The Systemic Lands (Dark Progressive LITRPG)

A beep went off, and I quickly woke up. I forced my eyes to snap open. When I woke up, I needed to be instantly in combat mode. No slow, peaceful mornings anymore. That was the thing I was coming to hate the most about this place. That, and the lack of a razor blade and shaving cream.

I used my club to poke Carl. "Wake up."

He let out a long groan.

"Wake up." I poked him harder.

"I am up," he said and pushed the club away.

"When you wake up, you need to be immediately alert regardless of the circumstance. If someone ambushed us in the night, you need to switch immediately into combat mode once you are awake. Well, time for breakfast and then another day in the slime forest, if you are up for it?" I asked.

"Give me a minute. It is dark out." I shook my head at that. Carl needed to cultivate a stronger mentality if he was going to survive and thrive out here. This was important since he was teamed up with me.

"Yep. I start predawn so I don't run into other people. Hopefully, we can get 300 crystals today, at a minimum."

"That many…"

"Yep. I normally get around 200 by myself with a full day of slime hunting."

"I was hoping this entire thing was a bad dream," Carl said, and I sympathized with that for a fraction of a second.

"Nope. Just our own little slice of hell," I replied.

"Alright. I got this. Carl Smith doesn't quit, and he doesn't give up." He got to his feet and stretched. I chewed on a carrot while watching him.

After about ten minutes of stretching, he had an orange for breakfast.

"Ready?" I asked when he was done eating.

"Yes. Do we just leave our trash here?" he asked.

"The System will take care of it. Praise be the Almighty System. Protect us humble players with your mercy and luck." I raised both my hands in the air and shook them.

"Is there a System?" Carl asked.

"There is the store and things get reset. I could call the force running this place God, but God managed Earth, and it was messy. This place is run by the Almighty System, which is much more organized and weird in other ways. Don't worry. You will be a believer in no time with all the oddities this place has."

"I guess…" I could tell he was having a hard time believing me. One day he would convert, along with everyone else.

"Don't worry about it. Let's go."

We left the building and went back out into the forest. No one else was awake yet. Slackers.

I began plowing through the slimes as a one-man army. With the occasional break, we made a decent pace, racking up around 300 crystals when I called it a day. The sun was just setting as we made our way back to the city.

I picked a different building this time to sleep in and made sure no one had followed us. The city was big enough that if you just went in a random direction, it was easy to lose a tail. I held up my finger to my lips once we entered a building and Carl said nothing.

I waited for a couple of minutes but heard nothing. "Alright, we weren't followed."

"Is that a big problem?" Carl asked.

"If someone follows us, I will kill them since they are up to no good."

Carl went quiet at that.

"Alright. I didn't ask last night since we finished late, but how many crystals?" Carl pulled them out and laid them out in rows of ten.

"We have 433 crystals." I watched him count and nodded at that. I set aside 40 crystals for him.

"Those are yours. You can keep them in your pack." I began moving the rest to my pack.

"This seems…unfair." Carl then looked up at me.

"You are paid what you are worth. Anyone can pick up crystals. Sure, you have to move, but you are also gaining knowledge. I am the one taking the risk. You are welcome to leave and go hunt slimes on your own." I gave him my crazy grin.

"Just seems a lot of effort for not that much." Yeah, since I wanted the points, but I wasn't about to say that. But he also wasn't earning more than this by just picking up crystals. This was just the intern phase of his team-up with me.

"Those 40 crystals that you have are far more than anyone sitting around in the plaza currently has. Also, no tax. There's not a lot of motivation around here." I shook my head. It was surprising how many people were completely useless, and were not willing to take risks or push themselves. I guess there was a lot of depression and frustration about losing their families and friends.

"But coming back, we saw other groups," Carl pointed out, and I shook my head at that.

"Yeah, groups. They probably get 80 crystals at most in a group of four. Then that is cut in half to 40 from the tax. They have to replace their weapons when they get worn and take a risk. Slimes are fairly safe, but it is always a risk." I broke down the harsh economics of this place.

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Carl looked thoughtful at that. "They get that few?"

"We are moving insanely fast to clear slimes. There is a reason I don't team up. Teams are slow and give a sense of safety. There is no safety, and I don't want to get a false sense of it out here fighting monsters. The moment I think I am safe is the moment I die," I explained.

"Also, before you say anything: I am the only person I know that is alive from the first and second groups." Carl looked shaken at that.

"That is a lot to take in." Well, time to get your head in the game. This was our reality now, do or die, but don't sit around moping.

"It is, but this place is hell, purgatory, or whatever you want to call it. I don't plan on dying, but that means you can't stop pushing yourself. Wolf or sheep."

"I get it now. You really don't care if I leave?" Carl asked.

"You leave, and I will find someone else. Leaving either means you were too weak or cowardly. Either way, you would just drag me down when you die."

"That is harsh. You really don't say anything nice." I rolled my eyes at that. If he wanted hugs he could go to the brothel.

"Well, when you get points, you can buy fresh clothes and give yourself a towel bath."

"That isn't helping." I shrugged at that.

We ate our dinner quietly.

"This is hell, isn't it?" Carl asked.

"Maybe. I like to think of it was purgatory. Not quite hell, but not heaven either. We are just waiting. For what? No idea. Well, maybe one. The eternal night," I explained.

"Eternal night?"

"Well, the days are slowly getting shorter. Like a couple seconds every day. Hard to tell." It was bothering me, but I was looking at the time constantly and the amount of light in the morning and evenings.

"How much time is left?"

"No idea. Impossible to get accurate measurements since the days are slightly longer than Earth's. Throws off all the watches." Carl looked at his watch and the four I was wearing. I could see him visibly gulp at that.

"So, winter?"

"Maybe. I can't tell if the rate is increasing, decreasing, or staying the same. Could just be seasonality, but with how weird this place is, who knows." I shrugged.

"Then this could all be pointless."

"Waking up on Earth and going to work could be pointless, but people do that every day. But if you want to give into despair, feel free. Many do and just die." I suspected there were a lot of suicides taking place, but there was no way I could confirm that.

"You aren't a cheerful person, are you?" I just gave Carl a blank look at that.

"I used to be. But it is hard to stay that upbeat all the time when thinking about this place." I let out a sigh. "Well, you either learn to cope…"

"I get it. I am sticking around. Carl Smith just doesn't lay down and die." He seemed to firm up his resolve with that declaration.

"Good for you. Well, time to get some sleep. We have several full days ahead of us."

I remained awake with my eyes closed and my breathing steady for a while. I didn't hear anyone moving outside. Once it got dark, I went to sleep.

I woke up to a beep. I shut off the watch and poked Carl awake. We had breakfast and made our way to the gate this morning. I paused since a person was waiting there.

"Michael?" the man asked.

"Yes, I am. And who are you?" I asked.

"Carlos sent me. He needs you to handle a situation." I let out a sigh. Well, this is what I signed up for. Carlos was calling me in to help him out.

"Tell me." I needed details to see if I should abandon Carlos to his fate or not.

"There is a large group that has formed. They are going to start something today."

"How many?"

"At least fifty." That was a lot.

"Carlos's men?"

"About the same number."

"What was his initial offer?"

"Two hundred crystals." That wasn't much. I frowned at the amount. Still, losing Carlos would mean more power struggles and we had an understanding already. Cultivating a new understanding wouldn't be simple or easy. I wouldn't pay taxes, no matter what.

"Should I be listening to this?" Carl asked and I turned towards him.

"Shut up. You are with me until this is over. The amount is fine. Let's go." We made our way back to the plaza. That was just under what I could earn in a day, but I was pretty sure Carlos would be paying with credit. When I was called for the next job, I would ask for at least 500 crystals.

"Any of them upgraded or have points?" I asked.

"Not that we know of. They are just gathering a lot of desperate people. The fifty from last evening could easily be a hundred today. There was shouting and a light skirmish, but they backed off. They probably aren't going to back off today." It was going to be a blood bath. Stupid, idiot, moronic, people just couldn't go out and hunt slimes.

It wasn't that freaking difficult. By the Almighty System, I was going to open up a massive can labeled bloodbath with a touch of whoop ass. Sorry clothes, I could only keep you clean for so long.

We made our way to Carlos's building. There were ten people already standing outside as the sun was coming up. I brought Carl with me as I went up to meet Carlos.

Carlos gave him a look and turned towards me. "There are at least fifty people. Maybe more. They are armed with clubs, but there might be a couple with weapons."

"How did it get this bad this quickly?"

"No one wants to hunt. Stupid Americans," Carlos complained.

"I resent that, you know."

Carlos let out a pained chuckle at that. "You, at least, have common sense. I can speak with you. We can discuss things. These…putas are like drug addicts. Crazed with no common sense. I could kill them all, but with your help, it will be much safer."

"That is fine. 200 crystals, right?"

"Yes. Your teammate will be helping?" Carlos asked.

"You fighting or staying here? If you fight, I will pay you out of my share. Ten crystals per person you kill," I offered and Carl blanched at the casual mention of killing people.

"That's…I…." He took a deep breath. "You are just going to go out and kill them all?"

"Yes. So, are you coming or staying?" I asked.

He looked at Carlos, then back at me. "I will go, but I don't know how useful I will be."

"That is fine. You can watch the rear. Let's do this now if we are going to do this. No mercy," I said.

"That is why I like you, Michael. Always with the work ethic and straightforward." Carlos got up and began yelling at his men to move.

"You don't have a crystal stash here that needs to be protected?" I asked.

"I wish I had a stash. I spent it paying my guards and buying stuff." He shook his head. "Don't worry. We will build up a stash to pay you after this."

"That is fine. I figured as much. Carl, you carry my pack. Don't lose it, got it?" I handed it to him.

"Yeah, got it." I got my sword out and had my shield already on my left arm.

Carlos's men quickly gathered outside from the nearby buildings. We then marched into the plaza towards the buildings opposite where Carlos had set up. I quickly stopped by the pillars and spent 89 points for a restoration. I then walked up front with Carlos. A guard from the other faction quickly ran into one building.

There was shouting, and a large group of people gathered.

"Do you mind if I speak before I kill them all?" I asked Carlos.

"Go ahead. It will be interesting to hear what you say."

"Don't worry, I got your back. Just make sure your archers don't hit me." I stepped forward as Carlos made sure his archers knew where to aim.

"Alright!" I shouted. "You useless pieces of shit think you can run things around here? Well, here I am. If you aren't a bunch of dickless cowards, then come on out and fight." I waited a moment.

"You are the worst of them, Killer!" someone in the crowd shouted.

"Yes, I am. Now, since you are hiding in the crowd, you can either come out, or I can come to you."

"Screw you!" a voice shouted. Screw this noise. I was fed up with all of this since I had been hoping they would back down or someone would challenge me to single combat. I wasn't going to get out of a battle, it appeared.