Chapter 28

He didn’t even bother telling his friends that he should go alone to confront the SIC. It wasn’t that he knew that they would insist on coming with him anyway, because they no doubt would. Nor was it because he was worried for their safety, because he wasn’t – especially because they all had one of the Protection of the Void Fusions equipped. No, it was because he was going to need their help, something that he no longer denied needing.

However, Nedira, Norde, Bartholomew, Penelope, and Vivienne joined him, as Kimble and Verne elected to stay behind and ensure the Volunteer organization was kept running. Bartholomew was on the fence as well, but Larek convinced him to come, as he was the one with the most knowledge of the SIC, seeing that he had worked closely with the leadership until a short while ago.

There was also a squad of 20 Volunteers along with them inside The Hopper as they made their way north, all of them equipped with VREP staves, melee weapons, and the new Heavy Load weapons, as well as possessing Protection of the Void Fusions. If they didn’t have the latter, he likely would’ve left them behind, but fortunately Larek was able to produce thousands of copies over the last few days. It wasn’t enough to protect all of the fighting force of Volunteers that were part of the organization, but it was definitely a start.

“If you would, give us a brief recent history of the SIC, as well as where exactly we’re going and what we should expect to see there,” Larek asked of Bartholomew, as everyone gathered around to listen. His friends already knew from the former Noble where they were going and what they were getting into, but he thought it would be good for the Volunteers to be on the same page.

Clearing his throat, Bartholomew addressed the group while Larek maintained their speed as they shot across the sky. “Alright, the Scission Interception Corps, otherwise known as the SIC, used to be headquartered in the capital, but ever since the Apertures fractured the Kingdom, it was relocated to be closer to the territory claimed by the very first Aperture to be classified as a Calamity.

“The city of Kilvering is located exactly 3 miles from the northeastern Calamity’s border, which is also approximately 268 miles to the northeast of the capital. It is this proximity that has meant that the majority of the SIC’s focus has been on that particular Calamity, to the greater detriment of the others, as they concentrated the majority of their resources there to keep it from expanding and overtaking Kilvering. Even before I left the organization, the other Calamities were more of an afterthought when it came to priorities, and while they maintained a network with many towns and cities, they didn’t have as much influence over the other regions there as they did in the northeast. That, apparently, had changed with the recent spread of misinformation to the Factions all over the Kingdom, as they likely saw the rising power of the Volunteers as a threat to reclaiming what they considered to be their rightful duty.

“And make no mistake, they see the safety and protection of the Kingdom as a whole as their responsibility, and they take that very seriously. When I worked for the SIC, this had led to the suppression of any Factions around the northeastern Calamity, as they maintained their vigilance against the monsters spawned by the Apertures, and they weren’t afraid to enforce their duty violently, if it came to it. Yet, the SIC rarely had to do more than threaten those who would try to seize power, as the Corps’ name and reputation was usually enough to maintain their power without conflict. The Factions in other regions were allowed to exist and rule in their places and were seen as necessities – at least until the SIC could regain a foothold against the rise of the Apertures and spread their influence once again.

“The closure of the northeastern Calamity, therefore, had been their main focus until just a short time ago. Years of preparation and logistics had gone into their plan to take it down and restore order to the region, and after-conflict resolutions were put into place to reignite the spread of their power through the rest of the Kingdom, as they worked to stabilize each region one-by-one, until they gained control of it all again. The Factions that they had allowed to exist until they had time to deal with them would then be incorporated into the SIC once again, giving individual towns and Factions a measure of independence as long as they worked directly under the Corps in matters of Kingdom-wide threats. I worked on some of these plans while I was there, and in general, they were all done for the good of the people, even if it ended up giving those in charge of the SIC a hefty amount of authority that they didn’t have previously.

“Of course, many of those plans were understandably interrupted when the northwestern Calamity was abruptly closed right under their nose. Instead of taking it as a win for the Kingdom, the SIC leadership decided to exert what influence they had to villainize the ones who had closed it, and then offered their services to attempt to stabilize what was left over after the entire region was left unprepared.”

Bartholomew nodded toward Larek and Nedira, as they were the ones who had been affected the most by the SIC’s decision.

“This is where I left the SIC, so I don’t know any insider information after this point. You all know what happened in the southeastern part of the Kingdom soon after that, with the founding of the Volunteers, the closure of the Calamity, and the death of a Gergasi, but the motivations of the SIC are a mystery to me now, after all that occurred. The activation of the powerful organization of assassins targeting our resident Fusionist, for example, is completely outside of my experiences with the SIC, so I have no idea what they’re thinking or what they might do next.

“What I can tell you is what we can expect to find when we arrive. Knowing the context behind our destination and the people there is important, because going in there and simply killing everyone we see is not the way we are going to do this. Many of those involved in the SIC are decent, honorable individuals that have the safety and well-being of the Kingdom and its people foremost in their hearts and minds…

“…but not all, of course. I believe that it is largely the leadership that has perpetrated the recent attacks and has subverted the SIC’s original course to one that does not adhere to the same standards as it used to. In other words, we need to cut off the poisoned portion of the SIC’s body in order for the rest of the organization to live.

“As for ‘poisoned’ targets we need to ‘cut off’, there are a number of them that we should be able to find within or around the city of Kilvering. First, there are a dozen Lieutenants that handle the day-to-day operations of the Corps, with most of them working directly out of the headquarters there. From my own experience and knowledge, there are a few of them that are genuinely good people, and if we can turn them to our side, it would be highly beneficial to the running of the SIC afterwards. The others, however, should be considered hostile and eliminated if it isn’t possible to convert them.

“Secondly, there are the advisors who don’t necessarily have a ranking within the Corps, or who didn’t when I was there, but they are highly influential and dangerous, nonetheless. These include the Noble Liaison, Elaine Blackwind, who uses her still-significant power to control what she can of the SIC from inside the organization, as well as Wilburt Ventoro, the former Dean of Crystalview Academy, who has risen higher in power as he had been slated to take control of every Academy and Fort in the Kingdom.”

Larek was personally looking forward to dealing with Dean Wilburt.

“Finally, there are two Generals that we need to deal with. The first is General Auran, who leads the Mage branch of the SIC. She is a powerful Elementalist and Archmage, meaning that she doesn’t just specialize in one element or type of magic, but all of them; if she wouldn’t be absolutely crushed by the confrontation, she could probably teach the Gergasi a thing or two about casting spells. For all of her power, though, my interactions with her showed that she was firm but fair and not necessarily prone to rash decisions, which is perplexing when I consider what she’s allowed the SIC to do under her watch.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“And then there’s General Maxwell, my former boss. He’s extremely powerful and likely the highest-Level Martial in the entire Kingdom, and he has an attitude and arrogance to match his inflated stats. Despite that, he has a devious mind, and his strength isn’t necessarily in his muscles, but in his mind He’s invested heavily in Agility and has the Specializations to match his speed, and while he’s fast and hard to pin down, he also has the strength of arm to back up his Martial abilities. Just like General Auran, I believe that if he was able to go toe-to-toe with a Gergasi in a straight-up melee fight, he might be able to survive long enough to actually deal some damage to his opponent; but since that isn’t likely to happen, it’s a moot point.

“As for Kilvering, the heavily defended city is smaller than Thanesh and has a lower population. That population, at least while I was there, was comprised of nearly half Mages and Martials, with thousands of them in residence at one point or another as they waited to be sent out to help against the Calamity in different locations. Unfortunately, I can’t speak for what it looks like now, as the SIC has apparently mobilized all their forces to close the Calamity.”

“What makes you so sure that the leadership will still be in Kilvering, then? Won’t they be in the Calamity, as well?” Nedira asked.

“Because that wasn’t in the plan,” Bartholomew explained, shaking his head. “Leadership was supposed to stay behind to coordinate from outside of the Calamity, as it is the only reliable way to manage the incredible amount of logistics needed for such an enterprise. In addition, in case something goes wrong, having the leadership of the SIC available and—most importantly—alive is needed to pull their forces out and recover from the potential disaster, as they are the ones that the local people listen to, not the rank-and-file of the Corps.”

Larek didn’t understand that at all, as he would’ve expected that the strongest members of the SIC would be the first ones into the Calamity, to spearhead the way toward the center. Then again, this whole “plan” of theirs was something that had been years in the making, so he supposed that it made sense to someone.

“So, what is our plan, then? Barge our way through the gates of the city and demand to see the SIC leadership? And what do we do when we find them?” Penelope asked.

Larek chuckled darkly. “Barge through the gates? You’re thinking too much like a Martial. We can fly right into the city, remember? I’m going to land right on top of their headquarters building before they can even react.”

“Ah. Yes. That would make it much easier, wouldn’t it? But that still doesn’t answer my other question.”

The Fusionist was silent for a moment before he finally answered at a measured pace. “At first, when I realized we needed to deal with the SIC, I was hoping to find a solution that would convince the leadership to join with us without too much bloodshed, as we want them to work with us. Then they sent the Unspoken Response assassins after me, which was bad enough, but when they started killing innocent people – from Factions that were ostensibly on their ‘side’ – I felt that they all had to go. I’m not sure what to do about the Lieutenants that we find, as Bartholomew will have to tell us if they can be trusted or not, but the others he told you about are done. They’ve all crossed the line, and I can’t allow them to live after what they did.”

“Absolutely,” Penelope agreed vehemently, followed almost instantly by Vivienne. No one else seemed to object.

“As for any of the other members of the SIC that we encounter, incapacitate them if we can and ignore them if we can’t,” Larek added. “For the most part, they aren’t the enemy here, and unless they do or say something that changes that fact, then there’s no justification for killing them. We’re here to eliminate those in charge who’ve perpetrated the atrocities we’ve experienced, not wipe out a potential ally in the fight against the world of Corruption.”

The Fusionist still wasn’t exactly sure how they would convince the rest of the SIC to follow the lead of the Volunteers, as there would no doubt be pushback from the SIC leaders in the field, but it would have to wait until they took out their targets. He had a few ideas, and he would have to lean on his friends a bit to get them done, but it would likely be messy and fraught with danger.

Then again, it seemed as though just about everything nowadays was messy and fraught with danger, so that wasn’t too much of a surprise.

Bartholomew then took some time to describe the exact SIC headquarters building inside of Kilvering, but Larek had already obtained that information from his old bodyguard earlier. Instead, he looked at his Status, seeing the Level-up increases in many of his Skills from the last few days of Fusion-creation, and he was pleased at the progress he’d made.

Level 62

Advancement Points (AP): 20/39

Available AP to Distribute: 0

Available Aetheric Force (AF): 1,632,998

Stama: 8100/8100

Mana: 9630/9630

Strength: 324 [810]

Body: 385 [963]

Agility: 324 [810]

Intellect: 385 [963]

Acuity: 385 [963]

Pneuma: 8,667 [21,668]

Pattern Cohesion: 216,680/216,680

Mage Skills:

Pattern Restoration Level 75

Spellcasting Focus Level 90[100]

Pattern Recognition Level 99[109]

Magical Detection Level 103[113]

Multi-effect Fusion Focus Level 110

Focused Division Level 110

Fusion Level 115[125]

Pattern Formation Level 115[125]

Mana Control Level 112[122]

Pattern Manipulation Level 115

Martial Skills:

Ranged Weapon Expertise Level 10

Unarmed Fighting Level 13[23]

Blunt Weapon Expertise Level 15

Throwing Level 29[39]

Dodge Level 68[78]

Pain Immunity Level 20

Bladed Weapon Expertise Level 71[81]

Body Regeneration Level 72[82]

Stama Subjugation Level 95

Larek had even gained another personal Level, slotting 10 AP each into Body, Intellect, and Acuity, with the remaining 8 AP split between Strength and Agility, but that wasn’t the biggest change in his stats. That actually came from an update to his Omni Boost Fusion on his clothing, which he hadn’t changed for quite a while. Instead of only a magnitude of 10, he had increased it to 15, which boosted every stat by 150% over its base, so his Strength – for example – wasn’t just doubled from 324 to 648, but another 50% increase was added to it to make it 810. The new Omni Boost had greatly affected his Pneuma and therefore his Pattern Cohesion, shooting it past 200,000 all the way to just over 216,000 with just the application of the new Fusion.

While the Magnitude 15 Omni Boost would’ve been expensive for him to create even a year ago, it was only a fraction of his Pattern Cohesion – even at its base without any Fusion boosts. Theoretically, he was fairly certain he could produce a Magnitude 20 Omni Boost Fusion without too much trouble, but he held off at 15 for a reason.

The pain as his body reacted to the sudden increase of stats had nearly been enough to incapacitate him, as it wasn’t something that was reduced by his Pain Immunity Skill. It reminded him of his recent increase in stats thanks to his new Specializations, though not quite as bad; he thought that if it had been a permanent increase instead of temporary through the Fusion, then it might have done some serious damage or possibly even killed him. As it was, he didn’t think his body could handle any higher of a Magnitude right now, though that could change in the future as he continued to add to his base stats.

It only took a few hours to reach the area that Bartholomew had told them about, and with another 15 minutes or so to orient The Hopper toward Kilvering, they had arrived. As soon as Larek saw it approach in the distance, he slowed down, as he wanted to be aware of any defenses they may have in place, though he wasn’t sure what they could possibly have against an aerial assault like they were.

“Something’s wrong,” Bartholomew announced as soon as he spotted the outer walls in the distance.

“What do you mean?” Penelope asked, before she seemed to see it as well. “Oh. Yeah, that doesn’t seem right.”

It only took Larek a glance to notice it as well. “There’s no one on the walls. Didn’t you say it should still be defended, even with the majority of the SIC assaulting the Calamity?”

“Yes,” Bartholomew said, nodding. “But this looks like it’s practically empty.”

As they flew over the city, it didn’t take them long to see that Bartholomew was both right and wrong. Kilvering wasn’t exactly empty, as there were still hundreds of people moving around, including dozens in the outside fields, but Larek couldn’t detect or visually see any Mages or Martials down below. It wasn’t until they slowly drifted over the walls and made their way toward the center of the city that he finally found something.

“I’m taking it down,” he told everyone, heading for the roof of the headquarters building that Bartholomew had told them about. “I’m detecting magical signatures… but not nearly as many as there should be.”

Larek wasn’t sure what had happened that led to the emptying of the entire city of its SIC members, but he was going to find out.