“It is day 863 by your calendar.” That meant I had been in the tower for just over a month. That was good to know and a little bit surprising that the Avatar had answered. The air rushed past us as the airship sailed forward across the Systemic Lands to Heaven.
“I am curious, why don’t you fix yourself?” I asked and gestured with my right hand at the Avatar. I got dirty looks from her people listening in but I didn’t care.
“Even if someone loses a leg, or an arm. Their energy would still remember. Even over a long period of time, years and years. That would provide the scaffolding to build from. Even curse damage, is just that damage. Even an annihilation attack, is only curse damage.”
“What the Divine Empress and her Master Fleshcrafter did to me is beyond that. They removed all possible traces of my limbs and body parts. I would have to build out the energy in its entirety. While I do have quite a bit of skill, talent, and a bit of help, it is beyond me.”
That was a much more in-depth answer than I was expecting. “I didn’t expect you to be so in depth,” I replied.
“Do you think I enjoy the limitations placed upon me? To have to take actions to maneuver people to get the desired outcome. If I could explain all that I know to you, then I have no doubt we could work together.”
“That might be going a touch too far Avatar. After all the situations and setbacks, you have caused me.” I shook my head. If I wasn’t done with fighting after that tower climb and rolled to not fight, then I would have killed her, or at least captured her.
It was still a tempting idea. To end this problem before it became one. But in a fight to the death, nothing was ever simple. Also the Avatar might be a scheming human nugget of the worst kind, but she was also capable and I had won in the end.
Also, the lift back was quite nice, and I didn’t want to ruin it. While I could drag myself with one arm across the zones, back to the city, it would be incredibly annoying. She got some Michael points for this, even though she was still in the hole in my mind.
“Saving people isn’t simple. Saving humanity is much harder.” She clearly had an idea of what happened to Earth.
“That vote, its not a vote to return home is it?” I asked and got silence in return. Not even a twitch from the Avatar. I let out a long sigh at that. “Final boss battle?” I asked.
“Something like that.”
“Something like that. And there are multiple things to vote on as well. Is level 10 the highest level of monster?” I asked.
“Curious how you stack up?” she replied with a question, which was annoying, but I decided to humor her since she had been in a sharing mood on this trip.
“Curious how far I have to go. I beat level 5 monsters. I might be able to beat a level 6 monster,” I said.
“Level 10 as you call it is a good benchmark to aim for. It is less about stats and more about leverage of energy and focusing it. Stats are a crutch to understanding. I would say that once you get to 100,000 stat points, their impact will be much less. It should be considered a soft cap.”
My eyes went wide at that. “Thanks for the information. A soft cap? But what about Regeneration and Spirit? Having energy inside oneself and using it for skills I asked? You mean the impact will become less per stat point?”
“Yes. It will. After that point it is less about more stats and more about understanding energy in combat. I would caution you against fighting a level 7 monster, that is where they begin to understand energy itself and can manipulate in ways that are hard to counter if you are not prepared.”
“Or a way to get a meta-point. I feel cheated, about the top of the tower. A vote? Something I can’t even use,” I complained while internalizing what the Avatar had told me. All this information was solid gold. I would take all I could get. Another reason to keep her around for the tidbits she dropped like this.
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“A meta-point is rare, very rare. From what I can tell there have only been 20 given out over the last 12 or so years. Since this place first formed. That is across all cities and all people. Many of them have died. As for the vote. It is precious and I would argue one of the most powerful things a person can possess. Even if you do not understand the value now, it is beyond priceless. Gather them, Champion Michael.” She really was dropping all the knowledge bombs on me. Was she trying to bribe me with knowledge? If that was the case, it was working.
“So you can suggest how I vote?” I asked.
“No. But each vote holds tremendous power for the future. It is not an exaggeration to say that the future of everyone will hinge on the votes cast. The Almighty System is not a believer in democracy, but then if not democracy, how to let people self-determine.” That made some kind of sense. The way I understood meta-points were awarded, the Almighty System prized people going out and being independent.
Climbing a tower, and getting the golden pillar was a sign of independence. A sign that a person was strong enough to have a say. “What about the other person who has cleared a tower?” I asked.
“To the West, beyond the Rift. That is all I can say.”
“Hmm,” I let out a soft hum. It was impossible to take the Avatar at her word. She just felt so untrustworthy and her actions in the Forbidden City were a hinderance. “Why act that way in the Forbidden City?”
“I wanted to escape, and the timing was close. If I went with you, then the Divine Empress would have found us both. Even on an airship and working together, we could not have beaten her. The Astrologer was needed to pose as her child to strike at her. I had thought he would kill her, but she was too strong.”
“So I saved the day and pulled you plan out of the dumpster fire,” I countered.
“It was a win for you as well. Killing her. But there was no other way to land a crippling blow on her. She could fight level 7 monsters and win. The gulf between her and anyone else was too great to bridge.”
That was a bit of a shock. I knew the gap in combat ability was large, but I didn’t realize it was an entire level. There was no reason for the Avatar to lie about something like this. In the end, I had won and she was dead. Even if the Avatar had arranged things to happen, it had worked out.
It was hard to reconcile. I hated the process, but I liked the end result. Killing the Divine Empress and avenging myself and Naran was something I wouldn’t change. If she had been out to kill me from the start, there was no way I could have survived.
Her actions at the base and the top of the tower made that clear. She had not unleashed her skills upon me to take me out at a distance. The few victories I had, were because she wanted to capture me and make me talk. Or just torture me for as long as possible and maybe turn me into furniture.
My feelings on the entire situation were complex. It was like getting into a accident or beat up, but then getting a large monetary settlement later. It didn’t make up for the pain, but it helped the hurt feelings. “What of the tumors inside of me? Can you help there?” I asked.
“No. But I do suggest you take care of them as quickly as possible. The Astrologer. He suffered a major setback. His influence was purged from the Divine Empress right before you killed her. Getting kicked off the tower would have dealt him a heavy blow as well. But he won’t be content to just hide.”
“Of course not. Nothing can ever be easy,” I let out a sigh. “You can’t help with the tumors?” I asked.
“No. I can’t kill or heal like that. Work to purge them yourself. It will take time, but you will always be weak to him until you manage to remove his influence.”
“Anything in my head?” I asked hesitantly, not sure if I wanted to know the answer.
“Yes. Similar to what he had done to the Divine Empress.” That meant I needed a way to filter or block my hearing to prevent him from triggering the tumors in my head. I had Astrologer cancer. That was very annoying.
“Thanks for letting me know,” I told the Avatar. While I disliked her a lot, she had given me useful information. And the Divine Empress was dead.
“Indeed. Also you don’t need to randomly insult me anymore,” she said.
“Hah! So, you were listening,” I replied with a grin. I pointed at her with my right hand. I knew she had been listening in. Someone like her wouldn’t be able to help herself.
“I occasionally did. I had been hoping to talk to you, and I am glad I can talk to you now. Peace is always preferable.”
“Peace. That is a loaded word. Since the version of peace people imagine can be quite different. So, what is in the future, what plots are you plotting Avatar?” I asked.
“Nothing for now. The Divine Empress is dead. You have an Empire to build up, skills to sort out, and Astrologer cancer to purge from your body. I plan to be content with managing and helping my people grow and prosper.”
“Like the Protector. Well, four cities isn’t that much to give up. Will there be more manipulations of me?” I asked the Avatar.
“I can’t say a lot of things. I can only suggest courses of action. But the main thing now is to build up strength. I would be willing to team up in the future. The greatest scryer possible is always a boon.”
“I find that hard to believe that you would be willing to team up and I still don’t trust you,” I let out another sigh at this. “I will have to think on it a lot more. Your actions have made it hard to trust you Avatar. But they have also redeemed you as well.”