Traveling back to ‘Fuck The System’ wasn’t as filled with undead as Mathew expected. Leo was covered in blood and other stains when he returned yesterday. Of coures, Leo probably detoured on his way back yesterday to fight some more undead.
He was suspicious of the upcoming meeting with Bob. For a man who was against magic, he sure was open to having Mathew visit.
Leo escorted them to the back area of the mall. There a few guards were smiling at the sight of Leo and Lucas. The two were carrying an extra bag full of their food supplies. Mathew thought it was a good idea to bring some extra goodies to show off. The supplies and trade materials will be arriving tomorrow, so a little splurge wouldn’t hurt.
Samuel was against it, as was Lindsey. Both voicing to have emergency supplies. Both their concerns were out voted. Plus they elected to stay behind as well.
“I see you brought more food today.” A voice said as the garage door rolled up. Mathew saw Mr. Bob standing stoicly.
“Can’t be letting extra if you want some as well Bobby.” Mathew said, purposfully using the childish nickname.
Bob stiffened for a moment visibly. Everyone blinked as he stood there before speaking, “Just Bob please. As for your treats, don’t expect me to welcome magic with open arms simply because you are being nice.”
“We can’t let your people starve can we?” Mathew asked, smiling up to the man. “Something we can both agree to at least.”
Smiling Bob nodded.“Of course. I really am thankful for how you are helping us out. Unlike the other zone.”
“I’ve talked to them.” Mathew said with a hint of annoyance. “Hopefully here soon the tensions between you both will die down with a thirty party to help out.”
Bob nodded in agreement and waved to everyone inside. “Come on in, we can talk in my office while the rest of your friends enjoy the shop and explore the mall if they so choose to.”
Mathew walked in. He only had Jeffery out next to him, while Agnox flew off on his own before they were within eyesight of the mall. Mathew asked him to scout around, see if anything seemed off about the place.
“I do hope you can talk to that Tyrone fellow and calm him down. He is a brash man who seems to be greedy for power.”
“We will take care of him if he causes problems.” Leo said flatly.
“Tyrone has heart, I can respect that. Even if it’s missguided” Mathew replied, “However, if he causes problems for everyone, he will be asked to step down from leadership, or forced to leave.”
“I imagine that happening sooner than later, but I am glad someone agrees with me on that front.”
Mathew looked at the modified shops that have been turned into private homes. The place was decked out with high technological equipment. Compact turrets stood guard just inside the front entrance. Mathew spotted most people having guns similar to the one Brown carried around.
He was curious as to the benefits of technology versus magic. To his best guess, magic was internal while technology was external. A gun or turret doesn’t need mana to run except for a few versions according to Lucas who looked at the shop the day before.
“I’m surprised you don’t have any turrets outside by the entrance.” Mathew said idly, trying to poke at how well defended the place was.
“Who says we don’t? If you can see all our defenses, they won’t be very good would they?”
Smiling, “I suppose not. So why do you prefer technology over magic? And why the zone name?”
“Ah, well when everything went to poo I started to resent The System. However, I can’t fight it directly. Any little thing to spite it I can. My class is purely about myself. No magic. And nothing gained from The System minus a couple abilities from my class.”
“Did he just say poo instead of ‘shit’? Does this guy not curse or something?”
“Now, I don’t want magic because it’s just not normal. Shooting fireballs from your hands? Blasphemous.”
“So it’s a religious reason then.” Lucas summerized.
“I’m not one to be religious, the Gods are very finiky from what little I looked into them. Too many rules about one thing, not enough on another. Contradictive.”
Leo crossed his arms, “So what are you then?”
Bob turned around and looked at the group. “A man who just wants to keep his people safe. Anyone can shoot a gun or use a turret. You need a special class to cast spells. Mathew here, I imagine, can attest to that.”
Mathew thought about what he was saying for a moment. “Sure, but I imagine The System can’t control everything.”
Bob shrugged, “Maybe, who knows? What I do know as well is that the Undead are magical. Only explanation for how they work. Most of us think that here. More reason to not like it, being able to cause those who sleep to rise. Anyways, these stairs take us to the office upstairs, Mathew follows me and we can have a talk. Leader to leader.” He said with a wink.
Mathew went ahead and walked up the stairs. Leo watched the two walk up with narrowed eyes. “Come on Lucas, you are going to help me with something.”
Confusion crossed Lucas’ face. “Huh? I wanted to go check out the shop. See if I can get an amplifier for my lightning ability.”
Leo grabbed the man's shirt and dragged him down an escalator, “Later. I want to check something. We are going to the HC”
Mathew walked into an office area and went ahead and sat down in a chair. He pulled out a thermos and poured himself a cup of tea. Bob walked in a moment later and closed the door. “Ah, there we go. No prying ears. So, Mathew, how are you doing?”
After taking a slow sip, he responded. “So far so good. Had a rough encounter the other day with an Undead monster, but nothing I can’t handle without a little effort.”
“Oh? Undead monster? What kind?” Bob asked curiously.
“Large frankenstein beast. Patches of body parts put together to be a larger human shape creature. Nothing to worry about, it’s dead now. All thanks to yours truly.” Mathew put on a toothy smile, overly showingcasing his powers by a simple story.
Bob leaned forward on his elbows, listening intently. “I’ve never seen or heard stories about such a thing. Anybody who's gone into the Dungeon never reported it before, only hordes of undead on the inside.”
“I haven’t a clue. The body is still in the shop, probably, if you want to see it.” Mathew gestured to Jeffery who was sitting next to him. “Oh, I hope Jeffery here isn’t a bother to you. I can’t unsummon him after all.”
“He seems well behaved enough, I have no problem so long as he stays behaved.”
Mathew sat down his cup of tea, “Excellent. So, small talk aside, let's get to it. We are both adults here, no?”
Bob raised an eyebrow, “I took you as a man who enjoyed small talk.”
“I do, but that’s besides the point right now. I assume you are aware Blue Oaks wishes to absorb your zone. However, you have some annoyances to that.”
“Of course I do. You expect everyone to just accept you walking in here and taking what isn’t yours? I’m perfectly fine with an alliance, but straight up giving up my power and title isn’t something I wish to do. We both know what it can do for us.”
Mathew nodded, “Correct, but I do believe that one man does not hold all the power to himself fully. Anything I’ve read about clans or sects out in the universe has others to be in charge of areas of their domain. One man can’t lead a planet alone. I have a few helpers, and you are more than welcome to remain the leader here, so long as you don’t cause any problems.”
Bob pressed his lips together tightly. “What if I say no to it all?”
“Then we try other means. Public relations will be the primary one. First, in three days that Dungeon will be taken care of. I have a group of Blue Oaks finest to come and help. With all three zones working together, it will be taken care of swiftly.”
Bob scoffed, “You will fail like the others.”
“The others didn’t have me.” Mathew snapped back. “You know who I am, what my level is. On the other hand, I don’t know who you are or your level. You are a mysterious man with a secret. I’m not one to pry, but something about you is fishy.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Bob leaned back into his chair, “Who doesn’t have a secret?”
Mathew shrugged, admitting Bob was right. “Fair enough, but you know so much about you, how can we be trade allies if I don’t know anything much about yourself?” Mathew picked his cup of tea backup. “For example, a last name maybe? Perchance what you did before S-Day?”
“I have no last name, or one I reconize. If you want to find me on the leaderboard, good luck. Plenty of ‘Bob’ are listed there. I do have a common name afterall. And before S-Day, I was a…well to put it simply I was a scientist. What exactly I did isn’t important.”
“A scientist with no last name…and knows martial arts?” Mathew raised an eyebrow as he summerized the man.
“Brown belt, Judo.” Bob said with a shrug. “I could always fight you to prove it. Of course, you wouldn’t be able to use magic. Not allowed in the zone without my permission. So it might be a bit onesided.”
“Oh, so you have the ability to create laws here?” Mathew askied with a raised eyebrow. Something he was familiar with. His laws didn’t prevent people from performing actions however, similar to what Bob was claiming.
Bob’s face lit up a bit at that, “Yes. A feature for the zone I unlocked after the first area quest and won it. Speaking of laws, you wrote that you contract yourself with a skill, correct?”
“I in fact did.” Mathew said with a nod. “Is that a problem?”
“No, not at all. Just didn’t expect something so well worded.”
“Funny, Leo said you had the same reaction.”
Mathew finished his first cup of tea as he eyeballed the man. He had enough face to face time with the man to realize Leo was wrong about the man. He didn’t believe he held all the cards and was going to win some imaginary game. Bob was afraid. Afraid his bluff would be called out in a moment's notice, the problem was Mathew had no idea what that bluff could be. He was acting boldly and cocky. Bob knew that all humans had little to no subject matter of how the new way their world worked. At first, he wondered if Bob was a criminal who escaped prison, or worse, a serial killer of some sort.
Bob liked to control things, no magic, refusing to give up his idea of command, but seemed to care for his people. It almost reminded Mathew of himself, but Bob wasn’t as socially gifted. Mathew decided to dig deeper.
“So Bob, how many of your people would you think would be willing to help invade the Dungeon?”
“Not too many I’m afraid.”
“Even with you going in as well leading them?”
Bob sighed, “I won’t be going in either. I rather not die after all. It would be a death sentence for me.”
“Bob, from what I talked about to your people and Leo as well, you can destroy undead with a single swing of your weapon. Killing them without effort. You apparently wander around alone and always come back perfectly fine. You have the highest chance of leaving without a mark on your body.”
“If that was all that was inside, then sure. Yet, you just told me there could be stronger foes. A giant beast of some kind was let out. You think the Dungeon Boss would let its strongest person out like that?”
“You are possibly right. However, we have two trained healers who can use magic. So long as you can get over your personal rule of no magic, we can keep you safe and alive.”
Bob seemed to stare at his desk for a moment deep in thought. Mathew let the man mull it over and poured himself a second cup of tea. A minute went by before Bob responded. “I’ll think it over. If you can get Tyrone and his people there, I’ll consider it.”
Mathew nodded, accepting at least that. “That’s fine. However, I will make one thing known to you.” He pushed his Axiom into his words, “If you don’t help out, you won’t be keeping your titles for long. I will take them, and ensure everyone knows you to be the coward you are. I won’t tollerate weaklings to work under me.”
Bob visibility pushed himself back into his chair, as if trying to get away from the force of Mathew’s words. “I…think I understand everything Mathew.”
“Good!” Mathew said with a smile. “Now, if you don’t mind, I do want to visit your store as well. Plus we can talk about future supplies to trade and certain rates. Food is something you all need, and we can get plenty. As well as paying to visit one of our Dungeons. I plan to convert the Undead one into a normal Dungeon as well, however that’s to be decided.”
Bob stood up and opened his door. “Why keep the Undead one?”
Mathew shrugged, “Why not? If I have two extra Hearth Crystals to power new upgrades, a low tier Dungeon won’t make a difference. If I need it, I can convert it later.”
Bob blinked for a moment, and Mathew saw something in his eyes change. Fear was replaced with curiosity for just a moment. However that moment was stripped away as an alarm echoed through the entire compound.
“That’s not good. Undead are swarming to us.” Bob said with unfocused eyes, showing he was looking at his menu.
“If you don’t mind, I am sure my people would love to help kill some of them off. Including myself.”
Bob huffed, “Fine. Good luck using magic inside this zone though.” He then ran down a flight of stairs, letting Mathew follow him. Mathew saw everyone else inside the zone running around. Some in a panic, others with determination on their faces. Mathew followed Bob through the guarded gate and saw all of his people already there waiting.
The mall didn’t have a wall like Blue Oaks did. Nor anything in the large open area to funnel undead like New Watago did with cars and sheets of metal. However what ‘Fuck The System’ did have was lots and lots of weapons. Turrets dotted the edge of the roof. Mathew took a moment to look for his imp, but didn’t see him anywhere.
“Now, where is that little fucker?”
“Glad you two can join us.” Leo said. “It’s time to get to work.”
Mathew eyed the small horde of a few dozen undead shambeling closer to the Mall. If he had to guess, less than a hundred were there. “You know, I don’t think we’ve fought together in a long while.” Mathew said to his friend. “It would be nice to show off a bit I think.”
“Show off? You? Never.” Lucas jabbed. “Although, if you could just mow them all down and let me relax I would appreciate that as well.”
“Hey, more UC and experience for the rest of us.” One of Bob’s guards said. “These guys drop only a handful of UC and gaining levels post 10 is difficult.”
Bob turned to one of his guards. “Don’t go full force. I want to keep at least a 60% power reserve. We have help if push comes to shove it seems.”
The guard nodded and tapped at a tablet in his hands.
Mathew pushed mana to summon his wisps and felt no resistance as he did so. The two blue and silver hued orbs spun around Mathew’s head before resting above his shoulders in their normal positions.
“No imp, Mathew?” Bob asked.
“I don’t think I need him for this. Plus I am training these two little ones.” Mathew turned back to focus on the enemy in front of him.
The first of the horde seemed to cross some invisible line and the turrets started to fire off shots. Undead were peppered with red and green beams of energy. A few of the undead fell to the ground, but the rest of the horde continued forward.
As if a silent gun shot signaled a charge, the men and women defending the mall rushed forward to meet the horde head on. The entire fight lasted several minutes, but it ended without a single major injury. Mathew kept a close eye on Bob the entire time. His staff connected with heads and chests primarily, causing the undead to crumble.
Mathew wiped away blood from his knife with a grimace. His skills with the weapon seemed to have faltered. No longer did anything correct his mistakes midcombat. The skill truly did reset to the lowest level. Yet, what he had learned didn’t go away. The knife wasn’t awkward in his hand, and throwing it still felt somewhat comfortable. He would need to level up the skill quickly to get it back to it’s previous standard.
The entire time Agnox remained out of sight. A single pang of worry that the imp ran off crossed his mind. Yet a small voice in his mind reminded him that was not possible with what they agreed to when he became his familiar.
As everyone recovered from the fight he gave out a shout. “Everyone! You all witnessed how easy and simple these weak undead were for us to fight together. In a few days, I will invite you all to help my people with the aid of New Watago to remove the plague of undead once and for all. With your leader, Bob, Myself, and New Watago’s leader Tyrone, we can kill that Dungeon boss without a sweat. Power on one’s own is one thing, but when we fight back with our own horde of people tired of living in fear, we are unstoppable. Rest up, because in three days, you all will go to sleep without fear of an attack ever again.”