Thalion and his crew were on their way back to his base; it would only be a few hours until they arrived. Thalion was going over his plan. It was very risky, but well worth it if it succeeded.
Soon, after receiving the cuffs from Lucan, he would send out a ssage for everyone to assemble and then instruct them to give him all their credits. He didn’t have much choice.
Due to his high body-tempering, he could still fight beasts over twenty levels above him, but it was already getting harder, and he saw the fast progress the fighters on his ship were making. Michael and Garrick were both at level 68, which was near the limit of what he could handle.
This would only get worse over ti. When they reached E grade, and every level-up then provided more than double the experience of an F grade. In short, he would have no hope of fighting anyone.
If they kept up their current progress, Garrick and Michael would likely evolve to E grade within weeks, or maybe even sooner if they evolved instantly.
This was a question he needed to ask the system’s voice: how would it affect him? Would he even be able to keep his mythic rarity in his class if he evolved imdiately upon reaching level 80? Thalion was running out of ti and would grow more desperate with the passing ti.
He still had his body-tempering, but would it be enough for a mythic class? Thalion was growing desperate, and the only path that would allow him to be relevant in the future was the power the outsiders offered.
They all landed a few hours later at his base; he only had a short ti before nightfall. Most mbers went to the craftsn to deliver the crystals and beast corpses.
Thalion was handed the bottles of blood they had gathered over the past two days, and he could already feel the anticipation of the sanguine thorn.
“How many did you get?” Thalion asked Lucan as he entered the smithy.
“I got you close to three hundred. Man, I can tell you, that was exhausting,” Lucan sighed, exhausted from the hard work.
“Great! That should be enough, and don’t worry—after tomorrow, we can get to the good stuff,” Thalion smiled, not sharing his fear. If this plan fails, he might even die.
“Yeah, I heard you gathered close to two hundred of those powerful wind crystals. I am looking forward to building so legendary items, maybe even a mythic one,” Lucan said with a grin.
“ too, but before that, co along. It’s about to begin,” Thalion motioned for the smith to follow him as he exited the shop.
Next, he sent a ssage to Kaldrek, Maike, and the small family he had saved, instructing them to et him in his chambers. It was ti to reveal his plan.
“You want us to run around placing these cuffs on everyone who has joined this camp?” Maike asked in surprise and disbelief.
“Gather a few more helpers. The faster this goes, the better,” Thalion nodded, confirming that Maike was absolutly correct.
“Are you sure you know what you’re doing?” Kaldrek asked, looking worried. “Why do you even need so many credits?”
“I have so sort of a curse on , and I need an item to break it,” Thalion told them. It wasn’t the full truth, but it wasn’t too far off. Outsiders were forbidden, so best if no one knew.
“We’ll help you,” Sachiko said confidently and even bowed before him.
“Great! Then let’s get this show on the road,” Thalion said with a grin, fully embracing this absolute crazy situation.
This was the mont that would change his future. If he ssed up now, his journey to godhood could be over. Thalion took the master cuff to which all the other cuffs were bound and sent out a ssage for everyone to gather in half an hour at the open area in front of his building.
He didn’t have a gathering hall, but the space in front of his tower should be big enough to hold the 7,351 survivors who had joined his base for protection. The others had left to gather their friends to get this over with as quickly as possible.
If it worked, they would only need to lock the cuff around each person’s arm, and after the survivor accepted the enslavent, all their credits would be transferred to Thalion.
Afterward, they could open the cuff, which would automatically free the slave, and repeat the process. With this many cuffs, it shouldn’t take long to harvest all the credits.
Thalion sat down in ditation, preparing himself ntally while waiting for the survivors to gather. Michael and Garrick were helping organize everyone in the plaza, both still unsure who would be chosen to inherit the base after Thalion left for the higher stages. In 15 minutes, they had gathered everyone around the tall tower, which was Thalion’s ho.
“Do you think he’ll announce that you’ll get the base?” one of Michael’s most loyal followers asked hopefully.
“It must be! Why else would he gather everyone?” Michael nodded with confidence. He couldnt wait any longer to beco the leader of this base.
Michael looked to the side and saw Garrick watching the door with anticipation; he clearly thought the sa thing. Before anyone could say anything, the door opened, and Thalion stepped out, radiating power.
He was still wearing his mask and slowly levitated a few ters into the air before speaking, his voice vibrating throughout the whole camp.
“Greetings, everyone! I have been inford that our chances of surviving the tutorial have dropped significantly,” Thalion began, his voice full of power and unbounded conviction.
“After the special quest is concluded, a being will appear strong enough to slay every single one of us without much effort,” Thalion announced with a loud voice emplefied by mana.
Many people still didn’t know what it would an when Ankhet ca back to life, so he wanted to use that to his advantage.
“But I have found a solution—a way for everyone to survive,” Thalion lied. He didn't like it, but with this story he saw his best chances of everyone giving him their credits.
“An item of such imnse power that it can slay Ankhet,” Thalion continued, “but I will need everyone’s credits to afford it. With the help of our greatest craftsman, we have found a way to transfer your credits to .
This is our only way to survive the coming months. If you do not submit your credits, it is an attack on every one of us,” Thalion concluded in a sinister tone. He didn't like that part either, but it was necessary to apply the pressure so no one would dare to just walk away.
Thalion motioned for Lucan and the others to start, who were standing at his side. He saw the shock on most people’s faces: so who hadn’t known about Ankhet, and others who couldn’t believe they had to give up all their credits.
If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.
Garrick and Michael looked sick, but so far, no one had spoken up. So flickered out of existence, probably teleporting to the next stage, but most just gave in. After a few minutes, Garrick offered his help, and soon after that, Michael joined as well, not wanting to lose to his rival. Both were talking about how important it was to give all the credits if it provided a way to defeat Ankhet.
Thalion didn’t need his title to know that many people disliked him at that mont, but as long as it worked, it would be fine. Thalion watched in disbelief as his credit score rose. He was now at over eighty million credits, and they still had more than half the people left. So tried to sneak away, but Kaldrek’s n were on the lookout and quickly caught the survivors, taking their credits first.
“I don’t like this either. Believe , this item will most likely just kill when I use it,” Thalion said with a mana-infused voice to calm the people. It wasn’t far from the truth, as the ritual to summon an outsider had the potential to kill him. A few gasped in surprise at his words, and an hour later, it was over.
“Thank you for your noble contributions. In the past days, we have gathered many strong materials, and the craftsn will gladly assist you with a weapon or armor,” Thalion finished and entered his tower again.
The people were shocked; they had lost every single credit they had gathered this week.
“This is bullshit,” one heavy warrior shouted after Thalion had left.
“Didn’t you hear? He’ll die using the item to save our lives,” another man replied.
Such discussions took place repeatedly as the crowd dispersed. Michael stared in disbelief at his status screen; all of his 200,000 credits were gone, and he had nothing to show for it.
He considered killing the man but thought better of it. Thalion could just shift to the next stage, and Michael wasn’t confident in taking him on alone. The power Thalion displayed was impressive for his level.
Michael was close to level 70 and wasn’t fully confident in taking Thalion down; with a bit of help, he was sure that Thalion would stand no chance. Perhaps it was ti for an alliance, Michael thought as he glanced over at his rival Garrick, who seed to have similar thoughts.
User Comments
0 comments from readers