Simple man with his overpowered army Chapter 4: Meeting, speech and the first judgment

In a eting room, several people of Elysium were discussing what to do with the situation at hand. Lud proposed "Our top priority is to find a way to feed our population. It normally would be the security of our citizens, but since it has been proven that there is no significant threat in close proximity, we should focus on securing a food source."

One of the ministers nad Nock Loodin said "We have an ocean near us, so we should try to utilize that to our advantage." Another minister nad Weed Jonion said "The problem is that we were an agricultural city that wasn’t in close proximity to an ocean. If we were to try fishing, we would need to build ships and other fishing equipnt. I’d say we should focus on cutting up so trees and try to make the land suitable for agriculture."

Nock says "We need a stable food source as soon as possible. If we focus too much on preparing the land to produce crops, we would starve to death before we would get a harvest. Even though we have to make fishing equipnt from the start, it is much faster than focusing on farming."

Another minister nad Rohan Goldenswan says "We have neighbors near us that could provide us food and other supplies through trade. I propose we focus on trying to make new connections in this world and start trading."

Then the last minister that was on the table nad Sylvi Elsether Von Ålaq said "We still have plenty of food in the storage and we have the technology to turn saltwater into freshwater. I say we should put so effort into all three. It might be a slow beginning at first, when we do get all the things rolling, we have a stable thing going on. Though I’m a bit skeptical about trading with people who are racist to humans, we need to make connections with the inhabitants of this world eventually, so we should leave that be for now."

The three n think for a mont and then Lud asks "So are we on the opinion that we should follow Ålaq’s approach?" The n look at each other for a mont and then Rohan asks "While it was who suggested it, are you sure you are fine trading with human haters?" Lud responded with "I don’t mind what they think. If this world doesn’t learn to accept us, we just have to make sure no one threatens our people."

The ministers look at each other in silence and then Lud says "In the first place, our city’s population is only about 21% human when I last checked. They will always be citizens of Elysium and we will not let others treat them any less than what they deserve. So if there are any more objections on our approach, we will go with Ålaq’s plan. Liz, inform Illi about our plans. I’m sure he and his group will be up for the challenge." Liz bows her head and says "As you wish your highness."

Then Lud says "Now that our food problem is going to be dealt with, we should go to the next topic. Who is up to making a public speech about our current situation?"

The ministers look at each other for a mont yet again and then Nock says "Isn’t it your highness’s job to make speeches?"

Lud had a blank look on his face as he realized that it kind of was his job. Then he spoke to himself "Damn the ga has gotten more hard since the update. Not only are the NPCs more human-like, but now my title is more than a title. It is a job now."

Weed said in confusion "My lord?" And then Lud realized he said all that out loud and said "Ah, sorry. I carelessly talked about what was on my mind without thinking. Still... Yes, I guess it is my job to handle public speeches. Any suggestions on what I should say?"

Then Liz said "Just do what you usually do, my lord." Lud looks at Liz with a confused look and asks "What do I usually do?" Then Liz gives an example of a speech that once inspired the people of Elysium to work hard and be proud of who they are. Weed even shed a tear and said "Ah, I rember that speech. Such brilliance." Nock added "Indeed. I made extra sure to handle my paperwork properly that day."

Then Weed said jokingly "Oh? So you finally admit that you don’t always do your best?" Nock said "Oh screw you. It’s not like every paper is going to change the whole country." To which Rohan comnted "But make enough mistakes and the papers will co back to haunt you for being ineffective." Nock said "Oh keep yours shut as well." Sylvi then coughed to make it clear to the other ministers that they were in presence of the king. The three n then quickly shut up for a mont.

Then Sylvi said "Just say what you feel like. I’m sure your honesty will reach your people if you give it your all." Liz nodded in agreent and Lud just said "Alright then. Make an announcent that we will hold a public speech the next day." Liz said "On it, your highness." But then Sylvi said "You can leave that to Cardigan. You should make sure his majesty is safe in these confusing tis. Also you, Zenith and his majesty should have a mont to yourselves."

Liz says "Thank you miss Ålaq. I’ll leave that one to you then." Lud looks confused and says "Why is sothing like that necessary?" Everyone in the room except Lud looked at each other in acknowledgent and then Sylvi said "The celebration that we just had was to commorate everything the real ones did to create Elysium and say their goodbyes to the last real one. I’m sure the two ladies have much in their hearts that you stayed with us and they’d like to talk to you."

Lud muttered "So they now have proper feelings that weren’t part of their original programming. Or is this still a part of so sort of event?" Then Lud said "As you wish. As soon as Liz is done with talking to Illi, we will have a small tea party where the three of us can enjoy so snacks. Now then. The matters that I wanted to discuss over this eting have been dealt with. You are all dismissed." All except Lud said "Yes your highness." and left the room.

About half an hour later, Zenith called Lud to co to the tea party that was organized. Well, it was called a tea party, but there were only three people. But three is enough to make a group, so...

Lud asks "So... how’s both of your days?" Zenith answers "It’s been hectic at the castle as the transportation happened to the capital." Then Liz adds "Yes, and unfortunately, we haven’t been able to contact any of the other towns of Elysium."

Lud then mutters "In this situation, would it be for the best if the transportation was solely for the capital and not the rest of the territory, or would it be catastrophic?" Liz and Zenith stay silent for a mont.

Then Liz says "How about you, your highness? You seem to be taking this well." Lud says "Well, it kind of bothers that I can’t log out from the ga, but other than that, I think it will be over in a couple of months."

Zenith asks "How so?" Lud says "The world here moves 24 tis faster, aning that a day here is one hour in the real world. And since humans can live about three days without water, I estimated that it’ll take around 72 days until my body can’t live anymore."

Liz asks "Are humans in your world that weak?" To which Lud says "Well there are people who can last longer, but the general human can last three days without food or water. My real body might last less or longer, but that is what is considered common knowledge in the real world."

Liz then says "But are you sure this is still a ga, your highness?" Lud asks "What do you an?" Then Liz adds "I an, my body has felt much more free after the transportation happened. I’m sure all of us... NPCs can attest to that. If nothing else, mister Last has proven during the fight with miss Sarah that we aren’t bound by the limits of our old world."

Lud then just says "The technology of the real world has gotten better since the ga’s launch, so updating it to the point where NPCs can move more naturally isn’t that high of a stretch."

Then Zenith says "We are worried about your health, your highness. The loss of your brother and being transported to another world where you can’t leave must be weighing up to you. The sooner you realize this might be real, the sooner you can start the healing process."

Lud says "If you are worried about , then your worries are unfounded. I firmly believe that this is still part of the ga with a couple of new features. But if you still insist on worrying about , you two should focus on making sure yourselves and other NPCs can adjust to this new found freedom."

Zenith and Liz look at each other and then Liz says "As you wish, your highness. But rember, we are here for you if you need any support." Lud just nods and says "Thank you Liz and Zenith. I keep that in mind."

Then the three talk about a few other topics that aren’t as heavy as the previous one. Lud even got a few ideas on what he should say during the speech and when the tea party was concluded, he headed to his office and wrote a few words on a paper that he would speak out loud soon.

Before Lud went to bed, he heard that most of the 9th battalion had left for the two towns that had been found in this new world. The reason why they were sent was majorly due to the order to secure a possibility of trading with Elysium and other countries. Tear herself took the mission to figure out how things work at the town of Lostwood.

The fact that Tear went by herself was troubling since in Odysseium, she hated the elven race with passion. Lud figured that she just wanted to go there personally to make sure the race she hated in Odysseium won’t cause trouble for Elysium in this world. Even though there is no proof yet that elves are similar between this world and Odysseium.

The next day a crowd gathered at the plaza where a transmission device was put. The transmission device could transfer footage and sound from far distances with the aid of magic. Normally you’d need to cast a certain spell at one location and recast it sowhere else. Long distance communication between person to person also existed, but the action of talking to a group from a distance was troubleso to do with magic alone. The way Lud is able to talk with his subordinates is a special case.

Lud began his speech "Greetings subjects of Elysium. My na is Faust Ilumnos, the king of Elysium. I have co to talk to you today about the sudden transportation incident.

The investigation that we did yesterday shows that we are most likely in a foreign land, with the likelihood of this being a different world being also high. We have found that this world is called Lutah and that it generally dislikes humans. But worry not, cause we shall not let others dictate how we should treat our fellow people. I promise to you all right now that I shall never let the values of our old world be swiped away by the people of this world.

But as you all might be wondering, "What happened to the people outside the capital?" I have to give you the unfortunate answer that we don’t know of their fate. I hope, like I do to all of my people, that they are doing fine and have no troubles. We will inform you all if we ever find sothing.

And as for the last festival we held, be it fortune or not, I’ll be staying here a while longer. I’ll do my utmost to make sure that the people of Elysium can rest easy and have a full plate of food each day at your table. We are currently working on food production, but we have plenty of food in storage for the ti being, so don’t worry about starving anyti soon. I’m sure so of you have already seen a couple of job postings around the city and if you are looking for work, be sure to take up the offer if you think you are capable.

But the most important thing I have to say is that don’t be discouraged by the current events. Work hard as you usually do, but do not dismiss your worries and talk to soone you trust. The people of Elysium, work hard to secure a place in this new world we live in for the anti. Live life to the fullest with the least amount of regrets being on your shoulders.

I, Faust Ilumnos, thank you all in advance. Work hard and well."

And so the public speech ended, with so of the people feeling confused. They trust their king, but sothing felt off about the current king. Sothing he said did not feel as invigorating as his previous speeches. Many people think the sa though "Is this new freedom I feel the reason for feeling distance between the people and the king?" Nevertheless, the people of Elysium returned to their work as usual.

anwhile in the town of Lostwood, Tear is conducting an investigation about whether or not these elves share similarities with those elves in Odysseium. From the looks of it, she finds out that they are even more arrogant than they were in her ho world. She saw a commoner elf ridiculing a dark elf who was there to sell so goods. The elf shouts "Does this place now welco our nesis race as well?! By the gods, this town is truly an eyesore in the glorious kingdom of Hearth!" Tear hears other elves speak in acknowledgnt of the rowdy elf’s comnt. Saying things like "He’s right. This town has really stooped low to welco our enemies.", "I would have said it myself to that dark one, but I want to hold so dignity by not talking to their kind." and "This town used to be a good place to raise children, but now even the mut are supposedly welco in our hos."

There were other races too hearing this, such as dwarves, beast folk, two draconians and a single angel. None of them seem to want to say anything. Tear deducts that it might be that because dark elves aren’t held in high regard in general or it is just a feud between the two races.

Tear decided to dig deeper by emitting a phantom voice amongst the crowd that said "Leave that kid alone! You gain nothing by doing that!" Then the rowdy elf shouted back "Are you in league with the dark ones?! I honestly thought that people who co here understand that this is elf territory where dark ones aren’t welco!" Then Tear decided to dig deeper by shouting "So you are saying that dark elves are even lower than humans?!"

There was silence on the street for a mont, until most people started laughing. Then one of the bystanders said "You think that those low born are even comparable to other races in the middle layer? You got to be fucking on sothing strong to spout that stuff here."

Another bystander said "Yeah. What next? Dogs are considered those of a higher plane of existence?" The laughter echoed through the street, which irritated Tear sowhat. Then she made the voice shout "There is a kingdom in Lostwood that is ruled by a human! He wouldn’t like you joking about one of the people of his land!"

The crowd started to laugh even harder. Few people managed to say between the laughs "A human kingdom?... In the middle layer?" "Give it a break, woman... There is so much funny stuff you can say on the street." Tear noticed that even the dark elf who was ridiculed a mont ago was laughing alongside the others.

So the last thing Tear decided to make known was "If you don’t believe , then venture to the eastern coast and you’ll see a magnificent kingdom nad Elysium!" The crowd continued to laugh and Tear decided to leave that street alone for now. Now was the ti to gather more intel in general.

During her investigation, Tear found that there were three types of elves. High elf, wood elf and dark elf. This in itself was a different thing compared to Odysseium. The hierarchy of elves had the high elves at the top, the wood elves in the middle and the dark elves in the bottom. What Tear could gather, the hierarchy was made by the general level of the elves at one point in ti. In the words of a high elf noble "High elves are closer to gods than any other elves. No, any other race other than angels fall below our closeness to the gods when compared to the other races."

Tear also found out that people in Lutah believed that the forest of Lostwood was a place where gods once rested and healed their wounds that they got from battle with the counter god Maumar’s forces. It appears the counter god Maumar has so control over the creatures of the abyss and launches attacks to the three layers from ti to ti.

But the reason why the Lostwood is like it is is because the gods bled during their stay there and that blood transford the flora and fauna of the region. The majority of the blood’s sustenance gave way to the flora of the region and the rest of the sustenance gave way to enchanted animals.

And since so part of that blood was filled with dark emotions of gods, so animals turned hostile towards children of gods. Those animals tainted by those dark emotions are now considered as monsters.

The other side of the blood that gave way to enchanted animals was filled with hope and prosperity towards the races of Lutah. Those animals are called by many nas, but most use the word "enlightened animal".

Those that fall sowhere between the two extres are called magical beasts or magical animals. These types of creatures are neutral and generally live like any other animal. They live by the code "What cos, cos. And what goes, goes."

There are differences in intelligence in all of the three types of enchanted animals.. And the reason why trees aren’t as affected by the emotions that were in the blood that was spilled by gods has to do with the protection that the trees have. All the trees in Lutah have a guardian of so sort, those guardians are the will of the trees and while they aren’t immune to corruption, they are highly resistant to it.

This is the general understanding that the people in Lostwood have and Tear believes that it can be extended to most of Lutah.

There is one other thing that Tear found during her investigation. She found that there is an abyssal being known as Zolotifa, blood daughter of Maumar. Zolotifa is a being capable of taking control over another being completely as if it was their own. It doesn’t matter who you are or how powerful you are, she can control you fully without any difficulty. She is believed to have a physical body, but she doesn’t need to show herself in order to fully take control over a being.

The one limit that Zolotifa has is that she can’t keep a full control over long periods of ti. The common belief is that things that are controlled by her build immunity the longer ti she is in control, that the power of the abyss alters the being to a point that it will kill the being that she is in control or that she grows bored controlling a single being after spending too much ti.

The sign that is commonly seen in Zolotifa’s possessions is that the eyes turn the darkest dark for those who have eyes. She can hide the eyes with illusions, but those that can see past them can see the effects of the possession.

What Tear could gather is that stories ant for children often tell that Zolotifa will control you and make you do even more bad things if you are being a bad kid. Rarely in those stories will Zolotifa kill the person she is possessing, but in those stories she will make the body she is in control over do cruel acts against other people. Sotis even resulting in killing others.

The reason why Zolotifa does all of this is unknown and the rumor of her being able to even control Maumar is sothing people can be heard talking from ti to ti. What is known is that she will ruin those who she has taken interest in without exception. This has brought up a belief that it is because of Zolotifa that Maumar is unable to reach the heavens.

Tear collected all of this in just two days with plenty more to share to her king.

The investigation that Tear made in the town of Lostwood was enough to make up her mind about the majority of people in the middle layer. The judgnt that Tear Ti had made is...

"I saw a young human boy around the age of 10 in one of the estates of the elves. There they dissected him alive, healed him, made him run laps, and did it all over again. So I took the boy and many others to Elysium. But I could do nothing to those who suffered that I didn’t find. They will continue to suffer. Day after day.

Treated less than animals... no... even objects had higher status compared to humans in those elven eyes. Heck, a fucking wooden fork had more value than thousands of humans lives according to those filthy elves.

The treatnt of humans, the cruelty of those in higher status. Most of them are beyond saving. I have made up my mind. May the rivers flow with their blood when the king makes his judgnt."

First judgnt: Tear Ti