The Systemic Lands

Chapter 158: Day 350 – Monster Processing, Almost There

Over the course of the grinding. I had upgraded my Regeneration stat to 400, putting me at 1,500 total stat points. I had also managed to save up a total of 960,000 points for emergencies. In the end, increasing my grinding speed by increasing my Regeneration was the best choice in my mind. My combat ability for PvP would come in time, but for now, I was set on maxing out my ability to grind level 3 monsters.

Naran had also made quite a bit of progress. Body-300; Mind-100(+70); Spirt-60(+10); Perception-60(+30); Aura-70(+40); Regeneration-100; Endurance-30; Absorption-30 for a total of 750 stat upgrades. It didn’t escape my notice that he had put a lot of stat upgrades into the Mind stat.

I had talked with him to see if he noticed any changes and he brought up how it was easier to focus while moving at high speeds while grinding. But it wasn’t something he could flip on and off. It was the same for me, but I held out hope he would pick something up that I had missed.

The changes in the Aura stat had let him resist the cold environment better as well, which indicated it provided some kind of resistance. For now, I was going to consider it some kind of environmental resistance. I had no doubt it would be needlessly complex and provide that resistance in a way I hadn’t grasped yet, if Body was any indication. I wasn’t ready to push to even look at a level 4 zone, no matter how much I wanted to for the information it would give me. When I did, I would get a better understanding of monster level to stats.

Ever since I had worked out the probable corresponding level for the Body stat, I was very concerned. I wanted to see how bad the power curve was against all the stats.

It was fairly late in the day when we reached Purgatory’s south gate. I noted the people up on top of the wall and the five in front of the tunnel through it. We came up to the Captain.

“Champion Michael, welcome back.”

“Captain. Any issues?” I asked.

“Nope. People are going to rotate tomorrow.” Rotate, maybe the new grinding strategy?

“The new people?” I asked.

“Well, the new people are going West to the blue slimes. We are getting people from the North who had been dealing with the brown slimes. Trainers are all ready, as well as the bunkhouse. Everything running like clockwork.” I nodded at that since it was good to hear.

“Keep up the good work Captain.” Finally, the city had gotten its act together. If people weren’t motivated, or there wasn’t a need, then it was hard to change how things ran. The Ritualist really forced the city of Purgatory to get its head out of its collective ass and organize things properly.

“Thank you, Champion!” He saluted me, which I returned, and we went into the city. I noted a couple of buildings near the gate with lights and people moving in and out. We kept heading for the plaza.

“Seems like things are coming together,” Naran said. I nodded at that.

“Indeed. Having people deploy from the nearby buildings instead of walking all the way back to the plaza, big time save.” Also organizing people to rotate through the different monsters, would allow them to get their bearings while also getting some points.

“Well, there is room now. The big challenge is when the groups get kicked out of the level 1 zone and have to kill level 2 monsters,” Naran said.

“I did the math. Assuming 250 people clearing all the monsters of one type. Lowball it at 10,000 to make the math easy. That is 40 crystals per person. A quarter to the tax and 5 crystals to live on. That gives them 25 crystals for stat upgrades. Over 40 days, that comes out to about 5,000 points or around 25 stat upgrades with some extra for regeneration and gear.”

“That is nowhere near enough,” Naran replied. It wasn’t, but people would just have to pull up their big boy pants and go out and kill level 2 monsters.

“Well, the capable will continue on to grind level 2 monsters. What is the requirement for Laura’s Union teams?”

“At least 100 stat points, I think. Not too sure.” I nodded at that. I did some mental math.

“That is about 30,000 more points, or 600 level 2 monsters. With attrition, enough will make it, form teams, buy carts, and go out there,” I replied.

“Well, it is the best system I have seen to manage the influx of new people. Basically a 40 day training course to grind out monsters to get them in the right mindset. Curious to see what happens when there are a lot of teams, pushing down on level 2 zones.” That was the question.

Thankfully that was the bottleneck in the future, not right now. “Well we figured out how to manage people through level 1, and hopefully with enough attrition we don’t have to worry about level 2 zones for a while,” I replied.

“I was thinking more about the other cities.” He was probably thinking about Truth. The remaining hostile skill users were a concern. They had captured Tom, but I had left him to his fate. No way was I giving up on the level 1 dungeons and easy skill points. He had made his choice to run after Ruth, good riddance of bad rubbish.

“Well then, that is what a Champion is for, isn’t it?” I asked. If needed I could go in and wipe out any opposition. Also, we had our gates secure, which made guerrilla warfare much harder.

“You are thinking that there will be competition for resources.” I nodded at that.

“There already is, with skill points. We can eventually crush the other four cities around us completely, but the real issue will be when there is another cluster, outside of the one we are in.”

“You don’t think we are connected?” I knew Naran was asking these questions to make conversation and it was a good check on my reasoning. That is why I didn’t push back.

“Maybe there is some weird route past the swamps. There is a lot of the East to still explore. The West has a wall of swamps. There are only a few places left to check to the South, but my guess is that it is all level 3. The North, has swamps as well.”

“I can see it. But there is still more exploration that needs to be done. Once we can cross all level 3 terrain, that will be when things really open up,” Naran said.

“We will have airships by then hopefully. The fact we haven’t come across any makes me hopeful that we are at the leading edge of the power curve. The longer we go without running into anyone else, the better our chances.” The lack of outside forces was both puzzling and concerning. Perhaps I had one of the biggest leads out of all the cities in the Systemic Lands. Or Death killed everyone.

It was like the question about aliens. If they are out there, where are they? Unlike aliens, I didn’t have a Drake Equation to math the answer out. The best answer was to get stronger. Strength would resolve almost all problems.

“Still, that means crushing the other cities. Neo Brasilia is crushed for sure.” I nodded at that. “But then you have Truth, Heaven, and Esperanza.”

“Truth and Heaven will be crushed when the time comes. As for Esperanza, well, I will probably have to crush them as well.” I was thinking what happened to Neo Brasilia and the desolation my actions had left it in. But in the end, it would come down to grinding spots. I thought on this a bit more.

“People need someone to rally and motivate them and direct their aggression towards. With how smoothly everything is running right now, the Ritualist did that. He lit a fire under everyone’s asses that I couldn’t. Esperanza will eventually become a city that our forces will have to push back against.”

“Seriously? You are setting up your next enemy?” Naran asked.

“Well, the Ritualist wasn’t on purpose, and I will kill him. Make no mistake about that. But I can appreciate the effect he has had on everyone. Especially the leadership around this place. Gives them a sense of urgency. Esperanza, will produce opponents that the future Immortal Council can crush at their pleasure.” Seeing the recent organization already paying off, cemented this idea in my mind.

“That is really… I don’t know how to put it into words.”

“Genius. People need an outside threat in order to rally together. My personal position isn’t threatened, and people will have to improve to survive. Also, the attrition will help once zones get completely covered.”

“It just seems weird, to create enemies like that.” It was, which is why I had never seriously considered the issue before. Now, I liked the idea more every day.

“I am thinking ahead. All good conflicts need two sides,” I replied.

“Well, you are the Senate. Just don’t start screaming about unlimited power and we are good.” I chuckled to myself. That had actually been my source of inspiration. Also, the book 1984. A single monolithic state was unstable. But have some outside threats, well that would unify the people like nothing else could.

Also, it was an after the fact justification for everything that had happened and not wanting to deal with headaches. I wouldn’t lie about that, but I also wasn’t above using the circumstances for my benefit going forward. “Like I said, those are problems way in the future. I just have to out grind everyone else, which I am.”

“Why come back so soon?” Naran asked.

“I can’t wait to see Monster Processing. Grinding is boring.” Naran nodded at that. “So having something new to think about will help pass the time. Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.”

“That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I am cultivating my wise master persona.”

“You don’t have a beard to stroke. I still can’t believe you pulled out every single hair on your face.”

“Believe it. I can’t stand facial hair. Like some kind of disease growing out of my skin. I regret not getting it all lasered off before getting transported here.”

“You get strong enough, just use a Radiant Beam.”

“Haha, very funny,” I replied sarcastically.

We made our way back to the plaza and then back to my home. I noted guards in dark blue clothing with a small gold dragon on their outfits patrolling around.

I made my way to my office and Clarissa quickly stood up. “Welcome back Champion Michael. A bit sooner than I thought.”

“Yes. How are things going?”

“There was a minor skirmish with the skill users from Truth at one of the dungeons, but they backed off.”

“Why weren’t they killed?” I asked.

“Because they backed off and the Union teams let them go.” I frowned at that.

“As long as they hold the dungeons it is fine. If they lose them, then we will have words. Pass that on to Laura. What about the Ritualist?”

“I will pass that along. As for the Ritualist, nothing. There is a Union team at the striped meerkats at coordinates (1,0). They haven’t seen or heard anything from the East.”

“Hmm, alright. Ruth?”

“Nothing. I am trying to get a spy network together outside the city, but it hasn’t been easy. People aren’t qualified to travel. Did you find anything in Esperanza?”

“I didn’t go there. Keep at it. Eventually she will turn up. When that happens, don’t alert her or attempt to kill her. Let me know.” I was going to take care of her personally when she made an appearance. Someone like her, just wouldn’t be able to help themselves.

“Seems indulgent of you to want to take her out personally,” Clarissa said. I shook my head at that and let out a small sigh.

“She isn’t an idiot. She is many things, but not an idiot. I also doubt anyone else will have the strength to kill her besides me or Naran currently.” I had no doubt she was grinding her ass off right now. Good, work for it, when I killed her it would be all for nothing.

“Understood. The last things to discuss are city status, the current city treasury, and crystal powder.” I waved my hand and Clarissa continued. “The RMPF is currently standing at 120 soldiers. The total population of the city is approximately 1,700. We have had 20 days with the new arrival plan, another 20 before people go to level 2 zones.” Yeah, we lost a lot of people.

With 36 arrivals including mine, that was 9,000 people. That was about an 80% mortality rate. At least things looked like they would be turning around.

“There are currently 10 Union teams. Recruitment will be light for a while until the more recent arrivals stat up. Laura is having Garret, her assistant is looking for promising people as possible investments to form teams,” Clarssia said in her usual deadpan voice and continued speaking since I had nothing to say.

“That is the same issue with the RMPF. We have veterans and new arrivals, but there is a huge gap in between, which will take time to fill.”

“That is fine. I noted I have guards now? With uniforms?” I asked.

“Yes. Your retinue. The rule about clothing color and symbols is being enforced. Blue for the Champion, green for the Union teams, red for the soldiers, gray for newcomers, and purple, yellow, or orange for businesses. Future members of the Immortal Council can pick another color and symbol as they desire.”

“Why three colors for businesses?” I asked.

“Disagreements and factions within the business community. But there is no more than three, I put my foot down. No symbols allowed either, except for the few Union teams grandfathered in and yourself. There is discussion on a symbol for the city.” I was tempted to steal something from anime, but that felt like a bad idea. Having something new without any baggage would be better.

“Eight dots in a circle with a larger circle around it. White on a colored background depending on the faction, if we have to make a flag, have the default background be black,” I decided. Simple and right to the point. The system store was the source of our survival, and the wall around it protected the city.

Clarissa made some notes about what I said. “I will implement the choice. It might take a while.”

“That is fine. Now the tax revenue?” This was what I was really curious about, and it was no accident that Clarissa saved it for last. Time to finally purchase those city buildings.