The Systemic Lands

Chapter 111: Day 249 – Petitions by the Populace

The entire text had been read aloud at the start of the morning. After that the entire text of the Constitution had been copied down ten times and laid out on ten different tables. The people weren’t allowed to touch the copies and guards were standing nearby to keep order. They were allowed to read the entire text and then come up before our group of 23 delegates to ask questions or request a change.

This would last the entire day with a vote planned for tomorrow morning followed by anyone who planned to run for President getting a chance to speak. The first election would be held on day 300, then day 1,000, and every 1,000 days after that.

Ken would remain in control for the next 50 days at the head of a transition government. He wanted to focus more on food development and take a step back from the stress of being in charge. Even with the restorations it looked like his hair was slowly turning white.

Candidates had to pay a large fee to be put on the ballot. There had been a couple of people, but I would let Clarissa do a write-up on each of them before I talked with each of them. Let the field settle first. If there was someone unacceptable, well they just wouldn’t get to run for office. I would use my unofficial veto.

As for this process, it was more for show, but also to reassure people that there were laws and Purgatory wouldn’t descend into barbarism. Give people in the Union confidence to make a home here and invest in the city.

The simple fact was nothing was going to be changed except a minor detail or two. After all the headache everyone and myself had gone through, it was good to finally be wrapping things up.

“Champion Michael.” I sipped some water provided. “The Immortal Council, it will have veto power over all laws?”

“Yes. In the interests of defending the city and preventing any stupidity, corruption, or other nonsense at the top levels of the government veto and investigatory power will be held by the Immortal Council.”

“But then who will watch the Immortal Council. There isn’t a system of checks and balances.” I mentally sighed. Still, it was important to answer these questions so people would understand the new culture and society that was forming here.

“The Immortal Council stands above all. The reality is that people with high stats and skills will soon form an elite class in addition to being the only line of defense for Purgatory. If these people are unhappy or betray the city, it would be devastating. That is why the city itself must invest in them without reservation.”

“But isn’t just a power grab from you? To better consolidate your power?” Yes, it was, but I couldn’t just say that. Could I? Better not.

“There is a reason it is called a Council. While Champion will chair it, and act as Supreme Commander of forces within Purgatory, they will not be involved in the day-to-day life of the city. Most of these people will be out exploring and killing monsters. Bringing back needed high level crystals so the city can grow and function.”

“Thank you for your answers.” The man left and woman stepped up. At least he didn’t keep trying to ask questions. This time she had questions for Ken about social services and requesting public health be provided. That wasn’t going to happen. Everyone got one free restoration on their arrival and that was it.

I suspected people were scamming things a bit and looked told Clarissa to make sure the numbers weren’t being fudged and people weren’t cheating the government. More money, more problems. That was the issue with asking for a massive pay raise, you get the work to go with it. Still, I wasn’t disappointed. It removed a lot of the headache I had to deal with and dumped it into Clarissa’s lap.

I thought about where to go grinding next. I rubbed my left arm. That wasn’t an easy question to answer. Perhaps to the East or South past Neo Brasilia. Both areas offered quite a bit of opportunity for finding a good level 3 monster to grind.

I would probably only spend 20 days out at a time or a bit less. I really wish I knew why Death came after me. A level 4 monster, insanity. If I could get that dusting skill or get that weapon. Now that would be something. Just poke and woosh, dust.

“Champion Michael.” Another question for me. “Have you proved people immortal?” What a stupid question, but I would answer it regardless.

“It is not confirmed but highly likely based on the stats, progression of various things, and the restorations the system store provides.”

“Shouldn’t an effort be made to include all people in that?”

“The simple fact is there aren’t enough crystals. If you want immortality, go out and kill monsters. It is Darwinism at its finest. Those who can thrive, will survive. Those who have given up or don’t contribute, there will be no handouts.”

“But isn’t that unfair?” Life was unfair. Giving people restorations when they arrived was already the limits of what I was willing to accept.

“The question has been answered, next person.” They were escorted away by the guards complaining to them. I had patience, but it was not unlimited. If only there was a way to lower the cost of stats. My next stat point cost 5,100 points.

While an increase of 5 every time the cost just kept going up and up. Where was the end? What would I be at the end? Was there an end? The scaling of this place was brutal and there was a clear divide between a level 3 and a level 4 monster. With the crystal points decreasing, from a factor of 10, to 9, to 8, and to 7, it was depressing.

That was probably the worse thing about the level 4 monster. Not its odd behavior, or entering the city, or insane power. It was the final confirmation on how crystals scaled. It was completely asinine and against all game logic. Almighty System, why do you do me dirty like this. If anything, the crystal counts should scale upwards exponentially to match the power of monsters, not peter out like a deflating balloon.

I beat Death once, so while I wouldn’t want to fight it again any time soon. I knew I could win. But what about a level 5 monster? Or level 4 monster that focused on pure speed? Then there was the issue of having to spread out my stats as a generalist.

Ben had over 500 stat points in Body, and he was incredibly overpowered. If I had a 1,000 stat points in Body, I could just crush everyone with my fist. My mind would probably be scrambled eggs, but still. I could be a body wizard, I cast fist and shout about youth all the time.

“Champion Michael. What do you know about the Systemic Lands and why we are here?” This is why there was a fee to ask questions at other events. To stop stupid questions like this. Still, I would take the opportunity for what it was.

“I know three things. The first is that the Almighty System controls this world and manages our very existence. Its power, range, and observation exist everywhere without exception.” Time to get my church going. Why did I need a church? The better question was, why not?

Religion and government went hand in hand, and I was not about to take control of things politically and let the spiritual aspect fall by the wayside. “Second, life is not valued here in the Systemic Lands. There is a constant resource shortage and a need for more and more crystals to upgrade this city. Only by the hard work of the men and women who brave the wilderness and fight monsters can anyone here survive. Never forget this.”

“Third and finally, one must never give up. It is easy to fall into despair. For while everything is set against us, the human spirit and determination will triumph. Let us march forward towards a brighter future.” That last point was complete fluff since I didn’t have a good third point. Still there was a round of applause and some cheering at that. At least my reputation was finally improving around this place.

Other people got questions and I looked at Clarissa next to me. “Perhaps we need opinion polling to gauge the mood of the populace,” I said.

“Maybe in the future, but it is limited utility for now,” she replied without missing a beat.

“Or perhaps we should hold a festival or something.”

“Maybe on day 1,000 a celebration will be in order.” She was deflecting the ideas I was trying to dump on her like a master. Let’s see how far I could push things.

“This place could use an orchestra or a theater troupe. Maybe a bard for entertainment and to pull the cart.”

“That would be considered charity and would need a special exception. As for a bard, Naran tells me you have a lovely singing voice. So, you are already covered.” Damn! She was on fire right now. I got out my notebook for a tactical retreat.

Time to think on some of the stats. The two big ones still outstand were Endurance and Aura. Endurance probably related to sleep and Absorption to food. It made some kind of abstract sense. I needed to check what people in other languages saw when they checked the store. I made a note to follow up on that.

If a word with a slightly different meaning was used, perhaps the impact of stats could be narrowed down. I wasn’t holding out hope. The Almighty System was quite stingy with information despite being able to download information directly into people’s heads.

That left Aura. The only thing that made sense was either skill power or skill resistance. I didn’t think it was power after all the monster killing, I had done with Acid Shot. I had been thinking about the cost of my restoration from Death dusting my arm.

It started at 250,000 points and crept upwards towards 300,000 points. I had been trying to work out the math, but there were just too many unknowns. Still, one other person had been completely dusted. The only difference between them and me were my stats.

Did Aura mitigate the damage and then Body tank the rest? If so, then I was insanely lucky to survive a single attack. Even one less stat point could have meant my death. I rubbed my left arm.

The problem with this place was that I didn’t want to test out damage values. Sure Death, just dust an arm and let me calculate up the restoration cost. Or let myself be melted by a slime. Finding out damage values was something I would need to discuss with Laura.

Perhaps keeping it at the upper echelons of the Union, or the soon to be Immortal Council. I liked the idea of more advanced knowledge being kept secret. It was a strategic advantage knowing how much damage one had to do. This could then be reversed onto monsters.

The one thing I still had no clue about, but knew existed was the elemental relationships and monster colors. The minor effect upgrade was a window into this. Still, I needed a lot more information and to see more monster types.

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