---James---
The rest of James’s trip was uneventful. He ran through his second night, looping around the planet with the barrier as his only landmark.
At one point, James tried punching the barrier as hard as he could, but all the curiosity got him was a sore hand. Something about a far from unstopable force coming up against an immovable object. You’d think the barrier would have rippled a bit or cracked and healed to help patch James’s ego…but no such luck. It was like he punched a brick wall pre system.
Finally after nearly a day of running James spotted several coloured lumps on the horizon. From that point it took a few more minutes before the lumps became recognizable shapes - considering how random they were it probably took longer for James to figure it out than necessary.
The lumps were structures. Multi-coloured and shaped structures distantly budding up against a large ocean. The ocean behind them was almost invisible with how flat the land was – it was like every time James jumped, the ocean played peekaboo, revealing itself there on the horizon and then disappearing once again as he landed.
As he neared the settlement, James spotted what looked like an incredibly fat tree sitting nearly directly beside a perfectly matt black box the size of a small two story house.
There was what looked like a glass teepee covered in paint and a mound of the grass bent sharply into walls and a ceiling – like someone had made a house but textured it with grasslands.
Around these eye catching structures there were smaller tents and foundations.
Nothing meshed. That was the big take away.
All the buildings were a few dozen meters apart and offset in almost purposefully clashing positions – as if a town planner had come around and pointed out the optimal position for streets and then all the building creators purposefully went against that in spite.
As James paused and took the circus in, he heard a small pop and felt a movement impact his skin.
Two eyes were suddenly clinging to his shoulder. Two fleshy eyes linking with lines of light like some eldritch Epaulette. A flicker of warmth spread through James’s senses as he tensed and then realized who they were.
The pair silently flexed and played skipping rope with the light threads. Half words and shapes formed as they whipped these lines about the lines becoming steadily more tangled as they worked as if she were knotting string.
James squinted at the light show and then contorted his head and neck to better see the eyes themselves.
One eye was grey, almost dead looking, the other a vibrant gold. Together, over the course of thirty or so seconds, they silently twisted light into a knotted three dimensional loudspeaker.
Suddenly, with a rippling pulse, James could hear Maddy’s voice – loud and clear as if she were standing just beside him.
“Hey! Good to see you. I’ve been looking for you ever since you triggered my talisman. 'Think I have to revise that spell a bit, all I really got was that you triggered it. Maybe I should be surprised it even activated outside of my domain. Anyways, come back towards the barrier and look for the lodge-style house. I’ll try and gather myself a bit and we can talk.” The loudspeaker continued to vibrate as if it were a cartoon speaking and then broke apart as soon as Maddy stopped. The gold eye popped off, disappearing into the grass and conjuring a line that roughly bent into an arrow of light.
James turned and began walking towards the barrier following his guide. He split his focus between a speedy jog and glancing about at the surrounding people.
The humans looked cagy. Mistrustful eyes peered out of tents or were attached to crossed arms and frowns. One or two people had distinct features – one girl’s hair glowed and floated about her head and another person looked like a photoshopped model his muscles so prominent they looked fake and slightly offputting. There was even a man with plants growing out of his skin the vines and leaves ripping out of skin and tucking into his clothes.
Plenty of magical effects both big and small, and yet somehow it was less crazy than an aether city had been. The amount of aesthetic augmentation there had been over the top all the time.
It didn’t take long to find the house Maddy had mentioned – a sort of hunting cabin with so much greenery on it the wood was barely visible.
Was this their aesthetic? Or just a side effect of Maddy’s life affinity?
Above the door, another one of Maddy’s eyes rolled in greeting and James had barely spotted the fleshy security system before the door was already swinging open in invitation.
James stepped in.
Inside the cabin there was a relatively empty shack. Hanging off the ceiling a bulbous plant dripped glowing drops of water. Wet and casting ripples of light as each drop fell the plant…mostly functioned as a ceiling light. It passed by cool and went into annoying territory if James was honest. The light kept dimming and growing every few seconds.
To the left of the front door a gold bed held Troy’s sleeping form while near the back right, Jess and Maddy sat staring expectantly at the front door.
Shaped almost like a restaurant, there were four thrones surrounding a sharp boxy table.
“I’ll wake sleeping beauty –“ Jess began to stand up as soon as she saw James. Maddy held out a hand and began to hum before Jess could cross the room.
At the sound of Maddy’s voice, James felt a flicker across his body.
Magic crashed across his domain - the mana focusing on his ears as it attempted to burrow into his body.
James relaxed slightly and felt the struggle against his aura fade. He could have completely blocked it if he cared – A flex as soon as he registered the wash.
But he trusted Maddy and a moment after relaxing he began to feel more awake. More energized.
There was a faint discomfort as his magic was distinctly aware this awakeness was ‘other’…but if anything the flicker of anxiety made him even more awake.
Troy sat up without being told, blinking at the situation. Then – a half beat after spotting James – he made an exaggerated gasp and dramatic jump backwards and into the shadows. Troy’s body turned black and stretched backwards as he disappeared in a smear.
There was a silent moment as everyone stared at the empty bed – more in confusion than anything else.
A drop of light chose that moment to fall from the ceiling. As it fell, the ripple of shadow obscured the throne facing the door and let Troy re-appear in his chosen seat.
Troy glanced over his shoulder at James expectantly, – completely ignoring what just happend. Seemed Troy was done with that bit – probably seemed funnier in the archer’s head? James got that. Now it was awkward – should he laugh?
Too late now.
James crossed the room and slipped into the free throne – a boxy solid structure covered in thin grassy cushions.
“Alright before we start sharing everything we’ve learned, anyone want any refreshments?” Maddy clapped her hands slightly as if excited by the idea.
“We have…’created awake water’. It tastes mostly like coffee and only slightly like grass. I can create food from some stone, but other than filling your stomach, it doesn’t do much and I’m not the best at flavours…” Maddy conjured a tea set, one hand touching the ground and sucking something out of the stone below.
So…they were doing this?
James reached around for his small backpack and slipped it onto the ground as he took his place.
“I have some spices? Make us some stone snacks and I can help make them taste less like rock.” James offered.
“They don’t literally taste like rock I’m just borrowing some of the realness from the rock…” Maddy pouted slightly then reached over and began pulling out spices one by one. “The real problem is the way I don’t have any concepts for flavours and I don’t have enough practice shaping taste yet.” Maddy muttered placing down a few tubs and moving on to fill some cups.
The cups hadn’t been there a moment ago – she conjured them from nothing in a second and then very slowly conjured what looked like matcha in each one. Below her a strip of grass melted into nothing below her chair.
They really were drinking grass? Juicing it and teleporting it into cups?
James wanted to laugh. For some reason, the ridiculousness of the situation – how serious everyone looked and how weird the food was made him relax. Them acting awkward made him relate and care about them more.
These really were his friends, wern’t they?
…
The group made a fake spread of conjured food and drink, then spoke of what they had learned in the in-between.
It was a long conversation – each person told their story while everyone listened and played with the food.
At one point Maddy managed to convert a whole container of James’s garlicky powder into a creamy garlic sauce that made everything they dipped in it divine…a sad loss of his unreplaceable garlic powder but worth it just for the experience.
James mostly listened to the others silently.
He…hadn’t asked three questions like they had. He hadn’t learned of civilizations past or deeper truths to magic. He hadn’t learned about how the magic side might see aether – the idea there was some ‘true magic’ that had created both aether and mana with aether being a dangerous blight that killed puppies and gave your grand children super diseases.
Instead, James had learned…a goal. One he was trying to figure out if he wanted to explain thoroughly to his friends or not.
James had already told them a bit of it back in the previous zone but…now would be the time to explain everything if he was ever going to. Explain exactly how dangerous it was.
Tell them?
Don’t tell them?
Reveal his goal might pit him against their survival?
Conceal the danger and strike out on his own?
Finally James made the decision. He took Troy finishing his description and looking to him to commit then began speaking. First he revealed his job in full. He described his experiences with ‘R’ and explained what he understood his goal to be.
After he finished describing the task of preventing the inevitable war long enough for the cause of the war to come to pass, all three listeners were silent.
Should James have kept this to himself? He’d already explained more of it to Richard…maybe he should have just hit Richard up instead. They were the original potential fit for this job after all and didn’t seem to care about consequences as much.
Why were they still silent?
Why had he revealed his job? His friends were just staring at him – Actually that made sense. James had just said he was going to act against their best chances of survival.
Maddy spoke in the midst of his backtracking.
Instead of…offering to help or trying to stop him or saying good luck or ‘something’. Maddy began with a completely different set of questions. She began an entirely different conversation as if she were ignoring what he had just revealed.
“What are your long term goals?” Maddy asked breaking the awkward silence.
She giggled suddenly as if she had just told a joke then frowned and waved a bit, two additional eyes suddenly appearing on her face.
With four eyes her expression sharpened slightly as if she were becoming slightly more serious with each additional eye. A bit of the whimsy fell away and she felt more like the woman James had met chained to a wall in a dungeon.
That had been a weird first impression. Especially when she had been the one doing the chaining.
“What do you want to do for the rest of your life? Not just in the coming weeks but in the years and decades to come?” Maddy paused as if reading James’s mind and responded quickly. “Please, this is related but humour me for a bit okay?”
James wasn’t sure what to make of her question. It wasn’t something he knew how to answer.
Maddy continued, a frustrated scrunch crossing her face.
“How do you see this planet we’ve been given. It’s empty right? A blank canvas? Do you hope to abandon it to find some better place? Or, do you plan on shaping it with the rest of us?
“Instead of appearing on a planet with existing infrastructure, we have a blank slate. Do you resent that? Do you hope to break this blank slate and then move on to some existing world when it shatters? The answer to that is important.”
James felt a bit put on the spot. “I mean…I’m not planning on just breaking this? I…I am planning on living here?” Was he? He hadn’t really stopped to think about it.
“Then I’ll ask again. This is the world we’ve been given to shape. How do you want to shape it? How do you personally want to affect the world – I’m asking this question to everyone. Feel free to chip in if you have something you want to add.” Maddy made a show of staring at both her companions as she did so – turning her four eyed head back and forth between them.
What were James’s goals?
That was easy wasn’t it? Just…become strong enough that no one could ever control him. Strong enough he could make all his own decisions. Rank up the world and survive…and that was it wasn’t it?
Those felt like short term goals. They felt lacking somehow.
What should James say? He liked pushing himself. He liked how fighting monsters made him feel powerful but also... The focus of combat was synonymous with happiness in his head at this point. The way his muscles felt after overclocking them with mana for hours at a time. The feel of incremental progress giving meaning to each fight. the thrill of danger in harder fights and the rush of serotonin that came from surviving.
Maybe James should think smaller?
James liked cooking things he had beaten. He wanted to get better at being a chef even if it was just for himself…
It felt like Maddy was asking more than that. ‘I want to get better at cooking’ – didn’t have the weight her question seemed to demand. Should he word it better? Figure out something stronger to say? Admit he didn’t really have a long term plan and was just taking it day by day?
Maddy waited for a while then began speaking once again – as if trying to help James’s thought process.
“Lets focus on one goal. If you could implement one rule for this planet what would it be? One chance to change things permanently. One law that everyone has to live by. One chance to effect the place you will be living in the future.
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“What is the most important thing for you? You left Earth for some reason – we all did – and assuming nothing has changed…what do you hope this new home will give you that Earth couldn’t have? How can you imagine forcing it so whatever this home can give you is kept?
“I’ll go first if it helps.” Maddy finished.
She looked about as if searching for something and slowly more and more eyes appeared. They popped out of nowhere, jumping across the room to land on Maddy’s body. Each eye that appeared seemed to change Maddy slightly her expression and posture shifting with each appearance.
Finally covered in dozens of her eyes – looking less human than ever –Maddy started.
“My long-term goals for the past few weeks have felt endless. I accepted this new life and escaped my own because…I felt trapped. Its no longer important and my endless goals wern’t related to the way I felt trapped. The way I felt there was no possible way I could get out of my situation…well that might help you figure out a rule, but for me it is simply a past I’ve moved past. You all know a bit of it, some more than others.
“Nearly as soon as I arrived in this world I learned of magic. Some childish wonder I’d forgotten resurfaced and I learned there was more to reality than I thought.
“I immediately knew what I wanted. It wasn’t even a question – I wanted to learn this magic. These rules even made sense to me. They fit together well and expanded in a way that felt firm. There was hidden parts and there was perspective parts…but that only added to the mystery I felt.
“From what I thought I knew, I felt like magic was endless. There was an endless amount of stuff I could learn about it. A lifetime of study and experimentation. No matter how good I got, there would always be something new I could find.” Maddy smiled slightly, as if imagining some distant time instead of just a few days before.
“Back in that fate dungeon…I changed my body. My status…I skimmed over it but if I do a status ritual properly – a deep one instead of a quick stat check…well it no longer shows me as human. Guess what the system calls my new species? ‘Sine-faeculentus (Unrecorded Variant)!’ Neat huh?” Maddy smiled slightly pointedly ignoring the look of shock that appeared on Jess and Troy’s face.
“Has anyone else heard of that species before? It looks Latin – has it been translated into Latin from something else? I tried using the translation concept from a system crystal to translate it into english but just got something about ‘without filth’ or ’unsticky’. Either way I haven’t even properly sat back to consider what that means. My endless pursuit of magic was more important.” Beside Maddy, Jess reached out and grabbed her friends arm tightly. Jess woman opened her mouth for a moment and then closed it, shifting her chair to sit closer to her friend instead.
It was pretty obvious this was the first time Maddy was revealing this. Had she been holding it in the same way James had held in the calamity job?
“Does that sound insane? It sounded fine at the time but self reflection is weird. I built off vague information I saw about self necromancy using the affinity that’s the best at it. I improved those guidlines by throwing more than just life and death magic into the spell and threw everything I had into becoming immortal.” Maddy’s free hand rose and grasped the air before falling back to her lap.
“That…wasn’t even something I deliberated on that much. “ Maddy smiled a complex expression appearing on her face.
“Immortality? That…felt like an obvious bit of magic I should get around to. I knew others had done it and it seemed like a step I should get around to. I was vaguely planning on doing it much further in the future, but then the dungeon gave me time to think and made me certain that was the best time to do it as my domain was forming. Knowing what I know now, it probably was the perfect time to do it too – a time where I was ignorant enough, my belief helped me stumble into whatever it was I did.” Maddy’s face looked bitter for a moment before she took a breath and continued her ramble.
“It was the perfect time to do it and it would help me reach my goal. I wanted to study magic for eternity and that ‘felt’ like the best way of doing it. Immortality wasn’t the ‘goal’ the way it might be for some, it was just an obvious step in the process. I gave my spell the greatest cost and accepted the change without regret. Soon I’d have more than a single lifetime to explore mana. I’d have as much time as I wanted to learn all the secrets of magic.
“But…Then I advanced and got my so called rewards. I got told a deeper secret and that shook me more than it should of. I don’t know why it hit me as much as it did – My goal was to spend the rest of my life playing with the magic I loved…and then R admitted that magic was fake. Mana is artificial. Magic… Mana…all the rules about mana weren’t real ‘rules’ the way I had been imagining they were rules.” Maddy stopped and then started up again as if she were trying to explain something she didn’t really understand herself.
“It turned out I wasn’t learning secrets to the universe. I was learning the background in a story. I was teaching myself lore in a fantasy series – Restrictions? Inverted concepts and inverted shaping? Domains? They were all less secret ‘laws’ of magic I’d discovered and more just arbitrary rules for how a great big machine was told to run. And yet even that isn’t fully true. R said it right there after dropping that on me. Just because mana is artificial doesn’t mean it’s fake. My body is different now. I can turn grass into tea and stone into bad tasting deserts. That power is real. So why does it suddenly feel less important?” Maddy asked without expecting an answer.
Maddy sighed. “Anyways, my domain is ‘set’ so that truth isn’t enough to break my ability to cast fake magic. All that’s important now is there no longer feels like theres an endless secret to discover. If I ‘learn’ more I’ll just be writing fanfiction and pretending its cannon. I’ll be a child mailing in what they want magic to do and letting the adults – the world’s domain – decide to include or ignore my ideas.
“The thing is…I changed myself for that goal. I thought nothing would shake my excitement for that goal and then it felt like the goal itself was forcefully diminished.
“It feels like the solid tower I was running towards was made of sand.
“…And now my feelings are weird and ‘other’ and ‘lesser’ because I committed harder than I possibly could have. I’m more open so it probably feels and sounds like I’m more emotional and vulnerable…but I feel like I’m not. Mentally I feel stronger than I ever have. My willpower is iron tight and my new perspective gives me a unique way of self reflection. A way of stepping back and seeing myself from different angles…
“If I had something I wanted I’d be able to throw everything into that something without flinching. I’m just…confused. The only answer I have for all of this is that I now feel lost. I don’t even care that the exciting goal I’d given everything for feels fake. I’m just trying to figure out what my new forever goal should be.” Maddy finished. She paused and smiled as if it really didn’t matter.
Maddy was silent for longer than a pause. Jess squeezed her arm extra hard and continued opening and closing her mouth failing to say much of anything in response.
James kept expecting Maddy to continue – it felt like there was a point to this rant. Hadn’t she been about to say what the law she wanted to make was? Wasn’t this the reasoning for her answer? The build up? Was this the kind of response she was hoping for by her ‘what are your long term goals’ question?
Oh.
She was like James. She also didn’t know.
Finally Maddy pushed Jess off her slightly and started speaking again – as if starting from scratch.
“Okay that got a bit out of hand. I was going to say my goals feel like they align with yours, James. It’s easy enough to see how the planet and the rules and stuff work when you step back. True magic, cause divorced from effect. Cost and then the result from that cost both controlled costs and uncontrolled side effects. It’s like the constraints I learned in mana based ‘magic’. There’s a reason for everything, but that reason doesn’t have to be ‘the’ reason necessarily. Everything can be thought of that way really. Monsters come out at night right now because ‘monsters have to come out’ as a cost to the world having magic. If we force the random appearences to happen at night instead of all the time we have some time to rest – the monsters at night are probably stronger than they would be if they could appear at any time but its probably worth it or popular enough to have been the default for us.
“That’s a rule that just as easily could be a rule that monsters only come out at day time – although that might have some side effect that makes ‘day bad’ and the sun starts becoming extra poisonous or something.” Maddy shrugged as she explained.
Troy suddenly laughed then went silent as everyone glanced at him.
A beat of silence appeared and then Maddy continued.
“Anyways, rules. I want to expand the costs we might have to bare for those rules but I need everyone to start brainstorming things they want to control about this world before we bring up costs. I guess I didn’t really bring up a rule first did I? Sorry, if its not clear I’ll throw a few things down. I want the magic I can do and play with to feel like it matters. That means I want…I want mana to become powerful enough to dwarf ‘true’ magic. I want…I want a magic system that can grow endlessly. I want there to be a depth to mana I can spend a lifetime learning and I want that depth to be real…I want the stuff I learn to be real and I’ll settle for what I learn no longer changing and being based on real rules no matter how arbitrary they might have been initially…
“True magic should be able to achive that right? Should be able to make the rules for mana more solid? Should be able to convince me my original life goal is still worth striving for?
“I spent an entire day and over half of my minds trying to figure out what I actually wanted and have only now settled on an answer I’m happy with.” Maddy sat back waving her hands slightly.
“I…I don’t want to find a new goal. I liked my old one. I just got distracted in a pointless way. I wish my misguided original imagination was correct.” Maddy smiled. “I wish… I want to be able to play with magic for this new endless lifetime I’ve given myself and am willing to give up quite a bit to make that happen. James, your secret job…If ranking the world into dangerous territory helps unbound the magic I learn – lets me grow it endlessness – that is enough reason for me to help. That feels like the cost that my wish might take the more I think about it. Magic in a world with a level cap cannot reach above that cap but magic in a world that can grow endlessly should also be able to grow endlessly.” Maddy finished and this time James felt like he was able to respond.
“I…hadn’t thought of that cap in that way. In that case I’ll steal your goal. I want to be able to grow endlessly. I want there to always be a way to push myself. It aligns with the job that R gave me but I’m doing it for myself.” James agreed shamelessly stealing Maddy’s well thought out explanation.
Jess suddenly sat up. She shifted her chair so she could face everyone properly scooting over before she spoke.
“Okay everyone. I wasn’t sure how to bring this up but I have something to add. It’s the main point keeping me back from throwing my support in. The main…the main rule I would want to add. Have either of you thought about what the max level really means? Maddy you spoke of costs and results. What are we gaining because of that level? Safety right? Protection?” Jess’s voice became louder as she made her point.
“Endless growth – not having a distinct rank cap and protection...the way I see it. The level cap of the world is to prevent monsters and people stronger than that level cap from running over us.” Jess looked at all three of them carefully.
“If I had to make a rule I know exactly what I want to focus on. I want to figure out a way of preventing high level people and monsters from destroying low level areas. Its a problem that will only grow worse the higher the rank cap of the world is. If we do it right it can become the same rule that protects us from things we aren’t ready for. Because yes thats going to happen. We’ve entered dungeons that are a higher rank than us on purpose but that was our choice. We consented to being underleveled because we knew dungeons were regulated and ‘fair’. Strength outside of a dungeon…it don’t have that protection built in. Theres no ‘fairness’ to strength and I hate that. I want to live in a world where anyone can gain strength and power…but I also want to live in a world where that strength can be used to protect. I want a world that protects its weak long enough for them to become strong.” Jess reiterated her point as if speaking louder would show how serious she was about this.
“Maybe we change the system of the world so being higher rank causes you to become dependant on high levels of environmental mana or….some similar resource or effect?” Maddy spoke up.
“A soft way of keeping high rank monsters in high rank zones. Maybe we make some automatic protection – shields or free teleports to protect against punching down? A stronger option would be to figure out a way of separating out zones like the tutorial had.” Maddy added.
Jess smiled at that her loud demands becoming a relived smile. It looked like she had expected push back not solutions.
“That’s exactly what I’m hoping we can do.” Jess responded stabbing a finger into the table. “I know some people are gaining power because they want to be able to use that strength to stand on top of others and actively weakening ourselves to protect the weak is not going to be popular.
“If I had my way I’d lean towards a harder option – completely separating out the higher level areas instead of just ‘suggesting’ creatures stay in those zones. Did you see the stuff about example worlds that have different dimensions? That seems like a good separation. One way if we can manage that – you can ‘ascend’ to a higher realm but not return.”
Troy spoke up for the first time.
“Other dimensions already exist. How do you think my domain lets me slip into shadow? That dimension simply is. It’s the opposite of our world in many ways – sources of darkness cast shadows across light…and its too complete to be something I made. I don’t think anyone could make an entire dimension…not a true one at least and finding one that fits your requirements?
“How do you imagine we make an entire dimension? How do you even expect to enforce these rules if others actively dislike them? What makes you think we can push our laws for the world in without them getting torn down by others? I’m sure some people plan on making families and having children – do children get taken from their parents and shoved into a lower realm? If a parent ascends, are they unable to contact their child?”
Jess nodded slowly. “Well…maybe we can give visitation rights or something.”
“If we are just making up random rules about entire dimensions why not make up a rule that lets higher realm people descend and be suppressed to a lower level? Or set up some sort of spell that lets higher realm humans send avatars down to those below? World system aided illusion puppets that don’t have enough power to abuse?” Troy added.
“Humans and whatever my species is right?” Maddy added trying to lighten the mood.
“You sound sarcastic but I’d be happy with that puppet rule – what rule would you want to add if you could add anything?” Jess shot back. “You’ve just commented on our laws, what rule would you add if you could add anything?”
Troy shrugged. “I don’t know”
He then sat back with and visibly shrugged at everyone. “I’m happy enough right now. As long as we can stay friends, I don’t care how the world changes. I think…I actually think I’m trying not to get my hopes up. Do you know how many people came with us from earth? 0.1%. Almost 8 million people. I think…It looks like we are some of the first in the area – how many others did you find when scouting?” Troy turned to Maddy.
“When we got here, I saw just under 10 groups…I think it was around 20 people? Past two days that’s tripled easy. Keep in mind there seems to be a bunch of groups in this area but there could be people far away. I’ve only explored a few kilometers in every direction.” Maddy thought for a moment before answering.
“I noticed one or two people on my way here but this is the largest group I’ve seen and the only group that has actual buildings,” James added.
“Either way, some people were faster, some people will be stronger. I’m trying not to assume I get to set rules just because.” Troy cut in once again.
“Cop out” Jess called. “You have to pick something, dems the rules”.
“James just said ‘me too’ on Maddy’s pick? Fine, I’d make it so anyone could send each other messages in the system. Free cell phone we could use to message each other no matter the distance.” Troy waved his hand dismissively.
“Better. But you left Earth for a reason right? You had a cell phone back on Earth – could have texted any of your friends back then. You have to have something more important you want from this world.” Jess pushed.
“I didn’t have friends to text back on earth. What you want me to make a law in the world that everyone has to become my friend or something? That’s creepy at best Jess. “ Troy looked away and Jess…pulled back. She looked embarrassed.
Troy finally turned back.
“Okay. I don’t have a lot I want for myself right now. If I had to introduce a rule that everyone had to follow, it would be something that helped all of you with your passions. My formal law would be a law that makes it so others can’t break your laws. Assuming we are some of the first to manage it, maybe I’ll make it so early laws can’t be undone or overturned by later ones. Something like that. Maybe a law that prevents laws I’d object to from being passed as well. I’m pretty happy with the current situation.” Troy added.
Jess nodded, still looking embarrassed.
Maddy clapped her hands “Do we have lesser goals or laws we’d want? Not stuff we’d fight for but things we’d add if we had the chance? Stuff like Troy’s cellphone idea. I’m sure I could set up a spell that works similar given some time and I can’t imagine it being nearly as difficult to give that to the system as something else. I personally want a way of evolving magic past domains. Something like 'creating a confluence of both sides of the coin’…so instead of pure mana being the weak combination between life and death the combination would become a true third thats even more powerful than the base sides. Something like ‘soul mana’ for life and death. I’m 90% sure the necromancer’s world had something like that. I’d be able to evolve all 3 of my affinities as well which would be plenty of fun. Maybe an evolved version of concepts as well or an entirely different system that works for higher leveled spells”
“I’d like a free or cheap shower spell in the system. Some button to clean myself.” Jess offered.
“Why stop there? Why not aim for high rank creatures never needing a bath? You could claim sweat and grime is a problem for low level people” Troy laughed. “How about a free burger button? 1 mana and the system gives you a burger that doesn’t taste like cardboard? No offense Maddy.”
“I paid good stone for those burgers, you take that back” Maddy laughed.
“What’s your opinion on that afterlife stuff? James asked. “I…think I liked having resurrections available. I used them quite a bit and don’t think I would have been able to take as many risks as I have if I didn’t know deep down I’d be safe…”
“That seems like a big goal, not a convenience thing.” Troy pointed out.
“I think people should be allowed to figure out their own immortality or lack of it.
“A system like the necromancer provided required a single powerful person individually saving people. He’s had complete and total control over your souls and the only reason you got a body back was because he’s was contractually required to do so.
“I don’t think I want to take R up on the offer of making that man our permanent resurrection specialist. Especially if we have to negotiate with him directly and he’s no longer bound to do it for free – can’t everyone just figure their own immortality out? Get better life saving skills or take less risks.” Maddy pushed against the idea.
“I liked the idea” Jess muttered.
“What about…”
…
The group spent nearly an hour brainstorming convenient things they’d like. After all the initial “Important” rules were out of the way, it was surprisingly easy to figure out stuff they missed from Earth – or had particularly strong opinions on.
The brainstorming began to wind down after it shifted to everyone bringing up food they missed. Maddy waved everyone into silence and decided it was time to continue her direction of the conversation.
“Now that we have a better idea of our actual goals we have to start thinking about how we might actually achieve them. Its probably a good time to bring up what we might be willing to give up to achieve some of these goals…The cost or side effects for the big ones at least.” Maddy leaned forward and stared directly at James.
“James you mentioned stopping any wars long enough for the planet to advance. Once it advances you might need to do it again. And again. What are your plans for that?”
“R seems to think I won’t have a good chance of preventing people from fighting directly. He’s hoping I’ll act as a common enemy to distract people long enough for the planet to rank up without anyone.”
“Is that a requirement or is it just a suggestion?” Maddy asked a curious look in her eye.”
“Its…a strong suggestion?” James responded. “My dungeon’s even primed to work towards that goal.”
Maddy nodded slightly.
“Is there a more straight forward solution? The goal is to keep as much people alive as possible and rank the world up into a more powerful state right? Is it easier to focus on those directly?”
“I…don’t know, ‘R’ seemed to think it would take about a year for the planet to rank up naturally. Do you think we can force it to rank up sooner?” James thought. That did seem straightforward. Focus on shortening the timeframe in a sprint. Made sense.
“If it helps I could ask what the requirements are?” James offered and suddenly everyone froze.
“You…can ask ‘R’?” Maddy said carefully.
“Yes, I never used my questions up in the in-between and R said he can answer based on mood instead of contract for me.” James hadn’t realized this was as big a deal as it obviously was for everyone else.
“Hax!” Jess yelled. “Favouritism! Ask him how we can separate out high level people!”
“Ask him what his name is,” Maddy called and James wasn’t even sure she was joking.
“He’s only going to respond if it will help with my job.” James tried to wave it off.
“This will help!” Jess nodded. “Vital help. Make sure to stress that.”
“So…how do ask him?” Maddy asked.
That…was a good question.
How could he ask? James figured it really was worth reaching out to see if Maddy’s idea had merit.
How would a champion contact their sponsor?