I don’t know what I expected when I got to Min Min. It was night, dry and very hot. I stepped out of the blink-length transportation and off the plate into a large open room. The room was dusty, had dirt flooring, and looked like a barn. It was more than I expected and yet slightly disappointing. After the city of Madauros, I had a somewhat higher concept of what it could be. This was going to be our city. Not that I knew what I really expected. The barn was empty, with large dusty windows high up, letting moonlight through and showing floating dust in the air. The opposite end from where I arrived had two large open doors, allowing a breeze into the stifling indoor area.
Sprite: Julie is on her way to the homestead. I suggest you find some room to go through your notifications. There are some urgent ones that you need to deal with. She will have some stuff for you to review, and then we can sort out all your gains. It is 12 hours until Integration. It is 10 pm.
Okay, urgent, like right now critical or soon urgent.
Sprite: urgent, soon urgent, and we need more time urgent.
Julie: Luke, welcome back. We need to talk, and we were hoping you could set this up as a settlement ASAP. We have just under 12 hours. Meeting first. The other stuff may take some time, and … well, we need to wait for Xar and at least Seraph to get here. Come through to the homestead, and we can get started.
Sprite: Luke, I am concerned. I cannot contact my splinter sister, Solace, who is still not attached to the Empire Network. Petal is responding nonsensically to my inquiries. Something is wrong. Our belief that they are missing may be incorrect.
Solace and Sarah?
Sprite: I don’t want to alarm you without further information. Please let me conduct some further investigation. I worry.
Sure Sprite. But when you say it like that, I can’t help but feel worried already.
Sprite: Sorry. I will keep the information flowing.
Well, that was just one extra thing to worry about right now. I had been looking forward to seeing Sarah, who I was sure they would be able to find and recover, but now it was like a kick to the guts. I was also looking forward to seeing Mike but for different reasons.
I was looking forward to seeing even Xar, Seraph and Bacchus. It would be strange but good to see them again after everything I had been through. I didn’t know them well or at all, really, but what I had learned, I could relate to them now. I was Legion. I was one with them. We had a shared identity. I was not sure how I was going to explain all the crap that had happened. It was all beyond what I wanted to cope with right now.
The funny thing was that I was also looking forward to returning to a proper training routine. Not that Bootcamp hadn’t been adequate training, but training where I was not double-timing and could sleep in peace, where there were actual reasons for doing things other than the whims of a sadistic bastard.
I exited the barn and saw a couple of other barns situated around a small house that looked like an ancient farmhouse, half-ruined and needing a major renovation. The sky was dark and cloudless. The stars were bright and perfect, and I could see some familiar constellations, which was comforting and awe-inspiring. This is what I was going to be standing up for. The small things that made Earth, Earth. Not just the people. It was also completely different from the atmosphere at the Bootcamp training. Here, it was just hot and dry.
The door to the house was open, and plenty of light was streaming out.
Despite the night, the outback flies were out in force, and I waved in the familiar Aussie salute to get rid of them. I noticed a large bank of solar panels on each building and some of the biggest water tanks I had ever seen. Signs of work being done were happening all over the place.
I entered the homestead. My eyes didn’t even need to adjust to the gloom. With my perception as high as it was, I could see almost perfectly during the transition from outside darkness to dim interior. Thankfully, I was not surprised when Julie crashed me into a huge hug. "Luke, …". I noticed Mike sitting at a table, working on a laptop, not looking up. Something was wrong.
Julie was a beautiful woman, and the hug was starting to make me feel a little uncomfortable. Not that I had any objections to being hugged by such a stunning lady, but I was more concerned about what Sarah might think. Even though there was nothing in this, even if it was a bit long and starting to feel weird. I hugged her back and tried hard not to be the 20-year-old male. Mike had a sad look on his face and waved at me. Yep, something was very wrong. I swear I saw some tears, and my alarm levels went up again.
"What’s wrong?" I demanded. I started to feel sick in my stomach, "Where is Sarah? Did you find her?"
The silence felt like a kick in the pit of my stomach. I was almost physically sick, waiting for the bad news.
"She’s really gone", Mike sobbed. I had never seen Mike cry. He was such a solid friend. I felt sick. It hit me.
I crumpled, leaning on Julie.
She led me to the table, pulled a chair, and sat across from me. Mike closed the laptop. He pulled a cold beer from his inventory and passed another one to me, one for Julie. Even in shock, I marvelled at the ability of an inventory to keep the icy beer cold.
I took mine, staring at it, feeling the condensation as it quickly formed outside the tin. Mike and Julie opened theirs. I didn’t recognise the brand as I opened it and finished it in a couple of long gulps. Cold beer on a hot night was heaven of its own and very welcome after the hell I had just been through.
I needed it.
Mike produced another can, tossing it to me as I crumpled the first can. The thin aluminium didn’t stand a chance with my strength. I started the next.
"Tell me."
"It was gutted in a perfect sphere, exactly eight meters. I think Xar got photos or videos. It was scarily perfect. All the cuts were perfectly smooth where the implosion had cut through the floor and walls. There was nothing left, Luke, nothing. We spent hours, maybe days after you left. I don’t know, it was not a good time for me, combing over it, but there was nothing. Gone. Nothing we could find, nothing we could do. She was gone. There one minute, then gone." Mike was in tears, " I know you two were, well, you know, and …" he couldn’t continue.
"No," I would not accept it. I was not giving up yet. "I want to go there. There must be something that …" I grasped and knew it. If they could find nothing, I would not be able to find anything either. At the same time, I had to do something. I knew deep down that I was expecting miracles.
With wet eyes, Julie said, "There was nothing that could be done, Luke. We spent a fortune trying to find out what happened. We ordered some specialist equipment and even paid a mystic to see if we could locate her. There was a mana implosion, a super condensed mana pool, and an event horizon. We think Sarah may have tried to contain it, which is why it didn’t destroy half the city! No one can survive something like that. We think she was practising some of her new mana skills. If only we had taught her better, we need to be better prepared for newly enhanced with their training, we were so focused on getting people to first base, we forgot to deal with people unacustomed to their powers."
"No!" as if repeating it would change reality. I was angry at everything.
"The Karass, the Senate, The Legion, the System! They are the ones responsible here. It is utter bullshit. No one should die from practising a skill. Where was the training? She had gone through a tutorial. If her training was as half-arsed as mine…. We should not even be putting up with this!"
Sprite: Solace was Sarah’s AI. Solace hijacked Sarah’s AI install; she was my Sister. We were going to be … I don’t like this feeling, Luke."
I could feel the anguish coming through our bond. I realised that I was not the only one who had lost someone. I felt some more anger at the politics that kept me away, at the Karass for their betrayal, for the Legion for their corruption, for the Senate for their indifference. At the entire System, for some of the crap and hoops, it made us jump through! I was angry at myself for my arrogance and ignorance. It was an anger born of grief, frustration, confusion, and loss.
There was an unnatural righteous rage building, one that I could not contain.
I am sorry, Sprite. I am not sure how, but I will dedicate my life to making their loss have meaning. Saving people, the people on Earth, anyone, AIs, aliens, anyone who means us no harm. Saving them from the dangers of all this, the Empire and its corruption, from the Karass and their slavery, ignorance and freedom from fear of monsters. People should not be lost because of ignorance of the System, politicking, or being manipulated by greed. No offence, but there should not even be integrations! This would not have happened if the Empire had been more potent and the politicians had been less greedy and self-serving. The Empire would have been strengthened if the Legion had not suffered corruption. This should not have happened.
I was shaking with a silent fury. It was too much.
Earth would have been integrated safely if I were stronger! Sarah and Solace should not have suffered this. It would have been preventable if I had been there but for the Karass’s greed and the Senate’s treachery. Suppose we had been more ready. I don’t know how, but I will fix this. For Sarah. For Solace.
Class Quest Updated.
Visit Me soon (Stage 2). Difficulty Legendary
Time Frame: Urgent
The reward for success is a choice of class skill, XP, credits, renown, and the item Title Champion. You must?????? Me before??????
Failure: Death, loss of renown.
Stage 2 Started: Greed, Corruption, Fix the Empire.
After swearing a binding oath to the Emperor himself, you have discovered that the Empire is in disarray. Corruption, greed, and politics have fractured the once mighty Empire. Through your grief and loss, you have committed to fixing this. Others should not suffer because of this ignorance, greed, and corruption. Nobody will listen to you without power or Authority. Seek out the highest source of Authority in the Empire. Karmic Hints: Enabled: Seek someone lost to time.
Stage Quest Reward:
Due to your Tier 5 ranking, your oath to the Emperor, and being found to be suitable, paperwork has been lodged to grant you titles and embrace you into the Imperial Extended Family as an Adjunct Noble. Pending confirmation, Raxemius Janar. Holdings Theshan OZL has been upgraded to Imperial Stronghold. Congratulations; you are a Minor Noble of the Empire.
Title Acquired: Knight Champion.
"Bugger me, Um. I think I am in trouble. Crap." in a matter of seconds, I had gone from shock, denial, and rage to absolute confusion, and I could see the questioning looks on Mike and Julie’s faces. For some reason, I felt better and knew I was on a righteous path. For once, I knew I had a path forward that had value.
I shared the logs with them.
"Sprite, my AI, said that her splinter-sister was Sarah’s AI. This complicates things more than I care for. I, no, we need some time." I finished the beer.
We had less than 11 hours.
Mike passed me another beer with a sad smile, "That is one hell of a reward. I’d be happy for you if it weren’t for the crappy timing."
Julie smiled, "Amy is in Brisbane and has gone weird. I'm not sure what, but the System is vague around that. We are trading with an entity, Harold, who seems…well, it is complicated. The System seems to treat Harold as a younger sibling if that makes sense."
I smiled. "Um. It is an Earth thing. She is working on saving as many people as possible in the shortest time, not a long game like us."
Julie looked at me with concern, "Your proclamation complicates things. Don’t tell anyone about it yet. It could, no, it will get you into a lot of trouble. I know this is not a good time, but we need the settlement stone to move things quickly. If we don’t get some defence and get at least a System-sanctioned city, we may as well give up soon. I have thrown in with you, and I’ll stay till the end, but I am not a fighter. That is what we need the Legion for. " She looked over at Xar. "The Legion here had to move from the warehouse they were operating out of in Brisbane. They are now situated near Cairns because of the Port Douglas energy surges, us here at Min Min and access to the airport there. They are operating out of some less than suitable premises."
I smiled. "Remember my offer, Xar?"
He nodded. "That will bind us to this place, it may put a target on it, but we can deal with it. Of course, Mike may have to deal with the politics with Julie’s help. It has to be seen as an Earth Human operation for the first 12 months. We need to talk about the shit you pulled in Bootcamp. I am not sure if I am happy, mad or both. Politics will be the death of both of us if you are not careful."
Julie continued, "Well, we must get the Legion set up and bound to the town here. You need them in a proper fort, training and everything, set up here. Earth needs this. We must set aside our problems, not forget them, and never forget them. Still, once we get set up and it is done, I believe Mike and I can handle the fort for a bit. Luke, you get your head sorted. Talk to your AI. It can dampen extreme emotions temporarily if you need."
I sighed. Was I that bad? "NO. It is okay. I can do this. I know that bigger things are happening now. My list of things to do is getting longer and longer. Despite having been to boot camp, I still need class training."
Well, just skill training since I didn’t really have a class, "I need to be doing something right now, so I’ll help. How do we use the stone?" I asked her as I removed the settlement stone from my inventory. I had not looked at it well yet; it was underwhelming for all the hope, dreams, and what it represented for Earth.
Item: Settlement Stone (Tier 1) Upgradeable. (0/2000 M, 0/2000 E)
When placed on owned land, this stone can integrate the surrounding area into the System, efficiently enabling system access and perks. Creating a settlement is a momentous occasion not to be taken lightly. All income and expenditures are yours or those you delegate to manage. The well-being of the citizens of your settlement is yours to control. Will your colony grow to become a beacon of light, or will it struggle and fade into a footnote of history? Plant this stone to find out.
Requires: 2000M 2000E.
This stone is bound to Sir Luke Hammond, Knight of the Empire.
SYSTEM: Due to the number of thoughtless settlement names, this is a reminder to think before you engage this stone. (Default: Min Min)
It was a lightweight round disk about the size of a tennis ball, flattened on one side so it would sit on the ground. It was made from some cold alloy with faint circuits traced through it.
"You place it on the ground near where you want to create the settlement, and then you channel mana and energy into it. Once it is full, you should get a notification."
"Okay, from the looks of it, it needs 2000 mana and 2000 energy. The energy may take me a few hours, so can we pre-load and activate it then?"
Julie looked at me strangely, "Is it rude for me to ask how much Mana you have?"
"Um .. Close to 400 and a bit. Why is that a lot?"
"I am not a magic-using class, and mine is around 500. A high-level mage class might crack 1200. You should probably not tell anyone about those stats at your level that is very high."
Sprite: She is correct. I should have warned you. Your stats are freakishly high, and your titles have been a great boon.
No problem, we can sort that out later.
"Where do I put it."
"Well, we are just outside the centre of Min Min itself. It has an official population of 0. The actual population is about 20000 cattle." She smiled, "Did you know this is the second largest cattle station in Australia, 1.2 Million hectares? This homestead is about the middle of it, and we had planned for it to be planted just outside. We need to protect the area where it is planted. If you can control the stone once placed, you can take or destroy the settlement. Place it outside here, and we can start but don’t finish. If you go early, it will be seen as an Empire settlement, not an Earth Settlement."
I went outside, looked for a nice spot, and found the area for it. It had some lovely shade under a small tree. I placed the stone, then touched it with the intent of engaging it or activating it.
You have placed Settlement Stone (Tier 1). Do you wish to place and claim this settlement? If you accept, you have 24 hours to contribute the required resources. Failure to do so will result in loss of settlement rights. Think Y/N.
"No", I spoke loudly so that Julie and Mike could hear.
I started channelling mana. Luckily, more than one person could channel at once. I dumped mana, then started channelling it again.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Settlement Stone (Tier 1). (290/2000M 48/2000E)
Seeing that others were adding energy while I was dumping my mana into the stone was good. With "Identify", I could see the flows of energy and mana. The stone seemed almost more real than the surrounding environment as the mana was topped off. It had a presence that was hard to ignore. I only had just over 250 energy, and it regenerated at a little over 150 an hour, or close to 3 a minute. This was huge compared to others. Even so, my energy took over an hour to top up. Overall, it would take a few hours, but at this stage, it was exactly what I needed: something mindless. Others helped, but I carried the bulk of the load.
I spent the last night with the stone, just channelling. Others came and went, and there was a silent camaraderie. They were all working on how to survive the Integration. We had until 10:37 am.
Eventually, I grabbed some sleep, not that it was needed or restful. I just needed it. I had breakfast alone. I was not entirely avoiding others, but they were busy with last-minute tasks.
At 10:30, I called Mike, Amy and Julie over. Xar and the other Legion secured the surroundings with Jean, Dallas and the other Earth Human contractors.
Settlement Stone (Tier 1). (1990/2000M 1990/2000E)
We sat around and waited. None of us was sure what would happen.
There was an invisible pulse of pure joy. I felt the energy move through everything, connecting everything. It was beautiful.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION (GLOBAL, ADMINISTRATIVE):
Planet Earth has begun Integrating. You have 12 Earth months to complete Integration. Outside entities are forbidden from interfering in local system affairs during this time unless bound by locally sourced system contracts, which are enforced with maximum penalties.
Sapient life forms: please move to a Tier 1 zone to maximise your chances of survival and enhancement. The projected loss of life exceeds 95% outside a settlement.
The following bonuses are in place to reduce the impact of the factions: Chaos 50%, Void 80%, and Karass 10%.
Karmic bonuses are increased for 12 months. Good Luck.
Crap, that was some heavy news.
I started channelling into the stone as several things happened all at once.
SYSTEM: Settlement Claimed. Please name the settlement.
We were going with the original name of the place, "Min Min", which we had found to mean something close to "Spirit of the Elders", meaning those who looked after their country. It was also a reference to the Min Min lights. This fits with our goal to look after the entire planet.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION (GLOBAL, ADMINISTRATIVE, ZONE):
A new Earth settlement has been founded: Min Min. Congratulations to Luke Hammond for establishing the first System Settlement in this domain. Check Planetary Leaderboard for more information.
Title Awarded: Land Holder (Second) (2): Hamlet.
Effect: +5 Charisma. 2% bonus to stats.
10% bonus to regeneration and artisan skills within the bounds of Min Min. (Upgradeable)(Second)
Bonus: + 5 all stats, discount on resources required to expand, claim, or conquer new settlements.
(2) +5% production bonus in all subsequent settlements.
XP Awarded: For founding the second settlement in this domain, you receive 100000 Experience.
SYSTEM: Settlement Upgraded: Min Min has been upgraded to Regional Center as the largest settlement in this zone. To maintain this, you have 12 weeks to meet the requirements.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION (GLOBAL, ADMINISTRATIVE, ZONE):
Min Min has been appointed as the Regional Center for Zone 4. Contact Regional Administrator Sir Luke Hammond, Knight of the Empire, for further information.
ZONE: Hostile forces (Karass, Chaos, Void) have been detected in your sphere of influence. You have 12 months to remove Chaos and Void influences from your sphere. Penalties will apply.
Title Awarded: Barron.
You have been given the title Barron for being the ruler of more than 1 settlement.
Bonuses Pending
The stone itself pulsed with a bright light, blinding us for a split second, and with little fanfare, was replaced with an all too familiar obelisk. Black, smooth with the place to access via hand contact. We were expecting something like this, well Julie was, and maybe Mike, I had no idea. As far as I was concerned, I would put Mike in charge, and then I could work out my training. Our current upgrade was a hamlet, outpost, settlement, town, city, and regional centre. We bypassed many early tiers but needed the resource and structure requirements before progressing. We had 12 weeks.
The regional capital, capital, and planetary capital were next. We needed to make Planetary capital to ensure Earth Humans had a say in our planet. Most of these tiers were based on size, population, average level, energy production, and infrastructure requirements.
A hamlet was essentially a farm, and an outpost was a group of families, similar to Desert’s Edge that I had visited in my Tutorial. The numbers fluctuated and depended on the average Tier and level of the population. The population's average level and energy conversion also affected how quickly you could progress. A small number of high-tiered people counted more than lower-tiered Tiered. We hoped to advance rapidly as the natural energy conversion was higher around the town, and there were more opportunities in a newly integrated world.
Sprite, are you paying attention yet? Can I get you to help me out? If I give you the rundown of what I want, can you manipulate the Administrative functions for this? I have no idea, and I don’t like to learn this.
Sprite: You will need to permit me, but yes, it would be good for us to use this together to see all the options so that you do not miss some of the less obvious choices. Earth Humans are more creative and resourceful than other species, so you may pick something I forget.
MIN MIN: YOU HAVE GIVEN FULL ACCESS TO THE AI ENTITY SPRITE. TO REVOKE THIS, YOU MUST PHYSICALLY USE THE INTERFACE. WARNING: ANYONE WITH FULL ACCESS CAN MODIFY YOUR ACCESS TO THIS FACILITY.
I’ll use verbal commands so that Mike and Julie know, okay?
Sprite: Understood.
Notifications Pending. Delegated to AI.
I looked around. Julie was stunned. Mike was smiling.
Julie started, "Well, that will certainly be a kick in the pants for the Karass. You are essentially the de facto ruler of this Zone - do you even know what that means?"
I shrugged, smiling. "Nope, Sprite. Can you assign Mike as the Administrator of this facility, with full access to everything except the ability to remove or change my access?"
I jumped as I heard a confident, feminine voice from the system obelisk, "Confirmed".
Is that you? Nice.
She introduced herself, "This is Sprite. I am Luke’s friend and assistant. I have interfaced with this node and can use some available features. These include the audio facilities, the projector and the screen. I recommend that we install an Administrative AI. The sooner, the better so that it grows with the settlement. Mike should be the one to sort that as he will be working closest with it."
Mike looked excited as I saw that he was lost in the vacant look of someone going through new screens and features in their HUD.
"Sprite, can you add Julie as the facility's administrator, like Mike?"
"Confirmed"
"You good people? I need some space, weeks of notifications and all that, and, well, you know…Sarah." I trailed off, trying not to bring the mood down too much, reminding people of those who were not here.
They both nodded, and I saw they were keen to start playing with the new toy.
I sighed. I guess I could be the adult for a second. "We must find out what is happening in the rest of the country and other zones. Amy should be good for a bit, although can you check in with her later."
Sprite: Check the planetary leaderboard.
Planetary Leaderboard (Settlement) (Region 4)
Brisbane 3548 Amy Walkden.
Min Min 43 Luke Hammond
Planetary Leaderboard (Individual) (Region 4)
??? ??? ???
Luke Hammond
Amy Walkden
Leaderboard: unlock higher-tier settlements or build an embassy to see other regional leaderboards.
Sprite: You must upgrade the settlement to see outside the region or develop an embassy within other regions.
I smiled. Go, Amy.
Julie looked at me and smiled, "That should be easier now. We need people. More of Legion are arriving, but we need bodies. You go. We have this sorted."
Julie showed me to a small room in the house. It had a simple bed and a door that I could close. I sat on the bed, and she closed the door on the way out. The window let some dim light in through dusty panes of glass. With a huge sigh, I sat on the bed and watched Julie leave.
Sprite, what do I do? I can’t deal with this. It’s all too much. They have had weeks to deal with it. To me, it is …
I was surprised at the tears Julie had shed earlier. She had not known Sarah for long, and these were good people.
Sprite: The offer stands to moderate your emotions until you can cope. I can monitor your biological state.
No, I’ll be good. I must learn to deal with it myself. If I am being realistic, we will be fighting a war and seeing more loss. This is something that I need to work through. If I dull the pain, it may numb my feelings, and I am not ready to say goodbye yet.
Sprite: Understood. However, the System will smooth it out for you in the short term so you don’t go off the deep end. Imagine if you went on a rampage now. You could level most of the country, and no one could stop you.
I guess it could be a good thing. I need to go through the notifications. Can you summarise them and the urgent stuff at the end, please? If there is anything I might miss, can you point it out? I’m not really in the mood, but I can feel the pressure of some of them all weighing on me.
It was as if some notifications needed attention and had potential energy that sat just out of reach, waiting and building in pressure the more you ignored them. This was going to be rough.
Sprite: Okay. Overall, you will be happy with your gains—more content. This is hard. I am also processing the loss, taking away some of my processing capabilities. I do not think I like it. At the end of the summary, I will remove the cap on all your stats, and you may feel discomfort when they all integrate. You will see your uncapped totals, but remember they are now capped.
Summary:
Your hard work has paid off
Sprite: Earth Human Mind Hack: 22 Days: Average 9.2 points per day.
Total Int + 87, Wis + 81, Foc +35. (203)
Bootcamp: Double time was good for you:
Str + 17, Agi +15, End +31, Com+3, Int +11, Wis +7, Foc +49, Kar+14, Cha +11, Per +12 (170 Total)
Title Awarded: Powerhouse (Top 5):
You are in the first five of your realm to gain 1000 total points in Body, Mind, Spirit, and Luck.
Membership pending The Drakes: Earth. (Top 5)
10% Bonus for all stats.
500000 XP,1000000 Cr,
System Store Token(ANY)
Epic. Quests Available
Kills: 2 Karass Mercenaries: Experience Bonus20000 x 2
Level Up: Level 19
Level Up: Level 20
Class Choice:
You must make a class choice. You may not dismiss this prompt until you have made a class choice. If you are unhappy with your class choice, you may….
SYSTEM OVERRIDE> Incompatible class choices removed. 1 choice remaining.
Your class has been upgraded from No Class to No Class: (Servant of the Empire) EPIC
Title Awarded: I know what I want to be:
Upgrade the same class twice.
You gain 2 class skills, and you gain 2 class spells.
Your renown with the Empire has increased.
You are now Friendly with the Empire.
Class Level Upgrades +2 per stat, + 100 health, +100 mana + 10 energy
Path Bonus: +1 to all stats and +1 point to the choice of BODY / MIND / LUCK per level you remain in this class.
Title Awarded: Stupidly Brave (Hidden)
Gain level 20 without choosing a class. Is this bravery or stupidity?
Will you continue this path or choose a class like the rest?
Level Up: Level 21
Level Up: Level 22
Level Up: Level 23
All excess experience converted to mana and energy:
Current XP: 0, 490000 required to reach level 24.
Membership of the Drakes is approved pending a successful Gala Event.
See Help: Legendary Groups: The Drakes for more information.
End Summary
Kallax: Integration: 25%. Stage 1: Incomplete. Grow Stronger.
The first thing I did was check my stats:
Luke Hammond EARTH HUMAN Tier 5 Level 23 No Class (Servant of the Empire)
Body: 276 (S: 294 A: 247 E: 270 C: 294)
Mind: 379 (I: 385 W: 348 F: 406)
Spirit: 266 (C: 266 K: 247 P: 285)
Luck:433 HP: 440 MP: 400 EP: 440
It was amazing. I was buzzing and full of energy. My health and mana had shot up, as well as my regenerations. My stats were out of this world compared to when I was first enhanced. The funny thing was that I had no idea how my stats were compared to someone average. All I knew was that I was definitely OP. I remembered having most of my stats below 10 for a bit. In truth, I felt like crap. I had a bunch of stats and no idea how to use them well. Besides Julie telling me I should not tell people about them, I was a little vague on what was expected. I really wanted to get out and test them soon. I needed to fight something to keep my hand in, try new skills and powers and help forget some of my troubles. I wanted to fight chaos and void incursions. More than anything, I needed to get a handle on my new class and some actual training with skills. I felt a little lousy dumping the entire settlement on Mike. But really, that was his thing, so I didn’t feel that bad. He loved that kind of crap.
Sprite: You need to take care of some reasonably urgently. The Drakes, this is a bit of a worry. They are such an unknown. Also, you seem to have become a target, as seen by the Karass connections at the Senate and the Legion. We do not know why. I would like you to consider a security detail.
Just what I need. I am happy to be fighting the Karass. I have been against them since they will enslave everyone on Earth. But I have no idea how they even know about me or if it is just luck. It does not seem real yet, though. No to the security. I’m not keen on babysitters yet. Who or what are the Drakes?
Sprite: It does seem strange. I still get some sense of external energy around you at times. More extraordinary things seem to work for you, meaning others will work against you. The Karass have an unusual interest in you for whatever reason. There is a high probability that they will begin to target your holdings. You should contact your steward and warn them. You are lucky that your holdings have operated independently for so long and are relatively remote.
Bookcase, my holdings. What the hell can I do there, Sprite? I feel bad. Maybe I need to get there. Can you move them up the priority list?
I could feel the negative karma and ignored the message. Damn, Mike.
I sighed. Things were getting complicated.
Do you think I could get Mike involved there? Maybe start some trade or something?
Sprite: Mike may need time to understand things here first, but a trade would be a good start.
I guess.
Sprite: The Bounty Hunter’s Guild is asking for an interview and is asking you to join. They want you to pay up so that you become a member. Doing that would reduce any fallout from your run-in with them. You also need to read the help file on The Drakes – I would take the decision to join them very seriously. Be careful there. The Drakes are secretive, not just because they are powerful, but because they operate outside the Empire as much as inside.
Noted. I’ll see what I can find out. If I join, I’ll be on the in with them when I become a member so that we will see all the secrecy. Will that cause a conflict with you?
Sprite: No, it should be fine. Just be careful. Do you wish for me to curate your messages? Soon, we will have real-time voice using what remains of the Earth’s internet. It is concerning that your title, Powerhouse, was in the top 5, not First. That means there is another Earth Human who has 1000 in total stats. I’ll see what we can dig up about them and see if they can be recruited. We need things sorted out here soon to create more settlements. The stabilisation of energy plays a significant role in Integration.
We sound like we are going to be busy.
Sprite: Yes, I was finding more and more of my cycles going into processing my sense of loss. I have reprioritised that and capped it so I can be more effective. I have fewer cycles available in the short term, but I believe it would have become an issue if I had taken no action. I would have become crippled with what you might call depression.
Wow. It takes us humans years to work that out. I think my main focus soon is to get a handle on some of my new skills and powers and my new class. I haven’t even checked out the new skills I acquired. Some fire-truckin powerhouse I am. I need time to consolidate! At least Mike can take on the running of things. I kind of do not really feel bad about dumping that on him.
Sprite: It may be hard for him, but it is necessary. I think you may need your training sooner rather than later.
I also want to shop now that I have some cash for upgrades. I need to talk to Julie and Mike about the settlement. Even though I have the ownership and they are running it, it does need to be run properly – to save as many people as possible. I need to ensure Julie has that at the top of the list. I know she likes money and artifacts. We need to put things in place to stop people from being douchbags. I don’t even know what that entails. I trust Mike and Julie; she has some great plans, but we need to do this right. We also need to get the Legion set up here, and I want to start getting some more people out here, Mike and Sarah’s family. Not so sure about Lawrance. Maybe near the end, so they don’t end up as slaves. So much to do.
It was good to have someone to bounce ideas off. Keeping busy would be good for me.