The Systemic Lands (Dark Progressive LITRPG)

"Now, we wait. Since you joined me, I wouldn't spend hours running around the city to regenerate energy. I just need about an hour. Grab a chair and join me at the window." Ruth did as I said and grabbed a chair. We went to the reinforced window. I could hear banging on the door below.

"Any ladders in the store? I forgot to check," I asked.

"No. That was…"

"Horrible and mostly pointless? Yes." This was all so stupid. But I had power and privilege and other people wanted to drag me down. I wasn't about to let people I had never met drag me down in this place. If they wanted to get me, then they could come and get me.

"So, we just sit here?" she asked.

"Only for a little bit. I killed ten people out of the fifty or so they had. A hour and a half from now, I will kill another ten people. Keep repeating that, until they give up and then we will storm their building, killing anyone inside."

"That might actually work."

"You joined me and didn't think I would win?" Ruth looked away. Even as dense as I was, I could pick up on that.

"It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I don't know what I was thinking." I hadn't thought she was that impulsive. Still, she believed in me, and I could respect her for taking that risk to join my side.

"Fair enough." There was shouting outside. "Seems like some people are unhappy."

"You think?" She let out a sigh. She was a woman after my own heart with her biting sarcasm. "You couldn't talk with Carlos first to settle things?"

"I had 150,000 points worth of crystals. I wasn't about to let that much sit around," I answered.

"I figured as much. What about when he came to you?"

"He wasn't willing to fight to uphold the deal he made. He feared the Guild more than he feared me. That was the wrong choice."

"You escalated too quickly!" Ruth shouted at me and then taking a deep breath to calm down.

"If I let him go, he would hide and send out all of Red Dawn. The violence would be a lot worse. I already thought through how I would go about depopulating a city, just in case I needed to or to think what other people might do when I ran into them."

"Running around as a terrorist?"

"I am a nation unto myself. The nation of Michael. Therefore, the correct term is enemy combatant and insurgency against an occupying force. I was here first after all."

"I… You… Ah!" She threw up her hands in frustration.

"It's time for me to take a peek and stir the pot. Stand to the side, in case of arrows." I unlatched the reinforced shutters and slowly pushed them out to make a crack I could look out of. I kept my head to the side, which was a good thing since I suddenly felt several arrow impacts on the reinforced shutter.

"Wait. Wait you idiots!" I heard as I quickly pushed a shutter open.

"Acid Shot." I targeted one of the people hacking at the door below. They let out a horrific scream as the top of their head melted and part of their brain splashed out on the cobblestone ground. I shut the shutters again. The noise outside quickly stopped.

"You scared them off," Ruth said.

"That was the point. While they were barely doing any damage to my door, it was still damage. Those things were expensive, and I don't want to pay a lot to repair them. So, Council, talk to me."

"Well, you killed Carlos. Tyrese is on it as well. As is Underboss Roger from Red Dawn." I said nothing, since I didn't know what I would do to Roger. "You killed one of the Council members from the Guild already. That was the first person you melted."

"Oh, him."

"There is the salon owner, but she was only roped into the thing, since she is the most popular businessperson in Purgatory. She abstained from votes about you. There is one person left. That was the person who ran off when you were talking to Roger and then organized things. Council member The Gasp."

"Death's Hand, right?"

"Yes, he is the leader of the front-line group for the Guild. He killed a few monsters from the outer regions, or at least the rumors say."

"What did I do to piss him off?" I muttered not expecting an answer.

"Actually…"

"What?" I asked.

"He might be from the first arrival like you if rumors are to be believed."

"Wait." I really thought on his face, but I couldn't recall it and shook my head. "I thought I was the only one."

"Guess you were wrong. Heard he has a deep grudge against you."

"I actually didn't go after people in the first arrival. Some people went after me, and I wiped them out. It was a lot harder to fight back then. Maybe he was one of those people." I had no idea. He would die regardless. If he was from the first arrival, his luck had finally run out.

"Maybe, or he was upset about you not helping him."

"What about me being upset about people not helping me? So stupid." I shook my head at that.

"I didn't say it made sense, but that is all I know. The Council has only been around since the last upgrade."

"Why did Carlos cave in so easily?"

"You think everyone is okay with murdering people like you are?" Ruth turned to stare at me.

"It's not murder, since they were killed in battle. They were enemy combatants."

"Skinning people alive and salting them?" I looked away.

"Well, I kind of got carried away."

"You think?" Ruth asked in a biting manner.

"Why do you think I don't want to run things? I would escalate at the slightest offense."

"Well how has that worked out? Hmmm?"

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"You don't have the right to criticize me and my decisions."

"Then who does?" Ruth asked while staring at me.

"I'm always going out into the unknown, discovering things I don't want to know and I am forced to kill people here in Purgatory to keep things running smoothly." I rubbed my face. "I don't like politics or any of that. That was why I put Carlos in charge, so I didn't have to deal with this bullshit."

"Well, that isn't working out."

"Well, since you like hard questions, why didn't it work out?" I asked and looked at Ruth. She looked back at me. As long as I was alive, I could try something different. I was willing to take constructive criticism, and even more so when the situation had deteriorated so much so quickly.

"The simple matter is that Carlos and his men aren't fighters. All those types of people joined the Guild. At best, you have bully boys. Why do you think they didn't go after you once you killed Carlos?"

"Fear. Fear kept them in line."

"Yes. People who are too crazy or adventurous die out there. But the people who are careful and not afraid to fight joined the Guild. While Carlos had twice as many people, the captains weren't ready for a fight. You can't order people to death. It was a question of willpower. They aren't military or people accustomed to fighting. At best, you have small time criminals."

"Then all the hard knock people didn't sign up and joined the Guild," I said with a sigh.

"Exactly. Now you are shattering the Guild. This place is going to be screwed over completely. You just tossed a big rock into a tiny pond. Any semblance of order will be hard to keep together."

"Any ideas on how we can bring order back?" I asked.

Ruth let out another sigh. "Not really. You took something that was kind of working and lit it on fire since you didn't like it. Now the entire place is burning."

"Well, this place is named Purgatory. It was one step removed from heaven and hell." Ruth gave me a look like I was crazy.

"That name…You should have given this place a name like Hope or Unity."

"You know my kind of PR."

"Skinning and salting people," she replied with an eye roll.

"You aren't going to let it go, are you?"

"Maybe, no, yes. I don't know. Well, I threw in my lot with you to get out of this place before it explodes." I had to admit, I liked her mindset. She had that stubborn sexy teacher look going as well.

"You think it is exploding?" I asked.

"I have no doubt that when the horror of what you did sets in, the Guild will fold. Then there will be a scramble for skills, which the Red Dawn won't be able to control. Not after this."

"Really?"

"Maybe, but you just killed Carlos and took a giant shit on Red Dawn's authority. You are the de facto boss now. Since you aren't around that much, it will all fall apart once you leave Purgatory."

"That is unfortunate. How much tax do you think people can tolerate? Also, what is the daily crystal flow from the outside?" I asked.

"Realistically, ten percent. Twenty to twenty-five would be pushing it. The flow is about three to five thousand a day."

"Hmmm." I considered my options and what I would be willing to give up.

"Alright. Once we finish off the Guild, I have a few ideas. I think someone is shouting for you?" She was right. I cracked open the shutter once more, while being careful of arrows.

"What is it? Ready for round two?" I called out.

"The Guild wants to resolve things with a death match between you and the Gasp."

"Nope. I go out there and I will be ambushed. I think my offer is better. Capture him and bring him to me or kill him. Do that and I won't kill the rest of you." I called back. I looked at Ruth and shrugged. She just rolled her eyes back at me.

There was a long stretch of silence. "Michael, this is Underboss Roger. I will vouch for the safety of the match. The Gasp won't surrender, and it will be a bloodbath otherwise."

"Are you getting involved and supporting the Guild's position?" I asked very slowly. There was a long stretch of silence, and I could hear some fierce whispering going on, but not what was said.

"No. You can claim your 5,000 crystals whenever you want."

"That will be later today once I kill off any of the remaining Guild members. Once I force them from the plaza, will you ban their members from the store?" I asked.

"Yes. If they can't kill you and you kill them, then you win, and it won't be a problem anymore."

"If you agree to that, then we will fight you," I heard someone else speak up.

"You are outnumbered three to one. If you want a fight, then bring it," Underboss Roger said.

"You are more afraid of him?"

"Yes. He killed eleven of you, three of mine, and Boss Carlos."

"He could only do that because of his skill. Have your people with skills take him on," the person told Underboss Roger.

"What is in it for me?" Underboss Roger asked. There was a long stretch of silence. "You started this, so you will finish it. It's like I thought. My men won't fight him; not after today. If you can't kill him, then I don't want him as an enemy. If you win, then it doesn't matter. I just have to stay out of this until one of you is forced from the plaza, the Guild or the Sicario."

"You are afraid of him?!"

"Of course, I am. You are as well. That man is crazy and will kill anyone in his way. Boss Carlos forgot that and let his fear of fighting you override his fear of that man. He paid the price. I won't make the same mistake."

"You allowed this to happen! You supported it!"

"I supported a council. I was not in favor of taxing him until we held a discussion first and an agreement reached. Maybe you don't remember that argument, but I didn't want to piss off the one person crazy enough to kill people like he does."

"Fine, whatever. Just you wait!"

"Good luck to both of you," Underboss Roger called out loudly. I peeked out, and he left the area.

"Well, that was interesting. He is probably trying to consolidate his position and hoping you back him," Ruth said.

"You angling for the big chair?" I asked.

"You offering?"

"Yes." Ruth said nothing for about a minute, and I let her think as I took my seat.

"No. This place is a death trap. No matter how tempting it is, it is still a death trap. It's better that I die out there, then here by being stabbed in the back. It's like Survivor, but less pretty, and with more acid, blood, and brains." I could only sadly agree with that.

"People melting alive is quite terrible. It…Well, it is terrible," I muttered. The problem was, when your only skill is acid, it is impossible to avoid people melting to death.

"How much longer so we have?" Ruth asked, and I checked my watches.

"Another hour. We haven't been sitting here that long."

"What is it like out there?" Ruth asked.

"To steal a quote, 99% boredom and 1% sheer terror."

"What was the original quote?"

"Invention is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. I think Edison said it. The man who invented the light bulb."

"I know who Edison was," Ruth said.

"Well, few people learn their history. Oh, that reminds me, I have good news."

"Really? What is it?"

"Don't sound skeptical, since it actually is good news. The day and night are both shortening, bringing the day in line with Earth time of 24 hours. So there most likely won't be no eternal night in the future. Yeah!"

Ruth was silent.

"What? Say something."

"That is good news. I had been tracking it as well, but I didn't reach that conclusion."

I frowned at that. "What conclusion did you reach?"

"That you were mistaken all along." I didn't know what to say to that. I didn't think I had been off, but either way it wasn't an issue anymore.

"Really?"

"Yes. Your measurements must be off."

"That is disappointing, but it's always good to have my assumptions checked." Now I felt incredibly stupid. I blushed and looked off to the side. How embarrassing.

Ruth just looked at me, and I wasn't getting into that at the moment. Urgh, feelings. I needed to think things through once I had won and there was no more fighting. We sat in silence there for a while before I spoke up again.

"So, you want to go into the wilderness with me to fight monsters?"

"Yes," she said. I rubbed my face and thought over the issue. Stupid beard and facial hair.

"How many upgrades do you have?" I asked.

"Fifty, ten each in Body, Mind, Spirit, Perception, and Regeneration." That was…that was horribly low. I didn't want to say she wasn't qualified, but she wasn't qualified. Did I really want another teammate?

"What? You aren't saying anything. You have what? Two hundred? I can catch up."

"More like three hundred," I said. She paused at that for a bit before speaking up.

"Is…How worried should I be?" Ruth asked.

"As you are, with no skills and your weak combat ability, you probably would die against higher strength monsters. I don't lie or sugarcoat things, so you need to know the dangers. The scorpions would be a death sentence without Acid Shot thanks to their armor and multi-pronged attack. That isn't even the worst."

I let out a small sigh. "I have encountered teleporting monsters. They teleport behind you. They aren't super dangerous, but that ability alone makes them quite tricky to deal with. The best I can do is give you a small cut and to pull the cart if you come along."

"Really? You want me to pull the cart?"

"We can cover a lot more ground that way. I really want to explore this world the next time I go out. If you want to fight, you can fight, but I can't be responsible for your safety."

"Can't or won't?"

"Can't. There are reasons people die out there, many people. If you can't adapt to a monster, you will die if you can't escape. There are no do overs or second chances."

"Trying to scare me off?"

"That is for you to decide, but I won't pretty things up just to drag you along, even if I would really like the company. The dangers here in Purgatory are of the human nature. Out there, there is no reasoning. It is kill or be killed. Think on it."

"I will," Ruth replied, and we waited silently as I regenerated energy.