He didn’t knock, just opened the door. Inside he saw the bearded man reading over a report.

Without looking up Mr. Melton spoke, “Mathew, no knocking? I thought that was a pet peeve of yours.”

“So is sending me your dirty laundry. You couldn’t find work for the man?”

Mr. Melton groaned and looked up at Mathew. “Listen, we need grunt workers. Buildings take hands to build. We don’t have construction machines at our beck and call. Magic is helping, as are some very interesting class and profession choices, but it’s not fast enough yet. Once things settle and an economy is established, we can get those who need those jobs.”

Mathew sat down, “I know, but I took care of him. Send him to work for Di.”

Mr. Melton scrunched up his face, “I honestly didn’t think of that. Good idea.”

“Thank you. Now, have you been behaving with the technomancers?” Mathew asked, staring down his second in charge.

“Yes.”

“Good. Now I want to know why you are so adamant against them. Or is it someone else who hates them?” Mathew reached behind him and closed the office door. Letting their conversation be more private.

“Because their God is of blasphemous origin!” Mr. Melton hissed. “They intend to upset the Gods that have a presence here and start a war.”

Mathew didn’t believe that for a moment. “Explain better.”

Mr. Melton ran a hand through his beard. “Okay, it’s better if I show you this instead.” He opened his own menu and then a blue screen popped up in front of Mathew.

Ability: Divine History [Unranked]

You have unrestricted access to all common knowledge about all of the Gods. Additional knowledge shall be granted based on what God you personally follow and additional holy sites exist within a zone you are in control of.

Mathew read the ability twice. “Okay, so you have special knowledge of the Gods. Is this related to the statues you built before I went into the World Dungeon?”

Mr. Melton nodded, “It was the reward for doing so. I built nine statues to the first nine Gods to be granted that title by The System. I was visited by a God that day when you were in jail and we made that deal, remember? A lot of people were visited by the Gods that day.”

“I do. Who is your God?” Mathew asked a neutral expression kept on his face. He didn’t want to make a mountain out of a molehill just yet.

“Ki-Ohk-Po, The God of Servitude. Not the kind of servitude that you probably think of first. It’s more about serving those that are too busy to handle things themselves. It’s not grunt work, but Ki-Ohk-Po is a God that serves other Gods. He helps them in their day to day and his followers do the same. He has another title: The Right Hand of Gods”

Mathew was now curious about where Mr. Melton's intentions lay. “So, he serves the power to help them when they can’t handle the little things. Like you do with me. I go out and get stronger, and you keep things running in my place, is that the intent?”

“Yes,” Mr. Melton nodded. “I’m not a leader. I never made it far as a marine, not too much of a thinker on the top end of the pecking order. I did the job I had because it was middle management. It’s what I’m good at, and why Ki-Ohk-Po picked me.”

“Are your loyalties still to me and Blue Oaks?”

“They always were. We have our deal. You keep my family safe, I keep your interests safe. It’s why I was trying to get rid of Hugh. His God isn’t a good one.”

“And those nine are? If I recall there was a God of Betrayal represented.”

“I don’t mean morally good. I mean safe. Varlin God of the Iron Heart is a God of removing weak flesh for the power of steel. Do we really want to let people give up their humanity for power? If they give up their entire flesh body, are they even human?”

“We can’t limit people just yet. If people want to chop off an arm to get stronger, let them. Why do you think I made a law that lets anyone do what they want? It’s to let everyone experiment and test things without being told to.” Mathew sighed, rubbing at his head. “It’s fucked up, and I hope nobody does anything beyond what they can handle, but people are people. There were people shooting up drugs and doing a lot of bad things before magic and advanced technology came into existence for us all. What do you think people will do now?”

Mr. Melton didn’t say anything. The realization on his face. “That’s messed up Mathew. We can’t condone people experimenting on other people!”

“We don’t. Not publicly. The laws allow them to do it to themselves, not others. As soon as they do it, and get caught, we slap them with the full might of my laws and make an example out of them. Public hearing then once they are guilty, we hang them. Maybe a beheading or whatever fits the moment.”

Mr. Melton pointed a finger at Mathew, “Now that is barbaric.”

“People are more afraid to mess up when their life is on the line. Plus how do you expect us to truly keep people in jail? We can only banish or kill. Until we have a stronger guard force and a way to keep people locked up, those are our options.”

“You’ve seemed to thought about this a lot.” Mr. Melton said. He was visibility conflicted but didn’t say Mathew was wrong.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“I’ve dealt with the legal system for a few years. I know a thing or two because I’ve seen or heard about it. Let people sacrifice their bodies. There are races without souls, fleshy bodies, or minds. I’m sure replacing a limb or three with a robotic version isn’t the worst thing they can do.”

The deal he made with Tulido echoed in his mind. “This can be something I can play in my favor.” Mathew pulled out a crystal the size of a car key from his personal storage space. “This is a gift for you. A spell to help you travel around. Don’t worry about Hugh and his push for replacing the flesh. I got that taken care of.”

Mr. Melton reached out for it, but Mathew pulled his hand back. “Keep me better informed in the future on what you are doing. Do that, and more rewards will follow. I don’t want to have to doubt you again.” Mathew then held the crystal out for Mr. Melton to grab. Once Mr. Melton had it, Mathew stood up to leave, “Have as many people as possible gathered in a week for a public meeting.”

He left the office without another word. It was nearing evening time, and there would be more paperwork to do tomorrow. So, Mathew left the building.

A quick check told him both Agnox and Cherry were in the direction of his home. If he had to guess, Agnox had been there all day, and Cherry had just got there recently.

He was hungry and was tempted to persuade the cooks to make him another steak, but he held off. There was a difference between pushing his positional authority and outright abusing it. Better to just eat what was being served like everyone else today.

After a short drive, Mathew was in line waiting to pick what he wanted. The food options are slowly expanding. Between Di, people growing food, hunters, and a nice supply of non-perishable foods, options existed for meal times.

Today was noodles, a choice of red or white sauce, chicken or beef, and a decent selection of vegetables. Mathew stacked up a large plate for himself and then stored it in his personal storage to eat at home.

People gave him friendly smiles, and he was confident he was given larger servings of what he picked. There would be no complaints from him. Anything he didn’t eat, Agnox would devour. The imp ate more than anyone else his size.

Mathew made small talk to those that did talk to him. He made sure to spread the word about a large meeting next week. Talk about future plans, hand out rewards, and have a general conversation would take place in one spot. He also encouraged people to submit requests and save big questions for that time as well.

Just as Mathew was about to leave, he and several others turned their heads all in one direction as a large feeling of power swelled not too far away. Mathew realized what he noticed was missing from people around Blue Oaks. A lack of power.

He was so used to interacting with powerful creatures and people, that the normal people of Blue Oaks felt empty to him. However, the swell of power was like a flame in a dark room.

Instantly people started to panic. Mathew didn’t waste a moment and ran out of the room to look. In the distance, The Workshop had a gathering of rainbow-colored fog above it. He didn’t think to grab his mode of transportation and took off at a sprint toward the building.

He wasn’t halfway before a blast of light exploded out of the second-story windows. The smell of burning charcoal blew over him in a wave of hot air. “I thought there were enchanted runes to prevent things leaking out of that place! What the hell is going on!”

As Mathew approached, the fog dissipated. Guards and other people with weapons ran toward the building as well. Only a few outpaced Mathew, everyone else fell behind as he ran past them.

The front doors were wide open, and a small crowd was rushing in. It wasn’t those with weapons, but those with tools that instantly ran to a workbench. A few fights over tools began. Mathew stood in confusion as more and more people showed up. A blue screen had popped up in front of him and he took notice of it.

Polyphron, the Chosen of Innovation has blessed this area for the next 9 days.

All works of craftsmanship will receive the following bonuses:

+15% to experience earned

A 60% chance to be at a higher quality

A 10% chance to automatically be a rank higher, but at a lower quality

All tools are considered two tiers higher within their rank.

Polyphron has blessed Zach Morrison and made him his representative within this place of craft. Any who defy him and his craft directly defy Polyphron. You have been warned.

Mathew at first was worried about another God getting involved with things, but paused. Polyphron wasn’t a God, but a Chosen. He walked in, looking for Zach or Ragnork.

The stone giant was currently carrying four people who were pointlessly pounding at him as he did so. “Oh, your back. Just in time too. The little smith did it! You should go check on him. I’ll babysit the freeloaders. Also, either The System or The Chosen, Polyphron has removed the cost to use this facility for the next nine days.”

He then walks to the doors and threw the people out. “Don’t come back unless you can wait your turn like big kids!” Ragnork dusted his hands off as if he just took out the trash.

Mathew walked over to where the stairs would be. They lowered as he approached, and as he walked halfway up, they rose back up before anyone else could walk in.

The entire room was scolding hot. Mathew had to channel his Axiom of Cold to keep himself cool and not instantly start sweating. Even then, it felt as if he was walking back in that desert again.

Mathew saw Zack lying on the ground. He was completely shirtless and wearing a leather apron. He breathed heavily and was laughing. “Hehehe. Oh man, Mathew is so going to kill me for breaking his building.”