Naran and I ate our meal in silence. “You noticed it right?” I asked after a few minutes of chowing down some fresh bread and fruit.

“You mean how the majority of the monsters went after you?” Naran asked back.

“Yes. What do you think their behavior is based on?” I lobbed back a question. Naran let out a small sigh and I knew exactly the reason he did that.

“Purchase, stats, aerial combat, or getting wounded, pick your poison. It is one of those three things. No easy way to tell which it is. The real problem is they didn’t home on you right away but homed on you after you killed a few. That is why I am tempted to say it is because of getting wounded or aerial combat, but that just feels too simple,” Naran elaborated and expanded on my current thoughts.

I hadn’t thought of getting wounded would be a targeting parameter. “Others were wounded, but the worms didn’t go after them?” I countered, playing devil’s advocate.

“Well, if you want to really start feeling the pain, it could be a combination of any of these things. Next time, I should probably be the one to make the purchase,” Naran said.

“You are faster and should be able to take more hits, focus on luring them to the Airship Port?” I asked.

“Yes, that would be the best option. But we might even get the same type of monster,” Naran countered.

“At least now we have a good explanation for why we haven’t spotted any high tier cities. One group of those monsters, and the place would be wiped. If no one was around, you think they target the store?” I asked.

“Probably, it would make sense as a secondary target after all the people are killed or in hiding. Wipe out the store, then everything inside the city dies. No more monsters, no more people, everything resets in a few hours, and you are back where you started,” Naran explained.

“It wouldn’t be simple to test either. If the monsters chase a person after purchasing the next level of upgrade, it would be a disaster. No way I would have had a chance ten to one, without the city shield, helping out,” I said and then looked up as Clarissa entered the dining area.

“Michael, Naran, good morning,” she replied.

“Clarissa,” Naran greeted her.

“Clarissa, good morning. How are things?” I asked to see if there were any updates on the situation.

“Expensive. Repairs aren’t cheap. But not that much in the large scheme of things. We should be fine in a day or so with repairs. As you know the Union teams were the hardest hit, that is going to affect long term income. There is some good news,” Clarissa said as she served herself some fruit and bread.

I was patient and ate quietly as she took a moment to gather her thoughts and eat a bit. “The disaster after the festival is being seen in a new light, after yesterday’s battle. Congratulations, you are more polarizing than ever, but your popularity is quite high overall,” Clarissa said.

“Oy, don’t give him a big head, he might float away,” Naran teased and I rolled my eyes.

“That would never happen. Since it is already as big as it can get. What about you?” I asked.

“The response is more reserved and mixed,” Clarissa shook her head slightly. “I want to say thank you, to both of you. You stopped yesterday from turning into a charnel house or having mass casualties, near a full wipe. I wanted the store upgrade, thank you for risking your lives in the battle and winning at great personal risk.”

“Don’t get sweet on me, you might make me blush,” Naran said with a grin. At Clarissa was thanking Naran as well as me. I sipped my pulped orange juice as I considered where she said.

“I am not happy with how things ended, but we gained information. While some people might call it a setback, each bit of information is more guidance on the pitfalls we need to avoid. Better to get burned a bit now, than on the upgrade after this one, with possible level 5 monsters,” I replied.

“It is a lot of points, but it isn’t world ending anymore at the very least. Leaving after breakfast?” Clarissa asked for confirmation.

“Yes. Just taking time to enjoy a victory meal celebration-“

“You can’t enter. Please!” I heard one of the guards say quite loudly from the entrance to this dining area.

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“I just wanted to thank the Champion,” I heard a woman respond. I looked at Clarissa who had gone rigid. Some drama among the staff, time to find out exactly what this was about. There were people I didn’t know and trust. That was why I had left my crystals in a chest in my room.

If they disappeared, then people would be purged, and Clarissa would be in deep shit. Assassins in public was one thing. People sneaking in where I slept was a completely different matter. I didn’t think anything would happen, but it was my own little test for Clarissa’s competence in managing my home. This would be another.

“Let her through,” I called out. A woman entered the dining area carrying a baby. One of the previously pregnant women, hmm, this could be interesting.

“Champion Michael, I wanted to say thank you for saving us all yesterday. It wasn’t the first time. You might not remember, but you saved me and your namesake here from the Ritualist,” the woman said passionately. There were tears in her eyes.

I looked at her. “It is no problem. I appreciate your support and kind words, stay safe and I am sure your kid will grow up to be a great person. He has a strong name after all,” I said.

“Thank you, Champion Michael,” she said.

“Shante, that is enough,” Clarissa said.

“My apologies Chief Administrator,” the woman, Shante said, and quickly left. It did not notice that she was wearing a uniform of one of my staff. I turned to look at Clarissa.

“I hired all the pregnant women,” Clarissa said bluntly. I blinked a couple of times as I processed that statement.

“That is your choice. I don’t want to deal with children. I also don’t want crazy stalkers in my home. That was the limit of what I can tolerate,” I said. This was meant to be a place I could destress and unwind. I didn’t want to have to look for traps here. I still had to, but it was something that annoyed me.

“I will give a gentle reminder to her and the other women,” Clarissa said.

“You knew about this?” I asked Naran. He paused mid-chew of some bread and quickly worked to swallow.

“Um, yes. I was a bit surprised, but it didn’t seem concerning,” Naran replied.

“I don’t want rumors I am the parent of these children. This is all you,” I gestured with my hand at Clarissa.

“I understand,” Clarissa replied.

“Why the pregnant women?” I asked, curiosity getting the better of me. I get looking out for them, but hiring them in my home, it realized how big Clarissa’s hiring and the staff actually were.

“They all took the offer. There could be medical issues regarding the children, they are under long term observation and to prevent any incidents from occurring,” Clarissa said. I nodded at that, that was smart. We could evaluate if there were effects on children more easily with a large, centralized group than having them spread out.

Also, there were probably some sick people like the Ritualist who would try some experiments with the children. Everyone showing up was in the age range they could be classified as adults, or young adults at the very least. They could be held accountable for their actions.

The children were innocent. None of them were Karens yet. I had no good line to draw regarding age, but I would probably say old enough to kill, old enough to be an adult. Whenever that happened, but it wouldn’t be for a while. Things could be handled on an individual basis until then.

I appreciated that the Almighty System didn’t dump children on us and really old people, but the births meant that it was just another headache that had come up. “Any issues so far?” I asked.

“No, but Doctor Katz is keeping a close eye on them. Since they are all too young to understand the store, his medical advice and pediatric specialty is quite valuable,” Clarissa said, and I nodded at that. The good doctor was probably happy about dealing with kids and not human experimentation.

“I should also pass on, that while he doesn’t think it will happen, there better be no experiments or tests on the kids beyond monitoring their health,” Clarissa said.

“It is fine. That is more than enough,” I replied. We finished eating and made short goodbyes after that.

Fethee was pulling the cart still. But on the way out of the city Naran stopped at the store. I was curious what he needed to get last minute. I looked over at the broken pillar and let out a long sigh. The debris had gone after the area had been covered over with a sheet, but the pillar was a jagged stump still.

I looked over and blinked a couple of times. Now that was thinking Naran. He held a massive sword in his hands. The thing was more a slab of sharp metal with a point almost as tall as he was. He grabbed the long hilt with two hands and lifted the entire thing up above his head.

It moved it around a bit, and I could feel the air swoosh about with every swing. He then went to one hand. I noted several people and the RMPF looking in on him. He finally stopped and nodded at me. We set out again towards the East gate.

“Nice sword,” I said as he was forced to carry it in his hand as we walked.

“A pain in the rear, but I am changing up my style. With a high Body stat, I need a sword like this that can take and dish out punishment without snapping,” Naran said.

“May I?” I asked. He carefully handed it over. I needed two hands to lift it.

“Damn, this is heavy. At least 1,000 Body to be able to wield it well,” I said and handed the monster sword back.

“I got some good advice after thinking on my fighting style,” Naran said.

“Well if you grow spikey blonde hair and have memory issues, then I will start being worried,” I replied with a grin.

“What?” Naran asked.

“That sword design and size looks like the buster sword. Really? Nothing?” I asked.

“I don’t know all the game stuff like you do,” Naran replied.

“Heresy. Once we get an airship, you are walking as a heathen,” I said. That was the point I was probably most sore about with the entire store upgrade failing. Don’t worry airship, one day I will fly you about the skies and call you Highwind and we would have glorious adventures.

“Then I can be chief heretic. So, this sword came from a game?” Naran asked.

“Yes, and people tried to replicate it. The issue always came down to size and weight. It is so large, the balance while swinging it is off,” I said.

“I will need to practice more. I have to counter brace with my feet. But I feel like I can exert myself much more with a chunky weapon like this, instead of a toothpick,” Naran said. I just ginned a bit, it was his choice, not one I would make. I preferred having my hands free for skills if possible.