Emma and Jake had been walking their way closer to their destination for a week now. They had gotten into small fights at least three times a day; most of the time, Emma would take on the enemies by herself, with Jake only providing support if things went sideways for her. Emma had managed to gain quite a few levels in her class; as a result, her grade level was at 45. It seemed the system would award more levels if the fight was more intense. So, Jake had held back on stepping in where Emma was in danger and let her take injuries so that her levels would rise quicker. Emma knew he was doing this and agreed with it, even going so far as to tell Jake to let more enemies attack her as it was also helping her understand her skills better. By the time they entered the Strzelecki Ranges, Emma had finally combined her skills, creating a new skill at epic rarity. She also gained 20 levels in her class and somehow gained 5 in her profession as well, bringing her grade level to 47. This gave Jake the idea of sitting down and going through his skills later.

“So, this is where the resistance fighters were before the system changed everything.” “Yes, but I've been thinking about that. I have a bad feeling that the whole resistance movement was orchestrated by the government at the time. I think we were all being played by those who were in charge at the time.” “What makes you think that?” “The last mission I did, everyone knew from the start that the government knew about it before we did, and when I brought it up with my commanders, they just told me to shut up and do my job. That mission took the life of my whole team.” “I'm sorry about your team.” “Don't worry about it,” Jake said. “Where are we going to set up this settlement? I was thinking if it is going to be a settlement, maybe it would be good to have it at the edge of the ranges so there's some flat space to make building easier.” “That sounds fine by me. I think if I place it here, it might just reach the old resistance camp. I would like to have that within my territory.” “Maybe we should go a little bit further in to be certain. We don't need a lot of open space.” “No, this will do just fine. I've had enough of walking, so here we shall stay, with bushland behind us and farmland in front.” Jake decided that now was a good time to set his plan in motion.

Jake first needed a safe place to return to, so he took out his settlement token and infused his will into it. As it activated, a red bubble appeared and began expanding. In Jake's mind, he felt some unknown pressure push back on it, but to its detriment, it failed. Jake could pinpoint its location, so looking over at Emma, he said, “About 50 km in that direction, there is something that tried to push back against the bubble. Could you go and scout it out? If it is friendly, bring it back here, and if it's not, do what you think is the right thing.”

A notification popped up in front of Emma:

Quest from the Demon of the Past Find the suspicious creature and bring it back. If it is friendly, reward: +10 profession levels. Bonus reward for receiving your first actively given quest: +5000 points on completion of the quest.

“Holy shit, I just got a quest,” Emma said before leaving to complete her new quest.

Jake was stunned for a bit before concentrating back on the bubble. It had finally reached its full size, and then a second bubble expanded out, pushing out to the full size in an instant.

Notification: You have claimed a territory. Number of territories claimed: two—one in the newly integrated Delta Quadrant and the other is in the desolate zone of the Zaider Quadrant. Title gained: Lord

“What the fuck, how can I already have a territory, and where is this desolate zone?” Jake thought about it for a bit before realizing it had to be Erica who made the territory; she must have got a token as well. Jake continued reading the notification, not thinking more about the issue.

Title: Lord As a lord, you have the first and last word on any dispute within your territories. You gain the ability to found a new galaxy power in your galaxy. All new members of the galaxy power, minus the founder Jake Everval, will receive the skill and the title: Path of Shadows (rare). You hide in the shadows and strike fast. Cost of use: arcane energy and stamina. Create a barrier around yourself to hinder vision and dash from shadow to shadow. Gives 5% to damage if the target is unaware of your attack.

Title: Member of the (enter name) +10 points to grade level advancements and reduces levels needed to get next grade level by -5

You will receive the ability to increase the mana and arcane energy within your territories by drawing in the energy from the surroundings. Warning: This could turn the area into a desolate zone if your territories are set to continuously drain energy.

“As you already have an active territory, would you like to implement the same taxation system? Yes/No”

“That could be useful. I think I should let someone else pick the name. And I suppose if it was Erica that made the taxation system, it should be fine to implement it.”

Jake selected yes, and a new notification appeared.

Notification: Merchants will be required to pay a 5% tax on any profession materials sold within any claimed zone. Tax will be paid in the form of arcane power. Arcane power will be stored within the claimed zones. As the lord, you can use the stored arcane energy as you please, be it for weapons or to release it back into space to increase the density of the area over time. As this is a newly integrated zone, the tax will be paid in mana if the merchant doesn't have arcane energy.

“As the lord of your territories, the new taxation system will be implemented in all of your territories. And if you create your galaxy power, it will be implemented in all of your territories.”

“That seems fair, I guess.”

Some time passed before Emma got back, followed by a small group of cats in humanoid form and a larger group of dogs in humanoid form.

“Who are these people, Emma?” “They were wanting to speak to you about something.” “And what about the two you have tied up?” “I found them unconscious on my way back. They were probably the ones you sent me out for.” “Release them; there's no need for this oppression.” Jake knew by the fact that the territory wasn't trying to harm them that they were no threat to him. But on that note, he could tell that one of the cats was definitely wanting to cause him harm, as his territory was trying to attack her. If it wasn't for Jake holding it back, she would be in big trouble right now. Jake pointed at the cat lady and said, “I suggest you leave, as I am sick of holding the defense system back from killing you.” The cat lady just looked at him. “Do you take me for a fool? You can't kill me; I'm at least 20 grade levels above you.” Jake just looked at her. “Fine.” “I knew you were bluffing; you humans are all the same. The only thing you're good for is to be our slaves—” The cat lady didn't get to finish what she was saying, as all of her bodily fluids exited her body, followed by all of her mana. She now represented the power that they were dealing with. “I would suggest if any of you hold any ill intent towards me or my companion, to leave now and don't come back.”

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To Jake's surprise, not a single one of them left, not even the two that were tied up. “Now that that's dealt with, shall we proceed with the decision? What brings you here?” An old-looking dog man stepped forward and spoke. “We are asking for asylum in your territory. We have no demand or requests other than to be able to live free.” “Your asylum has been granted. Now, let's get to the real business. Which of you would like to be part of the ruling council? There are five seats, and I am willing to give two seats to you.” The old man was astonished. He just wanted to keep his people safe, but this was too much for him to take in. This man, in the time it takes to scratch a flea, had not only given them safety by removing their biggest threat but also gave them a new home and political power. Holding two seats of five would put them in good standing in the future.

Jake, on the other hand, didn't even realize he had done any of that. He just wanted to get someone to do all the boring work for him, and this group's arrival was just a perfect opportunity to palm off some of his burdens.

“The old man looked at the old cat lady beside him and said, 'We will accept your offer.'” The next moment, a notification popped up in front of the two elders.

Notification: Do you accept the role of temporary members of the ruling council? Yes/No

The two selected yes and were surprised by the information they received on the settlement and the taxation system, the bonuses they would receive, and the ones others would get.

“May I ask, what is the settlement called? It just says 'Settlement of Jake Everval' in the place of its name.” “I haven't given it a name yet,” Jake said. “Do you have a name in mind? It's just it really needs a name.” “I don't really care about a name; you can pick, just don't put 'new' in front of anything.” “Okay, we will get to work on that for you. And we will start making shelters for everyone to rest.” “I would like to set up a defense unit. Do you have any ideas on who would be good to talk to in your group about that?” Emma said. The old man pointed to the two that she captured earlier. “This is Erin and Kiki; they are our best scouts and should be able to help you with that.”

Before Emma left, she looked at Jake and asked, "Do you have anything else you need from me?” Jake was about to say no, but then he remembered he did need her help with something. “Yes, actually, I need those two as well, and you two. I'm going to set up a mercenary group, and I will need your help with the specifics of the group. I only have a few rules that I would like to add, so I really need your help with that.”

As they were talking, Jake got a notification he wasn't expecting.

Ding! Evolution quest complete

Universal Constant Interface Name: Jake Everval Race: Demon of the Past. Unique Grade: G Information on G grade: G upgrades to the next grade at level 300 above previous. You get 1 grade level per 20 class or profession level. This is the starting grade for all humanoid life forms in the open universe; there are no grade skills granted at this grade.

Level 100. Levels required till next grade evaluation: 400 total

Class: Trooper Shadow Mage (common) Class level: 0

Profession: Arcane Smith Profession level: 113

Stats points available: 497,218

Mana: 50,323,360 Arcane: 50,423,500 Stamina: 50,323,200 Health: 50,633,360

Strength: 1116 Agility: 5,031,225 Intelligence: 5,042,350 Wisdom: 5,032,336 Perception: 110,637 Integrity: 5,063,336

Jake mumbled under his voice as the others were arguing, “Not a single level.”

After a lot of back and forth, Jake and the others decided on a complete breakdown of the role and limitations of the mercenary group and a name for the settlement.

Settlement name: Freedom. This was not what Jake would've picked, but he gave away his option on the matter.

The name gave the connotation that the land would be open to all, and there would be no overbearing rules to restrict the inhabitants from living their lives. Of course, there would be rules, as no society would continue to exist without rules.

As for the name of the mercenary group, that was picked by Emma, with no objections after she threatened them. But the rest of it was agreed upon by all present.

Demons Hand Mercenary Group Rules:

* Accepts all species into its ranks

* Members must hold no hostilities to the founder, Jake Everval

* Members will be ranked on merit

* There will be a test for every rank increase

* Levels will be given on merit

* Members of the mercenary group are not restricted on the jobs they take and can take jobs that go against the interests of other members

* For each rank increase, members of the combat path will be granted more resources from weapons to spaceships

* For each rank increase, members of the non-combatants path will receive more political power

* All actions taken by members will be solely their own, no support from the mercenary group will be given unless a job has been posted for the group to take as a support job

Ranking system:

* Unranked: level 1 to 3

* Iron rank: level 1 to 10

* Bronze rank: level 1 to 20

* Silver rank: level 1 to 30

* Gold rank: level 1 to 40

* Diamond rank: level 1 to 50

* Demon's Hand rank: level 1 to 5

* Demon rank: Restricted, can only be held by true demons

Ranking for non-combatants:

* Unranked Official: level 1 to 5

* Junior Official: level 1 to 5

* Supervising Official: level 1 to 5

* Senior Official: level 1 to 5

* Grand Official: level 1 to 5

* Demon's Hand Official: level 1 to 5

* Demon Official: Restricted, can only be held by true demons

Members will receive:

* Skill: Path of Shadows (rare) - You hide in the shadows and strike fast. Cost of use: arcane energy and stamina. Create a barrier around yourself to hinder vision and dash from shadow to shadow. Gives 5% to damage if the target is unaware of your attack

* Title: Member of the (Demon's Hand Mercenary Group) - +10 points to grade level advancements and reduces levels needed to get next grade level by -5

Motto: Freedom through adversity

Bio: This Group was created by a group of beastmen and humans. After forming a base of operations in the Strzelecki Ranges in the safe zone created by Jake Everval. The main branch is located on the planet known as Earth, with branch locations in all territories belonging to Jake Everval and sub-branches to be founded in other locations throughout the universe.