April Fool's Alternate Ending_Chosen of the Endless One [Kingdom Building]

For those of you who refuse to look at chapter title names this is not actually part of the story. I specifically wrote it for April Fool’s.

I stood in the courtyard of Count Vaspar's Castle. A crowd of people waited for me outside the gate. These were all the people I paid to come to work for me in Bicman. I was not looking forward to the long ride back but was eager to arrive. The trip to Vaspar had been educational and fruitful. I had obtained a lot of money and spent quite a bit of it just as fast.

The news of my paintings had spread, and even within the few days since the count's painting had been revealed, I had received numerous requests from various nobles for similar paintings. Even with the exorbitant price I demanded, the requests kept coming. Most dropped out when I explained that I must return to my barony and they would have to go there to get the painting done. No one wanted to visit the marshes. There were a few die-hards and I ended up scheduling one each month for the next year.

I was just stepping into my carriage when pain erupted in my brain. I screamed in agony as I tried to maintain consciousness. When the pain started to subside, I found myself lying on my back in the stone-paved courtyard. Struggling to look around, I found everyone had collapsed in a similar manner. Some were groaning, and some were weeping. Then, a blue screen appeared in front of me.

Welcome to the system!

Calibrating neural link

'Oh heck no, Endless One! This is a transmigration story; you are not adding a System to this mess you have gotten me into.'

I got no response, so I sat up. The headache was still there, so I stayed seated for now. If this followed standard System Novel protocol, I knew what would happen next. Sure enough, more messages started to pop up.

Mana density has reached 10%. F-rank mobs have begun to spawn.

'Crap.'

Interface is now available.

'Crap!'

First quest has been issued.

Survive the trip home!

'CRAPITY, CRAP, CRAP! We're all screwed.'

I sighed. "Well, system, show me my interface."

Name

Amos Bicman

Age

Race

Human

Level

Experience

0/100

Class

Nobleman

Health

56/70

Stamina

65/70

Mana

1000/1000

Stats

Strength

Charisma

Agility

Intelligence

Dexterity

Wisdom

Vitality

Skills

Artist

Diplomat

Haggler

Leadership

Titles

Baron

10% to allure

You gain 1% of all experience earned by your subjects.

Barony interface unlocked

Chosen of the Endless One

1000% normal mana

Skill Development

Accelerated

3 to charisma

'What the actual heck! I am not a baron,' I thought. 'At least I have magic... Wait, hey, Endless One, I've got no spells.'

"Help- Interface," I said

The Interface is the way that the system interacts with players.

"Help- Magic"

Magic is the manipulation of mana.

'Thanks a lot,' I thought sarcastically. 'Help- obtain spells'

Spells may be obtained through spell scrolls, grimoires, learning from another, or experimentation. Warning- Spell creation can lead to serious side effects.

After closing my Interface, I looked around. Draves was back on his feet and had a hand against the carriage to support himself.

"Captain, we have a problem. Help me up."

"My Lord, do you know what is going on?" He said as he walked over.

"The Endless One is having fun at our expense."

"My Lord, I urge you not to speak such words." Draves said in alarm.

"Well, That is neither here nor there. Draves, I want you to think 'Interface.'"

"What is this, My Lord?"

"Now, ask it to close. I will explain on the way. We must return to Bicman as fast as possible. I know we have all these people, but they will be safer here."

"Safer?"

"Right now, the Endless One is creating creatures from our nightmares to test us. They are called mobs. We must hurry home and help defend Bicman. We need to leave now before they close the gates."

I exited the gates to the panicked crowd. I am sure this area will soon be flooded with more people demanding answers from the count. I would love to stay and help, but my first obligation was to my own people.

"Those who have been contracted to me. Due to this bizarre circumstance, I am releasing you from all obligations to me. I will depart immediately and at a fast pace to make sure my people are safe. I will give a silver crown to those who wish to stay. Due to the possibility of unrest, I cannot guarantee your safety on the road.

A silver crown per person would hurt my bank account but would not be as painful as knowing that some may die on our travels. When I made this announcement, the count's servants were in the courtyard, and I asked them to let the count know what I had done.

We had purchased eight mules and three additional wagons, but I decided to leave the wagon with metals. The two extra mules would be good to rotate out so we could keep a good pace.

Once we were outside of the town and marching, I began to speak to Draves. "Draves, I am going to tell you all I know about what this might mean, but you will be responsible for disseminating the information to the people traveling with us. First, let's go over your status page."

After reviewing it, I found out that Draves's class was Gaurd, and he had the title of Captain. His physical stats were all slightly above ten, as was his Charisma. His willpower and intelligence were eight. I explained how to ask the system for help and explained what we might encounter in the future. I told him that monsters could be gathering near our barony to attack right now.

"If I were not seeing these screens right now, I would call you crazy."

"I wish I were. If the legends of my world are correct, we are in for some tough times. There will be political upheaval at the bare minimum, and many will die if the monsters start to rampage. Let's take a break, and you can go explain things to the men and those who came with us. Show them the Interface first so they don't think you are crazy."

"Most of them cannot read. How will they know what it all means."

"I don't know. I will start writing down the alphabet, and we can teach them in the evening."

The break lasted almost two hours. Draves was helping everybody understand the new reality. Even though they could see the Interface, a few balked at what he was saying. Eventually, we were ready to move again, and Draves stepped back into the carriage.

"How did it go?"

"We have a lot of people who are nervous. I told them what you said about monsters, and there was almost a panic. The really strange thing is that all of them instinctively knew what the interface pages said, even those who can't read. I need to be out there with them, My Lord, especially if your belief that monsters may be in the woods is correct."

"Go, I have plenty to keep myself occupied with. I need to learn how magic works."

Draves just shook his head, "Magic. I just can't believe it."

"I don't know if I can either, but I will try."

I spent the next few hours trying to figure out how to manifest my magic. I decided to go with the basic flameless light spell as I didn't want to try anything destructive in the carriage. I tried every method I could think of from the novels I had read, but nothing worked. It may have been the bumpiness of the ride. No matter how much better the leaf springs made the carriage, it didn't replace modern suspension and paved roads.

The first attack happened three hours later. I heard a shout from behind us, and suddenly, Draves was calling out commands. He never left the carriage's side. Growls and chittering came from behind, and I stuck my head out the window.

"Goblins, of course, it's goblins." I groaned. I couldn't see many of them because they were about the size of an eight-year-old child, and my men towered over them. Dark green, rough skin with sharp teeth and claws, they looked like overside gremlins from that old movie. They were naked and had no weapons, but they were very good at dodging my men's spears. The younger men were inexperienced, and everyone was a little freaked out. It took a while, but my men managed to put the little creatures down.

I got out of my carriage, much to the captain's displeasure.

"Is everyone ok," I called out.

I saw some people getting bandaged as I started to head over.

"Hey, I got + 1 in my spear skill; does anybody know what that means?" He said.

"That means the system decided that you have improved your spearmanship. Congratulations." I said.

The young man stood up straighter. "Thank you, My Lord."

Did you get XP?

"It said I got 10 XP.

"Good job. With 90 more, you will gain a level, which will strengthen you."

Other people started shouting out different amounts of XP.

"Congratulations to everyone on their first victory."

A few people cheered, but it quieted quickly.

"I suspect that these were level-one mobs. The system said there would be level one to five mobs. We must be vigilant. Nobody is to go anywhere alone. I don't care if you are just taking a leak on the side of the road. We have no idea what is out there. A minimum of groups of three at all times, and no one is to go more than twenty meters away from camp. If anyone levels up, let me know immediately. If it gives you points to distribute, do not do so without my help. I will try to help you distribute the points so that you all maximize your chances of surviving."

I continued over to the wagon, where injuries were being treated. A fire had been started, and water set in a pot ready to be boiled.

As I approached one of my militia in training, I saw that he had a piece of cloth on his forearm.

"May I see your injury?"

The young man looked up at me and grimaced. "Yes, My-My Lord, of course."

I had an idea that I hoped would work. Maybe to learn mana, it must be put to use, or there must be a need. Lighting up a well-lit carriage might not have been a strong enough reason. The wound was deep and looked dirty. It would probably become infected from the filth on the goblins' razor like claws.

I placed my hands on the open wound, and the boy grit his teeth in pain. "Heal," I said in a commanding voice as I envisioned the wound being cleansed and then the tissue regrowing.

I felt the mana flowing out of my body and into the young man. A vague impression of a rune popped into my mind, but it was fuzzy and distorted. I felt lightheaded and a little drained. When I could finally focus again, I noticed the young man staring at his wound. He lifted his eyes, and I saw his face filled with awe.

"How?"

Looking around, I saw people start to gather, and the crowd began to mutter.

"The Endless One may have introduced monsters into the world, but he has also given us the means to fight them. The creatures will get stronger, so we must use the system to do the same. I will come around and try to heal all those who were injured."

It did, in fact, get easier, and after the initial heal, I did not become woozy. The amount of mana consumed was proportional to the severity of the wound. After practicing my spell on every member with an injury, including bumps and bruises, we were ready to move out again.

After I got into the carriage, I looked at a blinking dot in the corner of my vision, which I had been ignoring.

You have learned Minor Heal. Due to prior knowledge, your proficiency has increased.

You are the first person in the system to unlock magic. 10,000 XP awarded

You are the first person to learn Minor Heal. 500 XP awarded

Due to prior knowledge of Anatomy, your Healing spell is Level 5.

Due to your prior knowledge of pathology, Non Magical Cleanse effect has been added to your spell.

You have opened up a nonstandard class, Healer. 1000 XP

You have obtained a new title, Trendsetter. 25% to XP gain. 2000 XP

You have obtained a subclass Healer. All healing related spells cost 50% less mana.

You have gained 720 XP

You are now level 8

You have 14 stat points to distribute.

You have seven skill points to distribute. Points must be distributed within 24 hours, or they will be forfeited.

'Dang, I was at an even higher level than all the Mobs.'

With how much experience all the men gained from killing the eight goblins, my baron bonus hadn't even given me one point. I would have needed 10,000 combined experience of all my subjects to reach level two, which would have meant that everyone in my barony would have needed to reach level 2. I guess that is a way to get nobles to not be so flippant about their people's lives. It also encourages them to increase their subjects' levels.

I would need to help defeat higher-level monsters or gain more bonus experience. Healing minor injuries will not get me very far. I had healed five injuries, not including bruising or sore muscles, and had only gained 720 XP. As my men became more competent, they would receive fewer injuries. I wonder if they have a party feature for sharing XP?

For now, I need to distribute my stats and try to formulate new spells. I had heard terms like min-max and read some system novels, but I was not very good at the whole gaming thing. I decided I wanted a mage focus, but right now, I was so squishy with my low vitality that a strong breeze could kill me. I started with an experiment. I dropped one point into vitality, intelligence, and wisdom. My health and stamina increased by 10, but my mana increased by 100. That 1000% mana bonus was awesome. I am guessing that wisdom controlled mana regen, and with my larger mana pool, I would need the higher regen. I dumped seven points into wisdom, two more into vitality, and the rest into intelligence.

Now for spells. Offensive spells would need to be practiced in combat, but that didn't mean I couldn't decide on what I wanted to create. Since I didn't want to burn down the forest, I figured an earth spell would be best. Now, could I make an earth spike from mana, or did I need to use stones and shape them?

I called out of the window, "Draves, Can you grab me a stone?"

"Yes, My Lord."

He called out to a nearby guard, and a moment later, he handed me a stone. For the next hour, I attempted to shape the stone. When I used pure infused mana, I got no results. It wasn't until I squeezed the stone in frustration that I got results. Using both physical and mental force, I slowly changed the shape of the stone. Once again, I became dizzy. When I moved my hand away from the stone I could see impressions in the rock. I was so amazed that I almost missed the blinking notification. Pulling it up, I saw:

You have created the spell Earth Shaping. 1000 XP

You have opened up a nonstandard class, Mage. 2000 XP

Would you like to switch your class to Mage? All Mage-related spells cost 10% less mana.

Hmm. Not really worth it unless I was going to switch to a straight mage class. I looked at my screen and found that the spell was level 1. I thought about increasing the spell using skill points but then decided I needed to save them for when I got to higher levels. I'm sure raising the spell at higher levels became more difficult. That meant I had less than twenty-four hours to master Earth Spike and add levels to it before I lost my points. Fortunately, I could practice a lot with my high mana pool before I ran dry.

I inserted mana into the stone and tried to mold it like clay. I wanted to make it into the shape of a spike, and this took both mental and physical effort.

You have gained a point in Earth Shaping.

I had raised my Earth Shaping to level five. I could now hold the stone in my hand and will it to shape the way I wanted it to. Not that I could do much with it. I needed to be able to accelerate it at my enemy using wind magic, gravity magic, or telekinesis. For all I knew, gravity magic and telekinesis could be the same thing.

Due to understanding a fundamental principle of magic, you gain 1000 XP.

'Isn't this just cheating a little bit? I'm going to become one of those OP characters!'

Then suddenly, I heard shouts of alarm. I looked out my window to see goblins charging my men again. It was a larger group, and now, some of them were wearing ragged leather armor.

'Never mind, I'll take the Over Poweredness, thank you very much.'

I tried to focus my mind on pushing my magic into those I was fighting to try and give buffs. So, I knew that beta waves caused alertness. Serotonin, dopamine, adrenaline, noradrenaline, and epinephrine were all chemicals that affected alertness. Too much was a bad thing, but what if I could create a similar effect with mana? If I could-

You have created the buff Battle Ready. 1000 XP

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

'Thank you system'

My men started to move faster, and their spears seemed to hit more often. I focused on the goblins, trying to see their stats. It wasn't until I tried to push the mana into my eyes that I got a result.

You have created the spell Farsight. 1000 XP

You have created the skill Anylize. 1000 XP

Suddenly, my vision was sharper, and a window popped up in the corner of my vision.

Goblin Grunt LVL 1

Health 16/30

Abilities- None

Skills- None

Goblin Warrior LVL 3

Health 24/40

Abilities- None

Skills- None

Those Warriors were definitely faster and stronger than the grunts, but with my buff, they were no match for my guards. It wasn't long before the guards had slaughtered the little monsters. When they were done, I wanted to get out and start healing people, but I had a splitting headache from learning three spells in quick succession.

Draves came to my window and asked how I was doing. I explained what I had done and that I had a splitting headache, and in return, I got one of those rare looks of surprise on the captain's face.

"That was you. I felt like I could lift a mountain. You increased everyone outside of the carriage. Are you OK?"

Then it dawned on me: Maybe excessive mana use caused the issue, not the spells.

Mana 643/1400

'Wow, I was in 1292 when I started. That area buff used a lot of mana, but that was only half of what it would have cost if I hadn't been a healer. Of course, that was also a pretty massive buff.'

I wasn't bottomed out, though, so I wasn't sure which thing caused the issue.

"I'm not sure, but the headache is already starting to go away. I'll be ready to start healing now."

I could tell Draves wanted to protest, but I wasn't about to let a headache stop me from healing the men. I made my rounds and then chatted with a few men. Some of them had gotten the Spearman Class, and when they picked it, they got 500 XP. That got them to level 3, and I helped them each distribute points. The rest were grumbling a bit, but I was sure they would get theirs soon enough. We looted the corpses, giving those who participated the few shards of crystal that goblins dropped.

After another two hours of traveling, we reached a village. Most of the men were in the village square, and the women and children were nowhere to be seen. The village had obviously been raided by the goblins because there were corpses in a pile.

When we arrived at the square, we were greeted by the headman. Everyone was extremely freaked out, so I requested that the headman meet with me privately for a moment. We still had daylight, so I wanted to make it to the next village before we slept, but I couldn't just ignore the villages we passed. I gave the headman an hour of my time. I explained that he should expect the number of monsters to increase and get stronger. They needed to build a protective wall around their village.

At first, he protested, saying that the new baron would probably displeased to find that they had done so without his permission. I explained that because this was happening everywhere, their baron would be too busy to help. He probably wouldn't even attempt to travel to his new barony until he was sure it was safe. He should assume that they were on their own for the near future. I told him that he could tell the new baron that I demanded he do this thing.

After I explained all I could, I answered his questions and healed him from the injury he had received during the fight. To say he was shocked would be an understatement. I decided to try to teach him how to heal. I had discovered his mana pole was 110, which meant 11 in intelligence. First, I held his hand and tried to let some of my mana flow into him. He felt the mana, and then we tried to do the opposite.

Once he got a feel for his mana, we went to where his men were. Now that our people had arrived, more of the town folk had come out of their homes. I healed one to show them what we were trying to do. Now, it was his turn.

I explained that intent was the most important thing, followed by need. I had deduced that magic filled in the parts you didn't know, which is why intent was so important. As he began to focus on healing, I tried to explain what the mana needed to do. I explained that muscle tissue, fat, nerves, and skin all needed to regrow. I explained that fuel and liquids were needed. I told him I didn't know everything, so magic filled the gaps. The local medicine woman joined us in the middle of my explanation. Just as I began to think it wouldn't work, a light glow appeared around the wound. It was only a few seconds later that the headman collapsed to his side and began to vomit.

After a minute, the man sat up and wiped his mouth on his sleeve.

"Ugh, that was awful. I never want to experience that again."

"Check your mana as I showed you."

After a moment, the man said. "Zero of one hundred-ten."

"What you experienced was mana fatigue. It happens when you run dry on mana. It is similar to running until you can't run anymore and begin to puke. Did you get a class?

"It says I can choose the healer class. If I choose it, I cannot change it for six months."

'Hmm, I wonder why it didn't impose that restriction on me when I was creating classes. Was it because the classes were new to the system?'

"It should cost you less to cast heal if you take the class."

"Thank you, but I think I will pass. From what you explained, I think I will choose Fighter Class. We are going to need more of those. Tammy, come learn this," he said to the medicine woman.

She was nervous but came over all the same. She had heard my teaching the headman, but I reviewed everything with her anyway. Only a few minutes later, the man's wound began to glow and heal. Tammy was tired but wasn't nearly as bad as the headman. A moment later, she began to smile.

"Did you get the class?"

"Yes, My Lord, and I also gained two levels."

OK, Let's review your stats and explain them. Then you can help the headman explain to others.

Reviewing both their stats, I found that the headman had gotten Heal level 1, and Tammys was at Heal level 3. She was able to heal one more person before her mana was out. I would let her continue to train on all those who were injured. It would be great for leveling. We had stayed longer than I wanted to, so I rounded up my men, who had been helping craft stone spearheads for the peasants and left.

After I was in the carriage, I addressed the notification I had received when the headman had collapsed. Focusing on the blinking icon in the corner of my vision, I pulled it up.

You have unlocked the Scholar class.

For being the first person to train someone in a nonstandard class, you receive the title Mentor. When teaching a nonstandard class, you will be 200% more effective. 2000 XP

This was getting ridiculous. And at the same time, I loved it.

I was coming up on the time that I would need to drop my points into something before I lost them, so I decided to put them in Battle Ready. I used it every time we were in a battle, but the cost was high, and it wasn't really leveling. Dropping all my points into Battle Ready, it was now at level 10.

After another two hours, I was proficient enough at Earth Shaping to mold it just by thought. Then, I got the bright idea of practicing outside. Draves was once again not happy with me, but I needed to practice this in order to turn it into something I could attack with. I started by turning by compacting the dirt on the side of the road into something similar to stone. After a few more levels in it, I was able to do it while walking. Compacting it lowered the road level in those areas, and I hardened slightly. So, I got the bright idea of starting to smooth out the ruts in front of us.

When we were again attacked, I rushed back into the carriage and waited until the fighting ended. The enemies attacking were about the same composition as last time, and all my fighting men were now at level 3 or above and had the fighter class. After receiving a small amount of healing and helping the men distribute points, we were on our way.

By the time we reached the next village, I could continuously shape the road in front of us to smooth, hard-packed dirt. I was also able to gather the earth around an area and turn it into a spike on the ground. Not as good as the Earth Spike in video games and LitRPGs, but I was getting there.

This town had not fared as well as the last one. It was abandoned, and the largest grouping of Goblins we had seen had made their camp there. They even had a level 5 Goblin Chief. Without my buff, I fear we might have lost. I was also on the back line, constantly healing people. By the time we were done mopping them up, most of my men were injured, and one had died before I could heal him. I was lower on mana than I had ever been by the time we were done.

After we had looted all the goblins and the bodies were vanishing, we started to search the town for any possible survivors. We only found corpses. We built a pyre outside of town and burned the bodies.

After the short service, we set rotations, and everyone fell asleep. Before I went completely under, I looked at my notifications and realized I received more healing experience during combat. It wasn't enough to get me close to the next level, but I suspect that was because we were fighting much lower level monsters than me.

In the morning, we started to march, and I continued to practice with my Earth Shaping. I wasn't really getting any more levels from using it this way since I had leveled it to 14 by now, but it made it easier for the men, and that made it worth it.

Due to lower stamina and my health, I had to rest more often than my men, but I seemed to be getting better. Hopefully, by the time I got back to Bicman, I would be almost done with it. Fortunately, we had my carriage, so I didn't have to slow us down while I recovered.

We were just having a midday break when one of the noncombatants approached me and bowed.

"My Lord, may I trouble you for a moment."

"No problem, though I have forgotten your name since I hired you."

"Devin, My Lord."

I snapped my fingers, "That is right. You are one of the Laborers I hired for the mines and road crew."

"Yes, My Lord, I was… Well, I saw that you taught those people to heal, and I was wondering if you could teach me the thing you do with the road." He said, looking embarrassed.

I smiled, "I thought that was what this was about. Have there been others that were interested as well?"

"A few of us have discussed it."

"Well, gather them up, and let's see what we can do."

I spent the rest of the break trying to instruct the five men who were interested in learning it. Two of them were able to learn it. When reviewing their stats, I found that both of them had a ten in intelligence while the others were at level 7 or 8. I explained that a minimum intelligence score may be required, but there was no rush or shame in not having the score where it needed to be. I explained how they could level it but also that there were benefits they may get from taking the approach of a strength and endurance based class with the class of miner or stone mason.

The two men who could do it were exhausted after one casting of the spell, and there was only a slight indentation in the rock. I told them not to be discouraged; the more they practiced, the easier it would become. Their mana regen was also dismal, so we only got one cast in before we had to leave.

As I took my next break in my carriage, I decided to try something. I wanted mana sight—the one you read about where people can see the flow of mana. I pushed mana into my eyes again, but this time, I focused on the stone I was trying to shape. After several minutes, I began to see a blurry symbol in front of me.

You have learned the skill Mage Sight. 1000 XP

'Yeah, a fun new thing to try.'

I started to practice the skill. By our next break, the symbol was becoming more defined, and I could tell it was some sort of rune. It had to be massively complex. Because it was still blurry, I was unsure if I would ever figure out all the lines.

Practice, practice, practice. I practiced this skill for the rest of the day, but I never got to the point where I could see it. I did notice that as I shaped the rock, different areas of the rune began to glow more brightly. That led me to notice that that was also true when I wasn't trying to affect it at all. Some parts were always brighter than others. I kept trying to figure out what this meant but couldn't wrap my head around it.

We began to slow down as we reached the village where we were about to stay. I noticed one of the areas dim slightly. It was still brighter than most, but something clicked. I was sending mana through this rune to manipulate the rock, which meant that this spell had to identify what it was affecting. If this rune was defining its target, then the most likely thing changing right now would be its location in time and space. The spot that was always slightly bright and never changed intensity may be its location in time. The one that dimmed when we stopped was its location in space. An object never truly stops moving through space, so it wouldn't go completely out as long as my mana was identifying its location. Were spells like programming languages. Functions, objects, and variables?

Congratulations, you have unlocked a principle of The System. +2 to intelligence. 5000 XP

'Crap! I knew I should have paid more attention in that class.'

If I could learn to manipulate those symbols for time and space, could I teleport myself? I probably didn't need to figure that out by myself, though. Intent and understanding were the keys, and mana filled in the gaps.

Wait! What if I tried creating a portal instead? I could send us all home right now! Okay, I had read enough Steven Halking and sci-fi to create a portal that bent time and space, right?

I started thinking about the different theories and how they were all possible. I got out of the carriage and focused on the area in front of me. Then I thought of my room back in Bicman. Next, I started pumping mana into my intent.

There was a loud explosion, and I was flung back into the carriage. As I focused on the space in front of me, a hole opened in space, showing an inky blackness.

You have unlocked the spell &@7%&. 1000 XP

You have unlocked the nonstandard class Space-Time Mage. Space-time related spells cost 50% less.

Warning: Your lack of mana has made your portal in space unstable. Because this happened inside a solar system's gravity well, imminent destruction will occur.

You have received the title World Ender. 10,000 XP. 500% bonus to all Destructive spells

Congratulations, you have caused the destruction of your solar system in record time! Beating all previous records of System Inc.

Your accomplishment has been posted.

Critical failure in 5… 4… 3…

Time froze, and the tear disappeared, but another message appeared.

The owner of this Universe has requested a patch be created for this System to prevent the Destruction of this Solar System. System Inc. apologizes for the loss of experience due to 2,372,986 spawns not being destroyed and receiving the title Murder Hobo. As compensation for this, you will receive seven levels and a spell scroll. Due to the fact that the patch was put in place after your title was received, we at System Inc. will honor the title and record. Thank you for your cooperation.

You have received external messages from outside the System.

Eroc: Dude, if you had managed to destroy the planet, I would have been so pissed! However, the event is going viral on Godnet, and I got the best screenshot of your face when you found out you were the cause of the destruction of the world. The memes it generated were awesome. So all's well that ends well I guess. Try not to get into too much trouble, "World Ender."

Rondo: Great work, Amos. You almost gave Eroc a heart attack. Well, if he had a heart, I guess. Keep up the excellent work. Love'n the system vid's

Tor: Love it!

Finor: Your a moron!

Tamis: So cool!

Guinness: Record Breaker. Woot! Woot!

Hantarius: Are you one of those people who can't chew gum and walk at the same time?

Donis: Dang, you beat my guy's record! Guess I will have to load up another system world. WTG!

'Were these Gods?! They're all crazy.'

Seven levels are nice. That puts me at fifteen.

Suddenly, the world around me started up again.

"My Lord, are you ok?" came the somewhat panicked voice of Draves.

"Yeah, give me a moment. I'm just playing around with space and time. I got a little carried away."

I opened the scroll that had appeared in my hand.

Looking at it, knowledge flooded my mind

You have gained a deeper understanding of portals.

Previous spell &@7%& has been replaced with Portal Creation. +5 to skill

Wow. I could now create a stable portal. My experiment has been completely foolish. It was missing so many components to link the two spaces together. This scroll also gave me a general idea of how much mana it took to create a gate and send something through. This was much more mana intensive than anything else I have tried. I immediately dumped the seven skill points I had into this spell.

Now, the portal cost for the diameter was 13 mana per meter. It was about ten mana per kilometer. And about one mana per Kilogram of mass passing through the portal. I could adjust the shape of the opening, so I would probably need about 20 mana for the shape of the portal. If I were to go all the way to Bicman, it might be about 250 Kilometers, and I probably was about 130 kilograms. So if I went myself, it would cost 2650 mana. For a normal person, they would need an intelligence score of 265 to do that. I currently had 1800 mana at my max. We would need to be only a day or two away before I could send someone through to scout it out. I could always switch to Space-Time Mage, but I was still needed as a healer. Looks like I need to raise my level a bit. This was going to be so fun to play with, though.

"Hey, Captain. Watch this," I grinned.

I opened a portal about the size of a basketball hoop in front of me, and the exit point faced down right in front of Draves. I tossed the rock at my side into the portal and laughed as it dropped down straight in front of the captain.

As I looked around, I couldn't help but see the shocked expressions on everyone's faces.

"Thank you, and now for my next performance…" I opened a portal and stepped through. From behind the gathered crowd, I watched as people gasped.

I started laughing with glee, and the whole crowd whipped around to face me. This was the best thing ever.

"My Lord, can you teach anyone to do that." a brave young soldier called out.

"Actually, I don't really know. Just doing that cost about 160 mana."

"My Lord, does that mean you have more than 16 intelligence?! H-How?"

"Well, um, actually…"

'Ugh, this is so embarrassing, but they were going to find out eventually.'

"You see, I got extra mana as a reward for being the first to get mana."

A little white lie never hurt anybody, right? Besides, there was no way I was going to tell them I got it for being the "Chosen of the Endless One." however, I had no doubt that those who considered me as the chosen one would use this to strengthen their belief.

"Anyways, that is not important. Let's greet the people who are now all hiding in their houses." '

Having been here before, I was hoping for a warmer reception, instead of bothering to go to the headman's house. I had Draves just call out.

"People of Inmar, we have come to provide assistance on our way back to the Barony of Bicman. My Lord requests the presence of the headman."

It was a few minutes before a woman stepped out of a house near the carriage. Falling to her knees, she said, "My Lord, forgive us. The headman died in an attack on the village from monsters yesterday. We had another attack this morning, and then the soldiers of Decmoore came and told us that they were drafting the rest to fight against the monsters. Our men refused to leave us defenseless, and so the soldiers slaughtered them. If you are here to recruit more men, there is no one left."

My mind went blank for a moment, not able to process the thought of killing people for trying to protect their families. Then, I was filled with rage.

"Rise, woman. We cannot stay to protect you, but neither am I willing to leave you defenseless. Prepare yourselves to leave. You will journey with us until we can find a safe place for all of you. With monsters attacking and no one to defend you, you cannot survive."

"There are over sixty of us left in the village. Where will we go?"

"All the way back to Bicman if we must. I cannot force anyone to go, but I will not condemn you to death either."

"We have sick and wounded."

"I have been granted power to heal," I said confidently. Knowing that a demonstration was needed fast if I were to avoid being called crazy. I drew my belt knife and sliced my palm. The pain was sharp and penetrating, but I fought through it and helped myself.

When I looked up, the woman was in shock. The blood remained, but I whipped it away. "Now lead me to your injured or meek, and we will get them healed. We need to leave as soon as possible tomorrow."

"Captian, get the camp set up. I am going to start healing people." Turning to the woman, I said. "What is your name?"

"Tara, My Lord."

"Come Tara, we have work to do."

I spent the next half hour treating wounds and illnesses.

Fortunately, about ten men had been injured to the point that the soldiers of Decmoor did not pay them any mind.

The people of my group were sitting down with people of the town explaining the System. I was still amazed that people who couldn't read intuitively knew what everything said. That didn't give them an understanding of what it meant, but all of them, even young children, could read off their stats.

Two of the wounded men were Level 2, and the rest were getting close. After healing them, I had them distribute their stats, and they were amazed at the boost they received. We needed to hurry to get back to Bicman. I was sure that some of my people had already leveled, and I was sure that they probably hadn't learned how to open their stat windows yet. That meant they would lose their skill points.

We found the first person who had gotten a noncombat-related class. It was a woman who had been weaving bandages and cloth for the last two days. She was a Level 1 Weaver with a skill at level 16. It appears after she got the class, she started to get small amounts of general experience for every yard or so she finished. When I showed her how to open her Stats, we found that she was about halfway to level 2.

We all crashed hard that night. I had used a lot of mana, both when healing and when zeroing out at the first portal. I was glad for my decision to dump a bunch of stats into wisdom so that my Mana Regenerated fairly quickly. It wasn't quite fast enough to keep up with my healing, but for things like Mage Sight, it was no problem.

Everyone rose at dawn the next day and made final preparations to move out. We gathered hand carts and what remained of their storage and continued our trek north.

I really thought I could learn translocation magic by shifting the numbers inside the data that made up the rock, but I had no desire to bottom out my mana. And although the System said a patch had been created to prevent world ending events, I still didn't want to push it. So, I decided to play with something simple, like gravity. I once read a novel where people could fly by changing the direction in which gravity asserted itself on them. There are a thousand reasons why that doesn't make sense, but… What if I filled the rock with mana and then willed gravity to— THUMP!

I jumped as the rock in my hand dropped onto the sealing. I watched as my mana steadily began to drain. Cutting off the flow, the rock fell back into my lap.

You have unlocked the spell, Gravity Anchor. 1000 XP

Sweet! I continued to practice, and soon, I was able to change not only the direction of the gravity but also the intensity. I learned that what I did did not cancel the standard gravitational pull on the object but gave it a counter pull. So, I was able to make the rock float in the air by giving it an equivalent gravitational pull upward. I could move the rock laterally as long as I pulled it up and in the direction I wanted it to go. Without the upward pull, the rock would fall to the ground and then begin to slide.

At one of our breaks, I borrowed a spear for an experiment. I filled the tip with mana. Running forward, I threw it like a javelin. At the last second, I altered the gravity to make its horizontal pull five times greater. The object accelerated towards the tree I was aiming for. Unfortunately, my aim was off, and I missed the tree by a large margin. It would have been embarrassing if it hadn't been for the fact that it flew into another tree twice the distance away.

Once again, I had awed my audience. I started using rocks instead since I wouldn't have to retrieve them, and after a few more practice runs, I found that I could anchor the gravitational pull to the object I was trying to hit. Now, even if my hand-eye coordination sucked, it would always "drop" to the tree I was aiming at. It was hilarious.

I found out mass also played a part in the amount of mana drain. Lifting myself off the ground caused my mana to plummet. Floating was fun to show people but not practical. But after I restored my mana, I reduced my pull enough to simulate walking on the moon. That was also pretty fun.

One of the young children from the village surprised me when he came up to me and said, "Can you teach me to do that?"

I looked up to see a mortified mother looking at her child. I wonder if she thought I was going to behead him for talking to me. I gave her a reassuring smile and turned back to the child. Squatting down to eye level with the boy, I said, "What is your name, young man?"

"Brock," He said with a grin.

I placed my hand on his shoulder and filled him with my mana. "Well, Brock, let's see how high you can jump."

Adding just a touch of pull, I watched as he jumped a little higher than a boy his age should.

"Come on, Brock. I am sure you can jump higher," I said, adding a little more pull.

This time, he jumped almost higher than his own head before coming down gently. Suddenly, he was swarmed by other kids all chatting about him jumping so high.

I withdrew my mana and said to Brock, "OK, I have to stop making you jump so high. It is wearing me out. I will try to help all of you jump as high as Brock sometimes, but for now, I must get something to eat.

After lunch, we continued on our way. The following two villages had been turned into goblin camps. My fighter's average level now was three, and they were getting noticeably faster and stronger even without my buff. I had vomited the first few times I had seen dead people, but my mind had started to adjust. I guess there is only so much you can see before your mind forces you to become numb to it, or you descend into madness. Yelling at Eroc did nothing, and so after allowing myself a few hours of melancholy, I sat up straight and committed myself to save who I could without slowing us down too much. We did not take all the supplies in each village we found just in case others passed through the village and were in need of extra things.

We often found evidence of fighting on the road but never any bodies. I shuttered to think what the monsters were doing with the corpses. I started to try to manipulate metal arrow heads. I noticed that the harder the material, the more it resisted. I don't know if that was a mental block on my part or an actual law of the universe. Slowly, I began to mold it until I got a new message.

You have unlocked the Class Geomancer. Geomancer spells cost 50% less with this class.

Nope, I'm still not changing. It was nice to see that my Earth Shaping had gone up another level, though. It had slowed to a crawl after level 10. Of course, that may have been because I was playing around with other things. I molded two arrowheads together and then attached a wooden stick. I could throw this at a goblin, and I bet it would punch right through the little beasts. I made 5 of them. I wish I had a dimensional storage bag, but I didn't want to play more with that until I practiced with standard portals. It appeared that single tears in space without an exit were unstable. Were bags of holding even possible? Maybe if I created a portal attached to an actual container. Something close by like my clothes chest. Then, I could reach in and grab things. Not quite as good, but it beat carrying a bunch of darts on my body.

I couldn't find an appropriate container without dumping out supplies, so I just grabbed a leather satchel, which I would use for the time being. Spacial storage could wait. Now, it was time to practice more road paving.

We had found five people who were capable of manipulating the earth. They were practicing smoothing out dirt as we traveled. They would mostly walk at the edges of the road and smooth them out. It was tough for them, and they had to take breaks often, but they were steadily improving.

When I got up next to my carriage driver and started to harden the road in front of the mules, I once again got odd looks. I decided to do it this way so that I could practice the spell and use Mana Sight at the same time. I really wanted to understand all these squiggly lines.

Now that I was no longer focusing on a single object in space, different areas lit up. The function or object I assumed was time was still constant, but different areas were shifting constantly now. If I could just pull—Suddenly, the blurry mass of squiggly lines separated into five separate masses of lines. Mana passed through one after the other before it created the effect.

Congratulations! Your understanding of spell crafting has increased. 1000 XP

I had a thought and really knew I shouldn't try it, but I couldn't help myself. I deleted the first fuzzy mass… I'll call them runes. When I deleted it, my mana suddenly started to drain faster, and maintaining the spell became harder. Aborting the spell, I picked up my trusty rock. I started to mold it and pull apart the spell at the same time. There were three runes this time. I deleted the first rune, and the spell stopped working. Same with the second one. Deleting the third one did not stop the mana flow, but I could no longer manipulate the rock. I tried using Mana Sight again while casting the Identify spell.

Rock- Metamorphic

Ignoring the information, I looked at the two symbols that appeared in front of me. Because I couldn't see it clearly, I couldn't be one hundred percent certain, but one of the runes may have been the same as one I had seen in the last spell. The other must be the Identify portion of the spell. What would happen if I duplicated that rune in a manner that didn't specifically target that object and then added a rune that would cause a duplicate? Could I create a copy? Focusing on what I wanted, I gave the intent and fed it mana. I watched in fascination as I saw my mana building the spell in front of me. The dizzy feeling I got when I learned a new spell caused me to almost lose focus. But after the spell was done and consumed the mana it wanted, an exact duplicate rock popped into existence in front of me, freaking out the carriage driver.

You have learned the spell Create Object. 1000 XP

You have opened up an Advanced class, Arch Mage. 4000 XP

Would you like to switch your class to Arch Mage? All Mage-related spells cost 25% less mana.

I hesitated for a moment before accepting the change. Yes, I would lose the discount I received from the Healer Class, but only 25%, and I had the mana to spare for those spells. That creation spell cost a lot more than the healing. If I had a normal mana pool, there is no way I could have created even that simple stone.

"Draves, fetch me a leaf, please." He looked at me curiously but complied.

I held it in my hand and cast Identity.

Leaf- Cypress

Removing the Identify portion, I focused on casting Create Object.

I got a splitting headache, but nothing happened. I sighed. I wasn't surprised. This probably meant that mass wasn't the only thing that affected the spell. A leaf was a much more complex object than a rock, and I only had a little less than 500 mana left. I decided to try again when my mana was full.

Next, I tried creating only a small portion of the rock I had been molding. A pebble popped into existence and clattered to the floor. This time, it cost less than 200 mana, and my level had gone up. Score!

The next goblin attack was from our rear, so I didn't get to try out my dart sticks. This was disappointing, but I still cast my buff and healed people afterward.

On our way to Decmoore, we encountered a few more groups of people, gathered them, and taught them about the System. After another day, a few of those who started with me got an opportunity to pick the Pioneer class, which gave bonuses to endurance and a bunch of general skills. It also only lasted three months rather than the standard six months. It was also the only class that had been offered to children as well.

When we arrived at Decmoore, the town was mostly empty. We could hear people inside their homes, but nobody answered our calls. The smell of decay was in the air. I saw traces of where bodies had been dragged away. We approached the keep and saw soldiers at the gates.

When we got close, Draves called out. "Lord Bicman is here to speak with the current head of Decmoore."

The man on the hill called back. "Captain Nib is in charge now, and we are not accepting refugees. All able-bodied men in the barony are being recruited to defend it. Your men must surrender themselves to our military, and the rest must continue on to Vaspar."

I broke into the conversation at this point. We have just come from Vaspar. We were returning home and found some of your people on the way. They are not refugees. As Baron of Bicman, I demand to speak with Captain Nib."

The one guard turned to the other and sent him to go get Nib.

When the captain exited the keep, he was escorted by ten spearmen and five archers. Analyzing them, I found that none were above level one. Either they hadn't fought or had no idea how to open the help or status screen.

As baron, I should have spoken first, but the captain wanted to assert his dominance.

"I understand that you have demanded to speak with me and are requesting our aid. As the highest ranking individual in Decmoore, I have assumed the barony until I receive further instruction from Vaspar. You will surrender your men to be conscripted into our military, and the rest of you may depart.

OK, now I was pissed. None of what he said had followed the laws of the kingdom. It looks like he was going to take the might makes right approach. So be it. I would show him might.

"You want my men," I said in an aloof tone. Then you must fight me for the right. If you win, you will receive not only my men but all our supplies. If I win, I receive the keep and the Barony of Decmoore with all the privileges that entails until the king restores order."

The captain grinned maliciously. All he saw was a large, prideful noble. Murmurs began to circulate through the crowd.

"You have a deal. Let us duel. You vs me only."

Soon, a large circle was formed. The captain pulled out his sword, and I pulled out my belt knife, which caused even more whispering. I was glad to note that Draves didn't even bother to try to stop me.

The match started, and the captain immediately went on the attack. I dropped him into a hole and buried him up to his chest in stone. The soldiers on Nib's side gasped while most people who had traveled with me laughed. I casually walked around him while speaking to everyone. "I am Baron Amos Bicman, Arch Mage and Master of Magic. As I came around him from behind, I bent down and grabbed his breastplate. Embuing it with my magic while loosening the stone, I flung him into the air with my magic of gravity. He landed with a thud.

One of his men shouted demon, and I looked up in time to see an archer loose an arrow at me. I immediately opened a portal in front of me and another behind the archer. Before the crowd could even contemplate what had happened, there was a cry from behind them. The archer fell forward, and I rushed towards him.

My portal shield, as I called it, was something I had been practicing with Draves the last couple of nights, and so I had done it instinctively. It was something that I was supposed to use on monsters, not humans. The sight of what I had done sickened me, but I kept my calm demeanor. I am sure that most in the crowd thought I would finish the job.

Instead, I bent down and yanked the arrow out, not bothering to be gentle. I immediately shouted, "Heal." and the man's wood closed before the onlooking soldiers. All the men who could see this display gasped and took another step back.

In my best acting voice, I shouted in rage, "Fool, No mortal weapon can hurt me. You are lucky I need your worthless group to defend my new property while I am away, or I would not have merely wounded you."

Turning around, I glared at the captain, who was now on his hands and knees, staring at me as if I were Death himself.

"Captain Nib, your life and the lives of your men are in my hands. Do you yield?"

"I yield, My Lord."

"Good. You will be sentenced to ten days of hard labor for your arrogance. Again, if I didn't need every man for the defense of our kingdom, you would be dead. Now take me to the steward of the keep."

I met with the steward of the keep and put him in charge. As with the Captain, I had to prove my power, but after convincing him that I could appear anywhere I wanted, which was not technically true, but it was an impressive display, I discussed how to utilize the System properly. I discussed strategies common in LitRPGs for defending safe zones. I was able to get two individuals to level two in Geomancy and got them three healers. I explained the possibility of Druids helping grow crops quickly before the new denizens of this world destroyed their food supply.

Before we left, I once again reminded everyone that I would be thoroughly displeased if I found out they had abused the power I gave them. All members of the kingdom must learn about the System before the real threats start to appear.

It was the next day before the world got another system message.

Mana Density 12%. Nonsentient flora and fauna of this world now have the chance of random mutation. Mutated creatures are more likely to exhibit aggressive behavior, which may be countered by skills.

Great, now come the Dire Wolves, Owl Bears, and cute bunnies that ram you with horns. We will also probably see the Alchemist class as well as Beast Tamer. We needed to hurry. Fortunately, our party size had decreased, and we could travel slightly faster.

By the time we reached Pollman, our party's average level was four. Some lucky ones had even almost hit six. The people of Pollman were all found crammed behind the manor walls. They had started to create another wall further out, but it was slow going. They had lost about half their people due to the goblin attacks. We were welcomed with open arms, and I spent the afternoon teaching the people about the System. I taught as I helped them build the wall. OK, so actually, I was using my Geomancy to dig the ditch that all the logs would be buried in to make the wall, but I saved them tons of time. They had some woodcutters who had reached level three, and once they distributed their stat points, the trees were being felled at an incredible rate.

Again, I was able to train a few magic users before we left, and my soldiers were teaching their men how to fight goblins. That morning, I once again tried to create a portal to Bicman. I felt the portal connect just outside of Kerisi. I couldn't see what lay on the other side of the portal, but three brave men volunteered to go through.

I only had enough men left for two to enter: a healer and a soldier. Those two jumped through immediately, and I released the portal. Gods be with them.

220 Days Later.

Mana Density 100%. Raid Level Dungeons available.

I rubbed my temples as I looked at the message. This was not the time to be dealing with raid-level dungeons. The kingdom was in turmoil—at least the newly created Kingdom of Asput was. The old king had been assassinated, and his son took the throne. He ruled with an iron fist, and unfortunately, the information I imparted to Vaspar allowed him to gain great power.

When I returned to Bicman Barony, I received a flood of XP from all the levels my people had gained while I was away. Of course, it was a drop in the bucket compared to what I needed for my next level. Only Bicman, Melnon, and Kerisi were still standing. We quickly expelled all the goblins and began constructing walls. Three months later, I received word from Decmoore that a new baron had been appointed, although I was reluctant to let them go and had no right to keep the land. I worried for their safety just like I did my own people.

It was another month later that we began to get a flood of refugees. It wasn't just from the old barony of Decmoore. People as far away as Kimton had heard of our prosperity here and fled so they did not starve. They really weren't a burden since my Geomancers had drained the marshes and, together with the druids, made the land flourish.

I had strengthened my portals to the point that they could go both ways now, and if I needed to, I could send people back and forth as far as Kimton. I had mastered all the elements and even worked on delving more into the runes that appeared when using mage sight. Dissecting them and then inscribing the portions necessary would have different effects. This created the runesmith class.

Seven months later, we were the main exporters of Magical weapons and armor—not that anyone knew it was us. I used the newly built port at Crater Bay to facilitate all our exports. No one knew where the shipments into Vaspar were coming from. Our ships were faster, and we always sailed west out of the harbor before heading to any port. I exported the most valuable pieces straight through a portal to our contact in Vaspar.

For the first clear, I went on every single dungeon run, and we even sunk across the Nore to clear dungeons that the Kingdom of Asput hadn't reached.

A few months ago, I decided that there was no way I would subject my people to the rule of that tyrant, so I left the Kingdom of Asput without a resignation. I wasn't even sure they knew I declared my independence. OK, technically, I hadn't bothered to tell anyone except my steward, Benjamin. I don't think they cared much, though. We have not had a single visitor to Bicman since the system came.

My kingdom probably had about the same population as the County of Vaspar, and it was growing rapidly. The king was bound to take action soon.

Soon may have been too generous of a term. One year later, I received news that the king himself was moving at the head of his army toward the Kingdom of Bicman. My intel showed that he had a handful of people who were strong enough to take on A-class Moster threats, so I wasn't overly worried.

My soldiers gathered at the Nore, waiting for Asput and his men to meet us. I had built an impressive guard tower for the occasion. I stood on the guard tower, watching the approaching army.

For men came and stood in front of the bridge. They were all A-rank. One, of course, was the king himself. I curiously jumped off the tower and gently landed on the bridge within speaking distance.

"What brings you to my humble kingdom, Your Majesty," I said with a smile.

The king's eyes narrowed. "So the rumors are true; you are an usurper."

I put on a mocking look of shock. "Usurper is such a nasty word. Besides, in order to usurp something from you, it would have had to belong to you in the first place. Even when this land was part of the Kingdom of Falmoren, the kings did not fulfill their duty to the barony. That kingdom is no more, and since this land needed a governing body the Kingdom of Bicman was formed. I thought things were going quite nicely. Why don't we just keep the status quo and good neighbors, and we can even open some trade agreements?"

I think the king was about to burst a blood vessel. "You have stolen what is rightfully mine! You will submit to my rule or die!"

"Well, since we are dealing with threats now, let me make a counteroffer. By using my wind magic, I was able to make my voice carry for miles without even shouting.

In an icy tone, I said, "You have come to the Kingdom of Bicman. Threatening to shed blood to obtain that which is not yours. Leave now, or I will take you all prisoner, and if you are lucky, you will be ransomed back. If your men attack, I will reign destruction on your camp, the likes of which have never been seen. Leave now or face the consequences."

"Kill him!" Asput shouted.

'Wrong answer,' I thought as I dropped every single Arank and all the commanders into a portal. There was a small Island 100 miles west of here that had a C-rank Dungeon. I thought it would make a fitting place for a situation like this.

Before anyone could move, I teleported myself to the wall and shouted. I have captured your fool of a King and all your commanders. My words are not an idol threat. Any person who tries to harm one of mine will die. Behold my power."

I was so excited about the little demonstration I had prepared. Filling a boulder with my mana, I dropped it into a portal and let it fall from the sky as a kinetic weapon.

"Look to the east to see my power."

Everyone turned to see a small speck in the sky getting close to the earth. After a minute, the ground shook as there was a huge cracking sound. Clouds of debris plumbed in the distance.

"If I had wanted to, I could have dropped it on your heads. Flee before I unleash my wrath."

A few men started to turn, and then it was like a dam broke, and their army retreated.

It was three months later that Lenord's Brother sent me a letter saying that under the current circumstances, their kingdom could not afford to pay the ransom. So It was with a heavy heart he took the throne. That made me laugh.

The next part did not, however. King Berny Asput was sending his daughter, who just happened to be sixteen, on a diplomatic mission to Bicman. And we all know what that meant.

Benjamin, though, was ecstatic. "My Lord, This is a perfect opportunity."

"I am engaged to Emily! How many times do I have to say it."

"And do you expect that poor girl to bear all your children by herself? As I see it, you will need at least twenty children; hopefully, many will be boys. If you could produce thirty, I think we could avoid a lot of conflicts that may happen in this new world."

"Twenty! Are you insane?"

"My Lord, you must make political ties. You are the most powerful man in the world. You cannot afford to offend future leaders. If you would ever care to look at my reports, I have found six young women that I would recommend as prospective brides. You can even marry that crazy fox girl. How in the world did she manage to give herself a tail by the way?"

"By becoming the most powerful Alchemist in the world. But stop distracting me. I am not forming a harem. I will not betray Emily."

"I have already talked to Lady Papermaker and she agrees with me as long as she gets the spot of first wife."

"You went behind my back!"

"Are you now saying I should cease to converse with Lady Emily?"

"Now you are just twisting things."

"My Lord," Benjamin sighed, "When will you get over these odd sensibilities? This is the way of Kings. I agree that twenty children may seem like a lot, but it is necessary. Your power comes with great re-"

"Don't you dare finish that statement, Ben," I growled.

"What?"

THE END

April Fool's Alternate Ending

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