The Systemic Lands

Chapter 35: Day 55 (3) – Departure

I became a bit more somber on my walk back, thinking if I could have handled the Evaline situation in a better way. It was hard to say, but I was leaning towards no.

She hadn’t shared information about the group that had shown up with her at all. That was the clearest sign she had been holding out on me. I should have gotten a second source to keep her honest, but then I would have to pay two people.

It was just a headache all around, the kind a Mind upgrade or two wasn’t going to fix. I wasn’t invincible, I had to keep repeating that to myself. If I hadn’t spotted the ambush, I would have been in trouble, if they had two more people to fight me, also trouble.

The problem was I was stuck on this path now. It hadn’t turned out the way I had envisioned. I figured a more shadow role, in the background. Like a grandmaster showing up occasionally to dispense sage advice and save the day. I thought that would be the directions things went, but my actions and the results told a different story.

I felt the best policy in a fight was aggression, you don’t win if you don’t attack. If I can’t win, just run away. That mindset had carried over to all my personal interactions. Fighting and killing, did not give one social skills. There was no charisma stat upgrade either.

Well, I made my bed, time to lie in it. “You still sticking around?” I asked Alex who was trailing along by my side.

“Um, well…don’t kill me, but that…it was horrible. The screams. I can still hear that woman screaming.” Oh, he meant the woman whose torso I melted with my Acid Shot. It was pretty gruesome, but there was worse on television, to say nothing of my imagination. That place was the darkest and scariest dungeon out there.

“Disappointing. But understandable. Still, I won’t throw you away just yet. Let you get in tax free one last time.” He had done a good job, so no need to punish the poor man.

“Oh, thanks.” I could only shake my head at him. One could wish for someone to act a certain way, but that didn’t make it a reality. I was about to be solo once again. At least I had managed to clear out the slime dungeon and get a skill.

We reached the plaza and there were a fair number of people lined up for the store. I got in line with Alex. The captain managing things walked over after seeing me.

“You don’t have to wait, Sicario. You can skip the line.” Several people gave me looks and then quickly looked away.

“Thanks.” I pulled out one my last crystal I had gotten from a white tunnel mind slime. “Here, don’t have change at the moment. It is worth 50.”

“Ah, thank you. Follow me.” I followed the captain and Alex trailed along. We got the next opened pillar. I took my 8 crystals from Alex and left them in my pack as spending money. The blue and brown slime crystals were each a disappointing 50 points like I suspected.

I then checked the new store. That was a lot of changes. The first thing was that the next upgrade was 100,000 points like I suspected. That wasn’t going to happen any time soon unfortunately. There were now grains in the store. No bread, or anything processed. Just the raw food, but this would open up a lot of options.

There were a lot more tools for things like cooking, smithing, brush, broom, and several more non-combat items. Daily items that might enhance quality of life, but nothing too special.

Then there was leather armor that ranged from 1,000 points up to 5,000 points. There were also better clothing options at that price as well. Nothing enchanted or anything that gave bonuses.

The biggest change was the property system that was now in effect. The first thought I had was, this is the black hole of points. A building could be purchased for 10,000 points. Ownership allowed the owner to sense who was in the building and change the design by adding or removing features.

Removing stuff was free, but adding stuff was expensive. Window, 1,000. Door, 1,000. Reinforced door, 10,000. Reinforced window, 5,000. Door lock, 5,000. Water source and drain, 5,000. Light source, 5,000. Oven, 5,000. Cushioned chair, 1,000. Colored wall, 5,000. Bed frame, 1,000. Bedding, 5,000.

There would be no removal of anything inside an owned building either. So, items could be stored even if they didn’t have the permanence modifier. Another good thing was that there was no upkeep. Once something was put in, it was there to stay. There was a cost to repair things if they were damaged, like a restoration. But only permanent items purchased through the store for that building. I couldn’t take a table from another building and restore it in my building.

There were permission features as well as inheritance features. If no one was selected everything would turn to dust when the person died. Well, that was a way to give a big middle finger to people trying to steal someone’s wealth.

I had to have a building in mind to purchase it. I didn’t get a map of the city and knowledge of all the buildings unfortunately. I could think of a building, and I would just get a valid response back from the store. I could also link buildings that I owned together by adding in doorways. It was amazing, but a huge sink hole of points.

There was a new upgrade as well. This time it was Endurance. It was tempting to invest, but looking over the options I realized I needed a different plan. Insanity was doing the same thing and expecting different results. It was time to take a long break from this city and avoid these point black holes.

I was sick and tired of the drama involved with this place. The murder and death were unpleasant and exhausting in a way that stressed me out. With my discovery of magic, which would open up more drama. If I stayed, I would purchase a house for the comfort. There was no way around it. I would then sink into a point spiral paying for the house instead of focusing on personal upgrades.

There was also a cart for 2,000 points. Everything in the cart would stick around, no vanishing of anything inside the cart. Nothing to pull it unfortunately, but I paused at this. I spent an extra 50% to color it. I made the cart a dark blue. It appeared next to me, and several people jumped at its sudden appearance.

The cart was shaped as an open box on two wheels. There were two pieces of wood with leather wraps a person could grab onto to pull it, and two wooden legs at the front for the cart to rest on. It made me think of a rickshaw. I tossed my pack into the cart and then purchased 10 reinforced packs for 1,000 points. Five more copper flasks for 500 points. Next I purchased 400 points worth of food and water, loading up the packs and tossing them into the cart.

I noted there were reinforced clubs for 1,000 points each. I ignored them and purchased 10 basic clubs for 100 points. The last thing was a restoration for 87 points. That dropped my points down to 257.

I looked over at the Captain. “I am going on a bit of a trip. Don’t know when I will be back. Let Carlos know, alright?”

“Yes, Sicario.” I picked up the handles of my cart and began rolling out towards the grassland. I wasn’t going to get trapped yearning for things and the drama. Still, the thought of a shower and a real bed pulled at my heart. I really wanted a shower and a bed.

By the almighty System, I really wanted a bed and a shower. But if I went after them now, I would be trapped. I was taking a vacation from people. I would let this place sort itself out. Ten packs worth of food meant I had about 40 days of provisions. I figured I would go through the grassland, check out the other dungeon and then push on.

I wasn’t sure exactly where I would go, but I had two goals. The first goal was to get a second skill. The second goal was to get 10,000 crystals or 50,000 points. That should let me get 50 upgrades. I planned for 10 into Endurance and then 20 into Spirit and Regeneration. I couldn’t decide if a bigger tank or a faster refuel was better, so I would split the difference for now.

I stopped at the gate and checked, there was no one following me. I then left the city and felt a weight lift off of me. I would become a legend and myth. I felt this was the best choice I had made in a long time. Even if I died out in the wilderness, I could accept that.

The city was a trap. I had joked about this place being purgatory, but it was the city and the people that had made it horrible. I also included myself in that list of people. No, better to leave and see if I could actually survive in the wilderness.

That was the only way to progress, to make a trip more than half a day from the city. I pulled my cart through the grasslands. The axle and the entire construction were well done and smooth. I stopped and picked up a sword and shield from the front of the cart and banged them.

I didn’t try to block the little wolves. I went directly for the skewer with my sword. They didn’t try and dodge, so it was quicker than the block stab technique I had been using before. Just aim the blade and let the monsters impale themselves. I had an empty pack on the cart I began filling up with crystals.

I shook my head at the dark blue color after grinding for a bit. That had been a poor choice to spend points on, but I liked it. I had thought of bright orange, but that would have been a bit much. Also, I preferred dark blue and dark red. But I didn’t want to take Red Dawn’s color. Paying for the color had been a bit of waste, but I didn’t want to see any more gray.

I slowly advanced into the plains killing small wolves. The sun began to set, and I stopped on top of the largest hill nearby. I cleared out the little wolves around the hill and cut the grass at the top to clear out a small space around my cart.

I practiced my Acid Shot twice to get a better idea on the speed, aiming, and range. I could cast it in about one second with the hand gesture and spoken words. Aiming was fairly instinctive, with a possible mental assistance from the System that controlled the skill crystal and store. Maybe it was the Mind stat, hmm, something to ponder. The speed and the range were constant. I could get about 20 meters without arcing a shot and it took about a second to cover those 20 meters.

I couldn’t float the acid ball in front of me either, which was unfortunate. Once cast it would be shot off right away. I classified it as a primarily mid-range spell.

I sat on the edge of the cart eating some fruit and looking out over the grassland. It was beautiful as the gentle breeze waved the grass back and forth. It suddenly clicked, no wonder the wolves were bothering me, they never howled or barked.

Another thing to add to the list of strangeness. Once I was done eating, I maneuvered the packs to one side of the cart and then laid down. I made sure to keep my sword at my side and closed my eyes and listened.

I forced my breathing to stay steady and to think about nothing. Just black, void, black, nothing. I drifted off to an uneasy sleep.