The Systemic Lands

Chapter 543: Day 5,004 (2) – Grand Imperial Gala

I was wearing an actual crown for tonight. Normally I didn’t bother even with official functions, but this required I get dolled up. A metal ring, with swords pointing upwards of slightly varying sizes. If I lowered my head, I could impale someone.

It was my compromise between having a crown and something I would be willing to wear to the Grand Imperial Gala that was being set up in the Imperial Palace currently. All the people I had been meeting with were invited and they were given plus one invitations as well. It was a major social event where various groups could interact with each other from across various cities.

Samantha let me know, that the last black market price for an entry pass was 100,000 points. I wore an Eastern robe to the event. A loose bottom half, with a sash around the waist. Dark blue and gold with an eastern type dragon around the sleeves.

I arrived at the entrance to the ballroom just after Clarissa entered. “Supreme Governor Clarissa of the Empire of Purgatory!” There was a round of applause at that.

Next up was me. The most important people got arrive last. My soldiers passed on word that I had arrived. That was the nice thing about having the event where I lived. I stepped into the large ballroom.

“All bow, for Emperor Michael of the Empire of Purgatory. Champion of the Realm. Custodian of the Avatar. Slayer of the Divine Empress.” Everyone bowed towards me and a path was opened across the ballroom. I made my way across and took my seat on my chair, that was on a raised dais. The flag of Purgatory, draped over the chair. I took my seat.

“Thank you, my people. You may rise.” Everyone was in nice looking outfits using the non-restricted colors. “Today we gather here to celebrate one thousand days since our Empire was founded.” There was clapping at this. “To start this occasion, the Imperial Anthem,” I said and stood up.

The Imperial Theme began to play, and the national anthem was sung. It was completely pretentious, but it was catchy. Samantha had done a good job getting it worked out years ago.

In the realm of shadows, where darkness lies,

A kingdom forged in fire, where hope does rise.

We stand united, in the Empire's might,

Triumphant warriors, with hearts alight.

Oh, Empire of Purgatory, our beacon in the night,

Through hardships we have triumphed, in unity we find our light.

From the jaws of the Dragon, we emerged ever stronger,

We stand as one, forever, our bond will last no longer.

Beneath the ashen skies, where trials abound,

We forged our destiny, on hallowed ground.

Through trials and tribulations, we did prevail,

Together we conquered, our spirits never frail.

Oh, Empire of Purgatory, our beacon in the night,

Through hardships we have triumphed, in unity we find our light.

From the jaws of the Dragon, we emerged ever stronger,

We stand as one, forever, our bond will last no longer.

So let our anthem echo, throughout the land,

A testament to our triumph, united we shall stand.

Oh, Empire of Purgatory, our spirits ever soar,

Together we are mighty, forevermore.

The Imperial Government had musicians on the payroll and singers to carry the song. I sang along with the song along with several other people. There was a long round of applause at the end. I wasn’t sure if they were applauding the musicians or if they were applauding the Empire itself. In the end it didn’t matter that much.

“Now let us enjoy the night.” I gave a wave of my hand and sat down. Food and drink was brought out. Classical music began to play. I stayed on my throne as people would occasionally come up to talk with me. Just beggars dressed in nice clothes, or people trying to suck up to me. It was tiring, but I smiled and listened to them, making no promises or decisions.

“Emperor Michael,” a middle aged woman said with a bow as she approached me. “I am Delana. I was wondering if I could ask you for a dance,” she replied. It would get me out of talking to useless people.

“Very well,” I said and stood up. She extended her hand, and I took it. Leading her out onto the ballroom floor. I knew enough about dancing that my right hand went on her waist, while we clasped our left hands. We moved around the ballroom togeather.

“So which group are you with?” I asked her, as several people looked at us.

“I am the assistant to the vice governor for Neo Brasilia,” she replied. I nodded at this.

“You focus on grinding teams or something else?” I asked her.

“Mostly businesses and handling investments. I did something similar with a bank back on Earth,” she replied.

“Not much banking going on around here,” I replied.

“You would be surprised. Level 5 crystals have been useful in high level transactions. Less chests moved about. There is a lot of investment if you know where to look,” she said.

“Hmm, that is only on the scale of millions of points across the Empire. If you don’t talk at least a hundred million a day, you aren’t going to get me excited,” I replied.

“Hahaha,” she let out a light laugh. “I understand. The scale you operate is the scale of nations. A million point investment would be considered huge on my end,” she replied.

“So, anything interesting you are investing in lately?” I asked.

“Coffee grinders is quite big. That is one area we are looking to dominate in. And create different strains of coffee beans with the new growing method. There is a huge demand for proper coffee and a compact portable grinder,” she explained as we danced about the ballroom.

“I can’t stand coffee myself, but I have heard the complaints. Give me orange juice any day of the weak,” I replied.

“That is a much simpler device, to squeeze out fruit. But a proper roast is much trickier. And getting it compact is also a challenge. But it is just one of many products I have invested in.” The music came to a stop and I let her go.

“It was a pleasure. Thank you for the dance, Delana,” I told her.

“A highlight of my evening Emperor Michael,” she said and did a small curtsey. Another woman took the initiative to come up then and I danced with them.

Calling myself the most eligible bachelor was like calling the Almighty System, the most powerful. Sure it was true, but being rich and powerful made a person more attractive, not less. Delana and the other woman would not have objected if I slept with any of them, but it would create complications I didn’t need.

They would ask for things, or whisper in my ear. I was not going to have another Ruth. I could have gotten a prostitute, but then there were issues with falling into depravity. I had unlimited power. It would be far too easy to enjoy a comfortable life. I couldn’t afford the chance. I was immune to a lot of attacks, but an attack of the heart was the most dangerous.

That was why I was more than happy to let things be. There would be no Empress any time soon. The scary thought was if there was someone like the Divine Empress out there, who wanted to get married for political reasons. That would be incredibly stressful and something I didn’t want. Just thinking about a situation would have been hilarious and terrifying.

I was in a good place mentally right now. Trying to go outside my comfort zone to find comfort, to settle down, start a family, was not something I could consider. I held the hopes and dreams of an entire nation. I also refused to let myself be put in a position of weakness ever again. While I knew downtime and dealing with curse damage was important, I never wanted to be in a position wishing I had done more.

Relationships could always happen in the future. I felt younger and more energetic than I did a decade ago. For me the most important thing was power. Other people might be content to let other people control their life. And for the most part people were content to let the government be when they weren’t threatened.

But I was the government. I was the nuclear weapon. I was the military deterrent. Everything else was mostly just window dressing, or support for me. My survival and ability to win was far more critical than anything else in the Empire. It was the singular thing preventing the entire place from falling into chaos and anarchy.

If I disappeared, all these competing interests would fracture and there would be violence as competing interests fought for domination. Only my existence kept things from degenerating horribly. As I traded dance partners once more, that was the main thought on my mind as I looked around and saw all the people looking back at me.

I had never wanted to be in this position, but with great power, comes political responsibility. I had tried to avoid it for the longest time. I didn’t want to be in this position, but I was. I would have been content grinding away and not paying taxes.

But that was the basis for everything tax payments. Even with the thirty percent tax that was currently ongoing, there were still complaints, but not too many thankfully. People were used to it at this point. And Clarissa did a good job with the tax revenue, current idiot meta-point people excluded of course.

After a total of five dances, I waved off all the other women and returned to my throne. That was an acceptable number to show that I was social enough but was done with dancing. I took a fruity drink that was served to me and sipped it while looking out at the mingling crowds. I didn’t like dancing. But with my stats it was simple enough.

While this entire event might be viewed as a waste of points by the poor and newly arrived. It was a necessary event to bring the movers and shakers togeather. To help create a common identity for my Empire. These people were trendsetters in their own right. I noticed XLR8 hanging out with three women, telling some kind of story.

That man was no celibate, but he was an engaging speaker. The Power Church was doing well, and in the most recent poll, about 11% of the population had already converted, with another 23% being skeptical but interested in the church. It was gaining ground amongst the populace.

I could only hope it paid off. Why couldn’t that idiot have wished for me to get their meta-point instead of stealing from me? That was the problem with people. The selfish, greedy, and uncaring ones out there. I was one of them, but I was also the Emperor. I had to fend off the other plots and pretenders.

Thankfully, internal turmoil was at an all-time low at the moment. A combination of Clarissa’s policies, and the threat I represented. No one wanted to try an assassination attempt. The false flag assassination from the religious delegation had cut out the heart of their movement. They were hemorrhaging members and support.

No one wanted to be caught up in a purge. While I held off since the assassination was false, if there was another incident, I could go all out, with the excuse I had forgiven them once, but I wouldn’t forgive them a second time. At least there were no explosions at this celebration.