“Fuck that guy. Good job Cal.” Marshall said.
Marshall channeled his bio-energy to help Calvin’s painful recovery. His body had been broken, and broken again during that fight. Calvin needed some better armor.
“It’s not over yet. I’m going to make sure this is finished.” Calvin said before leaping off the side of the mountain.
He fell like a stone. The wind rushed past him, its force pushing against his body as he aimed his feet towards the ground. Just a hundred feet before impact, he reversed his momentum with his boots and not so gently smashed into the earth below. He’d work on his landing.
At the bottom of the mountain, Knox’s body lay nearly obliterated, yet miraculously, he clung to a thread of life. Every bone in his body was jelly, having been shattered into thousands upon thousands of fragments. Blood pooled from his mouth as he stared up blankly at Calvin.
Reaper had seen Calvin’s rapid descent and sprinted over, expecting the worst.
As Knox attempted to speak, a gurgling, rasping noise escaped his lips. Calvin responded by bending down, positioning the tip of his spear at Knox’s throat.
“No more talking Knox. I hoped to find you dead down here, but I’m honestly happy that you get to look me in the eyes one last time. You lost. You were nothing but a weak, impotent piece of shit and you’ll die a meaningless death here in the tutorial. You’ll be forgotten.”
Calvin pulled out his Obsidian spear and spiked it through Knox’s face and straight into the ground. He removed Knox’s armor and item pouch, then turned to Reaper.
“Light him up.”
Reaper understood the task. As Calvin moved away, Reaper released an orb above his head, and seconds later an ion strike rained down from the heavens. Super-heated lances of blue light pierced through the clouds with whistling shrieks that shattered the otherwise quiet environment. One by one, the beams slammed into Knox’s body, instantly vaporizing the flesh, reducing the body to its component atoms as each beam slammed home.
The only remnants of Knox’s terrible legacy were a smoking crater and the last pieces of his equipment. Calvin had considered the notion of his equipment burning alongside him, erasing every remnant of his being, but he realized it would be a senseless act. People could use it, and if it saved someone’s life in the future, then it was worth it.
Calvin gave Reaper a friendly pat on the back while they both stood in silence at the edge of the crater. Looking weary, he lifted his gaze towards the majestic mountain. The once vibrant runic script had almost completely vanished, leaving barely any evidence of its existence on the mountain.
Freya pinged him from the plateau.
Void. Captured.
Good job girl. I’ll be right there. Calvin sent back.
“Thanks for your help down here. Can you hook up with Tank and Crash and head back? They had a corruption stone land in town.”
“On it.” Reaper said. He whistled and his hawk drone flew off from his shoulder and zoomed off in one direction, he ran in the other.
Just five minutes later, Calvin arrived at the top of the mountain.
Amy’s bola had ensnared Void, and she pressed a pair of daggers against his throat. His back was pressed up against a large boulder and Freya stood guard in front of him, with her teeth bared. If he tried even the slightest of tricks, he’d be torn apart a million different ways.
“Where’d you find him?” Calvin asked.
“He didn’t or couldn’t portal very far. There was an alcove on the other side of that wall over there. Looks like somewhere they’ve been holed up for a while. There’s a desk, some books, and some bedrolls in there.” Ian said, “Caught him with my magic eyes.”
“Good work.” Calvin said. He lifted the tip of his spear and pressed it against Void’s throat. “What were you doing here?”
Void only looked at him, but stayed silent. Calvin pressed the spear harder against his throat, drawing blood.
“Answer me.”
More silence. He was bleeding out, and Amy’s toxins were still going to work on him. He wasn’t corrupted.
“Why are you working with The Corruptors.”
Void scoffed. “The Corruptors? What a pitiful name to call your God.”
“Not my God. So you worship them… it? What are they?”
“Worship? No. I am them.” Void seethed as he bared his teeth in defiance at Calvin.
“Really? You’re the almighty being that threatens the existence of life in the multiverse? I guess we’re stronger than I thought.”
“You’re nothing. You’re a miserable little bug, scrabbling for scraps thrown down by your better—“
Marshall ended that little statement with a fist to the side of Void’s head.
“Let’s try that again.” Marshall said. “I’ll ask it slowly so your tiny little brain can understand it. Who. Are. You?”
“I am one of many. An agent in service of the purification.”
“Enlighten us.” Calvin said, “What purification?”
“You call us The Corruptors. You do the bidding of The System. How can you be so blind. The System is the corruption. The entity you refer to as ‘The Corruptor’, we know as the Azari’Ha. A being who was infected by your so called system eons ago.”
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“And so you want to kill the system?”
“Of course, and all that has been tainted by it.”
Calvin placed the butt of his spear on the ground and crouched right next to Void, his face only inches away. “You see, Void. That’s where I have a problem. I do believe this integration is fucked up. But I was at least given the choice to survive it. Your kind are consuming entire galaxies. You don’t offer that choice.”
“And the multiverse is better off for it.”
Turning away from Void, Calvin stood tall, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon. He looked out toward the vast horizon. Olympus was down there, perhaps still struggling with the corruption stone. It was a town full of people. His people. Calvin’s gaze fell upon the shimmering lake, its surface reflecting the golden hues of the setting sun. His eyes swept across the sprawling mountain ranges in the distance. He cast his gaze along the boundary of the expansive savannah.
Looking out in the other direction, there were snow-capped peaks, alpine valleys, roaring rivers. He took a deep breath and turned back to Void.
“This is my world. We may not be on Earth for now, but we will be, and this place is coming with us. Down there, people aren’t just surviving. They’re thriving, even in the face of the horrors you tried to bring down on us. I don’t care if it’s The Corruptors, or monsters or unspeakable evil from beyond. Anything, or anyone that tries to take this away will be stopped.”
“You can never sto—“
Calvin bisected Void with a wind blade. The two halves of his body fell apart from each other, sloshing on the rocky plateau before turning to dust and scattering in the wind.
“C’mon guys. Let’s get their shit and get back home.”
“Already ahead of you boss.” Marshall said while patting his pouch.
Calvin quickly searched Void’s pockets, snatched his loot pouch and prompted Ian to open a doorway back home.
Moments later, they returned to Olympus, and Calvin was relieved to find a relatively calm atmosphere. The citizens moved with a sense of urgency, but there was no panic in the air. There were no signs of monsters emerging from magical doorways, no corruption threatening their base, and everything was functioning as usual.
He could also see that Tank’s crew had made it back. They were talking with Seth and Andy nearby the now inert corruption stone.
“Everything good here?” Calvin asked as he approached the group.
“It’s great actually. This material is interesting.” Seth said. His drones skittered about the surface as he held some instrument up to the stone, apparently taking readings of some sort.
Calvin examined the stone with concern, “Is it safe?” he asked.
“There are no traces of corruption present.” Andy chimed in.
“Good. Well, there’s more where that came from. We’ll be heading back out that way. Tank, I initiated the process to take your old settlement. I was worried the stone would weaponize it somehow. There’s four hours left on the timer. It’s up to you. I can hand over the keys if you want to go back, or we can dismantle it for the token and upgrade Olympus.”
“Take it. If you’ll have us, Olympus is our home now.”
“We’re happy to have you. Thanks for all of your help. Andy, any reason to keep the settlement instead of dismantling?”
“There are only marginal benefits to keeping it a settlement. Transportation between settlements will eventually become easier. With its distance in close proximity, that is only a minor benefit. It would require resources to maintain and defend. The upgrade token would serve you better here in Olympus.” Andy said.
“Alright. Then let’s get some rest, Marshall get over to the pharmacy and get those wounds checked out or something. I’ll hand in—“
He was about to say ‘the missive’. But he panicked briefly. They hadn’t actually killed any ‘Scourge’ unless Knox was the scourge. But that wasn’t right. The missive was given before the corruption ritual even started and Knox was off terrorizing Tank’s settlement.
Calvin quickly popped open the missive menu.
Seek Out The Scourge Of The Whispering Peaks - Upgraded
The scourge of the whispering peaks was annihilated through the effects of unchecked corruption. Those working for the corruptors aimed to annihilate the system seed that you have been initialized under. As true champions of the Aetherian Collective, you have removed the corrupting influence and banished it. Your reward has been upgraded.
IMMEDIATE:
All citizens of Olympus - 5000xp
All group members who actively participated in the quest - 25000xp
All Citizens of Olympus 50,000 credits
Additional (Platinum or above) class evolution options available for all citizens of Olympus.
System Credit Exchange
Special Construction Rewards x2
Inert Dungeon Core x1
UPON CONCLUSION OF TUTORIAL:
Settlement “Aetherian” modified upgraded to “Aetherian Capital” modifier.
Resource Cache (Cosmic)
Calvin’s mind froze in shock.
Marshall waved his hand in front of Calvin’s face.
“Hey buddy, you check out on us there? You good?”
Marshall went the extra mile and placed a healing palm on Calvin’s shoulder.
The entire group suddenly paused as the level notifications popped up, their minds equally frozen in shock.
Calvin shook himself back to reality and popped open the reward screen for everyone to see.
“Holy…” Marshall said, “I don’t know what half that shit is but DAMN.”
“Andy, can you give us a run down on all of this?” Calvin asked.
“I’m afraid some of these topics are—“ Andy started to say before pausing.
“Interesting. My restrictions on discussing these matters have been lifted. I have also been instructed to inform you that you have gone above and beyond and have shown exemplary performance. The challenges will not get easier but you have proven yourselves and have earned additional privileges.”
“Is this sort of thing normal?” Calvin asked.
“No. I have no record of direct system intervention like this.”
A surge of pride blew like a wind through the group. They had achieved something so monumental that the system itself sought to reward them. They knew they were awesome, but this all but confirmed it. They were bona fide badasses.
“As the restrictions have been lifted, I will explain. The system credit exchange is a special tutorial reward granted only during exceptional performance. This will allow you to purchase system generated items with credits before the tutorial ends. Typically, credits are traded between factions through an exchange outside of the tutorial, and only items created or discovered by those factions would appear.”
“As for special construction rewards. In your base management menu you will find two structures not normally available to you. These will be system enhanced structures with special purposes.”
“An inert dungeon core. This is a very rare reward. You will need a person with a class related to dungeon cores, many exist. The type of class determines what they can do with this core. A dungeon core is an incredible resource as it will allow Olympus to create, grow and evolve a dungeon, owned by Olympus. The opportunities are endless. They primarily exist as a place to train and grow in power. Loot is system generated and great wealth and power can be extracted from within. You can also generate income by offering access to other factions. The core can continue to grow and evolve, continuing to offer challenges and rewards for even the strongest among you.”
“I cannot offer details on the Aetherian Capital modifier. This is not something I have in my records. I suspect when this is granted to Olympus, I will receive the necessary information regarding it.”
Marshall put his arm around Calvin’s shoulders. “Man, I knew we did the right thing hanging out with you. The guys told me you smelled funny and we should ditch you back when we first met. I’m glad I talked them out of it!”
“Whooo!” Marshall screamed out “Anyway, I’m off. Catch you all later!”
Calvin waved him off as he jogged away toward Liara’s.
“Hey Andy, one last thing. What happens to the people who evolved already? Did they miss out on the reward?”
“No, in fact, they’re in a better position. They will evolve again at level 100 and the additional options provided at that time will be even stronger.”
“Perfect. Thanks. Alright everyone, let’s get some rest. We’ll check out the new stuff we got and then we’ll get a group together to head back to Tank’s old place. We need to scoop up that rune, and get Seth some shiny new rocks.”