The Systemic Lands

Chapter 108: Day 247 (6) – An Evening of Elites

“I like the dark green dress,” I said to Gertrude. I noted she had a sword on her hip just like me. Also, there was a long cut at the base of the dress so she could move about easily. Smart wardrobe choices for the combat oriented. She was on the younger side, and I thought I saw the faded marks of past piercings and maybe hair dye. Paying attention to people’s appearances was never my specialty unless they looked unique or super important.

“Thank you, Champion Michael. You are quite handsome,” she offered an arm, and I took it. We began to stroll across the plaza.

“Something Elise drew up. She is quite skilled.”

“I will have to look into her services once I have the points.” I wracked my brain for something to talk about.

“So, what monsters do you grind?”

“The last rotation my team was on the black pigs in the deadlands to the West.”

“Ah quite difficult to fight.” I didn’t know what else to say.

“Very long metal spears are quite useful. Lure one in and have it charge. At least two backup spears to keep distance.” Spears seemed a bit too risky to me. A monster could get past, and you would be vulnerable, and they required two hands.

“I guess with a high enough Body stat the weight wouldn’t be that bad. No skills?”

“As a backup. But with energy costs, and the need for stats in other areas. It is quite tough to have enough energy to grind efficiently.” That was a common problem I faced as well. I couldn’t wait for when I had enough energy not to worry about that.

“That is something I agree with completely. Hopefully in time the issue can be mitigated.”

“Indeed.” We arrived at the Gray Duck. A door greeter was there.

“The names to announce you both by?”

“Champion Michael of the Triumvirate.”

“Gertrude of the Emerald Wolves.”

“Fancy.” She leaned over and whispered in my ear. I felt a tingle run through me. We followed the person into the bottom dining area, which was quite large since several walls had been removed in the building.

“Announcing, Champion Michael of the Triumvirate and Gertrude of the Emerald Wolves.” Everyone in the room turned to stare at us. I counted thirty people. I spotted Laura. I went over and Gertrude followed me.

“Laura, a pleasure as always.”

“Champion Michael. Gertrude.”

“Impressive to host a dinner here,” I said. Laura suddenly looked quite uncomfortable. “What is it? Someone else is hosting? Don’t tell me Ken managed to push this all into the city budget.”

“Actually, you are paying for this,” Laura said. Clarissa hadn’t mentioned anything. This was a major misstep on her part. Embarrassing me like this. I just smiled.

“Well, I couldn’t ask for better company. You will have to introduce me around. Gertrude is the captain of her team the Emerald Wolves?”

“Yes, currently there are 12 active teams and we are bringing on 3 more. Right now, 4 are currently managing the dungeons at Truth and Neo Brasilia.”

“Well at least that is being handled well.”

“Let me introduce you to the team captains. They all have different team names. Animals and colors are quite popular.”

“I suspect it will become their symbol once they reach the Immortal Council.”

“About that, we were wondering if we could be grandfathered into the law. Many of the teams have purchased outfits with symbols on them already.”

“That is something I can support. But no exceptions for any new teams.”

“That is fine. Perhaps an organizational symbol?”

“If someone reaches the Immortal Council, they can take a symbol, which the Union can then adopt.”

“Ken won’t be happy with his businesses.”

“Then he should have shown his face instead of having other people there. I will not reduce the status or benefits we are giving the Immortal Council.”

“Come, let me introduce you around.” Laura began to introduce me to the various captains of the Union teams.

The first awkward moment was when one of them stuck out their hand for a handshake. “A bow is more appropriate with the skills out there. A handshake shows a lot of trust.” I then shook the man’s hand before he could retract it. “I trust the people here.”

It wasn’t trust. It was just that I knew all the skills that were available. But in the future, I would refuse to shake hands and wanted to start the trend. After that people gave me light bows which I returned. Cultural change one step at a time.

“Champion Michael, this idea for an Immortal Council. Isn’t it too elitist?” One older gentleman asked. He wasn’t a team captain, but he was still part of the Union. I couldn’t remember his name, probably not important anyways.

“The Immortal Council is a necessary step to ensure that combat capable people stay with our city and defend it. The privileges granted are immense, but so is the responsibility that comes with it.”

“But what if someone doesn’t want to join.” The man pressed.

“Then they are subject to the laws of Purgatory just as everyone else. Most likely this will come as a very heavy tax. If someone isn’t willing to fight in defense of the city itself against all threats, then they can pay crystals to help defend it.”

Thankfully that was the toughest question I had to deal with. Dinner at the Gray Duck was as excellent as all their other meals. After a fruit bowl was served for dessert. I decided to depart. It had been a long day. Even though I could keep going, I was mentally exhausted. The flesh was willing, but the mind was weak.

The main thing missing was music or entertainment. I would need to speak to Clarissa about the bill, but at least everyone seemed to have had a good time and my image was softened with people who actually fought. I wouldn’t remember any of their names though.

“Not going to escort me home?” Gertrude asked as I got up from the table after saying goodnight.

“It would be my pleasure.” I offered her a hand and she took it. We left the Gray Duck. “So why ask to be my date tonight?” I was honestly curious why she would ask me.

“Laura might organize things, but you saw that all the other team captains were men. The women in the other teams are nothing but a source of entertainment.” I wouldn’t have said entertainment, but they seemed very much like background characters of non-player characters, NPCs. I am sure they had their own stories, but they lacked that drive and ambition to carry them upwards like Clarissa.

Or their sense of risk was much more calibrated. “I need to stand out.” That was an interesting choice of words by Gertrude.

“Stand out? How is the Union being run to require that? Isn’t Laura a woman?”

“Laura keeps her position by inertia. She hasn’t been seriously challenged, but there is talk of having someone move to replace her.”

“I like Laura for the most part.” I hadn’t picked up on any of this.

“Well, this event solidified her position. But there are factions starting to form. With different teams wanting to bring in different people that support them and they have different goals.”

“What kind of goals?”

“Well Laura wants to keep things low key. However, there is a small but growing minority that wants to push for more control.” Obviously. That was the entire point of the Immortal Council.

“You took the wind out of their ambitions. That still doesn’t change the fact that different groups want to bring in people they prefer as the new teams.”

“Then this was a move to push back on other teams?” I asked.

“A bit. Teams that push into new areas and bring back information are more highly regarded. Laura is probably going to codify everything fairly soon. Junior teams, senior teams, and expert teams. With the top teams getting first pick of grinding spots for their efforts.”

“You needed people to see you as a higher ranked team so Laura wouldn’t be seen as favoring you.” I worked out what she was doing now.

“Exactly. Also, you are kind of cute.” She leaned into me.

“Cute. More like brutish. Also, I can’t afford distractions.” I needed to plot out my stat choices and think on the map of the Systemic Lands a bit more, maybe a new grind spot.

“I can feel how tense you are. Ready to spring into action at any second.” She leaned into me. I wasn’t that dense not to notice things, but books were never a substitute for real life.

“Indeed. You never know when an attack might happen.” If Gertrude wasn’t leaning against my left side, I would have rubbed my left arm.

“That is why you need to live in the moment.” I was silent as my mind considered the possibilities. “Don’t think too hard or you might burst a blood vessel.”

I slowed down my speed walking across the plaza and Gertrude slowed down with me. I looked up at the pinpricks in the sky. Tiny dots of light that probably weren’t other stars. A part of me felt sad about losing the stars. It made no sense, but it just hit me.

If immortality was truly real, I would be here for a long time. It was the same issue as how big the universe really was. Humans had a very hard time contemplating large numbers. It just hit me how long eternity really was. Would I outlast the stars I used to look up at?

That was a scary thought. Would I be alone the entire time? Would this be my last chance to be with a woman before a high Body stat made anything in the future impossible? Now that was depressing to think about.

Another problem that comics, movies, and all the other media I had read just skimmed over. “A crystal for your thoughts?” Gertrude asked.

“Just thinking about the future and how bleak everything is,” I replied.

“You don’t have to fix everything you know.” I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry. Even if she said that just to be nice, the idea that I was trying to fix things was a joke. I couldn’t fix anything. “You aren’t shy of women, are you?” She said in a teasing voice.

“No. Just thinking about other issues.” My home was coming up. I wished the plaza was bigger, so I had more time to think.

“If you want to brag, I plan to if you don’t mind.” That wasn’t on my mind at all. I let out a long sigh.

“I promised myself a long time ago that I would do anything to survive. Distractions from my single-minded focus and self-improvement were a weakness. Now temptation falls right in front of me once again.”

“Even one night?” I was silent.

“I normally wouldn’t ask this or share this. My Body stat is 300. What is your Body stat?” I asked.

“Only 100.” I closed my eyes and wanted to cry. “Is it that serious?”

“There is some risk.” My mind immediately jumped to children. How would stats even work with children? Shut up brain. We were not going to deal with children or babies or any of that right now.

“Well, we can be careful. I don’t mind doing the work.” She leaned into me. I turned my head, and she landed kiss.

“This is just some fun then. Nothing permanent,” I said.

“Like anything is permanent around here. Just fun, no commitments.” After the long day of headaches I had, I wasn’t about to walk away. It would be nice to end things on a happy note.