The Systemic Lands

Chapter 137: Day 326 (2) – Race to Return

I felt my building under attack. It was just before mid-day. I knew Naran got the alert as well, as my heir to my property. I was at viewing distance of the tower. It was my mid-point for my grinding loop and the only real landmark in the frostlands.

I turned around and ran through the areas I had already cleared. I was breathing heavily when I got back. Aahan quickly began packing up the cart the moment he saw me. I did mental math while I waited for Naran to return.

I had about 850k points in reserve. I had about another 500k in the cart. More than enough for a couple of regenerations if I needed them.

Body-500; Mind-100; Spirt-200; Perception-100; Aura-100; Regeneration-300; Endurance-50; Absorption-50 for a total of 1,400 upgrades.

Naran showed up a few minutes after me.

Body-300; Mind-30; Spirt-50; Perception-30; Aura-30; Regeneration-100; Endurance-30; Absorption-30 for a total of 600 upgrades.

We quickly set off. Naran had been grinding in the direction we needed to head, which made the first part of the trip quick. We headed Northwest, with a more westwards angle.

There was the dungeon for the zone in the distance Naran had found to our South. A ruined town, which became active only at night with thick fog. That made it a hard pass from me.

“We will reach Neo Brasilia at nightfall. We can cut around the edge of the city at night,” Naran said.

“Agreed. But it will be a long day tomorrow to get back.”

“Night travel?” Naran asked.

“To the edge of the level 1 zone. We can’t travel a level 2 zone at night, especially not past the dervishes.”

“Agreed.” We continued to make all haste. I even pulled the cart for a while to give Aahan a break and rest in the cart. He didn’t argue thankfully. We didn’t have any time to waste.

I knew Laura would be sending out similar alerts to her teams. A full recall of everyone we could recall and who could fight.

Night came as we reached Neo Brasilia’s walls. We entered the city and looped around the inside of the walls. The ground was flat, which made it easier to pull the cart. I debated on if we should go for a regeneration, but I felt we couldn’t waste the time.

None of us had any serious injuries and it would add an extra three hours to make that detour, maybe more if we ran into trouble at the plaza. It was an easy choice to skip it.

“I think we should push through the night. I could hold the lantern and run in front of the cart,” I suggested.

“Will you be alert enough for tomorrow? Showing up in the middle of a battle half exhausted?” Naran asked.

He made a good point. But I couldn’t help myself from worrying. For the Ritualist to attack Purgatory, he had to be fairly confident. He either thought he could defeat everyone before I returned, or he had a plan to defeat me.

The first outcome meant he was improving faster than me, the second outcome meant I would have made a mistake. I felt confident with my stats. I would have liked more of course, preferably a higher Mind stat, but I wasn’t overly worried for myself.

No, it was the city itself. If Purgatory fell, all the work, time, and headaches I had put into it would be lost. I couldn’t allow that to happen. It would put me days behind, and I might just give up on the entire place at that point.

“I can handle myself. Will take a nap in the cart in the morning.”

“It will be rough, I won’t be able to keep up with you or be in a good condition to fight,” Naran said.

“That is fine. I will handle the Ritualist myself and smash through any traps he might have planned.”

“Getting a bit overconfident there maybe?” Naran asked.

“Maybe, but I can’t believe he can grind up stats, come up with new traps, and have crystals for summoning. It just isn’t possible. If he can do all that, then we might as well give up.”

“Still, be careful. What did we come up with as possible trap ideas?”

“Combination monsters. Monsters summoned through other monsters. People turning into monsters on the spot. Monsters disguised as other monsters. Slimes everywhere. Disguised slimes. Self-destruct technique, probably involving slimes. Mental attacks focused on me. Summoning monsters hidden away to attack when I am pinned down in combat,” I listed off the ideas we had brainstormed.

“Don’t forget decoys. If he spoke with a monster before, he might be able to use other people’s voices. Or dress up a monster to look like a human,” Naran said.

“Good point. Just Acid Shot everything is going to be the best solution and charging right into the fray.”

“It seems…risky and counterintuitive.”

“It is. But my main advantage against the Ritualist is myself. Everything else will slow me down. If I move fast enough, his traps will be useless. Don’t underestimate a 500 Body stat.”

“I’m not, but if you get pinned down in any way, it would troublesome.” I agreed with that.

“A risk. As long as I have energy, I can’t be defeated. Even without energy, he won’t be able to pin me down easily. Better to put him on the defensive and take the fight to him with unrelenting aggression.”

I had been thinking about it quite a bit. Full on aggression was the best strategy. Trying to get complicated or use any kind of tactics, would be countered by the Ritualist’s ability to get information instantly from his monsters. It was much better just to smash my way to him.

As for where he would be, well he could only hide for so long. Just kill the monsters in front of me. When there are no more, head towards Heaven and attack. I could kill monsters faster than he could summon them. I would have preferred more stats and being the one to initiate the attack.

But now that he had come out of his hole that was the city of Heaven, it was time to chase him back there and finish him off. And this time I would make sure to melt his head no matter what.

“Underground monsters,” Naran suddenly spoke up.

“Underground?” I asked.

“Another trap the Ritualist could employ. The ants hide underground and the meerkats as well. If he hides a force unground, you could become engulfed,” Naran explained.

“Or from the sky. I will stay alert, but I am not too worried. Attacking from different angles, will show he has reached the bottom of his bag of tricks.”

“You really think he will run out?” Naran asked.

“Yes. He got lucky figuring out summoning. He is grabbing the low hanging fruit of things he can do. Like slimes on wolves’ heads. That doesn’t take anything, just testing how slimes interact with other monsters.”

“Even the hybrids probably involve a process similar to regular summoning he just tested on people. Now if he was able to combine monsters into a super monster, I would be slightly worried, but even then, the bigger they are the easier they are to target. The small fast monsters are the troublesome ones,” I explained.

“As long as you don’t get trapped. You know he will be planning a trap just for you rushing at him,” Naran said.

“I know. Let him pull out his traps. Wasting time on traps compared to grinding up stats, stats are superior. Unless he is able to do everything at the same time, but it comes down to how many points he was able to grind compared to me.”

“Well grinding level 3 monsters is incredibly fast. You are making me jealous at your speed.”

“Once you hit 1,000 stat points, it shouldn’t be that bad.”

“I need to kill things with a blade. We need better equipment.”

“I know, I know. It is a priority after defenses, to figure out the crafting buildings. I swear the treasury better be there. If it is lost a third time, I will lose my mind.” If it was lost, people were going to die. Someone would be taking responsibility and would be melted.

I didn’t know if that was Clarissa or someone else, just that a person was getting melted. It was ridiculous, how Purgatory had been robbed twice. If it happened to someone else, I would be laughing my ass off at their incompetence.

Perception played a role, but those crystals were funding my enemies. I couldn’t allow that to happen. If anyone was going to use those crystals for personal gain, it would be me. Not some other person. I had looked over Clarissa’s plan to secure the treasury.

It was a work of art. A single building, with the treasury on the second floor with extra thick walls. There was a single staircase up in the middle of the first floor. The first floor was completely open except for the staircase. No windows and a single reinforced door, which led directly to the plaza.

An entire unit of twenty guards were stationed there at all times, with at least one person with a skill and stat points. Ten people in the treasury and ten people on the first floor. Large tower shields and spare weapons were also stored on the first floor as well.

No matter what happened, the treasury, could not be lost a third time. That was my biggest concern and the entire reason I was bothering with the city of Purgatory and all the headaches it came with. Everyone could die and it would be frustrating, annoying, and aggravating to the extreme. But I could move past it.

What really mattered were the city upgrades. I had no problem becoming a wandering hobo, grinding up stats. The issue was that the city upgrades hinted at paths to power that were incredibly useful. Like enchanting, airships, and alchemy. The chance of a combination leading to one plus one equals three, was why I was dealing with this.

Also, the Ritualist had almost killed me, so I was going to melt him and Ruth.