Our trip towards the capital of course started from Burch city, as we picked up Mariina and her crew from there. From my group, Lua, Alice and Ria were here, while the rest stayed on HomeBase. I was moving towards the capital as well, just so it would be closer to where I likely will be. And speaking of HomeBase moving. Because of its size, there was no way I could move HomeBase too quickly, so its flight speed was very low, only around 100 km/h. Well, I guess that isn’t that slow, but compared to the Mach 0.82 to Mach 0.90 speeds the B.E.S. monsters travel at, or the mach 20 speeds both Gradius and Victory Viper have, going only 100 km/h is extremely slow. I mean, it is literally like comparing a car to a plane or a rocket.
As for why HomeBase can’t travel faster than that. Well, as I said, it was because of the size. HomeBase displaces a lot of air as it moves, so it causes some turbulent air. And if it moves quickly, that turbulent air could turn into a tornado or something like that. Some of the barriers did reduce it a bit, but even they couldn’t prevent it completely, so until new spells are developed that can prevent the turbulence, HomeBase has to move at a reasonable speed.
But HomeBase doesn’t matter at this moment, B.E.S. Big Core MK-3 does, as it will be the one we ride today.
Spoiler [collapse]Now I know what you might be asking. ‘Where did you get Big Core MK-3?’ Well, it is quite simple really. It is called Boss Rush and Compulsory Evacuation Device.
SpoilerBoss Rush summons random B.E.S. monsters after one of them is destroyed and sent to the GY. That can include monsters I don’t have access to yet. Then when I get something I don’t have, I just use Compulse to return it to my Collection so I’ll be able to put a sleeve and toploader on the card. And with that, new B.E.S. monsters. It is basically the exact same process as what I did with Vampire's Domain.
Spoiler [collapse]From playing with Boss Rush, I was able to get three new B.E.S. monsters. There is of course Big Core MK-3, but I also got Big Core MK-2 and Blaster Cannon Core. I’m not sure if that is all of the B.E.S. monsters that have been released, but I haven’t gotten any other new ones yet, so it might be. Too bad I can’t fully automate the Boss Rush loop, like I did with Vampire’s Domain. Either Laura or I have to oversee it. I’ll try to keep Boss Rush going to see if I can get something new when I have time, but I’m not even sure there are more B.E.S. monsters, so if there are, it might take a while to get them.
Spoiler
After meeting up with Mariina’s group in the city, getting outside the city in our golem carriages, packing all of them into my Storage, I summoned Big Core MK-3 and we were off towards the capital.
“... another new ship.” Mariina said. “How many of these do you have?”
“Currently seven.” I answered honestly, as it wasn’t really a secret. “I mean seven different looking ones, by the way. The actual number is… well, we don’t have to talk about it.”
Considering all the spare copies I have, I have over fifty B.E.S. monsters. But seven unique ones. But still, if I summoned ten and Alice and Lua both summoned five, we could easily get out an entire invasion force of B.E.S. ships. Or at least it might look like that. If I was a bit more chaotic, I might just do it for shits and giggles, but I’m a bit too much of a lawful neutral for that. … Well I’m also chaotic at times, but not that chaotic. Dragons just bring out my chaotic side.
“Any chance of sparing one for me?” Mariina asked.
“I could, but you couldn’t use it anyway without the Card Summoner skill. Also, no mapping. I’m still working on that. So flying one without having the System Support can get quite… Well, you can get lost easily.”
“But didn’t Miss Alice have one?” Mariina’s female attendant asked.
“She does… oh, I guess that is a secret, right?” Mariina almost let something slip, but was able to keep it in.
Does she know Alice has the System Support? Did Alice tell her? Well, it isn’t my place to question it. Alice is allowed to tell who she wants and what she wants. It isn’t my place to ask her to keep it a secret. And if she ever has to publicly show her status, that would reveal that little fact.
“But what you are saying is that if I get that Card Summoner skill, you would be willing to give me an airship?” Mariina asked.
“If you help me solve the mapping problem, I’ll give you five.” I offered. “But that might take making satellites or some other way to accurately check the position of the ship.”
“Satellite?”
“... a device that can be used for a lot of things, including locating things.”
“Are they difficult to make?” Mariina asked.
“Well dah. If they were simple, I’d have made some already. Well truthfully making one isn’t the problem. I could probably do that part in an afternoon. But setting them up. That is the real challenge.”
“I don’t think I get it.” Mariina said. “If it is not difficult to make, but is difficult to set up, then how is the set-up difficult?”
“Well, satellites have to be up in orbit.”
“Orbit?”
“... haah. How do I explain that part? … basically, they have to be floating in the sky. Like really high up in the sky. And the ‘easy’ way to keep them there is to have them move. At very high speeds.” I explained in a way that actually explained nothing. “Sure I could also use magic to levitate them, but that would open up another can of worms that I’m not willing to touch just yet. I just need a simpler way of doing things.”
“... I see. So these … satellites… They are some sort of locator devices.”
“Basically yes.”
“Can they locate anything, or only specific things?”
“Depending on the satellite, both. But in this case, they only need to locate specific things.”
“Then if that is the case, why would you put them in the sky? Can’t you just have them on the ground?” Mariina asked.
“Nope. Radio signals don’t work like that. Any ground between the emitter and the receiver could block the signal.”
“... I’m starting to feel quite stupid, but what are these ‘radio signals’? Wouldn’t it use mana signals? And ground doesn’t block those.”
“... eh?”
This time, it was my time to realize I’m freaking stupid. Of course. Why would I use earth technology when I can use local technology? Why use radio waves when I can use magic? All I need is a few ‘radio towers’ that emit some sort of a magic signal that can be picked up, then decoded for the distance and direction. Then multiply that by something like 10 and we have a locator thingy. By having multiple signals like that, a computer can then calculate the location on a map, as long as the map knows where the signal towers are.
And if I set one up on HomeBase, HomeBase can act as an additional spot, in case one or multiple of the towers go down for any reason. And if I set the towers up at places where I plant mana flowers, I’ll have easy access to large amounts of mana.
“Mariina. You really are the sage here. Thanks. I think I can do this now.”
“... thanks? But did I really say something that smart? I thought it was quite obvious what I said.”
“... sure it might be, but when you get set in your tracks, it can be difficult to change your way.” I admitted. “... thought now I have other things to figure out, like where to built these antennas.”
“Do you need them?” Alice asked. “Mariina just said you don’t need direct line of sight, so why build something like that?”
“... because I assumed it was necessary.” I admitted.
“You really need to tell me where these assumptions are coming from.” Mariina demanded.
“... Not sure if that is a good idea. But I could tell you about other things. You do have a lot of good ideas, so it would be useful.”
“Oh? Offering me a job, are you? I’m flattered, but I have to turn it down. I already have one, and I don’t think I want to let it go.” Mariina said.
“A job? Well, I guess I could, but I do feel like your pay is too much for me.” And that isn’t in the money way. I think everyone knows at this point that I have almost excessive amounts of money. The problem is that Mariina would likely need way too much information. “But I wouldn’t mind hiring you as a contractor from time to time. As long as the Sage’s tower accepts that.”
“I think I can talk them into letting that be. Maybe I can even have my Sage job be dealing with you.” Mariina said.
“... that sounds ominous.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time a Sage is made to look after a System Support holder.”
“Makes it sound like you would be my babysitter.”
“More like a … personal assistant.”
“So an adult’s babysitter.”
“Don’t be like that. And what about maids? Aren’t they basically the same?”
“... yeah. I guess.” I gave in. “Though I see maids more as people who take care of the house, whereas a personal assistant looks after the person, so… Nah. Let’s just leave it at that. If you can get a position like that, I’ll welcome you.”
Getting towards the Royal capital, I slowed our ship down and began searching for a good place to land. Not the ship, but just where we would beam ourselves.
The capital was quite large, but not that much larger than places like Burch city or even Oroco city. And it definitely could not compare to the Hero’s country. I still love that place. Just the mathematical perfection with which everything is laid out. It just works for me.
I wanted to do a good flyover of the capital, just so Laura could get a general map of the city, but because I’m not sure if there is some sort of a barrier protecting the city, I decided not to. Sure it will take a bit longer to map the city from the ground, but that will also get us things like store names, street names, etc. And if we want to have it done in a hurry, Alice can use her Unique-racial skill to turn herself invisible, then use Mana Flight to fly around the city, while Kekri maps the place out.
But mapping the city comes later. First we need to get into the city, and for that, we need to land. After I found a decent spot away from any prying eyes, I beamed us to the ground.
Then I took out our carriages, so we could go to the city in a carriage.
From where we landed, it took well over an hour to get to the city walls. I probably could have landed closer, but we could spare that amount of time. I already cut our travel time from multiple days down to just a few hours.
The roads around the capital were quite fantastic. They weren’t like laid tile or anything that good, but the dirt had been tightly packed with magic, making it a very solid road, with almost no bumps.
There were also knights riding horses on the roads, keeping guard. The capital was the only place where I had this far seen something like that, so that was definitely different. And also part of the reason we had to land so far away. They never stopped our carriages, possibly because they noticed the Sage’s tower emblem on Mariina’s golem carriages.
Eventually, we got to the outer wall of the city, and lined up in the VIP entrance. Before us, there was just one set of carriages, apparently belonging to some trading company. Normally, nobles would be prioritized over trading companies that pay for the VIP treatment, but as they were already mid inspection, we had to wait just a bit before it was our turn to get in. But still, the lines for the commoner entrance were quite long, so this is a lot better.
Our inspection was nothing much. Mariina was the one who explained where we came from, and then the knights checked out our ID cards. As well as the stable dhampir papers of Ria and Lua. They even checked Ria’s slave contract. The capital definitely seems far more precise with this kind of stuff, as no one else has ever asked to see Ria’s slave contract.
But still, by the end, we got through and we were in the capital. We made it.
Now. Let’s hope the capital isn’t too bad of a place.
nro_8 Did it take Brian forever to get to the capital? Yes.
Is he way more OP by now than what I assumed he would be when he reaches the capital? Also yes.
Will he accidentally take over the kingdom? That remains to be seen.
Our trip towards the capital of course started from Burch city, as we picked up Mariina and her crew from there. From my group, Lua, Alice and Ria were here, while the rest stayed on HomeBase. I was moving towards the capital as well, just so it would be closer to where I likely will be. And speaking of HomeBase moving. Because of its size, there was no way I could move HomeBase too quickly, so its flight speed was very low, only around 100 km/h. Well, I guess that isn’t that slow, but compared to the Mach 0.82 to Mach 0.90 speeds the B.E.S. monsters travel at, or the mach 20 speeds both Gradius and Victory Viper have, going only 100 km/h is extremely slow. I mean, it is literally like comparing a car to a plane or a rocket.
As for why HomeBase can’t travel faster than that. Well, as I said, it was because of the size. HomeBase displaces a lot of air as it moves, so it causes some turbulent air. And if it moves quickly, that turbulent air could turn into a tornado or something like that. Some of the barriers did reduce it a bit, but even they couldn’t prevent it completely, so until new spells are developed that can prevent the turbulence, HomeBase has to move at a reasonable speed.
But HomeBase doesn’t matter at this moment, B.E.S. Big Core MK-3 does, as it will be the one we ride today.
Spoiler [collapse]Now I know what you might be asking. ‘Where did you get Big Core MK-3?’ Well, it is quite simple really. It is called Boss Rush and Compulsory Evacuation Device.
SpoilerBoss Rush summons random B.E.S. monsters after one of them is destroyed and sent to the GY. That can include monsters I don’t have access to yet. Then when I get something I don’t have, I just use Compulse to return it to my Collection so I’ll be able to put a sleeve and toploader on the card. And with that, new B.E.S. monsters. It is basically the exact same process as what I did with Vampire's Domain.
Spoiler [collapse]From playing with Boss Rush, I was able to get three new B.E.S. monsters. There is of course Big Core MK-3, but I also got Big Core MK-2 and Blaster Cannon Core. I’m not sure if that is all of the B.E.S. monsters that have been released, but I haven’t gotten any other new ones yet, so it might be. Too bad I can’t fully automate the Boss Rush loop, like I did with Vampire’s Domain. Either Laura or I have to oversee it. I’ll try to keep Boss Rush going to see if I can get something new when I have time, but I’m not even sure there are more B.E.S. monsters, so if there are, it might take a while to get them.
Spoiler
After meeting up with Mariina’s group in the city, getting outside the city in our golem carriages, packing all of them into my Storage, I summoned Big Core MK-3 and we were off towards the capital.
“... another new ship.” Mariina said. “How many of these do you have?”
“Currently seven.” I answered honestly, as it wasn’t really a secret. “I mean seven different looking ones, by the way. The actual number is… well, we don’t have to talk about it.”
Considering all the spare copies I have, I have over fifty B.E.S. monsters. But seven unique ones. But still, if I summoned ten and Alice and Lua both summoned five, we could easily get out an entire invasion force of B.E.S. ships. Or at least it might look like that. If I was a bit more chaotic, I might just do it for shits and giggles, but I’m a bit too much of a lawful neutral for that. … Well I’m also chaotic at times, but not that chaotic. Dragons just bring out my chaotic side.
“Any chance of sparing one for me?” Mariina asked.
“I could, but you couldn’t use it anyway without the Card Summoner skill. Also, no mapping. I’m still working on that. So flying one without having the System Support can get quite… Well, you can get lost easily.”
“But didn’t Miss Alice have one?” Mariina’s female attendant asked.
“She does… oh, I guess that is a secret, right?” Mariina almost let something slip, but was able to keep it in.
Does she know Alice has the System Support? Did Alice tell her? Well, it isn’t my place to question it. Alice is allowed to tell who she wants and what she wants. It isn’t my place to ask her to keep it a secret. And if she ever has to publicly show her status, that would reveal that little fact.
“But what you are saying is that if I get that Card Summoner skill, you would be willing to give me an airship?” Mariina asked.
“If you help me solve the mapping problem, I’ll give you five.” I offered. “But that might take making satellites or some other way to accurately check the position of the ship.”
“Satellite?”
“... a device that can be used for a lot of things, including locating things.”
“Are they difficult to make?” Mariina asked.
“Well dah. If they were simple, I’d have made some already. Well truthfully making one isn’t the problem. I could probably do that part in an afternoon. But setting them up. That is the real challenge.”
“I don’t think I get it.” Mariina said. “If it is not difficult to make, but is difficult to set up, then how is the set-up difficult?”
“Well, satellites have to be up in orbit.”
“Orbit?”
“... haah. How do I explain that part? … basically, they have to be floating in the sky. Like really high up in the sky. And the ‘easy’ way to keep them there is to have them move. At very high speeds.” I explained in a way that actually explained nothing. “Sure I could also use magic to levitate them, but that would open up another can of worms that I’m not willing to touch just yet. I just need a simpler way of doing things.”
“... I see. So these … satellites… They are some sort of locator devices.”
“Basically yes.”
“Can they locate anything, or only specific things?”
“Depending on the satellite, both. But in this case, they only need to locate specific things.”
“Then if that is the case, why would you put them in the sky? Can’t you just have them on the ground?” Mariina asked.
“Nope. Radio signals don’t work like that. Any ground between the emitter and the receiver could block the signal.”
“... I’m starting to feel quite stupid, but what are these ‘radio signals’? Wouldn’t it use mana signals? And ground doesn’t block those.”
“... eh?”
This time, it was my time to realize I’m freaking stupid. Of course. Why would I use earth technology when I can use local technology? Why use radio waves when I can use magic? All I need is a few ‘radio towers’ that emit some sort of a magic signal that can be picked up, then decoded for the distance and direction. Then multiply that by something like 10 and we have a locator thingy. By having multiple signals like that, a computer can then calculate the location on a map, as long as the map knows where the signal towers are.
And if I set one up on HomeBase, HomeBase can act as an additional spot, in case one or multiple of the towers go down for any reason. And if I set the towers up at places where I plant mana flowers, I’ll have easy access to large amounts of mana.
“Mariina. You really are the sage here. Thanks. I think I can do this now.”
“... thanks? But did I really say something that smart? I thought it was quite obvious what I said.”
“... sure it might be, but when you get set in your tracks, it can be difficult to change your way.” I admitted. “... thought now I have other things to figure out, like where to built these antennas.”
“Do you need them?” Alice asked. “Mariina just said you don’t need direct line of sight, so why build something like that?”
“... because I assumed it was necessary.” I admitted.
“You really need to tell me where these assumptions are coming from.” Mariina demanded.
“... Not sure if that is a good idea. But I could tell you about other things. You do have a lot of good ideas, so it would be useful.”
“Oh? Offering me a job, are you? I’m flattered, but I have to turn it down. I already have one, and I don’t think I want to let it go.” Mariina said.
“A job? Well, I guess I could, but I do feel like your pay is too much for me.” And that isn’t in the money way. I think everyone knows at this point that I have almost excessive amounts of money. The problem is that Mariina would likely need way too much information. “But I wouldn’t mind hiring you as a contractor from time to time. As long as the Sage’s tower accepts that.”
“I think I can talk them into letting that be. Maybe I can even have my Sage job be dealing with you.” Mariina said.
“... that sounds ominous.”
“It wouldn’t be the first time a Sage is made to look after a System Support holder.”
“Makes it sound like you would be my babysitter.”
“More like a … personal assistant.”
“So an adult’s babysitter.”
“Don’t be like that. And what about maids? Aren’t they basically the same?”
“... yeah. I guess.” I gave in. “Though I see maids more as people who take care of the house, whereas a personal assistant looks after the person, so… Nah. Let’s just leave it at that. If you can get a position like that, I’ll welcome you.”
Getting towards the Royal capital, I slowed our ship down and began searching for a good place to land. Not the ship, but just where we would beam ourselves.
The capital was quite large, but not that much larger than places like Burch city or even Oroco city. And it definitely could not compare to the Hero’s country. I still love that place. Just the mathematical perfection with which everything is laid out. It just works for me.
I wanted to do a good flyover of the capital, just so Laura could get a general map of the city, but because I’m not sure if there is some sort of a barrier protecting the city, I decided not to. Sure it will take a bit longer to map the city from the ground, but that will also get us things like store names, street names, etc. And if we want to have it done in a hurry, Alice can use her Unique-racial skill to turn herself invisible, then use Mana Flight to fly around the city, while Kekri maps the place out.
But mapping the city comes later. First we need to get into the city, and for that, we need to land. After I found a decent spot away from any prying eyes, I beamed us to the ground.
Then I took out our carriages, so we could go to the city in a carriage.
From where we landed, it took well over an hour to get to the city walls. I probably could have landed closer, but we could spare that amount of time. I already cut our travel time from multiple days down to just a few hours.
The roads around the capital were quite fantastic. They weren’t like laid tile or anything that good, but the dirt had been tightly packed with magic, making it a very solid road, with almost no bumps.
There were also knights riding horses on the roads, keeping guard. The capital was the only place where I had this far seen something like that, so that was definitely different. And also part of the reason we had to land so far away. They never stopped our carriages, possibly because they noticed the Sage’s tower emblem on Mariina’s golem carriages.
Eventually, we got to the outer wall of the city, and lined up in the VIP entrance. Before us, there was just one set of carriages, apparently belonging to some trading company. Normally, nobles would be prioritized over trading companies that pay for the VIP treatment, but as they were already mid inspection, we had to wait just a bit before it was our turn to get in. But still, the lines for the commoner entrance were quite long, so this is a lot better.
Our inspection was nothing much. Mariina was the one who explained where we came from, and then the knights checked out our ID cards. As well as the stable dhampir papers of Ria and Lua. They even checked Ria’s slave contract. The capital definitely seems far more precise with this kind of stuff, as no one else has ever asked to see Ria’s slave contract.
But still, by the end, we got through and we were in the capital. We made it.
Now. Let’s hope the capital isn’t too bad of a place.
nro_8 Did it take Brian forever to get to the capital? Yes.
Is he way more OP by now than what I assumed he would be when he reaches the capital? Also yes.
Will he accidentally take over the kingdom? That remains to be seen.
