by Jez Cajiao
“Coolio. Well, I’ve sent you five people to help with the rebuilding, I know they’re not going to be anywhere near as useful as the Golems yet, but they’ll learn fast. Also, can you pass word to Barrett and have him get the weapons and armor we discussed ready for the group of prospective hunters? Lastly, ask Barrett to join Oren, Cai, and myself in the Command Center once he’s gotten them all sorted.”
“Very well; however, I remember being extremely specific on the process for drawing the mana to seal the citizens to the Oath. I believe I was exceedingly clear on how to make sure you did NOT tap the main mana collection intake?”
“Yeah, about that buddy… I was wasted. I basically only remember bits of the conversation, like little bits. The bit about ‘whatever you do, don’t draw from the mana collectors directly’ kinda only came back to me when I was already pulling on them.”
“Jax, I understand you deal with many serious circumstances using levity and a laid-back attitude, but in this case…”
“How bad is it?”
“It’s not how bad it is, it’s how bad it would have become! In another second, you would have begun pulling from the second channel as well, and your body would have been unable to release the siphon. Once the second draw began fully, you would have been killed. No mortal could withstand the amount of power you were about to draw, and there were two more about to make connection after that. Your physical shell would have detonated, destroying the area around you for up to a mile.”
“Okay, but best-case scenario…”
“That is the best case!! The worst case is becoming a full-blown necromantic mana-infused spirit! Your mind would be wiped, and all that would be left is a desire to feed on any mana around you! You’d feed on the children with pleasure and suck on the Tower collectors until you overdrew, making an explosion that would warp the land for hundreds of miles into a hellscape of twisted creatures and evil!”
“Okay, so… how about I don’t do that again?”
“Definitely! Now, Oracle is waiting to ‘discuss’ this with you further; have fun!”
“Oh crap.”
“Oh yes… enjoy!”
I turned my full attention to Oracle then, wincing as I saw the way she smiled at me. Somehow, the tiny, stunningly beautiful wisp looked more like a great white shark watching a skinny dipper. A skinny dipper that had just pissed in her tank.
Chapter Three
It was more than a half hour later before I escaped Oracle’s tirade. She’d taken the time to berate me for everything from my lack of paying attention last night (I was drunk, dammit) to putting off reading my notifications, to my lack of planning for the future. Even the fact that I hadn’t been working on my next gift from the Goddess Jenae was thrown in there.
I had an answer for everything, mostly along the lines of ‘I’m working on it’, but I wasn’t that stupid.
I’d learned long ago, when you’re in a fight with someone who’s that pissed with you, it’s best to just take it. Fair enough, tell them afterwards what you’ve done to make up for it, but never, ever let them know they’re too late and you’re already fixing things. They won’t stop ranting, and they won’t accept it; you’ll have just become ‘defensive’ and have wasted the opportunity. It was always best to wait a while, then unveil what you’d been doing anyway. They’d claim credit, but you’d get an easier life.
Before I could go back into the Tower, I decided I needed a little ‘me’ time to process, so I sat and thought back on everything that had happened lately.
I realized I was running from fire to fire, constantly reacting, and never really getting ahead of things. That needed to change. No, dammit; I need to change…
I had been sitting for maybe twenty minutes, when a Golem arrived with a single bag of supplies and a tiny, rusted knife with a loose sheath. It was perfect, and I felt myself grinning from ear to ear as I thanked it automatically and took the bag, joining Bob and Oracle where they watched over Lorek and his two friends.
“Good news, assholes!” I called out as I got close to them, lifting the bag higher to make sure they saw it. I came to a stop and threw the bag at Lorek, hitting him in the face and knocking him back a few steps.
It might have been petty, but fuck it, I was sometimes, and he was an ass who deserved it.
“Wha…what is this?!” he spluttered, shoving the bag at one of his companions, who took it and peered inside cautiously.
“It’s your supplies, as promised. One bag of supplies, one weapon.” I said, and I held up the little dagger, giving it a little shake from side to side. Once I was sure I had their full attention, I threw the dagger underhand to the second man, who caught it and checked it over.
“You said supplies for all of us! And weapons!” Lorek spat at me, clearly working his way up to a full tirade. “This proves you’re no noble, you…”
“I promised a bag of supplies, and a weapon. Not my fault you weren’t paying attention, you little bitch. Now, I also promised I’d let you go home. Guess what you missed me leaving out from that promise?” I asked, smiling thinly at them.
Pissy Pants looked at his friend and then at Lorek before gaping at the forest behind them. I could see the light dawning in his eyes, even as I ignored Lorek’s complaints.
“Looks like we have a winner!” I said with a wide grin, “For the slower amongst you, I never said I’d help you get anywhere, just that I’d let YOU return home. Judging from the direction your Airship came from, that’d be that way.” I said, pointing south by southeast. “However, if the Airship banked at all, rather than going straight, well, I hope you enjoy your chance to get back to nature, lads!” I turned to Bob and a glowering Oracle; she’d gone back to watching them after tearing me a new asshole and had been looking forward to this. “Bob, Oracle, these dicks are not welcome in my lands. Anywhere in my lands. If you catch them within one mile of this Tower, or anywhere sworn to me, I want you to kill them, and do it fucking slowly. They get thirty minutes’ head start, then feel free to hunt them.”
I started to turn away, intending to walk back towards the Tower, when I sensed more than saw Lorek move. He was a scrawny little fucker, and he telegraphed the punch so blatantly, it might as well have been a love letter sent in the post. I turned back, and held my hand up to Bob and Oracle, letting the punch land.
He hit my right cheekbone and glanced off, making him grimace and cradle his hand. I blinked at the pathetic blow and leaned toward him, whispering loud enough for them all to hear.
“You want to try that again, little man?” I could feel the unchecked rage building again, its coldness threatening to overwhelm me as I waited, and the stupid bastard took me at my word.
He punched me in the stomach. I felt it, but it was a weak punch. He had no training and little muscle behind it, and I took it easily enough, hiding the small amount of pain it gave me as I grinned at him. “That’s strike two…want to go for the third and final one?” I growled at him; my tight smile fearful to behold.
He took a step back, Pissy Pants reaching out to his former lord and trying to reason with him.
“Get off me! Remember your place, fool!” he snarled, glimpsing the sheathed knife held by his other companion.
He shoved Pissy Pants aside and grabbed the knife free, twisting around to stab at my face left-handed in what he probably thought was a lethal strike. It wasn’t.
After fighting my trainers and then the battles of the last few days, it was just pathetic on every level.
I used a Tan-Sau block, as I’d been taught seemingly so long ago, deflecting the strike to the side before twisting my hand around in a fluid motion. I grabbed his wrist and pulled, extending his arm out into a full lock, overextending the elbow, and forcing the little bastard into immobility as I grabbed his throat with my other hand in a vise-like grip and squeezed.
“Let me make this very clear…” I whispered into his ear, pulling him in close. “I could have killed all of you at any time, and I really, really fucking wanted t
o."
"I wanted to show the rest of your villagers what a whining little bitch you are. I wanted to make you piss yourself and beg for mercy in front of them, but I couldn’t. I’m trying to be a better man. I’m going to be the Lord they deserve, not the man I could be but you?” I grinned at him, even while knowing he couldn’t see me, close as I was. “You just gave me a perfect excuse to give you a little present to remember me by. Enjoy your walk, dickbag.” With that, I released his throat and moved back, putting my left hand on his shoulder, and stamping my left foot into the back of his left leg, driving him down onto his knees in the dirt. I maintained my grip on his wrist, keeping his elbow extended. As I planted my foot firmly, I drew back my right knee and brought it up as hard and fast as I could, driving it into the outside of his locked elbow while yanking back at the same time and breaking the joint. It was a cruel move; one I’d been warned about when I’d been trained. It’d get you jail time back in the UK, as it counted as ‘Grievous Bodily Harm’. After all, if you could put someone in the position to do that, you clearly had them restrained already… but I’d trained with some people who believed in the American tactic of ‘Shock and Awe’. Do that to someone in a fight, and nobody else wanted to mess with you again. Ever.
It proved its efficacy now, as Reeve Lorek screamed in pain, the brightly colored elbow of his tunic spattered with blood from the bone shards that had punched through his skin. It was clear that the way his arm now bent was unnatural as hell, and Pissy Pants went green, backing up and covering his mouth with one hand.
The other man looked terrified but was clutching the bag to his chest and looking around from me to Oracle, to Bob, to the forest.
“I suggest you grab your friend and get him off my property…” I snarled at the pair, giving them a tight grin.
“Once he’s off my land, I think the scent of blood is going to draw some…unwanted…attention, don’t you? I’d be reconsidering my options if I were stuck with him as a traveling companion. Now, fuck off; twenty-eight minutes and counting until Bob and Oracle come to play.”
I shoved Lorek backward to fall sprawling before the pair and turned around to walk back into the Tower, ignoring their panicked attempts to get their little lord up and running.
I brought up the notifications I’d been ignoring on my way back to my Command Center, trying to bring my heart rate down and forcing myself to remember I was trying to be a better man these days.
Congratulations! You have killed a level 11 Guard, gaining 220xp. Progress to level 13 stands …
I concentrated, and with a mental command, the kill notifications blurred and resolved into one, as I really didn’t need to read all the notifications separately.
Congratulations! You have killed the following:
7x Inexperienced Soldier for a total of 940xp
2x Elite Guard for a total of 1200xp
1x Elite Mage for a total of 750xp
As leader, you receive a portion of the experience earned by troops when they fight under your command:
5x Inexperienced Soldier for a total of 720xp
6x Warship Sailors for a total of 840xp
1x Warship Captain for a total of 400xp
2x Warship Elite Guards for a total of 840xp
Progress to level 14 stands at 107,890/120,000
I also dismissed a significant number that mentioned my crippling injuries, broken bones, and status debuffs, grimacing as I saw the amount of damage I’d managed to accumulate over the course of the battle.
Congratulations! You have led your citizens to battle for the first time, overcoming a more numerous, more skilled, and more highly-trained opposing force. As such, you have earned a Title!
Strategos: Level I
You may choose a bonus for your forces. This bonus will stack with others and will grow as you grow in experience.
Attack: All troops lead by a Level 1 Strategos gain a 5% boost to attack damage; this boost extends to all troops within a 20ft radius of the Strategos.
Defense: All troops lead by a Level 1 Strategos gain a 5% boost to damage resistance; this boost extends to all troops within a 20ft radius of the Strategos, and must be assigned as Physical, Magical, or Mental at time of selection.
I slowed as I entered the Tower itself, rereading the choices and considering the benefits.
Five percent wasn’t really a great deal, especially not when considering the possible fights to come, what with having declared war on a city state and all that, but still.
I pondered the options further as I wandered up the stairs, but the choice was clear, really. I selected ‘defense,’ and then ‘magical,’ before dismissing the prompt and moving onto the next.
Congratulations! You have used your home to your advantage, overcoming a more numerous, more skilled, and more highly-trained opposing force. As such, you have earned a Title!
Fortifier: Level I
You may choose a bonus for your forces. This bonus will stack with others and will grow as you grow in experience.
Attack: All weapon emplacements personally commanded or designed by you will do 5% more damage to enemy targets.
Defense: All defensive constructions will gain 5% integrity if you were directly involved in their construction, design, or use.
Attacking might be better, but we were always going to be the underdogs in this fight. With that in mind, I knew I’d have a better chance if I made defensive positions and let them attack us. Armor would provide physical defense readily enough, but magical damage could be anything. Defending against that was my current priority.
Besides, if I’d had that bonus yesterday, some of our dead might have survived long enough to be healed.
This prompt, again, wasn’t a hard choice. While five percent might make a little difference in damage to an enemy, the same amount added to the Tower integrity was a huge difference, especially when a structure had the potential for tens of thousands of hit-points. I immediately chose the ‘Defense’ option, relieved it wasn’t just against one type of attack this time, and before the notification even fully disappeared, I was already lost in thought over how to increase that title further; if I could boost it to provide fifty percent in the future somehow…
I blinked, dismissing the fantasy, and opened my last notification. Thankfully, it had grouped together as the death ones had, but these, at least, I was happy to see.
Congratulations! Through hard work and perseverance, you have increased your Agility by two points. Continue to train and learn to increase this further…
Congratulations! Through hard work and perseverance, you have increased your Constitution by three points. Continue to train and learn to increase this further…
Congratulations! Through hard work and perseverance, you have increased your Dexterity by two points. Continue to train and learn to increase this further…
Congratulations! Through hard work and perseverance, you have increased your Endurance by two points. Continue to train and learn to increase this further…
Congratulations! Through hard work and perseverance, you have increased your Intelligence by one point. Continue to train and learn to increase this further…
Congratulations! Through hard work and perseverance, you have increased your Strength by one point. Continue to train and learn to increase this further…
I had cheered up a lot from reading that last notification as I entered my little command center, finding Cai, Oren, and Barrett sitting on the floor on one side of the room, conversing idly. They cut off and jumped to their feet when I appeared, causing me to wave to them in irritation.
“It’s all right, guys; relax.” I scanned the space, seeing that there were still only a couple of chairs in the room, and rather than one of the three sit in my designated seat, they’d all elected to sit on the floor instead.
It spoke well to me of Oren that, despite the fact that he’d been Barrett’s captain until recently, and still kinda was, he hadn’t just let him sit on the floor and r
elaxed in his own chair.
Then again, I looked more closely at the chairs that were available, and ‘relax’ really wasn’t on the cards with them. They were rickety, exceedingly old, and the cushioning had died a long time ago.
“Damn.” I grunted as I straightened up, “We really need to add some decent chairs to this place…”
“Aye, laddie, along wi’ everythin’ else!” Oren replied, gesturing around the small room. It was bare beyond the chairs and the Creation Table, and I grimaced. He had a point.
“Well, we can sort that out soon, hopefully.” I walked over to the Table and brought up the liquid silver display to show the Tower in its entirety. The other three joined me and stood watching as the Tower rendered before our eyes.
“So, Barrett,” I said, “I sent up a group to you to begin training as hunters, and I realized that we hadn’t discussed this yet, or the roles for each of you.” Barrett nodded and quickly spoke up.
“Yes, Lord Jax, I gave them some of the basic gear we took from the Warship and set them to shadowing our soldiers. Lydia was guiding them all to start the morning workout as you taught us. I figured I’d get more information from you here and then give them some better direction after that.” I winced at the thought of the grueling morning workout regime I’d shown those that wanted to be soldiers. It was one that the Baron’s men had taught me; when I’d first started, it had left me shaking and vomiting most days, until I acclimatized. Add to that, we were all drinking and partying last night? Damn…cleanup on aisle three…
“Well done, Barrett. Sorry about the lack of discussion. As you all know, this is kinda new to me. So, what we’re going to do is split the Tower responsibilities up. I can’t keep on top of everything, and I’m going to need all three of you to help me with that. As of now… Barrett, you’re in charge of the soldiers, and as well as the hunters, at least for now. Cai, you’re going to be helping me get the Tower itself up and running properly and looking after our people’s needs. Oren, you get to be a Captain still; you’re getting command of the Warship!”
