“Michael, good to see you. You are looking well,” Ken said as I sat down at the table inside the Gray Duck. We had the second-floor window seat, overlooking the plaza. I hesitated for a moment at his comment and took my seat.

“We were worried there for a bit, you weren’t going to make it,” Tyrese said. I took a sip of water and was silent. The silence continued to stretch out.

After about a minute, Ken finally spoke up. “What exactly happened? Naran wouldn’t say anything.” Good on Naran. I rubbed my left arm.

“I…” I knew what I wanted to say but didn’t know how to say it. These people weren’t my friends. They were my political rivals slash allies.

“I almost died.” They didn’t say anything, and I took another sip of water. Breathe, Michael, breathe. “I have been going over it in my mind. Dammit!” I shouted, anger surging through me. Anger at myself, anger at the stupidity of the Systemic Lands, and anger at how careless and stupid I had been.

“It was a level 4 monster. It appeared how Death would look like with a sword. It was near unstoppable. It…I still don’t know how I survived.” I rubbed my arm and felt cold despite the air being warm.

“Well, you won at least,” Tyrese said, and my gaze snapped right to him.

“WIN! I didn’t win! I survived, barely!” Shouting loudly. I noticed a waiter turn right back around and walk out of the room, but I didn’t care.

“Maybe, we should all just calm down,” Ken said. My rage spiked and the copper cup in my hand was crushed. Water spilled out onto the table.

“I am deadly calm. I am so fucking calm right now I could shove calm down your throat!” They both wisely shut up. “All I know is that a monster chased me into a city. A level 4 monster. If it came here, you would all be dead. Why did Death show up? Could another Death show up again?! I thought I was safe to some extent and understood the risks. But I was stupid, so stupid…” I trailed off and dropped the crushed copper cup. It hit the table with a thud. I leaned back in my chair and looked up at the gray ceiling.

Ken and Tyrese looked at each other but no one said anything. I knew exactly what they were thinking, had I finally lost it. Not my mind, but my edge. Well, it was probably both. I just felt worn down in a way I hadn’t felt in a long time.

It was incredibly stressful facing the unknown day after day. Just when I finally thought I understood the Systemic Lands and was making excellent progress, this happened. How strong did I need to be? What other disasters were out there? The questions were endless and kept rattling around in my head.

Breathe. I let out a long breath. Getting emotional wouldn’t help. I just constantly felt on edge. Like Death was about to appear behind me any second and dust me. I was about to rub my left arm again but stopped myself. Breathe.

“I shouldn’t have shouted at either of you,” I said.

“Not a problem. I can only imagine how stressful the situation was,” Ken replied.

“I have been thinking on the issue a lot. The most important thing is that a level 4 monster was not mindless. It stalked me across zones and into a city. It could have attacked right away, but it didn’t. it wanted to block me from entering the city and wear me down.”

“Did you enter a level 4 zone?” Tyrese asked.

“No, just a level 3 zone, and didn’t even find the dungeon in that zone. That could be it. It could also be a field boss of some kind that is just wandering around. It could have been chasing someone else and with its abnormal behavior was pulled into me. It could also be an event of some kind. But I think it was related to hitting one million points or so in crystals. But I can’t be sure.”

“Have we ever hit over a million points?” Ken asked Tyrese. I listened in for the answer to that question. That would be good information to confirm one way or the other.

“No. We had three quarters of a million, when it was stolen. Now we are back up to around 320,000 points.”

“If there is a point limit, then that means the City Shield and the next store upgrade would create a huge risk, since they both require one million points,” Ken said.

“Are you sure it was the points?” Tyrese asked. I stared at him.

“No. I am not sure Tyrese. Why don’t you go and collect a million points and confirm that for me?”

“Sorry,” he said.

“What scares me are the facts that the monster had abnormal behavior and entered a city. Aren’t monsters repelled?” I asked.

“Yes, we tested that with wolves. They would panic the closer they got and eventually try and kill themselves once they were brought inside,” Tyrese said.

“Well people won’t start saving up for a while. We are the only people saving up large amounts of crystals,” Ken said.

“There are walls and those tunnel entrances for a reason. We can’t afford to risk hitting a million-point limit without being sure,” I said. They both were silent. The waiter came in again and served toast and jam. I munched on the food.

“I…I can’t face something like that again,” I finally admitted. Both Ken and Tyrese grew quiet as they stopped eating. “Its speed was just…” I kept trailing off, not knowing what to say. It was a rare thing for me to be at a loss of words. But it was one thing to read about death, but another when Death came and dusted a part of your body. I rubbed my left arm.

This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

“There is no rush for now. We still have quite a bit of level 2 areas to explore and grind on,” Tyrese said.

“It completely outclassed you?” Ken asked.

“Yes. If I wasn’t clear before. It was faster, stronger, and deadlier than me. I got lucky,” I muttered.

“I would guess there was more than luck involved, but as Tyrese said, there is no rush. We should probably warn the Union and keep the information contained,” Ken said.

“Why, shouldn’t we issue a general alert?” Tyrese asked.

“If a million points is enough to call on a level 4 monster, this is now a strategic weapon. Also, what would a monster want with crystals. They completely ignore them and anything else besides people,” Ken said. At least someone was thinking about the full implications of what had occured.

“If level 4 represents a change in behavior, the skills from dungeons in level 3 areas are probably quite powerful and the boss monsters even more dangerous,” Tyrese said. That was obvious enough, but you idiots are only thinking benefits.

“We need to prioritize our defenses long term. Specifically, the Tower Gates at 100,000 points each. There is an option to purchase one for each entrance.”

“You wanted Monster Processing,” Tyrese said.

“I did, but I believe we need to prioritize defense now,” I said.

“We aren’t in danger of hitting that point limit for a while, specifically if we manage our reserves. What is being stored up per day?” Ken asked as he grabbed the top of his cup to pick it up for a drink.

“Around 7,500 points are being saved up each day. With the auctions and other income, we are looking at around 10,000 points per day on average that is allotted to city upgrades and have 320,000 currently reserved,” Tyrese explained.

“Any projections on how taxing level 2 crystals will impact things?” I asked.

“A team is averaging around 200 50-point crystals a day. Varies depending on the monster. Spending 20 days out there, means around 200,000 points per team or 20,000 in tax. There are 15 Union teams out right now, so that means 300,000 points every 25 days. The city would get 60% with the planned tax structure, which we have already implemented everything except the tier 2 tax,” Ken explained. He really was on top of things today.

“That is 180,000 points every 25 days currently, or 7,200 points. With attrition of the teams, we are looking at 6,000 more points per day on average,” Tyrese laid out all the numbers. “I am keeping a much tighter watch on the general fund after what happened.” I nodded at that.

“That means we are going to hit half a million fairly soon then.”

“With the tier 2 tax, probably day 270 to day 275,” Tyrese said.

“The Rod of Control, I want to be here when it is purchased,” I said.

“Of course, there is a lot of leeway until we get closer to one million points,” Tyrese said.

“After that, perhaps we should draw up a list of purchases to make if you aren’t available?” Ken asked.

“We already have our order. Rod of Control, Monster Processing, and then four Tower Gates,” I replied.

“I thought my choice would be next and still Monster Processing?” Ken asked.

“It will provide information. Key information. Also, if we can begin processing monsters, we should start doing it sooner rather than later to build up an advantage if possible.”

“Very well. I was hoping for the Alchemical Hall,” Ken said.

“That is 250,000 points and for the drugs?”

“Partially, but also to explore that aspect. Monster Processing is first in line though.”

“Depending on the Rod of Control, I wanted to suggest Airship Port,” Tyrese said.

“But we have no way to make airships?”

“The port probably comes with facilities or will make them available from the store.” That made sense and I nodded at that.

“Well, we have a list going forward. I do want to purchase every upgrade we can before buying the next store upgrade, since that would be upgrade number four. The level 4 monsters were abnormal, if the store triggers something we need to be prepared.”

It was good to talk through things and consider options. Still, I didn’t want to face Death again, especially any time soon if I could help it. I wanted another couple thousand upgrades first, before I would even consider something like that.

“Sounds like a plan,” Ken said.

“The next biggest issue is the convention. You will be attending now, right?” Tyrese asked.

“Yes. I plan to sort that out and I don’t have much patience for stupidity at the moment,” I said. There was too much to deal with right now and Purgatory needed to be sorted.

“Ah, you heard about the push against the Immortal Council idea,” Ken replied, and I stared at him. He wilted a bit in his seat.

“Yes, pushback. Well, if people think they can push me around, they better buckle up. It is now even more important we stabilize the long-term political situation and keep skilled people with Purgatory.”

“I didn’t want to bring this up, but I have news from Truth,” Ken said.

“Yes?” I asked. I was kind of curious but also worried what horrible news came from that place.

“Ruth managed to claim both dungeons and then disappear from Truth,” Ken said.

“What do you mean disappear?”

“The teams we sent to claim the dungeons have reported back that they haven’t seen her at all by the store, anywhere in the city, or any dungeons. The city has fallen back into chaos. She hasn’t been spotted in Purgatory or Neo Brasilia either.” That didn’t mean anything. The cities themselves were mazes.

She did have Acid Shot and Sleep. With a third skill and/or upgrades, she could be anywhere. She probably wised up to how horrible that city was and just left it. But where did she go? Did she flee through zones? That was risky, if you stumbled or a monster caught up with you, then it was death.

That was something I never wanted to do. Make a run through monster territory. The risk was insanely high. Even when Death itself was after me, I wouldn’t have done something like that. I would guess East, since she knew the zone layout and would be looking for a city.

Maybe it had been a foolish idea to tell her. But that meant she rushed past the striped cats or summoner ants to the East. I didn’t hold much hope for her, good riddance.

“Let’s not worry about her. I doubt she will stir up trouble here in Purgatory. As long as we control the store here, she can’t hide out for long,” I said.

“If someone else buys her food. There are a lot of desperate people in the outer city,” Ken replied.

“She isn’t a criminal. If she wants to flee or disappear, that is her choice. I am done with her. What I want to understand is why this Constitution is getting out of control?” I asked and stared at both of them.

Ken let out a long sigh and took a long sip of his drink. “The issue is that you wanted a wide range of voices present to get buy-in. That also means that people have their own agendas.”

“Well, your agendas better align with my agenda, and you better tell your people. If we aren’t on the same page, say something.” Tyrese and Ken both nodded.

“I will make sure I support you and let my people know,” Tyrese said. Finally, we were getting aligned.

“I will tell my people as well,” Ken added. He was plotting something and appeared a bit stressed. Time to squeeze him a bit.

“The drugs. How are they going?” I asked.

“We are calling them potions now, and quite well. Still, the creator Chase is a bit difficult.”

“Problem,” I asked.

“You will see when you ask for how they are made. If you can sort that out, I would be indebted to you,” Ken said.

“Well, it is something related to this place, so I want to know. Never know when some key bit of information is useful.”