“The seeming absence of other intelligent life in our galaxy was always a major question, even from centuries before my time. It took millennia to verify this to a reasonable degree of certainty.”
A thrill went through Alex. He would finally have the chance to reclaim the Hirar shell. This was going to be a challenge, though. He would probably have no problem taking on the elite fighter alone, even though it looked like he had Titles or Skills that boosted his value in lucens. But the combined combat rating of the five warriors exceeded his by a fair amount. The level 14 warrior alone was almost half his combat rating.
As much as he didn’t want to kill unnecessarily, his moral qualms were partially assuaged by being on the defensive. So as he leapt up, his sword angled upward as well, using the element of surprise to cut open the abdomen of the Ulumou in front of him. Taken aback that Alex had gotten up so quickly, the others quickly got into a defensive formation. Some of them had makeshift wooden shields made out of doors or tables, and they placed them in front of their bodies, blocking the alleyway and calling to mind a Greek phalanx. They soon reached a sort of stalemate, where an attack by either side would create an opening. The elite fighter remained in the back, not wanting to risk losing the shell.
Just then, a notification appeared in Alex’s vision.
Control Decision (ends in 1h 22m 3s)
Decision
This area has come under the jurisdiction of an Outpost led by:
K'Mposhe B’shrak (Disambiguation ID: #000495)
Species: T’Kordish
Level: 29
Options
Option 1: Declare yourself a Traveler (default)
The current Traveler tax rate is 12.5%. The Traveler tax rate applies to all energy gains while in territory owned by the Outpost Leader.
Option 2: Declare yourself a Subject.
The current Subject tax rate is 25%. The Subject tax rate applies to all energy gains.
Option 3: Refuse to accede to any demands.
You will be Marked as a Trespasser. The bounty for killing a Trespasser is currently: 5 lucens.
Option 4: Contest the claim to the Outpost. You will be Marked as a Pretender. A Special Event is triggered.
Notes
If you kill a non-Outlaw Subject as a Traveler, Subject, or Trespasser, you will be Marked as an Outlaw. The bounty for killing an Outlaw is currently: 10 lucens per Subject the Outlaw has killed.
If you choose to become a Traveler, the current law states that you may only stay in territories owned by the Outpost Leader for up to ~14 days in a ~58 day period. If you exceed this, then you must choose to become a Subject or a Trespasser.
Marks are visible to all individuals legally in the territory upon inspection. Marks are territory-specific. They become inactive upon leaving the territory and reactivate when entering the territory.
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Who the hell is K'Mposhe B’shrak? And how is he level 29?” Alex thought. His sentiment was echoed aloud by some of the Ulumou.
There was a moment of reprieve as both sides read the prompt. But as the implications began to sink in, Alex slipped into a partially distracted state, and one of the Ulumou fighters took advantage of this. He lunged forward with his spear, and Alex barely managed to twist out of the way in time. The spear left a long, shallow cut across his chest. Enraged, Alex hefted his sword and slashed down with the force of ten men at the fighter’s head. There was no way that he could dodge at this point, having overextended in his blow. Right before Alex’s sword made contact, though, he saw something flicker in the Ulumou’s eyes, a dangerous and spiteful glint. Immediately, he saw a Mark appear in the Ulumou’s tooltip.
Subject of K'Mposhe B’shrak
Alex cursed, but the momentum of his sword was too great, and he was unable to alter the course of his blow. The Ulumou’s head was almost completely severed from the swing. The characteristic energy rushed into him, but he could only stare in horror at the notification that appeared on his screen:
New Mark Acquired
Mark: Outlaw in Territory of K'Mposhe B’shrak (DID: #000495)
Range: Territory of K'Mposhe B’shrak (DID: #000495)
Bounty: 10 lucens
Furthermore, the first three options disappeared on the screen for the Control decision, leaving only a default option to do nothing and the option to contest the claim to the Outpost.
The other Ulumou’s faces turned hard, and they renewed their attack on Alex with a furor. The alleyway was narrow to the point that only three could fit through side-by-side. Now that they had broken their defensive formation, Alex made short work of the remaining Ulumou, accumulating a few wounds in the process, but nothing that wouldn’t heal. The elite Ulumou turned to run after seeing Alex’s superior performance, but Alex could not let him escape. Now that he was an Outlaw, he would embrace it — and he might as well get the shell back in the process.
Alex jumped after the elite, who barely turned around in time to deflect his blow.
“Natives are not supposed to be this strong so early on!” The elite shouted. “Are you using a Mask? Reveal yourself!”
Alex ignored him, piling on the pressure. The elite used a large door similar to the others, but much heavier. They exchanged a few blows, and Alex clearly had the upper hand, even without a shield. The elite was struggling under the weight of his strikes, and Alex saw an opening. He kicked the door to the side and smashed the sword out of the elite’s hands. Having fallen down, the elite desperately tried to scramble backwards, but Alex put his sword to his throat.
“I was the one who killed the Hirar. Please give me the shell. I do not wish to kill you.”
The Ulumou didn’t respond, but a small, black token appeared in his hand. On the token, a beautiful and intricate image of the Hirar shell was etched. Alex took the token and put it in his Spatial Bracelet. Sure enough, a notification appeared.
New Mark Acquired
Mark: Mark of the First Hirar Shell
Alex made a mental note to investigate the limits of Spatial Bracelets later. How could the elite convert such an enormous object into a small token? But for now, he had much to do. He made to leave, but the Ulumou’s voice echoed out.
“Thank you.”
Alex nodded and sprinted towards the chaos near the town hall. As he was running, he heard the characteristic British voice sound once again.
[Finally broke through. It wasn’t easy when you kept killing the targets that I was trying to hack, but you should now be able to affect the attributes of Ulumou, provided their mental resistance isn’t too high.]
“Nice timing,” Alex mentally messaged his Assistant. But it might still be useful, especially for what he was about to do.
“Stop fighting!” Alex called out. His voice was barely audible above the din of the battle, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit pathetic. It was as if he was a young child trying to intervene in a fight between his parents. But he quickly pushed the thoughts out of his mind, and shoved his way through the battle. He was hit a couple of times, but his high resistance prevented any serious injuries. As he walked through, fighters on both sides began to notice him.
“He has the Mark!”
“Who is he? His tooltip is coming up blank!”
“Kill him! He’s an Outlaw with a bounty!”