Maybe I should have chosen the Leader Path instead.
Even though watching the news and their outrage at the innocent cartel members losing their lives over their 'way of life' was quite fun.
But creating a corporation that would rival Apple was not easy, even with my amazing tech skills. Hundreds of interviews, selecting the best of the worst as my employees...
I mean, I don't mind if the US government sends dozens of trained agents to work for me. Nothing that Grey Apple would make was illegal, or in any way copyrighted or stolen. Foreign agents, terrorists, criminals, thieves and con-men...I had to reject 90 percent of all applicants, and hunt them down later. I wouldn't waste exp, and these people deserved to rot at the bottom of the ocean. Plus they left their address and contact on the hiring forms, making it too easy to find them.
As for the Grey Apple products: Watches, MP3 players, smart phones, tablets and laptops. Everything the world needed to stay connected, and also entertained. Also, nothing too heavy or bulky such that you couldn't take it with you.
A month after the first sales, I also contracted a dozen small textile factories to make T-shirts and hoodies for my customers, which they would carry proudly and provide me a million walking advertisements for all country to see. And pay me for it too, at 50 dollars per T-shirt. The logo was a silver apple, also embossed in silver on my electronic wares. I think using real silver for the logo was a bit too much, but I did want to provide something great.
The next month was spent ensuring employee security, mostly by grabbing whatever muggers, robbers, loan sharks and such that harassed my employees and feeding them to the fish.
I also recruited some decent security for the office and factories, just in case.
By the third month, I've acquired an island off the coast, and somehow just over the Canadian border. Not that it mattered much, but being a landowner in the British Commonwealth allowed you to become a Noble, if you could pay for it. And I did.
Lord Wizard, nice to meet you!
Already drugs sourced from Latin America were becoming scarce and expensive, since daily raids at random locations burned the drug warehouses and killed the cartel members, leaving them impaled at roadside.
It was boring, but I did gain the 11th level from it, eventually.
Pef Wizard, Level 11. HP 210+42, MP 110, SP 42
Main profession: Gamer (+1 to all attributes, +10 all Skills)
Secondary profession: Wizard (+2 to Int, Will and Mag)
Tertiary profession: Detective (+2 to Per, +10 Awareness, + 10 Logic)
Strength: 21
Agility: 21
Endurance: 21
Intelligence: 11
Wisdom: 9
Willpower: 21
Magic: 11
Perception: 11
Charisma: 8
Free points:2
Athletics: 10
Awareness: 23
Carouse: 10
Commerce: 10
Demolition: 12
Intimidation: 10
Logic: 23
Lore: 10
Medic: 10
Persuasion: 10
Tech use: 70
Weapons: 10
Free skill points: 0
Nothing much had changed, perhaps because I wasn't training much, too busy running the Grey Apple. We were already preparing the G-Apple 2.0 phone, with an MP3 player app inside, plus Wi-fi. Costing only 999 dollars, charger included.
I was maybe too comfortable with my life, when the Imperium_invasion began.
Shapeshifiting aliens, with a fleet a small gunships and a large spacecraft in orbit.
Their technology is also organic, which makes my Tech Use skills useless.
Luckily, Earth has other defenders beside myself, including the powerful Martian Hunter.
Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman and J'onn J'onzz all joined hands to defeat the invaders, so they barely noticed a grey-hooded wizard joining them at the table.
Well, the martian guy did. He was good.
"What do we know about these Imperium folks?" the Flash asked with barely hidden trepidation.
"They feed off of psychic energy from other beings, and can assimilate the traits of other species; after their encounter with the Martians, they gained their ability to shapeshift. Coming from the depths of space, the Imperium are nocturnal and have no defense against the rays of Earth's sun. Which is why they created those smog factories." I offered in a polite voice.
"Errr...who are you?" the Flash asked a bit confused.
"Grey Wizard. I do magic and various tech stuff." I provided with a mild voice.
"...Don't! Now it's not the time to test ourselves. Plus, you would all lose." the Green Martian shouted with a slightly empowered voice that hit my MP for -1 .
I wasn't so sure against half of them, but that was only before they provoked my limit. Not that I would fight the big superheroes, for no reason.
"Sadly, most of the Imperium tech is organic, so I cannot destroy it from a distance. Superman should be able to crush those factories though, giving us some breathing room." I continued with a tiny shrug.
"I thought we had an network of surveillance satellites in orbit. Exactly for such an eventuality." A young Batman muttered with a disappointed voice.
"Factories. On it!" Superman spoke in a curt voice, then vanished at hyperspeed. Well, the Man of Steel was still young now, and easy to direct onto a target. He will grow wiser with time.
A minute later, Superman returned in a slightly battered state, coughing smoke. "Half done..." he grunted and fell onto a couch.
I glanced at the Martian Hunter and he nodded. Limit break it is.
A few seconds later I returned to the meeting room, and drew my shadows close, almost like a second suit. "Factories are stomped. But there are thousands of triangular gunships and tripodal walkers still around. Could only neutralize half of those." I grunted in a tired voice and slumped into an armchair.
It was a crazy rush to finish off so many aliens in only 3 seconds. Give me 10 seconds and I could neutralize them all.
Level 12 was nice though. Perhaps I should go after more aliens soon. Maybe tomorrow.
"Soooo. A few spaceships and walkers. We're good, right?" Hawkgirl asked while holding her mace up.
"We should go after their leader, called Imperium . Without him, the invasion would stall. They may even retreat." the Martian Hunter proposed in a wise voice.
Wonder Woman looked at Superman then at me. "Without the big hitters, J'onn?"
The Martian Hunter glanced at me and I shook my head. You got this, I sent mentally.
I just looked at my screen, and added 10 more Skill points into tech use. Might figure out something from this.
As for the free points...nothing I could see useful right now. Maybe bring every attribute to 10? One point in Wisdom, 2 in Charisma.
Sure, why the hell not! Click.
*New Perk obtained. Jack of All. +10 to all Skill points.
Erm. Not exactly what I expected, but sure. Thanks, System. Over 100 Skill points was a rush, as knowledge assaulted my brain from all sides.
Plus, I had 90 Tech Use now. I was a super only with those skills. I might even make G-Apple 15.0 right now. Not that I would waste so much money by skipping a dozen years of tech development.
The Martian noticed something, being the wonderful telepath that he was.
"You alright there, Wizard? Your brain is on fire."
"Yeah, just had an epiphany about some tech problem. Might have solved inter-stellar teleportation. Needs testing though." I muttered as my headache slightly lessened with the Martian's help.
"Interesting, but not very useful right now. After you, J'onn." Batman spoke in a commanding tone, and offered the Martian to take point.
They all boarded the Martian's spaceship and flew away, leaving me alone with Superman.
"Why is Supergirl not here?" I asked in a mild voice, since Superman might be a bit sick, but still conscious.
"... You know her?" he asked in a tired voice.
"I worked with DEO before. Cleaned up some butterflies aliens. And a giant cow." I offered with a careless tone.
"Uh. Brain drilling bugs. I heard about them." Superman muttered in a low voice. "Kara...She is strong enough. Not sure about her mental state."
"You realize she's fighting villains and aliens every day. She is the Earth's hope. Hiding her with DEO wouldn't help." I quipped in a light voice, then took out a teleport bracelet to test some things.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
"Wait...you're going back? The smog contains toxic ions..." Superman warned me, as if I was a living, breathing human.
"I'll hold my breath." I quipped as I locked coordinates via the satellite network and teleported on board the large alien mothership.
I could use a giant alien spaceship for myself, and maybe get a new level from it.
Even without my limit break, I was decent wizard and a good fighter. Plus, my Shadows were quite strong already. Not enough to hold a Kryptonian, but these Imperium folks were far less dangerous.
And action.
Cleaning up an entire alien mothership filled with a million shapeshifting aliens gave me not one level up, but 3.
Might have been the quest bonus as well.
*Imperium invasion defeated.
*Imperium race eliminated.
*Perk received. Defender of Earth. Gain 100% boost to all stats and skills when meeting/fighting non-humans.
Level Up! You are now level 15.
Sure thing, System. Aliens are very strong sometimes. And there might be several Kryptonians coming for a visit one day soon. The evil kind.
Also, the Martian guy sure killed the rest of these Imperium guys without me. Oh well.
Now, I had 30 skill points to use, making me reach 100 Tech Use and be able to understand and exploit (almost) any technology, including the organic stuff of the Imperium.
With some work, I could create artificial organs and glands, boost healing and even regrow limbs. Amazing stuff, and not even magical.
Sure, I wouldn't implant the new glands into myself without rigorous and scientific testing, but then there were plenty insane asylums and prisons filled with dangerous criminals in this universe.
And I even had a giant spaceship where to conduct experiments without oversight.
Thus, I picked Medic for my second Skill to boost, and reached 40 Medic points in one go. Nothing amazing yet, but enough to conduct dangerous surgeries, without worry I would lose my own fingers. Good enough.
I didn't forget about my first quest though, and using my newly acquired access to the satellite network, and some illegal hacks into Bats' computers, I found someone that might help with both magic and soul training.
An immortal shaman called Esrin_Fortuna , a friend of John Constantine. And likely a powerhouse with magic, going by the warnings left by Batman.
Dressing myself for a night out, I teleported to Hub City and near the underground casino used by Lady Fortuna.
Of course, I made sure my limit break was off cooldown, just in case.
Normally I used the limit break in the last minute of the day, just to ensure my safety. But today I planned to have two limits available, one before and one just after midnight. Planning saves lives. Mine, most importantly.
I caressed my fake beard, tugged lightly on my fake black hair to make sure the toupee would hold, then blinked twice to make sure the scanner contact lens were active.
I will try not to use Gamer powers if possible, but other tricks were fair game.
Including a ring which granted +5 Persuasion Skill, and an amulet with +5 Awareness. Wizard stuff, but decent enough for now. I will get better ones, one day.
Anyways, I did raise my Magic to 14, giving me a little more power. Probably not enough.
The usher measured me with knowing eyes, likely measuring my wealth from birth til now.
"What game would you prefer?" he asked in a mild tone.
"Blackjack, I suppose. I'm betting on Fortuna." I added as an afterthought.
The man nodded gently, and directed me to the high-rollers table. If I didn't loot billions of drug money from the cartels, I would be a bit apprehensive at the stakes.
But then I was a gamer...errr. A gambler. Right.
Alien tech makes cheating at cards a bit too easy, I admit. So when a beautiful, regal woman appeared at my side out of nowhere, I knew the game was up.
"Lady Fortuna, I presume?" I asked without turning.
"Lord Wizard. I would think someone of your caliber is rescuing cats from trees or something, not cheating at my table." she mentioned with a light snort, and transported us into a different dimension.
Sure enough, her nexus chamber had an idol of unbelievable power, marked as Mythical by the System without even asking.
"Generally, I am quite busy. Either creating technology to make people's lives better, or saving the planet from alien invaders, in more rare cases." I allowed in a gentle voice, and forcibly dragged my eyes away from the priceless idol.
"And yet, here you are. Trouble finding a magic teacher, even with all your money?" she guessed at random.
"Yes and no. There are plenty of demons that would beg me to learn from them. Especially as they would gain access to an immortal body should I be foolish enough." I explained in a patient voice.
"Ha! True enough. So, what do you know already?" she asked with mild curiosity.
I clenched my fist and created a Dungeon, overlapping her own nexus for a few seconds. Her eyes widened for a brief time, possibly surprised. I knew my Energy blast wouldn't impress her at all, so I used it next, then the barrier and the trap, and lastly my Shadows. Nearly spent all my MP, but it was worth it.
"... Did you experiment by yourself? Nothing you have is used by normal Wizards. Not even those pathetic Energy constructs." she asked after an awkward silence.
I just shrugged. "I should start a Magic school one day. When I know enough."
She laughed, making the whole nexus fill with radiant light.
"Please do. I would gladly come by, as a guest teacher. So, you know nothing, Lord Wizard." she commented with a wry voice.
I smiled thinly. "I learned Magic by watching. New spells or even written ones are much, much harder. Maybe I am not smart enough?" I asked tentatively.
She shook her head, and pointed a finger at me. "Actually no. Magic is meant to be learned by watching. Light of the Soul, la luz del alma. " she chanted and filled with pure light, erasing my Shadows and almost burning my soul.
But in a good way.
I copied her, and felt myself light up, in a much fainter light that herself.
"Oh? You really can learn by watching. Not a pure soul, but then you're not a nun, are you?" she observed with a kind voice, and her light turned to dark.
Really, really scary dark. If I didn't have my Gamer perks, I might have fainted or got mind-wiped. Instead, I channeled the Light_of_the_Soul harder, barely keeping the darkness away.
Something shifted inside myself, and the light got a bit more solid, more real.
"Excelente! Now try the dark one." Lady Fortuna demanded and switched to her light spell again.
I had killed plenty people, and aliens by now. Darkness was even easier, filling the nexus with power. Almost metallic but easy to control, almost like my shadows, yet different. Much, much stronger.
Still, her Light pushed me back, stronger by orders of magnitude. She was indeed a powerhouse.
"Don't just stare in awe at me, Wizard. Fight!" She shouted, as I got lost a little at the beauty of her soul.
I brought out my shadows and slapped her ass for this.
Then Fortuna kicked my ass so bad I had to use my limit break and escape. Damn woman!
I'll come back one day, when I was stronger.
Back at the company, another woman waited for me. Emilia Harcourt. Senior Agent at DEO now. I guess the butterflies were spreading. Not the alien ones, the ones I spread with my own existence.
*Ding
Agent Harcourt affection +10. 31/100
Well, maybe separation also reinforced her emotions?
"Emilia. I might guess you missed me a lot, if you weren't so tense. Who do you need killed now?" I asked in a joking voice.
"Wizard. Lord Wizard, recently. A little bat told me you can build teleporting devices now. Very useful for my agency, and something you obtained with my help. From the butterflies." she asked without asking.
Very professional. And cool like ice.
"Buy me a drink first, woman! Or better not. You're poor and last time the coffee was bad. Really bad. I have some 500 years-old whiskey somewhere." I proposed instead, and set up an expensive table, like 20000 dollars per glass. Plus the ice.
"You're really a billionaire already?" Emilia asked with a frown, and took a small sip worth 1000 dollars.
"I'll be a trillionaire in a decade. People like smart phones, who knew, right?" I commented in a wry tone.
"I should have slept with you when you were poor. Now my chance is gone, right?" she asked in a mildly better manner, likely remedial seduction courses or something.
"You owe me a blowjob, nothing more. But the new seduction courses are working." I said in a light voice.
"Still the same idiot..." she grumbled as she gulped the entire glass in one go. Oh well. I guess it was time to train Carouse then.
Much, much later, Emilia's CIA alcohol training failed her, and she fell asleep on my shoulder.
So I undressed her and took a few compromising pics, then found a negligee to hide her modesty and dragged her into my bed.
That should teach her to fail seduction courses again. And get better at drinking too.
"Wizard..." I heard Emilia growl in the morning.
"Go make coffee, woman. Wash the blowjob from your mouth." I muttered in a fake sleepy voice.
*Ding Agent Harcourt affection +10. 41/100. She will have oral sex with you, should you ask.