A thunderous voice pierced the heaven's and decreed, "Titan's Rebirth!"

Like a miracle, Crusher's head that had been separated from her body slowly faded from existence and a new one grew from her profusely bleeding neck.

Still laying on the floor like a dead corpse, Crusher cancelled her Titan Form and instantly began heavily sweating. "Man, getting your head cut off is somehow way more chilling than being blown up by a grenade."

Daz walked next to her and smiled jovially. "Is that so? I'll try to avoid both in the future."

"Ahaha, says the man who did the cutting. One clean blow with almost no resistance... That shovel of yours is fuckin' sharp as balls," Crusher claimed with a winded laugh.

"Sorry about that, but you did ask me to use my chains on you and kill you, remember? I'd have been far more merciful if you weren't so masochistic," Daz noted.

"Yeah, but I was half-joking. You're a cold bastard, you know that, right?" Crusher asked as she slowly raised her torso. "Not that I particularly care. If I want my leader to be anything, it'd be cold and willing to kill. That combo certainly beats a million other options, that's for sure."

Daz laughed at that. "Honestly, considering how free-spirited you are, Crusher, I'm still surprised you want to live here under my rule. Wouldn't you do better as a ruler yourself or as an independent host?"

"Hahaha, nah. I ain't a leader. Never was, never will be. Roaming freely doesn't sound too bad, and yeah, I've got my little gang of criminals now, but honestly, if it wasn't you, Uriel, there's no way I'd stay here for more than a week or two," Crusher admitted as she dusted herself off and cracked her neck. She then sat back down on the ground and crossed her legs before buying a gallon of energy juice from the system.

"Yeah? Did I do something special?" Daz asked curiously.

"Well, for one," Crusher said before she opened her juice and took several swigs of it before she continued with, "you don't treat me like a freak. That was real common both when I was a wrestler and when I was a body-builder. Like, not playfully treating me like a freak, but mocking me and actively trying to hurt my feelings. Ahab and Barbarossa are like you in that way, but they're both scared of me in one form or another," Crusher said as she shook her head and sighed.

She then held her shoulder and started doing some stretches. "You ain't scared of fuckin' shit, and I respect that. You're also nice to me even though I know you can be a real dick when you want to be. I respect you, you respect me. That's something that I can get behind. What sounds better to you; being free but a potential enemy to everyone else, being responsible for thousands of lives when all you've ever known is fightin' and doin' whatever the fuck ya like, or settling under a powerful bastard who treats you like a person and doesn't restrict you unreasonably?"

Daz smiled. "The path I intend to walk is filled with far more enemies than potential allies. I plan to unite all of Earth under my banner, and my banner alone. I doubt that will end without a lot of bloodshed."

"Yeah, it won't end well for the retards that say no, hahaha!" Crusher belted out in laughter before she got back on her feet and slapped her hands down on Daz's shoulder, making the reaper wince from her overwhelming strength. "Either way, I'll be cracking skulls an' drinkin' blood, so I may as well do it with someone coverin' my back, right?"

Daz sighed softly. "You're as strange a woman as ever, Crusher. But yeah, I agree. Just, keep the blood-drinking to a minimum okay?"

"Ahaha, I was kidding," Crusher replied as she scratched her head.

"I know," Daz replied with a friendly smirk on his lips. 'Hmm... I wonder if Crusher's more loyal to me now? Like, has her status changed accordingly, or what?'

Of course, he wasn't just going to satiate his curiosity without first asking the woman for permission to check. "Crusher, do you mind if I peek at your status? I'll probably see information about who you really are now since I have a form of Master Identification. This may sound a bit dumb, but I want to check your loyalty stat, which only I can see as your ruler."

Crusher raised an eyebrow. "Sure. Whatever you see though, don't go spreadin' it around. I ain't got anything to hide, but I'd rather my past was kept in the past."

"Huh... is that so? If you'd rather, we can do this instead," Daz said then called upon the system, "Master Identification, however, system, don't show me Crusher's real name nor her description."

Crusher looked surprised. "Cheers, Uriel."

Daz smiled again. "Like I said, I only want to compare your current loyalty to your loyalty from 2-weeks ago, nothing more."

Crusher's Status Basic Information Name: Crusher Species: Titan [Changed From Human] Age: 27 Sex: Female Class: The Mighty Crusher Affinity: Chaotic Neutral Description Omitted. Energies Lifeforce: 200,000/200,000 [+199,000] Stamina: 300,000/300,000 [+296,500] Stats Strength: 3212(3,854) [+2,812] | Item Boost: +70 Fortitude: 2,832(3,398) [+2,532] Constitution: 2,865(3,438) [+2,565] Defense: 1,500 [+1,200] [New!] Regeneration: 2,400 [New!] Luck: 210 [New!] Endurance: 1,320 [New!] Immunity: 330 [New!] Creativity: 105 [New!] Wisdom: 55 [New!] Rage: 0 [New!] Willpower: 600 Loyalty: Slightly High [Up from Low]

'Well, a lot of her stats are off the charts. I guess that's where a decent amount of her points go, on top of her weights that seem to be passively increasing her three core stats... Also... her loyalty... hmm... So, from Low to Slightly High? That's, what, an increase in three ranks? It's certainly higher than most people's loyalty.' Daz was quite pleased with this turnout.

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From all of his observations thus far, there were ten levels of loyalty. Starting from the worst and ending at the best, they went; None, Very Low, Low, Slightly Low, Average, Slightly High, High, Very High, Max, and, of course, Madison's unique Incalculable.

The top five loyalty ranks could be found almost exclusively amongst the keep's employees and advisors, with a few of them appearing amongst the soldiers after the most recent barracks upgrade. The middle ranks were rather rare, but not all that uncommon, however, the lower ranks were certainly the norm for Daz's citizens.

This made perfect sense in his opinion since he'd only been ruling them for a very short period of time. He had plenty of opportunities to create a populace loyal to him in the future, and earning Crusher's trust was a valuable step in that direction as far as Daz was concerned.

"Well? How loyal am I, Uriel?" Crusher asked with a toothy grin spread across her face.

"For citizens, you're in the top percentile, that's for sure. You're more loyal than Mu but less loyal than Lyle," Daz answered.

Crusher snorted. "That snake ain't loyal to you. I'd be careful of him were I wearing your shoes, Uriel."

"Trust me, I only have complete faith in Rose, Madison, and Rimmy," Daz replied emotionlessly.

"You an' that golem of yours... Speaking of him, is he ever gonna go back to being bright and blue? He's cool being all black and smokey, but, I dunno, he feels... off?" Crusher asked.

Daz nodded in response. "He will, just, it'll take a while. He's got a bad case of indigestion, you see."

"Hah, that so? Well, let's call it a night here. I gotta go mess with Dorian a bit and beat up my little band of misfits before I catch some sleep," Crusher said as she yawned lightly. "Not needing any more than 4-hours of shut-eye a day really fuckin' sucks. I end up pulling all-nighters way more than I did as a human since I get tired less often."

"Sounds annoying, and sure. I'll see you later," Daz replied, then the two parted ways.

----------------------------------------

Just as Daz was about to enter the keep, a voice called out to him.

"Hey, I made up my mind," the voice that could have only belonged to Greg said.

Turning around, Daz saw the former U.S Army general standing in the darkness with bags under his eyes. He still looked like shit, but he wasn't holding a bottle of alcohol and he had trimmed his stubble, which were both good signs.

"So you chose life?" Daz asked.

Narrowing his eyes, Greg sighed. "Yeah. I hate you, but you're right. Killing myself won't fix anything. It was a coward's way out, and the system seemed to agree. The fucking thing gave me a goal to not only evolve but also to perfectly execute at least five orders that you give me. If I need to be your slave and somehow fucking evolve to enter my son's eyes again, then fuck it. I'll be your damned slave."

Daz sighed and shook his head. "I don't need a slave, Greg. I need a general."

"Same difference. Either way, I'll be doing what you say without question," Greg spat back.

"I suppose so," Daz replied. "By the way, Greg, how many merit points do you have? Please tell me that you haven't pissed them all away on exotic alcohol, have you?"

"Hah. Like I'd need to. Fuck, even a bottle of store-brand whiskey is enough to keep me satisfied. I ain't a connoisseur, even if I can appreciate the finer brews out there," Greg answered almost in disgust at the idea that he was not only a drunk but a wastrel to boot. "I've got a little over 400,000 in the bank. I know, that's a pauper's pittance to you, but I made half of that from gambling in the auction's casino."

Daz nodded. "That's more than enough. I'm going to bed, so come ask for me here first thing tomorrow morning. Just to reassure you, I promise that if you do as I tell you to, you will undoubtedly begin mending the horrifically burnt and destroyed bridge that loosely connects you to Dorian."

"Fucking hell. No need to spell it out like that. I know I've fucked up. Well, I'll see you tomorrow then, Your Majesty," Greg grunted and then shoved his hands into his pockets before he spun around and started walking back towards the dungeon's entrance.

Daz silently watched him leave when a system notification grabbed both his and Greg's attention.

Congratulations! You have successfully completed the Ruler quest [Save Your Subject From Themselves]. Quest Rewards Greg Miller's loyalty towards you shall increase by two ranks. Greg Miller shall be granted a free B-rank skill. +15 stat points in all stats.

Off in the distance, Daz heard Greg grumble, "Ah... so he only knew because of a quest... Fuck... How do I get quests? A B-rank skill for just saying yes to an offer?"

Daz smiled wryly. "It's more complex than that," he whispered as he shook his head. "I guess he never saw the other rewards... Master Identification, but don't show his description, please, system. I'm not interested in reading about his past once again."

Greg's description was on the longer side, so if he could avoid having it fill up most of his vision, then that would be ideal.

Greg Miller's Status Basic Information Name: Greg Miller Species: Human (Beginning stages of evolving) Age: 52 Sex: Male Class: Assault Charger Affinity: Chaotic Neutral Description Omitted. Energies Lifeforce: 3,000/3,000 Stamina: 4,000/4,000 Stats Accuracy: 200(240) Dexterity: 250(300) Strength: 300(360) Charisma: 100 Endurance: 100 Wisdom: 50 Bravery: 50 Leadership: 50 Loyalty: Low [Up from None] The host has 2 unused stat slots.

Daz stroked his chin while he entered the keep and pondered over how exactly he'd handle Greg. "Well, first thing's first, we need to use up those stat slots. Maybe I can change his class too? I do want to hold onto the Class Reset Token for if any powerful survivors want to bargain for it like Andre, but maybe I'd get the most out of it by moving Greg's focus away from firearms..."

Reika floated down from her bed - Daz's halo - and crossed her arms before she hovered in front of the reaper's face as he walked. 'Are guns so horrible? We do not understand your aversion to using or endorsing them.'

"No, they aren't horrible, but they have many issues, the main one being how pricey they are to sufficiently upgrade," Daz claimed. "As an example, Hamson may be a shovel, but realistically, all he needs to be upgraded is his blade. A gun, on the other hand, needs not only the gun itself to be improved and strengthened but also the ammunition."

'Ammunition?' Reika asked with a confused look on her little demonic face.

"Yup. Regardless of how powerful the gun is, if it's only shooting out bog-standard bullets, then what good will it do? That could never scratch anyone with any decent defenses like Crusher, Maddy, Mu, or myself. Even if the gun could fire the bullets at, I dunno, let's say the speed of light, the bullets would likely turn to dust before hitting their targets. That's why I gave up on the tank. Admittedly, I sort of have a similar issue now that I have a dual class with shovels and crystals, but still, guns are not an ideal weapon unless you have an incredible source of merit points to properly invest into your weapon and ammo," Daz casually explained.

'Hmm... It's complicated, we suppose,' Reika commented as she held her chin adorably and returned to Daz's halo.

"Yeah. Well, I'll talk to Greg about it tomorrow. If he wants the Class Reset Token, he's going to have to work for it, and if not, well then, he's going to have to work even harder," Daz said in a clearly calculating manner.