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On the last Sunday of March, Rowan invited Viscardi, Flame, Lepastrina, Carla, and a special guest, for a prolonged lunch at the best restaurant in Louisville. For the Italians, it was dinner time.
“I’m so drunk I find you sexy,” the mercenary said at the end of the meal, looking intently at Rowan. The Griffinoids were quite humanoid, only with a mane of feathers instead of hair. Flame’s feathers were red, thus her name.
“Your offer is fancy. Yet, my vows to my wives prevent me from—”
“I’ve got you, and some. It was a joke. We clone ourselves through eggs.”
“Thank goodness, I had shivers in my legs.”
“Do you walays tuck in rhymes?” Lepastrina asked, his tongue struggling to pronounce the proper words because of the intake of alcohol.
“Talking plain is a crime,” the Merc replied.
Rowan mimicked zipping his lips. The sixth person at the table, a woman, laughed a polite laugh, with her mouth closed, covering it with the back of her hand. The Smugglers’ Queen was the tag she had over her head, but she looked like a middle-aged elegant Victorian lady.
“A mime, that’s a silent rhyme… I’ll give it to you, Viscardi, you made some interesting friends.”
Rowan extracted a package from his inventory. “The first part of our deal. Three mini-dungeon cores, and three real ones, one being level one hundred.” The woman took the parcel, making it disappear in her own inventory.
“Nice doing business together. Call me when you find the Sensor. This is for your daughter.” After offering the Vampire a carton of cigarettes, she went outside, and the rest followed. A shuttle was waiting, with the rest of the mercenaries inside. The Smuggler went in, but before the last Merc entered through the pilot’s hatch, Rowan tapped the Griffinoid’s shoulder.
“A moment, Flame. This gun, made by Cora, could be of help.” The Merc turned and stared at the gift box Rowan offered.
“Your kindness makes me yelp. If you ever need me for a gig, just call.”
“I will. Maybe this fall.”
They shook hands, and before ten seconds passed, the shuttle went off, without any roaring engine or noise. “The miracle of techno-magic,” the Vampire Lord said, like reading Rowan’s thoughts.
“Sorry, but I have to ask… how is it possible that you can eat real food?” Carla asked.
“Of course, I can eat real food,” Viscardi frowned. “What’s up with you?”
“They are normal people, but they can siphon HP from their adversaries and have blood magic,” Rowan explained. “The System translates things as close as possible to our own culture, but they are not the same.”
“If there are no more questions about my eating habits…” The Vampire touched a watch on his wrist and disappeared.
“Me and my big mouth… I knew he'd get offended…" Cara sighed.
"He'll get over it," Rowan assured her.
"See you at the show,” Carla said, helping the half-drunk Lepastrina keep his balance. “Can’t wait to see you perform.”
Rowan sighed as the two Italians teleported away, and then he activated his own device, only not for home, but for their mountain domain in Canada. The advanced perks are so cool, he thought as he summoned his armor and activated the thrusters installed by Cora, taking flight, and entering the Space a moment later.
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Sitting on the fireplace mantle, the mini-dungeon core looked like a snow globe, reflecting the weather outside. Rubbing his hands, the man arranged it to the left, then to the right, but finally moved it again to the center, sighing in disappointment.
“It’d go well with a pair of candlesticks.” Rowan exited the Space and took a seat on the couch. Taking two glasses from the tray on the coffee table, he poured Bourbon into both of them. “Sit,” he pointed to the couch across the coffee table. “I opened one of my bottles, it’s better than that garbage,” Rowan flickered his hand at a mini bar nearby.
Startled at first, the man sighed and obeyed, sitting down and taking a sip, and then another one. “It’s… very good,” he acknowledged. “Can I finish it?”
“What, you think it’s your last drink? That depends. I want to hear your story before I decide.”
“You found me, and don’t know the story?”
Rowan shrugged. “I didn't care for the drama, I wanted to find the Neeks’ Boss. I'll find out the story now. Peacefully, or not.”
“How did you find me?” the man asked. "I mean… if you're going to kill me, please indulge my curiosity. Last request stuff."
“I’ll answer you this one question, then you better start talking. First, we didn’t notice any rival teams using the Sensor in our area, which meant it was used in Asia or Europe. Then, I got suspicious when the former US states agreed to stop fighting each other and work together, more or less. Cora, my wife—”
“I know who she is,” the man nodded.
“She told me the chance they did that by themselves was zero. Both their old and current governments are made of idiots. So, somebody was interfering. Not for the worse, I give you that. Finally, we tracked the flight patterns of rich and influential people. I had no idea you guys were so many… But only a handful were connected to politicians in all states, traveled to Asia, fewer had access to submarines, and only one was in Virginia on the Awakening day, fifty miles from where I cleared my first dungeon. Your turn.”
“Clever,” the man said, taking a sip and pointing to the fireplace. “That core fell near me, on my golf course, while I was alone. I touched and claimed it before it activated. That was possible because it was only a level ten, without any monster inside. A learning dungeon, like detention, for our kids. You stay in it until you do your homework. It transformed into a town core as I picked it up, but I couldn’t expand it.”
“Yes, you need a special perk for it,” Rowan said. Leaning back on the couch, he inhaled the scent of the Bourbon, nodding to the other to continue his story.
“I found out only later. I did get an INT class, though, allowing me to access the information contained in the core. That’s how I managed to build a Technoforge and fabricate Neektech.”
“You mean the Rezz tanks and the rest? Cora said they do everything a Town Core does, only worse. How come you didn’t activate any of the cores you found? I mean… why didn't approach me, or… I dunno… Korea? Your submarine did a lot of diving there. If I'd been you, I would have offered some of the cores I found in exchange for activating one for me.”
The man on the sofa shrugged, grimacing and rotating the glass in his hand to let the Bourbon breathe and spread its oils for a better nosing. “For multiple reasons. Safety in anonymity. Half of Rome's Awakened and those from Vladivostok would agree with me that attracting attention is not a smart thing to do. Waiting to see how things develop too…" the man paused, taking a sip. "Don't you find it strange that a dungeon transforms into a town? What if it changes back, or implodes, or—"
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“It doesn't change back. We made sure when we wrote the System.” A third man appeared out of thin air and took a seat on the couch, near Rowan. Dressed in a black suit, the Warlord looked now like a savvy businessman in his forties.
"Do you know each other?" Rowan asked. The billionaire shook his head, befuddled. "Meet The Warlord. A dungeon and a… half-nuts guy. But not so bad, in the end."
"Oh, so you did notice my quests were meant to help," The Warlord smiled.
"Yeah. Take a glass and pour yourself some Bourbon," Rowan gestured. "Or spawn some monster to do it for you."
"You… w-wrote the System?" the billionaire asked, putting his glass on the table, maybe afraid to spill it, because of his shaking hands.
“Yes. Along with my friends. We each put a bit of our personality and soul into it. You see, rich person, a long time ago, every Awakening was a Hard Apocalypse. Monsters, Dungeons, and Demon Lords were everywhere. A Town Core was the best protection, and the strongest incentive to clear dungeons,” the Warlord said, taking on Rowan's offer and getting himself a drink, then raising his glass. “Cheers. Go on, I’ll just sit quietly and follow this fascinating exchange.”
“So, in the end, what’s your game?” Rowan asked, looking the billionaire in the eyes.
“My game?” the man laughed. “It's not a game. I want Humanity’s survival, adapting the new powers and technology to help our society. Get rid of the—”
“Competition? That’s why you attacked us?”
“No, get rid of the crazy aliens. That's another reason I waited instead of activating a core. And I didn’t exactly attack you. The Special Forces incursion and the invasion were the President’s ideas.”
“Rest in peace,” the Warlord poured a few drops on the floor.
"So now you play the 'I'm the good guy' part?" Rowan frowned.
“No. I did a lot of stupid things too. Kidnapping your friends to blackmail the Sensor out of you, that was me. And the ambush near Gladsheim Peak, me and Alberta’s military.”
“Sorry?” Rowan frowned.
“Canada had its own civil war. Alberta took over most of British Columbia and Southeastern Alaska before the Yukon and Alaska joined and pushed them back using a few nukes, then went for Vancouver. I allied with Alberta and helped them stabilize the situation in the end. You didn't know?”
“I don't follow outside news if it's not directly related to us. Filtering the noise, Cora says, and she's right. So that’s why Viscardi took Vancouver.”
“He was sure the locals would vote for him,” the Warlord nodded. “Better the Mafia, than crazies with nukes or Neektech.”
“Can’t blame them,” Rowan shrugged. “Sorry, go on.”
“To my defense, my plan was to capture the elves, not to kill them. However my subordinates were nervous and contacted Vladivostok behind my back. The Russians agreed to help, but they also wanted to go all in, to make a point."
"War is about balance," The Warlord said slowly. "To timid, and you lose, to aggressive, you lose as well. The Neeks imagined their computer skills would help them fight."
"Everyone has a plan until they get hit in the face," Rowan said.
"While the Russians tried to solve every problem by hitting it with a bigger hammer," the Warlord concluded. "Man, this thing is good," he exhaled, pouring himself more Bourbon.
“If I may ask…,” the billionaire timidly raised two fingers. “What happened to my Neeks… the ones you captured in Needles?”
“Handed them over to Viscardi. There's a guy there, Vito, who's… let's say talented in interrogating people. They executed those who directly shot at my kids and I think they're using the rest as forced labor to tamper with the slot machines in Vegas. Look, I don’t really care. If somebody wants to be safe, they don’t attack me, plain and simple. Let’s head back. What did you mean by crazy aliens, the Necromancer?”
“And not only him,” the billionaire nodded. “There’s more. Half of the Traipenent’s crew survived the teleporting. They—"
"You mean Cora's folks are still alive?" Rowan gasped. "This is wonderful news!"
"I don't know who's who. They landed a few miles south of my place. I think they were planning to get back to the ship, but an Awakened town appeared and blocked their way, in mere hours. You know what I’m talking about. Then nukes started flying and the US army appeared all over the place. The Cat Folks had a few cores with them and a tech that could get the convicts out. "They made a deal with one of them, the Necromancer. He went around, scouting, we met by accident, talked, and I offered them transportation and a safe place to hide, here in Canada, in exchange for a share of the cores and information about how the System works, this kind of stuff. Between us, we did manage to find a few cores, but not the one that mattered most to them, the hyperdrive.”
“You mean the Racing Dungeon?"
"Yes, they The aliens managed to expand four dungeons, linking them together in a cluster. If they add the Hyperdrive dungeon, it can behave like a spaceship."
“Did you know anything of this?” Rowan asked the Warlord.
The man turned his palms up, and forwarded his lower lip, showing a most befuddled expression. “I had no idea, neither about him, nor the aliens and their dungeons. They hid really well."
"What happened next?” Rowan turned his attention to the billionaire.
“The Necromancer spied on you on several occasions, he can stay in the Space for long periods.”
“That’s bad…” Rowan said.
“We didn't communicate very much, so I don't know all the details about his whereabouts. At some point, we both sent a team to take the sensor from you, but while mine failed, he succeeded. Then, he gave it to me, and with it, I found eighteen cores between Korea and Japan. I gave them six, to serve as fuel for their ship, and kept twelve, to activate on Earth once they’d be gone."
"I found fifteen in your vault," Rowan said.
"Yes, with the ones found before that. The problem is they badly need the Racing Dungeon. Without it, they're stuck here. So, their plan is to attack Elkins tomorrow evening, to steal the Hyperdrive.”
"Good luck with that," Rowan laughed.
"I’ve heard enough, and so did the System,” The Warlord interjected. “It's allowing me to take care of this. You have cleared a Secret Quest Chain, by identifying the Neeks’ Boss and obtaining enough cores to be sure your planet can't break into smaller pieces. Except if you go mad and activate all of them, of course. Reward: two AP per real core, and twelve levels. You are now level ninety-eight. Your Town also earned ten levels and is now sixty. New Quest, this one’s from me. Decide the Neeks’ Boss's fate. Secret reward.”
"Err… what about the red text, man?" Rowan complained. "This is underwhelming."
"The quest has a timer of five minutes."
After taking a few seconds to think, Rowan went to the mantle and touched the core. A second later, it vanished, melting in the air. He stood there, immobile, for a minute, before returning to the couch.
“I turned the resort into an Awakened one, and the locals voted for the takeover. You’re under arrest, within its limits, for the rest of your life. If you attempt to leave, you guess what'll happen.
"You can keep this hotel and its assets, we'll take over your fortune and decide later what to do with it. Hear me well. You deserve to die. You killed people. My people. But you also saved many lives around the US, stopping the infighting. That I don’t get myself involved with the non-awakened zones doesn’t mean I don't care, it's just that trying to do too much often leads to worse results.”
The Warlord applauded, only a few claps, but his serious expression showed he didn't mean to laugh at Rowan's expenses. “It’s fair. I’ll make sure he keeps at his word. One level and one AP for making the judgment, the same for sparing his life. I, The Warlord appreciate you showed mercy, for mercy is a battle.”
“Can't you use the red text too?” Rowan pleaded. "It doesn't feel like a real quest like this."
“Tough luck. I, The Warlord wish you to get over your disappointment because disappointments are a battle. Now… we're getting to the real deal, and trust me, it's a big deal. You beat me in a game of wits and found the Neek Supreme before I did. I'm not omnipotent and had to run around all your planet, but these are only excuses. You deserve a prize, and I’ll give you a choice. Do you wish for me to leave your planet, or to stay and offer you more challenges?”
Rowan snorted, then filled the glasses again, and then left the almost empty bottle on the table, with a nervous gesture. “Do you want me to tell you where to shove your prize? I have no choice but to tell you to stay. The bad guys out there are afraid of you. I don't want to have to fight some Insurance Companies sending Mercs after us to take back the cores.”
“I understand…" The warlord massaged his forehead. "Well… once consumed, they won't have any more reason to come. But for the record, you're strong enough to go toe to toe with some mercenaries, and not enough trouble for any serious planet to invade."
"Then I'll let you decide," Rowan said. "You like it here? Stay. You want to go? Go."
"Of course I want to stay here," The Warlord said with vehemence. "This planet will be fun for centuries. But you’re right, my offer was inappropriate. I’ll think about something else. Now I’m forwarding you two System-issued quests, to which I added my own rewards. Here’s the text, since you like it better.”
Solo Quest: Clear the four-dungeon cluster before tomorrow at midnight and capture as many cores as possible (from 10). Reward: 1 skill point/core. You are not allowed to bring other people on this quest. Hidden reward from the Warlord if you capture all the cores.
Quest: Stop the impending attack on Elkins before tomorrow at midnight. Rewards: Continued existence. 10 Skill Points.
“Now,” the Warlord continued, “you’re level one hundred, and it's time you chose your build… Do you have another bottle? This stuff's really good.”