The Systemic Lands

Chapter 202: Day 441 – People Headaches, Almighty System Headaches

We made our way back to plaza of Neo Brasilia to cash in our latest grinding session. I would finally be hitting one thousand in my Regeneration stat. I didn’t think anything would happen, but it was a nice big number.

I would be regenerating 10 energy per minute. This would let me use Acid Shot once every two minutes. It was a good stopping point in my mind before I invested into other stats. The Spirit stat was next on my list.

I needed more staying power in a fight, more gas in the tank. While it would rarely be useful grinding, having a high Spirit was needed to get out of sticky situations. My skills were my trump cards, and I was focusing on a skill-oriented build.

Body was tempting as always, but it was the default choice. I would invest more into the Body stat based on Naran. When I felt he could close the distance to me with a high Body stat, that was when I needed to put more into my stat to not be completely outclassed. Since I would need to invest in the Mind stat as well, it would just take more stat points.

This was the way to balance my stats going forward. I kept changing my mind all the time on what the best path forward was. Since my stats could very easily decide if I lived or died. The current priority had been to increase my grinding speed and shore up my weaknesses.

The next biggest weakness I had was Spirit. Raising it up to 500 or 1,000 would let me use my higher level skills more than once in combat. After that, I wasn’t so sure. Probably another round of investment into Body and Mind or shoring up some of the forgotten stats like Endurance and Absorption. I was sure I would waste more time thinking about the issue.

The previous grinding session after the debacle with the golems, Naran had been helping out Fethee in killing the level 2 centipede monsters with a spear. So, he could get some Body stats of his own and not just sit around our cart all day. Also, some points to spend on himself.

He was Naran’s pet project, so I just watched with a bit of interest. A higher Body stat would help him pull the cart more easily. But he was a long way from having the stats to go into a level 3 zone.

I saw the Union team at the city entrance to Neo Brasilia. Naran noted the team as well. They spotted us not long after. As we got closer, I saw it was Sam’s team, the Black Horned Crows. They were thematic at least with silver armor with black crows on it. I also noted they had Purgatory’s flag hanging on their cart. Eight white dots in an octagon on a black background. We should do the same.

“Champion Michael,” Sam greeted me once we were close enough.

“Sam of the Black Horned Crows,” I greeted him in return. He smiled a bit since I remembered his name.

“The city seems to have reset completely. No cannibals unfortunately to deal with the new arrivals,” Sam said.

“Ah, that would be my fault. There was an incident with a horde of level 4 monsters chasing me. I lured them to the city and they wiped out everyone after breaking through the wall,” I explained.

“A…horde of level 4 monsters?” Sam asked.

“Well, only seven, but it was a fight. Lost a lot of good people unfortunately, perhaps I should start at the beginning,” I explained, and Sam nodded. I then told him exactly what happened, leaving some minor details out. Like Naran dumping the summoner to be killed. I did share my thoughts on Gertrude and how she was too overconfident and how level 4 was a huge step up from level 3, in comparison to the previous power increases.

“That is unfortunate. She was a good rival,” Sam said with a sigh once I was done with my explanation. “We were both pushing to be the first to kill a level 4 monster. Not surprising she went to you with how desperate she was.”

“There was no way to save her unfortunately. But, I felt telling the truth of what happened is important, so people don’t make the same mistakes,” I said.

Sam waved a hand before speaking. “Pfft, don’t worry. With her dead, her faction in the Union will be set back by a large amount. I will explain what happened to the teams I run across, to set the record straight. You might get some questions though.”

“That is fine. I have nothing to hide about what happened,” I said while thinking it only mattered so much. What would people do, complain about it? Still, no need to build unnecessary resentment where I didn’t need to. “It is important people understand the risks of fighting a level 4 and the step up in difficulty, now what is the problem with the city?” I asked.

“Ah well, we were hesitating since there are people inside and it would be a blood bath,” Sam trailed off while I stared at him. I thought he was a bloodthirsty Union team leader. This kind of hesitation was ridiculous. Just go in and kill everyone in your way. It was just that simple.

“Naran, let’s go. The rest of you can follow behind kill anyone who is in our way,” I said.

“Got it,” Sam said and nodded along with the rest of his team. I entered the tunnel and there were seven people on the other side with clubs.

I didn’t even wait for them to speak. Acid Shot x6. I let the one in the center survive so there was a clear path forward as the rest of the people were melted. These people had no right to block my way, let alone speak to me. I surveyed the area, no one else and the surviving person had run off back towards the plaza.

“Let’s go,” I said. I set off towards the plaza, Naran at my side. “Get ready, there will most likely be a fight,” I said.

“That means it will be a mess,” Naran replied. I nodded at that. We made our way to the plaza. There was a crowd of fifty people standing between us and the store pillars. Oh, there was clearly a lone cannibal that had survived and explained the situation to the new people. His ragged and bloody appearance and scruffy facial hair were clear giveaways as to his identity.

“I am Champion Michael, move or die,” I said.

“We know what happened here-“ one woman began to speak up. Acid Shot. Now she was just a pile of melting flesh and blood. Several people panicked and ran away. The rest began backing up. They stayed back and didn’t get in our way.

I moved towards the pillars and put my hands on it. Time to purchase my upgrades, then cash in my points. The one million threshold was annoying, but I was not about to risk things.

Body-500; Mind-175; Spirit-200; Perception-175; Aura-175; Regeneration-1,000 (+130); Endurance-50; Absorption-50 for a total of 2,325 upgrades.

Naran purchased his stat upgrades as well.

Body-820 (+120); Mind-240; Spirit-100; Perception-70; Aura-70; Regeneration-100; Endurance-30; Absorption-30 for a total of 1,460 upgrades.

I took a moment to process as a there was some more mental information beyond just the stat increase. Regeneration was capped by the zone level and the ambient amount of energy. Inside a city and a level 1 zone, I could only regenerate 10 energy per minute maximum. That was my current regeneration.

Even if my stat increased, my Regeneration stat in a level 1 zone was set. Even if it increased, it would no longer give me more energy. I didn’t know the cap for the higher level zones, but I could guess it was a factor of ten.

I had been expecting a reward or a bonus of some kind. Instead, there was a limiter. It was infuriating, the unfairness of it all. I let out a sigh. Why had I been expecting anything different. The Almighty System did not hand out rewards or titles. It handed out pain and suffering. I began unloading my crystals and cashing in the points to restore my reserves.

Once we were done, I looked around at the scared crowd and just shook my head. There was whispering going on between several groups while they looked at us. “Done?” I asked Naran.

“Yes, we are stocked up on supplies. Good to go,” he replied. I nodded at that.

A older gentleman stepped forward and kneeled a short distance from me and spoke with a heavy accent. “Champion Michael, may I speak?” I could sense a headache forming. I just wanted to grind. Not deal with whatever this was. But I couldn’t ignore something like this. I could, but it would just lead to more problems.

“What is it?” I asked.

“What is happening? Why are we here?” the man asked.

“The cannibal there didn’t explain?” I asked. The kneeling man winced a bit.

“He only knew that people had to eat others for food. While groups who could kill with ease regularly visited the city and were not to be bothered, even when they purchased food. There was a great calamity several days ago and everyone but him was wiped out,” the kneeling man explained.

“You are in the Systemic Lands, transported by the Almighty System for unknown reasons. The city collapsed into cannibalism due to my teams monopolizing the surrounding territory. Then the city was wiped out when several level 4 monsters chased after me,” I said. There was silence after those revelations.

I turned to leave and then the man spoke up again. “Please, what can we do to survive?” I paused and slowly turned back around.

“The simple fact is, that there is nothing you can do. I will not let go of the resources around the city, and you can’t survive without them. I am also not ready to appoint a Governor General to run this city. In short, you are doomed,” I explained and turned to leave once again.

“Champion Michael, I would be willing to take charge of the city,” Sam said. I turned to look at him. So, he was making a move. What was everyone wanting to take control of cities and not saying anything until the last moment, to put me on the spot. At least with Gerold, Clarissa and I had worked it out ahead of time to some extent.

“Really? Just you and your team?” I asked. Gerold had loads of people to make things work. They only had five people.

“It will be handled,” Sam said.

“Even with the fifty percent tax you will owe Purgatory? With Governor General Gerold, things had been worked out to some extent beforehand and the people speak English. Here, only some people speak English,” I said while eying the people around us.

“I can bring the city under control and pay the tax to Purgatory,” Sam said.

“Very well. Consider it a probationary appointment for the next 40 days. I expect a full accounting of all crystals. Governor General Sam,” I said.

“Thank you for the opportunity, Champion Michael,” he replied with a grin. I wasn’t optimistic and I was sure this would come back to bite me in the ass at the worst time. But, if he really wanted to take control, he could do it after I left. However, he didn’t want to fight me, hence the request to take charge of the city.

Better to give permission, when refusing would just build resentment. Also, this city had degenerated once already to cannibalism. It would be nice if it didn’t stay a shithole. The Empire of Purgatory would expand by one more city, to funnel wealth back to the capital.