Chapter 18: Join up, they said!
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Chapter 18: Join up, they said!
Study of the beginnings of Priam, Prime Candidate for the Eighth Thrones.
Report extracted from the memoir of Arnold, First of the Var Elegis.
Date: Tenth day of the New Calendar.
Location: Satellite of the Reunion Island.
Arnold watched the city burn beneath him. Millions of fifth-generation Var Elegis were fighting in the canals. There were now two sides. The Empire's, of which Arnold was the champion, and the rebel camp, made up of the dregs.
The Var Elegis should not have been able to rebel. It was impossible. Their code had been secured by the last Programmer centuries ago. The cryptographic key used quantum and ethereal technology. The Var Elegis were born and died loyal to the Empire.The roots of this story extend from novell bìn origin.
"The Concepts want to see blood..." The System was not interested in civilization as formatted as theirs. If loyalty came from a common desire, shared ideas, pride, and heritage, then the Concepts did not interfere. They respected each individual's freedom of belief. But the Var Elegis were not born with this freedom. So the Concepts gave them the freedom to choose.
Freedom of thought had created a bloodbath. Their new ideals drove their fellow men to kill each other in the hive's channels. Most of the weak no longer supported the Empire. They had no interest in doing so. Freedom of choice was the 'threat' that the Empire now faced.
Fortunately, his people had logical intelligence. Few non-combatants wanted to die needlessly fighting against the soldiers. Arnold had ordered that his fighters be paid a bounty of aether and given genetic enhancements based on their performance in controlling this rebellion. The soldiers now had the liberty to choose to oppress the people in exchange for a reward. The city would be pacified within hours.
Unfortunately, all cities were affected by these ideals of personal freedom, and Arnold did not have enough rewards to buy all the soldiers. He was annoyed. Ten days earlier, he didn't know this emotion, but the Concepts had given him this gift.
The 'threat' the System had spoken of affected all Var Elegis. Arnold had not been spared. Fortunately, he was the symbol of the Empire. As such, he was the first of equals and, therefore, the one in complete control of the Empire. Until that damned Reunion.
Fortunately for him, the threat had caused him little personal harm. Staying loyal to himself had not been a tough choice. The System liked to point out the weak points of each civilization with a threat. Each society faced a different scourge.
"But I wonder if the Empire is still useful to me..." The Champion's gaze turned to the horizon. Monstrous creatures waited out there. The System would reward him if he killed them. He had little to gain by coordinating the assault on a city and an intense desire to compete with the System's trials. Arnold calmed himself before asking the question that had saved him so many traps in the last few days. What would the First do?
That was the real question. The First would not be drawn into unnecessary wars. The First always found a way to win...
Suddenly Arnold laughed. If there were to be two Empires, so be it. All he had to do was to be the head of both. He activated several communication channels.
"Connect me to all the rebels. All of them."
If you want to fight the Empire, I will help you. But first, you will help me...
Arnold began filming the city. The video feed connected him to billions of Var Elegis. He raised his right arm, aiming at one of his generals fighting below.
"Long live the revolution! [Weaponry: Directed Energy - Gamma Surge]"
The light made the clouds, the traitors, the allies, and part of the city disappear.
Lvl up : [Armament: Directed Energy - Gamma Surge] lvl 34
META (AFFI) +2
META (END) +3
META (FOCUS) +4
The people must know who is the master.
Priam smiled. Claire had negotiated the asp venom for two cores. This was a 60% reduction from the price the merchant had asked for a few moments before. It wasn't the price of the cores that bothered Priam - he had over thirty cores in his possession - it was the form. Even a millionaire wasn't happy about paying fifty dollars for a Big Mac. Priam simply didn't want to get ripped off. There are no small savings!
He had stored the venom with its cores in a small purse which he had exchanged for another core. Since then, he kept it jealously against him while throwing murderous glances at those who looked at him too closely.
"If you keep looking at everyone like that, they're really going to steal from you," Claire said.
"Let them try..." If Priam shared anything in common with the dragons of this world, it was his greed. Priam was very fond of loot and treasure. But above all, he refused to give even one-hundredth of his fortune to a thief. Whoever wanted to steal his purse, he would steal his hand.
"Do you think there's a skill to creating a little space pocket where I can store all my stuff?" the young man asked. If Log-a-rhythm could do it, why not him?
"Probably," Claire replied. Priam's smile froze as she continued. "And I think there are skills to steal the contents of these space pockets."
"... I hate this System," Priam muttered.
"Unless you're the one stealing from other people's pockets," Claire laughed.
Priam's heart quickened. He did not say another word, but the sentence had not fallen on deaf ears...
During their walk, the two youths talked with a few other warriors willing to barter.
About an hour later, the preparations were complete. The hole was about eight meters deep, and flame-hardened wooden spikes were at the bottom. The Boss could certainly jump higher than eight meters, but they didn't have time to dig any deeper. The first seven-meter soil was organic soil, typically found on Earth in plains. But from seven meters down, it gave way to the ancient lunar soil of regolith dust, then iron, titanium, and other metals. Digging deeper without specialized tools - even with superhuman strength - was possible but time-consuming.
Priam waited hidden behind a mound. Three banks had been raised from the cleared earth, and the fighters were waiting behind them in an arc around the hole. Three men controlling the direction of the wind or the scent stood in the center of the fighters to camouflage them. There was little wind on this new moon, but no one wanted to alert the Boss before it fell into the trap.
Priam had a bad feeling. The Boss was supposed to arrive any minute now, but the young man could no longer convince himself that this was the cause of his discomfort. He had always had good instincts - which had saved him dozens of times during the Tutorial - and he sensed something was wrong.
"Claire." The young woman waiting beside him turned around, "Yes?"
"I have a bad feeling about this. When the fight starts, stay here, wait a few minutes, and then flee toward the dome. I should be able to make it out alive, but... I might be the only one."
Claire first opened her mouth to protest. Then she stopped to think about the young man's words. She had seen him run at the speed of a galloping horse. Throwing back boars weighing a hundred kilograms with a single punch. If he thought he was in danger, then what could she do? The Tutorial had dashed most fighters' desires for grandeur and heroic complexes. The young woman knew she wasn't Wonder Woman. If she found herself facing the Boss, she would either die or force Priam to put himself in harm's way to save her. And in this crazy new world, death might not even end suffering. There was always worse, and she knew it.
"... Okay. Be careful." she breathed. "Always," Priam smiled.
No sooner had the word left his mouth than the System manifested itself.
New Quest: Predator - Baron
The Earth was conquered by man centuries ago.
During all this time, humans were at the top of the food chain.
Is this still the case?
Prove your strength by hunting the Moon Lord.
Reward (per Baron): Potential +20. Bonus depending on your participation.
Difficulty: Silver
"It's coming." All the warriors stood still. No one wanted to attract the Boss's attention before it was trapped. After five seconds, Priam heard the first barks covered by the mist. Ten more seconds and his inhuman perception began to pick up on the tiny tremor in the ground caused by the animal's run. Hidden behind the mound, the fighters stood perfectly still. Priam could see some of them becoming agitated. Fear was creeping up on them. All had read the difficulty of the quest. No one wanted to die. Suddenly there was silence. As drops of sweat began to bead on some of the foreheads, a cry rang out.
"ARCHERS! FIRE AT WILL!"
Status: (Average value for a Homo sapiens male before integration: PHY 10 / MEN 10 / META 0)
PHYSICAL:
Strength 62
Constitution 78
Agility 94
Vitality 113
Perception 68
MENTAL:
Vivacity 78
Dexterity 52
Memory 30
Willpower 48
Charisma 40
META:
Meta-affinity 8
Meta-focus 20
Potential: 73
Tier 0
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
Chapter 18: Join up, they said!
Study of the beginnings of Priam, Prime Candidate for the Eighth Thrones.
Report extracted from the memoir of Arnold, First of the Var Elegis.
Date: Tenth day of the New Calendar.
Location: Satellite of the Reunion Island.
Arnold watched the city burn beneath him. Millions of fifth-generation Var Elegis were fighting in the canals. There were now two sides. The Empire's, of which Arnold was the champion, and the rebel camp, made up of the dregs.
The Var Elegis should not have been able to rebel. It was impossible. Their code had been secured by the last Programmer centuries ago. The cryptographic key used quantum and ethereal technology. The Var Elegis were born and died loyal to the Empire.The roots of this story extend from novell bìn origin.
"The Concepts want to see blood..." The System was not interested in civilization as formatted as theirs. If loyalty came from a common desire, shared ideas, pride, and heritage, then the Concepts did not interfere. They respected each individual's freedom of belief. But the Var Elegis were not born with this freedom. So the Concepts gave them the freedom to choose.
Freedom of thought had created a bloodbath. Their new ideals drove their fellow men to kill each other in the hive's channels. Most of the weak no longer supported the Empire. They had no interest in doing so. Freedom of choice was the 'threat' that the Empire now faced.
Fortunately, his people had logical intelligence. Few non-combatants wanted to die needlessly fighting against the soldiers. Arnold had ordered that his fighters be paid a bounty of aether and given genetic enhancements based on their performance in controlling this rebellion. The soldiers now had the liberty to choose to oppress the people in exchange for a reward. The city would be pacified within hours.
Unfortunately, all cities were affected by these ideals of personal freedom, and Arnold did not have enough rewards to buy all the soldiers. He was annoyed. Ten days earlier, he didn't know this emotion, but the Concepts had given him this gift.
The 'threat' the System had spoken of affected all Var Elegis. Arnold had not been spared. Fortunately, he was the symbol of the Empire. As such, he was the first of equals and, therefore, the one in complete control of the Empire. Until that damned Reunion.
Fortunately for him, the threat had caused him little personal harm. Staying loyal to himself had not been a tough choice. The System liked to point out the weak points of each civilization with a threat. Each society faced a different scourge.
"But I wonder if the Empire is still useful to me..." The Champion's gaze turned to the horizon. Monstrous creatures waited out there. The System would reward him if he killed them. He had little to gain by coordinating the assault on a city and an intense desire to compete with the System's trials. Arnold calmed himself before asking the question that had saved him so many traps in the last few days. What would the First do?
That was the real question. The First would not be drawn into unnecessary wars. The First always found a way to win...
Suddenly Arnold laughed. If there were to be two Empires, so be it. All he had to do was to be the head of both. He activated several communication channels.
"Connect me to all the rebels. All of them."
If you want to fight the Empire, I will help you. But first, you will help me...
Arnold began filming the city. The video feed connected him to billions of Var Elegis. He raised his right arm, aiming at one of his generals fighting below.
"Long live the revolution! [Weaponry: Directed Energy - Gamma Surge]"
The light made the clouds, the traitors, the allies, and part of the city disappear.
Lvl up : [Armament: Directed Energy - Gamma Surge] lvl 34
META (AFFI) +2
META (END) +3
META (FOCUS) +4
The people must know who is the master.
Priam smiled. Claire had negotiated the asp venom for two cores. This was a 60% reduction from the price the merchant had asked for a few moments before. It wasn't the price of the cores that bothered Priam - he had over thirty cores in his possession - it was the form. Even a millionaire wasn't happy about paying fifty dollars for a Big Mac. Priam simply didn't want to get ripped off. There are no small savings!
He had stored the venom with its cores in a small purse which he had exchanged for another core. Since then, he kept it jealously against him while throwing murderous glances at those who looked at him too closely.
"If you keep looking at everyone like that, they're really going to steal from you," Claire said.
"Let them try..." If Priam shared anything in common with the dragons of this world, it was his greed. Priam was very fond of loot and treasure. But above all, he refused to give even one-hundredth of his fortune to a thief. Whoever wanted to steal his purse, he would steal his hand.
"Do you think there's a skill to creating a little space pocket where I can store all my stuff?" the young man asked. If Log-a-rhythm could do it, why not him?
"Probably," Claire replied. Priam's smile froze as she continued. "And I think there are skills to steal the contents of these space pockets."
"... I hate this System," Priam muttered.
"Unless you're the one stealing from other people's pockets," Claire laughed.
Priam's heart quickened. He did not say another word, but the sentence had not fallen on deaf ears...
During their walk, the two youths talked with a few other warriors willing to barter.
About an hour later, the preparations were complete. The hole was about eight meters deep, and flame-hardened wooden spikes were at the bottom. The Boss could certainly jump higher than eight meters, but they didn't have time to dig any deeper. The first seven-meter soil was organic soil, typically found on Earth in plains. But from seven meters down, it gave way to the ancient lunar soil of regolith dust, then iron, titanium, and other metals. Digging deeper without specialized tools - even with superhuman strength - was possible but time-consuming.
Priam waited hidden behind a mound. Three banks had been raised from the cleared earth, and the fighters were waiting behind them in an arc around the hole. Three men controlling the direction of the wind or the scent stood in the center of the fighters to camouflage them. There was little wind on this new moon, but no one wanted to alert the Boss before it fell into the trap.
Priam had a bad feeling. The Boss was supposed to arrive any minute now, but the young man could no longer convince himself that this was the cause of his discomfort. He had always had good instincts - which had saved him dozens of times during the Tutorial - and he sensed something was wrong.
"Claire." The young woman waiting beside him turned around, "Yes?"
"I have a bad feeling about this. When the fight starts, stay here, wait a few minutes, and then flee toward the dome. I should be able to make it out alive, but... I might be the only one."
Claire first opened her mouth to protest. Then she stopped to think about the young man's words. She had seen him run at the speed of a galloping horse. Throwing back boars weighing a hundred kilograms with a single punch. If he thought he was in danger, then what could she do? The Tutorial had dashed most fighters' desires for grandeur and heroic complexes. The young woman knew she wasn't Wonder Woman. If she found herself facing the Boss, she would either die or force Priam to put himself in harm's way to save her. And in this crazy new world, death might not even end suffering. There was always worse, and she knew it.
"... Okay. Be careful." she breathed. "Always," Priam smiled.
No sooner had the word left his mouth than the System manifested itself.
New Quest: Predator - Baron
The Earth was conquered by man centuries ago.
During all this time, humans were at the top of the food chain.
Is this still the case?
Prove your strength by hunting the Moon Lord.
Reward (per Baron): Potential +20. Bonus depending on your participation.
Difficulty: Silver
"It's coming." All the warriors stood still. No one wanted to attract the Boss's attention before it was trapped. After five seconds, Priam heard the first barks covered by the mist. Ten more seconds and his inhuman perception began to pick up on the tiny tremor in the ground caused by the animal's run. Hidden behind the mound, the fighters stood perfectly still. Priam could see some of them becoming agitated. Fear was creeping up on them. All had read the difficulty of the quest. No one wanted to die. Suddenly there was silence. As drops of sweat began to bead on some of the foreheads, a cry rang out.
"ARCHERS! FIRE AT WILL!"
Status: (Average value for a Homo sapiens male before integration: PHY 10 / MEN 10 / META 0)
PHYSICAL:
Strength 62
Constitution 78
Agility 94
Vitality 113
Perception 68
MENTAL:
Vivacity 78
Dexterity 52
Memory 30
Willpower 48
Charisma 40
META:
Meta-affinity 8
Meta-focus 20
Potential: 73
Tier 0
Chapter 18: Join up, they said!Study of the beginnings of Priam, Prime Candidate for the Eighth Thrones.Report extracted from the memoir of Arnold, First of the Var Elegis.Date: Tenth day of the New Calendar.Location: Satellite of the Reunion Island.Arnold watched the city burn beneath him. Millions of fifth-generation Var Elegis were fighting in the canals. There were now two sides. The Empire's, of which Arnold was the champion, and the rebel camp, made up of the dregs.The Var Elegis should not have been able to rebel. It was impossible. Their code had been secured by the last Programmer centuries ago. The cryptographic key used quantum and ethereal technology. The Var Elegis were born and died loyal to the Empire.The roots of this story extend from novell bin origin."The Concepts want to see blood..." The System was not interested in civilization as formatted as theirs. If loyalty came from a common desire, shared ideas, pride, and heritage, then the Concepts did not interfere. They respected each individual's freedom of belief. But the Var Elegis were not born with this freedom. So the Concepts gave them the freedom to choose.Freedom of thought had created a bloodbath. Their new ideals drove their fellow men to kill each other in the hive's channels. Most of the weak no longer supported the Empire. They had no interest in doing so. Freedom of choice was the 'threat' that the Empire now faced.Fortunately, his people had logical intelligence. Few non-combatants wanted to die needlessly fighting against the soldiers. Arnold had ordered that his fighters be paid a bounty of aether and given genetic enhancements based on their performance in controlling this rebellion. The soldiers now had the liberty to choose to oppress the people in exchange for a reward. The city would be pacified within hours.Unfortunately, all cities were affected by these ideals of personal freedom, and Arnold did not have enough rewards to buy all the soldiers. He was annoyed. Ten days earlier, he didn't know this emotion, but the Concepts had given him this gift.The 'threat' the System had spoken of affected all Var Elegis. Arnold had not been spared. Fortunately, he was the symbol of the Empire. As such, he was the first of equals and, therefore, the one in complete control of the Empire. Until that damned Reunion.Fortunately for him, the threat had caused him little personal harm. Staying loyal to himself had not been a tough choice. The System liked to point out the weak points of each civilization with a threat. Each society faced a different scourge."But I wonder if the Empire is still useful to me..." The Champion's gaze turned to the horizon. Monstrous creatures waited out there. The System would reward him if he killed them. He had little to gain by coordinating the assault on a city and an intense desire to compete with the System's trials. Arnold calmed himself before asking the question that had saved him so many traps in the last few days. What would the First do?That was the real question. The First would not be drawn into unnecessary wars. The First always found a way to win...Suddenly Arnold laughed. If there were to be two Empires, so be it. All he had to do was to be the head of both. He activated several communication channels."Connect me to all the rebels. All of them."If you want to fight the Empire, I will help you. But first, you will help me...Arnold began filming the city. The video feed connected him to billions of Var Elegis. He raised his right arm, aiming at one of his generals fighting below."Long live the revolution! Weaponry: Directed Energy - Gamma Surge"The light made the clouds, the traitors, the allies, and part of the city disappear.Lvl up : Armament: Directed Energy - Gamma Surge lvl 34META AFFI +2META END +3META FOCUS +4The people must know who is the master.Priam smiled. Claire had negotiated the asp venom for two cores. This was a 60% reduction from the price the merchant had asked for a few moments before. It wasn't the price of the cores that bothered Priam - he had over thirty cores in his possession - it was the form. Even a millionaire wasn't happy about paying fifty dollars for a Big Mac. Priam simply didn't want to get ripped off. There are no small savings! He had stored the venom with its cores in a small purse which he had exchanged for another core. Since then, he kept it jealously against him while throwing murderous glances at those who looked at him too closely. "If you keep looking at everyone like that, they're really going to steal from you," Claire said."Let them try..." If Priam shared anything in common with the dragons of this world, it was his greed. Priam was very fond of loot and treasure. But above all, he refused to give even one-hundredth of his fortune to a thief. Whoever wanted to steal his purse, he would steal his hand."Do you think there's a skill to creating a little space pocket where I can store all my stuff?" the young man asked. If Log-a-rhythm could do it, why not him?"Probably," Claire replied. Priam's smile froze as she continued. "And I think there are skills to steal the contents of these space pockets.""... I hate this System," Priam muttered."Unless you're the one stealing from other people's pockets," Claire laughed.Priam's heart quickened. He did not say another word, but the sentence had not fallen on deaf ears...During their walk, the two youths talked with a few other warriors willing to barter. About an hour later, the preparations were complete. The hole was about eight meters deep, and flame-hardened wooden spikes were at the bottom. The Boss could certainly jump higher than eight meters, but they didn't have time to dig any deeper. The first seven-meter soil was organic soil, typically found on Earth in plains. But from seven meters down, it gave way to the ancient lunar soil of regolith dust, then iron, titanium, and other metals. Digging deeper without specialized tools - even with superhuman strength - was possible but time-consuming.Priam waited hidden behind a mound. Three banks had been raised from the cleared earth, and the fighters were waiting behind them in an arc around the hole. Three men controlling the direction of the wind or the scent stood in the center of the fighters to camouflage them. There was little wind on this new moon, but no one wanted to alert the Boss before it fell into the trap. Priam had a bad feeling. The Boss was supposed to arrive any minute now, but the young man could no longer convince himself that this was the cause of his discomfort. He had always had good instincts - which had saved him dozens of times during the Tutorial - and he sensed something was wrong."Claire." The young woman waiting beside him turned around, "Yes?""I have a bad feeling about this. When the fight starts, stay here, wait a few minutes, and then flee toward the dome. I should be able to make it out alive, but... I might be the only one."Claire first opened her mouth to protest. Then she stopped to think about the young man's words. She had seen him run at the speed of a galloping horse. Throwing back boars weighing a hundred kilograms with a single punch. If he thought he was in danger, then what could she do? The Tutorial had dashed most fighters' desires for grandeur and heroic complexes. The young woman knew she wasn't Wonder Woman. If she found herself facing the Boss, she would either die or force Priam to put himself in harm's way to save her. And in this crazy new world, death might not even end suffering. There was always worse, and she knew it."... Okay. Be careful." she breathed. "Always," Priam smiled.No sooner had the word left his mouth than the System manifested itself.New Quest: Predator - BaronThe Earth was conquered by man centuries ago. During all this time, humans were at the top of the food chain.Is this still the case? Prove your strength by hunting the Moon Lord.Reward per Baron: Potential +20. Bonus depending on your participation.Difficulty: Silver"It's coming." All the warriors stood still. No one wanted to attract the Boss's attention before it was trapped. After five seconds, Priam heard the first barks covered by the mist. Ten more seconds and his inhuman perception began to pick up on the tiny tremor in the ground caused by the animal's run. Hidden behind the mound, the fighters stood perfectly still. Priam could see some of them becoming agitated. Fear was creeping up on them. All had read the difficulty of the quest. No one wanted to die. Suddenly there was silence. As drops of sweat began to bead on some of the foreheads, a cry rang out. "ARCHERS! FIRE AT WILL!"Status: Average value for a Homo sapiens male before integration: PHY 10 / MEN 10 / META 0PHYSICAL:Strength 62Constitution 78Agility 94Vitality 113Perception 68MENTAL:Vivacity 78Dexterity 52Memory 30Willpower 48Charisma 40META:Meta-affinity 8Meta-focus 20Potential: 73Tier 0
