He said as much to the others, and they were soon leaving the city hall, ready to give Sam a tour of the city. As they left the hulking city hall, Sam studied the various pieces of art that lined the walls. From the end of the tournament, with a rendition of him standing over the prone form of the Overlord, limned in the light of his Dao, to the fight with the Hammerwraith where he had claimed his weapon. There was even a picture of him fighting with Hugo Mar. It was the first time that Sam had seen his Dao Juggernaut skill for himself, and he had to admit, it was impressive. Assuming that there was no artistic license being taken with the scene, he looked like a massive warrior of the heavens, covered in bolts of white light that seemed to lend power to his aura. Wherever the artworks had come from, they had been made with real talent.
There was some sort of Dao effect blended into them that created the illusion of a moving scene when one looked at them. Sam’s armor seemed to glisten in the picture of his fight with Mar, the shafts of light from his skill sending off a blinding glow. The others slowed, and Eduardo smiled.
“Admiring your accomplishments, are you? Talnor told us that this sort of veneration of the faction leader is common among the greater sects. It helps to build the faith of the community in the strength of their leader, especially when that leader is in control of far more people than he can count.”
“They are impressively made, that is for sure,” Sam said. “How did you create the paintings? They seem to be a bit higher quality than ones that would have simply come from the Metropolis Core.”
“Some of the non combat classers around the city had more artistic bents to their classes and professions. One of them created this. A man by the name of Roger Hart. Nobody had heard of him before, but he is clearly talented. That Dao imbued within the art is the Dao of Awe, which is why they seem to be so lifelike,” Lao explained. The man seemed to be impressed with the work as well, a rarity with the taciturn Chinese powerhouse.
“Huh,” Sam said simply, and then kept walking.
The central part of the city was far more built up than before, and there was a ring of skyscrapers around the city hall. They were not that tall in the grand scheme of things, but they were easily over a hundred feet in height, with multiple layers. Their shadows caused long fingers of darkness across the city, depending on the position of the sun. They seemed to be made for different purposes. One of them opened onto the street with a row of smithies, with more presumably going up the tower.
“Those are the guild headquarters. I decided to create a few in line with the accepted guidelines of the greater Multiverse,” Talnor said, pointing at the towers. “Each of them houses a different sect of artisans. The one that you are looking at is for blacksmiths. I believe that your friend George is located on the top floor of that building.”
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“That seems like a good idea. It allows for the creation of a more focused industry in that area,” Sam replied.
“Yes. In addition, the workers are paid a generous salary for works that benefit the guild, which means that they are more likely to work to better the city and others. It is a good system,” Eduardo said. “Talnor told me that is how he ran the Manthrox Sect.”
Sam nodded in appreciation, and looked at the other towers. There was one that seemed to be dedicated to enchanting, as various spell effects popped and fizzled off of a shield that surrounded the building, and someone clutching a piece of gear would race out every now and again. Sam raised an eyebrow at the level of development that was evident in the city around him. With enough money, anything was possible.
However, all of this looked flimsy in comparison to the brief glance of Gaia that Sam had gotten before leaving the planet. That monster could bring all of this crashing down.
After a few minutes of ogling the guilds, Sam moved on. As he walked, he saw more of the unfamiliar alien species wandering around.
“What’s the story with all of the other aliens?” He asked, spotting an especially exotic looking being walking down the street. It, for he could not determine its gender, had multiple tentacles instead of a head, and walked on five legs. It looked exceedingly ineffective, but the System evened up a lot of things, from lifespans to racial disadvantages.
“They started coming here after you left, drawn by our power. Some of the various mercenary companies coming here were not bound by oaths, and decided to join up with us instead. They can see that this faction is the beginning of something big,” Talnor explained.
“What about in a hundred years when Tantalos comes to kill us?”
“They can simply leave whenever they want. There are no restrictions. In the meantime, we can both benefit from one another.”
“Interesting,” Sam mused as he looked around at the other specimens.
Most of the aliens were not as strange as the one that he had just seen, but they were still quite varied. He had a bit of guilt at simply thinking of them as aliens, but there were simply too many types to keep track of in any meaningful way. Other than the orc-like beings, there were no Earthly analogs. Perhaps there were some further out into the Multiverse, but none that Sam had seen.
He ignored the others as he went, not wanting to seem like he was staring at them. The others all seemed to be used to the presence of the new species of aliens, but it was hard for Sam. As soon as they made it into the military area however, his attention was taken. Most of the military developments had been translocated to the outside of the city, with the missile silos and crystals still being there. One of the other changes that he had noticed were the presence of stronger looking automatons patrolling the streets, as well as the fact that the city Icon was even larger than before. It seemed that the faction had ranked up.