The Systemic Lands (Dark Progressive LITRPG)

Air Burst. I landed on the deck of the Crystal Vortex. I noted the clotheslines that had been hung up to dry out the laundry that had been washed. Since we were going to be here long term, there was a long term effort to maintain a certain level of cleanliness.

I heard shouts going up across the moving airship in regards to my return. "Sir, code of the day?" a soldier came up to me and asked. I repeated the code to the soldier.

"What is your favorite color?"

"Do you prefer dark or white chocolate?"

"How many stars are in the sky?"

Then there was the series of twenty questions that I had to answer. It was excessive but I felt it was well worth making sure there were no unauthorized arrivals. I noted another soldier checking that I made a specific hand sign to my side when answering the questions. An obvious test with a less obvious one hidden in the background.

With all the people on constant watch, along with summons patrolling the surrounding airspace, we were in the most secure position possible. It should be easier to protect an airship than an empire at the very least.

We had been here for five days, and each day I went out and cleared out two level 7 zones. Once the questions were done, I went to my personal cabin and tossed the crystals out of my pack into the waiting chest that was only part of the way full.

I then left my cabin, walked across the back of the bridge and then into the bathroom. I got a shower and put on the clothing that had been laid out. I left my dirty clothes in the basket. They would be washed and cleaned and then hung out to dry.

Great thing about being in charge, I didn't have to do my own laundry. It was just one of the many things that were being done to keep the community on the Crystal Vortex functioning properly. I was just glad I had my own room to myself.

I made my way back to my room and collapsed on my bed. I wasn't physically tired, just mentally tired. I had spent way too much time thinking about the response to hiding out in the wilderness. It was still a good strategy in my mind. While each trap or plot might only have a 0.1% chance of succeeding there was still that slight chance. With enough attempts anything that was possible would eventually happen.

I was a coward, but I didn't mind that label. Cowards lived to fight another day. The lessons I learned early on in the Systemic Lands were just coming back into play on a much larger scale. Only take fights that I was sure I could win or that I had no other choice but to participate in.

There was a knock on my door. I pulled on a robe and opened it up. "We have a situation," Captain Francis said.

"Give me a moment," I replied. Since he wasn't panicking, I had a minute to put on some clothes. Once that was done, I made my way out onto the bridge and went over to Captain Francis who was looking out the front viewport.

I followed his gaze and frowned. "There is another airship, and we are in a level 5 zone," I muttered. It was approaching at a distance.

"Yes. I was about to call for battle stations, but wanted to get your observation first," he replied, and I nodded at that.

"Do it and call it in the future. No need to delay on my account," I replied.

"Battle stations!" Captain Francis called out and the cry was quickly taken up. I looked at the airboat in the distance. It was one of Purgatory's models. "Lower elevation to match, maintain speed and course." That was the correct maneuver against an opposing airship.

Letting one get above or below was a bad idea, since it exposed us to several attacks. We could respond but it wouldn't let us bring our full firepower to bear. An attack from the rear would be the worst. "No change in speed on the target," a soldier called out.

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"Elevation matched," another soldier controlling the airship called out. Michelle walked onto the bridge and looked tired.

"What now?" she asked.

"Another airship, unknown," I replied.

"So hostile?" she asked. I shook my head at this question.

"Unknown. I am a bit low on energy," I muttered after having been grinding all day. I had about 10,000. I didn't like going into a fight with a low tank, but it wasn't like I was running on empty. Michelle went over to the bridge door and summoned a flying monster. She then went to her seat on the bridge and closed her eyes.

"It's Clarissa," Michelle finally said. I frowned at that statement.

"Looks like Clarissa?" I asked.

"Yes, but I can't give further confirmation," Michelle replied. "No hostile acts yet." The Crystal Vortex had already been swung around to face them. I looked out the front windows to get a better idea of the distance between airships. We were both moving fairly slow but there was one major issue that Michelle had overlooked.

"They aren't being pursued by flying monsters." Our airship had the biological avatar item. But they didn't have any such protection. It was clearly a trap. I let out a heavy sigh. While I had great faith that Clarissa wouldn't be killed that easily, she also wouldn't be coming out here.

We had gone our separate ways and she was a broken woman. It hurt with how things ended between us. Another move by my enemy to attack me emotionally. It was working in the sense that it dealt me emotional damage, but it failed to move me.

"I will go take a look. Get ready to fire the cannons if it comes down to it." The Crystal Vortex had gotten quite a bit of points from the grinding. Also, Captain Francis knew he could use my personal stash if the situation called for it to power the weapons and the airship. It wasn't something to be done lightly, but the option was there.

"We could turn and give a full broad side," he suggested but I shook my head.

"I am curious if they are more golems," I replied. I then paused to think about the situation before heading out. "If I start attacking, support me."

"Yes Emperor," Captain Francis said. I made my way to the side door on the bridge that led to the outside. I opened it and jumped out. Air Burst. I adjusted my trajectory to head towards the approaching airboat.

There was only one figure aboard. A figure that looked like Clarissa, but the energy in her body was completely hidden. Clarissa made herself look weaker but didn't hide completely. I flew over and landed on the deck of the opposing airboat.

The fake Clarissa turned to look at me. The eyes were off. It was a good illusion, but there was just something about the thing in front of me that set me off. "Clarissa, it is good to see you. I thought you were going somewhere else?"

"Michael, I wanted to see you. There are important things I need to tell you," she replied and took a step closer. The voice was perfect. If I didn't expect this to be a trap, then I could have been fooled. I scanned for any kind of tether but didn't spot anything.

"Way don't you stop the airship for now. Save points. That way we can talk without worry," I replied.

"Of course," she said and turned around while slowing down the airship. I was going to play along with this charade to get as much information as possible. She put her hands on the controls and the airboat came to a stop. I noted that the Crystal Vortex had turned and was now circling the air boat at a set distance.

"So what is the urgent news? You found out who the attacker is?" I asked.

"No, but I have found clues to their location. I lost several of my auditors and barely escaped alive, but there is something going on in the Forbidden City. I don't risk heading there by myself, I need your assistance," fake Clarissa said. It was clearly a trap to lure to place in order to kill me or destroy my airship.

It was a clever ploy. The fact that Clarissa didn't even use any challenge phrases, passwords, or questions to confirm our identities to each other, proved that this was another shot in the dark in an attempt to bamboozle me. Whomever was speaking through fake Clarissa was beyond impressive.

Looking at the thing in front of me, I realized it was probably a high-level mimic controlled by someone insanely good at summoning. How many fields of knowledge did my opponent possess? It was incredibly daunting to face someone like this, who had so many tricks they could use.

"The Forbidden City. That raises a lot of flags regarding the Divine Empress," I replied.

"Exactly. The basic guards won't be enough if there are serious issues. That is why I need you Michael, you are our only hope," fake Clarissa said. The real Clarissa would never say anything like this. While the impersonation was good. The real Clarissa was a broken wreck.

If I challenged this thing here, then there was a good chance I wouldn't learn anything that useful. While I had scanned everything I could about her but I hadn't found anything. If my opponent was on the other side of this thing then they made a mistake that I needed to capitalize on as quickly as possible.

Now how to go about this to make it look natural without risking my airship? That was the big question I needed to figure out right now.