The Systemic Lands

Chapter 122: Day 264 – The Cart Puller

I woke up in the morning feeling refreshed. A proper shower and bed would do that. Clarissa had breakfast ready as well. Toast and jam with water in actual cups. There were only three chairs for the table.

Aahan and Doctor Katz got food as well but had to eat on the floor. No need to build pointless resentment even if I thought they didn’t deserve such a luxury like toast and jam. Luxuries I was paying for. “I sorted the RMPF.” The long name was too tiring to use all the time.

“I noticed. It was very decisive. Who won the election?” Clarissa asked.

“Someone called Gerold. Follow up with them. Also follow up on this.” I passed her a piece of paper. Kill the snitch quietly and discretely after making a show of paying the first installment, maybe use guards unhappy with him who are causing trouble, and then kill them off. Not paying 100,000 points. Keep eye on city treasury, kill anyone who messes with it. Use my authority to bring this city under control.

I looked at her and she looked back up at me after she was done reading the note I had written out. She would either be able to handle things in my absence, or she would probably be murdered to target me. I was trusting Clarissa to take charge and not have this place be a dumpster fire.

“I see,” she said and passed the piece of paper back. “I will handle it.” I nodded at that. The Tyrese situation was unexpected, but let’s see if Clarissa could handle any more corruption that might be lingering around. There was not going to be a third time the city treasury was lost. If a theft happened again, I really might just become an actual cultivator and start puking blood from the sheer rage.

Did people just think the city treasury was their personal piggy bank? It was for this city and all the system buildings I wanted to know the purpose of. It almost felt like a conspiracy that they kept getting delayed.

“I trust it will be sorted.” No way was I paying out 100,000 points to a snitch. The main thing was people would think I had paid him and followed through on the offer I made. Those points would go to city upgrades instead. I tucked the note away. I would toss it away in a pool of acid I made in a level 2 area to vanish.

“The cart is ready to go. Got some spare weapons as well,” Naran said.

“Good. I have some ideas on where we should go. It is going to be a headache regardless,” I said.

“The summoning monsters?” Naran asked.

“The summoning monsters,” I confirmed. I would have to move quickly to kill them and push through. If that really was the direction Ruth had escaped in, she was probably using Sleep. It wasn’t a big stretch to believe mental attacks worked well on summoners, it was something to consider.

Would having all those monsters in someone’s head help or hinder the skill? That was the question. I wanted to say help, but I needed more information before I could make a final determination.

“Any idea on how long you will be gone?” Clarissa asked.

“No idea. It will take a couple of days to find the city, hopefully. After that I need to assess the situation and see what the Ritualist has done and is planning. Does he have monsters at the gates? How is he controlling the city? Also, I need to watch out for Ruth.”

“Alright. I will manage things, but the elections on Day 300 and the days leading up to that are critical, if you want to evaluate and screen any of the candidates for President.”

“Stability and managing the city so I don’t have to get involved. Those are the two main points.”

“I could guess as much. Also, with a focus on city upgrades,” Clarissa added.

“A good thought, but no. Let it come from the tax. The social, business, and economic situations need to be in order. Use the ten percent for the Immortal Council to hire people and get the situation moving.”

“I thought the funding would be diverted until there were at least three people and the Immortal Council formed.” That was in the Constitution. Trampling on it now would not be good. Rules only worked if people believed they would be followed. If I broke my own Constitution, people would lose faith. This was why I hated being in charge, having to think through things like this.

“Just have the city issue you zero interest loans as needed. Don’t let it get out of hand, but we need to start buying up property and having people work for you. No dead weight, I want efficiency and people who are willing to work hard. If not, don’t be afraid to fire someone.”

“I have hired and managed people before. The main issue is that I won’t be able to place the buildings under your control if you are not here, since you would need to complete the purchases.”

“You take control.” Her eyes widened a bit at this. “And designate me as the heir and Naran having authority.”

“That is a lot of control to hand over. I am surprised.”

“I can’t manage the city and fight a war. I am delegating. Also, I want to stop living in what feels like a hole and have a proper home. Consider Naran and I the Board of Directors and you the CEO.”

“I don’t want the responsibility,” Naran said.

“That is fine. But you are now a ten percent stakeholder in all my business operations. I will hold the other ninety percent. You now get to be rich, but not have to do any of the work.” Clarissa would be doing all the work.

He let out a sigh. “I should say thank you, but I am skeptical.”

“Wait and see. You don’t have to make any decisions or be involved if you don’t want to. Consider it as paying back just a bit of the immense debt I owe you. Clarissa, have something written up to that effect.”

“Very well. Do you have a name for this company?”

“Inferno Enterprises.” Naran broke out in laughter and Clarissa let out a sigh. “What?”

“Let me come up with a list of names for you to consider when you return. I should be able to sort out this place as then by well. Unless you want to look over design choices?”

“Dragon themed, dark blues, simple, clean cut, and secure. A separate area in the front for the cart and the living space. Like an entry area. So, people have to go through at least two sets of reinforced doors. If changes need to be made, then I will scrounge up the points later on. Just make it happen.”

“Very well. I will work on that along with the other projects you have assigned me.” She was busy taking notes on everything I said. I knew I was a difficult boss, but she got points and power. If she wanted more, all she had to do was ask. Her naked ambition was clear as day.

Still, I wondered what she thought of me? Crazy? Determined? Evil? If I asked, I knew she would answer with her dead-pan voice and would make me wonder if she was cracking a joke. A part of me didn’t want to know. Ignorance was bliss, especially other peoples’ opinions about me.

“That should be everything, let’s get going.” I got up and made my way to the cart. Soon we set off. It felt good to be walking on my own two feet. The Ritualist was going to pay for the crippling he had given me.

I noticed blankets laid out on portions of the blood trail from last night, so it would be hidden and reset. I shook my head at that mess. Hopefully the RMPF got themselves sorted out. Gerold seemed competent enough and had his priorities straight. He did get over 60% of the vote, which was a resounding endorsement in my mind.

I had been too tired beyond giving him his marching orders. Either he would succeed or I would kill more people until someone managed not to screw up.

Still, time would tell. I would see if they entire force was competent on my return. As we left the city there were guards stationed at the gate which was good to see. We left the city with Naran on point, but there wasn’t much need, since people were actually grinding for crystals outside the city, clearing the monsters.

Our first stop was the wolf dungeon. It hadn’t been cleared. It was too much of a headache to clear, and the skills were looked down on. The occasional Union team would clear it for an extra skill point, but after the recent disaster no one had gone out there yet.

I would have thought people would have been more driven, but apparently there were complications since the city wanted a cut since the dungeon was in a level 1 area. I was sure it would be monopolized in due time, but for now it was a chance to get Naran the skill Imbue Cold.

The problem was that the skills from the dungeon weren’t the best for killing level 2 monsters. People would rather wait and get Acid Shot or Entangling Roots. Those were the skills that were needed to repay the debts they took on for help clearing the dungeon.

We reached the ruined town dungeon, and it was still early morning. We set up on a nearby hillside to wait for night. I noted people in the distance clearing away the small wolves. People were finally getting their act together, understanding that crystals were life and weakness was death.

“So, Aahan, when did you arrive?” I asked as we sat on the ground to wait for night to fall. I kept wanting to think of him as Mute. He was the type of person who just disappeared into the background. Before his horrific visage drew attention to him. Now he was silent and worked hard, making him easily overlooked.

“Day 240.” I thought back to my own arrival, something was bothering me, but I couldn’t place it. I was probably letting my wander too much. Those were dark times, and I was a fat tub of lard back then. Struggling for points, struggling to survive.

“Well, congrats on surviving the First Battle of Purgatory, well third really after the First and Second Battle of Blood. Let’s just go with First Battle of Purgatory. So, what did you do before being transported here?” I asked.

“Cab driver,” Aahan said. The guy really didn’t like to talk, but it was the only way to pass the time. Still, he wasn’t demanding more points, so I wouldn’t complain. I thought about the level 3 zone and how high stats a cart puller would need in order to just survive pulling a cart. That was a future problem.

“Well cart, cab. You are doing a great job, thank you,” I said.

“You’re welcome.” He gave me a thumbs up and went back to being quiet. The reason I was willing to trust this man, was due to him being half melted and pushing through what had to be horrible, mind-bending pain to pull me around.

That wasn’t the kind of thing that was easy to fake. I wouldn’t say it wasn’t possible. But it seemed very unlikely. He was probably still experiencing mental shock of some kind. I would have to ask Clarissa to cut him some points when we got back as payment.