The Systemic Lands (Dark Progressive LITRPG)

I had my eyes closed as I felt the subtle shifts of energy about me. The energy of the Heavens was everywhere but it was slippery. One needed absolute control over their thoughts and an incredible sensitivity to attempt what I was doing without support of the Heavens.

I reached up with my right hand and carefully moved my fingers. Thought and focus infused into each action. Smalls enclosed packets of energy transitioned into the weave of the Heavens and hurried onto their destination. I raised up my left hand as information returned.

The exchange of energy continued. Each portion I sent off, brought back an equal portion, which I then absorbed and took in. While the rest of the peasants were using carts, I was using the equivalent of airships to communicate and manage my forces. I was much faster and more capable, while also doing less of the heavy lifting myself.

Instructions were given and information was gathered. Right now several attacks were occurring to ensure there was no chance of any support coming to help Michael. If he chose to be isolated, I had to ensure such a state continued no matter what, while also setting up the following stages to my plans.

While I would not count on any plan failing, I had to prepare for the possibility. To always have a backup plan. That was the mistake my mother had made. While she had started off weak, she never truly fought an intelligent enemy from a position of weakness. She was incredibly potent in combat and administration, but she clearly disliked scheming against inferior opponents.

Jacob had learned how she had truly been killed. It wasn't Michael on his own in the end. But he had help from several sources. To push her into a situation where her defeat was inevitable. I would learn both from my ancestor and my most hated enemy. To use the best of both their tactics in order to win.

Several hours after I had started, I lowered my hands. I let the mental focus relax slightly as well. It was another hard day of work. I stood up from my throne and exited the room. The slave soldiers stood at attention as I made my way up onto the deck.

I took a seat near the front of the airship as the wind blew past me. I closed my eyes and waved a hand. The cloaking enchantments were holding and stable. We would be invisible to the monsters and the Heavens themselves as long as they held, granting me an unassailable position.

Tea was quickly brought out along with biscuits, butter, and several jams. "The strawberry," I said and a slave began to carefully spread out the jam on my warm piece of toast. A teacup was handed to me which I sipped and let out a contented sigh.

The refreshing wind helped me focus my mind after another training session of strategic maneuvering. The people of Michael's empire were putting up a surprising fight. But they would crumble and kneel before me in time.

I set my teacup to the side and took my jammed piece of toast and took a bite. It was delicious. Afternoon tea was something I enjoyed and a period of time I used to cleanse my mind of useless thoughts.

To restructure my very personality to be as optimal as possible was something that could not be rushed, otherwise I would damage myself. That was a hidden effect of taking in greater amounts of energy. One reinforced ones beliefs and actions. That was why it was important for me to remain as balanced as possible.

If I became unbalanced, then my thinking would be skewed. I could not allow that to happen. My mind was my greatest weapon against my enemy. Having tea and jammed toast was not about drinking or eating. But about leveling out the rough patches in my thoughts.

I finished my tea and toast and waved for the slaves to take it away. The point expenditure for this was not cheap, the main cost coming from the continual operation of my airship. But it was necessary. I needed my mind to be as stable and focused as possible. There was no room or tolerance for foolish mistakes.

If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it.

I got up from my seat as slaves quickly removed the chair and table. I shrugged off my outer robe which was taken away. I then began to move through the forms of my martial art. The Dragon's Fist was a sublime technique of the highest order.

While I had only tapped into a fraction of its true potential, my mother was a genius at creating such a form. It had shown its worth when I had defeated my first level four monster and opened up this path. I planned to take it a step further as I controlled my energy inside my body with my movements. Each action, crisp and precise.

It was a martial art designed with stats in mind. When I had been a child, I had known this, but I hadn't truly known. One could manipulate their stats, specifically the Body stat which dealt with force.

The vast majority of the peasants used it like a club. Sure they might have some small tricks, but a club was still a club at the end of the day. True mastery was about leveraging the optimal amount into movement, defense, and attack with every motion.

I had fought against opponents with twice my stats and had managed to kill them by leveraging highly focused attacks. A single finger with the entire Body stat behind it was more dangerous than a fist. The trick was managing all the forces on one's body to such an extent there was no error in the forces applied.

The Body stat offered a safety net which the weak clung to. I had discarded such a thing in my training. Pushing my mind and body to the limit. For I refused to be weak. I refused to be collared and dragged around like a slave. I refused to bow or kneel before anyone ever again.

My first thought had been to bring back my mother with my first meta-point, but I knew she would have been disappointed if I had done so. While I had fond memories of her, she had ultimately failed and would not be any stronger against Michael. Once he was dead, then I could look at bringing her back.

But perhaps not. I had to keep my energy shifted to tap into the meta-points she had claimed. That knowledge was potent and was a source of inspiration. It was a question I wrestled with and was content putting off. For now, I would focus on my goal and not allow myself to be distracted.

My hand shout out in a grasping claw. The ultimate move of this technique. To pierce a body and pluck someone's eye or heart out of their body. The very shock of such an attack could instantly kill a weaker person subjected to such an attack.

I was sweating heavily when I finished and my muscles ached. Two slaves came over and wiped me down with towels as the wind rushed by me. My mind felt refreshed. I went and got a shower and then settled in again for another session directing and getting information from my forces scattered across the Systemic Lands.

In the old cities of the Dragon Empire, discontent was growing as my cells recruited and trained. Grinders and other sources of revenue were intercepted. Assassinations and bombings were carried out.

With Michael gone from Purgatory, the city was a heavy target of mine. It was a shame that I did not have the materials for more high level agents. Stealing several of the golems that the sphere had created had been quite useful. Their durability could resist quite a bit, but not Michael.

That was the single and ultimate bottleneck to everything. If I could just kill him, then I would be victorious. While he would probably survive the lensing technique I had planned, that was just the opening salvo. Only I would keep the full picture. I would not allow proxies to carry my word.

Jacob was a useful tool, but that was all he was. A worm beneath my boot. His new name was proof of that and why I didn't refer to his old one. He had betrayed my mother and myself. Instead I would manage everything, sewing the seeds of chaos and rebellion, shattering the Empire of Purgatory.

A shame that many high level grinders had evaded my attempts, but they would fall in time once I could focus on them. They were ultimately annoyances at worst, and future slaves at best. While I couldn't use my meta-point skill on anyone else while it was active on Jacob, I had enough energy control to replicate portions of it.

The main issue was time. Michael was working to get stronger while I was seeking to trap him. His choice to abandon everything had really hampered my plans. Originally, I was going to build a super beam cannon and move massive amounts of crystals into Purgatory.

That plan was a few days away from completion when he left. It was the first time I had been caught unprepared and now I was scrambling to catch up. But I had a better understanding of him now and his mother. Her dying tortured screams would warm my heart.

The constant unbearable agony she would soon suffer would warm my heart to no end. His best option would be to chuck her over the side of his airship, but he would never do that. One could only harden their heart so much. But I was willing to be surprised by his ruthlessness. Could he kill his own mother, just like he killed mine? I would soon have my answer.