When Liam and Ella, with the [Guild] in tow, returned to the apple orchard what they found was devastation enough to make them all fear the worst, although Harold let them know that he did have a vague sense that life remained in the house even when he was hundreds of metres out still.
Finding Kalle slumped over with a smile on his face was a great relief, and made them joke about how he must have taken the opportunity to throw himself a party.
Once he finally woke up to explain the state of the yard it all made a lot more sense after the lack of any blood or ant warrior bodies left them confused initially.
All but a small portion of the giant stack of firewood had been turned to wood chips that were going to get wet and rot as it were. They could perhaps gather it up and leave it to dry, but nobody wanted to have nothing but that to burn for warmth all winter.
Ella shared a knowing look with Kalle–if the stack had been any smaller they would have been left with nothing– and the rest of the yard was no better. When the ants had felt like they were on fire they ended up rampaging senselessly, with neither rhyme nor reason. The result was complete pandemonium.
The rest of Salcret was no better off. In the following days the whole community came together to clean up and repair the town and rid themselves of all the insect corpses.
At the end of that week was when Livia had a surprise visitor during the night, she had now spent 95 days on planet Ross.
----------------------------------------
[Check one, two. Check one, two.]
The noise startled Livia awake. First the robotic noise made her think that she was gaining a level, or a new Skill or something. Then a horrible realization dawned, as she recognised the voice as male.
[I see we meet again, Livia.] It was the voice of the gray beard, with the magic hat.
"No, no, this can't be happening. You are not here to take me away again right as I get settled, I'd rather fucking kill myself!" She nearly screamed the last bit and woke the others, but the voice interrupted just in time.
[Whoa, whoa, nothing like that, calm down.]
It took her a few minutes but she eventually managed it. Livia could not figure out how the brothers had not yet awoken, only Kalle slept in the main house with the old couple.
She had been whispering–but the System was speaking as clear as day–so she finally just asked. "Why can't the others hear you?"
It took a couple of seconds to respond, as if it was thinking, but eventually it said: [Congratulations on making it past 95 days, according to our calculations you should now be established enough for a reasonable chance at survival, in accordance with our timeline.]
The words did not make sense to Livia in her sleepy state, at all.
[Now that your Mark has matured and your every action has a reasonable chance of changing the future, to some degree, we are authorized to provide you with increased resources.]
"Now hold on a minute, what the hell, who is this we, are you really who I talked to back then… Are you the inventor of the System?" Livia was still groggy from her sleep and the voice sounded familiar yet not, because of the strange System cadence.
Her words seemed to make the voice pause to think again.
[I don't see why you feel the need to waste time at all, but if you insist I suppose explanations are in order first…] When Livia refused to react with anything but silent agreement the voice went on, after sighing heavily.
[I was assistant to the genius of our age; Professor Silversteine, who led the project to create the Temporal Magi Class. Her other great accomplishment was the first successful modification of the ancestral System; and this is where I come in. I have been made part of the spell, or a piece of my soul has. A much smaller piece, part of a Spell- and not the System at all, was what greeted you upon transfer. Still me, albeit a six months younger version.]
The speech explained a lot of the things that Livia had been thinking hard on since her transer, with nothing but frustration to show for it. It also explained why this version sounded different, six months may not sound like a lot but Livia recalled it was six months of Humanity under siege.
[So now, if that satisfies your curiosity enough to proceed, then may I present your choice of options… In acknowledgement of your upgraded Mark; we are to provide you either: A new Quest Skill] The voice could not help but pause theatrically. [Or an Enchanting Blueprints Skill, for the enhancement of high level gear. Or–last but not least–a Merger system. High potential with the right connections.]
Livia was feeling stunned at this turn of events, and she was still struggling to catch up, but the voice went on relentlessly.
[The Quest system works as you would imagine, providing a boost to enhance your intuition and memory, allowing you to piece together where to find rare resources or challenges, resulting in different tasks that might then have an added reward besides whatever the challenge usually provides, if successfully accomplished in time.] He explained the first one in a rush, forcing Livia to have to scramble to focus and make sense of what she was being offered.
[Now, the enchanting system is just as good as it sounds, just build a suit of armor or a weapon or whatever other gear, and if you provide the resources then our pre-set enchanting templates will be applied to it. Now, the quality is superb so this one will have the absolute fewest uses, but it's a rather obvious choice if you ask me.] Livia was closing her eyes by this point, trying to think. [And the last one is also self-explanatory, and I can tell your attention is already drifting; so I will simply allow you to make your choice.]
Sigh. She finally got some room to think. It was true, Livia had been taken here to start some form of business–or something–to stand the test of time, that was why she was chosen to come here after all. Even if it was not by choice, Livia had bitten the bullet and accepted how doing the best she could was in both her, and her kidnapper’s interests.
The most confusing part was Mr Beard saying that the additional [Enchanting] system was the obvious choice. She nearly said as much, but she realized this was not a negotiation.
Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.
[Which will you pick?]
She had been silently contemplating, but when prompted again Livia responded quickly. "The [Quest] system, please and thank you,"
Mr Beard’s voice actually spluttered. [Spluh. What are you saying, do you understand the level of enchantments we had achieved in our age…? you won't find anything like it among Humanity in this age where you find yourself, I assure you.]
Livia did indeed understand that much, but she also understood a couple of other things.
Firstly: materials that could handle such enchantments for any useful duration were rare, and not least expensive. The regular gear she had seen so far had all been cast- or sometimes tempered iron, hardly fit for such magic.
Second, since the uses were limited it meant that the benefits would all land in the lap of a very few chosen guild members.
And third, the gear could be lost at even a minor setback. Nobody could truly predict what their future held should they keep leveling. Battle, assassination, even thievery all had an added risk when carrying such items, despite the power they granted.
If Harold, Oscar or Kalle had been the one questioning her then she might have actually explained all this, but–this System voice, this Mr Beard–would be gone again in the morning.
And so, Livia couldn't be arsed, as Harold liked to say. "I would like the superior choice please, the [Quest] system.”She sensed more objections coming her way, and so decided to be extra sweet. “Please and thank you,"
She was already growing annoyed with the voice's impertinent tone, but there was no reason not to be polite. Yet.
[I see what's happening here. You know, the System was made for the elite.]
Livia did indeed recognize that fact, it wasn't like the very thing she had decided to try and build wasn't an institution that created and guided the elite.
When there was no response the voice kept going. [Enchanted gear of a sufficient level doesn't just grant protection and greater offensive power, it can grant status of every kind, make you react faster to attacks and even guide you to decisions quicker in everyday life. Even increase your natural life-span if you find the right Natural Treasures… Or give you powers of detection. You're a level 3 Business Guild Master, just because you have a certain background does not mean you can just disregard hundreds of years of precedent regarding what is required to build strength!]
The tirade finally ended and Livia found that despite the provoking words she did not have much to say. "No. Sorry not sorry, but you’re the one that doesn't see what's happening,”
The voice went to splutter again but she kept talking. “Making these decisions is exactly what I am here to do, and I have made my choice. [Quest] system, thanks." By this point her demands were certainly clipped.
When the voice took its time responding she finally snapped and woke the room. "Your precious enchantments were not enough to save you, were they–AND YOU’RE NOT THE BOSS OF ME!"
Harold awoke and lit a magic light with his hand, looking around with sharp eyes.
Livia's face reddened in mortification. She hadn't said something so childish in at least 5 years. She immediately threw herself into bed and hid under the covers.
Harold was still trying to figure out what was going on. "Uh, Livia, did you say something?"
"Just a bad dream, sorry." Was heard from beneath the bed covers, so Harold obviously shrugged, turned out the light and promptly went back to sleep. Oscar somehow remained asleep throughout.
Livia waited for ten minutes and then acted like she needed the outhouse. Once she would be able to respond again the voice finally returned.
[You are indeed correct that my role is advisory. I was out of line, but I won't be able to stay completely silent if I believe you are making a mistake.]
Like I’ll even remember you. As it turns out Livia really did need to use the bathroom, so she went to sit while she explained herself, slightly.
Not before sighing heavily as she got comfortable. "It's not that I don't see how strong that gear would be, I just happen to resent the idea that resources should be pooled with those showing potential the earliest. Even the greatest genius can be struck with tragedy at some point, that's not an issue exclusive to the poorly, or less talented. I just don't want all my eggs in one basket,"
She finally found her body able to relax, despite the strange experience.
[That's fair enough I suppose. Do you have to do that while we're talking?] Livia had only been peeing but she flew up like a snake had bit her.
When she had her pants pulled on and was out of the shitter she nearly yelled. She definitely shouted. "YOU CAN FUCKING SEE ME!?"
[Only through your eyes! I am so sorry, I did not at all mean to startle you!]
Livia was breathing heavily, trying to glare at the voice until she decided the most sane option would be to just close her eyes.
[Again, I'm sorry. You've made your choice, I'm going to let you get back to bed.]
And with that the usual version of the System messaging arrived.
[Class upgrade: Business Guild Master - Quests unlocked]
[Skill granted: Basic Quest]
[Skill granted: Rare Quest]
[Skill granted: Epic Quest]
[Skill granted: Mythic Quest]
The next morning when breakfast arrived and swiftly went on its way; Liam came and discreetly pulled Livia to the side to assure her that he had taken a good look around after waking to her shouting, and that he was pretty sure nobody had been peeping, but that he would endeavor to keep making sure if she still felt uncomfortable.
She did indeed, but she declined the offer.