Chests were off loaded with the 5.4 billion points. I had really pushed myself the last 30 days or so to get everything that I could grind out from the two level 7 zones. I wasn’t ready to try a level 8 zone. I could take on the boss monsters one at a time, but in a horde, I would be done for. I had only cleared the other level 7 zone’s boss arena, upgrading power of Force Shot. I could now make very powerful explosions.

I had tested them out on level 7 monsters and easily blew them apart. The energy cost was highly concerning, but at least I could deliver one super attack to deal actual damage. I wouldn’t feel helpless before the sphere again.

The rest of the time, I spent on getting points. These points were planned for already. To change the plans, I had made before would have disrupted everything that was being worked on. I noted Michelle had come back as well, since the Crystal Vortex would be getting upgraded and worked over in the next five days.

It would also give me and the other main combatants time to rest while everything was built with this massive influx of points. That many points was about another 9,000 stat points for me. That included the meta-point multiplier. It would have allowed me for staying power, but making super weapons was more important.

Once this crisis was over, I needed to go back to grinding and get stronger as quickly as possible. “Welcome back. Michelle got back this morning,” Clarissa said. She looked tired, but not stressed out, which was a good sign.

“Things holding togeather? Any major changes?” I asked.

“Everyone has been working hard, and there have been little complaints about the tax revenue. We are also moving out people to New Kochi, since there are more grinders than we have zones for. And they have used the crystals earned over there to pick up more people. Paying their trip forward to others,” Clarissa said.

“That is good to hear. At least it isn’t all panic and self-interest. And Jacob? What progress has he made, and has the Avatar woken up?” I asked.

“Progress has been limited. He has been working with Doctor Katz on the super weapon at the moment, to work out the best energy mix to use since he finished working out a way for the airship to transit to the lower layer and back out. There were some technical issues like breathable air, but those have been sorted,” Clarissa explained.

“That is good news. That is very good news. I also see Michelle is back,” I said while looking over at the large airship.

“She is fine. Lots of crafting crystals which are being put to good use. What about you? Did you find anything useful?” Clarissa asked me. The fact that other people were coming up with solutions, made me feel better in some way.

It wasn’t just that they were working on solutions, but that they were coming up with ways to solve this crisis without me. It made it all less about me, which made me feel like this entire place and my experiences were real.

“Level 8 boss monsters. Weaker than I had been expecting. They give an overall upgrade that you can pick. Allows that aspect of the skill to be changed at the detriment of the others. So more power, but the skill is slower, costs a lot more, and falls apart more easily,” I explained.

“So, you can damage the sphere then?” Clarissa asked.

“Hopefully. I don’t have time to hunt for other level 7 zones with confidence. Too much time flying around, since I would have to fight my way through the level 6 zones,” I replied.

“That is unfortunate, but I am glad you made it back in one piece,” Clarissa said. We kept observing the chests of crystals being moved off the airboat I had used. “I was worried the airboat would have been destroyed,” she said.

“I parked it in the level 7 zone and kept the area around it clear. It was a massive headache and it will be good to get a proper sleep for once. Any idea when everything will be ready?” I asked.

“We are aiming for day 5,145 but it will probably be day 5,147. Building the super weapon will take time and mounting it on the airship. So, while everyone on the engineering team has a plan and is ready to put in the hours, there could be technical issues. We will only get a single shot with it, and we can’t test fire it.”

“How many constructed beam cannons?” I asked.

“Two. On the airships open aired deck. With the points and the crafting crystals enchanted components will be made and installed. But it will just take time, since they need to be securely fastened. The airship has a high chance of breaking after the one shot,” Clarissa said.

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“That hurts my soul. So expensive,” I muttered.

“It may be, but it is worth it. Also, the device to breach the layers needs to be built to scale and installed as well. A lot of engineering issues to sort out,” Clarissa said.

“You have done an amazing job, thank you. I could grind without worry, since I knew you were handling things,” I said.

“Thank you for spending the time out there Michael. I know you have your doubts, but now you will get a laugh every time you get depressed about this place,” Clarissa countered, and I smiled. Her sticking her finger up my nose was completely unexpected. Her doing that in any other situation, or anyone else I would have been incensed. But it was a potent reminder to focus on the present and not get mentally caught up in esoteric things I had no control over.

“This reminds me of when I first arrived. No idea what was going on. In crisis mode. Trying to learn the rules, not the reason behind them. I had forgotten what that was like,” I said.

“Even with everything we have been through and all that we have learned, this place is still a mystery in many ways,” Clarissa said as the last of the crystal chests were unloaded and carried away.

“Well, at least we know the sky is an illusion. The light source is a light source, since in block land, it was just a whitish gray color that was uniform.”

“We have tested for monsters at altitude in the area the sphere controls, there are no monsters. There was consideration about checking what is at the top of this place,” Clarissa said.

Now that was really interesting. There would also be incredible risks as well. Was the Almighty System hiding in the light source. That would be an interesting twist. Instead of exploring out, we needed to explore up.

“Probably a barrier of some kind, if I had to guess. If we do win, we might not be able to check for a long time,” I muttered. I looked at the airboat. “Five days?” I asked and Clarissa nodded.

“I can also lure monsters into the sphere’s area of control. See what happens. Unless that has been tested?” I asked.

“The monsters turn to dust and no crystal is dropped,” Clarissa replied.

“Interesting. So, I can’t drag in a massive attack force, get a three-way battle going,” I said.

“That would have been too easy. Also, no change in the Avatar either. She is being hand fed and Doctor Katz has been using his skill to keep her alive. You going to bring her along?” Clarissa asked.

“Yes, and I will be leaving her behind most likely as well. If we get anti-points, then we get anti-points. It will reduce my combat ability greatly, but I will survive and hopefully the Almighty System will notice what is going on and intervene,” I said. It wasn’t something I wanted to do, but something that needed to be done.

At the end of the day, our best hope was still the Almighty System deciding to intervene on its own. I wasn’t holding my breath, but as an attack of last resort, I planned to chuck the human nugget at the sphere and would hope that mutual annihilation would occur in some way. And I wasn’t just thinking about an energy reaction. But that would be a great way to solve two problems with one coma patient.

“I will let Doctor Katz know to prepare her for transport,” Clarissa said as we made our way towards the elevator to head down the tower.

“Well, it will be over soon, hopefully. If I am lucky, meta-point number two,” I replied.

“I doubt that will happen. But I have no clue what the System is thinking or why it does what it does. Attempts to model its actions were a waste of time,” Clarissa said.

“A think tank kind of thing?” I asked.

“Something like that. Trying to come up with a unified explanation that fits all the data. To predict future events. But we would leave out someone like the Avatar and ask the working group to create a model, and then use her existence to test the validity of the model. Same with other aspects of the Systemic Lands,” Clarissa said.

“I am guessing it didn’t work?” I asked.

“Not at all. No one got close to modeling anything that has happened. So don’t feel bad, we are all in the same boat. Too bad there isn’t a knowledge stat or smarter stat,” Clarissa said.

“That would be too easy. Whatever is happening, we just don’t have the full picture. Well, I am going to rest up, and tomorrow I will think about checking the height limit. I think that it would be a good idea not to miss this opportunity while we have it,” I said.

“Well, the airboat will remain available for your use if you need it,” Clarissa said. I noted there were no other airships around. When we left on the assault, that was probably going to be her escape vehicle. “Also, I will be going with you.”

I stopped walking out of the base of the tower and looked at Clarissa. “That is a surprise. Any reason why?” I asked.

“There is no escape. This is my plan as much as your plan. If it is the end, I don’t want to spend the next several hundred days running away and panicking. Better I see it coming,” she replied, but I could hear the nervous tremor in her voice.

She wasn’t a fighter, and I could tell she was deathly afraid. She wouldn’t let that nervous tremor into her voice unless she was panicking inside. I knew I could convince her to stay. But that would be disrespecting her decision and I held too much respect for Clarissa as a person to do that. I had no idea how many stats she had or the skills she had secretly gotten, but she wasn’t weak. I knew that much. I also knew she had zero practical combat experience.

“Alright. It would be an honor to have you with me. Hopefully this place doesn’t fall apart while we are gone,” I said.

“Samantha will be handling things and they can hold togeather for a short while. This is do or die, quite literally. If we fail here, there is no good back up plan,” she said, and I nodded at that. I wouldn’t want to wait around for my impending death with regret either. There would be no follow up attempt.

While I could get points and we could try again, there would be no will power to see it through. It wasn’t a question of if we could win anymore, we had to win. Since the land was literally being changed into blocks and goo.