Screams filled the air as Luke proceeded onwards, his arms and legs covered in black fire. His destination was the large temple in the middle of the city. People hurled spells at him, but they did nothing to impede his advance. When they realized it wasn’t working, the people threw themselves at him, raising weapons made of iron. Swords, spears, and axes plunged into Luke’s torso, but the men and women holding those weapons were incinerated as black flames washed over them. Luke ignored the weapons sticking out of his chest, and they slowly melted with every step he took. The black flames cauterized his injuries, preventing any drop of blood from leaking out. With a wave of his hand, black flames sprung out of the ground, covering the temple in a blood-red light.

[I Can Pick has conquered the guild Danlop.]

[The guild Danlop has been disbanded. The NPCs within the settlement have submitted to I Can Pick.]

[Quest progress has been updated.]

[The god of war is impressed by your deeds! Conquer!]

[Progress: Defeated 3/5 settlements.]

[Rewards: Title: Champion of Sram]

Luke laughed as he spread his arms, whirling around to face the survivors of the attack. Flames burned the temple behind him, casting shadows over his face. He looked like a devil. At that moment, an incoming phone call ruined the somber mood. Luke frowned as he poked a button on the interface that had appeared. “What is it, Mr. Stone?”

“The leaders of the world wish for you to attend the conference.” Aric Stone’s voice sounded tired with a hint of amusement. “Shall I start a video chat?”

Luke nodded as his legs left the ground. He hovered in the air, floating higher and higher until he was a good twenty feet over the settlement walls. “Go on,” he said as he flew towards the west, heading off to find another settlement. A prompt appeared, and he accepted. A hologram appeared in front of him, displaying a semi-circle of three hundred desks even though they were actually sitting in a full circle.

“Mr. Desrigard!” a voice boomed out. Luke recognized him as Mr. Donovan, president of Amireca. “I’ll cut to the chase. Surely you’ve seen the current state of the world. Though this is confidential, I’ll tell you so you understand our plight. The recent destruction, including the darkening of the moon, have been caused by Program Theda. She’s a goddess within [Resolution], but she somehow crossed over into our world. We, the leaders of the world, wish to end this game, but to do that, you have to surrender. You’ll be compensated appropriately, of course.”

“Sure,” Luke said, causing the leaders to glance at each other with relieved expressions. “I understand. I don’t want the world to end, after all. Just give me Raustalia.”

The hologram fell silent. Only the rushing of the wind could be heard as Luke peered beyond the projection at the upcoming settlement.

“Just give you … Raustalia?” Mr. Donovan asked. “What do you mean?”

“I wish to found a country, but I need space to do that,” Luke said. “A continent like Raustalia is enough for my needs.”

“What is this fool sayin’?” the dwarf with the eyepatch shouted. “He wants Raustalia? I don’t want ‘im as my neighbor! My current one is crazy enough!”

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“Excuse me?” the elven woman asked. “You should be thankful I haven’t crushed your pathetic island. Do you believe I can’t do it with a simple wave of my hand? Unless you’re going to break the contract and nuke me.”

“See what I mean?” the dwarf asked, sticking his middle finger at the elf. “Bloody insane. She coerced us into an anti-nuke contract, and then she threatens to declare war! This tree hugger said she wasn’t like humans when it came to treachery, and she’s right. She’s even worse!”

Luke shrank the projection as he hovered over the next settlement. He recognized the flag hanging from the walls. It belonged to Raustalia, how convenient.

“Hey! Is that my settlement? What are you doing there!?”

Flames fell from the sky as Luke began his slaughter. He wasn’t afraid of retaliation. It would be problematic to do this under normal circumstances, but he saw the news. All the countries had dispatched their special forces to deal with Khrx in reality. It seemed like that lizard was useful after all. “I’m just playing the game. Don’t mind me.”

“Don’t mess with me! Stop burning my settlement!”

The dwarf boomed out in laughter. “Look at ‘er panic! I haven’t felt this happy since I stole ‘er collection of wine and drank it.”

“That was you!?”

“Mr. Desrigard,” Mr. Donovan said. “Don’t you think asking for Raustalia is a bit too much? Surely you’re joking.”

“I’m a boring man,” Luke said, still raining down fire. “I don’t play jokes. If you refuse to hand over Raustalia, then we can end this negotiation here. I’ll win this game and Raustalia will end up in my hands whether you like it or not.”

“I’d like to see you try!” the elven woman shouted. “Stop burning it! Stop! I’ll find you in reality and tear out your lungs and heart to feed them to the world tree’s roots!”

“I told you she was crazy,” the dwarf said and shook his head, pretending to mutter but letting everyone hear him.

“I don’t take kindly to threats,” Luke said. “It seems like negotiations have broken down. What say you, Mr. Donovan?”

“Let’s vote,” Mr. Donovan said. “Who agrees to Mr. Desrigard’s request?”

The dwarf’s hand shot up in an instant while the elven woman ground her teeth. She shouted, “If this vote passes, I’ll break the contract and fire every single one of Raustalia’s nukes! If I can’t have my country, then no one can have theirs!”

Mr. Donovan sighed as he looked around. “One vote in favor,” he said. “The proposal fails. Mrs. Atrina, can’t you think this over? We can set aside some territory in our countries for your people.”

The woman crossed her arms over her chest. “The world tree grows in Raustalia. I refuse.”

Mr. Donovan faced the projection. “Then Mr. Desrigard, will you be satisfied with another plot of land instead?”

“Sure,” Luke said. “I’m a flexible person. Give me all of South Amireca.”

“Fuck! Flexible my ass!” a tan man shouted. “You can have Zarbil over my dead body!” He pointed at the elven woman. “Mrs. Atrina’s not the only one with nukes, you know? I have more than her!”

“Right,” the president of Aimbuloc said. “If you want my people to abandon their lands, there will be a reckoning of nuclear explosions.”

“It seems like we can’t come to an agreement,” Luke said with a shrug. He landed on top of the temple within the settlement. “Contact me again when you choose to cede a landmass the size of Raustalia. North Amireca will do. East Aisa as well.” He waved his hand and ended the call before finishing up his campaign.

[I Can Pick has conquered the guild Raustalia.]

[The guild Raustalia has been disbanded. The NPCs within the settlement have submitted to I Can Pick.]

[Quest progress has been updated.]

[The god of war is very impressed by your deeds!]

[Progress: Defeated 4/5 settlements.]

[Rewards: Title: Champion of Sram]

Luke exhaled as he sat down, hanging his legs off the side of the temple. His constitution in game was really, really abysmal—just four settlements and he was already out of breath. A message appeared in front of him, coming for Aric Stone.

“How confident are you in winning?”

Luke typed back. “87.34%” The other 12.66% was reserved for Khrx ruining everything. He couldn’t ignore that possibility.