He appeared back in the city, holding something hard in his hand. Looking down, he saw that he was clutching a small copper badge. How physical matter could be transferred through a mental plane was a mystery to Sam, but he was grateful for it nonetheless. Without the Interweb, his universe would truly have been isolated. Ironically, they had Berrigious to thank for that, the man who had almost destroyed their universe through his actions. Sam knew that he had gotten side tracked from his initial intention, which was to do some research, but what he had done was far more valuable. He now had a line to a powerful out of universe faction.
Sam got up from his cross legged position and walked out into the city. He saw a few of the newbies, conspicuous with their basic clothing and lack of weaponry. They froze as his gaze landed on him and ran away, trying hard to not seem like they were doing so. Sam sighed,but by that point he was used to it. Besides, he couldn’t really blame them. To people that weak he probably seemed like a searing beacon of power rather than just another person.
Sam kept on walking, trying to get a good idea of where the city was situated. There was still nowhere near enough defense for the city to survive on its own without Sam, or the captains’ presence. When he thought that it was ready, he would begin his quest for the Seven Seals. Luckily all of the other faction headquarters were most likely in the United States as well, at least from what he had inferred from the faction leaders and the way that selecting a faction location worked. The walls needed to be upgraded far more than they already were. However, there was one new addition to the building menu that had appeared after Salvar’s defeat. Sam pulled up the notification once more to refresh his memory.
You have gained access to the next tier of defenses, specifically for fortification. You can now construct a force field around the city that runs off the mana of its inhabitants.
It was a very useful addition to the city defenses, but there was only one problem. To fully cover the city, it would cost 25 million credits. However, the total coffers of the city were almost there. Between Okita’s efforts, and the massive deposit that Sam had made from his reward for defeating Salvar, the city funds were burgeoning at an unexpected rate. In fact, it just might be there by now.
Sam made his way into the city hall, walking at a normal rate so as to not disturb those within it. The captains had branched out and had hired quite a few administrative workers, some who even had pasts as workers in such industries, and they were making the city layout far more efficient than before.
Sam ignored all of this and walked into the meeting hall, and strode purposefully towards the Metropolis Core. He laid his hands on it, and smiled as he saw that they had just enough money to buy the forcefield. Even better, this would go up instantly, as opposed to the wall, which had taken a while.
Sam took a deep breath and then bought it. He felt a small twinge within him as part of his mana pool was locked away. It did not remove any mana from his total, but rather slowed down his regeneration rate by a bit. Combined with everyone else in the city, this shield would be quite powerful. Of course, the only reason that it worked was because the System supplemented the mana flow greatly, but eventually they would be able to produce enough on their own to run it at full capacity.
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He ran outside, eager to see what his purchase had done. A glowing blue dome stretched across the sky, tinting the clouds and sun blue. It was a majestic sight, and was most definitely worth the money. A few minutes later, Eduardo came running towards the city hall.
“Sam? Did you buy this?” He said, as soon as he had come to a stop.
“Yes? What’s the matter?”
“Oh, good. I was afraid that we were under attack. I knew that we gained access to this force field fortification, but I did not expect for it to be this impressive. Good idea on making it.”
"Well, it was… maybe a little bit expensive,” Sam said, wincing slightly.
“What, a few million credits?”
“No, more like 25 million,” Sam replied. Eduardo frowned, but then shrugged.
“Look, it’s your money basically, and you used it for something useful. That is what the city funds are for after all. I doubt that anyone would begrudge you even if you spent it all on wine and hookers, or whatever the multiversal equivalent is.” Sam gave Eduardo a look that said a thousand words. “What? I wasn’t a priest. I was an exorcist. Mine was not a life of purity and virtue. When you plumb the depths of evil, even not the supernatural kind, then you start to see things that remove any semblance of innocence from your life.”
“Huh. That’s an interesting perspective. In any case, I think we’re ready to start to explore the surrounding land. We have a bit of time before the next army comes knocking, and we have a massive obstacle in our way to finding the Seven Seals.”
“By obstacle, you mean the canyon, right?” Eduardo asked. Sam nodded. “Very well then. I will muster the other captains for the expedition. Ready yourself, and then we will leave.”
Eduardo walked off, leaving Sam on his own. With a smile, he started walking towards the main part of the city. He had no idea how long this was going to take, and he was going to opt for overpacking rather than running out of supplies halfway through.
An hour later, Sam was ready. Clutching a large pack of food and various other tools for wilderness survival, he made his way towards the nearest gate. The pack that he was using was a weak version of a storage device, with an enchantment that allowed it to store 50% more matter while still weighing as much as it would without the additional weight. It was the prized project of a leatherworker who had started to find his path as a maker of spatial artifacts, and although it was the only version of it that he had at the moment, he had given it to Sam free of charge. In addition, the many farms in the city were starting to bear fruit and Sam’s bag was laden with preserved cuts of meat and cheeses. Most likely he would barely eat any of them seeing as he had a far slower metabolism at his current level than any pre System human, but they were still a welcome addition.
As well as this, Sam had purchased a low grade meditation aid that he hoped to use to finally break into F Rank. Breaking through was not merely the matter of a simple level up, but a spiritual fusing of oneself with your Dao. Jeffrey had explained his own experiences with the matter to Sam during a break from his duties as a captain. Firstly, one needed a Fragment Stage Dao, which Sam already had, and the surety of mind about their connection to that concept to fuse it with their path of progression. Sam was not worried about any of this, but it was still a difficult process. Very few people, relatively speaking, ever reached F Rank, at least in this part of the Multiverse. Sam could sense that he was still not ready for it. He had upgraded his Dao so rapidly that his body was lagging behind his spirit, meaning that he needed to consolidate his power before he could break through. Judging by the amount of connection that he felt, it would be about a week or so until he was ready to start the process.