“I am glad to see you are alive,” Clarissa said as I took my seat at the breakfast table with her. I had gotten back last night but had put off our discussion until this morning. “I thought you would have been more upset about losing the Crystal Vortex.”
“I am upset about that, but I got something much more valuable,” I replied while buttering some warm toast. I then explained what had happened while Clarissa listened to my summary of events. It was nice to know that my people kept their mouths shut about my meta-point. Clarissa would be the only other person I planned on telling.
While I had considered not telling her, we were in a partnership. Trying to hide an advantage in case of a falling out, would be the very thing that would lead to a falling out between us. Also, our roles were fairly clear in how we divided up responsibilities. She kept an eye on the overall government and various programs, I got stronger so I could beat down any threats. Me getting a meta-point would only reassure her that I wasn’t about to die.
“Congratulations. I will have to give it a lot of thought why you got one,” she said.
“If you can figure it out, that would be nice. I considered asking for information on that. But wasting a wish asking how to get more wishes…” I trailed off.
“Is a waste of a wish. You made the right decision. Something that is an all around boost and can grow with you is useful. Surprised you didn’t pick a skill where you got stat points from killing people,” Clarissa said. I let out a scoff at that.
“If it was way back when I first fought Death, then that might have been a good choice. But now, who is left? There are only two known threats left. The Sword of Ascalon and those shards out in that ruined zone,” I replied, and Clarissa nodded at this. “How are the studies going?”
“Slow and carefully. But no results so far. I am keeping an eye on anything done in that direction. Jacob Copper has been quite well behaved. He has been focusing on the nearby terrain changes. He speculates that they me high level terrain, level 7 or higher,” Clarissa said. The Master Fleshcrafter was a dangerous individual, but I would prefer he worked for me under supervision.
There just weren’t a lot of people with stats and a strong grasp of energy. It was incredibly frustrating, but just reaching the level of stat points needed to be a scientist made it very hard position to reach. Energy could only be felt through stats, and there was very little outside of stats where research could make progress.
“Hmm, that would be tough to battle in and raises some serious concerns. Why would there be a flesh terrain, and battling over the void would be a nightmare.”
“He mentioned about developing an energy battery a person could draw on,” she said.
“He can research, no mad science, and I won’t be participating. There is no need to try and grasp more power right now. After we get a link open, then I plan to explore the West before doing a long grind and doing the occasional tower,” I replied.
“Oh, going up the outside?” Clarissa asked.
“Yes. Going up the inside is too much of a hassle. I can pay for a small airship and just smash my way to the top,” I replied.
“Inelegant, but effective.” I preferred effective to elegant, so I took that as a compliment.
“What about things on your end, preparations?” I asked.
“They were in the planning stage, but I can speed things up. We will use The Abyss.” That was the city war to the West on the edge of the Rift. “Looking at the maps you dropped off, I am unsure what city to pick. One far to the West would be better positioned for dropping people off and them spreading out, but one to the East, on the other side of the Rift would be useful for a more defensive posture.”
“Are you asking me, or do you have a preferred outcome?” I asked.
“Asking. Since if we take a more aggressive posture, attacks would be more common and there is a higher chance you might have to intervene in the future,” Clarissa explained. I considered both options.
“This is long term. And even with a defensive posture, I might have to break a nation or two if they put up an organized defense.” I considered both options. There were ups and downs for both options. In the end the matter was one of practicality.
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“Defensive would probably be the best option. The shorter the distance between the portals, the less risk of something happening. Also, it would reduce any airship travel, and risks with that, saving points as well,” I finally decided.
“Then the main thing you need to do is upgrade both cities, to their max level. It will take about 10 days to put togeather an initial occupation force, and another 50 days, to get word out and begin moving people,” Clarissa said. “Are we claiming any territory around the new city and any opinions on the governor?”
“No. And no opinion. Well, I am thinking a military commander. It would be a military city and base, first and foremost. Buy up all the buildings, and heavily secure it. More so than Purgatory,” I explained.
“That is going to take a huge investment. And we don’t know if the Portal building will cost anything to activate,” Clarissa added.
“I leave the finances in your hands. But the goal is to send people West. If they want to come back they have to pay and be able to grind level 4 monsters. We can also look at raising the tax locally, while making travel free,” I added.
“We might lose too many people then,” Clarissa said.
“That is fine. The stable people who won’t complain will take over the spots and fill them up. The people who want to get powerful and not have to pay a tax can go West and fight it out. Eventually they will get tired and want to come back, then they can do that for one level 5 crystal. That would show they can grind level 4 monsters. We have more than enough level 4 zones,” I explained.
“And if they stay West?” Clarissa asked me. I knew she already had an idea, but she was getting a handle on my thought process to make sure things were done the way I wanted them to be done. It would be a much bigger headache if I came in later on and changed things on her.
“Let them stay out there. Claim a city. If anyone gets too big, I will head out there and crush them. Administration and grinding are not compatible. I highly doubt anyone will be able to set up a system like we have. Then the other nations will push back. As long as we don’t lose our fortress city, and I beat back anyone too strong, then it isn’t a big deal. It is about reach a stable state for long term,” I explained. “So, 10 days for an initial force and 50 days for a larger force?”
“Yes. I plan to dispatch most of our airships loaded with people to claim the city initially. The Airforce can remain there as well, along with half of the Imperial Army for the first 40 days. That should give you time to check the other nations and confirm the geo-political layout and the zones around the city.”
“I am not checking low level zones, our army will scout that?” I asked.
“Yes, all the level 3 zones in the area that was vacated. They will also take out any advance forces from other nations. By then we should have worked out the Portal buildings and I will send people through in large quantities. I will announce a planned tax increase in 450 days as well. That way people can save up and depart if they want ahead of time,” Clarissa said. That would put the tax increase on day 5,500.
“That’s a lot of lead time, any idea on the increase?” I asked.
“It will go up to 45% for all crystals level 3 and below. Level 4 crystals will remain at 30%, and anything higher will be 15%. That will hopefully motivate people into higher level zones.” I sipped some orange juice as I thought about those percentages.
“Same split I asked?”
“Yes. Right now, our GDP is around 600 million per day. Only 5 of that from level 1 zones, 150 from level 2 zones, 400 from level 3 zones, and 35 million from level 4 zones. Level 3 and 4 zones are heavily underutilized. But getting people strong enough for them is a massive headache.” I nodded at this. It was something Clarissa had complained about before.
“Really level 3?” I asked surprised.
“We have over 100 level 3 zones, but only 56 or so are actively being grinded. The utilization is under 50%. You need skills and stat points, which requires a lot of investment.”
“Ah skills, I am guessing that is the bottleneck?” I asked.
“Yes. But also getting enough stat points takes time. Equipment, traveling, supplies, everything adds up. Increasing the tax too suddenly will create a lot of unnecessary drama. If people are going to play the long game, then they can pay for it, but we need to separate them out. Now what about using the city we claim as a trading outpost?” Clarissa asked.
“In secure outer areas near the gates at most. It is not meant to be a long term place to stay. At least we can create an economy by having a market to export to, even if it is fairly small,” I said.
“Exporting beyond the city?” Clarissa asked.
“People can take the risks themselves.”
“This also means that we are going to lose control on our monopoly on summoning. We are ready for that, but that means Ritualist type people might pop up,” Clarissa added.
“As long as the fortress city is secured. If it can resist a level 5 monster, then there should be no problem. No one is going to be summoning beyond that, and if someone gets that powerful, we will hear about it. If they keep their head down, then they won’t cause trouble. Even if they do, I will be around to deal with things,” I said.
“Alright, then I will probably make the fortress cities budget independent, or at least decoupled after the initial investment, with everything going back into defense and beefing up the soldiers stationed there.”
“As long as there is rotation of the soldiers to fight monsters outside the walls. Even the commanders. I don’t what useless people who crumble in a fight. If there is more investment going into them, then they need to perform better. Also seizing nearby skills will be key to increase their power.”
“And skills?” Clarissa asked.
“They can be rotated back to get them on our half of the Systemic Lands, or they can work out something for the nearby dungeons. But I prefer they limit the push outwards. I want the civilians to have a shot, or adventurers. It will motivate them to fight and reduce their numbers,” I said.