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CH 36: Aspirations
🕑 Added 2024-11-21 17:45:42 +0000 UTC+ Reid +
A few hundred feet from a dirt road littered with corpses, a man wearing tattered, bloodstained rags and a single boot tapped down dirt on a freshly filled-in grave. With his strength - and the creation of a bone shovel - Reid had managed to dig the hole in a handful of minutes. He'd spent more time trying to find the right sheet to wrap Louis's body than he had digging the hole. Then he spent even more time than that standing wordless over the open grave. He'd questioned himself then - should he wait to bury Louis? If he didn't, how could he store the boy's body? Was there some sort of religious ritual that he should be performing, or maybe Louis didn't want to be buried at all?
The questions swirled and gnawed at him. Reid wasn't good with death. He never had been. And so, he'd stayed there in the growing daylight - failing to think of a good way to say goodbye.
When he'd finally exhausted a suite of rhetorical questions and had given up on words, Reid shoveled dirt back into the hole and tamped it down. He forced himself to walk away. He'd have time to mourn Louis - plenty of time. But it was easier right now to focus on other things.
One of the first things Reid did was gather food and water for himself, and the healer. Feeding Danny wasn't exactly selfless - he'd already had the man start healing him, and he'd need more of the man's magic soon enough. A bit of sustenance would ensure Danny didn't pass out partway through the process. They were both sat in the Rec Hall, eating protein bars that tasted like grilled soap. Neither complained.
The healer, Danny, had gained some color back to his skin. It was incredible what a bit of rest and a few calories could do. Danny was in a spare cage that Reid had found in Bertrand's tent - along with a few sleeping bags and some blankets. Reid didn't like the idea of caging anyone, but the man had been part of Bertrand's group. Reid wasn't going to give him an inch of freedom that he could potentially use to cause trouble or show his true colors. He wasn't going to force the man to sleep on the cold metal, though. Reid wasn't a monster, despite how Danny reacted to him.
Every time Reid neared the cage, moved quickly, or raised his voice, Danny flinched with his full body. Reid stared at the man's jaw with a frown. It was blatantly obvious why he reacted the way he did, but Reid didn't have the mental energy to figure out how to start smoothing things over there. He also didn't know if he wanted to. The man had started the day as part of Bertrand's army, after all. Reid told himself that it was something he could figure out and solve in time - when there weren't other, pressing concerns.
While Reid's injuries were all mostly healed, there was ample work that needed to be done to his body. He'd gained another level going through Bertrand's men, and was sitting on a significant amount of unrealized strength.
Level: 11 -> 12
Control: 60 -> 65
He needed to fix that, and fix it now. The hard lesson that colored the day was simple. Reid wasn't strong enough.
It didn't matter that he could take out the salamanders that attacked the walls. It didn't matter that he was bulletproof, or that he was strong enough to move a literal ton of dirt in just a few minutes of digging. Reid had failed.
If he was more powerful, Reid could've killed his attackers on the wall, and he and Louis would never have gotten kidnapped.
If he had more constitution, he would've lasted longer before he blacked out.
If he was more dexterous, he might've been able to slip out of the hold entirely.
If he had more perception, Reid would've seen the attack coming.
And if Reid was more intelligent, Louis would've never been on that wall in the first place.
Reid ground his teeth. The solution was more. More power, more constitution, more everything. Reid needed to be enough, on his own, that no problem could stop him and no enemy could slow him down. He'd already encountered people with abilities that could take over a person's body or greatly boost their strength. He'd found someone more powerful than he was. These were not isolated incidents. Earth was changed and people were changed, and that meant Reid needed to stay ahead of the curve.
There was no time to stay idle... or to be comfortable. There was improvement, or there was death. Reid wasn't going to wait around to see who died the next time he let a chance at power slip by. He gruffly told Danny to keep healing him, no matter what happened. There was power waiting - he just needed to be willing to endure what it took to gain it.
Reid put the handle of the bone dagger between his teeth, and dove into himself.
--
~ Marlene ~
The truck's plastic grab handle cracked in Marlene's grip. Her eyes were wide, focused on the text in front of her view. The driver and everyone in the backseat had long stopped asking questions about what was going on or why she was acting strangely. Marlene hadn't wanted to share too much about the quest details until they were closer - she couldn't spend the entire trip giving updates on the number of Sanctuary's losses, after all. But it turned out she had nothing to worry about on that front. The enemies defeated tracker had steadily increased, while Sanctuary incurred no losses. Everything went suspiciously smoothly - and then the new sets of notifications appeared.
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Enemy Leader, [Bertrand] has willingly given control of all [Bertland] beacons to [Sanctuary]!
Sanctuary now owns: [Bertland], [Mather], [Margaret], [Rice's Landing], (+12...)
Ownership of multiple beacons has unlocked new functions! New title slots unlocked. New beacon ownership options unlocked. New governance and rules settings unlocked. Congratulations!: Ownership of 10 beacons has unlocked Lord Candidacy Options!
Please officially name your Lord Candidate. If a candidate is not selected in 3d 23h 37m, a system-enforced vote from all Sanctuary Citizens will be held to decide the candidate. If no clear winner is selected, the highest leveled Sanctuary resident will automatically be appointed.
-
Quest Completed: Defend Sanctuary from Attack by Bertland
Final Performance:
Total Losses: 0
Enemy Forces Defeated: 100 / 101
Enemy Leader Defeated: 1 / 1
Secret Challenge Completed: Overwhelming Defense
You completed a defense quest by conquering every enemy beacon!
Secret Challenge Completed: Overthrown Majority
You conquered the largest enemy empire on [Earth]!
Secret Challenge Completed: The Price of Failure
You defeated the enemy leader after completing the defense quest!
Bonus Experience awarded for completing secret challenges
Bonus Experience awarded for capturing an enemy beacon (x13)
Bonus Experience awarded for capturing the enemy HQ
Bonus Experience awarded for taking no quest losses
Bonus Experience awarded for defeating more than 99% of enemy forces
Bonus Experience awarded for defeating the enemy leader
Bonus Experience awarded for defeating a Lord Candidate
Congratulations! You have achieved extremely high performance. Difficulty increased for all other quests. Timeline accelerated for all other quests.
-
Quest Resumed: Defend Sanctuary from enemy Salamanders ( 30 ). Defense begins in 1h 33m.
-
She shuddered - a mix of excitement and worry filled her. Marlene read and re-read every bit of text in front of her. Her gaze lingered on the lord candidate selection, and she came close to punching in her own name. If Marlene named herself the lord candidate, she would solidify her leadership role permanently and gain even more control and command over Sanctuary and the other settlements the system mentioned. She could establish new rules and... well, she wasn't actually quite sure what else she would be capable of if she took the power for herself.
She also wasn't certain what would be required of a lord candidate. Marlene wasn't naive enough to think that being a lord candidate would be entirely sunshine and rainbows - it was bound to come with a series of hard challenges that any candidate would need to overcome. It might also include tests to one's mental fortitude, or could require politicking and dealmaking with outside entities. There was also a chance that a lord candidate would have some sort of restrictions placed on them as part of their testing - or that they might be whisked away somewhere else during the tutorial.
Marlene thought of Sara. The girl's growth and entire contract was stipulated on her becoming a lord herself - and it didn't seem like Sanctuary was going to have room for two people to take on that title. Marlene went through the possibility of Sara having to face all of those same things. What would the girl do if the system restricted her to a low level of power and had her fight something? What would happen if she had to choose between two undesirable solutions?
Marlene had taken the girl under her wing, and she was a quick learner - but was Sara ready? Marlene wasn't certain. The logical answer was no. She was still too dependent on and connected to her parents. If she was elevated to a position of power now, Susan or Reid's tendencies might bleed into her governance and decision making. She was also far from combat tested - no amount of training with James would prepare Sara for actually having to fight and hurt - or kill - another human being. With Sanctuary's attackers dead, there might not be a situation where such a thing could happen anytime soon.
So Sara wasn't ready. She needed to grow more independent of her parents, and she needed to experience real conflict. Marlene needed to see how she would do in those situations. And yet - taking the power for herself might have disastrous consequences down the line. Marlene and Sara had been working together to puzzle out how someone would become royalty in the eyes of the system. The girl had theorized that Marlene was likely going to be given whatever initial titles the system offered, simply by being the leader of Sanctuary. She might be persuaded that Marlene was automatically selected as the lord candidate after the quest completed.
But what if the system revealed that Marlene had chosen herself? Even if it didn't come out now, the news that Marlene had passed Sara over for a chance at becoming royalty would sting like a betrayal to the girl. She couldn't just think of the now - Marlene had to consider the future. What choice would mean the most for the Marlene and Sara 20 years from now? What would best position herself as an aide and voice of guidance?
There was also the promise to Reid. If he found out that Marlene was sitting on something that would've been helpful to his daughter and she didn't give it to her? He'd be pissed. Possibly angry enough that he'd take his wife and daughter, and leave. That wouldn't be a desirable outcome either. Marlene was going to keep her promise - she never made those lightly, which was also why she usually never made promises at all. She was serious about doing everything she could for Sara - it was just that elevating her to a position of power now felt like it might be the wrong decision. If Marlene was promised to do the best thing for Sara, didn't that include making the tough calls like this one? Wasn't preventing Sara from encountering potential issues the same as keeping her safe?
Heck, Marlene might even be able to find a workaround in the system - like acting as Regent until Sara turned twenty, then giving power over to her. Or ceding the title to the girl directly. Marlene shook her head. She was going in circles and working in hypotheticals. There were days to make a call on the Lord Candidate decision. Other matters were more pressing.
Her attention turned to the rest of the notifications.
Sanctuary's defenders had hung on and done an unbelievably great job of defending their home. She had no idea how they convinced 'Bertrand' to hand over the rule of his kingdom, but no doubt, James and Reid were both heavily involved. In any case, they'd done too well and the difficulty of their other quests had increased as a result. The number of Salamanders was unchanged, which meant there must be another level increase that would apply to the monsters. Marlene worried on the consequences of that.
How would Sanctuary fare with a wave so close to the end of the defense quest - especially if Reid and the other defenders were still spent from fighting? Sure, Susan would be capable of healing many of their people rapidly, but that didn't mean they'd all be ready for a stronger set of salamanders. She wasn't even sure if the other defenders could kill stronger beasts. Everything they'd faced until now was under level 10. Most hadn't even seen those higher-leveled versions of the beasts that doubled in size and gained sharper claws and thicker skulls. If that's what the wave consisted of - would their walls hold? Would Reid be forced to kill the wave himself?
The plastic handle splintered in Marlene's hand. There was a high chance Reid was going to have to kill everything, and cause another difficulty increase. If that happened, Sanctuary's regular defenders would be hard pressed to keep up at all. Sanctuary could fall, or they might end up in a self-fueling situation where Reid would have to kill the majority of the salamanders each wave to keep everyone else safe, then the difficulty might increase, and it would repeat until neither Reid nor the other defenders would be able to stop it.
Marlene checked her watch. Even with their current speed, they wouldn't arrive at Sanctuary until an hour after the salamander wave had started.
The only things she could do were to hope Reid didn't kill all the salamanders in the next wave, and mentally plan out how to strengthen Sanctuary's defenses for whatever came next.
She wouldn't allow things to spiral out of control. Not now.
Not when she'd just been handed the keys to make her protege into a royal - or to claim the title herself.
--
-{///} Finola {///}-
Finola choked on her drink. The concoction was some sort of slushed fruit combined with a delectable high-grade alcohol, and held the honorable 'favorite drink' title from the spa she found herself in. The spa day was a once-a-month treat Finola allowed herself. It gave her free space to view her work and decisions from a distance, and kept her from burning out over the decades of endless tasks that came with being part of such a high ranking consortium. Generally, nothing interrupted the spa days unless it was of the highest priority.
Two of those high-priority messages had just interrupted her with the most surprising news.
The first was insane.
It had happened again.
Sanctuary was attacked by some other fledgling force. That wasn't a rare occurrence. After all, the system had always set things up so that, pre-tutorial, killing fellow people gave far more experience than killing beasts. Philosophers always put forward theories about conditioning people for battle, or that only the strongest humans should survive an awakening. But all of that was ill informed bullshit. Anyone with enough experience dealing with the system awakenings understood the truth. Beasts were artificially limited in xp rewards pre-tutorial so that they had time on a planet to grow and evolve. It was just an incentive for the awakened species to leave them alive. If people finished the tutorial and came back to a world without beasts, it would cripple the system's roadmap for the subsequent global quests. "Fixing" that would require extra energy on the system's part - so instead, it just made it less desirable to kill beasts. The knock-on effect was it became more desirable to kill other people.
Sure, there was an added benefit of potentially filtering out the weak, but if the system truly wanted people to kill each other, they would remain a better XP source than beasts during and after tutorials. Even inside the tutorials themselves, beast xp gains were massively higher than they would be prior to the start of the tutorial. Heck, even prior to the tutorial, a person could get the 'real' xp from beasts if they found and beat a challenge dungeon.
So, all that to say that it was natural for conflicts to occur between people. The system would help things along with conflict-related quests when people became eligible, and very, very infrequently, incredible performance or full-trick skills would result in someone earning a high enough rating to gain an overall difficulty increase.
But Sanctuary now had four difficulty increases associated to it. And again, as she read through the full notification summary, the main contributor was unknown. They'd summarily reversed the attack and gained control of over a dozen beacons at once. Things like that generally didn't happen until after the tutorial was complete. People just weren't strong enough, or hadn't come into their skills well enough to make something like that happen. Her first thought was that the rats on Earth had gotten another one over on her.
But the second message put an end to that notion.
Earth, as a planet whose awakening was sponsored by the Blasdej consortium, had a series of sensors around the planet to catch any teleportation or mundane methods of space travel. Her aide had reviewed all logs, and found absolutely nothing. Inquiries - both soft and hard - had turned up no family that tried to sneak onto the planet. There were no traces of... well, anything. The report was exceptionally thorough, and it all supported one conclusion. There was no outside party on Earth.
Finola wished she could go to Earth herself. The damn restrictions in place would make that impossible, though. Nothing above G grade would be allowed to enter the planet's atmosphere, and Finola had left that grade behind long ago.
She wanted to risk the system's backlash anyway. Because, all the evidence in front of her was saying that a true monster had been born on Earth. One that had caused an unprecedented four pre-tutorial difficulty increases. One that had self-affixed, and gained power despite the innate challenges of growth that came with such a path. One that was still unaffiliated, and that she could have killed by putting her beacon burnouts in place.
Finola requested a high priority teleport, and quickly found herself in her office. Drops of the drink were still sinking into the fabric of her shirt as she rushed to change the beacon burnout code.
She had fucked up, badly. If the self-affixer touched the beacon, they'd die. She would be responsible for ending a potential massive future powerhouse, and both she and the Blasdej consortium might be obliterated by the backlash. One of the oldest parts of Blasdej's contracts with the system stipulated that they could not interfere with someone who chose to grow unassisted by the contract's convenience. Burning out a self-affixer with the beacon could doom the entire company. Her finger hovered over the contact request button. She should inform Loz'ar, she knew. He needed to be aware that an epic calamity might have happened on Earth.
She hesitated, then stilled. Either they were going to suffer backlash, or they weren't. But Finola could at least bury the evidence. She ordered her assistant to destroy all reports and findings related to Earth, and started doing so herself. Then she created a number of falsified, poorly written and poorly supported reports to take their place. If there was going to be backlash, she would soften it with a trick she hadn't needed to use in over a thousand years - weaponized incompetence.
