I left the Free City of Hong Kong in the morning, reloaded on supplies and a fresh map. I had my route planned out. I would be heading to the East, just North of the last level 3 zone I had cleared and from there making a full loop around the city in the level 3 zones.
There were surprisingly only two void zones. One was to the Southeast and the other in the opposite Northwest corner. Going from zone to zone like that should net me 12 more zones but the Protector had informed me that one of the zones had a tower.
We had talked about the towers as well, but he knew nothing, other than the people who went in didn’t come out and that airships were useless for getting on top. I had asked about his city making airships, but he said that it wasn’t a focus right now, they were concerned about self-development.
I was a bit skeptical about that since airships provided a massive tactical advantage as a high point. One could rain attacks down and quickly out pace a person trying to move through the air. On top of that there strategic value was immense. One could travel quickly.
However he had warned me that the cost was not worthwhile for going from dungeon to dungeon from what he knew. They were methods of travel for long distances but not for grinding. I could get that, but the idea of having a base somewhere out in the wilderness even if it was an airboat was quite appealing.
I had already figured that fighting level 4 and level 5 monsters wasn’t for the grind but for experience. It was frustrating in a strange way that having an airship wouldn’t help that sort of plan. If I was going to grind then an airship would make sense. Park it somewhere and use it as a mobile base while I cleared monsters from the same zone over and over.
But taking it from dungeon to dungeon or zone to zone was not worthwhile. Still, he didn’t have the manufacturing facilities in his city. That was his choice but I figured he was just hiding them away from the plaza since there was an Airship Port. Why have that if you don’t have the manufacturing facilities?
It would make for a great escape option. Even if it was just his Congress and President running things, as long as the core of the leadership survived he could always rebuild. Just like I needed to keep Clarissa alive he needed to keep his people alive as well.
It was an amusing thought, that the top bureaucrats would all get personal airboats to escape in while everyone else including myself had to trudge around. But I could also understand it in a way. An airship was very visible and obvious. That was probably why the Divine Empress didn’t use one. She could just casually stroll along and once you were in her range, it was too late. An airship would allow people to see it and hide or run.
Well it was time to start racking up the skill points. With eleven more from just around the Free City of Hong Kong, that would put a dent into what I needed to max out my skills. I needed thirty three more for all four of my skills.
I wasn’t sold on Force Wave but it appeared to be the best combination option and it had defensive properties as well. I couldn’t wait until this current crisis was over to really sort out my skills properly and upgrade them the right way.
Honestly it had felt like a bit of a mess for the longest time rushing with the skills I had originally picked. Air Burst and Acid Shot were not going to change. I liked both of them and being able to maneuver in mid-air was too important in a fight to give up.
What was on my mind was Aqua Sphere. The skill was decent protection, but I just felt ambivalent about it. It did its job, but I wanted a single directional defense. Like a shield or a wall. Or an negating energy skill like the Divine Empress had. That would be the best option.
But finding the right skills would take time. Time that I did not have. While I had spent a lot of time talking with the Protector it was concerning that the Divine Empress was acting and I wasn’t sure where she was or what she was doing.
Well there was nothing I could do about it, except focus on upgrading my skills. Getting crafting crystals. And then checking on the status of the super weapon.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
I rubbed my stomach. It had been bothering me more lately. The restorations had been helping but there might be something more going on. Probably all the stress and using my muscles if I had to guess. I might finally get some abs and not just the name of my pet. That put a smile on my face.
I had been checking my stomach on and off and while it was annoying that they hadn’t appeared after two years, all the flab was gone. That put a smile on my face.
Passing several grinding groups along the way they had given me glances, but didn’t bother me. I wasn’t sure if word had already gotten around, but I was glad to be left alone. The Protector clearly ran a tight ship which was both impressive and worrying.
I closed in on the first level 3 dungeon. It was an ant mound again summoning hordes and hordes of ants. It wasn’t that hard to reach the level 4 summoner and kill them off despite the number of ants. I just unleashed wave after wave of Acid Shot and moved quickly.
The thing was speed for these summoners. I had noted in my previous fight with summoning type monsters, trying to slowly battle your way through was a bad idea. Just better to risk it and rush in. While it felt dangerous it was much easier that way.
Frost Bubble and Joy Drain were interesting skills, but nothing that I wanted. I picked the eighth upgrade for Acid Shot, going with multi-cast. The ability to use the skill like a machine gun was too good. I could just keep activating one acid shot after the other.
It would be great for having people and monsters keep their distances. With the dungeon cleared, it was getting dark, but I set off to the North. The level 4 summoners hadn’t been that special except summoning level 3 monsters.
With my Body stat it hadn’t been a problem and they hadn’t been able to breach my mental defenses. In fact it was actually disappointing in a way after the Ritualist had given me such a hard time.
As I was racing towards the next dungeon, I paused as I saw an airship approaching from the West. It was aimed right for me. I had taken to scanning the skies occasionally. It wasn’t that visible, but they had lights on it. If it was me, I would fly in the dark, maybe.
Honestly I needed to know more about airships first, but this could only be one person if they were coming all the way out here. It slowly descended. The airship came down onto land and I saw the woman herself, strapped to an upright table. The airship was hovering off the ground. She was wearing clothes. “Champion Michael, we need to talk.”
“I can’t kill you, but I don’t trust you,” I replied and approached. I could see her guards shifting nervously.
“If we don’t talk, then I will tell the Divine Empress where you are.”
“Go ahead. I will already be moving. It will be a game of cat and mouse,” I replied and kept closing the distance. The airship lifted off before I could get too close.
“Foolish. I wanted to talk.”
“There is nothing to talk about,” I called out as the airship lifted off and took off towards the East. I paused at that. Perhaps I should have been more politic, but I couldn’t hide my murderous mood. Why was she even coming out here.
Still, she had revealed four pieces of information. The first being that she could track my location. The second key piece was that communicating at a distance was difficult. To pay for an airship to come out into the wilderness to bother me. That was insane. I shook my head at that.
“Foolishness,” I muttered. The third piece of information was that she wanted me to do something, but I wasn’t going to even listen. And the fourth piece of information was that she was willing to force my hand.
That wasn’t good. I shook my head and kept doing what I had already planned. There was no point in changing anything. The Avatar could fly about and try to talk to people, but if no one listened to her, then she would be limited in what she could achieve.
Why stop here though? I looked around, but didn’t see the Divine Empress headed for me. The fact that the Avatar was heading East as well was concerning, since she controlled cities in the West. She was making a move.
Well, I just had to hope Clarissa could counter whatever she had planned. I was set on my path. What could she want in the East? I didn’t see the Shadow Council on her airboat. Maybe they were hiding in the tiny cabin, but I doubted it. Was she going to challenge or do something to my forces?
Clarissa had already sent word out to the Commanders and Captains that the Avatar was not to be trusted and should be ignored. We couldn’t kill her, but ignoring was the best option. It was a shame she hadn’t stuck around. I would have enjoyed taking her airship, or the airboat as I called it with how small it was.
Well, back to chasing after my next dungeon and I focus on getting ready for a fight. That was the best option for me. Having plans made beforehand and sticking to them, ignoring her, and taking everything she had were my three plans to fight the Avatar since I couldn’t go after her directly.
Still, I should have probably talked with her. But I just didn’t want to. After talking with the Protector, I couldn’t deal with someone like her. I just couldn’t. It would aggravate me to no end and make me doubt everything I knew. She had a way of just messing with my head and confusing me. So no talking, and she clearly didn’t want to be a prisoner again. So, all she could do was run.
Good luck, have fun running Avatar. I won’t be holding my breath for you or about you.