At the Do, rcury was having breakfast. The schedules of many humans had been turned upside down. On the Moon, the sun wouldn't set for another ten days. It would remain daylight throughout the rest of the Reunion. Or night, depending on where you were. Despite his Vitality, rcury preferred to continue listening to his biological clock. In his opinion, man needed a frawork to be truly effective. You didn't work in bed, you didn't sing sitting down, and you got up early - after at least eight hours' sleep.
Just as he was enjoying a croissant dipped in chocolate milk, his secretary interrupted him.
"Master rcury, news from Viracocha."
Biting into his croissant, he beckoned her to continue.
"Viscount Priam t with Artisan Boss before entering the Cathedral of the Revenants. They reached an agreent that the tailor respects. He postponed an offer from Protheus to keep his word. According to our divinators, Priam has left Viracocha and is preparing to face Anatole and his army," reported the secretary.
"What's the last news about the clashes between the Earl and Anatole?"
"The Earl is certainly restricted by the System. His Viscounts are gradually losing the upper hand, and Anatole's chiras are gaining power daily. If war were declared on the spot, Anatole would lose. But he's getting stronger every second, and every loss on the Earl's side strengthens the Cult. Add to this the mass kidnappings taking place in many dos, and the Revenants are more and more nurous. By tomorrow, Anatole will certainly launch a massive assault."
rcury shook his head as he analyzed the situation. Everything was rushing ahead as the Reunion was ending in about three days. The Earl of the Dark Wood, the Revenants, and the Champion of Humanity were preparing for battle. Sphinx, the Lord of the Do, was also likely to show up. rcenaries and all warring factions would try to profit from the chaos.
It was enough to be the last to plunge one's sword into the weary heart of an Earl or Champion to be rewarded. The rchant had no trouble imagining all those currently sharpening their swords. The first being Protheus.
"Still no news of this Protheus?"
"Nothing he hasn't revealed himself. Thanks to his Talent, he's gradually building up the most powerful human army. Only the Alliance has been able to compete since Victoria took over."
rcury nodded. His own Talent had managed to partially inform him of Protheus'. [King by Divine Right] made it possible to accept loyalty from anyone, thereby breaking the chains and contracts previously in place. Protheus was currently using it to release certain warriors attached to alien factions from their promises.
The man was charismatic enough to attract human fighters to him. But even without that, between centuries of servitude in the service of aliens and a few decades in the service of a human, the choice was obvious.
rcury's Talent and skills were geared toward setting up contracts between two parties. To him, Protheus was a natural enemy. But worse than that, this man was painting a target on humanity. No alien empire, faction, or guild would agree to work with humans who could easily renege on their promises.
Worse still, these factions would seek to kill Protheus to ensure that the foundation of their power would not be impacted. After all, certain champions of young civilizations had been bound by harsh contracts thousands of years ago. Today, these slaves were imasurably powerful and dread only of revenge.
If Protheus offered them this opportunity... Thousands of worlds would burn, and the collateral damage would be titanic. But we might as well concentrate on the present.
rcury used his napkin to clean himself up and concentrated on the present. Having a trace of milk in the corner of his mouth was the kind of small mistake that could affect the image his subordinates had of him. It was unthinkable, as he drew his power from the trust others placed in him.
In the ancient world, rcury had already understood that there was a fine line between being and appearing. When a man looked rich, he attracted investnt. When a company looked stable, people put their money into it.
The world had changed, but not humans.
Calmly - why get angry when he couldn't control the situation? - he gave his orders.
"Share our information on the Revenants with as many dos as possible. We must take advantage of the absence of Anatole and his Abominations to crush the rest of the Revenants. As for Priam... Tell our agent to be careful. Priam is about to unleash his Tribulation, which will be humanity's first. If it's as impressive as I think, he'd better watch from far away."
The secretary bowed and left. rcury took the ti to finish his hot chocolate before getting up. He had letters to write and webs to weave. His power ca from n, not from himself. The Reunion was progressing much faster than expected.
But before all that, he had one thing to confirm.
"Now, is the little sister telling the truth? Would Claire really have died several days before the Tutorial?"
Status: (Average value for a Homo sapiens male before integration: PHY 10 / N 10 / TA 0)
PHYSICAL:
Strength 148
Constitution 251
Agility 158 ( 2)
Vitality 284
Perception 289 ( 1)
NTAL:
Vivacity 174
Dexterity 177 ( 1)
mory 40 ( 1)
Willpower 274 ( 11)
Charisma 141
TA:
ta-affinity 135 ( 6)
ta-focus 98
ta-endurance 81
ta-perception 32
ta-chance 114
Potential: 1389 ( 66)
Tier 0
[He Who Eludes Death] charge OFF. Reloaded in 14 hours 54 min 8s
[Tribulation]: Tribulations are coming.
Ti: 19 hours 14 minutes 2 seconds.
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