Aces High (Reality Benders Book #6) LitRPG Series

by Michael Atamanov

  Authority increased to 104!

  Authority increased to 105!

  Gerd Ayni the Translator relayed my message in Geckho. It was news to many that heard it, so I wasn’t the least bit surprised by the Authority jumps and continued my speech:

  “Second,” I turned to “Tamara,” still just as severe and tense as she watched the oncoming mages, “Tamara is endlessly loyal to me and her presence here is surely warranted. And no need to cringe. You have much to learn about the nature of the so-called ‘antimage uprising’ and its true puppet masters. No, no. It is neither myself nor Leng Tamara as you might have thought. It is other people, and they are figures you know very well. I’m sure that, in less than half an hour’s time, you yourself will be sincerely delighted to have Tamara the Paladin here by your side.”

  The young faction head was obviously flummoxed and even looked around at his companions in search of support and advice. But all members of his retinue just looked away or shrugged their shoulders, not understanding what I was driving at. Then Leng Sap-Po La-Varrez scowled and found the resolve to reply menacingly and dramatically:

  “I will never forgive this terrorist! She murdered my grandfather the great Archmage and Coruler of Humanity Onuri-Unta La-Varrez! She murdered my older brother, mage ruler Tim-Pa La-Varrez, and another twenty of my relatives. And so, my sole desire is to shoot this bloodstained little terrorist right where she stands!”

  Before Ayni the Miyelonian translated that, Fox whispered to me:

  “A sense of mind-clouding hatred is emanating from that man. Leng Sap-Po La-Varrez is utterly incapable of listening to reason right now. Should we perhaps just let him spew out all his malice? That will make him more talkative in short order.”

  I understood what the Morphian was suggesting and asked her to walk up closer to the seething young mage. The first step Tamara took made the whole La-Varrez Faction delegation noticeably tense, while the faction head went so far as to clutch a laser pistol taken from his inventory. Honestly, I found that pretty amusing. I mean, what kind of mage involuntarily reaches for a firearm in a dangerous situation instead of using hexes? It was immediately clear why my guest, despite the antiquity of his dynasty and his close relationship to the former Coruler of Humanity, was not in the Palace of Rulers for the bombing — his magical abilities must have been pretty underdeveloped.

  In theory, I didn’t have to keep being so cunning. I could simply take control of his mind and plant whatever thoughts I wanted. But Fox was right — he was a mess and I needed to just let him spew out his pent-up emotions. Meanwhile, “Tamara” walked right up to the Telekinetic Mage and stopped a pace away, then said in Geckho:

  “Shoot me, young Leng, you have my permission! You said it yourself. It’s what you want! Maybe once you’ve spewed out all your burning emotions and emptied your pistol battery into me, you’ll settle down and listen to what my master has to say.”

  Leng Sap-Po La-Varrez again turned to his companions, then looked at me flustered. I even started to think he might back down and holster his pistol. But no. By all appearances, hatred really was overflowing from the young mage. A bright flash flickered; the laser beam pierced through “Tamara’s” body. The medium-height dark-haired girl looked down at the smoking hole in her chest with curiosity and... smiled back at the shooter:

  “What are you waiting for? Shoot me again! As you can see, I’m still alive!”

  Leng Sap-Po La-Varrez looked shaken and shot a second time. Then a third. Then a whole burst of laser pulses pierced the girl’s body straight through. Tamara then stayed on her feet, calmly observing all the new holes in her dress and making the odd comment about the best shots:

  “That’s right, aim right at my heart! And shoot through my head too, let your rage come spewing out! Yeah, double tap to make sure. Heck, make it a triple. What, is your pistol battery dead? Here, take mine! Or would you like me to give you my blaster? It’ll be a bit more powerful.”

  The shaken mage just shook his head “no,” declining the hated little terrorist’s offer. The shooter’s hands were quaking, tears welled up in his eyes. Then the young faction head threw his useless pistol aside and asked the swiss-cheesed girl:

  “How... How are you doing that?! It isn’t possible to survive wounds like that! It’s an illusion, right? Am I actually hitting you?”

  Tamara, whose bodily wounds quickly healed over (for the record, the biggest gaping holes and still smoking “clothing” had not yet been repaired by the Morphian, obviously intentionally), explained eagerly:

  “High Constitution. High level. Lots of Hitpoints. My class reduces damage received. High regeneration. It’s hard to kill me with light arms. I didn’t even die in the explosion of the Palace of Rulers.”

  “Of course you escaped. You orchestrated the attack!” the young mage again started to boil over, to which Tamara gave a reasoned objection:

  “That was my second day in your world. I didn’t understand a single word of your language. Minn-O La-Fin took me with her to the meeting exclusively due to my ability to block mental magic. Furthermore, my adoptive father perished in the blast. Do you think I would ever purposely kill someone so close to me? And really, where would I have gotten the explosives? Everyone was given a full-body search by palace security at the entrance!”

  Fox was playing Tamara superbly! The Morphian had my mental hints but was also improvising constantly and saying exactly what her counterpart’s mind was unwittingly telling her would have the greatest effect. I could feel the young mage’s armor of hatred start to split and show cracks of doubt. Some might say we tricked the Telekinetic Mage. And maybe that was so. But technically everything “Tamara” said was the truth.

  I also saw the Morphian masterfully adapting to Sap-Po’s tastes. Almost invisibly to the naked eye, cautiously and gradually, her hair grew a bit shorter and started to slightly curl. Her face grew rounder and her eyes kinder. And as for her “clothing,” it was slowly withering away to cover less and less of her body. My heart aflutter, I was afraid to intervene in the Morphian’s challenging creative process. But Fox clearly knew what she was doing. The head of the La-Varrez Faction now looked at her without his former hostility and in fact with some measure of curiosity. Finally, Leng Sap-Po La-Varrez apologized for his lack of restraint and instructed one of his attendant mages to share his robe with the wounded girl paladin so she could cover up.

  “I admit, I was wrong. But now, Kung Gnat La-Fin, I would like to know who was actually behind the uprising.”

  ALRIGHT, FOX PLAYED her part brilliantly. Now it was my turn to build on that success. All members of the young mage’s retinue turned their attention toward me, greedily soaking up my every word. I forewarned them that I was only voicing my perspective and not claiming it was the absolute truth, then told them what I personally knew about the antimage uprising. That representatives of Emancipation from Mage Tyranny had contacted the Human-3 Faction before Tamara crossed over into the magocratic world. And that acts of terrorism targeting mages had been committed long before the game that bends reality linked our worlds together. As a matter of fact, both parents of my spouse Princess Minn-O had died twenty years ago in a gruesome act of terror committed by individuals professing a fanatic hatred of people with magical abilities. And so connecting me, Tamara or anyone else from our world with their long-standing issue was a fundamental mistake.

  I also told them that the monetary crystals H3 handed off to representatives of Emancipation from Mage Tyranny had unexpectedly surfaced in the coffers of the La-Fin Faction and were used by the leadership of that faction in service of their military and political aims. That both of Princess Minn-O’s grandfathers — Coruler of Humanity Leng Thumor-Anhu La-Fin and his right hand man Gerd Avir-Syn La-Pirez — plus another whole group of trusted mage rulers of the La-Fin Faction were perfectly aware of these contacts with Emancipation from Mage Tyranny, and had most likely even acted as their representatives for the in-game talks. But most surprisi
ng was that, after Archmage Thumor-Anhu La-Fin’s untimely demise, a whole group of mage rulers headed by Gerd Avir-Syn La-Pirez had flipped to the La-Varrez Faction and was accepted with grace its head. And after that, Emancipation from Mage Tyranny carried on like nothing had happened.

  The head of the La-Varrez Faction cut me off, inquiring with obvious dismay in his voice:

  “Coruler Gnat La-Fin, are you implying that my grandfather the Archmage and Coruler of Humanity Onuri-Unta La-Varrez was in contact with terrorists?”

  With great effort, I kept the frustration from showing on my face. Even more confirmation that this man’s low position in the line of succession to the title of mage ruler was far from coincidence! But I didn’t make any remarks on his lack of acumen.

  “No, esteemed Leng Sap-Po. I am saying something else entirely. Back when I first found out about the political structure of the magocratic world, my biggest question was: how had something with such shaky foundations managed to stand for so long?! After all, it would only take one good shove for the mage rulers to be swept away by the seething masses beneath them. And given the ever-growing ratio of normal humans to sorcerers, maintaining the old political structure was getting harder all the time. The example of General Ui-Taka, a ruler with no magical abilities, coming to power in the Second Directory is but one glaring example that illustrates the fact that the old political system was in its final days and its fall was inevitable. The wisest sorcerers of the magocratic world had seemingly also given that problem some consideration. And they found a way out!”

  “What might that be?” the young mage asked. And I was eager to answer:

  “A managed revolution! The emergence of the so-called Emancipation from Mage Tyranny. A rebellion against the old magocratic system. A reformatting of the old laws. The task of the entrenched elite was to make the people get behind their new leaders, who in fact would be nothing more than obedient foot soldiers of the old ones, carrying out the will of the mage rulers. That process, fairly painless in comparison with a typical revolution, would transform the age-old political system into something different. The mage rulers would appear to be yielding power but would actually remain in control behind the scenes for centuries to come.”

  Psionic skill increased to level one hundred twenty-five!

  Mental Fortitude skill increased to level one hundred twenty-one!

  Mysticism skill increased to level seventy!

  I fell silent, giving my audience time to think through and digest what I said. And I myself just needed a little breather, because I had made a big outpouring of Magic Points, dumping them into my message until I had almost nothing left. No, I wasn’t even slightly lying (concealing the truth from psionic mages was never easy and often a hopeless endeavor). Everything could actually have been the way I said. I had just lent a little credence to some of the slipperier aspects with mental suggestion so my audience would have an easier time believing them. For the time being, no one had any questions or objections.

  Finally, after the short breather I continued:

  “Of course, there are actual terrorists and Emancipation from Mage Tyranny itself does exist. The blast in the Palace of Rulers was clear evidence of that. Without a doubt, the terrorists were intending to wipe out all the mage rulers in one fell swoop. And at that, whether or not the perpetrators were aware that they were taking out their handlers along with the other despised mages no longer matters. What does matter is that the fearsome act of terror was committed and served as the spark that the mass rebellion into motion. But the mage rulers who should have been monitoring and managing the uprising were already dead. Practically all the mage rulers died. It’s a miracle my wife Princess Minn-O and Chief Advisor Gerd Mac-Peu survived. And that was only because the Princess finished her speech early. But their servants who were packing up and removing their gear were not so lucky. They never made it out of the Palace of Rulers. And the fact that Tamara the Paladin survived the explosion should come as no surprise — you just saw how hard she is to kill.”

  Psionic skill increased to level one hundred twenty-six!

  This was the slipperiest part of my tale, and I put extra effort into the psychological pressure. No one had any doubts. Even Chief Advisor Gerd Mac-Peu, who was present for all the events I’d just recounted, was willing to accept that revised version of history. He only shuddered with realization a few seconds later. He even had to shake his head to drive off the delusion.

  “You beat it, great job!” I praised my companion.

  When the Mage Diviner looked at me, I could read nearly superstitious fear in his eyes. Gerd Mac-Peu did not suspect his boss was capable of that and was now trying to guess whether all his memories were real. Had some of them been planted artificially? But I was planning to speak with my advisor about that later to reassure him. For now, it was important for me to lead them to the thing I was preparing them for:

  “When Tamara survived the explosion, she was immediately made a scapegoat, accused of masterminding the attack if not of being the supreme leader of Emancipation from Mage Tyranny. It was very easy to do, because the Paladin had never hidden her hostile attitude toward mages — she had old scores to settle dating back to her time in the Human-3 Faction. Tamara was in fact unaware she had been anointed a symbol of the uprising, or that fanatic rebels were going into battle with her name on their lips. As new head of the First Directory, I saw certain advantages in all that. And thus I even invited the Second Legion into the magocratic world — the band of troops Tamara the Paladin herself once commanded. In her speeches, the girl Paladin will that her troops are guarding important sites, which the rebels must not attack under any circumstances.”

  “Would it be possible to invite a few Second Legion to the Fourth Directory and have Tamara mark my summer palace as a restricted target?” the La-Varrez Faction head asked his question with a cheery little smirk, as if he was joking. However, I could tell the situation was actually very serious. There must have been some alarming incidents at his palace. By the way... I looked at the time and remarked:

  “Our meeting began just seventeen minutes ago, and you are now sincerely glad to have Leng Tamara here and are even prepared to work with her. Just as I promised, Leng Sap-Po.”

  The members of the young mage’s retinue shuddered and started exchanging glances and whispers. Seemingly, they were themselves surprised by the ease with which they had been convinced to change their views diametrically. I then continued to smash all their preconceived notions about the goings on in the magocratic world:

  “I ordered the video clips the rebels broadcast not to be called into question under any circumstances. And in them Tamara supposedly calls for total war against the mages. But you have now seen for yourselves that my friend doesn’t even speak the language of the magocratic world and could never have made those clips. But I say let the insurgents continue to slap together their videos with computer graphics, let them be broadcast everywhere on your planet. We’ll wait until everyone in your world is firmly convinced that Tamara is the chief ideologue and leader of the antimage uprising. And then...”

  I stopped my speech midsentence and gave a pointed smile, telling my audience to fill in the blanks. A few seconds passed in silence, and a previously silent gray-haired and wrinkled woman stepped out in front, a level-89 Mage Diviner from the retinue of Leng Sap-Po La-Varrez. I must admit, I hadn’t taken a good look at her until she got involved but I quickly noticed several physical features she shared with the young faction head. She must have been his mother! No... not mother, more like grandmother. When she started to speak, the latter guess was fully confirmed:

  “I see great wisdom in the young ruler of the First Directory. So great in fact that even my late husband Coruler Onuri-Unta La-Varrez would have held you in high esteem. Yes, everything Kung Gnat said is the truth. Of course, not all the rebels will agree to stand down when the leader of the uprising comes forward. The most implacable and especially those with the most bloo
d on their hands will have to be taken down. But they will not be many. The rest will obediently lay down their weapons if a new political system they consider acceptable is on the table. Does Kung Gnat La-Fin already have some idea of what to offer the insurgents?”

  “Certainly,” I bowed easily to the old magess, showing my respect for her insight. “I wanted to hammer out the details with the leaders of the most influential mage dynasties, but the basic scheme will look like this: a parliament consisting of two houses — a lower and an upper. The lower will be elected from among the wisest and most influential members of the nonmagical population. They will be tasked with, among other things, solving all manner of day-to-day issues and drafting the bills which will become the laws all thirty Directories will live by. The upper house then is to be made up of mage rulers. After all, the ancient precepts stipulate: ‘Common rabble, ignorant of the art of charms, may never be equal to the wizarding kind.’“

  Authority increased to 106!

  Before I’d even finished, I felt a sense of relief and approval from my audience, grateful I was not planning to violate the fundamental laws of the magocratic world.

  “... then the mage rulers, two to three from each Directory, will have the right to block or approve any of the bills the lower house sends up to them. Something like that exists in my world in varying forms and it has proven a fairly workable system for, in some cases, centuries. And presiding over all that...” here I hesitated for a second and decided to reign in my ambitions, “there will be three corulers, just like now. I will appoint the other two very soon from among the most ancient and mighty dynasties of mage rulers. In theory, I would like to offer the role of one of humanity’s corulers to a member of the La-Varrez dynasty. Either Leng Sap-Po, or some other no less renowned and esteemed member of his ancient dynasty. My selection criterion will be loyalty and complete submission to me as the Kung of humankind in all issues not connected with governing their own Directory: constructing defenses, policies relating to other factions of the magocratic and technocratic worlds, external affairs and the defense of our home planet.”