Waking up from my slumber i felt like a weight was directly lifted off my shoulders. My sweets were nowhere to be seen, i assumed they went to go do roboty things who knows .Seeing myrtle already awake i walked over to her. I might've put to much stress on my body from yesterday, even though i couldn't accurately call it yesterday ,since only a few hours passed.
"watcha doin"
"nothing much just wondering about my home planet" she replied
"Oh about that , i think im ready to be a ruler"
Shocked she turned around
"really? didn't you give this whole speech about why you didn't wan to?"
"Yeah i did but that was before and this is now"
"i see, what made you want to change your mind?" she said contemplatingly
"Really simple My patron deity threw in a few extra blessings in exchange that i rule that planet and save one of his kids or something"
"uhmm Farron"
"What"
"You have a weird ass god"
"i agree" without defense
"If anything though i should be thanking uh is it a him or her"
"Well its the god of change so it could be both , it also could be none, it gets confusing at times"
"well whatever it is I'm grateful"
"so tell me about what I'm getting myself into"
"Our planet has been leaderless since i was born, thugs and vice lords take over areas and claim it as their own.Might is right over there the only thing they listen too is power."
"not to be rude or anything but isn't that how all planets develop power dominates until the people create laws and systems in place to drive out the old bandits"
"Maybe here but not there we have something different"
"and that is?"
"every 100 or so years we host a tournament for a true ruler to lead the planet"
"If that already exist then why am i needed "
"well that's how its suppose to work at least ,but the bandits changed that. For the two thousand years all the bandits have banded together whenever the leader is chosen , and kills whichever candidates wins. They would rather the planet remain in pieces then to have a true leader, it threatens their power."
"and you expect me to stop that? wont i just be killed"
"you still have the choice to say no, i would understand"
of course i wanted to say no but i already accepted the powers granted by Janus i literally couldn't. I might've bitten off more then i could chew ...seriously i could die. though its not like im a total newbie anyway and this might just be a filter. If i cant survive this my genetics just not be up to par. I needed to do combat training ASAP it was around 28 days till we left and that wasn't nearly enough. What's more the weaker i was the more danger Gwen and Ezra would have to expose themself too. If i see Janus again i wont even lie im going to ask him for a close combat blessing, im getting greedy but if my life is on the line i have to be.
"No im doing it" i said resolutely
"lets go tell Remiel and tell him, i'm serious about this and i don't want to die"
Why did it seem like whenever i got some peace life just wanted to throw me out of it. Well i knew why.
"come on " Myrtle said pulling me , "i dont want you to die either"
We approached The robots sitting and talking about something on a log .Likely hearing me approach they all got up in unison ... did they think i was a bear or something doubt it.
mhh mhh i cleared my throat the best i could" So about the trip... Remiel i accept becoming ruler"
"Farron... i hate you" Gwen said to me directly
WAAA ... that was unexpected .Did she that opposed to the idea of me being a ruler .
"what did i do!"
after a few seconds
"nothing its nothing ... im sorry didn't mean to snap on you"
"its fine" i said not really caring , i had more pressing concerns.
I explained my situation everything down to the new powers in my lungs
"Mhh i see so you're only accepting because Janus made a deal with you, that works as well" Remiel said thinking
"Yea basically, now that I'm awake and the good times are over I need to do some combat training,"
"You're already a excellent shot ,do you mean hand to hand?" said Gwen perking up at the idea of beating me up
"Yes and I'm going to try to avoid all close combat if needed but i know that i might need it"
"Well im happy to teach you Farron" said gwen balling her fist
How did i get on her bad side?
"Hey i know this might sound a little weird but can we watch" myrtle said holding on to Remiel
"Yeah sure there isnt no reason you cant , but we have to visit the artificer .He has most of my stuff and if im going to be training i needed to be geared up"
"Understood when do you want to meet" Remiel said
" UHH how about a few hours after we get back"
"alright then its a plan!" Myrtle said
--------------------------------------------------
A few hours later we arrived back at the the main base
" ahhh its good to be back" i said
oddly i had grown some type attachment to this place .
" Entering the halls with the Queen and Gwen by my side i honestly felt like Hugh Hefner .I knew i had to stay humble or they would turn on me but damn can i be happy.
We saw anathasia on the way and she gave me the evil eye. It as funny that all this time had passed and she still was exactly the same, whatever her loss.
we reached floor 43 and i wondered if they were even finished .No way they would just drop what projects they were doing to work on some random's torn up gear. Opening the ever so wonderful doors this time it was empty, or so i thought until a spotlight appeared highlighting a familiar figure
"Ehh hem" he cleared his throat " we've been expecting you"
"Let us present to you your all new equipment. BEHOLD " each of my pieces of gear were strung out in order of newness.
"Your old crusty ring was useless Now it makes you practically invisible no scent, no sound, nor breath and it activates a barrier. Your cape used to make you invisible now it lets you fly and another barrier, You can never have too many ways to not get your head removed! Your shoes have been increased in its speed but we adjusted it so that your legs wont be broken if you go for another one of your famous round his kicks, it supports your bones better so you should be able to fall off cliffs now without any damage. Now your gun we added that plasma piercing round that explode you asked for but we also added a sniper mode, we've all heard about how you are a sharp shooter so this should be great for you!"
I don't remember asking for exploding rounds but hey who would turn that down .He sounded plenty excited , did he want me to rate his work? Gazing over my wears i had to say it was like he added more then just a fresh coat of paint. Striding foward i picked up my plasma rifle in hand and it felt so much better. There was a scope and it had a triple barrel, one for auto fire , one much larger one for the exploding/piercing rounds and a much longer one at the top for the sniping ,This was amazing i so wanted to try the sniper and exploding rounds.
"Wow" said Gwen
"Adequate" Ezra said trying to still act like her old self in front of her peers
"This is actually phenomenal, you're as good as they say"
"Ahh shucks" he said clearly soaking in the praise "When you shoot it can we all be there? we worked really hard on it"
"By all do you mean you and this whole entire workshop?" Gwen asked
"Why yes Gwendolyn"
"Sure i dont see why not? but don't you have work to do" i said
"of course we do! but right now we're more interested in seeing the fruits of our labor!"
Did this guy ever not shout,
"Well Sure i don't see why not"
What's the worst that can happen i thought
"HAHA we thought you would say that and prepared a special range in advance, follow us our great guest"
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
"Yea ok just let me put on the rest of my cloths too,"
"yes yes take your time" displeased to not be able to receive instant gratification
After finding a secluded area i changed into my new set of armor and it felt practically the same but i knew it was all improved. Walking out i really felt like a warrior.
"You look dashing " Gwen said
"Yes yes quite dashing now follow us we want to see you explode stuff" The Grand Artificer said pulling me ,which alone was a impressive feat
We reached a well lit room with, containing less targets then I'm used too, the room was at least nine times larger then our special council member room, the target were few and far between.
"We made this specially for you we've all heard about your special eye these targets should move at 100,000 mph this is 1/3 the speed of light .That boulder you see in the corner" He pointed at a very large boulder, there were no walls around it leaving you able to see the outside from that angle. It might've been to minimize damages
"Thats for the explosion"
"So how do you switch it to sniper mode" i asked inquisitively
"Ahh great question look at the safety switch , do you see the new modes we added to them"
Next to the safe switch there were 3 modes, assault marked in red with a bullet symbol, sniping marked in blue with a crosshair above it, and explosion marked in white with a mushroom cloud above.
"Very neat" i added
"Quite so, please please don't wait for us"
Some how i had a knack for forming small armies to watch me shoot stuff, but hey were already here. I felt like i already knew how to shoot , but practice made perfect. Steading my heart rate time slowed , and i clicked the sniper mode on. I needed to aim for the head so it became a habit
Chachick BOOM Chachick BOOM Chachick BOOM Chachick BOOM
4 simultaneous headshots in a row , damn this felt smooth
"excelsior! as reported you really don't miss"
Ok that was expected now lets try this boom stick
"WAITT everyone come behind this blast wall if you don't want debris to tear you up" he said urging people behind the wall
Hearing a stammering of footsteps they were packed like sardines .It was my weapon so i guess i had to test it,Clicking the white button the the middle cannon began spinning and pulsing red, a smaller circle grow inside the barrel until it shot a beam directly at the boulder. That boulder was now past tense not even a small amount remained ,This was less an explosion then a beam.
"We might've outdone ourself , give yourself a pat on the back now back to work!" He said with authority, the small group of workers left us in the room. A man of his word he left just as fast as he went fair enough.
"hey did we ever tell Myrtle and Remiel where we were going to meet?"
"Nah but im sure they'll Know we have a training hall on floor 54" Ezra said
we reached floor 54 and saw the door to enter the fighting hall. Entering this was the only place that was completely empty. Did they think that they wouldn't need to learn hand to hand , or maybe they didn't before a few months ago i never really fought anyone. Most people are pedestrians
"we shouldn't wait for them" i said
"Fine with me "Gwen said
Standing 20 feet away from her she said "Charge me and ill tell you everything you're doing wrong"
Was i that bad , ok ill give it everything i got
AHHH i ran at her , next thing you know i was lying backwards on my ass
"First things first you're not bigger or stronger then me, you need to learn how to fake your engage"
"Seconds thing second i weight more then you and literally always will I'm not human, remember in the cave when you pulled me down, use your momentum to your advantage"
"Third since you're smaller its not a necessarily a disadvantage. you can literally climb my body like a tree and slam me"
How did she get all that from one charge, and how did she expect me to do all that
"Uhh you want me to do this all at once?" i said
"if you don't want your ass beat you choose"
Well guess that's fair
Round 2 , i started Running at her again
BOOM
i was on my ass again
"You tried to use your momentum just incorrectly and i can tell that you aren't fighting like your life depends on it. you still think this is a game. Don't worry ill beat it into you"
Let me show you how its done 1, 2 3 In a instant she appeared in front of me moved to the right and grappling me and throwing me hard. Briefly i saw the world upside down, then i hit the wall feeling a pain spread throughout my back.
Hearing a boot stomp "Get up if this was a real fight i wouldn't have thrown you but snapped your neck"
"Wow Gwendolyn really is harsh" i heard Remiel say from afar
Struggling to my feet i got up ok i needed to think it was the only thing i was good at other then shooting. Wait that's it why didn't i use my eyes to slow down my perception of time. Only problem is that i needed to stay calm throughout the whole ordeal. Calm down
ooofph I inhaled a deep breath and told myself act like she wants to kill me. Running at her my eyes activated She was calculating my every step and body position she really was a expert. Faking like i was going to do the same thing i saw her body loosen. I Threw a punch she attempted to block but i ducked using the my forearm crease to grip her neck .Using all my body weight i jumped to bring her down and finally secured a win. In theory that was , in reality she simply held me up in the airwith purely her neck refusing to fall then she slammed me.
"smarter but that wont work, try again"
This cycle continued for a few hours until i just couldn't move anymore
"are you finished"
I didn't even have the strength to respond, i didn't need to because Ezra did it for me
"Guess so 54 to 0 mhhhh"
Lending me a hand getting to my feet Gwendolyn bent over
"Don't be so sad what matters is that you are get better"
What she was saying was right but still, getting beat continuously by your partner wasn't a pleasant feeling. This must've been how she felt when i had perfect accuracy before even learning to hold a gun.
"Are you hungry you haven't eaten anything in a few hours right?"
I was hungry
"Yea i am but isn't the only food around here in the forest?"
"Yep"
They were building things 24/7 but still didn't care to allocate us normal not robotic people a designated eating area, well i was leaving in a few weeks so i guess i could understand. Back to that forest not that i had a problem with it. This time though i wanted meet Beara before we went back .I dont know how she predicted this, gotta be the follow her nose thing. I was going to ask her to join us when we left, she specifically asked me about letting her sell goods once i owned some land of my own and coincidently i was trying to conquer a foreign planet.
"UGH back to the outdoors, but i like it in here" Ezra protested
"You have every right to stay" i said
She really didn't have to follow us not like we would run away, didn't she have Queenly things to do?
"Fine if you're forcing my hand ill go"
I didn't say anything though... but i understood her prideful nature
"Thank you for being so generous"
I could see her want to smile but resisting , whatever
"First though we have to visit Beara, i made a deal with her that i intend to keep"
In some ways her giving me all this stuff for cheap and even free saved my life. I could see the other merchant dude but fuck him he tried to swindle us.
"Oh yea you did make a deal with her didn't you"
What happened to these guy's perfect memory
"I agree with Ezra though we JUST got back" He said frustratedly
Myrtle seeing a opportunity said "but I'm hungry again, pretty please its important to be with each other to form a strong team"
"That is true fine you got me"
Funny watching his frustration vanish into thin air
"Yea lets go, please " i added not trying to become a Tyrant
Looking at the ever so loveable hole in the ground i prepared to jump when a hand stopped me
"Can i do it... please?" said Gwen
I knew she loved it
pretending to think about ,it i leapt into her
Off we went to the market place