.
¡°Okay, it wasn¡¯t just me,¡± Julia muttered.
They had all felt the strange, weighty power of the Fisher King in the air around him.
¡°He is quite something,¡± said Christopher Smith grudgingly. Claudius turned and saw that Christopher had been standing right behind them, silently, for that interaction.
¡°I think my Class Evolution gave me an advantage dealing with him,¡± Tiberius said simply. He turned forward and looked at the buildings ahead of them again.
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Claudius didn¡¯t know much about the Aura Warrior Class that Tiberius had chosen. Only that his father was the most disciplined person he knew, and Tiberius had claimed the Class was similar to being a monk in a role playing game.
¡°Remarkable,¡± Tiberius murmured.
Claudius turned to look where he was looking, and he saw the construction crew they had seen was putting the roof on the new building.
¡°I think that¡¯s meant to be our housing,¡± Christopher said quietly.
He proved correct.
As Cyrus¡¯s followers entered the space directly adjacent to the building, the construction crew came out and excitedly introduced themselves.
¡°Steve Luck, Construction Commission boss.¡± A large, silver-haired man with piercing gray eyes stepped forward and shook hands vigorously with each of the vanguard of Cyrus¡¯s company.
He looks as if he hadn¡¯t gotten much sleep, but he still has so much energy, Claudius thought. There were bags under Luck¡¯s eyes, but he still beamed with pride and exuded confidence and a genuine pleasure at meeting new people.
The next ten minutes were occupied in a brief tour of the property. It was a large, square building that reminded Claudius of a small hotel. There were eight floors, twenty rooms on each floor, two stairways, and roof access.
¡°We didn¡¯t know you would be here until a little while ago, so there¡¯s no furniture yet,¡± Luck said apologetically. ¡°We¡¯ll have people in the building today to start getting toilets set up. I know the lack of them will make things rather uncomfortable to start¡¡±
¡°How did they do this in just the time since we showed up?¡± Coriolanus muttered from the middle of the tour group.
¡°They were using earth magic when we walked up,¡± Tiberius replied. ¡°That¡¯s not all, though. I could see something strange about the earth they were manipulating.¡±
¡°Strange good, or strange bad?¡± asked Julia.
¡°Strange like the Fisher King¡¯s aura was imbued into the soil,¡± he said slowly. ¡°Making it easier for his subjects to work the earth than it naturally would be. He has such an overwhelming aura around him, I wonder if he even knows he¡¯s doing that. It could just be a natural overflow or something. Like a river flooding its banks. It might be why all the Construction Commission members we¡¯ve seen look a little more energetic than normal, although they all have bags under their eyes.¡±
¡°So the Fisher King¡¯s aura is like a health treatment for his subjects?¡± Coriolanus asked, fascinated.
¡°Could be,¡± Tiberius said, shrugging. ¡°We need to see more.¡±
¡°What would it do to an enemy?¡± Claudius murmured, almost talking to himself.
After the tour was completed, the Galts and the others chose rooms. Almost everyone wanted to be near the ground floor, since there were no elevators, and there were plenty of rooms, far more than their group needed, considering the families who would want to room together.
Claudius and his family ultimately chose to take rooms on the fourth floor, to allow the families with children and the older members of the group to have all the space on the lower floors.
Claudius and Coriolanus would share one room, Tiberius would take the room across the hall, and Julia occupied the room next to his.
With the selection complete, Claudius and Coriolanus took their sleeping bags, looted from Orlando, out of their Small Bags of Deceptive Dimensions, but they did not sleep.
They sat down on the bags for a few minutes, each sitting silently with his thoughts.
Then they turned and looked at each other.
¡°You¡¯re not going to sleep?¡± Coriolanus asked.
¡°I feel pretty wired,¡± Claudius said. ¡°I was tired before we got here, but it¡¯s weird to just show up in a new place and not see anything. It¡¯s also a little strange to go to sleep right when the sun is out. The last week has gotten me used to rising with the sun and going to sleep when it sets. This feels unnatural. It¡¯s not like we won¡¯t have time to sleep later.¡±
¡°Yeah, I agree,¡± Coriolanus replied. ¡°Honestly, I mostly want to see this fucking place.¡± He sounded even more amped up than Claudius felt.
The two got up and knocked on their father¡¯s door, and when he opened it, they saw that Julia was there with him.
¡°So, you two couldn¡¯t sleep either?¡± she said.
After a few minutes of discussion, the four descended the stairs and walked out into the unknown territory of the Fisher Kingdom.
They saw the buildings of the apartment complex the Fisher King and his subordinates had erected for his permanent residents, which looked better and more solid than their own residence, and were built in a horseshoe shape. They saw a large building that looked as if it was made to fit a crowd of a few hundred.
But they skirted around those buildings.
The Galts quietly agreed that they would not feel comfortable intruding into the population¡¯s residential space until they knew some people there.
And there appeared to be a great deal more to explore.
Beyond the apartment buildings, there was another building, much smaller¡ªmore like a shed¡ªthat was covered in some form of runes. They seemed to shimmer ominously in the sunlight. Claudius got a bad feeling from them, and he noticed that although his father did not say anything, Tiberius wrinkled his nose at the sight of it.
They gave that space a wide berth, and they found themselves in a massive, plowed field where some crops were just beginning to sprout. It was too early to even tell what the plants were.
Claudius strained his eyes, and he realized the field went on as far as the eye could see in two directions, cut off in a third by some distant trees.
¡°The Fisher Kingdom is mostly a farm,¡± Julia said, smiling.
¡°No ordinary farm, either,¡± Tiberius muttered.
Claudius was about to ask what he meant, when he was distracted by the sight of the farmers coming out to work the soil.
There were dozens of humans dressed in work clothes, but the sight of them would not have disrupted his train of thought. Rather, he was surprised to find an almost equally great number of green-skinned shorter humanoids working with the human farmers.
¡°Goblins,¡± Coriolanus said. ¡°That¡¯s what Identify says they are. I guess they weren¡¯t born as humans, either. But they¡¯re helping farm the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s territory. I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d ever see monsters working alongside humans in peace. I just kind of thought he used his power to compel those other creatures to follow him.¡±
As the family watched, though, the Goblins interacted with the humans like they were neighbors. They all pitched in to weed, plow more of the field, and plant more seeds. There appeared to Claudius¡¯s eyes to be some creatures underground helping to manipulate the soil, too. He never saw them directly, but occasionally, he would see something move, or a weed get pulled underground rather than uprooted, when there were no humans or Goblins near it.
¡°This is a little weird,¡± Julia said finally, ¡°but I think I could get used to it.¡±
¡°I just don¡¯t get how it¡¯s possible,¡± Claudius said. The memory of the monsters from their Orientation was still fresh from him. He vividly remembered how the dinosaurs had almost eaten him. It was hard to accept that he had just been unlucky, and some monsters were apparently benevolent.
¡°I think this is the man you were hoping would appear, son,¡± Tiberius said, looking at Coriolanus.
¡°What, you mean¡ª¡± Claudius began.
¡°You think he has the power to restore order,¡± Coriolanus said, his tone thoughtful.
¡°Even the farming is easier here than it would be anywhere else,¡± Tiberius replied. ¡°The Fisher King¡¯s aura is helping them. I can sense it. The soil is probably lighter in their hands and tools than it would be without his energy infusing it. Imagine the difference between working this soil every day and working unaltered soil.¡±
¡°What about Cyrus?¡± Julia said, furrowing her brow.
¡°What about Cyrus?¡± Coriolanus repeated. ¡°He¡¯ll have to fall in line, won¡¯t he? All the time he was leading us, he was insisting that he didn¡¯t want to be a permanent leader¡ªthat he was just taking us to a promised land. Well, maybe we¡¯re here.¡± He looked to his father for support, but Tiberius just looked apprehensively off into the distance.
¡°He was so convinced we needed to wipe out all the monsters in the world to be safe,¡± Julia said.
¡°Maybe it¡¯s all been just a misunderstanding,¡± Claudius said. But the thought mixed uneasily with his faith.
Hadn¡¯t Cyrus performed minor miracles? Wasn¡¯t he blessed by an angel? Perhaps consistently locating food and leading them in the right direction were not as awe-inspiring as some possible miracles Cyrus might have performed, but they were consistent with Claudius¡¯s recollections of the Bible.
¡°Misunderstanding or not, he¡¯ll have to get over it,¡± Coriolanus said, his mouth hardening. Claudius thought that he was the least attached to Cyrus of the four of them. Coriolanus was also, not coincidentally, the least religious. ¡°We¡¯re in the land of the Fisher King now. We¡¯ll have to do as the fisher-people do!¡±
¡°He and the Fisher King didn¡¯t exactly seem to be making fast friends out there when they went off to talk by themselves,¡± Claudius observed.
¡°We¡¯d better hope the two of them can get along,¡± Tiberius said. ¡°Historically, it never pays for a religious leader to get into a di¡ª¡± He looked at his daughter as if just remembering she was there¡ª¡°er, a power measuring contest with a secular king. And if they do clash, we don¡¯t want to be in the middle of it.¡±
But that seemed to Claudius exactly where they would inevitably be, if the Fisher King and their Prophet had a falling out.
V4Ch6-No Rest for the Wicked
James opened his thoughtfully closed eyes, and a smile unfurled across his lips.
The Galts might be a weak link, he thought. I need to figure out how best to use them.
What¡¯s the evil smile about, Master? asked Roscuro.
That made him discipline his expression in an instant. He was still outside, for the moment, having only briefly stopped to spy on the new arrivals. He didn¡¯t want other people to see a creepy expression on his face and make their own assumptions about the reasons for it.
Cyrus and his right hand man, Christopher Smith, had given nothing away while James watched them. But some of the ordinary folks following Cyrus were already giving James little hints about what he was dealing with.
Evil smile? James replied. My good character is the stuff of legends!
The human and the Soul Eater shared a quiet internal laugh.
Then James opened his front door and ascended the stairs.
Mina was waiting in the living room, feeding the baby.
¡°How did it go?¡± she asked. ¡°Did we make new friends?¡±
James shrugged and tilted his head back and forth uncertainly. He recounted his conversation with Cyrus and the interactions he had witnessed between the man¡¯s followers using his Fisher King senses after he separated from them.
¡°Wait, so you can see anything that happens in the territory now?¡± Mina asked, raising an eyebrow.
He nodded. ¡°Seems that way. My powers continue to grow with every Ruler I conquer.¡±
¡°Well, don¡¯t you dare use it to look at other women,¡± she said, giving him a scowl.
¡°I didn¡¯t even think of that,¡± he replied in an affronted tone.
They each maintained their pretended emotion for a few seconds before Mina cracked a smile. Then they both started snickering.
James took the baby from Mina, and they caught each other up on the events of the previous evening. Mina told James all about Zora and Alice¡¯s contributions to the fight with the Wraiths. James told Mina about Sister Strange¡¯s death, omitting the details of the visions the Wraith had shown him. They had both observed how, in the aftermath of the battle, some Wraiths had managed to flee from James¡¯s Solar Ray attacks.
¡°So, exterminating the rest of them will probably be my first task of the new day,¡± James said. There was a weariness to his voice. He would have liked to take a nap now, or even simply lay down on the roof of the apartment building. With his Solar Recovery Skill, sunbathing for a few hours might be enough to restore him to full power.
He had not slept last night at all, unless one counted part of the struggle with Sister Strange as sleeping. This was after fighting and killing the Bat Queen.
No rest for the wicked¡
¡°Do you have to go?¡± Mina asked.
¡°I can sense where they are,¡± James replied. ¡°The Haunted Forest is my territory now, but they¡¯re still lurking. I can¡¯t have people wandering the territory, thinking they¡¯re safe, when these creatures are still on the loose¡¡±
He let his voice trail off.
Do I have to go myself, though?
¡°You thought of something?¡± Mina said.
James nodded quietly. ¡°It might work.¡±
¡°Can you watch the baby while you do whatever you¡¯re thinking of doing?¡± Mina asked. ¡°I¡¯ll make breakfast while you do.¡±
James nodded again. He waited for Mina to walk to the kitchen, out of sight.
Then he held baby James up to make eye contact with him.
¡°Hey Junior, you want to see something cool?¡± James whispered.
¡°Oo goo,¡± the baby replied with a serious expression.
¡°I¡¯ll take that as a yes,¡± James said.
He set James Junior down on the floor and began imbuing power into his outermost layer of flesh. Then James started shedding his skin.
He shed five layers of skin over the course of the next ten minutes, with breaks in between as his body regenerated.
The baby watched, wide-eyed, as the layers of skin separated themselves from James¡¯s body but remained connected to each other.
¡°There we go,¡± James muttered, looking at his handiwork. The remaining skin on his body was a raw reddish color. He knew it would be back to its normal shade in a few minutes, but the baby looked at him as if he was worried his father was going to die.
¡°Uh, don¡¯t worry, son,¡± James said quietly. ¡°I swear, it¡¯s on our side!¡±
As he spoke, both father and child stared at the new creature James had created. He had decided to name it the Solar Glider, based on the fact that the only Skills he had seen fit to pass on to it were Solar Ray and Solar Recovery, and that like his other skin creatures, it could fly. The hulking monstrosity had a head with no teeth and a long tail, but the bulk of its creepy-looking body was in its wings.
I¡¯m glad it worked, combining multiple layers of my skin like that, he thought.
The thought had struck him earlier that Solar Ray reliably killed Wraiths on contact. If James had more surface area, he could gather more solar power to charge that attack.
So, he devised a creature that should be more powerful in terms of that single Skill than James himself was.
James Junior pointed at the large monster, whose bulk made the living room look small, and he let out a noise that sounded like a giggle.
¡°Oh, you¡¯re not scared,¡± James said, a little surprised. ¡°Do you want to pet it?¡±
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This is a good place for him to be, emotionally, when he sees a monster. He¡¯ll spend his whole life living alongside them. It¡¯s good that he¡¯s not scared.
Baby James bobbed up and down, showing body language that felt a lot like a nod.
Does he actually understand what I¡¯m saying? There¡¯s no way, right? He¡¯s not even a month old¡
But the old rules of human life had been left behind somewhere in the past. James could not know for certain what was going on with his son. He would make certain to tell Mina about this behavior and ask if she had noticed anything similar.
James sent a mental command, and the Solar Glider crouched so that James Junior could pet it. And the baby did. He was surprisingly gentle. James thought his son was treating the giant monster as something like a pet.
Then he heard the door to the children¡¯s room open.
Abhi stepped out, and before James could put his finger to his lips, the little boy was screaming.
¡°Monster!¡±
To Abhi¡¯s credit, he rushed in to try to protect James Junior rather than running away.
James ordered the Solar Glider not to do anything and then watched, slightly stunned, as Abhi beat his skinny fists against the giant wings.
Then Mina rushed in, and James raised a hand.
¡°It¡¯s all right, guys!¡± he said loudly, before she could unleash magical fire on the creature he had just created. ¡°This thing is one of mine.¡±
After he had explained the purpose for the Solar Glider to everyone and sent the creature out to seek and destroy the remaining Wraiths¡ªand praised Abhi for his courage, which had genuinely impressed James¡ªthey brought the younger children and Yulia into the dining area, and the whole family ate breakfast together.
The tabletop conversation was anarchic that morning.
Abhi excitedly relayed the story of what had happened between him and the Solar Glider to Indira and Yulia. James mentioned the new arrivals to Yulia and then shifted to telling her and Mina about a new idea he had, to build large, habitable fortifications around the core of the Fisher Kingdom. He also mentioned how the baby had seemed to understand some of what James said to him.
Yulia bounced back and forth between participating in Abhi¡¯s conversation¡ªthe little boy wasn¡¯t getting much back from Indira, who thought that Abhi was saying he had fought a dragon¡ªand listening in on James and Mina¡¯s dialogue.
¡°James, how did last night go?¡± Yulia asked when the two parallel conversations had hit a rare simultaneous dead spot. ¡°When I arrived, I just saw a lot of people who needed help.¡±
¡°Well, we destroyed most of the evil spirits,¡± James said. ¡°The creature that Abhi fought with earlier is taking care of the rest of them now.¡±
¡°I¡¯m glad the mission was a success,¡± Yulia said, ¡°and that you seem to be all right. Were there um, a lot of casualties?¡± She winced as she spoke, as if she thought she might have said something wrong.
James gave her a sad look.
¡°Most of the people who went into the forest are okay,¡± he replied. ¡°You saw how many people were in bad shape afterward. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening with them at this moment. There were some dead, but not many. A small fraction of the hundreds who went in. But the people you were treating¡ªthe unconscious folks seem to still be unconscious. Or at least they haven¡¯t moved from the community center, where we left them.¡±
Yulia frowned and nodded. ¡°Should I¡ªwill you be asking for Healers to keep an eye on them, and keep working on it?¡±
¡°Rotter¡¯s taking care of that,¡± James said. ¡°You can go volunteer again if you feel like it, but I think we did what we could on the night in question. The rest might be up to them. I¡¯ll go and check on the patients after we finish eating, of course.¡±
Yulia seemed a little relieved to hear that. And James felt good.
I¡¯m taking care of the family and the Kingdom. Now, if only there was something I could do to help the fallen out.
His mind leaped suddenly to what his mother would be doing right now, with the bodies of the truly fallen. Would she be able to save them, after her fashion as a Necromancer? Should he have even asked her to try?
It was impossible to be certain. James was the King. In the midst of the exigencies of battle and its immediate aftermath, he had acted decisively and unilaterally. But if he was wrong, he would live to regret these decisions.
Need to check how things are going with Mom after I look in on the patients, he thought.
Once the meal was finished, Mina and Yulia cleared the table, with Abhi trailing after them, helping. James watched the smaller children for a little while until Abhi came back.
Then he said goodbye to everyone and went out again, to take another tally of the damage that Sister Strange¡¯s ethereal army had done to his nascent country.
As he left the apartment, he saw the doors to the community center opening.
Striding through them, looking almost as weary as he had when James arrived at the aftermath of the battle, Dave Matsumoto instinctively squinted and blinked. His eyes needed time to get accustomed to the sudden exposure to the morning sun.
The doors started to swing shut behind him, but a pair of hands stopped them from closing. Two men stepped out after Dave.
¡°Wait a minute, Captain,¡± protested one of the men loudly.
James recognized them as two of the Healers he had met the previous night when he called for aid in the forest. Rajesh Gupta and Isaac Zirndorf. Just from looking at the gray-haired men, James had the feeling that they had both been doctors even before the System.
¡°Why?¡± Dave Matsumoto¡¯s voice came out somewhere close to a growl, and the two Healers stepped back as if stung.
¡°We just want to examine you, make certain you¡¯re all right,¡± began Gupta. ¡°Most of them aren¡¯t waking up¡ª¡±
¡°All the more reason for you to get back to them,¡± Dave said. His voice sounded more civilized now. The undercurrent of violence had faded. He was trying to reason with them.
It was at that moment that James stepped in.
¡°Dave, I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re awake,¡± he said.
¡°James,¡± Dave said, a little startled.
¡°Sir,¡± Gupta said.
Zirndorf remained silent but stiffened his posture as if he was about to salute or say the Pledge of Allegiance.
¡°Do you guys still need Dave for something?¡± James asked. ¡°Seems like he should probably go home and get some rest. Right?¡±
¡°Right,¡± Gupta said a bit reluctantly.
¡°We were hoping to examine him, sir,¡± Zirndorf broke in.
Gupta let out a small grunt and looked at Zirndorf as if he wanted him to shut up.
¡°You¡¯re hoping to figure out what¡¯s special about him?¡± James guessed. ¡°Because the others aren¡¯t waking up?¡±
Dave¡¯s eyes opened wider. ¡°Was that why?¡± He turned his head and looked back and forth between Gupta and Zirndorf.
Gupta swallowed and looked down at the ground. ¡°Yes, that was the main reason,¡± he said.
Dave stepped in closer to them, and James wondered for a moment if he was angry. But no. He could see something else in Dave¡¯s posture.
Relief?
Gupta and Zirndorf flinched as if expecting a blow. What was visible to James was not obvious to anyone else.
¡°I¡¯ll help in any way I can,¡± Dave said in a low, intense voice. ¡°You should have said something fucking sooner. Come on.¡± He started to walk back through the doors of the community center. ¡°Oh, shit.¡± He turned around, exhaled, and made eye contact with James. ¡°Was there something you needed from me, sir?¡±
James resisted the urge to give Dave a big grin. He kept it to a small, thin smile instead. Buried in his goatee, one could almost think it was simply the shadow of the beard hairs playing over his lips rather than a change in his expression.
¡°There was not,¡± James said. ¡°I came to check if you and everyone else was all right. I¡¯m glad to know you¡¯re in good physical condition.¡±
Dave nodded, and a flurry of microexpressions passed over his face.
Slight joy, sadness, and guilt, in that order, were predominant.
¡°Yes sir,¡± Dave said simply. ¡°Thanks to you.¡±
James nodded, and Dave left with the two Healers.
I need to watch him, James thought. He could not know what was in Dave¡¯s mind, but the man¡¯s reaction to having awakened alive and in one piece was troubling. I hope he¡¯s not too guilty that he survived while others died. I can¡¯t have him killing himself or something. He did so much for his fellow soldiers back there¡ªand for me.
James shook his head and followed through the doors before they could close behind the other men.
What he saw made him frown.
V4Ch7-Coma
What greeted James¡¯s eyes was worse than he had expected.
Hundreds of still bodies. Many displayed an unhealthy pallor. Only the slow, shallow rise and fall of their chests showed that they were still alive.
Jesus.
Most of those he and the Healers had carried from the woods were not only still here, recovering, but they remained unconscious and in poor condition.
The number of people who have gotten up and left like Dave has to be in the double digits, at most.
He looked around to verify what he was seeing. It was just as bad as his initial impression had suggested.
Hundreds of people lay in beds spread throughout the room, unconscious and unmoving. None so much as twitched at the sound of someone entering the building. Further evidence they were in their own world, where no one could help them.
Except perhaps the Healers.
James released a slow breath through tightly clenched teeth. He shifted his focus to the Healers.
A dozen of them stood or sat in various positions around the room. Some of them noticed that James had come in and waved to him. He waved back. Others had not noticed him and simply continued doing their jobs.
But none of them were rushing into any kind of action. It seemed they already knew there was nothing more that could be done for the moment. They had made the patients stable, and perhaps that was all that was possible.
There were a small number of people¡ªa dozen, at most¡ªsitting by bedsides, waiting for friends or loved ones to wake up. None of them waved or appeared to notice James. Their expressions were preoccupied, as if their eyes were watching scenes a thousand miles away.
Or visualizing their loved ones¡¯ funerals.
James had envisioned scenes like that with his family members before. Recently he had spent all too much time dwelling on the possibility of Mina¡¯s death.
He felt a powerful burst of empathy for those who were waiting here, until he controlled it.
He tried to likewise forcefully bury the idea that the situation here was his fault.
At least his mind blanked it out for the moment.
Off to the side, James saw the Healers and Dave talking, in hushed tones.
James tried not to listen in¡ªif he needed more information about what was going on, he would simply ask them later¡ªand as his eyes continued scanning the room, they settled on a familiar figure.
Alice.
He looked around once more, and seeing that there was nothing apparent that he could do, he began walking toward his sister.
As he drew closer, the picture that Alice presented became clearer. Her eyes were puffy and red, fixed on the ground. She was holding her boyfriend Ben¡¯s hand in one of hers. He was one of the unlucky ones who remained unconscious¡ªor one of the lucky ones, if James considered the fact that around two dozen people had died.
James stepped to within ten feet of Alice, and his sister finally glanced up.
Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of her brother. James hoped that meant she was relieved to see him, although he did not think there was anything he could do to help Ben.
¡°Hey sis,¡± he said, offering a small smile. ¡°Has he woken up yet?¡±
Hope I didn¡¯t say exactly the wrong thing. He was instinctively less calculated with family than he otherwise would have been.
She deflated slightly and shook her head.
¡°Any movement?¡± he asked.
Another head shake.
¡°Nothing at all?¡±
Alice shook her head even harder.
¡°Are other people waking up?¡±
Maybe Ben¡¯s just healing slowly!
She finally spoke up. Her voice came out like she had eaten a frog, and it might come back up at any moment. ¡°Not many of them. A couple hours ago, a lot did. I mean, a relatively big group. Woke up like they were just napping. But¡¡±
¡°None since then,¡± James finished.
She nodded.
I should have asked the Healers these questions after all, not her. Alice looked as if she might start crying again. I hope she at least feels like she¡¯s helping solve the problem by getting me up to date, though.
He thought about thanking her for her help last night. But the moment was wrong for that. She was in the middle of worrying about Ben right now. Thanking her would just remind her of whose orders Ben had been following that night¡ªtechnically Dave¡¯s, but indirectly James¡¯s.
No, thinking about all the good she did would be a nice distraction for her. Damn it, stop thinking like a politician. This is your sister!
¡°I¡¯m sorry this happened,¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s anything I¡¯m going to be able to do. Thank you for your help last night.¡±
He felt the words were lame, insufficient, but he was glad he had said them.
Alice nodded. ¡°What¡¯s family for?¡± she said.
James smiled the same small, sad smile he had given her earlier and then pulled a chair up and sat next to her. He took her other hand, and they sat in silence for a while, each nursing their private thoughts.
When Alice broke the silence, there were tears in the corners of her eyes.
¡°You know, he really wanted to prove himself¡ªto prove something, anyway¡ªto you and Mom.¡±
His devotion to you and by extension to us, James thought.
¡°I know, or I figured,¡± he said. ¡°He proved it to me, anyway.¡±
Alice looked up and scanned the room for a few seconds. ¡°Where¡¯s Mom, anyway?¡± she asked. Then her expression changed, and she shook her head. ¡°Oh. Right. You gave her a, um, mission.¡± She looked around uneasily, and James saw a queasiness settling over her.
¡°Yeah,¡± he said. ¡°Yeah, I did.¡±
The silence fell between them again, though it did not last as long this time.
¡°So, once he wakes up, what¡¯s the future hold for you two?¡± James asked, nodding at Ben.
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¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that, bro,¡± Alice said. Her tone was slightly exasperated, but a crooked smile was twisting her lips in spite of herself. ¡°Mom has already given me plenty of advice.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll bet.¡±
They both chuckled.
¡°How about you?¡± she asked after a minute.
¡°Um, me?¡±
I know you didn¡¯t forget that I¡¯m married¡
¡°Plans for the future of this place?¡± she asked. Alice made a broad gesture that James understood as referring to the whole Kingdom, rather than simply the community center.
Mom¡¯s probably going to have a lot of advice for me, too, he thought.
¡°Huh. Plans for the future. Mostly hoping it gets one right now.¡±
¡°Oh, really.¡± Her tone flattened, and James realized he had actually annoyed her for the first time since they started talking. ¡°Come on, you can give me more than that!¡± She nodded at Ben. ¡°What¡¯s the grand plan? The vision? What was he fighting for? Just to live to tomorrow and keep people safe from bad dreams?¡±
¡°No, Alice.¡± He lowered his voice so that only she would be able to hear it. ¡°Truth be told, I want to take over all of Florida, then the continent, and maybe followed by the whole world. But that seemed a little ambitious to say out loud. Plus, we¡¯re still kind of recovering from the last battle.¡±
She looked taken aback, then chuckled and wiped a tear away.
¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡± Alice said. ¡°Your family¡¯s here for you, so you can do anything and everything you want. Once you conquer the world, Ben and I get to run Florida, right?¡± She gave him mock puppy dog eyes, and after a moment, they both laughed.
¡°I don¡¯t see why not,¡± he said quietly.
¡°The first thing I¡¯ll do as Royal Governor of Florida is¡ª¡±
But James sensed two figures approaching from off to his left side, just outside of his peripheral vision.
¡°Shh,¡± he said quietly, putting a finger to his mouth.
Alice immediately zipped her lips.
Then the two men came into peripheral view. Without even seeing them completely, James recognized them by their walks. Gupta and Zirndorf.
He let go of Alice¡¯s hand. He had a feeling that they would have words for him alone. Even if the two Healers were willing to talk about the coma situation in front of his sister, James was not certain he would want her to hear what they had to say.
As the two men drew closer, James got up.
¡°Did you guys want to speak with me about something?¡± he asked in a voice just loud enough for them to hear him.
They looked a little surprised that he had spoken up, and he realized the two were still only barely in his peripheral vision. If his senses were what they had once been, he would not have noticed them coming at all.
¡°That¡¯s correct, sir,¡± said Zirndorf, recovering first.
¡°Then let¡¯s go,¡± James replied instantly. He turned to his sister and added, ¡°I¡¯ll be right back, Alice.¡±
¡°Yeah, okay,¡± she said, furrowing her brow slightly.
James walked off with the Healers before he could see whether her expression would ripen into suspicion of why he was going off with them alone, or go back to a more neutral state.
Once they were on the other side of the room, in an area safely away from any patients¡¯ family members, he spoke.
¡°What do you have for me?¡±
¡°Sir, the patients are stable,¡± began Gupta.
¡°But they¡¯re not waking up,¡± added Zirndorf.
Gupta gave him a sharp look, and Zirndorf added, ¡°At least not yet.¡±
¡°Look, you two,¡± James said. ¡°I want the full and unvarnished truth here. I want to know exactly what¡¯s going on and what to expect. No sugarcoating anything, no hiding anything.¡±
He spoke in a deep but quiet voice of command that made both men wince slightly.
¡°We¡¯re not hiding anything, sir,¡± Gupta said.
¡°Why were you looking at him like that, then?¡± James asked, mimicking the Gupta glare that he had now seen twice.
Zirndorf let out a little, choked off laugh that stopped as both James and Gupta glared at him.
¡°We¡¯re telling you everything,¡± Zirndorf said. ¡°We just don¡¯t know what the hell is going on. Gupta and I were both in the medical profession when this System business started¡ª¡±
¡°He was an anesthesiologist,¡± Gupta interrupted.
¡°I don¡¯t care about your professional status,¡± James hissed. ¡°Get to the point while I¡¯m still in a good mood. What¡¯s wrong with them?¡±
¡°We don¡¯t know,¡± Zirndorf said. ¡°That¡¯s what I was getting at. We¡¯ve been discussing it, and we¡¯ve never seen anything like this before.¡±
Gupta was nodding as Zirndorf spoke.
¡°I heard some people woke up earlier,¡± James said. ¡°What was special about them?¡±
¡°Nothing, sir,¡± Gupta said. ¡°They were just the lucky ones. As far as we know, those people were just suffering from exhaustion. They might have used up all their Mana or Stamina. But just getting them away from the battlefield, getting them some healing and a little food, was enough to bring them out of it. They recovered as if it was just a minor fainting episode, low blood sugar or something.¡±
¡°It seems as if the others are the ones who were, um, possessed during the battle, sir,¡± said Zirndorf, accurately anticipating James¡¯s next question. ¡°If that¡¯s the right word. And frankly, we don¡¯t know what to do about them at all.¡±
¡°They didn¡¯t cover possession in medical school,¡± said Gupta bitterly.
James could easily imagine the discomfort with which Gupta had experienced Orientation and the System generally. The doctor had grown up in a world where things made sense. It had been a grand adventure for James when he was sucked into Orientation, defeating monsters and exploring another planet. He imagined Gupta had not experienced things the same way.
¡°I see,¡± James said simply.
¡°We were hoping that Your Majesty could ask that materials be brought to us here so that we can prepare some makeshift feeding tubes,¡± Gupta said. ¡°We don¡¯t have medical supplies to feed people intravenously. They¡¯re all stable for now, but the patients are still human. If we don¡¯t find a solution to the feeding issue, we¡¯ll see people start to decline in the next few days. We¡¯ll prioritize feeding the elderly and those who don¡¯t¡ªwait, do you care about these details?¡±
James shook his head. ¡°I only care about the prognosis, which you¡¯re telling me you don¡¯t know anything about, and what I can do to help, which you already told me.¡±
He began preparing a message to send out to the whole population outside of the community center. Surely some people would know how to manufacture feeding tubes from the raw materials they had lying around. Maybe.
¡°We¡¯re sorry we don¡¯t have better news for you, sir,¡± said Zirndorf.
Gupta nodded gravely. ¡°I understand you have family here.¡± He pointed in the direction of Ben and Alice with his elbow.
¡°Yes,¡± James replied. ¡°I do. I¡¯ll give my sister the bad news myself. That we just don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen with her boyfriend.¡± He swallowed. ¡°Thank you gentlemen. I appreciate your efforts here, even if the results so far aren¡¯t what we want. I know you can¡¯t control that.¡±
¡°Thank you, sir,¡± said Zirndorf.
¡°Yes, thank you, sir,¡± said Gupta.
They both seemed to bow their heads slightly as they spoke. It was slightly surreal, even in this moment, to realize that they were showing his position some deference.
Can¡¯t inject ¡®royal¡¯ blood to fix this coma, though, he thought. Sister Strange got me after all, in a way. She made this into a bloodbath for us, if they don¡¯t manage to wake up somehow.
James felt powerless¡ªand even slightly guilty, despite knowing that he had done the right thing by taking the fight to the Wraiths. There could be no coexistence with them.
There had to have been something he could have done differently, but he could not think of it.
He walked slowly back to Alice and tried to keep his expression neutral-to-positive.
¡°Anything interesting?¡± she asked as he took his seat beside her.
¡°No new developments,¡± James replied.
¡°No news is good news, I hope,¡± Alice said. ¡°And this guy might wake up anytime now.¡± She squeezed Ben¡¯s hand, and a hopeful smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
James rose. This is the only thing I can think of.
Alice looked up at him, surprised. ¡°Are you leaving, or¡ª¡±
It¡¯s the least I can do, after he risked his life. Hopefully it helps.
¡°As the vitality of the Fisher Kingdom grows each day, so must your vitality swell, Benjamin Crane,¡± he said. Blessing of the Fisher King imbued his words with a power and authority that even James did not yet fully understand. ¡°As your bond with my family holds strong, so will you hold strong against any force that threatens your health.¡±
As the words left him, James felt a surge of weakness. He managed to sit in the chair before his knees buckled. The day and the preceding night had already taken a lot out of him.
I don¡¯t think I can use that on any more people today. Not if I want to walk out of here upright.
¡°James, what are you¡ª¡± Alice stopped mid-sentence and turned to look directly at Ben.
His eyelids were fluttering.
V4Ch8-Miracle Cure
Over the next few minutes, James watched Ben and Alice as the former recovered at amazing speed and began to move again, and the latter moved from disbelief to ecstatic joy.
Alice let loose a fresh torrent of tears and alternated between hugging and kissing her freshly recovered boyfriend and occasionally throwing a grateful glance at her brother, who sat slumped on the seat next to the happy couple.
¡°I¡¯m so glad I woke up to see you,¡± Ben said, his voice slightly hoarse.
Is that the full consequence he¡¯ll suffer from what happened in the woods? James wondered. Just a little hoarseness that just goes away? He hoped so.
Alice and Ben exchanged sweet nothings that made James glad that he had awakened Ben first. The two seemed very much in love.
James did not want to be there, intruding on the tender moment¡ªhe would much rather have walked away somewhere¡ªbut most of the strength seemed to have gone out of his legs after he blessed Ben. He did not trust them to carry his weight as far as the next chair.
Even a few level ups later, that power still takes a lot out of me.
It was frustrating. He could imagine himself saving everyone here one by one, if not for the limitations of his body.
He could feel that if he used this power too many times in one day, something would happen. Whether that was fainting or a thing of greater consequence, he could not be certain. He had only used the Blessing of the Fisher King a handful of times before.
James sensed two figures rushing towards him. His body tensed, then relaxed. It was just the two Healers again.
¡°You woke up,¡± exclaimed Gupta breathlessly, looking down at Ben in amazement.
¡°It¡¯s a miracle,¡± said Zirndorf, throwing a curious glance at James.
¡°Thank you, James,¡± said Ben. ¡°I was dead to the world. I couldn¡¯t see or hear anything. Then I heard your voice, calling me back¡¡±
His voice trailed off, as if Ben was still dazed. James picked up the conversational thread.
¡°Well, my sister seems to be pretty fond of you,¡± he said. ¡°So, I decided you couldn¡¯t lie dead to the world any longer, making her worry.¡±
¡°Thanks for worrying,¡± Ben said, looking back at Alice and smiling. ¡°If not for that, who knows where I would be now?¡± His smile faded, and his eyes seemed to grow distant. ¡°I wasn¡¯t completely blacked out, you know. I was dead to the world, but not dead to myself, if that makes sense. I remember I was in a dark place. It was cold and getting colder.¡±
¡°Doesn¡¯t sound like Hell,¡± said Zirndorf.
Sounds just like the realm of Hel to me, James thought.
He considered asking some follow up questions, but Ben had clearly been through a lot. And anyway, what would more details about his near death experience really add to James¡¯s own understanding? If he wanted to know more about Hel¡¯s realm, he could pick up a book on Norse mythology. He already had Skin Husks and Skin Balloons out looking for supplies that might be of value to the community, including books.
¡°So, you performed a miracle,¡± said Zirndorf, looking at James curiously. ¡°I knew you were something different from the rest of us, but I guess it¡¯s confirmed now.¡±
¡°He¡¯s not a demigod,¡± said Gupta, needled. He looked down at James. ¡°Are you?¡±
¡°I¡¯m not a demigod, and I¡¯m not a miracle worker,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯m the Fisher King, and I don¡¯t like letting people die on my land.¡±
It¡¯s not a miracle, because I¡¯m about to replicate it. Miracles are usually one-offs, unless you¡¯re Jesus.
He pushed himself up from the seat. Some of his strength had returned. He started looking around the room for the next target of his mercy.
¡°You¡¯re about to do it again, aren¡¯t you?¡± asked Zirndorf.
¡°Could I ask that you pick an elderly patient this time?¡± said Gupta.
Everyone looked at him, slightly aghast at the presumption of telling James whose life ought to be saved next. Gupta ignored them all.
¡°It¡¯s just that keeping the elderly alive in these circumstances will be more difficult than doing the same for a younger person,¡± he continued. ¡°If you can take a few of the oldest patients out of harm¡¯s way, that would help us a great deal.¡±
James nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll do what the doctor advises.¡±
It¡¯s on your head, then, if some young person here dies because I showed preference for the old.
His eyes landed on the perfect elderly patients to try his ability on, and James started walking.
From behind him, he heard his sister speaking quietly to Ben. James¡¯s senses were such that he did not have to try to listen in on a conversation that was meant to be private; the words simply poured into his ears unless he covered them or made an effort not to hear.
¡°I¡¯m just going to follow my brother and make sure he¡¯s okay,¡± said Alice.
¡°That¡¯s a good idea,¡± Ben whispered back. ¡°He looks a little unsteady.¡±
¡°You¡¯re going to be all right?¡± Alice asked a little anxiously. ¡°Not going to slip back into a coma while I¡¯m up?¡±
¡°I feel as fit as a fiddle,¡± Ben replied. ¡°I¡¯ll be up as soon as the Healers get out of this little area.¡±
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
James heard the sound of a kiss, and then he was far enough away that he could more easily ignore the lovebirds.
I¡¯m glad I blessed Ben first, he thought. I think they really love each other. And, of course, if he ever hurts Alice, he has to know, in the back of his mind, what sort of grisly fate would await him¡
James reached the targets of his next blessing. Since the community center was only a makeshift hospital, with the bedding that volunteers had donated or provided, there were some small beds and some large ones.
Someone who clearly knew they were married had placed these two in a king size bed together.
Alan and Mitzi.
James spoke the words over Mitzi first, knowing Alan would be annoyed if James blessed him first. He gave a similar blessing to that which he had used on Ben, but abbreviated.
It seemed to take a little less out of James than the longer blessing had, but he still felt the need to sit down for a minute afterward.
A few seconds later, the old woman began to stir.
¡°James!¡± She turned her head and saw her husband lying next to her. ¡°Is my Alan okay?¡± Mitzi¡¯s voice was hoarse from disuse, as Ben¡¯s had been.
¡°He will be,¡± James replied.
He updated Mitzi on the situation¡ªJames¡¯s way of stalling for time while he recovered some of his strength¡ªthen got up and used Blessing of the Fisher King on Alan next.
James almost swooned this time, and he quickly took a seat in the chair next to their bed. He thought he had disguised the sudden onset of weakness well, making it look almost graceful so that Mitzi would not figure out how much using this ability drained him.
It helped that she was too busy staring at her husband to pay James any attention.
The old man was soon blinking and rubbing his eyes as if awakening from a dream.
Which James supposed Alan was, if Ben¡¯s experience was at all representative.
A dream-like state, at least.
Mitzi and Alan kissed, and James turned away, both to give them a little privacy and to look for the next person in need of his services.
I think I¡¯ll be strong enough to get up in a minute.
Behind him, he heard Mitzi explaining to Alan what had happened. The word ¡°miracle¡± was used again. It did bring a smile to the corners of James¡¯s lips.
He was no miracle worker, but it was not such a bad thing to have the people whose loyalty he wanted to retain thinking of him as one.
Let this rumor spread, and I¡¯ll win some of Cyrus¡¯s followers away from him, too, without having to say a word to them. The people who followed a Prophet in a time like this were not necessarily particularly religious. James had seen that with Rostov¡¯s cult.
Rather, the followers came as a result of what seemed to be an age of miracles. No doubt, Cyrus had some impressive tricks up his sleeve that James had not seen yet.
With miracles, you could make a believer out of anyone.
He half-rose from the seat, slightly unsteady, before a voice called him back.
¡°James,¡± said Alan before he could walk away.
¡°Yes?¡± James turned and sat down again.
¡°Thank you.¡± His voice was as hoarse as the other two voices had been, and James saw that Alan was fighting back tears. ¡°Thank you for saving Mitzi and me. I don¡¯t know how¡ªdon¡¯t know what we¡ª¡±
¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that, Alan,¡± James said. ¡°The two of you live here now. You¡¯re under my protection. I should be thanking you for going into that forest. The two of you don¡¯t have to take risks like that now, you know. We have a lot of people to fight for us. And the main thing I need from both of you is your loyalty and your best, most honest advice. Which would be compromised if you were to suddenly die.¡±
Alan and Mitzi chuckled quietly.
¡°Happy to be of service, Your Majesty,¡± Alan said.
¡°Ditto,¡± said Mitzi.
¡°Very good, then,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯m going to try and heal another couple of people¡ªer, bless them¡ªand then I¡¯m going to get out of here and take a nap. It kind of drains me.¡±
He hoped the understatement would slip under the radar, but he saw the suspicion on their faces as he rose and turned away. They could tell that he was underselling how much giving a blessing weakened him.
I can do two more blessings, he thought. If I try any more than that, I won¡¯t be able to walk home.
As he turned away, he saw his sister was waiting for him. Of course she was. She had told Ben she was going to follow James.
It was thoughtful of her to keep a respectful distance. But I could have introduced her to Alan and Mitzi if she¡¯d come closer.
She shadowed him more closely as James walked to the next recipient of his blessing¡ªanother old man.
¡°What kind of shape are you in after that?¡± Alice asked quietly.
¡°Not my best,¡± James admitted without turning his head. ¡°I¡¯m only going to do two more.¡±
She followed him and used her arm to steady him as he blessed the old man and then a middle-aged woman.
It¡¯s lucky Alice was always so strong, was all James could think. Despite being a woman, he knew his sister had been strong enough, pre-System, to lift his body weight in a fireman¡¯s carry. James remembered how Mina¡¯s eyes had bugged out when Alice did that during a family vacation years back.
Now that strength was very necessary. James felt woozy, like he had taken a blow to the head. Even his mental acuity had started to slip after that last blessing. He could barely hold a coherent thought together.
¡°You¡¯re really stopping now?¡± Alice asked after they had gotten a certain distance from the woman¡¯s cries of gratitude. ¡°It feels like you could get another one or two, maybe.¡±
James gave her a silent look that said something like, You do it, then!
¡°It¡¯s just that there are so many,¡± she said.
¡°Alice, I¡¯m not going to faint in front of these people,¡± James replied in a voice that was almost a hiss. ¡°They got to see me work what they might see as miracles, and that¡¯s great. I helped accelerate the healing process, or maybe kick start it where it wasn¡¯t going to happen, for a few people, and I¡¯m happy about that. But don¡¯t forget that these are our followers. They¡¯re looking to our family for leadership, and they¡¯re looking to me in particular for strength. They have to see that at all times. It¡¯s the whole basis of my political power. I need to leave now, while I can still sort of walk upright.
She nodded, murmured a quiet ¡°Right,¡± and helped James walk to the door.
Once he was outside, where there were dozens of people walking around, doing their normal business, the siblings had to put on even more of an act. James put his arm around her shoulder as if he was simply giving her a hug, and Alice supported most of his weight and ¡®hugged¡¯ him back.
¡°Where were you hoping to go next?¡± Alice asked. ¡°Bed, or¡ª¡±
¡°I was hoping to check on Mom and her mission,¡± James replied. ¡°But I think the next time I sit or lie down somewhere, I¡¯m going to pass out, so maybe that can wait.¡±
¡°Oh, gotcha,¡± said Alice.
They got James¡¯s front door open and closed it behind them. Then James called up. Alice let go of him as Mina and Yulia made it down to help him up the rest of the way.
Once they had reached the master bedroom, James collapsed into a long, dreamless sleep.
V4Ch9-Casualties of War
James slept for a full eight hours, missing most of the day after the battle.
When he woke, Mina was lying next to him.
As he stirred, she rose up, left the room, and brought him a tray of food.
When did we get that? he wondered silently.
But he ate and quickly forgot about the question of where the tray had come from.
¡°I was starting to worry you were the last casualty of the battle,¡± Mina said, trying to sound light and funny. The humor fell flat, because she clearly meant what she was saying more than she had intended to let on.
¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere,¡± he said slowly, making eye contact as he spoke. ¡°I just tired myself out¡ª¡±
¡°Saving people, yes, I know,¡± Mina said. ¡°I can still worry. You didn¡¯t say anything about this beforehand.¡±
¡°It was sort of impulsive,¡± James admitted. ¡°Alice told you about it?¡±
She shook her head. ¡°No, Rotter. He visited half an hour ago to check how you were. I told him you were napping peacefully.¡±
¡°Rotter?¡± James frowned. ¡°How does he even know?¡±
Mina gave him an amused look. ¡°I think he makes it his business to know things that might be of interest to you, but you should understand, this isn¡¯t a Rotter thing. Everyone knows what you did. They¡¯re all talking about it. The miracle worker.¡± Her lips curled into a playful smile. ¡°Even those religious folks we just welcomed. They¡¯re apparently talking about you like you¡¯re the Second Coming.¡±
¡°Is that so?¡± James asked. He smiled and tried to affect modesty ¡°I guess I should have known.¡±
¡°People here are always interested in what their leader is up to. Couple that with what happened in the forest last night. A fresh crisis, post-Orientation, after they thought they might be safe. The good thing is that you combined both topics and changed what would have been a tragedy into a story of hope.¡±
¡°The way you say it, it¡¯s very nice,¡± James said. ¡°Anything from the people whose friends or family members actually died in the forest?¡±
Mina¡¯s smile slowly drooped. ¡°No, not yet. Not many people died, though, you remember. Of those who did, not many had family members. According to Rotter, among the people who had family members that we know of, there are only three people to talk to. The other two are in a coma.¡±
¡°Okay.¡± James nodded, then sighed. ¡°Thank you for the update.¡±
I look forward to having those conversations¡
¡°Guess I¡¯ll go and revive some more people,¡± James continued.
Mina shook her head. ¡°Wait until tomorrow, skapi. Let your body recover. While you were out, Yulia tried to use healing magic on you. It didn¡¯t do anything. So you have to be careful using your blessing this way.¡±
¡°Fine,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll go back in the morning. This has to get done, though.¡±
¡°You¡¯ll get no argument from me. The people want their savior. I just don¡¯t want you to die so they can have him.¡±
She smiled at James, then, but it seemed to him there was little joy in it.
In the morning, James got up, ate breakfast, slowly revived twenty people, and was helped back to the apartment.
Several days passed, in which this became the routine.
His blessing was effective each time he used it. The only flaw was that the process of blessings was slow and energy intensive.
A few people were intubated by Gupta and Zirndorf, but most of them did not have to be. Regular infusions of healing magic seemed to delay the onset of starvation, and with James ¡®miraculously¡¯ waking a score of sleepers each day, the population in the community center had soon shrunk to a manageable size. While James was sleeping off the effects of his energy expenditure, Mina ran the Kingdom.
Fortunately, there was little that needed to be decided during those few days. People were licking their wounds, slowly recovering from the battles James had led them into, trying to find ways to contribute to the Kingdom.
James used some of the little bit of downtime he had where he was not unconscious to visit the handful of family members of those who had died.
He had decided that the matter of the resurrection of the dead was something that he should seek permission for, if he could. He sent a message to his mother accordingly, instructing her to work on raising those who had no families before she looked at people whose loved ones might object to the desecration of their bodies.
The conversations were awkward, but on each occasion, he managed to get permission to at least attempt to raise the fallen as an intelligent, independent undead. None of the handful of people consulted were very religious, which helped. James could not imagine how this conversation would have gone if they had been.
The only other break from the routine of waking, eating, healing, and sleeping again was when James went to see his mother.
She had erected a small building just after the battle. The exterior was covered in strange runes that made him feel slightly uncomfortable when he looked at them.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Nevertheless, he needed an update on what had happened since he asked for Zora¡¯s help, so he knocked.
James had to knock several times, increasingly loudly each time, before his mother finally opened the door.
¡°I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re all right, Your Majesty,¡± she said, her eyes twinkling with mirth. ¡°I heard you¡¯ve been napping a lot. When I heard that, I was worried at first, but then I remembered, that was how you were as a baby, too. Quiet, sleeping a lot, conserving energy.¡±
¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯ve heard anything, Mom,¡± James replied. ¡°I was under the impression you hadn¡¯t been out of here much since you went in.¡±
Or since you suddenly built this place.
¡°Nice work on the building, by the way,¡± he added.
¡°Oh, thank you!¡± Zora said. ¡°My natural affinity was for earth magic, you know, before I adopted my particular specialization.¡± She looked around at the outside for a moment as if scanning for anyone who might be watching them. ¡°You should come in, son.¡±
James walked inside the dark building. Inside, it was lit only by candle light and by mystic runes dug into the wall that glowed with unwholesome energy.
He could still tell that the interior was larger than it looked on the outside, because the bulk of the structure was underground.
Though he did not walk down any steps initially, she led him down a dark hallway with a downward sloping floor. He recognized that they had quickly moved below ground level.
Finally, they emerged into a vast, dimly lit room that reminded James of the interior of a morgue¡ªor what a morgue looked like on network television, at least. The space was larger and more open than a morgue¡ªperhaps because Zora did not need to put the bodies away anywhere. They lay out in the open, resting on stone slabs, in various states of modification.
None of the corpses, James noted, had begun to noticeably decompose. None of them gave off any odor. It was obviously unnatural, as if they were in a state of suspended animation.
¡°I¡¯m impressed you were able to dig such a large basement in Florida without hitting an underground aquifer or something,¡± he said, avoiding the topic he had come here to discuss.
¡°Magic finds a way, son,¡± she replied. ¡°If you¡¯re interested, maybe I can show you one of these days.¡±
¡°I¡¯m not a Necromancer,¡± James said.
¡°Not yet,¡± his mother said. ¡°You haven¡¯t tried it. Even if you don¡¯t learn any Skills from reading the book that I¡¯ve been using, your wife could pick up my abilities by watching me, and she could trade them to you. That¡¯s how her Quick Study works, right?¡±
James nodded, his eyes still moving from corpse to corpse. There was a strange quality to the atmosphere around him. It wasn¡¯t just that it was creepy being in the presence of all the dead bodies. He had seen far too many cadavers before to be as bothered as he might have been pre-System.
Rather, he had the distinct impression that something else was in the room besides himself and his mother. Some presence inside of one of the bodies, or perhaps more than one. His instincts could not tell him for certain. Nothing moved within the room. That, he would have sensed.
But something made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
¡°Did you come for an update, then?¡± she asked.
James realized he had stood staring at the bodies for a few seconds now, while his mother stood waiting for him to answer her question. He wondered if he was making her uncomfortable. He guessed she already felt how prone people were to judging her Class.
¡°I did,¡± he said. ¡°I wanted to know if you¡¯re able to do anything with the dead, to help them in any way, and if not, I¡¯d like us to get ready to bury the bodies.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve been working on them, but I hit a roadblock. To create intelligent undead¡ªundead who have some degree of personal dignity, rather than being mere puppets¡ª¡±
James nodded. This was exactly what he had asked for.
¡°¡ªyou need special items or Skills to bring them to life and keep them alive,¡± she finished.
¡°I guess you don¡¯t have those yet,¡± he said.
She shook her head. ¡°No such luck. I could afford to buy a couple of the items from the System Store, but I was going to ask you if you had some spare credits I could use to increase the number. Otherwise, most of these bodies aren¡¯t going anywhere except the ground.¡±
¡°How are you keeping them, um, in such great condition?¡± he asked.
¡°It¡¯s this place. The magic runes. Keeping the souls from escaping. Preventing decay. That was my first task, and I¡¯m proud that I accomplished it for most of them. I can¡¯t tell for sure which ones I might have failed with.¡±
¡°I see. Well, at least you have your workshop set up for future purposes,¡± James said.
He could see the disgusting and abhorrent side of what his mother was doing, and the very nature of her Class probably would have creeped him out if it was not someone he loved and trusted implicitly.
But Zora was one of the people he trusted most in the world.
¡°How many System Credits do you need?¡± he asked.
She told him.
The amount was more than he had left, and he said so.
But he agreed to give her as much as he could.
Money was worthless except to improve people¡¯s lives, after all.
If he did not use it to keep some of his loyal citizens in the world of the living, a better use of his money was not likely to come around in the future. His wife had already said, quite directly, that she did not want to be raised from the dead if she were to fall.
He transferred the money to her and left his mother to her own devices once again.
The pattern of days continued until James¡¯s Blessing of the Fisher King reached level five. At that point, he unlocked Mass Blessing of the Fisher King, a much less energy-intensive way of doing what he had been doing.
James woke the remaining coma patients in just two days with that Skill.
There was much rejoicing, much talk of the miracles that James had performed, and great appreciation for his performance as King, though he could not honestly say he was certain that he deserved it.
James went to see his mother again, and Zora reported that she had succeeded in raising just over half of the fallen from death, creating fourteen new Vampires. They would remain underground with her until James figured out how to reintroduce them to the community¡ªor how to use them outside of the Fisher Kingdom. He knew this was something he would have to play very delicately.
With the dead either raised as monsters or finally, definitively dead¡ªsome had apparently refused to come back, by Zora¡¯s account, while others had willingly returned to their bodies¡ªand the other survivors all finally awoken from their coma, life could move on.
There was no longer a reason to wait to hold a military funeral for all those who had permanently died.
Sadly, the ones who had refused to come back were among those dead whose family members had given permission to resurrect them.
James had to visit those families and break their hearts with the bad news all over again.
V4Ch10-Before the Funeral
The day after the last of the coma patients woke up, they held the funeral.
There were a couple of hours of preparation beforehand, most of which James was not directly involved in, but he showed up early nonetheless.
He spent much of his time on-stage, mainly visualizing how his speech would go and preparing mentally for the unpleasant experience. He was set to speak to the sacrifices of the dead.
Then he and Mina stepped backstage; that was where they would wait prior to the start of the speech.
He was still unsatisfied with what he had prepared.
¡°I wish I¡¯d had a Jefferson, Hamilton, or an Adams to write a proper eulogy for the dead,¡± James said. ¡°I think whatever I say, as the person who sent them to their deaths, is bound to be inadequate and self-serving.¡±
He said this, and believed it, despite the fact that he had more than his share of public speaking-related Skills¡ªand every reason to believe that the public still approved of his handling of the Haunted Forest invasion.
¡°I loved your speech when you rehearsed it for me earlier, skapi,¡± Mina said. ¡°But I think they¡¯ll be able to tell that you¡¯re speaking from the heart no matter what you say. People don¡¯t go to funerals to hear eloquent words, outside of Shakespeare. They go to feel that someone else shares their pain. And you convey that perfectly. You could probably just go out on stage and speak off the cuff, if you wanted to. Not that I¡¯m advising that, when you spent so much time on the speech¡ Is this really about the eulogy?¡±
¡°Something Dave said before the battle has gotten to me a little,¡± he admitted. He walked over and closed the door to the backstage area before he continued. ¡°He sort of suggested I was using him and his forces as a distraction. He said he would understand if I was, but I denied it. Now I¡¯m feeling a little bit guilty. Because maybe it was true.¡±
And they¡¯re my tools both before and after death, now, too.
James would be announcing that in the speech¡ªnot in those words, of course, but he had decided there was no reason to try and keep what had happened to the fallen a secret. People should know that there were Vampires around now¡ªand therefore that not all death was permanent.
The Vampires themselves stood in silence in the darkness at the back of this backstage room, as James and Mina spoke. They would wait here to receive their cue before they came out on stage. Something about the undead that James had observed in the brief time he had been acquainted with them was that they could be extraordinarily patient. They stayed so still and silent that it almost did not feel as if they were in the room with him and Mina.
¡°Don¡¯t forget why you opened up that front in the fight,¡± Mina said emphatically. ¡°It was so that your mother, your sister, and I could go and invade the Wraiths¡¯ territory somewhat safely and put an end to the enemy once and for all. The plan we worked out together was the best one we could possibly have formulated, given the circumstances. And I still think it was a good plan. Yes, you put your soldiers¡¯ lives at risk. That¡¯s their job. To risk their lives. They knew what they were getting into, and you did everything you could to protect them. You distracted the Ruler and let her¡ªlet her torture you, with those visions you still don¡¯t want to talk about, so that your people would have more of a fighting chance.
¡°After you defeated her, you went in and saved them. When the battle was lost, you rushed in and changed the outcome. I¡¯ve heard how they talk about it¡ªand about how you revived all the people possessed by the Wraiths when the Healers couldn¡¯t do anything. The survivors of the battle are calling you everything from a miracle worker to a god on Earth. No one blames you. And every single one of the people who was lying in a hospital bed after the battle owes you their lives. They probably wouldn¡¯t have recovered without you. So don¡¯t you start to doubt yourself now. Right now is when they need your leadership the most. They need to know how to respond to loss in this new world we¡¯re all getting used to¡ªwhere we have every reason to believe it will be much more frequent than it was before. Everyone will look to your example.¡± She finished with a slow, deep breath, and James looked up to see that her face was bright red. She was barely holding it together. Just like him right now.
Mina is also looking to me for strength, he thought. Stability. I have to be strong for her, more than anyone else. More importantly, she¡¯s right. I can¡¯t give up. This is no time to doubt myself. Wartime leaders don¡¯t resign just because some people died under their command. That¡¯s the nature of my role. People are going to die fighting for me. As long as I don¡¯t throw them away like pawns in a game of chess, I have nothing to be ashamed of. If I decide that I¡¯ve done something wrong, it diminishes the value of their deaths anyway. By suggesting that they died for a mistake, instead of acknowledging the truth. They died to protect their friends and family, their loved ones, who were safe behind the lines of the territory.
¡°I love you, too,¡± he said.
¡°We also appreciate being saved,¡± interjected Amalia Rosario from the back of the room. Her voice had a different quality to it than it had possessed back when she was alive. It was hard to put a finger on how it had changed, but part of it was definitely that it was richer. ¡°I would not prefer to be buried underground. That was why I returned.¡±
James nodded and smiled. ¡°I like to hear that,¡± he said. ¡°It makes me feel like I did something right.¡±
¡°Thank you, Your Majesty,¡± said another Vampire, a young man.
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Then the other dozen Vampires all approached and thanked James in their own words. It was reassuring that they did not all speak in unison or something similarly creepy. James almost felt like he was speaking to human beings.
Still, I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t choose the Vampire-adjacent Race Evolution path, he thought. There¡¯s no way Mina would get used to this.
He could see her reactions as the Vampires approached them. There was a tension in her body, as if she wanted to be striking the undead down with fire and lightning.
Putting them back in the ground where they belonged.
James shook his head. Stop pretending you can read minds, he told himself. Just because she doesn¡¯t want to come back if she dies doesn¡¯t mean she won¡¯t accept these people as citizens.
There was a knock at the door, and James turned his head.
He¡¯s here, then.
The Vampires quickly all stepped toward the back of the room again. They had been instructed not to let anyone see them until James was ready for it, and in the deeper darkness of the back of the room, they could have been anything. Living people. Statues. Mannequins. Coat racks burdened with heavy jackets.
James opened the door, and Dave stepped through.
¡°You wanted to see me, sir,¡± Dave said. He saw Mina and nodded to her. ¡°Ma¡¯am.¡±
¡°I know that what happened in the forest has hit you harder than most,¡± James said. ¡°While we¡¯re getting ready for the funeral, I wanted to let you in on a secret about what happened after the forest. Could you please close the door behind you?¡±
Dave nodded and shut the door. The room became almost completely dark, only lit by a thin shaft of light thrown by the two parallel exterior windows.
¡°What did you want to tell me?¡± Dave asked.
¡°There is no easy way to say this,¡± James said, ¡°so I¡¯ll just say it. Not everyone who died in the forest is dead. I ordered that some of them be resurrected.¡±
Dave¡¯s mouth gaped at this news. It was obvious, for a moment, that he did not know what to say. Then he shook his head.
¡°Resurrecting the dead is possible?¡± he asked.
¡°Not perfectly,¡± James admitted. ¡°They¡¯re Vampires now, not humans anymore. But they are the same people who fought alongside you. I¡¯m going to tell everyone in my speech today, but I wanted you to know first.¡±
Mainly because I was worried about your reaction, he thought. If this troubles you too much, you have the option to go home.
¡°Well, where are th¡ª¡± Dave cut himself off as something moved from the back of the room.
James turned his head and saw that Amalia was waving at Dave and had stepped forward, smiling.
Well, there are worse ways to reveal yourself.
¡°Is it all right if I go and talk to them?¡± Dave asked, eyes locked onto the figures in the far end of the room.
James nodded. He and Mina made eye contact, and then they stepped through the door onto the stage and closed it behind them, giving Dave some privacy.
¡°Is it really you?¡± was the last thing James heard him asking before he deliberately focused his hearing on the other part of the building, where the preparations were being finalized.
Then James and Mina took a seat in some chairs that had been left at the side of the stage. They made small talk about almost nothing¡ªconversation that James would not be able to remember later¡ªwhile they waited.
Mostly, James was relieved that Dave hadn¡¯t reacted badly to the news. He was the barometer for how others would see what had happened. No, it might be more accurate to say that James had somehow expected a degree of outrage from Dave that would have been less understandable from other people.
¡°I served with these people, and you bring them back as these perversions of who they used to be? How dare you?!¡± James had imagined a reaction like that.
And instead¡ªthe door closed shut, firmly but gently. James raised his gaze and saw Dave looking at him. There was a thin smile on Dave¡¯s lips, but it quickly disappeared as he returned to his more stoic demeanor.
He approached James and extended his hand toward the Fisher King.
James rose and joined hands with Dave, who gripped him firmly and shook his hand vigorously.
¡°Thank you for the weight you¡¯ve taken off my shoulders,¡± Dave said quietly but clearly. ¡°It was good to see them again¡ªto know that they¡¯re still here.
He turned away, climbed down from the stage, and took a seat among the other funeral attendees. They were slowly filing in now.
¡°That went better than you expected,¡± murmured Mina in James¡¯s ear.
¡°I¡¯m an optimist, and that went better than I had dared to hope,¡± James replied.
They sat there in silence for another ten minutes while the rest of the funeral attendees filed in. Then he marched up to the center of the community center¡¯s stage, facing the seated mass of people from behind the podium. Mina took her position standing to the side and just behind her husband.
James evaluated the crowd.
There was an excited energy in the packed room, almost as if they were not there to mourn twenty-six dead people¡ªthough fourteen were not actually dead, the guests did not know that yet. Most in the crowd had not lost anyone they cared for.
Some of them had not been touched by the battle, except that they had been haunted by Sister Strange. Some of them had not even experienced the hauntings. Among those who had fought, only a few had lost someone they were close to. They had gained levels or experience, and there was an obvious camaraderie about the crowd.
James¡¯s eyes fell on Dave, and the two men locked eyes for a moment. Dave gave him the smallest smile and a nod.
I¡¯ll imagine I¡¯m giving the speech to you in particular, James thought. He remembered the look of relief in Dave¡¯s eyes after he had spoken with the new Vampires. It was the last bit of encouragement that James needed to give this speech.
James straightened his posture, pressed close to the podium, and began to speak.
V4Ch11-Funeral Oration
Dave looked around the packed room.
He was surrounded by a crowd of people now, all waiting with rapt attention for the Fisher King to begin his speech.
Only Dave already knew at least something of what James was going to say.
Memories of the fateful night flashed through his mind again.
¡°Are you afraid to kill us, Dave? It¡¯s the only way you¡¯ll escape this place alive¡¡±
He heard the words in the voice of the vicious thing that had possessed Amalia¡¯s body¡ªand had to suppress the inappropriate urge to smile. She was back. By the magic of this insane new world, the lively, courageous, perhaps overconfident woman who had eagerly rushed into the forest was alive again¡ªor near enough that Dave could accept the new, Vampire Amalia as a close substitute.
She¡¯s not your fault, Dave, he had told himself over these last days. You didn¡¯t have a choice.
But the weight had still felt heavy on his shoulders, if somewhat less so than it had immediately after he had awakened following the battle.
Now James had cut the feeling of loss almost in half. Amalia was not dead. Thirteen others had survived, too, after a fashion. Death was not necessarily permanent anymore¡ªthough it had been for some of those who served under Dave, even in the Haunted Forest.
But for them, that had apparently been a choice.
As the new Amalia had explained it, the dead had a choice presented to them when a Necromancer attempted to raise them as a Vampire. Rise again, or remain in the afterlife¡ªwhich she claimed she did not remember. She only remembered that she had chosen life.
Focus on the future, he thought. This was almost like a second chance. Next time, he would do whatever it took to prevent any unnecessary loss of life for his side.
The Fisher Kingdom was a new, small country. It could scarcely afford to lose people.
The next threat to the people here could destroy this place¡
Before he could go anywhere with that thought, Dave saw James had stepped forward and moved to the center of the stage. Mina followed close behind her husband, almost protectively.
James looked as serious as befitted the occasion, and Dave wondered if he had lost sleep over the outcome of the battle too. Even though James had just given him good news, the loss of the dozen who had remained dead was a serious matter. And the King was the only one who arguably carried more responsibility for the battle¡¯s events than Dave.
Dave felt James¡¯s eyes meet his, and the officer forced himself to smile¡ªprobably more of a grimace, but he could not see his own face¡ªand nod at the commander in chief.
I know you¡¯ll do your best to honor them.
Whether the Fisher King felt any guilt about the battle or not, he certainly gave a damn.
Maybe that¡¯s why he seemed to work himself half to death reviving people. Dave had heard about that from his friend Sam. The way Sam had described it, James¡¯s blessing started to look like he was giving up some of his life force after he had done a few of them.
James pressed close to the podium and began to speak.
¡°Friends, citizens, we gather here today to mourn the deaths of our brave soldiers. Brothers and sisters, sons and daughters. Valued friends and neighbors.¡±
His voice boomed out all through the room and beyond. Dave could hear it coming from outside of the room as well as inside. James must be using his powers to broadcast it to the portion of the crowd that had been unable to fit inside the community center. Even the courtyard between the community center and the apartments was full of people today. Despite losses, it seemed the Fisher Kingdom just kept growing.
The King continued. ¡°They fought to protect our young country from invasion by evil spirits. I won¡¯t talk about the specifics of the battle aside from that today. I know that many of you are still feeling the impact of the fight, or of the presence of those spirits.¡± He seemed to make eye contact with Dave for a moment as he spoke those words, but it was hard to be certain.
He was distracted, because at the same time that he thought James had looked at him, a murmur had risen from the crowd. The word ¡°miracle,¡± in a dozen or more different voices, was the only thing Dave heard distinctly. These were some of those who had been revived, Dave recognized. One of the side effects of having one¡¯s life saved by the Fisher King seemed to be a new, slightly more fanatical level of loyalty.
James seemed to ignore the interruption. His voice continued at the same cadence and volume.
Dave ignored it too, as best he could.
¡°I know that some of you will be feeling lost right now,¡± James said. ¡°We¡¯ve lost a group of valuable, irreplaceable people. I know what it is to lose someone important. My father died when I was a kid.¡± He sighed. ¡°Since the world changed, it seems the losses just keep coming. But I can tell you from personal experience that those who have died are still with us, in a sense. I want to share a little about the people we¡¯re saying farewell to.¡±
James began telling anecdotes about each of the dead.
Dave was surprised to find that James seemed to have some touching snippet about each person who had died. It seemed unlikely that the Fisher King could have known all those who had lain down their lives.
As the stories went on, it became clearer that he had not known all of them. In several cases, he was clearly repeating a story that a friend or family member must have relayed to him. There were a couple of stories from Orientation about people with whom James had not shared an Orientation, for instance.
They were effective nevertheless in restoring some humanity to the humans in the closed caskets.
¡°All these different stories,¡± James said. ¡°The one constant we see with all the dead here is their courage. We lost some of our best in this battle. But as I said, they¡¯re still with us in a sense. They will never be completely gone. Not as long as we remember them. Not as long as we¡¯re still here.¡± He pounded his chest with one hand as he spoke. ¡°Those we have lost will always be with us. They have watered the earth with their blood, so that their bodies have become a part of it. And their spirits will live on in our hearts and in the spirit of this place. They died out of love for family, friends, and neighbors. That love lives on.¡±
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Then he cleared his throat and seemed somehow to make eye contact with everyone in the room at once.
¡°They will be far from the last casualties,¡± he said. ¡°We have entered into a world of conflict. The ugly war of all against all that emerges when society collapses. The glory of that is that we are the ones who will restore order and build a new world, a new civilization, a new nation, for our children and their children. The tragedy is that it means these brave individuals will not be the last to die to preserve our peace. Survival and success will require the best and most committed efforts from all of us. The men and women we bury here today¡ª¡± He turned to the coffins, assembled off to his left side, at those last words¡ª¡°gave the last full measure of their devotion for us. To give us the chance to live. It is up to us to continue forward and ensure that those losses mean something. For those who feel touched by these losses, whether you knew the deceased or not, there are therapists who have volunteered to be of counsel.¡±
Dave sensed rather than saw that a handful of people somewhere behind him were moving as if to indicate that yes, they were the therapists. Before he learned that Amalia was still alive, he probably would have wanted to talk to one of them himself. Now he was not so certain.
It feels like some life has returned to me, he thought. And he couldn¡¯t help but form his lips into a bittersweet smile. That was exactly what had happened to Amalia. Some life had returned.
Then he zoned back in to the speech. He realized that James had continued talking.
¡°Any dead is too many dead,¡± James was saying. ¡°A dozen of our bravest are lost to us forever.¡±
There was a quiet murmur from some in the crowd at this, as if people were wondering if James had miscounted.
In answer to the murmur, James continued, ¡°Fortunately, we were able to save some from the afterlife. With the magic of the new world we have entered into, they were raised from the dead as Vampires.¡±
The door behind James opened then, and Amalia and the other thirteen Vampires emerged onto the stage behind James, standing very calmly in the afternoon sun.
That¡¯s one myth busted, Dave thought. Sunlight apparently did not kill Vampires.
There was further murmuring from the crowd.
Dave turned his head and he saw that some people in the back row were getting up.
He thought he recognized them, but at first, he could not remember where he knew the faces from.
Then it hit him: it was that new arrival, Cyrus, and a few of his religious followers who had arrived immediately following the battle.
I¡¯m surprised they bothered attending the funeral at all, Dave thought. Incredibly rude to walk out in the middle¡
James cleared his throat, and the murmur of the crowd diminished.
¡°The option of an attempted resurrection will be made available to anyone who willingly fights for the Fisher Kingdom,¡± he said. ¡°I understand there may be some religious or philosophical objections to this, but where possible, we will always consult family members before we perform this procedure. Anyone who is willing to have their personal preference recorded can see Jeremiah Rotter, the council¡¯s Secretary, to provide that information. If we have your preference, we will not need to ask family members their thoughts first.¡±
By the time he finished speaking, the chatter had died down. People had realized that James had not done anything outrageous, and some of them seemed to be looking at the Vampires with envy. Dave had noticed it before, but in the light, it was more obvious: the resurrected all looked as good as or better than they had looked in life.
That might be some kind of red flag, but on a surface level, at least, it was appealing. They still moved like themselves and spoke like themselves, too. Some of them smiled or waved at family members among the crowd. Dave could see the wheels turning as people considered whether they wanted to be brought back to live on as an immortal Vampire.
A few months ago, this would have been preposterous. The stuff of an Anne Rice novel.
But now, judging from the looks on people¡¯s faces, it would undoubtedly become commonplace.
Cyrus and his people left nevertheless, even as the King continued speaking.
¡°There is a magical item that is consumed with each vampiric transformation,¡± James said, talking more quickly as if he almost wanted to brush past this detail. ¡°This costs System Credits, and it is not cheap. However, given that it is the difference between life after death and permanent death, we will figure this out. We will raise the money one way or another whenever it is necessary. Returning to the main subject that we¡¯re here for, sadly, not everyone wished to be raised from the dead. We know that they chose not to return, because the magic item was destroyed, but no Vampire was created in exchange.¡± James sounded like he only had a tenuous understanding of the necromancy process. ¡°So we still suffered losses.¡±
He listed the names of the truly, permanently dead in a low, reverent voice that nevertheless made its way to all parts of the room.
¡°We will all mourn them. I hope you will also take comfort in family, friends, and neighbors. The lost live on in all of us.¡± James paused for a moment as if weighing his next words carefully. ¡°But if you have feelings that you cannot share with anyone, or that you believe you can¡¯t overcome in any other way, you can also come and share them with me. I made all of the decisions on the evening of the battle. Every single choice that led to this outcome was mine. I believed, and still believe, that what we did was necessary to stop pure evil from swamping our country.¡± He made definite eye contact with Dave then.
It would sound hyperbolic, except I was there, Dave thought. I know what those things were like. Pure evil is an understatement.
¡°The weight of the responsibility rests squarely on my shoulders¡ªand only on my shoulders,¡± James said.
Dave felt the words were aimed at him, though he knew it was absurd.
Whatever the truth of the matter, it did feel as though a weight that had partially lifted from his shoulders earlier became even lighter. He was not burden-free, but then, he had not felt truly light in many years. But he knew instinctively that what was left was something he could carry.
I can do it. The next time these people need me, I won¡¯t fail.
¡°Let us have a moment of silence, and then our pallbearers will begin moving the first of the coffins to their graves.¡±
The room became so quiet that Dave imagined people might be holding their breath rather than break the sudden stillness.
Then James made a hand motion of some sort, the pallbearers stepped forward, and the world seemed to start moving again.
Dave watched as the rest of the funeral played out as expected. The coffins were relocated to their permanent homes in the ground, and loved ones were invited to step forward, say a few words, and shovel soil onto the remains before James buried them the rest of the way. His control over the earth allowed him to smoothly shift the ground to cover over the tops of the coffins with just a wave of his hand.
There were not many people to step forward as bereaved, and most of them did not say much, but there was a quiet dignity to the process. Like reclaiming some sense of normalcy.
Dave had no loved ones to bury. He would have gotten up to help bury Amalia, his friend, if she was not standing there on the stage, looking healthier than she had pre-vampirism.
But the ritual of burying and honoring the dead would always have a certain power to it for Dave, as it undoubtedly did for the hundreds of other people who took part in the ceremony. There was a closure to it.
It struck him, as the earth moved to cover the first coffin, that these dead would be remembered for at least as long as the founding generation of this new country lived. Probably for as long as James himself was remembered.
The Fisher Kingdom had its first martyrs.
V4Ch12-The Unknown
Mina and James were walking back from the service when they came upon the unknown.
Others, including Yulia, were still there, eating and talking. When Mina planned the service, she had asked several people with the Cook Job, including Alba, to prepare a dinner to follow the funeral.
But James had decided to make an early exit, and he expressed the preference to Mina tersely.
¡°I think we should go now,¡± he had said quietly.
Observing that her husband seemed a bit distracted or stressed, Mina agreed immediately. The two made a quiet move back toward the apartments. It helped that with food being served, James was no longer the center of attention.
Some others had already begun walking off, not in the mood to eat. Mina could not hear anyone commenting on her and James¡¯s decision to leave, although superhuman senses were more in his wheelhouse than hers.
¡°I thought you delivered that beautifully, skapi,¡± Mina said in what she intended to be a light, soothing tone. She placed a hand on his bicep.
His eyes had been staring straight ahead, almost boring a hole in the apartment buildings, but her touch seemed to bring him back to the present.
¡°Oh, thank you,¡± James said. ¡°I thought your plans came together extremely well. The funeral was a success. Did you see that guy in the crowd wearing a mask?¡±
Mina had planned more or less the entire funeral while James was semi-incapacitated from blessing people, only occasionally asking his opinion on some detail she thought might be more important than the average.
¡°I¡ªwait, what guy? There was someone in there wearing a mask?¡±
I was watching you almost the whole time, she thought. Wait, did you try to Identify him?
¡°I guessed he probably wasn¡¯t part of the plan,¡± James said. ¡°When I saw him, I was divided on whether to just attack him or ignore him until he made a move. It helped make my decision that he was by himself and not making any threatening moves. But there was something a little unsettling¡ª¡±
His voice broke off suddenly.
¡°What was unsettling?¡± Mina asked.
¡°Sorry,¡± James said. He pointed into the distance by the apartments. It was close to dark now, so the long, deep shadows hid much of the front of the buildings from view in the area where he was pointing. Mina couldn¡¯t see what he was gesturing at.
¡°What¡¯s over there?¡± she asked.
¡°The guy in the mask,¡± he said, his tone still calm but now with an edge to it. ¡°He¡¯s talking to my Mom.¡±
That¡¯s creepy¡
They walked the rest of the way back to the apartments more briskly.
They were halfway there when Mina¡¯s eyes were finally able to perceive the details in the darkness. Spotting Zora was not hard. But the man next to him, dressed in black hood and cloak, blended almost perfectly into the shadows.
Mina shivered as she saw the shape of him. The image had the instant feel of the supernatural to her, like she was seeing the glowing rune markings on Hecate¡¯s servant Charon. Except this was just a figure, standing in the distance. No glowing, no apparent magic.
He turned to look at them, and Mina saw what her husband had been talking about. Beneath the hood, the man wore a featureless mask. A flat, smooth, black oval. No eye holes, even, as far as she could see. She couldn¡¯t see his hands clearly from that distance, but that suggested to her that he was probably wearing gloves, too.
Investigate.
A Status screen appeared for the figure, but it was far from illuminating.
[Status
Name: Unknown Entity
Race: ?
Class: ?
Job: ?
Health: ?
Mana: ?
Stamina: ?
Stats
Yes
Skills
Wouldn¡¯t You Like to Know? Lv. 100]
¡°What the heck?¡±
¡°Oh, I guess you tried to Identify him, too,¡± James said.
¡°I used Investigate,¡± she said.
¡°But it gave you just about as little useful information as my Identify, right?¡±
¡°For Skills, it says, ¡®Wouldn¡¯t You Like to Know?,¡¯ James. I don¡¯t like this.¡±
The more she thought about this person, the more she felt a pit forming in her stomach.
¡°Me neither.¡± But his voice sounded calm. Calculating.
He¡¯s probably using that Skill he¡¯s mentioned that gives him odds of winning a fight, she thought.
James shook his head. ¡°Yeah, I have no idea who or what this thing is. Hester?¡±
Mina did not hear what the spider said in response, if anything.
Her husband resumed walking toward the figure, though. Perhaps James knew something she did not. Or perhaps he was simply acting on his general predilection toward action.
As they drew closer to the figure and Zora, the quiet murmuring of the conversation came to a halt before Mina could overhear any of it. All of this heightened her anxiety.
If James felt the same way, however, she could see no sign of it. He seemed to have recovered completely from his unease about the stranger from earlier.
They reached within a few feet of the masked man, and James increased the length of his stride and stepped between Mina and the stranger. Without needing an exchange of words, Mina understood that he was trying to signal to her to stay behind him. She obliged and kept her distance from the mysterious man in black.
¡°James Robard,¡± pronounced a deep, slightly mirthful voice. ¡°It feels as if I have been waiting a long time to meet you.¡±
¡°You¡¯ll forgive the delay,¡± James replied acidly. ¡°I was dealing with the small matter of presiding over the funeral you crashed. But I¡¯m glad that my mother has been entertaining you.¡±
You¡¯re not being very diplomatic, Mina thought. What were this guy and James¡¯s mother saying to each other? Does she know who he is?
¡°She has,¡± the nameless figure replied. He turned to Zora with an approving gesture. ¡°You are fortunate to have come from such a wise woman, Your Majesty.¡±
Zora smiled cautiously. ¡°I believe this gentleman is a friend, James,¡± she said.
¡°Has he given you his name?¡± James asked, his tone slightly more relaxed. ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering.¡±
¡°Ah, pardon my poor manners,¡± the unknown figure said. ¡°A guest should not so test the patience of his host. I walked into a funeral to which I was not invited, and I still have yet to introduce myself.¡±
He had a slightly old-fashioned style of speaking, Mina noticed.
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A guest should not so test the patience of his host?
¡°I would not expect that you would be comfortable calling me the Unknown Entity, or something equivalent to that.¡± He paused as if waiting for them to acknowledge that they had already tried using Identify and Investigate on him. ¡°In any case, you can call me Bear.¡±
Meaning that is not his real name. Whatever Skill or item he¡¯s using to conceal his identity, it¡¯s entirely intentional.
¡°Fine, Bear,¡± James said. ¡°What brings you here?¡±
¡°That is complicated. You see, I want your help, James Robard. But I need you to trust me¡ªor perhaps more accurately, you need to trust me¡ªbefore I ask you to do something that has no obvious benefit to yourself. So I intend to help you first.¡±
It was hard for Mina to imagine that plan working out as the stranger expected. James would never trust Bear until he knew something about him. James also wouldn¡¯t willingly accept help from a stranger who he knew would want some favor in return later.
¡°Why not remove the mask and tell us your real name if you want to be trusted?¡± Jame said through clenched teeth. ¡°A face and a name goes a long way.¡±
¡°Alas, I cannot,¡± said Bear. ¡°There are rules to this universe, as you know. Think of me as someone on a quest, for whom the System does not permit the removal of my customary attire or admission of my identity. I cannot tell you or show you who I am, even indirectly.¡±
¡°There are strict rules to the System,¡± James said slowly, as if chewing on some significant piece of information.
Mina thought that something had been communicated between the lines that she lacked the background to grasp. Is this person subject to some special rules that we¡¯re not? Maybe he could be a proctor. They wore masks¡
¡°You mentioned that you wanted to help me,¡± James said. ¡°To win my trust. What form is that meant to take? Are you going to fight alongside me in my next battle?¡± The skepticism in his voice was palpable.
Bear¡¯s voice deepened an octave and switched to an almost scolding tone. ¡°You correctly understand that I will not, James. For reasons I would rather not discuss.¡±
¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± James said. ¡°Only citizens have to fight for me. You¡¯re a guest, right? Just passing through?¡±
The masked man nodded. ¡°I will be gone long before you tire of me, I promise,¡± he said.
¡°They say that fish and guests start to stink after three days,¡± James replied.
Mina wanted to smile at that. James had first heard that expression from her, and she had taken it from a book about Benjamin Franklin.
¡°I will bear that in mind.¡±
¡°So, you won¡¯t fight. How will you help me?¡±
¡°I am a wise old man,¡± Bear said in a more jovial tone. ¡°I know you cannot see my face under the mask, but I have a long gray beard trapped under here. This old guy has seen some things.¡±
Mina wasn¡¯t certain she had heard that last sentence correctly. Was that word ¡°guy¡± or ¡°eye?¡± And does he realize just how many advisors James already has? There are people to tell him when the wheat should be planted and how to organize a military unit. There are fellows who think they can get the electricity back on. James has a god on speed dial. What extra advice could he possibly need?
¡°Do you have advice for me now?¡± James asked.
¡°Absolutely,¡± Bear said. ¡°The first thing is that you have a serious threat to the stability of your kingdom on your land right now.¡±
James waited.
¡°Monotheists.¡± Bear dropped the last word as if it were something dirty.
What, like Yulia? Christianity, after all, was a monotheistic religion.
Mina raised an eyebrow, and James chuckled quietly.
¡°Did I say something that you found funny?¡± Bear asked, his tone carefully neutral.
¡°Until just now, half of the Earth was monotheistic,¡± James said. ¡°Not you, though, I guess.¡±
¡°Oh, as I said, I have seen some things,¡± Bear replied, his tone slightly barbed. ¡°If your young eyes had witnessed the sights that I have seen, you would not dismiss the danger of these monotheists so easily.¡±
What has he seen? Mina wondered. I feel like everything he says is laden with clues as to who he is. As if he¡¯s inviting us to guess who he is. But then why not just come out and say it outright?
¡°I didn''t say I dismiss them,¡± James said. ¡°Just pointing out that if I want to worry about monotheists, I¡¯ll have a lifetime of work cut out for me. It¡¯s half the planet. More than that, depending on how you think about Hinduism. I figure these people will work things out for themselves, anyway.¡± He gestured toward the sky. ¡°It¡¯s a wide open universe, now. We all know there are more than just one god.¡±
¡°Do not be so certain that they will ¡®work things out¡¯ in the way you would like,¡± Bear said. ¡°Do you know how intolerant of difference they are? I assume they still teach history in schools these days. Can you imagine what they might do to your precious newborn country when it becomes obvious that you do not subscribe to their view of reality?¡±
¡°This is a nice country I have, and it would be a shame if something were to happen to it,¡± James said, his tone slightly heated. ¡°Is that where you¡¯re going with this? If I don¡¯t do something about the people who just showed up¡ª¡±
I don¡¯t think that was what he intended, skapi, Mina thought. But she understood why her husband was growing angry. Someone had appeared in their land to play mind games with them. He was making vague statements about the future danger of people James had decided to allow in. This person ought to know how he would be perceived.
¡°We should table this topic, perhaps,¡± Bear said. ¡°I sense that we are getting onto the wrong track. I did not imagine you would be so hot-headed. I am sincerely trying to help you, not threatening you.¡±
¡°Any other advice for the moment?¡± James asked. ¡°If not, the wife and I were going to go and relieve my sister. She¡¯s been watching the kids.¡±
¡°You could stand to do some of what the young folks call ¡®min-maxing,¡¯¡± Bear said. ¡°To better prepare for certain violent eventualities.¡±
¡°Obviously I¡¯m already doing that,¡± James said.
¡°You could stand to improve your magic,¡± Bear replied, ¡°but actually, I meant for your wife. I can tell that you have trained yourself a great deal, but she is still almost as weak as she was when Orientation started. The baby is out of her. There is no reason why she should not be out fighting, the same as you.¡±
Mina felt unpleasantly surprised to have been suddenly brought into the conversation. Am I really that weak? I kind of saved the day back in my Orientation. I thought that was progress¡
¡°We seem to keep getting off on the wrong foot,¡± James said, stepping in closer to the masked man. ¡°First, you give me advice that sounds a lot like threats. Then you insult my wife.¡±
That¡¯s right, Mina thought. Kick his butt!
She knew that she should not be rooting for the situation to escalate to violence, but the man had insulted her. The sight of her husband stepping up to fight for her honor made her heart beat faster. And it made the actual insult sting a little less.
¡°Think of the future, James,¡± Bear said. He had not moved at all in response to James inching closer to him¡ªas if James posed as little threat to him as a bee sting. ¡°You cannot always be standing by your wife¡¯s side, ready to offer your protection. You have to allow her to face real dangers and grow, not sit on your property or fight only in your tamed dungeon.¡±
Mina wanted to raise the fact that she had gone with Zora and Alice to raid Sister Strange¡¯s base, but even that had been while James was distracting Sister Strange herself. But Mina recognized that she had faced very little direct danger, in comparison with the hundreds of soldiers who had needed to be revived by James¡¯s blessing. With Zora and Alice there, none of the Wraiths had even gotten close.
Maybe he¡¯s right, she thought. I have been relying on James a lot since we got back here. Whether he had good intentions or not, the advice to improve her own power made sense.
As she considered that, she noticed that her husband¡¯s posture had stiffened in response to something in what Bear had said. She could not be sure what had provoked that reaction.
¡°Do you have any other advice?¡± James asked coldly. ¡°If not, we¡¯ll bid you a good evening.¡±
¡°No further advice just now,¡± Bear said. ¡°Just a little prediction.¡±
¡°We have more than enough people who think they¡¯re fucking prophets here already,¡± James said.
He stepped past the masked man and opened the door to the apartment, and the sound of the children playing drifted down. Mina instantly felt a little bit better.
¡°Ah, but this one will come true very soon,¡± Bear said. He put his hand to his mask theatrically, as if he was receiving a psychic vision or something. ¡°You will meet someone from your Orientation again, James Robard. Someone who you will know you can trust. I think he can corroborate my warning about the monotheists.¡±
¡°That¡¯s great,¡± James said, turning back to face Bear. ¡°When that happens, I¡¯ll look forward to getting more of your sage advice.¡± He looked at Mina and gestured as if to take her hand.
By that, she understood that he wanted her to go with him quickly up the stairs. She had the feeling that James still thought this man was dangerous¡ªor at least potentially hostile.
But the situation was too strange for her to believe that now. No, this stranger might be a prophet or some sort of huckster, but he posed no threat of immediate violence. Otherwise, the elaborate ruse would be unnecessary.
¡°That is the wise man I expected,¡± Bear said. ¡°Distrust until you verify.¡±
Mina could hear the smile in his voice.
James ignored those last remarks completely.
¡°Are you coming up, Mom?¡± he asked.
¡°No, I might entertain our guest a little longer,¡± Zora said. ¡°He¡¯s more than he seems.¡±
¡°Okay,¡± James said, visibly suppressing a sigh. ¡°Let¡¯s go, then.¡±
Mina stepped close to him and took her husband¡¯s hand, carefully ignoring the masked man, and she felt James¡¯s mood lighten almost instantly.
As the door closed behind them, she heard the scraps of a last quiet exchange between Zora and the unknown figure.
¡°That didn¡¯t go as well as I might have imagined,¡± she was saying. ¡°I had hoped you would be a bit more diplomatic.¡±
¡°They do not need to like me, Zora,¡± the entity who called himself Bear replied. His style of speech seemed to have changed for her, as if he was taking the conversation more seriously perhaps. ¡°Trying for that might even decrease the odds of mutual trust. They only need to understand that I am telling the truth and that they can rely on my information. That should be more than enough to facilitate a mutually beneficial exchange. The time of wolves¡ª¡±
The words were cut off by the door.
Their new visitor, with his advice and vague prophecy, had left her with far more questions than it had answers.
V4Ch13-Basic Training Part 1
¡°I don¡¯t know what he meant about that either,¡± James said for the third time. It was just as true this time as it had been the previous two.
It was after they had put the children to sleep, after Mina had fed James Junior. The husband and wife were rehashing James¡¯s conversation with the ¡°Unknown Entity¡± who called himself Bear.
Bear¡¯s obvious knowledge of their situation meant that James had to take what the masked figure said seriously, but the advice was vague, especially the stuff about the monotheists and training Mina for certain ¡°violent eventualities.¡±
A part of James believed that the advice to make Mina stronger was to address the same future prophecy that Sister Strange had shown him. But it didn¡¯t quite make sense. In the vision he had seen, Mina was incredibly powerful, and it did not save her. He still wasn¡¯t certain the Wraith even had the power to present real visions of the future anyway.
¡°What did he say that made you so angry?¡± Mina asked.
¡°Hm?¡± James was lost in speculation and took a few seconds to realize what his wife had said. ¡°Oh, it was everything. He just kept needling me. The guy was definitely doing it on purpose. And it especially pissed me off, because he kept implying that bad things might happen to you or to the country if I didn¡¯t listen to him. But he wouldn¡¯t come out with anything specific. I also felt¡¡± He let his voice trail off.
¡°You also felt?¡± Mina poked him in the stomach as she spoke. Where he had once had slight love handles, now James was all hard muscle. The attempt to lightly tickle him failed completely.
He cracked a smile anyway. Mina¡¯s face as she touched him was priceless. Like she couldn¡¯t believe what she felt. He could almost hear the Wow.
James had gotten very accustomed to his new body, but Mina was much less familiar with it still.
¡°I also felt a little helpless,¡± he admitted, lowering his voice.
¡°Helpless? You? How?¡± She sounded nearly incredulous.
¡°Normally I can sort of calculate the odds of beating someone in a fight, with higher accuracy the longer the fight goes on and the more I know about the enemy. When I looked at him, though, that part of my brain just shut off. Like, ¡®Don¡¯t even bother, man, you don¡¯t have a shot.¡¯ When I got closer to him, I felt it. I could punch him, but it would be pointless. Like hitting a brick wall, back before I could punch down a brick wall. Or maybe more like fighting a ghost.¡± He paused thoughtfully. ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any human being like that.¡±
¡°What do you mean? No human being like what?¡±
¡°No human being that I shouldn¡¯t be able to beat under some circumstance. Whoever or whatever Bear really is, it might be more appropriate to just think of him as ¡®the entity¡¯ rather than trying to pretend as if he gave us a real name. Like he¡¯s a person who just likes being in disguise. Because that guy isn¡¯t human. I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s a spirit, a demon, or something else. But he is not a human being.¡± With every word he spoke, James¡¯s confidence in what he was saying grew. By the time he pronounced his judgment on the situation, he felt certain.
Bear is something else. Maybe he¡¯s well intentioned, coming here and speaking to me as directly as he has. Maybe. But it¡¯s hard to trust someone when you don¡¯t know the first thing about him. Only that he isn¡¯t like us.
¡°What do you want to do about him?¡± Mina asked. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t think you could beat him in a fistfight, there are other ways, right? I¡¯ve seen how you move the soil. You could use your power over the land and expel him from the Kingdom. Just toss him like the ground is a catapult.¡±
James grinned at the mental image. It was ridiculous yet also plausible. At least more plausible than him smashing the masked figure¡¯s head in. When he drew close to the man, it felt like a punch might just pass straight through Bear¡¯s body. But whatever he was, the entity still needed ground to stand on.
¡°Or we could get a mob of people together,¡± Mina continued, ¡°and see how the unknown thing does against a few hundred people trying to tear him limb from limb. I know those people you just blessed would love to help you solve a problem right now.¡± She smiled and kissed James on the cheek.
¡°I¡¯m honestly not even thinking about dealing with him right now,¡± James said. ¡°I gave him a timeline. If he¡¯s still here in three days, then we¡¯ll see what we do about him.¡± He turned and kissed her back, full on the lips.
¡°What are you thinking about?¡± she asked, giving him an enticing look.
¡°Well, tomorrow, you and I are going to start training together,¡± James said. ¡°That was the one thing he said that I agree with. You have magical Skills that you might be able to teach me. And I have a long list of Skills that you can probably learn just by seeing me use them over and over. Plus, I could give you some basic martial arts training. The System has taught me well. And it should be fun. I¡¯ll show you how to wrassle.¡± He put on a faux southern accent with that last sentence. ¡°But all that¡¯s tomorrow. First, there¡¯s tonight.¡±
He wrapped an arm around her, pulled her close, and gave her another, much longer kiss.
The next morning, they performed their usual morning chores. Breakfast and cleanup with the children and Yulia. Then James lined the children and Yulia up, from oldest to youngest.
¡°I need you all to stay sort of still for this,¡± he said. He looked at Abhi, and the little boy nodded with understanding. If the little ones tried to run or crawl away, Abhi would fetch them back.
And James blessed them all, starting with Yulia and finishing with Junior.
He had intended to do this from the moment he learned he could offer a form of blessings to people. Now that he had seen the beneficial effects on those incapacitated in the forest battle, he had decided there was no point in waiting to extend the same privilege to the children.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
Eventually, every one of my citizens will have a blessing from me, he thought. Since it¡¯s clearly not a problem to have both that and a blessing from a god¡ªMina has both¡ªthere¡¯s no reason to forgo this advantage.
He was still hazy on how his blessing power worked, but he at least now knew from real world results that they could hasten recovery from a debilitating condition.
He would have to ask Mina later if she noticed other effects.
James rose from his chair¡ªhe had taken a seat after the last couple of blessings, since they still took a lot out of him¡ªand looked around to see where his wife had gone. He heard her distant movements in the bedroom, where she must be getting ready.
Then a short person had latched onto his leg. James looked down and made eye contact with Abhi.
¡°What are you going to do now?¡± the little boy asked. James could see he was still a little anxious about being left alone.
¡°I¡¯m going to go and train with Mina now,¡± he replied.
But maybe I could take you, if you¡¯re really worried I¡¯m not going to come back, he thought. Abhi had seemed very relieved to have James acting as normal in the apartment that morning. It seemed that the last few days, in which James had been either blessing people or bedridden, had been hard on Abhi. He knows what it looks like when someone¡¯s ill, probably. He thought that was what was happening to me, and he assumed the worst. Poor kid.
¡°Can I go with you?¡± Abhi asked.
Yeah, I thought so.
¡°Um, Yulia? What do you think?¡± James asked.
She had spent more time with Abhi and his siblings than James had, and he wasn¡¯t certain if she needed or wanted Abhi to stick around and help supervise the younger children.
¡°Why don¡¯t we all go?¡± Yulia suggested. ¡°The kids could go for some fresh air.¡±
¡°Yeah, why not?¡± James said. He smiled down at Abhi, who pumped his fist in response.
If it really makes him that happy, I¡¯m glad. The kids can play outside, I¡¯ll teach Mina, and maybe Yulia will pick up a thing or two from proximity. It would be good if she learned to defend herself, even though she¡¯s a Healer. That was the main thing the entity who called himself Bear was right about. James would not always be around at every moment when danger loomed. He needed to see to his family¡¯s defenses when he wasn¡¯t present.
¡°Ready!¡± Mina¡¯s voice came from the doorway of the bedroom.
She looked radiant as she stepped through the opening. James stood for a moment just looking at her and smiling. His wife was gorgeous.
Mina looked up at him expectantly, caught the intensity of his gaze, and blushed. James could tell that she wanted to say something but could not with the children there.
¡°Are¡ªare we ready to go?¡± she asked after a moment, still slightly red.
Then James explained the plan, and Mina grabbed a baby carrier that someone had apparently salvaged for them from the old apartments. The family went outside, where Mina and Yulia rigged James up like a pack mule, with babies on his chest and back and Abhi on his shoulders.
¡°Giddyup!¡± Abhi said, laughing quietly.
James felt the little boy¡¯s gaze as he looked down to make sure he hadn¡¯t annoyed the grown-up whose shoulders he was riding.
And James smiled up with genuine affection. Then he took off, skipping across the landscape, trying to simulate a horse ride for the little boy without shaking the babies up too much.
It was a challenge worthy of a king.
Mina and Yulia chased after him, trying to catch up to the loose bronco and laughing all the way. The children shrieked with joy.
People outside stopped, watched, pointed, and laughed. James pretended that they were not there as he made a loop around the apartment buildings and came out by the community center.
After one more loop, he finally allowed Mina and Yulia to catch him. They were out of breath and slightly sweaty, though they had not been chasing him especially closely or followed him around the buildings on the second loop. The whole family was breathless from the combination of running and laughing.
But Mina and Yulia¡¯s breathlessness was sobering rather than amusing for James. It reminded him that they both continued to have essentially human physiology, in an incredibly dangerous world. Some training from him might actually save their lives.
Hopefully they¡¯ll grow unusually quickly thanks to the blessings at least.
James led them out from the center of the Fisher Kingdom, toward the woods the new arrivals had come in from. To his surprise, a number of random civilians who had seen what he was doing moved to follow him and his family.
But he shrugged.
Fine. If they want to watch, they can watch. If they learn something, all good. These are my people. I was eventually going to make time to teach more than just my own family some fighting skills anyway. I¡¯ll just have to be careful not to show off anything too crazy.
Most of his Predator in Human Skin Skills were probably abilities that no one could copy even if they spent a thousand years watching him. Predator¡¯s Venomous Armaments, for instance, allowed him to imbue an object with venom that simply seeped from his body when he used the Skill. And Mind of the Predator was a Skill no one else could even see working.
But it would be extremely beneficial to the country if everyone had some basic martial arts knowledge. James thought the moves of Way of the Predator, which felt completely natural and instinctive when he was in the middle of fighting, could be consciously learned by simply observing him.
That was probably true for some of his bread and butter attacks, too. Air Strike was just an attack that imbued the air with Mana and threw a blade of wind forcefully at the target.
So James chose an area large enough for the people following him¡ªnow fifteen citizens, plus his family¡ªto watch. Then he put the kids down where Mina and Yulia could supervise them. James established some breathing room between himself and his audience, clearing a fifty foot space for himself. Then he began demonstrating some of his abilities, narrating as he did so.
¡°Some of you might have abilities that let you copy Skills. Others might just learn something from seeing how my Skills work, as you try to discover your own. So I¡¯ll start with some quasi-magical abilities and then move on to martial arts. When I need to attack from a distance, if I don¡¯t have anything in my hands, my immediate recourse is to a Skill called Air Strike¡¡±
First, he demonstrated his Air Strike, Lightning Strike, and Meteor Strike. He showed those abilities multiple times, from different angles, using different body parts for the strikes, until Mina nodded at each respective ability, indicating that she had copied it with Quick Study.
Then he asked for a volunteer so he could perform hands-on martial arts demonstrations.
¡°I have to participate in this,¡± declared a boisterous voice in the crowd. Dozens more people had gathered in the short time since James had started showing off his basic attacks. They all stood in a few layers of people between James and the buildings, where they were safe from his demonstration attacks. So it took a few seconds for the man who was raising his hand to cut through to the front of the crowd.
Mina seemed pleased to see the bald, middle-aged man with the mustache. And James remembered that he had seen him briefly before. The man had accompanied Hilda when she arrived in the Fisher Kingdom.
What did Mina say his name was again? Leon?
V4 Interlude-Moloch
The Spider walked across the gaps between worlds.
His long, supple limbs strode across the void with practiced ease and self-assurance, finding footholds in places where nothing perceptible existed.
Along the way, he grabbed useful items and tucked them away in his old bag. A number of stars from a constellation. As many uninhabited planets as he could find without going out of his way. Several black holes, which he had to place in a separate pocket from everything else.
As the Spider God gathered these improvised weapons, he drew closer to the meeting place that he had set.
As Anansi moved to within sight of the great, flaming orb, he felt the tension of the situation wash over him in full. It probably would not help much, but he removed one of the black holes from his bag and used it as a sort of shield, blocking himself from direct line of sight.
Hiding behind it, he advanced closer to Moloch¡¯s position.
A piercing sound struck him as soon as he got within hearing of Moloch¡¯s orb. The painful noise of tens of thousands of tortured screams. It was not as bad as it once had been¡ªor as bad as Anansi might have feared. Eons ago, when Moloch was young and popular, the Spider had visited the Tyrannical Sun. Back then, the place had echoed with the deafening noise of millions of tortured screams.
As Moloch¡¯s power dwindled, and he burned through the sacrifices for nourishment, the number of those suffering here had diminished.
Behind the mask, the Spider God allowed himself a small smile at the relative quiet. Soon the silence would be complete.
Anansi spent the next hours setting his traps.
Placing his planets and stars in thoughtful, strategic locations, along with his collected black holes and divinely powerful spider threads.
Though he moved cautiously, he recognized that he had been correct in his assumptions about Moloch.
The cruel god was in the midst of a deep slumber, conserving energy through inactivity while he slowly restored his strength. Just a few years ago, if Anansi had gotten this close without an invitation, Moloch would have detected his presence and smote him with great fists of flame before the other gods he had invited even had time to arrive.
It was Moloch¡¯s bad luck over the course of multiple centuries¡ªand most proximately, the actions of Anansi¡¯s Chosen One¡ªthat had created this opportunity, this massive vulnerability, in the Tyrannical Sun¡¯s defenses.
As the Spider God completed his preparations, the other gods who he had invited began to appear¡ªor, as was more likely with some of them, began to make themselves known, having waited to see if Anansi set off any alarms from the evil god they were all there to kill.
It was all right with the Spider that they were cautious. Although he had planned and organized this assault and coordinated the various gods, he knew he would not be doing the heavy lifting in this fight.
The first to arrive were, unsurprisingly, two Sun Gods. The force Anansi had assembled was mostly these cousins of Moloch. They stood to gain the most from the Tyrannical Sun¡¯s demise in terms of power and worship.
There was Anpetu Wi, standing tall and proud, armed with a spear, sheathed knives, and a war club¡ªand dressed all in red.
Kisosen the Sun-Bringer appeared next, in his usual form of a giant eagle.
Old man Ra arrived, and Anansi began to sweat. The three Sun Gods that were there were looking at each other with thinly veiled hostility, because even though they were all here for the same reason, they were also rivals. Ra¡¯s falcon head and blazing eyes were intimidating even when he was not already actively on a mission of destruction.
As he was feeling nervous, all three looked silently in his direction, as if demanding answers.
He knew what they were wondering.
Finally, Nyame appeared with a flourish.
Thank you, Anansi thought. Finally.
None of the others were talking¡ªall were trying to avoid Moloch¡¯s attention until their full force arrived, because here in his realm, he would be at his most powerful.
But he knew they had been wondering if the Spider had pulled the wool over their eyes again. Now that Nyame was among them, there was a slight release of tension. Anansi was not expecting the other gods to do all the work. He was not only there himself, but so was the head of his pantheon¡ªwhich meant a much greater power than the Spider God himself could bring to bear.
Nyame looked at Anansi silently, and the Spider knew what Nyame was wondering.
Is this everyone?
Anansi shook his head, and the other gods simply stood waiting for a short time.
Then Apollo and Surya came racing in, both riding their chariots and looking at each other with thinly veiled dislike. Each of the chariot-racing Sun Gods felt a particular ownership of the chariot symbolism, and Anansi had heard them argue in the past over who was most entitled to it.
Thankfully, today, they were prudently quiet.
Anansi turned, as he felt a cold chill from behind him¡ªa strange sensation when he was so close to Moloch¡ªand he saw pale-skinned Kalma, clad in her thin dress.
He suppressed a shiver at the aura of decay that surrounded her.
He wanted to tell her that it was good to see her¡ªthough that would be a lie, Death Goddesses always made him uncomfortable¡ªbut it was more important to maintain silence.
Kalma seemed to understand implicitly what Anansi was thinking and why he felt the need to maintain silence, even through his mask. She smiled, revealing yellowed teeth, and then she sauntered past him to join the others, swaying her thin body like a reed in the wind.
Apollo looked pleased to see her¡ªthen realized that they were only waiting on his pantheon members now. He frowned, and the radiant light that surrounded him at all time dimmed slightly.
Then, as if in response to his feelings, the three Furies, dressed all in black, appeared out of the darkness between Anansi and the other gods. They had, Anansi was certain, been lying in wait. The three had perhaps been here for longer than Anansi.
But no one fully understood why the Furies did what they did.
The Spider God was simply glad that they had come. The snakes on their heads and hatred dripping from their eyes were powerful weapons. The last time Anansi saw a god die, the Furies had been involved.
Then there was a loud metallic noise, which was swiftly followed by a muffled curse.
All the gods but Kalma turned to witness the approach of the God of Blacksmiths, who had just hit his foot on a weapon that had dropped from the bag he wore.
Anansi breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
Hephaestus was the last¡ªdragging his feet, both literally and figuratively. He was at once the clumsiest and the greatest creator of all Zeus¡¯s pantheon, though Apollo would have disputed the latter claim. Concealed behind the god¡¯s back, Anansi saw something metallic glint.
¡°What kept you, brother?¡± hissed Apollo, clearly embarrassed.
Anansi put his finger to his lips. Silence!
Apollo looked at him and sneered but stopped talking.
Hephaestus continued his slow approach, then revealed what he had brought with him. In addition to the weapons in his bag, he had forged thick, gleaming chains that Anansi could see were composed of something far stronger than any metal he had seen before. They trailed far off behind him into the distant void, appearing endless in length.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
The weapons Hephaestus carried were also freshly made from his forge, and the Spider God could tell at a glance that they were better than a few of the gods present could normally have acquired.
Anansi quickly closed the distance so that he could claim one of the weapons for himself.
Hephaestus gave Anansi the Spear of Heat Death, with a smile and a wink.
The others had received the Star Xiphos, the Zero Era Javelin, the Eternal Shadow Kopis, and other mythically powerful weapons, but the Spider had a feeling that the one in his hands was the best of the lot.
I might actually be able to contribute to this fight beyond organizing it, he thought. It would be a first for the Spider God, to actually be useful in a battle among gods. The feeling of being truly considered by another deity for more than the value of his wits¡ªfor his ability to function as a warrior, of all things!¡ªwas an unfamiliar one.
¡°Thank you,¡± Anansi said quietly.
Hephaestus smiled and opened his mouth to reply.
But it must have been the sound of the Spider God¡¯s voice that alerted Moloch to their presence.
Before the God of Blacksmithing could say anything in response, there was a great flare of power from Moloch¡¯s orb of fire.
All eyes shifted to focus on the god they had come to kill.
Amid a tornado of fire, the form of Moloch appeared. His favorite image, to intimidate and awe all those who groveled before him.
A titanic, nude humanoid figure with the head and horns of a bull and the wings of an eagle, body wreathed in flame, breathing fire in and out of its nostrils.
Moloch¡¯s preferred form was massive, heavily muscled, and of course angry.
It was obvious from the moment that he took physical shape that the god was more wrathful than Anansi had ever seen Moloch¡ªand the Tyrannical Sun was almost an incarnation of wrath.
The flames raged all around him as he faced the forces gathered against him. Anansi distinctly heard some of the souls being tormented suddenly silenced, as Moloch snuffed them out for a last bit of suffering¡ªa last boost to his power before the big fight.
¡°So it is you who were so bold as to wake me up from my nap,¡± Moloch said, eyes looking over the assembled gods. Their slight narrowing was the only sign that he was worried.
¡°The time has come for your sun to set,¡± rumbled Ra.
¡°Oh, has it, old one?¡± Moloch taunted. ¡°Beware of these allies of yours¡ªour brethren of the sun. They covet my power today. When will it be your turn?¡±
Ra¡¯s feathers visibly bristled at the implication in Moloch¡¯s words.
There is no point in arguing with one we are about to kill, Anansi thought. Moloch wants to draw this out and look for some way he might win or escape.
¡°I have never seen you so afraid, Moloch,¡± said Anansi. ¡°Is this what you resort to, when you are too weak to fight?¡±
¡°Oh, I thought I smelled the stench of cowardice!¡± Moloch roared back. ¡°I knew there had to be a brain somewhere in this group! Anansi, so good to see you¡¡±
¡°Do not try to distract and divide us, weak one,¡± Nyame said. ¡°Whatever our motives, you only need to know that today is the last day you dishonor the sun with your filthy cult.¡± Those last words were spat with contempt.
Moloch roared defiantly back, and the surface of his sun began erupting with fire aimed at the gods attacking him.
The time for talk was over.
The gods each began their own attacks, striking from different angles with different methods. Despite the staggered arrival times, they had planned the entire strategy for the battle in advance. One did not simply improvise an attack on a god in his place of strength.
Kisosen beat his wings hard and managed to push some of the flames back from the group.
The rest took advantage of the opening to scatter and begin acting on the plan.
Surya grabbed hold of Hephaestus¡¯s great chain and began riding his chariot to the side, while his female companions shot arrows at Moloch, both his physical body and the fiery orb that was his true core. Anything that weakened or damaged either body weakened both.
Apollo likewise let loose a flurry of his golden arrows from his bow, while dancing around the flames that Moloch continued to blast in his direction. He almost made it look like fun.
Anpetu Wi thrust into the fiery orb with his spear and began pulling away some of Moloch¡¯s power¡ªas a fellow Sun God, the energy was similar to his own¡ªwhile Ra and Nyame, the only ones powerful enough to trade blows with even a weakened Moloch in his place of power, engaged him in close range combat, using the weapons Hephaestus had provided.
The Furies looked for openings to strike at Moloch¡¯s body with snake fangs and blades wherever Ra and Nyame had adequately diverted his attention.
Kalma walked slowly around the great flaming orb, pulling away the souls that Moloch was tormenting and using for fuel and sending them along to receive rest in her parents¡¯ underworld.
Hephaestus mostly watched and made certain that his chain was still functioning as intended.
And Anansi quickly skittered off behind the black hole he had been using as a shield before and began pulling at the threads he had prepared at the beginning of the battle. Those threads moved the planets, stars, and black holes that Anansi had gathered for the fight. The planets and stars, he threw as projectiles at Moloch¡¯s fiery orb. They could not destroy Moloch, but they could weaken him and draw some of his attention away.
The black holes, once moved into range, pulled away some of the flaming matter of Moloch¡¯s sun. It could not be entirely pulled into any or all of the black holes¡ªit was a god¡¯s divine realm, not a true star¡ªbut the presence of the heavy gravitational fields made every attack cost more of Moloch¡¯s energy than it should have.
The battle went on for hours, during which¡ªper the part of the plan that Anansi and Hephaestus had suggested¡ªSurya should have been wrapping Moloch¡¯s sun up further and further in layer after layer of the Olympian¡¯s chains.
Anansi had to hope that was happening, as he slowly used up all of his projectiles but still heard the noises of the battle continuing. He did not see most of the fight, because he was behind his fortification¡ªaware that he would be almost useless against Moloch¡¯s flames, and extremely vulnerable to them. He simply had to trust in his allies.
He finally realized they were nearing the end when Hephaestus let out a low whistle.
Anansi poked his head out and saw that Moloch¡¯s orb had been fully enveloped in the heavy links of Hephaestus¡¯s chain. Ra opened Moloch¡¯s chest with a downward slash of the Eternal Shadow Kopis, then stepped aside as the blood began to flow, clearly offering the killing blow to Nyame.
And Nyame turned his head, looked and saw Anansi, then gestured for the Spider God to take the honor.
It was ridiculous, given how old Anansi was, that he felt his heart beat more quickly at the thought. He did not let himself overthink the reaction, though. It was his moment. There was no time for indecision.
Anansi rushed in and plunged the Spear of Heat Death into Moloch¡¯s heart.
Moloch bared his teeth in a last defiant snarl, and then his body began to disintegrate.
The other Sun Gods wasted no time in beginning to pull away what was left of the energy from his orb¡ªthey had each been weakening him through the battle by trying to siphon of chunks of energy from his star, though it was extremely inefficient and would not have worked well if there had not been so many of them.
A bright, fiery, winged figure suddenly appeared in the corner of Anansi¡¯s vision.
No¡
Anansi turned his head and saw him. The Morning Star himself. Satan.
His fiery body was at once beautiful and painful to look at, and the Spider God quickly averted his eyes.
Satan floated closer to the star and, without waiting for anyone¡¯s permission, began pulling away something as well.
Anansi looked to old Ra, the only one there who he thought would be powerful enough to tell Satan to leave. But Ra looked tired and drained from the battle¡ªand at his age, with his particular attributes, he was probably ready for a nap.
So the Spider God forced himself to pay attention to Satan instead.
What was the fallen angel pulling from Moloch¡¯s decaying true form?
It looked like¡ªthe sacrificial aspect of Moloch.
Some of the air went out of Anansi. Human sacrifice was what he had hated most about Moloch, and he had deliberately selected gods for this attack who would not want to absorb that into their own divine attributes. If he had wanted anti-human beings to participate, he would have had many more options.
If we simply left that aspect of Moloch alone, it would die off in the void without the rest. Why do you want it? You truly want to lean into that aspect of your own power?
¡°Greetings Anansi.¡± Satan¡¯s voice came from suddenly beside the Spider God. It echoed unnaturally in the void.
Anansi resisted the urge to check where Nyame was and forced himself to look directly at the Morning Star instead. It might have just been the Spider¡¯s eyes adjusting, but it seemed as if the brightness had dimmed slightly¡ªperhaps out of some consideration for Anansi.
The possibility that Satan was trying to be nice to him made Anansi uneasy. The only thing worse than drawing the fallen angel¡¯s enmity was drawing his positive attention.
¡°Greetings,¡± Anansi replied grudgingly. ¡°I did not realize you would be attending the battle.¡±
¡°Oh, I would not have missed it for the world,¡± Satan replied. ¡°I wanted to get my share, yes¡ªbut I also wanted to witness your work. Congratulations are in order, I think.¡±
Anansi parsed the Morning Star¡¯s tone for any hint of mockery and, finding none, decided it would be wise to be polite in return.
¡°Thank you,¡± the Spider said simply.
¡°We trickster types have to stick together, I think,¡± Satan said, still pulling power from the dying orb. ¡°It pleases me to see you succeed. This was the first time you successfully killed another god, was it not?¡±
Anansi nodded and made himself smile behind the mask. He could not be certain, but he thought Satan would know what expression his face wore.
Inside, he was roiling.
One day, I will kill you, too, the Spider God thought. You and your father.
V4Ch14-Basic Training Part 2
Leo DaSilva stepped forward perhaps a little more eagerly than he should have.
He had always enjoyed fighting as a boy. In the neighborhood where he grew up, you had to be good at it. And he rumbled with the worst of them.
He had been in principals¡¯ offices and detention over and over, expelled from the first couple of schools his parents enrolled him in. The same thing happened in his last, subpar school, except that the teachers there had seen boys like Leo a thousand times. They realized it wasn¡¯t going to make any difference to their students¡ªthe hard cases¡ªwhether they stayed late after school or not. Then they turned a blind eye.
Somehow, he had managed to make it through childhood without killing anyone. Without any arrests, even.
Leo looked for a place where his particular passions and skillset would be rewarded, and he found the Police Academy.
There, knocking heads was a required skill. There were formalities around it, but as he gradually learned, it was actually possible to do some good with violence.
The police force was where he finally found a constructive channel for his youthful energy. People who saw his potential. Mentorship.
Slowly, he shifted from cracking skulls to asking questions. From asking questions to solving puzzles. From officer to detective.
From not knowing the first thing about investigations to trying to do the job properly, the way his mentor, Detective Shelby Young, would have wanted it done.
Leo didn¡¯t mellow immediately. He still had a hell of a temper. He would get into shouting matches with his wife that led to slammed doors or words that couldn¡¯t be un-said or forgotten¡ªand one day, a divorce.
The second marriage ended in much the same way, only quicker.
But his temper cooled with age and maturity.
Without him really knowing it was happening, one day Leo woke to find that he was a little too old to crack skulls. His back hurt more than he remembered.
Remarkably, he had never lost a fight as an adult man. Despite getting into more scraps than he could count. He had suffered broken bones and a concussion. He had even been shot and cracked a couple of ribs. But even when he wound up in the hospital afterward, he always made sure the other guy couldn¡¯t think of it as a win.
As a man of forty-six, however, he had finally started de-escalating situations. It wasn¡¯t a conscious shift. But on an unconscious level, he knew his body wasn¡¯t what it had once been. Brute force wasn¡¯t the only way to resolve a conflict.
When he stood back and looked at himself, Leo liked the middle aged version of the man he had become better than any previous iteration. Some of his past foibles were simply gone¡ªand he knew that he was an improved man.
¡°Maybe it¡¯s all right getting old,¡± he had muttered to himself in the mirror one day as he was plucking white hairs from his mustache.
And Leo just about believed it.
Then the System appeared, with its magic and ¡°Medieval Times¡± look.
Now everything is different, he thought. I have to find a new place in the world.
It wasn¡¯t all bad. With Stats and levels, Leo had found that some of his youthful vigor had returned.
¡°Thank you for volunteering, sir,¡± said James, smiling. He threw a quick look at someone in the audience. Leo didn¡¯t have to look to know it would be Mina.
Then James stepped toward Leo and extended a hand. They shook.
¡°I imagine it will be my pleasure,¡± Leo said. ¡°I don¡¯t need to put on my armor, do I?¡±
The Fisher King was not wearing armor, but to Leo¡¯s careful detective¡¯s eye, the man didn¡¯t look like he needed armor. He was more thickly muscled than anyone Leo had ever seen who was not a professional athlete.
¡°I don¡¯t think you do,¡± James said evenly. ¡°We won¡¯t fight for real.¡± He smiled, baring teeth that looked strong enough to bite through rebar. ¡°Unless you decide you want to for some reason.¡±
¡°Nah, I think I¡¯m okay,¡± Leo said, grinning back.
So this is your husband, huh? He looked over at Mina, who was smiling a little nervously.
Then he and James focused on each other.
¡°I¡¯m James,¡± said the Fisher King.
¡°I know,¡± said Leo. ¡°Your reputation precedes you. Call me Leo.¡±
¡°It¡¯s a pleasure,¡± James said.
Then he shifted to explaining what he wanted Leo to do. If the policeman had expected something fantastical, he might have been slightly disappointed.
Instead, what played out was a scene reminiscent of martial arts experiences Leo had participated in back in the pre-System days. James used him as the dummy¡ªor the attacker¡ªto show a series of martial arts moves and counters.
Leo tried to be useful and move his body the way James needed, and like any skilled martial artist, the Fisher King refrained from accidentally injuring his fake sparring partner.
The only strange quality about the demonstration, for Leo, was that he could not recognize the martial arts at all. There were punches, kicks, and chops, as he would have expected from any striking focused martial art. There was some demonstration of grappling techniques. But there were also moves that Leo could not put a finger on at all.
Moments where it was clear the next move was meant to be a bite, a clawing attack, or gouging the opponent¡¯s eyes out. James did not follow through on any of that, of course. But in those moments where James was demonstrating those aspects of the martial art, which he had not named, Leo got the feeling that he was struggling with a wild beast, like a bear or wolf.
He had to steel himself to continue complying with the exercises, rather than reflexively moving to defend himself from what occasionally felt like it could morph into a real attack.
At last, James said that they were done. Leo had caught what looked like a signal from Mina to her husband before James spoke up. She nodded, as if to say that she thought everyone had absorbed all they could from the demonstration.
Leo thought that was probably for the best. They had been at it for almost an hour in the hot sun, and he was covered in sweat. The Fisher King, by contrast, looked like he had been relaxing in air conditioning the whole time.
¡°Thank you,¡± Leo mouthed to Mina.
That husband of yours doesn¡¯t know when to stop!
She smiled and looked like she wanted to laugh. Then she shrugged and pointed at Leo, as if saying, You¡¯re the one who volunteered!
Which he supposed was fair enough.
This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
There was a quiet round of applause from the people who had watched through the whole demonstration.
As the crowd began to disperse with the announcement that they were done, Leo couldn¡¯t resist trying to engage with James¡¯s martial arts a little more.
¡°Would you mind telling me what fighting style we were demonstrating?¡± he asked. ¡°I used to mess around with martial arts a little, but I didn¡¯t recognize some of those moves.¡±
A lot of those moves, he thought.
¡°It¡¯s not a traditional martial art,¡± James confided quietly. ¡°The System gave me a Skill for fighting. The name is Way of the Predator.¡±
¡°Sounds aggressive,¡± said Leo.
And although he was sweaty and slightly tired, he couldn¡¯t resist what came next.
¡°Would you be willing to demonstrate how it works with me a little more?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯m curious how it would fare against my more traditional training.¡±
An unmistakable twinkle shone in the Fisher King¡¯s eye as he replied.
¡°I would love to.¡±
¡ª
James almost felt bad about agreeing to fight Leo.
He had heard nothing but positives about him from Mina, and Leo had been a perfect partner for the impromptu martial arts demonstration James ended up giving.
But he could feel there was the caveman part of both of them.
They needed to establish who was stronger and tougher, so that a hierarchy could assert itself. Leo probably already knew where he fell, but there was a difference between knowing something and proving it.
I won¡¯t insult your resolve by saying no to spare your physical well-being, James thought. Just have to hold back enough so that I don¡¯t kill you.
As the two men squared off¡ªand some of those in the crowd stopped walking away, interested in this new spectacle¡ªYulia rose from where she sat alongside Mina and the young ones.
Yulia quickly marched into the area for fighting, and James immediately put his hands down and stepped away from Leo, to indicate they should not start just yet.
Leo turned and saw her approaching, and a big grin appeared on his broad face.
¡°What are you two doing?¡± Yulia asked in a quiet but stern voice, looking back and forth between James and Leo.
She really feels like a teacher right now, James thought. He was pleased to see how her potential for the job she wanted was showing even in an unexpected context.
¡°We were just demonstrating some martial arts moves,¡± Leo said in a fake-innocent-not-fooling-anyone tone.
¡°We¡¯re doing dumb guy stuff,¡± James said, laughing as he spoke. ¡°Yulia, you need to chill out. Go back to Mina and the kids, and let us shove each other in the mud.¡±
She opened her mouth to speak, moved the edges of her mouth as if she almost wanted to laugh, then shook her head and looked annoyed.
¡°What does that even mean?¡± Yulia snapped, her tone stern again, giving James a look of rebuke.
¡°It means boys will be boys,¡± Leo said. ¡°We¡¯re bound to do reckless sh¡ªstuff.¡±
James snickered quietly at the curse that Leo had disguised at the last second.
Then Yulia turned to Leo. ¡°You know he kills giant monsters every day, right? With his bare hands? I can¡¯t heal you if you break your neck and die!¡±
James was surprised to see how much emotion showed on her face at the prospect of something happening to Leo. Were those tears pooling at the corners of her eyes?
They really did have a pretty big experience with him. I guess I can¡¯t beat him up too badly¡
¡°Why don¡¯t we forget about this?¡± James suggested.
He put his hand to his mouth as if he was stroking his beard thoughtfully, then used the edge of one razor sharp tooth to bite into his hand and draw a few drops of blood.
Using Monster Generation, he poured some of his energy into the drops of blood and a few beard hairs he plucked as he moved his hand away.
Then James walked toward Leo, who looked slightly embarrassed by the outcome of the conversation with James and Yulia.
As James approached, the beard hairs and blood combined into a tiny Blood Spider. The small cut in his hand was already closed when he reached over to shake Leo¡¯s hand once more.
The tiny spider leaped from James to Leo, unknown to anyone but the two of them, as they shook hands.
¡°Next time I see you, I¡¯ll kick your ass,¡± James said playfully¡ªbut entirely sincerely.
¡°Same to you, Fisher King,¡± Leo replied.
¡°Boys,¡± Yulia said, shaking her head¡ªbut looking subtly triumphant in James¡¯s eyes.
She really believed she had stopped them from fighting.
After the demonstrations, James and Mina took the children back to the apartment, ate, and played some games. A number had been salvaged, both from the apartments that James¡¯s people had scavenged from over the last few weeks, and from more widely scattered sources that James¡¯s various flying monsters were now visiting in source of more supplies.
There were cards, for games of ¡°Go Fish¡± and ¡°War,¡± board games like ¡°Monopoly¡±¡ªwhich James put away for when the children were a little older¡ªand the big favorite of the evening, ¡°Sorry!,¡± which provided Abhi, James, Yulia, and Mina with hours of amusement long after the younger children had tired and succumbed to sleep.
¡°Oh, this is the best!¡± Abhi said giddily.
¡°I think you picked the lucky color,¡± James said, pretending to be slightly annoyed about losing.
¡°I¡¯m going to be lucky every time,¡± Abhi said.
¡°Until your little brother and sister are big enough to play with you,¡± Mina replied. ¡°Maybe they¡¯ll be the lucky ones then.¡±
Baby James began fussing in the corner, then, and she excused herself from the next round.
Yulia and James entertained Abhi until the little boy was tuckered out and only wanted a story. And then James read to him from Collected Adventures of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, which was clearly a favorite of Abhi¡¯s. As with the previous time James had read from the book, he found Abhi nodding off toward the end.
He¡¯s never going to know what actually happens with the Green Knight, James thought. Or at least not until he¡¯s older. It¡¯s kind of a morbid story for a kids¡¯ book, anyway, honestly. But it''s a lot of fun to read!
He bid Yulia a good night, went to his room, and found his wife asleep with the baby.
And he smiled.
Perfect timing.
James and Leo met for their sparring match in the most distant corner of the Fisher Kingdom that they could quickly reach, far from prying eyes.
It was completely unnecessary and perhaps even silly, but they both still wanted to do this.
Remembering how Yulia had worried that he would break Leo¡¯s neck, James took it relatively easy on the older man. He used mainly Leo¡¯s own body weight against him, nerfing his own supernatural strength so that the punches that would have normally burst Leo¡¯s skull instead merely bruised his cheek.
Then Leo surprised him.
Every punch had more weight than James would have expected from a fairly low-level pre-Race Evolution human. The kicks and throws were skillful.
James was no judge of martial arts skill from a pre-System perspective, but from where he was sitting¡ªor, more accurately, from where he had been thrown¡ªLeo was actually a good fighter.
Being good wasn¡¯t enough.
James could dodge any attacks he wanted to, shift his weight from one body part to another with incredible ease and quickness, and use just the right amount of force applied in just the right place to take Leo off balance and put the other man on his ass.
Fighting a normal martial arts spar with Way of the Predator was a bit like taking a test to which he had all the answers.
If I didn¡¯t have that, I¡¯d just have to beat the crap out of him with brute force, James thought. But it feels like kind of a shame that I¡¯m not a real martial artist. Leo has something here. He must have cared about martial arts alongside his police job before all this. If he can refine this into a System-recognized fighting Skill, that would be a pretty special achievement.
Finally, Leo collapsed to the ground in a sweaty heap and didn¡¯t get up again.
¡°Uncle,¡± he said breathlessly. ¡°You win.¡±
¡°You impressed me, too, Leo,¡± James said.
¡°I guess I understand why you¡¯re the King now,¡± Leo replied, smiling and shaking his head.
¡°That is my Job,¡± James replied. ¡°I heard you got a police chief Job, or something along those lines.¡±
¡°Yeah. My Status says ¡®Chief of Police (Orientation)¡¯ with the word ¡®Orientation¡¯ in parentheses. I think a jurisdiction is supposed to go in that space. But being Chief of Police in Orientation is useless now¡ª¡± He began to laugh quietly¡ª¡°and the Orlando Police Department is gone! So I don¡¯t even know if it means anything.¡±
¡°It means the System recognized you had the experience and ability to do the Job,¡± James said evenly. ¡°The question is, is that something you might be interested in doing for me?¡±
V4Ch15-The Education System
On the morning after the martial arts demonstration, Mina accompanied James to a big meeting on a subject close to his heart.
He seems more serious than usual, she thought as they walked in silence to the community center, where the meeting was to take place.
She knew that as far as James was concerned, this would be the first major new initiative that he had set in motion since he established the basic necessities within the Fisher Kingdom: food, water, shelter, and security.
The next step was to get an education system going. This would hopefully prepare the children of the Fisher Kingdom to be of use to the state, give them a similar foundation in basic subjects to what they would have received prior to the System¡¯s appearance, and free more of the adults¡¯ time for work and training.
James had already ordered the construction of a schoolhouse, to be attached to the community center, though this project was down in the priorities list behind constructing additional housing in anticipation of more new arrivals over the next few weeks.
The meeting convened on time, seated at the same table where James had council meetings. The dozen invitees had identified themselves as former school employees: teachers, school administrators, a principal, and a school board member.
This was the Education Commission. They represented themselves and two dozen additional people who were not present. Their constituents were current or former teachers, as well as those who had volunteered to become teachers, including Yulia.
As Mina sat down to James¡¯s right hand, she observed that eight out of the twelve commission members were women, and the head they had chosen was a serious-looking older woman named Griselda Diaz. It was a very different group than the Construction Commission or the Sewer Commission with whom she had attended meetings over the preceding weeks.
¡°Your Majesty,¡± said Griselda, inclining her head in a slight bow.
¡°Thank you all for coming this morning,¡± James said. He made eye contact first with Griselda and then with each of the commission members in turn. He turned back to Griselda. ¡°Let¡¯s begin?¡±
Obviously slightly nervous, she cleared her throat, then drew a sheaf of papers out of her Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions.
¡°The curriculum we have prepared over the last week is based on the existing Florida education system¡¯s materials, as you ordered, sir¡¡±
Griselda began going through the areas where the new curriculum deviated from the old. As suggested by James, there was physical education for all age levels, to be supplemented by fighting instruction and weapons training for the older teens, including training in magic for those with relevant Skills. They had added a course of study for all age groups on comparative religions, since the world they lived in now was full of gods from many different cultures. Instruction in foreign languages was eliminated, because the System had eliminated language barriers for all of humanity.
It really feels as if we¡¯re a governing authority, Mina thought, slightly stunned.
James seemed less impressed.
¡°That¡¯s all good,¡± he said as the commission chair finished explaining the modifications. ¡°Sounds like good work from all of you. But there was another thing I wanted you to work in, if you remember?¡±
Griselda winced and nodded. ¡°I understand, sir. There were some objections from a few members. I have included my proposals in the document¡ª¡± She held up the sheaf of papers again¡ª¡°but some points were raised in our commission meeting about academic freedom.¡± Griselda looked as if she did not agree with whatever academic freedom based objections had been made, but she felt bound to present them nonetheless.
¡°What was the nature of the objections?¡± James asked, frowning.
Griselda opened her mouth to speak again, but Mina beat her to it.
¡°Is there someone else who agrees with the objections who might be willing to explain them?¡± she asked.
Another commission member, a school administrator, raised her hand.
¡°You can go ahead, Danielle,¡± James said quietly.
Oh, she was the other one who wanted to be the chair of the commission, wasn¡¯t she? Mina remembered that James had dealt with education on one of the days when he was almost incapacitated from blessing people, and he had mentioned a commission member with an inflated sense of self-importance.
¡°We just had some questions about your request for patriotic instruction, I think it was,¡± Danielle Kaine said. She gave a slightly nervous smile. ¡°We thought, surely¡ª¡±
¡°We who?¡± James asked. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind telling me. Or at least, how many ¡®we¡¯s¡¯ is this? Are we going to need another meeting to address more people?¡±
¡°Um, just a few people, honestly. I¡¯m sure if we had asked teachers about it, some of them would have agreed with us.¡±
Oh, so this is an objection that Danielle and some other administrators had? Mina was aware that James had asked the commission to inculcate a sense of patriotism in the children. Patriotism as citizens of the Fisher Kingdom meant that they would be raised to get along with the nonhuman citizens of the country and would understand the importance of fighting for the security of their homes. She did not understand why anyone would object.
Maybe if Yulia was one of the commission members, we would have had a heads up about this disagreement.
¡°Go on, then,¡± James said.
¡°We wondered if this might not be an imposition on academic freedom. Telling the teachers what to say, in terms of a point of view. If a teacher doesn¡¯t agree with, um, ¡®patriotic instruction¡¯¡ª¡±
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¡°Then that teacher shouldn¡¯t be teaching,¡± James interrupted. ¡°We live in a post-apocalyptic landscape. That¡¯s a lack of common sense.¡±
¡°You remember that we were attacked in the last week, don¡¯t you?¡± Mina asked.
¡°That¡¯s right,¡± James agreed, warming to this subject. ¡°We got attacked by two different Races, controlling their own territories, in the last two weeks. The threat of invasion is going to be a constant sword hanging over our heads here. If there are any teachers who don¡¯t understand the importance of national defense¡ªand therefore of measures to increase a sense of patriotism and national unity¡ªthey clearly don¡¯t have their priorities straight.¡±
Danielle¡¯s expression looked as if she had bitten into a lemon. ¡°Of course, sir,¡± she said after a moment, looking at him and glancing for just a fraction of a second at Mina. ¡°And if someone brings up the First Amendment or something, I¡¯ll just say what?¡±
¡°There¡¯s no First Amendment here,¡± James said bluntly. ¡°Not that I didn¡¯t love it while it was operative. But the United States no longer exists. It¡¯s not ¡®God Bless America,¡¯ it¡¯s ¡®gods-that-we-know-definitely-exist, please bless the Fisher Kingdom,¡¯ now. And even when the State of Florida was in charge of education here, there were always state educational requirements. Teachers never had the privilege to just teach whatever they felt like. I wonder if any teacher in this state would have dared to say they didn¡¯t have to teach evolution just because their religion didn¡¯t agree with it. I¡¯ll bet that they would¡¯ve been assigned to a different subject, or maybe out of a job, unless they were in some religious school.
¡°Well, now, I am the state. You must abide by all my requirements if you wish to work in my schools. Otherwise, we still need plenty more hunters and farmers. I don¡¯t ask for these things out of ego. I have a larger purpose in mind, which should be one of your purposes also: the preservation of our country. Our security has to come first, before half-baked conceptions of academic freedom. It¡¯s not like we have a university here. When we have a college set up here, with professors trying to do controversial research or something, then we can talk about academic freedom. This is way too early to worry about that.¡± He glanced at Griselda and offered a small smile. ¡°Respectfully, I hope this is the last I¡¯ll hear of this. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll have plenty of rebellion from the students themselves, but I need all of us to be on the same program. Okay?¡±
You sound like King Louis the Fourteenth, skapi, Mina thought. They won¡¯t dare to disagree with you, even if they feel differently.
On the one hand, the way he was taking charge was attractive. Authority looked good on James. On the other hand, she doubted he was changing any minds today.
She didn¡¯t mind the look on Danielle¡¯s face, though. The school administrator and Griselda both bowed their heads, Danielle with an extremely nervous expression.
¡°Of course, Your Majesty,¡± they said almost simultaneously.
¡°Very good,¡± James said. He turned to each of the other commission members, made eye contact with them one by one, and told them, ¡°Keep up the good work.¡±
¡°Yes, Your Majesty,¡± they said in a chorus.
¡°I¡¯ll take a look at your proposal on patriotic instruction,¡± he said, looking at Griselda.
The older woman gave a smile that Mina thought was genuine, as if she was proud of her work, and she handed over a few of the papers she had been holding onto. Mina saw that they were written out by hand in a small, neat cursive script.
James put the documents in his Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions.
Then James rose and pulled out Mina¡¯s chair for her, and they left.
¡°That was something else,¡± Mina said once they were out of earshot. She couldn¡¯t keep from grinning. ¡°My big, scary monarch. What got into you with those poor teachers?¡±
James snorted and shook his head. ¡°It wasn¡¯t the teachers, that was the thing. It was the school administrators. They think they should be running the schools themselves. It¡¯s only Danielle and two or three of her closest friends. Complete dead weight. I¡¯d sooner put the children in charge. A hundred years ago, that woman¡¯s job did not exist. It¡¯s completely unnecessary to have someone like her looking over the shoulders of the teachers, let alone second-guessing me.¡±
I knew you weren¡¯t a fan of the public education system, but it¡¯s interesting to see how it affects you in this situation, where you¡¯re in charge of everything, Mina thought.
¡°I thought you made good points in there, but you know you didn¡¯t change her mind at all, right?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t need her to agree with me,¡± James said. ¡°I only need compliance. If the teachers refuse to teach the material I need them to, I¡¯ll just replace them. The patriotic instruction is the most important element of the whole thing. The fact that she didn¡¯t intuitively grasp that tells me that Danielle will never be very useful to me. Historically, education has always been about preparing people to be good citizens. She obviously has no idea about that. If I told her that, it would probably shock her as much as anything else I said. And once a generation has passed, we¡¯ll have teachers who believe in protecting their country intuitively, without me needing to threaten them with termination. Until then, I just need to keep the educators in line.¡± He shook his head. ¡°You know, I never need to pull rank on the other committees. They understand what we¡¯re here to do.¡±
¡°You sounded like an old-fashioned king,¡± Mina said, her tone playful. ¡°¡®I am the state.¡¯ Very absolute. Very Louis the Fourteenth. More Sun King rather than Fisher King.¡±
¡°Yeah,¡± James said, chuckling. ¡°Well, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to manage education a little more like I¡¯m in the old Soviet Union, honestly. I¡¯m pretty sure at least one of the leaders of the French Revolution was a teacher. People who talk for a living can wind up getting some pretty dangerous ideas¡ªand an inflated sense of their own importance. Can¡¯t afford to have any of these teachers thinking they can undermine the state in their classrooms. The classroom is not their personal fiefdom.¡±
Mina thought the teachers she had grown up with had all thought their classrooms were their personal fiefdoms, and she said so.
¡°Like I said, we¡¯re going to a different place and time with this,¡± James said, his expression turning more somber. ¡°I need to create a group identity that unifies us all, including a sense of loyalty to this country and to me personally.¡± He stared her in the eyes. ¡°If we want to make this kingdom into a dynasty, rather than a one-off, we need to educate the people on just how much they need us. If we fail at that, the likelihood isn¡¯t that they miraculously recreate a republican form of government after they topple the tyrant. It¡¯s that anarchy breaks out, and they get eaten by a pack of monsters. People think democratic governance is much easier than it actually is.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t have to sell me on any of this,¡± Mina replied evenly, her lips curling slightly at the edges. ¡°I like empire-building James. I don¡¯t want to go back to democracy, as long as you¡¯re the King. I just want things to go as smoothly for us as they can.¡±
¡°I know,¡± he said, smiling back at her. ¡°I¡¯m just letting you know why education is the one area besides national defense where I will absolutely be as authoritarian as I need to be. It¡¯s the most important for shaping the will of the people.¡±
¡°I think they¡¯ll do what you say,¡± Mina said. ¡°But I would watch them, early on, if you can afford to spare a few monsters to sit in classrooms.¡±
¡°That¡¯s a good idea,¡± James said. ¡°Intimidation is one thing, but it¡¯s better to have surveillance too.¡±
Mina nodded. ¡°Sounds like a plan. Did we have any other meetings planned for today?¡±
¡°We¡¯re going to kill two birds with one stone,¡± James said. ¡°Let¡¯s go see my Mom.¡±
V4Ch16-Back to the Lab
¡°Welcome back to my laboratory, son,¡± Zora said, smiling brightly. She turned to Mina and added, ¡°Good to see you, too, Mina!¡±
Mina offered her usual small smile in return. Zora thought she looked a bit nervous, though that wasn¡¯t out of the ordinary in her experience.
I can have that effect at times. Worse now than it was before all this System stuff. Whoops¡
James and Mina followed Zora into her workspace. She led them down the same dark path she had taken James along days previously, when she showed him what she was up to.
¡°To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?¡± Zora asked cheerily as they walked.
¡°I figured Mina and I could use a private space to practice some new Skills,¡± James said. ¡°And I wanted to take the opportunity to ask you some questions about our new guest. You seemed friendly with him. What can you tell me?¡±
Zora frowned. ¡°Not much,¡± she replied honestly. ¡°It¡¯s better not to talk about him if we don¡¯t have to. I know it doesn¡¯t make much sense, and I¡¯m being more cryptic than I would prefer. He¡¯s someone we can trust. That¡¯s all I can say. His goals are aligned with ours.¡±
James sighed, and Zora knew immediately that answer had not been good enough.
¡°Mom, I trust you, but my responsibilities are pretty big now,¡± he said. ¡°I need to know if this guy is a threat. My goals are multifaceted and shifting. If they become unaligned with his¡ª¡±
¡°They won¡¯t,¡± Zora interrupted. ¡°But don¡¯t take my word for it. Let events play out a little. Time always reveals the truth about people.¡± She turned and made eye contact with James. ¡°I know how you are, because you take after me. You make your judgments quickly, and it¡¯s hard to get you to change your mind. But the one in the mask¡ªum, ¡®Bear¡¯¡ªisn¡¯t like any person you¡¯ve ever met. In time, you will come to agree with me on him. I know that.¡±
¡°Is he like someone you¡¯ve met?¡± Mina interjected. ¡°He¡¯s not like anyone James or I have ever met. But is he like anyone else we might think about for comparison?¡±
Zora offered a half smile. ¡°Your wife is clever, son,¡± she said. ¡°The one in the mask is like someone I have encountered. Perhaps someone each of us has encountered. But I might be saying too much already. It¡¯s better for all concerned if I don¡¯t speak in more direct terms.¡±
James appeared to be a combination of amused and bemused at the roundabout answer. He shook his head and smiled thinly, looking back and forth between his mother and his wife.
¡°All right, Mom,¡± he said. ¡°You win for now. I¡¯ll let things play out for at least another day or two. Next question. Will you be at our council meeting tomorrow?¡±
¡°Of course, my favorite son,¡± Zora replied. She turned to Mina. ¡°Which side of James will you be sitting on?¡±
¡°The right,¡± Mina said.
¡°Then I¡¯ll take the left.¡±
Mina¡¯s expression was hard for Zora to read, but she nodded in agreement. I feel like we¡¯re on the same page. Mina understood my clues right away. Smart cookie. She looked at James.
We¡¯ll just have to drag him toward the correct understanding of what¡¯s going on. We can¡¯t alienate the masked figure¡ªunless I¡¯m just wrong about who he is. I could be wrong about his identity, technically, but I really don¡¯t know how. He gave me every clue, and I confirmed as best I possibly could¡
Zora led them to the wide open space where she had worked on the bodies before. Now none of them were out in the open. In anticipation of possible visitors, and given that her work was done, she had asked the undead to put themselves away in the large earth-magic-constructed drawers that lined the wall.
¡°Now you have room to practice,¡± Zora said. ¡°Is there anything else I can get you guys? Maybe a cup of tea?¡±
¡°We¡¯re okay, Mom,¡± James said, smiling brightly. She noticed for the first time that his teeth were shinier than she had ever remembered seeing them before. The Evolution the System had afforded him seemed to be treating him very well.
Zora turned away, planning on leaving the kids to their training. Then an idea struck her.
She turned back. ¡°James, you have the Skill Transfer ability, right?¡±
He nodded.
Zora turned to Mina. ¡°And you had a Skill for copying powers that you see used more than once?¡±
¡°Yes,¡± Mina said. She sounded nervous. Zora guessed that Mina knew exactly what she was about to suggest.
¡°I was actually just about to show her some of my magic Skills, so that she could copy them,¡± James added.
¡°That¡¯s a wonderful idea,¡± Zora said. ¡°I was just thinking, I want to add my Death Magic Skill to the pile.¡±
¡°I would really never use that Skill,¡± Mina began, a slightly nervous expression creeping over her face.
¡°Which is why you could transfer it to James!¡± Zora finished.
Mina let out a sigh and looked uncomfortable. ¡°All right,¡± she said after a moment. ¡°As long as I don¡¯t have to see too much to get it, I guess that¡¯s okay.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll try to keep it to the minimum necessary,¡± Zora said.
Poor Mina. Sorry, your Skill is too useful not to be applied here.
¡°That¡¯s assuming you actually want the Skill, James,¡± Mina added, clearly trying not to infuse any emotion into her voice. ¡°Otherwise, this would just be a waste of time.¡±
¡°I do want the Skill, Mina,¡± James replied instantly. ¡°I¡¯d rather that you not have to watch my Mom use it for me to get it, but this is definitely one of the most useful Skills I can imagine acquiring.¡±
Zora nodded. ¡°Given that you¡¯ve mentioned you have Soul Magic already, you should be able to create some powerful undead. Or any of a thousand other uses.¡±
¡°Okay, let¡¯s go,¡± Mina said softly. She sounded a bit like she was volunteering to be shot.
So Zora took pity on her.
¡°Why don¡¯t you stand at one end of the room, and I¡¯ll stand at the other and cast there, so you at least don¡¯t have to see anything up close?¡± she said. ¡°Or smell anything.¡±
¡°Yeah,¡± Mina said, her expression slightly less disgusted. ¡°That sounds good. Thanks.¡±
So Mina moved to one corner, and Zora stood at the other. James stayed beside his wife for the next ten minutes, while Zora brought back dead rats, a skunk, and a cat someone had once buried nearby.
¡ª
Well, that could have been worse, I guess, Mina thought once the magic lesson from Zora was over. I acquired the Skill, and I can tell James actually wants it. He¡¯d better use it.
¡°I knew you were tough,¡± said Zora. A part of Mina wanted to hear it as patronizing, but she forced herself to admit it was probably a genuine effort at a compliment.
¡°Thanks,¡± Mina said. ¡°I really appreciate you doing it as far away from me as you could. I know James will use the Skill.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll just get out of your way, then, so you guys can practice,¡± Zora said. She came up to Mina and gently squeezed her arm.
Mina felt the affection in the gesture, but she immediately shook her head.
¡°Thank you, but you can stay here. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll stick in this space. I can¡¯t imagine being able to focus much longer in this setting. I hope you understand.¡±
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A musty smell of death and decay hung in the air, thick and nauseating. She did not quite get how Zora and James could both stand it. Well, Zora, maybe. Her Class was Necromancer. She might have some kind of resistance to unpleasant aromas.
But didn¡¯t James have superhuman senses? The pervasive wasting odor in here should be wreaking havoc with his senses, yet somehow he looked his usual self.
¡°Of course,¡± said Zora, looking slightly sad.
Mina almost felt bad about leaving, except that she could barely breathe in this space.
¡°Next time, let¡¯s all spend time together in the home you guys were kind enough to build for me,¡± Zora added, visibly brightening. ¡°Bring the children, too! I¡¯ll make sure to wash the smell of death away, and we can have a nice meal together, as a family.¡±
¡°That would be nice,¡± James said. He shot a quick glance at Mina, and she spoke up too.
¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°We would love that. And James Junior needs to get to know his grandma.¡±
Zora looked delighted at that idea.
And on that cheery note, Mina and James departed.
Once they were outside, they walked toward the woods that James had just incorporated into the territory. With James¡¯s skin creatures having exterminated all the remaining Wraiths, there were no longer inhabitants in that area. It was the perfect place for them to practice new Skills in secret.
More pressingly, Mina finally felt that she could breathe again.
She sucked in deep, delicious gulps of air that only became less subtle the further they drew away from Zora¡¯s underground lair¡ªfor that was the only word that came to mind when Mina thought of that creepy place.
¡°Was it really that bad?¡± James asked after a couple of minutes of this, pausing in their walk.
¡°I don¡¯t know how you could stand it,¡± Mina replied, still inhaling deep breaths. ¡°I don¡¯t want to ever go inside that place again. It feels like the sort of chamber where, in an old movie, the villagers would show up with their torches and pitchforks, because they discovered the mad scientist has been conducting experiments on human corpses and raising the dead.¡±
¡°Well, that¡¯s not inaccurate,¡± James said, shrugging.
¡°It doesn¡¯t bother you at all?¡± Mina asked.
James looked around carefully before he responded. There was no one nearby.
¡°If it did, I wouldn¡¯t have let her raise the people who died in the Haunted Forest,¡± he said. ¡°Remember, we¡¯re just doing what we need to do. What¡¯s best for the Fisher Kingdom. Mom understands that, too. She¡¯s not digging up random people to experiment on. You saw what she had to demonstrate with in there. Just animals.¡±
¡°Like I said, just don¡¯t ever let anyone do something like that to me. If I die, let me stay dead.¡±
People say ¡°Rest in Peace¡± for a reason, skapi.
¡°What¡¯s gotten into you?¡± James asked. ¡°Of course I¡¯m not going to let her turn you into one of the undead. But you know the plan is for neither of us to die¡ª¡±
¡°Your plan,¡± Mina interrupted. ¡°That¡¯s your plan. I never agreed to do eternal life. That sounds like way too much life for one person.¡±
¡°So you told me,¡± James said, clearly stung by her words.
Silence reigned for almost thirty seconds.
¡°Is there something else on your mind?¡± James asked finally.
Some reason why you¡¯re acting this way right now, she knew he meant.
¡°You seem younger when she¡¯s around,¡± Mina said, not entirely sure why she was saying it. Aware that she might be picking a fight. ¡°Eager to please. Sometimes, when she¡¯s away, I forget about that side of you. Then it comes back when she¡¯s here.¡±
James gave her an annoyed look with a raised eyebrow, as if to say, Not only do I not like what you¡¯re saying, but I also don¡¯t think you have a point.
Mina started walking again, then stopped when she realized James wasn¡¯t following her. He was just standing, watching, staring at her, frowning. Waiting.
She sighed and walked back to him. ¡°You¡¯re not a mama¡¯s boy, James. It¡¯s just¡ªwhen she¡¯s here, I feel like you let her steer the way things go.¡±
It was hard for her to describe exactly what she meant, but she felt this experience had repeated itself more than once.
¡°I think you¡¯d like to be the only woman who influences me,¡± James said quietly, smiling thinly.
¡°Maybe,¡± Mina admitted. ¡°I¡¯m happy to follow your lead. I don¡¯t want to wind up following hers.¡±
¡°We¡¯re not following her lead, though,¡± James said, his expression guarded. ¡°The only reason I let her have her way on the masked man was because you and my Mom looked like you were doing some kind of telepathic thing, communicating with subtext that I couldn¡¯t grasp.¡±
¡°That¡¯s not really what I meant, specifically.¡± But examples of James letting his mother push him around seemed to be very thin on the ground right now. Mina wasn¡¯t the type of person who was always putting away grievances to bring up later. ¡°You did let her have her way on the Death Magic lesson, though.¡±
¡°It wasn¡¯t letting her have her way,¡± James said. ¡°It was me getting my way. She was offering to teach you a Skill that I could take from you. A Skill I think will be very useful in combination with my existing arsenal. You asked me what I wanted at the time. I wanted that Skill.¡±
¡°Fine, fine, you¡¯re right,¡± Mina said, quickly tiring of the conversation.
¡°I am sorry I put you through having to observe Death Magic being used, though,¡± he said. ¡°And I get what you¡¯re saying. If there¡¯s a power behind the throne, you want it to be you.¡±
Mina smirked. That was a good way of putting it, honestly.
¡°Well, I think she might think it¡¯s her,¡± she said. ¡°I don¡¯t want my husband to listen to any woman ahead of his wife.¡±
¡°I won¡¯t,¡± James said. ¡°I intend to take care of Mom, but she¡¯s just one of the voices I¡¯m going to consider. You¡¯re always going to be first for me. But¡¡±
¡°But what?¡±
¡°But I¡¯m not ready to put her on an ice floe and watch her float away, you know what I mean?¡±
Mina giggled at the mental image those words conjured.
¡°You¡¯re lucky you''re cute,¡± she said finally. She looped her arm with his. ¡°Come on and take me into the woods and train me, before I decide to wander off by myself and get into trouble.¡±
James shook his head. ¡°I know that training in the woods is literally what we¡¯re about to do, but why does it sound so sexual when you say it?¡±
¡°Because you have a dirty mind, skapi,¡± Mina replied, shaking her head solemnly.
Though that interpretation did occur to me as soon as I said it.
¡°I have a dirty mind? You¡¯re the one making suggestive comments.¡±
¡°I can¡¯t help that you interpret my innocent comments that way. Anything I say, you tell me it¡¯s sexual. I was just a sweet, virtuous girl when you found me. If I¡¯ve been corrupted in any way, it¡¯s your fault. You¡¯ve introduced me to this world of sin.¡± She shook her head and made her best put-upon wife face, trying to convey the thought, Poor me, my husband thinks nothing but lustful thoughts.
He swatted her behind, producing a little yelp.
¡°Fine,¡± he said, ¡°I¡¯ll take you into the woods and train you.¡± He added, in a grumbly undertone, ¡°In a completely non-sexual way, since you insist.¡±
The founding couple of the Fisher Kingdom walked together to an empty, wooded part of the Fisher Kingdom, and they did, in fact, train.
Some aspects of the training were more successful than others.
Mina¡¯s Quick Study allowed her to pick up Basic Elemental Magic: Gravity, Basic Non-Elemental Magic, Illusion Magic, and Soul Magic by watching James demonstrate those abilities for an hour. She already had the other magical Skills in James¡¯s arsenal.
And Mina transferred Death Magic to James with no problem. His Skill Transfer ability did not seem to have noticeable drawbacks. At least James did not appear weakened by using it.
Mina suggested he might want to try assisting others using the Skill, and James agreed, though he said he was still deciding whether to keep it secret to any degree.
When she tried to teach him her Quickened Spellcasting Skill, half an hour of effort appeared to yield very little progress. It became clear that he would need to meditate on the method alone for hours, or perhaps days, before he acquired the Skill. So they cut that practice short for the moment.
The big disappointment was when Mina tried to use James¡¯s basic attacks. His Air Strike, Lightning Strike, and Meteor Strike were almost completely ineffective when she used them.
Her Air Strikes ended up leaving thin, shallow scars on trees. Her Lightning Strike and Meteor Strike each left a blackened mark on the trunk of the tree she tried them on, and she hurt her hand doing that small amount of damage.
She was able to use Way of the Predator and spar with James, but it was clearly much less effective than it had been when James demonstrated it the previous day. Though they had some fun grappling, it was ultimately a very unsuccessful experiment.
¡°It¡¯s your physical stats,¡± James said finally. He looked slightly annoyed as he spoke, but not at her. His mind was on someone else. ¡°I think that Bear fellow was right. We¡¯re going to have to take you to train against other enemies, so you can level and get points to throw into the physical. Otherwise, none of these more physical attacks will be useful at all. Martial arts will help you in a fight with someone in your own weight and Strength class, but it can¡¯t help a ninety-pound weakling beat a gorilla in a fight.¡±
Mina nodded, not taking offense at being compared to a ninety-pound weakling. She knew the differential between her Strength and James¡¯s was massive, and she could tell how much he had restrained himself while they were practicing Way of the Predator, so he would not harm her in any way.
¡°I¡¯ll look forward to fighting alongside you,¡± she said, smiling and looking him in the eyes affectionately. ¡°Take good care of me!¡±
¡°Of course I will.¡± He smiled. ¡°We¡¯ll start after tomorrow¡¯s council meeting, if that works for you.¡±
¡°It does, as long as we don¡¯t take too long. Right about now, for instance, I¡¯m pretty sure Junior wants to be fed.¡±
James nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll keep that time limitation in mind. Let¡¯s get back, then. And tomorrow, we''ll go and invade some hostile territory!¡±
He sounded so excited that Mina was carried along and became more interested too. She had done almost no monster-slaying in her short time initiated into the System.
Maybe it would be fun.
V4Ch17-A Conflict of Visions Part 2
The third day after the masked man¡¯s arrival began.
James and Mina fed their children and descended from the royal apartment for a council meeting.
Today was the day that they were to address the religious group¡¯s continued residence.
The previous evening, James had requested Cyrus¡¯s presence.
[Cyrus, I hope you and your group have had enough time to come to a decision on whether you want to stay or go. Tomorrow, we are having a special council meeting to discuss your situation. I would appreciate it if you would bring anyone else from your group who you think ought to participate in the discussion.]
Cyrus chewed his lip for a moment thoughtfully. James was watching him with his powers, waiting for an answer.
¡°You can hear me, can¡¯t you, Fisher King?¡± Cyrus said finally.
[Yes.]
There¡¯s no point in denying it, he thought. It would certainly make conversation inconvenient, if I had to pretend not to hear his responses. And if he does end up staying, he¡¯ll remember that I lied when he figures out that I can, in fact, see and hear at a distance. James assumed everyone would know that eventually.
Cyrus shivered slightly, but his expression looked pleased, as if he was happy to know that James could spy on everyone. James found it creepy. Even he felt ambivalent about this power. It would be good for the security of the state that he was building, but he had read 1984 and had more than his share of skepticism of mass surveillance. He knew he would have to behave with more restraint than anyone would expect of him if he was not to abuse this power.
Then Cyrus¡¯s lips moved silently. James read the words, ¡°I bet you can see me, too¡± on his lips.
James didn¡¯t acknowledge that. Cyrus could speculate about the extent of James¡¯s abilities all he wanted. James didn¡¯t intend to lie about them. But he certainly didn¡¯t have any intention of playing ¡°Twenty Questions¡± with this Prophet.
¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Cyrus said aloud. He smiled thinly. ¡°¡®Render unto Caesar,¡¯ as they say. We will comply with your command.¡±
It felt ominous to James, the way this man was citing religious authority to explain his decisions. Perhaps James was paranoid, but the rest of that quotation sprang immediately to mind.
¡°Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar''s, and unto God the things that are God''s.¡±
The following morning, as James and Mina walked into the community center hand in hand, James saw that Cyrus had brought more than just a few members of his group to the meeting. Most of the seats in the community center were filled. James was reminded that he intended to enlarge the building at some point.
What is that, all the men? There were only a few women present, and they were all older ladies, most dressed as if going to church. Wait, no, there are some of the men absent too.
Only one of the Galts was present, the father. There were probably other males absent, too, but that was the family James was most familiar with out of the visitors.
He had occasionally used his powers to check in on them over the last few days. He had been pleased to observe that they seemed to be enjoying the Kingdom and had even volunteered to help out in the fields, along with some others from their group.
¡°I see you brought a lot of guests,¡± James said as soon as he saw Cyrus.
¡°Only the heads of household,¡± Cyrus replied. ¡°Tragically, however, many of our number are the last surviving members of their families.¡±
That is a tragedy, James thought. Something my citizens are also familiar with, I think. Hopefully there will be a baby boom after everything is more settled here, to restore some of our lost numbers.
He remembered that according to the System¡¯s first announcement, somewhere around half the world¡¯s human population, or more, had been killed in Orientation.
¡°We will be fruitful and multiply, of course,¡± Cyrus added.
¡°I take it that everyone who needs to be here from your side is actually here, then,¡± James said.
¡°Yes, sir,¡± Cyrus replied. ¡°We¡¯re ready for you to decide our fate, Your Majesty.¡±
¡°It won¡¯t be just me deciding,¡± James said mildly, looking to seem generous and calm to Cyrus¡¯s followers. ¡°This will be a bilateral process. I didn¡¯t tell you to bring so many, but I¡¯m glad you did. It will make decision making a much quicker and easier process.¡±
¡°Yes, Your Majesty,¡± Cyrus replied, dipping his head slightly. A smile that James read as arrogant crept across the Prophet¡¯s face, and James found himself again having to conceal his distaste for the man.
James turned to walk the rest of the way to the stage and his place at the center of the great table atop it, but Cyrus spoke again.
¡°Is everyone ready on your side?¡± he asked.
James scanned the table for a moment and frowned. Dave, Leo, Luna, Duncan, Magnar, Samuel, Ysabel, and all the various heads of committees were already there. Damien Rousseau was also seated. James had asked him to attend, with the idea that Damien might be trained to function as another military leader alongside Dave. But there was one person missing.
[Mom, are you on your way?]
Even as he sent the message, he could sense that she was just outside the building.
He took a step toward the doors, and they burst open.
There stood his mother.
James raised an eyebrow and exchanged a look with Mina. She looked like she wanted to laugh, but she quickly got control of her expression.
On the last several occasions James had seen her, Zora had worn her normal clothes. Tasteful and functional. Black or gray turtlenecks and jeans, a slightly frilly blouse, or a simple dress. She had clearly managed to keep most of her pre-System wardrobe.
Today, she was dressed¡ªthere was no other way to put it¡ªlike Margaret Hamilton¡¯s Wicked Witch of the West. Everything but the green face paint.
James let go of Mina¡¯s hand and approached his mother, careful to affect calm, as if this was normal. As soon as he was close enough, he leaned over to whisper in her ear.
¡°Mom, what the hell are you wearing?¡± James asked.
¡°What, you don¡¯t like it?¡± she replied.
James pulled back slightly and saw that Zora had donned a mischievous grin.
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¡°As far as pranks go¡ª¡± James began.
¡°I¡¯m just testing,¡± his mother interrupted quietly, her expression turning darker, ¡°whether or not they¡¯ll suffer a witch to live.¡± She wrinkled her nose, leaned in, and added, ¡°It was either me or Mina who was going to have to test this, one way or another.¡±
James deflated slightly. ¡°Yes, well, you could have warned me,¡± he muttered. ¡°I don¡¯t like these kinds of surprises.¡±
¡°Now where would be the fun in that?¡± she asked.
Without another word, Zora stepped forward, where everyone could see her outfit, and with big, ostentatious movements, she crossed the room and seated herself to the left hand of James¡¯s chair.
James glanced at the faces as the religious folk saw Zora¡¯s outfit. He was pleased to note that most of them were indifferent, but slightly dismayed at the minority who looked disturbed and distrustful at the sight of her.
So, there¡¯s not nothing to that idea, exactly¡
He closed the door behind Zora. Then he returned to Mina, took her hand, and walked with her to their seats. His mind was still on the task at hand, deciding whether the religious group should stay in the Fisher Kingdom, but now there was another concern on that subject tugging at him.
How well would these people respect his wife¡¯s authority¡ªor if necessary, his mother¡¯s¡ªif he and possibly Mina were away?
They were both women and could be considered witches¡ªMina¡¯s Class was Witch of Thessaly, while Zora was a Necromancer, but James didn¡¯t think they would make the distinction about who was and was not technically a witch.
Don¡¯t they have Mages in their group? he wondered. He had sporadically observed the group over the last week, but since he had not seen them fighting, and they were mostly wearing street clothes or armor, he wasn¡¯t sure if they had any magic-wielding members besides Healers¡ªwho he suspected would naturally be looked on as different from witches.
¡°Let¡¯s begin the meeting,¡± James said, faking enthusiasm. ¡°I would first like to take in the general view of our guests. Assuming you have the option, who here would like to stay in the Fisher Kingdom? Please raise your hand if you currently want to become a citizen.¡±
Cyrus got up from his seat and started talking almost immediately after James finished.
¡°Your Majesty, there was something I wanted to raise first, on behalf of the group,¡± he said.
But it was too late. More than half of the hands were already raised, though people slowly dropped them as Cyrus spoke.
¡°Go ahead and raise your point, Cyrus,¡± James said. He stroked his beard with one hand, hiding his small smile. He was pleased to know that the majority of Cyrus¡¯s followers were interested in staying. That information reduced Cyrus¡¯s leverage.
¡°We need a leader who is not merely strong, but righteous,¡± Cyrus said.
James raised an eyebrow. Didn¡¯t we kind of go over this when you and I first met?
¡°I am not asking for any sort of specific policy change right now,¡± Cyrus continued, speaking as if James had verbalized his internal question. ¡°Rather¡ªChristopher, would you please bring me the crown?¡±
There was a quiet murmur from among the religious folk at that.
James heard snatches of phrases like, ¡°So soon?¡± and ¡°Is he sure?¡±
So soon for what?! he wanted to know. What crown? What¡¯s going on?
Christopher Smith, who James recalled was Cyrus¡¯s lieutenant, stepped forward with a closed, dark wooden box and handed it to Cyrus. Then Smith sat back down.
¡°I am looking for a declaration, not of personal faith, per se, but of principle,¡± Cyrus said. ¡°I request that the country declare officially its allegiance to the God of the Bible, the Torah, and the Koran¡ªwithout whose favor your great success and prosperity would surely be impossible.¡±
James put a hand to his temple. This damned Prophet¡
No, this was not technically a policy change, but it was perhaps more extreme than any policy change that Cyrus and his acolytes could have asked for. Even where the old United States had adopted policies that seemed clearly inspired by religious belief, it had also always stringently maintained a strict separation of church and state, throughout the 20th and the first half of the 21st Century.
I¡¯m not going to do it, you idiot, he thought. If that¡¯s what you want, you can go straight to Hell.
There was a hot, burning sensation on the back of his ear, and James realized that Hester was receiving a message from the Spider God.
¡°Lord Anansi apologizes for his uncharacteristically long silence on this matter,¡± Hester began. ¡°He has been a bit busy with some matters of cosmic importance¡¡±
At the same time, however, Zora had begun to speak from James¡¯s left side. James gently tapped the side of his neck to signal for Hester to wait a moment. He wanted to be careful of how much he let his mother and Cyrus say to each other. She had already tried to provoke the religious folk with her choice of clothing. With so many of them crammed into the community center, there was a chance of things getting out of control with the wrong¡ªor right, depending on her intentions¡ªwords.
¡°What does it mean to you, to have a leader who respects this demand of yours?¡± Zora was asking. ¡°You say you are not asking for a policy change, but suddenly declaring a religious state seems like a bigger ask to me. Like saying you¡¯re not asking for a nickel, you only want a dollar. And we¡¯re supposed to take it as less of a request, because a dollar weighs less, or something.¡±
James had to suppress the urge to laugh. Wise words.
Cyrus smiled nervously¡ªand, James thought, with thinly disguised dislike.
¡°There is a long history of believers in the one God being persecuted,¡± he began. ¡°Christians in Ancient Rome, Jews and Christians under the Ottoman Empire, and Muslims under Communist China. We have learned it is necessary to have a leader who will take our side.¡± He looked up at James and made steady eye contact. ¡°The Caesars killed Christ, you know. Not directly, but it was under their laws that his actions were deemed criminal. And subsequent Caesars persecuted the Romans¡ª¡±
¡°Until the Romans were taken over by Christianity,¡± Zora finished.
¡°Some people would say that was the beginning of the fall of the Roman Empire,¡± James added.
¡°You have only just founded your country!¡± Cyrus exclaimed. ¡°For the Romans, Christianity undermined their traditional religious beliefs. The situations are entirely different. Europe endured for over a thousand years as an array of Christian states.¡±
Constantly warring with each other over religion, James thought, like the Middle East in modern times.
¡°And for taking that small risk, you would receive a critical advantage in your effort to impose order on this fallen world,¡± Cyrus added.
He opened the wooden box that Smith had handed him with a flourish.
He drew out a thick, golden and jeweled circlet. A crown that looked to be the perfect size and shape for James¡¯s head.
Well, if you had shiny objects to bribe me with, why didn¡¯t you say so in the first place?
¡°The Second Iron Crown,¡± Cyrus said.
James raised an eyebrow. ¡°It looks like gold to me.¡±
¡°Mostly gold, Your Majesty,¡± Cyrus said. ¡°But like the original Iron Crown of Lombardy, it contains an iron nail from the True Cross.¡± He pointed to an iron band running through the center of the crown.
¡°Wow. That is quite something,¡± James said. He wondered what powers the crown came with. And it was easy to picture himself wearing it.
That would mean an unacceptable level of commitment to one god, though. In a world where I know many gods exist, that¡¯s a bad bet.
¡°The item description also states that an eligible wearer can become a Holy King,¡± Cyrus said. ¡°If a Ruler willing to fight for God possesses this, that Ruler could become even more powerful.¡±
You bastard. You knew just what to say all along, didn¡¯t you? Ugh. You¡¯re actually making this hard. At least a little harder than it was.
¡°My council and I will discuss your proposal privately,¡± James said.
Cyrus smiled. He seemed to think he had won James over.
¡°In the meantime, I would ask that the members of your group discuss what they would do in the event that I refuse,¡± James added. ¡°They must be prepared to give me their decisions in the event of either outcome.¡±
Cyrus¡¯s smile faltered slightly. Then he simply dipped his head.
¡°As Your Majesty commands.¡±
When Cyrus lifted his face again, he seemed firmly back in command of himself.
What a guy, James thought. Even if I don¡¯t like or agree with him, I have to respect the effort and planning. He and I aren¡¯t so different. It¡¯s just that he¡¯s putting his religion at the front of everything, and I¡¯m putting my family first, followed by my country¡ªand then very distantly by the gods.
But he supposed that made all the difference.
V4Ch18-A Conflict of Visions Part 3
As the religious folk filed out to let the King and his council confer, James smiled to himself and rose from his seat.
He moved from the central chair to walk around the edge of the table, trying to make it look like he was pacing. When he thought he was far enough away from the council members not to be heard, he whispered to Hester.
¡°All right, you can finish that thought,¡± he said.
¡°Lord Anansi thinks that you should trust the masked man,¡± Hester said. ¡°¡®At least try to work with him,¡¯ he said. And he fully endorses whatever Bear has to say about the monotheists.¡±
¡°Well, that would be a lot more useful if the masked man was in the meeting,¡± James replied quietly. ¡°But I take his point, and I remember what Bear said. Thank you, Hester.¡±
¡°There is another thing,¡± Hester said. He caught a hint of nervousness in her voice.
¡°What is it?¡± James asked. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry, if you¡¯re thinking I¡¯ll get mad at you for something Anansi said. I know you¡¯re the messenger. If he and I disagree, that¡¯s between me and him.¡±
¡°It¡¯s not something Lord Anansi said. It¡¯s a request from me. I¡¯ve been thinking about how I might be of greater use to you.¡±
So she can be a more integral part of my story? James thought. Clever spider.
¡°What did you have in mind?¡±
¡°Could you teach me to Dreamwalk?¡± Hester asked. ¡°I don¡¯t have a lot of Skills, because I¡¯m relatively young. But I¡¯m a direct descendant of a god.¡± There was an obvious note of pride in her tone. ¡°I should be able to learn the Skill, too. Then I could spy on your enemies, or pacify those who resist your authority, or something¡¡±
Her voice trailed off as if her confidence was petering out as she spoke.
¡°That sounds like a great idea,¡± James said instantly. ¡°Let¡¯s try it out tonight!¡±
¡°Really?¡± Hester sounded excited.
James guessed she must have had this idea on her mind for a while.
She probably waited for a time when she knew I would be paying attention to her anyway, because she didn¡¯t want to bother me or something.
¡°Yes, really,¡± he said. ¡°And feel free to bring up any other ideas like this if you have them. I¡¯m happy to have your help.¡±
¡°Yes, sir!¡±
James¡¯s superhuman senses told him that Hester¡¯s body was performing some strange movements on the back of his ear. He wondered if she was dancing for joy or something, but he didn¡¯t ask. If she was that excited, he would only embarrass her by calling it out.
He turned to look at the door. The last of the religious folk were clearing out, and James watched the last man close the door behind him. It was Tiberius Galt. The man made eye contact with James as the door closed. James thought he saw Galt¡¯s mouth begin to crinkle into a smile.
¡°Hm.¡± James pivoted back to the table. ¡°So, opinions?¡±
¡°Would it be so bad to be officially Christian¡ªer, officially aligned with the God of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, that is?¡± asked Harry Luntz of the Agriculture Commission.
¡°Absolutely ridiculous,¡± muttered Zora.
¡°You were just a little aggressive with them,¡± said Taylor Bunting of the Salvage Commission. She looked at James as if just remembering that she was addressing his mother, and he shrugged.
¡°Aggressive?¡± asked Zora. ¡°I could¡¯ve just cursed that windbag. It¡¯s not too late. I could turn him into a stone, or a dog, or a chair!¡±
A few members of the council looked mildly alarmed, while James, Mina, and a couple of others snickered quietly.
¡°Not too many musical theater fans, then,¡± James observed. He turned to Zora. ¡°Mom, please be serious.¡±
She sighed. ¡°Fine. You¡¯re lucky I didn¡¯t say that stuff to Cyrus¡¯s face, though. I¡¯ve been making light of them, because taking them seriously, they¡¯re a serious problem. They¡¯re trying to make you declare a state religion. What¡¯s next? I anticipate a dangerous armed faction with divided loyalties within your kingdom, Your Majesty. It¡¯s something you can¡¯t afford.¡±
Mina nodded. ¡°I tend to agree. America got along fine without a national religion for centuries. Why do we need one now, when we finally know that there isn¡¯t a right one? It¡¯s just a way to keep the people he brought loyal to him and try to divide others from you.¡±
¡°Thank you both,¡± James said. ¡°I take what you¡¯re saying seriously. I do want to hear other opinions, from outside my family, though.¡± He made eye contact with Dave, who obliged James with an immediate answer.
¡°Outsiders can¡¯t dictate policy to the King,¡± Dave said bluntly. ¡°Cyrus essentially made a demand. You should throw him out. We don¡¯t need special interest groups here. This country is besieged enough from the outside without adding problems within.¡±
Damien spoke up. ¡°James, I don¡¯t speak for anyone but myself here¡ªhell, I¡¯m only here because you invited me today¡ªbut I should tell you I have a blessing from Lycaon. Since that¡¯s not actually another name for the God of the Bible and the Torah and the Koran, I can¡¯t say I¡¯m in favor of you declaring the country in the service of that deity. I¡¯m guessing I¡¯m not the only one who feels that way, because I don¡¯t think I¡¯m the only one who has a non-biblical god¡¯s blessing. Theocracy isn¡¯t what any of us signed up for.¡±
James nodded slowly. ¡°Who else has a non-biblical god¡¯s blessing?¡±
Around half the hands around the table went up. This was no surprise to James. Those who had been elected or selected onto his council tended to be among his more extraordinary followers, and several were former Rulers who had submitted to him.
¡°I have a question, Your Majesty,¡± said Goblin Overlord Duncan.
¡°Go ahead,¡± James said.
¡°What is ¡®theocracy,¡¯ sir? We don¡¯t use that word.¡±
¡°It means rule by the religious class,¡± answered Jeremiah Rotter. ¡°The priests, in other words.¡± He looked at James seriously. ¡°But in this land, only the King can rule.¡±
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¡°I guess that answers my question,¡± said Harry Luntz sheepishly. ¡°Of course there have to be negative consequences. No one offers something for nothing, right? Probably a bad deal for us anyway.¡±
Taylor Bunting nodded seriously as well, though her eyes were on Dave as if it was his words that had persuaded her.
¡°I agree with the wise council¡¯s consensus,¡± said a very recently familiar voice. James began twisting his head back and forth as subtly as he could, looking for where it was coming from. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t give in to their ridiculous demand, especially not when the members of this group are so weak. But neither do I think you can afford to just let them go on their merry way. The question is what to do about them.¡±
Several council members jumped at the sudden and unexpected voice from somewhere in their midst. The eyes of most looked in James¡¯s direction as if he might have some explanation.
James did not meet their eyes at first. He was looking for the speaker amidst the other figures. He quickly found where Bear was. The masked figure had materialized, out of nowhere somehow, standing right behind where James had been sitting.
I have a plan for how I might deal with Cyrus already, James thought. But what the hell am I going to do with you? I know my Mom and Anansi said to trust you, but¡
¡°What would you propose we do, stranger?¡± asked Dave, looking mistrustfully at the masked man. His tone was cold.
¡°I don¡¯t propose anything,¡± Bear said. ¡°I¡¯ll just observe again that this group is weak. There are a few members with decent power, but their collective strength is nothing significant. And it would be a shame if something were to happen to these good, God-fearing, weak people as they travel to their next destination. If they were to be beset by a pack of wolves, for instance.¡±
¡°These are innocent people!¡± exclaimed Bunting.
¡°They are,¡± Mina agreed, though she looked conflicted¡ªas if she was thinking about the possible threat Cyrus¡¯s group might pose in the future and weighing it against their present ¡°innocent¡± status.
¡°I think that¡¯s going a little far,¡± Zora said quietly, giving the masked figure a sharp look. ¡°Even for you. You should understand what people can bear.¡±
¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what we¡¯re willing to bear,¡± said Dave. ¡°Your Majesty, you¡¯re in charge. If you tell me and the soldiers to go and kill these people while they¡¯re on their way through the woods out of here, we¡¯ll do it without a second thought. They pose a real future danger.¡±
¡°Of course you can count on me,¡± said Luna, wagging her tail from her position between Duncan and Samuel. ¡°I never liked the smell of that Cyrus fellow in the first place.¡±
¡°I appreciate all of your thoughts,¡± James said. ¡°I will peacefully and politely reject their request to establish an official state religion. I¡¯m happy to let them build their own church, temple, or mosque, but I¡¯m not interested in declaring my allegiance to one god right now.¡±
Hopefully we¡¯ll never descend into such savagery that a command like the one Dave suggests would be considered normal or acceptable. We¡¯re not cavemen. We had electricity just a few months ago!
He was surprised that Dave was willing to take such violent preemptive action against the non-violent Cyrus and his followers, although not exactly displeased. It was good to have someone so committed leading his troops. The Battle of the Haunted Forest seemed to have had a profound effect on the veteran.
¡°You know that Cyrus fellow is not going to be grateful for that,¡± Bear said. ¡°For him and his ilk, more is never enough. For an offering that small, he won¡¯t even give you that crown. But if you eliminate him, you could always take it by force.¡±
¡°That is not how I am doing things right now,¡± James said forcefully. ¡°I don¡¯t rule out the use of force, even preemptively. But I don¡¯t need to steal from the man, and I sure as hell don¡¯t intend to kill him and his followers over a peaceful religious difference. Thank you again for your advice, Bear. I take what you have to say seriously. But watch yourself. This is my country. If I say there¡¯s not going to be any killing, then there will be no killing.¡±
¡°I tried to warn you,¡± Bear replied, shrugging.
¡°How did this masked guy even get in here?¡± muttered Bunting under her breath.
James shared the sentiment but had little interest in the question. The masked man calling himself Bear was clearly a demon, ghost, spirit, or some other such supernatural being. He did not much care which one for now. The answers would reveal themselves in time. All he needed to know was that Bear was someone to take seriously, but clearly also someone whose advice he had to weigh carefully before taking it.
Premeditated murder of innocent people who had not threatened violence, as Bear proposed, was so far outside the Overton window of the Fisher Kingdom that James knew he had to reject it openly and immediately, even if it had been the right choice practically.
He looked at Rotter. ¡°Would you go and tell them to come back inside, please?¡±
Rotter nodded, rose from his seat, and walked to the doors.
When he opened them, Cyrus¡¯s group began streaming in without further instructions. They must have known immediately that their fate had already been decided.
James felt a strong stirring of sympathy for them. Their plight, if they had to leave his kingdom because of his unwillingness to adopt their faith as the state¡¯s religion, would be biblical. Like the Israelites fleeing Egypt, they would wander through the wilderness and experience danger, privation, and hardship.
But that¡¯s not my choice, he reminded himself. I¡¯m not forcing them to go back out there. If they leave, it¡¯s because they can¡¯t stand not getting their way, not because of anything I did or said.
The monotheists filed into the rows of seats, seemingly looking for the same places where they had been seated before the recess. James waited for everyone to return to their places so that he could speak to the whole group at once.
Last came Cyrus, holding the crown he had offered James with the tips of his fingers, as if worried that he might break it if he clutched it too tightly.
Cyrus was the only one who did not sit down. Instead, he strode into the central aisle and locked eyes with James.
¡°Well, Your Majesty?¡± he asked. ¡°What is your verdict?¡±
¡°The Fisher Kingdom will not be adopting an official state religion at this time,¡± James replied. ¡°I understand that is probably a disappointment to you, but I consider that it would be unfairly exclusionary to all the followers of gods other than yours who reside here.¡± He shifted to the plural pronoun, pulled by some impulse to sound more official. ¡°We are happy to assist you, or any of your group members who intend to stay here, with establishing a house of worship within the Fisher Kingdom. We bear you no ill will, and we would willingly extend the protection of the Kingdom to any member of your group who is willing to take the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s loyalty oath.¡±
There was a long, pregnant pause before Cyrus spoke. He had looked disappointed as James spoke, then amused, and then something else that was hard for James to name. The followers had murmured in disappointed tones, but most looked as if they had expected and already accepted this outcome.
¡°Ah, yes, your oath,¡± said Cyrus. He wore a nasty expression on his face now. Clearly, he wasn¡¯t used to being told ¡°no.¡±
¡°Yes,¡± James said. ¡°It¡¯s a requirement for every citizen.¡±
¡°I¡¯ve heard it spoken,¡± Cyrus replied. ¡°I haven¡¯t been hanging around here doing nothing at all, you know. I¡¯ve been paying attention. Seen your followers lurking about. Heard the way they talk about you. They¡¯re fanatics. Who take an oath to you personally. One that asks that all the gods bless the Fisher Kingdom.¡±
Really. My followers are fanatics? If that isn¡¯t the pot calling the kettle black¡
But James just shrugged. It was an eloquent shrug. He didn¡¯t need to say anything.
¡°This is a take it or leave it thing, then,¡± Cyrus said. ¡°We take your blasphemous oath and agree to our faith in the one true God being equal with all other cults, or we leave.¡±
¡°If you choose to see matters that way, then yes,¡± James said. ¡°The oath is mandatory.¡±
¡°Would you say that we have a disagreement on how best to run a country, Your Majesty?¡± Cyrus asked. His tone was weirdly calmer now. His eyes, locked onto James¡¯s own, looked almost serene. It should have worried James, but he felt calm. Confident. In control.
¡°Based on your insistence on putting religious faith above governance, I would have to say we do, Cyrus,¡± James said.
A great weight suddenly pressed upon the air all around James. Cyrus¡¯s expression turned to a cold smile.
And the whole world turned black.
V4Ch19-Hear No Evil
James found himself suddenly in an unfamiliar ecosystem.
The first thing that struck his eyes was that it was a vast, open space, and brightly lit, as if there was no cloud cover¡ªand little distance¡ªbetween himself and the sun.
Then he blinked, and he realized the reason why there was no cloud cover.
All around him was an open blue sky¡ªhe had noticed that at first glance. And he stood atop a cloud.
Somehow, what should have been only a loose gathering of water vapor supported James¡¯s weight.
Like a cartoon, he thought. I¡¯m above the clouds. On top of one. Impossible. Literally impossible, unless the laws of physics have been overhauled far more than I¡¯d realized.
Just as when he used Compulsion, he was in a different environment with no explanation¡ªand no apparent need for logical consistency to the environment.
James blinked and looked around. He saw that there was so much cloud cover beneath him that if it was all as walkable as where he now stood, he could move as far as he liked. The sun looked as close as it had before he blinked, although he knew that the real distance to the sun must not be very different from what it had been back at ground level, assuming that he was still in Earth¡¯s atmosphere. The clouds were only a handful of miles or so from Earth¡¯s surface at most¡ªperhaps a little further up with the changes to Earth post-System¡ªwhile the sun was tens of millions of miles away.
Still, James felt a meaningfully greater proximity to the sun. He shaded his eyes with his hand as he continued to look around the landscape, searching for landmarks.
Almost all was flat and white.
It felt like no place he had ever been¡ªno place that could be. Yet here he was, apparently alone¡ªor at least he had not seen anyone thus far.
James ran a quick, systematic review of his own body and confirmed that at least that felt like its normal self. He even still wore the clothing he¡¯d had on in the community center, including the Royal Exoarmor, plus the Soul Eater Orb on his wrist in the form of a bracelet.
There you are!
He had spotted Cyrus, sitting with legs criss-crossed, smiling serenely, on a cloud some forty feet away from James. The Prophet had been positioned almost directly behind where James was initially facing.
Now that he knew Cyrus was actually there with him, James'' best guess as to the nature of this place was that it was a sort of battle-of-Wills setting. Perhaps this was like the locations that Compulsion had generated when James struggled with Sister Strange¡ªor the other people he had used the Skill on. Except this was generated by Cyrus¡¯s Skill.
How dare you? The nerve of trying to break my Will in front of so many witnesses¡ I¡¯m going to kick your ass.
That would naturally be the way out of here. And even if it wasn¡¯t¡ªwell, then James would have a good time finding that out.
He took a step forward and was pleased to find that the next cloud over supported his weight.
Then his instincts blared out a warning. There was suddenly a large presence just behind him and slightly to the side.
James whirled¡ªbut there was nothing there.
I know I sensed something, he thought. There¡¯s another presence here. Something that moves faster than me. He turned back to look at Cyrus scornfully. So you¡¯re not fighting me alone, eh? Coward.
There was a whisper directly in James¡¯s ear. ¡°Submit to the will of the Holy One.¡±
The voice reminded him somehow of a crackling flame, like a fireplace from an old movie. In the back of his mind, James noticed that he did not feel the air from someone breathing in his ear, even though the whisper seemed extremely close.
But there was a certain heat from the proximity of whatever had spoken to him.
James spun again, but the figure had moved once more¡ªagain, faster than James¡¯s body could follow. It had not moved completely away, though. Now it stood on the edge of his peripheral vision, as if waiting for him to turn again before it would move once more.
Toying with him.
He remained still for a moment and took in what he could see with just his peripheral vision.
The sight that greeted his eyes was strange. It looked like the being was made of bright orange and white light.
James sent an order to Roscuro, and he was gratified to feel the bracelet on his wrist shift as the Soul Eater began transforming into a long, thin sword. Hopefully that weapon would allow him to more easily strike at this enemy that James could barely keep up with.
He started conjuring Soul Magic, concentrating the Mana in the arm that was not holding the Soul Eater. All was fair in these battles of Will, after all.
Attacking this summoned life form would not kill Cyrus. Probably. Even if it did, who cared? Everyone who mattered would understand that it was self-defense.
¡°Why do you struggle?¡± The voice was somehow in his ear again, and he realized belatedly that the figure of light had disappeared from his peripheral vision even while he was looking right at it. ¡°Submit to the Holy One who loves and watches over you.¡±
¡°Why does he need my submission?¡± James demanded. ¡°And why don¡¯t you hold still and fight like a man?¡±
He whirled to face the figure, and he finally saw the being he was apparently meant to fight.
Its body was more or less what it had appeared to be in his peripheral vision, only more impossible. A pillar of white light twice James¡¯s height that was wreathed in constantly moving and shifting fire. James saw fiery limbs that appeared and disappeared with a flicker. Faces in the flames that alternated between one and several images, shifted between human, animal, and unrecognizable features¡ªand also flickered in and out of existence.
This is so much creepier than I was expecting, was his first reaction.
Compared with Rostov, who had become a Flame Elemental in his dying moments, this thing was far less human-looking. Almost completely alien, with no apparent biological foundation or shape.
Then the setting and the image before his eyes came together, and he thought he understood what he was seeing.
It has to be an angel or something. He remembered that some angels looked like humans, but many did not. James also remembered that the God of the Bible had taken the form of a pillar of fire at some point. He didn¡¯t think this being was a god¡ªit didn¡¯t have that degree of presence, although there was a certain intimidating weight to the pillar that its physical form did not fully account for.
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And Cyrus had claimed to have a connection to the God of the Christians, Jews, and Muslims.
James felt a dense pit form in his stomach. An involuntary awe swept over him. Years of Christian upbringing flooded his mind with verses and images.
¡°He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully.¡±
¡°Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.¡±
¡°My God sent his angel and shut the lions'' mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him¡¡±
James did his best to suppress the sense of awe that threatened to paralyze him.
Can I kill it? Is this even the sort of being that can be killed?
A part of him wanted to know what kind of experience he would get for killing an actual angel, but in his heart, it was hard to take that idea seriously.
¡°Give glory to He who formed the world, and He will show you his loving mercy.¡±
The voice was almost hypnotic, he realized belatedly. He could feel it lulling him. Perhaps it had begun already.
He realized that his sword arm was at his side¡ªWasn¡¯t I holding that up, to attack this thing?
James raised his sword¡ªand a tongue of flame suddenly leaped out from the angel and licked his cheek. James felt its touch, and he thought he could smell the harsh odor of his own flesh burning. But somehow it was painless, like he had been injected with heavy painkillers beforehand. It only felt like a light touch. Almost a caress.
Was it meant as a warning?
Don¡¯t strike at me, or I¡¯ll incinerate you? Something like that?
¡°Submit, and you will receive His favor,¡± the angel said. ¡°Take your rightful place¡ª¡±
¡°That is quite enough of that,¡± said a familiar voice. The heavy sunlight that had remained constant and oppressive dimmed noticeably as a giant figure suddenly rose above both James and the angel, peeking up through the clouds and rising until the whole area around James and the angel lay in shadow. James didn¡¯t need to look to know who it was, but he did.
The titanic, eight-limbed figure of Anansi towered above him, complete with the mask he had worn at his first meeting with James.
¡°You!¡± The calm voice of the angel erupted in anger.
James felt a little of the hypnotic effect of the angel¡¯s voice fading as the ethereal being lost its cool.
But he did not seem to be the entity¡¯s concern anymore.
Although its face remained a flickering blur of flames of different shapes, James distinctly felt the angel¡¯s attention shift toward the new arrival.
Oh, I¡¯ve never been so happy to see a spider before¡ Where the hell did you come from?!
¡°Good to see you, too, Micah,¡± boomed Anansi with a low chuckle.
The mesmeric effect eroded slightly more at the sound of Anansi laughing.
The flames that surrounded the angel¡¯s body in a flickering orange light burst forth suddenly in a torrent that reminded James of a flamethrower, lashing the great figure of the Spider God.
¡°Die, foul one!¡± the angel shrieked, its voice painful to hear.
A little more of the hypnotic effect faded with the complete collapse of the angel¡¯s serenity. James¡¯s cheek began to throb with the burn the angel had left earlier¡ªapparently not so painless after all.
James realized he still had Soul Magic wrapped around his left arm, and he thought this moment, while the angel was distracted, was the perfect chance to strike and help Anansi. Perhaps the only opportunity that he would get. He pointed and aimed, but then he heard a voice in his ear.
¡°Soul Magic is useless here.¡±
¡°Anansi?¡± James croaked, trying to keep his voice relatively quiet.
¡°The very same, James.¡± The voice sounded jovial, almost relaxed.
James felt a small, eight-legged figure standing on his shoulder now, leaning against his neck. It was like having a much larger and more powerful version of Hester with him.
But James did not feel assured of victory, even with his patron beside him.
Even as they spoke, the giant Anansi that stood in front of them was burning.
It was a fake, James thought. That probably means Anansi isn¡¯t certain that we could win a direct fight. But he fooled it. For long enough¡ long enough for what? What¡¯s the plan? Can we win? Do we have to run? How?
¡°They do not have souls,¡± Anansi continued. ¡°Those things are mere tools of their master. Go for the human. He will be the weak link.¡±
Ah.
¡°Right,¡± James breathed. He turned toward Cyrus, and Anansi hopped down off of James¡¯s shoulder.
The last thing James saw, out of the corner of his eye, was what appeared to be Anansi throwing a silk net at the figure of the angel.
There was a sizzling sound, which James guessed was the angel beginning to burn through the silken cords.
Then James was off and running toward the seated figure of Cyrus, who quickly rose from his position on the cloud and moved to flee.
Now you have to fight your own battle, James thought. I might not be able to fight a divine being yet, but I¡¯ll beat the crap out of you!
James reached Cyrus quickly. The other man was limited by the physical stats he had in the real world.
¡°I was just trying to show you the wonder¡ª¡±
James hit Cyrus with a backhanded slap so hard that he knocked him off his feet. Blood trickled from the corner of the Prophet¡¯s mouth.
¡°Did I ask to see it?¡± James growled, kneeling to attack Cyrus where he lay.
Cyrus half-heartedly tried to rise, but James slapped him open-handed this time, and he dropped back down. Then James grabbed him by his shirt front with his left hand, and with his right, he punched Cyrus in the nose.
He heard a satisfying crunch as the nose broke and saw a light gusher of blood spurt from the crumpled cartilage.
¡°Satisfied?¡± spluttered Cyrus through a small river of red.
¡°Shut the fuck up!¡±
James punched Cyrus on the side of the head, then the stomach, then the arm¡ªthe elbow snapped backward under James¡¯s brutal fist.
The Prophet lay there and took it without meaningfully attempting to fight back. The only signs that he was still alive were the cries of pain with each impact, and a low moan whenever James broke a bone.
¡°Okay, fine, get it all out,¡± Cyrus wheezed. His tone was unsettlingly serene, despite the undertone of pain and difficulty breathing. His voice sounded as if James had ruptured one of his lungs. ¡°This isn¡¯t my real body anyway. I get it. You¡¯re not going to be the Holy King we want. I¡¯ll leave. I¡¯ll keep looking.¡±
¡°Not good enough,¡± James growled.
Now that he was in the heat of beating the tar out of Cyrus, every reason he felt for savaging him felt powerful. But one reason, above all else, made him wish Cyrus dead.
He tried to turn me into a puppet, James thought. I¡¯ll never be anyone¡¯s tool, goddamnit!
He gathered aura around himself, no particular Skill in mind, just a goal.
You will never do this again, he thought. Not to anyone. You¡¯ll never come back for revenge. I¡¯ll destroy you here and now.
He locked eyes with Cyrus.
Then James heard words of power being spoken, and he only dimly realized that he was the speaker.
¡°You will never make contact with a spiritual being again, whether it be god, angel, demon, or other ethereal creature. From now on, your world is restricted to your body. You will see no sights, hear no sounds, speak no words, for as long as you live.¡±
The world seemed to hum all around them.
Then Cyrus screamed, and the air around them cracked and shattered like glass.
James blinked and found himself back in the community center, his vision swimming. He was exhausted.
[Required conditions met. Hidden Skill unlocked: Curse of the Fisher King!]
V4Ch20-See No Evil
Mina felt a harsh tension impose itself on the air in the community center.
She saw how Cyrus locked eyes with James, and she realized suddenly that Cyrus was using an ability of some sort. In the fraction of a second before some unknown disaster befell them, she opened her mouth¡ªand it was too late.
Cyrus¡¯s eyes closed, and his body seemed to go limp even as he remained on his feet.
James¡¯s eyes glowed a bright golden color, as it had in the forest on the night they killed the Wraiths¡ªhis eyes seemed to have a permanent golden hue now, which Mina was still getting used to, but they did not always glow. His body simply sat, as still as a statue, in place.
Mina did not shake him or try to get James¡¯s attention at all. She had no idea how this Skill worked, or whether she would make things better or worse if she attempted to interfere. She could only hope that James would be able to power through whatever it was.
She felt helpless.
She looked fiercely around the room, her eyes scanning for traitors or collaborators¡ªanyone who she could take her sudden anger out on. How could these people come into their land and do this to her husband? He was trying to take them in!
Her visual search was unsatisfying.
There were no obvious guilty faces, and no one was looking back at Mina in response to her hawk-like stare. Cyrus¡¯s followers instead stared back and forth between their leader and James as if confused about what was going on.
Perhaps they did not even know that this was an ability of their Prophet¡¯s rather than something that James had done.
If the monotheists were confused, the council was mildly panicked.
¡°Is the King being assaulted?¡± asked Rotter in a harsh whisper.
Mina nodded and hissed, ¡°Yes!¡±
Of course he¡¯s being assaulted! I thought you were smart.
She tried to force herself to calm down as discussion took place around her.
¡°Cyrus was doing something funny with his eyes, I think,¡± Leo said.
¡°I think maybe you¡¯d better arrest him, then,¡± Dave replied.
Mina reflexively wanted to agree with that, but she forced herself to think carefully about it.
¡°No,¡± she said quietly. ¡°We don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on yet. The room is full of Cyrus¡¯s coreligionists, though. This situation could get¡ª¡±
She wanted to say, It could get out of hand, but James had already been attacked directly. The situation seemed out of control already.
¡°We should wait to see what happens to him and James,¡± Zora suggested, looking at Mina carefully.
Mina nodded. Thank you.
It was a relief, this time, that Zora was here and had remained in command of her feelings.
The light in the room dimmed for a moment¡ªby what cause, Mina was at a loss to say¡ªand a sound like a thunderclap resounded through the space.
Then James sprang back to life. He twisted his neck back and forth, cracking it as if he had been still for a long time, though it had been only a minute. Then he rose to his feet.
His movements seemed almost manic. Too energetic, even for someone who had always been so full of vigor.
¡°James, are you okay?¡± Mina asked, her voice shaking slightly.
¡°Fine, I¡¯m fine.¡± He sounded slightly confused, as if tired or mildly intoxicated. A light sheen of sweat coated his forehead, and his breathing sounded as if he had been swimming deep underwater for too long. He looked around wildly as if reacclimating himself to the room.
Then his gaze turned back to Cyrus, and James¡¯s eyes and lips changed. His handsome features twisted into a snarl. Then he bent his knees and leaped suddenly through the air¡ªthe movement was so quick that Mina could barely follow it with her eyes¡ªand landed on the ground level, a few feet in front of Cyrus.
At almost the same moment, Cyrus fell to his knees. He was bleeding from his eyes, ears, and mouth and clutching at his throat.
Despite the gruesome scene, Cyrus made almost no noise¡ªas if his fall took place in a supernatural cone of silence.
James had taken a step forward, but he stopped as Cyrus collapsed.
In the intervening moment, Cyrus¡¯s right-hand man, Christopher Smith, rushed forward to stand between his leader and James.
Mina could not see James¡¯s face, but she could tell from the way his posture stiffened that he was still angry, despite Cyrus already being in terrible shape.
James spoke up loudly, so that everyone in the room could hear him. ¡°I offered you hospitality, and your leader repaid me by trying to control my mind. You¡ª¡± He tilted his head at Smith¡ª¡°take him and get out. Anyone else who wants to follow them, you can also get out of the Kingdom. Be gone by sundown. Those who wish to stay, gather your families and prepare to take the citizenship oath, word for word, this evening.¡± He pointed at Cyrus, who was clearly suffering in his position on the floor, clawing at his own eyes by the time James gestured to him. ¡°Don¡¯t take this decision lightly. I will hold you to your promises, if you decide to stay. And this is what happens to traitors.¡±
He turned his back contemptuously on Cyrus¡ªand, by extension, on his followers¡ªand strode confidently back up the aisle toward the platform he had just jumped down from.
To everyone else, Mina imagined James probably looked indignant. But she saw the clear fatigue on his face. Even as he tried to keep his expression disciplined and his posture ramrod straight, there was something hollow in the way he moved, something exhausted in his expression.
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Is he going to be all right? she wondered. What did that bastard do to him?
Cyrus¡¯s followers¡ªor, in some cases, Mina realized, former followers¡ªwere muttering to themselves from all corners of the room besides the area with the stage. But their eyes weren¡¯t on James anymore. They were talking amongst themselves or looking at Cyrus with varying shades of horror on their faces.
Mina¡¯s read of the room might not have been perfect, but she sensed a shift in their loyalties. Even if some of them were attached to the idea of a state that embodied their religious preferences, did they really support Cyrus¡¯s effort at mind control to achieve that goal?
And even if some of them did support trying to control the Ruler from behind the scenes, Cyrus had failed. Perhaps they needed to be more pragmatic. Their Prophet was still bleeding from his eyes, ears, and mouth, though the flow was slowing. It was a powerful sign of what happened when a plot like this failed.
They were lucky that James had not ordered the lot of them summarily executed.
She guessed that few of these people would stand by Cyrus now that his power¡ªand even physical health¡ªseemed to be on the wane. He might even be dying, Mina realized, though it was hard for her to care. Whatever Cyrus had done had clearly had a big effect on James. That was her only concern right now.
A few of the followers were already getting up and leaving. Those who left did not stop and check how Cyrus was doing before they passed through the double doors.
That¡¯s the thing about leaders, she thought as James stepped onto the stage. You can¡¯t see them become weak. Even if they were chosen as leaders for their wisdom or something non-physical like that. People like strong leaders. If they get badly weakened, something primitive about our brains keeps us from seeing them the same way again.
James walked back over to his place at the table and managed to take his seat in a dignified way. He even remained sitting upright, rather than slumping forward or leaning on the table for support. But as Mina took his hand, she could feel that his pulse was erratic.
I need to get these people out of here¡
Then James could rest, and she could try to heal him.
Is that a burn on his face? Now that he was beside her again, she saw a small burn mark on his cheek. It was already probably smaller than it had been, given James¡¯s healing abilities, but it was strange that she had not noticed it earlier.
Did he get it from fighting Cyrus somehow?
¡°I did warn you.¡± Bear rumbled from the space on stage behind the council members. Everyone in the room could hear his words, though he had not raised his voice.
Mina¡¯s emotions were still running high, but she thought quickly of how she could use that remark to her advantage.
¡°You, shut up!¡± she yelled at Bear. The masked man jumped. ¡°Everyone else, please just get out of here. I¡ªI need a few minutes alone with my husband. He was just attacked!¡±
Members of Cyrus¡¯s group who had not already risen quickly got to their feet, lowered their heads, and in some cases muttered what sounded like quiet apologies for their leader¡¯s behavior under their breath.
Those who had been on their feet moved out more quickly than they had been.
And council members rose from their seats, too. Some of them left without a word.
Nearly all looked in James¡¯s direction with curiosity or concern before they left. Mina tried to ignore them or dissuade them with body language.
Others tried approaching Mina, offering help if she and James needed it
She shut them down with the most brusque, ¡°I¡¯m fine¡± she could muster each time, though in her heart, she was grateful.
Thank you, Leo. Thank you, Dave. Thank you, Jeremiah, even though I¡¯m still iffy on whether I trust you at all or not.
She just wanted people to leave as quickly as possible, so that James could pass out.
She could see from the way that his eyes were blinking that he might fall asleep in his seat at any moment, and she knew he would not want anyone to see that.
The masked man looked in her and James¡¯s direction and nodded slowly, as if he had just figured -out what was happening. Then he withdrew from the stage.
Zora rose from her place uncertainly, but Mina grabbed her by the sleeve.
¡°No, not you,¡± she whispered.
Zora was the only other person there who would understand the situation and be on James¡¯s side. The two women exchanged small smiles as Zora nodded and sat back down.
The rest of the room cleared out quickly. The last ones to go were a few of the religious folks who had stayed to help Cyrus walk out of the room. The Prophet was clearly still disoriented, but his legs worked.
So he still has some loyalists after all, Mina thought. Or at least people who feel sorry for him.
It was hard to resent that too much. The former leader cut a pitiful figure, moving like a puppet with its strings cut¡ªand with blood all over his shirt, as if James had not just beaten his mind control gambit but also delivered a violent beating.
What exactly did James do to him? she wondered. This was no ability she had ever seen or heard her husband describe. It was as if James had just reached out and gouged out Cyrus¡¯s eyes¡ªand maybe stabbed him in the ears and plucked out his tongue?¡ªbut that was like no Skill Mina had ever seen. Then again, perhaps she was overthinking this. It could simply be a sort of psychic backlash from Cyrus¡¯s own Skill failing to work on James. Powerful abilities were probably more costly than more commonplace Skills.
As the doors closed behind them, Zora quickly moved down to the ground level and went to lock them.
James slumped backward in his seat.
¡°Everyone¡¯s gone now, right?¡± he asked.
¡°Yes,¡± Mina said, nodding. ¡°What happened, skapi? Are you hurt anywhere that I can heal?¡±
His weary eyes finally closed, and Mina felt his pulse almost immediately slow down.
James had passed out.
¡°I hope he wakes up soon,¡± Mina muttered, thinking out loud.
She had asked for a few minutes alone with her husband. If people returned now, or in a few minutes, they would see exactly what she had hoped to conceal.
¡°Let¡¯s put him in your bag,¡± Zora said.
¡°What?¡± Mina asked, startled.
¡°James put a Dungeon Core in his bag and brought her here, right?¡± Zora asked.
Mina nodded.
¡°And it didn¡¯t do any harm to her?¡±
¡°No, it didn¡¯t,¡± Mina said. ¡°Now that you mention it, I¡¯ve seen that work for other living things too¡¡± Her mind went to the Pixies from her Orientation. ¡°So that¡¯s how we¡¯ll sneak him away!¡±
Zora smiled. ¡°I think it¡¯s our best bet. Our James¡ª¡± She shook her head¡ª¡°always getting himself into trouble.¡±
Mina felt like she should probably defend him from that comment somehow, but she just laughed instead. It was true. As much as James tended to rescue others from danger, he also had a way of finding trouble for himself.
They attempted to lift James together, but his dense, muscular body was too heavy. Finally, Mina just opened her Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions as wide as she could and shoved the mouth over James¡¯s head, and the bag seemed to take the hint.
It sucked James inside it like a cartoon or video game item.
Then they were able to sneak him out and back to the apartment.
Once they were back inside, Mina took the bag to the bedroom and removed James from the bag¡ªthere was a funny moment, after she reached in to pull him out, when he floated in the air an inch or two above the bed after he came out of the bag, and then crashed down with all his weight.
Somehow that did not wake him.
Mina tucked him in and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
And James slept for the next two hours.
V4Ch21-What Happened to Moishe Part 1
Moishe Rose reached out and touched the Skin Balloon.
It was the last minute of Orientation, and he knew that it was there for him, one of James¡¯s creatures. He didn¡¯t know to what purpose, yet. Wrapped around his other arm, Moishe¡¯s tamed viper hissed at the strange monster¡ªwhich the Skin Ballon thankfully ignored.
¡°It¡¯s all right, Cecilia,¡± Moishe murmured in the low, soothing voice she liked.
His hand took a firm grip on the Skin Balloon, to ensure that they could not be separated.
Then he found himself in the white room with the System Homunculus, which ran down the list of Moishe¡¯s rewards.
After that brief visit, he was teleported back to Earth.
Moishe¡¯s body fell to the pavement from several feet in the air, but in the second he was falling, he managed to quickly reposition his body so as to land on one foot and one knee, somewhat poised. The Skin Balloon had appeared alongside him, touching his hand where it had been before the end of Orientation.
That¡¯s convenient, he thought as he landed.
At the same time that he had dropped, however, several other people hit the ground nearby.
¡°Need you to get away from me for a bit,¡± Moishe whispered harshly in the Skin Balloon¡¯s direction. ¡°I¡¯ll follow you, but I don¡¯t want strangers to see me hanging out with a monster.¡±
He hoped the creature understood language. Moishe knew this was one of James¡¯s creatures, but the strangers around him would have no way of knowing that¡ªand he didn¡¯t want to be in the position of having to explain associating with a strange magical creature, right after everyone would have spent the last couple of months dealing with monsters. It sounded like a good way to get murdered.
Cecilia was still wrapped around his body, but he decided that he would order her into his bag, too. Just as soon as he tested it to make certain it could contain living things without killing them.
The Skin Balloon bobbed up and down, almost like it was nodding, and then it floated quickly up and away.
¡°Hey, man, what the fuck¡¯s that?¡±
Moishe turned and saw one of the people who had landed near him. Fortunately, the man wasn¡¯t looking or pointing at him or the Skin Balloon, but at a giant black rat¡ªroughly the size of a man¡ªwith gleaming, glossy eyes that stood on the street corner.
I wonder whose Orientation you came from¡
¡°Shit¡¡± murmured one of the other people who had landed near Moishe.
The rat took a step toward the humans, and everyone but Moishe scattered, running without looking back. That was apparently what they had learned from their Orientations. Moishe stood his ground and stared the rat in its beady little eyes.
I¡¯m not moving. You need to get lost.
The rat took another step forward. Its movements were the furtive, uncertain motions of a creature that had matured on Earth, before the System changed it. Moishe instinctively realized that it was not one of those monsters that knew humans primarily as prey. This rat had first experienced them as predators. Moishe drew his daggers without breaking eye contact.
If you want to die, I¡¯m perfectly happy to get some more experience¡
The rat stopped moving and simply watched him for a moment. For the first time, Moishe had the inkling of some form of intelligence in the creature¡¯s unwavering eyes. It was trying to decide whether it could win.
Moishe took a step forward, and the rat took that as its cue. It leaped away from him, then crawled through a chunk of shattered pavement¡ªdown into the sewers, or the space where the sewers had once been.
Oh, I don¡¯t like that, Moishe thought. Orlando was going to turn into quite a dangerous city if the sewers turned into a breeding ground for rodents of unusual size¡ªand whatever other manner of creatures chose to take up residence.
He finally had a chance to look around, with no pressing danger weighing on him, and he wanted to get the lay of the land¡ªsee what else had changed along with the arrival of monsters from out of some fantasy¡ªor nightmare.
He turned his head to look toward the city center, and his mouth fell open at what he saw.
Never mind, then. I guess the city¡¯s fucked anyway. He managed to pick his jaw up off the ground, but pulling his eyes away was another matter. Orlando looked like it had been the victim of a horrendous natural disaster.
In the distance, he could see that all of Orlando¡¯s tallest buildings had toppled. Broken glass littered the streets. There were great fissures where the pavement had been. People appeared to be panicking, running around directionless, as if a disaster was ongoing.
But afraid. They knew to be desperately afraid.
Without a strong leader, this place is going to descend into the ugliest kind of anarchy, Moishe thought.
He didn¡¯t see any sign of James anywhere, though. As Cecilia shifted on his body to wrap around his bicep more tightly, Moishe turned to look up at the Skin Balloon.
The creature had almost camouflaged itself, hiding partially obscured behind a cloud. Fortunately, Moishe had good vision, so he could still see the Skin Balloon. It appeared to be waiting patiently for him. The direction it had moved in suggested that it wanted to lead Moishe out of the city.
Great. At least I won¡¯t be in the middle of the collapse.
He put away his daggers, then turned again, to where he remembered a convenience store had been. There was some thought of getting supplies in the back of his mind, but as he saw the wrecked building, memories from before the onset of Orientation came rushing back. He had been visiting his sister Isabelle at her place in Orlando.
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When word of the end of the world as they knew it came, Isabelle had had a hard time taking it as seriously as Moishe thought it required. He had always been the more practical one, even though she was older. So he had gone down to the Quick Mart convenience store at the last minute. He¡¯d had a hard time cutting through the crowds to get in.
He shook his head at the memory.
I didn¡¯t end up getting much in the way of supplies. It didn¡¯t really help us at all. The others trying to make their last minute apocalypse preparations had almost cleaned the store out.
A memory of his sister¡¯s face suddenly flashed before his eyes.
She had looked so happy when she video called Moishe to invite him there for her baby shower. She and her partner, Eugene, were expecting their firstborn child, a little girl. They were engaged to be married in the Fall.
When Moishe saw her in person, she had looked almost ready to burst. It had really brought home for him how their lives were about to change. She was going to be a mother, which would make him an uncle.
Now that¡¯s never going to happen¡
Moishe tried to resist for a moment, then gave up and let the tears roll down his cheeks.
He sat down on a chunk of curb and just bawled his eyes out for a few minutes.
¡°It¡¯s not fair,¡± he muttered to himself. ¡°Out of all the people Rostov could have picked to fucking sacrifice¡¡±
The anger still boiled somewhere inside him, but now the grief was stronger.
I¡¯ll never see her again, he thought. And her baby, too¡ Goddamned sick rat bastards. I¡¯ll never meet my niece. Poor Isabelle¡
He buried his face in his hands and allowed himself to sit with his grief until he heard the sound of movement from the convenience store, now at his back.
Moishe hurriedly rose from the curb and used the back of his arm to wipe the tears from his face. The arm came away dirty as well as wet, and Moishe grimaced.
He hadn¡¯t showered in weeks, so he could only imagine how he would look to whoever was moving around inside the wreckage of the convenience store. The reason he had sat with his back to it was that he had assumed it was empty¡ªbut now, through the half-collapsed ceiling, he could see two people walking toward him.
The two men were in conversation, focused on each other and not looking straight ahead, so they hadn¡¯t noticed Moishe yet. He had the chance to get away without being seen, if he wanted.
What am I fucking thinking? Moishe asked himself angrily. I¡¯m all alone here, in a world where monsters absolutely exist. Until I reach James and his people, I¡¯m pretty vulnerable. Assassin equals glass cannon. If I can acquire some allies, I should be grateful for the opportunity¡ªnot running away. Get it together, man.
Moishe bent down, looked around for a minute, and quickly grabbed an earthworm that was wriggling around on the ground.
He stuffed the creature into his Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions, closed the bag, counted out thirty seconds in his mind while occasionally popping his head up to make sure the men in the Quick Mart hadn¡¯t seen him¡ªand then he opened the bag back up and drew the earthworm out again.
It still moved, though its activity in his hand when he first brought it out seemed sluggish.
As if I just took it out of suspended animation, maybe?
In any case, the worm quickly resumed its normal wriggling movement¡ªthe same sort of motion Moishe remembered he had seen before in earthworms.
That would have to be good enough.
Moishe whispered to his snake, ¡°Cecilia, would you do me a favor and please get into my bag for a little while? I promise it¡¯s bigger than it looks on the inside.¡±
The viper slithered slowly down his arm and into the opening of Moishe¡¯s bag.
Did he detect the slightest reluctance? It was hard to be certain. But his little friend did allow herself to be stored inside the bag.
Once her head was in, it almost seemed to suck the rest of her body inside.
Sort of weird how that works. It seemed like something to perform experiments with, later.
Moishe rose from his crouched position and saw the men were closer to him now. He stood still and simply looked at the man walking in the lead until he and the other man made eye contact.
The man smiled nervously at Moishe, and the Assassin gave him a nod and a firm smile back.
As the two men approached, Moishe evaluated them visually. The man in the lead had a vaguely Mediterranean look to him¡ªor maybe Middle Eastern. It was hard to be certain. The other fellow was Caucasian of some stripe, with a neat, clean cut look.
¡°Nice to meet you, young man,¡± said the man in the lead as he reached Moishe, extending his hand to shake.
¡°It¡¯s good to meet anyone in this wrecked world who isn¡¯t trying to kill me,¡± Moishe replied, looking over the other men¡¯s shoulders and ignoring the offered hand for the moment. He thought he saw movement in the rubble behind the two men. ¡°I think we probably need to move away from this area, though. Maybe save the introductions until after that.¡±
The man who had just tried to shake his hand turned to look behind himself, and a chunk of rubble moved.
¡°Something was following us through there,¡± the man said, shuddering slightly¡ªalthough there was a slight smile tugging at the edge of his lips, as if he liked the proximity to danger a bit.
Maybe he¡¯s a little like James, Moishe thought. Some guys really like proving they¡¯re the most dangerous thing in the room.
¡°Yeah,¡± Moishe said, speaking quickly, eager to move the conversation to a new location. ¡°This city is looking kind of unsafe, generally. I have some friends who I¡¯m planning to meet up with outside the city. There are a few strong people, and I¡¯ve seen that they¡¯re capable of protecting a group. I¡¯m not sure if you have plans that would keep you in the city, but if you¡¯re interested in leaving, I think it might be safer to travel together rather than individually. Either way, we should really move away from here.¡±
¡°Can I lead the way?¡± the man asked, still turned to face the Quick Mart wreckage. ¡°I also have some friends from Orientation who are supposed to meet me. If you want to travel in numbers, that ought to make our trip even safer.¡±
Moishe nodded. He just wanted to get out of there. And with other people beside him sounded better than without.
¡°Perfect,¡± the man said.
Moishe followed the man¡ªand his thus far silent companion¡ªas they made their way from the front of the Quick Mart, in the direction of the city center.
This is really probably moving us toward danger, Moishe thought, his heart beating more quickly as they moved into what he imagined would be a soldier¡¯s worst nightmare. The city was in terrible shape, with some buildings barely standing and others having collapsed, while still others were on fire¡ªsome form of human action, or something the monsters had done? He couldn¡¯t be sure.
It would be easy for a group of creatures to ambush them from any of these abandoned buildings.
Moishe had just opened his mouth to ask how much farther it was, and if they could perhaps take a different route to meet his new companion¡¯s friends, when the trio turned a corner, and Moishe saw a crowd of people in the distance. They were standing near the lake.
¡°We made it,¡± said the man, satisfied. He turned to Moishe. ¡°We¡¯ll meet up with my people, and then you can lead us to your friends, if you think that¡¯s the safest choice. Otherwise, we¡¯ll see if anyone else in the group has any bright ideas.¡±
¡°Sounds good,¡± Moishe said. ¡°I guess we¡¯re out of the woods for now. I¡¯m Moishe, by the way. Moishe Rose.¡±
¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you,¡± said the other man. ¡°My name is Cyrus.¡±
V4Ch22-What Happened to Moishe Part 2
As Moishe walked around the park, speaking to the gathered people there, he realized that many of them were not from Cyrus¡¯s Orientation.
It shouldn¡¯t have surprised him; once he, Cyrus, and Christopher Smith had made their way through the buildings and gotten a better look at the crowd, Moishe could see there were hundreds of people milling about.
What united these people, instead of a shared Orientation experience, was the fact that they had all been in town for an international interfaith conference.
When the System had appeared, it had shocked these people to their core. Some of them were clergy, some theologians, some authors, and some self-taught scholars of religion like Cyrus.
They all took their religions seriously. And they had agreed, thanks to the guidance of the man running the meeting, Cardinal Milos, to meet back up in this place.
Aside from that, there was little that bound them together. Moishe found that, besides two dozen people who had been in Cyrus¡¯s Orientation and were committed to following where he led, and another ten who were similarly committed to Christopher and had been in his Orientation, people did not seem to share a common vision on future plans.
A part of Moishe wanted to try and sway these people toward joining James¡¯s camp, but the more sensible part of his brain¡ªwhich remained aware that he was a relative outsider to this group, and that it would be a massive thing to suddenly drop hundreds of random people into James¡¯s lap¡ªprevailed.
Moishe stayed out of the way while people in their various groups decided which way they would go. Most of the people here knew each other, and none of them knew him, and Moishe kept moving, hovering around the periphery of different groups without inserting himself into them, all artfully done so that no one approached him.
The discussion probably only lasted twenty minutes or so, but it felt like forever, as the Assassin couldn¡¯t help but keep looking back to the city and wondering when some disaster might befall the group. Monsters of all stripes could be seen in the distance, from giant lizards to cockroaches longer than seven feet. They were all claiming bits and pieces of the city, and they seemed to have arrived at the same time as the humans.
Fortunately, none of the creatures dared to approach the large group of humans that had taken over part of the park just yet.
But Moishe knew that this safety would be temporary.
He occasionally saw small groups of humans sneaking around the city, most of them fleeing the ruins, but some scavenging or looking for a place to hole up and hide. He considered trying to insert himself into one of those groups¡ªhe wasn¡¯t particularly fond of the fact that Cyrus and Christopher¡¯s group was all religious¡ªbut the fact that the other bunches of people were small and did not look especially strong was a major preventive factor.
Moishe had also observed that the people here were representations of many different religious denominations, which made his personal lack of strong religious convictions less uncomfortable.
Finally, Cyrus tapped him on the shoulder and told him that their group was ready to depart and would follow Moishe¡¯s lead to the next destination.
In the end, Cyrus and Christopher had gathered a total of around eighty people who were willing to follow them, from both those they had gotten to know in their Orientations and those who were persuaded during the intense series of parallel discussions that Moishe had chosen not to participate in.
This is quite a lot of strength in numbers, Moishe thought. It was to the point that he wondered why they would bother following him. Yes, he could lead them to another group where they might be safer¡ªand Moishe assumed that Cyrus had conveyed that opportunity.
But with this many people, they could probably take care of themselves. Right?
Moishe was distracted from this train of thought, as he saw that three other groups had formed and were moving off in their own directions.
I guess there was nothing to keep all these people together, but I wonder what these different groups are going to do¡
He looked at Cyrus and thought about asking some of the questions on his mind, but Moishe quickly decided against it. He didn¡¯t want to give the impression that he was unsure of his direction or thinking about shifting to follow one of the other groups.
Moishe already found it slightly strange that all these people he didn¡¯t know had decided to follow him somewhere.
It made sense if they trusted Cyrus, but Moishe still didn¡¯t know why Cyrus trusted him, when he clearly had the respect of all these other people. The whole arrangement felt like a Jenga tower that might collapse if he pulled out the wrong piece, leaving him to navigate the wilderness between Orlando and James¡¯s location on his own.
It was also conceivable that Moishe had walked into some sort of a trap¡ªthat despite their apparent religious background, these people had unkind intentions toward him, or they were hoping that they could take control of the group he was leading them towards¡ªbut that felt like paranoia. They would have to have made such a plan before they even met Moishe, or they would have to have risked coordinating it within hearing distance of him.
He shook his head and tried to dismiss the strange, bad feeling he suddenly had.
If they had some bad intentions¡ªor if the members of this group were trusting in Moishe, and by extension Cyrus, foolishly¡ªthen he was already screwed. There were more people here than he could fight or outrun, and it was too late for him to slip away unnoticed.
In any case, bringing up his bad feelings wasn¡¯t going to help him.
Far better to remain silent.
¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± Moishe said, giving Cyrus a nod.
Moishe took the lead with unfeigned confidence¡ªhe had his eyes on a creature that could lead him to where he wanted to go, after all¡ªand began mentally preparing to explain to James exactly where these close to a hundred people had come from.
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He followed the Skin Balloon¡¯s lead, without telling anyone explicitly that was what he was doing, and it quickly led him out of the city.
He and the crowd that accompanied him managed to leave the ruined buildings in the background without incident.
They walked for a few hours in relative silence¡ªthere were some murmurs from those behind Moishe as the group talked amongst themselves, but since they were not talking to him, he ignored them¡ªbefore Cyrus called a halt.
The group was in a rundown suburban area, near an old church that had somehow, miraculously, survived the cataclysm that had wrecked half of Orlando. Since they were far from the city, Moishe didn¡¯t mind stopping. As he looked around behind him, he could see that some of the older people needed to catch their breath and have a drink or a snack. As for him, he could keep going all day and all night if necessary. Based on its performance so far, Moishe was fairly certain that his body would endure the trip well.
All the levels he had gained had changed him.
I wonder if there are some people who have experienced this transition as a purely good thing, Moishe thought. People who had nothing to lose or who didn¡¯t lose anything. If Isabelle hadn¡¯t died, how would I feel about this?
He was pulled out of his train of thought by Cyrus¡¯s voice. The older man was leading the group in a vague, nondenominational prayer to God. Giving thanks that they had made it so far and asking for his favor as they continued their great journey forward.
Some people had put their hands together and bowed their heads, while the handful of Muslim members of the group were off to the side, praying in their own fashion.
Moishe thought it might make him stand out, to refrain from observing the same rituals as the members of the group. It was hard to make himself care, but then again, it was better not to be perceived as any more of an outsider than necessary.
He forced himself to bow his head and close his eyes along with the majority of the group. When they said ¡°Amen,¡± he mouthed the word too.
Moishe opened his eyes after a moment, and then he almost jumped out of his skin at the sudden sensation of a hand gently grabbing his shoulder.
¡°Oh, sorry!¡± Cyrus¡¯s voice sounded chagrined from Moishe¡¯s side.
¡°It¡¯s not a problem,¡± Moishe said. ¡°Just that after all the monsters I saw crawling around the city, I¡¯m still a bit jumpy.¡±
And I don¡¯t really trust you, he added in his mind. Don¡¯t take that too personally. I don¡¯t trust anyone here. The person I trusted most in the world is dead¡
¡°I thought I might get you to tell me a little about yourself, Moishe,¡± Cyrus said. ¡°We¡¯re all following you, and I realized as we were walking that I was kind of just going off my intuition about you. You could be an axe murderer or something, and I¡¯m just standing here thinking, ¡®Well, he seems trustworthy.¡¯ You know?¡±
Moishe nodded. I hoped you wouldn¡¯t bring it up, but I have had that general thought.
¡°I¡¯m sure you can tell most of the group here are a bit religious,¡± Cyrus added. ¡°I noticed you bowing your head, too. Are you a religious man?¡±
Moishe instantly felt that a crossroads in the relations between himself and Cyrus had arrived. Should I lie or tell the truth?
After a moment, he shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not.¡±
Cyrus looked disappointed and tried unsuccessfully to hide it.
¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d be interested in exploring this old place with us, then, would you?¡± He gestured at the old church.
¡°Exploring?¡± Moishe raised an eyebrow.
I¡¯m not a child. I don¡¯t really explore anymore, unless it¡¯s to gather information. Why would I give a damn about some old church?
¡°It¡¯s a brave new world,¡± Cyrus said. ¡°You never know where you might find something of value. Some extra food, a source of running water that hasn¡¯t been destroyed. Anything we find could be valuable. Christopher and I got some rations back in Orlando, from that ruined building, and other members of the group did their own, um, liberating of unowned goods, but it won¡¯t last forever.¡±
Moishe found himself nodding. That made sense.
¡°Who¡¯s going with us?¡± he asked.
¡°The people I met in Orientation¡ªwe formed quite a close knit group¡ªnow that they have reunited with me, I trust them to have my back. That way, we can explore a bit more safely.¡±
Safety in numbers, I like it, Moishe thought.
¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be ready when you are,¡± he said.
I guess he didn¡¯t actually care about knowing anything about me except my religious affiliation. Maybe it¡¯s better if I keep the amount we get to know each other to a minimum.
Cyrus took a minute walking around and explaining the situation to the others. Then two dozen people slowly gathered from where they were standing around or sitting in the grass or asphalt and walked over to where Moishe stood, in front of the church.
¡°Here goes nothing,¡± Cyrus said, grinning now.
Moishe had that sense of an intrepid leader again, and he thought again of James. He wondered how James and the Rodriguezes were doing.
Then Cyrus¡¯s group packed themselves into a tight formation around Moishe and Cyrus, and Moishe just focused on keeping pace with them as they marched forward. One of the people in front, though Moishe would never afterward be able to identify who, opened the church double doors.
Moishe got a look between the profiles of those ahead of him in the formation, and he saw what looked like an ordinary church interior. Pews, a pulpit, a very large crucified Christ. It was all very typical.
The whole mass of people began moving across the threshold, and then¡ªthen something impossible happened.
The image before Moishe¡¯s eyes flickered and changed. Instead of finding himself inside a plain old church, he and the other members of the formation stood in a valley. Their relative physical positions were also changed. Whatever had teleported them had also organized the group into a straight line.
Moishe ignored the audible gasps from a few around him and focused on scoping out the environment.
It reminded Moishe a bit of a smaller scale version of the Grand Canyon.
There were tall cliff faces on either side of him, he saw immediately.
The dry, sandy ground before him was marred with what appeared to be deep, round pits randomly crisscrossing the ground, leaving the safe part of the path before them narrow and difficult.
Now that he saw restricted the walkway was, the fact that the space had moved them into a straight line felt like a deliberate gesture, in recognition of the fact that they could not all fit if they were placed next to each other. Moishe was somewhere in the middle, as he could see the people in front of him from the formation, and he could feel there were people behind him, as the weight of multiple bodies pressed the nearest one uncomfortably close to Moishe¡¯s back.
But his first concern was not the tight line of humans that he found himself in, nor even the narrow path they would presumably have to continue walking on.
It was the words that had appeared in front of him. A System alert.
[Dungeon entered! You have arrived in Dungeon: Valley of the Shadow of Death!]
[First humans of Earth-73 to enter Dungeon: Valley of the Shadow of Death!]
Moishe groaned quietly to himself.
A religious-themed Dungeon? Shit¡
V4Ch23-Lore
When James awakened, he felt a strange combination of sensations.
Fatigue. A combination of fatigue and muscle soreness that he had not experienced since Orientation, except in the immediate aftermath of combat.
An unpleasant cotton-like taste filled his mouth.
And the quality of the light falling across his skin told him immediately that it was mid-afternoon now. That meant he had slept for at least an hour or two. Pre-System, on the occasion that he napped, he would only rest for twenty or thirty minutes at a stretch.
Am I sick?
That was his first thought, but he immediately dismissed the idea that he had some ordinary illness.
James recalled the image of Cyrus and thought, Is it possible that scrawny bastard really did this to me? He would have to be careful not to underestimate the threat of his ilk in future.
He slowly stretched his limbs, not yet trying to rise from the bed. He had the unfortunate feeling that he would be unsteady if he tried to get to his feet too quickly. He could sense that he was alone in the room except for his one constant companion.
¡°You¡¯re awake, sir?¡± Hester asked quietly from behind his ear.
¡°Sort of,¡± James said. ¡°I have to admit, I¡¯d rather be back asleep.¡±
¡°Given what you went through before you lost consciousness, I¡¯m not surprised,¡± she said.
¡°Thankfully, Anansi was there,¡± James said. He paused for a moment. ¡°You know about what I went through, then?¡±
¡°Yes, Lord Anansi told me about it while you were sleeping, when he was passing along the rest of his message.¡±
I must have been really knocked out to not notice how the spider on the back of my ear was burning up.
¡°Well, next time you report to him, please convey my thanks for his intervention,¡± James replied.
Without Anansi¡¯s protection, I wonder how that would have gone¡ The thought was sickening. I might have become a puppet of Cyrus and his god¡ªor angel?¡ªdemon? What was that creature Anansi distracted? I thought it might be an angel, but what would that mean?
¡°It was only standard, according to what he said, sir, given that Cyrus invoked the power of the being that blessed him,¡± Hester said.
¡°Well, I appreciate it anyway,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯ve never been happier that I went with Anansi when he asked me.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll make sure to pass that on, boss,¡± Hester said. He could hear the smile in her voice.
¡°Hester, if you know, what was that being?¡± James asked. ¡°The thing that Anansi distracted so that I could survive?¡±
¡°Lord Anansi said you two encountered a lesser seraph,¡± she replied darkly. ¡°One that he¡¯s personally familiar with. Basically a mid-level angel.¡±
¡°Mid-level?¡± James asked.
What would a higher level angel look like?
¡°Yes,¡± Hester said. ¡°Stronger angels can be on the same level as gods. They¡¯re even more powerful in a setting that emulates their home territory. Lord Anansi mentioned that on a fairer playing field, he could have killed this one with little trouble. A high enough level mortal could even do it. But apparently weaker angels usually travel in groups, outside of settings like that place Cyrus brought you, where permanent harm is usually impossible to inflict.¡±
¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I inflicted some harm on Cyrus,¡± James said, choosing not to follow up on the power hierarchy questions that Hester doubtless would not be able to answer anyway. She knew him well enough by now to know what information he would want to know, anyway. If there was something she could tell him about angels versus gods and other entities, she would tell him.
¡°Yes, Lord Anansi said congratulations on unlocking the ability to curse enemies. It¡¯s the opposite power implied by the ability to apply blessings. All gods have it, though they rarely use it. He recommended being careful about applying it in future, though. He made a joke about not driving or operating any heavy machinery right now¡ I gather that it¡¯s typically an order of magnitude more energy intensive than blessings.¡±
¡°Now he tells me,¡± James said, chuckling.
At least I have a better explanation for feeling like I lost a fight.
¡°There was something that Lord Anansi wanted to pass along, by way of advice, sir,¡± Hester said hesitantly.
¡°I¡¯m ready to hear it,¡± James said.
¡°He just¡ªum, he doesn¡¯t want to tell you what to do, he was very clear about that, but¡ªwell, he knows you were inclined to let Cyrus¡¯s followers go before, but, um¡¡±
¡°He agreed with Bear before about them. And he thinks that turning the other cheek now would be a bad move,¡± James said, his smile growing thinner.
The truth is, I feel the same way. I felt that way by the end of my confrontation with Cyrus earlier, but I wasn¡¯t in any condition to do anything about it. This situation is dangerous. I permanently disabled their Prophet. The only choice that didn¡¯t involve letting people see Cyrus get away with what he did was to kill him. I probably should have just done that. There¡¯s no reason to assume the people who choose to keep following him will appreciate my mercy¡ªor even see it as mercy. They probably need to be dealt with, whether I like it or not. There¡¯s every chance that they¡¯ll come back stronger, looking for revenge, someday.
His Wraith-induced visions of the future flashed through his mind¡ªin particular the one in which Mina was murdered by humans wearing an unfamiliar religious symbol that seemed to combine elements from Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.
¡°Not only would Lord Anansi consider it a bad move, but even out of character, sir,¡± Hester said. ¡°He gently reminds you of the way you handled the centipedes, the coyotes, the Moloch cultists, and even the Wraiths.¡±
¡°Yes, I know, Hester,¡± James said gently.
I can¡¯t let the fact that they¡¯re human beings compromise my decision making. Humans are just as big of a threat as anything else in this world. Don¡¯t treat them differently just because they remind me of plenty of people I¡¯ve met in the past. Decent people who just had more intense religious beliefs than me or Mina.
¡°Let me think about what to do a little bit,¡± he added.
His mind was moving quickly through options and their various pros and cons.
¡°Neither Lord Anansi nor I would ever presume to give you orders, boss,¡± she replied in a soft voice. ¡°It¡¯s your journey, and your story¡ªyou¡¯re the one who has to live with your choices.¡±
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
Oh, don¡¯t I know it. The System insisted on reminding me of choices I made a decade ago when it initiated me¡
¡°Hester, I have one big question. It¡¯s about the angel.¡±
The spider simply waited silently.
¡°Does the existence of angels imply the existence of the, uh, big guy? The boss of the angels?¡±
¡°The short answer is, ¡®it¡¯s complicated,¡¯¡± Hester said. ¡°But Lord Anansi spent most of the transmission to me explaining. He knew you would want to know, and he felt you were entitled.¡±
¡°If it¡¯s complicated, the answer must be yes,¡± James said, tilting his head.
¡°Yes and no,¡± Hester said. ¡°You know that some gods are fueled by faith, while others run on sacrifices or are closely affiliated with something in the human¡ªand nonhuman¡ªexperience.¡±
James nodded.
¡°Well, the specific being you¡¯re asking about is a uniquely large concept. That particular deity¡¯s faiths insist that He is not only a god, but the only god¡ªresponsible for everything. That¡¯s more than a little unusual. The way Lord Anansi explains it, that¡¯s such a heavy burden that this particular entity only exists in universes where he obtains the faith of a vast supermajority of all intelligent life forms. In the handful of universes where He holds sway, He is the only deity. The other gods are completely shut out, and they don¡¯t even know what goes on in those places. Conversely, there are also some universes that He is shut out of, and then there are a vast number of more recently integrated universes where the entity in question lives a sort of half-life¡ªinsufficient faith to truly make His presence felt to the degree it probably is in those places where He is the only deity.¡±
¡°So, in my world, all He can do is send angels?¡± James asked.
¡°Pretty much,¡± Hester said. But James noted she did not sound completely certain.
He waited for her to volunteer clarification, but she did not. And he decided to let the matter go for now. He knew there were some things that the Spider God could not tell him, which necessarily meant some things that Hester couldn¡¯t tell him either¡ªand might not know.
¡°Thank you for the explanation, Hester,¡± James said finally.
¡°My pleasure,¡± she replied. ¡°I didn¡¯t know most of this stuff myself before this transmission from Lord Anansi. There was one more thing. He wanted you to know that you won¡¯t have to worry about the Moloch cult anymore.¡±
¡°Oh, that¡¯s great news!¡± James said. ¡°I would have figured they might come back for some kind of revenge, but I guess that¡¯s been taken care of¡?¡±
¡°Lord Anansi has your back, James,¡± Hester said in a warm, confident voice.
James smiled, but his expression soured slightly as another thought occurred to him.
Wait, what happens to the dead? I know there are death gods, and I know there¡¯s Yahweh¡ªor a kind of Shrodinger¡¯s God who simultaneously exists and doesn¡¯t exist¡ªbut where is my father¡¯s soul? He died before the System, as a Christian. Does that mean his soul is in the biblical God¡¯s hands, or one of the myriad death gods? How had I not thought about this yet?
James still remembered his father¡¯s face, though it had been almost two-thirds of James¡¯s lifetime since they saw each other. His firm but gentle, lightly accented voice. His kind eyes. The stubble on his chin.
The question of what had happened to his father¡¯s soul was almost painful to think about, and it was too much to deal with at this moment when he had pressing problems. He forced himself to push it aside for the moment along with his other questions.
I promise, I haven¡¯t forgotten you, he thought. I¡¯ll never forget you.
It was time to get up and deal with the problems at hand. Cyrus was the first thing he needed to deal with. These revelations only made him and those aligned with him into more threatening future enemies.
James pulled himself to a seated position, and the bedroom door suddenly swung open.
¡°I knew it!¡± Mina exclaimed, standing in the doorway with James Junior in her arms. ¡°I was sure I heard your voice in here. We were all so worried. I¡¯m so happy you woke up.¡±
She rushed forward, pushing the door closed behind her, and enfolded James and the baby in her soft, warm embrace.
¡°It¡¯s good to see you, too,¡± he said, hugging her back weakly. His arms seemed to have lost most of their strength. He sensed that if he desperately needed to, he could muster a minute¡¯s worth of furious fighting power, but there would be a cost to it. He could not safely exert himself right now, beyond sitting up and gently holding his wife. There was going to be a real, significant hangover from using Curse of the Fisher King on Cyrus.
And just when I needed to be at a hundred percent, James thought.
¡°Are you all right, skapi?¡± Mina asked softly, her voice right next to his ear. She settled her body onto the bed, sitting beside him rather than letting him hold her up. James figured she could tell from his weak embrace that he was not quite himself.
¡°I¡¯m pretty weak right now,¡± James admitted. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it will be hours, days, or longer before I recover. I¡¯m pretty sure I could defend myself if I had to, for around a minute, but after that I would pass out. I think I¡¯m going to be doing mostly administrative tasks for a while.¡±
¡°As long as you don¡¯t think you¡¯re dying, or something, I¡¯m happy,¡± Mina said brightly. ¡°If you need to pass out again, go ahead and rest. I¡¯ll take care of everything out here.¡±
¡°Thank you, Mina,¡± James said. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m anywhere near dying. I need to take care of some business, though. Can you get some of our people for me?¡±
She hesitated. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re up for seeing people? I know you don¡¯t want anyone to know that you¡¯re in sort of a weak state.¡±
¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± James said. ¡°The people I¡¯m thinking of are capable of keeping a secret.¡±
¡°Actually, there were already some people waiting to see you,¡± Mina said. ¡°I closed the door when I came in, because I wanted to make sure you were ready to receive company before I let them get a look at you.¡±
¡°Who are they?¡± James asked.
¡°Jeremiah Rotter, Damien Rousseau, and Dave Matsumoto,¡± she replied.
James¡¯s eyes widened slightly. Interesting. Two of them are people I already wanted to see.
¡°There¡¯s another piece of news,¡± Mina added. ¡°One of your friends from Orientation arrived. Someone who Rotter said was a close ally of yours. A man named Moishe Rose.¡±
¡°That¡¯s great news,¡± James said, a smile slowly spreading across his face.
Wait. Is that the person Bear said would arrive? Didn¡¯t he predict something about a friend of mine showing up and corroborating his advice? James¡¯s memory was slightly fuzzy from physical weakness and from having just woken up, but he was almost certain that this fit with Bear¡¯s prediction.
¡°It¡¯s not such great news, skapi,¡± Mina said quietly, her expression turning sad. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that he lost consciousness just after he made it over the border. He was apparently pretty badly hurt. The wolves recognized his scent and dragged him to within the settlement, and Camila Rodriguez has been taking care of him. But I understand he hasn¡¯t woken up yet.¡±
James nodded. Hopefully I can help with that if Camila¡¯s healing isn¡¯t enough. If not, I doubt Bear would want the guy who can provide his testimonial to languish in a coma for too long. Maybe he can do something.
¡°Thank you for giving me both the good and the bad news,¡± he said. ¡°Is there anything else I should know before I talk to our guests? What are they here for, anyway?¡±
Mina shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. They didn¡¯t seem entirely comfortable with telling me, and I decided not to press.¡±
James raised an eyebrow. Do they think they have a higher security clearance than my wife or something? What can¡¯t they discuss in front of her?
¡°Well, you¡¯re definitely staying in the room for the meeting, then,¡± he said.
¡°That suits me fine,¡± Mina replied quietly. ¡°Do you want to do it here or go into the living room?¡±
¡°Where are the kids and Yulia?¡± James asked. ¡°Not in the living room?¡±
¡°No, they¡¯re playing in the children¡¯s room,¡± Mina said. ¡°We had a late lunch, so I think they¡¯ll probably be too tired to interrupt a meeting in the living room even if they wanted to go in there and play. I can also ask Yulia to make sure they stay where they are.¡±
¡°Still probably better to do it here,¡± James said after a moment. ¡°I know you don¡¯t like having people in our private space¡ª¡± He saw Mina¡¯s eyes already darting to the few bits of mess around the room, and he smiled involuntarily¡ª¡°so you can tidy up a little if you want to, but yeah. I think this conversation is going to be quite adult. I don¡¯t want any chance of the kids overhearing it. I like using the living room as a buffer space for that.¡±
¡°I understand,¡± Mina said quietly. ¡°Well, we don¡¯t have much in this room anyway. We¡¯ve owned hardly any possessions ever since we came back to Earth. Not so much to move around.¡±
She nevertheless proceeded to spend the next several minutes cleaning the room while James played with the baby in the bed.
Finally, Mina conjured James a cup of water before she opened the door and invited Dave, Damien, and Rotter inside.
The three men entered the room nervously¡ªperhaps guiltily, James thought.
Then again, maybe he was reading too much on their faces.
V4Ch24-Speak No Evil
¡°It¡¯s so good to see you¡¯re all right, Your Majesty,¡± Rotter began.
¡°Thank you,¡± James said, smiling. ¡°I assume that isn¡¯t why you¡¯ve been sitting in the living room waiting for me to wake up, though. To what do I owe this pleasure?¡±
¡°Some of us discussed what happened earlier,¡± Rotter said, ¡°and we agreed¡ª¡±
¡°Who¡¯s some of us?¡± James interrupted.
¡°The three of us standing here, sir,¡± said Dave firmly. ¡°It seemed like an important security issue, and Damien and I are your only military officers right now. With you incapacitated, it was only natural that Jeremiah came to us.¡±
James sensed some defensiveness there, as if Dave was concerned that James might be angry with Rotter for taking this initiative.
He¡¯ll understand me better than that in time, he thought. It was slightly silly to him to imagine himself being angry at Rotter for taking this initiative. But Dave had only known him for a little over a week.
¡°Okay,¡± James said. ¡°So the three of you have kept a tight circle about this, then?¡±
¡°That masked man suddenly appeared for a moment as we were talking,¡± Dave said, looking slightly peevish. ¡°I politely told him to get out.¡±
¡°We also thought about talking to your new Chief of Police,¡± Damien said. ¡°But he¡¯s, well, new.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know how much you trust him,¡± Rotter said.
¡°He is extremely trustworthy,¡± Mina said firmly.
¡°Would you trust him to cooperate in a conspiracy to commit cold-blooded murder?¡± Rotter asked bluntly.
Oh. The plot thickens.
Mina paused, and in that silence, James could already hear her answer.
¡°No, I probably wouldn¡¯t,¡± she said finally. ¡°I think he might be too moral for that. In our Orientation, we were trying to solve a series of murders. He was great in that specific situation, and he¡¯s the right choice for the Chief of Police role, but not what you¡¯re talking about.¡±
¡°Ma¡¯am¡ªum, Your Majesty¡ªdo you mind if I ask a rather impertinent question?¡± Dave asked gently.
¡°All right,¡± Mina said, brows furrowed.
¡°Do you want to be a part of this conversation? I only ask because you seem like a moral person, too, and if you¡¯ll forgive my saying it, this is an ugly business.¡±
Mina looked slightly taken aback for a moment. In her silence and the rapid movement of her facial expressions, James read that she was wondering whether to be offended or not¡ªwhether this question was being raised because she was a woman.
¡°Dave, Mina is a part of everything I do,¡± James said, speaking before anyone else could break the silence, looking Dave in the eye. ¡°She has to be. It¡¯s necessary. She¡¯s next in line to lead in the event that I¡¯m incapacitated, anytime that happens. I love her, I trust her, and I know her better than anyone, so trust me when I say, she¡¯s not made of glass. She¡¯s not an angel. She¡¯s perfectly capable of getting her hands dirty in defense of our interests. Next time, if there¡¯s a decision that needs to be made or a discussion to be had while I¡¯m out of commission, I expect you all to simply present what you have to say to her. If it¡¯s time sensitive, she¡¯ll decide what¡¯s to be done. I trust her judgment¡ªand her willingness to do what¡¯s necessary.¡±
From the corner of his eye, James saw that Mina was clearly pleased at his response but trying to hide it from the others present.
After a moment, she simply straightened her posture and said, ¡°I don¡¯t need to leave.¡±
¡°All right, great,¡± said Dave in a professional, unemotional tone. He looked at Mina, and his voice softened slightly. ¡°My apologies for doubting you.¡± He turned to face both of them and continued in the same intonation as before, ¡°Continuing from where Jeremiah left off earlier, we were discussing what happened with Cyrus at the meeting. We ultimately agreed on a proposal that we wanted to bring to you. We would like to pursue him and those following him after they leave this evening. When we have them on unfavorable ground, we¡¯ll surround, trap, and slaughter them all. We want your permission to do this, for the future security of the Kingdom.¡±
¡°You¡¯re willing to do that?¡± James asked, slightly surprised that Dave would propose something that seemed so underhanded and ruthless.
¡°There is no honor to it,¡± Dave said. ¡°But there is no honor in any war. We¡¯re not breaking a promise we¡¯ve made. You never guaranteed them safe passage or anything of the kind. What tips the scales for me is that this prevents a possible future battle that would be more evenly matched. One of the things you learn in the military is that we don¡¯t want fair fights. That¡¯s how we lose friends.¡± He sounded slightly drained as he finished.
James nodded, ordered his facial muscles to convey satisfaction, and then looked at Damien. ¡°And you agreed with this too?¡±
Damien looked uncomfortable and swallowed a lump in his throat. ¡°I did,¡± he said. ¡°I do. It¡¯s necessary. Jeremiah and Dave are right. The way they expressed it, Cyrus and the loyalists who are sticking with him are bound to hold a grudge. You permanently blinded, deafened, and silenced their Prophet. What happens when they find their way to other people who think like them? When they tell their version of how the Fisher Kingdom treated them? We¡¯ve made enemies here, entirely because of their choices, not ours.¡± He grimaced and sighed. ¡°Sometimes unpleasant work has to be done, right?¡±
James nodded slowly, trying to keep his expression carefully neutral.
His eyes moved quickly back and forth, examining every face in the room. It looked like Damien, Jeremiah, and Dave were all in the same boat¡ªnot exactly enthusiastic, but in clear agreement on the path forward. Mina¡¯s expression was carefully composed and neutral.
Excellent. I thought I¡¯d have to plan this attack myself and carefully choose and persuade people that it was necessary or send Duncan¡¯s army of Goblins or something. Instead, two of the people who I thought would be most useful chose to come to me. And Rotter too. Though he¡¯s the only one who I would have actually expected this from. Sly bastard. This is working out better than if I had planned it myself.
He had considered many different ways of resolving the situation, both immediately after the conflict with Cyrus and shortly after waking up.
Killing only Cyrus and Christopher Smith and letting the rest of them go, even secretly, would just make the survivors suspicious and sow the seeds of future enmity. He had imagined scenarios where he tried to plant spies in Cyrus¡¯s camp, perhaps was infiltrated in turn by spies who would occasionally report to Cyrus, and ended up spending a great deal of energy on espionage and counterespionage. He had wished this was something he could discuss with Alan and Mitzi, who he considered suitably wise for their years.
But ultimately, this was a decision where he had always known which way he was leaning. Someone who tried to bend his mind with a Skill had to be treated as if they had tried to kill him. And there were no true innocents on the same side as Cyrus, as far as James was concerned.
Just like Leo, Alan and Mitzi were good and moral people. Given that he was already committed to repaying Cyrus¡¯s treachery with murder, James didn¡¯t want them to know about this.
He turned to Rotter and asked, ¡°Do we know how many will be following Cyrus?¡±
¡°It looks like it will be around forty-five,¡± Rotter said, smiling smugly. ¡°Less than half the group he came with. I guess people would rather follow a leader who isn¡¯t permanently damaged.¡±
James frowned slightly. That was an unnecessary thing to say. I guess this is just him trying to curry favor by demonizing the enemy. James still did not particularly enjoy Rotter¡¯s brownnosing ways. But the man was good at planning and organization, and James could not force Mina to be responsible for everything.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
¡°Or they would rather stay in a safe place than wander the wilderness,¡± James replied. ¡°Not everyone wants to reenact the Book of Exodus. Good job keeping track of the numbers. Will there be any children in the group leaving?¡±
¡°No.¡± Rotter shook his head sharply. ¡°The families were wise enough to stay here where it¡¯s safe.¡±
James nodded. ¡°Good. That¡¯s right at the top of the list of things I¡¯d rather not have to deal with.¡±
The sentiment was especially prominent with Mina sitting there holding their baby.
¡°So, then, we have your permission to mobilize the military and prepare to proceed, sir? Or will you want to lead the attack personally?¡±
¡°No, I appreciate the thought, but I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll actually need the military,¡± James said. ¡°At least not the other human members.¡±
Dave looked surprised. ¡°What? Why?¡±
¡°It¡¯s bad for morale to force humans into killing other humans more than necessary. If it¡¯s only forty-five people, the wolf pack should be more than capable of taking care of them. I was worried it would be a lot more. And I¡¯ll ask Samuel to join the attack with a couple dozen of his alligators, too. The idea is to overwhelm with such force and numbers that only Cyrus and his followers die. The same as in the battle with the bats.¡±
¡°Do you think that¡¯s realistic?¡± Dave asked bluntly.
James looked steadily back into Dave¡¯s eyes. ¡°Both of the battles you and I have already been in together were more difficult than this one on paper. One of them resulted in zero casualties. The other resulted in a very small number of casualties. Yes, it¡¯s possible. It¡¯s not necessarily easy to do this without losing people, but it¡¯s possible. We have to have goals, right? As the commander of my forces, I know that¡¯s yours. Zero casualties. If you can assess the terrain Cyrus and his people are likely to migrate through and find a place for the alligators to wait, I think the best plan is to have the wolves chase the targets into the alligators. You, Damien, and Jeremiah stand in whatever little path of retreat remains open to them.
¡°Hopefully, you don¡¯t have to get your hands dirty at all, but if there are any that get away from the slaughter, the three of you mop them up or stop them from escaping until the wolves bring them down. I might also be able to contribute more assets to the fight. Given how fast-moving the wolves are, though, I think the Goblins and Mole People might just get in the way. If there¡¯s someone else you trust to maintain complete silence about this, who you think won¡¯t slow you down, it¡¯s okay to bring them. Otherwise, this is top secret. It can never be discussed publicly. That¡¯s why I¡¯m not getting the flying squirrels and bats involved. I don¡¯t trust them to keep their mouths shut yet.¡± He looked from person to person. ¡°You all understand, of course? If the former members of Cyrus¡¯s group were to ever hear about what happened to him and his remaining followers, we would have a bigger problem on our hands than what Cyrus represents.¡±
¡°We understand, sir,¡± said Dave. He was not quite smiling, but he looked satisfied with the wisdom of James¡¯s plan.
I think my skin creatures might be able to participate in the fight. And maybe some of Mom¡¯s undead. Possibly including the new Vampires.
¡°Thank you for making this difficult decision for us, Your Majesty,¡± Rotter said.
¡°I think it¡¯s a good plan,¡± Damien agreed quietly.
James could tell this would bother Damien, but he chose not to disrespect the Werewolf by asking him if he was certain he wanted to participate. Damien had agreed that he would be one of the leaders of James¡¯s military. He knew that would mean getting his hands dirty.
James nodded to Rotter and Damien, then looked at Dave.
¡°What do you think about including the resurrected soldiers?¡± James asked. ¡°You fought alongside them before. They¡¯re the same people as before, in all respects we¡¯re aware of, except that they will now want to occasionally feed on blood. Can we trust them to keep the secret?¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know about all of them,¡± Dave said uncertainly. ¡°I trust Amalia to participate. Maybe she can, um, collect the blood for the rest of them.¡± He sounded slightly disgusted.
¡°I know you¡¯ll all do what¡¯s necessary,¡± James said, nodding. ¡°Bring Amalia in if you feel comfortable. Thank you guys for coming to me with this. Even if it has to be secret, this is what needs to happen to keep the Fisher Kingdom secure.
There were nods from all three men, as well as from Mina.
¡°Now that those unpleasant matters are dealt with,¡± Rotter said, ¡°do you mind if I ask whether you will be able to attend the loyalty oath ceremony for the new citizens? I understand you have been a little¡ª¡± His eyes darted to Mina, then back to James¡ª¡°under the weather since the enemy¡¯s psychic attack earlier. If you are able to attend, however, I feel certain it would mean something to your new citizens.¡±
¡°I¡¯ll be there,¡± James said softly. ¡°As long as you don¡¯t expect me to walk around and socialize. I¡¯d be far from the picture of strength and vigor that we want to project. And there¡¯s one other matter I want to address. I understand that a friend of mine from Orientation has arrived here. Moishe Rose.¡±
Rotter nodded. ¡°He is comatose at the moment, like those who fell in the battle.¡±
¡°Hm.¡± I can¡¯t bless him yet, James thought. I¡¯m much too weak. Damn¡
¡°Make sure that he receives the best of care,¡± James said finally. ¡°When my strength has returned, I will go and see him myself.¡±
¡°Of course,¡± Rotter said. ¡°I know how essential he was to you in dealing with the Moloch cultists.¡± He looked as though he wanted to say something more, but refrained.
Rotter could only know secondhand pieces of information about Moishe, James knew. Perhaps Rotter would have heard something about Moishe from the Rodriguezes¡ªthat was really the only possible source for whatever information Rotter thought he knew.
But it was good enough that Rotter knew that the Assassin was someone James considered important¡ªand that the Fisher King would be highly displeased if something were to happen to him.
So James simply nodded.
¡°We¡¯ll make the preparations for tonight, then,¡± Dave said. ¡°Out of hearing distance of the Kingdom.¡±
¡°Thank you,¡± James said. ¡°I appreciate all of your courage and willingness to do what needs to be done.¡± He searched for more words but found there was nothing else to say.
The three men each left the room with solemn expressions on their faces.
Mina remained after they had gone, and when the apartment front door had closed behind them, she looked at James.
He closed his eyes for a moment and reached out with his senses.
¡°They¡¯re all outside,¡± he said.
¡°What were you going to do if they said there would be children in this group?¡± she asked softly.
¡°Things were going to get messy,¡± James said, sighing. ¡°We would have come up with a more elaborate plan. I think one or two of my abilities would allow me to brainwash someone¡ªand possibly alter their appearance to people who used to know them. This new power I used on Cyrus, in particular, is potent. It can permanently change someone¡¯s fate. Like the opposite of a blessing. Using it on a bunch of people would be incredibly draining, even if they were children¡ªmaybe especially if they were children. It could take weeks, during which time we¡¯d have to hide their existence from the world. But now we don¡¯t have to figure out the logistics of that.¡±
The plan amounted to trying to alter the memories of the children and then pretending that they were rescued by James¡¯s monsters rather than being survivors of a deliberate massacre by the Fisher Kingdom.
I still don¡¯t want to kill children, James thought. I don¡¯t want to brainwash them, either. I¡¯m glad I won¡¯t have to¡ªthis time.
Mina nodded and kissed her husband tenderly on the cheek.
¡°Rest up,¡± she said. ¡°Try to sleep. I¡¯ll wake you when it¡¯s close to time for the citizenship ceremony.¡±
James nodded and laid back down.
He sent a quick series of messages, through telepathy and his Fisher King abilities, to his skin creatures, Luna, Samuel, and Zora, requesting all of their help that evening in destroying the enemy who had attempted to mind control him.
Then James closed his eyes and let darkness take him. He fell into a fitful sleep, in which he dreamt of the angel that he and Anansi had faced in the mental space created by Cyrus¡¯s Skill.
Fortunately, Mina was better than her word. She interrupted his dream and woke him with enough time to brush his teeth, change clothes, and shave before the ceremony.
While he groomed himself, he reached out with his Fisher King powers and felt where Moishe was. Instead of the community center, he had been moved to an apartment. James was pleasantly surprised to realize that Alan was caring for him¡ªand disturbed to see the terrible condition Moishe was in.
His flesh was covered in raw, pink and red skin. Third degree burns. It reminded James of ¡°A Nightmare on Elm Street.¡±
Alan was pouring magic in, but James was impressed that Moishe had even managed to make his way to the Fisher Kingdom with those injuries somehow.
After James was done preparing for the citizenship ceremony, Mina and Yulia helped him to get down the stairs. His continuing physical weakness remained concerning. He did his best to pretend that he was strong enough to walk unsupported, but it was clear to him that he was in some danger of falling down the stairs if he had no help.
From the bottom of the stairs, James was able to make the walk to the community center and take his seat on stage without help, using only willpower. He found it remarkable that he could do it. Every nerve and muscle in his body was exhausted by the time he sat down. He imagined that he now knew what being a zombie felt like.
But as his new citizens filed in, he forced his face into a serene smile.
A regal mask.
They all took the citizenship oath in unison, those formerly devoted followers of Cyrus. Not a word was altered, and James watched and listened carefully to make sure that none of them merely mouthed the words.
¡°I pledge allegiance to the Fisher King and to the ideals for which he stands: protection of the innocent, justice for all, and the promise to reconquer the Earth for humanity and our allied species. Only our sacrifices honor the fallen. Only victory can bring peace. Only we can win back the world. May all the gods bless the Fisher King!¡±
V4Ch25-Prelude to a Massacre Part 1
The citizenship ceremony concluded uneventfully.
James sat and soaked in the sound of dozens of voices pledging their personal loyalty to him. The experience was as flattering as ever, and he gained another level in Fisher King¡ªand a corresponding level in Evolver Human¡ªwhich made him feel slightly stronger.
It still didn¡¯t come close to eliminating the hangover from using Curse of the Fisher King, though.
James was almost ready to dismiss the gathering and let the freshly minted citizens go on their way when he remembered a tradition he had intended to establish: ending every meeting in the community center, regardless of purpose, with a story.
He asked for a volunteer, and one of the Galt family raised her hand.
¡°Thank you,¡± he said. ¡°You can step right up onto the stage, introduce yourself, and tell your story.¡±
The woman did as instructed.
¡°Julia Galt,¡± she said from the center of the stage.
Then she began her story.
Parts of it were familiar to James from his own experiences or events that he had heard others discuss. Julia¡¯s references to the destruction of Orlando by apparent earthquake, fire, and monsters were unsurprising.
She is telling the story well, though, he thought. Emotion in all the right places. He had to remind himself that this wasn¡¯t a cynical ploy to gain people¡¯s sympathies; it was just her account of what had happened. Then he was able to enjoy Julia¡¯s account properly.
It was when she reached the part where she and her family first met Cyrus and his followers that James heard something he found novel.
Julia mentioned that she, her brothers, and their father had passed through ¡°the fiery crucible¡± to reach this place. James saw nods and looks of recognition from the other monotheists in the crowd.
For the first time, James noticed how captivated the crowd was with her story. So many of them were enjoying hearing their own experience echoed that it had created quite a pleasant atmosphere in the room. They also seemed to be pleased, now that he took the measure of the room, at how attentive James was to her story¡ªtheir story.
Of course, people love knowing that their leaders care about their experiences¡
Perhaps more importantly, his mind returned to Moishe¡ªwho, when James saw him, had been covered in what appeared to be severe burns.
These two things can¡¯t be unrelated, can they?
He passively absorbed the rest of Julia¡¯s story; it covered the rest of the Galts¡¯ odyssey to reach the Fisher Kingdom, but there was little more of interest there. Apparently, they had been briefly ¡®attacked¡¯ by James¡¯s wolves, though he suspected that was an exaggeration, since he had not been made aware of any deaths among Cyrus¡¯s party.
She seemed to be aware that the wolves were James¡¯s allies, as she followed up that part of her story with a slightly nervous smile in his direction.
James simply thanked her for her tale, and she nodded and quickly returned to her family in the audience.
Then the Fisher King adjourned the meeting.
As the new citizens began exiting the community center, James sat and waited for the place to empty out. He wanted as few people as possible to see it if he stumbled.
And James wanted to use the time to think through his next move.
He had already sent a telepathic order to all the combat-capable creatures he had created that were still alive, summoning them to his and Mina¡¯s bedroom. A few of the weakest creatures were excluded¡ªAbhi¡¯s spider was not going to be of any use in a fight.
James wanted to see if there was some way he could enhance the rest of them with his existing powers to make them useful in a fight with Cyrus¡¯s remaining followers.
It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t think Dave and the others could handle this fight on their own. James knew that they could. If they couldn¡¯t, his monster wouldn¡¯t make the difference.
But when it came to fighting, he was uncomfortable with being completely uninvolved in a battle he sent his people to wage.
Even where, as in this case, it was meant to be nothing more than an inglorious massacre.
What Skills do I have that I can afford to transfer to the monsters? he wondered. Having conducted few experiments in transferring away Skills¡ªhe tended to prefer stealing other people¡¯s¡ªhe was not completely certain of the mechanics.
But he suspected that he would lose the levels he had gained in any Skills he transferred away. That was what happened when a fused Skill defused, after all¡ªthe experience gained during Skill Fusion disappeared¡ªand he had gained Skill Fusion at the same time that he gained Skill Transfer, with his Race Evolution.
He decided to open his Status and take an inventory of what he had.
[Status
Name: James Robard
Race: Evolver Human, Lv. 24
Class: Predator in Human Skin, Lv. 26
Job: Fisher King, Lv. 22
Health: 27,225/27,225
Mana: 25,056/25,056
Stamina: 25,281/25,281
Wrath Meter: 0%
Stats
Strength: 131
Agility: 141
Stamina: 159
Fortitude: 165
Dexterity: 116
Perception: 169
Will: 174
Intelligence: 144
Charisma: 170
Stealth: 150
Free Points: 0
Skills
Affinity of the Fisher King, Lv. 4
Air Strike, Lv. 5
Aura of the Fisher King, Lv. 6
Basic Elemental Magic: Earth, Lv. 4
Basic Elemental Magic: Gravity, Lv. 3
Basic Elemental Magic: Water, Lv. 4
Basic Non-Elemental Magic, Lv. 2
Berserk Mode, Lv. 0
Blame Avoidance, Lv. 5
Blessing of the Fisher King, Lv. 3
Command Presence, Lv. 1
Command Structure
Compulsion, Lv. 5
Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
Curse of the Fisher King, Lv. 1
Dominion
Dreamwalk, Lv. 7
Echolocation, Lv. 0
Empathic Projection, Lv. 12
Enhanced Stem Cell Production, Lv. 9
False Reality, Lv. 6
Fate Resistance
Full Body Control, Lv. 5
Goodwill of the Fisher King, Lv. 5
Hand of Glory, Lv. 2
Identify, Lv. 9
Illusion Magic, Lv. 5
Indeterminate Past, Lv. 0
Intelligence of the Fisher King, Lv. 2
Laying on Hands, Lv. 7
Lightning Strike, Lv. 3
Loyal Following, Lv. 5
Mass Pillage, Lv. 2
Meteor Strike, Lv. 3
Mind of the Predator, Lv. 7
Monster Control, Lv. 9
Monster Generation, Lv. 9
Natural Camouflage, Lv. 3
Omnivore, Lv. 5
Organization, Lv. 6
Otherworldly Shriek, Lv. 0
Pain Resistance, Lv. 9
Perfect Choice of Words, Lv. 7
Pillage, Lv. 12
Predator¡¯s Missile, Lv. 3
Predator¡¯s Sacred Armor, Lv. 2
Predator¡¯s Strike, Lv. 5
Predator¡¯s Venomous Armaments, Lv. 1
Rapid Recovery, Lv. 7
Self-Control, Lv. 4
Shed Skin, Lv. 9
Silent Spellcasting
Silk Production, Lv. 9
Skill Fusion
Skill Transfer
Solar Ray, Lv. 2
Solar Recovery, Lv. 4
Soul Bind, Lv. 1
Soul Magic, Lv. 2
Spellbinding Words, Lv. 2
System Interface
System Store Access
Territorial Control, Lv. 5
Threads of Fate, Lv. 1
Universal Language Comprehension
Way of the Predator, Lv. 6
Will of the Fisher King, Lv. 2
Zone of Influence, Lv. 1
Talents
Alpha Presence, Lv. 1
Basic Spellcraft, Lv. 6
Cannibalism, Lv. 6
Cool-Headed, Lv. 8
Earth Affinity
Efficient Magic, Lv. 5
Fisher Land Management, Lv. 5
Fisher Sentient Resources, Lv. 4
Flame Affinity
Genius Loci, Lv. 2
Leadership, Lv. 5
Manipulation, Lv. 9
Marksmanship, Lv. 4
Mass Manipulation, Lv. 3
Monster Patriarch, Lv. 9
Pain Resistance, Lv. 3
Selective Empathy, Lv. 6
Solar Power, Lv. 3
Soul Eater, Lv. 1
Ultrasonic Pitch, Lv. 0
Water Affinity
Titles
A Stitch in Time
Aeromaster
Chosen One of Anansi
Citizen of the Dead Marsh
Deceiver
Devout Beacon
Dreamweaver
Figure of Destiny
Friend of All Spiders
Living Legend
Pack Leader
Ruler of the Dark Waters
Savior
Spider-King
Storyteller
Sublime Creator
Swiss Army Mage
System Pioneer
Trickster
Usurper
Xenocide II]
For a moment, James¡¯s Status sheet brought back memories.
Oh, I remember when I used to hide from enemies all the time, he thought, looking at Natural Camouflage, which he had not used at all since he returned to Earth.
There was Berserk Mode, a Skill he gained from a monstrous reindeer that savaged him after James killed one of its young. Alas, poor Rudolph.
Then his eyes drifted to the Compulsion Skill, and James remembered the few times he had used that one. But there were no fond recollections there.
His mind swiftly returned to business.
Right, I need to figure out which Skills I could do without if I transferred them permanently to a monster. I probably won¡¯t actually transfer anything permanently unless I really don¡¯t want it, but I need to assume I won¡¯t get it back, in case the monster gets destroyed. My skin creatures are all much weaker than me.
I still use Illusion Magic all the time, and False Reality complements it perfectly¡ Dreamwalking isn¡¯t combat-compatible as I¡¯ve used it, and my monsters probably couldn¡¯t use it anyway. It requires a human level of insight into the minds of others to use. All the elemental magics I still have are pretty much indispensable, and honestly, I don¡¯t want to do without any of the ¡°Strike¡± line of Skills in a fight. Plus, the power of all those Skills is heavily connected to my own innate physical Stats. I saw just how useful they are to anyone who doesn¡¯t have superhuman Strength when Mina copied them¡
There were the Skills that came from the Solar Power Talent, but James had a handful of monsters that had inherited those Skills already. He had used them to purge the Haunted Forest of Wraiths. Plus, if he gave another monster the sun-related Skills, it would have hardly any time to charge with solar energy. The sun was almost ready to set.
Which also means I¡¯m running out of time, he reminded himself.
James wished he had the physical vigor to simply create a powerful new monster with multiple Skills right now. But if he tried it, he¡¯d probably collapse before he could even give the creature orders.
This is what I get for failing to plan ahead for a situation in which I¡¯m incapacitated, he thought. My family should not be in the situation where, if Mina and I are physically unfit, we¡¯re simply defenseless. That¡¯s like a pre-System level of home defense. This is the Wild West. I should have guns and backup guns, metaphorically speaking, not just a single pistol I keep in a table drawer by the front door. I need to fix this shit as soon as I¡¯m physically well enough.
His mind flashed to the vision of the future where Mina and the Fisher Kingdom were attacked, but this time, a legion of monsters made of his own flesh crawled up from the sewers underground and overwhelmed the attackers.
Yes, that will do¡
And he suddenly knew which Skills he wanted to pass on to his chosen monsters. They would hopefully only be temporarily lost to him, but at least they were things he had not leveled much anyway.
Berserk Mode was the obvious one, so that the monster would fight furiously. It was an easy choice, since James never used that Skill.
Echolocation, because this was meant to be a night attack¡ªCyrus and his followers had waited until now to begin leaving, and the sun would set quite shortly. Plus, that Skill was almost redundant with Hand of Glory in James¡¯s repertoire.
Otherworldly Shriek, because James had not leveled it at all, and it would hopefully have some compatibility with Echolocation.
Predator¡¯s Venomous Armaments, because James had likewise rarely used it and had barely accrued any experience with it.
Mass Pillage, so the lucky monster that received it could acquire some new Skills of its own¡ªJames had the original Pillage Skill, and if he lost Mass Pillage, he could live with that.
There was a part of James that wanted to include Soul Magic, since he hoped and assumed that he would be able to transfer most of these Skills back to his own body¡ªbut he resisted the temptation. Yes, the Skill was incredibly powerful and would all but guarantee that the monster that received it would kill some enemies.
But it was too important for him to risk losing it.
James could already imagine Roscuro screaming if he transferred away the Soul Eater¡¯s most powerful combat Skill.
All right, I think that should do it, he told himself. That will make my monsters as powerful as I can get them.
Then James heard a quiet rumbling noise and blinked. He realized Mina was standing in front of him. She had just cleared her throat¡ªactually rather loudly, although it had felt quiet to him. He looked up at her.
¡°I¡¯ve just been trying to get your attention, skapi,¡± she said, looking relieved. ¡°Everyone is gone. They¡¯ve been gone for a few minutes now, actually. I assumed you were waiting for them to leave, but then you were just sitting there, staring off into space. For a moment, I thought you might have passed out with your eyes open. I was starting to think about getting you back to the apartment.¡±
¡°Oh. Sorry to make you worry. No, I¡¯m okay,¡± James said, smiling.
¡°That¡¯s good. Don¡¯t make me worry,¡± she said with faux sternness. ¡°You need to take it easy the next few days¡ªor weeks. I don¡¯t know how long you have until the backlash from your fight with Cyrus goes away.¡±
¡°Yeah, me neither,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯m ready to go back to the apartment now, if you think the coast is basically clear. I think I can walk without stumbling, too. We just need to stay clear of anyone who will want a long, in-depth conversation.¡±
¡°Did you want to go straight home¡ªor, um, I know your friend from Orientation is here, confined to a bed¡ªdid you want to pay him a visit first?¡±
James reached out and felt where Moishe was. He had not moved from his previous position, and James could tell that Moishe remained unconscious.
He shook his head.
¡°He¡¯s not awake, and there¡¯s nothing I can do to help heal him faster until I recover some more power.¡±
I can¡¯t even muster a blessing right now, James thought. I bet that would wake him up.
Mina nodded. ¡°Then we¡¯ll go back and have dinner.¡±
¡°Right,¡± James said. ¡°I appreciate you remembering what was happening with Moishe. I do care about helping him. I just can¡¯t make a difference right now.¡±
But maybe I can at least do something to communicate with him, James thought. Assuming that he¡¯s not brain-damaged or something. After Cyrus and his people are dealt with, I can probably visit him in his dreams.
V4Ch26-Prelude to a Massacre Part 2
James sat in the bed, staring at the menagerie of creatures all around him.
There were dozens of the things, all subjugated to his Will, but he had never seen them all in one place before.
Creatures that were like balloons made of skin. Other creatures that resembled pterodactyls made of skin. And Thing from ¡°The Addams Family.¡±
There was so much more he could do, he realized as he looked at his little zoo of homemade monsters. So many creative ideas popped into his head for new monsters he could shape from his flesh. It was shocking how far behind he had fallen in using one of his most powerful Skills. Probably the most powerful Skill.
Once his energy returned, he would pursue these avenues.
And I have an idea for all of you right now, he thought suddenly, staring at the monsters with a new intensity¡ªa zeal in his eyes that would have frightened them if they were made to be capable of feeling fear.
It was an idea to hopefully make the best use he could of all of them.
He opened up his Status sheet again. Then he used Skill Fusion to temporarily combine Skill Fusion itself with Monster Generation. He set a time limit for the combination of ten minutes. Otherwise, he would lose both Skill Fusion and Monster Generation permanently, which would be an unacceptable loss almost no matter the potential gain. James thought he knew what he would get.
He looked at the Skills section where the old Skills had been.
Sure enough, he found the new Skill he had been expecting.
Monster Fusion, Lv. 0.
He felt like a mad scientist.
James looked around at the creatures that surrounded him, and a smile slowly overtook his face.
You guys are going to be more useful than I could have ever imagined.
He quickly grabbed two of the creatures, one balloon-like and another glider-shaped.
Monster Fusion!
His hands glowed, and he pushed the two creatures together. There was just the smallest flicker of resistance from them¡ªas if they did have some emotions in them, and they did not like having their individualities snuffed out forever.
Then the two monsters were gone, and in their place was a single, larger creature. With the balloon-shaped monster and the winged monster fused, the result looked a bit like how James imagined a plucked vulture would look.
But despite its ungainly appearance, he could feel the ferocity of the monster in his hands. He smiled.
The new creature was stronger than the sum of its parts. Of that he was almost certain.
He closed his eyes and inhabited the creature¡¯s mind for a moment. There was something slightly wilder about the fused monster than there had been about the original creatures¡ªa bit alien, a little more removed from humanity. He observed that it perceived every other creature in the room besides James himself as potential prey. He noted that the monster had the same Skills as the creatures that he had formed them from. The physical Stats were the same as the creatures¡¯ Stats added together too.
It was still weak relative to James, but would that remain true?
There were still more fusions he could perform.
He left the monster¡¯s body and opened his own eyes again.
James grabbed another pair of monsters, this time the severed hand creature and another of the winged skin monsters.
Monster Fusion!
He continued the process of making fused creatures excitedly and quickly. He didn¡¯t want to let Skill Fusion and Monster Generation defuse before he was done with this. He scarcely noticed the beads of sweat beginning to dot his forehead.
After James had combined each of the original monsters with another one, cutting their number in half, he continued fusing the newly created creatures.
There was just a little more resistance there¡ªa little less willingness from the combined creatures to feel their individuality snuffed out.
But it was easy for him to suppress, even with his body in its weakened state.
He wanted to push these creatures to their limit and see how large and powerful a monster he could shape.
As the number of monsters dropped to a quarter of what it had been, James felt the sweat break out over every inch of his body.
I¡¯m sure if I was at a hundred percent, this would be easier, he thought. It was frustrating to be held back by his temporary physical condition, though he was already pleased with the results he had achieved.
The monsters were much bigger now than they had been¡ªand far more powerful.
The forms they had taken were all fairly bird-like now¡ªlarger than ostriches, but still capable of flight, he was fairly certain. Their wings were bat-like, of course¡ªJames¡¯s body did not grow feathers, so neither could these creatures. They had beaks and claws made of bits of concentrated keratin, except one of the creatures that had bony claws¡ªa heritage of the severed hand monster.
It was impossible not to notice that they became more unruly as they grew stronger.
The larger and stronger creatures made stalking movements, like avian predators, as if they wanted to leap on the smaller ones. James had already ordered them not to see each other as enemies to be preyed upon. But now he had to give them strict orders to keep them from testing their strength against each other.
The beasts had inherited James¡¯s own stubbornness and love of a fight¡ªespecially a challenging fight in which they could not be certain of victory.
Besides their master, who they still did not dare to challenge, the only creatures present that they could challenge were their brethren.
James was too tired to worry about it. His body was soaked in sweat, yet still he wanted to press on.
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One more round, he told himself. I don¡¯t even have eight Skills I want to hand out to these things. The number of combat Skills is just three: Berserk Mode, Predator¡¯s Venomous Armaments, and Otherworldly Shriek¡ªthe last of which will be accompanied by Echolocation. A couple of these creatures already have Solar Ray and Solar Recovery, and they¡¯ve been outside absorbing solar energy all day, so that makes a total of four decent combat Skills my personal monster force will have. If I could cut it in half one more time, just narrow it down to four monsters, the power will be as concentrated as I can get it for now.
He took a break, breathing heavily¡ªalmost wheezing¡ªfrom the physical exertion of the process.
So goddamned frustrating¡ If I was at full power, I would be able to make them all into one monster¡
The idea was appealing¡ªand perhaps slightly crazy. The creatures were already almost too large for the room. Once they had been combined a final time, they would scarcely be able to fit out through the window they had entered by.
But James was not one to be dissuaded by such practical problems. If he had to, he could always make the window larger.
He grabbed two of the remaining creatures, the ones that had the solar Skills¡ªone that looked like a great buzzard, while the other was more like an ostrich¡ªand he pushed their heads together.
Monster Fusion!
James felt the creatures resisting him. They fought with their weak Wills against their master¡¯s domination, trying to remain independent life forms.
Obey me, he sent sternly. This is the way to make you stronger.
After a last gasp of resistance that he felt in both their bodies and their minds, the two monsters combined into a monster that had lost much of its avian qualities¡ªa heavier, more muscular creature with the thickness of snout that James mentally imagined ascribing to a dragon. Its wingspan was long enough that if it had tried to, it could have touched both walls of the bedroom from the center of the room.
That is what I¡¯m talking about¡
James immediately named it the Great Solar Wyvern.
The combined creature looked at James with a testy expression¡ªand then it leaped toward the window, clearly trying to make an escape.
Be still, James ordered.
The monster froze in midair and dropped to the floor. There it made small, jittery motions¡ªtoward the window, toward James¡ªindecisively before it stopped moving and bowed its head toward its master.
Good. Just three more times to go¡
James¡¯s body was drenched in sweat now, to the point that it felt like he was melting. If he had touched his forehead, he would have realized he was burning up as if with fever.
Still, he continued.
The other monsters resisted fusion just as much as the Great Solar Wyvern¡¯s component creatures had, but he overcame them each in turn, creating the Great Berserk Wyvern, Great Sound Wyvern, and Great Venom Wyvern, once he had used Skill Transfer to give them the Skills that he had planned to share. The Great Venom Wyvern was also fortunate enough to receive the Mass Pillage Skill, under the logic that it would probably do more up-close killing than the others and therefore have the opportunity for more pillaging¡ªleaving out the Great Berserk Wyvern, which would undoubtedly lack the self-control to use Mass Pillage in the heat of battle.
None of the other creatures resisted James in the same way that the Great Solar Wyvern had attempted to, although a few looked at the windows of the room as if they had some desire to try an escape.
There were a few cries of outrage from the creatures as James forced them to combine, but that was as far as their willingness to go against their master went.
They were all similarly large and fierce-looking, although the Great Berserk Wyvern stood out, because it foamed at the mouth slightly as if it wanted to kill something right away.
James sat back, looked upon all that he had made, and saw that it was good.
Just in time. Monster Fusion defused as he was staring at the monsters he had made. There was a feeling of sweaty accomplishment, of the kind that one only gets from doing something difficult that requires all of one¡¯s effort. James¡¯s vision was slightly blurred now, he was so tired, but he smiled deliriously.
I did it. I win. I made the best monsters. Now we¡¯ll go get Cyrus¡
He somehow knew that these beasts would accomplish all that he had wanted from them¡ªand more. They were probably capable of killing Cyrus and his followers without needing help from the others James was sending.
Those euphoric feelings lasted for just a few seconds, and the door to the bedroom opened.
It was Mina. She had a kitchen knife clutched in one hand, and James had a split second to think how woefully unarmed that was in a place with giant monsters and magic weapons. Then she spoke.
¡°James, are you all right?¡± Mina asked, staring into the room, her eyes clearly not yet adjusted to the relative darkness of the bedroom. ¡°I heard noises¡ª¡± Her voice choked off as her eyes settled on the Great Berserk Wyvern, which stood closest to the door.
He had told her that he was going to work on his monsters in the bedroom while she made dinner, but he had not given Mina the level of detail that would prepare her for what she now saw. After all, James had only come up with the idea of combining the monsters once he was already in the room by himself.
Mina took what seemed to be an involuntary step back, and the Great Berserk Wyvern took that as a sign of weakness.
It lunged forward toward the apparent prey.
¡°Be still or die.¡±
The monster stopped in its tracks, as immediately as if James had affixed a chain to its neck. It let out a little groan and then lay down on the ground and curled up into a circular shape.
James realized the ring on his finger was glowing, and then he suddenly slumped backward on the bed, too tired to hold himself up.
He heard Mina moving toward the door again, and he sent another message to the creatures, this one telepathic and directed at all of them.
She is your other master. If you hurt her, or if you hurt any human without my permission, you will die.
Then a pounding headache hit him, and he lay still with his eyes closed.
A few seconds later, he felt a small, cool hand touching his forehead. He kept his eyes closed.
¡°I guess I know how you tired yourself out,¡± Mina said.
¡°Yeah, you know,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯ve been in here forcing these things to behave.¡± He was trying to sound cool, but his voice sounded weak even to him.
¡°I was just coming to tell you dinner was ready, when I, um, heard them.¡±
¡°Are you okay?¡± he asked. He couldn¡¯t see her. His eyelids seemed too heavy to lift at the moment.
But he thought it had to have affected her, the encounter with a big wyvern-like creature trying to jump on her.
¡°I¡ªI¡¯ve been attacked by monsters before, skapi,¡± she said, clearly trying to effect a nonchalance that would not have felt true to her character even if she had not just had a possible near-death experience.
James reached out and took the hand that wasn¡¯t on his forehead in both of his.
¡°Sorry about that,¡± he said. ¡°They¡¯ll behave themselves with you from now on.¡± He raised his voice slightly. ¡°They just got a little big for their britches. They think they¡¯re powerful and independent now that I combined them.¡±
There was no reaction from the creatures at this implied rebuke. James wasn¡¯t sure if they failed to understand what he was saying or were simply not capable of being offended by the words of their creator¡ªor if they simply understood that reacting badly to anything he said might shorten their lives.
¡°The whole world is a dangerous place now,¡± Mina said, paraphrasing something James had said repeatedly in recent weeks. ¡°It¡¯s bound to include your creatures, too, to some extent. That¡¯s why we¡¯re going to go and do some training together, right? So I can roll with those punches. Deal with the unexpected.¡±
¡°Yeah, not everything will be as cuddly as my monsters,¡± he said, smiling.
Mina laughed. ¡°James, they¡¯re seriously terrifying.¡± She sounded simultaneously nervous at the thought of the creatures that took up the bulk of the space in the room now and genuinely admiring of James¡¯s achievement in creating them.
¡°Hopefully our enemies will think so,¡± he replied.
¡°I assume you will want dinner in bed?¡± she said.
¡°Yes, please. And I¡¯d appreciate it if you¡¯d close the door to make sure the children don¡¯t wander in here. I¡¯m going to send the monsters out, but I don¡¯t really want anyone to see me like this.¡±
¡°Will there be anything else, Your Majesty?¡± Mina asked. There was an obvious smile in her voice.
¡°Well, I would just about kill for a Gatorade, if that¡¯s available. I¡¯m pretty sure I don¡¯t have any electrolytes left.¡±
V4Ch27-Reacquaintance
Dave and Amalia sat at their posts quietly in the slowly advancing darkness.
Luna and her wolf pack were tracking the monotheists¡¯ movements and would let everyone else know if the group deviated too much from the expected route. It seemed unlikely, since the other ways out of the Fisher Kingdom would force them to move through either Samuel¡¯s swamp or Ysabel¡¯s tropical forest.
The humans¡ªbesides Damien, who had transformed into his Werewolf form¡ªand Vampire were left behind to conceal themselves in the planned killing field, since they would only slow the wolf pack down.
Rotter had positioned himself on the other side of the clearing, and he was very slowly chanting as he prepared the largest magical attack of which he was capable, to unleash on the monotheists once they arrived.
That left Dave and Amalia essentially by themselves.
The two had spoken a bit when Dave first learned that Amalia was alive¡ªthough that was hardly the word for it, of course¡ªbut since then, he¡¯d had time to calm down and accept the reality a bit.
Is she really still her? Even James didn¡¯t really seem to know what it means to be raised as a Vampire.
Dave had seen movies and television with every different interpretation of what a Vampire might be. He had never given the question a close analysis, but he knew that there were more possibilities than simply, This is completely the same person. There was the possibility of Amalia actually being a demon possessing a human body, a corrupted version of herself, or some combination of those options.
It felt like her, but was that just wishful thinking?
¡°Penny for your thoughts?¡± Amalia spoke up, giving her usual friendly smile. It looked particularly dazzling in the dying light.
Actually, doesn¡¯t she just generally look better now that it¡¯s getting dark? He had thought her pallor looked unhealthy back in the community center. Of course, she was a Vampire. It would not be strange to him if night versus day had some effect on her overall look.
¡°I was just trying to think of what to say,¡± Dave said. ¡°Um, how does it feel to be back out here? Fighting the Kingdom¡¯s battles again?¡±
Walking around again, he thought. Like you were never dead¡
¡°Feels like I¡¯m home,¡± Amalia said simply. ¡°Honestly, I know what you¡¯re probably wondering. How I¡¯ve changed¡¡± She let her voice trail off and waited.
Dave finally nodded. Amalia saw it despite the fact that he was shrouded in near total darkness¡ªbecause of course she did.
¡°The biggest change is that I¡¯m just less afraid,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m not a different person or something. At least I don¡¯t think I am. But my fear threshold is different now. I used to try and pretend I was sure of myself, that I knew what I was doing¡ª¡± She chuckled a little, as if slightly embarrassed¡ª¡°I guess you could say that¡¯s how I died¡¡±
¡°Sorry about that,¡± Dave said. ¡°I felt terrible. It¡¯s so absurd that I get to apologize to you, but¡ª¡±
¡°Don¡¯t!¡± she said. ¡°Don¡¯t apologize. I¡¯m happier this way. I¡¯m lucky this is how things went down. Like I said before, I¡¯m way less afraid, of the, uh, new world we live in than I was pre-death. It¡¯s like I¡¯m permanently on Xanax or something. And you really had no choice. I remember everything that happened leading up to me dying, man. You had a hard night.¡±
¡°Yeah, I¡¯m still getting used to being at war again¡ªand having a hard time with the idea that we¡¯ll probably always be that way. Before, I kept wondering if there was something I could have done differently in the battle to avoid what happened¡ª¡± He looked away from her guiltily.
¡°You don¡¯t have to think about that now,¡± Amalia said. ¡°I was just telling you I¡¯m probably going to be happier overall after my, um, lifestyle change.¡±
¡°Right. I was just saying, that¡¯s why I felt like this ambush¡ªwhat we¡¯re doing tonight¡ªhad to happen. The only thing I can do to prevent losses is to keep us from getting into fights where we¡¯re at a disadvantage. Nip threats in the bud.¡±
Amalia nodded. ¡°I support that.¡±
Dave opened his mouth to say something else, but Amalia pointed at the air behind him. So he turned to look.
His jaw dropped. Soaring through the sky on bat-like wings came what appeared to be four small, brown, western-style dragons. As the closest one passed under the moonlight, Dave realized that instead of scales, these creatures were armored with what looked like tough, thick skin. Where a dragon might normally be spiky or sharp, with pointed horns or blade-like scales, these creatures were smooth.
Identify.
Great Venom Wyvern, Lv. 1.
That¡¯s a level one monster? Dave had time to question what the System was telling him. He considered running away, decided he could not outpace the creatures given their flight speed, and drew his pistol instead.
¡°Wait.¡± Amalia¡¯s hand gently grabbed Dave¡¯s wrist. ¡°I think they¡¯re friendly.¡±
Dave turned his head to tell her to let go of him, but then, with a great gust of wind, the creatures landed, standing in a cluster a few feet away from Dave and Amalia.
¡°These creatures are here to join the fight,¡± said the Great Venom Wyvern.
But the voice it spoke in was James¡¯s.
¡°What the fuck?¡± Dave swore under his breath.
Amalia bowed her head slightly. ¡°Thank you for joining us, Your Majesty,¡± she said.
You have less of a capacity for surprise as well as fear, I guess, Amalia? Dave thought.
¡°I would have warned you in advance that I was coming,¡± James said through the Great Venom Wyvern, ¡°but I wasn¡¯t certain how well this would work. I didn¡¯t want to promise something and then not deliver. And once you were outside the borders of the Fisher Kingdom, I couldn¡¯t use my powers to communicate directly to you anymore. Luna and the wolves already know about these guys.¡±
¡°You certainly made some fearsome looking monsters,¡± Dave said, looking admiringly up at the creatures.
The Great Venom Wyvern smiled and showed a mouthful of jagged teeth coated in a dark-colored liquid.
It was surreal, knowing that the monstrous form was a shell for James¡¯s intelligence.
¡°Thank you,¡± Wyvern-James said. ¡°It looks like they¡¯re almost here, by the way.¡±
¡°So everything went according to plan,¡± Amalia said softly. ¡°That¡¯s a nice change.¡±
Wyvern-James dipped his head slightly and gazed down at the ground, as if he thought that remark had been intended as a personal rebuke. There was silence for a moment.
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¡°Well, we will be on our way,¡± Wyvern-James said. ¡°It would be nice if the three of you didn¡¯t have to dirty your hands much with this.¡±
The monsters took to the sky once more, and the only sound that filled the night air was Rotter¡¯s quiet, continuous chanting, which he had not interrupted even to acknowledge the creatures¡¯ presence.
I really thought he was just a pencil pusher, Dave thought of Rotter. Impressive that he kept his focus on the magic while those creatures were down here, looking like they might try and take a bite of us.
There was more to the council¡¯s Secretary than met the eye.
Dave heard the snapping of twigs and jerked his head back in the direction the monotheists should be approaching from.
¡°They¡¯re here,¡± Amalia whispered, her voice coming from right next to his ear. ¡°Don¡¯t shoot me this time, ¡®kay?¡± He heard a hint of amusement in her voice, and a little tension left his body.
It¡¯s an inside joke now. That¡¯s what it¡¯s going to be from now on. He hadn¡¯t killed her. Not really. When you were killed, you stayed dead.
The first heads appeared around the trunk of a tree. Some members of Cyrus¡¯s group that Dave only barely recognized. Neither of the leaders was up front. He imagined that Cyrus was somewhere in the middle of the band of people, for his safety, and Christopher Smith was probably helping him walk.
But they would all die tonight. There was no need to wait for a preferred target to appear.
Dave took careful aim and fired a Mana bullet into the nearest person¡¯s chest.
Immediately, the target dropped clutching at his center of mass.
There were cries of shock and pain from the front of the group. Those in the front cried out conflicting reports of what was happening.
¡°Gerard fainted!¡±
¡°No, he¡¯s been shot!¡±
The whole group ground to a halt as those in front tried to provide medical care to the fallen man.
Before the monotheists could properly get their bearings, wolves materialized from the trees around the front rank of humans. They leaped on the people crouching around Gerard first, giving the next two ranks of people an excellent view of the carnage.
The night air rang out with screams.
¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± someone shouted from a bit further back.
¡°Wolves! We¡¯re under attack!¡±
Christopher Smith¡¯s voice yelled over all the others, ¡°Square formation! Minimize the vulnerable part of our¡ª¡±
A horrible, piercing shriek cut through the air and prevented Smith from finishing his sentence. Dave was forced to plug his ears, though he noticed that Amalia, right beside him, resisted the urge to do so. She grimaced but endured.
And the two of them had not been in the center of the area of effect.
Among the shapes of the monotheist group that Dave could see through the dark, around a third dropped to the ground, clutching their heads. Some were visibly bleeding from the ears.
More wolves appeared from the tree line to leap on those at the edges of the group, and the four winged monsters swooped down out of the sky to join in the attack, diving toward the center of the monotheists¡¯ loose formation.
Another loud, piercing shriek cut the air in front of the wyverns as they dove¡ªDave found himself desperately wishing he had ear plugs¡ªand then a blinding ray of light tore through the center of the enemy group.
That¡¯s James¡¯s ability from the forest fight, he recognized.
In this battle, it was especially helpful, because in addition to doing physical damage, it also appeared to partially blind some of those who had seen it straight-on.
Then Rotter let loose a torrent of lightning from his hiding place. The entire group of the enemy seemed to be caught in the area of effect as far as Dave could see, though he could only see the first five rows of people. There were screams and people clutching at their bodies. Some of them were clearly burned to a crisp, while others escaped with lighter injuries due to being merely grazed by the lightning.
By Dave¡¯s reckoning, more than half of those who had still been standing after the previous attacks dropped on contact with Rotter¡¯s lightning.
Definitely more than just a pencil pusher.
In the immediate aftermath of the lightning, the wyverns landed in the center of the group and began ripping into people. Dave saw Christopher Smith lose an arm to one of the wyverns that seemed to foam at the mouth savagely, eager to tear into more human flesh.
A few of the monotheists nearest to Smith managed to stab the wyverns with swords and knives, but the attacks did not seem to have any meaningful effect. Most of their fellows were too disoriented to engage.
Those at the edges of where the area of effect attacks had hit alternately rubbed their eyes, covered their ears, or clutched wounded body parts that had been grazed by the lightning or the Solar Ray.
Almost no one had the chance to so much as raise a weapon before being set upon by wolves or wyverns. With the wyverns ripping into people from the center of the group and the wolves attacking the outskirts, there was no safe place to go and no central position to coalesce around. Amalia darted into close range and began working alongside the beasts with her knives.
The would-be leader, Christopher Smith, moaned incoherently while bleeding from the stump of his arm until the same wyvern that had wounded him initially bent down and tore his throat out.
The loud shrieks from the wyvern with the sound ability continued periodically as various others attempted to communicate directions and requests.
With piercing sounds repeatedly breaking any attempt to communicate¡ªand clearly partially physically disabling some of the enemy¡ªthe monotheists were unable to communicate a plan for their own defense. They stumbled, tripped over each other, and pushed their allies into the path of enemy attacks to save themselves. It was as bad as if they had never fought beside one another before¡ªas bad as if they¡¯d never fought at all before.
Very little energy was given to any kind of offensive action. It seemed to be beyond the group¡¯s capacity even to defend themselves beyond clumsy short term measures like using other people as shields and trying to run away. The ones who¡¯d had the focus and capability to wield knives against the wyverns during initial contact were the first to be killed.
Throughout the engagement, Dave kept firing Mana bullets whenever he had a clear shot that did not have the potential to hit a wolf or wyvern¡ªand whenever he wasn¡¯t clutching his own ears to try and block out some of those horrendous shrieks.
He had no way of knowing when those at the very back fled, because his range of sight was limited by the darkness. He only saw when the fifth row of people away from him began to turn and run.
Then it was clear that more than half of Cyrus¡¯s group was beating a hasty retreat, fleeing in the direction of a nearby river, where Samuel and his children were stationed.
Just as planned.
The wolves followed those who ran, not pursuing them too closely but shepherding them toward the river and picking off those to the sides and rear of the group.
The screams of their victims filled the air, allowing Dave to track how far away the group was.
Aware he couldn¡¯t keep up with the wolves, Dave simply shot at those monotheists who had remained behind¡ªmost of whom were either on the ground or barely still standing. He gradually closed the distance between himself and the first rank of the enemy, slowly and carefully moving closer to give himself an easier time aiming his rounds.
Amalia continued working on the wounded with her daggers, now not merely killing people but also draining blood into a large plastic jug that she pulled from her Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions¡ªand occasionally drinking from the wounds she created.
Dave frowned and did his best to ignore it. This was just a fact of her life now, and it was because of him. He could hardly judge her.
Three of James¡¯s monsters flew off in pursuit of the majority of Cyrus¡¯s group that were fleeing. The remaining one, the Great Venom Wyvern, bit and tore hunks out of the monotheists who had stayed behind. Each bite left massive wounds that Dave guessed were also contaminated by its venom-coated fangs and claws.
Dave shot a few monotheists who were producing the green healing glow he had become familiar with. Then he lowered his weapon. He realized that it was all over. The main body of the enemy were in retreat¡ªCyrus among them¡ªbut there were almost twenty lying dead or dying here.
None of those left remained capable of defending themselves. There was no work for him to do.
It had been an ugly business, but efficient. The part of the fight that had involved Dave, Amalia, and Rotter, had taken two minutes.
The ease of it almost made him feel a little bad, but wasn¡¯t that the point? This ambush was a lot easier than the fight that he anticipated if¡ªor rather when, as he reminded himself¡ªCyrus and his followers ever returned to the Fisher Kingdom.
Dave was still convinced the ambush was absolutely necessary to his new country¡¯s security, and as far as he was aware, there were no casualties on their side this time.
He told himself that as the sound of screams¡ªand splashing¡ªin the distant night continued¡ªand eventually gave way to a long, heavy silence.
Shortly after the last remaining bodies in the area around Dave stopped moving, a gentle light emanated from all of them, and they began disappearing. He looked around and realized the remaining wyvern was responsible. Even the evidence of the ambush was being wiped clean.
The plan had succeeded thoroughly.
V4Ch28-The Mark of Cain
Luna burst forward, her body cutting through the brisk night air.
She could see the end of the massacre in sight¡ªand with it, the accomplishment of her King¡¯s wish.
Another useless prey human moved in between her and her objective, and Luna leaned in with both heads, grabbed hold of the human by the shoulders, and ripped his arms off.
The man fell to the ground, screaming and gushing blood. Luna kept running, trampling his body and leaving him for one of the younger wolves to finish. She ignored the blood that splashed all over her coat. It was already soaked in semi-dried red and brown from the numerous others she had killed in the last five minutes.
These humans are so weak, she thought. It is strange to think they began as the same species as the King.
Hopefully the leader, at least, would give some decent experience. She was so close to her Evolution now, she could feel it. Both Luna and Romulus, her mate, were on the verge of assuming the incredibly powerful form that the former Wolf King had developed¡ªor perhaps something else that they could not even imagine yet.
Luna got within sight of the human pack¡¯s boss once more. This time, the only humans obstructing her were a handful helping the leader walk; he seemed to have lost his sight.
At the same time that Luna achieved line of sight, she heard the first splashes.
The humans at the vanguard of their pack had hit the water.
The tension in Luna¡¯s face relaxed.
Mission accomplished, she thought.
There would be no possible escape for the humans now.
A few seconds after the first splashes, in addition to further splashes, Luna heard pained screams. Samuel and his alligators had reached the fallen humans. From the sounds of it, they were enjoying themselves.
Luna saw one of her pack leap on a human near the leader and begin tearing into him. Then two of the wyverns that were controlled by the King¡¯s consciousness grabbed onto a pair of the humans guarding the leader and raised the men into the air, carrying them away from the fight kicking and screaming. Another pair of obstacles out of the way.
Thank you, my King.
The wyverns had been in the thick of the fighting, and she knew that it was because James did not want to lose a single one of his wolves to these enemies.
She looked to her mate, who ran near the front of one group from their pack, directly parallel to Luna. They made eye contact, and then she pointed her snout at the last two humans protecting the lead human.
Go get them, please, so I can kill the boss, she sent in a slightly pleading tone.
All right¡ Romulus replied in his gruff voice.
She knew that he wanted to kill the leader, too. They both wanted to impress the King however they could, and undoubtedly, the leader would be worth more experience than most of the lackeys.
But Romulus was a very generous mate.
He launched himself forward, breaking away from the pack. The humans beside Cyrus barely had time to scream before Romulus¡¯s two pairs of jaws ripped into their bodies. Then they were shrieking and flailing wildly, but to little effect. One of them maintained the presence of mind to stab Romulus with his knives, Luna saw, but his arms were already weak from blood loss. Her mate received a couple of shallow wounds, the blades barely capable of penetrating his tough hide.
Like the rest of the wolf pack, Romulus was in relatively little danger from the undisciplined, surprised group of prey.
The lead human himself, released from the grip of his helpers, turned wildly back and forth, raising his hands in the air defensively, though he held no weapons.
Luna was a little surprised that he did not run away¡ªbut then, he had no way of knowing which way to run. It was dark now, and even if he could see and hear, the sounds and images of carnage came now from all sides of him.
She lunged at Cyrus and closed the distance.
This is the price of fighting our King, she thought.
Her flashing white fangs closed around the human pack leader¡¯s neck, and she felt the hot blood gush into her mouth. This time, she allowed herself to stop and eat.
The body beneath her wiggled and writhed, but she held the human pinned down firmly with her claws as she chowed down on his tender meat.
Luna became aware that one of the wyverns loomed in the air directly above her.
Good. The King is watching.
Without her being aware of it, Luna¡¯s tail stood straight up and then began to wag.
At some point, the human stopped moving, but Luna didn¡¯t really notice. She was busy eating, and a couple of her pack members, including her mate, had joined in to share in the spoils. Monsters gained more from killing and eating higher level prey, so it was unsurprising that they would want to share in the bounty of the leader¡¯s corpse before they started eating the bodies of the lesser humans.
And Luna certainly didn¡¯t mind sharing.
The alert appeared while she was gnawing a particularly juicy hunk of meat around the thigh bone.
[You killed Cyrus Berberian, Lv. 12! You gained 480 exp!]
[Command Forest Wolf leveled up!]
[A Race Evolution is available. Review? Y/N]
The tail wagging intensified.
Yes! Yes! I¡¯m ready, I¡¯m going to Evolve! I¡¯ll do it as soon as I get back. This is amazing!
She glanced to the side at Romulus and saw that his eyes had lit up as well.
Luna let out a little whine and nuzzled against her mate¡¯s neck.
We are Evolving together, then, she sent. There was a little hint of nervousness to her tone. Perhaps she had misread his signals.
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Yes, my love, Romulus replied, the tone of his voice deep.
They had agreed that when they Evolved, it would be time to mate. The King had already blessed their choice and expressed his wish that their union would be fruitful¡ªand their children, the foundation of a dynasty that would always protect his Kingdom.
It was in Luna¡¯s moment of greatest joy that it happened.
A great, white and orange light enveloped the body of the dead human leader. The sudden glare blinded Luna, and she did not know exactly what happened next.
She only felt a burning sensation in both of her heads, as if someone was holding the tip of a hot poker to her forehead and cheek respectively.
It was far from the worst pain she had ever felt in her life, but it was so unexpected that she let out an involuntary yelp.
And so did the wolves around her.
Not the whole pack, which would have been deafening, but the wolves that were eating Cyrus¡¯s body with her.
The ones who participated in killing him, she realized. Some sort of magical attack?
But it did not seem particularly powerful if it was an attack.
After just a moment of the burning sensation, both the pain and the light subsided.
Luna looked down and saw the corpse of Cyrus still lightly glowing. Its hands smacked against the ground in front of her.
Impossibly, the dead man had launched some sort of attack.
The wolf leaned down, gripped the human¡¯s skull and body in her two sets of jaws, and with a single mighty effort, she ripped the head away. The neck was already weakened from the repeated bites to that vulnerable region, so it was easier than she had imagined.
Luna, what¡¯s happening? The voice of the King filled her mind. She heard concern in his tone.
I am fine, my King, she sent, turning to face the wyvern that was now floating down to touch ground beside her.
The creature that James had possessed looked at Luna with inscrutable eyes.
¡ª
¡°Is it over?¡± Mina asked as James opened his eyes.
Just as he had been when she came into the room, he was dripping sweat. He sucked in a deep breath and slowly let it out. Mina dabbed his forehead with a cool, wet towel again.
Why do you always push yourself so hard? she thought.
He shook his head as if getting his bearings.
¡°You¡¯re sweating like you have a terrible fever, skapi,¡± she said. ¡°Can you stop this now? Your creatures can fight on their own, right?¡±
James nodded. ¡°Yeah, they can. And anyway, it¡¯s over. For tonight, anyway.¡±
Mina frowned. ¡°For tonight? You need bed rest for at least a week!¡±
¡°Yes, I know. I¡¯ll relax, as long as no other threats appear.¡±
¡°If other threats appear, you should let other people handle them,¡± Mina said sternly. ¡°You have a whole military now. You don¡¯t need to be a one man army anymore!¡±
¡°You¡¯re right. I need to let go a little bit. Let me just send a last command¡ª¡± He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. ¡°There, now everyone will withdraw.¡±
¡°What happened out there, anyway?¡± Mina asked, her curiosity finally overtaking her concern at the forefront of her mind.
She began silently gathering fire Mana to reheat the bowl of soup she had brought James to eat. Magic was filling in the gaps for technology in many aspects of their lives now.
¡°Well, Cyrus died.¡±
Mina nodded and waited.
¡°Then his corpse seemed to be possessed by the angel I saw before, or something. It glowed with a bright, fiery light, moved like it was being puppeteered by some unseen force, reached out, and left these strange marks on the wolves that killed him.¡±
¡°Are they okay?¡±
¡°Yeah, it wasn¡¯t a meaningful injury, honestly,¡± James said. ¡°Just a little burn. Looks sort of like a backwards ¡®E¡¯ and ¡®F¡¯ mashed together.¡± His hands ran over his cheek where the angel had burned him in the vision when he had struggled with it. The wound had closed over completely very quickly after he came out of that trance-like state, but he still had a small, pale burn scar on his cheek. It looked like a white-hot finger of fire had burned him, not like a letter or symbol.
¡°That¡¯s¡ª¡± She hesitated a moment. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know what that is. It sounds strange. Like some sort of ancient lettering. I can try and look it up in whatever old books I can find and see if I can piece together a meaning.¡±
¡°Maybe the angel cursed my wolves,¡± James said. ¡°Goddamned angels.¡±
Mina almost laughed. Then she shook her head.
His sense of humor is catching, she thought. This is no laughing matter¡
¡°How did the wolves feel afterward?¡± she asked.
¡°Um, frisky.¡±
¡°What?¡±
James shrugged. ¡°Just like I said. They¡¯re ready to get frisky.¡±
¡°All right. Remember, skapi, English is not my first language. That sounds weird. Not sure I know what that word really means. Pretend I don¡¯t know the word ¡®frisky¡¯ at all. What are you trying to say?¡±
¡°Luna wanted to go and mate with Romulus afterward¡ªtheir mating cycle and her Evolution are linked in her mind, or maybe in her biology¡ªI don¡¯t really understand how monsters work that well. Anyway, she¡¯s still planning to do that, after the two of them go through their Evolution. So, I guess what happened can¡¯t have been that bad. And we¡¯re probably going to get some wolf pups in a couple of months.¡±
¡°Right¡¡± Mina said. So the word did mean what I thought it meant. Those wolves are definitely not out of place in this crazy System world. Right after you were in a battle and got a mark burned into you. I can¡¯t even imagine¡
Enough Mana accumulated around her hand that the fire ignited, and she began slowly caressing the soup and the bowl with it, heating up all sides as evenly could.
She and James sat in silence for a minute.
Then he spoke again, and his tone was heavier. ¡°I told you about what happened with me and the angel and what Hester passed on from Anansi. What do you think all of this means? I¡¯m just¡ªI wonder if something else, or someone else, is coming after us now. I really thought we were heading off the future threat. I wonder if I just accelerated it instead.¡±
Mina thought back to what she knew from the Bible. The old legends and myths were all coming true now, in modified forms. The mark that James had described actually reminded her of something from the Book of Genesis.
Is it something like the Mark of Cain?
But she was no biblical scholar. She did not even know what the Mark of Cain meant in the context of the story of Cain and Abel. It was just an idea that had stuck with her¡ªthe idea of being branded forever in some way. The sort of concept that made The Scarlet Letter interesting. Only now it was appearing in real life, not just in literature.
¡°Um, I think the food is warm enough, Mina,¡± James said, his tone slightly alarmed.
Mina looked down and saw that the soup she had been reheating was bubbling. Boiling hot. And it was just inches away from the bare skin of James¡¯s arm. Even if it probably could not hurt him much now, it made sense that the sight had him a little nervous.
She turned to James and saw he was giving her a quizzical look, obviously wondering what she was thinking. But he didn¡¯t say anything.
Maybe he was too tired to be very curious right now.
Whatever the reason, she was glad he didn¡¯t question her. She didn¡¯t really know any more about what had happened than he did¡ªshe probably knew less, because James had at least witnessed what happened directly.
There¡¯s no sense in speculating now, she thought.
¡°We¡¯ll figure out what the mark is,¡± Mina said finally. ¡°I was just thinking about that¡¡±
Then she began to spoon soup into his mouth, alternated with sips of Gatorade¡ªboth canned soup and Gatorade supplied by their friendly neighborhood Dungeon!¡ªand that brought the conversation to an end.
Mina did not leave until the soup was all eaten, and James seemed to be drifting off to sleep. Only once he was tucked into bed did she get up to check on the rest of the family.
They would talk about this more tomorrow. Tonight, it was time to rest.
V4Ch29-Reversal
As Mina closed the door, James opened his eyes again.
Time to sleep, he thought.
But there was a Skill he could use in his sleep.
¡°Hester, are you still ready to Dreamwalk with me?¡± James asked in a near whisper.
¡°I am, sir, but are you sure you¡¯re up for this?¡± she said.
¡°Yes, why wouldn¡¯t I be?¡± he replied.
Because your body is death warmed over, master, sent Roscuro in a snarky voice.
James realized he had not heard from the Soul Eater in a while.
Good to know you¡¯re still around, there, he sent telepathically.
¡°You¡¯re burning up, sir,¡± Hester said. ¡°I¡¯m no expert in human anatomy, but I know the heat coming off of you now isn¡¯t normal for you, at least.¡±
You won¡¯t get rid of me, James, Roscuro sent. I¡¯m bound to your soul, remember.
Fair enough, James replied. And do you think me using an ability that involves going to sleep is going to mess me up more, Roscuro?
¡°It¡¯s just sleeping, Hester. It¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m supposed to be doing,¡± he said aloud.
Probably not, Roscuro admitted. Remember that I do not truly understand how your Dreamwalk works, though. It is alien to me, since it has little overlap with the forms of magic I used, Soul Magic and Necromancy. From my perspective, you are taking a risk for no reason.
¡°Are you sure?¡± Hester asked.
James had to focus a little harder for a moment to keep the two separate conversation threads clear in his mind.
Maybe I am a little too out of it for this, he thought.
He lay very still for a few seconds, breathing in and out slowly and carefully, waiting for his head to clear.
It didn¡¯t.
He knew what he was saying to whom¡ªor he was pretty sure he did, at least¡ªbut his mind was still a mess at the moment by his usual standards.
Fuck me. I guess they might be right.
¡°No, Hester, I¡¯m not sure,¡± he said.
¡°Sounds like a compelling reason to wait, then,¡± Hester said. ¡°I can¡¯t remember the last time you hesitated about doing something.¡±
¡°Gosh!¡± James said, shaking his head with a slightly twisted grin. ¡°You and Roscuro don¡¯t want me to do anything¡¡±
¡°The Soul Eater agrees with me?¡± Hester sounded shocked and appalled.
Master, please tell the spider that I agree with her, even though I was nearly fearless in my life as a warrior, Roscuro sent. We must work together to keep you from throwing your life awa¡ª
¡°He says yes,¡± James replied, barely restraining a smile.
Some thoughts were lost in translation there, he sent to Roscuro.
Go to sleep, master, Roscuro replied wearily.
I am a lot goofier and more forgetful when I¡¯m tired, James sent back. Yeah, it seems like I actually need the rest¡
¡°So, are you just going to sleep, then?¡± Hester asked.
¡°Yes, I am,¡± James said.
I¡¯m not going to forget about you, Moishe, he thought. I¡¯ll go see you in person in the morning. I probably wouldn¡¯t be much good to you tonight anyway.
He just hoped the Assassin would not take a turn for the worse during the night.
Even if Moishe did experience a sudden, sharp decline in his condition that night, though, James knew he probably couldn¡¯t have done anything about it by being present.
He could feel in his bones that he lacked the power to issue even a single blessing in his present condition. He had worn himself down to a nub, trying to involve himself in everything and make certain that Cyrus and his followers died and that the Fisher Kingdom didn¡¯t lose anyone in the process.
Perhaps tomorrow he would actually be powerful enough to do something for Moishe.
James allowed himself to slip into sleep. Once he lost consciousness, he slept like the dead, a dreamless slumber that felt like it could go on forever.
When he finally opened his eyes, he felt much stronger than he had been¡ªand ravenously hungry.
I¡¯m still not a hundred percent. I don¡¯t want to pick any fights. But sleeping was a good call.
He rose to a sitting position in the bed, and Mina shifted beside him. Her eyes blinked lazily open and shut.
¡°Oh, you¡¯re awake,¡± she said, sounding sleepily surprised.
James found her drowsy expression endearing, and he gave her a quick kiss on the lips.
¡°I have morning breath,¡± she warned him as they separated.
¡°When has that ever bothered me before?¡± he asked, and kissed her again.
¡°I guess you¡¯re feeling better,¡± Mina said, waking up a little more.
The baby gurgled from nearby.
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James rose and picked Junior up, rocking him back and forth in his arms.
¡°I am feeling a lot better,¡± James said. ¡°I wonder what they put in that soup.¡±
¡°I think it was the three days of sleep,¡± Mina said wryly.
James¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°What? I really slept for three days.¡±
She nodded seriously. ¡°The world did not end, either. You can rest more. As much as you need. You and I were planning on going on an adventure together, I know, but your recovery is much more important.¡±
¡°Oh, I could bench press a killer whale right now,¡± James said, flexing a bicep muscle the size of a grapefruit.
Is Moishe still alive? He could imagine a number of other disasters that could have occurred with him asleep for the last three days.
¡°Leave the poor whales alone, skapi. What did they ever do to you?¡± Mina smiled as she made the joke, but James could see she was watching him carefully for any sign of weakness.
¡°All right, I¡¯ll leave the whales alone,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m just going to go and see Moishe¡ªunless he¡¯s woken up already.¡±
Mina shook her head. ¡°No word of that,¡± she said.
¡°Do I need to make an announcement to the whole country that I recovered?¡± James asked.
She pulled a face. ¡°Of course not! I made sure that no one found out that you were indisposed except for Rotter, Dave, and Damien,¡± she said. ¡°Oh, plus your family. Rotter has been handling the administrative stuff that is too boring for me to be interested in it. Everyone else just assumes that they don¡¯t see you because you¡¯re dealing with someone else. They know the King cannot actually be everywhere at once.¡±
¡°Not until I create a whole lot more monsters,¡± James said slowly, stroking his beard.
Mina¡¯s choice of words and his recent experience with the wyverns were giving him some ideas for future experiments.
¡°Which you will not do until you have fully recovered, right?¡± she asked in a quietly beseeching tone.
¡°Absolutely,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯ll give it another week before I try Monster Generation or Dominion again. I can¡¯t promise I won¡¯t bless Moishe when I see him, though. The guy deserves it.¡±
Mina nodded. ¡°I would never tell you to abandon a friend in need. It¡¯s the unnecessary risks that make me lose sleep.¡± She gave James what seemed to him a feeble smile, and he thought he understood what she was feeling.
I¡¯ve been making you worry, haven¡¯t I?
¡°They¡¯re not big risks when I have you to take care of me,¡± he said, pulling her into a group hug with him and the baby.
After some grooming, a heavy breakfast with the whole family to reassure them all that he was just fine, and a change of clothes, James set off for Alan and Mitzi¡¯s place. His Fisher King powers told him that Moishe was still lying unconscious on their spare bed.
Even if Moishe had not still been there, it had been too long since James spoke with the old couple and got their advice.
I have a feeling I¡¯m going to need some good counsel, he thought, recalling the strange events that had occurred when his forces slaughtered the monotheists.
There was definitely a shoe waiting to drop at some point.
As James walked to Alan and Mitzi¡¯s place, he felt eyes on him. He turned his head and caught a dozen people from multiple sides looking in his direction. As he was scanning the environment, most of them turned surreptitiously away, embarrassed at being caught.
The surprising thing for him was that these were people whose names and faces were not familiar to him. They were not outsiders to the Fisher Kingdom¡ªhis powers would have detected any intruders¡ªbut they were not friends or confidantes of his either. They were ordinary citizens.
Were regular people worried about me? Or just curious what I¡¯ve been up to¡?
James imagined that the impression ordinary residents of his land would have of their leader might be that James himself was always the center of exciting events. It certainly felt that way to him at times.
It was harder to imagine that he had become someone whose health and safety was of interest to these practical strangers.
Then again, the Royal Family used to be the concern of everyone in Britain¡ like their tabloids didn¡¯t have anything real to report on.
A little smile crossed his lips as James remembered something from his childhood.
He turned his eyes on his observers again, raised his hand, and gave them what he thought of as the ¡°Queen Elizabeth II wave.¡± He had only seen the Queen¡¯s signature move a few times, since she had died only a couple of years before his father. But he remembered that ordinary people had loved that woman¡ªand that wave had always looked very low effort to him, so it was a good gesture to emulate, one that he would be able to perform even if his body was wrecked.
Sure enough, it brought a smile to a few faces¡ªthe people who had not been trying as hard to pretend they weren¡¯t looking at him.
James smiled back and continued on his way until he came to Alan and Mitzi¡¯s door.
They had a two-bedroom apartment unit much like most of the others here. In the haste to throw up buildings for all the people who now lived in James¡¯s territory, he had not yet introduced much variety into the pattern of construction in the Kingdom. The residential buildings were all pretty much carbon copies of the housing that had existed in this place before the end of the world.
Which was a shame, upon reflection. James had often thought that many of the buildings around him were ugly and that he would redesign them if given the chance.
But the end of the world had not yet left room for creativity. It sometimes seemed that every day brought some exigent circumstance that made it harder to reshape the world that he now ruled.
He shook his head. That very thought was an indulgence, a distraction from the present vital task.
As he stepped up to the door, James looked around to make sure there weren¡¯t a bunch of people watching him again¡ªin case there was, he would do the wave once more. But there weren¡¯t. He was back to being his pre-System, invisible self for the moment.
He didn¡¯t bother thinking about whether he would prefer to be invisible or royalty. It was a moot point now.
He knocked.
A moment later, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.
The door opened, and Mitzi stood in front of him.
¡°It feels like I haven¡¯t seen you in years,¡± he said, truthfully.
Then Mitzi pulled him into a hug.
¡°There is a saying that there are years when nothing happens and weeks where decades happen,¡± she said. ¡°The weeks since you and I met have been the second kind. I¡¯m glad Alan and I were able to live the bulk of our lives in the first sort of time, though. Sometimes I wonder how you¡¯re going to manage a world that seems to be stuck in the second mode.¡± She shook her head. ¡°But I¡¯m just accentuating your problems. I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t walk over here for that. Why don¡¯t you come in?¡±
¡°I¡¯m happy to,¡± James said.
As they walked up the stairs, the conversation continued.
¡°How have you been the last couple of weeks?¡± Mitzi asked. ¡°Since you woke us up, we¡¯ve had no idea what¡¯s going on.¡± There was no rebuke in her tone, James noticed, as there once would have been if he kept her out of the loop on decisions he was making.
¡°The truth is, I¡¯ve been kind of all over the place,¡± James said. ¡°Just putting out fires. I¡¯m trying to get ahead of things, so I can plan for the future and make preparations instead of reacting. How have you guys been?¡±
¡°We¡¯re in great shape, James,¡± she said, turning and grinning at him. ¡°It¡¯s the most marvelous thing, actually.¡±
As she had been standing in the stairwell before, Mitzi had been in relative darkness. But with her body turned toward him, silhouetted against the light that came in through the windows behind her, he saw something peculiar.
Mitzi¡¯s hair had been a straight, gray mop since James met her, usually tied up in a ponytail. Now she wore her hair down, and there seemed to be darker strands intermixed with the gray mass.
Is that possible? There¡¯s no way I missed her hair having so much black in it¡ªis there?
His eyes went to her face¡ªand was it just him, or were the laugh lines around her mouth just a little bit softer? He wouldn¡¯t have noticed it at all before, and the lighting still wasn¡¯t very good, but with the hair change, it seemed undeniable that something was going on.
James opened his mouth to make some comment on the change¡ªnot something as direct as a question, just a quip of some sort that would imply he¡¯d noticed. Then the ball would be in her court to either explain what he had seen or express ignorance.
He doubted that she had failed to notice what his eyes had picked up on so quickly¡ªand what she had perhaps been hinting at?¡ªbut he would know in a few seconds.
It was at that moment, with James¡¯s mouth already slightly agape, that Alan popped his head around the corner¡ªand James¡¯s jaw dropped further. The sight of him confirmed the strange observation that James had been having trouble believing.
Alan¡¯s thin, ivory wreath of hair had grown visibly thicker since James last saw him¡ªand strands of brown intermingled with the white closer to the top.
Alan and Mitzi are aging in reverse¡
V4Ch30-Good Advice
James looked back and forth between Alan and Mitzi until he confirmed that they each looked around ten years younger.
¡°Congratulations on your excellent health,¡± he said as he reached the top of the stairs.
¡°Well, thank you for noticing,¡± Mitzi said, smiling broadly.
She looked very happy with her partially browned tresses.
James used Identify on both of them to confirm as best he could that they were the same people he knew, rather than some sort of sophisticated monster emulating Alan and Mitzi¡¯s appearances.
So, it seems like it¡¯s really them. Is the reverse aging a result of my blessing, or some sort of magic that they discovered?
¡°Thank you for the blessing, James,¡± Alan said. He pointed to a wooden dinner table that James guessed had been salvaged from one of the apartments. ¡°Would you like to sit down?¡±
I guess that answers my question. Maybe.
James simply nodded, and the three of them moved over toward the table. It sat in a section of the room that was once again in relative shadow, making the changes to the old couple less noticeable than they had been a minute before.
I guess I need to start thinking about how we get electricity back, James thought. The idea of trying to build a power plant had been daunting back when he was still trying to figure out how to feed his people, but now that they had agriculture back, trying to rebuild industry was the logical next step. Even if James might have enjoyed cosplaying as a medieval king for a little while, he wouldn¡¯t let his country fall behind the other powers that would doubtless be arising around the world.
He had those thoughts in the moment or two of silence before he took his seat at the table.
¡°So, you guys are aging backwards,¡± James said aloud, finally.
¡°Can I get you anything to drink?¡± Mitzi asked. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want you to think we don¡¯t know hospitality here.¡±
¡°I¡¯m all right, thank you,¡± James replied, smiling. ¡°I just had breakfast and ate and drank a lot.¡±
Alan and Mitzi took the seats opposite James.
¡°Then what can we do for you today?¡± Alan asked.
James noticed for the first time that the two of them looked a bit nervous. He felt certain they had not been upset at seeing him earlier. It was as if Alan had just vocalized something they had been worrying about.
¡°I was mainly here to ask how Moishe is doing,¡± James said slowly, ¡°but I also wanted to invite you both to be on my council. I¡¯m sure I can find something for each of you to be in charge of that will justify your positions there. Alan could lead the other Healers in combat situations. He¡¯s a veteran, and we don¡¯t have someone else in charge of that yet. Mitzi could lead our magical artillery unit.¡±
Yeah, Mina won¡¯t mind that. She¡¯s busy anyway. She can¡¯t do half my job and also be in charge of magical artillery.
¡°Oh.¡± Mitzi let out a long breath.
¡°Were you guys worried about something?¡± James asked, raising an eyebrow.
¡°It was my fault,¡± Alan said. ¡°My instinct was to think that something like this¡ª¡± He gestured at his hair¡ª¡°doesn¡¯t come without some sort of horrible penalty. That is, I figured that no one would reverse the aging process for someone else, even in a fantasy story, without asking some sort of terrible price in return. We both know who you are by now, but still¡¡±
¡°Well, I¡¯m not asking you guys anything more than what I ask from everyone else who lives here,¡± James said. ¡°Loyalty to me personally and to the country in general. It¡¯s my hope that eventually, I can bless everyone in the Kingdom. For now, it will probably be a reward for meritorious service, or a form of emergency medical care. But I¡¯m glad you guys are enjoying the results.¡±
Alan and Mitzi looked at each other very lovingly, and James decided immediately that he did not want to ask any further questions about how much they were enjoying being effectively younger.
¡°I think we can say that we stand by the citizenship oath,¡± Alan said, smiling. ¡°I certainly intend to stand by you. Hopefully, you won¡¯t be a tyrant¡ª¡± He lowered his voice¡ª¡°but speaking purely selfishly, I think we would probably stick by you now even if you were a bit rougher around the edges than we thought.¡± He sounded slightly guilty as he spoke the words.
Mitzi nodded, but there was a slight expression of guilt on her face, too.
James felt like a Mafia boss who had just pulled two ordinary civilians into his orbit¡ªit was a feeling at once slightly unclean and also exhilarating.
¡°I don¡¯t intend to make the two of you violate your consciences anytime soon,¡± he said.
I¡¯m very glad I didn¡¯t bring you into the conversation about Cyrus, he thought.
¡°Is there anything specific we can do to say thank you?¡± Mitzi asked.
¡°Well, like I said, I could use some advice¡ªand a situation report on Moishe, though that can wait.¡±
¡°What did you want to talk to us about?¡± Mitzi said.
Have to play this carefully, James thought. These were decent people who had yet to truly get their hands dirty in the post-System world in the way that James, Dave, and Rotter had.
¡°Are you guys aware that I exiled Cyrus from the Fisher Kingdom?¡± he asked.
¡°People have been talking about little else the last few days,¡± Alan replied.
¡°So you know the details?¡± He looked back and forth between them as he asked this.
¡°We heard that he was bleeding from the eyes, ears, and mouth, and we heard that you weren¡¯t in great shape either,¡± Mitzi summarized quickly.
¡°We were praying for you,¡± Alan added.
Damn, I hoped that people hadn¡¯t figured out that it had a backlash for me too. Well, I¡¯ll make sure people see me walking around so they know I¡¯m healthy again¡
¡°Good,¡± James said. ¡°Um, thank you. Okay, so let¡¯s say, hypothetically, that although I sent Cyrus away from here, alive but crippled for life, I am fairly certain that my conflict with the monotheists isn¡¯t over,¡± James said.
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¡°Why would it not be over?¡± Alan asked, raising an eyebrow. ¡°And how? Are they planning to go after everyone in the world who doesn¡¯t follow one of their religions? Their leader already lost to you and was crippled for life, you said¡¡±
¡°Assume that I have a good reason to think that there¡¯s more to it than that. Maybe a more personal reason for them to target us in future. For example, if I told you that the ability I used on Cyrus is something called Curse of the Fisher King¡ªand that Skill functions in exactly the opposite way of Blessing of the Fisher King¡ªmeaning that while your condition has continued to improve as a result of my blessing, Cyrus¡¯s condition will continue to deteriorate. Being blind, deaf, and dumb is just the tip of the iceberg.¡±
Alan stroked his chin thoughtfully, thinking in silence for a few seconds.
¡°Cyrus is a lot weaker than you,¡± Mitzi said bluntly. ¡°Do you think your curse will kill him?¡±
James nodded. There we go. Now I¡¯ll barely be lying to them. They¡¯ll know that I killed Cyrus. Or at least that will be their understanding of the situation. It¡¯s close enough that if some aspects of the truth are revealed later, they¡¯ll assume the best.
This was the best way James could think of to keep Alan and Mitzi aligned with him regardless of what James might have done to the monotheists. No bodies would ever be discovered anyway. Alligators, wolves, wyverns, and magic had taken care of all the leftovers.
Still, the Ring of Lies began to warm his finger with its gentle heat as he continued speaking.
¡°I think Cyrus is a dead man,¡± James said. ¡°And I know that he was in touch with a higher power of some sort. Not God, exactly. Let¡¯s say an angel for now, although it¡¯s impossible to be sure it¡¯s not a demon or something pretending to be on the side of righteousness.¡±
He added this idea in as a way of poisoning the well in case any angel should ever try to steal Alan and Mitzi away from him.
Alan ran his hands over his scalp¡ªand through his hair, with an expression of mild surprise as his hand touched hair where there used to be only pale white skin.
¡°That sounds like a pretty big problem,¡± he said finally.
¡°What is it exactly that you¡¯re worried about?¡± asked Mitzi. ¡°That Cyrus and his group will come back for revenge? Or that this higher¡ªor lower¡ªpower will do something?¡±
¡°Yes,¡± James replied simply.
Mitzi snorted. Alan frowned.
¡°I don¡¯t think Cyrus and his group coming back is a serious threat, if you¡¯re worried that your curse will probably kill him,¡± Alan said. ¡°If the group followed him, it probably means they were looking to him for strength as well as wisdom. You proved that you were stronger. And we have the numbers on our side. So I can¡¯t imagine they¡¯d be stupid enough to come back here on their own.¡±
¡°But you think this higher power might give you some trouble,¡± Mitzi said.
¡°That, and it¡¯s possible that these people will turn out to have allies or sympathizers,¡± James said. ¡°There are people all over the world who belong to one of the three Abrahamic religions.¡±
¡°You¡¯re not planning to round up the Abrahamic religion worshipers, are you, James?¡± Alan asked with a wry smile. ¡°If you are, I have to warn you that we¡¯re Christians. You¡¯d better lock us up.¡± He spoke those last words in a humorous tone that suggested he did not take the possibility entirely seriously, but James sensed a hint of uncertainty in the way Alan held his eyes.
¡°I would have to split my own family up,¡± James said after a moment, thinking of Yulia. ¡°No, I¡¯m not thinking of doing something like that. I¡¯m not an F.D.R.¡±
The Japanese-Americans didn¡¯t even do anything to justify what F.D.R. did, either. I¡¯m better off just trying to keep my own monotheists loyal instead of punishing people for things they don¡¯t really control. Just like what I¡¯m doing with Alan and Mitzi right now.
¡°Well, that¡¯s a relief,¡± Alan said.
¡°Not that we imagined you would do something like that,¡± Mitzi added. James could hear her lightly kick her husband under the table.
¡°Hopefully I continue to live up to your expectations,¡± James said, smiling lightly and keeping any trace of guilt from his voice.
They¡¯re not particularly high expectations, but then again, they also don¡¯t know that I killed Cyrus and his remaining followers¡
¡°My question is, what would you do to head off this threat and prevent it from becoming a serious problem?¡± James asked.
He was both gauging their capacity to give practical advice for the present situation and actually looking for good advice to deal with anyone who might want to avenge Cyrus.
¡°I might kill Cyrus,¡± Mitzi said softly after only a moment. ¡°If he¡¯s the one with the tie to this higher power, maybe you¡¯ll make the problem go away permanently.¡±
Alan¡¯s eyes darted to her, slightly surprised. But he recovered quickly.
¡°I¡¯m not opposed to the idea of killing Cyrus, per se, but you should understand, that makes a backlash more likely rather than less, given the likelihood of intervention by this other power,¡± Alan said. ¡°Considering that your curse might kill him already, it seems like a waste of time and energy.¡±
It was a bit amusing to hear them debating what James had already done, without knowing that he had done it, but James was beginning to feel the limitations of advice given by people who did not know the full situation.
¡°Let¡¯s assume that Cyrus dies for now,¡± James said. ¡°We¡¯ll forget about how it happens. Just assume I can easily do it without causing any casualties for our side. What then?¡±
¡°Then you would need to counter the narrative the survivors are going to spread about the evil Fisher King,¡± Alan said. ¡°Otherwise, you could end up with a lot of Christians, Jews, and Muslims who have every reason to want to see you dead. They¡¯ll frame it as religious persecution, and people don¡¯t much appreciate that.¡±
¡°You don¡¯t leave any witnesses if you kill Cyrus,¡± Mitzi said, looking off into the distance. ¡°If you do it, try to make it look like a monster attack. If you say it¡¯s something you can easily do¡ª¡± She looked at James carefully¡ª¡°then I imagine you also have the ability to make it look like something that it isn¡¯t, with a little more effort.¡± She swallowed. ¡°False flag operations are a time-honored tradition of governments trying to control what people think about what they¡¯re doing.¡±
James looked at Alan, who seemed distinctly uncomfortable with this idea but was saying nothing.
¡°You¡¯re forgetting about the higher power,¡± Alan said. ¡°If there¡¯s something watching over this person, then they¡¯ll immediately tell everyone who was responsible for the murder.¡± He turned to face James. ¡°It¡¯s probably not possible to fool this angel or demon, right?¡±
¡°Probably not,¡± James admitted.
Now we¡¯ve come to what my whole actual problem is.
¡°The people who live in the Kingdom already know that you¡¯re the good guy,¡± Mitzi said. ¡°You need to make sure that other people within reach of us know, as best you can. And spread the idea that this higher power is a demon or a fallen angel or something rather than something with a direct line to God.¡±
Alan was nodding. ¡°Information warfare might be the key here. You¡¯ll probably need to bring more of Florida under your control to achieve that. Information spreads faster than your territory-acquiring power, so you¡¯re in a race against that.¡±
James sighed. ¡°You¡¯re making it sound impossible. The Skill is called Dominion, by the way.¡± What Alan had said was where James¡¯s head was at right now, too. That was why he had wanted some advice.
¡°Not necessarily,¡± Alan said. ¡°You¡¯re forgetting that there¡¯s more than one way to hold territory. You can use your Dominion thing on it, but there¡¯s also the old-fashioned way. Boots on the ground. If you can establish a perimeter of control that¡¯s beyond where Cyrus and his followers have gone, you can cage them in if you want to. Maybe detain them. Or if they''re outside the perimeter, you can at least influence the people inside your perimeter. You¡¯re restoring law and order, giving out blessings, providing all kinds of services for them. Just like the government did before the System.¡± Alan made direct eye contact with James and smiled. ¡°You know the loyalty that can inspire already. You can¡¯t necessarily control how far information spreads, but if you take over a larger area and govern it well, you can create a large population of people who have every reason to give you the benefit of the doubt¡ªjust like we would.¡±
James wondered for a moment if Alan and Mitzi knew that he had already killed off Cyrus and the members of his group¡ªbut no. They would have been up-front about it.
The two of them were just trying to give him their best advice.
I was planning on stepping back a little bit on taking more territory, he thought. Not totally stopping, just slowing down¡ But they¡¯re right. This situation with Cyrus and the angel is the best reason possible for speeding up and doing more. Expanding my borders until I have a defensible area is the best way to minimize the damage that anyone can do to me in the future. The only way to survive is to grow.
It reminded James a little of the Roman Empire, unfortunately. Hopefully, he would not fall into the same trap of feeling that he needed to control the whole world to be secure.
V4Ch31-Moishe鈥檚 Dream Part 1
¡°Thank you both,¡± James said. ¡°I think that helps. I¡¯ll start thinking about how to expand more quickly than Dominion can travel. On a slightly different subject, how¡¯s Moishe doing?¡±
¡°That¡¯s much simpler to answer,¡± Alan said, his expression grim. ¡°No big changes. That is, his condition seems to be stable. That¡¯s how the real doctors described it.¡±
¡°Gupta and Zirndorf?¡± James asked.
Alan nodded. ¡°Rotter assigned them to help Moishe. He¡¯s only staying here, because we volunteered¡ªbecause we know him. A very brave young man.¡±
¡°You said stable,¡± James said. ¡°Does that mean what it sounds like? Is he improving at all¡ªor just hanging there, unconscious?¡±
¡°I think he might need your attention, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking,¡± said Mitzi quietly. ¡°This is probably one of those things that only you can do¡ªor, if there are others who could help, they¡¯re simply not here, so they¡¯re as good as useless.¡±
¡°The burns are healing a little, but it¡¯s only marginal,¡± Alan said. He shook his head, a sad expression overtaking his face. ¡°Even if he woke up today, the poor kid is probably scarred for life. They said he needs skin grafts.¡± He let out a short, bitter laugh. ¡°Obviously, we don¡¯t have access to fucking skin grafts. If he recovers, he could end up looking like Freddy Krueger. I can¡¯t imagine going through something like that when he¡¯s so young. He had his whole life ahead of him¡¡± Alan covered his face with a palm.
Mitzi also looked sad. The mood around the table had changed drastically.
James nodded and exhaled heavily. ¡°Okay. That¡¯s probably the most I can get from hearing about his condition. Again, thank you both.¡± He made eye contact with Mitzi and then Alan as he spoke. ¡°Now I¡¯m ready to see him.¡±
Alan led him into a bedroom that was sparsely furnished. In the bed, wrapped in bandages like a mummy, lay Moishe. Every inch of skin that peeked out from alongside the bandages looked pink and irritated.
James¡¯s eyes were drawn away from the patient, however, to the floor. Despite the room being lit by sunlight streaming through the window, there were a dozen candles near the bed, slowly burning down¡ªand a supply of additional candles in the corner of the room, waiting to be lit.
James raised an eyebrow and turned to Alan wordlessly.
¡°The doctors said that burns this severe need a warm, humid environment,¡± Alan explained. ¡°We don¡¯t have climate control, but Florida¡¯s always humid. And the candles provide heat. It¡¯s also useful to have light at night when we change the bandages.¡± He swallowed, and James could see again how difficult it was for Alan to see Moishe suffering this way.
James didn¡¯t know all the details of the experiences that Moishe, Alan, Mitzi, and the rest of the group had had while James was gone, but he had gathered that Moishe had acted the role of defender of the group. James had personally experienced how Moishe took the fight to the Moloch cultists.
I can¡¯t let this end here for you, he thought. Your story isn¡¯t over yet.
¡°I¡¯m going to try and enter his dream first,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯ll hopefully be able to gather some information on what happened to him. If that works, then I¡¯ll have an idea of what to do next.¡±
¡°If not?¡± Alan asked.
¡°That, I¡¯m not sure about yet,¡± James said wearily. His body was still not at its peak strength. He could handle giving out a blessing, he assessed, without an embarrassing collapse. But he wanted to know for certain that nothing else would work to cure Moishe¡¯s present condition.
¡°All right, then,¡± Alan said. He stood awkwardly for a moment, as if looking for something to do. Finding nothing, he finally said, ¡°I guess I¡¯ll just leave you to it.¡±
Then he turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.
¡°It¡¯s just us now, Hester,¡± James said quietly. ¡°Ready to join me on a Dreamwalk?¡±
¡°Ready as ever, sir,¡± she said in a subdued tone. ¡°I remember Moishe¡ªI mean, how he was before this, whatever happened to him. I remember how he looked at you¡¡±
¡°I know.¡±
He looked at me like I was a hero, James thought.
¡°Let¡¯s see what happened to him,¡± Hester said gently.
James nodded and slipped into a seated position, back against the wall opposite Moishe¡ªfar from the candles, so that in case his body tumbled forward, he would not light himself on fire in his sleep.
Then he touched a hand to the back of his ear, a single fingertip on Hester, and focused on his intention to take her with him. As far as he knew, Anansi had not done anything more than this when he first initiated James into Dreamwalking.
Dreamwalk!
James¡¯s body instantly went limp.
He found himself in the Dreamspace void again, and he felt another presence with him. James turned his head and saw a human-sized spider. The spider appeared to be a dark brown with lightly striped legs. It was almost as tall as James.
Whoa!
Despite the surprising size of his guest, James kept his composure. He already knew who this must be.
¡°Hello Hester,¡± he said a little uncertainly. ¡°You are looking, um, large and in charge.¡±
¡°Oh, thank you, sir¡ªI, um, I think.¡± It was the same old Hester voice, though a bit louder¡ªbut still an inside voice, apparently based on her natural temperament.
So, it is her.
¡°It¡¯s a compliment, Hester. At least I think it is. I remember Anansi changed his size freely up and down when he was showing me the world of dreams.¡±
¡°Then I will make sure to continue using the fact that we are in dreams to my advantage!¡±
James could hear the joy in her voice. He had correctly guessed that Hester would find almost any comparison to Anansi flattering. Perhaps she was even more excited to be an active participant in his adventures for a change, not just an advisor or the connection between James and the Spider God.
He decided he would observe how she performed in this place carefully. If Hester was good at Dreamwalking, he could make it a regular job for her. There would always be enemies who needed to be harassed or spied upon, and he was sure he could think of a thousand other tasks that could be better done in dreams than in real life.
In this place, a small person could cast a very long shadow.
James quickly found Moishe¡¯s dozing consciousness. Besides a few people napping in a couple of other apartments, Moishe was the only landmark visible right now. The landscape felt peaceful. Pristine.
It was nice to see that the residue of Sister Strange¡¯s incursion into James¡¯s territory had faded away. She was only a bad memory now¡ªand whatever remained of her inside of James himself.
He reached out to take Hester¡¯s limb, and she reshaped the end into a hand.
And the two of them stepped into Moishe¡¯s dream.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
As they materialized, James found himself in a place that resembled the Grand Canyon.
He saw no signs of life in any direction around him. Just a narrow path through dry, sandy ground, cliff faces on both sides of him¡ªand strangely pitted soil on both sides of the narrow path. It was as if this place had been struck as many times by space objects as the surface of the moon¡ªand therefore become just as pockmarked.
Does that mean this is someplace on Earth? he wondered. Where the hell is Moishe?
¡°This is interesting,¡± James muttered quietly.
¡°It certainly is, sir,¡± said Hester.
James turned his head and saw the spider had returned to just slightly larger than her real life size. She rested on his shoulder now.
¡°I guess that¡¯s a good call, Hester,¡± he said. ¡°You were worried about falling into the pits?¡±
¡°I figured there wasn¡¯t room enough on this path for the two of us, sir,¡± she replied.
¡°Well, there¡¯s not,¡± James said, ¡°but remember that this is a dream. Reality is what we make it.¡± He stepped into the air and simply imagined himself walking on invisible stairs, and the reality around him complied. His body slowly rose into the sky until he was level with the top of the canyon.
¡°Right,¡± she said. ¡°I''ll have to remember how overpowered imagination is here. Leave it to you to figure out how to exploit that!¡± Her tone was slightly teasing.
¡°I am pretty good at optimizing how I use my Skills,¡± James said, trying to sound modest. ¡°It helps that I could control my own dreams prior to getting this Skill. The idea occurred to me naturally. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be doing it soon, too. Now, how do we find Moishe¡?¡±
Hester stepped off of James¡¯s shoulder and then began to grow dramatically in size, until she was towering far above James¡ªtaller than any monster he had ever seen, including the Spider Queen and Samuel.
And she just kept growing, until she was the height of a skyscraper.
James stared at her and simply watched as she continued increasing in size. He was fairly certain that he knew what she was doing.
I get it, he thought. That¡¯s using your head.
Hester began looking back and forth across the desert, as James had guessed she would. She had given herself the highest vantage point she reasonably could, to better search for Moishe.
James decided to simply remain at ground level for the moment and wait for Hester to tell him what she saw. He looked around the cliff surface where he had found himself, but there was little of interest up there. Perhaps Moishe¡¯s imagination had not populated this part of the dream with content just yet, or maybe, if it was a real place, it was an area Moishe had never visited.
There has to be a reason we spawned in the valley and not up here, James thought. We were probably closer to Moishe before I decided to walk on air.
Hester began shrinking back down, and James watched. He enjoyed seeing how Hester adapted to this new environment. He wanted to know how resourceful she could be as a dream explorer. He decided to wait for her to report what she had seen before he suggested anything. This trip was about Moishe, but there was no reason not to try and let Hester take the initiative here.
¡°Did you find anything interesting?¡± he asked once she had reached his height. ¡°Any sign of Moishe?¡±
Hester stopped shrinking and shook her head.
¡°No sign of Moishe,¡± she said, ¡°but I did see something that might be worth investigating.¡± She pointed at a ridge, and James saw that somewhere in the distance, there was a light source, flickering like a campfire. Whatever the source was, it must have been a mile away.
Even with his superhuman senses, he would never have noticed it unless he was looking right at it. The light did not stand out much in the bright atmosphere, and the ridge blocked the actual source completely from view.
¡°What did it look like when you saw it?¡± James asked.
¡°A pillar of light,¡± she said a little doubtfully. ¡°It looked kind of like it was on fire.¡±
¡°An angel,¡± James said, his heart sinking.
What do the angels have to do with this?
¡°It did look sort of familiar to descriptions I¡¯ve heard,¡± Hester said. ¡°Although my understanding is that angels can look very different depending on the type¡¡±
She continued talking nervously for a few more seconds, not saying much of substance, until James opened his mouth to ask another question.
¡°Did it see you?¡± he asked.
¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± she said.
¡°Okay. That could be important,¡± James said. ¡°I was wondering if the angel is part of Moishe¡¯s memories, or if it¡¯s actually a real thing visiting this dream, like us. If it¡¯s visiting the dream, it could cause a lot of trouble for all I know. But if it didn¡¯t notice a giant spider staring at it, then this probably isn¡¯t the real deal.¡±
There was some amount of wishful thinking to this on James¡¯s part. He knew he wasn¡¯t equipped to win a fight with an angel, and he doubted that being in a dream would give him enough of an advantage to change that. It was one thing to fight magical creatures like the Wraiths in a dream. It was another to fight creatures that were powerful enough to give out blessings like they were gods.
¡°I could have been wrong, sir,¡± Hester said nervously. ¡°I¡ªyou know, these things don¡¯t really have faces. It could have looked at me¡ª¡±
¡°We¡¯re going to trust your initial judgment on this, Hester,¡± James said. ¡°It¡¯s better to be optimistic, anyway. We¡¯ll just try to avoid going near where the angel is for right now. If we thought the angel noticed us, we might have to make a strategic retreat, when we haven¡¯t seen Moishe at all yet. I¡¯d rather keep going. Why don¡¯t we go back down to ground level?¡±
He explained his theory that the dream had probably popped them into a place that was relatively close to Moishe¡¯s location, based on his previous experience.
¡°That makes sense to me,¡± Hester said, sounding very relieved.
¡°There¡¯s one more thing,¡± James said. ¡°It might make it harder to find Moishe, but it should make it easier for us to avoid being spotted by the angel. I think, if we focus, we can make ourselves completely invisible here.¡±
¡°Oh, yeah, dream,¡± Hester said. She instantly popped out of sight.
¡°Wow,¡± James said. ¡°I thought that would take you a minute.¡± He looked around for a moment, wondering where she had gone, or if she had shrunk as well as turning invisible.
A hand reached out and grabbed his. A chitinous, exoskeleton hand.
¡°I¡¯m still here, sir.¡±
¡°Right,¡± James said, chuckling. ¡°Well done.¡±
He thought for a moment and then willed himself invisible, too.
The two of them stepped off the cliff, hand in hand, and they floated gently down to ground level again.
They began walking along the path, Hester following James¡¯s lead, looking for any sign of Moishe.
As James rounded a corner, Hester gave his hand a sharp yank.
¡°There!¡± she breathed.
James turned and saw a piece of the cliff face opposite them moving. It was a man-sized chunk of rock. As the hunk of stone dropped from the valley wall, though, James recognized that it was not stone at all. It was a cloth that had changed color and texture to blend in with the wall. There was a person under there, and the person was now running.
He followed the trajectory of the running figure¡¯s movements with his eyes, and James realized he was dashing toward a rabbit with antlers that had its back turned to them.
James willed himself visible just as the rabbit turned to face its predator¡ªand the running man stuck a dagger into its shoulder.
¡°Moishe?¡± James called out. He couldn¡¯t imagine who else this could be.
The figure in the camouflage outfit, still holding the dagger with the wriggling rabbit on the end of it, turned his head toward the voice and pulled the fabric away from his face.
It was Moishe. Bearded, sunburnt, sweaty, and hollow-cheeked, with blistered lips. He looked badly dehydrated.
But it was definitely Moishe.
¡°It¡¯s you?¡± Moishe asked, his voice cracked and weak. Then his face turned wary. He assumed a fighting stance, pulling the rabbit from the dagger and snapping the creature¡¯s neck in one smooth motion so that he could brandish the blade at James. ¡°Or are you another illusion?¡±
¡°I¡¯m real,¡± James said simply, looking Moishe steadily in the eyes with a calm expression. James kept his arms at his sides but opened his fingers and pointed them away from his body to emphasize that he wasn¡¯t holding anything.
He waited for Moishe to put the knife down, but the Assassin had a slightly crazy glint in his eye as James looked at him.
Okay, I guess there was no way this was going to be simple, he thought.
James threw an Air Strike at the cliff wall beside Moishe.
¡°Could an illusion do that?¡± James asked.
¡°That could have been any attack,¡± Moishe said. ¡°Show me something that only James could do.¡±
¡°How about I tell you something only I would know,¡± James replied. ¡°Since you could assume that anything I show you is an illusion?¡±
¡°Fair enough,¡± Moishe replied after a brief pause. ¡°Go for it.¡± There was an undercurrent of suspicion still in his voice.
¡°I know that Officer Ross¡¯s wife died to save her husband¡¯s life back in Orientation, and I know that you were the only witness to that,¡± James said. ¡°I assume you didn¡¯t tell a lot of people besides me.¡±
Moishe nodded reluctantly. ¡°So it is you.¡± His body slumped as if disappointed. ¡°Then we¡¯re both trapped here.¡±
V4Ch32-Moishes Dream Part 2
¡°I¡¯m not trapped anywhere,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯m just here to get you.¡±
¡°How do you expect to get me and get out?¡± Moishe said.
James could not think what to say for a moment. He felt slightly confused. Did Moishe mean that he thought they were trapped in this dream? Or was this environment based on a real place Moishe had felt trapped? That seemed more likely. But what exactly was going on? And, if Moishe was unaware this was a dream, would it be too cruel to tell him?
Moishe might still be stuck in this place, even after he knew it was a dream, if James couldn¡¯t find a way to get him out. James imagined that might be more difficult than merely thinking he was in a survival situation.
Unfortunately, Moishe seemed to take James¡¯s silence as a sort of mute declaration of guilt.
¡°Man, don¡¯t tell me, after everything, that you¡¯re one of Cyrus¡¯s people now,¡± Moishe said. He sounded disgusted by the idea, like it was something he fervently did not want to believe.
James didn¡¯t blame Moishe for being paranoid. James guessed Cyrus had betrayed him in some way, Moishe was clearly dehydrated, and now James had appeared out of nowhere, fresh and healthy.
¡°Far from it,¡± James said. ¡°I killed Cyrus.¡±
Moishe looked shocked and confused.
¡°No, Cyrus is¡ªhe was just¡ªhow? Why did you kill him? Did you know about, um, this?¡± Moishe sounded confused and disoriented, and he looked around at the cliffs to either side of them as if he was starting to remember that this was a place he had left already.
James imagined himself using water magic to create water, and he also imagined that he had a large glass with him. Then he held up the glass and allowed the water to drop into it.
¡°Here, drink this,¡± James said. ¡°It¡¯ll help clear your head.¡±
He hoped he was right.
Moishe walked toward James cautiously, looking to the sides as if expecting a trap¡ªbut unable to resist the lure of fresh water. Since his Class and Job were both essentially non-magical, Moishe would have had no way of securing fresh water for himself unless there were some supplies nearby¡ªwhich James had seen no sign of.
¡°It¡¯s amazing you survived this place for so long,¡± James said as Moishe took the glass from him. He had only the vaguest idea of how long Moishe had been in this space, but he guessed from the dehydration and the fact that Moishe had not managed to come to the Fisher Kingdom until just now that he had been trapped for several weeks. Maybe ever since the return to Earth.
¡°It wasn¡¯t easy,¡± Moishe said, shaking his head and taking a sip from the glass.
¡°Sir.¡± Hester¡¯s voice whispered in James¡¯s ear. She was still invisible, so James had lost track of her exact position. ¡°I think you need to tell him this is a dream, or you¡¯re not going to get anywhere.¡±
It could really mess him up if he recognizes this is a dream, and I can¡¯t get him out of it, though.
But Hester was probably right. James was just wasting time, delaying peeling this bandaid off.
¡°Moishe, I want to explain why I¡¯m able to visit you here,¡± James said.
The Assassin nodded with a serious expression and waited for the explanation.
¡°This is a dream,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯m gathering from our conversation that you were trapped in this place in reality at some point, but you actually escaped. That¡¯s why I¡¯m able to visit you, even though I¡¯ve never been to this place in real life.¡±
Moishe¡¯s body slumped as tension visibly flooded out of him, and a look of realization hit his face. It reminded James strangely of a person waking up from a dream.
¡°Thank goodness,¡± he said. ¡°I thought I was going to be trapped in this place until I died.¡±
¡°What is this place?¡± James asked. ¡°It left you pretty messed up. I want to understand why.¡±
¡°If this is a dream, it¡¯s my memories, right?¡± asked Moishe.
James nodded. ¡°That¡¯s more or less my understanding, though obviously deviations are possible.¡±
¡°Like you being here,¡± Moishe said.
¡°Right,¡± James said. ¡°And Hester is here too.¡±
The spider popped into existence, human-sized, next to James, and Moishe startled at the sight of her before quickly calming and then laughing out loud.
¡°Right, this is definitely a fucking dream. Great! So I did manage to escape. It¡¯s starting to come back to me.¡± He looked down and gritted his teeth as if at a painful memory, then met James¡¯s eyes. ¡°Let me try and take you back.¡±
The world around James, Moishe, and Hester vibrated, and the air seemed to develop a distortion to it as if it were under extreme, sudden heat.
But James recognized something that felt like the beginnings of a cinematic flashback.
He restrained his natural inclination to try to stay grounded in the present moment and allowed himself to be carried back.
James and Hester found themselves floating above the canyon, looking down on a group of people lined up within the narrow path they had dropped into when they first appeared here. James recognized that most of the people he saw had been members of Cyrus¡¯s group of loyalists, which meant they were now dead.
On a fast forward loop, he and Hester watched the next few days as the group fought their way through a Dungeon. This place was apparently called the Valley of the Shadow of Death¡ªthe memory slowed near the beginning and allowed them to see the alerts Moishe received¡ªbut its monsters were not as dangerous as the name of the location implied.
A single Camouflage Iguana¡ªa creature that could turn itself invisible by blending into the canyon walls¡ªwas bold enough to attack the group, but after Moishe killed it, any other specimens refused to make themselves known. That was how Moishe had acquired the color-changing cloak¡ªsimilar to an item James had¡ªthat he¡¯d been using when they met him.
The other threat came out at night. The Deathly Bark Scorpions, monsters the size of humans, killed a couple of the people James had not recognized before one of the other members of the group raised the alarm. From then on, the group slept all clustered together, so that no one would be in the shadow of the fire. The monsters returned each night that they were there, but no one else fell to their venom.
The antlered rabbits¡ªofficially called the Common Jackalope¡ªwere more of a food source than a real threat, although they were unfortunately much scarcer than the Deathly Bark Scorpions. Only Moishe had any success in hunting them, using his unusual Stealth, magic daggers, and Assassin Skills.
The group sent a couple of people to scout the clifftops, including Moishe, to see if that was the way out of the Dungeon. That expedition ended in failure, as the elevated area above the valley was a barren wasteland, flat for miles in some directions, with no exit in sight.
The scouts returned to ground level with the rest of the explorers.
After several days of travel in the valley, the group finally made their way to what appeared to be an exit to the area¡ªthat distant place where Hester had seen the angel waiting.
Up close, it appeared to James to be the same angel that he and Anansi had faced when they struggled with Cyrus¡ªor at least an angel created to the same design specifications. Without a real face to look at, it was impossible to be certain.
¡°Come forth and be tested,¡± commanded the angel.
Most of the members of Cyrus¡¯s group were intimidated, including Moishe. All took a step back, except Cyrus and Christopher Smith beside him.
Cyrus advanced, alone, until he drew close enough to the angel to speak to it.
Though the creature hovered in the air ten feet above Cyrus, he was able to speak to it quietly, and the angel seemed to hear him.
James and Hester¡ªand presumably Moishe, since this was his memory¡ªcould not hear what Cyrus said.
They only heard the angel respond, ¡°Your understanding is correct.¡±
Then Cyrus turned back and yelled to everyone else, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid of the Dungeon¡¯s guardian. It¡¯s an angel! It only wants to test our character. If you are a righteous person, you will be fine.¡±
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Saying this, he passed directly underneath the angel. A curtain of flame came down from the fiery entity above, but Cyrus kept walking through it. The fire seemed to have no effect on him.
After a minute of walking, he passed all the way through to the other side of the field of fire, and the flames disappeared as if they had never been real.
¡°Come on!¡± Cyrus shouted. He had to yell at the top of his lungs just to be heard from the distance he had created between himself and the others. He stood near what appeared to be the end of the valley now.
¡°What¡¯s over there?¡± Moishe yelled back.
Cyrus looked taken aback by the question. Then he walked further away, as if to investigate. He stepped out of view of Moishe and the others, but James saw where he wound up¡ªperhaps indicating that this was a place Moishe would see eventually.
In one direction, set against a valley wall, there was an opening in space that James was fairly certain was the exit to the dungeon.
Cyrus walked past that.
Just beyond the dungeon¡¯s exit, there was a grove of trees. Somehow, they grew out of the dry and dead earth that the Valley of the Shadow of Death had presented so far. Despite the fact that James was fairly certain that they needed different climates and types of soil, he saw dozens of different varieties of fruit-bearing trees. At the edge of the grove was a ring of bushes that grew heavy with berries of many kinds.
Cyrus looked very pleased with what he saw, and he filled his pockets and then his arms with fruits.
When he walked back to the exit of the valley, everyone could see what Cyrus had in his arms.
¡°This is what¡¯s over there!¡± Cyrus shouted, waving an apple at the group.
Christopher Smith was the first to follow him through the curtain of fire.
Then others came, rushing toward the apparent bounty of food.
Still, Moishe hung back.
¡°I¡¯ve never thought of myself as a righteous or religious man, and there was something about Cyrus and the way he handled the situation that felt a little too familiar, by this point, if you know what I mean,¡± Moishe said by way of explanation.
James heard the Assassin¡¯s voice in his ear, though he did not see Moishe, except for the version that existed in the memory, standing far below James¡¯s vantage point, keeping his distance from the angel and its test.
¡°Yeah, I get what you mean by familiar,¡± James said. As he spoke, he was watching events down below. They had taken a drastic turn for the worse.
About half of the group had made it through the curtain of flame when the first person caught on fire.
¡°What the hell?¡±
The man looked down at his burning flesh, horrified. He began tearing his clothes off, trying to get the burning garments away from him, but that only allowed the flames around him easier access to his skin. In a few seconds, he was reduced to crawling, screaming, begging for help.
¡°God! Someone! Heal me! Please, Jesus!¡±
A few of those who the flames had not harmed looked back and seemed to be on the verge of helping the man, when Cyrus spoke up again.
¡°Don¡¯t help him!¡± Cyrus shouted. ¡°The angel is testing our righteousness. This man failed. Don¡¯t you understand what that means?¡±
The others standing in the flames hesitated a moment, then looked at each other. Then they turned back to Cyrus. They allowed the man to finish burning to death. In a few seconds, he was reduced to a blackened husk. Over the next few minutes, his body was completely cremated by the flames. By then, everyone who had gone through the flames was safely on the other side now, either staring back at the burning man or advancing into the grove to eat fruit.
With no one alive within its field of activity, the curtain of flames vanished again.
The other half of the group, still on the wrong side of the angel¡¯s barrier, looked on hesitantly, eyes drifting back and forth between the people who they could see and hear eating in the distance and the ashes of their former companion, quickly scattering in the wind.
¡°Could you bring us some food?¡± one of them yelled.
¡°Come through the fiery test, if you are a righteous man,¡± Cyrus shouted back immediately. ¡°Otherwise, we have nothing more to do with you!¡±
The next several minutes¡ªthey must have been hours in real time, but the memory fast-forwarded again¡ªwere difficult to watch.
Almost all of those around Moishe ultimately continued through the flaming curtain despite the fact that a man had burned to death in it. That seemed to be the only way to escape this Dungeon and survive the inhospitable environment.
They worked up their courage and went together.
This time, almost half of those who proceeded through the flames burned to death. The rest were completely unaffected by the fire and continued walking toward Cyrus¡ªand food. There was no longer any talk of helping those who burst into flame from the others.
From the way the survivors behaved once they had reached Cyrus and his companions, James had the sense that this experience had bonded the group together far more closely.
No one was angry that Cyrus had chosen not to march back through the flames and take them food. Rather, they were happy to allow Cyrus, Christopher, and the others who had stepped through the fire earlier to tease them about their hesitation.
The latecomers became just as smug about their survival as Cyrus had been.
¡°Come on,¡± they shouted at those who were still left behind, a handful of people by then. ¡°What are you afraid of? If you¡¯re a good person¡¡±
There were, mingled into these taunts, some slanders of the dead, which made the Moishe in the memory wince.
One more person tried to cross through the fire. She burst into flames almost as soon as she stepped in, and Moishe quickly reached in and pulled her toward him.
His clothes caught fire as he did, but then the two of them were rolling on the sandy ground until they had put the flames out.
Both had managed to escape with only light burns, but the lucky ones on the other side were not happy about it.
Some of those who had crossed started picking up rocks and throwing them at Moishe and the girl. None of them, James observed, were willing to cross back through the flames and try to get at them at closer range, though.
Moishe barked an order at the others who had remained on the unlucky side of the angel¡¯s barrier, and two of them helped him and the woman walk away from the stone throwers.
The flashback fast forwarded again.
The group spent the next several days trying to survive in the Valley of the Shadow of Death. The natural hazards picked them off slowly, one by one. Hunger, thirst, and the quick-acting venom of the Deathly Bark Scorpions killed all but Moishe himself and one other man, named Ahmed.
The woman Moishe had saved from the flames was sadly the first to die. Slowed down by her burns, she was easy prey for a scorpion on the first night.
After their comrades had died, Moishe and his fellow survivor Looted the bodies for usable equipment.
It was on the day after the last of their allies had died that they ran into another group of Dungeon participants.
Moishe and the other survivor were shocked to meet with people who were stuck in the same place as them, although the people they ran into looked much fresher than them. The interactions were fast forwarded through, though, so James had little idea what happened except that Moishe and his ally separated from this large group rather than going with them.
¡°What¡¯s up with that, Moishe?¡± James asked out loud.
¡°This is a group that I had actually run into before,¡± Moishe said. ¡°This is when I realized Cyrus was not to be trusted at all. Before, I thought he was just sanctimonious. When I ran into this group, though¡ªthey were led by a guy Cyrus knew¡ªit became obvious to me that Cyrus and his allies were deliberately leading people into this horrible Dungeon.¡±
¡°What?¡± James asked. ¡°Why?!¡±
¡°They were recruiting followers,¡± Moishe replied bitterly.
¡°This was their way of testing people for righteousness,¡± Hester added quietly so that only James could hear her.
James shuddered. Out of all the tyrannies that had existed in all of history, none had ever managed to infiltrate the last stronghold of human freedom: the mind.
The mind was its own place. One¡¯s secret thoughts and feelings were a secret from the world. Certainly, some monarchs and dictators in history had forced people to take loyalty oaths¡ªas James himself did.
But wise rulers, like Queen Elizabeth I, made it a motto to ¡°not open windows into men¡¯s souls.¡± There was no productive value in trying to persecute people for what they believed, as opposed to what they did.
Any sane leader knew that people might be thinking anything on the inside, and there wasn¡¯t a damn thing they could do about it except punish wrongthink if it was expressed.
Until now.
¡°This is a perfect way to recruit followers,¡± James muttered. ¡°If you¡¯re willing to turn completely evil as a way to get there.¡±
But from Cyrus¡¯s point of view, it was probably righteous.
It was interesting to him that the angel had helped Cyrus in this way, by ensuring that he included only the ¡°righteous¡± among his flock. He wondered what the ¡°righteous¡± criterion really meant.
Was it the genuinely morally good? Somehow, given the stone-throwing at the end, that seemed unlikely.
Was it only those who tested as sincere followers of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam? James had seen from the religious pendants that some wore that there were members of all three groups among Cyrus¡¯s survivors.
Or, perhaps the worst possibility of all, was it random? Giving the survivors a sense of unearned virtue, while killing people who had not done anything to fail the angel¡¯s test except have bad luck.
¡°Yeah, you can¡¯t make an omelet without scorching a few eggs and mocking them as they burn,¡± Moishe replied bitterly.
The vision continued on fast-forward again, with Moishe and his companion, Ahmed, continuing to hunt the Valley of the Shadow of Death, looking for food and any sign of water or plants that could be eaten. But they had little luck.
James noticed they were trailing the group they had run into, and he asked why.
¡°Honestly, it was mainly so that we could Loot if any of them died,¡± Moishe admitted. He fast-forwarded to a scene where a Deathly Bark Scorpion had killed a member of the new group, and Ahmed Looted the corpse.
He and Moishe rushed away with the items the dead person had been holding, and when they were a safe distance away, they rejoiced. The dead man had been carrying a half full plastic bottle of water. Judging by the look of Moishe and Ahmed, this find saved them from dying of dehydration.
Wow. You guys got pretty desperate.
¡°Did you ever try warning any of them?¡± James asked, trying to keep his tone non-judgmental. It was marvelous that Moishe had somehow survived this place himself, but James was beginning to suspect that aside from the people aligned with Cyrus, no one had survived this place.
¡°Just keep watching,¡± Moishe said, his voice hollow. ¡°I¡¯ve remembered everything now. I know what happens, and I know how this ends¡ but you need to see it.¡±
V4Ch33-Moishes Escape
As the memory went on, James saw that Moishe infiltrated the camp at night and managed to talk one person who was skeptical of the group¡¯s leader¡ªa man named Harris¡ªinto joining them.
Others preferred not to listen to the man who looked and sounded a bit like a sort of desperate desert bandit, spreading paranoia about their leader and their religion.
But Moishe came back the next night and the one after that.
He eventually peeled another member off of the group.
After a few nights of this, the group¡¯s leader started posting guards who would chase Moishe or Ahmed away if they drew near.
That was fine. They had little ability to feed the mouths they had, and the new additions to Moishe and Ahmed¡¯s party still had to be fully won over.
They hunted with Moishe and Ahmed, then eventually watched as the previous events repeated themselves¡ªthe group passed through the veil of fire. Again, most passed the angel¡¯s test. Some died horribly, screaming and clawing at the earth as they burned to death.
The pattern repeated itself with other groups, including many people who Moishe told James he did not remember being present at the gathering of religious people he had seen when he met Cyrus.
This underscored the purpose of the strange test.
Cyrus and his followers, along with the other groups of religious people and their respective leaders, had continued to camp out on the other side of the flame curtain. They ate their fill of fruit each day and swelled the ranks of their groups with those who had passed the test.
Eventually, after what James estimated at around a month, Cyrus and Christopher Smith left with around a hundred people¡ªalmost the full roster they had arrived at the Fisher Kingdom with. The other religious leaders who had been leading groups through the valley stayed and continued the process of recruitment.
¡°Now I think I understand why you wanted me to see,¡± James murmured.
Moishe nodded. ¡°You said you got Cyrus, but there are other people following the same playbook as him. Even if I¡¯m, um, stuck in a dream or something¡ªit doesn¡¯t matter what happens to me, I¡¯m just one guy¡ªyou have to do something about this. These guys are recruiting like this for a reason. It¡¯s just like Rostov, but I don¡¯t know what they¡¯re planning to do¡ª¡±
¡°It¡¯s okay, man,¡± James said. Moishe was getting worked up, and that was of no help to either of them. ¡°I¡¯m working on it. You trust me, right?¡±
There was silence for a moment. Then Moishe said, ¡°Yes. I was trying to nod, but I didn¡¯t give myself a physical body in the flashback, besides the one down there trying his best to survive.¡±
¡°I get what you¡¯ve been trying to show me now,¡± James said. ¡°Unless there¡¯s something more, besides the character of the enemy we¡¯re facing, I¡¯m ready to see what you did to get out. I want to figure out if I can help you, and that¡¯s the big clue I¡¯m missing.¡±
¡°You didn¡¯t guess already?¡± Moishe asked. ¡°How would you have escaped?¡±
¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I could handle being lit on fire for a few minutes,¡± James replied. ¡°No offense. I¡¯m just built differently from other humans at this point.¡±
¡°Right,¡± Moishe said. ¡°I forget how different you are sometimes.¡±
¡°But really, I wouldn¡¯t want to try that as my first option,¡± James said. ¡°My power set is totally different from yours, so I would have used my long range attacks and tried to kill the angel. If I can¡¯t kill it, I could at least distract it, assuming it¡¯s vulnerable to some form of physical harm. In that time, my allies would escape the Dungeon, and if I couldn¡¯t hurt the angel, I would try to get away to follow them. Just like you have an invisibility item that you were using back when I met you, I have something like that too. I would use that when I wanted to sneak away from the angel and try to get through the exit myself.¡±
¡°So, you think it¡¯s really an angel, then?¡± Moishe asked.
¡°What else would it be?¡± James replied.
¡°I just didn¡¯t assume that Cyrus was right about it being something that¡¯s supposed to be good. I don¡¯t know. Could be anything. I just thought of it as the main monster of this place that I needed to escape.¡±
¡°That¡¯s probably a better way of thinking about it,¡± James said. He wondered if Moishe had some religious leanings. ¡°I would add that the devil was supposedly an angel, so just because something is supposed to be one, wouldn¡¯t mean that it¡¯s good, even if the, um, holy books are turning out to be true.¡±
¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fair,¡± Moishe said. ¡°Anyway, you¡¯re probably wondering if your proposed ideas for escape occurred to us, and if they worked.¡±
James nodded.
The vision stopped fast-forwarding, and James saw Moishe and a group of five others gathered around a small campfire. It was sunset in the Dungeon. The party was in a heated discussion about what to do next.
¡°We can¡¯t just stay here!¡± exclaimed Ahmed. ¡°There are people waiting for us outside.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t want to burn to death,¡± said another man.
¡°We might have to take our lives in our hands,¡± said a woman.
¡°I did have a thought about how we might get out,¡± said Moishe.
Everyone got quiet and looked at him.
¡°I have two of these,¡± he said. ¡°They came from killing those invisible iguanas. I found one when I first got here and another during one of the days I¡¯ve been trapped. It¡¯s really the only lucky thing that¡¯s happened to me besides running into you guys since I got here.¡± He pulled out the camouflage item that James had seen him use before, and he demonstrated how it worked.
¡°So that allows you to blend in with the environment and turn basically invisible?¡± the woman asked.
Moishe pulled the cloak away from his face again before he replied.
¡°That¡¯s about it,¡± he said. ¡°I figured that if the creature doesn¡¯t detect us, it won¡¯t turn on the wall of fire. The first person can get through, and a second person can go in, get the backup skin from the first guy who made it, and cross back to give it to the next in line. This way, we might be able to all get across.¡±
¡°You think you can fool an angel?¡± asked a man who had not spoken before.
¡°Who says this damn thing is an angel?¡± Moishe asked. ¡°Just because this Dungeon is pretending to be modeled after a religious idea, it doesn¡¯t mean the creature that¡¯s guarding the exit is a real angel. Anyway, if this is anything like a video game, Dungeons are made to be beaten. The fact that this monster appeared in this place is not a coincidence. The item it dropped is probably the indispensable thing that we need to escape this place.¡±
¡°I agree with Moishe,¡± said Ahmed. ¡°Of course, I¡¯d be willing to try almost anything to get out of here by this point.¡±
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¡°So, who goes?¡± asked the woman.
There was further discussion, which the flashback fast-forwarded through. The group agreed to the drawing of lots.
Moishe prepared strips of paper, and each member of the group took one.
Ahmed drew the short strip.
The group snuck as close to the Dungeon exit as they could without triggering the angel¡¯s attention or being seen by the religious group still camping at the edge of the canyon. By now, they knew the ins and outs of the Valley of the Shadow of Death, which was not particularly complex once one had spent enough time there.
This was not like the Dungeon James had experienced with Anansi, in which the occupants were trying to deceive him even as he tried to deceive them. It was even less like Carol¡¯s Dungeon, which James had speed-run through easily. The Valley of the Shadow of Death simply required unyielding endurance, vigilance, and hardiness and slowly ground down anyone who stayed too long.
At the point where they stopped, Moishe, Ahmed, and the rest could just barely see the shape of the angel in the distance. But it was clear from their internal discussion that they were afraid that if they drew any nearer, they would trigger the angel¡¯s wrath or some retaliation from the religious zealots.
¡°Now is the time,¡± Ahmed said restlessly. ¡°Now I¡¯ve got to go.¡± He sounded nervous as he donned the cloak.
¡°Wait,¡± Moishe said, laying a hand on Ahmed¡¯s shoulder. ¡°What¡¯s your last name, man? I realized I never asked you. And is there something you¡¯d like us to tell your family, in case we make it out and you don¡¯t?¡±
¡°Qadir,¡± Ahmed said. ¡°It starts with a ¡®Q,¡¯ and there¡¯s no ¡®U¡¯ after it. Just ¡®Q-A-D-I-R¡¯. Not exactly a common name in Florida, so if you meet anyone with it, they¡¯re probably my family.¡± Ahmed laughed nervously. Then he fell silent, and his face became grave. ¡°If you meet them, and I didn¡¯t make it, just tell them¡ªtell them that I tried. I wanted to make it back to them. But it was impossible. I was misled by evil men¡ªwell, you know the whole story, Moishe. You can give them all the details, if you want. Maybe don¡¯t tell them how I died, if it¡¯s like what happened to the others. Use your best judgment. I just want them to know, I¡¯m not one of those deadbeats who abandons his family. That¡¯s it. I lived and I died the best way I knew how.¡± He nodded to himself. ¡°I was an honorable man.¡± Ahmed looked at Moishe and laughed nervously again. ¡°I just rambled there, eh? Will you remember all that?¡±
¡°Sure, man,¡± Moishe said, trying and failing to smile at his ally. He shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll never forget it as long as I live. Unless you survive¡ª¡± He finally managed to smile¡ª¡°in which case I¡¯ll do my best to forget we ever had this conversation.¡±
¡°There¡¯s one more thing,¡± Ahmed said. ¡°In case I don¡¯t survive, you should have this.¡±
He handed Moishe his bag, with all his items in it.
¡°I wouldn¡¯t want the angel to destroy it¡ªor for all my stuff to go to waste, if it could help you last a little bit longer,¡± Ahmed added.
¡°Thank you,¡± said Moishe, visibly touched.
¡°Salam, Moishe.¡± Ahmed¡¯s face had taken on a fatalistic smile. He was ready to face whatever fate awaited him.
¡°Salam, Ahmed.¡±
The two men clasped hands and embraced, and then Ahmed pulled the cloak over his head so that nothing of him was visible.
He stepped away from the group, toward the bounds of the angel¡¯s territory.
Moishe stood, looking like he was holding his breath for a moment. Then the curtain of flame ignited. Moishe saw a burst of flame that appeared to catch a bit of the rocky ground on fire.
Of course, Moishe and everyone with him knew what they were actually watching.
Ahmed was burning. He blended into the ground at that moment, but there was no mistaking what was happening.
Moishe covered his face, then shook his head and forced himself to keep his eyes on what was happening to his ally.
James and Hester looked on, and Moishe stared, as the burning went on for several minutes. During that time, Ahmed continued moving forward, forcing himself to advance through the curtain of fire, through the pain. He collapsed only a few feet away from the edge of the religious camp.
The religious folk looked on with mild curiosity, and the leader nearest to Ahmed¡¯s burning body gave a quick lecture on how they could not deceive or hide from the Almighty. It was sort of muted, because Moishe had apparently not been paying attention to what the man said.
He still stared at Ahmed as the slumped figure burned.
Moishe kept staring until Ahmed¡¯s body and all his clothing had burned to ashes. Within a few minutes, there was no sign that he had ever existed.
The Moishe that was remembering this, immaterial in the air alongside James and Hester, let out a choked cry.
¡°It¡¯s so painful to remember,¡± he said after a moment. ¡°He was a good man. He was very brave. He endured all that pain without crying out. He knew the religious folks weren¡¯t going to help him, and more than anything else, he didn¡¯t want to give us away. He was incredibly strong inside. It¡¯s rare to meet someone that strong. And seeing how he handled it helped me figure out my method for escape.¡±
¡°Jesus Christ,¡± James said, shaking his head. He knew immediately what Moishe meant.
¡°What?¡± asked Hester.
¡°Show us how you got out of here, Moishe,¡± James said quietly.
So this is how you got burnt so badly.
Moishe fast-forwarded the flashback several days in the future. There were more scenes of him and his little group Looting the bodies of those who fell in the Valley of the Shadow of Death. It was obvious from the methodical way that the group did everything, taking inventory of supplies and dividing them up among themselves, that they had discussed a plan after Ahmed died.
But the mood was somber.
James could tell that none of these people believed they would make it out of the Dungeon. Except perhaps Moishe.
It was impossible to tell if the look in the young man¡¯s eyes was belief or simply gritty determination. He would get out of here, whether that angel thought he was righteous or not. He would find Ahmed¡¯s family. He would reunite with his friends. He would live.
Another member of the group fell to a Deathly Bark Scorpion attack. The rest of them did not visibly mourn as they had the earlier deaths. They were growing hardened to these events. They simply Looted the body and moved on.
An evening came, after most of the religious people had already moved on and left the Dungeon, when Moishe and the rest were ready.
They approached the angel and the religious camp again, and they stopped where they had before when Ahmed crossed.
¡°Everyone has their Health Potions?¡± the Moishe on the ground asked.
¡°You didn¡¯t¡¡± James said. This was going to be hard to watch.
¡°You¡¯re goddamn right I did,¡± said the Moishe who watched along with James and Hester. ¡°No regrets, either.¡±
¡°What the¡¡± Hester was confused, until she saw what the people on the ground did.
Moishe had put away almost all his gear. He wore only a thin layer of clothing now, with his System-provided bag hidden in his underwear.
The only other items he and the others kept out were Health Potions.
¡°You¡¯re insane!¡± Hester exclaimed as she realized what was going on.
¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± cried the Moishe in the Valley of the Shadow of Death. He chugged one of the Health Potions, and he started running at the angel¡¯s territory.
The flames ignited all over his body at once, and he powered through with sheer determination. The rest of the party had chugged a potion each and continued after him. As they walked through the fire, each party member opened and began drinking another potion.
As Moishe staggered forward, the others behind him tried to keep pace¡ªbut most of them did not have what Moishe and Ahmed had within them.
Some intangible factor that kept them going despite everything.
Two of the group fell almost immediately. Moishe refused to look back as he heard them fall. He just started sucking on another potion as he continued moving forward with his burning legs.
He ignored the jeering words of the religious folk who were standing at the edges of the Valley of the Shadow of Death. And Moishe managed to continue on beyond the limits of the curtain of flames.
His entire body was on fire by that point. He tried to take another potion, but the bottle cracked in his hand and then exploded from the heat.
He rolled around on the ground and put some of the fire out, but he was still burning, his body smoking and hissing. The only good side was that the religious folks were wary of approaching him while he was on fire.
Only one other man had made it through beside Moishe.
The two tried as best they could to put their flames out by rolling on the ground, then helped each other as they walked toward the exit portal.
James could see the angel was moving, as if it was saying something as they left, but Moishe and the other man were incapable of taking notice. It was as if the sound was muted. Looking carefully, James saw that Moishe¡¯s ears had melted.
But no one got in their way as they made their way out.
Both men managed to step through the exit.
The Dungeon of the Valley of the Shadow of Death had been cleared.
V4Ch34-The Journey Home
The words appeared to confirm that Moishe and his remaining companion¡¯s ordeal was over.
[Congratulations! You have cleared Dungeon: Valley of the Shadow of Death!]
[Assassin leveled up!]
It kind of sucks that he didn¡¯t even get to be the first one to clear it, James thought. All he got was a lousy level¡
¡°I¡¯m so sorry you had to go through that, man,¡± James said.
¡°Thanks, James,¡± Moishe said. His voice was hollow.
¡°And I¡¯ll make sure no one else does,¡± James murmured.
Below them, James saw the past Moishe and his companion, both covered in horrendous burns, chug a Health Potion each and continue running away from the church that had apparently been the entrance to the Dungeon.
James marked the church¡¯s appearance in his mind. He wasn¡¯t certain if Dungeons could be destroyed¡ªat least, he wasn¡¯t sure about destroying Dungeons that did not seem to have a Dungeon Core¡ªbut James badly wanted to see this place destroyed.
After he felt certain he had memorized the location, he watched past Moishe as the setting changed. Moishe¡¯s companion was barely still walking, and Moishe himself clearly lacked the strength to carry his ally. The two figures leaned on each other, but it was obvious to James¡¯s eyes that the other man was fading rapidly.
The two men were still following James¡¯s Skin Balloon, which had waited for them to emerge from the church Dungeon, with no thought of doing something else or going anywhere else. This was the main problem with James¡¯s self-created monsters, he noted. Most of them had no real capacity to do anything other than perform a single task that James had given them¡ªthey exercised no judgment. It took extra time and energy to create a monster with more powers.
If the Skin Balloon had been capable of thinking critically about its mission¡ªif it had conveyed to James that the person it was supposed to guide had been stuck in a Dungeon¡ªhe thought he might have done something about it.
James didn¡¯t know if there was anything he could have done, but he was still angry at everyone and everything that had conspired to trap one of his people and burn him to near death.
The dream followed past Moishe for a long way. It was still guided by present Moishe¡¯s intentions, James guessed, but the Assassin was not exactly focused at the moment. Lost in his memories, he was simply watching them play out rather than guiding the vision to the most useful moments.
James didn¡¯t feel any pressing need to interrupt. In the world of the mind, he knew that events could move much more quickly than they did in real life. He was willing to wait for Moishe¡¯s vision to catch up to the present.
After what felt like around five miles from the Dungeon, Moishe¡¯s companion collapsed. James could tell it would happen in advance. The other man had been leaning increasingly heavily on Moishe over the last stretch of distance.
And he was aware Moishe had arrived at the Fisher Kingdom alone.
So he had known the ending of the other¡¯s story well in advance.
¡°I¡¯ll come back for you,¡± past Moishe promised the dying man, kneeling and clutching his hand tightly. ¡°I¡¯ll¡ªI¡¯ll send someone, I¡ª¡±
¡°Go,¡± said the man on the ground. The words came out in a pained whisper, but the man tried to twist his horribly burnt mouth into a semblance of a smile.
The two men squeezed each other¡¯s hands, and then Moishe moved on with renewed energy.
James saw night fall, but the crescent moon found Moishe still scrambling toward the Fisher Kingdom, following the monster in the sky that still guided him.
The sun rose again, and he was still moving forward, albeit visibly weakened.
At no point did Moishe stop.
He showed endurance and grit befitting a soldier.
Finally, standing in a tangled wood, past Moishe clearly sensed monsters all around him, surrounding his position from behind some trees.
¡°Fuck! Shit¡¡±
The Assassin drew his daggers from within his bag and looked from side to side. His strength was clearly completely gone by this point, but his eyes remained defiant. He was ready to make his last stand against this sick, brutal, new world.
Then a familiar, two-headed wolf poked both her heads through the trees.
¡°Human, you were from James¡¯s Orientation,¡± she murmured, a question in her tone.
¡°Oh, thank God¡¡± past Moishe muttered.
He slumped to his knees and then fell forward, and the world turned dark.
James, Hester, and Moishe were left floating in darkness together.
Moishe seemed to return to life with the end of the show.
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¡°Thank you for coming to visit,¡± he said. ¡°I hope you took something useful from that.¡±
James nodded. ¡°And I¡¯ll try to wake you up, too.¡±
¡°Try to¡ªI know it¡¯s probably not reasonable to think he¡¯s still alive, but could you please try to recover the guy I left behind?¡± Moishe asked. ¡°Even if he¡¯s dead¡ªI mean, I guess I assume he¡¯s dead.¡± He swallowed. ¡°But if he is dead, he deserves a proper burial, not to be picked over by fucking wild animals. His name is¡ªwas Hercule. Tough bastard. If anyone besides me or you could keep on clinging to life out of sheer spite¡ª¡± He just shook his head and gave a bittersweet smile.
¡°I will,¡± James said. ¡°As soon as I leave your bedside.¡±
¡°There¡¯s one more thing, James,¡± Moishe said. ¡°One more interaction I witnessed involving the religious leader Cyrus.¡± His voice was full of scorn. ¡°I want to show you.¡±
A part of James wanted to tell Moishe not to spend any more mental energy on the Valley of the Shadow of Death. James felt confident he could restore Moishe to full strength with his Blessing, and he doubted that any additional memories of the dead Cyrus would add value to the extended flashback vision that James had witnessed.
But he held his tongue and simply nodded.
I can¡¯t afford to turn my nose up at any intelligence from a trustworthy source, he thought.
James still had the feeling that he wasn¡¯t quite done dealing with Cyrus and the problems that he represented.
The void around the dreamers dissolved into a visual of the interior of the Valley of the Shadow of Death once again.
It was the sunset hour there, that magical time when the warmth of the day begins to subside as the landscape is bathed in a golden-orange light.
Past Moishe was nowhere to be seen, until present Moishe pointed out where he lay, camouflaged, on the ground.
He was just outside the perimeter within which the angel would have noticed him and begun to ¡°test¡± him.
On the other side of that perimeter, Cyrus sat around a fire with a group of other men, most of whom James did not recognize. He did note that one of the men around Cyrus had been the leader of another group that had walked into the Dungeon while Moishe was there. Christopher Smith was also part of the group.
¡°So, where are you going?¡± one man was asking Cyrus.
¡°The angel wanted me to march East,¡± Cyrus said. ¡°I¡¯m to seek out a powerful leader. The angel gave me a crown to present to a possible Holy King.¡±
¡°That¡¯s interesting,¡± said a third man. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to take my group straight to the Holy Land.¡±
¡°Same here,¡± said a fourth man, clearly excited. ¡°It feels like a great new chapter is being written¡¡±
¡°I¡¯m going West,¡± said the first man, frowning. He sounded slightly aggravated by that direction. ¡°A part of me was tempted to ask if that was a mistake. Back toward Orlando? The same way we came?¡±
¡°The Lord doesn¡¯t make mistakes,¡± snapped Smith.
¡°What my friend means to say,¡± added Cyrus before the exchange could become heated, ¡°is that we should trust the angel. It is an instrument of God. We must not forget what we have all already experienced. Fire that only burned the wicked and not the righteous. A true angel floating unsupported above the earth for all the time we¡¯ve been here.¡± He gestured toward the fiery angel that still stood above the canyon. ¡°We¡¯ve entered into a new age of miracles. It isn¡¯t a time to question divine guidance.¡±
Cyrus¡¯s voice rang with pious patience, but there was also a zealous certainty to it that James still found creepy. The Prophet pretended to be more tolerant and mild-mannered than his henchman, but he was no less fanatical for the pretense.
The vision faded to black once more.
¡°I see,¡± James muttered, immediately grasping what Moishe had wanted to show him. ¡°So they¡¯ll be all over, now.¡±
Moishe nodded. ¡°It could be a big problem for you, I¡¯m guessing.¡±
¡°We already know what it¡¯s like dealing with a Prophet,¡± James said darkly.
¡°Yeah. Good luck, man.¡± Moishe¡¯s voice was soft and sad. It sounded like a farewell.
¡°Don¡¯t say that like I¡¯m not going to see you,¡± James said firmly. ¡°You¡¯re going to wake up. You won¡¯t be stuck here.¡±
¡°Since you¡¯re saying it, I believe it,¡± Moishe replied in a sincere tone. ¡°Don¡¯t leave it too long, if you can help it, please. Or I might forget about this whole conversation and go back to how things were¡¡±
James took Hester and left Moishe¡¯s dream without another word or any hesitation. He wanted to be back in the real world, where his powers worked properly and predictably.
That was how he would revive Moishe.
When his eyes opened, the first thing he did was push himself up from his slumped position to his feet. Then he moved toward the bed where Moishe lay.
The angle of the candlelight had changed slightly, the only apparent sign of the time that had passed. James guessed it had been around an hour, though in the dream world, it had felt like days.
He looked down at his ally, who remained unconscious and hideously burned¡ªbut changed just slightly from how he had been before the dream, unless James remembered incorrectly.
In the time that James had Dreamwalked with him and Hester, Moishe had shifted his expression to a slight smile. He looked almost carefree, as if he had somehow forgotten everything he had been through over the last few months.
A part of James almost wanted to just let him sleep. Almost.
¡°Are you sure you¡¯ll be able to wake him, sir?¡± Hester asked, her voice trembling slightly.
It struck James that for nearly every interaction James had experienced with Moishe¡ªevery single one except for when James freed the prisoners of the Moloch cult, when he and Moishe first met¡ªHester had been present.
For all James knew, Moishe might be one of her favorite people¡ªor at the least one of her favorite characters in his story.
¡°Not completely certain,¡± James said, ¡°but as sure as I can ever be about something like this before I actually do it. The situation is very similar to what happened after the Haunted Forest battle. Just like those people, Moishe¡¯s condition is stable, but he¡¯s somehow stuck in a coma. It¡¯s as close to apples to apples as I can imagine. Otherwise I wouldn¡¯t have spoken so confidently about seeing him in the real world soon.¡±
¡°Yeah, but¡ that was a Wraith¡¯s work. It was a semi-divine entity that did this.¡±
James didn¡¯t want to express his private view, very disrespectful even in his own eyes, that gods and angels were basically just overgrown monsters on a power trip anyway. So he remained diplomatically silent.
Instead of verbalizing a response to Hester, he considered the wording to use in blessing Moishe.
After a few seconds of contemplation, he knew what he wanted to say to try to fix Moishe¡¯s condition. He placed his hands on Moishe¡¯s chest, and he began to speak the Blessing of the Fisher King into reality.
¡°Moishe Rose, you were one of the earliest allies of the Fisher King. As his vitality flows strongly, may similar vitality flow through you. As he heals, may you likewise heal. As he resists the power of enemy gods and their servants, may you resist¡¡±
V4Ch35-Communications
James stared intently at the unconscious Moishe as he finished giving him the Blessing of the Fisher King.
He felt a wave of weakness flow through him at the moment that the power shifted from James¡¯s body into Moishe¡¯s. The Fisher King almost swooned. He was still not recovered from the events of recent days, and he felt his own failure to take his foot off the gas.
I¡¯ll be feeling that in the morning, too, he thought.
He allowed himself to drop onto his backside so that he would not fall more painfully and hit his head¡ªor perhaps even land on Moishe.
As James landed, he saw Moishe¡¯s hand grip the sheets tightly.
Yes¡ Take that, gods!
A moment later, the Assassin shot to an upright position, breathing heavily as if he¡¯d just been running.
¡°I¡¯m alive!¡± he exclaimed loudly.
Moishe¡¯s eyes focused on James at the corner of his vision.
¡°So it wasn¡¯t just a dream,¡± Moishe murmured.
¡°Glad to have you back, man,¡± James said.
Then the door to the room swung forcefully open.
¡°Oh my God,¡± muttered Alan, standing in the doorway. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be surprised, but¡ªgoodness.¡±
¡°It¡¯s nice to see you, too,¡± said Moishe, grinning feebly. Then his smile turned to a grimace as he looked down at his body, still in poor condition, suffering from horrendous burns across almost his entire frame.
¡°I¡¯ll get out of you guys¡¯ way,¡± James said. ¡°Moishe and I were just spending some quality time together anyway.¡±
¡°See you soon,¡± Moishe said quietly. He allowed his body to slump back down into a supine position. Almost as soon as his back touched the bed again, Alan was on him, hands glowing green with power, trying to repair the damage that had remained so stubbornly insistent thus far.
James rose and stepped through the door and out of the room, where he almost bumped into Mitzi, standing outside and anxiously watching the effort to heal Moishe.
¡°Well done, waking him up,¡± she said, smiling.
¡°All in a day¡¯s work,¡± James said, returning the smile weakly. His body felt incredibly heavy as he moved. ¡°Do you mind if I take a seat at your table? I have to think about the things he told me and figure out what I¡¯m going to do next.¡± He tapped his temple with one finger. ¡°I¡¯m going to send a few messages.¡±
His mind was already quickly working through what he and his followers might need to do to stay ahead of the threat presented by Cyrus¡¯s coreligionists¡ªa threat that only loomed larger after James experienced Moishe¡¯s memories. He was wary of what the rest of the monotheists, informed by the angel that had supported Cyrus of what had happened to him, would do.
¡°Sure, of course,¡± Mitzi said. ¡°And you know we¡¯re here if you want our advice.¡±
¡°I think I¡¯m going to assemble all my advisors,¡± James replied. He looked out of the window and saw that it was around midday now. ¡°Let¡¯s have a meeting after everyone¡¯s had lunch.¡±
He took a seat at Mitzi and Alan¡¯s dining room table.
The first thing he did there was order his wyverns to go and find Moishe¡¯s probably dead fellow Dungeon escapee.
Then he began sending out messages through what he thought of as his PA system, partially explaining the situation to the members of his council.
[Council members, I have communicated with a new arrival to our territory and obtained some new, troubling, and reliable, intelligence on Cyrus and the group he led¡ªand the larger movement with which they are affiliated. The short summary is that people affiliated with Cyrus and his movement are likely spreading across the state¡ªand probably across a much wider area, perhaps globally¡ªand they seem to be hostile to all non-members of their creed. I believe aggressive action on our part will be required, to prevent the area surrounding our current territory from being conquered by religious zealots. I would like to discuss the information and its implications in more detail at a meeting this afternoon. In an hour and a half, once everyone has had time to eat lunch, let¡¯s gather in the community center.]
James tried to think if there was anything else he wanted to reveal in this initial message, but quickly decided that leaving some mystery to be revealed later would serve his purposes.
¡°It¡¯s good to be a part of the inner circle,¡± Mitzi said as the message finished transmitting. ¡°Still don¡¯t want anything to drink?¡±
She must have noticed that James looked a bit out of it. That was mostly from blessing Moishe, but he supposed some water couldn¡¯t hurt. So, this time he took Mitzi up on the offer, and he was pleasantly surprised to see her conjure water out of thin air.
¡°Weren¡¯t you only able to use fire and lightning before?¡± he asked.
¡°The more you practice, the more Skills you unlock as a magic user,¡± she said. ¡°Alan and I both practice our Skills every day. I wouldn¡¯t want you to think you¡¯re alone in trying to grow.¡±
James smiled. ¡°I didn¡¯t think I was, but that¡¯s always nice to hear. Very reassuring.¡±
He sent another message out, this one just to Dave, Damien, Rotter, Samuel, Luna, and his mother.
[This is a message just for those of you who helped me deal with our exile a few days ago. Everything I sent in the general chat with the other council members was true, but I wanted to give you all some extra information to prepare you for the meeting¡]
He filled them in on his thinking in more detail. He was anticipating there might be a contentious discussion, and it would be helpful if some members knew where the meeting was supposed to lead.
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As James was concluding his second, secret communication, Alan emerged from the sickroom. He looked tired but excited.
¡°How is Moishe doing?¡± James asked immediately.
¡°Thanks to you, he¡¯s better than stable now,¡± Alan said. ¡°Skin is starting to grow back in places where we had assumed he was going to be permanently scarred. He went back to sleep¡ªhe¡¯s pretty tired from the healing, I think¡ªbut he thanked you again before that.¡±
James nodded. ¡°I¡¯m just glad he¡¯ll be all right.¡±
Alan looked at him carefully. ¡°And you?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll be all right, too,¡± James said. Sometimes it felt silly to him to have people asking whether he was okay. When people who actually cared about him did it, though, it was more charming than anything else. ¡°It takes some energy out of me to bless someone. But I have plenty of time to get it back.¡±
¡°Want to give us any more details on what this meeting is about?¡± Alan asked.
¡°I¡¯m surprised Moishe didn¡¯t tell you,¡± James said.
¡°He was trying his best just to avoid crying out in pain while his skin regrew,¡± Alan replied sadly. ¡°You probably didn¡¯t hear it, because he was biting into a pillow, but I think the process was quite uncomfortable. I¡¯ll try to do more healing periodically while he¡¯s sleeping, and hopefully the other Healers can do the same.¡±
James nodded.
¡°So, are we getting any more info?¡± Mitzi asked.
¡°Well, I¡¯ll have to repeat it at the meeting,¡± James said. ¡°But maybe I could show you some of what I¡¯m thinking. Does either of you have a map of Florida?¡±
He knew it was a longshot. Pre-System, he himself hadn¡¯t seen a physical map in years. He had used his smartphone for navigation. Now it was barely more useful than a brick, and even with a full charge, he assumed that neither of the map apps he had installed would be working at this point. The Internet was gone.
¡°Of course!¡± Alan replied instantly. ¡°Never leave home without it.¡±
¡°We knew we wouldn¡¯t get lost on the way here, but Alan always tries to be prepared,¡± Mitzi said, smiling pleasantly at her husband.
I guess I shouldn¡¯t be surprised. When they were young, smartphones didn¡¯t exist. A few months ago, I might have laughed to myself at the old folks for owning a map. Joke¡¯s on me!
Alan went off to retrieve his map, and James composed a third announcement, this one intended only for Mina¡ªto summarize all his thoughts on what had happened with Moishe so that the two of them would be on the same page.
No sooner had James sent this last message out than Alan emerged holding a large folding paper map that looked rarely used.
¡°This is just Central Florida, unfortunately,¡± Alan said.
¡°No, that¡¯s perfect,¡± James said. ¡°As long as it has the ocean on it. I¡¯m interested in figuring out the distance from here to there.¡±
Alan nodded. ¡°I think it should.¡±
¡°Are you considering a beach trip?¡± Mitzi asked, raising an eyebrow.
¡°Something like that.¡±
An hour and a half after making his announcements, James walked with Alan and Mitzi to the community center. Alan and Mitzi had agreed that he could borrow the map of Central Florida indefinitely, so he carried it tucked into his magic satchel.
Mina met up with them in the middle of the courtyard between the community center and the apartment buildings. James wondered if she would have anything to say about his plan for the meeting, but she just smiled and wordlessly took his hand.
When James and his entourage arrived, a little more than half of the council was already seated¡ªincluding every single nonhuman member of the council. Luna had completed her Evolution, and she looked formidable and almost as large as Samuel with her increased size and newly grown third head.
Undercutting that impression, the giant wolf wagged her tail as she saw James. He couldn¡¯t help but smile at that.
And for the first time, James saw the female that he assumed the bats must have selected as their council member. He hadn¡¯t realized that they had done that in the time that he had been unconscious, so for a moment, he was at a loss as to how this new council member even knew about the meeting.
Then he noticed that she was sitting next to the former Squirrel Queen, who was chattering away quietly to the bat¡ªwho listened to Ysabel with a somewhat uncomfortable posture, as if she wanted to escape the conversation. Well, that answered the question of how the bat leader knew about the meeting.
The council members rose for the Fisher King as a body and did not resume their seats until James had taken his. He almost laughed when he saw former Queen Ysabel rise a moment after everyone else, only belatedly realizing that they were doing this to formally greet the Ruler.
As James sat down, he smiled beneficently while secretly taking a far from wholesome joy in the moment.
He had not sought out any particular perks in taking the role of King, but in moments like this, he felt the status of royalty as its own reward.
That¡¯s right, I¡¯m the King¡ Acknowledged and respected by all. He basked in the glory for a moment before he turned to Rotter.
¡°Is this everyone who will be able to make it?¡± James asked quietly. He had expected his mother to be absent¡ªher attendance wouldn¡¯t add much to this particular meeting, in both her and James¡¯s opinion¡ªbut there were several others still missing.
¡°No, sir,¡± Rotter replied, eager as ever to please. ¡°I believe Chief DaSilva and a few others are running late. I understand that DaSilva is training his first officers today.¡±
That¡¯s honestly probably just as important as this meeting, James thought.
He nodded. ¡°I¡¯m glad that he¡¯s making progress. I hate to interrupt his work, even for something fairly important.¡±
The doors opened, and a half-dozen of the slightly late council members walked in.
They looked embarrassed as they saw James sitting at center stage.
¡°Sorry we¡¯re late, Your Majesty,¡± said Steve Luck of the Construction Committee. ¡°We were¡ª¡±
¡°Don¡¯t worry about explaining yourself, unless it¡¯s something I really need to know,¡± James interrupted. ¡°I know we¡¯re all busy, and you¡¯re not even the last ones to arrive.¡±
The man nodded quickly and rushed to find his seat at the table, the others quickly following after him.
¡°Right, let¡¯s call this meeting of the Fisher Kingdom Governance Council into session,¡± James said once they were seated. ¡°If anyone else comes in, we¡¯ll loop them into the conversation, but almost everyone is here now.¡±
The door opened once more, and Leo DaSilva quietly stepped in. Seeing that James was speaking, he threw a quick salute and then silently walked around the edge of the room until he made his way up to his seat on stage.
Good, James thought. I¡¯m glad he made it. I would¡¯ve had to explain myself twice if DaSilva wasn¡¯t here. And I liked the way he came in. I should establish that¡¯s what you do when you arrive late. Just quietly take your seat.
¡°All right, everyone is here, so I can get us started without any further formalities or delay,¡± James said. Then he interrupted himself. ¡°Well, there is one thing. We have a few new council members here today. I request that they introduce themselves first, and then we can get down to business. It¡¯s a lot easier for us to all know each other¡¯s names than to say ¡®Hey you¡¯ all through the meeting.¡±
There were a couple of polite chuckles at that.
DaSilva raised his hand.
¡°You can go ahead and go first,¡± James said.
¡°I¡¯m Leon DaSilva,¡± he said. ¡°You all can just call me Leo. And I am the new Chief of Police, per His Majesty¡¯s decision.¡±
You¡¯re going to be responsible for a lot more than law and order by the time this meeting is done, James thought. Sorry, big guy!
V4Ch36-Hawks and Doves
¡°I am called Evangeline,¡± volunteered the bat representative quietly. ¡°I won the right to be senior to my sisters by triumphing in the melee we held the day before yesterday.¡± She looked at James with an inscrutable expression. ¡°By our customs, I am the strongest of our kind and therefore the leader, though of course subordinate to His Majesty.¡±
¡°Welcome, Evangeline,¡± James said. The bat had a subtle intensity to her that made him rethink any idea he might have had about joking around with her to establish rapport.
¡°My name is Alan Roget,¡± said Alan. ¡°I¡¯m also new. I have experience in the military from the War on Terror. I¡¯m a Healer.¡±
¡°Um, what¡¯s your role on the council?¡± asked Angela Zuccarini of the Sewer Committee slowly, as if trying and failing to think of more diplomatic phrasing as she was speaking.
¡°I¡¯ve asked Alan to be the Head of Combat Healers,¡± James said quickly, ¡°and Mitzi to become Head of Magical Artillery. I¡¯m beefing up the military¡¯s leadership structure. I only had two officers until just now, neither of whom was really a magic-user. I¡¯m anticipating more conflicts, so additional leaders will be an absolute necessity.¡±
¡°That¡¯s accurate,¡± Mitzi said. ¡°My name is Mitzi Roget. Alan is my husband. I am a Mage, on the cusp of Class Evolution based on my level and what I¡¯ve heard others say.¡±
James smiled. Good introduction.
¡°You two are looking very well since you came out of the forest,¡± Dave remarked, throwing a quick glance at James.
¡°The King¡¯s Blessing is powerful,¡± Alan said simply.
A handful of other faces turned and looked at Alan and Mitzi at that remark, but all except two turned away after a moment, uncertain what they were supposed to be noticing. The only ones here who had known Alan and Mitzi before they received the Blessing of the Fisher King were those from James¡¯s Orientation and Mina. It was Damien and Mina who couldn¡¯t help but stare a little longer at the older couple.
Mina broke off the stare after a few seconds to give James a questioning look.
James leaned over and whispered in her ear, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what I know about it later, but it¡¯s exactly what it looks like.¡±
Her eyes widened, and she mouthed the word, Jesus. Then she seemed to refocus, with an effort, on her surroundings.
¡°Now that the introductions are out of the way, I can tell you why I brought you all here this afternoon,¡± James said. ¡°Some of you are already familiar with a brave young man named Moishe Rose.¡±
A few people nodded, including Damien and Rotter.
¡°What about this Mr. Rose?¡± asked Taylor Bunting of the Salvage Commission. ¡°Is he also joining the council?¡± She looked around as if searching for unfamiliar faces.
¡°No,¡± James said. ¡°At least not at the moment. Moishe is in Alan¡¯s care right now. He was badly injured in a Dungeon before he managed to make his way here. Until just over an hour ago, in fact, he was in a coma. I learned from him that he was placed into that coma by the same being that blessed Cyrus, the man we recently exiled from the Fisher Kingdom.¡±
¡°The angel?¡± asked Harry Luntz of the Agricultural Commission glumly.
¡°Alleged angel,¡± corrected Rotter.
¡°Alleged angel,¡± said Luntz. ¡°Okay. How do we know it¡¯s the same being?¡± He looked at James. ¡°You said this guy just woke from a coma. Is it possible he was confused? And how did he convey that it was the being that blessed Cyrus? There might be a lot of, um, fake angels out in this magical world of ours, right?¡±
¡°Those are good questions,¡± James said. ¡°I can answer very simply. You all know I can visit people¡¯s dreams. That¡¯s what I did. Before Moishe woke from his coma, he showed me an extended sequence of his memories. The long and short of it is, Cyrus and his people were using a Dungeon operated by this so-called angel as a testing ground for people they wanted to recruit. Those who they tricked into entering the Dungeon were forced to walk through a supposed holy fire, and anyone who did not share their beliefs would be scorched to death by the angel. It seems to have been a way of finding guaranteed-to-be-loyal people and reinforcing a sense of community through a forced bonding experience. Of course, they also demonized everyone who failed the challenge. They claimed that everyone who burned in the holy fire was evil and prevented members of their groups from providing any aid¡ªeven as people were burning to death.¡±
¡°How did Mr. Rose escape?¡± asked Goblin Overlord Duncan.
¡°He went through the fire and got burned almost to death,¡± James said grimly. ¡°He used a bunch of potions to keep himself alive despite being on fire. He barely made it here.¡±
¡°What is it you want to do about this, Your Majesty?¡± asked Steve Luck in a respectful tone.
¡°I think this calls for a major change in our defense policy,¡± James replied.
¡°You mentioned wanting to beef up the military¡¯s command structure,¡± said Harry Luntz slowly. ¡°Should we take it that you want the country to embrace some military adventurism?¡±
¡°Well, I think this situation reveals how little regard this group of people have for those who are not their coreligionists,¡± James said. ¡°We always knew we were surrounded by hostile forces, but¡ªwith all possible respect to all our nonhuman friends¡ª¡± He added a smile and a gentle panning look at each of the nonhuman species representatives present¡ª¡°it was possible until recently to think that the hostile forces around us were all nonhuman. Easily recognized threats.¡± He shook his head. ¡°At first, I believed we could bring in Cyrus and his group to live alongside us, and I imagined there might eventually be many other human-controlled territories that would live peacefully alongside us. Then Cyrus tried to mind control me, and he couldn¡¯t stay after that. Now things have gone even further. We¡¯ve learned that Cyrus, and a very large group of people who think like him¡ªmuch larger than just the group that we encountered¡ªhave essentially engaged in premeditated murder as a sort of ritual in order to sort out their faithful from people who don¡¯t share their beliefs. That cannot go unanswered. Every member of these groups must be brought to justice or forced to denounce Cyrus and those like him, as well as any supposed angel that murders people for following a different deity or no deity at all.¡±
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¡°That sounds like a ¡®yes¡¯ to my question,¡± Luntz replied very softly.
¡°Goddamnit, man,¡± said Dave quietly. ¡°Can you call it ¡®military adventurism¡¯ to go after people who are effectively engaging in human sacrifice right in our own backyard?¡±
¡°Yeah, this is pretty fucked up,¡± Damien agreed. ¡°We can¡¯t let something like this continue.¡±
¡°Do we know whether this is an ongoing issue?¡± asked Bunting. She hurried to add, ¡°I mean, of course, I support whatever you need to do to bring human sacrificers¡ªor quasi-human sacrificers to justice. We have to maintain some standards of civilization here. I¡¯m just wondering about the scope of the problem.¡±
James nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t think we can be sure of whether they stopped what they¡¯re doing or continued it. At the time Moishe escaped them, they had a specific Dungeon they were using, in which the monster was this angel creature, so if that Dungeon still exists, I would assume there are still activities going on there that we wouldn¡¯t like. It¡¯s around a day¡¯s walk from here.¡±
¡°Should we send some people to investigate, then?¡± Luntz asked. He sounded a bit more comfortable with the ¡°adventurism¡± when it was couched as investigation instead.
¡°I have a two-pronged plan in mind,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about this since I called the meeting. The plan is part exploration and part conquest.¡± He paused for a moment in case someone wanted to object, but everyone waited silently for him to continue. ¡°First, I want to gather a group of volunteers to explore the area to the West of us, from here to Orlando and possibly beyond, depending on how difficult they find the journey. In their path, they¡¯ll discover this Dungeon. I don¡¯t want people to enter it, because they might not be able to get out again. But we can at least try to destroy the building that serves as the entrance. In my head, I¡¯ve been calling the group of volunteers the Fisher Expeditionary Force.¡±
¡°Love that name,¡± said Rotter.
Damien snorted quietly.
¡°And the second prong?¡± asked DaSilva.
¡°So, I¡¯ve always pursued a policy of slowly expanding the territory we control through my Skill ¡®Dominion,¡¯¡± James said. ¡°It imbues my aura into territory around me, and I¡¯ve been expanding in all directions for weeks. That Skill has a lot of advantages, like giving me an awareness of who enters my territory and what¡¯s happening inside it. Unfortunately, for the last week or so, I haven¡¯t been able to use it at all. I¡¯ve been too busy doing other things.¡±
People around James were nodding and muttering, ¡°Thank you¡± quietly.
He just smiled, nodded, and continued talking. ¡°If I¡¯m blessing people, that uses up a lot of power, and after so many blessings, my body needs recovery time before I¡¯ll be able to use the Blessing of the Fisher King and Dominion in one day again. I think the fact that this is going on just means we need to expand our territorial control faster than I previously thought. To achieve that, I want to take territory the old-fashioned way: with soldiers. While the Fisher Expeditionary Force explores to the West, the Fisher Army can advance East.¡±
James drew out and unfolded the map he had borrowed from Alan and Mitzi.
¡°We¡¯re around here,¡± James said, pointing to a spot to the East of Orlando. ¡°The distance from us to the ocean on the East side is around twenty to thirty miles. If we can take that territory, that¡¯s one side that we control.¡± He made a chopping motion over the map, indicating the North-South divide. ¡°We don¡¯t have to take over all of Florida, but if we can take the twenty-five miles East of us, and a little less than three hundred miles to the South, we¡¯ll be essentially an island. We can build a wall to the North or something if we want. Attack will only be possible from one direction. Given the sheer number of threats that keep cropping up, I think aggressive expansion is our best defensive strategy right now.¡±
¡°So, instead of waiting to get attacked, we¡¯ll start all the fights ourselves,¡± said Luntz, crinkling his forehead. He looked at James ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Majesty, I¡¯m trying to be respectful of your priorities. I know your first priority is keeping people safe. I don¡¯t mean to play Devil¡¯s Advocate here or something. I think I get what you¡¯re trying to do. It just reminds me a lot of American foreign policy before the System. Starting fights in the present to avoid hypothetical fights in the future, and we ended up getting into a lot of unnecessary wars.¡±
James couldn¡¯t help silently agreeing with Luntz¡¯s last point. The United States had only two neighbors, after all, and it had invaded both of them at various points over the course of its early history¡ªbefore the American military had the capacity to reach perceived enemies on the other side of the world. Since World War II, his former country had only become more aggressive.
¡°I don¡¯t think the comparison holds well,¡± said Dave. ¡°The United States started fights sometimes, but not all fights are created equal. Some wars have to be fought. We know we live in a world with rapidly growing and competing foreign powers now. We just got through fighting one that was targeting people inside our borders. I know we¡¯ve all had experiences with aggressive enemies in our Orientations. All those creatures¡ªand humans¡ªare still out there. And I would say that if we have to choose between invading potential enemies and waiting to see if they attack us here, all the civilians who live here would certainly prefer it if we took the fight out of our own backyard.¡±
¡°Those are the stakes,¡± DaSilva agreed, nodding slowly. ¡°We¡¯re in a very aggressive period of history. I don¡¯t think we have the option to sit back and hope no one comes our way. You¡¯d hope that would mean we¡¯d be left alone, but from what I¡¯ve seen, that posture just makes us sitting ducks.¡±
¡°That has been my experience with war,¡± Alan said, finally breaking his long silence. ¡°Even if the United States had never wanted to fight with anyone, I don¡¯t think you can be a successful country without drawing challengers.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think anyone really wants to fight, but it seems like this situation will lead to that regardless of what we do,¡± Zuccarini said quietly. ¡°I think starting a fight is better than letting someone else do that to you. It¡¯s better to sucker punch someone than to get sucker punched, right? I mean, not morally better, but¡¡±
¡°Yeah, you all might be right,¡± Luntz said, sighing.
Seeing no other objections, James weighed in again.
¡°Honestly, even if we had the option to sit back and watch things shake out however they will outside our borders, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be satisfied with that,¡± James said. ¡°If we had strong neighbors all around us, I¡¯d be constantly worried that anytime I let my guard down or left the territory, they¡¯d invade. If we had weaker neighbors, I would be wondering what was developing on the other side of them. And I think that the Fisher Kingdom is an inherently somewhat imperialistic enterprise. We have a promise at the root of our country, stated in our citizenship oath twice. The promise to reconquer the Earth for humanity and our allied species. I don¡¯t want us to break that promise and give the world up to a bunch of religious zealots, life forms that eat humans, or hostile forces of whatever stripe. This is a time that¡¯s going to give rise to extremes. The people who land in positions of power aren¡¯t going to be nice, reasonable folks. It¡¯s better if it¡¯s us. Better if we don¡¯t have too many neighbors who aren¡¯t under our direct control. Even if we could sit here neutral, like Switzerland, I wouldn¡¯t be comfortable being Switzerland while the Nazis are marching around the European continent. Eventually, you end up on the menu. I think we have to acquire some territory so we can watch the rest of the world burn safely, with some buffer space.¡±
V4Ch37-End of the Meeting
¡°So, how do you want to do this, Your Majesty?¡± asked Rotter.
¡°For the Fisher Expeditionary Force, I¡¯ll want volunteers,¡± James said. ¡°A force large enough to defend itself, but the goal isn¡¯t for them to fight. The goal is to explore and survive to report back. I already have a few people in mind. I¡¯ll also send some creatures I control with them to be my eyes and ears¡ªto help defend them, or so that I at least know if anything happens to them. As for the Fisher Army advancing East, I think we have several leaders for that here¡ª¡±
¡°Your Majesty, may I request the honor of leading the Goblins alongside whatever other forces you assemble?¡± Duncan asked. He thumped his small fist against the table.
James grinned widely at Duncan. He hadn¡¯t told the Goblin Overlord about his plans in advance. Duncan was just that eager to lead his people into combat¡ªand James enjoyed seeing it.
¡°Permission to kick ass granted,¡± James replied.
¡°Thank you,¡± Duncan said. ¡°Sitting in their tunnels with nothing to do but tinker and gamble, they¡¯re getting soft. I know they want to see some action.¡±
James nodded. ¡°I assume that Luna and the wolf pack will also want to go,¡± he said.
¡°If it is your will, my King,¡± Luna said deferentially through one of her three heads. Her voice was slightly deeper now, and the words rolled through the air with power.
¡°I assume I¡¯ll be leading the human portion of your forces, Your Majesty,¡± Dave said.
¡°That¡¯s correct,¡± James said with a nod.
¡°You won¡¯t be leaving us out, will you?¡± asked Samuel.
¡°If you can keep up, you and as many of your people as would like to get some levels are welcome to go,¡± James said. He looked at Dave. ¡°I would recommend planning a route East that runs along a river or two.¡±
Dave simply nodded.
¡°I think it would be appropriate for a squadron of bats to join you as well,¡± said Evangeline quietly. ¡°We would like to remove any question that might linger as to our loyalty.¡±
¡°Um, I¡¯ll take some of my squirrels and join in, too!¡± said Ysabel hastily, clearly worried about being the odd one out.
¡°I am afraid my people may be of little use in a fast march across a long distance,¡± said Mole Lord Magnar in a soft, subdued voice.
¡°That¡¯s all right,¡± James reassured him. ¡°You¡¯re still building out the sewers anyway, aren¡¯t you?¡±
Magnar nodded.
¡°You¡¯re contributing in your own way,¡± James said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡±
¡°This sounds like a mighty force,¡± said Luntz. He sighed. ¡°I think they¡¯ll sweep away any obstacles in their path. Again, I hate to be the skeptic¡ªbut with a force like that sent out, who¡¯s here defending the heart of the King¡¯s territory?¡±
¡°All the rest of us will be here,¡± James replied. ¡°Including me. I know you haven¡¯t seen me fight personally, Harry, but I¡¯m strong enough to hold my own. Strong enough to make up for a bit of a disparity in numbers. Stronger when I¡¯m fully recovered. And I figure that since our new Chief of Police is training his first officers, perhaps they can also serve as a secondary defense force if we need them¡ªsort of like how the Coast Guard used to become an arm of the Navy in times of war.¡±
Luntz looked relieved. ¡°So we¡¯ll have an organized defense,¡± he murmured.
¡°As if there was ever any doubt,¡± said Rotter in a reproachful tone.
James just raised an eyebrow at him. We don¡¯t need to go that far, he thought. I still want people to be able to disagree with me in these meetings, or they¡¯ll end up expressing their disagreement where they think I can¡¯t hear them instead.
Of course, James could see and hear anything he wanted within his borders. But he preferred to avoid the necessity of using that dystopian power if he could encourage people to express themselves openly with him.
Rotter seemed to get the hint. ¡°I am glad that the Agriculture Chair raised these possible issues, of course,¡± he added. ¡°It¡¯s just that every citizen of this new country is a hardened veteran of some Orientation or other. We¡¯ve continued to have new arrivals every day. The idea that we could be left defenseless just rubbed me slightly the wrong way as an administrator.¡± The last words came out almost apologetically.
He¡¯s really a chameleon, isn¡¯t he? James thought. I almost would have believed he really meant what he was saying, if I hadn¡¯t just glared at him to get him to express that sentiment.
¡°Thanks, Jeremiah,¡± Luntz said. ¡°And Your Majesty.¡± He nodded at James.
¡°Well, I would hate to proceed without assuaging your doubts,¡± James said in a sincere tone. When it came to starting wars, the Fisher King found that he was very interested in getting as close to unanimity as possible. The United States had lost several wars because of dissension from within the United States. The North Vietnamese and the Taliban were much weaker than the American military¡ªand the conflict with the latter had not cost a large number of American lives. Yet the United States had still ended up losing both of those wars, even if it had declared victory at the time.
The key to winning wars, he thought, was to maintain the public will to fight. Starting out by getting genuine assent from key stakeholders rather than sleepwalking them into a war was an important part of that.
¡°When do you want us to leave by?¡± asked Dave.
¡°Just as soon as people can be ready,¡± James said, deliberately leaving it open-ended. There was no rush to go out and conquer the world; it was a priority, but the only reason to do it quickly rather than taking their time was simply to reduce the number of Rulers James would encounter at the World Leaders¡¯ Summit. He had the feeling that Rulers still on their thrones after that event would be far more difficult to displace than those James had taken out so far.
¡°I understand,¡± Dave said. ¡°I¡¯ll consult with Harry on the subject of food for the army.¡±
Luntz nodded.
¡°Did you need anything else from us, Your Majesty?¡± asked Rotter.
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James shook his head. ¡°That was all. I¡¯ll speak to council members individually about their tasks and progress over the next few days. Um, also, I would ask that council members not tell others about the story of what happened to Moishe Rose just yet. I want to address that in my own way, and I think it¡¯s an incredibly delicate subject. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything else we need to discuss as a group right now. Unless someone else has something?¡±
A number of heads shook from all around the table.
Good.
¡°Then this meeting is adjourned,¡± he said.
DaSilva rose from his seat at the end of the table, and James quickly got up to speak with him.
¡°I hope things in your new role are getting started on the right foot, Chief DaSilva,¡± James said.
¡°They are,¡± DaSilva said. ¡°Recruitment has been going well. And Your Majesty is welcome to use my nickname. Leo is fine.¡±
¡°All right. Leo, I don¡¯t know who you¡¯ve recruited so far, but I was hoping that we might get beings of various species resident in the Fisher Kingdom into the police force.¡±
Leo gave him a look, almost as if the Police Chief wanted to laugh.
¡°Your Majesty, are you about to initiate an affirmative action policy for nonhumans?¡± he finally asked in a lowered voice.
¡°Oh no,¡± James said, laughing. ¡°I just want to make sure that you let all the nonhumans know they can be part of the police force, too. I¡¯m not asking you to set quotas or lower requirements for them, except to the extent that certain requirements might be physically impossible for Goblins or some other species to meet. I think the advantage of having some police who behave differently than humans would will be to our advantage, especially because I assume we¡¯ll eventually have criminals, and not all of them will be human. The squirrels and bats can fly, and I can only assume that would make it difficult for you to catch squirrel or bat criminals without squirrel or bat police.¡±
Leo snorted quietly. ¡°Fair enough. I was half joking anyway. I actually had a few Goblins volunteer themselves already. They seem like good guys. Former King Duncan has been very eagerly looking for work to give his people, you know. He really meant what he said earlier. Idle hands being the Devil¡¯s playthings, I sort of get it.¡±
¡°Yeah, I can imagine,¡± James said slowly. He really didn¡¯t quite get it. For him, all his idle moments when he wasn¡¯t taking care of his family or the Kingdom would naturally be devoted to fighting and training. The concept of ¡°idle hands¡± was one that had lost most of its salience for him.
¡°How much do you know about Goblin society?¡± Leo asked.
¡°Really just what my weapon told me,¡± James said, holding up the wrist where the Soul Eater Orb was currently sitting in the form of a small bangle.
¡°Uh, is that a riddle¡ªor do you just mean you know about killing them?¡± Leo asked.
¡°Oh, no, it¡¯s weirder than that,¡± James said. ¡°Believe it or not, this object is actually a living, thinking organism from another universe. In his world, Goblins also existed, so he gave me some pointers on how to secure their loyalty to the Fisher Kingdom.¡±
Leo stared at him for a moment. Just long enough for James to hear how much crazier his explanation sounded than what he¡¯d initially said. He thought about clarifying further, but recognized that might only make things worse.
¡°I guess I lived to see the time when I no longer have the first clue what¡¯s going on,¡± Leo said. ¡°But I¡¯ve actually seen and heard of things that are just about as strange as what you just described, now that I think about it.¡± He shrugged. ¡°The more you live alongside the absurd, the more you adjust. I hope.¡±
¡°Yeah, that¡¯s been my experience,¡± James agreed.
¡°So, what did the weapon tell you, anyway?¡± Leo asked.
James leaned in close and whispered. ¡°To dominate them with fear.¡±
Leo gave a low whistle. ¡°Well, I think it worked, if that¡¯s what you did,¡± he said slowly. ¡°Duncan seems very loyal to you. I really just wanted to know if Goblin society is nepotistic¡ªor how their hierarchies work in general. The Overlord wanted me to give his brother a job, too¡ªand he specifically wanted to try and make sure his brother outranked the other Goblins.¡±
¡°Oh,¡± James said. He was quiet for a moment, then added, ¡°So, did you?¡±
¡°Yes,¡± Leo said. ¡°I never wanted to be high brass in the Orlando Police Department¡ªI was happy as a Detective¡ªbut it seems to me that there¡¯s always some politics in upper level administrative positions. Duncan has a thousand Goblins under our feet. He seems like a good person to have owing me a favor or two.¡±
James nodded and smiled. He liked this. Despite being a brass tacks kind of guy, the Chief of Police seemed exactly the right amount of flexible for James to work with.
I¡¯m glad Mina spoke so highly of him. I would never have offered him a job just based on fighting him, but he seems very well suited to do this work.
¡°Did you have any specific criteria for people when you were recruiting?¡± James asked. ¡°How does that work?¡±
¡°A basic physical fitness test, which everyone easily passed,¡± Leo said. ¡°Then some general questions about character and life history. I told everyone that I wasn¡¯t going to hold a criminal past against them if they admitted it up front¡ªand I meant it. Only one guy had a history, and I¡¯m not holding it against him¡ª¡± He looked at James cautiously¡ª¡°unless you object, of course.¡±
¡°Is it a crime of moral turpitude?¡± James asked.
¡°Did you get that out of a statute book, counselor?¡± Leo replied, chuckling.
¡°Guilty. Sometimes I forget that I¡¯m not a lawyer anymore.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t know about that,¡± Leo said. ¡°Lawyers ruled the world before the System. It seems to me that your legal skills are still serving you just fine. You were just lawyering the whole room, after all.¡±
James gave Leo a small, knowing smile.
¡°We have to perpetuate the logocracy,¡± he said.
¡°I know you¡¯re waiting for me to ask what that means,¡± Leo said, ¡°and you¡¯re correct that I don¡¯t know.¡±
¡°Rule by words,¡± James said. ¡°That¡¯s the only way lawyers can hold power. The only thing we¡¯re good at is stringing together words.¡±
¡°Some people would say that a country should be run based on ideals,¡± Leo said. ¡°In that sense, rule based on words isn¡¯t such a bad idea. It sounds a lot like the rule of law that we¡¯re trying to restore.¡±
James thought about shaking his head. That was not what he¡¯d meant by rule of words. It had been said before that totalitarianism was rule by words, because under such a system, ideas no longer mattered¡ªonly how they were expressed. Whether or not the framing of the idea was to be punished.
But he didn¡¯t.
¡°I don¡¯t disagree with you,¡± James said. ¡°Anyway, you can take the lawyer out of the law firm, but maybe not the law firm out of the lawyer. If I¡¯m long-winded sometimes, you can just shoot me a look and yawn.¡± James pantomimed covering his mouth to stifle a yawn.
¡°You¡¯re a pretty different kind of leader than most in the world before the System,¡± Leo observed. ¡°Um, did you actually want to know more about the one ex-con who I am provisionally allowing to join the police force?¡±
¡°I¡¯ll trust your judgment until I¡¯m given a reason to doubt it,¡± James replied. ¡°We need officers, and given that you guys are basically a backup branch of the military as well, you might also want to get some part time or reserve members, too. So I¡¯ll try not to put too many restrictions on hiring for right now. My hope is that you can police your own. The law enforcement in our little society has to be trustworthy and respected. If that aspect is dysfunctional, my throne might start to look a little less secure. So, I hope you¡¯ll be careful in how you use your authority.¡±
¡°Yes, sir,¡± said Leo, looking like he wished he was just a Detective again¡ªwhich, of course, only made him seem more qualified to be Chief to James. ¡°How is Yulia doing, by the way?¡±
James successfully kept himself from laughing at the sudden change of subjects and instead gave Leo the full update on the Robard household, from how excited Yulia was to become a teacher to how much she had been helping with the children to the power of the bonding experience that Yulia and Mina had shared in their Orientation.
¡°She has been a bit lonely, though,¡± James finished. ¡°She hasn¡¯t been spending a lot of time with people her own age¡ª¡±
He cut himself off.
He recognized that Leo was looking, rather insistently, at something or someone behind James. After a few seconds of this, the Fisher King turned around.
Alan stood there wearing a pleasant smile.
¡°James, do you have a minute for me?¡± he asked.
V4Ch38-Expeditionary Force Recruitment
Alan waited a moment, trying to convey confidence through the silence between himself and James.
¡°We can talk more later, Your Majesty?¡± Chief DaSilva said from behind James.
I wonder if there¡¯s been a lot of crime since James started the Fisher Kingdom, Alan thought. I hope I¡¯m not interrupting something urgent.
But James just turned his head to look at DaSilva for a moment and then nodded.
¡°Absolutely,¡± James said. ¡°We¡¯ll be working closely together, since you¡¯re going to be the military here while virtually everyone else is gone.
So that was what they were talking about.
The new Chief of Police stepped away and began to move toward the exit, leaving Alan and James alone.
¡°What did you want to say?¡± James asked, smiling.
¡°You were saying you want to put together an Expeditionary Force,¡± Alan said.
James nodded.
¡°Mitzi and I were discussing it, and we both want to join it.¡±
¡°Oh!¡± James sounded surprised.
¡°What do you think?¡± Alan asked.
¡°Well, I think¡ªuh, you guys are getting bored hanging around here, aren¡¯t you?¡± James said jokingly.
¡°Oh, is that what you think of us? The old folks just need some excitement?¡± Alan tried to match James¡¯s tone with mock outrage.
¡°I was actually thinking I needed some competent people to conduct this operation,¡± James said. ¡°I already have people I want to send exploring, but the people I have in mind right now¡ª¡± He frowned¡ª¡°well, they¡¯re basically baggage. I hate to put it so rudely, but you¡¯ll see what I mean when you meet them. Intelligent, well meaning people, but they need someone who can lead them and help them survive in the wilderness. You said you were basically Rambo in the army, right?¡±
Alan chuckled. ¡°Sure, something like that. I can at least pick my way through the environment well enough compared with people who never served.¡±
¡°Yeah, that¡¯s plenty,¡± James said, shaking his head. ¡°Believe me, you have a big advantage compared to most members of my generation.¡± He lowered his voice. ¡°Especially now that you¡¯ve begun to age differently than most of your peers.¡±
Alan nodded. ¡°That was a consideration for us.¡± He looked at James a little uncertainly, still unsure of how much the Blessing of the Fisher King had actually been intended to do. ¡°You know I¡¯ve flirted with the idea of retirement in the past, but after what¡¯s happened, that seems absurd. Now that we¡¯ve been given this gift, it would be a shame to waste it.¡±
¡°I agree with you,¡± James said. ¡°Give me just a minute, and then I¡¯ll take you to meet the geek squad.¡±
¡°The who?¡± Alan asked, slightly confused.
¡°Oh, I¡¯m just calling them that in my head.¡± James had the decency to look a little embarrassed. ¡°Just some of the people you volunteered to escort.¡± The Fisher King¡¯s smile took on a slightly mischievous quality before he darted away.
I¡¯m starting to think we volunteered for something beyond what we imagined¡
But he had no way of knowing the scope of the actual challenge that would be involved in working with the Fisher Expeditionary Force, so Alan refused to drive himself crazy speculating.
He watched James from a distance as the Fisher King spoke to the giant squirrel, the giant bat, the giant wolf, and the Goblin Overlord. And out of the corner of his eye, Mitzi approached.
¡°What did he say?¡± she asked quietly. ¡°Are we going?¡±
Alan turned to look at her. ¡°He said we¡¯re going to be babysitting, essentially. I hope you won¡¯t regret it.¡±
Joining the Fisher Expeditionary Force had been her idea. Alan had embraced it, because he knew his army experience would probably come in handy for the smaller, more ragtag group that James was sending off¡ªand because there was no place or reason for a sedentary lifestyle in this new world, especially not for a couple who were slowly moving back to the prime of their youth.
¡°An adventure with you? Regret?¡± Mitzi laughed gently. ¡°Never.¡± She stroked his hair with her fingers.
¡°Hm. Well, I suppose at worst, it¡¯s a story we have to tell later.¡±
¡°At worst, we won¡¯t have any more stories to tell,¡± Mitzi said, speaking the words lightly despite their meaning. ¡°But in this new world, in this new country, I think what¡¯s needed are people who aren¡¯t so afraid of death.¡±
¡°We¡¯re on our second wind of life anyway,¡± Alan agreed. This, in a nutshell, was the whispered conversation they had been having ever since James mentioned that he wanted to send out a group of scouts to explore the new world.
Now that they had survived Orientation and the Battle of the Haunted Forest, maybe they were on their third life in some sense.
People who kept surviving situations that killed other people ought to do something special with their lives. Perhaps it was that simple.
The Fisher Expeditionary Force, with a mission to scout the new world, was something special.
Maybe this was their place in the post-System world.
Pioneers. Explorers.
Advisors also, because it would be wasteful to let their decades of life experience go to waste.
But if they also served the new country as scouts, they could give a new meaning to the idea of a vigorous old age.
The idea that the world was much larger than it had been¡ªand populated with a variety of monsters¡ªhad been frightening. Yet it was also tantalizing.
James turned away from the squirrel and bat, stopped to whisper a few words in his wife¡¯s ear, and finally made his way back toward Alan and Mitzi. They shifted their attention to him.
¡°So, I got you guys a few additional scouts from the squirrels, bats, wolves and Goblin,¡± James said. ¡°You guys haven¡¯t reconsidered going on this mission, right?¡±
¡°Of course not,¡± Mitzi said slightly indignantly.
¡°Just checking,¡± James replied, chuckling. ¡°Now I¡¯ll take you to meet the members of the Electricity Commission.¡±
¡°There¡¯s an Electricity Commission?¡± Alan asked.
¡°Well, they haven¡¯t done much yet,¡± James replied. ¡°With your help, this is their moment.¡±
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They followed him out of the community center.
Two dozen people, all humans and mostly men, stood in a circle, gathered at the center of the courtyard.
¡°You had already arranged to meet with them?¡± Alan asked.
¡°No, I just used my newfound communication abilities,¡± James said, touching his temple with his index finger.
¡°Right, your territorial telepathy,¡± Mitzi said.
¡°I keep losing track of your superpowers,¡± Alan said.
James closed the distance with the people gathered to meet him and spoke in a raised voice.
¡°Hello members of the Electricity Commission!¡±
¡°Good to see you, sir!¡± replied a Hispanic man from near the front of the group.
¡°This is everybody you¡¯ve gathered for the expedition, Mateo?¡± James asked.
¡°Yes, sir,¡± Mateo replied. Alan noticed the man stood a little straighter as he spoke. There was an obvious undertone of pride in his voice.
¡°Congratulations on your willingness to venture into unexplored territories, ladies and gentlemen,¡± James said. ¡°You¡¯re going to lay the groundwork for our future expansion¡ªand perhaps most importantly, the restoration of our lost technology! If your mission succeeds, your names will go down in history.¡±
A little cheer went up from the group. Even Alan felt a little bit carried along by the charisma James emanated.
He had heard James speak publicly before, more than once, but it was these brief, impromptu remarks that really brought home to Alan the power in the Fisher King¡¯s voice. If James asked this group to go and follow him toward Orlando right now, with no additional preparation, Alan was fairly certain they would simply go with him.
Does he even know he¡¯s doing it?
Alan knew how Skills worked, at least on a basic level. He knew that some functioned passively. A Ruler would undoubtedly have so many leadership-related Skills that some would manipulate people into following him without any conscious effort on his part.
It was a thought to follow up on another time, though.
For now, Alan carefully followed the conversation.
¡°Do you guys have a good accounting of the materials you¡¯ll be hoping to get from Orlando once you make it there?¡± James asked.
Another man from the group stepped forward, pimply and pale with glasses and a slightly hunched posture. Identify said his name was Christian Zito.
He started to explain what the group had determined the Kingdom needed.
Alan watched as James listened politely for a few minutes, then with a slightly impatient expression, as Zito explained, in dizzying depth, the materials they hoped to secure and reasons why.
¡°Okay, I trust your expertise on this, guys,¡± James said finally, cutting the explanation off gently but firmly. ¡°I can tell there¡¯s a lot in this explanation that I¡¯m not going to understand, and that¡¯s all right. I know I¡¯m not the one rebuilding our power grid.¡± He clapped Zito on the shoulder and gave him a warm look as he spoke.
The bespectacled man smiled at the apparent compliment.
¡°Unless someone has a strong objection, I¡¯m going to place you all under the command of Alan and Mitzi Roget for the duration of this trip,¡± James continued. ¡°You¡¯ll be in charge of figuring out what you need to forage for in Orlando, of course, but the Rogets have a lot of survival experience from my Orientation, and Alan here is a military veteran. I believe they¡¯ll be able to keep you guys safe and organized, so we hopefully see everyone come home.¡±
Zito nodded, though Alan saw a trace of reluctance on his face as he did so.
I hope we¡¯re not getting started on the wrong foot here, Alan thought. James, you know everyone in the Kingdom will follow you anywhere, but that doesn¡¯t mean you can put a stranger in charge of them and the group will just accept it, right?
Then the Hispanic man¡ªwho Alan now Identified as Mateo Rivera¡ªstepped forward and had a quick word with James and Zito.
Alan couldn¡¯t hear any of the rapid-fire, whispered dialogue between the men, but as it came to a close, James smiled and nodded and placed a hand on Rivera¡¯s shoulder as he had done with Zito.
Then he turned back to Alan and Mitzi.
¡°Guys, why don¡¯t you come meet the group?¡± he said.
Well, at least we¡¯ll get to know them before we expect them to follow us. Was this Rivera¡¯s idea? Or was that whispered dialogue about something else?
Either way, Alan and Mitzi spent the next quarter of an hour socializing with the members of the Electricity Commission¡ªthe men and women James had briefly dubbed the geek squad earlier. They were good people, Alan was relieved to observe. Decent, ordinary people.
None of them had been especially successful in Orientation, but they had all been scientifically inclined before the System descended. Some of them were former engineers or electricians. There were a few programmers and a couple of artificial intelligence technicians and a variety of other information technology professionals. Alan frankly didn¡¯t understand the details of the work that many of them had done before the System, and he didn¡¯t try to pretend to. He imagined that they would have been similarly lost if he had been forced to explain the work of an attorney to them.
The important thing was that Alan, Mitzi, and the band of so-called geeks seemed to get along.
Talking to Alan and Mitzi seemed to convince them that the old couple had the survival skills¡ªand leadership skills¡ªto get them to where they wanted to go.
And Alan felt convinced that volunteering to join¡ªor, ultimately lead¡ªthis journey had been the right thing for him and Mitzi too.
These people wanted to restore the standard of living that humanity had enjoyed before the System¡ªa similar, compatible goal to James¡¯s, from what Alan had seen thus far¡ªbut they placed their emphasis on technology specifically, while James had been most focused on putting roofs over people¡¯s heads and food in their stomachs.
Unlike James, none of these people had been great winners in the Orientations they had endured. If Alan had to describe them, they were the people who had the most in the old world that they missed, out of those citizens he had met so far. Nostalgic for the past, they met in their unofficial commission regularly to discuss how they might rectify what had gone wrong when the System appeared.
A few of them had met James before, to discuss how they might begin restoring technology, and he had given them a reality check.
His order of priorities could not place electricity and the Internet before basic necessities.
Now, though¡ªnow, they were elated that they would be able to start putting some of their wild ideas into action. They would at least try.
¡°The old Internet is gone,¡± Zito said soberly as he finished part of his explanation for their future plans. ¡°Gone for the foreseeable future, maybe gone forever¡ªdepending on the overall success of His Majesty¡¯s civilizing mission.¡±
One thing Alan had noticed was that every member of this group was unusually enthusiastic about the Fisher Kingdom. It was the closest thing to normal any of them had experienced since the System showed up.
James had acquired a semi-divine status with these people for restoring some semblance of order, even if his reality check had been a bit heart-breaking for a while.
Alan found it a little odd, though, how obsessed they were with getting the Internet back specifically¡ªnot electricity in general, even though with the Florida heat, that would be an obvious concern when Summer came.
¡°There¡¯s no way you can get it back up?¡± Alan asked despite himself, finding that he had become reluctantly invested in their plight.
He had never been a big Internet buff himself, though it had become popular when he was a relatively young man. He was naturally skeptical of fads, and as time went on, and society recognized the variety of neuroses and mental illnesses the Internet seemed to nurture in the young, he had felt gradually vindicated¡ªthough the political will to regulate the Internet had never materialized, despite increasing evidence that social media was increasing rates of depression and suicidality.
¡°It¡¯s the infrastructure,¡± Rivera said.
¡°Uh, I thought it was wireless,¡± Alan said.
Mitzi looked like she wanted to say something, but Zito started talking.
¡°The old Internet required a lot of wires and cables that were in fixed locations,¡± Zito explained. ¡°There were undersea cables connecting nations across the sea, allowing them all to access the World Wide Web. The world increased in size, though, and those materials didn¡¯t.¡± His voice turned bitter. ¡°So, they were undoubtedly destroyed when the System fucked the Earth.¡±
¡°What about satellites?¡± Mitzi asked. ¡°Space Co. has thousands of them floating around the Earth, right? Can you get Internet from those?¡±
¡°When the world doubled in size, they probably crashed,¡± Rivera said. ¡°Like the way you¡¯re thinking, though, ma¡¯am. Christian here and Darryl already tried to build a mini terminal to see if we could access the Internet through the satellites, and it didn¡¯t work. The actual solution will end up being something more rudimentary¡ªand also, unfortunately, more complicated to implement.¡±
¡°So, what¡¯s the plan, then?¡± Alan asked.
Mitzi¡¯s eyes widened, and she gave Alan a slightly frustrated look before quickly shifting her face to careful neutrality.
Alan didn¡¯t realize his mistake until Christian began to explain the plan in minute detail.
V4Ch39-A Confrontational Style
After a mildly exhausting conversation with Christian Zito and an apologetic Mateo Rivera, Mitzi and Alan were accepted as guides¡ªleaders of the Fisher Expeditionary Force¡ªby the whole of the Electricity Commission.
Mitz had the distinct feeling that they¡¯d just been hazed, with the level of detail the Commission members had given them into their plans. Then again, she also suspected that, as with hazing, the in-depth discussion of future plans had won them a level of acceptance to the group that they could not easily have come by in any other way.
During the conversation, she had noticed that Mina had emerged from the community center and peeled James away from the Electricity Commission.
James was standing, talking to her, while Mitzi and Alan continued getting to know their future travel companions. Mina didn¡¯t seem to like what she was hearing. She had a nervous look on her face, as if James had proposed a plan to do something dangerous.
That feels a little ominous.
As Mitzi and Alan separated from the Commission and walked back over to where James and Mina stood, the conversation between the King and Queen seemed to stop¡ªwhich only gave more evidence to support Mitzi¡¯s feeling that something was wrong. James¡¯s expression was unreadable, while Mina still looked a bit worried, though she had brought her face under control. Mitzi could only see what Mina was feeling because she was looking for it.
Mitzi looked up at Alan¡¯s face. He seemed pleased, basking in the afterglow of the conversation with the Commission members and confident that things were going well. They had formed a connection with their fellow future explorers. But that meant he hadn¡¯t noticed anything.
Assuming there is anything to notice, Mitzi told herself.
¡°Everything all right?¡± she asked as they got close to James and Mina.
¡°I was just going to ask you how things went with them,¡± James said. ¡°I guess I don¡¯t need to, though. I can see from your faces that you¡¯re going to do just fine with the other members of the Fisher Expeditionary Force. I¡¯m not surprised.¡±
Alan nodded and smiled, but Mitzi sensed an alertness in his eyes. Now that Mitzi had spoken up, he was looking for signs of anything wrong.
¡°Things went well,¡± Mitzi agreed. ¡°They¡¯re nice people, once you get to know them. Maybe a little long-winded. You could have warned us.¡±
¡°I probably should have,¡± James said, ¡°but now you¡¯ve had the chance to really get to know them.¡±
Mitzi gave him a hard look. ¡°That is good. What else are you planning right now?¡±
James let out a short laugh. ¡°Well, I think we need a little more recruitment,¡± he said.
Mina cut in. ¡°James has summoned the monotheists for a meeting like this,¡± she added in a flat tone. ¡°Though I think he plans to do most of the talking this time.¡±
Mitzi frowned. Why is she so worried if that¡¯s all that¡¯s happening?
¡°What¡¯s the purpose of this meeting, James?¡± Alan asked.
¡°I want to tell them a story,¡± James said. His face flashed with a surprising anger for a moment, then was calm again.
Things began to fall into place for Mitzi. Oh, he wants to tell them that story, she thought.
¡°Is it the same story you told us?¡± Mitzi asked.
James nodded.
¡°Are you certain that¡¯s wise?¡± Alan asked.
¡°This conversation has to happen eventually,¡± James replied. ¡°Would you guys be willing to come with me?¡±
Mitzi nodded immediately, and Alan joined in a moment later.
¡°It¡¯s going to be a fiery speech,¡± Mina said. ¡°Are you sure you want to be there?¡± She spoke in an unmistakable cautionary tone.
¡°That sounds like a reason we should show our support,¡± Mitzi said gently.
Mina gave her a small smile. ¡°I¡¯m glad the two of you are part of this Kingdom,¡± she said quietly.
The four of them walked off through the courtyard and past the community center.
After a couple of minutes of walking, Police Chief DaSilva joined them. The large man stepped in so casually, without a word, that Mitzi knew immediately that James had summoned him there with his communication powers.
As they walked, Mitzi had time to wonder how far they were going from the center of the Kingdom¡ªwhether this conversation would be near the swamp or the woods that she knew bordered Samuel¡¯s swamp. They were going away from the former Haunted Forest, which was on the opposite side from the swamp, and away from the bat-squirrel jungle that was on the opposite side from the woods.
Mitzi had forgotten how much open space there was in the Fisher Kingdom, though.
Between the ever-growing apartment complex and the swamp and woods that were the least navigable parts of the Fisher Kingdom, there was a large open field. There, the monotheists waited. Dozens of people gathered in a large crowd.
From twenty yards away, Mitzi could hear them nervously chattering among themselves. The sounds were indistinct, a low rolling buzz.
As the group drew closer to the monotheists, the words began to grow clearer.
¡°What do you think¡ª¡±
¡°¡ªknow why we were called here¡ª¡±
¡°¡ªwhat does the King want¡ª¡±
¡°¡ªsomething happen with Cyrus?¡±
¡°¡ªare we in trouble for something or¡ª¡±
¡°¡ªKingdom under attack?¡±
The fragments Mitzi caught were almost all speculation about why the King had called them there.
Since Mitzi knew, more or less, what this gathering was about, she was confident that they weren¡¯t going to like it when they found out the answer. She did not regret going, though. Mitzi was also curious how James would handle this. Why had he decided to discuss his problems with the monotheists directly to their faces? Did he just prefer a confrontational style in dealing with challenges like this?
James stepped to the forefront of the group, and people from among the monotheists immediately stepped toward him, formulating questions, trying to be the first to talk to him.
He offered a smile but raised a hand, palm out, signaling everyone to wait.
¡°Could everyone please step back a bit?¡± he asked in a raised voice. ¡°I have something to say, and I want to make sure everyone can hear me.¡±
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After a moment, everyone moved back a bit to give him room.
He turned his head to look at Mina, Alan, Mitzi, and the Chief.
¡°Not you guys, you guys get closer,¡± James said.
They stepped in alongside him.
Then he bent down and touched his palm to the ground. A large platform of earth rose from the ground, large enough for a dozen people to stand comfortably¡ªbut they wouldn¡¯t need to, because the platform also had four stone seats formed on it, behind and off to the right of where James stood.
James¡¯s four guests obligingly sat down.
He stepped forward and cleared his throat. It was the only sign of any kind of nervousness that Mitzi saw from him during the short speech.
¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re all wondering why I asked you to come out here this afternoon,¡± he said. He spoke loudly, firmly, but gently at the start.
Then James began to tell the story of what had happened to Moishe Rose, and his voice became sterner, more impassioned, as he went on. Mitzi¡¯s eyes scanned the faces in the crowd. She saw looks of fear and understanding dawning on the listeners¡¯ faces.
It was the classic expression, universal across cultures, of humans who recognize that they have done something wrong.
Mitzi heard quiet whispers, though the words were less comprehensible now than they had been when she was far away¡ªand there were far fewer people willing to whisper during a speech from the King.
Despite her inability to make out any words, she could feel the expectation of punishment begin to take hold in the air. It wasn¡¯t pure guilt that gave rise to that. As James discussed the innocents who had burned to death, there was fire in his voice. His personal anger was palpable.
¡°In effect, Cyrus and his ilk used this Dungeon as a trap to lure in innocent people, test their religious faith, and recruit followers for their religious movement,¡± James said after he had gone through all the facts of the story. ¡°The Dungeon¡¯s trial was a test of religious affiliation, not one of character. I know for a fact that the so-called angel was not only burning evil people. My friend, who was horrifically burned in the Dungeon, is not an evil man. In fact, he is phenomenally selfless, kind, and brave. Yet he is lucky he survived that experience. Most troubling of all, none of Cyrus¡¯s followers helped him. None of them helped any of the people who burned to death in that Dungeon.¡±
The audience shifted nervously at this.
¡°I don¡¯t bring this up because I want to blame anyone here for wrongdoing, exactly. I believe that many of the people here were lied to by the leaders of the religious sect whose representatives recently fled the Fisher Kingdom. I want to state unequivocally that those men and all their ilk are now criminals and enemies of the state. As far as I am concerned, they should be killed on sight, though I will not force others to adopt that policy if they¡¯re seen outside the Kingdom, given that combat is always risky¡ªand especially risky outside of my territory. The important point is that anyone who burns others to death for being unbelievers of their faith could not possibly be good. I know that, deep down, those of you here today know this. Your moral centers have not been so corrupted by the fall of our society that you¡¯re incapable of recognizing this evil extremism for what it is. I¡¯m asking you to think about that.
¡°Reflect on it. Remember, we have thousands of years of human history behind us. We have seen fanaticism and theocracy and religious tyranny in the past. In this country and in countries throughout the world, innocent people were burned as witches or heretics¡ªor because they were just a bit different. This is a backward, superstitious ideology. We must never return to that worldview, especially not when we have had reason to learn that the world is more magical and contains more deities and supernatural powers in it than we ever could have imagined in centuries past.
¡°I¡¯m speaking to you today not to assign blame, but to warn you. We must stand together against religious tyranny. I am preparing an Expeditionary Force to scout the land to the West and an army to conquer the land to the East. This is a plan I made today, in consultation with my council, and I am still accepting volunteers for both of these endeavors. We will secure Florida against theocracy and religious oppression. We will bring peace, justice, and order to the land around us. You may join if you like, but no one is required. As stated previously, as long as you make yourself useful to my country, you are welcome here.
¡°But my warning to you is this: one day, and the day may be soon, you may be forced to choose. If that day comes, you will be forced to choose between someone who shares your beliefs about religion and the nature of the universe¡ªand wishes to impose that ideology on anyone and everyone around them¡ªand someone who wants people to be free and to worship freely or not at all. Do you want to live in a time of Crusades? Or another Thirty Years War? That¡¯s a real choice you might have to make. That¡¯s what happens when we decide to make religious identity the most important part of our identity, above our common humanity and other common causes. If that moment comes, remember our history. Think about it. Think about which side you¡¯re on.¡±
James paused to take a breath, and a voice in the crowd piped up suddenly in that opening. Mitzi had to admire the courage that person had, to interrupt James¡¯s sermon at the moment when he was shifting from anger toward a gentler style. It was foolish, but courageous nevertheless.
¡°Why us?!¡± the voice seemed to cry out in an aggrieved tone.
James paused mid-sentence, processed, and then replied to the voice in the middle of the crowd. His eyes seemed to search for the person, but Mitzi doubted he could find them. The speaker had really taken refuge in anonymity and was either short or ducking down to avoid being seen.
¡°Could you please clarify what you¡¯re trying to ask me?¡± James said, slightly quieter.
¡°Why are you giving this speech to just us, if you don¡¯t want to blame us?¡± the voice asked. ¡°It seems to me¡ª¡±
¡°Oh, that¡¯s easy,¡± James said, easily cutting the speaker off. ¡°Because, although I did not come here to blame anyone, I know that some people here must be complicit in what happened in the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Arguably, many of you are probably complicit. If you watched what happened and did nothing in that Dungeon, you were part of the problem there. If you stood alongside Cyrus and those with him and did not lift a finger to help those his so-called angel was incinerating, you are an accomplice. Since I know many of you were recruited in that location, it follows that those people are complicit in some sense. I wanted to give the speech to just the monotheists in the Kingdom, because I know you need to hear things presented as they are, starkly, and because I wanted to preserve your personal safety.¡± He dropped each of these increasingly shocking sentences with a breathtaking nonchalance, simply, as if the truth of what he was saying was almost self-evident.
¡°Our safety?¡± asked the same voice, surprised.
¡°Yes,¡± James said. His voice was gentle now, but he raised the volume to project as much sound and authority as he had through the earlier parts of the speech. ¡°There are many people here who know my friend Moishe as a hero from Orientation, and there are many others who have seen friends or loved ones killed by religious extremists or sacrificed to supposed divine entities. Frankly, I was afraid that if I gave this rather emotionally charged speech in front of the entire Kingdom, some of you might be killed. As I said, some of you are arguably complicit in what happened. Even though I am willing to assume that those people were misled, others might not be so understanding.
¡°The passions of our thousands of citizens could be aroused by a story of the sort of barbaric behavior that is unacceptable in our civilized country. Since Cyrus and his closest allies fled the country, they can¡¯t take out their anger on the people most responsible for what happened. And their emotions might be sufficiently kindled for them to murder some of you. Given the sheer number of my citizens, it could be difficult for me to protect you. Mob violence is as dangerous as anything. I will have to announce a summary of what happened to other citizens of the Fisher Kingdom soon, so they are aware of the threat of violence from people like Cyrus, but using more careful language. That way, I hope to avoid any religiously¡ªor anti-religiously¡ªmotivated violence.¡±
The murmurs of the crowd had turned quite emotional as James spoke. Mitzi heard a mix of emotions, ranging from fear to regret for sins of the past to gratitude.
Detached from the crowd, Mitzi was able to assess the speech at a slight emotional remove.
James is much scarier than I ever realized, she thought. She looked around behind her, checking to make certain that no other Fisher Kingdom citizens had come out from the complex to observe his speech. Because James was right. If the word of what had happened got around, and it wasn¡¯t managed carefully, she could imagine other citizens wanting to take matters into their own hands. Mob justice would be an ugly probability.
He gave an angry sermon in which he convinced them¡ªand even me¡ªthat his primary goal was to prevent violence. For any of them who might have still sympathized with Cyrus, it¡¯s a warning. For the rest, it¡¯s a promise of protection. And perhaps more¡
¡°Now I have fully explained the situation to you, my dear citizens,¡± James said. ¡°I hope you will help me. If you see any sign of danger, either from the religious zealots or from the mob, please say something.¡± He gestured at Chief DaSilva. ¡°The Chief of Police is right here.¡± DaSilva raised his hand awkwardly, as if he wasn¡¯t sure if he was the right person. ¡°If you are interested in working with the Army, I believe most of the people here know what Dave Matsumoto looks like by now.¡± There were nods from a lot of people in the crowd. ¡°If you are interested in joining the Fisher Expeditionary Force, that will be led by Alan and Mitzi Roget.¡± He gestured at Alan and Mitzi, and they both waved awkwardly, joining DaSilva in feeling like they weren¡¯t certain they really belonged on this stage.
¡°For everyone else, please continue contributing as best you can to your community,¡± James finished.
Mitzi didn¡¯t know who started it, but someone in the crowd began to applaud, and the gesture quickly caught fire and spread to everyone else, fueled by the strange and powerful brew of emotions that had taken hold over the group as a whole. James bent and touched the earth beneath his feet, and the stage descended back into the ground again.
Then, smiling and waving, he turned from the crowd and began to walk back toward the apartment complex.
Mina rose quickly and put her arm around him before he had made it three steps. She hung off her husband¡¯s shoulder lovingly as they walked away from the place where the stage had been. Mitzi heard a tiny snippet of what Mina was saying to him as the two passed
¡°That was amazing, skapi,¡± Mina whispered. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I expected, but¡¡±
V4Ch40-Service Guarantees Citizenship
As the King walked away, the people who had gathered to hear him erupted in turmoil.
Though people talking over each other made it difficult for anyone to make themselves heard clearly, Claudius Galt heard a few voices rise above the clamor of the crowd.
¡°We¡¯re screwed as soon as more people hear about this,¡± said one voice in the crowd.
¡°We just have to be prepared to argue our case,¡± said another with a little more grit.
¡°We weren¡¯t responsible,¡± insisted another desperately.
The group members were in such a heightened emotional state that their voices were hard for Claudius to identify. Not that he had ever been close to most of these people. He had only been traveling with them for a matter of days before they came to the Fisher Kingdom. He did not know them well.
The panic in the air was palpable. Not a single person doubted that what the King had told them was true. All of their minds, including Claudius¡¯s, had skipped to wondering what they should or could do next.
People began giving their interpretations of what he¡¯d said, even though he was barely out of earshot.
¡°Maybe he¡¯s trying to give us time to flee the country,¡± said a voice Claudius recognized as Rachel Monroe. He could tell she was trying to calm the situation.
¡°Or he¡¯s trying to say hold out, because he¡¯s got our backs,¡± suggested a man. It took Claudius a few long moments to recall his name: Brian Forsyth.
¡°I think he wants some sort of demonstration of our loyalty,¡± said an older woman named Caprecia Gray both loudly and thoughtfully.
¡°We need to get out of here before a lynch mob forms!¡± exclaimed a shrill male voice whose owner Claudius couldn¡¯t find in the crowd.
There was a deafening crash of sound for the next thirty seconds that prevented him from making out any individual words in the noise.
¡°Order! Damn it, let¡¯s talk in some kind of order!¡± Tiberius, Claudius¡¯s father, shouted over the emotional incontinence of the men and women around him.
The roar quieted to a non-debilitating level, and Tiberius continued, ¡°Whoever has the stone can talk. Everyone else, shut up!¡± He held up a large rock he had pulled from his Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions. It was a familiar prop. The group had used it for the purpose he suggested during contentious discussions before¡ªsuch as when they were arguing whether to stay in the Fisher Kingdom or leave it if James declined to become a Holy King.
Compared to this situation, that conversation had been relatively calm.
Still, the group shared a high level of collective respect for Tiberius, who had always been a stabilizing influence in moments of tension between different group members and factions within the group. Wordlessly¡ªalmost as if afraid to speak¡ªthey nodded.
Claudius¡¯s sister Julia reached out for the stone first, and Tiberius gave it to her with a slight air of reluctance. Claudius guessed that their father was worried he might be perceived as showing favoritism by giving his daughter rather than a non-family member the first chance to speak.
¡°I don¡¯t think we need to go anywhere,¡± Julia said in a clear and loud but restrained voice¡ªnot yelling, just ensuring everyone could hear her. ¡°The King doesn¡¯t blame us. He said as much outright. He just¡¡± Her voice trailed off. Everyone was looking at her skeptically, and she wilted under so many hostile eyes.
A deep brown hand silently extended, and Julia handed over the stone to Caprecia Gray.
¡°I agree that he doesn¡¯t blame us,¡± said Gray calmly. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re out of the woods. The King¡¯s personal opinion isn¡¯t everything, as he pointed out. Franklin Roosevelt never said the Japanese-Americans were at fault for Pearl Harbor, but he still locked them up for the duration of the war.¡±
Julia reached for the stone again, and Gray kindly gave it back.
¡°Yes, Roosevelt did that, but would the Fisher King?¡± she asked.
Tiberius held his hand out for the stone, then, and his daughter gave it up eagerly, as if it was hot. ¡°We can hope that he wouldn¡¯t, and he¡¯s talking tolerance and protection, but there aren¡¯t any institutional barriers to stop him from doing this,¡± he said simply. ¡°We have to be realistic about this situation. He already mentioned the passions of other citizens could be aroused. That was a warning. We have to be proactive.¡±
Another hand was already extending for the stone, and Tiberius gave it up to the next man easily.
¡°Um, I had something I was going to say,¡± said Andrew Monroe, Rachel¡¯s husband, ¡°but you kind of articulated what I was thinking. The speech was some kind of call to action. A warning. Not just an announcement. The question is what we need to do¡ª¡± He looked at Tiberius¡ª¡°but I have a feeling you had more of an idea than me.¡± Andrew held the stone back out to Tiberius.
Tiberius took the rock back at the man¡¯s physical prompting, but he didn¡¯t look happy to be holding it. ¡°I have an idea of what I think we should do, but I¡¯d rather hear from more voices first.¡±
He passed the stone to his left, and Gary Chestnut spoke up. As soon as he opened his mouth, Claudius recognized he was one of the speakers whose voice had carried over the crowd at the very beginning¡ªthe one who had said they needed to ¡°argue their case.¡±
¡°I think we need to prepare a public statement on behalf of our small community and ask the King to issue it alongside his announcement about what happened,¡± Gary said. ¡°I would leave the drafting up to someone more eloquent than me¡ª¡± There were a few subdued chuckles at that¡ª¡°and maybe ask the King if he thinks there are other changes to be made. This is his place. These are his people. They¡¯ll probably listen to what he says and enjoy his style of communication more than whatever we come up with.¡±
He passed the stone to Rachel¡¯s outstretched hand.
She said, ¡°I don¡¯t think a public statement is a bad idea, but I don¡¯t think it will satisfy people who are legitimately angry either. Imagine if we were in their position, and one of their leaders permanently mutilated one of our guys. If they issued a statement saying something like, ¡®Yes, the Fisher King horrifically burned a believer in your God, and he did it in the name of his creed, but we disavow his actions even though we share the same basic belief system as him. Even though we¡¯re still part of the Fisher Kingdom.¡¯ I know the analogy doesn¡¯t work that well, because he¡¯s a political leader, and we¡¯re a religious group¡ªbut hey, think about the War on Terror. After the Twin Towers came down, a lot of Americans hated Muslims for years. It didn¡¯t matter that the President repeatedly said that Islam wasn¡¯t the enemy and called them a religion of peace. None of that mattered. People saw that their country was attacked by Muslims, and they didn¡¯t trust Muslims.¡±
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Another woman, Maribel Cruz, reached out, and Rachel handed her the rock.
¡°So, is what you¡¯re coming back to that we have to leave? We¡¯re not going to live this down anytime soon, so we need to go back into the wild and take our chances?¡± Maribel asked.
Another hand reached out for the stone, a very pale and hairy hand, and Maribel quickly gave it up.
¡°Isn¡¯t what we already do enough?¡± asked Aiden Parker. He sounded emotionally wrung out by the conversation. ¡°We¡¯ve been contributing to the Kingdom since we got here. Every day, we work to justify our existence here, just like everyone else. We have carpenters and professionals and scientists. All of us took the citizenship oath. We¡¯re not slacking in any way. Why would we have to do something else?¡±
A dark-skinned male hand took the stone from Aiden¡¯s grasp, almost before he¡¯d gotten through what he had to say.
¡°Listen, I agree with your sentiment,¡± said Isaiah Johns. ¡°That¡¯s not how real life works, though. People don¡¯t give you credit for working hard every day if you get accused of something horrible. They judge you. It¡¯s not very Christian¡ªor consistent with the ethics of Islam or Judaism either¡ªbut most people aren¡¯t very good at keeping their principles in mind in situations like this.¡±
Caprecia Gray reached her hand out, and Isaiah gave her the rock.
¡°What I think we need to do is go back to my analogy from earlier,¡± she said gravely. ¡°In the Second World War, the Japanese-Americans didn¡¯t have a way of escaping being held responsible by authority for something they hadn¡¯t done. But they worked to prove their loyalty to the country anyway. Huge numbers of them served in the military, fighting against the Axis.¡±
Another hand reached out for the stone¡ªJacob Kauffman¡¯s¡ªand Gray gave it up gracefully, though Claudius thought she had more to say.
¡°How well did that work out for them?¡± Jacob asked critically. ¡°I seem to remember learning in my history book about ¡®No Japs Allowed¡¯ signs all over the place after World War Two. Seems like they risked their necks to correct public opinion, and it didn¡¯t really work.¡±
He gave the stone back to Gray, whose fingers opened and closed impatiently while he was finishing his thought.
¡°It¡¯s not mainly public opinion we need to worry about,¡± said Gray. ¡°Strange as it is to say, this place is a monarchy. If we show that we¡¯re loyal, we win over some of the public¡ªand we make ourselves look more useful to the only person who gets a vote on public decisions. The Japanese-Americans eventually won the public relations battle. Congress and President Reagan apologized to them. Imagine if they had all sat out the war. There¡¯s no way the leaders of this country would have ever changed their minds about them. Unless we want to actually leave the Fisher Kingdom, some of us have to join the Army or the Expeditionary Force. We have to be conspicuously engaged. That¡¯s the best way that we keep people from thinking we¡¯re a disloyal group.¡±
She held the stone out for anyone near her to take, but for a few seconds, it seemed no one had anything to say. Gray had stumped most of the people in the crowd.
Finally, Tiberius reached out and took the rock back from her.
¡°I think you¡¯ve given us all a lot to think about,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s undeniable service in the positions the King cares the most about makes our status here more secure. Maybe it¡¯s time for us all to consider what we¡¯re willing to do. If anyone else wants the stone, I don¡¯t have much else to say, but now might be a good time for us to talk among ourselves or just sit silently.¡±
Tiberius held the rock up halfheartedly, but as he had clearly hoped, there were no takers. The argument for some form of military service had won the day.
Finally, he set the stone on the ground for anyone who wanted it to be able to take it, and he turned back to his family.
¡°Dad, you¡¯re not thinking about going off to join one of those groups, are you?¡± Coriolanus, Claudius¡¯s brother, asked immediately.
This kicked off a fair amount of quiet chatter in the groups around them, but Claudius could not hear much of it. He was too focused on his family¡¯s discussion.
¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I?¡± Tiberius was saying. ¡°Better that this old man should go than for you kids to be risking your lives. I really hope you¡¯ll all stay here. We don¡¯t all need to go.¡±
¡°Oh, I will stay,¡± said Coriolanus immediately. ¡°I have alchemy to do.¡±
Julia had gained the Botanist Job from trying to Identify and gather edible and medicinal plants during Orientation, while Coriolanus had gained the Alchemist Job from attempting to brew the medicinal plants into a usable form. Claudius had attempted what both of his siblings had done, but he failed to gain a Job. It seemed the System only rewarded some people for doing certain things; it judged everyone differently. Perhaps Claudius just lacked the aptitude for either of those fields.
Coriolanus and Julia had already contributed to the Fisher Kingdom. Julia had worked with the Agricultural Commission to find new plants that they might cultivate or gather for human or nonhuman consumption. Coriolanus had begun developing low-level potions, though they were currently of inferior quality relative to the potions the System distributed.
This discussion reminded Claudius of how little he had done since he had arrived in the Fisher Kingdom. Even Tiberius had contributed more than him, though he had been a white collar worker¡ªa lawyer¡ªpre-System. Claudius¡¯s father went out fishing regularly since they had settled in the Kingdom, and he usually brought something back. Tiberius had claimed he did it because it was ¡°relaxing,¡± but he was also careful to be seen giving out a share of his catch to fellow citizens.
I¡¯m the only one who¡¯s useless, just living here eating food, Claudius thought. I don¡¯t know how I had the idea that I could live like this for more than a week¡
He knew no one gave anything for free. He should have been thinking harder about how he could contribute.
¡°I really don¡¯t want to go, and I don¡¯t want any of you to go,¡± Julia was saying as Claudius returned to the present moment. ¡°We finally made it to a safe place. Do we really have to go?¡±
¡°You absolutely don¡¯t,¡± Coriolanus said. Claudius couldn¡¯t fail to notice his brother giving him a sideways look. ¡°You have something important to do here with your Botanist Job.¡±
¡°We all have something to offer here,¡± said Tiberius, his words coming out almost in a groan. The old man was clearly tired of this conversation already. ¡°That¡¯s not what this is about.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t,¡± said Claudius, surprising himself.
¡°What?¡± asked Julia.
¡°I don¡¯t have anything to offer,¡± Claudius said, swallowing hard. ¡°I should go.¡±
It was a marker of how useless he had been since he arrived here, Claudius dimly recognized, that it took almost a full minute before his family members found some objection to what he¡¯d said.
¡°You have great potential, son,¡± said Tiberius in a gruff voice, as if holding back some emotion. ¡°I¡¯ve always told you that.¡±
¡°Are you sure you want to go?¡± Julia asked softly. ¡°I¡¯m afraid¡ªafraid I¡¯ll never see you again.¡± She sounded slightly choked up as she spoke that second sentence.
Claudius smiled sadly.
¡°If I die, it¡¯s nice to know you guys will miss me,¡± he said sentimentally. ¡°I¡¯m definitely going.¡± Claudius made up his mind as he spoke.
Coriolanus suddenly¡ªalmost violently¡ªpulled his brother in for a hug.
¡°If you die, I¡¯m going to take it personally, Claud,¡± Coriolanus whispered angrily.
I love you, too, Claudius thought.
But he simply returned his brother¡¯s embrace in silence.
Anything Claudius could say would only ruin the moment.
V4Ch41-What Politicians Do
James curled his arm around Mina as they stepped away from the crowd.
¡°That was amazing, skapi,¡± she said. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I expected, but every time I hear you speak in public, I think you were made for this.¡±
James smiled and wordlessly kissed his wife on the cheek. Her praise meant more than anyone else¡¯s ever could.
But his mind was already onto the next task.
As they walked away from the monotheists, he reached out with his mind to the wyverns he had created.
Before the meeting with the council, he had ordered his wyverns to go and recover the body of Moishe¡¯s companion who had fallen during their journey back to the Fisher Kingdom.
Now, assuming the mission had succeeded, he wanted all of the wyverns to return to the Fisher Kingdom so that he could decide which ones would go with the Fisher Expeditionary Force, reshuffle their Skills, and perform any other minor preparations he thought of before the monsters left to accompany Alan and Mitzi¡¯s group.
As he made mental contact with the Great Venom Wyvern, the swiftest of his wyverns thanks to the stats it had gained from Mass Pillage, the creature reported that it had recovered the target. But James was startled to realize that Moishe¡¯s companion was actually still somehow alive. Despite having collapsed before Moishe made it to the Kingdom¡ªdespite lying near death for days¡ªhe had survived long enough to be rescued.
Moishe will be thrilled, James thought. What the hell are these two made of?
James knew that he would survive something like being engulfed in flames for a few minutes, but as far as he knew, the man who had accompanied Moishe out of the Valley of the Shadow of Death was a more or less ordinary human. And Moishe, while deadly, was an Assassin¡ªa Class that screamed ¡°glass cannon¡± to James.
But they both had grit. Perhaps that was the key to surviving these experiences.
As he sought further details, he heard a voice and had to divide his attention to focus on both interactions.
¡°That was a brave speech,¡± Mitzi was saying from just behind James and Mina. ¡°There were moments when I wondered if the crowd might get angry and try to rush the stage.¡±
¡°If they did, I could¡¯ve killed every one of them even if I am in an imperfect condition right now,¡± James replied quietly, turning his head to better project his voice backward. ¡°They¡¯re all weaker than the leaders of the group were, and the leaders weren¡¯t that strong anyway. Most of the value they bring is in their future potential if the Kingdom nurtures them, as I intend to try to nurture everyone in my territory.¡± The possibility of a violent reaction was one that he had considered when he was deciding to give such an emotionally fraught speech.
¡°I think you¡¯ve frightened some of those people,¡± Alan said carefully, stepping up next to James. ¡°Just based on the sounds of the crowd that I can still hear.¡± They had walked around twenty yards away in relative silence. ¡°It was an excellent speech, but did you intend that result?¡±
¡°I did,¡± James said bluntly, giving Alan a thin smile. ¡°I don¡¯t have time to coddle feelings too much. After what we learned from Moishe, I have to push these people. I want to know how they behave under a little pressure. There are a few different ways they could react to what I said¡ªrebellion, immigration, and loyalty¡ªbut only one of those is actually dangerous. If they leave, fine¡ªwhatever, that¡¯s their choice. If they try to rebel, their numbers are puny, and they¡¯re still pretty weak. I can crush them like ants without needing to call on the military. On the other hand, there is a circumstance where the speech I gave binds them more closely to the Kingdom. And I think some of them will end up wanting to show that they¡¯re not like the leaders who demanded that people be left to burn to death.¡±
Plus, I¡¯ll know if they intend to betray me before they can ever act on it, he thought. Since I don¡¯t intend to leave the Kingdom until my body has recovered from all its recent exertions, I¡¯ll definitely pay attention to what people are saying and doing here. I can see and hear anything I want if it¡¯s happening within the Kingdom¡¯s borders. If some people are plotting against me, maybe the Earth will just swallow them up.
¡°Some people understand the threat of violence better than any high moral argument, Alan,¡± said Leo, who now stood off to James¡¯s other side. ¡°Even if they really ought to know it from their own religious principles, it¡¯s better if they understand that their self-interest is really on the side of obeying the authorities in the land where they¡¯ve settled, too. I think James just made sure that none of them will ever stand by watching religious leaders lead people to their deaths again. If he succeeds, it¡¯s more than worth whatever emotional turmoil they experience in the short term.¡±
Alan thought over what James and Leo had said for a few seconds silently.
¡°Well, I think you do have to test them,¡± he murmured finally. ¡°Some of them were involved in what happened to young Moishe. It¡¯s not easy to forget that.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t intend to,¡± James said. ¡°And I¡¯m optimistic you¡¯ll have a few more volunteers for your expedition after this.¡±
¡°Hopefully people we can trust,¡± Mitzi said from just behind them. ¡°Considering what you were just saying about rebellion, it doesn¡¯t sound like you have complete confidence.¡±
¡°If they try to betray you, my creatures will kill them,¡± James said, half-turning his head to better project his voice in her direction. ¡°I do think you might end up being glad you have some of the monotheists with you, though. I¡¯m optimistic that they can smooth any interactions you might have with their coreligionists. Since your mission is a non-violent one¡ªexploration and ideally acquisition of some resources¡ªI think having some people with a foot in both worlds could end up adding some value.¡±
He thought of Yulia and her quiet religiosity, as well as her peacemaker personality¡ªthough he hoped he was never in the position of needing her to act as mediator between himself and some religious group.
¡°You intended to get them volunteering specifically to join us, then,¡± Alan said. The sentence was structured like it should have been a question, but there was no doubt in the old man¡¯s voice.
¡°Correct,¡± James said. ¡°I felt that you should have some additional help.¡±
Alan nodded. ¡°You manipulated their emotions,¡± he said quietly.
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¡°That is what politicians do,¡± James replied.
It¡¯s literally my Job.
¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Alan said. ¡°Some of your decisions would be too difficult for me to make. I can¡¯t say you¡¯re wrong, though.¡± He shrugged and looked as if he had decided not to worry about it.
James thought that was a little strange. He recalled a time when he imagined Alan would have criticized him for behaving ruthlessly with the monotheists. But maybe the old man had just been through so much since the world turned upside down that the decency at his core was giving way to pragmatism.
If so, all the better. He¡¯ll give more actionable advice if those pesky morals are less of a consideration.
As they continued moving back toward the center of the Kingdom, James went over the information the Great Venom Wyvern had transmitted to him. It did not have any clear grasp over how the human it carried had survived the flames. James didn¡¯t even know the man¡¯s name, because Moishe had skipped over their introduction in the abbreviated flashback of the dream, and the wyverns all lacked the Identify Skill. All the creature could give James were the shallowest details of the man¡¯s condition: he was covered in obvious, severe burns, and both his breathing and heartbeat were incredibly weak.
¡°Alan, we¡¯re getting an injured person coming,¡± James said. ¡°The other guy who was with Moishe. It turned out he was still alive.¡±
¡°Right, I¡¯ve got plenty of Mana if he needs healing,¡± Alan said immediately.
James summoned Gupta and Zirndorf through his communication power, too. From the sensory information he was getting from the wyvern, he suspected the new guy would need all the help he could get¡ªespecially because James did not intend to offer further blessings until he was in better condition. He didn¡¯t want to risk prolonging his diminished condition.
If he just recovered for a bit longer, he knew he would be strong enough to use Blessing of the Fisher King and Dominion without ruining his strength for the remainder of the day. The value of his own power to the Kingdom¡¯s security was greater to him than the value of a slightly speedier recovery for the stranger. It was a harsh calculation, but the growth of the Kingdom through Dominion was obviously much more important than the survival of one man.
As James and his companions stepped into the courtyard, Gupta and Zirndorf rushed out of their apartments to meet them, breathless, immediately responsive to the King¡¯s command. Although James had requested their presence for a completely legitimate¡ªindeed, potentially a very important¡ªreason, there was something pleasantly exhilarating about knowing that they had come in such a hurry at his beckoning.
¡°Thank you for getting down here so quickly,¡± he said. ¡°You have a few minutes before my creature gets here carrying the patient¡ª¡± An idea struck James mid-sentence that he should create a permanent, flying ambulance system using creatures from his skin, but he did not allow it to slow him¡ª¡°so now would be a good time to figure out where to take him and how best to treat him. Whatever you guys did for Moishe should help. This fellow went through the same thing.¡±
¡°Another burn victim?¡± Gupta asked. ¡°Was there a second fire, or¡ª?¡±
¡°He is burned, yes,¡± James said. ¡°He¡¯s been laying out there, clinging to life all this time.¡±
James heard Gupta mutter something that sounded suspiciously like ¡°Impossible!¡± and resisted the urge to tell the man of science that the impossible was completely possible in the times that they were living through.
Instead, James simply stood in silence while Gupta and Zirndorf conferred with each other, gave Alan instructions, and waited for James¡¯s creature to arrive. Mina and James stood nearby, since they both had Laying on Hands and therefore might make themselves useful if the injuries could be partially ameliorated with that Skill.
And then the Great Venom Wyvern appeared, shooting through the sky like a missile shaped by a demon. As it spotted James and his party on the ground, the King sent a last command to the creature, ordering it to land in a specific spot, set the human down gently, and refrain from harming anyone.
Its descent was both swift and majestic, reminding James of the dragons of mythology that he thought he had semi-consciously referenced in his mind when shaping the creature.
Zirndorf and Gupta both visibly stepped back from the monstrous behemoth as it drew close to the ground. They did not narrow the distance until, responsive to a new order, the wyvern took flight once more, leaving the human on the ground.
Identify.
Wolfgang Mannheim, Lv. 8.
At least now James knew a name for the man.
As he watched Gupta, Zirndorf, and Alan begin their work¡ªa healthy mixture of healing magic and traditional medical practice including the use of bandages and disinfectant¡ªhe saw the man¡¯s eyes fluttering.
James took a step forward. If Mannheim woke up, he wanted the chance to ask the man how he had survived for so long¡ªif he knew. If James could bottle that sort of resilience and distribute it, his Kingdom would be invincible.
As the Fisher King took another step toward the stirring man, no one around him reacted. They were all as transfixed by the scene as James, if not more so.
Mannheim¡¯s eyes finally opened, moved in a frantic fashion up and down, side to side, as if struggling with some painful form of compulsion¡ªand then locked onto James¡¯s own eyes. James now stood directly ahead of Mannheim, just a few feet in front of him¡ªas close as he could get without getting in the actual Healers¡¯ way¡ªand he suddenly had the absurd sense of being in a staring contest with a sick, perhaps dying, man.
James could feel the man forming the intention to say something¡ªcould see the hands that had laid limp at Mannheim¡¯s side rising and clenching as he tried to focus and get the words out. James saw Mannheim¡¯s lips move¡ªthere was an ¡°F¡± sound in the first word he wanted to say. But then Mannheim¡¯s eyes closed, and his body shuddered.
¡°Whoa,¡± James muttered. Then, louder, he said, ¡°Hey, is our guest still alive?¡±
¡°Heart still beating,¡± Zirndorf barked, not looking up from his healing work. ¡°If you¡¯re not helping, please back away, sir.¡±
James listened to him. He stepped back. The hands currently healing Mannheim¡¯s battered body seemed more than enough to him. If someone started to run low on Mana, he would step in.
Failing that, he would simply watch.
The emergency application of Laying on Hands lasted for several minutes. It was easy to tell that two of these men had been medical professionals prior to the System¡¯s arrival. They found the places on Mannheim¡¯s body that needed the most attention and were most vital and focused their efforts there, then expanded them to other places, then returned and went over the vital regions again.
As James observed, he took mental notes¡ªhe never knew when he would be in the position of having to heal other people again. Mina watched, transfixed, too.
Finally, the process was done. Mannheim was stable enough to be moved, as Gupta briefly explained.
James and Mina withdrew to their apartment, while Gupta and Zirndorf carried the wounded man away, Alan following close behind them.
The wyverns entered the master bedroom through the same window they had left through before, though with greater difficulty this time. They seemed to have grown larger.
The Fisher King quickly read through some of their memories and realized that in addition to Mass Pillaging the bodies of the dead, the Great Venom Wyvern had also eaten the meat from Cyrus and his allies and shared it with its fellows.
That showed more independent agency than James had been conscious of assigning them, but he took it as a good thing. He was no Doctor Frankenstein to reject his monsters when his experiment had, in fact, succeeded far beyond his expectations.
James petted each of the creatures appreciatively¡ªit would be good to create positive emotional associations for them with their master, in case he ever lost his complete control over them for any reason¡ªand he began his modifications.
¡°Let¡¯s see what you got, beastie,¡± he murmured to the Great Venom Wyvern.
It had used Mass Pillage to take Stats from most of the monotheists¡ªand Talents from Cyrus Berberian and Christopher Smith.
V4Ch42-Holy Emissary
James read the descriptions of the Talent¡ªand consequent Skills¡ªthe Great Venom Wyvern had acquired from Cyrus Berberian, and then he read them again.
[Holy Emissary: You¡¯ve secured the blessing of a holy entity through your piety and competence. As a result, you have acquired the presence and privileges of a representative of the sacred in the material world. Generates Skills ¡°Summon Divine Helper¡± and ¡°Conflict of Visions.¡±]
[Summon Divine Helper: Summon a being that possesses divine or semi-divine aura. Requires that the user and summoned entity each use a compatible form of divine or semi-divine power. Consumes Mana.]
[Conflict of Visions: By the power of a divine entity, bend the mind of another into obedience to the divine mandate. Initiation requires direct eye contact. Only one target at a time. Effectiveness depends on the power of the divine entity whose blessing you possess relative to the target.]
He chuckled. He already knew what ¡°Conflict of Visions¡± did. It appeared to be a more powerful version of James¡¯s hated ¡°Compulsion¡± Skill. But ¡°Summon Divine Helper¡± could wind up being an interesting Skill.
While the Talent acquired from Christopher Smith was the fairly commonplace Fire Affinity, the Talent from Cyrus could be valuable indeed, depending on just how this Skill worked.
¡°All right, then,¡± he said quietly. ¡°Hester, could you ask Anansi a question for me?¡±
¡°Yes, sir!¡± Hester replied instantly. ¡°What can I do?¡±
¡°My monster acquired a Talent and two related Skills from the leader of the monotheists that we killed. ¡®Holy Emissary¡¯ is the Talent, and the Skills are ¡®Summon Divine Helper¡¯ and ¡®Conflict of Visions.¡¯ What I want to know is what I might be able to use ¡®Summon Divine Helper¡¯ for. ¡®Conflict of Visions,¡¯ I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯ve already seen in action.¡±
¡°I will let him know what you need, boss!¡± Hester said eagerly. She seemed to be in a good mood. James guessed it was still elevated after having helped him with Moishe earlier.
¡°Thank you,¡± he said. James waited a few seconds, but then he recalled that Hester frequently took longer than he would like to hear back from Anansi. James had been spoiled lately by very quick responses from the Spider God, but that had been related to dealing with his monotheist problem.
He shouldn¡¯t hold his breath waiting to hear back from the Trickster about the stolen Talent.
So, James set about doing the other tasks he wanted to do that afternoon.
He spent time with the children, gave Mina a break from cooking¡ªwhich she had been doing a lot more often lately thanks to James¡¯s incapacity¡ªand after dinner, he followed up on the priorities he had set at his meeting earlier.
James first visited Harry Luntz to confirm that the Kingdom had enough food to give both the Royal Fisher Army and the Fisher Expeditionary Force provisions.
He and the leader of the Agricultural Commission spoke in the midst of the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s fields, now more extensive than ever, occupying almost the entire space between the apartment buildings, the alligators¡¯ swamp, and the squirrels¡¯ and bats¡¯ jungle.
There were densely packed rows of many different plants that James did not recognize immediately, plus corn that blocked some plants from sight and orange tree saplings in the distance¡ªperhaps a marker of the border between the territory of the farm and the swamp.
The area seemed to grow more plants per square foot than any farm James had ever seen in the pre-System world.
As Luntz explained, it was this space where most of the manual laborers in the Kingdom spent their days. So many people had been concerned with the food supply when they first arrived in the Fisher Kingdom that the Agricultural Commission still had an excess of workers, more than any other Commission.
But the actual pace of work seemed very relaxed to James¡¯s eye. He saw people wandering casually up and down rows of plants, weeding and watering¡ªand spraying something from a can that smelled funky to James. Homemade insecticide?
This did not feel similar to the way farming had been conducted before machinery, at least not as James understood the history. More like these people had taken up gardening as a hobby.
¡°Frankly, sir, we have more than sufficient resources to supply your forces and get the Kingdom through the winter,¡± Luntz said, smiling. ¡°The land has been remarkably productive since the System with¡ª¡± He lowered his voice¡ª¡°relatively little effort. I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s because you blessed the soil. The members of the Commission are going to meet and adjust our calculations based on changing crop yield and consumer behavior next week. We¡¯re definitely on track to have sufficient food over the next few months, and a lot of people aren¡¯t taking their full portion of daily rations anyway, since many of them visit Carol¡¯s Dungeon once a week and stock up on food there.¡±
¡°That¡¯s interesting,¡± James said. He tried to think whether he knew of any negative consequences that could result from the status quo as Luntz described it. But there was no downside he could imagine to having too much food other than people gaining weight¡ªwhich seemed like a quaint concern when many of them were acquiring their groceries by battling a Dungeon.
It¡¯s impressive how professional the Commission is, honestly. I guess I lucked out getting actual farmers and other experts from before the System who know how to figure out what people need to live on.
¡°I like to imagine that people think of it as a slice of normalcy, having a grocery store they can buy their food from,¡± Luntz said. ¡°The ones who don¡¯t have some other occupation to fill their time are competing to climb the ranks of Carol¡¯s leaderboard. A pretty healthy way to fill the time, if you ask me.¡±
¡°Oh, yeah, that sounds¡ªwait, Carol has a leaderboard?¡±
¡°You haven¡¯t been in there lately, then, Your Majesty?¡± Luntz asked.
¡°No,¡± James said. ¡°Not since I, um, brought her here.¡±
¡°Well, she has a leaderboard set up now,¡± Luntz said. ¡°I understand she acquires more System funding and new features with more people visiting her and fighting their way through the Dungeon. So, she still has the groceries as prizes, but she also has rarer items now than she did even a couple of weeks ago. And she started operating a leaderboard with scores for everyone who visits.¡±
¡°Wow. It sounds like fun.¡±
Am I in the leaderboard? James wondered. He had completed Carol¡¯s Dungeon once, back when it was small and in a different location, so he doubted that he would be included in her ranking. But if he was, he needed to be at the very top¡ªto reinforce that he was the best. For entirely practical and logical reasons, of course.
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¡°If not for being stuck inside of the Dungeon all the time, I think a lot of the younger folks would be interested in a Dungeon Evolution themselves,¡± Luntz said.
¡°Well, it does make you a lot safer,¡± James replied.
¡°Yeah, that could be a consideration, too,¡± Luntz said, though he raised an eyebrow.
¡°So, you¡¯ve been spending time in the Dungeon yourself, I imagine?¡± James said. It was the only thing that made sense of how much Luntz seemed to know about it.
¡°I have to remain in good condition in case we¡¯re needed to fight,¡± Luntz replied. ¡°We live in a world at war, as you yourself have pointed out, sir. And we¡¯re sending the military and a bunch of other able-bodied people and monsters on missions to acquire more territory and explore parts unknown.¡± He gave James a pointed look.
The Fisher King couldn¡¯t help but smile.
¡°I admire the fact that you¡¯re willing to disagree with me so openly,¡± James said. ¡°I need that from people sometimes. But I am confident this is the right path.¡±
¡°I understand, sir,¡± Luntz said. ¡°I just wanted to let you know once more where my mind was. Pardon the presumption. It¡¯s just that I know people feel like they¡¯re safe here. That¡¯s why hardly anyone is seriously considering the idea of actually looking to become a Dungeon¡ªthough I think there are one or two who want to follow in Carol¡¯s footsteps. Gamer types from before the System who are just bored now.¡± He shook his head as if he couldn¡¯t understand it. ¡°I think some of them were into the Dragon and Dungeons game?¡±
¡°I get it,¡± James said. ¡°I will make sure to let people know the military is away, so they should be on guard. And I intend to create my own early warning system, so we¡¯ll know if something approaches the Kingdom. I think that¡¯s all I can reasonably do, though. If we aren¡¯t securing our borders to the ocean on each side, though, I think we¡¯re asking to be surrounded by enemies again.¡±
Luntz looked pleased. ¡°I appreciate the reassurance. Letting people know is a big thing. And I don¡¯t want to give the impression that we¡¯re further apart in our views than we actually are. I¡¯ve been thinking about what people were saying¡ªwhy they were kind of piling onto me in the meeting¡ªand I know you¡¯re doing what you have to, for the sake of growth, which in this new world, might mean security. I guess I don¡¯t expect you to actually curtail your ambitions by limiting yourself to expanding until you hit the ocean.¡±
¡°You¡¯re probably right,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯m thinking the southern half of Florida would be a good stronghold.¡±
¡°Or the whole of Florida,¡± Luntz suggested. ¡°Why not?¡± There was a note in Luntz¡¯s voice that suggested that he expected this Kingdom to expand like the Roman Empire¡ªconquering every neighbor in the name of security¡ªand the head of agriculture still felt ambivalent about it.
James just shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not thinking about that right now,¡± he said. The Ring of Lies burned hot against his fingers, almost painful.
But its power seemed to work.
Luntz looked surprised, then nodded slowly.
¡°Even though you get power through levels, which require fighting?¡± Luntz asked. ¡°I have to admit, I suspected you would be plotting how to get the most power possible. It might even be a good idea, given the game-like world we live in now. It¡¯s something I¡¯m apprehensive about, but¡ª¡± He shrugged and threw up his hands, expressing as best he could how little either of them could do about the new structure of reality.
¡°Well, it¡¯s something I will think about,¡± James replied, ¡°but I¡¯m really mainly focused on the Kingdom¡¯s security right now. Getting levels for me is important, but primarily because it helps keep the Kingdom and my family safe.¡±
This time, the Ring of Lies barely did anything at all, which James found reassuring. He thought he was telling the truth. Almost completely.
There was a part of him that wanted to play ¡°Risk¡± with the whole world.
And there was a separate but related part that wanted to pick fights with the strongest beings on the new Earth. Mostly, though, he was just concerned about his people¡¯s safety¡ªand his family¡¯s first and foremost.
¡°I appreciate the honesty,¡± Luntz said, smiling earnestly. ¡°Thank you for coming out here to talk, Your Majesty.¡±
James felt a small twinge of guilt at Luntz¡¯s appreciation. But he just smiled back and shook the other man¡¯s hand.
He wanted to go and see Alan next, but as he turned to walk away from the fertile fields, he felt the distinctive heat of Hester¡¯s body receiving a message from the Spider God on the back of his ear.
James quickly returned home to the privacy of his and Mina¡¯s bedroom to hear the message.
¡°So, Hester, any news?¡± he asked quietly.
¡°Yes, sir,¡± she said. Despite the wait between her receipt of the message and her arrival in the apartment, she still sounded drained. James made a note to not use her as a go-between for trivial tasks like this any more than necessary.
¡°All right,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m excited to hear it.¡±
¡°Well, Lord Anansi said you were asking something slightly vague, but he thought he knew what you were trying to ask. He says you¡¯re a thousand years too early to think of summoning him to help you, sir. More powerful entities require more energy to summon.
¡°He figured out that I¡¯d want to try that, huh?¡± James asked sheepishly.
¡°Yes, sir.¡±
¡°Well, he was right,¡± James admitted. ¡°I was also curious why I didn¡¯t get this summoning Skill when Anansi made me his Chosen One.¡±
¡°It seems to be a special power that the tools of the monotheists¡¯ deity receive,¡± Hester said. ¡°Lord Anansi doesn¡¯t know for sure, but he has seen it in action before. In a battle with some other high-ranking angels, eons ago, Satan summoned most of the Kings of Hell. It seemed to take a lot out of him, but they were only a tier below their master in terms of power, and they turned the tide. The Morning Star lived to fight another day.¡±
¡°Anansi was just, um, watching that battle, then?¡± James asked. He was having trouble wrapping his head around the concept.
¡°Sir, I don¡¯t know if this is going to bother you, but among the gods, Lord Anansi is known to not typically take sides in good versus evil struggles like that,¡± Hester said. She sounded slightly nervous¡ªeven defensive. ¡°I should point out that most of the pantheons don¡¯t fight Satan or the angels either unless they have a good reason to. It¡¯s not that he¡¯s content with evil beings just hanging around, but¡ª¡±
¡°Hester, I really don¡¯t care that Anansi doesn¡¯t take sides,¡± James interrupted. ¡°What I was surprised by was that he was that close to a battle that destructive. It sounds a lot like the fall of Satan from Heaven that a lot of people believe happened, and you were talking about it kind of casually, like ¡®Oh, this one time, Anansi saw the angels fighting a battle where Satan was pushed to his limits.¡¯ To me, that just sounded crazy. You know?¡±
¡°Oh. Oh, all right. Yes, it is pretty crazy.¡± Hester chuckled. ¡°I sometimes forget how amazing Lord Anansi¡¯s achievements are. Even when he¡¯s avoiding danger and just watching his enemies to see what their weaknesses are, he puts himself in some situations I couldn¡¯t imagine.¡±
¡°Watching his enemies?¡± James asked. ¡°Is he enemies with Satan?¡±
¡°Oof.¡± Hester made a little sound as if she had shoved her feet into her mouth.
¡°Uh, is that something you¡¯re not supposed to talk about?¡± James guessed.
¡°That¡¯s right, sir,¡± Hester said.
¡°I¡¯ll say no more about it, then,¡± James said. ¡°All right, so I can¡¯t summon Anansi, but I can use the Skill? Is that right?¡±
¡°Yes, sir. You can use it. You have semi-divine power.¡±
¡°Because of my Chosen One blessing from Anansi?¡± James asked.
¡°Yes, but also because you¡¯re a Ruler,¡± Hester said. ¡°All Rulers possess semi-divine power. That¡¯s why you can give out blessings and curses. And you should be able to summon anyone you¡¯ve blessed. They all have some of your semi-divine energy from the blessing.¡±
¡°All right, that sounds pretty good,¡± James said, smiling.
It was time to try some experiments.
V4Ch43-Summoning Experiments and Plans
James first transferred the Skill ¡°Summon Divine Helper¡± from the Great Venom Wyvern to himself.
The creature did not resist at all, which James found encouraging. Now that he was closer to full power, the wyvern seemed much easier to control, even though the monster had also grown more powerful, acquiring levels and boosting its Stats as a result of the attack on Cyrus and his group.
It looks like I¡¯ll be able to control them into the indefinite future, he thought.
Then he called Mina.
They spent a half hour testing the Skill.
James first explained what he was doing to Mina, then ordered the Great Venom Wyvern to fly away.
Then he activated ¡°Summon Divine Helper.¡±
He figured the Great Venom Wyvern, formerly a part of his own body, would have his semi-divine energy just as much as anyone he¡¯d blessed.
James got a vision of a specific motion his body needed to make as soon as he activated the Skill¡ªclasping his hands as if in prayer. He moved accordingly, then stood in place for a few silent minutes, waiting for something to happen.
¡°I don¡¯t feel anything,¡± he said finally. ¡°Maybe I don¡¯t know how¡ª¡±
With a sudden whooshing sound, the Great Venom Wyvern suddenly appeared in the air in front of James, still flapping its wings as if it was in the middle of the sky. It barely registered its surroundings in time to avoid colliding with a wall.
At the same time, James felt a large hunk of his Mana disappear.
What was that, ten percent just to summon this thing? he thought.
It was slightly disappointing, but James reasoned that the Skill would become more efficient with levels. All that was needed was repeated use, which also fit with the other goal he had in mind: using Mina¡¯s ¡°Quick Study,¡± he hoped she would learn the Skill by observation.
James ordered the wyvern to fly away again, and this experiment repeated multiple times. James let the monster get further away each time, but the Skill leveled up with repeated use. There was a slight drop in Mana required with levels, though it was far from what James would have found ideal. By the end, even when he had allowed the wyvern to fly for twenty minutes, it took roughly the same amount of Mana to summon back that he had expended on the first effort.
At that point, Mina started pumping her fist.
¡°Yes! I got it!¡± she exclaimed.
The couple hugged, and James lifted her into the air and twirled her.
Then they proceeded with another experiment.
This time, James ordered the wyvern to fly away, and Mina attempted to summon it. The summoning took as long as it had taken James the first time he tried it, and this time, he was able to see what it really looked like.
Mina¡¯s body did not show any outward sign that she was using Mana during the summoning process¡ªit just looked like she was praying with a determined expression¡ªuntil the end. At that point, a bunch of gently golden energy poured off of her.
¡°Fu¡ªugh¡ªoh, fudge¡¡± Mina groaned and panted, clutching the side of her head, as the surge of Mana deserted her.
A little part of James wanted to laugh at his wife¡¯s pseudo-cursing¡ªhe was pretty certain she had actually wanted to say ¡°fuck¡± there. Her willpower had kept her from it, and there was always something disarming, cute, and funny about that. She was so ladylike.
But his mild instinctive amusement at that was heavily outweighed by immediate concern for her well-being.
¡°Are you okay, Mina?¡± he asked, stepping in closer.
She raised a hand. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she said, still breathing heavily. She looked paler than usual.
¡°You don¡¯t seem fine,¡± he said.
¡°Well, I don¡¯t have your Mana reserves,¡± she said. ¡°But I¡¯m still standing.¡±
¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯ll be able to use the summoning,¡± he said. ¡°It makes me feel safer letting you train outside of our territory, even if I¡¯m not around.¡±
¡°You¡¯re still thinking about what Bear said, then, aren¡¯t you?¡± she asked.
¡°That part of it was definitely good advice,¡± James replied.
He remembered Bear¡¯s words vividly, perhaps because James had been preoccupied with Mina¡¯s safety even before the strange, all too knowing masked figure appeared in their lives.
¡°You cannot always be standing by your wife¡¯s side, ready to offer your protection. You have to allow her to face real dangers and grow, not sit on your property or fight only in your tamed dungeon.¡±
There was still a vision of the future hanging over their heads¡ªa vision of Mina¡¯s death.
¡°Yes, he made some good points¡¡± The tone of Mina¡¯s voice reminded James of how stung she had been by Bear¡¯s assessment.
It wasn¡¯t exactly fair to her, the way Bear had dismissed her as weak¡ªbut fair or not, it was somewhat true. She was very weak compared with James or anyone who could be considered his peer. She had a Skill that could allow her to grow exponentially, but she had not been in any situation that demanded that kind of improvement since Orientation.
Most likely, she was not even the most powerful human besides himself in the Fisher Kingdom. Damien had been continuously growing stronger, fighting alongside Luna and her wolf pack. Zora¡¯s powers were clearly incredibly potent for combat, too, though it was hard to compare the ability to create undead with more directly destructive Skills. There were probably others who were improving by leaps and bounds, too.
He broached the subject carefully. He didn¡¯t want to call her weak when she already felt bad about it.
¡°I think you and I should leave the Kingdom and go fight some monsters together once we make sure everything with the Army and the Expeditionary Force is taken care of,¡± James said. ¡°Strange as it sounds, it could be a version of quality time¡ªin this weird, messed up world the System built.¡±
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Mina smiled but then frowned. ¡°I would love to spend quality time with you, skapi, but I don¡¯t feel quite right leaving Yulia and the children alone while we have fun. She¡¯s been watching them whenever we do anything. Her whole social life revolves around the kids now. She wouldn¡¯t complain about it, but I think she needs a break.¡±
¡°Okay, how about we take her with us? We can ask Leo and Hilda to watch Junior, and soon the rest of the kids will be in school.¡± James silently prayed that she would not suggest taking Junior with them. As much as he loved family time, there was no way he could protect Mina, Yulia, and Junior if they were in dangerous territory. He didn¡¯t want to be put in a situation where one of them would be endangered because he had to divide his attention too finely.
¡°That sounds great,¡± Mina said. ¡°We already know we can trust Leo¡ªand I guess Hilda is okay, too?¡±
James shrugged. ¡°I assume they¡¯ll babysit together if they agree to do it. Leo is the one I imagine we would ask, since you know him better than I know Hilda.¡±
¡°Wonderful!¡± Mina exclaimed in instantly-translated Bulgarian. ¡°Before I forget, the mention of Bear reminded me of something.¡±
¡°What?¡±
¡°Didn¡¯t he predict Moishe would reappear?¡± she asked. ¡°As much as I hate to give the masked man credit, he said someone would show up who would validate what he said about the monotheists¡ªand then Moishe appears.¡±
James reluctantly nodded. I completely forgot.
¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right,¡± he said. ¡°I wonder how he knew.¡±
¡°He won¡¯t tell us if we ask,¡± Mina said, ¡°or he would have revealed it already. But he does know things that seem impossible. Maybe you should talk to him again.¡± She sounded as though she disliked speaking those words, and she wrinkled her nose at the end of her last sentence.
James snorted and then kissed the tip of her nose.
Mina let out a little laugh of her own.
¡°What was that for?¡± she asked.
¡°You¡¯re saying the things you don¡¯t want to say, because you think I need to hear them,¡± James said. ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re my top advisor.¡±
¡°Oh, right. Well, don¡¯t you forget it!¡± she said with mock seriousness.
They kissed.
¡°I will go and see Bear after I see our brave troops off,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯m sure he approves of that move, or he would have already materialized from out of nowhere and given me ninety-nine reasons why I shouldn¡¯t do it. Or, more accurately, a few vague reasons that would feel true.¡±
¡°So, what he told you so far all felt true?¡± Mina asked.
James guessed that she was still nettled about Bear¡¯s remarks toward her.
¡°Do you actually want me to answer that question?¡± he asked.
She thought for a moment, then slowly shook her head.
¡°Not if you don¡¯t think I would,¡± she replied carefully.
James had thought not. Even in marriage, sometimes the art of diplomacy was in what you knew not to say.
The rest of the evening passed peacefully. There were no more experiments. James and Mina spent the time with their family, telling stories and playing endless rounds of ¡°Sorry!¡± with Abhi and Yulia. Even little Indira tried to join in the game, though she just moved her piece wherever she wanted to without regard for the rules.
The highlight of the evening was when, after Mina had set Junior down on the floor to take her turn, the baby managed to crawl away¡ªwhich, Mina assured James, was highly premature.
They only half paid attention through the next hour, as they expected Junior to perform some other minor miracle¡ªbut he just crawling, with surprising energy, until they decided that was probably going to be the only magic trick he performed that evening.
James tucked the children into bed with a story Abhi had chosen. This was an Arthurian legend¡ªthe boy loved those¡ªthis time about the Holy Grail. James only remembered midway through the story that it was also the story of his namesake, the Fisher King.
As had happened often before, Abhi fell asleep before the tale could reach its conclusion.
Such a strange story, James thought.
Before he and Mina went to sleep, he instructed the wyverns that they could hunt for as much food as they wanted to eat but should remain close to the Kingdom. He knew that they might be wanted at any moment to depart for destinations unknown.
When dawn broke, James reached out with his senses, just to detect if the Rogets were awake in their apartment. He very carefully avoided actually seeing or hearing anything moving in their space, but he confirmed that they were up already.
Mitzi was in the kitchen, while Alan was in the living room.
James walked over. It was time to ask them when the Fisher Expeditionary Force would be ready to depart.
¡°Today, this morning,¡± Alan said as soon as the pleasantries had been exchanged and the question was out of James¡¯s mouth.
¡°We¡¯re just eating a last meal in the apartment before we go,¡± Mitzi said. ¡°The Electricity Commission members were eager to get started.¡±
¡°I think they¡¯re very excited about hopefully getting the Internet back,¡± Alan said, shrugging.
James felt the same way that Alan apparently did. He didn¡¯t really get the attraction of the Internet when they now lived in a literal magical world.
¡°Whatever gets them to march out and survey the territory,¡± James said. ¡°You have all the supplies you need?¡±
¡°Mr. Luntz and his partners dropped them off with us last night, after your chat with him,¡± Alan said, patting his bag¡ªwhich showed no signs that he was carrying enough food for a small army.
¡°Great,¡± James said. ¡°Do you mind if I announce it? I¡¯ll check with Dave when he¡¯s leaving, too, but I think it would be great if you guys got some fanfare on the way out.¡±
Alan smiled. ¡°Sure, James. Whatever you¡¯d like.¡±
¡°We¡¯ll see you on the other side,¡± Mitzi said. She put an arm around James¡¯s shoulder and squeezed him gently. ¡°We¡¯re looking forward to the adventure. Thank you for trusting us.¡±
¡°Of course,¡± James said. ¡°I appreciate the two of you volunteering. It¡¯s important to me to have people I can trust in charge of a mission this important.¡±
Next, James reached out with his land-related senses and located Dave.
He was surprised to find that the Captain was already outside, walking the outskirts of the Kingdom. And Dave wasn¡¯t alone. A dozen of his soldiers were with him.
James rushed to meet Dave before he and the squad accompanying him could leave the borders of his domain. He sent a quick message to let Dave know he was coming, just so that he would not have to chase him and his people outside of the Kingdom.
The conversation was a short one.
¡°So, you¡¯re not ready to leave quite yet?¡± James verified.
¡°That¡¯s right, sir,¡± Dave said. ¡°Since we¡¯re moving quite a large force, a few leading members of the coalition understandably had some last preparations they wanted to do. And I thought that since we had a day or two before the group would be ready, I would take a small group and hunt down some more of those feral hogs. We¡¯ll get some extra meat for the journey.¡±
¡°That sounds good,¡± James said, nodding. ¡°I¡¯ll just make the announcement to the Kingdom about the Expeditionary Force leaving, then. Good luck on your hunt.¡±
Dave smiled. ¡°It should be fun,¡± he said.
James watched him and the other soldiers until they had vanished into the woods, walking beyond the borders of the Fisher Kingdom and into the gentle shadows cast by the tree canopy in the morning light.
Then he walked back into the main inhabited area of the Fisher Kingdom.
Alan, Mitzi, and their motley crew of humans rounded out by a small number of nonhumans of various types were already gathered in the courtyard, ready to leave. The mood in the air was one of excitement.
James smiled at them, waved, and began his announcement.
[Citizens of the Fisher Kingdom, on this morning, a party of intrepid explorers gathers to lead a pioneering expedition out of the Kingdom¡]
V4Ch44-Intrepid Explorers
[Citizens of the Fisher Kingdom, on this morning, a party of intrepid explorers gathers to lead a pioneering expedition out of the Kingdom. They stand ready in the courtyard now, giving the Kingdom one last look before they set out to scout the western frontier. If you come down, or simply look to a window that faces the courtyard, you can see them: these brave men and women, humans and nonhumans alike, all citizens of the Fisher Kingdom off to risk their lives to discover what has become of the rest of the land we once called Florida. Now is your chance to say your goodbyes and wish them well!]
James¡¯s words felt rather stirring to Alan.
When the old man had noticed his hairline beginning to return to its more youthful state after he had received James¡¯s blessing, he¡¯d had several reactions. He brushed it off at first, then wondered if he was going mad, and finally accepted it once he realized the same thing was happening to Mitzi. Soon, he allowed himself to enjoy the effects.
It was nice to experience his bodily functions working the way they were supposed to work. To exercise without quickly becoming breathless. To wait and not be tired by waiting. To trust himself¡ªto feel capable of defending himself and Mitzi¡ªthough he knew that feeling was more of an illusion than a reality. Alan estimated he was as strong as he had been ten years ago, which would be a miracle if he got into a fight with a pre-System human. But now it simply meant he was slightly harder for the world¡¯s monsters to kill.
There had been a bit of a crisis of faith¡ªit felt, absurdly, like a refutation of the simple religion Alan had taken for granted his whole life. James, totally disconnected from the God of the Bible, had performed what was obviously a miracle. There had never been any comparable reverse-aging miracle performed in the Scripture as Alan recalled it.
But he had forced himself to stop worrying and accept it.
The tantalizing gift of a second youth was too exciting a prize for him to reject it or even to sincerely bemoan receiving it. Unknown to Alan, this was the birth of a second faith within himself, a sort of pagan belief. An alternative source of miracles from that espoused by his old religion had been identified¡ªand willingly accepted.
For all the strange, conflicting, and wonderful feelings he had experienced since James had reversed his aging, however, this morning was the first time Alan truly felt like a young man again.
It was what he had anticipated feeling. A major part of why he had agreed to Mitzi¡¯s idea of leading this expedition.
Intrepid explorers, he thought. His hand tightened around Mitzi¡¯s. She smiled at him, and her thumb caressed the back of his hand. Yes, we are.
This was what it meant to be young. He had almost forgotten it. To gamble everything, to be capable of daring everything and physically following through with the dare. To try to achieve greatly, even where it might mean taking a foolish risk¡ªand potentially throwing one¡¯s life away in the process.
Yes, this was youth. It was real, Alan had a taste of it back again, and he would eagerly take what more he could get.
His second summer was here.
No, that wasn¡¯t quite right.
He pulled his wife close, and she returned the gesture with an arm wrapped tightly around his waist.
Their second summer was here.
Then a small torrent of Fisher Kingdom citizens came out to celebrate them. There was no other way to put it. These people were there to admire them and ask them questions¡ªto bask in the glory of the adventure that Alan and the others were setting out on.
They weren¡¯t even there to see James. The Fisher King stood at a distance and gave the Expeditionary Force plenty of room to engage with the crowd. He looked very pleased with the turnout.
Around fifty people had quickly exited the buildings, while dozens more could be seen looking down from windows. They waved and smiled if one made eye contact with them.
The observers significantly outnumbered the Expeditionary force, which had only thirty-odd members.
The outside group was overwhelmingly young people, children and teenagers accompanied by parents and a smaller number of adults in whom the spirit of adventure was clearly alive and well.
Alan felt again how potentially foolhardy the venture was¡ªand how romantic, in a sense.
I suppose I¡¯m Don Quixote. If this youth deserts us at a key moment¡ªbut why was he thinking of that? Perhaps it was because James was the Fisher King. A Ruler whose legend established that his Kingdom¡¯s health was directly connected to his own.
But James¡¯s personal health seemed quite stable.
Alan shook his head. What am I worrying about?
The Fisher King was much stronger than any life form Alan and Mitzi had ever encountered, and he was surrounded by allies in his own territory. Even if his continued well-being was connected to Alan and Mitzi¡¯s improved physical condition, James was far from being in danger.
Alan felt a tug at his pants leg, and he looked down, pulled suddenly back to the present moment. A redheaded boy, around eight or nine years old¡ªthough Alan was less good at guessing children¡¯s ages since it had been so long since he and Mitzi had raised theirs¡ªstared up at him.
¡°Mister, um, they said that you¡¯re leading the expe¡ªuh, expedition!¡± He sounded proud of saying the word correctly. ¡°Is that right?¡± the child asked.
Alan nodded and furrowed his brow, curious what the child would want.
¡°I was out there when one of the flying monsters found me and brought me back,¡± the boy explained. ¡°It was scary. But he kept me safe!¡±
The child held out a little G.I. Joe figure from behind his back. He extended his arm in the universal sign of offering something up.
Alan smiled. It was a moving gesture. For a moment, he wondered what words he could use to politely refuse the boy¡¯s offer.
Then he decided to accept the toy.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
¡°Thank you,¡± he said quietly, reaching down.
As he grabbed the arm of the action figure, the little boy continued to hold tightly to its body for a moment.
¡°There¡¯s just one thing,¡± the kid said. ¡°You have to bring him back, okay? He¡¯ll keep you safe, but I need him after that.¡±
The old man suppressed a laugh. ¡°Of course. What¡¯s your name, young man?¡±
¡°Olly,¡± the boy said, blinking as if he had somehow expected Alan to just know who he was.
[Quest unlocked: A Boy¡¯s Hopes!]
An alert appeared and startled Alan slightly, but he kept his reaction controlled.
¡°That¡¯s an excellent name,¡± Alan said. ¡°I¡¯m Alan.¡± He squeezed the boy¡¯s shoulder gently. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure I get this back to you.¡±
The boy smiled and then rushed back away from Alan toward an older couple who stood at the periphery of the crowd, surrounded by little ones. They didn¡¯t resemble any of the children, and Alan guessed they were among those who had volunteered to adopt some of James¡¯s found orphans.
He made eye contact with the father and mother in turn and gave them a respectful nod and a smile. They smiled back, and the father gave Alan a crisp salute. He was probably a veteran.
Though I guess everyone here is a veteran now, Alan thought.
He looked down at the G.I. Joe in his hand and smiled bittersweetly.
Somehow, all of this reminded him of Afghanistan.
Well, it was no mystery. He had gone off to that war, and the people¡¯s reactions to him and his friends leaving had been similar.
He shook his head. This wouldn¡¯t end the way that had. This was a journey of exploration, and James was a conqueror. He had the clarity that the War on Terror had lacked for most of its duration¡ªalthough it had felt simple and clear enough at the time.
¡°Ready to go?¡± Mitzi asked, laying a gentle hand on his arm.
Alan realized he had been staring at his new G.I. Joe for a while now, and he tucked it into the waistband of his belt.
Let the little boy see that I¡¯m keeping it close. He could put it away when they were well out of sight.
¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± he said. The rest of the crowd had calmed down and now stood at a respectful distance from the Expeditionary Force, waiting for them to leave.
¡°Fisher Expeditionary Force, face toward the jungle!¡± Alan commanded.
That represented the western border of the Kingdom and the explorers¡¯ route out. Dave had asked Amalia to scout the road that Alan and his companions had arrived by weeks earlier, but she had found that in a few miles, it intersected another Ruler¡¯s aura, so Alan, Mitzi, and the Electricity Commission leadership had planned another route.
Everyone turned as Alan had ordered. The moves didn¡¯t have military precision, but they did not need to. The group was listening. The journey was off on the right start.
¡°Forward, march!¡± Alan barked.
They marched, and they maintained a loose formation: Alan and Mitzi in the lead, the main leaders of the Electricity Commission directly behind them, and the rest of the group in a trapezoidal shape. The few proficient physical combat fighters were positioned on the outside edges of the group with their shields and armor at the ready, while the squishier magic-users remained within the safety of the trapezoid.
This lasted at least until they were out of sight of the children of the Fisher Kingdom who had been so excited to see them march out.
As they entered the jungle, the thick copses of trees made it harder to keep formation, but they remained in small groups that were in close proximity, always at least within sight of each other and the heads of the formation.
Alan decided he had to be satisfied with that until they made their way onto more open ground.
He was slightly more bothered by the fact that he could not see the wyverns through the thick canopy overhead, but he assumed they were there. They had left the courtyard at the same time as the Expeditionary Force, and they were a major part of the group¡¯s defenses. James would not allow the Fisher Expeditionary Force to be lost or even endangered while they were still close to home.
As the Expeditionary Force moved deeper into the jungle, shapes dropped from the trees.
Little bats and squirrels, the offspring of the adults Alan and Mitzi had seen in meetings¡ªsome of whom were even in the Fisher Expeditionary Force¡ªhopped down to greet the unfamiliar life forms. Humans and Goblins were more or less new to them, and Alan made sure to set the example by being friendly.
¡°Nice to meet you little fellows,¡± he said, crouching to make eye contact with a tiny reddish squirrel person that had eyes that seemed to take up half of its head.
The two-foot tall squirrel person¡ªnot counting its tail¡ªheld up a fruit Alan had never seen before. The red fruit looked juicy and ripe.
¡°Is that for me?¡± he asked.
The squirrel person nodded eagerly, apparently not trusting its voice to speak.
Alan accepted it gently from the squirrel¡¯s hands¡ªpaws?¡ªand took a big bite, ready to make a show of enjoying it. But to his surprise, he didn¡¯t have to. The strange fruit was unexpectedly juicy and delicious.
Did the squirrels discover a new fruit? he wondered.
¡°Mm, thank you so much,¡± he said, rubbing his small stomach. ¡°That¡¯s delicious!¡±
All around him, the other members of the group¡ªincluding some humans who had probably never seen a monster in a non-threatening context before¡ªaccepted a rainbow of fruits from the young squirrels and bats that stood at the periphery of the group.
The other Expeditionary Force members, both human and nonhuman, had similar reactions to Alan¡¯s. The jungle residents seemed to have decided to share some of their best snacks.
Alan was reminded by the youthful presences that he had a quest to review. He hadn¡¯t gotten an alert like that from the System since it told him to survive Orientation¡ªand that he had successfully survived Orientation.
He resolved to take a look at it as soon as they reached an appropriate resting place.
For the next several minutes, he and the other pioneers thanked the squirrels and bats and showed them physical displays of affection. One Expeditionary Force member started petting a little bat, and the rest couldn¡¯t resist doing the same with the other young creatures.
Alan had a moment of doubt¡ªof wondering if this would be inappropriate or condescending in some way, as it would if some stranger had approached his young children. But then he gave up on the idea of possibly opposing something everyone around him seemed to be enjoying, and he started stroking the red squirrel person¡¯s fur.
After a brief period of this, he got the group to move on.
It was when they had reached the edge of the jungle¡ªand therefore the border of the Fisher Kingdom¡ªthat Alan called a halt so that people could rest before they began their true journey. He finally read the quest.
[A Boy¡¯s Hopes: You accepted an emotionally significant gift from a child, with the promise of returning it to him at the conclusion of a journey. Complete the journey and fulfill your promise. Reward for Quest Success: Acquisition of a new Job; inspiring a child in a way that may last a lifetime. Penalty for Failure: Send the child down a darker path.]
The System thinks it can define the whole course of a human¡¯s destiny now? Alan thought. If I fail, I send the child ¡°down a darker path.¡± Really? He was disturbed at first, though his mind immediately began to reframe it.
The System had just been stating a fact when it told Alan that he needed to survive Orientation. Maybe that was what it was doing here.
Perhaps the System was simply recognizing that an opportunity existed¡ªthat this child, at this particular moment in his life, was unusually susceptible to Alan¡¯s influence for good or ill. It did observe them all the time, considering that it awarded humans experience for anything it considered important and never seemed to miss an opportunity to do so.
If that was correct, he had to accomplish the quest. Olly was counting on him.
V4Ch45-Beyond the Fisher Kingdom
Mitzi and Alan called an end to the break, and the group began to move forward.
As the Fisher Expeditionary Force finally advanced beyond the borders of the Fisher Kingdom, they could sense as the aura of the Fisher King himself faded away with a sudden sensation that reminded Mitzi of a change in air pressure.
I can almost feel my ears pop, she thought. It¡¯s like we¡¯ve been in James¡¯s territory forever. Somehow, the air outside has turned a little strange. Hasn¡¯t it?
But ¡°strange¡± didn¡¯t quite cover it.
Mitzi searched her mind for the right word. Was it scary? It certainly felt less secure out here. The world outside is unsettled, she decided. Unpredictable.
The only trace of James¡¯s presence remaining was in the floating shadows of the wyverns that moved along with the crowd now that they had stepped out of the jungle¡¯s thick canopy cover.
Those monsters would hopefully provide some protection, but it was not the same as walking around in the Fisher Kingdom. Mitzi determined that she would need to pay more attention to her surroundings now. She looked around and took careful appraisal of the environment. They had stepped out of the jungle, but the new territory they found themselves in was far from bereft of trees.
Rather, the Expeditionary Force had simply shifted from a tropical setting to a pine forest.
The soil was slightly sandy and somewhat dry. It grew scattered but thick tufts of grass. There were crunchy bits of pine needle scattered randomly about.
But the dominant feature of the new environment was the pine trees. The pines towered over everything, extending to around two hundred feet tall, topped with dense crowns of needles that cast large chunks of their surroundings into thick shadow. The trees looked thicker and taller than Mitzi remembered any local trees having been before the System, though the sight of the thick, scaly, reddish-brown bark felt familiar.
The System probably super-sized the trees, just like the animals.
There was a distant sound floating through the air, but Mitzi¡¯s conscious mind barely noted it. She was more focused on the titanic trees.
Mitzi wondered for a moment if the plants were intelligent, as many of the animals seemed to be now¡ªbut she quickly dismissed the thought as silly. She had seen talking wolves, a talking bat, an incessantly talking squirrel, a talking alligator, and a talking mole, but never a talking tree.
¡°Everyone try to stay together in the well-lighted places!¡± Alan yelled, breaking Mitzi¡¯s focus on the pines. ¡°We don¡¯t know what sort of creatures live in this place. Use the buddy system.¡±
Mitzi self-consciously pulled closer to her husband. He put his arm around her shoulders, and for a few minutes, the whole group simply advanced into the pine forest in near silence. Mitzi had enough time simply quietly observing her surroundings to note that one of the Electricity Commission members appeared to be drawing a map¡ªor something that would later be composited into a map.
The world has changed so much that we need new maps, she thought. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if this area specifically has shifted again by the time we return¡ªperhaps so drastically that his notes on this place will be useless.
Mitzi said nothing, however. It was a good way for the young man to keep busy, whether it would ultimately be useful to the group or not.
As they stepped further into the pine forest, Mitzi began to hear a sound of drumming. It had been too distant and indistinct for her to really notice it before, but now it grew more defined. She and Alan exchanged a look as soon as the noise became clear.
¡°What do you suppose that is?¡± he asked quietly.
¡°It sounds like drumming,¡± she said uncertainly. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine it¡¯s the ¡®Little Drummer Boy,¡¯ though.¡±
Alan chuckled. ¡°No, I think not. Maybe¡ª¡±
¡°Wait!¡± Mitzi squeezed his arm and stood stock-still for a moment, mouth slightly agape. ¡°No, I think I know what it is now. I¡¯ve just never heard so many at once before.¡± Even in their current circumstances, she felt a sense of wonder at this new world they were mapping.
The tapping sound was more than one drummer; that was clear by this point.
¡°Well?¡± Alan asked.
¡°Woodpeckers,¡± she said, swallowing.
Probably monstrous woodpeckers that eat human flesh. She didn¡¯t need to vocalize that thought. She saw it on Alan¡¯s face.
¡°Maybe I should take a few of the Expeditionary Force members and see what¡¯s ahead,¡± he said slowly. ¡°If we can spot where the monsters are¡ª¡±
¡°Don¡¯t you dare, Alan,¡± Mitzi said in a low voice. ¡°You are not leaving me behind if you go anywhere, certainly not to go and take a look at some feral woodpeckers. There¡¯s no point in scouting, anyway.¡±
¡°No point in scouting?¡± Alan asked, raising an eyebrow.
¡°We didn¡¯t feel something like James when we entered this area,¡± Mitzi said. ¡°The territory owner¡¯s aura. If there was something terribly monstrous here, it would have a presence like James, right?¡±
Alan rubbed his chin. ¡°Right, maybe we should just keep walking straight through,¡± he said. ¡°They might not be aggressive, and if there¡¯s no Ruler, we might be okay even if they are.¡±
¡°I think so,¡± Mitzi said optimistically.
Her husband raised his voice and called out another command to the group. ¡°It sounds like it¡¯s woodpeckers in the trees out there, so keep your eyes peeled for birds on the sides. We have no reason to think they¡¯re aggressive yet, so don¡¯t be the first to start a fight. We don¡¯t know if we¡¯re outnumbered, and we¡¯re in their territory. We¡¯re the trespassers.¡±
There were murmurs of understanding from those around them, and the group packed a bit closer together.
As they marched further into the pine forest, the sound of the drumbeat intensified until it felt like the drummers were right on top of them. Then Mitzi saw the first woodpecker.
It was around two feet tall¡ªlarger than any woodpecker she had ever seen in her life. Almost as large as an eagle, cloaked in black and brown plumage mottled with white spots. Its head featured black and white racing stripes. The creature was tapping a slow, gentle beat onto one of the titanic pine trees.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
Mitzi saw its head turn slightly toward the group, and the woodpecker then altered the tempo of its drumbeat. The tapping stepped up, moving just a little faster, and Mitzi heard what sounded like answering taps from deeper in the forest. It made her slightly nervous. The creature wasn¡¯t moving in their direction, but it was communicating. How many of these monsters would there be?
Did woodpeckers always come with such deadly equipment? That beak looked like it could easily be used to peck out someone¡¯s eyes or throat, not just drill a hole in a tree.
¡°I think it¡¯s warning the rest of them,¡± she whispered in Alan¡¯s direction.
¡°That¡¯s just fine,¡± Alan replied in a calming tone. ¡°We come in peace. I don¡¯t think the fact that we¡¯re crossing needs to be a secret. With these things floating in the sky, we were never going to be able to hide our presence anyway.¡±
Despite his reassuring words, he also tightened his grip around her shoulders slightly. Whatever Alan said, he was at least a little nervous too.
As they crossed the forest, it was impossible to miss the sound of drumming slowly intensifying. The number of woodpeckers banging away at the trees around them gradually increased, too.
Was this a mistake? Mitzi wondered. If we can¡¯t even make it through someplace that doesn¡¯t have a Ruler to defend it, how will we ever get anywhere?
By this point, the slight edge of anxiety had infected everyone around Alan and Mitzi. The Warrior and Rogue types had begun loosening their weapons in their sheaths. The Mages were quietly chanting to themselves, keeping their Mana at the ready in case the group were to suddenly come under attack.
It wasn¡¯t until the group stepped into a small clearing that Mitzi felt certain they were in trouble, though.
The trees at the edges of the clearing appeared almost to be growing feathers, they were so thickly covered in woodpeckers. There had to have been hundreds of them, perhaps thousands, all pecking away. The sound as the group stepped into the open space was almost deafening, and after a moment¡¯s hesitation, Mitzi gave in to her instinct and covered her ears.
As more and more of the group members covered their ears, the Fisher Expeditionary Force gradually came to a stop. Everyone looked at everyone else. No one could hear what anyone was saying, and the sense of cohesion that had held the group since Alan began issuing his orders seemed to have been broken.
Then the cacophony came to a sudden stop.
Mitzi turned from looking at the group to face the woodpeckers again. She noticed more details now. Some of them had a small, red stripe on their head, while others did not have that small marking as far as she could see.
The birds all opened their wings in unison, and Mitzi had to wonder if they had telepathic powers. Then the woodpeckers took flight in a massive, collective movement that removed all doubt. The species had some non-verbal means of communication.
She focused on a random bird and used Identify.
Red-Cockaded Woodpecker, Lv. 7 (Female)
As she got the species name and the individual¡¯s level, the specimen she had focused on was swept away from her field of view in a massive flood of flapping wings and black, white, and brown feathers. The birds were moving as one, so close that they looked like a single organism¡ªif that organism was large and supple enough to make a wave out of its own body.
With the relative quiet of the flight¡ªit sounded like a number of large, industrial fans running at once, but it was practically silent compared to the birds¡¯ pecking¡ªit was possible to speak again, and Alan began clearing his throat beside Mitzi. She could not imagine what he would say to the mass of feathers and muscle that floated through the air before them, but anything would be better than just standing back and watching the woodpeckers continue to writhe in the air. Inaction would lead to violence here.
The other members of their party were clearly growing antsy. At any moment, Mages might start flinging magical attacks. They were all looking to Alan, but his eyes were focused on the threat in front of them.
He opened his mouth to speak, but another voice beat him to it.
¡°Humans.¡± The sound seemed to emanate from everywhere and nowhere, as if rather than speaking from their mouths or vocal chords, the woodpeckers spoke with a single collective voice¡ªa voice that emerged from an immaterial place. ¡°Destroyers of the pine forests, ravagers of our natural home. What do you want here that you have not already taken?¡±
Eco-warrior birds, huh? Mitzi thought, slightly amused despite herself. The natural world had taken back the whole of Florida, from what she had seen. If they still had a grievance against humanity, it could only be about wrongs that were now long in the past.
¡°We are only passing through,¡± Alan called back immediately in a loud, firm voice. ¡°We wish to cross your forest peacefully. We have no desire to take anything from here. We have not harmed a single living creature since we entered this place.¡±
¡°Hmm,¡± the disembodied voice growled. ¡°The descension must deliberate. Please wait.¡±
They sound surprisingly cordial.
Despite the relative calm of the descension¡¯s collective voice, the woodpeckers¡¯ movements remained ominous¡ªalmost violent by virtue of the sheer mass of weight in each shift of their bodies, though the bird collective had not made any threatening movements.
As the descension deliberated, its members continued to fly through the air as a unified whole, flowing in a circle around the clearing the Expeditionary Force had stepped into¡ªkeeping them trapped there.
Christian Zito stepped up alongside Alan and leaned over to whisper in his ear.
¡°Should we keep our spells ready? What do we do when these things stop moving?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t lower your guard,¡± Alan replied, ¡°but don¡¯t start anything either. Same instructions I gave earlier. Nothing has changed.¡±
Zito just nodded and stepped back among his group, where he started muttering quietly to the other Electricity Commission members.
Alan turned very deliberately away from Zito and his group and, out of their sight, scowled.
Mitzi could almost hear her husband thinking, Do they really think we can do anything against these numbers? They¡¯d better not start something that the rest of us aren¡¯t equipped to finish.
At last, and sooner than Mitzi had expected, the giant wheel of feathery bodies stopped in its rotation and held in place, still surrounding the clearing.
¡°What is the intention of those creatures?¡± the collective voice asked.
¡°Creatures?¡± Alan echoed.
A shadow fell over him and Mitzi at that moment, and other shadows moved over the ground occupied by the other Expeditionary Force members, before sliding off and circling around. The wyverns had reappeared¡ªhidden for some time by the tree canopy of the jungle and then by the tree cover of the pine forest. They could make their presence felt much more easily in the wide open space of the clearing.
¡°Those creatures,¡± the woodpeckers¡¯ voice said impatiently. Dozens of their bodies moved together to make an arrow shape, pointing at the wyverns.
¡°Oh, those,¡± Alan said, puffing out his chest. ¡°They are here to assist our group in its defense. If we are attacked, they will fight for us.¡±
¡°We see,¡± said the descension. The voice sounded disappointed. ¡°Leave our forest, then, and take your mongrel creatures with you. If you return, be prepared to present us with an offering for safe passage. Food for all of us would be in order.¡±
Mitzi raised an eyebrow and looked at Alan. Her husband wisely waited a moment before responding.
¡°Thank you for your promise of safe passage,¡± he said. ¡°We will bear your words in mind and try not to trouble you again unless we can find no other route back to our place of origin.¡±
¡°Best of luck on your journey, then,¡± said the voice with considerably more warmth.
¡°Thank you,¡± Alan repeated, bowing his head slightly. He stepped forward, toward the wall of woodpecker bodies that blocked the exit to the clearing.
The rest of the group followed after him, and as they reached the woodpeckers, the birds parted for the Expeditionary Force, splitting into two walls of feathered bodies that hovered in the air, watching the Fisher Kingdom citizens as they walked.
Mitzi thought that she was the only one who saw Alan sweating. He found a good moment to wipe it away as unobtrusively as possible, so that no one else would see. And the two of them were at the front of the group.
She took his hand in hers, so that no one else would see that it was shaking slightly. His mind was probably thinking along the same track as hers.
Those were just a flock¡ªor a descension, as they called themselves¡ªof woodpeckers, and they seemed to only decide to let us go because they saw James¡¯s monsters. What else are we going to run into on this journey? How will we survive?
V4Ch46-Dungeon Time Part 1
The morning passed relatively quietly for James after the excitement of Alan and Mitzi¡¯s departure.
Dave and his squad were on their hunting trip. The other citizens of the Fisher Kingdom were about their usual business. Alan and the Fisher Expeditionary Force made it outside the borders of the Kingdom, but James continued to follow them through the consciousness of the wyverns that he had sent with them.
James felt that he was close to recovering the rest of his strength, so he and Mina made the decision to spend the day in the Dungeon, preparing as best they could for the larger adventure to come.
When he went into the bedroom to change clothes, Hester asked to stay behind in the apartment. She said that she had a task she needed to complete that she could only perform in a safe place. James had the feeling that she didn¡¯t want him to ask what it was, so all he said was, ¡°Good luck, I hope you accomplish the mission.¡±
¡°Yes, sir,¡± she replied. ¡°We all have our part to play in the great narrative, and I feel privileged to weave a little more in my section of the tapestry.¡±
James felt something a little ominous in her voice, but Hester sounded more upbeat than he would have imagined if she was prophesying her impending doom or something. He decided that she would tell him about her task when she was ready.
He reached up a hand to his ear, signaling with his body language for her to get on.
After a moment, she stepped onto his hand, and James pulled her in front of his face so that he could see her eye to eye.
The little spider looked slightly larger than she had when they first met, but James realized after a moment that it was actually just that her abdomen was swollen. Then he knew why she wanted to stay behind. He smiled.
¡°I look forward to your success,¡± James said. He tried to convey in the tone of his voice the full range of emotions he felt as he looked down at her, but he doubted if it was possible even with all his verbal Skills.
¡°I¡¯m not dying yet, boss,¡± Hester said softly. ¡°If you were worried. Um, if I misread you¡ª¡±
¡°You didn¡¯t,¡± James admitted. ¡°You¡¯re part of the family, too, Hester. When and if something happens to you, we¡¯ll all be sad. But especially me.¡±
¡°Well, nothing is happening yet,¡± Hester said. ¡°When you get back, maybe you can help me learn to Dreamwalk? I think by going with you a few more times, I might acquire the Skill.¡±
James nodded, put the spider down on the wall, and finally donned his Royal Exoarmor. Mina had not bothered leaving the common area, since she could simply throw her Orientation robes on over her normal civilian clothing¡ªbut when James saw it, the getup seemed to him like inadequate protection.
Just a few layers of fabric between her soft body and monstrous claws and clubs¡
¡°Do you want to wear my armor?¡± he asked. ¡°My body is pretty tough at this point, and the armor usually breaks more easily than my bones would anyway.¡±
¡°It looks heavy,¡± she said. ¡°Maybe I can try it after I get some levels and boost my Strength?¡±
James reluctantly agreed, and they advanced to the Dungeon.
There was no line outside that day, which James found curious at first. Then he considered that most of the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s more ambitious Goblins and soldiers were preparing for their own journey outside the Kingdom. Doubtless, they would be forging and sharpening last pieces of equipment in preparation for the trip.
He and Mina entered the Dungeon, and he immediately realized that some upgrades had been made since his last visit¡ªeven since Mina¡¯s last visit, as she had described it to him.
[Dungeon entered! You have arrived in Dungeon: Carol¡¯s Place!]
Besides the slightly changed name¡ªit had gone from ¡°Carol¡¯s Storage¡± to ¡°Carol¡¯s Place¡±¡ªthe geography was wildly different from what James had expected.
The space was no longer a simple warehouse or grocery store style location, a single large room with a door or two. Rather, they found themselves inside a cavern, standing before four tunnels that bored into the Earth in different directions.
¡°This wasn¡¯t here when you last visited, right?¡± James asked.
Mina shook her head wordlessly.
¡°Hi there¡ªoh, hey, wait, I think it¡¯s my two favorite people!¡± Carol¡¯s cheerful voice wafted down from the ceiling.
¡°Good to, um, see you again,¡± Mina said, chuckling a little. James was fairly certain she had never seen Carol, but he shared the sentiment. It was nice to be back here.
¡°You¡¯ve been doing some home improvements,¡± James said.
¡°Well, now I have a rotating cast of guests here at all hours of the day and night,¡± Carol said. ¡°We¡¯re like a big city restaurant or something! Or, I guess, I¡¯m like a big city restaurant. Still a little funny to refer to myself like I¡¯m a business or a building.¡±
¡°Well, if you are a business, you should consider yourself quite successful,¡± Mina said.
¡°You¡¯ve got a few people interested in following in your footsteps already, you know?¡± James added.
¡°I have heard about that. No one¡¯s actually done it yet, though, right?¡± Carol said. She sounded slightly nervous.
¡°Not as far as I¡¯ve heard,¡± he said.
¡°Well, you two will let me know if there¡¯s some, um, competition out there, won¡¯t you?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡¯ve been learning more about being a Dungeon, and it turns out that the natural predator of a Dungeon is other Dungeons. Who knew?¡±
¡°Oh, really?¡± James asked. He wondered suddenly if he could somehow use Carol to destroy the monotheists¡¯ Dungeon, but he just as quickly dismissed the idea. A Dungeon run by a mid-level angel was surely far beyond her level. It was probably beyond his level.
¡°Not that I¡¯m scared of them,¡± Carol hastened to add. ¡°Just that if someone¡¯s actually going to do the Dungeon Evolution path, I¡¯d like to try and make friends with them first, to reduce the chances we actually collide. Even if I¡¯m way ahead of anyone else who might want to become a Dungeon, I really hate conflict.¡±
James smiled.
¡°We¡¯ll make sure we pass on anything we learn,¡± Mina said, smiling.
¡°Thank you,¡± Carol said. ¡°Now, what brings you two here today?¡±
¡°We¡¯re here to train,¡± James said. He wanted to say, I¡¯m here to set the new high score on your leaderboard, but it sounded a little immature in his head. He was here for serious training, not to have fun defeating whatever monsters Carol could set up for him. That was at least true in theory.
¡°You¡¯ve made some changes,¡± Mina said. ¡°They look fantastic. Where do the tunnels go? Is it four different levels now?¡±
¡°Oh, more than that!¡± Carol said. Her voice dripped with pride. ¡°The four tunnels correspond to difficulty modes, each of which has more than one level to it. The easy and medium difficulty are to the left, but they¡¯re occupied right now. And anyway, knowing you two, I¡¯m guessing you¡¯d only be interested in the hard and expert modes.¡±
¡°You know us well,¡± James said. ¡°Out of curiosity, who else has been doing hard mode and expert mode?¡±
¡°The hard mode levels, only a few people,¡± Carol said. ¡°Damien Rousseau. Several, um, Vampires¡ªbecause apparently you have Vampires here now, and they don¡¯t have much to do around the Kingdom yet¡ And Dave Matsumoto went in a couple of times. He was quite determined, but he hasn¡¯t beaten it yet.¡±
¡°Has anyone beaten the hard level?¡± Mina asked.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
¡°The new bat leader, Evangeline, was the first one to do it. I think she¡¯s the bat leader, anyway. The other bats she brought in were talking to her like she was an authority, and¡ª¡±
¡°That¡¯s right,¡± James said. ¡°Evangeline is the new leader of the bats.¡±
¡°Well, she seems to have a little bit of a chip on her shoulder,¡± Carol said. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to speak ill of anyone. I think she¡¯s the most determined out of all the people I¡¯ve seen come into the Dungeon¡ªand that¡¯s a lot of people. It¡¯s just that sometimes I worry about her. After she beat the third hard mode level, I thought she might take a break. Instead, she¡¯s been grinding away at the first expert mode level. She¡¯s the only one who goes in there, and you know I can¡¯t stop the monsters on any given level from attacking once the Dungeon is active. The other bats are still stuck on medium difficulty. She¡¯s really all alone every time she challenges the Dungeon. So I¡¯ve just been a little worried. She pushes herself really hard, and since she¡¯s inside by herself, I keep imagining something terrible could happen¡¡±
¡°She¡¯s at the top of your leaderboard, I¡¯m guessing?¡± James said.
Carol was silent for a moment, then said, ¡°Yes.¡±
James guessed she was still getting used to being unable to nod.
¡°We all push ourselves harder than we did before the System, but maybe you ought to talk to her,¡± Mina suggested.
¡°All right,¡± James said. ¡°It¡¯s time I actually got to know her, anyway. But for now let¡¯s try out the Dungeon, unless Evangeline is in here right now.¡±
¡°We¡¯re ready to accommodate,¡± said Carol in her best customer service voice. ¡°Please go ahead to your preferred difficulty.¡±
James and Mina immediately advanced¡ªto the hard and expert modes respectively.
¡°Oh,¡± James said, turning to gaze at Mina in mild surprise.
¡°Oh,¡± Mina said, looking back at him.
¡°You don¡¯t think, um¡ª¡± He tilted his head at the expert mode tunnel.
I¡¯ll protect you if it gets really dangerous, he thought. This is the fastest way to improve.
Mina looked a little annoyed. He could almost read her mind. Be patient. If hard mode isn¡¯t a suitable challenge, we¡¯ll beat it quickly.
But it was clear that there was more than one level in each mode, and James remembered that it had taken a little time to clear one level back when Carol¡¯s Dungeon was much weaker than it was now. Assuming it took them the day to complete hard mode, he wasn¡¯t sure if they would be able to come back the next day. Things always seemed to come up for the Fisher King.
¡°Maybe the two of you should go separately,¡± Carol said, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen.
Mina¡¯s expression relaxed. ¡°That sounds good,¡± she said.
How is that safer for you than going with me into hard mode? James thought. Now he was annoyed. It felt a little like his protective abilities were being thrown into question. He had to detach for a moment and consider another reason why Mina might want to do hard mode by herself: she was still insecure about her personal strength.
He thought about that and decided that was probably the reason. Mina had seen how good he was at defending someone before, though perhaps only in the Battle of the Haunted Forest. He shouldn¡¯t take her decision as reflecting on him.
James nodded. ¡°Fine,¡± he said, smiling thinly.
Mina walked over and gave him a long kiss that made James feel much better. They separated, and then she leaned over to say something to him only.
¡°I¡¯ll see you on the other side,¡± Mina whispered, her voice tickling his ear. ¡°Have fun setting the new high score!¡±
Her way of whispering left him almost speechless. She could still make him weak in the knees after years of marriage and the birth of one infant.
¡°I hope you have fun, too,¡± he managed as she stepped back.
Then his head cleared a bit, and he could think properly about what she had said.
So, it was something that reflected on me, he thought. She thought I would want to smash through whichever difficulty mode we went into, and she wouldn¡¯t get to do anything anyway. Yeah, she may have had a point there. I do want to set a new high score. Whatever¡¯s driving Evangeline¡ªshe probably wants to prove herself to the other bats¡ªI¡¯m no less driven.
Mina turned and stepped into her tunnel without looking back, and James moved toward his.
¡°You two are such a cute couple now that I see you together in person,¡± Carol said.
James felt faintly embarrassed but simply smiled and nodded.
¡°Thank you. We really like each other.¡±
His verbal Skills seemed to be deserting him today. Maybe it was because he wasn¡¯t lying to anyone, speaking to a crowd, or trying to manipulate people. Maybe it was because he was just a little too comfortable, and he wasn¡¯t trying to use any verbal cleverness.
In any case, he stepped into the expert mode tunnel before he could be drawn into any further conversation.
It was a steeply downward-sloping hole in the ground, barely better than a pit¡ªclearly designed for someone with high level physical abilities who had already cleared the previous levels. If James had not already dealt with the Mole People and Goblins in what was effectively a giant underground labyrinth, this place would have probably bothered him.
As things stood, his first thought was that he wondered if the tunnel Mina was passing through was less steep. This tunnel seemed unreasonable for her to walk into, unless she had James¡¯s arm safely around her waist.
¡°Was there anything in particular you wanted to work on today?¡± Carol¡¯s voice came from the sides of the tunnel as he moved down the slowly descending shaft.
I really thought I kind of got away from conversation by entering the tunnel, James thought. But this whole place is yours. Silly me.
¡°I have a standard level set up at the end of this pathway, but I can make small modifications if you tell me you need something special,¡± Carol continued.
¡°I¡¯m not looking for anything in particular, Carol,¡± James said. He smiled, but his eyes were flinty and ruthless. ¡°I just want to kill some things and see about beating the high score on the leaderboard.¡±
There went the idea of pretending to be more mature.
¡°Understood,¡± Carol replied. ¡°Honestly, I thought it might be something like that. That was why I suggested you might want to be separate from Mina. I¡¯ll leave the settings the way they were for Evangeline, then. She was really interested in testing her physical power, so this is probably going to be perfect for the, um, mood you¡¯re in? I¡¯m guessing you want to smash some heads.¡±
James nodded with enthusiasm. ¡°Oh, yes.¡±
¡°Should I keep talking as you move down? Would you like any information on the level, or¡ª¡±
¡°No,¡± James said. ¡°Thank you, but I¡¯m ready for whatever surprises you have in store. Excited to be surprised, if that makes sense. Unless there¡¯s something that can kill me in one hit down there. Then you could give me a warning.¡±
¡°I don¡¯t think so!¡± Carol chirped. ¡°Um, I mean, I certainly hope not. I can see you¡¯re even stronger than last time we met, and I don¡¯t think I could easily craft a monster that could kill the past version of you that fast¡ªif at all. If you die, it¡¯ll be because the numbers were overwhelming.¡±
¡°Okay, then,¡± James said. ¡°Numbers I can deal with.¡±
The only thing he didn¡¯t want to face in this place was something like the Soul Eater that could destroy his soul on contact with its magic. But it sounded like that wouldn¡¯t be a problem.
Carol went silent, and James continued his descent.
As he came near to the end of the tunnel, he saw a small, flickering light that marked the beginning of the new space. A few more steps forward revealed that it was a torch.
A sizable humanoid figure stood just within the space illuminated by the flame.
James estimated that it weighed in at around five hundred pounds or more. It stood at least eight feet tall, and its brawny bulk looked to be coated in thick gray rock-like skin.
Identify.
Gray-Skin Ogre, Lv. 25
Interesting. This place actually has some decently leveled monsters, assuming the ogre is representative. Not as strong as me, but I¡¯ll have the chance to experiment and have some fun.
James decided that the expert mode Dungeon would be the perfect place to test out new attacks and ability combinations that he had not used in some time¡ªor in some cases, ever.
Just a reminder, Roscuro¡¯s voice pronounced in his head. The creatures in this place do not behave like the real versions of whatever monsters they are. As I mentioned about the Zombies last time. So, if you have encountered another ogre in your time, do not bring whatever assumptions you have about them into this fight.
My only assumptions about ogres are from old movies, Roscuro, James replied instantly. And I think Carol might take some inspiration from the same movies I¡¯ve seen when she¡¯s crafting monsters. Thanks for the tip, though.
James watched the monster from within the tunnel, and he noticed it remained unmoving, waiting for him to exit the hole and move into its space.
That gave him a little time to prepare his first attack.
He looked his environment up and down and saw there were some stalactites above him. He grabbed a particularly sharp one. Then he used Silk Production¡ªa Skill he hadn¡¯t employed since Orientation¡ªto produce a long, strong, sticky thread from the spinnerets on his wrists.
It was long enough that James anticipated he would be able to use it to pull the stalactite back if he missed his throw. He wound the thread around the stalactite.
Then he took the stalactite by the shaft and held it like a javelin.
Predator¡¯s Missile!
James let fly. He could sense some of his own aura suffusing the projectile as it soared. He knew the stone was deadly. For a moment, the Fisher King felt like David slinging his stone at Goliath.
Then the stalactite landed.
¡°Urkkkk!¡±
V4Ch47-Dungeon Time Part 2
The ogre screeched horrendously as the stalactite struck at an impossible speed.
Just as suddenly as it had screamed, the monster went silent.
[You killed Gray-Skin Ogre Lv. 25. You gained 1300 exp!]
Really? Just like that?
Though the System¡¯s alerts had never lied to him yet, it was a little hard to believe.
For one thing, the creature was still standing.
James had been prepared to wait a few seconds to be certain that the blow had impacted at all. The point had definitely struck its target, but the monster was so far away that he wasn¡¯t certain how deeply the stone weapon had penetrated the body.
Well, its posture definitely changed with that hit. The creature had slumped forward a bit, clearly damaged by the blow to the center of its chest. I see some liquid seeping from a wound in the chest, there, though it¡¯s not the color of human blood. There was a gray stream oozing from around the entry wound.
It occurred to James that not only the System, but his basic understanding of biology was inconsistent with the idea that the ogre remained alive. If it was, it would try to get out of the way of further blows or tend to its wounds¡ªor even rush into the tunnel where James still stood.
So, it¡¯s really dead. Why is it still standing? Maybe it has some sort of last stand ability, so it hits you once after death. That would be a good Skill for a Dungeon monster to have. It would keep someone like me from just speed-running the whole thing. If that¡¯s the case, I need to be careful once I get near the body.
Another couple of alerts popped up on a slight delay.
[Sufficient experience accrued. Silk Production leveled up!]
[Required conditions met. Skill evolved: Silk Production became Proficient Silk Fabrication!]
Neat, but is the monster going to do anything else? James wondered. He wasn¡¯t going to pay attention to the new Skill until he had confirmed the area was safe.
Master, you are aware the creature is dead, correct? Roscuro asked.
I am, thank you, Roscuro, James replied. How did you know?
I felt the soul leave the body, he replied.
¡°Well, how the hell is it still standing up?¡± James muttered.
He advanced toward the ogre, no longer as concerned about caution. Even Roscuro was clearly wondering why he was holding off advancing into the Dungeon proper.
As James moved a bit closer to the creature, he saw the telltale signs that the ogre was truly dead. It made no reaction to his approach, its whole body appeared to have gone limp, and its feet were not even firmly touching the ground.
He finally stepped into the expert level of the Dungeon.
After staring at the body for a moment, he realized what had happened.
The ogre¡¯s corpse had slumped forward but not fallen, because James¡¯s thrown stalactite had stabbed straight through the monster¡¯s spine and now held it pinned to the rock wall of the Dungeon.
Simple. Why didn¡¯t I see it sooner?
It was probably the dim lighting in the area. That single torch was guttering now, and James saw it was almost to the very bottom of the wood.
I guess Evangeline was here before me, and Carol left the torch burning when she left.
As James looked at the flickering flame more carefully, he heard a sound of rock crunching, and he turned to see a half-dozen ogres moving toward him from across a rather large cavern. He could barely make their shapes out in the bad lighting. They were almost naked, wearing only loin cloths. The creatures did not appear to have weapons. Their eyes gleamed yellow, reflecting the torch light¡ªalmost glowing in the dark.
Maybe the darkness is the point of this level, he realized.
As the torch approached going out completely, the ogres hung back.
They were waiting for the light to go out, he recognized. Those yellow eyes were cat-like or owl-like. James guessed the monsters could see in the dark.
This really would have been a dangerous place to take Mina. Carol¡¯s done a damn good job with this Dungeon.
James rushed forward, charging the nearest ogre before the light could go out.
As he neared to within lunging distance, the target ogre took on a defensive stance, a bit like a boxer.
It was then that James let loose an Otherworldly Shriek¡ªthe Skill he¡¯d taken from the Bat Queen.
In the instant the ogre reflexively raised its hands to protect its ears, James struck. The ogre¡¯s gray snub nose snapped with a loud crack as his fist made contact with the hideous face.
Then the ogre was stumbling backward, off balance, arms wheeling in front of its body, trying to defend itself and regain its footing at the same time.
James hit it with another Otherworldly Shriek and felt that this attack was more powerful than the first had been. He saw the ogre¡¯s ears begin to leak gray blood before one of its fellows blocked James from following up on the opening the shriek had made.
The big ogre stepped in front of James and threw a heavy haymaker blow. It looked powerful, but compared with James¡¯s moves, it was oh so slow.
Bad move, he thought. Then, Wait, where did the other one that was by this guy go?
That was when the torch light was snuffed out completely.
James¡¯s instincts told him where the blow was coming from, and he sidestepped without needing to see it. As the breeze from the blow gusted past his face, he heard feet crunching around him again¡ªmuch closer than before. Something was sneaking up behind him.
He let loose another Otherworldly Shriek, but a blow struck him in the side, knocking the wind out of him and cutting the shriek short. It was a direct, full force hit, and it smashed a hole in the armor James wore. James felt more of a sting than he¡¯d expected, given the gap in levels.
Wow, I think that might have cracked a rib.
He could tell his body was already recovering, reallocating calcium to reconstruct the bone¡ªbut then, there were also already more crunching footsteps, to his left.
James dropped onto his back, let loose another Otherworldly Shriek aimed straight up, and then opened his right fist.
Hand of Glory.
Little particles of light that only James could see appeared in the palm of his hand and then scattered to all corners of the room.
The ogres¡¯ forms that had been only very faintly visible in the near complete darkness suddenly sprang into sharp relief.
He saw one of the creatures leaning in to grab him, squinting to see in the gloom.
Air Strike.
A blade of air slashed right through the leaner¡¯s eyes, and it let out a surprised cry of pain, then stumbled backward.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
James launched another Air Strike, and the ogre clutched at its throat, a gushing fountain of gray erupting beneath its hands. Then its fellows had shoved it out of the way and were pushing their ways forward, competing to reach James first.
He let loose another Otherworldly Shriek, and it brought them to a stop for just a moment. That was enough for him to throw himself back to an upright, standing position.
Meteor Strike! He struck the closest ogre in the face with a flaming fist. The big brute went down like a boxer with a glass jaw.
The next nearest monster had drawn back its fist for another haymaker, but instead of throwing the blow, it covered its eyes with one hand, apparently blinded by the firelight. James raised a fist to hit the creature while it was off guard, but a hand grabbed around his waist¡ªone of the ogres slipping in at the edge of his range of vision.
James reached down to grab hold of the creature¡¯s wrist, but it was already throwing him bodily across the room.
He struck the wall of the cavern lightly, barely fazed by the impact.
What was the point of tha¡ª
Five hundred pounds of ogre instantly tackled him into the wall. There was a horrible sound like a thousand spiders being crushed at once as the entire chest portion of his armor shattered, and James counted three broken ribs.
Motherfucker!
He could resist the effects of pain, but it still hurt. The creature didn¡¯t move, apparently satisfied to try to keep him pinned down with its bulk while its allies recovered and tried to surround him.
Lightning Strike.
An electric current ran through James¡¯s body, and the ogre writhed as it took the full force of the lightning Mana. James was able to free one of his hands, and he used it to deliver a punch of his own.
Predator¡¯s Strike!
James¡¯s fist moved faster than it ever had before and burst the ogre¡¯s head like an overripe watermelon. He found himself coated in brains and gray blood.
The body tumbled away from James, and the three surviving ogres stared at the fallen one with open mouths. James could have counted their ugly, jagged teeth.
His nostrils twitched slightly as he inhaled the odor of fear. There was an impulse in his mind to make the fight last longer, but he crushed that ruthlessly. There would be worthier opponents deeper in the Dungeon.
He lunged at the nearest ogre, hand extended in a claw-like shape. Predator¡¯s Strike turned his nails blade-like, and he opened the ogre¡¯s neck and half decapitated it before it could raise a hand to defend itself.
One of the monsters grabbed him from behind before James could land on his feet again, and he butted the creature in the nose with the back of his head.
It dropped him.
James fell, landed, spun, and threw himself onto the only uninjured ogre, which had stepped in to support the grabber.
The creature seized James¡¯s wrists, but that left James¡¯s mouth within striking range of the ogre¡¯s neck. He sank his teeth into the neck and tore a huge hunk of thick, rubbery skin out. A fountain of rancid gray blood came pouring down onto James¡¯s face.
He threw himself off of the stumbling, dying ogre and rolled into a crouch, bracing himself for the next blow from the ogre whose nose he had broken.
It didn¡¯t come.
James raised his head and saw that the monster was running away.
He swallowed the hunk of chewy gray ogre meat and chased after the last one.
The ogre reached a downward-sloping staircase and took the first step.
That was when the Air Strike hit it in the back. James saw it flinch with pain as the attack cut a long gash into the thick flesh of its back. Then it took another step, not looking back, determined to escape James or die trying.
He almost felt bad for it as his flame-encircled hand ripped through its back and tore out its heart.
Almost.
¡°At least you got a quick death,¡± James muttered as the ogre crumpled onto its back in front of him.
He glanced back at the room. Nothing moved. The monsters all lay in varying amounts of blood and gore from the grievous wounds James had inflicted when he¡¯d killed them.
The whole cavern was visible to him now, with no monsters to obstruct his sight and the sparks from Hand of Glory still clinging to every surface.
It was a very stark place. All stone and flesh. No furniture, no cave paintings, nothing signified it had ever been deemed fit for a living thing¡¯s habitation but the burned out torch. A little tragic to think of any semi-intelligent life form living out its whole existence in the bounds of this cave.
James looked down at the whole heart that smoldered in his still-burning hand. The organ was roughly twice the size of his fist¡ªand an ugly gray-green color that reminded him of their strangely pigmented blood. It was obvious the heart had not belonged to a human.
He took a bite of the freshly cooked meat.
This had become something of a habit in Orientation, back when he first gained the ability to grow stronger by eating the flesh of a defeated enemy. Omnivore continued to pay dividends.
The meat was tough, gamey¡ªbut the flavor was not bad.
This is pretty good compared with those giant centipedes, at least.
And it seemed especially nutritious. James felt as if the creature¡¯s life energy had been concentrated in this particular hunk of meat. His body seemed to be healing more quickly in response to the nutrition.
Naturally, he wolfed down the heart and began harvesting the hearts from the other bodies and cooking them with Meteor Strike. Consuming the ogres¡¯ hearts replenished his Mana faster than using Meteor Strike consumed it, and James found he was regaining not just the power he had consumed in the Dungeon but what he had still needed to regain after using Curse of the Fisher King too.
After he had finished the hearts, he drew one of his Wolfbone Daggers from his magic satchel and began hacking open bodies, experimentally cooking and eating additional organs.
It was time for James to return to his perfect condition.
The livers seemed to be just as energy-dense as the hearts, he found. The lungs were not quite as good in terms of either taste or nutritional content. The small intestines were chewy and stringy, but he thought perhaps if they were breaded and fried, they might be decent. They would need some strong spices, though, and sadly he lacked equipment for any fancy cooking methods.
It was as he was experimentally frying up some ogre skin¡ªnaturally using Roscuro as a frying pan¡ªthat Carol¡¯s voice came in through the ceiling.
¡°Oh my gosh! Um, I mean, aren¡¯t you going to just Pillage the corpses¡ªI-I mean, I¡¯m just saying, that¡¯s another way that you could get the meat from the ogres if you¡¯re, uh, hungry. Instead of dissecting and flaying the bodies. Just¡ªjust a thought.¡± She sounded queasy. James wondered if it was possible for a Dungeon Core to be physically ill.
¡°Sorry about that, Carol,¡± he said, slightly embarrassed.
I¡¯m definitely glad Mina can¡¯t see this.
¡°No, it¡¯s not your fault,¡± Carol replied immediately. ¡°Once I decided to check in on you, I couldn¡¯t look away. You know, I create those guys, and in between challengers, sometimes I try to improve them, but I don¡¯t think of them as like, my kids or anything. But, like, how do you improve them to survive something like all that stuff you did to them?¡±
James shrugged. ¡°I thought they performed very well. I¡¯m eating in part because their bodies are pretty strong, and it helps me recover my energy to eat strong enemies. I wanted to be tip-top shape for the next floor.¡±
He was in perfect condition now. His body was significantly stronger than it had been when he entered the Dungeon. Everything but his armor was in the best shape it had been in for weeks. Even the Royal Exoarmor had mostly healed itself, though there was still a large hole in the center of the abdomen where James¡¯s stomach was now unprotected.
¡°Implying that you weren¡¯t in tip-tip shape for this floor?¡± Carol asked, flabbergasted.
He shrugged again.
¡°How many floors are there in expert mode?¡± he asked.
¡°Three, including this one,¡± Carol said. ¡°Each one will have more enemies, and they get stronger.¡± She sounded very proud. ¡°But you¡¯ll be the first one to make it past this floor. Evangeline has just come in here, barely survived, and left. That¡¯s what happened each time she visited expert mode. The first time, she got a broken wing, and I thought it would put her off coming back. Two days later, though, and she was at it again!¡±
¡°Sounds like I need to get to know Evangeline better,¡± James said.
I think I¡¯d like her.
¡°So, are you going on to another level, or calling it a day?¡± Carol asked.
¡°What¡¯s Mina doing?¡± he asked.
¡°She just cleared her first level on hard mode,¡± Carol said. ¡°While you were, um, eating.¡± She paused a few seconds, then continued, ¡°She says she¡¯s going down the stairs to level two in just a minute. And she sends her love.¡± Those last words were spoken in a soft, sweet voice. James guessed that whatever emotion was in Mina¡¯s tone when she spoke, it had slipped into Carol for a moment.
He smiled. If he¡¯d had a blushing skin tone, he would have blushed.
I miss you, too, he thought.
¡°Sounds like I keep going, then,¡± James said. ¡°I just need a minute to figure out all my gains from the fighting.¡±
He went around and quickly Pillaged the bodies.
He took a Talent from one ogre and got ¡°Ogre Constitution,¡± which came with the Skills ¡°Thick Skin¡± and ¡°Dense Bones.¡± James felt his body changing in response to those new abilities as soon as he had Pillaged them. Mainly he noticed that he was heavier.
He Pillaged Stats from the other bodies, assuming that these ogres would have essentially identical Skills considering that he had not seen them demonstrate any impressive traits.
And he finally took a look at the Skill he had acquired as he entered the level.
[Proficient Silk Fabrication: Enhances the organs that naturally produce silk, permitting the production of more powerful and magical silk substances. Permits the creation of silk outside the body, using Mana as a substitute for the silk-producing organs. All crafted silk can be manipulated via Mana. Silk quality can be improved by the infusion of mana or other energies. Silk can be infused with Skill effects. Consumes caloric energy. Consumes additional forms of energy if the user attempts to produce silk beyond a certain threshold without a break. Silk can be infused with life energy for additional effects.]
Very interesting.
He could easily think of many ways that could be useful. Rather than taking a long time to reflect on his new gains, however, James turned and descended the stairs to the second level.
He didn¡¯t want to keep his wife waiting.
I wonder how Mina is finding the Dungeon.
V4Ch48-Dungeon Time for Mina Part 1
Mina entered the third tunnel from the left, and she immediately felt the air shift as she stepped inside.
It became instantly more humid and warmer, and for a moment, she questioned her decision to wear her Mages¡¯ robes.
She shook her head. She was glad she was not burdened with heavy armor like James, but she felt certain she would be glad of whatever minimal protection the robe offered. Unlike her husband, she did not have nine lives.
Mina drew her Alder Wood Wand and held it firmly at her side, ready to cast more forcefully and more quickly than she ever had in a combat situation before.
¡°So, any type of monster in particular you were hoping to fight, Mina?¡± Carol¡¯s voice asked through the walls.
¡°Oh, no, I guess I¡¯m just looking to get stronger in general,¡± Mina said a little nervously. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you have ideas based on my performance on previous visits?¡±
¡°Well, I have a couple of options you can face,¡± Carol said. ¡°You did well against ethereal enemies before. Do you want to try more physical enemies this time?¡±
Mina nodded at once. That was her problem. Physical weakness. She needed to be able to beat physically stronger enemies. That was what she had to train for. She had yet to meet anyone who was definitely magically stronger than her. It was possible that some of the spellcasters she¡¯d met¡ªAlice, Zora, Mitzi, or more than one of them¡ªmight be more powerful, but somehow, she doubted she would lose a face to face struggle with sheer magical power to any of them.
Alice¡¯s powers were very specific and seemed like they would provide her little protection against offensive magical attacks. Zora¡¯s powers created minions more than helping her defend herself directly. And Mitzi did not seem to have gone through Class Evolution yet, so Mina should theoretically have the advantage there too.
But none of that would mean anything if whoever she was fighting simply got in close and punched her in the face.
¡°All right,¡± Carol continued. ¡°More physical enemies, check. Are you afraid of bugs?¡±
¡°Um, no,¡± Mina lied. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Bugs sound great!¡±
Face your fears, she told herself. You¡¯ll get stronger and braver. Kill two birds with one stone.
She pictured giant cockroaches and shuddered slightly despite herself.
¡°You¡¯ve got it, then. I have just the thing. I don¡¯t know if you like old scary movies, but if you do, you¡¯re in for a treat!¡± Carol sounded excited.
¡°Um, all right,¡± Mina said, swallowing. It would be all right. She would make certain of that. She could face whatever was waiting at the end of these stairs.
¡°Do you want to know more about the challenge ahead?¡± Carol asked.
Mina sighed. ¡°Yes, please.¡±
Carol began to explain, with many references to the plot of some old science fiction movies that Mina had never seen. The explanation was not exactly helpful, though. Carol was far more interested in discussing theories about the origins of the movie monsters and different installments in the franchise than she was in explaining strengths, weaknesses, and general attributes of the creatures.
Mina just got a vague idea that the monsters were scary bugs that could rip humans apart but should also be vulnerable to almost any attack that could injure a human. They were not vulnerable to cold or acid, but bullets and explosives should do as much harm as they would to anything else.
I guess Carol was very well suited to becoming a Dungeon Core, Mina thought. The world of pop culture has given her a lot of ideas for monsters¡
She barely noticed as the climate in the tunnel changed again with her continued descent, growing cooler and drier this time.
Mina reached the bottom of the tunnel and found herself looking into a strange space. She scoped out the room before she entered. The walls were all a sterile pure white color, and they appeared to be made out of a space-age material.
¡°Where did you get¡¡±
She had started to ask how Carol acquired what appeared to be either very strong and fancy plastic or painted white metal, but the question was pointless. This was a fantastical setting pulled straight from science fiction. Carol apparently had all the resources she needed running the Dungeon with so many and such frequent guests.
Mina instead studied the details of the setting, looking for any clues that would help her survive. There was a ladder in the middle of the room, a hard white material like almost everything else. There were seats, arranged in a ring around the ladder. The room itself seemed to be circular, and it faced out into a long, slightly darker hallway that shifted the setting¡¯s aesthetic from pure white and lifeless to mechanical, a bit like a boiler room.
The scene did remind Mina of something from science fiction.
A long time ago, she and James had seen a showing of ¡°2001: A Space Odyssey¡± in their local independent theater. This room showed a similar aesthetic. She couldn¡¯t remember if there had been anything like the boiler room hallway in that movie, but it would make sense if there had been.
Carol did say that the setting was theoretically space¡
She had made sure to add that Mina did not need to worry about the vacuum of space, though.
The Witch paused a moment, then shook her head. It was time to stop worrying and learn to love these life or death situations as her husband did.
She pasted a smile on her face and stepped through the portal.
Instantly, something moved at the corner of her vision.
Mina turned, and she saw something tiny on the ground quickly scuttle out of her field of vision. The thing was so fast and stood so low to the ground that she did not get a very good look at it. She only had an idea that it was an invertebrate of some sort¡ªsomething she would have thrown a shoe at in the pre-System days.
That probably would not suffice now.
It hid behind the circle of chairs, she thought. It¡¯s smaller than I would have imagined from Carol¡¯s description¡This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
She stepped further into the room and made a long loop around the circular space, keeping her back to a wall at all times, so the creepy crawly thing could not sneak up on her even if it managed to move across her field of vision somehow without her noticing.
As she rounded a corner, she saw a human lying on the ground. The strange invertebrate thing was there, too.
It lay on the man¡¯s face, its legs seemingly clasped tightly around his head.
Either this was a really creepy movie, or Carol has a very messed up imagination¡
Mina¡¯s first instinct was to kneel down and try to rescue the man, but she hesitated to do that for several obvious reasons.
First, this was probably not a real human being. If it were a fellow Dungeon-goer, Carol would have noted that there was someone already in the Dungeon. She had mentioned that the easy and medium mode Dungeon levels were occupied, but not this one. So, ninety percent or higher chance, this was not a real person.
Second, the monster was clearly not dead. It was alive and dangerous.
Third, the creature was sitting perched in front of her, calmly waiting, not skittering in the other direction. Ergo, it did not perceive her as a threat. Most things in nature were more afraid of you than you were of them. But not this thing. There was likely a reason for that.
Fourth, she could see the man¡¯s chest still rising and falling gently. He was breathing. For whatever reason, this thing did not appear to be attacking him directly. If she put herself within the bug¡¯s striking distance, it might not be so gentle with her¡ªor it might turn more aggressive to the human whose face it perched on, though Mina did not believe it was a real person.
What would James do? Mina thought.
Of course, she knew the answer immediately. He would solve the problem in the simplest way possible and not waste too much time deliberating.
Mina quickly poured Mana into the wand, charged a fireball, and launched it straight at the invertebrate thing.
The fireball struck and exploded, blowing the monster and most of the human¡¯s head apart.
Chunks of bug landed as far as a few feet away from the explosion site, but happily nowhere near Mina, who had remained standing back against the furthest wall that she could see the creature from. She winced at the sight and smell of the chunks of insect¡ªthe body was filled with an ugly yellow mucus, and the chunks gave off an acrid smell like the aftermath of pepper spray. She was glad she had remained distant from the zone of impact¡ªespecially as the floor began to dissolve where the bug¡¯s mucus had touched it.
Mina took an involuntary step back before the alerts struck her.
Did Carol mention the acid blood? Mina wondered. I would think I would have remembered that. I feel like she just told me I would want to keep the enemies at a distance¡ªfor reasons that seem obvious now.
[You killed Perfect Parasite Lv. 10! You gained 120 exp!]
[You killed Fake Human Lv. 1! You gained 10 exp!]
Well, I¡¯m glad he wasn¡¯t real, she thought. And glad the thing is dead. Now where¡¯s the rest of the level?
It was strange to think of this bug hunt as a physical challenge, but she supposed that if the bugs could move fairly quickly, it was at least a good test of her Agility. In the confined space, she would need to be fast to kill them and evade the acid blood.
Seeing how the floor had partially dissolved, and she could see the next floor beneath it¡ªthe next level?¡ªshe circled back the way she had come to make her way toward the more industrial-looking part of the setting.
Mina kept her eyes peeled for more of the little bugs or any signs of movement as she went, and she raised the hand that was not holding the wand to cover her mouth. Clearly, the first room had shown her how this Dungeon¡¯s monsters attacked, and it was an ambush aimed at the face, probably using that acidic blood substance.
She would rather take acid to her hand than to her face, since the former could always be healed, and the latter would almost surely be fatal in a combat situation.
She stepped to the threshold that separated the initial room from the boiler room-like hallway and then advanced into that second space, lined with pipes, lights, and valves that she could not guess the purpose of.
Mina gingerly moved her hand close to the pipes on one side of the wall to make certain that she could walk with her back to it safely, without burning herself. The pipes all felt cold, so she turned her back and pressed herself up against them. She had just begun inching her way slowly down the hallway when she heard a strange noise from behind her.
She turned to the room she had entered from, and she saw the corpse of the Fake Human whose head she had blown up.
The body was dead, if it had ever been alive in any sense, but somehow, it was still moving.
It took her a moment to pin down exactly what it was that was in motion.
When she saw it, her heart skipped a beat.
The dead man¡¯s chest was still rising and falling¡ªonly now it was moving far more violently than it had when the Fake Human was alive.
What the¡?
The ribs rose up and down repeatedly, frantically, as if something was trying to tear its way through their center¡ªand then something did!
A small shape burst through the rib cage, and Mina let loose a small scream.
¡°What the hell?!¡±
She fired a burst of flame from the wand, but it missed. She fired another blast, but the little creature hopped out of the way. It was nimbler than the first one had been. Before she could fire another shot, it scurried away and escaped into one of the holes that the first monster¡¯s blood had made.
Mina rushed in to look down the hole after it.
Crap! What the heck are these things?
Carol¡¯s explanation had been scattered and had focused far too much on the plot of these old science fiction movies, which was hard to follow for someone who had never seen them.
Mina did not even feel that she adequately understood how to kill these things.
No, that¡¯s not right, she reminded herself. I already killed one. She smiled grimly. I know that fire will do the trick, whereas cold temperatures will not. And I know that these creatures are predators.
Mina considered the problem she faced. Finding the monster that had fled from her. Blowing it away with fire. A simple problem in a sense. The hard parts were finding the creature or allowing it to find her and not being surprised by it.
She began immediately working on her plan.
When she had thought it through, she returned to near the entrance of the level and sat down with her back to the tunnel she had come in by. She began casting water magic, and she conjured a larger amount of water than anything she had created before.
Seeing how sneaky and small the creatures were, she intended to make it impossible for her to be surprise attacked.
Mina finished casting, and a giant pool of water that half filled the room appeared¡ªand moved according to her Will.
She used almost half of it to seal up the only doorway that led further into the Dungeon, spread another large chunk over the area of the floor that had dissolved because of the first creature¡¯s corrosive blood, and then distributed the rest of the water to cover every exposed inch of wall and ceiling in the room.
Then Mina closed her fist, and the water turned solid. In an instant, every surface of the room was covered in ice¡ªexcept one area. She had left one small opening in the part of the floor that had been spattered with acid blood. A little hole, just barely large enough for the creature she had seen, that she could watch.
If these bugs were predators, the monster would come for the one living organism that remained in its habitat sooner or later. She could wait a while.
It would think the hole in her defenses was an accident.
Mina shifted her position so that she had a direct line of sight on the hole, she sat, and she waited.
V4Ch49-Dungeon Time for Mina Part 2
Mina sat, watching the small hole she had left open in the floor, and waiting. She kept her wand clenched tightly in both hands, fingers slightly tensed in her lap.
The minutes passed slowly, but she wasn¡¯t keeping track of time. This was the method she had decided on, and she wasn¡¯t going to second guess it when she had already encased the whole room in ice.
The only attention she paid to the environment besides looking at the hole was occasionally bolstering the ice with a small infusion of Mana if she noticed any dripping.
Otherwise, her gaze remained steady, and she allowed her mind to wander freely. Mina¡¯s patience and focus had been legendary at her office and in school. The problem would unfold itself for her, no matter how stubborn it seemed at first. She had eliminated any possibility that the creature could sneak up on her, which seemed to be the natural modus operandi for a monster as small as this one.
She could wait forever for it to come through that hole if that was what it took.
The predator would have no way of knowing that the hole was there as a trap, unless it was an unusually smart monster. Even then, that was the only way in.
There was a loud thud, and Mina¡¯s head whipped up to look in the direction of the noise.
The sound had come from the portal she had iced over. Another thud struck it, and though Mina could not see clearly through the thick ice, she saw a dark-colored object had hit and then pulled back.
It felt like a victory that the creature was finally attacking her on her terms, in the setting she had selected for their battle.
But something was wrong.
Why is it trying to come through the strongest ice barrier I erected? Why not just crawl through the hole in the floor?
There was another sound of blunt force, and Mina heard something else¡ªa noise of cracking.
How is it strong enough to damage the ice?
The noise of each blow also seemed too loud for the body size of the creature she had seen before.
It must have grown larger rapidly. Carol hadn¡¯t said anything about that.
Mina started pouring lightning Mana into the Alder Wood Wand¡ªreverse-engineering how to use Basic Elemental Magic: Lightning after James showed her his Lightning Strike Skill had been child¡¯s play for her, and she knew that lightning was hotter than the surface of the sun¡ªand this thing seemed like it needed more than a little fireball to take care of it.
A giant, black, glossy, phallic-shaped head burst through the thin wall of ice Mina had erected to cover the door into the room. The head alone was half Mina¡¯s height in length. It looked like an improbable body part to belong to any organism that wasn¡¯t at least twice her size.
¡°What the hell?¡± she exclaimed. She had only barely gotten a look at the creature before, and she could only see the top part of it now, but it had to be a completely different size, color, and build than before. The change in color and shape was one thing, but the sheer increase in size was totally impossible, a mockery of physics and biology.
Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.
The creature jabbed two claw-like limbs through the ice, widening the hole, and Mina poured more Mana into her wand.
The monster let loose a roar, and she noticed her hand was beginning to shake.
Focus, she told herself. This thing is just barking because it knows it can¡¯t bite yet.
Another sharp limb stabbed through the ice¡ªit looked almost like a spear, but Mina was barely paying attention to the anatomy of the creature now. She was taking aim, pointing her wand, adding more Mana, and visualizing the outcome she intended.
The creature seemed to realize the urgency of the situation, and it smashed more ice out of the way, then began pulling itself through the hole.
Mina launched her attack.
A lightning bolt roughly the width of Mina¡¯s hand shot forward and struck the black exoskeletal head at dead center.
[You killed Perfect Predator Lv. 20! You gained 900 exp!]
[Sufficient experience accrued. Witch of Thessaly leveled up!]
[Sufficient experience accrued. Witch of Thessaly leveled up!]
Mina inhaled deeply as she felt the surge of power through her body with the two levels hitting at once. Getting two in a row was surprisingly exhilarating.
She realized her heart was pounding, though whether it was from the levels or the leftover fear of being attacked by this monstrous creature, she didn¡¯t know.
It was dead now, and she couldn¡¯t help but smile.
As she moved her mouth into the position, she felt a bit of pain from her mouth. She touched her thumb to her lower lip and pulled it away slightly bloody.
She ran her finger across her lip and realized she had bitten a small hole in it during the moments of tension when the monster was breaking through the ice.
It was still one of the most thrilling experiences she¡¯d ever had.
No wonder James loves this so much, she thought. The way he felt about fighting was obvious from the way he had told his stories about Orientation¡ªthough she had only really seen him fight in person once, against the Wraiths, and that time, he had been moved more by urgency than the desire to enjoy a fight.
¡°Mina, are you okay?¡± Carol¡¯s voice echoed through the walls. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to speak up and distract you while the Dungeon was active, but I was a little worried there for a minute.¡±Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.
¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Mina said, gritting her teeth slightly. She was a little annoyed that Carol¡¯s prologue to the Dungeon level had been less than helpful, but she didn¡¯t want to show it. The Dungeon Core was just doing her best, and she was clearly serving the Fisher Kingdom well by providing an excellent training ground for fighters. ¡°I do wish I had known the creatures had acid for blood, though.¡±
As she spoke, the monster was on the other side of the room, bleeding through the floor there.
¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Carol said. ¡°Shit, um, I¡¯ll fix the hole in the floor if you decide to go on. I thought I mentioned about the acid, but I did talk a lot¡ I¡¯d be the first to admit I¡¯m not always the most focused, and I don¡¯t talk much to most of the people in here. I was trying to give you and James better treatment, because you¡¯re like my patrons. I guess I got a little over-excited. Maybe I skipped it when I was explaining the whole storyline I was copying.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t feel too bad about it, Carol,¡± Mina said. ¡°I just didn¡¯t like being so surprised. Maybe we could go over the next floor in more specific detail.¡±
She approached the dead monster as she spoke, not getting too close¡ªit was still slowly leaking acid, after all. She pointed her palm at the body.
Loot.
She figured something named ¡°Perfect Predator¡± would drop a good item or two. And unlike the ¡°Perfect Parasite,¡± which she had blown to smithereens, this monster was in pretty good condition aside from a smoking hole the size of her hand right through its skull.
The monster corpse glowed, and it seemed as if the skin and tail¡ªthat was the spear-like body part she had noticed before¡ªcame loose, while the rest began to fade like an illusion.
[Perfect Predator¡¯s body processed.]
[You obtained Predator Skinsuit and Black Bone Whip!]
The skin and tail floated over to Mina, and she realized the System had reshaped the skin into a clothing item. An armor piece. The tail¡¯s function as a weapon was self-evident.
¡°That¡¯s pretty cool,¡± Mina said to herself.
¡°I agree!¡± exclaimed Carol. ¡°I hadn¡¯t seen anyone try Looting one of those things before. The new bat leader is the only one who¡¯s been into this part of the Dungeon, and she didn¡¯t do any Looting. She just killed them with her ranged attacks.¡±
Mina nodded. That probably explains why the bat leader is still alive.
¡°You created something pretty dangerous here, you know?¡± Mina said. ¡°Can these things leave the Dungeon at all?¡±
¡°Oh, no!¡± Carol replied instantly. ¡°That¡¯s not possible. They¡¯re locked into the Dungeon permanently. They would die instantly; I¡¯m not that kind of Dungeon. I know I messed up your experience on this level, but I don¡¯t actually want to make trouble for you guys. I¡¯m very happy with my life here. It feels like that¡¯s the kind of thing that would get me exterminated pretty quickly.¡± She let out an awkward laugh. ¡°Especially since I do not control the monsters once I create them. I only shape their basic instincts and bodies.¡±
¡°Right,¡± Mina said slowly. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind my asking, how is James doing?¡±
¡°James? Oh, let me check on him¡ªoh my gosh!¡±
¡°What, is James all right?¡± Mina exclaimed. She would exterminate the Dungeon Core herself if Carol had accidentally led James to his death, and she would feel justified in doing so.
¡°Oh, yeah, James is fine,¡± Carol replied. She sounded slightly queasy. ¡°He is eating, um, just eating, yep, having a nice snack, taking a break.¡± The Dungeon Core¡¯s voice had an unnatural note in it. Mina wondered what horrors Carol had seen when she checked on James.
Considering that it was James, I¡¯m betting the monsters from expert mode are lying in pieces everywhere. That didn¡¯t seem like quite enough to explain the reaction from Carol, but Mina had no way of guessing anything more specific than that.
¡°Actually, James asked about you, too,¡± Carol said. ¡°I told him you¡¯re all right. Are you going on to the next level? I think he¡¯s waiting to see what you do before he decides if he continues.¡±
That would be just like James. He hates keeping me waiting.
¡°Um, you¡¯ll give me information on the next level, right? More actionable information? No offense intended about your previous level of explanation.¡±
Although it could have gotten me killed.
¡°Yep, yep!¡± Carol said quickly. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a full floorplan and numbers of enemies if you like!¡±
¡°All right. Then, yes, I¡¯m going on,¡± Mina said. ¡°Tell him that¡ªand that I love him.¡± Her last few words came out in an energetic rush. Maybe it was just the feeling of excitement at still being alive, but she suddenly missed James, even though they had been apart for probably less than half an hour. A part of her wished that they had entered the same Dungeon mode together now. She suspected that this level would have bored him, though.
I have to catch up, she thought. So I can stand beside him when he faces things scarier than whatever is in expert mode of this Dungeon!
¡°I told him,¡± Carol said. ¡°He¡¯s going to go on, since you¡¯re going on. Now I¡¯ll tell you what comes next¡¡±
The Dungeon Core gave Mina what seemed like a much more useful explanation of the next level. With the context of her experience on the first level, Mina thought she had a complete grasp of the threat presented.
¡°Thanks, Carol,¡± Mina said.
If you left anything that could kill me out this time, I might just kill you. This place is supposed to be training, not fatal. If I actually die here, James will definitely kill you. And he¡¯d make it slow. Mina thought these things, but she was too much of a lady to say them out loud.
¡°There¡¯s one more thing I should mention,¡± Carol said.
¡°Please go ahead,¡± Mina replied, smiling brightly.
¡°Your ¡®Predator Skinsuit¡¯ is armor, as I¡¯m sure you guessed. It should provide you complete protection against the acid if and when you splatter the rest of the creatures.¡±
¡°Oh, okay.¡± Mina¡¯s smile turned much more genuine. There would be more of a margin of safety now.
She put the Black Bone Whip into her bag and tried to put the Skinsuit on over her robes. Unfortunately, she found that she could not wear it on top of her clothing.
¡°Is it the wrong size?¡± Mina muttered. ¡°I know I haven¡¯t lost all the baby weight yet¡¡±
¡°I think equipment generated by the Loot Skill adapts to the person,¡± Carol said. ¡°Maybe it might need to be closer to the skin?¡±
Mina reddened slightly at the suggestion. ¡°I¡¯m a little shy. Could you go back to watching James and not me for a minute?¡±
¡°Oh, of course.¡± Carol sounded a little embarrassed herself.
Mina stripped out of her robe and quickly pulled the skinsuit on, grateful that she did not have to remove her underwear. The inhuman skin substance felt cool and clammy against her skin, though it seemed to gradually take on the temperature of her body.
It¡¯s a lot like wearing a scuba suit, she told herself. She and James had gone scuba diving once, and it was a pleasant memory. Unlike the scuba suit, this one covered every single inch of skin in its black leathery skin-like substance.
There was a head component that closed up behind her hair. She could see through it easily from the inside even though it had been opaque from the outside.
There were external rib bone-like structures encasing her chest and abdomen in their protective structure. There was slight padding over every surface of her body.
And there were claws on the hands and feet, though the gloves felt like they would not meaningfully limit her ability to maneuver her fingers.
She took a few experimental steps back and forth, and she found that she was slightly quicker, if anything, than she had been without the Predator Skinsuit¡ªimpossible though that seemed.
¡°You know, that¡¯s not bad,¡± Mina said, smiling again. ¡°I feel much safer, and it didn¡¯t slow me down.¡±
V4Ch50-Level Two Part 1
James descended the stairs toward the second level, whistling to himself as he walked.
The sun will come out tomorrow. Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there¡¯ll be sun¡
Despite the darkness all around him, only partially lightened by Hand of Glory, he had never been more relaxed walking into a fight.
As he moved, he secreted strong and thick spider silk from his wrists and applied it as a patch over the section of his armor that had covered his stomach. That area was still broken, but with his newest Skill, James¡¯s silk was potentially much stronger than the armor that had originally protected that space. He infused significant energy to realize that potential.
And this time, he did not slow down when he reached the end of the tunnel.
James was back at full power now. There was no need to hesitate.
Two ogres with green complexions fell upon James as he entered the massive cavern of the second level, but his hands whipped out and intercepted them. With one uppercut, he smashed the right hand ogre¡¯s chin up into its brain case. His other hand grabbed the left ogre by the throat and squeezed. James ignored the ogre¡¯s brief but violent flailing until the quiet sounds of cracking bone and crunching cartilage gave way to a wet, fleshy noise as his fingers popped all the way through the protective structures and into the esophagus.
Then he released the ogre¡¯s throat, and the monster instantly slumped to the ground, its life¡¯s blood gushing out all around the body.
James didn¡¯t watch it die. Three more green-skinned ogres were rushing toward him from out of the distant darkness now, and unlike the first two and the first floor¡¯s gray ogres, these were armed with short stone clubs.
Progressively more dangerous enemies, he thought, smiling faintly. Sometimes his world was really game-like.
His hand whipped out and threw a long Air Strike. Thin lines gouged themselves across the three ogres¡¯ chests, and the gray blood flowed freely out of them, but none of them slowed. As more Mana gathered around James¡¯s body, they accelerated as if hoping to reach him before he could launch another attack.
All right, then.
James pushed Mana out of his body, focusing on his new Skill. His power pulsed, radiated outward, adhered to solid surfaces¡ªand finally took physical form.
The ogres got to within a few feet of James, and then they each struck the solid but invisible object James had conjured in front of them at full running speed. There was a slight elasticity to the threads he had burned through a tenth of his Mana to quickly construct.
But the ogres were fleshy creatures striking a hard, thin web of fibers anchored to solid rock and made with material denser than their bones.
The bodies hit with the combined momentum from their five or six hundred pounds of weight and the velocity of their charge.
Pieces of ogre flew everywhere as the creatures instantly tore themselves apart on the threads. Two of the ogres lost limbs and sagged forward, dropping their whole weight onto the web as their lives gushed out of severed arms, legs, and torn arteries. The other ogre had been running with its head outstretched, so the lower body was only lightly injured, but the forehead was shredded down to the gray matter. The wounds to all three were instantly fatal.
James managed to turn his face slightly away from the splatter as they collided with the silk barrier, to avoid any gore landing directly in his eyes, but he couldn¡¯t avoid looking for long.
Already, more of the green-skinned ogres approached behind the ones that had shredded themselves on the silk wire.
It looked to be a half-dozen or more¡ªJames could not see all of them clearly with the ogre cadavers blocking his view.
The nearest one reached out to the area that was not covered by dead bodies and tentatively touched tried to push forward. James could sense its wariness¡ªit knew something was wrong with the space, but it did not know what.
He began quietly chanting, charging gravity magic. Multiple ideas ran through his mind for how he could use it to immobilize or destroy the ogres in front of him.
The ogre that had reached out into what must have seemed like empty space felt its hand collide with the web, and it began trying to push through, then trying to pull away¡ªbut it wasn¡¯t strong enough to push through, and the silk was sticky. To the ogre¡¯s alarm, and to James¡¯s amusement, it found that it could not pull its hand away¡ªand as it continued trying to free itself, its other hand became entangled too.
We¡¯ve got ourselves a tar baby situation, he thought, still quietly chanting, trying not to laugh.
Less humorously, James could tell some of the other monsters had begun trying to pull the dead ogres out of the way of their advance. The thread held up under their combined weight thus far, but he wasn¡¯t confident in how long that would continue. He had created it in only a moment or two, and the work wasn¡¯t meant to last.
Already he could see they were forcing the silk to stretch slightly by concentrating all their weight in one spot, using the partially decapitated middle ogre¡¯s body like a sort of battering ram.
That¡¯s the weakness, he thought. Once something is stuck in the web, you can use it as a device to push against the whole structure.
James backed up slowly, still chanting, the dark, dense gravity Mana gathering around his body like a storm cloud.
Around thirty seconds passed like this¡ªone ogre growing increasingly more entangled with the web, while the other five or so pushed against the corpse of another ogre stuck in the web, trying to push through the silken surface with brute force.
Though the silk had been stretched to what James had imagined might be its breaking point, it was the rock wall to which James had anchored it that gave first. The points that secured the web began ripping from the stone one by one. As the web finally collapsed to the floor, the ogres that had been pushing in unison from behind their dead fellow stumbled forward too.
James darted in as soon as the web began to fall.
As he got into close range, he used his power on every ogre within reach. Their bodies suddenly doubled or tripled in weight¡ªthose closest to James getting the worst of it¡ªand he had to throw himself back to avoid being trapped under falling bodies as they collapsed.
James stumbled as he jumped backward, the toe of one armor-clad foot caught in his own web, but he still moved in the correct direction, and he struck a wall, giving him something to grab onto so he did not fall into the web. The ogres were less fortunate.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
They slammed into the ground as if a giant fist had appeared and ground them down, and three of them landed sprawled in the web¡ªnot counting the one who was already tangled up in it.
The monsters began elbowing each other and trying to shift position, making what moves they could to break free.
But the ogres behind them¡ªthere had been more than the half dozen James had thought he detected, he now saw¡ªstepped forward and used the entrapped ogres¡¯ bodies like cloth draped over a puddle. Treading on the stuck ogres was clearly very painful for the ogres, especially after James had increased the weight of everything near him. He heard the sounds of bones snapping as the last five ogres standing slowly, carefully advanced.
James yanked his foot free and stepped back, taking up a fighting stance.
The lead ogre stepped onto the head of the ogre corpse that had become a battering ram earlier, and James darted forward, left hand extended, fingernails pointing directly at the enemy throat.
Predator¡¯s Strike!
The nails sharpened into claws in an instant¡ªbut just as James was about to rip into the ogre¡¯s neck, its club came down and slammed into his arm. The creature had been at the periphery of James¡¯s increased gravity and had adjusted to the change in its weight more quickly than he had counted on.
The club struck James¡¯s arm just below the elbow, sending the deadly claws ripping into the ogre¡¯s chest instead of its neck. He felt his nails gouge out skin and fat and flesh, digging deep trenches in the ogre¡¯s skin¡ªbut not deep enough. It bled, but the wound was far from fatal.
And James¡¯s arm felt funny. The bone the ogre had struck was not broken¡ªhe¡¯d had that before¡ªbut badly bruised. It was possible there was a hairline fracture somewhere.
I don¡¯t think that was even a full-force hit. These guys are pretty strong.
Of course they were. The ogres on the previous level had been strong, too.
The creature looked down at its chest and winced, then took another step forward¡ªand its feet became entangled in a bit more of the invisible web.
James lunged up, throwing a right handed uppercut this time. The ogre reacted, raised its arms, but far too slowly. As its hands grabbed for James, it caught only his waist. His fist landed, and the ogre¡¯s chin disintegrated under his punch.
¡°Grahhhh!¡± The creature let out a wild, pained yowl, and James twisted free of its suddenly weakened grip.
With his slightly injured arm, he aimed a chop using Predator¡¯s Strike.
His hand swept through the ogre¡¯s neck, and the head flopped backward, held on only by the spine.
The monsters behind the ogre stepped back, fear in their yellow eyes, and James leaped in closer.
He launched his full body into a punch at the right hand ogre¡¯s midsection, just as the creature was hesitantly beginning to step back. The fist embedded itself in the ogre¡¯s middle, and the creature doubled over, blood beginning to trickle from its lips.
The left hand ogre¡¯s eyes went wide, and it turned to run. The other two ogres that remained uninjured took that as their cue and fled as well, running toward the back of the large cavern.
The scenario struck James as similar to a game of tag for just a moment, and he smiled savagely, displaying all his teeth.
Well, I guess I¡¯m it!
¡ª
In the hard mode Dungeon, Mina entered the second level ready for action.
The Alder Wood Wand practically crackled with the intensity of the lightning Mana she had poured into it.
She was prepared for everything Carol had warned her about.
The second level was shaped like a stone tunnel itself, full of irregular rock formations on the walls and ceiling. The main difference between it and the shaft Mina descended to reach it was that the one inside the level was horizontal instead of diagonally descending¡ªand of course that Mina had to be ready to fight as soon as she entered the level.
She took a few deep breaths and, before she could have second thoughts, she stepped into the room.
As she passed through the portal into the second floor, one of the giant black bug-like creatures leaped out from the corner of the room just above her head and to the left. Mina shot it with a bolt of lightning, then turned aside. She knew it was dead without needing to check.
Another one of the monsters charged at her from further away, ground level, and she blasted it straight through the forehead. The creatures¡¯ acidic yellow blood spurted out of the wound and onto the shoulder of the Perfect Skinsuit as the monster slumped forward, but Mina deliberately ignored it and waited a moment, confirming what Carol had told her. As promised, the armor did not take any damage from the acid¡¯s touch.
She breathed a sigh of relief.
Then the rest of the enemies, another twenty black bug monsters¡ªall gathered at the very end of the long tunnel¡ªtook notice of her.
They all rushed toward her at once, stepping over each other, running on the floor, the walls, and the ceiling as they charged across the distance. It felt like Mina had thrown herself into some terribly stressful video game.
The one bright side of being attacked by so many at once was that for the next ten seconds, she did not need to aim. Every shot, no matter where she launched it, landed on target.
Her Mana slowly dwindled with every blast from the wand, but every bolt counted.
It was only when the enemies were down to a handful, hiding behind stone outcroppings, that Mina had to be careful, conserve energy¡ªand aim.
A large head poked out from behind a rock, and Mina resisted the urge to fire. She saw one of the other creatures that had managed to sneak closer was moving, and she wanted to save her next shot for that one. It was only seven feet away from her, while the other one was camped out closer to twelve feet away.
It¡¯s almost like they get smarter and more careful when there are fewer of them, she thought.
The monster closest to her gave up waiting patiently, broke cover¡ªand she hurled a lightning bolt at it. The creature leaped to the side and dodged the lighting, and Mina immediately pushed more lightning Mana into the wand.
The other four monsters all rushed toward her as the closest black bug monster lunged in her direction. A bolt of lightning tore through the center of its mass, but it still landed on her, its weight pinning her down as it bled on the chest of her armor. Mina felt very grateful for the suit.
She started to push herself up, reaching a sitting position just as the next creature poked its head into her field of vision. She fired another lightning bolt almost by pure instinct, striking the monster through its oversized head.
The next monster threw itself at her, and she managed to shoot another bolt of lightning at it, penetrating the left side of the chest. Like the last one, it collapsed on top of her, gushing a torrent of yellow blood and spasming as it died. The cumulative weight of the two creatures, one on her upper half and one on her lower half, pinned her back down.
Mina swallowed, trying to control her rising panic as she sensed the remaining two creatures had entered the area around her. Her field of vision was limited by being underneath the two monster corpses, but that was also her advantage, right? The monsters could not directly attack her until they removed their dead comrades from on top of her.
A sharp spear-like object suddenly stabbed through one of the monster bodies and deep into Mina¡¯s stomach. She could only see it slightly, but she felt it.
Adrenaline suppressed most of the pain so that it was more like a hard punch to the gut than the agony she knew would come later, but her heart raced out of control. She felt like she might die.
Then she felt the spear-like object push further in and exit by stabbing out through the back of her ribs.
She let out a choking gasp. That hurt so much. There was a part of her mind that wanted to quantify if this was more or less painful than giving birth with no painkillers, but she recognized that might be her going into shock.
Focus. Focus in this goddamn moment, she told herself angrily. It might be the last thing you ever do.
The bladed thing that had impaled her through the stomach had continued to move, somehow, and the shaft of the weapon seemed to be flexible and jagged.
Right, of course, it¡¯s one of their tails.
The tails were jagged whip-like appendages with a sharp blade at their tip.
It curled around Mina¡¯s back and began to lift her from beneath the bodies.
The monsters wanted to kill her face to face.
V4Ch51-Level Two Part 2
Perfect, Mina thought, smiling through gritted teeth as the Perfect Predator began to lift her from beneath the other two dead creatures with its tail. This is, ow, just what I need. I have to see them to aim properly.
It was hard to think straight with an object stabbing her through the gut.
She blinked back tears and tried her best to ignore the pain of her entire body¡¯s weight being lifted via the object that had impaled her through the stomach.
Don¡¯t cry, Mina. Don¡¯t you cry. You won¡¯t be able to see them. Pain is just weakness leaving the¡ªoh, it hurts so darned much¡
The two dead monsters that lay on top of her tumbled to the side as the black bug creature raised Mina up on its tail. As the chitinous black shapes fell away, she found herself finally able to see the creature that had stabbed her.
Mina felt very weak and a bit faint, but she exercised her willpower in this moment to carefully control all the movements of her body. She kept her head slightly lowered and her eyes narrowed, trying to give the impression that she had already passed out. She forced herself to keep her wand hand at her side, still holding the Alder Wood Wand firmly but letting her arm hang almost limp. She wanted to look as helpless as possible to the creatures.
She would only get one chance at this.
As the creature slowly elevated Mina, she saw that the other surviving monster had positioned itself behind the one that was killing her. It paced back and forth restlessly, looking as if it wanted to be the one doing the slaughtering but had lost a coin toss.
Good. That positioning works¡
The monster lifted her up to its head height and pulled her closer to its face. Mina saw the gigantic black head up in much tighter proximity than she would have ever wanted to. She got an excellent look at the strange, almost humanoid jaws and teeth¡ªexcept that these teeth were silver and held in hard, jet-black jaws. She saw the beast¡¯s hungry maw begin to drip with saliva. She could not see a nose or even nostrils anywhere on the head, but she could have sworn the creature sniffed her.
Somehow, Mina had the distinct feeling that it could smell her fear and her pain¡ªand they gave this creature pleasure.
She did not allow herself to be overcome by those feelings. Even as the monster pulled her closer to its face, she kept one eye on the area behind it, tracking where the other Perfect Predator was pacing, waiting for her ideal moment to strike.
Then the mouth just in front of her face opened.
Inches away from the open maw, Mina saw a strange, hard, tongue-like appendage within the mouth. It was leveled at her head. Instinct, or a dimly recalled chunk of Carol¡¯s exposition, told her that this was the creature¡¯s preferred killing implement.
The pacing monster behind the one holding her turned its body and began to move back toward the space just behind the one holding her.
Mina seized her moment.
Tilting her fist slightly to point her wand, she fired a last magic lightning bolt.
At such close range, there was no chance of dodging it for the creature that had been preparing to kill her.
The monster that held her on its tail gushed blood and looked unsteady, ready to topple over on top of her. The tail that lifted her suddenly spasmed, and then she found herself thrown violently backward in the monster¡¯s apparent death throes. She tried to keep her presence of mind even as she was thrust helplessly backward through the air.
Did I hit the other one?
Her vision was slightly blurry as she raised her head to look, but she saw it. The second and final monster seemed to be dying. It twitched and writhed in its position directly behind the first one, in what she hoped were its last gasp movements.
That was the last look she got at the creature while they were both still alive.
Mina¡¯s body slammed into a wall, and she groaned with pain as the impact agitated her injuries. As she landed in a seated position against the wall, she pulled the end of the long tail out of her wound. Most of it had been ejected by the dying predator¡¯s spasm, which made her task slightly easier. Still, immediately after, blood and another mucus-like substance that she guessed was stomach acid gushed from the opening in her abdomen.
Mina¡¯s fingers relaxed, and the wand dropped from her fist to her side. She felt like passing out. She wanted to vomit, and she felt an impulse to cover her mouth with her left hand. She could have cried.
Instead of doing any of those things, she immediately pivoted from offense to using Laying on Hands. She couldn¡¯t rest until she made sure that she would actually wake up again. There was no one else here to heal her.
I may have bit off a little more than I could chew, she thought. I need much better defenses¡
Adrenaline kept her body functional and her mind racing despite the big hole in her stomach. But she could feel it beginning to fade. At the same time, sensation that had been suppressed while she was facing imminent death was coming back throughout her body.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
¡°So glad I can heal,¡± she muttered to herself as she worked, her teeth chattering. She felt suddenly very cold. Part of that was undoubtedly the hole the stab wound had left in the Perfect Skinsuit. The air in the room was cool against her exposed skin.
But she knew most of it was the blood loss. She felt her legs soaked in her own bodily fluids as they flowed toward the bottom of the suit. Human bodies, she knew, had a limit to how much blood they could lose and live.
¡°Stomach wounds kill people slowly,¡± she said aloud, again talking to no one. ¡°You won¡¯t die as long as you don¡¯t lose focus.¡±
Her hands maintained their green glow. She still had enough Mana to do this. Probably.
¡°Come on, come on, come on¡¡±
The glow flickered for a moment¡ªalmost looked like it might go out¡ªbut she focused her mind, and it steadied again.
After a minute of this, the wound from her stomach began to feel just a bit less painful.
Then Mina felt her vision starting to go blurry in the middle and dark at the edges. She blinked it away, but it came back a few seconds later.
¡°Fine, I don¡¯t need to see to heal¡¡± Her words came out in a mumble that trailed off to nothing. She realized a little bit of drool was leaking from the edges of her lips. Her eyes couldn¡¯t see it, but she felt it on her chin.
¡°That¡¯s embarrassing, can¡¯t let James see that¡¡± Her voice was very quiet now.
Stay focused, she admonished herself.
Mina thought the flesh around the hole in her stomach was starting to close up. She felt a sensation of extreme weakness, and she heard a female voice shouting. ¡°Mina! Mina! Wake up!¡±
I can barely hear you. You sound so far away.
Then she knew no more.
¡ª
James jammed his flaming hand into the green ogre¡¯s chest and pulled out its beating heart.
The monster crumpled to its knees and let out a low groan.
¡°Urgh¡¡± The ogre reached toward him, as if it could take the heart back and place it inside the chest cavity again to fix the damage. Maybe it could. James did not yet know the limits of healing in this world. He suspected that it was almost limitless¡ªexcept death. Once the soul had left this plane of existence, that could not be overcome.
But he held the heart just out of the dying creature¡¯s reach anyway, his fiery hand slowly cooking the meat.
As the ogre¡¯s eyes went completely, James took his first bite of its heart.
He really needed to start carrying salt and pepper in his magic satchel.
As he was munching on his snack, his alerts from the fighting started to hit.
[You killed Green-Skin Ogre Lv. 29! You gained 1700 exp!]
[...]
[Sufficient experience accrued. Proficient Silk Fabrication leveled up!]
[Sufficient experience accrued. Basic Elemental Magic: Gravity leveled up!]
[Sufficient experience accrued. Predator¡¯s Strike leveled up!]
[Predator in Human Skin leveled up!]
¡°Oh, hey, I got a Class level and a bunch of Skill levels this time!¡± James muttered happily around a mouthful of semi-cooked muscle. He raised his voice slightly. ¡°You noble ogres did not die in vain!¡± He chuckled and shook his head.
[Evolver Human leveled up!]
I¡¯m a really sick person, huh? Yelling at corpses. I¡¯ve been missing this me time.
As he bit into another hunk of ogre flesh, he got a final alert.
[Sufficient experience accrued. Omnivore leveled up!]
I guess I should get ready to go down to the final level.
James looked down the stairway that his last victim had been rushing toward when he found it. Two ogres had actually managed to escape down that darkened tunnel, running toward the final level. James did not know whether the final creatures down there would welcome their new visitors or tear them limb from limb, but he thought it was likely that whatever lived in the lowest level of the Dungeon would now have some idea that he was coming.
Not ideal.
¡°At least it wasn¡¯t because I played with my food too much,¡± he said quietly.
James had tried to run after the ogres as soon as they started to flee from him, but he had been slowed by the ogre he had almost forgotten about¡ªthe one that had gotten itself tangled up in his web most thoroughly when the ogres were trying to push through it.
That ogre, despite being weighed down by gravity magic and bound tightly in silken webbing, had managed to reach out and grab hold of James¡¯s foot, apparently deciding to selflessly draw the enemy¡¯s attention so that its brethren could escape.
James quickly gave it the heroic death that it wished for, but by the time he turned back, the ogres were almost in the stairwell. He had only caught the slowest one, and that was thanks to the tunnel only having room for single-file movement by the ogres.
The remaining two ogres managed to get out of James¡¯s line of sight before he dispatched the unlucky one, so James spent the next twenty minutes Pillaging the bodies and eating ogre meat. There was no sense in rushing after the ogres. They already knew he was probably coming after them, so it was better if he let them wait a while and begin to wonder if he might have left instead. Keep them guessing.
I wonder if Mina is going on to the last level, or if she¡¯s quitting, James thought.
If Mina decided to call it quits, he would probably be ready to go, too. This level had featured slightly higher level monsters, and more of them, than the previous level. If the final level represented a similar escalation, it could take James some time to clear it. He wouldn¡¯t want to keep Mina waiting while he played around down here.
¡°Hey, Carol, how¡¯s Mina doing?¡± James asked loudly.
There was silence.
¡°Carol, are you there?¡± James said. ¡°Can you hear me?¡±
He was almost ready to try his Otherworldly Shriek and see if that got the Dungeon Core¡¯s attention, though he doubted it would work¡ªor simply rush back out of the Dungeon the way he had come in. If something was wrong with Carol, he would definitely want to check on Mina to make sure she wasn¡¯t affected by whatever was up with the Dungeon Core.
But Carol finally answered him.
¡°Sorry for the delay, James,¡± she said. ¡°I was just checking in on Mina. She¡¯s, um, successfully beaten the second level. She¡¯s alive and in one piece.¡± She chuckled nervously.
James didn¡¯t need magic rings to tell that the Dungeon Core was trying, rather poorly, to hide something from him.
¡°Carol, what aren¡¯t you telling me?¡± he asked.
V4Ch52-The Hard Mode Final Boss
¡°Mina! Mina, please wake up! Oh my God, Mina, please tell me you¡¯re okay! Oh my gosh, you have a baby, what the fuck is wrong with me letting you walk into this crazy fucking hard Dungeon mode without getting you to at least clear the first two modes first? Why the fuck did I even think xenomorphs were a good idea for Dungeon monsters? Who does that? I¡¯m such a fucking asshole. What the fuck is wrong with me?¡±
Mina woke to the sound of Carol moaning, crying, and cursing herself out in obvious distress. The caterwauling emanated from the walls all around her.
¡°Wha¡ªoh, my gosh¡¡± Mina shook her head lightly.
¡°Mina! You¡¯re okay!¡±
Carol¡¯s voice felt shrill and piercing, and Mina covered her ears for a moment until Carol quieted.
¡°I think I have a little headache,¡± Mina said quietly. ¡°Could you, um, lower the volume a little, please?¡±
¡°Of course,¡± Carol said. It sounded like a whisper from right beside Mina¡¯s ear, which was much less unpleasant but had an unexpectedly creepy effect.
¡°How long was I out?¡± Mina asked. She looked down at her body carefully. There was a big hole in the Perfect Skinsuit, baring her midriff. She could see her belly button and, just below it, a tiny red hole.
I guess I healed it pretty darn perfectly, she thought. I¡¯m not dead. That¡¯s nice.
She wanted to go to sleep and rest for twelve hours.
¡°A few minutes,¡± Carol said. ¡°Just long enough for me to freak out and start wondering what my afterlife would be like.¡±
Mina nodded and shook her head with a small smile. She and Carol both knew exactly what the Dungeon Core was talking about.
¡°It feels like I was out longer,¡± Mina said. ¡°I¡¯m still very tired, but I would think I¡¯d be feeling worse. I should check how much Mana I have left, since I¡¯m not completely healed yet¡¡± She gestured at the little hole in her stomach.
¡°Oh, Mina, I hid a potion on this level!¡± Carol said excitedly, her voice rising to an irritating level again.
Mina pulled her armor away from her head and shook out her long, dark hair.
¡°Where¡¯s the potion?¡± she asked.
¡ª
¡°So, that¡¯s what happened,¡± Carol finished.
¡°I see,¡± said James, teeth clenched. ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad she survived. Sounds like it was a pretty close call.¡±
¡°Um, yeah. I¡¯m not going to lie, it was scary.¡±
¡°So, is Mina back outside yet?¡± James asked.
¡°She took a potion that was hidden in her Dungeon,¡± Carol said. There was a long pause. ¡°And she said she wanted to fight the final boss on the last level of hard mode.¡±
James bit his lower lip so hard that he drew a little trickle of blood that rolled slowly from his mouth down into his goatee.
¡°She¡¯s already decided that, has she?¡± he finally asked, once the urge to curse had faded.
¡°Not exactly,¡± Carol said. ¡°She was about to go right around the time you asked about her, but I think she felt bad, knowing that you might not want her to go. I don¡¯t quite get it, but maybe that¡¯s why I never had any long term partners when I was human. I told her all about the final level, so she could have all the information she needed to fight and win¡ªor to decide she didn¡¯t want to continue. She told me she wanted to go. Then I told her that you were asking about her. And after that, she said that she wanted to know what your feelings were. She says she¡¯s determined to go and get stronger. It¡¯s really only one more monster for her to fight. But it almost felt like she wanted to get your permission¡ªor your blessing?¡±
¡°My wife is a very stubborn woman,¡± James said with a bittersweet smile. ¡°She is trying to get me on board before she does what she wants to do. If I tell her no, there¡¯s about a ninety-five percent chance she¡¯ll do what I want, but she probably won¡¯t be happy about it. But she wanted me to know that she thinks she can do this. Maybe the main reason Mina phrased it the way she did is that she wants to know if I think she can do it.¡±
He wasn¡¯t sure if he was happy or angry that she would jump into risking her life in this way, after she had been so severely injured on the previous level.
On the one hand, it made him feel that she was like him¡ªand he found this particular similarity attractive. He had always known he married a fighter, someone who would never turn her back and run if someone threatened the two of them.
It was an essential quality in a wife, in his mind. She had to be strong-willed and sort of tough. Brave. Without courage, a person could not have any other virtues.
On the other hand¡
I really wish she would be willing to turn and run sometimes. One of us has to survive and take care of James Junior¡
¡°So, what should I tell her?¡± Carol asked.
¡ª
¡°All right, I¡¯ll continue on, then,¡± Mina said. ¡°Thanks for letting me know what he thought.¡± She lowered her face, trying to hide a blush from Carol¡¯s view, which Mina imagined came from a vantage point above her.
It¡¯s sweet that he¡¯s worried about me. But he still understood what I wanted and supported it. She wanted to kiss her husband.
¡°Okay, I guess,¡± Carol said. She sounded worried, like she still thought that she ought to do something more to boost Mina¡¯s chances of survival.
Mina couldn¡¯t imagine what else Carol might try. She had already told Mina everything she could possibly want to know about the final level.
¡°Thank you for your help,¡± Mina said.
¡°Of course,¡± Carol said, still clearly nervous. ¡°Happy to be of service.¡±
Mina started taking the Perfect Skinsuit off. She would replace it with another that she had Looted from one of the nearly two dozen dead creatures in this level.
On the last level, she probably would not need the protection, per Carol¡¯s explanation of the challenge that awaited her, but it never hurt to be prepared.
¡°I¡¯ll just go back to observing James while you change,¡± said Carol as Mina¡¯s suit peeled away from around her shoulders.
Mina almost felt as if she could sense Carol¡¯s presence dissipate, as if Mina had been talking to a ghost rather than the creator of the entire structure that Mina occupied.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
She was left alone to think through her game plan, though she already knew it would be a simple one, thanks to Carol¡¯s detailed description of the final level.
As she peeled the nearly skin-tight armor off, Mina wrinkled her nose. The material clung to her thighs and underwear, stuck on the semi-congealed blood she had shed on this level. She had to apply some elbow grease to begin getting the legs unstuck.
Despite her advance knowledge of the upcoming challenge, the slowly unfolding sight of her lower body encrusted with her own blood made her question whether what she was doing next was really sane.
Who would choose to go into the third level after having the experience I just had? she thought.
But she already knew the answer.
Someone who wanted to prove to herself that she could have been a help rather than a hindrance to James if she had gone with him into the expert mode levels.
Mina still wasn¡¯t sure about that, given how the second level on hard mode had nearly killed her.
She pulled the suit down her calves to her feet¡ªstill struggling against the syrupy, semi-congealed blood that seemed to have seeped all the way to the bottom of the suit and turned her whole lower body sticky¡ªand finally managed to yank it off. The material separated from her feet and ankles in one last quick tug, with a little sucking sound as it peeled away from the adhesive blood.
Mina looked down at her bare legs and shook her head. She looked like she had just come from wading in a pool of blood and had forgotten to towel off.
Yep, I¡¯m crazy. I just conducted a practical, hands-on experiment to find out how much blood there was in my body, and now I¡¯m ready for a repeat.
She conjured a small amount of water¡ªfortunately, the potion Carol had hidden in the level was a pretty powerful one, which restored her to full Health and Mana¡ªand manipulated it into a little river that rotated around her pelvis, legs, and feet, to rinse her lower body off.
Then she dressed in one of the non-damaged Perfect Skinsuits she had obtained from Looting the other dead monsters, and she walked down the stairs.
Mina did not allow herself to hesitate now that she was ready for the final battle. James wouldn¡¯t have hesitated.
I have every possible advantage, she reminded herself as her feet mechanically found the next step and the step after that. I know everything about the final boss that there is to know.
And as she walked, she poured Mana into her wand, preparing the most powerful attack she had ever launched¡ªthe move that should guarantee her immediate victory.
Still, when she reached the bottom and set eyes on the final level and its resident monster, the sight made her shudder. She couldn¡¯t help seeing the image of the beast that had almost killed her, superimposed on this much larger version of the creatures.
Everything the other creatures had been, this monster was almost the same, but larger. The same bug-like black body, exoskeletal form covered in what looked like an external rib cage and ending in a long tail that Mina could not see from the entrance.
Differentiating it were two extra limbs that looked clumsily slapped on, and the fact that the giant black head was not quite as phallic-shaped as the previous monsters¡¯ heads had been. The top of this one¡¯s head was molded to look more like a crown rather than a blimp.
And, of course, as Carol had mentioned, this creature was female.
The proof of it lay on the floor between Mina and the monster.
Hundreds of eggs, which Carol had explained contained the Perfect Parasite creature Mina had killed on the first level. They would attack anything that entered the final boss¡¯s territory.
¡°How did the bat manage to defeat the boss?¡± Mina had asked, exasperated.
¡°I actually hadn¡¯t made all the adjustments to hard mode that I¡¯ve made now by that point,¡± Carol admitted, sounding slightly embarrassed. ¡°I thought that since she cleared all the levels, I should make the monsters more dangerous¡ªmore like the movies. I figured that someone like Evangeline had managed to mostly keep her distance while she killed them, so I increased the number of monsters on the second level, and I gave them the acid blood¡¡±
Mina sighed and shook her head at the memory. She supposed she understood what Carol was doing. She was fine-tuning. The hard mode Dungeon had only had one other challenger before Mina, and it had seemed too easy. Now, hopefully Carol understood that she had deviated too far in the deadly direction.
She tore her eyes away from the imposing sight before her¡ªthe hundreds of eggs that began only a few feet away from the final level¡¯s entrance, and the giant insect that took up almost the entirety of the room besides the floor space devoted to the eggs.
Mina looked down at her wand. She judged that she had charged it with enough Mana.
She hoped it would be enough. It was almost all she had. The wand gave off an intense orange glow that almost hurt her eyes when she looked directly at it.
Mina stepped into the Dungeon, just setting one foot into the space.
The boss stirred, tossing its giant head with a hiss. Some of the eggs nearest to Mina began opening, surfaces peeling back like flowers opening their petals.
Mina launched her attack. The largest single burst of fire that she had ever seen exploded out of her wand, and it was all she could do to control the direction of the enormous blast.
Blow up everything in the room in front of me, she thought. Kill it all.
The flames moved faster than her brain could process the movement, incinerating the nearest eggs in a fraction of a second and briskly moving on. Mina only got a good look at the aftermath, the ashes and dust that littered the bottom of the cave.
The explosion made it all the way to the back of the cave, and Mina felt resistance. Physical resistance from the only strong entity in the room, the boss monster.
It felt like the thing was trying to shove the fire back¡ªtrying to push Mina back, as she was the one controlling the flames, pushing the explosion forward with her mind.
The boss¡¯s skin was much tougher than the eggs had been. It burned anyway. As the creature¡¯s limbs began to char, and the flesh below was singed, the physical resistance gradually evaporated.
Mina pushed the explosion onward until it struck the far wall and pressed it down and out, leaving nothing to chance¡ªpurging the whole room. It was the closest thing to a nuclear blast that humans could achieve in this post-technological world.
She felt it when the flames could find nothing more to burn. The feeling of emptiness, hunger that could not be sated. She sagged slightly, her Will relaxed for just a moment, and the flames disappeared.
The notifications began to stream in.
[You killed Perfect Parasite Lv. 10! You gained 120 exp!]
[You killed Perfect Parasite Lv. 10! You gained 120 exp!]
[...]
[You killed Perfect Predator Matriarch Lv. 30! You gained 2200 exp!]
[Witch of Thessaly leveled up!]
[System-Boosted Human leveled up!]
[You killed Perfect Parasite Lv. 10! You gained 120 exp!]
[You killed Perfect Parasite Lv. 10! You gained 120 exp!]
[...]
The Perfect Parasite notification repeated a hundred more times, interspersed with levels for Witch of Thessaly and System-Boosted Human, and Mina felt repeated surges of power hit her as she leveled multiple times.
[A Race Evolution is available. Review? Y/N]
[Congratulations! You have cleared Hard Mode of Dungeon: Carol¡¯s Place!]
[Your score was 18,079. See Leaderboard? Y/N]
[Sufficient experience accrued. Witch of Thessaly leveled up!]
¡°Yes!¡± she exclaimed. She pumped her fist, but both the movement and her voice were a bit lifeless.
Mina felt strangely tired and exhilarated at the same time. Just like when she had come near the brink of death earlier, she had used up nearly all of her Mana with this last attack. But with all the kills powering her up, her reserves had bounced back. Now she felt like she had more energy than she knew what to do with¡ªand also like she could fall asleep if she laid her head on a pillow.
She ignored the offer to look at the Leaderboard. She did not want to see that she was in second or third place after all that effort.
I have so many Free Points to distribute, she thought. She had acquired so many levels at once. And Race Evolution. She remembered that had come at a pivotal moment in James¡¯s journey. When he killed the Spider Queen, the first leader of a species he had slaughtered.
Mina had replicated the experience a little artificially, using every bit of assistance available to her to ambush the leader of a species Carol had generated, but maybe she was starting to catch up.
I need to check my Status out. Have to distribute the Free Points. I¡¯ll talk to James about this Race Evolution thing before I do anything about it. And then¡
Mina yawned.
Well, before all that, I wonder if I have time for a nap¡
V4Ch53-The Expert Mode Final Boss
James walked down into the darkness, tracing his hand along the wall. He did not need to do this for balance, but he enjoyed the feel of the cool stone on his fingertips. It helped keep him grounded in the present moment, in the physical space he occupied, when his mind would rather have skipped back upstairs and across to the tunnel where Mina was fighting her struggle.
Fortunately, he soon reached the bottom, and his attention focused squarely on his own situation.
His eyes scoped out the final floor to the extent that he could from the entrance without actually going in. Unlike the previous two floors, this one did not lie in darkness
Rather, James saw that torches lined the wall in front of the entrance. The downward sloping tunnel he had descended seemed to lead into a winding path. He could only see the wall in front of him and, when he pressed himself up against the right side of the entrance, a dead end to his left.
You¡¯re being paranoid, he thought. Just walk out. This is the final floor. It would be cheap for there to be an ambush waiting.
But he remembered the two Green-Skinned Ogres that had escaped him.
James began generating silk and shedding his skin, combining the skin and silk to make a dummy, imbuing Mana into the creation and shaping it with Monster Generation and his Will. The combined creature quickly crawled out from under his armor and slithered onto the floor before it began unfolding itself, standing almost upright.
Body Double Dummy, go on in and see if the coast is clear, James silently ordered. Try your best to look like me while you do it.
The creature twisted from side to side as if stretching, pulled itself to its full height¡ªwhich was slightly more than James¡¯s full height, since it was made of his skin and silk and did not need to conform to his skeletal structure¡ªand then hastened to obey.
As it stepped into the tunnel, two axes immediately descended, one from each side of the entrance. They were wielded in two pairs of thick, green hands.
¡°Grahhh!¡± roared one of the ogres.
¡°Yarg!¡± yelled the other back, as their axes fell on the Body Double Dummy and hacked through its skin, chopping through the external layer but failing to penetrate the strong silk underneath. The creatures did not seem to realize what was off about this creature at first; they kept trying to cleave it apart with the axes they had apparently acquired.
Their movements were slower than James remembered. He wondered if the weapons they held were too heavy for them. They hadn¡¯t had axes on the previous floor, only clubs.
James thrust his upper body out as the axe on the left descended, grabbing hold of the down-swinging arm and yanking the Green-Skinned Ogre sideways and backward, into the tunnel.
The creature cried out for help, but there was nothing its comrade could do. Their bodies were too thick to fit two abreast into the entrance. The monster that remained on the final floor could only look on helplessly as James ripped the throat out of its last fellow Green-Skinned Ogre with his bare hands.
James shoved the dead creature out into the final level, and he saw the other ogre¡¯s shadow dance along the wall as it repeated its trick from the previous floor and ran away.
What, you don¡¯t want to avenge your brother? he thought. I don¡¯t mind chasing you, but running away is an embarrassing thing to do as you die.
James stepped into the final level, picked up the axe the dead ogre had dropped, and looked down the tunnel to see if he could hurl the weapon and kill the last of the Green-Skinned Ogres. Unfortunately, it had disappeared around a bend.
The Body Double Dummy got up from the ground, shook itself off, and stood ready to obey James¡¯s next command.
I need to use more of this special silk in future monsters. He silently ordered the creature to follow along behind him.
This last level seemed to be snake-like in shape. James¡¯s back was to a dead end when he started, but as he walked after the ogre, he saw that the tunnel he found himself in was one of twists and turns.
I could start knocking down walls and probably catch up to it faster, he thought. Or I could use earth magic to cut off its retreat. He could still hear the ogre frantically panting as it tried to keep ahead of him while continuing to clutch onto its heavy axe. It was only a few twists of the path ahead of James, but in practice, that meant three walls or more that James would need to knock down. If he used earth magic, he could simply cut off the retreat and walk the rest of the way.
Nah. The ogre will die whenever I get to it. Better to save my energy. Whatever actually lives on this floor has weapons. It¡¯s probably an upgrade on the ogres in other respects, too. James had half-expected the monsters would have killed off the Green-Skinned Ogres for invading their territory. If the creatures of the final challenge had given the green ogres axes instead, it meant that they were confident enough to arm potential invaders and intelligent enough to try using the other monsters as pawns to kill off their challenger.
Worthy opponents.
He examined the axe in his hand for any clue as to the original owner¡¯s personality or other attributes, but there was little to notice about it. A short, hard steel axe head fixed to what appeared to be a black iron hilt. Heavier than it should be for its size, though still not too heavy for James.
There were no distinguishing marks. All he could think was that whoever wielded this was definitely physically stronger than the ogres, or the wielder would swing too slowly to hit its target.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
James rounded another corner and began to hear the trickle of water. As he advanced further, it grew louder. The sound of running water.
Is there a waterfall at the end? he wondered.
As he drew near what James felt confident would be the final bend in the tunnel, he braced himself for whatever he might see. He clutched the found axe tightly in both hands and breathed in deep, mind running through various plans of action in case of ambush.
James stepped around the bend, and he finally got a clear view¡ªof sunlight and blue skies. The underground tunnel he had marched through, seemingly deep within the bowels of the Earth, led into an open air area. Before him, James saw what appeared to be a largely open field, with a building he recognized as a Shinto shrine dropped into the middle of it¡ªa beautiful wooden structure of lanterns, columns, translucent paper sheet doors over wooden lattices, and gently sloping roofs, intricately decorated with designs inlaid in jade and gold.
In the distance, James saw mountains that ringed the area and appeared to grow thick with vegetation. He saw a waterfall pouring off the side of one of the mountains¡ªthe source of the noise of rushing water. He heard the chirping of songbirds.
¡°What the fuck is this place?¡± he murmured.
I was just in a bunch of dark caves. The final boss lives in a Shinto shrine? We just went all the way from something that felt vaguely Lord of the Rings straight to the East? There¡¯s no thematic unity!
¡°That¡¯s a fine way to talk about our home,¡± said a quiet voice, but one that nonetheless carried. One of the paper doors slid to the side, and a massive creature lowered its head to slide under the lintel and step outside.
James could only stare.
Big fellow, aren¡¯t you? And you can talk¡
He used Identify and confirmed what his eyes told him about what sort of enemy he faced.
Blue Oni, Lv. 39.
That might mean roughly similar to Samuel in power.
The ten-foot-tall blue-skinned figure carried an open, leatherbound book in the palm of its left hand and a huge kanabo in the right, which it casually lifted up and leaned against its shoulder. It wore the white robes and black hat of a Shinto priest. A single long tusk curved up from under the right side of its jaw, while a single long, curved horn adorned the left temple of its head. The figure¡¯s features were androgynous, but James interpreted it as male based on its body structure.
So, this is the final boss. Not bad at all. Wait, did he say our home?
On the other side of the building, one of the other paper doors suddenly crumpled and flew outward. A giant red foot could be seen within the shrine.
¡°Don¡¯t forget about me, brother,¡± it growled in a much deeper voice.
The foot lowered, and the Red Oni emerged on the other side, barely bothering to lower his head, smashing apart some of the wood of the shrine. James observed that the Red Oni¡¯s tusk and horn were the photo negatives of the Blue Oni¡¯s, appearing on opposite sides. Unlike the Blue Oni, he wore samurai-style armor over his body¡ªand there was nothing ambiguous about his gender. This one was a big, buff man, bristling with muscle, though the same height as his brother. The Red Oni did not carry any weapons, however.
¡°Do you have to be so uncouth?¡± asked the Blue Oni, turning to face the Red Oni. ¡°What if Carol makes us clean up after we kill him? Do you want to go off into the mountains and find wood to patch that hole?¡±
¡°Oh, lay off me, Blue,¡± the Red Oni grumbled. ¡°This is our moment to shine. Our first real enemy. Worry about Mom and the cleanup later!¡±
¡°Fine,¡± said the Blue Oni with a short huff of breath. ¡°We do have bigger problems to deal with.¡±
James noticed movement from behind the Blue Oni and swallowed. If there were any more Onis than these two, he was going to leave. He didn¡¯t think he was ready to fight a whole Oni family, given the level he¡¯d seen for the Blue Oni.
But as his eyes focused on the motion, he realized it was just the Green-Skinned Ogre, quivering behind the Blue Oni.
Oh, I almost forgot about him.
¡°Come on out here!¡± the Red Oni called. ¡°I know you¡¯re not afraid of a fight, right?¡± There was a slight, taunting edge to his voice, which James ignored. He had been in far too many fights to be goaded that way.
¡°Pardon me,¡± James replied. ¡°I think you two have something I lost on the previous floor.¡± He pointed at the Green-Skinned Ogre. ¡°Do you mind if I finish up with him before we fight? I don¡¯t want us being interrupted.¡±
¡°Uh, sure thing, right, bro?¡± the Red Oni said, looking at the Blue Oni¡ªclearly the brains of the operation.
The Blue Oni looked at James for a moment with narrowed, searching eyes. Then he nodded.
¡°It¡¯s no skin off our noses, human. He smells, anyway. Like they don¡¯t have baths up there on the other levels or something.¡±
James guessed that the Blue Oni had never left the rather lush and beautiful environment that Carol had created for him. Upstairs, there wasn¡¯t a water source or even a place for the ogres to relieve themselves. It was possible that they didn¡¯t have those biological functions.
Clearly, Carol had lavished most of her attention on the Onis.
James ordered the Body Double Dummy to trail along after him as he walked out, and keep close to the opening that led backward into the tunnel and cave structure. One thing that was clear to James was that the Onis were too large to fit into the tunnel that he had just emerged from. The Body Double Dummy was not powerful enough to keep the path of retreat clear, but if James did have to run away, it could perhaps distract one of the Onis for a few seconds while James darted into the hole.
Back me up if you have a good opportunity, though, he added.
Then he stepped into the open field area, all senses on edge, wary of any possible trap.
But the only thing that struck him as he walked into the field was how bright and clear the sunlight was.
The Green-Skinned Ogre seemed to panic as James strode toward him and the Blue Oni. It turned and tried to run further back into the shrine, but the Blue Oni turned back and grabbed it by the scruff of the neck, lifting it into the air.
¡°Oh, no, you don¡¯t!¡± the Blue Oni declared. ¡°You are not going back into our place. If he makes a mess of you, it happens out here.¡±
Turning, the Blue Oni hurled the Green-Skinned Ogre toward James. Despite the fact that the ogre was hundreds of pounds and still carried the heavy axe, the Blue Oni did not seem breathless from throwing him.
James raised an eyebrow. How strong were these things?
Surely the Red Oni is stronger, too. The blue one is definitely the bookworm of the pair, and the red one is cut like a bodybuilder.
James cracked his neck. Soon he would find out.
But first¡
James¡¯s eyes focused on the Green-Skinned Ogre, which had begun pushing itself upright just a few feet in front of him.
It was time to finish up level two.
V4Ch54-Final Bosses
James and the Green-Skinned Ogre made eye contact as the monster rose to its feet.
The creature seemed to sense there was no point in trying to run away anymore, so it directed all its attention to the human who had killed all its companions.
It still clutched the axe that it had used to attack James¡¯s Body Double Dummy, holding onto the hefty weapon like a desperate lifeline¡ªor like an anchor. Now that they squared off in the open field in front of the Onis¡¯ house, it was even easier for James to see how heavy the axe was for the ogre.
The creature held it clenched in both fists, breathing heavily.
James stood with the other axe carefully gripped in just his right hand. It was a little hefty for him, too, but his Strength was out of all proportion to his size.
The ogre inched closer to James. It moved literally only an inch or two, just setting a toe a little bit forward¡ªbut he took that moment as his opportunity to attack. James leaped across the distance between them, ducked under the axe swing the ogre slowly threw at his head, and embedded the other axe into the ogre¡¯s guts.
Can I please have the ogre¡¯s soul? Roscuro¡¯s voice insinuated itself quietly in the back of James¡¯s mind. I didn¡¯t ask for any of the others, and this one was a coward anyway¡
All right, James replied.
The Green-Skinned Ogre collapsed to its knees, eyes watering, and dropped the other axe, fingers moving to clutch at the one embedded in its guts.
The Soul Eater shapeshifted into a short spear, and James stabbed the Green-Skinned Ogre unceremoniously through the eye socket.
As the black spear pierced its brain, the creature let loose a horrendous, piercing shriek. Then its body disintegrated, the scream echoing through the air unnaturally long after it had disappeared. The axe that had been lodged in its abdomen dropped onto the ground, the gray and green blood and guts the only indicators that the ogre had ever existed.
There you go, now you¡¯ve eaten. The others are getting Pillaged when they die, James sent. He was not going to miss out on whatever cool Skills the Onis had.
Yes, master, Roscuro agreed.
James glanced up at his audience and was pleased to see that the two Onis looked taken aback.
¡°What was that?¡± the Red Oni asked.
¡°Soul Eater Roscuro,¡± James said, holding up the Roscuro spear and willing it to transform into a short sword. He didn¡¯t intend to strike a finishing blow with Roscuro, but he would probably need some kind of weapon to deal with the Red Oni and its armor. ¡°He was a powerful monster¡ªand he became a shapeshifting weapon.¡±
¡°Ooh,¡± said the Blue Oni. ¡°Neat. Can I have him if we win?¡±
James couldn¡¯t help but smile at that. ¡°Unfortunately, he¡¯s soulbound. That means he and I are stuck with each other, probably forever.¡±
Not that I don¡¯t like having you, Roscuro, he added telepathically.
Hmph, Roscuro replied. In my time, I was a great warrior. Now I am baggage for a human who says he¡¯s ¡°stuck¡± with me. The whims of fate, I suppose.
¡°That¡¯s all right,¡± said the Red Oni. ¡°I¡¯m the one who¡¯s going to kill him anyway.¡± The giant red figure cracked his knuckles, opened up both hands, and extended them as if reaching for something that James could not see. Then the axes that James and the ogre had been fighting with flew into his open palms.
Magic axes, then, James thought. Maybe those will be part of my loot.
¡°Are those soulbound?¡± he asked.
¡°No,¡± said the Red Oni. ¡°They¡¯re a part of me.¡± He tapped the handle that James had taken for iron. ¡°This came from my bones.¡±
¡°Uh huh,¡± James said, having trouble picturing it. ¡°So, are you two going to fight me, then? I¡¯m ready whenever you are.¡±
¡°Which one of us would you like to fight first?¡± asked the Blue Oni.
¡°It¡¯s not up to him, I¡¯m going first,¡± roared the Red Oni, taking a step toward its brother. ¡°I won at ro-sham-bo before the fight, so I¡¯m going!¡±
¡°Oh, that¡¯s right,¡± said the Blue Oni. ¡°Very well, I will watch from here.¡± He took a seat and glanced down at his book.
James found the whole situation a bit hard to swallow.
¡°I think the two of you are taking me a bit lightly, don¡¯t you?¡± James said, looking the Blue Oni right in its yellow eyes.
¡°Well, if my brother really needed my help, I could jump in,¡± said the Blue Oni, ¡°but we¡¯re really designed to be final bosses for this Dungeon. The situation would be easier for you if you had a whole team behind you, but I guess they died on the upper floors¡ªor you somehow got lucky and made it through on your own?¡± The Oni tilted its head to the side thoughtfully, as if trying to figure out which possibility was more likely.
Okay, so you guys are taking me very fucking lightly¡Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
¡°Let¡¯s see if your bite¡¯s as tough as your bark,¡± said the Red Oni, pointing at James with the head of his right hand axe. ¡°You and me, right now!¡±
James smiled. ¡°It¡¯s your funeral.¡±
He turned his back on the Blue Oni and charged across the distance that separated him from the Red Oni, Roscuro clutched in James¡¯s right hand in short sword form.
In the space just in front of the central door to the shrine, the two figures clashed. A heavy metal¡ªOni bone?¡ªaxe swung down and collided with Roscuro¡¯s black material.
James heard the ring of the collision ripple through the air with deafening volume and felt it vibrate through his bones. The Oni¡¯s hit knocked him backward slightly. He didn¡¯t lose his footing, but the superior weight behind the Red Oni caused his feet to slide through the grass, crushing the field greenery beneath him and exposing the soil underneath.
Not bad at all.
James lunged forward, and both axes swung toward him. He dodged one and parried the other, though the force behind the blow made him grit his teeth. James thrust the short sword at the Red Oni¡¯s neck¡ªthe only places it wore no armor were its head, neck, hands, and feet¡ªbut it blocked with the armor on its arm.
As the Red Oni knocked the blow aside, James stepped back, thinking about his next step. Probably magic.
¡°You¡¯re pretty strong,¡± the Red Oni said, sounding surprised. ¡°I didn¡¯t think there were many strong people out there. I remembered that even after all the time Mom invested in creating me and my brother, she was a little disappointed that no one made it here to challenge us.¡±
¡°We were expecting a bat that Carol mentioned to be the first to make it here,¡± said the Blue Oni from behind James. ¡°From the looks of it, though, you¡¯re a better beta tester than she was going to be.¡± There was the sound of a page turning, and James recognized that the Blue Oni was reading the book James had seen it carrying.
Absolutely ridiculous. Reading, while your brother is fighting for his life?
¡°Beta tester?¡± James asked, eyes locked on the Red Oni for any sign of movement. But the big monster seemed content to let the conversation proceed undisturbed.
¡°Yeah, Carol is very interested in making her Dungeon better,¡± said the Blue Oni. ¡°Her view is that iterative testing can lead to dramatic improvements. Small improvements compounded over time add up to become major improvements in the long run. So, she needs beta testers for the parts of the Dungeon that haven¡¯t had a lot of traffic yet. Some monsters will naturally be too easy for the levels she¡¯s setting up in her head, and some monsters¡ª¡± The Oni smirked as if it was obvious that he meant himself and his brother¡ª¡°will naturally be too tough for the challengers to have any reasonable chance of victory.¡±
This is so fucking creepy, James thought. It¡¯s just disturbing to talk to monsters that know they¡¯re enemies in a Dungeon. It¡¯s like if ¡°Toy Story¡± was real, and you were talking to the toys who know their only purpose is to be played with.
¡°Does it bother you two that you¡¯re monsters in a Dungeon?¡± James asked.
That seemed to set the Red Oni off. It raised its two axes in the air and swung straight down at James with both hands.
He quickly raised the flat of Roscuro¡¯s blade and blocked both weapons, but now he felt the full, crushing force of the Red Oni¡¯s combined Strength and weight pressing down on him through the physical material of the sword. The Red Oni did not seem to weigh much more than the ogres had, despite being much taller and covered in musculature, but its Strength was another matter. The intense force pushed James¡¯s feet into the soil, slowly depressing the ground as the creature tried to break its opponent¡¯s resistance.
¡°Thought we were talking,¡± James muttered quietly, struggling to keep his sword held upright. He felt his arms shaking underneath the Red Oni¡¯s power.
¡°Too much talking,¡± the Red Oni grunted. ¡°¡®Does it bother you two that you¡¯re monsters in a Dungeon?¡¯ Do you think we¡¯re made to feel angst, human? Nonsense. Ridiculous! We¡¯re made to take pleasure in being¡ªand beating¡ªthe strongest.¡± It smiled viciously. ¡°I¡¯ll take a lot of that pleasure from defeating you.¡±
An armored knee suddenly swept up from beneath James, and the Red Oni¡¯s foot planted itself in his stomach. He felt it even through the strong spider silk he had used to patch the Royal Exoarmor, and his body flew back under the impact, instantly airborne.
Ouch.
He had definitely broken a rib again.
The Red Oni chased after its target, and James used an Air Strike to maintain his distance and direction of travel. It did nothing to the Red Oni through its armor, but it blew James slightly further away. He didn¡¯t want to let the Red Oni get into close quarters again. Not without a clear plan to deal with its superior Strength.
Jump on his back and cover his face! James ordered the Body Double Dummy. The creature started edging from the side of the field toward the Red Oni, which had its back turned to the monster, all its attention focused on James.
The Oni continued to chase James, and he threw another Air Strike at it as his body started to drop toward the ground again. This Air Strike managed to draw a thin line of red blood from the Red Oni¡¯s neck, but it seemed little real harm had been done.
James began charging his Mana for a magical attack before his feet touched down on the grass.
As he landed, the Red Oni swept in with both axes, and James fell into dodging.
Over the next minute, he got into a rhythm with the creature. He repeatedly dodged, occasionally parried, and constantly gave ground as his magic got closer to being fully charged. Despite the Red Oni¡¯s superior Strength, it wasn¡¯t as agile as James. It could not catch him in one of its heavy attacks. James did not run away from the Oni and open up more distance, because by staying close, he could control much of its movements.
And he needed to be close to use his next Skill.
As the Red Oni slashed diagonally downward with its right hand axe once more, James released the Mana he had been charging and touched the Red Oni¡¯s right arm with his own right hand. The Oni instantly stumbled, falling almost directly on top of James as its right arm suddenly quadrupled in weight.
¡°What sorcery is this?¡± the Red Oni exclaimed.
¡°Mine,¡± James replied.
He stabbed at the Red Oni¡¯s neck with his short sword again, but it just barely reacted in time to intercept it, catching the point in the palm of its left hand.
¡°Damn you,¡± the Red Oni grumbled, its face turning a deeper shade of red. ¡°You bloody trickster!¡±
¡°That¡¯s me,¡± James replied, grinning. He pulled Roscuro out of the Red Oni¡¯s hand and prepared for another strike at its face.
At the same time, the Body Double Dummy had moved to within leaping distance of the monster¡¯s back. James held off on another stab for a second to let the Red Oni¡¯s face be covered.
The Body Double Dummy leaped through the air¡ªand a bolt of lightning suddenly struck it down. At the same time, a pale blue glow surrounded the Red Oni, and it hovered slightly off the ground as if weightless.
James could see a smile blossoming on the Red Oni¡¯s face. It started adjusting the position of its body in the air, straightening up to a standing position¡ªthough still not touching the ground¡ªand waving its arms as if James had not multiplied the weight of its right arm.
What the hell is going on?
Then James¡¯s eyes spied movement behind the Red Oni, and he understood what was happening.
The Blue Oni had risen to its feet. This wasn¡¯t a one on one fight anymore.
V4Ch55-Red vs Blue
James instantly shifted into a defensive stance, hands and short sword raised defensively, stepping to place the Red Oni between most of James¡¯s body and the Blue Oni¡¯s.
¡°I guess you understood that your brother couldn¡¯t win,¡± James taunted, raising his voice to make sure the Blue Oni caught what he was saying.
¡°Oh, I just noticed that your monster was creeping up on my brother, and I realized that you didn¡¯t intend to allow the fight to continue as a one on one duel,¡± the Blue Oni said smoothly.
The Red Oni turned its head and looked back at the smoking ruin of James¡¯s Body Double Dummy.
¡°Well done,¡± it murmured quietly, turning back to face James. ¡°You almost surprised m¡ª¡±
The still-steaming, slightly charred Body Double Dummy leaped onto the back of the Red Oni¡¯s head. Suddenly, the Red Oni was wrestling with the not-quite-dead monster, and the creature was covering the Red Oni¡¯s eyes. James took advantage of the brief moment that this lasted to stab at the Red Oni.
His sword sank into the Red Oni¡¯s neck just as the Red Oni bit into the Body Double Dummy neck and ripped its head clean off. That was when James¡¯s monster stopped moving¡ªbut the damage was already done. The Red Oni¡¯s eyes went wild, his body dropped backward, losing control of his flight, and his hands released the axes to clasp at his neck wound. James pulled Roscuro out of the neck, and he smelled the coppery tang as blood began to gush out of the hole.
¡°Brother, no!¡±
James heard the Blue Oni¡¯s voice, and he was suddenly struck by a heavy, hot force. As his body writhed, momentarily out of his control, he recognized that the power that had hit him was a bolt of lightning.
His eyes stopped working for a moment, and then he saw the Blue Oni standing in front of him, pouring green energy onto the Red Oni. James knew what that was¡ªhealing power. The hole in the Red Oni¡¯s neck closed, and the Blue Oni quickly yanked the Red Oni backward, pulling his apparently weightless body away from James.
James regained his ability to move. He felt sore all over.
Good job, Dummy, he thought, looking down at the pieces of his fried and now dismembered monster.
His eyes darted back up to quickly focus on the two Onis again. The Red Oni was shaking its head as if trying to regain its presence of mind. James wondered if it had lost consciousness for a moment.
¡°Let¡¯s fight together,¡± said the Blue Oni, glaring at James as he spoke. ¡°We gave him enough of a chance to win one on one. Now it¡¯s time we bring this home.¡±
¡°Thank you, brother,¡± the Red Oni said with a mixture of warmth and gruffness. ¡°I appreciate the healing, but I can handle this. He just surprised me, that¡¯s all.¡±
¡°Don¡¯t try to fight alone,¡± the Blue Oni replied sternly. ¡°You almost died just now. All it takes is lowering your guard for one moment. Think what would happen to me if I didn¡¯t have you to act as a meat shield. Our best chance is together.¡±
James blinked. That¡¯s quite an argument there.
¡°Well, after you saved my life, I can¡¯t very well turn you down, can I?¡± the Red Oni said hotly, punching the air. ¡°Don¡¯t regret it if you die, all right?¡±
¡°Don¡¯t be silly,¡± the Blue Oni said. ¡°You¡¯re the emotional one. I¡¯m not the type to have regrets.¡±
James thought the Blue Oni was actually emotional, too. It was just a little more subtle; it took something like James almost killing the Red Oni to upset it.
But more importantly, as the brothers were bickering, he developed his strategy for fighting both of them at once, having assumed that they would ultimately fall on the side of fighting him together¡ªthe sane option.
I need to keep the Red Oni between me and the Blue Oni as much as possible to try to avoid being struck by lightning. Maybe if I can catch the Red Oni in my spider silk, I can break away and deal with the Blue Oni. Always kill the Healer first.
¡°Let¡¯s go, then,¡± the Red Oni said, pulling James¡¯s attention back to the brothers.
They charged him, then, the Red Oni flying in like Peter Pan, on the right, while the Blue Oni charged in from the left.
James began silently charging Illusion Magic¡ªdeception was the best way he could think of to get himself out of this disadvantageous position.
As he kept his eyes carefully on the Onis, James noticed the Blue Oni¡¯s kanabo flying through the air toward it¡ªreturning to its hand, just like the Red Oni¡¯s axes had earlier.
That reminded him that the Red Oni had actually dropped its weapons. James looked down and saw the axes beginning to move, and he grabbed hold of them before they could return to the Red Oni.
Then the weapons started to carry James through the air, toward the Red Oni, just as the two Onis closed the distance to either side of him. The Red Oni tried to reach out and take its axes, and James responded by leaping up to the Red Oni¡¯s head height and kicking its hands away. Then he twisted his body in midair to block the Blue Oni¡¯s kanabo with one of the axes. The other one, he swung at the Blue Oni¡¯s torso. The monster nimbly sidestepped, evading it.
The Red Oni¡¯s grasping hands latched onto James¡¯s ankles at that point, and he swung the axes at the Red Oni¡¯s head from opposite sides.
The monster did nothing to block the attack, but the axes themselves simply stopped inches from its face as if hitting an invisible wall. The Oni grinned, as if to say, Did you really think those axes could hurt me?
From behind James, he sensed swift movement from the Blue Oni. James instinctively dropped his body backward, making himself as flat as a wooden board, and the kanabo hissed just overhead as the Blue Oni swung it with great force.
James hurled the axes as far away as he could, then bent his body even further down and threw his back against the Red Oni¡¯s armor as the kanabo swung downward. This time, one of the spikes on the club grazed the top of his head and tore a deep gouge in his scalp. Hot blood immediately poured from the wound, though it fell straight down to the ground rather than dripping into his face, since he was upside down.
Can¡¯t let that hit me directly, James thought.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.
He activated the Illusion Magic he had been charging. Then he used Lightning Strike, running electricity through his ankles.
The Red Oni writhed and released him, and James tucked his head and rolled sideways away from the two.
The Blue Oni fired a bolt of lightning at James, and he threw himself to the side, barely avoiding the blast. The odor of burnt grass and scorched earth filled his nostrils.
But he couldn¡¯t stop and smell the charred sod. Another bolt of lightning shot through the air at James¡¯s head, and he launched himself out of the way once again.
¡°I can see through your deception, human!¡± the Blue Oni yelled angrily. James looked at the Blue Oni and noticed its yellow eyes glowing. It must be using one of its magical abilities to counter the Illusion Magic.
The glow of lightning appeared around the Blue Oni¡¯s arm again, but then the Red Oni slashed at it with one of the axes, which the Red Oni had apparently reclaimed while James was running away from the lightning bolts.
¡°What are you doing?¡± the Blue Oni screeched, dodging and weaving away from axe blows.
¡°Hold still and fight like a man, human! You don¡¯t think you can fool me with that pale imitation of my brother¡¯s voice?¡± the Red Oni said.
¡°You damned idiot, you need to see through the illusions! Here, let me help you¡ª¡±
The Blue Oni reached for his brother, and an axe cleaved his arm off. The white robes were instantly stained with blood.
¡°Ah, what the hell?!¡± the Blue Oni screamed, his arm gushing improbable-seeming amounts of red.
¡°Die, human!¡± the Red Oni yelled, cackling and swinging his axe like a maniac.
I saved this for the ogres but didn¡¯t end up needing it. And now, with the open sky above, I have sunlight to recharge.
James prepared to fire his Solar Ray at the Blue Oni. He would kill the enemy¡¯s magic user. Then the Red Oni, still under his spell, would be easy pickings.
The solar energy already in James¡¯s body and the solar energy pulled in across every part of his body under the sun began moving along his body, coalescing just in front of his mouth.
¡°Damn it, listen to me!¡± The Blue Oni was screaming as he ran from the Red Oni at this point, while the bloodthirsty Red Oni raced behind him, wielding his axe with even more impressive fervor now that his target was wounded. They moved ever further from James, as the Blue Oni tried to escape its brother. ¡°He¡¯s going to kill us if we fight each other. We have to work together!¡±
James chuckled quietly from his distant vantage point but otherwise simply remained standing still. As he stayed there, not doing anything but letting his attack charge, his body was healing itself from the minor injuries he had suffered. Already, the wound to his scalp had stopped bleeding, and he thought his cracked rib was trying to restore itself too.
The Blue Oni finally snapped and shot a bolt of lightning at his brother, seemingly almost as a last resort. The Red Oni stood paralyzed in a moment, its body writhing.
Then it shook its head.
¡°Wait, what¡¯s happened? Why are you bleeding, brother?¡±
Shit.
James¡¯s concentrated solar energy had been focused into a ball that sat just outside his mouth at this point. Now he let go and unleashed it as a beam of light.
He aimed it at the Red Oni¡¯s center of mass¡ªthe Blue Oni¡¯s body was too obscured by the Red Oni¡¯s larger figure at this point¡ªand he concentrated the blast as much as he could into a small, intense beam.
The Solar Ray scorched the air between James and the monsters, moving at a speed James still found incredible.
The Red Oni seemed to hear or feel the attack coming. It managed to turn slightly¡ªto make the beginnings of a motion to evade it¡ªbut still, the attack tore straight through the area where a human¡¯s right kidney would be. The Red Oni dropped instantly to the ground, instantly disabled, and the beam tore through the abdomen all the way up to the shoulder.
As the Red Oni landed, James saw the meat of that wound land, mostly separated from the Red Oni¡¯s body, beside him. It was as if someone had taken a hot knife and cut from the right shoulder down almost to the right pelvis and cauterized the wound.
The Red Oni made no sound, and it made no motion. James saw the Blue Oni up and moving¡ªrunning away from the attack¡ªso he next focused on the Blue Oni. Changing the direction of the beam was as simple as turning his head, so James simply followed the movement of the Blue Oni with his neck.
The monster ran with the desperation that accompanied certain death, however. It moved faster than James had seen either of the creatures run before, and it managed to reach the Shinto shrine without suffering more than a scorched sleeve at James¡¯s hands.
James simultaneously began walking closer to get line of sight on the Blue Oni again and pivoted to aim the beam into the shrine. It chopped through the thick columns first, then cut the thin paper and wooden doors much more easily.
But James was unable to get much closer before the beam ran low on power and finally petered out.
Damn, I almost had him, James thought.
He turned his head and looked back at the Red Oni. The more physical of the two brothers was still alive, he saw, and its body twitched with pain as it looked up at him.
¡°That was a great attack, human,¡± the Red Oni mumbled. ¡°You deserve the win. It was a pleasure dueling with you.¡±
James opened his mouth to reply, then felt a jolt of pain through his whole body. Every inch of flesh shook with the impact of the most powerful lightning bolt that had struck him yet. As James felt that his movement was about to return, another lightning bolt struck him. And then another.
He has to have limits to his Mana, James thought. These attacks aren¡¯t injuring me very badly. He¡¯s just delaying the inevitable.
He couldn¡¯t move in a coordinated way while the electricity was disrupting his nervous system, but his brain still worked somehow. Perhaps it was his superhuman powers of endurance.
James¡¯s body relaxed for a moment. He started to turn his head, to tense his body, to open his mouth. Then the Blue Oni was right beside him, administering a blast of lightning directly to the side of James¡¯s head.
The whole world went fuzzy, and James found himself on the ground, his body as uncoordinated as it had been a moment ago, and now even his brain fuzzy.
The Blue Oni was leaning over his brother, speaking urgently.
¡°We have to fuse,¡± the Blue Oni said.
¡°Against our very first opponent,¡± the Red Oni said. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s better to accept defeat with dignity.¡±
¡°Will dignity put food in your belly?¡± the Blue Oni asked. ¡°Will dignity take walks around the shrine with me when my brother is no more? Think of this as real death, brother. Death for us both, perhaps, if Carol sees us as failures.¡±
¡°I was dead before I was born, and it was fine,¡± the Red Oni said. It had the air of parroting a quote that the Red Oni had heard¡ªperhaps something the Blue Oni often said.
¡°Enough of that. Put your pride aside, or we¡¯ll both die, idiot!¡± the Blue Oni cried.
¡°Sorry, brother,¡± the Red Oni replied. ¡°I know you¡¯re trying to do what¡¯s best for us.¡± He reached his left hand out to his brother, palm open.
James¡¯s fingers twitched. He thought he was starting to get a little mobility back. His eyes blinked. His brain processed.
What are they doing? Did the blue one say fuse?
The Blue Oni took his brother¡¯s hand with his right hand, palm open. Both their bodies began to glow.
James overcame his physical issues. He had a bad feeling about this. He launched himself to his feet and threw a quick Air Strike at the glowing brothers.
Then the light grew too blinding for him to see.
He raised a hand to cover his eyes, and then he lowered it as the light faded.
¡°Hello human,¡± said a voice that sounded like the intonations of the two brothers¡ªtwisted and merged and made more sinister by the combination.
James stood and stared at the new monster.
What the hell am I dealing with now?
V4Ch56-The Purple Oni
James looked the monster in the eye with difficulty.
Though the creature had the same yellow eyes as the Red Oni and the Blue Oni, much else about it was different. Its skin was a sickening purple of uneven shade, like the whole body was one giant bruise. Its stature was greater than the brothers¡¯ had been, at somewhere between twelve and thirteen feet high. It had both the horns and both the tusks that the brothers had possessed, so that the combined creature had two of each, one on each side of its head.
The creature carried a staff as long as it was tall, topped with metal rings, in place of the axes and the kanabo. Its physique was a middle ground between the over the top musculature of the Red Oni and the relatively more modest body type of the Blue Oni.
The two opposites had balanced each other out, and he knew that meant disaster.
They were always meant to fuse, he thought. It¡¯s like Carol¡¯s stealing my ideas.
He used Identify.
Purple Oni, Lv. 45
It¡¯s higher level than any creature I¡¯ve ever fought. It was hard to make sense of how Carol had created such a powerful creature, when he was fairly certain that she herself was still lower level than him. What are the rules for Dungeons?
His mind drifted to these idle thoughts, because the idea of attacking the purple behemoth was difficult to contemplate. The creature carried a sinister presence about it. James felt a heavy aura in the air, as if another Ruler was present.
¡°Well, how do you find me, human?¡± the Purple Oni asked, looking down at James with pitiless eyes. ¡°A worthy challenge for you?¡±
James found it in himself somewhere to smile.
¡°If I¡¯m lucky,¡± he replied.
The Purple Oni bared all its teeth in a grotesque snarl, and then it swung its staff at James. He dodged and ran. The battle had begun. If he had one advantage now, it would be speed.
But it seemed he did not have as much of an Agility advantage as he had before the monsters had fused.
James turned to run around the side of the shrine, and the Purple Oni suddenly hovered in front of him, feet floating several feet in the air.
¡°Going somewhere?¡± it asked in a taunting voice.
¡°I liked you better when you were two brothers who loved each other,¡± James said. He stuck out his tongue at the creature.
Then lightning struck, and James barely managed to hurl himself to the side.
How? I didn¡¯t even see him charging Mana!
James looked up and saw two things: the Purple Oni¡¯s eyes were glowing yellow, and the sky had shifted from sunny blue to a thunderstorm.
There¡¯s nothing natural about that¡
The staff swung down at James, and as he dodged, another bolt of lightning almost struck him. It thundered loudly by his head.
Then James darted closer to the side of the shrine. He suspected the creature would not allow its lightning bolts to strike its own home. The staff swung down, and this time, the butt of it caught James, slamming him through the shrine wall. The blow sent him careening into the interior of the building.
¡°You¡¯re wrecking my house, human.¡± The irritated voice of the Purple Oni carried through the gap in the wall that it had created. Then its body floated in, the creature carefully lowering its head and bending its body to better fit. The building was already barely large enough for the Red Oni and Blue Oni, James could see now. It had been built¡ªor imagined into existence¡ªwith humans in mind.
James looked around at the building and had an idea. He activated Meteor Strike and threw himself at the Purple Oni, fists blazing red with fire. The Purple Oni was able to quickly twist and maneuver its body to dodge out of the way, as James had expected.
But he chased after it.
As he did, he touched his flames to every surface that he passed. The whole structure was made of wood, and as the Purple Oni repeatedly dodged, more and more of the surface around it was embroiled in the inferno.
¡°You¡¯re burning my house down!¡± the creature yelled, enraged, finally stopping and staring at the flames all around it.
That was when James managed to leap in close and finally land a clean hit¡ªstacking two abilities at once. Predator¡¯s Strike and Predator¡¯s Venomous Armaments.
The short sword that the Soul Eater had transformed into plunged into the Purple Oni¡¯s center of mass. It was a lucky hit, reliant on a moment¡¯s distraction, but it should be enough. The wound would be fatal given the location, even without venom.
¡°You son of a bitch!¡± Every vein on the Purple Oni¡¯s head stood out, and a massive fist buried itself in James¡¯s stomach. He felt most of his ribs break along with the entire chest portion of his armor once again. Only the spider silk provided some protection, but even that only partially blunted the blow.
James¡¯s body was expelled through another paper door, but even as it flew, he began gathering earth Mana around himself. He was working through new plans as the Purple Oni floated out after him, a hand clutched to the center of its chest.
The Purple Oni¡¯s expression looked pained. Then its arm began to glow green with the familiar healing energy James had seen used hundreds of times by now.
James¡¯s body touched down on the ground, and he released his earth magic quickly, before he had gathered as much Mana as he would have liked. A small column of soil quickly rose from just beneath the Purple Oni and slammed into its wrist at super-speed.
The Purple Oni gritted its teeth but continued healing, and James threw himself at the creature. It floated up higher into the sky, just out of range of his leap, but even as James¡¯s body missed the Purple Oni, he was able to touch the little column of soil with his feet. The extra step delivered him into close range with the monster again.
Suffering from the effects of the poison and trying desperately to heal its wound, it was too slow to avoid him.
James activated Predator¡¯s Venomous Armaments again as Roscuro transformed into a hatchet in his hands. He used Predator¡¯s Strike again, and carried by the force of his final forward leap, James delivered perhaps the most violent blow with a blade he had ever inflicted.
There was a terrible sound of blade cleaving through unwilling flesh, and then James was falling backward, along with the Purple Oni¡¯s left arm¡ªthe one it had been using to heal, since the right hand still clutched the staff the Purple Oni had been wielding in their fight.
¡°Damn you,¡± the creature grunted.
It threw the staff like a javelin toward James, and it began applying its healing to its chest with the other hand. James also sensed a lightning bolt hurtling down from the dark clouds toward him, along the same trajectory as the staff. He activated Lightning Strike¡ªhe hadn¡¯t had time to use it before, but he remembered it could help him defend against lightning¡ªand he ordered Roscuro to transform into an actual javelin.
As the butt of the Purple Oni¡¯s staff plummeted toward him, James twisted through the air, moving to the side as best he could. A moment later, the staff passed just beside his body, barely missing him. James grabbed hold of the haft with his left hand, he pulled his body so that his feet rested on the solid material, and he pushed off, leaping toward the Purple Oni again.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
Predator¡¯s Venomous Armaments, Predator¡¯s Missile¡
He hurled the Soul Eater javelin just a moment before the bolt of lightning struck him. It was much weaker with Lightning Strike activated. James only felt a tingle.
He didn¡¯t even look to see whether the javelin had struck.
Still falling, he shed his skin, activating Monster Generation and pouring in Mana. The newly generated Skin Glider quickly flitted out from underneath the broken remains of James¡¯s armor, glued itself onto James¡¯s back, and stopped his descent.
The only two attributes he had wanted to give the creature were the Strength to carry him¡ªand the most Agility he could possibly provide. The creature flapped two enormous, impossibly strong wings, and James was suddenly flying through the air, moving back toward the Purple Oni that was still working on healing its chest wound¡ªnow with a javelin sticking out of its thigh.
I need something to do this job permanently, he thought. The feeling of the breeze rushing over his scalp was exhilarating. The sky began to lightly drizzle¡ªand a bolt of lightning zoomed toward him, which James¡¯s monster spun to dodge away from.
He turned his head to keep an eye on the monster that had hurled the lightning bolt at him, and James saw that it was flying away, further and further up, trying to get above the clouds. With a single silent command, James¡¯s Skin Glider rushed after it.
James charged Mana as his Skin Glider soared toward the Purple Oni, cutting into the boss monster¡¯s lead as it continued struggling to heal itself despite the proliferating wounds and their contamination with venom.
The Purple Oni broke through the cloud cover above them, and James smiled.
If they fought above the clouds, he would be able to charge Solar Ray more quickly.
After around thirty seconds, James burst through the clouds. He looked around but did not see the monster. Then he sensed it¡ªdirectly behind him.
James and the Skin Glider spun, and the Purple Oni breathed out onto him, unleashing a torrent of flames from its jaws. James crossed his arms in front of his face to protect himself from the worst of it, but he did not allow being set on fire to stop him from charging Mana.
Need to be closer, he ordered the Skin Glider.
The creature obliged him. It quickly caught fire despite only being grazed by the flamethrower, but it kept flapping its wings. The Skin Glider managed to launch James into arm¡¯s reach of the Purple Oni before it fell away, releasing its hold on him to douse itself within the clouds below.
The Purple Oni stopped breathing fire for a moment so it could strike a blow with its remaining fist, but James released his Mana at that moment, and the Purple Oni was suddenly covered in spider silk. It wrapped around the Oni¡¯s head, legs, arm stump, and the hand that was extending to punch James, as well as connecting to James by a silk loop wrapped around his waist.
The Oni¡¯s fist was yanked back by the silk restraints, and it barely delivered a glancing blow to James¡¯s head.
He grinned, and the Purple Oni opened its mouth again.
James saw flames emerging from the back of its throat, and he quickly threw a punch of his own, shoving his entire left fist into the wide open mouth. He ignored the pain of his hand being set on fire and the sound of the Purple Oni¡¯s incoherent complaints. He summoned Roscuro back to his hand, and he raised the javelin to aim it at the Purple Oni¡¯s heart.
The one-handed monster feebly reached up to stop him, but James angled so that his right arm moved in from James¡¯s right side, out of the Purple Oni¡¯s reach, and he completed his stab. There was a squelching sound as he stabbed into the chest and through the heart.
But the creature kept moving, flailing wildly, struggling to grab firm hold of James through the silk. His left fist and wrist fully incinerated, the Purple Oni¡¯s flamethrower began to burn their way up his arm.
James allowed the javelin to return to its normal form as a wristband, and he reached his right arm into the hole he¡¯d made. He felt around, looking for a core or some other vital organ that he needed to destroy.
His fingers found it.
Predator¡¯s Strike.
His nails instantly turned to short claws, and there was a second squelching sound, as James crushed the second heart.
The Purple Oni¡¯s face contorted in silent agony.
Then its eyes rolled back in its head, the flames from its mouth suddenly ceased, and it began falling from the sky, James still stuck on by the silk.
He pulled the javelin out of the monster¡¯s chest, and he turned it into a hatchet. He grabbed hold of one of the Purple Oni¡¯s horns, using it as a handle, and he pulled the silk out of the way. Then he began swinging the hatchet, hacking through the monster¡¯s neck, like he was a lumberjack and it was a tree. The creature¡¯s body was still incredibly tough, even after the fatal wounds were inflicted.
James ignored how quickly he and the monster were plummeting toward the soil. He thought he could survive a fall. He did not want to find out if he could survive going a few more rounds with the Purple Oni.
He chopped into the spine and put his back into cutting the rest of the way through.
A decapitation was the only thing he would trust would make this win truly final. The monster had already shown it had healing powers and incredible vitality, as well as a second heart. James was not taking any further risks. He had already avoided using Soul Magic during the fight, both because he wanted to be able to Pillage the bodies, and because he felt a strange sympathy for the Onis. They seemed almost like real people; they were weirdly self-aware about their situation as monsters trapped in a Dungeon.
As James moved to within thirty feet of the ground, the Purple Oni¡¯s head finally hung from its body by nothing but a thin strip of flesh. Having severed the spinal cord and most of the neck, he let go of the body. Then he ordered Roscuro to turn into a razor blade, which he quickly used to chop through the silk connecting him to the Purple Oni.
The Skin Glider appeared from behind James and embraced him, flapping its wings hard to try and break his fall.
He still crashed into the ground beside the Purple Oni, curled into a ball, and rolled for several feet, but instead of possibly breaking both legs, James assessed that he had only sprained an ankle and bruised his torso wherever it struck the ground.
He got to his feet, dusted himself off, and grabbed a hunk of meat from the ground nearby. It was the Blue Oni¡¯s arm that the Red Oni had severed earlier. James used Meteor Strike to cover his hand in fire and began cooking it.
He¡¯d worked up an appetite.
As he laid eyes on the piece of ground where he¡¯d expected the Purple Oni to be, James saw the Red Oni and Blue Oni had separated again.
A part of him wanted to rush in and try to kill them again before the Blue Oni tried to heal them, but the Onis were hardly moving at all.
James stepped closer and saw that the Onis had their same injuries from before their fusion, plus the wounds he had inflicted on the Purple Oni. Rather than doing anything to try and live, they were talking quietly to each other.
¡°We fought well, didn¡¯t we, Red?¡± the Blue Oni asked.
¡°You were great, Blue,¡± the Red Oni said. ¡°We couldn¡¯t have won. He beat the Purple Oni. That¡¯s proof.¡±
As James stood over them, he found it a little hard to take too much pleasure in the victory.
¡°Sorry I had to kill you guys,¡± he said quietly. ¡°You seem like you¡¯d be fun to keep around, outside the Dungeon.¡± He gave an awkward grimace.
¡°Don¡¯t be sad, human,¡± said the blue head with serenity in its eyes. ¡°We were only ever creations of the Dungeon. It means that we can never leave this place without the Core¡¯s permission, but also that we never truly die. As long as we remain here, Carol will find our souls and put them back into fresh bodies, probably stronger than before.¡± It smiled.
¡°Yeah, that means you can come and fight us again!¡± the red head declared hotly. ¡°Don¡¯t expect we¡¯ll go easy on you next time!¡±
James chuckled. ¡°All right, then,¡± he said. ¡°Rest in peace.¡±
Their bodies stilled, and the alerts started flowing in.
[You killed Purple Oni, Lv. 45!]
[Predator in Human Skin leveled up!]
[...]
James gained multiple levels from the fight with the Purple Oni, and the System credited him for killing the Red and the Blue Oni as well, as if they had been separate beings.
James thought back to how the Purple Oni had behaved and spoken and how the preceding fight with the Red Oni and the Blue Oni had gone, and he supposed they did all feel like separate beings.
[Congratulations! You have cleared Expert Mode of Dungeon: Carol¡¯s Place!]
[Your score was 108,000. See Leaderboard? Y/N]
James selected ¡°Y¡± and waited a moment while the display populated before his eyes. He was still processing the fight. A surge of power flowed through him, but it mingled with psychic fatigue in almost equal measure. It had been a grueling fight, and he didn¡¯t even feel entirely pleased that it had ended as it had.
Carol can create souls, he thought. Or she pulls them from the ether to populate her monsters. Somehow, this felt more like a game before I knew that.
That wouldn¡¯t stop him from going into a Dungeon in the future, he knew.
But it occurred to him that what had happened wasn¡¯t so different from him killing Carol¡¯s children, though she had explicitly denied that comparison applied. She was luckier than that idea implied, of course. If something happened to one of her creations, she could restore them to life, according to what the Onis had said.
James had no reason to doubt them.
He opened his mouth again as the leaderboard appeared.
¡°Carol?¡± James called out. ¡°Is Mina still all right?¡±
V4Ch57-After the Bosses
¡°Oh, Mina¡¯s fine,¡± Carol said, her voice coming from the air around James. ¡°She finished her fights and made it back to the entrance. She¡¯s just resting now. Um, well done in clearing the final level of expert mode of the Dungeon!¡±
¡°Thanks,¡± James said. His eyes scanned the Leaderboard as he spoke.
His name was at the very top, of course.
James Robard¡ 108,000
Below it, the Leaderboard grew more interesting.
Mina Robard¡ 18,079
Black-Furred Bloodsucker Bat Evangeline¡ 17,842
Somehow, Mina had come out ahead of Evangeline in score despite the fact that Mina had only completed the hard mode of the Dungeon, while Evangeline had begun delving into expert mode. James supposed that was probably because Mina had performed particularly impressively in hard mode, while Evangeline had likely barely cleared it¡ªand failed to make it past the first level of expert mode.
He shrugged and ran his eyes down the rest of the list. There were many names on the Leaderboard, but few that James recognized. None of the council members aside from Evangeline had come to the Dungeon, apparently. He should probably praise her for taking the initiative to engage in solitary training.
¡°No one else is even close to Mina and Evangeline¡¡±
The next highest score was 3,208, which James guessed meant the other participants in the Dungeon had never even made it to hard mode.
Oh, hey, the landlord has been in here, neat¡
¡°Are you going to go back up, James?¡± Carol asked.
¡°Oh, um, in just a minute, yeah,¡± he said. ¡°Just need to assess my gains here.¡±
James turned to face the ruined bodies of the Red Oni and the Blue Oni. Almost in unison, his stomach growled. A moment ago, they had been talking, sentient beings. Now they were food.
He took a step back and began to look around. After a moment, he found the Blue Oni¡¯s arm that the Red Oni had chopped off earlier. Then he returned to the two dead monsters and cut into their chests. He extracted what was left of their hearts¡ªthey still had some degree of damage from what he had done to the Purple Oni¡ªand he gathered all the meat in his palms.
Then James used Meteor Strike to cook the meat.
There was a pleasant smoky aroma reminiscent of roasting pork, until the flesh, charred on all sides, was ready to eat.
With the meat cooked, he transferred it all to his left hand and used his right to take a plate and some salt out of his magic satchel. He seasoned and ate the severed Blue Oni arm and both monsters¡¯ hearts, smiling thoughtfully as he reflected on the strength and diversity of abilities the two creatures had demonstrated. James was happy to add some of their power to his own and was already looking forward to trading blows again sometime in the future, after Carol brought the two monsters back from the dead and presumably made them even stronger.
Finally, he pointed his hand at the body of the Red Oni.
Pillage.
James selected Talent as his theft target.
[Red Oni¡¯s body processed.]
[You obtained Bonded Oni Axe x2!]
The two axes floated over to James¡¯s hands, and he took hold of them almost instinctively. They looked and felt the same as the Red Oni¡¯s axes, except fitted more to James¡¯s somewhat smaller body.
[Talent Obtained: Brutal Strength!]
¡°No meat,¡± James observed.
¡°Sorry about that,¡± Carol said. ¡°I honestly did not anticipate that people would see the Onis as a food source. I should¡¯ve known you would, though¡¡± She sounded resigned.
¡°Oh, um, no worries,¡± he said. ¡°I ate my fill.¡± He patted his stomach awkwardly.
I¡¯ll make sure to cut off as much meat as I want every time I kill monsters in your Dungeon in future, he thought. Since Pillage doesn¡¯t work quite the same. Let¡¯s see about that Talent, though.
[Ruthless Strength: A true warrior¡¯s full potential only shows when he has a worthy opponent before him. When locked in combat, your Strength increases from its base to match the worthiness of the opponent. Causes the Talent holder to burn Stamina more quickly.]
Holy shit. That¡¯s one of the most useful Talents I¡¯ve ever seen.
James immediately turned and Pillaged the other body. He again selected Talent.
[Blue Oni¡¯s body processed.]
This time, both a weapon and a book floated toward him. He let go of the axes he¡¯d been holding, and they held still in midair, waiting for him to do something with them.
Down, he thought.
The weapons descended toward the ground, following his mental command.
James smiled. I¡¯m definitely going to use those things.
[You obtained Power Rod and Tome of Elemental Magic!]
He grabbed the pole and the book.
[Talent Obtained: Elementalist!]
Hmm.
[Elementalist: The elements are the stuff the universe is made of. Your power is to use these forces with greater natural finesse and efficiency than others. Use your Skills that harness the elements without charging time and at reduced Mana cost.]
Another Talent that makes me significantly more powerful, he thought. Carol, I¡¯m going to have to come back to your Dungeon¡
James sat down in the grass, read the descriptions for all of his new items, and then smiled.
I didn¡¯t realize the rod could do that. The Blue Oni didn¡¯t use its full power. I guess it didn¡¯t fit his fighting style to use some of that. But it¡¯s a perfect gift for Mina. Sorry I complained, Carol!
After he had examined his loot and put it all away in his magic satchel, James rose from where he¡¯d been sitting and began to walk back the way he had come in.
¡°Wait, James!¡± Carol¡¯s voice sounded from all around him.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
¡°What¡¯s up?¡± he asked.
¡°Oh, um, I was just going to tell you that there¡¯s a shortcut back to the surface now that you beat the final opponents. If you go into their home¡ªwell, the ruins of what used to be their home¡ªyou¡¯ll find a teleportation circle. I can guide you to where it is.¡±
James turned back toward the temple that the Onis had made their home. The building was still on fire, as he had left it. Every part of the structure was burning. There wasn¡¯t a single safe place to enter that he could see.
He looked up at the sky and raised a single eyebrow.
¡°I¡¯ll just put that out,¡± Carol said. ¡°Now that the fighting is over, I can manipulate the environment again. One moment¡¡±
Before James¡¯s eyes, dark clouds formed in the sky above, and after a few seconds of this, a heavy downpour began to fall specifically on the temple. Not a drop fell on James¡¯s head. It was all contained within a very small area.
Right. In here, Carol¡¯s sort of like the Ruler. No, her power over this environment probably exceeds my power outside. It¡¯s possible she could make the Dungeon so difficult to survive that even I could die here, without successfully reaching her body and killing her. She seemed so weak when we first met, but maybe the circumstance that led me to bring her here in the first place was just luck¡
As he was musing about the nature of Carol¡¯s power and his own in comparison, the rain sounds began to die down. James turned in time to see the last drops of water falling onto the still-smoking ruin of the temple. The Dungeon Core had indeed put it out.
¡°Sorry about that building,¡± James said after a moment. ¡°It was really pretty before we started fighting inside.¡±
¡°Oh, that¡¯s no big deal,¡± Carol said. James imagined her shrugging, though he knew she did not have a physical body anymore. ¡°I can fix that as soon as I get you out of here. I rebuild most of the Dungeon periodically even when I don¡¯t get challengers into certain parts. How did you like it?¡±
¡°This place was great!¡± he said enthusiastically. ¡°The Onis were a good challenge, and the reward for winning was excellent, too.¡±
¡°Reward?¡± Carol asked. ¡°You haven¡¯t even cashed in your points yet. Oh, I was going to explain about that¡¡±
As she told James, she still had groceries and other resources available as prizes¡ªsome of which was now supplied by other countries in the post-System world¡ªbut now she had created a points system that allowed people to pay for whatever items they wanted, including magical items and other things produced by the System. There was also an option to convert points into System Credits.
James nodded slowly. ¡°I¡¯ll have to come back soon, then,¡± he said.
¡°Right. Now I can guide you to the exit¡¡±
Over the next few minutes, Carol talked James through a side door¡ªthe front of the temple was still smokier than the edges and the back¡ªdown a hallway, into the Blue Oni¡¯s bedroom, and then under the Blue Oni¡¯s bed.
James took a moment to look around the room before he continued following Carol¡¯s directions. This part of the house was untouched by the fire, other than some slight staining from smoke on the ceiling. The Blue Oni¡¯s room was very blue themed. The walls were painted in dark blue with a star pattern, the bed had sky blue covers, and there was a blue lava lamp sitting on the Oni¡¯s wooden dresser.
¡°This is a charming room,¡± James murmured. ¡°It feels kind of like a kid¡¯s space somehow.¡±
¡°I let them decorate the temple themselves,¡± Carol said. ¡°And, you know, they are pretty young. Even though monsters age differently than humans, sort of like animals come out more mature than human babies, they¡¯re still basically kids.¡± She sounded slightly uncomfortable, and James decided not to linger longer.
¡°So, under the bed, you said?¡± he asked.
¡°Yeah, you can flip it. I¡¯m going to rebuild this whole level after you¡¯re gone, probably, so don¡¯t worry about breaking things.¡±
¡°Got it,¡± he said.
James flipped the bed immediately. It was just fun to throw furniture around. If he didn¡¯t have things to do, he probably would have destroyed the whole building.
He looked at the star pattern on the walls once more.
Then again, maybe not.
There was something sad about this place.
James found the door in the floor under the Blue Oni¡¯s bed instantly. It wasn¡¯t hidden aside from being beneath the bed itself.
He lifted it, and he saw a small corner of a brightly lit space. James put his legs through the hole and then dropped straight down. He found himself in the break room that he had found Carol in when they first met. Even the Dungeon Core was still in its old place.
It seemed that the more things changed, the more they stayed the same.
¡°You were that attached to your original environment, huh?¡± he muttered.
Then James sensed movement. He instantly assumed a fighting stance¡ªand relaxed almost as quickly.
A female figure had stepped into the corner of his field of view.
¡°Hi, Carol,¡± James said. He turned to face her.
¡°Hello, James.¡± The figure¡¯s mouth moved, but the sound still came from all around them.
¡°It¡¯s good to see you, um, in the flesh?¡± The sentence unintentionally turned into a question as it slipped out. As he observed Carol in a humanoid form for the first time, he took in every detail. She wore glasses over dark eyes and had dyed her naturally brunette hair purple. There were bags under her eyes. She was dressed in a lavender cardigan, a red blouse, and a cornflower blue skirt. The main thing that drew his attention, however, was that there was something insubstantial in her presence.
It was hard to put his finger on it. Then she took a step toward him, and he recognized it. Her foot did not make a sound as it touched the floor.
¡°Not quite in the flesh,¡± she acknowledged. ¡°Just another step toward it. I can make a visual illusion of myself. I unlocked it a couple of days ago. I can¡¯t travel far from the Dungeon Core¡ªfrom my body¡ªbut it feels good to have hands and feet again. Being able to control the Dungeon is great and all, but you know, I do kind of miss existing in the world. A little bit.¡±
He smiled. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re doing well. Soon you¡¯ll be able to touch objects with your hands again.¡±
Carol nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. I wanted to tell you in person. Mainly I wanted to thank you.¡±
James raised an eyebrow. ¡°To thank me? I kidnapped you and put you to work. Or at least that¡¯s how I remember it.¡±
They both chuckled.
¡°Well, if you hadn¡¯t kidnapped me, I wouldn¡¯t have had this stable situation, allowing me to grow,¡± she said. ¡°You and Mina¡ªI won¡¯t forget what I owe you and your family, James. I hear things about how dangerous the world is outside¡ªI hear everything people say in the Dungeon.¡± She lowered her voice. ¡°I just want you to know that if you¡¯re ever worried about your family, you can send them here. I¡¯ll keep them in my hiding place, where you are now. I¡¯ll keep them safe. I can¡¯t do that for the whole population or something, but I owe you this much at least.¡±
James felt a surge of emotion, and it must have shown on his face.
¡°Well, don¡¯t look at me like that, big guy!¡± Carol said. ¡°You¡¯re going to make me feel weird.¡± She moved as if to push James lightly on the shoulder, but her hand passed through, insubstantial for a moment, and re-formed on the other side.
¡°Thank you, Carol,¡± James said quietly. ¡°The world is only getting more dangerous¡ªuntil I bring some kind of order. We¡¯re sending out the army to make a start on it. Probably tomorrow.¡±
¡°Well, I have faith in you,¡± she replied. ¡°I¡¯m living proof that you can create the environment that at least some people need to thrive.¡±
¡°I¡¯m glad you were able to do well here,¡± he said.
¡°More than that! I mean, if I was still on my own, I¡¯d probably be a serial killer by now, and I still wouldn¡¯t have a body¡ªwhereas next time you see me, we can have a thumb war¡ªbut what I meant is all the other people who come in here. Hundreds of people have been in the Dungeon. All of those people felt comfortable enough with the safety you¡¯ve established to leave their family members back in the Fisher Kingdom and come down to a place where they couldn¡¯t easily exit. This is despite how traumatizing Orientation was for so many of us. There were even people like me, back then, who were happy to give up having a physical body out of fear of being killed and eaten. Somehow, all of those people have put most of that fear behind them. They feel safe. If I hadn¡¯t seen it, I would have thought it was impossible. The one common factor between them is you.¡±
¡°Thank you, Carol,¡± James said again. He puffed his chest out slightly as he spoke.
¡°Keep on keeping on, Fisher King,¡± Carol said, smiling a little sadly. ¡°I¡¯ll look forward to hearing more about your exploits¡ªand seeing you and Mina in person again.¡±
¡°Next time, I¡¯ll shake your hand,¡± he said.
Carol¡¯s smile perked up a little. Then she jerked her thumb to gesture behind her, at a circle made of runes carved into the floor.
¡°There¡¯s the teleportation circle,¡± she said. ¡°Just walk inside and think about going back to the entrance. That¡¯s where Mina is waiting for you.¡±
James nodded. ¡°Oh, um, I look forward to seeing the Red Oni and the Blue Oni again, too, by the way.¡±
¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be looking forward to your next fight too,¡± Carol said. ¡°I¡¯ll ensure they keep their memories intact, so they recognize you next time. They¡¯ll be even better at fighting, too.¡±
¡°Excellent.¡± James was mostly happy to think the Onis would still exist. They¡¯d had a certain charm to them.
Then James stepped forward, until he stood in the middle of the circle. He thought about the entrance to the Dungeon¡ªand suddenly he found himself in another place.
V4Ch58-Roll Out
James blinked, and then his eyes and nose were full of Mina¡¯s long, dark hair.
She had thrown herself into his arms. He instinctively bent and clutched her to him. She smelled like home.
¡°I was starting to worry about you,¡± she whispered into his ear. ¡°I stopped asking Carol about how you were doing¡ªreminded myself that you¡¯ll always be okay. But I still worry.¡± She sounded slightly embarrassed.
¡°I was worried, too,¡± James whispered, burying his face deeper into the curtain of her hair.
¡°You missed me?¡± she asked.
¡°A moment¡¯s break from your gaze is an eternity passed,¡± he replied instantly.
¡°I was almost ready to fall asleep, you know?¡± she said. ¡°I only stayed awake because Carol told me you were coming up.¡±
¡°Sleep?¡± James asked. He pulled away from Mina, and he saw that behind her, there was a loveseat in the corner of the Dungeon entrance, where he was fairly certain there had just been a solid wall before. ¡°Well, that was nice of Carol.¡± He gestured at the seat.
¡°Yeah, she¡¯s¡ªshe likes us.¡±
¡°You¡¯ll have to tell me everything that happened in your Dungeon adventure,¡± he said. ¡°For now¡ªit feels like we¡¯ve been away for a long time. Let¡¯s go home.¡±
Mina nodded, and the two walked out the way they had come in.
James shielded his eyes as they stepped back into the bright light outside. When he blinked the blurred vision away, he saw there were already a dozen more people outside, moving forward as if they had been ready to enter the Dungeon just before the Robards stepped out.
¡°Oh, you were using the Dungeon today?¡± asked a young Hispanic woman he didn¡¯t recognize, stepping forward.
James took Mina¡¯s hand.
¡°We were,¡± he said, immediately on. ¡°It was a great experience. I highly recommend it¡¡±
After a few minutes of schmoozing with the citizens, James and Mina extracted themselves and made their way home.
When they reached the top of the stairs, they split up. Mina went to check on the children, and James went to see how Hester was doing.
¡°Hester, I¡¯m ho¡ªoh¡¡±
The spider stood in the furthest back corner of the ceiling. She had woven a web, for the first time as far as he could recall. The spider stood in the corner of the web, and in the center, there was a tiny clump of silk. It looked almost as if the spider had accidentally made a big knot in the middle.
James was tempted to call out to Hester again, but the spider was silent and unmoving¡ªand his eyes were drawn back to the clump of silk again.
He took a step closer. That clump looked familiar to James somehow.
His mind flashed back to Orientation, and his eyes widened. He quickly strode across the room until he stood directly beneath Hester¡¯s web and confirmed what he had suspected. That was no mere clump of silk; it was a bundle of eggs.
¡°We all have our part to play in the great narrative,¡± he recalled Hester saying. And she had added that she felt ¡°privileged to weave a little more in my section of the tapestry.¡±
James inhaled sharply, then quickly placed his palm under Hester, plucked her from the web, and looked at her more closely. He almost immediately breathed a sigh of relief. The spider looked much-diminished from the last time he had seen her, but that was not surprising. She had apparently been carrying a bunch of eggs before.
But he detected life signs as soon as he touched her.
So the spider was not dead.
Even though Hester had reassured him that she was not dying quite yet, back when he left her here, he couldn¡¯t help worrying a little.
¡°Hester?¡± he asked quietly. ¡°Hester¡¡±
The spider did not stir, and James decided to let her rest. He placed her back in the web, gave the egg sac another quick look without touching it, and then told Mina what had happened.
The rest of the day was uneventful.
James and Mina spent time with the children and Yulia, and when they were alone again, James gave her the Power Rod and Tome of Elemental Magic that he had acquired from the Blue Oni¡¯s body.
They went to bed early.
Early the next morning, James woke as he felt the return of Dave and his hunting party to the Fisher Kingdom. James¡¯s senses were sharper, and his sleep was much lighter, than they had ever been before.
He kept his eyelids closed and watched passively, from a bird¡¯s eye perspective, as Dave and his colleagues gathered the rest of the Army. James listened in on some of the conversations and confirmed: this was the moment.
They were finally preparing to depart on the mission James had set them.
The Fisher King continued reaching out with his mind, watching the broad pattern of the Army take shape across the morning as people were gradually summoned from their homes or even roused from deep slumber to serve his will. It reminded him of moving toy soldiers around on his mother¡¯s living room rug¡ªof playing at war.
Now his people would really be marching off to wage aggressive warfare. For the first time, he would not be responding to others¡¯ attacks. He would be acting as a conqueror.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
James had doubts about his course of action. He felt slightly guilty for putting his soldiers¡¯ lives at risk in this way.
But he knew he shouldn¡¯t. This was how kings had conducted themselves for thousands of years before the brief, bright flame of the age of democracy kindled and then died. It was how they expanded and secured their domains. Yes, the Roman Empire had grown that way too, in all directions, until they failed and collapsed.
That was just the way of things in a state closer to nature¡ªin an anarchic system. And the time had come to bring the old ways back.
At the same time that hundreds of pairs of feet were moving across the Kingdom, bodies preparing to go forth and take territory, James also felt people stirring in the apartment with him. First, he sensed Mina. She woke up and turned to look at James¡ªhe continued to lay still, to see what she would do next¡ªand, seeing that he appeared to be asleep, she rolled back to her sleeping position and tried to fall back asleep. The change in her breathing told him when she had succeeded.
James¡¯s next in-apartment observation was when Abhi stepped out of the children¡¯s room into the living room. The little boy moved on tiptoe, apparently cognizant of the fact that the whole apartment was asleep. James watched Abhi curiously with the disembodied point of view that his powers gave him.
After gently closing the bedroom door behind him, moving to the far corner of the living room, and looking around to make sure he was alone, Abhi started doing exercises. Push-ups and sit-ups, in sets of ten. He kept going until he had done a hundred of each.
Then the little boy threw a hundred punches and a hundred kicks.
He¡¯s working out, James thought. Is he preparing for some threat he imagines in the near future? Or has he just decided he needs to be strong from now on, so no one can take anyone he loves away again?
Either way, James sympathized with Abhi¡¯s wish.
Today, he decided. I¡¯m fully recovered. Today I¡¯m going to bless every member of my family who hasn¡¯t received my blessing already. Abhi¡¯s little workout routine would probably go further if he received the Blessing of the Fisher King.
James¡¯s consciousness left the apartment again and drifted through the air toward the hazy mists that had rolled over the jungle.
Dozens of giant bats and squirrels were mobilizing into small squads. They were armed with nothing but their natural weapons¡ªwings and claws and thick fur as armor¡ªand they seemed quite excited, almost hyperactive.
¡°We¡¯re finally going to fight!¡±
¡°Glory to the red squirrels!¡±
¡°Conquest for the Fisher King!¡±
After they had psyched themselves up sufficiently, they opened their wings and began fluttering through the air toward the center of the Fisher Kingdom.
James allowed his consciousness to shoot across the air, to the sky just above the swamp. He saw Samuel and thirty of his fellow alligators already marching out of the swamp. Perhaps because they knew they were a bit slower moving than some of James¡¯s other citizens, they had apparently chosen to rise early and get a head start on the day.
He was about to send his consciousness into the underground, below the central part of the Fisher Kingdom, to where the Goblins and the Mole People lived, when his mind was pulled back to his physical location. Someone was shaking him gently.
¡°Skapi, I think it¡¯s time for you to wake up,¡± Mina whispered directly into his ear. ¡°I can hear people marching outside. I think the Army is gathering. They will be waiting for you to send them on their way.¡±
James smiled, turned, and kissed her on the lips.
¡°Thank you,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll get dressed and see them off.¡±
He put on his usual battle gear, the Royal Exoarmor, and he ordered Roscuro to turn into a short sword, which James hung at his side.
He said good morning to the other members of the Robard household¡ªeveryone was awake now, from Yulia to the babies¡ªand then, accompanied by Mina, he descended the stairs. He was already composing a message to the Kingdom as a whole.
As he stepped down into the entryway, Mina rushed ahead of him and opened the door, so that the first face the waiting masses saw would be their King¡¯s.
James and over a thousand soldiers of various Races saw each other all in the same moment, and a little cheer rolled through the crowd.
¡°Yeaaaahhh!¡±
James thought he recognized Damien¡¯s voice leading the cheer but couldn¡¯t be sure. If Damien was there, he was somewhere near the back of the crowd, alongside the wolf pack. James could just barely make out the three-headed figures of Luna and Romulus in the distance.
But he didn¡¯t try to focus on individuals just then. He let the sheer size and strength of the force wash over him
The Army looked incredibly formidable in the morning light. The courtyard between the apartment buildings and the community center was packed to bursting, and James saw there were even some people trying unsuccessfully to get more space for themselves without stepping on each other¡¯s toes.
There were hundreds of men and women in armor that almost glowed in the sunlight and robes of various types, many of the figures holding gleaming weapons; hundreds of Goblins armed with weapons they had made themselves, filling in the sides and gaps where larger species could not stand; Samuel and dozens of his fellow alligators looking ready to rip into the nearest enemy with their claws; the bats and squirrels with wings furled around their bodies, eager to take to the skies; and of course, the wolves, quiet at the edges of the crowd but as deadly as they ever had been.
¡°Sir.¡± Dave stepped forward from the front of the Army and saluted James crisply.
James returned the gesture instinctively.
¡°The Army is ready to accomplish your will,¡± Dave said emotionlessly, his eyes steady and cool.
¡°Is that right?¡± James asked quietly. Then, much louder, he shouted, ¡°Are you ready to conquer?¡±
A roar ripped through the crowd, as if they were lions rather than the motley assortment of different species that made up James¡¯s military.
¡°Raaaaahahhhhhh!¡±
The more human-like creatures threw fists or claws up as they cheered, and even the wolves leaped into the air to show their enthusiasm.
¡°I take that as a y¡ªyes!¡± James yelled.
He stumbled over the last word, but saved the sentence, as his eyes lit on the masked man called Bear. The mysterious figure stood far in the distance, outside the courtyard, between a couple of the apartment buildings.
Bear still wore his mask, but he felt as if he could sense the man behind it smiling.
James kept stern control over his facial expressions, maintaining the pleasant smile he had been displaying for the Army rather than the annoyed look he wanted to give the masked man.
Now he pops up again, huh? Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. Even if I¡¯m doing what he wants¡ªeven if that¡¯s why I have the feeling he¡¯s smiling¡ªmaybe that means he¡¯ll finally just leave. It¡¯s not as if he¡¯s trying to get me to lower my guard. Mom and Anansi both vouched for him to some extent. Focus!
James began his announcement to the Kingdom as a whole, simultaneously speaking it and transmitting it through his Fisher King powers.
[Citizens of the Fisher Kingdom, I have an exciting announcement to make. As you know, just recently, our brave explorers left us to map the region to the West of the Kingdom. Well, today, we take the next logical step toward securing the world for our friends and loved ones! Today, the Army will embark on a mission to liberate Central Florida to the East Coast. It is a shorter trip than the Expeditionary Force¡¯s journey West, but the Army is eminently prepared to fight for every inch of ground if necessary. If you would like to say your goodbyes and wish good fortune to the brave fighters going forth to secure our region, now is your opportunity. Today, their path of conquest begins¡]
V4 Interlude: Duel in Taiwan
Zhang Ch¨¡o stalked back toward the throne room, his footsteps restless, his bodyguards sensing his inner tension and giving him breathing room.
The last half hour had been a frustrating one. The meeting with his public relations advisors had turned out to be more or less an ambush, as they presented him with their top candidates for an arranged marriage.
¡°The throne will never be truly secure until the people know that you have a successor,¡± the argument went.
¡°I have Han Jianguo,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o replied with a deadpan expression, pointing a thumb at his comrade. ¡°If I fall in battle, he is to take up my sword.¡±
Zhang Ch¨¡o had never tested whether the Mandate of Heaven would accept Han Jianguo as a wielder. The blade could only have one master at a time, and ownership could only transfer if the owner was defeated and the sword claimed by the one who bested him. But Zhang Ch¨¡o knew in his bones that Han Jianguo was the man most worthy to succeed him.
¡°That is, um¡ª¡±
¡°Han Jianguo, he could perhaps¡ª¡±
¡°Please, Your Majesty, consider¡ª¡±
The advisors began stumbling over each other in their reactions to Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s suggestion.
¡°Your Majesty, Han Jianguo is a great warrior and an able administrator, but he is not you,¡± said Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n firmly, cutting the other advisors off. He looked into Han Jianguo¡¯s eyes after he had spoken and added, with an apologetic expression, ¡°You would lead us to many great triumphs, of that I have no doubt.¡±
¡°I take no offense,¡± Han Jianguo replied. The tone of his voice seemed to imply, You are incapable of giving offense to one as steady and strong-willed as I, Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n.
But Zhang Ch¨¡o doubted that anyone noticed it besides himself¡ªand perhaps Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n himself, though the scholar was wisely not giving it away if he did.
Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n was a subtle man. Not quite as deadly in combat as Han Jianguo, perhaps¡ªbut then, humans did not spend their lives in combat. It was perhaps more powerful to be deadly with words and stratagems than with clubs and axes, even in the post-System world.
That was why Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n was almost as important, as a cornerstone of Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s power, as a formidable fighter and competent leader like Han Jianguo.
¡°Even if I have children, they will not be me either,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o pointed out.
¡°But there would be a clear line of succession for all those who believe in you personally,¡± Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n shot back instantly. ¡°The System had restored monarchy, and that form of government is well suited for these chaotic times. Even if it requires personal sacrifice, I beg that Your Majesty think of his people before so easily brushing off the importance of this decision.¡±
Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n then bowed deeply.
Zhang Ch¨¡o waited a moment, resisted the urge to shake his head, and then returned the bow, though his was not nearly as deep as Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n¡¯s.
Sometimes I think you would be more comfortable in the days of Imperial China, he thought. Then again, imperialism was far from the rear view mirror at this point.
As Zhang Ch¨¡o made his way back to his throne, he shook his head and rubbed his right temple.
¡°I suppose we know whose idea that meeting was,¡± Han Jianguo said. Then he gave a low chuckle.
Zhang Ch¨¡o just grunted back.
Disaster comes from careless talk, my friend, he thought silently.
All of the bodyguards that surrounded them had been approved by Han Jianguo¡ªfor their combat strength and versatility as well as courage under fire¡ªbut that did not mean they were free from other ties and influences.
It would be foolish to assume that words spoken about Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n had no avenues to make their way back to the head of public relations.
Zhang Ch¨¡o thought he had his advisors¡ªhis team of rivals¡ªunder some semblance of control. Their ambitions were tamed while his power was unchallenged¡ªand unlikely to be challenged by anyone else within Taiwan. But there was no profit to be had in deepening existing fault lines.
When people work with one heart, they can even move Mount Tai. But a bad beginning makes a bad ending. We have to keep our end in mind and stay united.
Han Jianguo seemed to take Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s hidden meaning, and he fell silent.
The Heavenly King and his entourage arrived in the throne room, and the bodyguards took up their usual posts, half encircling the throne.
The ten prisoners, nine men and one woman, who had been in the room waiting for Zhang Ch¨¡o fell to their knees as he entered. One of the men, Zhang Ch¨¡o could not help but notice, had to be forced to his knees by one of the police who had accompanied the condemned men.
Today¡¯s activity with the condemned was a periodic ritual for Zhang Ch¨¡o.
Those who had been found guilty of capital offenses¡ªmurder, treason, espionage, drug trafficking, piracy, terrorism, desertion during battle, severe cases of rape or assault, and until recently stealing food from the hungry¡ªwere brought before Zhang Ch¨¡o and his bodyguards.
They were given one opportunity to receive a pardon or commutation of their sentence.
¡°Show me your most unique Skills,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o said, reciting his usual spiel for today¡¯s batch of offenders. ¡°If I can verify that you possess a Skill that I have never encountered before, then your sentence will be commuted from death to ten years¡¯ imprisonment. If you demonstrate a unique Skill and would prefer a full pardon over commutation, you can choose to challenge any of those beside me to single combat.¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o gestured in a circular motion at the bodyguards who surrounded him, as well as at Han Jianguo. ¡°If you manage to win, I will not only pardon you, but you will be awarded a high rank within the military and ten thousand System Credits. Make no attempt to escape or attack any of my officials, or your life will be immediately forfeit.¡±
The prisoners murmured among themselves, reacting to the Heavenly King¡¯s words with a mixture of emotions. Determination. Suspicion. Anger. Hope.
Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s eyes focused on the suspicious one. The prisoner¡¯s wary eyes played over Zhang Ch¨¡o and his entourage for a few seconds, as if calculating his chances at fighting them. Then the man noticed Zhang Ch¨¡o looking his way, and he averted his gaze.
Darn, he looked away before I could use my Skill. What is this fellow¡¯s story? Not everyone who found himself in these prisoners¡¯ position considered the situation with a critical eye. That alone made this particular prisoner somewhat interesting.
Then again, perhaps Zhang Ch¨¡o was simply eager to observe something, anything, of interest in today¡¯s clemency proceeding. He had initially instituted it as a way to discreetly observe and copy abilities with Quick Study¡ªthe Skill was his strongest cheat code for increasing his personal combat power¡ªwith the fringe benefit of allowing his bodyguards to get a little practice fighting. However, each time the police brought in the condemned men¡ªalmost all men¡ªthe practice showed very clear diminishing returns.
Now it felt more like farce than a clever strategy¡ªlike Zhang Ch¨¡o was lying to these men, dangling the possibility of clemency before their eyes, so he could steal the main useful resource that these condemned men still had¡ªtheir Skills. Even though they probably didn¡¯t have anything he lacked, or at least not powers that he would want, anyway.
¡°Who would like to go first?¡± Han Jianguo asked in a loud, clear voice.
Several hands rose.
The prisoner Zhang Ch¨¡o had taken notice of was not one of these volunteers.
Those who had volunteered to go first held a quick huddle among themselves, and then two men stepped forward and bowed in Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s direction.
¡°Could we please have our weapons back, Your Majesty?¡± one of them asked. ¡°Then we could spar and show our Skills off to best advantage.¡±
Zhang Ch¨¡o simply nodded at the policemen behind the volunteers¡ªthe Ruler had received such requests more than once, and he now routinely granted them. He was confident that the two could not simply cut their way out of this place, no matter how strong they were. A couple of officers stepped forward and produced weapons from their Small Bags of Deceptive Dimensions and handed them to the two volunteers.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
The men bowed to Zhang Ch¨¡o and each other and then began sparring.
The other prisoners and police formed a circle around the combatants, making escape even less likely.
The figures looked promising to the Heavenly King¡¯s eyes from the beginning. Both were in good physical condition, though one fought with what appeared to be a long iron rod, which would seem to indicate that he was a Mage subtype. The other man used a pair of short swords, which suggested he might be an Assassin or some other Rogue Class Evolution.
The Rogue type went on the offensive immediately, arms blurring slightly in a flurry of bladed movement. The Mage blocked deftly with his staff, and sparks flew with each contact.
He¡¯s doing something with Mana, Zhang Ch¨¡o observed. Each blow to the staff scattered not just sparks but also some particles of Mana, which looked like little fragments of white light. Those seemed to remain present around the combatants¡¯ feet rather than dissipating like the sparks did.
The Rogue stepped cautiously around the particles of Mana but did not become less aggressive. He simply tried to aim around the iron staff and strike the Mage¡¯s body, which was almost unprotected, clothed only in the robes Mages typically wore.
As Zhang Ch¨¡o would have expected if someone had told him on paper that these two types of combatants were physically sparring, the bout slowly but clearly began to turn in the Rogue¡¯s favor. He began landing superficial cuts on the Mage¡¯s arms and legs. The Mage was able to fend off any more serious blows with the iron rod, and the Rogue was still trying to avoid further collisions between the rod and the blades. As with most Rogues, he seemed to have good instincts for a possible trap.
The entire room had focused on the fight. Everyone but Zhang Ch¨¡o seemed to have become very invested. The Heavenly King himself was focused on trying to analyze the Skills being employed and determining if there was something there that he could use. He was slightly annoyed that the fighters had chosen to have an actual fight to demonstrate their Skills, rather than simply allowing each other to practice their respective abilities.
Wait, no, he realized. This is no fight. His eyes, looking for a pattern in how the Skills being used functioned, had picked up on another pattern instead. The pair were in a choreographed dance.
They are pretending to try to beat each other. Why?
The hairs on the back of Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s neck stood up.
He turned toward Han Jianguo and made quick eye contact. Han Jianguo¡¯s expression changed in an instant, and a honey-colored glow surrounded his body.
Almost at the same time, the two prisoners danced closer to each other. The man with the iron rod lowered his weapon, and a shroud of dark-colored Mana with a star-like pattern to it surrounded his body. The Rogue threw one of his swords into the hand that held the other and reached out to take the Mage¡¯s hand.
The two prisoners exchanged devilish grins, and then the whole room burst into motion. Everyone whose job it was to protect Zhang Ch¨¡o or to enforce the law in his burgeoning country understood that something unplanned was happening, and they all moved toward the two prisoners. Everyone but Zhang Ch¨¡o and Han Jianguo.
Zhang Ch¨¡o had observed hundreds of Mages using magic over the course of the last few months. He had seen a thing or two, and now he could tell by sight alone that the Mage was ready to unleash his spell. Even the closest police officers would reach the two prisoners too late.
Then the dark-colored Mana around the Mage fizzled and disappeared like a fog.
¡°Wait, what?¡± the Rogue cried.
The Mage looked too shocked to speak.
Zhang Ch¨¡o turned to Han Jianguo and smiled darkly. Well done.
Han Jianguo returned the slightly twisted grin.
There was no escape from this place.
Han Jianguo had used the only ability of his that made Zhang Ch¨¡o jealous: Nullification, a Skill that came with Han Jianguo¡¯s unique evolved Class. It completely negated almost all Skills used within a certain space around Han Jianguo¡¯s body. The distance affected had expanded with practice, according to Han Jianguo, but even at the time that Zhang Ch¨¡o met him, the range of effect had been too far away for Zhang Ch¨¡o to ever try to copy the ability with Quick Study. The field of Nullification stretched further than the distance that Zhang Ch¨¡o could see across¡ªassuming this Skill could be copied at all.
The first police officers reached the two stunned prisoners and subdued them quickly¡ªbut violently, using clubs to bludgeon them rather than to disarm. Blood streamed from wounds opened with blunt force as the rebellious prisoners stopped moving. Zhang Ch¨¡o noted that the police were acting a little more roughly than they needed to, perhaps because the prisoners had just shamed them in front of their King; it took the officers an extra few seconds to stop beating them after the men had ceased moving.
I will have a quiet word with them later, Zhang Ch¨¡o thought. He would not embarrass these officers with a public rebuke right after they rushed into close proximity with armed criminals to quash their attempted escape.
¡°Your Majesty, what would you like us to do with these traitors?¡± asked one of the police officers, beads of sweat streaking down his face.
¡°They broke the rules,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o said without hesitation. ¡°Take them away and execute them immediately.¡± The police officer bowed, and four of them began hauling the two semi-conscious offenders away, Han Jianguo trailing behind to ensure that the Mage did not wake up and attempt whatever trick he had been about to use.
The rest of the prisoners stood in stunned, still silence as the first two volunteers were dragged away.
¡°Well, who wants to go next?¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o asked after a moment.
The next forty-five minutes were much more orderly than the first ten had been.
Only three prisoners had Skills that Zhang Ch¨¡o was completely unfamiliar with, which he analyzed with Quick Study. The other prisoners were quietly led from the room. None of them struggled or cried out. This had been their last chance, and given what had happened to the two prisoners who had attempted to escape earlier, these others accepted their fates comparatively meekly.
Of the three remaining criminals, one was the prisoner Zhang Ch¨¡o had taken notice of. He had a Skill that allowed him to transmute parts of his own body into metal. Quick Study was unable to copy it, unfortunately, but Zhang Ch¨¡o thought it was certainly unique. A deal was a deal.
¡°The three of you have earned your clemency,¡± he said. ¡°As promised, your sentences are officially commuted from death to ten years¡¯ imprisonment. You will spend your ten years performing labor for the state based on your unique abilities. Do not look at this as a sentence of ten years but as an opportunity to further demonstrate your value to this country. Time reveals a person¡¯s character. Even those who have once been judged as traitors¡ª¡±
¡°This is bullshit,¡± interrupted one of the three prisoners. Zhang Ch¨¡o noticed immediately that he spoke with a mainland accent. The criminal plainly was not native to Taiwan, yet relations with the mainland Chinese had been nonexistent since the Sino-American War.
What was he doing in Taiwan before the System¡¯s descent? Is this man a spy?
Han Jianguo, who had returned to Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s side, stepped forward, ready to rebuke the prisoner. But Zhang Ch¨¡o raised a hand to signal his right hand man to hold off.
This fellow is bold, at least. What exactly is he thinking right now?
¡°How is it bullshit?¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o asked quietly.
¡°We gave you what you wanted,¡± the man replied. ¡°You should just let us go. None of this ten years of labor bull¡ª¡±
¡°You have given us nothing we could not have secured elsewhere,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o shot back, cutting him off. ¡°But even if you had provided something incredibly valuable, you still require punishment. Good medicine often tastes bitter. You stand before me for a capital offense. Virtue must be rewarded, and vice punished, or we make a mockery of justice. You do have another option to secure a full pardon, should you choose to take it.¡± His fingers beat a drumbeat on the hilt of the Mandate of Heaven as he spoke.
The criminal slowly nodded. ¡°I will take that option, then, Your Majesty.¡± He spat those last two words. Zhang Ch¨¡o felt the contempt in them. He wondered for a moment what the source of it was, but then decided that it did not matter.
¡°Who do you want to take your life, scum?¡± asked Han Jianguo, stepping forward and cracking his knuckles eagerly.
¡°Not you,¡± the prisoner replied immediately. His eyes scanned over the faces of the bodyguards who surrounded Zhang Ch¨¡o¡ªthen snapped back to Zhang Ch¨¡o himself. ¡°You!¡± He pointed straight at the Heavenly King, as if there had been any doubt about who he meant.
¡°You have some nerve,¡± Han Jianguo began, but Zhang Ch¨¡o shook his head, a thin smile playing across his lips.
Somehow, I thought you were smarter than this¡ The man was clearly judging Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s strength based on his size or something similarly immaterial. Zhang Ch¨¡o was smaller in stature than every single one of his bodyguards and Han Jianguo.
¡°I will happily grant your request,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o said. ¡°Are you ready for a fight at this moment? Perhaps you could use some rest before we start, or spiritual counsel?¡±
The prisoner smiled nastily. ¡°I¡¯m going to be the last face you ever see. The only thing I¡¯m worried about is: are these flunkies going to honor your pardon after you''re gone?¡±
Zhang Ch¨¡o turned his head back to Han Jianguo and waited expectantly.
His second in command snorted and rolled his eyes, then looked at the criminal. ¡°Fine. In the unlikely event that you survive your encounter with Zhang Ch¨¡o, we will honor your pardon as his last command.¡±
¡°Then I have nothing to hold me back,¡± the prisoner said.
Zhang Ch¨¡o turned to face him and watched as the prisoner¡¯s entire body changed. Metal oozed out of his pores and covered every exposed inch of skin. Zhang Ch¨¡o could only assume the same was happening beneath his clothes.
Such an interesting and useful Skill, he thought. A pity it¡¯s wasted on this buffoon.
Zhang Ch¨¡o drew the Mandate of Heaven from its scabbard.
¡°You said you were ready, correct?¡± he asked.
¡°I was born read¡ª¡±
Zhang Ch¨¡o lunged forward, and in a move too fast for most of the room to fully track, he slashed his sword through the prisoner¡¯s neck. The head tumbled away from the body, and the steel-coated corpse collapsed a fraction of a second later.
Then Zhang Ch¨¡o sheathed his sword once again. Only after he had replaced it in its scabbard did the blood begin to gush out from the dead man¡¯s stump neck.
Neither of the other surviving prisoners chose to pursue the possibility of a full pardon.
V4 Interlude: Sunset in Taiwan
After completing their business in the throne room, Zhang Ch¨¡o and Han Jianguo left the hub of Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s authority and walked out toward the street entrance of the building.
Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s bodyguards kept a respectful distance from their leader as he moved. Fresh from his kill in the throne room, they seemed to recognize by their slight physical separation from the Heavenly King that he did not truly need protection. It had not been Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s intention to make his guards feel superfluous, but that was what happened whenever he took up his sword.
He hoped they would not take it personally.
Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s eyelids blinked rapidly open and shut as he stepped out into the sunlight. His eyes took a couple of seconds to adjust to the change in the environment.
Well, it is the first time I¡¯ve ventured outdoors today since I walked out onto my balcony this morning¡
There was a part of him that felt slightly frustrated by that. On some level, he missed the days of Orientation, when he had been fighting for his life every day and sleeping under the stars every night. Those had been good times.
Now it felt as if ninety percent of his day was taken up with meetings.
As his vision cleared, the outlines of his soldiers came into view. Thousands of them lined the streets outside of Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s headquarters as far as the eye could see. Armored and robed, carrying swords, rifles, staffs, and assorted alternative weapons, they stood ready.
The Heavenly King¡¯s body semi-consciously relaxed. More than any of his other citizens, his soldiers were his people. Together, he and this ragtag military had mounted six expeditions into the Taiwanese mountains¡ªZhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s country was one of the most mountainous regions in the world¡ªand retaliated for monster attacks on the human-occupied areas of the island, until they taught the nonhuman occupants of the high places a lesson in respect for human spaces.
Paradoxically, despite the seriousness of that task, those had been some of the most relaxing days for the Heavenly King since he returned from Orientation. And they were extremely productive too.
As word of his success in this endeavor spread, both his army and his popular approval had grown until almost the whole population of the island had fallen under his command¡ªand his personal army swelled to well over ten thousand.
¡°Attention!¡± yelled Han Jianguo.
The soldiers moved as one, postures straightening, bodies crackling with obvious tension as they awaited Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s command.
The Heavenly King stepped forward and began to speak.
¡°Today, we take our first strides towards making the sea safe for our people to travel across,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s voice boomed. ¡°We march on the harbor, and we will challenge the Reef King!¡±
The Reef King and his monsters were one of the main threats to Taiwanese shipping, along with the roving pirates in the Taiwan Strait. Unlike the pirates, the Reef King and his ilk were relatively easy to find. They had arrogantly made themselves at home in Tsoying Harbor¡ªright at the edges of Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s aura.
It was an obvious, deliberate provocation directed at a fellow Ruler.
Today was the day that Zhang Ch¨¡o would end the challenge the Reef King presented to the revitalization of the Taiwanese economy¡ªand Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s other long-cherished ambitions.
The soldiers roared their approval. Thousands of weapons stabbed at the sky, as the armed men and women imagined that their enemies stood directly before them.
Zhang Ch¨¡o marched down the center of the main street leading away from his headquarters, and the soldiers followed after him, falling into step as he passed their respective positions.
The Heavenly King did not lead them directly to the harbor. Instead, he followed a ritual that he had established when he led his second expedition into the mountains to kill raiding monsters. He marched down to Lotus Pond.
Every time he led troops into battle, Zhang Ch¨¡o went to one of the many temples built around the artificial lake, to try to show reverence for the heavenly beings that Orientation had confirmed existed.
Zhang Ch¨¡o was not faithful to one temple or religion in particular; he had never been religious before the System, so that would have felt very artificial.
But he thought the gesture was harmless at worst¡ªand at best, it both honored the gods and heartened his troops, some of whom did still observe traditional religious practices.
Today, he entered the Dragon Pagoda through the dragon statue¡¯s mouth, spent some time appreciating the artwork¡ªthe seven story Dragon and Tiger Pagodas were full of moralistic illustrations, though Zhang Ch¨¡o had little personal love for art¡ªand then he crossed into the Tiger Pagoda. He spent a briefer period there before finally exiting through the tiger¡¯s mouth.
Zhang Ch¨¡o tried to put on a contemplative expression, as if he had been enlightened by the historical, religious, and philosophical decor of the two towers, but in his heart, he felt more impatience than illumination from this side trip.
Because as he emerged, the sun was almost setting.
More time passed when I was inside than I realized, he thought. We must move quickly to the harbor if we want to accomplish this today.
If he and his men waited until tomorrow, the Reef King and his forces might have moved on to some other part of the coast that would be less easily accessible, or even temporarily returned to the sea. Conversely, if he and his men had to fight in the dark, they might be at a disadvantage, because some of the Reef King¡¯s minions had better night vision than the average human, even post-System.
¡°We march onward!¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o shouted. ¡°To Tsoying Harbor!¡±
The soldiers pumped their weapons in the air eagerly, cheered, and rushed to follow after Zhang Ch¨¡o as he moved briskly toward the coast. Fortunately, it was not a long walk.
As the army neared the coastline, Zhang Ch¨¡o spotted the Reef King. He was almost impossible to miss.
A monster formed of hard coral that stood an imposing fifty feet tall, most of its body was bleached an eerie white color. That first look made it obvious that the Reef King had been on Earth prior to the System¡¯s descent. The ugly figure, composed of many different species of coral that had amalgamated into one single, monstrous form, had some parts that reminded Zhang Ch¨¡o of a garden in full bloom. They practically glowed in bright yellows, oranges, fuschias, and pinks.
But the overwhelming presence of the color white showed that the Reef King¡¯s body was mainly composed of coral that had been discolored in the temperature-stressed waters of the Pacific Ocean.
Zhang Ch¨¡o wondered how intelligent it was. He had slain many monsters, including three Rulers, in the past, but how self-aware they were seemed to be a matter of pure chance. The more powerful ones were more likely to be capable of reason, but even that was not a fixed rule. He had tried to reason with the Qilin Monarch, only for the creature to gore him while roaring like a lion.
After that, Zhang Ch¨¡o was generally less interested in ascertaining how rational the nonhuman Rulers were.
The Reef King turned its body, though, and Zhang Ch¨¡o saw the answer to the question he had been pondering. From somewhere around what appeared to be the center of its vast mass of non-uniform parts, the monster had two pairs of glowing eyes that stared out at Zhang Ch¨¡o.
It was impossible to say for certain how he knew, but as the eyes locked onto Zhang Ch¨¡o, he sensed that the Reef King was a creature moved by intelligence, not mere instinct.
Somehow, somewhere in the grotesque amalgamation process that had shaped its form from out of hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of different specimens of coral, the Reef King had acquired a mind.
Window of the Soul!
It was a Skill Zhang Ch¨¡o had acquired by fusing several ocular abilities and an empathy-related Skill.
The Heavenly King¡¯s and the Reef King¡¯s eyes were locked in the key moment when Zhang Ch¨¡o activated the Skill. Then a series of sensations and images flooded through Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s mind. All was confusion for a moment.
Zhang Ch¨¡o had to exert his Will to keep from being overwhelmed by these core memories. There were feelings from before the Reef King became intelligent. Not pain, exactly. Almost none of the sensations that humans would understand well.
But there was stress. Intense stress. That was when its body was bleached white, Zhang Ch¨¡o recognized.
Then the System descended. The coral was still not conscious, but like most of the nonhumans Zhang Ch¨¡o had encountered, it interacted and entered default instructions through the System¡¯s interface nevertheless, its movements toward each option slow and unconscious.
There was a long period of slow growth. For almost the whole of Orientation, the component creatures that made up the Reef King had lain nearly inactive, as if magic had not come into the world. Then one of them reached a certain level and gained a Skill. All of the individual coral specimens had been slowly leveling simply by surviving and consuming their normal food sources. Each had gained Skills, mostly extremely common and ineffective ones.
But by chance, this single special coral gained the Skill ¡°Merger.¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.
It used the Skill immediately on its neighbor. That neighbor rejected the Merger attempt, but it seemed that the coral that initially acquired the Skill now had a default setting of continuously attempting Merger.
The efforts succeeded.
At first, some microorganisms fused with the first coral. Next, one of its neighbors joined with it. After that, the neighbor that had initially refused Merger accepted a renewed attempt. Apparently, either the decision had been random¡ªnone of these coral had more than a simple nerve net to make decisions with¡ªor the fact of the prior successful Merger made the initial coral look like a more attractive partner.
The central coral began to grow stronger at a prodigious rate.
In the last days of Orientation, it continued slowly expanding beneath the surface of the water¡ªbeneath anyone¡¯s notice¡ªuntil the number of linked corals and other vaguely connected life forms gave the resultant creature a greater complexity.
It slowly evolved a level of sapience, and there were accompanying System achievements.
There was a sudden shift in the coral creature¡¯s universe, and it found itself suddenly transported into a Dungeon. There it encountered a god with a strange, metal humanoid head, red hair, and a serpentine tail.
The coral passively accepted a blessing.
The god smiled and sent the coral back to Earth.
And it grew wise.
It grew wise, and at the same time, sublimely hateful of mankind.
Zhang Ch¨¡o saw a vision of its goal. The ocean overtaking the land. Coral covering the entire surface of the Earth.
The Heavenly King shook his head, frowned, and focused fully on the present.
¡°Be on your guard, everyone!¡± he barked loudly, turning his head to look back at his eager army. ¡°This will not be a simple beast hunt. These creatures are intelligent.¡±
Han Jianguo repeated the instructions, as did the squad commanders to their subordinates.
¡°Despite how they look,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o added under his breath.
Only now that he had finished trying to understand the Reef King¡¯s mentality did he fully take in the Reef King¡¯s army. It was a motley crew of ugly mutant creatures. A hammerhead shark with humanoid eyes and limbs, a misshapen giant starfish, a big crab monster, more of the walking coral creatures like the Reef King itself, a squid with a hundred tentacles, several bloated drowned men whose bodies had eyes missing¡ªand Zhang Ch¨¡o thought he saw a flicker of strange life behind those empty eye sockets.
There were only a thousand of them that Zhang Ch¨¡o could see, a much smaller force than his own, but they made an ominous picture.
All of the enemy were crusted with sea salt. Most of them stood upright in the shallow water close to shore, though Zhang Ch¨¡o guessed that there were other enemies in the dark depths just out of his view. The visible members of the Reef King¡¯s force averaged roughly the same height and size as typical adult human beings.
We will have to exterminate every one of them, Zhang Ch¨¡o thought uneasily. That god that blessed the Reef King sparked the development of a deeper malevolence than I would have guessed possible in such a simple creature. If I had imagined there might be some way of reasoning with it, that notion seems foolish now¡
His eyes played over the bloated bodies of the drowned men that stood, ready to fight alongside the rest of the Reef King¡¯s small army. Zhang Ch¨¡o guessed that the Reef King might be piloting the bodies of the drowned men directly.
At least none of them are people I recognize.
Zhang Ch¨¡o had his forces line up on the water¡¯s edge¡ªthe space that also marked the border of his aura, since it now bumped up against that of the Reef King¡ªand they began preparing their ranged attacks and weapons for firing.
After a minute of aiming and preparing, Zhang Ch¨¡o ordered his army to loose their attacks. Bullets, arrows, javelins, fireballs, bolts of lightning, and a myriad of other projectiles flew from the shore into the massed bodies of the enemy.
As the attacks launched, the Reef King¡¯s force sprang into motion. They dodged to the extent that they could¡ªsome of them, including the drowned men, were too slow to dodge effectively¡ªand just as importantly, they counter attacked.
They threw old rusty tools dredged up from the sea floor, heavy rocks, streams of highly pressurized water, and in the case of the starfish creatures and squid monsters, their own severed limbs, which struck human targets and tried to choke them to death as if the tentacles were still attached to the owners¡¯ bodies.
Zhang Ch¨¡o leaped into the harbor itself as the battle commenced. His most effective attacks were close range ones. He did not order the main body of his army to advance alongside him. He did not have to. Most of the soldiers he led were also much more effective at close combat than using ranged weaponry. Though the Heavenly King was only barely conscious of it, they took the plunge alongside him and took some of the heat off of him as most of the Reef King¡¯s army headed straight for Zhang Ch¨¡o, the leader of their opposition.
¡°Damn it!¡± Han Jianguo swore loudly.
Then Zhang Ch¨¡o heard the splash of him leaping into the water too.
Zhang Ch¨¡o was not even sure the big man could swim, but then Han Jianguo was there fighting alongside Zhang Ch¨¡o again, taking all the same blows as him, as usual.
The two men cut their way forward, advancing through the ranks of the Reef King¡¯s army. While the rest of Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s force struggled to move forward against the opponents arrayed against them, Han Jianguo and Zhang Ch¨¡o left a path of dismembered sea creatures in their wake. Everywhere Zhang Ch¨¡o slashed with the Mandate of Heaven, he sliced and diced whatever it touched so quickly and smoothly that the monsters hardly had a moment to realize they were dead. Each creature struck with Han Jianguo¡¯s hatchet fell instantly, never to rise again.
Then the two men stepped forward into what looked, as Zhang Ch¨¡o set his foot down, like a suspiciously thick patch of kelp. Then thousands of volts of electricity flooded their bodies. Zhang Ch¨¡o was stunned as the unseen monsters shocked him and his second in command again and again. He had no room to even activate a Skill. His brain did not seem to work properly.
Zhang Ch¨¡o was dimly aware that armored men swept in from his sides. He wanted to call out a warning.
Stay away, you idiots! This was a trap¡
But his body was paralyzed for the moment, and the soldiers advanced despite his unspoken reservations.
Fortunately, the soldiers seemed to recognize that there was a trap in the area where Zhang Ch¨¡o and Han Jianguo stood writhing with the electricity. They stood just barely close enough to grab their leaders and began dragging them away.
Zhang Ch¨¡o felt his body yanked back, and gratitude surged through him as the electricity flowed out. Movement immediately began to return to his limbs. His fingers twitched. His eyes rolled.
Then he heard a bellow, and he saw a great white creature moving from the corner of his eyes.
It was the Reef King. The great monster rushed toward Zhang Ch¨¡o and his soldiers on makeshift limbs that had probably never been forced to walk in such shallow water. It had apparently decided that this was its best opportunity to finish off its primary threat.
Remote Detonation!
Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s Skill threw a glob of Mana at the Reef King and then exploded it point blank on the creature¡¯s body. It did not even slow down in its headlong rush toward the humans.
Remote Detonation. Zhang Ch¨¡o tried again, this time aiming carefully at the Reef King¡¯s visible, glowing yellow eyes.
The Reef King took the blow and lurched forward, ignoring whatever pain it might be experiencing. And Zhang Ch¨¡o saw that the injuries from the first explosion were rapidly healing.
He flexed his right bicep.
I think I have recovered enough.
¡°Put me down,¡± he ordered.
¡°Sir,¡± one of the soldiers began.
¡°Let me go!¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o said. ¡°Release me, or we will all die.¡±
¡°Do as he says,¡± Han Jianguo said, groaning.
The men obeyed.
Zhang Ch¨¡o drew the Mandate of Heaven from his size. Not recognizing the threat that Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s ultimate weapon posed, the Reef King continued to lunge toward him, long tentacles and hard claws extending toward what must have seemed the Heavenly King¡¯s vulnerable body.
The sword flashed, and the Reef King¡¯s extended limbs tumbled into the sea.
The creature did not hesitate but simply reached out with more of its parts. Zhang Ch¨¡o continued slicing and dicing for several minutes, the Reef King relentless and patient, until the monster started to recognize that it was running out of limbs.
One of the Mandate of Heaven¡¯s properties was hampering regenerative abilities.
The Reef King started to pull back. Everywhere around Zhang Ch¨¡o, the battle raged on, but the tide seemed to turn for the others at the same time that it did so for their Ruler.
Zhang Ch¨¡o pursued the Reef King into the slightly deeper water that its slowed, wounded body had managed to reach.
He used his Remote Detonation Skill again, this time throwing his exploding Mana behind the Reef King. Although Zhang Ch¨¡o used a large chunk of what remained in his Mana reserves, the massive size of the monster meant that the explosion only hurled it a foot in Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s direction.
But with Zhang Ch¨¡o also closing the distance on foot, that was enough.
I¡¯m guessing that your most important organs are somewhere near these eyes, he thought. If not, I will keep cutting until I find what makes you tick and destroy it.
Zhang Ch¨¡o raised the Mandate of Heaven over his head, he prepared to swing down¡ªand a massive sound shook the air around them. The Heavenly King automatically shifted from an offensive to a defensive stance and took a step back.
What was that? he wondered. That could not be a Skill of the Reef King¡¯s, could it?
Then the ground shook beneath his feet.
Earthquake¡ but what was that noise?
As Zhang Ch¨¡o struggled to maintain his footing, he saw the Reef King take its opportunity. Moving with a fluidity that he could only guess was because of its nature as a sea creature, it slipped into deeper water and quickly submerged itself, then rushed away, moving even faster than it had when it pursued Zhang Ch¨¡o toward the shore.
No, damn it!
In the difficult visibility of the twilight, Zhang Ch¨¡o lost sight of the creature almost immediately.
As his footing steadied, he and the rest of his army trudged back to shore and assessed the aftermath. They had taken few casualties, far fewer than the enemy. The bodies of the sea monsters littered the beach. More pieces would wash up on shore over the next several days.
But the question would plague him.
What happened? What was that sound? That force that shook the Earth?
When he returned to his headquarters, one of his advisors had the answer.
¡°A massive earthquake,¡± said Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n. ¡°It set off all the seismometers. I assumed you would want to know about this, so I gathered all available data.¡±
What caused the earthquake? the Ruler wanted to ask. He had heard a tremendous noise before he felt anything. That was not normal.
¡°Are we safe?¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o asked instead.
¡°We should alert the public to the possibility of a tsunami,¡± Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n replied immediately.
¡°We weren¡¯t the epicenter,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o said, a question implied in his tone.
Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n shook his head.
¡°No, sire,¡± he said carefully. ¡°It is hard to be certain, so please do not take this as a definite statement. But from the readings, it seems as if the world may have lost Japan.¡±
V4-Epilogue: The Scout
A pair of claws parted a thin layer of branches, and a gleaming set of yellow-green eyes stared out of the jungle foliage.
A different, forest biome unfolded before Wind Whisper¡¯s eyes, but the scout knew he could not safely step into it. He felt an intense pressure just ahead of him, harsh enough to make his fur stand on end.
Truly, I can get no closer than this?
The scout knew instinctively just where to stop moving to fall short of entering the aura he sensed before him. That sensitivity was part of why he was a scout. His mate and fellow scout, Forest Shadow, had been slightly less sensitive, and it had resulted in her death during the journey here.
The two had attempted to navigate around the edges of a Storm Elemental¡¯s territory, hoping the monster would be less attentive to its borders than more intelligent neighboring Rulers. When the Elemental turned its attention to the two Pantherfolk, Wind Whisper noticed its incoming attack a fraction of a second before Forest Shadow did. He managed to throw himself to the ground and avoid the spear of lightning the monster threw.
Forest Shadow was not so lucky. From Wind Whisper¡¯s vantage point, his mate tried to duck, but she moved a fraction of a second too late. The bolt struck, and then there was a blackened stump where her head had been.
Wind Whisper had stayed tight against the ground for a few minutes afterward. By the time he rose from his semi-crouched position, his mate¡¯s body was already growing cool¡ªeverywhere below the neck, which remained scorching hot. The rain came down hard around them in the aftermath of the attack, falling around Wind Whisper¡¯s snout like tears. He cradled her body for a moment, briefly heedless of the danger from the Elemental, but no further blow came.
Despite his lapse in caution Wind Whisper survived the encounter nearly unscathed. The easily distracted Storm Elemental had moved onto some other target after hurling its deadly bolts, and he heard its violence miles away as he held Forest Shadow.
A part of him wished, only for a moment, that the Storm Elemental had killed him too.
The remainder of Wind Whisper¡¯s journey was uneventful.
The scars on his heart were still raw, but he did not stop to mourn his loss. He could not afford to lose the time. He only slowed down long enough to bury Forest Shadow before he continued on his critical mission.
Now he was here.
This damned aura covers such a wide area! Has no one tried to stop this arrogant human from expanding yet?
The Florida Panther Queen had fought battle after battle in her path of domination. No one had given her anything except those who followed her¡ªwhose loyalty she had earned with proof of violent, exceptional power sufficient to establish her supremacy.
All Races were in eternal competition in this new world, so only the strong could be allowed to lead.
By the same logic, all rivals to the Florida Panther Queen must be carefully monitored as best the Pantherfolk could manage, with the eventual goal of elimination. This monitoring was the purpose of Wind Whisper¡¯s mission.
Of all the rivals to his Ruler that the Pantherfolk had heard of since their Race awakened, the Fisher King seemed like one of the most dangerous. The fact that this human¡¯s reputation had spread to a place where the Pantherfolk could hear about him from one of their subjugated humans was already a warning sign. The unchecked spread of his aura¡ªand its violent, intense quality¡ªwas a confirmation.
Wind Whisper steadied his position and tightened his grip around the branches in front of him. His paw pads were sweating from being so close to the hostile aura, uninvited and unwelcome.
He reassured himself that where he presently stood, the human who owned the territory ahead could not possibly detect him, even if this human¡¯s aura was particularly sensitive to intrusions.
The scout had an additional Stealth Skill that meant the only way the scout could be detected by someone with normal senses was if someone stared at him for several seconds directly.
So he was safe here.
Though the watcher¡¯s position was relatively far away from the place he was meant to be spying on, he was confident that he could gather useful intelligence from there. His vision was extremely sharp. Gradually, as his eyes adjusted to the light, the scout got a clear picture of what was happening inside the Fisher King¡¯s turf.
First, he observed that a crowd had gathered in the depth of the territory.
Then he recognized that the crowd was actually a large army. Hundreds or perhaps thousands of figures clearly ready for battle, and they all appeared to turn to face in the same direction as Wind Whisper observed them.
Is the Ruler there?
There was silence for a few seconds, and Wind Whisper took careful account of the moving silhouettes. He saw a surprisingly diverse body of forces.
Humans, of course, but varied other Races as well. Short, green-skinned humanoid figures who bristled with shiny makeshift armor and carried long spears or short swords. Squirrel people, bat people, massive alligators, and wolves rounded out the force.
The scout swallowed. His throat was suddenly uncomfortably dry.
That is quite a few enemies to subdue. He has faced challengers after all, and he subjugated them¡
This was not unlike how the Queen preferred to deal with her enemies. This Fisher King would present a challenge.
Then he heard the sound of a single voice talking. It took Wind Whisper only a fraction of a second to recognize what was going on.
The Ruler was broadcasting a speech throughout his territory¡ªaddressing his troops, mainly. Even at the very edge of the Fisher King¡¯s realm, the scout could hear everything as if he stood right beside the speaker.
So, he is sending the bulk of his army out to invade neighboring territories, and they are going all the way to the coastline¡
The speech continued for a short time, and then things within the territory began to move. Wind Whisper worked to roughly count the enemy, then quickly gave up. There were too many of them, and he was too far away for accuracy.
The scout began transmitting a message to his Queen instead.
The Ruler that Your Majesty wished me to observe is lowering his guard, he sent. He is ordering his strongest forces to depart on an aggressive campaign and leaving only a light force to defend the core of his territory. If Your Majesty wishes to invade, there will never be a better moment¡
As the words left his mind, Wind Whisper sensed movement in the corner of his vision.
I looked over there before, he thought. There were no signs of life. Just some old, ruined human dwelling¡
But there was someone leaving that old building now.
He turned his head to get a better look at the figure, and he saw an old, brown-skinned woman moving away from the old house and back toward the center of the territory. She wore robes that identified her as a Mage or Mage variant to his mind.
How did I miss her? he wondered. Why wasn¡¯t she outside, watching the King¡¯s speech with the other residents of his territory?
These little questions set his hair on end and made Wind Whisper nervous.
As he watched the old woman, she stopped walking and stood stock-still for a moment.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Go on back by your Ruler¡¯s side, lady¡
As he thought that, the woman turned and looked right in his direction.
His paw pads broke out in a sweat again, and he resisted the urge to wipe them on his coat. He wanted to keep movement to a minimum just then.
No, no, she cannot possibly see me, he tried to tell himself.
As if to confirm that thought, the woman squinted and wrinkled her nose, then scratched the back of her head, as if she was trying to see something that was just out of view.
Wind Whisper held his breath, focused harder on his Skill, and silently prayed.
He also turned his head very slightly, to ensure that he was not staring at the woman. It was possible that she had a Skill that allowed her to detect when someone was looking directly at her. It was harder to track her with just peripheral vision, but his peripheral sight was still better than a human¡¯s. He had a good general idea of where the old woman was as she started moving again.
And then he lost track of her completely.
Oh shit!
He turned his head, Stealth forgotten for a moment, and tried to reestablish an awareness of the woman¡¯s position.
But it was as if she had simply stepped behind a tree and vanished. There was no trace of her left.
Did she use some form of magic to disappear? Wind Whisper was under the impression that Spatial Magic was extremely rare. None of the Pantherfolk had that Skill or any Skills adjacent to it, or they would not be sending scouts through dangerous occupied territories en route to enemy strongholds; they would be transporting them instantly.
But given the diversity of the Fisher King¡¯s following, it was entirely plausible that he would have access to rarer forms of magic than were the norm.
If she felt the need to use magic to get further away from here, when she was walking before, it¡¯s probably because she noticed an enemy presence and went to warn the Ruler. Damn it! Did I fail the mission already? Forest Shadow died for nothing, then!
Reluctantly, Wind Whisper composed another message to the Florida Panther Queen.
Your Majesty, if I stop responding, please assume that I have been compromised and killed. I will not allow myself to be taken alive if I am capable of resistance, but it is possible that my cover has already been broken.
He sent it, then continued sweeping his eyes across the forest, looking for the old woman.
Recommendation, Whisper? The Queen replied instantly. She wanted to know what her scout thought the Pantherfolk should do based on what he had seen thus far.
The Fisher King is extremely dangerous, he began. Given that he is sending his army away, I recommend¡ª
The soil beneath and all around Wind Whisper exploded with violent force as something burst out of the ground, sending bits of soil and plant life flying. He felt a sharp pain in his intestines as something stabbed directly through his stomach muscles and ripped his insides apart.
¡°Urk!¡± Wind Whisper let out a pained groan as he temporarily lost the focus required for both communication and the Skill keeping him hidden.
The dust began to settle around him, and he tried to contain his agony and re-focus on hiding himself. His eyes took in that a dozen skeletons had lunged out of the soil. One had stabbed a bony spear shaft through him, while the others had stabbed at random spots around him.
¡°So that¡¯s where you were?¡± A female voice with a hint of amusement in its tone carried from within the forest, around the place where Wind Whisper had lost track of the old woman. Despite being impaled and in severe pain, he managed to raise his head to look up.
The female Mage stepped out from behind a tree and began walking towards him.
Wind Whisper tried to focus on a Skill he knew that would cause his body to explode, but the skeleton that had him on its bony shaft seemed to recognize that the scout was doing something its master would not like. It twisted the spear viciously in his guts so that he lost his focus again. His eyes clenched shut involuntarily as his body writhed in pain.
It felt like the skeleton¡¯s blade traveled even deeper into his body, perhaps pierced his heart, but that sensation must have been an illusion, because he retained his consciousness.
After a few seconds, the pain faded.
With his mind clearer, the scout realized his senses detected movement near him and opened his eyes to see the old woman had reached him. She now stood just outside the Fisher King¡¯s territory, right beside Wind Whisper.
For a moment, the two just stared at each other.
A dozen questions swirled through his muddled mind. At the forefront was, Why did you bother closing the distance? Your minions could kill me without you putting yourself in danger. This was puzzling, because from what he knew of Mages, they were even weaker physically than squishy, Stealth-oriented individuals like himself. Perhaps he could survive this if he just managed to tear out the woman¡¯s throat¡
¡°You have a question for me?¡± the woman asked. ¡°If you will answer a question or two of mine, I will gladly answer yours.¡± She spoke softly, with quiet civility, as if Wind Whisper was not slowly bleeding out, impaled on her skeleton¡¯s weapon.
Their eyes met, and Whisper made an instant decision. He lacked the clarity to ask the questions that would actually help him right now, but he decided he would try to play her game nevertheless. He could always lie, and any information he gathered would help the Queen, if he could only recover his focus enough to send her a last message or two before he died.
Finally, he opened his muzzle and said, ¡°H-how did you detect me?¡± Every syllable was painful, but the answer would hopefully tell him something about what the old woman could do. She had to be one of the Fisher King¡¯s deadliest soldiers.
¡°Someone close to you died recently, did they not?¡± she replied. ¡°You don¡¯t have to answer that, it isn¡¯t my question. Those who work with the dead have the ability to sense death, as a tangible thing. It leaves a residue that practically glows for us. The residue was thin this time, but unmistakable. My guess is that this person who died recently was close to you, so even though they should have moved on to the afterlife, a part of them stuck with you. Some portion of their soul either loved or hated you so much that they did not fully move on. How tragic. This friend or family member or lover probably would have died to protect you, but instead¡¡± Her voice trailed off.
Whisper coughed up a thin trickle of blood before he could speak again.
¡°So my Stealth was not broken¡¡± He could not tell why he fixated on this, why he was not doing his job and informing the Florida Panther Queen immediately of this interaction. But he took some comfort in the old woman¡¯s words, and in these moments before death, that seemed more important.
¡°My turn,¡± she said. ¡°Why are you here, Panther Scout?¡±
She must have Identified me.
¡°I am here to deliver a message to the Fisher King,¡± he lied, suddenly inspired. ¡°Will you take me to him? He will want to hear¡ª¡±
¡°Do you really think I would let you get anywhere near my son?¡± the old woman snarled. All civility had suddenly vanished. ¡°I can tell that you are lying to me. Attempt to deceive me again, and this conversation will become much less polite. I have ways of making you talk. I had hoped not to resort to them, but I have to protect my family above all else.¡±
¡°Fuck you,¡± Wind Whisper said, fully prepared for those to be his last words.
He focused on preparing his final message to the Panther Queen.
They have a Necromancer. She has me prisoner. Assume that everything is compromised.
As he tried to send the message, he did not feel the familiar sensation of the telepathic connection. The surprise must have shown on his face, because the Necromancer smiled slightly¡ªalmost sadly.
¡°What did you do?¡± he asked.
¡°Did you think I would allow you to continue assisting your leader against us?¡± the old woman asked.
¡°How did you stop me from sending a message?¡± Whisper asked.
¡°The truth is, you are already dead,¡± she replied. As she spoke, her eyes glowed slightly. Then the world around them seemed to glow and turn translucent, and the pain in his body vanished entirely. ¡°Your soul is mine. You serve us now.¡±
¡°No,¡± he growled.
¡°Yes,¡± she said, her voice factual rather than insistent, as though she was reporting on the weather. ¡°You will assist me willingly or unwillingly. The choice of whether to be a willing servant is up to you.¡±
¡°You monster,¡± Whisper said. That was why his pain had faded into the background despite how the skeleton had seemed to brutalize him further.
If only I was not so weak¡ Why did I become a scout¡?
¡°If you say so,¡± the old woman replied indifferently. ¡°I will do what I have to do.¡±
Whisper felt a force tugging at his being, and he recognized it as the old woman¡¯s power. It was irresistibly strong, but he tried to fight it nonetheless.
¡°I will never help you,¡± he said defiantly.
She simply shook her head. ¡°We¡¯ll see. Out of respect for your courage, I will do you one favor.¡± Her eyes glowed again, and then Wind Whisper felt a warm presence.
¡°You died,¡± he heard Forest Shadow¡¯s mournful voice pronounce.
¡°You are here,¡± he replied, surprised.
¡°The old woman pulled me back from the other side. She said I was still attached to you,¡± said Forest Shadow.
¡°Now we are both trapped,¡± said Wind Whisper. ¡°I did not want this.¡±
¡°Is it so terrible?¡± asked Forest Shadow.
Wind Whisper allowed himself to bask in the warmth of his lover¡¯s soul before he answered.
¡°No,¡± he replied. ¡°Not so terrible after all.¡±
The scout barely noticed as the Necromancer tugged at his soul again, and the intangible part of himself floated away with her.
V5-Prologue: The Collared Men
¡°Fuck!¡±
Dean Crocetti swore quietly and resisted the urge to throw something, anything, from his desk.
In the moment before he contained himself, he saw the others in the room visibly draw back.
Control yourself, man, Dean thought. Even if everyone else loses their heads, you have to keep yours.
¡°Yes, sir, it¡¯s a, um, significant loss,¡± agreed Trey Zelig.
That¡¯s an understatement. Two more scouts missing. It¡¯s a very fucking significant loss!
Dean nodded. Just to have something to do with his hands, he picked up a black stapler off his desk and started fiddling with it. He and his allies were using the old law firm office building, along with the add-on structures they¡¯d managed to erect, as their base, so he was still using his old office.
I miss being a law partner, Dean thought. Fuck me, things were actually simpler then¡
¡°Here¡¯s the plan,¡± he said tersely. ¡°No more patrols. We keep everyone else close.¡±
Viktor Cremieux grunted his agreement.
¡°We¡¯ll spread the word, chief,¡± said Gina Fergis.
¡°Anyone have any objections?¡± Dean asked, fingers still playing over the stapler.
Silence rang through the room.
¡°Dismissed, then.¡±
All of the members of Dean¡¯s inner circle rose and slowly left the room. Except one. She waited until the door had closed on the last of Dean¡¯s allies before she said her piece.
¡°What about foraging for food?¡± asked Sophia Crocetti, not looking at her husband directly.
Dean allowed himself to fixate not on the words themselves, but on his wife¡¯s body language, for a moment. Even as she waited for his answer, Sophia still held her eyes slightly away from a head-on look at him.
That was the worst thing about Dean¡¯s Race Evolution. He looked like his pre-System human self, but heavily abusing steroids and trying out for Mister Universe¡ªand he thought his face had acquired a cruel twist to it, too. Sophia had tried not to say anything negative¡ªshe knew he was making the choices he had to make for their family¡ªbut he could tell she was disturbed by the transformation.
Intimacy between the two had completely dried up.
And he couldn¡¯t blame her. More than his appearance had changed. It was like his body was swimming with testosterone. He felt a very difficult to restrain anger at the slightest provocation now. Evolution had not changed his intellect or basic temperament. In time, he felt certain, he would learn to control the rage that pumped through him. For now, though, he was glad that Sophia was giving him more distance than she ever had in their marriage before.
At least he was stronger¡ªfor the moment.
Unbidden, the description of the Race Evolution came to mind once more.
Evolved Human: You have struggled, and you have overcome. You have built your Stats one body at a time, until you reached this position. You have achieved the peak of what is possible for a System-Boosted Human, and you have become a peak lifeform of that type. Now the time has come to accept your peak progress and convert your remaining potential into hard power, with all that exchange implies. Your final form is that of the Evolved Human, a life form that dominates all System-Boosted Humans and sits atop the Orientation food chain, capable of besting even the hardiest foes from the Orientation setting in single combat. Gain 10 Free Stat Points for every level in your Race that you have attained to this point. Enjoy your position at the pinnacle for as long as you can maintain it!
At the time he had chosen his Race Evolution, this had seemed the best option. He needed strength to protect his family and to more effectively lead the small but growing community of survivors that had gathered here. He now had almost two hundred people sheltering with him and his loved ones.
It was a limiting choice, in its way, but if he could sacrifice his own potential to secure his family¡¯s future, that would be worth it. Let his children pursue the more exotic Race Evolution options.
If only¡
¡°Dear?¡± Sophia¡¯s voice cut into his thought process. It was surprisingly soft. She placed a hand on his wrist, gentle but firm. ¡°What about foraging for food?¡±
Right, we¡¯re still talking about this.
¡°We have some reserves at this point,¡± he said. ¡°Hunting and gathering has been good the last two weeks. If these people are going to make an attack, they¡¯re not going to wait to starve us out. We have more to lose if they get more of our scouts than we do by eating a little light for a week or so.¡±
¡°Mm hm.¡± She nodded, and he knew she was accepting his decision. At least she still trusted his judgment, even if it was hard for her to look at him now¡ªeven if he was fairly certain that he scared her a little.
She turned to go, and he grabbed at her arm¡ªshe was leaving too soon. The movement was almost a reflex on his part.
¡°Wait.¡± He half-choked on the word, but at least it went some small way to explaining his sudden, uninvited grab.
She started with his touch, and he could tell she was fighting the impulse to recoil.
¡°What is it?¡± she said in a slightly higher pitch than usual.
¡°I just, um¡ªcould you send Juan in?¡± he said lamely.
He did need Juan. The Mage would help him with announcing this decision about tightening the ranks.
She nodded, the movement herky-jerky, nervous. Dean felt like a gorilla that had taken some poor girl hostage en route to climbing the Empire State Building. He released his grip, and Sophia visibly relaxed before she concealed her emotions once more.
¡°I¡ª¡±
I love you, he wanted to say.
¡°I¡¯ll get Juan,¡± she said. ¡°Is there anything else I can do for you, dear?¡±
The term of endearment at the end sounded rote, mechanical¡ªforced.
I feel like such a monster in this body, he thought.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.
¡°No, thank you, dear,¡± Dean replied, his voice hollow.
She nodded crisply and left the room. As the door swung shut behind her, Dean tightened his grip around the stapler he still held in his other hand until he heard it crumple. If he wasn¡¯t careful with his strength, he could crush it into a ball.
Damn it¡
Dean forced himself to drop the stapler on his desk, in case he needed it to staple anything in the future.
He had regained his composure by the time Juan entered the office.
¡°You needed me, Mr. Crocetti?¡± he asked.
Dean nodded. ¡°Could you use some of your Lightning Mana and get the announcement system working again?¡±
This was the solution that his group had devised for communication within the office building, and Dean was rather proud of it.
A few minutes later, Juan was running a current of electricity from his hand, through the phone, and into the building¡¯s electrical system.
¡°I can only keep it going for fifteen minutes or so,¡± he said, sweating and panting slightly as he spoke. ¡°You should make your announcement soon if you know what you¡¯re going to say.¡±
Dean had already chosen his words carefully. He hoped they would not further dishearten his besieged group.
He pushed the button to transmit and began to speak.
¡°Good afternoon, everyone. As you know, there are enemies in our vicinity. The collared men who visited us this past week have initiated hostilities for reasons unknown. We have no choice but to take them seriously. The last scouts we sent out to secure our perimeter have not returned. We now expect that they will not return. The attackers have chosen aggression and violence.¡±
Dean did not actually know what had happened to any of the members of his faction who went missing, but since they had all disappeared while out on their regular errands, and none of them had taken their possessions with them, he was sure enough that these disappearances had been involuntary.
¡°Therefore, until our opponents show themselves, the plan is to hunker down inside of our fortifications. We are defended here, and we have enough food to shelter in place for some time. Think of it like staying home from work during a hurricane.¡± He couldn¡¯t resist injecting some optimism. ¡°I have faith that we will endure this together and eliminate these men who have breached our peace. Brave and freedom-loving people will never give in to intimidation and violence. Not while we still have the strength to fight.¡±
His voice began to waver slightly, and Dean realized his own doubts were coming through.
¡°God bless all of you, and bless the remnant United States of America!¡± he finished.
Dean pushed the button again and nodded for Juan to cut off power.
That ought to at least staunch the bleeding. We can¡¯t lose people to these bastards if no one goes outside.
¡°Uh, very inspiring, sir,¡± said Juan.
¡°You don¡¯t have to say that, Juan,¡± Dean replied. ¡°I don¡¯t need people to pretend I¡¯m doing a good job.¡± He forced a smile¡ªand forced himself to push James Robard from his mind.
A part of him wished that he had taken his family and followed James to his new country, more so now than ever before.
If only I¡¯d had a little more time before we came under attack, though¡
Dean¡¯s current Job was Developer, to his annoyance¡ªit assisted him in improving real estate and buildings¡ªbut he thought that if he continued leveling it up, it might become a more powerful Job that would allow him to defend those who had chosen to follow him more effectively. It might even make him a Ruler. There was just no time.
¡°I¡¯m not just saying it,¡± Juan insisted. ¡°People need to hear from someone who believes in what we¡¯re doing here¡ªwho believes we can survive and maintain our independence, remain free men and women. Even if you¡¯re afraid. You¡¯re sharing that with us too. We can handle the truth. We can handle knowing that our situation is scary.¡±
Well, at least someone appreciates me. Maybe some of that stuff he said can go on my tombstone if this doesn¡¯t work out.
¡°Thanks, man,¡± Dean said. ¡°I really do appreciate it.¡±
¡°What else can I do?¡± Juan asked. ¡°How can I help in our defense?¡±
¡°I think you¡¯ve already done a lot,¡± Dean replied. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just go spread some of this positive energy you¡¯re giving me around to the others? I¡¯m sure they could use it.¡±
¡°Yes, sir,¡± Juan said, grinning.
Dean returned the smile until the door closed behind Juan. Then he shook his head and tried to bring to mind anything that he could do to improve their security.
He recalled how five men wearing black leather collars had appeared one afternoon, seeking to join Dean¡¯s community like the various others had before them. Dean and the other leaders had not asked any questions about why the men wore collars or what bound their group together. They had already seen a group of men with matching tattoos appear, as well as a band of women wearing clothing that appeared to be made of tree bark. These were all groups that had formed in various Orientations and stuck together, bound through common experiences.
Those groups had come and gone, but the lesson of those interactions had been that it was insensitive and impolite to ask questions about superficial matters of appearance like those. Orientation had changed everyone in strange ways.
There were no rules in Dean¡¯s group about when people could come and go, besides informal norms about how much each person should contribute while residing with the group.
The collared men had integrated themselves by participating in the community¡¯s hunts and bringing back meat, which was more important than any odd fashion choice.
The first sign of trouble was the disappearance of two members of Dean¡¯s group who had gone out hunting with the men in collars.
It was a couple of days before Dean even became aware that the two were gone. He had almost two hundred people relying on him now, and he did not take attendance. These were not children he was supposed to be babysitting; they were contributing adults who were free to come and go as they pleased.
When another group went out hunting with the collared men, however, the collaboration ended in violent betrayal. Viktor and his companions returned, minus one member, but Viktor still carried scars from the encounter. The hunters recounted an almost perfectly identical narrative. The collared men had led them into a monster ambush, transformed into monstrous cat-human hybrids with glowing yellow-green eyes, and attempted to wipe them out. Viktor only managed to keep himself and his teammates alive using his strongest, double edged Skill, which damaged the nearest enemy severely in exchange for making his own body more fragile.
The visible result was that one of the collared men burst like a fur-covered bag of blood, and the surviving hunters bluffed their way out of the encounter, threatening to repeat the attack. The survivors were among Dean¡¯s most powerful community members, which made him suspect this was a sort of decapitation strike, meant to remove the strongest elements of his line of defense.
After the hunters had returned and shared their ominous news, Dean had quickly organized a posse to chase down the traitors, including a tracker who could follow their scent, but the trail quickly went cold. It was as if the collared men had vanished.
Still, the threat had not come to an end on that day.
Members of Dean¡¯s community continued to hunt and gather as usual in the following days, as they stockpiled food and built up their shelter. But gradually, they began to go missing.
It was just individuals the first two times. It could have been bad luck, weaker members of the group falling to action with random monsters.
But Dean didn¡¯t think so.
He initially warned everyone to be on their guard and instructed them to only leave their base in groups of at least two. Then the reports started coming in¡ªglowing eyes in the woods, watching the foraging parties; wild game populations disappearing from areas where they had been plentiful; predators¡¯ tracks on the ground around the group¡¯s territory, though the monsters leaving the tracks remained unseen.
Soon people began going missing again, despite traveling in pairs.
Today¡¯s instance was only the third case of this happening, but the trend was obvious.
Dean rose from his desk and began to pace.
How the fuck are we supposed to deal with these people¡ªno, these things¡ªwhen we can¡¯t track them down, and no one¡¯s seen them and lived to tell about it besides Viktor and the hunters?
He had no answers other than hunkering down and preparing to defend.
But even as Dean had issued the orders to batten down the hatches, it felt inadequate¡ªand more than that, it felt somehow like the wrong decision. Like he was ordering his own premature burial.
Could they still run? His mind wrestled with the possibility.
Where would we even run to?
The answer was obvious. Although pride made it unpleasant to contemplate, he knew one place¡ªone person, rather¡ªwhose vicinity he thought was likely to be much safer than here.
V5Ch1-A Larger World Than You Have Known
James watched his army move out.
There were the Goblins, armed and armored like dimestore hoplites in slightly too shiny equipment that a keen observer could tell was homemade and had never seen real action. James felt slightly nervous about them. They were the most numerous component of his army besides humans. His sense was that this group had great potential to grow and develop, but he also knew all too well how easily under-leveled Goblins could be killed.
The humans were still the most overall powerful and Skills-diverse part of his army by James¡¯s reckoning. As they proceeded past James, he simply smiled. He was much less worried about how they would perform in combat without his direct leadership. The majority of this group was already hardened from the Battle of the Haunted Forest, and many of them now carried the Blessing of the Fisher King as a result.
Next the flying squirrels and bats marched past. They were lightly armed and armored, with slings, daggers, other small weapons, or nothing at all besides what nature had gifted them. Only a small contingent of them were moving out with the army. Besides scouting, James expected that their role would be largely symbolic¡ªhe imagined that they were just there to show that their Races were happy, contributing members of the Fisher Kingdom.
The alligators followed behind them, and they made a clear contrast. Where the flying creatures were marching dutifully, the reptiles looked downright eager for battle. Their tails moved back and forth¡ªwagging, was how it looked¡ªand their jaws snapped open and shut as if they were imagining rending enemies to pieces. Samuel, in the lead, gave James a wink as he passed. The Fisher King didn¡¯t need telepathy to know what the former Sewer Alligator Monarch was thinking. He was eager to tear into the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s unsuspecting victims.
And the wolf pack brought up the rear on all sides. They formed a sort of protective ring around the rest of the body of troops, a little reminiscent of sheepdogs herding cattle in James¡¯s mind. These monsters were some of his most reliable followers, and their leader, Luna, gave him a silent reassurance as she passed. She turned her right-side head, looked James in the eye, and sent a quiet telepathic message for him only: Do not worry, my king. I will keep them safe.
James simply smiled and nodded back at her.
I know you will, he thought.
But it did make him feel better. He had never truly embarked into aggressive warfare before, only responded to requests for aid or threats appearing at his borders. He knew he would feel the losses from this expansion, perhaps a bit more keenly than he usually felt the deaths of his citizens.
Mina appeared at his back and looped her arm around his elbow. Her head leaned against his bicep, and despite the height difference¡ªhe was over a foot taller than her as a result of Race Evolution¡ªthe smell of her hair wafted up to him.
¡°You found your old shampoo?¡± he murmured as the army got further away..
She shook her head. ¡°Carol.¡±
Right. Carol found it, of course. The Dungeon had solved a number of material problems for his young country. As if summoned by this thought, several streams of children emerged from the apartments that encircled the central courtyard. Today was the first day of school, and the children wore backpacks that held their papers and pencils contained within. Those supplies were provided courtesy of the friendly neighborhood Dungeon.
James smiled down at the kids. A few of the little ones looked at him with a modicum of curiosity, then just kept walking. When older ones who actually recognized who he was looked at the Fisher King and his Queen, James could tell they knew who he was based on the slightly intimidated expressions on their faces, before they quickly averted their eyes.
Undoubtedly the rumors, myths, and frankly even the factual stories about the Fisher King would only grow in the future and make James more and more unapproachable.
He didn¡¯t let the prospect bother him. He sensed intuitively that this was what being a king meant¡ªprobably what it had always meant historically.
The apartment door opened behind James and Mina, and a small shape rushed out. Without needing to look, James knew who it was.
¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m late!¡± Abhi exclaimed as he burst through the door.
¡°Slow down, no one cares if you¡¯re late on the first day!¡± James said almost without needing to think.
You¡¯ll be very late if I have to heal your sprained ankle, he thought.
¡°Okay,¡± Abhi said. ¡°Thanks, bye!¡±
He rushed past James and Mina without looking back at them, but he had slowed his pace below a run now.
James imagined the little boy rolling his eyes, then realized that Abhi¡¯s voice had been completely sincere. He must be at that age where he took authority figure¡¯s words as Gospel truth, wise and inviolable.
The Fisher King¡¯s eyes shifted to follow Abhi as he ran to class. For a moment, he smiled. Then he noticed another object of interest in motion.
The masked man. ¡®Bear.¡¯
He was still far off, but now that the army was gone, the man in black was slowly but surely working his way towards James.
¡°I¡¯ll go and get the little ones,¡± Mina said just below James¡¯s ear.
¡°Huh?¡±
¡°So they can go to daycare, skapi?¡±
¡°Oh, right.¡± He had forgotten for a moment that the daycare had opened right next to the school. This was where Yulia was working, and it would hopefully help further unlock the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s productive potential. James and Mina would also be free to train, with the children safely stashed in daycare. Though it felt odd to send James, Junior and the other young ones to be cared for by strangers all day, James felt a bit better about it knowing that Yulia would be there. ¡°Sure, go ahead. I¡¯m going to just take a walk.¡±This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.
Mina looked at him curiously for a moment. She must have caught something in his tone. Then she simply nodded, choosing not to question it. James felt her pull away and heard the door open and close as she went inside their apartment.
He looked to where Bear stood again. The masked man had maneuvered himself closer once more. James locked his gaze on where he imagined the man¡¯s eyes must be under his featureless mask, and he tilted his chin toward the area that had once been the Haunted Forest. Bear nodded.
They both began walking toward that still-forested space, taking parallel paths rather than meeting so that no one would realize they intended to speak with each other.
The two figures finally almost converged and entered the former Haunted Forest in a place where it was densely packed with tall trees. The day¡¯s full brightness had not set in yet, so that the light and shadows played themselves across the environment and the two men¡¯s bodies kaleidoscopically, ever shifting in strange patterns.
It feels a little like a dream, James thought as he looked at Bear. It struck the Fisher King that he could, if he wished, convince himself that the man¡ªor really the unknown entity¡ªwho stood across from him did not truly exist. That he was a figment of James¡¯s imagination, or an illusion, perhaps the last of Sister Strange¡¯s visions, as she played some trick on James from within him.
What a strange thought. You¡¯re not usually given to such flights of fancy. You already have your theories about who or what he is. Those are crazy enough, without trying to convince yourself that you¡¯re hallucinating or something.
Yet the short distance that separated the Fisher King from Bear felt like the gap between dream and reality.
Then the masked man stepped closer, and the sensation was broken.
¡°The time has come for me to take my leave of you, Fisher King,¡± said Bear in a formal tone. There was a slight hint of regret in his voice, James thought. Gone was the mockery that had occasionally characterized Bear¡¯s interactions with James and Mina. This felt strangely somber.
¡°I hope that you enjoyed your stay, and that you have accomplished all that you wished to,¡± James said, speaking just to have something to say. He had Skills for talking and exuding charisma and leadership, but somehow they seemed ineffective right now, in these woods with this odd figure.
¡°I have sat in on your council meetings, given you counsel of my own, and seen how you operate. It was¡ª¡± he waved a hand noncommittally¡ª¡°satisfactory. My father will be satisfied that his assessment of you was correct. I would have done and seen more, but my time is not my own.¡±
So, he¡¯s a demigod? James¡¯s running theory, based on what Anansi and his mother had said, was that Bear was a messenger for a god. James had no idea which one, but that was the only explanation he could think of for why his patron would urge him to listen to the masked man.
¡°Who is your father?¡± James asked immediately. ¡°Why the vague answers? Why all the mystery? Why are you wearing a mask?¡±
¡°The mask is a device that disguises what I am,¡± Bear said immediately. ¡°Beings above the mortal tier are not meant to occupy physical space in recently initiated universes. Were I even to speak my father''s name under normal circumstances, I would catch the attention of the System that I have so effortfully avoided thus far.¡± He paused. ¡°But I am already departing this place and this flesh soon. I am expending what power remains in this vessel to freeze time in the small space around where you wanted to have our meeting. Otherwise we would have had several interruptions by now.¡± He pointed. ¡°Your mother is there, walking back towards the center of the Kingdom to meet with you, for instance.¡±
James turned and dimly saw, around twenty-five feet away, that his mother stood frozen in place. She had been walking forward and now stood there, stopped in mid-stride. There was something else odd about the image, and he realized after a moment what it was. The light that played over her face was frozen, too, in an odd pattern that highlighted one eye and left half her face in shadow.
He literally stopped time, which would seem to support my theory about who and what he is¡ Though even if he is the emissary of a god, perhaps a demigod or even the avatar of a god himself, it sounds like he can only do this within certain limits. I¡¯d better get right to the point.
¡°All right, son of a god,¡± James said affably. ¡°What can I do for you?¡±
¡°We want you to stop a terrible cataclysm¡ªor at least delay it. Ragnarok is coming.¡±
¡°Ragnarok,¡± James said quietly. He had not spoken the word in many years, since he had not read much Norse mythology after he had finished high school. Most of his mythology knowledge was old and grainy, with details missing. Most of his mythology knowledge had been either Greek mythology or old slave folktales in the first place, nothing to do with the Norse gods. He tried to recall what he knew about the Ragnarok concept while the masked man stood there waiting in silence.
¡°Ragnarok is the Twilight of the Gods,¡± James said finally. That almost summed up his knowledge.
The masked man dipped his head slightly and then simply stood silently, letting James process a little more.
A number of the Norse gods die in this thing. If I can prevent or delay that somehow, they¡¯d be pretty desperate for that help¡
¡°I guess I know why so many Norse gods have taken an interest in me now,¡± James said. ¡°There was Hel interfering with events in my Orientation, Loki wanted to give me a blessing, and he actually blessed the Goblin King who immediately fell into my hands. Then Baldur sent Hilda to me expressly to help me out. What I didn¡¯t know was why.¡±
¡°The movements of Hel and Loki are their own affair,¡± the masked man replied immediately. ¡°But yes, you may have an important role to play in the events to come.¡±
Why me? James wanted to ask. But he skipped to the more important question for now.
¡°What¡¯s in it for me?¡± James asked, smiling shamelessly.
He looked into the space where the man¡¯s eyes would have been if his visage were not a featureless mask. The question bore asking.
If I stop your apocalypse, does it really help me? Or mankind? What¡¯s in it for us?
The masked man looked slightly taken aback at the question. It was a small shift in his posture that seemed to hint at the surprised reaction.
Then he chuckled quietly.
¡°Human, you are amusing,¡± Bear said in a cold, unamused voice. ¡°Are you truly asking what is in it for you if you save the Earth?¡±
¡°I know Ragnarok is the Twilight of the Gods,¡± James said, waving a hand dismissively. ¡°Does it have to necessarily be the twilight for humans, too? I question that. I question how closely our fates are linked. I question whether the Earth will necessarily be destroyed, and even if it is, I can¡¯t help but imagine that there are ways that humanity would survive, given the power that now rests in our hands. So, yes, I am asking what¡¯s in it for me if I help you.¡±
The masked being¡¯s body crackled with energy as James responded. He seemed to loom larger than he had before, and James recognized in the posture of the figure a distinct current of anger.
V5Ch2-The Unknown Revealed
Bear¡¯s fists clenched and unclenched for a moment, then stilled.
¡°You have¡ª¡± He spoke a word that was not in English, which the System surprisingly did not translate. Bear seemed to realize that after a moment. He snorted, still angry but slightly amused despite himself. ¡°You have guts, I mean to say,¡± he continued. ¡°Did your¡ªdid the Spider not tell you to cooperate with me? I was under the impression that was why you had not taken a more hostile attitude to a stranger of unknown allegiances in your land.¡±
¡°Anansi and I aren¡¯t like that,¡± James said. He resisted the urge to give a smug smile, but his tone was acid as he continued, ¡°He doesn¡¯t give me orders, just occasional advice. I don¡¯t think he would want to ruin the beautiful relationship we have.¡±
The masked man shook his head, and the anger seemed to drain out of his frame. ¡°I suppose that explains it. No one has taught you respect yet. You have yet to learn your proper place in the world the gods have given you. There was a time when humans understood the workings of the universe on a different level¡ªa wisdom that came from your simplicity¡ª¡±
¡°You preferred us subservient,¡± James said flatly, cutting him off.
We aren¡¯t going back to kowtowing to gods, no matter what they call themselves, he thought. Humanity will gain the ability to stand on our own two feet. Our independence. It was an almost thoughtless, instinctive reaction, but it was a strong one nevertheless.
¡°Hm.¡± Bear paused a moment, then continued, not taken aback at all by James¡¯s directness, ¡°You might very well interpret it that way. And I lack the time to educate you properly. I could tell you many things. I could tell you that Ragnarok is a time of wolves, when the monstrous wolf Fenrir breaks free and kills my father, and sets the world aflame, when two other great wolves eat the sun and moon, when an army of the dishonored dead marches on your world¡ an event that I would think you would want to delay or prevent if possible. But I have always preferred not to speak unnecessarily. Even if I enjoyed idle conversation, I do not have the time to argue now, and the truth is, you do have the leverage to demand some form of reward. You are a fairly important human.¡± Those words were grudging. ¡°So, let us cut to the chase. What do you want? Knowledge or power for your reward?¡±
James tried to imagine what questions he might ask, but he cut himself off before he could get too imaginative with it. There was only one piece of knowledge that he urgently wanted.
¡°If I chose knowledge, would you be able to tell me how to change fate? How to avert something that is destined to happen?¡±
¡°What do you mean? How is it that you believe you know what the future holds?¡±
¡°I was shown bad visions of my future by a Wraith, and one of them featured my wife¡¯s death.¡±
¡°If something is meant to happen, then you generally cannot prevent it,¡± Bear said. ¡°Fate is not so easily unwound as that. You personally are something of an exception. The Chosen Ones of deities often have some degree of ability to warp fate for their own lives, but that does not necessarily mean you can do something even as modest as preventing the death of your own family members.¡± The masked man¡¯s voice sounded sympathetic. ¡°Even most gods do not know the future. The balance of powers in the cosmos is such that¡ª¡± He shook his head as if recognizing that the explanation would take too long if he continued. ¡°Tell me, James, were you present in the vision where your wife was dying?¡±
James shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t see myself anywhere at least.¡±
¡°Then it becomes even less likely that you can affect the outcome. If this were your fate specifically, as I said, you might have some ability to resist it¡ Otherwise¡ªhm, perhaps if the Allfather was here, he might be able to help you. But my father is preoccupied elsewhere now. Do not expect him to turn his eye on you. He is responsible for more than any other god can bear. All I can advise you is what I have advised in the past, to crush your enemies before they can destroy what you love. Those of us whose fates are written already cannot always do that, but when you can¡¡±
So, he¡¯s Odin¡¯s son. The Allfather was one of the most distinctive epithets in all of mythology.
¡°Since I cannot provide the information you desire,¡± the masked man continued, ¡°will you choose power? My time runs short, and I have yet to even outline the scope of your task.¡±
¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine, I choose power,¡± James said flatly, deflated.
Damn it! How am I going to save Mina when even the gods don¡¯t know how it can be done?
¡°Very well. I will give you¡ª¡±
¡°Wait, wait,¡± James interjected. ¡°Just, um, I want some assurance that you will never take back the power you¡¯ve given once you grant it. Even if I later do something that you disapprove of.¡±
The words came out almost automatically¡ªJames was too careful, too much the lawyer still, to take on any task for the promise of compensation, with no apparent method of collecting. He did not expect he would be able to count on good will from this divine being to secure this grant of power in the future, and he was aware that blessings could be revoked. James imagined that was the form this power up would take.
This time Bear snorted and shook his head. James couldn¡¯t tell what the masked figure actually thought until he spoke. With a certain grudging respect in his tone, Bear said, ¡°I swear on my divinity that I will not revoke this power once granted, as long as you fulfill the task I set for you.¡± His voice rang, and the air around the two men shuddered with power as he spoke.
James no longer doubted whether he stood in the presence of a demigod, a divine emissary, or a god. The figure before him was certainly a deity, though one trapped in a humanoid shell. He could speak with the voice of a god when he chose¡ªand he was certainly no angel.
He¡¯s definitely only able to access a tiny fraction of the normal power that a god wields in that form, though, James thought. He had Anansi as a frame of reference¡ªa deity who James had stared directly in the face, in as close to a true form as James¡¯s mind could comprehend. This god seemed far weaker, though James knew the Spider God was not known as a physical or magical powerhouse among the gods. I wonder if I could actually take him on in this body¡
There followed a silent speculation as to how much experience a god would give if James defeated him.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
¡°Your task is as follows,¡± Bear continued, oblivious to James¡¯s wild thoughts. His voice sounded tired and ragged as he spoke now, as if making the promise not to revoke his grant of power had taken a lot out of him. ¡°Fjalar, the clever rooster, is set to be born into this world¡ªinto the territory that was your former nation¡ªsoon. The red rooster heralds the end of the world with his crowing. You must prevent this.¡± The god raised a hand to the side of his head, nodded to himself, and continued, ¡°In one week the cock will hatch from his egg. Four months hence, or five at the most, he will be capable of crowing. If he crows and welcomes the onset of Ragnarok, the end of your world will be set into motion. The fate of all mankind rests on your shoulders. Do you accept the task of preventing this disaster?¡±
Four or five months? James thought. That sounds like plenty of time! That will be well after I get back from the World Leaders¡¯ Summit and the Victors¡¯ Tournament¡ I can search before, during, and after those events.
Bear stood silently, masked face pointed in James¡¯s direction. The masked god¡¯s gaze reminded James that Bear had just asked him a question.
¡°Oh, I accept,¡± James said immediately.
Of course I accept. I probably would have had to do this anyway, even if you didn¡¯t reward me.
¡°Swear it.¡± The god¡¯s voice rung with power again, but it felt almost like a fire about to die, weak and brittle even as it exerted itself.
¡°I¡ªI swear that I will find Fjalar and prevent him from crowing.¡± The task sounded slightly absurd to James as he spoke the words, but he forced himself not to smile. The moment felt deadly serious, and as his eyes found the place on the mask where Bear¡¯s eyes should have been, it hit James that for the first time, he was not fumbling his way toward more power, fighting for his own life or that of his family, or trying to become a leader among his small community of survivors.
No, now he was actively taking on a task¡ªadmittedly in part for promised compensation¡ªthat was meant to change the fate of the whole human race.
I¡¯m supposed to save humanity.
All the amusement and all the irony in James¡¯s soul dried up for a moment, along with the inside of his mouth, as this thought occurred to him.
¡°Then I grant you my blessing, on the condition that you earnestly pursue this task, understanding that if you fail, it will be revoked. Receive the blessing of Vidarr, the Silent Aesir, God of Vengeance and Strength, and Slayer of Fenrir.¡±
Every word seemed to carry its own weight.
Fenrir is the same wolf he mentioned kills Odin. If this ¡®Vidarr¡¯ guy slays Fenrir, does that mean he¡¯s stronger than Odin?!
The air around James seemed to move and fluctuate. James noticed the light that had been holding absolutely still under the influence of Vidarr¡¯s power shudder once, like there was an interruption in the supply of Vidarr¡¯s energy. Then time began to move again. The chirping of birds that James had not noticed before resumed. A slight breeze touched his skin. He heard a crackling of twigs as his mother, in the distance, took a step forward.
And a System message suddenly flickered into place before James¡¯s eyes.
It blinked hazily in and out of view for a moment before solidifying, as if the System was wrestling with whether the message itself was a mistake.
[You have been offered the Title of Blessed One of Vidarr. Accept? Y/N]
James didn¡¯t need to guess what the cause of the strange behavior by the System might be. Vidarr was not supposed to be on Earth. He had said as much. He had spent all his remaining power to offer this blessing to compensate James for taking on his dirty work. The god would not be able to remain here much longer, as he had already acknowledged. The fact that the time stop that Vidarr had put in place vanished so quickly suggested that things had already become quite unstable.
James quickly selected ¡®Y.¡¯
There was a sound of strange music playing¡ªof words that James did not understand, because the System did not translate them, and of drums and a stringed instrument unfamiliar to him. James felt a surge of power, not unlike what he had felt when Anansi blessed him¡ªand almost as large as the power that he had felt flow into him from the Spider God.
Please don¡¯t take this as an insult, Anansi, James thought. He had not had the chance to consult his patron about him taking on a second patron deity. But he doubted the Spider God would have any objection. Anansi understood the necessity of James accumulating a great deal of power to himself, and it was Anansi himself who had suggested that James should trust in ¡®Bear.¡¯
[Required conditions met. Title obtained: Blessed One of Vidarr!]
[Patron deity Vidarr has granted additional Titles: Pillar of Creation, Avenger, and Silencer.]
James felt more substantial than he ever had before. Like he could fight Fenrir himself, bare-handed, and win.
It was pure adrenaline, he knew.
Then again, maybe¡
Vidarr suddenly began talking again, the god¡¯s voice coming out in a rush.
¡°Do not think to betray us, human. It would be calamitous for both my family and your species.¡± There was a desperate quality to his voice, and a weakness, that James had never observed in Vidarr before. The words were less carefully chosen; the divine grace that James had not fully understood before was almost abandoned.
James attributed it to the fact that the god¡¯s presence was fading. The Fisher King, observing the Silent Aesir¡¯s body language, could easily see that he was on the verge of collapse. His body seemed thinner in his all black attire, as if the outfit might fall away, and there would only be bones and dust underneath.
The god went on, now punctuating his speech by gesticulating, jabbing his index finger forward with each word. ¡°If you fail us, there is another, younger and stronger than you, who we will empower in your stead.¡±
For a split second, James almost wanted to ask, Well, why didn¡¯t you approach him, then?
But then reality shifted just a little more.
[Unauthorized presence detected! All mortals hearing this message, please take cover! Expelling all involved unauthorized presences!]
A loud System message practically screamed inside of his mind and appeared before his eyes. For the first time, the text was all angry red, and every sentence ended with an exclamation point.
¡°What in the¡ª¡± James¡¯s mother¡¯s voice broke in, indicating that she had seen and heard the System message too.
But James did not even turn to look in her direction. He was transfixed by the sight in front of him, more ominous than any System message he could imagine.
Vidarr¡¯s body had frozen in place as the System¡¯s message rang out, finger still pointing at James as if in mute accusation. It seemed like the god was literally paralyzed. Perhaps he was.
It felt strange to imagine an impersonal force strong enough to stop a deity in his tracks, but Vidarr had spoken as if the System had power over where he could and could not go. Looking back, even Anansi had never spoken derisively of the System¡¯s influence over the universe. The way he talked about it, the System was a sort of mediating force within the divine community¡ªalmost the same sort of regulatory role it now had for humans.
More importantly, even as those thoughts ran through the back of his mind, James¡¯s survival instincts blared a loud warning at the language of the System¡¯s message. It seemed to herald incoming violence.
The little hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and his eyes darted around for a moment, looking for visual indicators of a threat. And finally, James threw himself to the ground, just conscious enough of his mother¡¯s presence nearby to hurl himself in her general direction.
There was a deafeningly loud sound as if the sky was falling.
Then the whole world seemed to explode around them.
V5Ch3-The Violence of the System
Mina was coming down the stairs with James, Junior in one hand and little Deepam in the other. Indira trailed behind her, taking the steps slowly and carefully at Mina¡¯s insistence.
Then it happened. There was a colossal, explosive sound from outside.
Mina¡¯s breathing quickened. Her grip tightened on the babies, until Junior made a small noise and drew her attention to it.
¡°Sorry, baby,¡± she said quietly, relaxing a bit.
Mina forced herself to descend the stairs at the same rate as before, even as her heart pounded. She didn¡¯t want to get too far ahead of Indira, lest the little girl trip and fall without anything in front of her to stop her descent.
When the group finally reached the bottom of the stairs, Mina shifted the babies into one arm while she opened the door.
She almost dropped them when she saw the scene outside.
Mina reminded herself to breathe, and then she stood very still and tried to understand the scene.
From the part of the Fisher Kingdom that bordered the former Haunted Forest, to an area of the forest itself stretching to perhaps forty feet away from the border with the Fisher Kingdom, there was a terrible radius of destruction.
There was no better word to describe what had happened to the landscape other than ¡°flattened.¡±
The trees within the circle of debris had been smashed. Not cut down but crushed to bits, as if stepped on by a giant boot.
A handful of people near the border space staggered around, plucking thick clumps of splinters from their exposed flesh. A few dead bodies littered the ground closer to the crushed space. One had a thick hunk of wood protruding from his or her head, completely obliterating the face. The two closest bodies were practically pulped, reduced to puddles of blood and dark substances, bits of broken bone sticking out of the nearby ground like strange crops.
And just to the side of the forest, on the edge of what appeared to be a circular zone of destruction, there was a newly erected apartment building. One of the walls had been sheared away by whatever force had destroyed that hunk of forest and killed those people. The interior of the building now stood exposed to the open air, half a staircase intact jutting into nowhere.
There was an open living room and an open kitchen on the two floors.
Were there people in those rooms too?
Some catastrophe that Mina did not understand, that she had no words for, had struck, seemingly at random, right in the middle of the Fisher Kingdom.
Wait. Something like this happened without James stopping it? James¡
¡°Oh my gosh¡¡± Mina murmured.
¡°What¡¯s that?¡±
Mina spun around and grabbed the little girl who was peeking out from behind her dress. She covered Indira¡¯s eyes and began whispering to her.
¡°That¡¯s nothing for you to see, little one. You have to keep your eyes covered for me, all right? I¡¯m going to figure out what¡¯s happened.¡±
¡°Uh, okay,¡± the little girl said.
Mina saw Indira¡¯s fingers immediately begin to part as the child tried to get a better look at the carnage. She spun Indira around and whispered again.
¡°No, really, Indira, you can¡¯t look, okay. I¡¯m going to walk you out there backwards, so just behave yourself and don¡¯t try.¡±
The little girl nodded, and Mina began pushing her backward, one hand on the top of Indira¡¯s head, the other gripping the two babies as tightly as she could.
The awkward foursome made their way across the ground slowly and laboriously. Despite minor stumbles, Mina managed to avoid either her or Indira falling. As they drew closer to the scene of carnage, Mina deviated in their course.
The school and daycare buildings were undamaged by the event that had flattened the forest, and Mina now approached the front door to the daycare and knocked.
The door was almost immediately pulled open by a young woman with a worried expression on her face.
¡°What¡¯s going on out here?¡± the woman asked in a hushed tone. ¡°We told the children everything is all right, but some of them have tried to run away. We¡¯re barely keeping things under control. The noise spooked everyone.¡±
Mina looked at her and said, ¡°We don¡¯t know yet. Take these children. I¡¯m going to investigate.¡±
The woman looked like she wanted to discuss the matter earlier, but Mina gave her a look that said she was not in the mood to have a long conversation. Then the daycare worker nodded, took one child in each arm, and turned back into the building.
Indira looked up at Mina.
Mina could tell the child was trying not to let her eyes wander over to the destruction visible just behind Mina, so she placed a gentle hand on Indira¡¯s cheek, guiding the girl¡¯s face away from the grim sight.
¡°Follow her,¡± Mina said quietly, pointing after the daycare woman. ¡°You¡¯ll be safe here.¡±
¡°You¡¯ll come back?¡± Indira asked, suddenly intelligent and earnest as a child beyond her years.
Mina nodded without hesitation. ¡°I will.¡±
¡°Okay.¡± Indira nodded back and then turned to pursue the daycare woman. As Indira was stepping away, another female figure appeared.
¡°What happened?¡± Yulia asked. ¡°People are¡ª¡±
¡°I know,¡± Mina interrupted. ¡°People are freaking out. I don¡¯t know what happened; I¡¯m about to investigate. If you¡¯re free, you can come with me. We might need healing. But whatever¡¯s going on out here, you need to know it¡¯s ugly.¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!
Yulia looked into Mina¡¯s eyes for a moment, then nodded. She stepped out and closed the door behind her, and the two women walked out toward the border space that had been destroyed. There were many onlookers now, but none of these people got too close. They instinctively stood back, forming a ring around the place of destruction.
Mina and Yulia pushed gently through the loosely packed crowd, and they stepped into the edge of the circle. Yulia could now see the same horrific spectacle that had presented itself to Mina a few minutes earlier.
Maimed people sat, dazed, staring at nothing, bodies still dotted all over with huge splinters of wood. Those less fortunate lay in chunky pieces on the ground. A few of the most grievously wounded who were still living were being healed first by the small number of Healers who had responded first to the grisly scene. Slow progress was being made, but the overall impression was of having stepped into the middle of some sort of open air slaughterhouse.
The earth was soaked with blood, and more was being added to it as those who had not been healed yet continued bleeding profusely.
¡°Oh my God,¡± Yulia said, putting a hand over her mouth.
¡°Mina, Yulia, it¡¯s good to see you.¡±
The two women looked up from the gruesome display to see Chief Leo DaSilva of the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s police.
It must have been him who told the crowd to stay back and asked for volunteers. Good old Leo.
¡°Good to see you, too, Leo,¡± Mina said.
Yulia just nodded and slowly swallowed a lump in her throat.
¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to come around and ask how you¡¯ve been doing, Yulia,¡± Leo asked in a friendly tone of voice. ¡°I won¡¯t bother now. I wish we could see each other under better circumstances. Are you two able to help us with this? I know you can both heal.¡±
Mina nodded, and Yulia nodded after her.
¡°Yulia can do some healing, I think,¡± Mina said. ¡°I¡¯m a little worried about what might have gone on further into the forest.¡±
She had a bad feeling that she could not quite explain.
Leo nodded thoughtfully. ¡°So you¡¯re going to take a look and see if anyone¡¯s still alive in the middle of that.¡± He gestured at the flattened space behind him. ¡°Do you want an escort? We still don¡¯t know what did this¡ªor at least I don¡¯t.¡±
Mina shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t think I need one. If it was enemy action, I¡¯ll defend myself. But something like this¡ªit¡¯s hard for me to imagine that any normal kind of magic did it. There¡¯s only one thing I can think of that could have.¡±
Leo¡¯s expression took on a look of realization. He mouthed the words, ¡°The System?¡±
Mina nodded. She sensed Yulia¡¯s shocked reaction in her peripheral vision, but Mina did not have time to explain to the two of them what was, at most, a hastily cobbled together conclusion. She only had time for what was urgent.
¡°If you have a spare man or two, send one to fetch Zora¡ªJames¡¯s mother,¡± Mina said. She gestured in the direction of Zora¡¯s laboratory.
Leo looked confused for a moment.
¡°She raises the dead,¡± Yulia said in a low voice.
¡°Oh,¡± said Leo. ¡°Right.¡±
¡°I think we might have some need of her,¡± Mina said flatly. ¡°Or at least I think James would want her to be available to those who might wish to make use of her services.¡±
¡°Okay, that¡¯s your call,¡± said Leo respectfully. He turned his head and barked an order. ¡°Fitzgerald, you¡¯re to go and get the Fisher King¡¯s mother. Zora¡¯s her name! Ask directions if you need to. She has a laboratory in that direction!¡±
A young man with a head of sleek, slicked back hair that reminded Mina of an otter got up from attending the wounded and then rushed away at Leo¡¯s command.
¡°I¡¯m glad we have you here right now, Leo,¡± Mina said.
¡°Of course,¡± he replied. He lowered his voice. ¡°Um, is the King somewhere?¡±
¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m wondering,¡± Mina said, her face contorting with worry.
Leo looked like he wanted to say something kind, but she didn¡¯t bother with any more discussion. At that point, she felt that she had stayed in place too long already. She sprang forward and rushed past the dead and the wounded, heading into the former Haunted Forest.
The ground was littered with hunks of broken timber, like someone had unleashed an army of beavers to demolish the forest and they had just left their handiwork strewn all over the ground. She hopped from one piece of log to another, stepping onto whatever branches and bits of trunk looked stable enough to hold her weight.
More than once, she went down, and the second time, she scraped her hands enough to draw a little blood, but she never let herself slow down, and she never stopped searching.
Mina¡¯s eyes constantly darted around, looking for any sign of the most important person in her world.
¡°James,¡± she said under her breath. ¡°James, where are you?¡±
Her mind was whirling with fear and doubt.
She knew that James could normally see and hear anything that was important to him within the Fisher Kingdom. In the case of a crisis like this, if he wasn¡¯t active helping rescue people and reassuring the public, it would be because he was observing the situation with his powers and figuring out the best course of action.
Unless he¡¯s hurt. Badly hurt. Or worse¡
Mina shook her head. She wouldn¡¯t allow herself to even think it.
¡°Focus, Danailova,¡± she said to herself. ¡°Wait, no, I¡¯m Robard now!¡± She smiled despite her present sense of desperation. That was one good thing to come out of the System¡¯s descent.
Then her eyes opened wide. She saw a pop of red, just a body¡¯s length away.
Her eyes followed the spurt of color along a piece of wood to where it originated, just underneath the rubble of this strange disaster.
Mina darted over to the wood and began clearing away the debris with her bare hands. She didn¡¯t slow down, or even really notice, as the jagged chunks of tree splintered her hand. She only threw on the brakes when she saw a piece of brown flesh. It was slowly but surely pulsating blood.
This arm is too thin to be James¡¯s.
She uncovered the stump and then saw the shape of a larger figure begin to reveal itself. This body, she recognized immediately. She immediately placed a hand on his back, slipping it in between the shattered chunks of armor that covered most of his torso, over where his heart should be.
Some of the tension went out of Mina¡¯s body as she felt the slow, ragged pulse.
Still alive. My crazy husband is still alive.
She smiled again, tears rising at the edges of her vision.
James had thrown himself over the top of the other, smaller person, so that only the stump arm Mina had seen initially was exposed.
Mina took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Then she examined James¡¯s condition.
It wasn¡¯t good. She could tell at a glance that his arms and legs were broken, and everything that hadn¡¯t been covered in armor was heavily bruised. The armor itself was shattered, but it had mostly protected what lay underneath it, although Mina saw a couple of places where the armor itself had been driven shallowly into James¡¯s flesh.
She began Laying on Hands immediately, starting with James¡¯s head. That had taken some of the worst bruising, and Mina imagined that if it had taken serious damage that went untreated, her husband might never wake up.
Her hands shook slightly as she gently applied the green aura of healing magic to her husband¡¯s most vital area, but she felt a calm settling in her heart. She knew what she could do to help. James was still alive. Everything would be okay.
Mina could already guess who would be beneath James¡ªhe would not have thrown himself over just anyone¡¯s body¡ªand she planned to heal Zora too.
But James had certainly taken the brunt of the damage here. And Mina wasn¡¯t married to Zora.
¡°You two are both going to be all right,¡± Mina said softly. ¡°Just fine. Wake up soon, okay, skapi? Wake up very soon¡¡±
V5Ch4-The Floating World
As the world exploded around him, James¡¯s consciousness was forcefully shattered.
The last sensation he felt was that of being struck from above across every section of his body with a giant hammer.
Then darkness fell¡ªbut only for a moment. His consciousness splintered into a million little pieces, but something inside him appeared to be resistant to his mind scattering against his will.
James opened his eyes and found himself floating in the air. The first sensation he felt was the wind. It moved around and through him. As he looked down, he realized he was hovering above the Fisher Kingdom specifically. He recognized the community center immediately.
What is this? I wasn¡¯t using my powers, was I?
The last few minutes were sort of a blank. James remembered that he had been talking to Bear¡ªno, Vidarr.
Vidarr blessed me, and then¡ª
The memory of the intense pressure and pain from when the world had exploded struck him, and James winced slightly. He stopped trying to recall in detail for the moment.
Right. I don¡¯t quite feel it here, but my body is probably fucked right now.
He looked down and tried to focus visually on the area where he had been. It was much easier than it should have been.
Instead of dense forest, there was now a large, partially flattened space where he and Vidarr had wandered for their conversation.
From above, a chunk of the Fisher Kingdom had been leveled; it looked like it had been smashed down with a giant cylinder of some sort. Every tree within a certain radius¡ªmaybe thirty or forty feet in each direction¡ªhad been pulverized into chunks. It appeared that one of James¡¯s apartment buildings had been smashed up a little, too.
And a crowd was gathered outside. They seemed to have formed a perimeter close to the edge of the circle of destruction.
Goddamned System¡ Is anyone hurt? He focused on the people on the ground, and his consciousness started to dip toward the surface level.
Suddenly his immaterial form dropped like a stone.
Then he could hear the crowd. He could see them from up close. He was among them.
This is so weird. James felt as if he was in between two people, despite the fact that their bodies were pressed close together, leaving no space for him if he was in a physical body.
¡°All right, now that we have a little privacy, tell me what happened.¡± Leo DaSilva was speaking to a male figure with sallow skin, greasy black hair, and a hooked nose. The two men had stepped away from the gathered circle, as if one was about to take the other into his confidence.
¡°As I said before, I really don¡¯t understand what happened,¡± the other man began. He sounded slightly annoyed to still be talking to the Chief of Police.
Leo clapped a heavy hand on the man¡¯s shoulder.
¡°I don¡¯t need your interpretation,¡± he said in a voice heavy with patience. ¡°I just need you to tell me what you observed. You were one of the only people who was close to the forest when the world exploded. The other people are in bits and pieces or severely injured. I need to know what¡¯s going on. Even if you don¡¯t have a clear idea, that¡¯s what police are for. We investigate. So, what did you hear and see?¡±
¡°Very well. I heard a voice, and I saw a message.¡±
¡°You¡ªyou saw¡?¡±
¡°There was a pop-up. It was like a System message.¡± The man nodded as if agreeing with himself. ¡°I think the voice was the same one I heard when the System first appeared, on that day a few months ago¡ª¡±
¡°It was the System that did this,¡± Leo said in a low voice, almost disbelieving, disregarding the other man¡¯s slight rambling. ¡°Damn it. Why am I so surprised? The System loves fucking with us¡¡±
¡°What are you saying?¡± the man asked. ¡°Is the System attacking the Kingdom?¡±
There was a murmur from the people gathered, as one or two of them must have overheard a snatch of the conversation.
¡°Keep your voice down,¡± Leo hissed. ¡°And don¡¯t tell anyone about this! You could spark a panic. We don¡¯t have any idea what happened here. I¡¯ll meet with the King later. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll know what this was.¡±
James found himself pleased with Leo¡¯s management of the situation. James hadn¡¯t known much of what to expect from his Chief of Police, but quelling panic was all he could reasonably hope for Leo to do here. And Leo seemed to think along the same lines as James.
¡°Right, right,¡± said the other man.
¡°Listen, what¡¯s your name?¡± Leo asked. He gestured at the apartments around them. ¡°And where do you stay around here? I may have more questions later, and I can hopefully give you an update when I know more¡ªprovided, of course, that you don¡¯t get any rumors going by yapping about what you¡¯ve just told me¡¡±
James regretfully pulled himself away from Leo¡¯s admirable crisis management. The mention of his name had reminded him that his unconscious body was in the wreckage of this disaster, along with his mother¡¯s. It could be problematic if the public were to see him pulled from the thick of the destruction, badly hurt and unconscious. The image might even lead to the panic that Leo was worried about.
The Fisher King was the symbol of his Kingdom¡¯s strength, after all.
James focused on returning to where his physical body was, and suddenly his astral form shot across the landscape, hurtling toward the location of his fallen figure. He streaked across the landscape so quickly that he could hardly take in the space he passed through¡ªthough there was not much in that area in any case, the violence of the System having shattered everything that stood.
In a moment, he floated beside where his body was. But the first thing he saw was Mina. She knelt silently beside his battered, broken body, pouring healing power into it. James¡¯s mother was also there, still alive, although one of her arms had been splattered into complete mush below the elbow, and the rest of her body looked in similarly bad shape to James¡¯s body.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Oh, no, you can¡¯t focus on me right now, Mina, James thought. If I survived those injuries, I¡¯ll recover from them eventually. Mom doesn¡¯t have any healing Skills, and she definitely doesn¡¯t have any passive healing Skills like mine. There was a reasonably high chance that his mother could die, just from being slammed into the ground by James¡¯s body when he took the hit from the System¡¯s attack.
After all, it had been an attack designed to remove the presence of a god¡ªor a god¡¯s avatar, at least.
I guess I¡¯ll just tell her.
James focused his mind on trying to re-inhabit his mess of a body. He felt an intangible resistance to his presence there, but he pushed through.
After a moment, he felt his kinesthesia return. He knew where all his limbs were and felt his positioning on the ground¡ªand he felt intense, overwhelming pain that far surpassed what his Pain Resistance Skill could suppress. Every part of his body seemed to be a wreck.
He tried to open his mouth to speak¡ª¡°Mina,¡± he mumbled¡ªand then he felt as if he might die. His consciousness shattered into a thousand pieces.
When James came to, he was in the floating world once again, hovering just above the space where Mina worked on his body.
Goddammnit. What did I train my Pain Resistance for¡?
In his annoyance, he ignored the fact that he had never deliberately trained his Pain Resistance; it was something that had developed because of his propensity for losing limbs and breaking bones. He had never tested its ability to mitigate nearly destroying his entire body.
James went into problem-solving mode.
What can I still do while my body isn¡¯t working?
First, he pulled himself closer to where his body lay again. It was hard to miss the fact that Mina was making little headway with Laying On Hands. His injuries were profound, and his natural healing abilities were probably stronger than her barely-trained, copied healing Skill.
I wish I could tell her to focus on Mom for now, he thought.
James looked at his mother¡¯s unconscious form and thought that he noticed her breathing had grown shallower. It was impossible to be certain, because he did not have the same level of superhuman senses without control over his physical body.
It was absolutely clear, however, that she still bled from the stump of her pulverized limb, albeit slowly. James was not surprised Mina had not addressed this yet. She had no medical training, and his own body looked like it had been crushed in some sort of industrial accident. It was natural for any woman to prioritize her husband¡¯s wellbeing over that of her mother-in-law.
But if things continued on as they were, he expected that Zora would die here.
Experimentally, he reached out with his Fisher King powers. He touched the soil that was imbued with his aura, and to his pleasant surprise, the earth responded.
It wasn¡¯t much. James had not attempted anything dramatic.
A tiny tendril of dirt rose from just beside his body, and then it flopped down again, like a gently wagging finger.
Jackpot.
Mina had not noticed a thing. She had her tunnel vision on, looking for the worst areas of James¡¯s injuries and trying to mitigate where there was likely damage to internal organs, the brain, or the spine.
But James thought he knew how to penetrate those layers of focus.
He focused again, and he ordered the soil to move in a much less subtle way.
A wall of earth suddenly rose out of the ground and separated Mina and the unconscious forms of her patients from the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s line of sight. James¡¯s body was at such a low elevation¡ªMina had not dug it out fully from the tree limbs all around it yet¡ªthat no one would have been able to see it up to now.
But he did not want to take any chances of someone seeing what was happening.
As the barrier appeared, Mina instantly switched modes, from healing to combat-ready. The color of her aura changed from green to fiery red, her whole body tensed up, and her head rapidly turned from side to side, looking for whoever had just used magic on the soil. She clearly expected a challenge.
[I didn¡¯t mean to scare you.]
James had tried to explain himself, purely reflexively rather than thinking it would actually work. But to his surprise, the sound of the words actually materialized, emanating from the air beside Mina¡¯s ear.
¡°Skapi?¡± Her voice came out quiet and unsteady, almost a whimper. For the first time, James noticed that there were tears in the corners of her eyes. Had those been there already, or were they tears of relief?
She looked down at James¡¯s useless body as if she expected his lips to move.
[Yes, it¡¯s me. My consciousness is separate from my body at the moment, due to the extent of my injuries. I don¡¯t think any of them are serious anymore, but I will need a bit of recovery time. The combination of your healing and my natural recovery Skills have me in the clear, I¡¯m pretty sure.]
James was stretching the truth with much of this. From what he could see, Mina¡¯s Laying On Hands was not actually doing much, and he thought his injuries were actually just as horrible and serious as they looked, but he had to choose his words carefully at the moment.
[My Mom¡¯s going to die if you don¡¯t heal her arm, though.]
Now he went straight to the point.
Mina nodded, turned, and immediately switched from offensive magic to healing again. James appreciated the trust that her actions conveyed, and he was also impressed as always by her deft control of her magic¡ªa knack for those Skills that he still sorely lacked.
Of course, he was particularly relieved to see his mother¡¯s bleeding reduce to a trickle, and her flesh and bone slowly begin to reshape itself where there had been a fully destroyed lower arm a moment before.
[The last thing I wanted to mention, besides thanking you for healing me and my Mom, is that I was hoping you could avoid me being seen in this condition by the citizens. I was just listening to the gathered crowd over there, and I think Leo has his hands full keeping them from panicking. It would be best if they don¡¯t see how bad my injuries look.]
She did not pause in her efforts but simply spoke as if talking required no additional focus, without looking up from Zora¡¯s regenerating arm.
¡°I have a way to transport you back without being seen, skapi. Both you and your mother. But how did this happen? Is there an enemy still close?¡±
[Not exactly, but we might want to sell it as the result of an epic battle or something¡]
James explained the events that had occurred leading up to the System destroying everything around Vidarr and James.
That reminds me¡
He reached out with his senses, looking for any remnants of Vidarr¡¯s body. Even the avatar of a god would undoubtedly drop some good loot when destroyed, and if James could Pillage something from a literal god, he might become truly unstoppable.
Unfortunately, what he found was less promising. The body appeared to have completely disintegrated, and the ashes had been scattered or destroyed or mixed with the debris of the forest¡¯s destruction in some way that would likely prevent James from Pillaging them.
What did remain¡ªwhich he used his power over the soil to maneuver into Mina¡¯s custody¡ªwere Vidarr¡¯s black cloak and featureless mask. Both items appeared curiously undamaged by the cataclysmic force that had destroyed Vidarr¡¯s avatar so thoroughly and almost killed James and his mother.
Mina appeared uncharacteristically incurious about the items, still focused on her mission. She just stashed them inside her Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions at James¡¯s request and continued healing
Even in his non-material form, James could not help but smile.
I picked a really reliable wife.
As he waited for her to place his body into the bag, he thought about what he would do with his floating consciousness, assuming that it would take some time for his body to recover enough to be usable.
There was an obvious answer.
I¡¯ll go and check how Alan and Mitzi are doing, he thought.
James told Mina his plan, and then he took off.
V5Ch5-The Hour of the Healers
¡°Excuse me,¡± Mina said quietly, keeping her head down and trying to be as inconspicuous as possible as she reentered the central part of the Fisher Kingdom, cutting through the crowd of people who remained gathered to gawk at the edge of the former Haunted Forest.
She raised her eyes and saw that her surreptitious movements had been of no use.
Everyone was looking her way. Some averted their eyes as she took them in, while others stared rather brazenly, but nearly every resident of the Fisher Kingdom knew what their Queen looked like, and those who did not know were being quickly educated on the subject by their neighbors.
¡°Y-your Majesty,¡± began one voice at the periphery of the crowd.
Then the air was filled with the sounds of questions.
¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±
¡°Where¡¯s the King?¡±
¡°Do you know who did this?¡±
A few people also moved toward her, until a loud voice stopped them in their tracks.
¡°Everyone stay back!¡± Leo roared. ¡°Give the woman some breathing room! I already gave orders that you were to keep your distance. Don¡¯t make us start arresting people!¡±
The ones who had stepped forward pulled back reluctantly, muttering to themselves and looking down at the ground.
Leo stepped toward Mina and put an arm around her shoulder.
¡°I¡¯m going to escort the Queen home,¡± he added loudly, his neck veins bulging out as he raised his voice once more.
They cut through the crowd together and walked for a couple of minutes, eyes of the crowd still following them, before either of them spoke again.
¡°Anything you can tell me about our situation?¡± he asked in a low voice as they cleared the outskirts of the mass of people. ¡°Or where your husband is?¡±
¡°Not out here,¡± Mina whispered. ¡°I¡¯m going to need you not to ask about him again in public. At least not until we have a good idea of what to say.¡± She resisted the impulse to look down at her Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions.
Leo¡¯s eyes widened slightly, but then he took control of his face again. There were still eyes on them after all.
¡°Say no more,¡± he murmured.
He pulled his arm back down to his side as they grew more distant from the crowd of curious onlookers, but he continued walking with her all the way to the royal apartment.
¡°Thank you,¡± Mina said. She was still mostly focused on her worry for her husband and, to a lesser extent, Zora, both of whom were safely stashed in her Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions, but she retained enough objectivity to recognize that Leo had done her a big favor by getting her away from the public.
¡°It¡¯s what I do,¡± Leo said in a very contented voice. ¡°Frankly, I didn¡¯t think I would get to do police work again after the end of the world came. I owe your husband for that. Keeping his wife from having to deal with a nosy crowd is the least I can do.¡± He gave her a firm look for a moment, then added, ¡°You will issue a statement explaining what happened, won¡¯t you? The public is going to need to know about¡ªum, whatever this situation is.¡±
Mina nodded. ¡°We will.¡± She stopped walking. They had arrived at her front door now. ¡°Why don¡¯t you come up, and we¡¯ll discuss it a little bit? You can probably help me out.¡±
Leo smiled and looked relieved. ¡°I¡¯m glad I¡¯ll have something to tell my people about this.¡±
Even if it¡¯s a lie? Mina wondered. That had been James¡¯s initial plan when she spoke to him. Sell the destruction, and James¡¯s injuries, as the result of an epic battle.
She put the thought behind her for a moment as they closed the door and began ascending the stairs to the apartment.
¡°So, when are you going to tell me where His Majesty is?¡± Leo asked.
¡°Oh, he¡¯s with me,¡± Mina replied vaguely. She wondered silently if anyone at the door besides James would be able to overhear the conversation she was about to have with Leo.
¡°As in, with you in your heart?¡± Leo asked. ¡°Or is he literally here?¡± He looked around briskly as the interior of the apartment came into view. ¡°Does James have an invisibility Skill, to go with all the other crap he can do?¡± He sounded like he wanted to laugh.
He has a cloak that can make him invisible, actually, Mina thought. Plus a camouflage Skill. Kind of redundant to have both, actually¡
Aloud, she said, ¡°He¡¯s with me in my bag.¡± Stepping out into the living room, she patted her Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions where it hung on her hip. Then she turned to face Leo, who was now standing at the top of the stairs too.
¡°Oh. Okay. Perfectly normal.¡± Leo spoke as if he wanted to ask why, but he just looked at Mina and waited.
¡°He was in the middle of the impact zone,¡± she explained. ¡°He¡¯s actually badly hurt, and he didn¡¯t want anyone to see him as I transported him here.¡± She almost, but not quite, managed to suppress a catch in her throat. As she spoke, she had remembered how bad James¡¯s condition was¡ªand how upset she had been when she saw him.
¡°Is he going to be all right?¡± Leo asked. He stepped closer, as if he was thinking about embracing Mina¡ªbut then he held back. Perhaps he had the idea that it might be inappropriate.
Mina wasn¡¯t particularly touchy-feely with non-family-members anyway, so she did not close the gap.
¡°He will,¡± she told herself as much as him. ¡°James is tougher than anyone knows.¡± The words came out proud, but with a hint of insecurity.
A smile tugged at the edge of Leo¡¯s lips.
¡°Of course he will. I know he¡¯s tough. Could definitely kick my ass at least.¡± Leo rubbed his left shoulder as if there was some sudden pain there.
¡°Anyway, I¡¯m going to lay him out on the bed and treat him, but first, I wanted to talk to you about what you can say to people.¡±
¡°Yeah, what exactly happened?¡± Leo asked.
She gave him a hard look, then decided to just tell the truth. It had never gone poorly with Leo before.
¡°You can¡¯t tell anyone about this,¡± she began.
Leo simply nodded.
¡°The System attacked the Kingdom,¡± Mina said. ¡°We had someone staying here who was a god in disguise. He was watching James, trying to see if James could do some task for the Norse gods. I guess it was pretty important.¡± She waved her hand impatiently to show how important it was to her and continued, ¡°The System doesn¡¯t want gods visiting Earth right now, so once it registered this fellow¡¯s presence, it tried to destroy the whole area around him. He apparently had some method of hiding where he was, but I guess it was on a time limit or something.¡±
¡°I see,¡± Leo said, lips pursed.
¡°What, you don¡¯t believe me?¡± Mina asked, evaluating the look on his face. She was ready to tell Leo to leave, if he actually doubted her story. She only needed people who would support her and James around just then.
¡°Huh? Oh, sure, I believe you, Mina,¡± Leo said awkwardly. ¡°If that¡¯s how you say things went down¡ªor how James says things happened. I was just thinking that this confirms again, I guess, that my God isn¡¯t the only god out there. It¡¯s easy for me to default back to standard Catholic and just blissfully forget the shi¡ªstuff we¡¯ve learned. Still, um, processing.¡± His brow furrowed, and his eyes became distant.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Is this how Yulia feels when we talk about the gods? Mina wondered. She knew Yulia had remained devout long after the other sisters in the family lost their faith. Well, I suppose we don¡¯t talk about them very much anyway¡
¡°At any rate, I don¡¯t think we can safely tell the public what actually happened,¡± Mina said. ¡°You saw how the crowd was acting out there. They¡¯re already scared. Most people think of the System as a god-like force in the world based on their Orientation experiences¡ªand they¡¯re not wrong. If we told the actual, literal truth, it could give people the idea that the country is disfavored by the System, and people might flee the Kingdom. Which would be bad for us and bad for them. So, James and I were thinking of a different story. We would need the first responders who pick up the wreckage of the scene to corroborate it, though. You in particular.¡±
Leo tilted his head side to side and grimaced as if rolling the idea around in his head, then nodded.
¡°I think that¡¯s a rational approach,¡± he said. ¡°They say that behind every great fortune is a great crime. Well, beneath every nation is a foundation of lies and dead bodies.¡± He shrugged. ¡°This is a good thing to lie about. So, what story are we feeding the people?¡±
Mina thought that her friend from Orientation was far more comfortable with lying to the public than she had expected¡ªmaybe a little too comfortable¡ªbut decided to chalk it up to him agreeing with her judgment of what the citizens could handle.
¡°We keep it vague for the moment,¡± Mina said. ¡°Once James is awake again, he¡¯ll make a full announcement with the complete cover story. But the short version is that a powerful enemy attacked, and James was injured defeating him. Something that fits with the heroic image that my husband has already developed.¡± She couldn¡¯t help puffing herself up with pride a bit as she spoke. Her husband was a hero, after all¡ªa hero and a leader of such stature that even the gods paid attention to him.
¡°I can do that,¡± Leo said, seemingly oblivious to the shift in Mina¡¯s mood. ¡°Is there anything else I can do for you? Do you need protection while James is recovering? Or should I send someone up to help heal James? I know you and Yulia have healing, but I figure every helping hand adds something. I can look for people who would be discreet until you make the announcement. Even if you just wanted Hilda to come and be a bodyguard, I¡¯m sure she would do it.¡± He chuckled quietly. ¡°She¡¯s feisty.¡±
Mina thought for a moment. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think we need protection. We don¡¯t have enemies here¡¡±
Her voice trailed off as Leo gave her a very skeptical look.
¡°You don¡¯t have enemies that you know about,¡± he said gently. ¡°Would James agree that you don¡¯t have enemies?¡±
¡°I think he would,¡± Mina said. She thought of the fact that James could actually observe anything and everything happening inside his territory as he wished, which she could not, of course, say out loud. Then she remembered the monotheists and frowned. ¡°Actually, could you send Hilda? Like you said, she is feisty. Her presence would be pretty inconspicuous. And it would be good if she and I got to know each other a little better, especially if the two of you are, um, seriously involved.¡±
She¡¯s also blessed by a Norse god, just like James is now, Mina thought. She might have additional information for us, a message, or some other insights.
Leo nodded and tried to contain his smile. ¡°Okay, then. I¡¯ll send her.¡±
Mina tried to smile back, but the curve to her lips was faint. Her thoughts had returned to the problem of James¡¯s injuries, and the image of them was like a splinter in her mind¡¯s eye.
¡°I¡¯ll go,¡± Leo added, his expression turning sad as he looked toward Mina. ¡°Good luck.¡±
Mina dipped her head in acknowledgement.
¡°Thank you.¡± Her voice was very low. She felt suddenly tired.
The day hasn¡¯t been that long, has it? She shook her head. No, it was morning not long ago. Still is morning. You¡¯re just dealing with a lot¡
¡°Nothing else I can do?¡± Leo asked. He looked worried.
Mina shook her head and made herself give a weary smile.
¡°I¡¯ll be just fine,¡± she said.
Leo nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll just send Hilda, then.¡±
Mina watched him descend the stairs, and then she withdrew to the bedroom. She opened the Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions and pulled James out of it. For a moment, he was weightless, hovering over the bed Mina had positioned the bag in front of. Then the strange magic of the device released him, and he crashed down with a mercifully soft thud.
She allowed herself to exhale and relax slightly, and she put the bag away.
I¡¯ll get Zora out of the bag once Yulia comes home from work.
Her understanding of the Small Bag of Deceptive Dimension¡¯s functioning, from occasional experiments, was that items placed inside were effectively in suspended animation. Leaving Zora inside the bag hopefully made it less likely that her condition would worsen before some healing could be applied. This was especially important, because despite what James had said earlier, Mina wanted to focus on healing him until either he was better or it was necessary for her to focus on Zora.
You understand, right, skapi? she thought. Your mother is wonderful, really, I admire her very much. Since my mother died, especially, she is a great role model. An intelligent and strong lady. But I do not love her the way I love you. I could never prioritize her life over yours, even if you try to act tough, as if you were not in terrible pain¡
Mina cut that train of thought off. She could feel herself about to become emotional, and now was not the time for that.
She took a hair band out of her bag and quickly placed her hair into a loose ponytail, to keep it from falling in front of her face. Then she set to work with Laying On Hands, healing James of his most serious injuries.
Mina¡¯s mind locked on and focused so exclusively on James that she missed the sound of her stomach growling and the feeling of fatigue slowly settling over her bones. She managed her Mana so skillfully that she was able to continue the exercise for hours. She would have probably persisted into nightfall if Yulia had not come home.
As the sound of footsteps ascending the stairs rang through the apartment, Mina shook herself slightly.
Oh, is it that time already? she thought. She felt the sudden emptiness around her middle and smiled despite herself. Then she glanced down at James, and the smile turned to a slight frown. I¡¯ve made barely any progress in all that time. The worst of the injuries looked slightly better. James¡¯s body no longer looked like it might fail at any moment. But to Mina¡¯s non-medical eyes, it still appeared as if he was a permanently crippled patient¡ªor at least as if he would require years of recovery to move properly again.
He had dozens of broken bones still, almost every inch of skin was bruised, and there was dried blood from a dozen wounds where his shattered armor had punctured or sliced into his skin¡ªthough the lacerations were closed now. They had not been among James¡¯s most life-threatening injuries, but Mina had treated the shattered armor cuts because she found the blood flow from those wounds distracting.
The main contribution I made was fixing the spinal damage and some of the head trauma, Mina thought. It was a miracle James was able to talk earlier at all. She suddenly felt his absence keenly, for the first time in hours, and had to hold back tears.
I know you¡¯re with Alan and Mitzi, but it would be great if you could come back here and just talk to me for a little while.
¡°Sis, are you okay?¡±
Mina looked up. Yulia stood in the doorway.
For once, Mina had nothing to say. She felt the tears gathering in the corner of her eyes, and she thought anything she might say would cause them to come rolling down her cheeks.
Fortunately, Yulia saved her from talking. Yulia¡¯s eyes darted away from Mina¡¯s face to the supine form on the bed.
¡°Oh my gosh,¡± Yulia said. ¡°James¡¡±
The teenager stepped forward as if pulled by invisible strings toward her wounded brother-in-law. She looked upset and afraid.
Mina turned her head away and made as if to look down at James. But she actually used that movement as a chance to cover her wiping away her tears with the back of her hand¡ªas casually as she could, although she felt Yulia glance up at her just after the gesture.
¡°What happened?¡± Yulia asked.
Mina opened her mouth and then sensed motion in the doorway of the room again.
Both women turned, and then Mina relaxed again.
¡°I was going to mention that I ran into her outside,¡± Yulia said.
¡°Leo said you might benefit from someone watching the apartment,¡± Hilda said. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to come in and disturb anything, so I loitered outside for a while.¡± As usual, she spoke with a clarity and directness that seemed to Mina to suggest hidden depths, hidden knowledge. As if she knew exactly what she would have been disturbing¡ªand what the consequences of interrupting the healing process might be.
Mina nodded. ¡°Thank you. Do you mind giving us a minute?¡±
¡°Not at all,¡± Hilda said. ¡°The kids are in there.¡± She tilted her head toward the area of the living room just out of Mina¡¯s view. ¡°I¡¯ll watch them while you guys talk.¡± Hilda gave a small, sympathetic smile and then withdrew somewhere out of sight.
Mina closed the door behind the woman. She didn¡¯t know if it would do any good, and she was beginning to trust Hilda, but better safe than sorry.
¡°James was badly injured by what we¡¯re going to say was an enemy he defeated,¡± Mina said.
¡°What we¡¯re going to say¡¡± Yulia let her voice trail off.
¡°Don¡¯t ask unless you want to know the answer and have to lie about it anyway,¡± Mina said.
Yulia nodded. ¡°All right, sis. Do you want my help?¡±
Mina took her hands and smiled weakly. Some of the burden was off her shoulders.
¡°Of course I do,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯re better at healing than I am.¡±
Yulia smiled but looked a little worried. She probably knew that if Mina was admitting any kind of weakness, the situation was worse than it seemed.
¡°Besides James, there¡¯s someone else we need to heal,¡± Mina said. ¡°That¡¯s part of why I need help¡¡±
Then Mina¡¯s stomach growled. The two women giggled awkwardly.
¡°All right, first dinner,¡± Mina said in a grudging tone. ¡°Then healing.¡±
V5Ch6-The Gopher Tortoise
James felt a strange and unsettling sensation of severance as Mina pushed his physical body into her bag.
He got the impression that his astral form was somehow less substantial than it had been, and that perception disturbed him for a moment. Would he be able to reunite with his body later? Had the connection been somehow broken permanently? What sort of space was the inside of that bag? But he did not make time to sit still and contemplate the matter.
James was a man of action now, even if he had been otherwise once.
He reached out to the wyverns that he had sent to accompany Alan and Mitzi on their journey with the Fisher Expeditionary Force, and he pulled.
Then James¡¯s weightless spirit form hurtled across space faster than he had ever experienced before.
Fortunately, this time he didn¡¯t feel the wind passing through him. Perhaps he was moving too quickly for matter to touch him. Or maybe that feeling had been an illusion before.
And then his astral form was in close proximity with the wyverns, and he did not have to dwell on the sensations of a disembodied spirit.
James instinctively jumped into the body of the nearest wyvern. The creature¡¯s wings skipped a beat as the brain adapted itself slightly to accommodate the body¡¯s driver, but it took only a moment. James had piloted these beasts before, and his mastery over their bodies was almost as total as his control of his own.
He hovered in the form of the Great Solar Wyvern, the sun beating down pleasantly on his body. James felt every bit of the solar energy the beast was absorbing through its substantial surface area as if it was immersed in a warm bath.
He had the chance to catch his breath. He felt more secure now that he was attached to a body again, and the sensations of flight were as exhilarating as they had been the previous times that he occupied the bodies of these creatures.
This is the life, James thought with slight envy. You¡¯re such simple beasts. Just flying and fighting and eating, wherever I send you¡ And such graceful, durable bodies too.
That last thought reminded James of the condition of his own body, which had been wrecked by the System¡¯s purge of the Norse god.
The Great Solar Wyvern bared its teeth as James became slightly enraged at the System for attacking him, albeit in the process of ridding itself of an unwelcome intruder.
No, what I¡¯m really angry about is the fact that I was too weak to take the hit, isn¡¯t it?
For the moment, he was unwilling to dwell on that thought, though James knew that he would need to consider how he might strengthen his own body further at some point. It was intolerable that he should be forced to flee his own flesh like some skulking spirit driven off by an exorcist, and for what?
Just because he couldn¡¯t take a simple blunt force attack from above. There didn¡¯t appear to be more to it than that.
At this point, I should really be beyond getting taken out in such a simple way.
He shook the wyvern¡¯s head¡ªhis head, for now¡ªand then began flying the monster in a slightly downward spiraling loop. The wyverns were so high in the air that the Fisher Expeditionary Force were little more than ants on the ground below. The area was almost entirely clear of tree cover, so James could still see them well enough to tell that they were walking forward rather than in the midst of combat, but he wanted a closer look.
As the Great Solar Wyvern broke away from the Great Berserk Wyvern, Great Sound Wyvern, and Great Venom Wyvern and began circling downward, James saw that a few heads near the ground had shifted to look up in his direction. There were a few people pointing and talking about the beast he piloted, clearly.
Fortunately, they didn¡¯t seem to be upset or frightened, which James would have considered an understandable reaction to a winged behemoth descending from above, even though they theoretically knew that these creatures were James¡¯s possessions.
James¡¯s monster drew closer to the ground, and he saw that there were more than just the humans, Goblins, and humanoid monsters that comprised the Fisher Expeditionary Force down there.
Walking interspersed among James¡¯s people were dozens of giant tortoises. Each specimen appeared to be roughly the size of a moped. James assessed the overall situation in an instant.
Interesting¡
The creatures were clearly not enemies¡ªor at least not overt enemies¡ªof the Expeditionary Force. The tortoises were walking alongside James¡¯s explorers, and the reptiles moved exactly as slowly as one would expect from the ¡®tortoise and the hare¡¯ stereotype. Alan and Mitzi appeared to be in animated conversation with two of the creatures at the front of the group.
Could there be enemies concealed? Maybe they¡¯re being led into a trap.
He scanned the environment again, looking carefully for hidden enemies now, but there seemed nowhere they could conceal themselves. The area was sandy and dry, populated with well spaced southern pine trees and broadleaf grasses that would not provide groups of monsters with good concealment.
There could still be something underground or camouflaged. I don¡¯t seem to have the same level of Perception in this body as in my real body¡ªwell, of course I don¡¯t. I didn¡¯t give these creatures my eyes¡
James shook his head and looked down at one of the tortoises in the lead. It appeared to be bigger than most of its brethren, and James wanted to know if it might pose a threat if he accidentally said something to anger it.
Identify.
Keystone Gopher Tortoise, Lv. 14
Huh. It¡¯s pretty weak, then, right? I mean, it would have been decently leveled back in Orientation, but it¡¯s like, this creature made it out of there and then just stopped trying.
Then again, maybe it had. That might explain why the tortoises were walking with the Expeditionary Force. They weren¡¯t interested in making the effort to kill them.
It must be pretty peaceful in this neck of the woods if they¡¯re not that worried about leveling¡
James used Identify on a scattering of other tortoises, but they were all lower level than the first one he had tried the Skill on.
Then he closed the gap, flapping down to where Alan, Mitzi, and the lead turtles were with big, noisy movements. All eyes shifted overhead as the wyvern wheeled above them and James began to speak.
¡°How are things going, my dear explorers?¡± James asked. The voice that emerged from the wyvern¡¯s mouth was croaky and a little unnatural but still clearly his own.
Alan turned back to the tortoise beside him.
¡°This is just the man I¡¯ve been telling you about,¡± he said. He looked up at James again and smiled. ¡°Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to visit with us, Your Majesty.¡±
The tortoise simply stared up at James, the reptilian mouth slightly agape. He found he could not read the creature¡¯s expression at all. Perhaps the difficulty was because it was of an inhuman Race, but James made a note to himself that he also did not have access to the full range of his social Skills while he was inhabiting this body¡ªhe guessed he would need to rely exclusively on the Great Solar Wyvern¡¯s own Skills. He would need to be careful with the diplomacy here; he did not have his usual safety nets.
James found it slightly odd that Alan was calling him ¡°Your Majesty¡± rather than using his first name, but recognized that it must be because the old man was playing the role of diplomat with another Race.
In that case, I¡¯ll oblige and act the part of king a little more than I usually do.
¡°I have been a bit busy, but I don¡¯t allow anyone under my protection to go overlooked for long,¡± James replied, speaking in more absolute terms than he otherwise would.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.
¡°We have been well protected, sir,¡± Alan said, his eyes sparkling with amusement. ¡°Thanks to your creatures.¡±
James quickly read through the wyvern¡¯s memories of the last thirty-six hours. They played before his eyes like security camera video that he could pause or fast forward at will. In only a few seconds, he knew all that had transpired of importance to the group¡¯s security since they left his borders. Apparently, the wyverns had intimidated a flock of woodpeckers to secure the Fisher Expeditionary Force safe passage across the birds¡¯ territory. That had been yesterday.
And this morning, two of the explorers had fallen into a sudden sinkhole. They were clearly not native Florida residents, as all the telltale signs of an emerging sinkhole had been present even before they walked into the zone of danger. There had been a subsidence in the ground, a few scrawny trees were slumped at improbable angles as if they had been partially felled, and the soil happened to be dry enough that there were visible cracks around the circle the men walked into.
Ignoring all of those indicators, the two explorers walked right into the middle of the emerging sinkhole, their weight caused the sinkhole to finally emerge, and the Earth swallowed them up. Fortunately for them, as they cried out for help, the wyverns were nearby and dove into the ground to save them.
They¡¯re smarter than I might have given them credit for, James thought. He hadn¡¯t been certain that they were intelligent enough to follow his instructions beyond killing enemies. Good job, guys¡
James watched a little beyond that point and saw what had happened next. Shortly after the fall was when the explorers met the tortoises¡ªwho crawled out of the hole the explorers had fallen into, shortly after the wyverns had returned to the sky.
¡°I see a couple of my people fell into your sinkhole,¡± he said, gazing down into the lead tortoise¡¯s eyes. James did not intend this, but to his own ears, his voice sounded ominous coming from the wyvern¡¯s mouth.
The monster visibly swallowed down a lump in its throat.
Alan looked as if he wanted to say something, but Mitzi placed a gently restraining hand on his shoulder.
¡°So, this is what a Ruler looks like,¡± the head tortoise said in an old, creaky, but distinctly male voice. He seemed to be speaking to himself.
¡°You have never encountered a Ruler before, then,¡± James said.
It wasn¡¯t really a question. It made sense of all the facts before him. The lack of any aggressive aura noticeable in this area, the casual ease of the interactions between the tortoises and the Expeditionary Force, and the fact that the tortoises were all relatively weak and yet did not appear to be afraid of predation.
There was no Ruler here. This was unclaimed territory. Free real estate, should there be someone who wished to take it.
¡°W-we have not, Your Majesty,¡± the tortoise replied, lowering its head in what James interpreted as a bow. The tortoise¡¯s tone was respectful and somber. ¡°Your form is magnificent. I can see the power and grace in every inch of flesh. I understand why other life forms would bow to one such as you. And you have my sincere apologies. Please consider it my personal mistake. If I knew your subjects would walk above our home, I would have carefully marked areas of likely subsidence. Someone could have been hurt in that fall, if not for Your Majesty and your, er, brothers.¡± He pointed with his head at the wyverns that remained high in the sky above.
¡°The tortoises were kind enough to escort us to the limits of the territory they occupy,¡± Alan said in a gentle but insistent voice. ¡°I think they have more than made up for any temporary inconvenience.¡±
What, Alan, you don¡¯t trust me to be nice to the poor tortoises? James was slightly amused. It was endearing how Alan had become protective of these creatures after meeting them a matter of hours ago.
¡°Consider your apology accepted, noble tortoise,¡± James said.
¡°Thank you, Your Majesty,¡± the tortoise said in a tone of genuine gratitude.
¡°I should also acknowledge that the shape you see is not my real body. It was formed from portions of my real body, combined and manipulated via a Skill I possess. My true form is human. And I am known by the name, ¡®The Fisher King.¡¯¡±
The tortoise¡¯s eyes widened slightly at the explanation of James¡¯s true, human nature, but he said nothing to that.
¡°You are guiding my explorers to the edge of your territory,¡± James continued. ¡°And I understand you have been with them for hours. How large is the territory you occupy?¡±
¡°It stretches in that direction further than the eye can see, Your Majesty,¡± the tortoise said. ¡°We do not reckon distance as humans do, but in the days when I was a young tortoise, before the change came upon us¡ª¡± James guessed that he meant the System¡ª¡°it would be further than we would have walked in a lifetime.¡±
James stared down at the creature, thinking. This situation seemed very strange to him, and not at all consonant with his experience of the new world so far.
¡°How is it that you have remained in control of this territory since Orientation ended?¡± he finally asked bluntly. ¡°No other creatures have come to take it from you? Even without a Ruler to lead them, I think that many enemies might challenge you for rule of this land.¡±
¡°I suppose the land is not particularly desirable, Your Majesty,¡± the turtle said in a nervous tone. ¡°I do not know that I would even speak of control of territory. What we have, we share willingly with those who live alongside us. We have heard monstrous beasts pass overhead before, but as we live underground, we have never crossed paths with them directly. And none of them has ever stopped and settled here. There are many who do settle here, and we make room for them in our tunnel systems. There are some frogs, snakes, and burrowing owls, among others. But no strong, predatory species. I believe the land, which has few animals living on its surface, does not produce enough food to interest a strong Race. As a consequence, none of the Races residing with us have Rulers either. We have been a bit nervous about what we might do if some of those passing predators took an interest in what goes on beneath the ground, but so far, so good.¡± The tortoise moved its forelimbs in a sort of shrugging gesture.
They just share what they have with other creatures who show up, huh? Are these tortoises hippies?
¡°You are in need of protection,¡± James said after a moment. He spoke in a more formal tone now. ¡°You have been fortunate thus far, but without a Ruler, you are defenseless if anyone should finally take notice of you.¡±
The tortoise bowed its head again, then slowly nodded.
¡°Yes, Your Majesty. You are probably correct. I appreciate your wise advice. I lived for many years in the world that humans built leading up to the change, and I know that your species are the strongest and most adaptable predators in the world. I recognize that rather than providing your insights, you could simply kill and consume us yourself. I thank you for your mercy.¡±
James listened for any hidden meaning in the tortoise¡¯s words, but all he heard was sincere gratitude.
Is this what it means to be a prey animal? he thought. You¡¯re grateful simply to not be eaten? James felt the beginnings of contempt in his wyvern stomach but shoved that emotion down. It was useless now¡ªand perhaps unfair. When I was merely an ordinary human, did I feel this sort of disdain for the weak when they submitted to the strong?
He had no easy answer for that.
But as a Ruler, he had committed to protecting many individuals who were weak as individuals. The group was strong together, even if the individuals who comprised it were seemingly powerless.
This tortoise is wise to curry favor with me anyway. Why do I feel the strange desire to eat him and lay waste to his home?
James recognized that the origin of that impulse might lie with the body he currently inhabited. All of his wyverns were natural, ruthless predators.
With a slight effort of Will, he suppressed the Great Solar Wyvern¡¯s instincts and spoke again.
¡°I was not simply trying to give advice,¡± James said with as much warmth as he could manage. ¡°As a Ruler, I often expand my territory. I would be willing to place your land under my protection and make you a part of my dominion.¡±
The tortoise appeared stunned for a moment¡ªits head withdrew backward slightly, almost as if he wanted to go into his shell. Perhaps it sounded too good to be true.
¡°Why would Your Majesty wish to do that for us?¡± the tortoise asked slowly. ¡°Is it sheer benevolence? With respect, it has not been my experience that humans are always so generous.¡± He swallowed another lump in his throat down. ¡°Would¡ªwould Your Majesty require that we periodically send members of our colony to be eaten by yourself and your other servants? Is that the price for protection of the rest of us?¡±
Jesus Christ.
¡°No,¡± James said slowly. ¡°You mentioned that you share resources with your neighbors. Well, if you have something that I need, I would ask that you give me some resources too. And if an enemy trespasses into my territory, or if there is another territory nearby that I wish to occupy, some of you would act as my agents. In exchange, if your homes are ever invaded, I would drive the invaders away.¡±
¡°That is all?¡± the tortoise asked, tilting his head from side to side skeptically. ¡°Your Majesty probably recognizes that we are not particularly good fighters, but¡ªif you truly wish to have us¡ªI believe that we would be happy to come under your protection.¡±
¡°Very well,¡± James said. ¡°I have some matters in the center of the Fisher Kingdom to deal with first, but I will try to extend my aura to cover this region within the next week.¡±
My recovery couldn¡¯t possibly take longer than a week, right?
The tortoise closed his eyes for a few seconds, and James wondered if he had somehow fallen asleep. He was clearly a very old tortoise. But then the old reptile opened his eyes again. James thought there was a slight gleam in his glossy black eyes.
Then, as one, all of the tortoises within view turned in James¡¯s direction and bowed.
And the Fisher King added what seemed to be a large amount of territory to his domain without drawing a weapon or killing a single enemy.
I should return to my own body, James thought. I just made these reptiles a promise. Let¡¯s see if I can get back into the condition to actually keep it¡