High Priestess
I carefully observed Michael climbing up the tower. He was making good progress. I considered the exact timing and considered the Divine Empress. She was able to spot my spying and disrupt it when she noticed, which made it a lot more difficult.
While I had the backing of the Almighty System, it wasn’t that observant over everything all the time. It just noticed certain things at certain times. Tapping into it was exhausting as well, which was why the Divine Empress had become such a headache. Each time she had disrupted me, it had forced me to spend more of my own energy to reestablish a remote view.
Timing was everything in what was about to occur if I was going to kill the Divine Empress. I was considering how everything would play out. It was too soon for me to speak to the Astrologer, and I was not entirely sure what he would do.
While I could predict Michael to some extent and I had watched the Astrologer’s homunculus quite often, the man himself was an enigma for the most part. Those who knew him well were dead. But he had the skill and experience to pull off what was needed.
I had debated about speaking with him for the longest time, but letting him know too far in advance of what needed to be done could invite complications. He would not hesitate at any chance to kill the Divine Empress, that much I knew.
But she needed to arrive right after Michael arrived at the top. He had managed to fight her and while her wounds were severe, she was slowly recovering from the long term damage. That was why I had been trying to delay Michael as much as possible.
It was not a simple or easy task, but the Almighty System changed the floors for each group that entered. While I couldn’t change some of the key rules like the repetition of floors, I could make the higher floors more difficult than they should be to slow him down.
Making the changes wasn’t simple either. I could tweak the things that were possible, but not make wholesale changes. The puzzle floor had been my big hope to slow Michael down, but he just rushed his way through.
The double boss room that took up the entire floor had been a good choice. Also, the increased number of traps and spawners would slow him down even more. The Divine Empress would be moving into position soon as well.
It was unfortunate that she knew about the nature of the towers and that one wouldn’t be able to catch up to another group once the first group had gone in. That was technically a strategy, a person could wait in an area, to stop other people from advancing.
I suspected the Astrologer would try that trap if the Divine Empress entered. He had managed to take control of a single door. It was clever, a battle for each one to outlast the other. Unfortunately it would not work with the Divine Empress’ insight into energy.
She would be able to maintain herself and eventually break through the blockade had planned. She was waiting on top of the tower instead for whomever triumphed to exit, kill them, take the reward, and then keep searching for her child.
It was telling that she believed that Michael would make the climb and that there was a chance the Astrologer would escape as well, and she was taking the time at the top of the tower to rest and real her energy.
Still, she would be vulnerable and the Astrologer would play his part and so would Michael. But timing, timing was everything to make this work. While the Divine Empress waiting at the top of the tower was a lucky break, there was no way she would let Michael go after what he had done.
The loss of his hand and the chase had been more than enough proof of that mindset. The Divine Empress was proud, but that was one of her flaws I would use to kill her. It would be tricky, but it could be done.
Chief Administrator Clarissa
“So, Doctor, the weapon, how long?” I asked Doctor Katz.
“The prototypes work for single shots. After that the enchantments are fried and the cannons are just scrap. But that has been with level 2, 3 and level 4 cannons. If you want something stronger, then I need the crafting crystals.” I winced at that. Level 4 monsters weren’t simple to kill unfortunately.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
“What about multiple level 4 cannons? Would that work?” I asked him.
“Maybe. But I wouldn’t count on it. Even with an annihilation effect at the target area. Also the sheer quantity needed, would make them a lot harder to conceal. There is a range boost to the various cannons that are used at the higher levels.”
I let out a sigh. The arrival of the Divine Empress had been chaos and she was like a natural disaster. “Honestly, after seeing her myself, I don’t believe anything less than level 6 cannons will have a chance of killing her,” I said. Shame warred inside of me, that I had run away.
I could see that Doctor Katz was frustrated the way he clenched his hands. We had discussed it briefly, but there was nothing he could have done either time. She was just too strong, and he was too weak. It felt frustrating to be so helpless, but that was why this super weapon was critical to taking her out. “It is lucky you are alive. She has cut a swath through our clearing teams.”
“Champion Michael?” The doctor asked. That was a lot harder to say. I had no idea how long it would take him to climb the tower. Doctor Katz wouldn’t say anything about the bomb in his gut, but that Champion Michael needed to hurry and find a way to get it out.
“He entered the tower with the Astrologer, since he went in that direction with the Divine Empress right on his heals. I can’t believe he managed to outrun her that far. No idea where she went, but the fact that she hasn’t turned up means she went inside the tower as well, or is waiting nearby in hiding for Champion Michael to come out. Perhaps both,” I explained.
“That makes sense, you have people looking?” Doctor Katz asked me.
“A single team is grinding near the tower. Not the best solution, but if something happens, being able to respond quickly is important. Now the super weapon, I want all the level 4 cannons you can make. Can you tie them into a central firing system?” I asked.
“No. The cannon is charged, then a physical barrier is removed for when it needs to fire. No way to link all those cannons together without something going wrong,” he replied.
“So, it would be obvious that it was a trap,” I replied.
“Yes. Energy has density, or weight to it. That is why higher level attacks can hit harder and deal more damage. I don’t know what the cap is, but I believe fairly high. The UCS never managed to find the cap either. There might be no cap, but it is hard to say. But more concentrated energy is better than a lot of energy.”
“That is why we need level 5 crafting crystals. So I can make some level 6 crafting crystals and several cannons at that level to create the superweapon,” Doctor Katz explained.
“That just won’t be possible. Even level 4 crafting crystals are off the table for now. You will have to make do with level 3 crafting crystals,” I told him.
“That is your decision. I am just saying it probably won’t work.”
“Quantity is a quality all on its own Doctor Katz,” I told him while thinking how to lure the Divine Empress into a trap she would be forced to commit to.
Ruth
I smiled. I had made it far away to the East past Heaven. That had been so long ago, but the Ritualist still gave me the chills. What an idiot. Still, I had stolen enough knowledge and had managed to drag a cart of supplies out to this level 3 frostlands zone.
There were Blue Leaf Beasts, that shot frozen leaves at me and froze anything they touched. They weren’t that hard to kill. I would kill a lot and then go back and cash in my crystals. It had been super easy to move through the city for some reason and no one had challenged me.
It was probably my innate luck. After everything bad that had happened to me, things were finally turning around. Once I got enough points and got my stats up, then I would really focus on my skills. I had changed my appearance a lot as well to hide better.
My hair was quite short, and I wore armor, along with a helmet. It made it hard for people to recognize me if they had seen me before. I wasn’t that worried, the odds of running into Michael or Clarissa was far too low and they were far ahead of me now.
It was all their fault for what they did. But I would have my revenge one day and find my children. It was only a matter of time and getting more power. It was the Divine Empress’ loss to have me tortured and locked up.
A shame my teammates had been killed as well. Finding good help was hard, but in time I was sure I could form up an elite team. I knew the secret of consumption and summoning, so I already had a huge advantage. I just had to be careful not to leak it, no matter what.
Well, once I had enough power to kill level 4 monsters, I might recruit some fresh blood and keep them around. It was always good to have meat shields to take the attacks for me. I could begin building back up and slowly infiltrate Clarissa’s organization.
It was more porous than a sponge. But she was always an idiot from what I could remember. She just got lucky. Well, she had nothing compared to my skill and talent. Honestly, she should just hand over her position to me and let me run everything, since I was so much smarter than her.
I killed another leaf beast and looked at the tower in the distance. Once I had enough strength, I was going to climb that and get whatever treasure was hidden inside. It had to be something good, since the tower was so large and a clear symbol of authority.
Perhaps the Almighty System would put me in charge of the tower once I climbed it. Ruling over the land with my knowledge and wisdom. Hmm, that sounded like quite the good idea. Well, it was only a matter of time until I had enough power to climb it. Once I did, and took the power inside of the tower, I would be unstoppable.
That was the problem with all these people. They were short sighted, and not true visionaries like me. I knew things. Secrets and power. Nothing was going to stop me now and soon I would rise to the top.