Chapter 10 – Fallout

Aenon sat on the comfortable couch while sipping the hot beverage that was served to him. He wasn’t sure what to compare it to since he never had tea or coffee, his mother was against him trying it, but it tasted bitter yet had a calming effect. The aroma was quite pleasant, and he enjoyed this much more than the drinks served back in Jadefall. He decided he was going to buy some of this stuff when he got the chance. He looked up from his cup to observe the surroundings to pass the time.

He was seated in the former mayor’s office, surrounded by half a dozen maids who stood attentively to the sides. Their demeanor was extremely professional, despite the palpable nervousness that hung in the air. He was still not comfortable with the arrogant noble act, but he had to play the part for what he planned next. Agatha had left him here to go deal with the fall out of the impromptu coup with the help of Bane and his wolves. Aenon could have been more involved, but frankly he didn’t care. There would no doubt be a lot of politics involved, and he didn’t want to get stuck in that quagmire.

He observed the man who seemed to oversee the maids, a butler perhaps, who was standing by his right shoulder. While the maids were plain nervous and confused, this man was giving off more complex feelings. Aenon could sense confusion, anxiety, fear, and even anger from the man. But the anger seemed to be directed inwards, like he hated himself for whatever reason.

Aenon had a bunch of System notifications to go through but wanted to wait till he was by himself. For now, he wanted to understand the status quo of the palace, and the weird discomfort he felt from all the maids.

“I am assuming you are in charge of operations around this palace?” Aenon asked in a neutral tone.

“Yes, sir,” the man replied crisply with a bow.

“Well then, enlighten me. Why are all the people under you hungry?”

The man was taken aback by the question. He was probably mentally prepared for a multitude of questions, but not this. He seemed lost for words, as he looked around the room in confusion.

“We can get to the bottom of that later. But for now, dismiss all the help and make them go have breakfast. Delay any chores or activities till then. This is not a request, it’s an order,” Aenon said while putting down his empty cup.

The man blinked in confusion before coming to his senses. He gave a bow before handing out a few verbal orders. All the maids filed out of the room in relief. The man then walked back to his earlier spot and stood stoically.

“I believe I asked everyone to go have breakfast,” Aenon asked sharply.

“You did, sir. But I would be remiss in my duties if I left a guest unattended,” the man replied without as much as turning his head.

Aenon sighed internally, for he knew men like this. There was probably nothing short of a threat of death that would waver the man. Even that was a low probability. So, he placed some biscuits that were served to him on a quarter plate and held it towards the stubborn old fool.

“Eat while you talk. I have a bunch of questions, and you seem to be the one who can answer them,” Aenon said without looking his way.

The man stared at the plate and then Aenon, his soul bleeding curiosity and confusion. He cautiously took the plate, probably expecting some kind of backlash. When none came, he took a tentative bite. Aenon let the man finish two biscuits before asking his first question.

“What do I call you?”

“I am the city administrator sir,” he replied.

“Your name, not your title,” Aenon asked impatiently.

The question threw the man for another loop, but he recovered faster this time as he replied, “Henry, sir.”

“Very well, Henry. Explain everything to me. What your former employer was up to, and why were the servants starving?”

The man hesitated for a bit before detailing everything that went on in the palace. The more he talked, the more disgust and hate leaked out of his soul. And the reason for the self-hate became apparent to Aenon. The poor guy was powerless in trying to protect his workers, although he tried the best he could. It was also clear from the explanation that the man wasn’t aware of the darker dealings of his former employer, neither was he made aware of the existence of the elf. He did suspect something but had cleverly decided not to probe into it. Aenon didn’t blame the guy. That was a great way to get killed for no reason after all.

“Hmmm. I think I get the gist of it,” Aenon said while pondering the implications. It essentially boiled down to one thing: rewards. The noble family the mayor belonged to had wanted to reap as many benefits as possible in a very short time before the planet was opened to the wider multiverse, which was about 7 months away now. That is when the real powers bare their fangs for a piece of the fledgling world. And hence the mayor was sent on a mission to try to set up a foothold if possible, failing which he was to gather as many titles and promising adventurers before the real show began.

The man they had sent, Balindor Steelcrest, was one of the dozens of children from the noble house. If not for his scheming mother, the fool would not have had the chance to oversee such a rare and precious opportunity. And the guy had approached it the way everyone, but his mother, had expected. By trying to fulfil his own personal vices and enjoying the luxuries that came with the role. If not for Henry, the city would have collapsed within a month of them coming here.

Balindor had literally showered himself with as many riches and luxuries as he got his grubby paws on. Henry had played the devil’s advocate by approving and managing his out-of-control master, while still trying to run the city and the palace. He had subtly diverted the man’s attention from any untoward actions that would have adversely affected city morale or harmed his employees. Henry was the mastermind behind the creation of the obscenely expensive palace and having it cut out from the rest of the world. If he could contain the mayor within its walls and fulfill his nefarious needs, the city would be left alone.

And the plan had worked to an extent since the fact of the matter was that the System, or whoever had designed it, had placed certain safeguards to protect the weak. But the powerhouses of the multiverse were discontent due to it. They had been trying to find loopholes for exploitation, which had given rise to the current societal hierarchy. But the most they had managed to do was revel in the discomfort of the less fortunate. The direct infliction of pain and/or misery was an impossibility. The only exception to the rule was when the soul was involved.

Henry had seen what had happened during the last hour and explained why the System failed to detect atrocities Eskad and others like him had endured. The System was severely limited when it came to souls. Despite its seeming omnipotence, it had always refused or failed to directly affect a person’s soul. Philosophers had argued that it was to preserve the concept of free will, since if the System influenced the soul, it would likely be creating nothing but mindless drones. Not actual life forms.

Aenon had deduced as much. If not, the role the Overseer played in his own life wouldn’t have happened. And it was more than likely that Aenon wasn’t the first of his victims either. His own granddaughter was influenced by it. Which brought up an interesting fact that Aenon wasn’t sure of. What did the System think of Aenon. He didn’t understand his powers that well, but from what he did piece together, he was affecting the souls of those around him. First the wolves, then the tree, and to an extent even Jenny. Maybe not directly controlling them, but more of a nudge in the right direction. A far stronger influence than the other soul mage he knew, Agatha. His thoughts were interrupted by the butler speaking up suddenly.

“Thank you,” the man said with far deeper bow than was necessary. His feelings of gratitude and sincerity were clear as day even without Aenon’s soul sense.

“I was merely carrying out an assigned quest,” Aenon responded with some discomfort, trying to wave off what he had done for the city by taking out the guilty nobles. He was not used to this society’s formal traditions of bowing and such, especially from someone who was clearly much older.

“Not for liberating us from the schemes of tyrants, sir. I am grateful that you treated us as humans,” the man added while still bowing down.

“It was nothing special,” Aenon said while rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. The man stood up eventually and looked him right in the eye and smiled.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“The fact that you even think so, is all I need to know,” he said cryptically before resuming his stoic stance.

Aenon didn’t press him further for anything. He had learned all that was relevant, and the atmosphere had gotten weird. He decided to use the companiable silence to address his System notifications instead. And there were quite a few of them, and none of them were normal.

Quest

You have been tasked with uncovering a nefarious plot by the assistant leader of the adventurer’s guild in Pinespire, while also rescuing one of the top parties of her branch.

Objectives:

Rescue the hostages (4/4)

Bonus Objectives:

Find out what is going on and who is behind it (1/1)

Hidden Objective (System assigned):

Clear out the scourge plaguing the city.

Reward: Talk to the City Admin to get rewards.

Hidden Reward: Check your inventory

Aenon blinked a few times at the quest completion dialogue box. He wasn’t even aware there could be hidden objectives. He decided to check his inventory and was further confused with the new addition. It was a small black marble, no bigger than a grape. But it was the description that baffled him.

Item Name: Black Marble

Item Type: Artifact

Item Rarity: Unique

Item Description: Soulbound to the one it was granted to, this item cannot be identified or acquired by anyone else. It has multiple uses.

Note: Since you like to figure out everything yourself, give this a try.

The mysterious object had no visible clues or any mana signatures on it. For all intents and purposes, it looked like an ordinary marble. Aenon was miffed that his stalker was getting bolder by the day, but as always there was nothing he could do. He even asked Henry if he could identify the object, which obviously he couldn’t. Frustrated, Aenon moved on to his next notification. This was much more straightforward, and something he was familiar with.

System Notification

For eliminating a significant threat to the safety and prosperity of a settlement, SP has been awarded +50 SP

This brought his net SP to 170. It was time to upgrade and combine some of his skills when he got the time to do so. Finally, he moved on to the title notifications which made him scratch his head. The stats weren’t anything to write home about, but the flavor text was more of a warning than anything else.

Title achieved: Corruption Cleanser

Title achieved: Soul Piercer

Corruption Cleanser: Eliminate the true leeches of society. Although, beware. Leeches rarely travel alone. I know you didn’t like the class, but you can’t turn this down, can you?

+5 all stats

Soul Piercer: Inflict direct damage on someone’s soul. Since the user didn’t use it for their own benefit, a title has been granted instead of a severe penalty. Be cautious next time.

+5 all stats

The first title was a warning about the external threat, but the second title was what made him raise an eyebrow. It was a clear warning not to attempt to use his new ability to go down the road the elves had done. Not that Aenon intended it, but the warning was a wake-up call. The System, or his stalker, was absolutely against the idea. He dismissed his notifications and looked towards the door. His host was approaching with a retinue of familiar souls and Bane in tow.

“Greetings, Alpha,” Bane said as walked up and stood by his left shoulder. He eyed Henry standing on the other side for a second, but didn’t comment otherwise.

“What is going on here?” Eryndor, the guild leader asked as he looked around the room. The way Henry and Bane were standing behind Aenon, it looked like he was a city ruler, and not a guest.

“Let’s all have a seat, shall we?” Agatha interjected to cut the tension. But before she could move, Eskad and his party all stepped forward and got down on one knee.

“We are further in your debt, yet again,” the team leader spoke solemnly. Aenon could tell his soul wasn’t at its peak yet, but he was recovering remarkably well. The action further perturbated the guild leader, but Agatha held him back with a stern gaze.

“Going to give me more tokens in exchange, are you?” Aenon asked humorously. The big guy looked embarrassed at their internal joke, while the other people in the room looked at the man quizzically.

“There is no damned token that can repay you for what you have done. Saving a life is one thing, but you saved our very souls,” one of the dwarves spoke up while kneeling. His twin nodded in acknowledgement.

“Yes indeed. We are deeply indebted to you, and there is no way we can ever repay you,” Elara spoke next. She was very subdued and looked like she had been through a meat grinder.

“Well then, I believe you know what I expect in return, don’t you?” Aenon asked while standing up. For some reason, everyone in the room tensed up as Aenon approached the team. Eryndor even made a move for his sword. But contrary to everyone’s expectations, Eskad and his team stood up just as Aenon reached them. The berserker then put his hand forward.

“Thanks,” the man smiled as Aenon shook it, barely managing to match the guy’s strength.

Aenon displayed a grin using illusion magic, not the creepy kind. And this time, Eskad looked directly at Aenon’s eyes without any ill effect from his mask’s passive skill. Aenon had noticed that even Henry had looked right at him without any backlash earlier. So maybe the people who had no ill-will towards him were exempt from its effects. He would need to test it out later.

Henry waved his hand to conjure up a long table in the middle of the room, before escorting Aenon with a bow to the chair at the head of the table. As before, Bane and Henry stood by his sides. This action further irked the guild leader, and even Agatha was taken aback by it.

Eryndor took the chair directly opposite Aenon’s, while intensely glaring at him. Eskad and his team took chairs on either side closer to Aenon, while Agatha did the same but sat closer to Eryndor. There were two more city guards who must have held some important role since they were here for the meeting. They looked between the two warring factions before tactfully deciding to just stand to the sides.

“Now that we are seated, let us jump in to discuss the recent happenings…,” Agatha began before Eryndor cut her off.

“Before that, why is he here? On what authority and why is he sitting in the city mayor’s chair?” Eryndor said in a tone dripping venom.

“I was just escorted here. I would like to know the answers to same questions,” Aenon interjected in a casual tone. Even he found it odd that Henry had directed him to the chair but had not questioned the man. His reasoning was entirely different though. He wanted to gauge Eryndor’s reaction.

“Ahem. Right. As we all know, the current city mayor is in custody due to crimes that we will soon discuss. In such a scenario, it falls to the city admin, which is me, to act in the mayor’s stead. Conversely, I also have the authority to hand the reins to a suitable candidate. And I have decided to pick him,” Henry said in a formal statement without any emotion. Aenon received a ping of a System notification which he ignored.

“Absolutely not. We don’t even know him. For all we know he could have been behind it all,” Eryndor objected vehemently.

“Your opinion is noted. But you hold no power in my decision. And that is the end of that,” Henry responded in the same professional tone.

“Eryndor, we have more pressing matters to discuss,” Agatha chimed in before her superior could say more. “And as for his credibility, I can vouch for him. It is only with his help that were able to uproot the cabal of soul eaters. So let the matter rest for now.”

The imposing man clearly had more to say but held back seeing that no one seemed to be on his side. He begrudgingly nodded, but didn’t keep the disdain off his face. Aenon knew he would have to knock some sense into the guy at some point. But now was not the time, since there indeed were more urgent matters. He wasn’t a big fan of the move that Henry pulled without his approval, but since it aligned with his long-term goals, he decided to let it slide for now.

“Moving on, here is the report that I have put together,” Agatha continued. “In total 32 city officials have been arrested on suspicion of practicing forbidden arts. The list of their victims is not insignificant, but mostly consists of the vulnerable citizenry who no one would have missed.”

“You mean the refugees from Jadefall,” Aenon added.

“Yes. The refugees. The operation was quite meticulous, the victims disappearing from accidental causes most of the time. I am sure the elf in custody can shed more light on the process. For now, I have instructed the adventurers to scour the city for any hidden threats, while the city guard will take a total head count of the population.”

“What bothers me is the fact that no one reported the missing people,” Aenon asked while interlacing his fingers on the table.

Agatha hesitated for a moment, unsure how to answer. “The local population weren’t exactly fond of the decision to take in the low-level refugees,” she finally admitted.

“Correct me if I am wrong, but when you say local population, you mean the NPCs who were placed on this planet by the System to help the players from Earth, right?” Aenon asked.

“Ummm, yes. When a new planet is integrated, and the native world is unsuitable for life, the System assigns a Tutorial planet such as this. To smooth out the transition it also brings people from integrated worlds to set up the cities and villages. It is to provide the players with a support structure to grow,” Agatha replied with a sigh.

“Then what’s with the hate? Isn’t it their very duty to assist?” Aenon pressed further.

“Ordinarily, yes. But tutorial planets are also a means for people from integrated worlds to have a fresh start. Most, if not all, sign up for personal benefits,” Agatha said while looking away in shame.

Aenon leaned his head on his fist as he thought of how to approach this. Hate for refugees was a multiverse feeling by the looks of it. Even if said refugees were meant to boost their prosperity in the first place. He couldn’t eliminate the social stigma overnight, but he needed it to be gone as soon as possible. These players hadn’t really had a chance either, being thrust into unfamiliar scenarios far faster than normal. If not for the dungeon break, the players would have found their way to the city on their own. And would have been much stronger when they did and contributed to society, rather than draining resources. The main issue was that the surrounding areas had much higher leveled mobs, which significantly restricted what the refugee players could contribute.

This was by far the biggest mess that Aenon had inadvertently found himself in, even if he was not directly responsible for it. And now it was somehow his responsibility to sort this out.

After all, he had decided to lend his shoulders for the weak to stand on.