Adam had a moment to consider the notifications he’d just received when a wrenching sensation filled his mind and body. Whatever this was surpassed his attributes as if they were nothing and changes were wrought as he felt his body and soul start to change before his vision blacked out.
Part of Adam realized something was very wrong and the many trials and tribulations he’d been through helped him weather the storm. Instantaneously every single aspect of his consciousness that he’d assigned to oversee the various abilities he had returned to his primary consciousness. Immediately part of him knew what was happening, even as his vision was still blacked out which he learned was a side effect of his True Sight and Scrutinize abilities being “stabilized.”
Adam dropped his consciousness into his Mindspace and watched as the space the aspects had created for themselves reset back to what it had originally looked like, an infinite soothing vastness that stretched out forever. Adam adjusted his perception and looked at his Soul Core from a distance and watched as something outside of himself reached in, touched a node, and removed all of the invested quintessence.
That same force moved through all 18 of his non-racial abilities before it turned its attention to his Soul Core. Unlike his ability nodes, the dark line of energy spread out and surrounded his Soul Core and his racial abilities. The 202 orbiting Quintessence he had not invested yet were sucked away and along a conduit before the same started to happen to the quintessence in his racial abilities and Soul Core. Adam had no idea where the quintessence was going. He tried to stop the loss of quintessence and even marshaled his significant willpower to do so which he soon realized was futile. He felt like a piece of sand trying to change the course of a large river.
When the last bit of quintessence was removed the darkness became opaque, then clear but it did not withdraw. Adam could still see a hint of the connection that left his Soul Core and went elsewhere. He moved closer to inspect and noticed that there was a clear shell that his perception could pass through unimpeded. As the seconds went on the shell seemed to disappear until one of his nodes outside the shell pulsed and it became visible again. When he moved over to see which ability node had pulsed he wasn’t surprised to learn that it was his True Sight ability node. Adam gave it a few more moments but nothing changed.
Adam willed his True Sight ability node to pulse again and looked over all of his ability nodes outside of Soul Core searching for any kind of shell around each of them and didn’t notice any other shells or lines leading off except for the line of energy that was his Astral link. The shell didn’t block that and merely surrounded his Soul Core and allowed the link to exit him and reach out to the Astral Plane. The other link to the shell that now surrounded his Soul Core seemed to reach off in the same direction as well.
Adam wondered what that meant as he moved his perception into his Soul Core and looked around. Adam inspected his Soul Core and noticed that it was level zero again as were all his racial abilities that resided within his core. When he moved his perception out of his core and checked all of the other abilities he created he found that they were all level zero as well. He still had the abilities; they were just at their lowest possible level.
As he started to think about what had just happened the nodes outside of his soul core were drawn down until they touched the Soul Core and each became to attach themselves to his Soul Core as the shell of opaque energy surrounded everything. As he watched, Quintessence filled the shield and each of his abilities, both his racial and learned ones were raised to level 1, as was his Soul Core. When exactly enough energy to do so had come through the shell became opaque again and the ability nodes for his learned quintessence abilities detached from his Soul Core.
If this was happening to everyone it looked like a permanent link was being created between everyone and the Multitude. Also, if Adam’s conclusion were correct, it was going to really suck for those beings that used to have a Soul Core at level 100,000 that had become his Vassals. On a more positive note, it meant that everyone within this area of the Multitude would have the same Soul Core level. Adam wondered how that would work for learning new abilities or upgrading them. Adam’s attention was drawn back to the conduit that led off from his Soul Core where he noticed a node that acted as an anchor where the cable went off toward where the strand of energy reaching from the Astral Plane met the shell that surrounded his Soul Core. Perhaps everyone had the same thing? Adam moved over to investigate. No matter what he did though, the node gave away no secrets.
Adam withdrew his presence from his Soul Core and left his Mindspace behind as he emerged into the real world and looked at the planet below him. He was still naked so decided to see what the changes to his abilities had wrought and tried to use Mold Chaos to make his signature black flight suit that he liked so much. He felt himself spend the mana and the flight suit appeared in his hand. Next, he sent the flight suit to his Shadow Vault, which was now empty, and added it to his wardrobe which he equipped. Shadows surrounded him and he found himself in his flight suit looking down on the planet below.
“Uh hum,” a voice called from behind him.
Adam turned slowly to see a floating head with a single eye. Coming up from the head were thirteen stalks, each ending in another eye. Adam thought it looked like a monster from Dungeons and Dragons called a Beholder. Except that it had a neck that was sealed and eyes at the end of each fleshy stalk that rose from hits head. Additionally, it wasn’t as big as a Beholder was supposed to be and just a little bigger than a basketball.
“Greetings Emperor Bennard, I am Zorvan, your assigned Planetary Administrator.” The floating head named Zorvan said.
“Greetings,” Adam said, “Please call me Adam. So I did earn a planet then?”
“Of course, no one has ever completed every single level of the Classification Challenge during Unification before. Your accomplishment will be spoken of for a long time to come.”
“I have a question,” Adam said.
“Please,” Zorvan said.
“How long was I in the Classification challenges?
“Time passes normally within the challenge,” Zorvan said.
“Next question, why do I need a planet?” Adam asked.
“To begin your Trial for Supremacy of course.”
“Trial for Supremacy?” Adam asked.
“The beings of more than one million new worlds have been added to the Multitude. Those that are sentient have gone through classification and those that are not sentient have been distributed into the Multitude. Now you must increase your power and grow, serve, or die. Surviving the struggle and increasing your personal power is encouraged and sanctioned by the Multitude, forced even,” Zorvan said.
“Where are the people from the plant I came from?” Adam asked.
“My records indicate that during classification you did not face anyone from a planet with a Universal Density lower than 193. Therefore, none of your vassals are from places with a Universal Density lower than 193. Though, you should understand that you are not in the Fringe anymore. Universal Density has been equalized and will remain so while you are within this sector of the Multitude,” Zorvan said.
“How big is this sector?” Adam asked.
Zorvan laughed, “Bigger than the Universe you came from to be here.”
Adam sighed and then asked, “What is the Multitude then?”
Zorvan looked thoughtful for a few moments before he said, “That is a very good question because the actual answer is that no one knows. Every creature that works within the Multitude, even myself, works for contribution points. Even you will work for contribution points.”
“Why would I need Contribution points? Adam asked.
“As part of the Unification and Classification process all leveling, Class, Ability, and Skills had been standardized and reset as they are now handled by the Multitude Interface. You have viewed your Status page, haven’t you?” Zorvan asked.
“I have. I guess my next question is how do I increase those skills again.
“The simple answer is that you do not,” Zorvan said. The Multitude generates quests and rewards progress to your skills and abilities. Progress to your Soul Core is a little bit more problematic.”
“How does it do that?” Adam asked.
“No one knows but it is how it is. For instance, I gain progress in my class as an Administrator by efficiently administrating your Empire. How well I do this determines my class level progress and the progress of the abilities I utilize while actively working toward bettering my class.”
“What about your Soul Core? How do you improve your ability to withstand Universal Density?” Adam asked.
“I know the terms you speak of, and we have had others come through during the classification process during Unification that have mentioned Steps, Universal Level, and Soul Core Level but those terms mean nothing within the Multitude. Everyone is equal as far as anyone can tell, save for the entities that run the Multitude, which no one has ever met. Even I am from a world that went through its own Unification.”
“So how did you get the job of being my World Administrator?” Adam asked.
Zorvan looked thoughtful for a moment then started talking in a lecturing tone, “The only way to increase your empire within the Multitude is through conflict. There are no diplomatic ties that combine empires. While you can make treaties and work together, only one person may own a domain or territory. Those that serve him can look over a domain but it isn’t really theirs. To acquire another’s territory they must either give it up willingly or it must be acquired by killing them. Those that give up willingly take severe penalties and those that overreach or are defeated usually die. To answer your question, I served a King that was attempting to unify a world before moving off the planet. He overreach and died. I ended up waiting for an assignment until I was chosen for you,” Zorvan said.
“Can you work against my interests or be bought out to betray me at some future date?” Adam asked.
“Of course not. Administrators, pretty much anyone assigned by the Multitude and paid by the Multitude gains nothing by betraying their assigned liege.
“Not that I don’t believe you, but I’d like to verify what you’ve said from another source.”
“Of course, If you would look at the desk before you. There is a drawer there with a crystal in it. You merely need to open the drawer, which is code locked to you. Merely open the drawer and pick up the crystal. The knowledge you need will be available through your interface.” Zorvan said.
Adam went over to his desk and touched it.
The desk chimed and a drawer opened. Adam reached inside and found a crystal. As soon as he touched the crystal a virtual monitor appeared in front of him.
“The interface can be accessed verbally, by touch, and with a thought,” Zorvan said.
Adam looked at the two entries on the virtual monitor in front of him.
Congratulations!
Empire Building.
Adam touched Congratulations and a full-sized hologram appeared in front of him. He was just a little shorter than Adam, balding with gold-tinted eyes and wearing an ornate one-piece robe as he started to address Adam.
“This construct does not respond to inquiries. As a representative of the Multitude, let me be the first to congratulate you. During Classification, you acquired enough vassals to found…,” There was a pause, and the image flickered as data was reviewed and an appropriate answer was formed, “a world. Additionally, you performed so well during Classification that you earned an Administrator to help you govern your…world.”
The image paused for a moment as the image took on a more serious tone before it spoke again, “Improvement through conflict, Dominance through Strength, these are the tenants of the Multitude, you would do well to remember them. Surrender and weakness are part of this reality, from those who serve. Will you be a Leader or a servant? You are off to a good start, let’s see what you can do with your rewards,” he said with a twinkle in his eye and a slight sneer just before he disappeared.
Adam was getting a somewhat bad feeling about the multitude. A society based on dominance, and servitude and enforced by something at a power level far beyond his own. Adam touched the “Empire Building” choice and more information became available.
If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Congratulations on acquiring vassals. By now you are wondering what you can do with them. First, you should understand that during the next 10 Earth Days, the individuals you acquired as vassals will be unable to attack or harm you in any way. This safety feature is added so that you can establish how you will administrate your contribution system, or pay, for those vassals and also so that the Vassals of any Vassals you acquired cannot harm you.
NOTE: While the Vassals of Vassals that surrendered to you count as your Vassals, they are still the Vassals of the individual that acquired them first. In this way, you will be able to note who amongst your subjects would make good generals.
If you were lucky enough to acquire a domain it is now your responsibility to secure and grow that domain. If a vassal you acquired also acquired a Domain their Domain will be adjacent to, or within your Domain. They will earn contribution points by improving and growing their domains and sphere of control, while you grow your Domain.
In the beginning, you will need to secure your domain against wild beasts, monsters, and natural calamities like tornadoes, flash floods, hurricanes, and the like. Eventually, you might even be able to take over a planet and move on to planetary conquest.
Adam closed the information crystal. It looked like a standard meet and greet for someone that might have acquired a few vassals. He needed more information.
“Zorvan, I have a couple of questions”
“Yes, Sire,”
“The world below me is my domain?” Adam asked.
“Yes, Sire,”
“Those vassals I acquired that had acquired vassals of their own have been assigned domains?”
“Not yet, Sire.”
“As an Administrator, you have the mental capacity and knowledge to have created a proposal where you believe the most optimal placement of each vassal would go, based on race size and the size of their individual Domain. Creating the best possible network of vassals would be the most efficient use of my domain and would net you the greatest progress for your class, is this true?”
“Yes Sire, you seem to grasp the changes that have happened with amazing alacrity.”
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Adam said under his breath then said, “Implement your suggestions and get everyone to work doing whatever it is we have them doing.
“Yes, Sire.”
“Your assignments include the assignments of the Administrative staff that the Multitude provided?”
“Yes, though I should remind you that we have yet to hire support staff.”
“Support Staff?” Adam asked, “I thought that was you and the others like you?” Adam clarified.
You have received the domain of a world as a reward and the support staff required to run the cities on that world. What you have not received are the support personnel to perform all the duties required in a city like this. Think of it like this. You and the Vassals you acquired are the militaries. Myself and the staff I oversee are paid by the Multitude. We are the government directed by you. Normally, our positions would have been filled by you for each major domain, think town-sized or bigger, that you have. We are the bureaucracy that runs those domains and ensures that all requirements are being met and that any changes to the contribution system, both good and bad are carried out. Unlike the bureaucracies of the planet you came from, we only need one such administrator for each domain.
“So if I were to put this into a working model, what you’re saying is that I need to hire the people that pick up the trash, clean the parks, prepare the food, farm, create clothes as well as any entertainment they wish to partake, for instance, bars and the like?”
“Yes,” Zorvan said
“Very well, your salaries are paid for and you can probably earn bonuses based on performance. How do give my vassals or those support personnel I hire contribution points?
You receive contribution points based on the number of Vassals and support personnel you have. In your case, Administrators will not count toward this total but normally they would.
The Contribution points are awarded daily based on production.
“Each individual can produce one or more contribution points per hour based on how hard they work. The more efficient they are, the more points they produce. It shouldn’t need to be stated that support personnel will produce more contribution points than your vassals to begin within so incentives for your vassals to have secondary support roles is a must”
“How is this all enforced?” Adam said.
“For the first 10 days, your vassals and support staff will be unable to do anything other than what your Administrators have them doing which will only be their assigned tasks. Those vassals that are combat-oriented will clear their areas of wild beasts and such, though you will have to provide them with weapons,” Zorvan said.
“Do you have a list of the support staff we need and will they fit on the planet below?”
“Yes, everything has already been set aside. All I require is authorization to begin.”
“Then you have it, let’s get this started,” Adam said. “I do have another question, what happened to the people on the planet I came from?”
“The same as everyone else, they either accepted Classification or declined and now have a support class assigned by the system which they will have help performing for the next ten days.
“When you say help, what exactly do you mean?”
“They will be controlled to perform their tasks. One this shows them what is expected and what is expected to meet the bare minimum to earn contribution points. Two it allows them to not have to worry too much about their new reality,” Zorvan said.
“Everyone that was grabbed in the Unification is treated this way?”
“Everyone, no exceptions,” Zorvan agreed.
Adam was really beginning not to like this Multitude, though there was nothing he could do about it right now. Adam asked, “How would I find out if someone from the planet were alive or dead?”
“You may spend Contribution points to acquire a connection into an information consortium that will provide the information for a price. Nothing is free in the Multitude,” Zorvan said.
“How much,”
“to add a connection that you may only use here on your station in orbit, one million contribution points. To make it available in every market on the surface as well would cost an additional 100 million contribution points.
“As soon as we have a surplus of points please purchase that for the planet. I would like everyone to be able to find out if their loved ones survived and where they are,” Adam said.
“Very well. What will you do now?”
“You said for the next 10 days the Multitude is pretty much in control of the people correct?”
“Yes,” Zorvan answered.
“Then I’m going to explore the planet and the system we are in?”
“Young Lord, you might want to be careful. You are only level 1 after all. Even if you have abilities that would allow you to move around the solar system, other forces that might exist on nearby planets may try to invade once the 10-day grace period is up.”
“Excuse me?”
“Worlds are not conquered in a day. By the time a world is unified under one leader the planet should have the infrastructure and ability to fight against invasions and incursions. Your reward, while unique, could not be given to you in an area where the rest of the Unification is taking place. The world you have been awarded exists within a sector of the multitude where the Unification began over 500 years ago. That was one of the things I was going to mention. Even if your loved ones survived, they are nowhere near here. Though you may expand into their territory at some later date. Therefore, it is my recommendation that you maintain a low profile and try not to let any other empires that are close by, learn of the status of your forces.”
“Will other planets nearby have united forces?”
“Truthfully, it is very unlikely, though any that can teleport to your planet and investigate the new inhabitants might find the forces here easily conquered. That is why you need to focus on improving the defense of your planet and preparing it for possible invasions,” Zorvan said.
“During these invasions and wars, how are support personnel and administrators treated?” Adam asked.
“The multitude does not like waste, nor does it help those that do not help themselves. Contribution points can be spent to purchase items that will teleport the wearer to a safe location until hostilities have ceased. Alternatively, those that have businesses and the like can upgrade their establishment so that it is defended by the Multitude from harm. The only structure this is not true for is the one you’re in currently. A planetary Administration Station must be self-sufficient, though all of us can purchase the items I mentioned for protection. Normally, World leaders upgrade the defenses of such stations first. No one wants to make themselves an easy target after all,” Zorvan explained.
“Wait, we just hired the support personnel, wouldn’t’ they go back into the hiring pool if I died or something?” Adam asked.
“No. During Unification and Classification, those that decline Classification are put into the support pool. They are held there until classification is completed and then get picked up by Masters that own domains where they are teleported to perform their support role. This is a free transfer and is only done once. For any support personnel or administrator like myself, to transfer away from an assigned position would require that we spend contribution points. The further the transfer the higher the cost. For instance, if someone wanted to transfer from a small town bar under one Master on your planet to a bigger town where they could earn more contribution points they would only have to fork over maybe 1,000 CP. For me to leave your service as a World Administrator I would first have to find a World Emperor with a vacancy and at minimum spend 1 million CP to transfer. After Unification and Classification, nothing within the Multitude is free.
“I see,” Adam said as a thought came to him, “Speaking of contribution points. Is a percentage set aside that I can use to provide bonuses to those that serve me well?” Adam asked.
“Currently? No. It will be approximately two weeks before you start seeing a surplus of contribution points from your support personnel. Your vassals will not be creating surplus contribution points for at least a year or two.
“Why is that?”
“Everyone in this world, save the Administrators is level 1. Any excess Contribution points they earn will be immediately converted to XP to increase their class or improve their skills or abilities. Once someone reaches level 10 they have more say on where their XP goes but until then Multitude makes those decisions for each person,” Zorvan said.
“It sounds like I’m in a feudal system with a mandatory social system that is automatically enforced by a mostly neutral overseeing entity that can see everything, is that about right?”
“That sums it up nicely,” Zorvan said.
“Do I gain contribution points for conquering domains?”
“Yes, though as I said you really shouldn’t draw attention to yourself until you’re ready to defend yourself. The other planets in this system will have leaders that could be extremely high level as compared to you.”
Adam looked thoughtful for a moment then realized something, “Zorvan, have you looked over my personal information?
“Heavens no sire, that would be inappropriate, and doing so, without an invitation as an assigned member of your staff by the Multitude could have dire consequences on my Contribution Points for an extremely long time,” Zorvan said
“The information you have provided would be the information you provided for a level 1 Emperor who just assumed the position of world Emperor. They probably had another class before and just acquired this new class, would that be correct?” Adam asked.
“Yes, the normal method of progression would be for an individual that had taken over a huge territory, usually a King or Queen, to move to take over an entire planet. Their levels, as King and Queen would remain, as would their attributes and skills. Then they would then begin trying to improve their new class as emperor or empress after they took over the planet they were on. Unfortunately for you, while you received a great benefit from becoming a World Emperor as part of your Classification, you are also severely hampered by your lack of levels in support classes for that class,” Zorvan explained apologetically.
Adam smiled, “You have my permission to view my Personal Information. Please do so, re-evaluate, and adjust your recommendations accordingly,” Adam said.
Zorvan gave a look that meant he would do as instructed though he couldn’t understand what his Sire could possibly have at level 1 that would cause him to adjust his recommendations then he opened up Adam’s Personal information.
Name: Adamantadine
Level: 1
Soul Core Level: 1
Strength 123,167,813,920
Adam watched Zorvan freeze and slowly look back over at him before he looked back to the location of the virtual information he was reading and muttered;
“Eight Racial Abilities,”
“Eighteen Quintessence Abilities?”
“49 billion hit points, with a regeneration of 34.5 million per second.”
“How man Stamina and Mana is that?”
Zorvan continued to mutter to himself for another minute or so before he turned back to Adam.
“I stand corrected Sire, you truly are formidable.”
“Yeah, that increase in my primary attributes was kind of a surprise. The Title that increased my attributes by 100% doubled my previous attributes after it removed the bonus for having a Soul Core level of 193 reduced back to level 1. Do you know what that energy…”
“My Sire is truly insightful,” Zorvan quickly interrupted. “We do not discuss the particulars of Soul Cores and Quintessence levels openly within the Multitude.”
“Ah, very well. So, what do you think about me taking a look around the System to see what we are dealing with?”
“With your abilities, I do not see why that would be an issue. You have a 10-day grace period after all.”
Adam smiled and activated Planar Travel, Mode 1 to lock the office he was standing in as a target location for his ability. One thing he immediately noticed was that every other target location he’d previously saved was gone. Either they didn’t exist any longer or his abilities and memory had been wiped. As all of his abilities seemed to be synergistic with his Perfect Memory ability he figured that they no longer existed.
Adam activated Obscure, Flight, Freedom of Flight, and then Teleported into space outside the space station. He turned around and viewed it from the outside. It was much bigger than he’d thought it would be, his office was situated toward the top and must have been using artificial gravity as there was no spinning structure to produce gravity and he’d felt completely normal inside. It also looked like he had an internal docking area where ships could go inside.
Adam flew around the station quickly and noted places where ships could dock without entering then did a few quick orbits of the planet that was his. As he looked down on the planet a notification appeared
You have not named your planet, would you like to do so now, Yes or No?
Adam thought about it for a moment then chose “Yes” and entered “New Alamo” If there was going to be a last stand for the humans of Earth, eventually he would get them all here to make that last stand.
Adam continued his orbit and realized that New Alamo was much bigger than Earth. Much bigger. Adam opened his Personal Information and found the tab that had the information he needed on the planet.
New Alamo was approximately 3 times as large as Earth but the gravity was very similar. Water to land ratio was 60% water to 40% land which made seasonal storms coming off the oceans a little less violent in some areas and much more so in others.
As Adam flew around the planet looking down he saw areas where farmland had been dug out and cities were laid out but everything looked plain, similar, and quite basic. It all looked like it had been put together with a bare-bones mentality. After his third Orbit, Adam teleported back into the station to find Zorvan waiting in his office.
“Zorvan, before I check out the rest of the solar system, one question, why are all the buildings on the planet so bland and identical?”
“Efficiency,” Zorvan said, “Though races like dragons and giants and such that you triumphed over have their own unique dwellings with others of their kind. There are roughly 10 to 20 support personnel for every vassal you acquired to make sure we are producing enough food. The actual population of the planet is right around 3.5 trillion, not including animals and such.
“And it’s not too crowded?” Adam asked.
“Not at all. The Multitude spread them out as evenly as possible to ensure that there is plenty of room for everyone to spread out.”
“Okay, well in addition to putting some Contribution points aside for rewards by me, please put some aside for quality-of-life improvements and devise a way for the various domains around the planet to compete for that allocation on a weekly or monthly basis so they individualize their areas,” Adam said.
“As you wish, will there be anything else?”
“No, I should be gone for a little bit. I’m going to check out the solar system and see if there is anything else close by.”
“As you wish,” Zorvan said then turned and left through doors that opened and closed automatically for him at the front of the room.
Adam reactivated his abilities, teleported back outside the station, and headed to the polar north of the Sun within this solar system to take a look around.