Clarissa
I slowly set down the message that had been delivered to me. It passed through several hands, but it had originated in New Kochi. Michael had killed Qi Ji Long. That changed everything and nothing at the same time.
It was time to begin a massive expansion of my food empire. Any finished food product would be produced and controlled by me. Anyone who resisted would be killed. Not the way I used to do things in business, but the time for half measures had long passed.
“Copy this and distribute this to all city directors,” I handed over a message to one of my secretaries waiting in my office for my command.
“As you command, my Lady,” the woman said and took the message. Businesses would now be set up across the entire Systemic Land, along with local food production. The deep underground bunkers had already been carved out, but now purchases of materials to produce food and drink items would begin.
The profit would come back to me and be reinvested into the people operating the businesses. The goal being to have a single level 5 combatant in each city managing production, with a small army of level 4 combatants. My main force, which was grinding out in this corner of the world, would keep advancing as much as possible.
My army and revenue stream were coming along nicely. My food production and sales would also double as my spy network. Already agreements were in place for my businesses to operate in most cities and nations.
“Arrange for this to be passed on to Michael in New Delhi, along with the equipment and information package,” I handed over another message to one of my secretaries.
“As you command, my Lady,” they replied and rushed out of my office. I really missed e-mail. But the system I had set up was almost as good. I could order a message delivered and it would be passed on to the city director. Each city was assigned one. From there they would ensure local operations proceeded smoothly, whatever I ordered.
The second in commands were moved from city to city, making sure there were no divided loyalties and confirming operations were proceeding smoothly. Trust but verify. If someone tried to get too clever, that was why I had my main force. A team would be dispatched to correct the problem.
Everything ran smoothly like clockwork. Even if there were dangers and setbacks, I was far away from those problems and heavily protected. As long as my main base here was functional, everything else was merely a way to pass the time.
I sipped some wine and thought of Michael. He had won in the end, like I knew he would. The man was unstoppable. That was why all my people had standing orders to not bother him or assist him with basic tasks if he requests such assistance.
There was one last thing he needed to do. While Jacob might have turned against us, his research had born fruit, dangerous fruit. The sphere was still out there and needed to be stopped. While the problem had been countered for a short period of time, the overall energy levels of the Systemic Lands were being affected.
If the sphere made a comeback in any way, it would be a disaster. There was nothing I could do in the short term and the Avatar had been killed. There was not going to be a last minute rescue in that battle again. Michael needed to win and I would help him out, at a distance. With Qi Ji Long dead, greater threats could be focused on. While we might disagree about many things and didn’t part on the best of terms, Michael would understand the sheer danger we were still in.
Michelle
Qi Ji Long is dead.B821C
I shook my head after reading that note. Michael loved his confirmation codes and checks. I could understand where his paranoia was coming from, but sometimes it just seemed a bit much. Focusing a bit of energy, the note burned up.
Stolen story; please report.
Once it was disposed of, I left the secret underground bunker in New Kochi where there was a dead drop. If there wasn’t a plan ahead of time for a dead drop we would have never been able to communicate. So, while his planning was a bit much, it was useful.
I made my way back to the inn Amy and I were staying at while three flying summons kept watch on my surroundings for me. We would be departing in the morning to go back to grinding level 2 monsters. She was coming along quite well preferring summoning. While her temperament wasn’t the best, she was willing to work on the skill to get better. The problem was she was too hesitant to sacrifice her summons and interpreting the connection. Summons were disposable and should be treated as such.
“Take care of your errand?” Amy asked as I got back to our room.
“Yes. We are leaving tomorrow. How are you feeling, any changes?” I asked.
“No. I feel fine. Should I be worried?”
“Just checking in. Hopefully we can get you fighting level 3 monsters. Your multi-summon control and mid-battlefield summoning needs work,” I said.
“I know, it is hard to focus on so many things,” Amy replied.
“Summoning isn’t for everyone. Front line fighting might be more your style,” I said.
“How can anyone do that? It is way too scary, rushing in and hitting things,” Amy replied.
“It’s the most effective method of grinding and the strongest combat method.” Her son only fought like that due to his stats and his years of experience. I guess it was too much to hope for the same from his mother. Michael hated fighting in close, but there was no one else, who could survive such a combat method anywhere close to his level.
She would need a lot of work to fix the problem in her head. Whatever had been done was buried deep. The amount of stats she would need would be quite high. Hopefully we would have a better idea once she reached a thousand in each stat.
There was nothing else that could be done for her. Since Michael hadn’t left any points, he was clearly not going to get involved helping his mother. I was annoyed by that decision, but there was no one to complain to. Like all the times in the past, I would have to endure.
Dylan
I collapsed on the deck of the Crystal Vortex. Michael had decided to name this airship since it was large enough to deserve a name, he had explained. Collecting crystals during a grinding session was exhausting. I forced myself up and took off my pack. I then dumped all the crystals into a chest. There was no point in counting all of them out.
“Another fun day, right?” Michael asked as he came out of the shower. He had gotten back much earlier than me. Once he was done killing the monsters in a zone he moved on.
“Fun enough,” I replied and then went to get a shower myself. I would rinse out my clothes and lay them out to air dry. The level 6 zone was great for that with how hot it was. My shower had to be quick since I was on dinner duty.
While it was exhausting work, it paid quite well. It also wasn’t that dangerous with Michael clearing out the nearby monsters. What the job was however, was exhausting. Wake up early and have a light breakfast ready. Then chase after Michael as he cleared out monsters. The level 7 zone was brutal, but I was able to survive. It was just a lot of running and crystal pick up. Once one zone was done, there were two more. Get back and prepare dinner. Sleep for a short period of time, wake up in the middle of the night to collect the level 6 crystals for myself personally, and then do it all over again the next day.
“We have stew, for dinner. Also, we got bread from New Kochi,” I said as I served our meals.
“Excellent,” Michael replied as he dug in. As exhausted as I was, I could tell he was tired also. I had seen him fighting the level 7 monsters at a distance and it was impressive.
As we quietly ate our dinner, I couldn’t help but feel grateful all the other men and women who had been killed by Qi Ji Long had been avenged. We had fought so hard but lost. It was good to know that the threat had been ended completely.
This place was horrible, but I had managed to survive. I really was grateful for Emperor Michael. While he wasn’t perfect, no one was. A shame that everything would probably fall apart without him. There had been no news from the East part of the Systemic Lands where the Empire had been. When we went back to check on things, how much of a disaster would it be?
My hope was that everything was working out and it wouldn’t be a disaster. It wasn’t likely, but if people could work togeather in the face of adversity, there was hope that things wouldn’t all go up in flames. But the biggest problem in any kind of government was obvious. The strongest person had to go out there and grind. It was that simple.
One could not sit and a city and become strong. Michael had explained the math to me and the time investment, and I had to admit he had a point. Until you got a lot of grinders clearing high level zones, the returns for governing cities just wasn’t worthwhile unless the tax rate was insanely high.
I could only hope there would be no more threats showing up.