I looked at the old carts where people were hawking a range of items for sale. Clarissa had assigned me two guards to keep the riff raff away. I had no objection. Melting people would apparently put a damper on the festival and celebration. Better to not let an incident get out of hand in the first place, than making me annoyed.

It was kind of amusing that a big portion of Clarissa’s job when I was around was keeping me from melting people or having me melt people. Well, that was why I preferred being my own boss. While I would take Naran’s and Clarissia’s opinion into account, it was not the fulcrum of my world.

“Straw hats! Look fashionable, while keeping the sun off you!”

“Top tier outfit designs. Look fashionable while being protected!”

“Vegetable bread, freshly cooked!”

“Guide sheets. Know the best way to fight monsters, increase your efficiency by over 20%!”

“Carved wood figures of Champion Michael! Express your support!” I paused at the last one. I went over to the cart that had been set up as a stall. The woman hawking the figurines paled when she saw me.

She quickly bowed deeply. “Champion Michael, welcome to my humble stall,” she said. I picked up a wooden figure. It was plain, but it captured my armor and it had a heroic pose. I had an action figure. I smiled at that.

“Rise. You carve these yourself?” I asked as the woman stopped bowing.

“Yes, Champion Michael. It is a hobby of mine. When the festival was announced, well I started building up a supply to sell. I hope they please you,” she said.

“How much are you selling them for?” I asked.

“Only twenty five points each,” she answered. I nodded at that.

“How did you get the cart?” I ask.

“A lot of Union teams sell them cheaply or give them away. I clean a couple of their homes while they are away and they let me use one of their old carts, I then had to get approved by the city administration,” the woman answered. Impressive how the city was functioning without me having to micromanage things. It was good to see people being industrious.

“I will purchase one, pay her 100 points,” I said. One of my guards quickly got out the crystals while I kept looking at the wooden figurine.

“Thank you Champion Michael for your kindness,” the woman said. I nodded at her and continued walking about. There were thousands of people around, it was honestly impressive.

That was when I heard a group of people singing. I went over and listened in.

Amazing grace! How sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me!

I once was lost, but now am found;

Was blind, but now I see.

Through many dangers, toils and snares,

I have already come;

’Tis grace hath brought me safe thus far,

And grace will lead me home.

The Lord has promised good to me,

His Word my hope secures;

He will my Shield and Portion be,

As long as life endures.

Yea, when this flesh and heart shall fail,

And mortal life shall cease,

I shall possess, within the veil,

A life of joy and peace.

The earth shall soon dissolve like snow,

The sun forbear to shine;

But System, who called me here below,

Will be forever mine.

When we’ve been there ten thousand years,

Bright shining as the sun,

We’ve no less days to sing the System’s praise

Than when we’d first begun.

They didn’t hesitate even when I took a spot near the front to listen in. It was impressive, they didn’t even become the slightest bit nervous. There was a round of applause as the chorus stopped singing. I clapped as well.

I almost missed it, but they had replaced a word. I knew it was a religious song, but they had replaced the word God with the word System. That was probably Clarissa’s doing. They probably had to get their song pre-approved to sing them here in the plaza. I doubted it was something they did on their initiative.

Clarissa was still looking for someone to run my church. She still hadn’t found anyone acceptable. I didn’t mind her taking her time on that issue. Since it would be a headache to constantly swamp people. Better to find the best candidate and stick with them.

“I think they deserve 1,000 points for such exceptional singing,” I said. The guard with me nodded and put two level 3 crystals and two level 2 crystals into the chest.

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“Thank you Champion Michael!” One of the men who had been singing said loudly.

“It was a pleasure to listen to,” I replied and there was some more cheering and clapping. I left the chorus as they began to sing the same song again. I listened to it in the background as I slowly walked around the festival.

“Fresh butter and warm fluffy bread! Only one hundred points!”

“Stone carved statues! Request a commission for your home!”

“Enchanted daggers of melting! Great for everyday use! Limited supply!”

“Cherry tarts, sweetest dessert in Purgatory!”

Oh, that sounded delicious. I stopped at the table a pair of women had set up. “How much?” I asked.

“Hundred points each,” one of the women said quickly.

“I will take one,” I said and the guard handed over the crystals. There was a small copper plate with a tart handed over with a fork. I took a bite. It was quite sweet and delicious. I quickly finished it off. I then returned the plate and fork, which one of women began washing off in a bucket off to the side. “Excellent, thank you,” I said.

“Any time,” one of the women said with a smile. I continued through the festival.

“Need a quick cut, look sharp today!”

“Want a good time, pick an escort to accompany you around!” I noted several good looking women and men lined up with clean clothes all smiling and waving. I moved past them.

“Try your luck! Find the crystal! Double your money!” Oh, a scam game. You needed these at a festival to make it really a festival. I was curious to how my stats stood up against Earth magic and sleight of hand.

I walked over to the table. “Welcome! Welcome!” The man said, clearly happy to get a customer. I noted that a small crowd was trailing behind. They all spread out to watch the drama that was about to happen. My guards were watching the crowd and people kept out of my way.

“How does this work?” I asked, delivering a straight line to help the guy out.

“Simple. I take this simple crystal and put it under a cup. I shuffle the three cups around. Then you guess what cup the crystal is under. You get, it right, you get the crystal. You get in wrong, you give me a crystal. Want to try?” I smiled and nodded.

“Sure, a crystal to the man,” I said. One of the guards set a crystal down on the table. I could see the showman a lot more nervous now. He realized I was a big wig in the city. With how long and how little I was around, it wasn’t a surprise I wasn’t instantly recognized. While I was wearing a dark blue robe with golden dragons, people might not truly realize what it meant. People could be so oblivious sometimes. The guards in dark blue armor were the big indicator I was important.

“Watch carefully, or you might miss it.” The man began to shuffle the cups around. I had developed a trick to slow down time, like it happened in combat. I began to shake my left hand as quickly as possible, time slowed down as my stats kicked in.

It was annoying there was no mental trigger. Still, it was a useful workaround. I easily spotted where the crystal ended up. “This cup,” I said and pointed once the man was done with his shuffling.

“Great job! The crystal is all yours. Want to try again?” the showman asked as one of my guards picked up the crystal.

“Sure. If you fool me, five hundred points if you fool me. Just the crystal if you lose. Don’t hold back,” I said slowly and calmly. The man looked at me for a moment and then smiled broadly. He began to shuffle the cups around and a crystal.

My left hand was vibrating as fast as possible as I saw him kick the crystal from cup to cup with blinding speed as he moved the cups about. He kept it up for half a minute. At the very last second he kicked the crystal up his left sleeve. He was panting a bit when he finished.

“Pay him five hundred points for the entertainment,” I said while I tapped my left wrist with my right hand. His eyes went wide and then he bowed his head at me.

“Thank you for your generosity,” the showman said.

“You won’t be able to fool someone of my level. It was a good learning experience though,” I replied as the guard handed over the crystals.

“Thank you Champion Michael,” the showman said with a bow as I left and continued to make my way through the festival.

“Find your fortune! Peak into the future!”

“Board games! Chess sets! Entertain yourself while in the wilderness!”

“Toss a ball into the hole and win big!”

“Dart throwing! Can you hit the target! Test your skill!”

“Got points! Setting up high limit poker game!” I paused at the last person. Poker, now that got my interest. I went over to the man at a table who was shouting.

“Poker I asked?”

“Yes, the casino is sponsoring a high limit game tonight. Trying to fill up the last few spots,” the man said. I was curious what high limit meant. Since my definition and others people definition were most likely very different.

“Type of poker and buy in?” I asked.

“Texas No Limit Hold’Em. Five thousand minimum, fifty thousand point maximum. Two rebuys allowed. One thousand point seat fee. No rake. Blinds are twenty five, fifty. Five seats have already been claimed, just three left,” the man explained.

“When is the game and how long?” I asked.

“At sunset, until midnight. But if people want to continue, that is up to them,” the man explained.

“Why not. Sign me up,” I said.

“Of course. My apologies, I don’t want to get your name wrong,” the man said. Really, you didn’t know it was your leader?

“Champion Michael,” I said calmly. The man’s eyes went wide. People truly were oblivious sometimes. I mean, if he was looking for whales, I was the whale of whales in terms of wealth.

“Of course, Champion Michael. My sincerest apologies for not recognizing you right away. The game is being held in the Crystal Casino right off West Street. Once you enter, you will be directed to the high stakes game,” the man explained.

“Thank you. A tip of twenty five points,” I said. My guard laid out the crystals. I left to the thanks of the hawker and continued to walk around the festival. I was about to complete a full circuit.

“Halt!” one my guards said. I looked over and my guards had their hands on their swords. A woman had come up to them.

“Champion Michael, let me have your babies! I will do anything you want!” The guards looked at me and I shook my head.

“Hey! Let go of me! He is my one true love! We will make the second coming of Jesus who will save us! Let me go!” I waited as one guard held the woman down while the other went and got a patrol of soldiers from the RMPF.

They hauled the woman up and dragged her away to cheers and shouts. Clearly the store didn’t fix crazy.