The Systemic Lands (Dark Progressive LITRPG)

Amy

I looked at the woman who had saved me. She was worn down and bloody. I carefully gave her water from the flask she had been carrying. Her right arm was a deformed mess. Her left arm was missing below the elbow.

"Thanks," she said as I lowered the flask. We had stopped in what she called a level 3 mistlands zone to hide out in. It was very misty and I could barely see anything.

"You rescued me. It is the least I can do," I replied, and she shook her head.

"You aren't rescued. Whatever Qi Ji Long did, it is subtle. Jacob might have been able to figure it out, but he was compromised and dead. Michael might have some idea, but I suspect that if you ever meet him, whatever is in your head will trigger," she replied heavily. I didn't have any more tears to shed.

The last 90 days had been a nightmare, one after another. "So, you know my son?" I asked Michelle.

"Yes. But we need to get to a city quickly so I can get a restoration. Running into Michael is near impossible now," she said.

"Can't we just phone him. Or isn't there a meet up place?" I asked.

"Purgatory has been lost. The Empire has been lost. It is all lost. I would blame Michael, but I know he wouldn't have left us like that unless he thought there was a traitor on board, and he was right. Also, if you meet him, you will die in some horrific manner. Plus, Qi Ji Long will be searching for us," Michelle said.

"But you crippled him. Right? Crushing his feet?" I asked.

"From a surprise attack. But I wasn't able to finish him off. I could either fight to the death and I might have lost with how low my energy and summoning supplies were, or I could retreat and save you. If I had fought we would have all died," Michelle said.

"Oh, thank you," I replied softly. I wasn't going to cry. I wiped my eyes. I had never been in a life and death situation like that before. And the time with that young man had been, horrible. I didn't want to remember. I felt violated in so many ways.

"It is now going to be a shadow war. Michael versus Qi Ji Long. The entire Systemic Lands are going to go up in flames." Michelle shook her head and let out another sigh and then looked at me. I could see the tiredness in her eyes. It felt like her very soul was screaming.

"So, what now?" I asked hesitantly.

"Now, we wait until I finish regaining energy, then we make for a city so I can get a restoration. Do you have points saved?" she asked, and I shook my head. "Your son calls it health insurance and he is right. I guess you are my responsibility now. We should get you some stats and skills. With enough stats you should be able to break whatever was done to you."

"Thank you. I mean it. You don't have to do all of this for me," I said.

"I do. Your son is on another level, which was why Qi Ji Long used all those proxy attacks. Killing all those people…" She trailed off.

"I am sorry for your loss," I said, since I could tell she was grieving.

"Francis chose his path. We got along quite well. At least he killed that bastard Jacob the Master Fleshcrafter and the Avatar. Good riddance to both of those pieces of trash. I hope, that if there is an afterlife, there suffer for everything they have done," Michelle said with a lot of hatred in her voice when talking about the two. She hadn't gotten that made when talking about Qi Ji Long.

"So, this Qi Ji Long is the son of the Divine Empress? A Prince?" I asked. I hadn't learned much locked away, only that he hated Michael and that my son had killed his mother.

"Imagine the evilest person possible."

"Like Hitler?" I asked.

"Worse. She had a throne made of her enemies, which were kept alive and screaming. Then there was the way she ran her Empire. It was hell for everyone. Her advisors had to regularly skin themselves as punishment for even the slightest failure," Michelle explained. I felt sick. "It gets much worse trust me. Well, she wanted to rule this place, and Michael fought her. I was only a soldier at that time, drafted into the military to help out."

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"Anywhere the Divine Empress went was death. I knew some of the people she killed. That was one reason I have always respected Michael. He fought, even when he was completely outmatched. The Divine Empress's power, was immense. Back then Michael was as strong as myself or Qi Ji Long."

"She was unkillable. Purgatory itself was exploded in a massive attack. Everything was thrown against her, nothing worked. She was like a god that we had to bring down if we wanted to live. Michael had robbed from her and wrecked her capital, and disstabilized her Dragon Empire. Even worse he captured Qi Ji Long, her son." I let out a gasp of surprise at that.

"He was going to be used to lure her into a trap, but she found him, before that could occur. Michael then led her to a tower, where with the help of the Astrologer, he was able to kill her. The Astrologer then became a terrorist and was killed later on, since he didn't want to work with Michael. And that was how the Empire of Purgatory was born. A stabilizing force in the Systemic Lands," I explained.

"He would use a child to bait that woman?" I asked.

"Yes. It never happened in practice, only threatened and he allowed Qi Ji Long to grow up and live his own life without the stigma of the Divine Empress, showing kindness. Now that has been thrown in his face," Michelle explained.

"I…this place is horrible," I said since I wasn't sure what else there was to say. Michelle laughed at that.

"You aren't wrong. This place truly is horrible. But there is nothing else but to do the best we can. Many people can't handle it and kill themselves, but some thrive, like your son," Michelle said.

"And you," I replied.

"The last survivor of our team, not counting Michael. Well Doctor Katz and Clarissa are still out there, possibly. Once I get a regeneration, then we can work on grinding up stats. Any idea how you like to fight?" I asked.

"Um, I don't. I mean I don't like to fight," I replied, and Michelle laughed. I began to laugh as well. It was all so stupid. Finally, we both calmed down.

"I can learn," I finally said.

"Well, I can teach you summoning. But if you are like your son, you will probably want ranged skills of some kind," Michelle said.

"What about healing?" I asked.

"Restorations from the store will fix most things. You would need a tremendous amount of knowledge and stats to deal with curse damage. My right arm is going to take a while to fix," Michelle answered.

"A restoration won't fix it?" I asked.

"It is cursed. That means damage that is dealt to your soul that won't be corrected by the store. A regeneration will help, but then I will have to physically reshape my arm. Which is not something I am skilled at. I know how the techniques work, but it isn't simple unfortunately," Michelle said.

"And then?" I asked. Michelle looked at me and gave me a pitying smile.

"It doesn't end," she said and I tried to understand what she was trying to tell me. "You will have to keep grinding, otherwise you will be at risk of being killed. And you need to fix whatever was done to your head. That is going to take a lot of stat points. And once you get that far, there is a duty to keep going, to get stronger."

"What is at the end of it all?" I asked.

"Ask the System, or Almighty System as Michael used to like calling it. That is the question that unites everyone in the Systemic Lands. What is the purpose of it all? If you ever find out an answer beyond human suffering, let me know," I replied.

"So, get stronger, fight monsters to get crystals, get stat points, and repeat? What about settling down and starting a family. You seem like a lovely woman," I said. Michelle looked at me like I was crazy.

"This place is insane. Maybe one day. But right now, we need to get stronger and hide. Qi Ji Long is still out there. He will make his way to a city as well and heal up his feet. Then he will be hunting both of us down and attacking Michael in a shadow war. I got lucky in that last fight, it won't happen again," Michelle replied.

She had lost the use of both of her arms and she considered that lucky. I didn't know what to say to that. This place truly was a hellish warzone. With monsters, revenge plots, and so many other horrible things. "Can I give you a hug?" I asked Michelle. She didn't say no as I reached over and gave her a hug, my eyes moist.

I had lost hope that I would ever escape. I didn't want to think about it. But I was free now. I would rather die than be imprisoned like that ever again. I couldn't say those words, so I just gave Michelle a hug. It was too bad she couldn't give me a hug back, but that could wait.

This place was utterly horrible. But at least I had a friend. While she might be helping me out just because of my son, that was fine. We had a plan. Get Michelle here fixed up, then get some stats, and then hopefully find a way to fix whatever was done to me. After that I would try and find my son Michael.

I could only hope he was eating well and that he stayed alive. I had no sympathy for Qi Ji Long. A small part of me hoped that Michael would defeat him. I knew in my heart that meant killing him, but I could help but think that he could be locked away instead to pay for his crimes.

But that wasn't a healthy way to think, focusing on revenge. I let go of Michelle and smiled at her. She smiled back at me. I could tell both of our smiles were incredibly fragile. But we were alive, and Michelle was quite capable. We would sort things out somehow.