The Systemic Lands

Chapter 57: Day 150 – Running Errands

Ruth and I split up the 5-point crystals we had collected, each taking half which was about 130 each. I had managed to get 4,128 50-point crystals over the last 14 days. It was a bit slow since we spent days exploring and poking at the dungeon. So not a waste, but it could have been better.

Ruth had collected around 840 of the 50-point crystals. Which was quite good in my opinion. More upgrades and she could get some gear.

“Oh, look.” I saw a gray cart parked on a hill. It was just after midnight, and we were headed to the city to make a pre-dawn deposit.

“What? Oh, that cart. Looks like people are copying you now.”

“Pay a visit or pass on by?” I asked.

“What would you even talk about besides scaring the people?” Ruth asked.

“Cart life, cart pulling, cart grips?”

“You are making me pull the cart, remember?”

“Ah, yes, of course. Equality. So, pass by?”

“Yes, pass by,” Ruth said. Decision made, we didn’t stop and kept going for Purgatory. I killed the small wolves one after another as we advanced forward steadily.

We reached the East entrance, and no one was there. We continued on our way to the plaza without interruption. When we reached the plaza, I noted there were twenty guards around the pillars, with five of them patrolling around.

A Captain saw us and quickly had his men stand up. “Captain.”

“Champion Michael, welcome back,” he greeted me politely.

“A lot more guards that usual.”

“We have had people trying to sneak to the pillars at night.”

“Three shifts of twenty?”

“Yes.”

“Reserves?” Curious how many people were guarding the store pillars in the plaza.

“Another sixty, we swap days. But they are on the fast response team if anything happens.” That was a lot of people. I noted a wood stand with a metal bell and a hammer on a table next to it. A basic alarm system.

“Any other problems?”

“Everyone is on edge and there is a rumor going around that you will be challenged, and Ken voted out.”

“Well, I don’t know about Ken, but anyone is welcome to challenge me for my title. The monsters out there get more and more troublesome.”

“Like?”

“Monsters that spawn other monsters and the spawned monsters don’t drop crystals before you get your hopes up.”

“Ah, that is, as you said, troublesome.”

“No tax on 50-point crystals, right?”

“That is correct, but we don’t see many.”

“Well, you and your men can have one each for working so hard.” I dug into one of my packs and set out the crystals on a nearby table, a total of 20.

“Don’t tell anyone, but I made sure I got this shift,” the Captain said, and I chuckled lightly at that. The guards said thank you as they picked them up, and I counted two women among their number as they went back to their posts. Good to see that the guard positions being spread around a bit between various types of people.

I went to the pillars and began turning in my crystals. I ended up with 201,861 points. I got a restoration for 512 points. The price was quite high for how I felt, but who knew if there was a stat penalty or an environmental effect that was being fixed. I had been poisoned for a brief period of time and there might be lasting damage. It wasn’t high enough to be a concern right now, just something I kept track of. I purchased 70 upgrades for 183,800 points and put 10 upgrades into each stat. Nothing special for hitting 100 in Body unfortunately.

Body-100; Mind-40; Spirt-70; Perception-40; Aura-40; Rengeration-110; Endurance-40; Absorption-40 for a total of 480 upgrades so far. The price for the next upgrade was at 2,500 points. I winced at the cost. I purchased an iron helmet for 5,000 points and a cloak that was dyed black for 1,500 points. That left me with 18,274 points.

I took the time to load up the cart with supplies for at least 25 days, which should be more than enough for a 20-day trip. I didn’t purchase Ruth’s food. We had slightly different tastes. I preferred more fruit, while she liked to mix and match. So, we each got our own food and water to avoid arguing.

Ruth finished up as well and we left towards my home. It was undisturbed, which was nice. We entered and I locked up behind us.

“I am going first this time,” Ruth said in a tone that was quite firm.

“Alright.” I just raised my hands, and she went off to the shower. I went up to the second floor and sat on a chair looking out the window as the sun, light source, slowly rose into the sky. If this place was a flat world, the horizon thing would really bother me.

I tried to mentally work out how a flat world would work while I waited for my turn in the shower. While tempting to purchase a second shower, I wanted to have more points in reserve going forward and I wanted all the upgrades I could get. The house here was not that important at the moment.

I looked at my helmet. There were options for different models, and I had gone with a Greek style, or at least what I thought was a Greek style. There was a T shaped hole in the front for the eyes and mouth with notches on the side for ears. No plume, since that was considered a dye apparently and would add 50% to the cost. That was what I had done with my cloak.

“Done,” Ruth called out. I closed the window and went to the shower room. I stripped and washed all my clothing and armor first. After that I began shaving with the razor blade. It was still quite sharp, but it had dulled a bit. That was unfortunate.

Once my face was kind of smooth, I cleaned myself and then put everything back on. I felt a lot better and lighter. No haircut needed, since my hair was still quite short from the last cut. I put on the helmet. It cut my peripheral vision slightly, which was annoying, but I would keep it on for now.

I might change my mind later if I didn’t like it. The cloak came with two metal clips, which connected to the pauldrons of my black leather armor. The armor was a little bit gray from all the wear and tear, but I liked it, and it was holding up well. I put on the black cloak, which came down to my knees.

I pulled the cloak over my shoulders and my front was now covered as well. Maximum edge lord title, here I come. I stepped out of the shower and went to the second floor. Ruth had the same idea I had and was sitting and looking out the window while she brushed her short hair.

“Does that help?” I asked.

“It relaxes me. Very dark and brooding, it suits you. Are you going to overheat?”

“It is warm, but some stat makes me more temperature resistant. I think.” It was hard to tell sometimes what stat was doing what.

“Of course.” She rolled her eyes. “So, we have the day off?”

“I guess, but there is the arrival and vote.”

“Voting for Ken the Baker?”

“Elected Representative Ken has been doing okay. The real question is if someone is challenging me.”

“Worried?”

“No. Well as long as there is no interference, keep your eye out.”

“Will do,” Ruth said. We stepped out of my building. There were several people walking about and we received several stares. “See you in a while.”

“Visiting friends?” I asked.

“Yes, want to check up on the women-“ I cut her off. I wanted to nip any problems before they happened.

“I hope, you won’t talk about me.” Ruth froze at that. “The last person who talked about me ended up with their head in a jar. I don’t take kindly to betrayal. So, if you plan to do anything, you better make sure it sticks.”

“I haven’t done anything.” I looked at her face. I didn’t know what I expected to see.

“Alright, trust is a fickle thing and easily broken. Once broken, like a vase it can’t be put back together the way it was.” I strode away, my black cloak billowing behind me. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I liked Ruth, more than I liked anyone in the past. There was a chance of something there, but I couldn’t be blinded, no matter what I felt in my heart.

I walked over to the Union building. People were exiting the building and they froze when they saw me. I entered and went to the front desk.

“-uh, you know where to go. How can I help you?”

“Laura. I wish to speak to her at once.”

“I am right here.” I turned and she entered the room. “Lucky you caught me. It is my day to go out.”

“Has the issue with the auction been resolved?” I asked.

“The starting price was cut in half. So, I guess. We are working with contracts now and payback periods. Still, it has been sorted out.”

“Anything else?”

“Do you know anywhere we can hunt beyond the wolves?” Laura asked.

“Nothing with your capabilities. The land to the far East is impassable due to a spawn type monster. The shadowlands will be…challenging at your current ability against the scorpions and other monsters that inhabit that area.”

“So, nothing. We are closed off everywhere.”

“What is in the other directions?” I asked.

“Super brown slimes in a swamp to the North. Giant brown spiders that can leap quite far in the swamp to the South. Chameleons to the West.”

“How bad is the swamp?”

“Up to your knees. A cart will float rather than roll and everything will be soaked. We are trying with the chameleons, but they are patient and tricky.”

“Your best bet is developing a method to take down a higher level of monster as a team, quickly and efficiently. But I will leave that to you. Anything else?” I asked.

“No, but there is talk of a challenger.”

“Who?”

“One of the men from Red Dawn who earned a skill, so watch yourself.”

“Rooting for me?” I asked.

“You can be reasoned with. If you go, it will be a blood bath as person after person challenges for your position.” My mind instantly clicked with what was happening. How clever to cut down on the population Tyrese, but not clever enough.

“Thank you for the information. If you or your people discover anything interesting, monsters, dungeons, locations, anything, I will pay quite well for that information.”

“How well are you talking-“

“Ten thousand points worth of crystals is the starting point for completely new information.” There were a couple of gasps from the people listening in. One reason I had this conversation out in the open and not her office. “But I mean new, new. If it is a monster, then I need to know its abilities in detail. Not just a visual description. If it is a dungeon, I need to know the exact location.”

“Got it. I am sure some people are interested after hearing that.”

“Also, that is the starting point. If you feel it should be more, we can speak, but it better be quite good information.”

“No problem,” Laura said. I turned and left. No need to draw out an awkward conversation. I made my way to the bakery.

I stepped inside, the woman from before greeted me. “Two pieces of bread with butter. Also lime or lemon water.” I laid out 80 5-point crystals from the pack I was holding in my shield hand. I then set the pack on a table along with my helmet, making sure I had a view of all the entrances.

The woman took a bit of time but soon the food and water were served. The bread was fluffy, fresh, and warm. It was perfect. I finished my meal, and the woman came back over. “Will there be anything else?”

“No, excellent as always. How is business?”

“Struggling. People don’t have a lot of crystals to spend. Prepared food is a luxury.”

“How long does the bread keep?” I asked.

“Just over ten days, we prepare it in batches and then rewarm it when someone requests.” Some quirk of how this place operated, limiting the spoilage of derived foods and preserving store food. It made my head hurt to try and think about all the implications on a micro scale.

“What about after that time?”

“It becomes stale. While still edible, it is not as pleasant. This is sold at a discount for ten crystals to people who want it.”

“Anything else, like jam?” I asked.

“Butter is used at The Gray Duck. Jam hasn’t found a way onto the menu yet, but it has been considered. If there was more business, we could offer more options.”

“Of course. Any other businesses open up recently?”

“Unfortunately, not.”

“Thank you.” I stood up and put my helmet on. I picked up my pack and left the bakery.

I made my way to the Re-Sale building just a short distance to the South, facing the plaza. I noted two men standing guard outside the front entrance. They didn’t stop me from entering and I noted another three guards standing around.

“Welcome, welcome. It is an honor to have the Champion in my shop.” I turned to face a balding fat man who looked like a sleazy used cars salesman. It was hard to say what made him look sleazy, but I decided it was the little bit of greasy hair he still had, the worn clothing he was wearing, and the squinted eyes. Also, the quick way he spoke just made me think of a salesman.

Still, I could respect the hustle. I had been a salesman at one time, back on Earth. I hated dealing with customers. “I was looking for someone to sharpen iron, specifically an iron razor. Is that possible?” I asked.

“Ah, there isn’t the market yet for used iron goods. Everything is copper. Small portions can be reworked.”

“Anything interesting or special?” I asked.

“I do have a select few Earth goods that people have sold me. But only for the most discerning of customers.”

“What items?”

“Watches, lighters, coins, keys, ID cards, and bottle openers.”

“I have watches and a lighter. What else?”

“There is jewelry if you are interested. Unfortunately, I am unable to resize or alter any of it.”

“Let me see the selection. Your name?”

“I am Bob, owner of this proud establishment. Quickly, get the jewelry tray.” One of the guards hustled into another room. I looked around at the tables of worn weapons and pieces of armor. The guard quickly returned with a copper tray with several pieces of jewelry laid out on it.

I put my pack and helmet on an open table and looked over the selection to see if there was anything that interested me. “May I?” I pointed at a plain gold ring.

“Of course, go right ahead.” I tried the ring on, it was too small and didn’t fit. I set it back on the tray. There was a pair of simple earrings with sapphires. More like a stud than an earring. They wouldn’t get in the way at least or be ripped off in a fight.

I picked one up and brought it to my face. “How much for the earrings?” I asked.

“Three hundred 5-point crystals.” Pricey and I didn’t have that on me. I liquidated too much.

“I will reserve them for the next time I return. I don’t have enough liquid funds at the moment. A 250 point deposit should be acceptable?”

“Of course, of course. I will make sure to keep them separate. That would be 250 crystals when you return.”

“1,250. You should deal in points, due to the higher tiered crystals being worth 50 points.” Keep things at their base value. Don’t muddy things up with crystal amounts for transactions.

“Of course, is there anything you want me to keep an eye out for?”

“Books, English books. Also, I am interested in an auto-load crossbow if someone builds one. Specifically, one that can be held in one hand and cranked to fire a stream of bolts. Someone who can make a cart float without getting everything inside soaked.”

“There have been no books so far. As for the second two, I will ask around, but it will be unlikely unless there is a deposit.”

“When I return, people can make bids to me if they have a good idea, and I will sponsor them. This place really needs a banking service.”

“That would be the casino, but they don’t offer lines of credit. Too many people defaulting,” Bob said.

“I meant the ease of banking transactions and being able to check how rich someone is.”

“I doubt anyone will be confused with you.” I paused and looked at Bob. He just implied that when asking for money to ask around and people wouldn’t hesitate to loan out crystals to me. I wasn’t going to try that, too much chance of drama, still it was an option.

“Hopefully that is the case.” I picked up my helmet and put it on and picked up my empty pack.

“I look forward to seeing you again Champion Michael.” I waved a hand over my shoulder as I left the building. Ben the accountant was waiting for me.

“Champion Michael, Boss Tyrese wishes to speak with you.”

“Lead on. So, what are the reserves at?” I asked.

“Around 10,000 crystals at the moment.”

“Not bad, not bad. You should use points though.” I followed Ben to the Red Dawn’s HQ. I went up to the second floor where Carlos used to sit, and Tyrese was there sitting at a table.

I took the seat across from him. “Welcome Champion Michael.”

“Boss Tyrese.” If he was using titles, I could be polite in return.