The Systemic Lands

Chapter 67: Day 156 (3) – Viewpoints 5

Lucas

“What a mess,” I let out a long sigh and held my head in my hands.

“Maybe we should have let him kill people. At least then…” Marcos muttered.

“I know.” We were sitting in a building waiting for the other three Council members to return to the mess that had just occurred.

“I was wondering how other cities handled things, they just let people die,” Marcos said.

“I am more concerned about the magic he used. He wasn’t joking. He really wasn’t joking about melting people.”

“That kind of guy, they are either the biggest bluffers or are dead serious. Killing people right off, that shows he is a serious guy,” Marcos said. I could see the fear in him, the same fear that was in me.

“He could have killed all of us?” People were still screaming out there in pain. There weren’t enough points for the needed restorations to heal them. We barely had points for food.

“Yes, well maybe. There have to be limitations.”

“What are we even going to do? Another city, we are barely handling our own problems. If they attack?”

“They probably won’t, what do we have?”

“He wanted to check the store and was adamant about it.” I thought on that some more. “He clearly had equipment we don’t have access to. So, his city is investing in their store.”

“Or he is. He had to have come from beyond the grassland or the forest.”

“Well, he came in from the West gate, and Eloa said he came in from the Northwest.”

“Northwest, which is troublesome. We haven’t scouted that way at all,” Marcos said. I heard footsteps and the other three Council members who were out killing monsters today came up the stairs.

“What happened, there are people saying we were invaded?” Jose asked. I explained the situation to the rest of the Council as they took seats around the table. One of the few luxuries we had, table and chairs.

There was a long stretch of silence as everyone digested the news. “He formed acid in the air and fired it off at people?” Lorreta asked to confirm.

“Acid Shot was what he said, and he made a hand gesture like this. Doesn’t do anything, I have been trying.” Marcos said.

“We have to rethink things. It has been building up for a while, but now it has reached the breaking point. We can no longer support people,” Maria said.

“I know, but it will be the blood bath we have been trying to avoid,” I said quietly.

“It must be done. Anyone who wants to eat, must hunt for crystals. Charity will be optional from now on,” Marcos said.

“And the guards at the plaza?” Jose asked.

“They are free to hunt as well. We will need to speak to the other teams, a shame about Alanyo, he was one of the best,” Lorreta said.

“I can reach out, I know all of them,” I spoke up.

“Good, let’s do it now as a group, you know where they are based out of?” Jose asked.

“Yes, it feels like we are playing into his hands though,” I said.

“You mean Michael’s?” Marcos asked.

“Champion Michael and yes,” I replied. I wouldn’t forget the man’s title.

“Champion, an interesting title. Champion of his city, a tournament?” Loretta asked.

“He did check two larger crystals on the pillar and the pack he turned in was full,” Marcos said.

“Stronger monsters, give better crystals. Not a surprise,” Maria said.

“But why check those two specifically? They are probably two or three levels higher than what is around the city if he was that interested to carry them on his person and not a pack,” I said.

“Two or three levels higher, Jesus have mercy, we can’t let this happen again,” Lorreta said.

“No wonder why he got annoyed so easily. Like a bunch of high schoolers talking smack to Messi,” Jose said.

“You and your football references, still it makes sense. His companions didn’t speak?” Maria asked.

“Not unless he called on them or gave permission. The cart puller didn’t even speak at all, and he had a sword,” Marcos said. Even the cart puller was rich in this place. That was the final blow to any pride the Council or I might have had.

“Is the woman okay, you think?” Loretta asked.

“She didn’t appear upset, or sad. More amused than anything else,” I said.

“Well let’s get moving before it gets completely dark,” Jose said, and we got up to speak to the other teams.

Estevo

What had I gotten into? Did I dare not even show up? He really wasn’t joking. He melted people without hesitation, just melted them and let them scream. I shuddered at how easily that could have been me. I was so close to that…I couldn’t call him a person and I didn’t dare call him a monster.

That individual was ruthless. I heard about stuff like that, but I didn’t think someone would just melt people. He melted people. I left the plaza and was hiding out near the West gate. Eloa was on her own, my debt was repaid to her a hundred times over and then some.

No, I had a new debt now. A debt to a demon, yes, a demon. He reminded me the story my grandmother used to tell of the cabeca Satanica, or Satan’s flying head that would torment people. Every day I was stuck here, I questioned more and more.

With my team dead, it would be hard to get crystals and this place was going to erupt into violence as everyone slowly starved to death.

I had done well enough as a cage fighter and then a trainer, but that was nothing compared to this place. What did throwing a punch matter against someone who could just point and melt you? Absolutely nothing.

I had thought he was just a person who was a good fighter, but clearly that wasn’t the case. He had magic and power.

I knew of two pits, one in the forest and one in the grasslands. People had tried exploring them, but no one had come out. Torches were too expensive, and that man had purchased 20 of them without hesitating. That was 10,000 points, which was insanity for just torches!

I had a sense the pits were important, but I never realized how important they truly were if a man like that was interested in them. I had only hinted at one pit, which was risky. But if I could find out information and then use that somehow, there were possibilities.

Staying in Neo Brasilia was a slow death but there was no escape until now. This demon offered a line to get out of here. To not deal with overly preachy Council members or be forced to give away my crystals, I wanted to go somewhere else.

Now that I had grabbed onto the demon, I was afraid I couldn’t let go. I found a building a five-minute walk from the West gate and chose to spend the night there.

I woke up before dawn, since it was still dark out. I made my way to the gate and waited. I had gotten up a bit too early and ended up waiting for quite a while. Just as the sky was starting to brighten, the demon himself showed up with his two companions in tow along with their blue cart.

I quickly stood up and leaned against the wall. His eyes were already locked onto me, and they made their way over.

“Estevo. Good morning. You wanted to trade?” He asked.

“Yes, I want to go to another city and three thousand points.” I didn’t dare get too greedy since I was asking for passage as well.

“So, passage, basically?” He asked.

“Yes.”

“Problems here?”

“Too many people waiting to grab onto anyone with crystals,” I replied truthfully. “I can tell, you want to know about the pit.”

“Pit or pits?” He was staring at me like a hawk from underneath his helmet. “Pits, interesting.” Dammit!

“How?” Was he reading my mind?

“Logic and a bit of cold reading. I mean the look of shock on your face made it obvious. Both locations and you have a deal. Before you say no, remember, I don’t mind spending a while to look for them myself.”

“I want to know what they are for and what is in them,” I countered.

“That is fine. You get 3,000 points worth of crystals and safe passage to Purgatory. Also, before we part ways in Purgatory, I will tell you what was in both pits. Deal?” He asked but didn’t hold out his hand. I guess I didn’t rate a handshake. Not like I could say anything about that to someone like this.

“Deal,” I said.

“Excellent, first location?” He was grinning at me like the devil himself.

“Southwest of here.”

“Perfect. Let’s go.”

Ruth

The line between genius and insanity was if it worked or not. I would swear, even now, that going into that crowd was crazy and a death sentence. But Michael didn’t give one twit about the entire thing.

He just did it and then killed people to make a point. That was why I had joined up. He would either get really far and find a way back to Earth or die horribly. My brain kept telling me the second outcome of a horrible death was going to happen any moment, but my gut knew. He was the type of person to never let go once he got hold of something.

It was endearing in a way that was scary. He only consulted himself. While he listened to advice, he didn’t hesitate to ignore it, if he thought his way was best. I needed more levers on him. While he did listen to me, he still kept me at arm’s length.

The confidence had to come with power, but even then, he just went off into the unknown like it was nothing. And now two dungeons had landed in his lap. Still, it wasn’t a big guess, since there were two dungeons near Purgatory, so with the design being similar to this city, having two dungeons near Neo Brasilia wasn’t a huge leap to take.

I still didn’t get why Estevo joined up. I wanted to shake him and scream at him to ask for more. He could have asked for 10,000 points and Michael would have paid, per dungeon. Skill points were incredibly valuable. Also, the information was known knowledge in Purgatory.

I could tell Michael just wanted to burst out laughing at this idiot. It was the huge stupid grin he had on his face. He wasn’t even hiding it. He would take both skill points and I would have to find my way back here to claim them sometime. He was getting further ahead, while I fell further behind.

I cut down another of the grass monsters. Michael and I each took one half of the front as we chopped our way forward. After a couple of hours, we reached a large hill with a pit in the side.

“Who is volunteering to carry a torch and who is staying with the cart?”

“I will carry the torches,” I spoke up. I wanted to know what was down here for when I returned. I wasn’t about to pay him a bunch of crystals to take me through.

“Alright, you two can stay out here then,” Michael said. I arranged a pack with ten torches and a Firestarter. I lit it and followed in after him as he took the lead into the dungeon.

“At least the floor is not covered with roots.” He moved fairly quickly, pausing to check behind and above him. I would not forget that useful piece of advice he constantly mentioned. Occasionally he would poke the stone walls with his sword.

We came to a chamber with clumps of grass and a larger clump in the center. Michael easily began cutting through the smaller grass monsters. When he moved on the larger one in the center it shot out grass blades that impacted his iron shield.

“Acid Shot.” The monster was quickly melted and left a 50-point crystal. The next chamber had 3 of the level two grass monsters. Michael didn’t hesitate to Acid Shot them right away. After that there was a double door.

All of that had only used up three torches so far. “No side routes or dead ends, how interesting,” he muttered. He pushed open the doors. “Light another torch and throw the current one inside.” I did as he said, and he didn’t enter the room yet, preferring to look around first.

I looked in as well. “A clump of red grass there, there, and there, you see it?” He pointed it out and I had to squint.

“Yes, what are you thinking?”

“Something fire based most likely. Three of them as well, but no minions as far as I can tell. You want to come in?” I considered the question for a moment.

“Yes, I just need to run away, right?”

“Yes. Don’t worry, this shouldn’t be too bad. Let’s do this.” We entered the room and the doors slammed shut behind us.

“Acid Shot.” The red clump of grass burst out of the ground and danced to the side, only getting hit with a bit of acid. The other two clumps burst out as well. They then burst into flames and began to quickly advance on Michael who was out in front.

“Acid Shot. Acid Shot. Acid Shot. Acid Shot. Acid Shot.Acid Shot.” Two of the clumps of grass went down from the barrage. The third danced in close and Michael was forced to step back quickly to avoid the flaming grass that swiped at him. “Acid Shot.” He timed his shot and took the monster out mid-attack.

He had good fighting instincts, no matter what else was said about him. All that grinding against monsters honed one’s instincts. The monster died and he picked up the crystals as a skill crystal formed in the middle of the room. He went over and touched it. It disappeared and he let out a sigh.

“What was it?” I asked.

“Grass Blade and Imbue Fire, I went with an upgrade to Acid Shot instead. I don’t need more attack skills. Acid Shot.” The ball of acid that formed was twice as large as the previous ones. He released it into a wall.

“I would have thought you wanted variety.”

“No, that is part of my skill plan. If Imbue Fire could stack on other skills and not just physical attacks, I would have considered it.” He had a skill plan. How could someone plan out skills when they didn’t know what they were? He might have mentioned something, but he mentioned a lot of things.

This entire dungeon clear confirmed in my mind, I had to prepare. Both myself and finding levers I could use on Michael to influence him. If only he wasn’t so stubborn.