Idiot’s Paradox: A LitRPG Apocalyptic Adventure [Book 1 Complete]

One more lodestone; that's all he needed. One more, and he'd complete his quest, and Logan could return to Okanagan Lake. A feeling of excitement made his mouth dry. The System had been clear that by winning this quest, it would grant him 'Lord' status:

[Lord status will allow you to declare yourself the lord of your community, receive pledges of loyalty, and Karma tax.]

And yet that looked fine on paper, but Logan had no idea how it would work.

Well, there was only one way to find out.

Logan moved through the clearing, scanning his surroundings as he surveyed the damage. There were multiple corpses, so many that some were stacked in piles. Random legs and severed arms on top of crushed tents, blood smeared over the grass. Ugh, even the remains of trailing intestines and gaping stomachs. Not to mention the sewage rats' corpses, so many that it was difficult to count. The sun was blasting onto the area, roasting it. Already, a noxious reek of rotting flesh suffused the complex.

The smell must have attracted pigeons, since a swarm of them hovered up above. They looked like normal birds untouched by the System.

Huh.

Each time they landed on top of the Wisteria Vine, a javelin pierced their bodies, spraying blood. The spear retracted and then tugged the pigeon towards gaping mouths, crunching down with a sound like a garbage crusher.

He couldn't help feeling a surge of pride as he grinned at the vine. That was Logan's creation. His purpose was to create a monster that would function as a defensive juggernaut, keeping everything out of the complex, protecting everyone inside. The civilians could rely on it to keep them safe. They'd have to figure out how to exit the wall, but all they needed to do was fashion metal, portable shields, and they'd be home free.

Logan surveyed the clearing. As he strode past, he threw each corpse into his spatial storage collar, acting like a mobile groundskeeper. Logan had always been a pack rat, and by now, he'd learned that if it were in front of him, he might as well grab it. His spatial collar had an unlimited storage capacity, so large he'd yet to reach the limits. Why not take advantage?

Besides, although the survivors might be upset that he'd taken the body of their loved ones without giving them an opportunity for a proper burial, he figured that he was doing them a service. There was no way that they'd manage to bury the dead before flies and maggots swarmed the area.

Logan strode over to the remains of the crushed barbeques and then came to a stop in front of one that had an intact grill and barbeque top. With his mouth watering, he lifted the lid, bracing for the worst.

A mouthwatering smell. Intact barbeque ribs with juicy, tangy sauce.

Fuck yeah. He promptly threw the entire contents inside of his spatial collar.

He was having barbeque and beer when he returned to the cabin.

Once he reached the massive sink hole left by the Rattuspede, he peered into the crater. All right. Might as well fix this while he could. If he left it, it exposed the complex to a vulnerability. Any monster could find the other side of the tunnel and then have a direct line of attack into the clearing.

Logan thought, here's a good place for it, just here, and then willed out a hillside's worth of dirt, depositing it deep inside of the sink hole.

A plume of dust rose up into the air. Coughing, Logan willed out a handful of sand and reformed his armour, covering his head and reforming his facemask. As soon as he did, the air cleared, the seal creating clear, breathable air.

The dirt had filled the hole, with only a quarter remaining, creating just enough space for a root system. With another blink, Logan deposited a pine tree seed into the earth, then willed out another scoop of dirt to cover the seed, making the ground level. Just like when he traveled from city to city creating lodestones, he was going to use [Life Fabricator] to grow his monster carbon tree the old-fashioned way, using Karma only. He'd already killed the sewage rats, and he wasn't touching his Wisteria Vine. That meant Karma only.

His Karma pool had replenished, and it was only a matter of deploying the skill.

Cracking his neck, Logan got to work.

***

Ding!

[You have successfully deployed the skill, Life Fabricator, in a carbon reduction event! Calculating carbon reduction… 105,000 tons captured! 10% Mass Murderer title penalty in effect! You have been awarded 401,000 KarmaCoin!]

Logan craned his neck, staring at his new monster carbon tree with a wide smile. Each time, he improved on the last. This tree was so large that you couldn't see the top of the canopy from the ground. Its green foliage rustled in the breeze, casting beads of moisture onto Logan's armour and making the air crisp and clean. In addition, the extensive root network would help reinforce the new dirt, making the tunnel inaccessible to monsters who could have used the loose soil to their advantage.

Now, all he had to do was craft his final lodestone.

Someone cleared their throat behind him. "Excuse me? Logan?"

Emily. Blood and dirt covered her outfit, her shirt torn, strands of hair out of her ponytail. A smear of blood ran from her left cheek to her chin. Her rifle was loose over her shoulder, her Sig Sauer put away in her thigh holster. Behind her, two other soldiers followed, their mouths slack, their eyes rapidly blinking as they openly stared at his tree.

"Emily," Logan acknowledged. "I'm glad you survived."

She swallowed. "That's all thanks to you. Without you, we wouldn't be standing here."

Logan gave her a smile. "It wasn't entirely altruistic. I needed people to survive so they could buy items."

Emily squinted at the tree and then gave him a solemn frown. "That's what you say, but I know that's not true. Not entirely. You saved lives and went to a lot of trouble. If you wanted to just sell items, you could have gone to a different place with just as many people. You're a good man, Logan."

Logan could admit to feeling touched. Logan had given up on these soldiers after Hawthorne and the others had attacked him, but Emily was turning that around with just her words. The world needed people like Emily, users who acknowledged their mistakes and did what was right for the people relying on them.

"What are you going to do now?" asked Emily.

"Just one more thing," Logan said, his voice soft. With a feeling of excitement mixed with relief, he approached his tree, climbing over the immense roots that were bursting out of the ground, and then rested his palm against the trunk. Willing out the metal he'd created back at Richton's Tomb, he deployed [Lodestone Creationist].

Ding!

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

[Lodestone access point created! Would you like to set up your inventory for your private market?]

Logan had only a fraction of second to take in the System notification before more notifications rolled in so quickly that he couldn't keep up.

[Congratulations! You've successfully completed the Quest: Build an Empire! Reward for completing the Quest: Lord status. Lord status will allow you to declare yourself the lord of your community, receive pledges of loyalty, and Karma tax.]

[….]

[Recalculating…]

[…]

[In addition, you will receive two bonus rewards for exceeding the quest requirements by 5x! -- selling 500 items beyond the 100-item requirement.]

[Reward number 1! Congratulations! The rare skill, Lodestone Creationist, has been upgraded to the epic skill, Dominion Building! This epic skill allows you to create and control private markets outside of the System Market. In addition, funnel items from the System Market outside of your planet to your private market at a discounted price.]

[Reward number 2! Grant five users the title: Idiot's Vassal! This title grants up to five users a permanent stat bonus of 50% to all attributes. In addition, Idiot's Vassals can act as administrators, with the ability to accept other users into your lordship community. This title can be taken away at the lord's discretion.]

Logan gaped, blinking his eyes, reading the messages over and over. It was too good to be true, beyond anything of his wildest imagination. Not only had he received the original quest reward, but the System had granted him an upgraded version of [Lodestone Creationist], giving him access to a System Market that existed in other worlds?! Holy shit!

In addition, he could choose five people and give them the Idiot's Vassal title. The System was being an asshole again by calling it that, but that didn't matter. The stat bonuses were a game changer. A game changer! That meant that in one go, Logan could increase Lara's stats by 50%, helping her get closer to the one percent. Not to mention that he could give the titles to others like Tasha and Jack, hell, even Voss back in Australia, people who were trustworthy and leaders.

People like… Emily.

Logan looked down at his armour covered boots, then peered at Emily, scrutinizing her. She'd impressed him at the end, and if he wanted her to survive, she needed to get stronger. He needed people out there like Emily and Voss to help him create a bastion against the monster hoards and XP harvesters. If he wanted to get anywhere with his Save Humanity Quest, he would need help. Logan couldn't do it alone. Not with Pied's Knight's Tournament subjecting him to who knows what and all his other dueling priorities.

But could Emily be a vassal of a community that would be based in the Okanagan? Could he become a lord of more than one location?

Logan toggled into his System notifications and stared at the blinking text.

[….]

[….]

[CHOOSE YOUR COMMUNITY OPTIONS:]

[Community Name: ______].

Huh. Well, at least it hadn't automatically called it 'Idiot's Community'. What a name to discourage membership. And if he was a lord, why was it a community? Shouldn't it be a kingdom or something else that sounded grander than a community? It—

[Communities can be upgraded to townships once the required membership count of 5,000 members has been met.]

Holy shit! Logan gave the sky a wary look. It had been ages since the System had read his mind and communicated with him. His heart racing, Logan clenched his fists, a trickling of unease sloshing through his stomach. At least the response hadn't been sarcastic. He had to hope that meant that his glitchy AI minion hadn't returned.

Still, it sounded like his Build an Empire Quest had turned into a goldmine, with the ability to keep upgrading his community as he progressed. Hell, once he reached township status, could he keep upgrading into something even better?

He couldn't get a head of himself here.

First, a name.

Logan could go crazy, calling his community badass or kickass, or any of the other names he'd considered when using the Gem of Subterfuge, but he needed people to take him seriously. He already had a disadvantage with his Idiot hidden name. He was betting that once he chose a name, the System wouldn't let him change it, so it needed to be something that he wouldn't regret. And if it were going to be more than a location, but a community of people with the same viewpoint, he couldn't call it the Okanagan Community – that already existed before the Integration.

Ernie would want to call it the Rival All Community, but that sounded silly to anyone else other than Ernie.

He might have to go for the simple option.

Simple, straightforward.

Logan toggled through and mentally inputted his choice.

[Community Name: Logan's Community].

[….]

[CHOICE CONFIRMED.]

[Users can pledge loyalty to Lord Logan to become a member of Logan's Community. Membership will grant users a 10% bonus to all attributes. In compensation, the user's future KarmaCoin earnings will be taxed at 10% and remitted to Lord Logan. In addition, in case of peril, all members of Logan's Community can ask for the assistance of the community or of Lord Logan.]

Logan gaped, a lightness in his chest making him feel as if his feet were light. This kept getting better and better. The System would reward each person who pledged loyalty to Logan a 10 percent stat bonus, making community membership extremely attractive. Not many would be happy losing 10 percent of their future KarmaCoin earnings, but Logan had to believe that most would prioritize strength over money, especially when everyone was trying to survive. Better yet, the more members he added, the more possibility for future earnings.

In addition, membership came with the ability to ask for help. According to the System's description, the request didn't have to go to Logan either. Members could ask for the assistance of the broader community.

After dealing with Damsel and Charlie, forced to escape that portable array, after dealing with Hawthorne and the abuse he'd experienced in New York, Logan had to begun to wonder if his Build an Empire Quest had been worth the effort. Logan gave out a bark of shaky laughter and bowed his head, an unexpected release of tension making his chest feel light.

All of it had paid off.

Finally, something good had happened in the apocalypse. After all his struggles, the System had given him rewards that might just make a difference.

On top of that, he still had free attributes to assign.

For the first time in a long time, Logan pulled up his full stat sheet.

Name: Logan Hart [Hidden Name: Idiot]

Rank: 2 out of 5,789,512,050

Level: 186

Class: [Epic] Fabled Creation

Grade: E8

Species: Human

Skills:

Idiot's Paradox Lv. 32

Idiot's Inspect Lv. 10

Deepwater Explorer Lv. 3

Regenerate Lv. 18

Mimicry Armour Lv. 5

Undead Stamina

Foresight

Dominion Building

Liche Devourer Lv. 1

Life Fabricator Lv. 3

Threshold Shift

Titles: Eager Beaver; Mass Murderer; Audacious Corpse; Run Until You Drop; Malicious Meat Sack; Forerunner

XP Progress: 123,000/372,000

Karma: 3,888/3,888

Intelligence: 648

Constitution: 138

Strength: 365

Agility: 381

Dexterity: 302

Endurance: 683

Perception: 141

Wisdom: 587

Luck: 120

Free Attribute Points: 30

Private Market Locations: 10

Lordship Status: Community

KarmaCoin: 2,500,300

Logan's eyes bulged when he got sight of his KarmaCoin. 2 million?! Logan was rich! Rich! Holy hell!

He squinted. There was something odd. There was new information on his stat sheet. For the first time, the System had listed his private markets, as well as his Lordship status. For that to be on a stat sheet, it had to be important.

In addition, his luck score had gone up from 105 to 120. [Regenerate] had gone up to level 18 with his boost in level. That meant his injuries would heal faster, getting that much closer to having the ability to lose a hand and have it regenerate with a snap of his fingers.

Logan had come a long way since the start of the Integration. Looking at his stat sheet made a feeling of pride suffice his limbs, a feeling that made him want to do even better.

As for his free attributes, he made the only decision that made sense. Although he'd figured out a way to combat a mental manipulation skill by causing himself pain, that wasn't a long-term solution. Logan needed to become stronger so that he could repel people like Mia, and monsters who had the ability to withstand [Life Fabricator].

Logan made the adjustments:

[Constitution: 132]

[Constitution: 133+]

[Constitution: 161]

With his 5% boost from his [Forerunner] title, he'd just increased his constitution to 169. It was nowhere close to his strength attribute, but he was betting that to any other users other than Damsel and Pied, his mental manipulation resistance had just become a steel trap.

There was only one more thing to do before he went home.

Logan glanced at Emily who had been standing patiently behind him. Her expression was tentative, cautious.

Logan gave her a smile. "Emily, I have a proposition for you."