SL: Chapter 760 – Day 28,328 (Part 2) – The Corner

The corner was where I had estimated. Two zones beyond the northern most zone. Two walls and one corner were down. I purchased a bunch of bright yellow paper and tossed out millions of sheets.

They went flying in every direction. Many of them were pressed up against the wall. They began to slowly break down. But that was fine. I just wanted a reference location as I moved away from the corner.

It was freaky looking at the pieces of floating yellow paper in the air. I launched a two million annihilation attack at the corner.  There was a large ball of blinding white light for a couple of seconds. The wind was disrupted as it was blasted outwards from annihilation attack and then pulled back towards it.

Turning back to look, the paper was gone, but there was no damage that I could see. No reaction from the Almighty System either. I went back to the corner and checked. I tossed out more sheets of yellow paper, and they moved in the same way as before. Air Burst.

There was nothing more to see in the corner except disappointment. Now I would check if there was anything hidden up here in this part of the Systemic Lands. Rest for a day and then go to the Southeast corner. Air Burst.

I would also have to let Clarissa know or one of her people. I had no doubt she would follow me about with her airship, ready to act if a situation occurred. Not that it mattered to me. Air Burst.

I began using my flying skill more rapidly, twice every second. I wanted to return quickly and there was no need to conserve energy now that I had found the corner. If it wasn’t damaged after spending 2 millions points worth of energy, then it wouldn’t be damaged from a bit more. Air Burst.

“Almighty System, you watching? You listening in?” I called out. Air Burst.

There was no response. I could only shake my head at the lack of a response. Perhaps I should have asked questions with my meta-point instead of strengthening myself, but without my current strength, none of this would have been possible. Air Burst.

A shame no one else wanted to make the sacrifice and ask questions. Meta points were far too uncommon unfortunately. It was hard to say if their spawn rate had dropped off, since they tended to be personal and earned alone. Air Burst.

Most people were smart enough to not brag about them. Also, there were grinding teams getting points. They would have a much smaller chance of getting a meta-point. Any zone that could be grinded for points level 3 and below was claimed. Most level 4 zones were claimed as well except the absolute worst. The Systemic Lands was heavily settled now. Air Burst.

But no one except Young Michael was grinding level 7 as far as Clarissa knew. That was a huge failure on the part of everyone else. I was disappointed there had been no one to rise up like I had. Air Burst.

In a way I missed the pressure of a peer opponent. Not enough to want them back, but that life or death pressure helped to push me. I had been expecting something for the longest time, which was a reason I had kept grinding. But nothing had showed up. Air Burst.

It was incredibly disappointing, the theme of this place. It wasn’t designed like a proper game despite the game aspects. If it really was a training facility, then I had crushed the leveling curve. At least I thought I had with the purchase of the Guidebook. Air Burst.

That seemed like the ending item and the towers seemed like a clear condition. But this place was busted and the Collective was nowhere to be found. Leaving me to my own devices and exploration. Air Burst.

Flying over the void was surprisingly tranquil. In the past it would have been a harrowing journey, now it was just a casual trip. I had become too strong for this place. At least my relentless grinding had paid off. Hopefully clearing this place and getting answers would be easier with my level of strength. Air Burst.

Nothing, more nothing. Still nothing. The Northeast corner was ‘L’ shaped, which made the journey back diagonally quite long. But I didn’t mind. If I was good at navigating with only the Light Source then I should reach the zone with the 40th tower. Or where the tower used to be. Air Burst.

I thought about leaving more than 4 towers, but it wasn’t worth the hassle or people wondering about them. I wasn’t going to give anyone else a chance to mess about with the votes. I am sure people all wondered where I was and what the voting was about. Air Burst.

But that was the punishment for being weak, a lack of answers and understanding about one’s situation. They were all helpless and I was the one with power. I was itching for a good fight as well. The level 10 monsters were annoying, but nothing I couldn’t defeat. Now a group of a thousand of them might prove a bit of a challenge. Air Burst.

The key word was, ‘might’. Hmm, time to test something else. I might as well get some more information, even if it made me very uncomfortable. Air Burst.

My speed didn’t decrease, but I allowed myself to slowly lose altitude. Letting me closer to the inky void beneath me. I let out lose with an annihilation blast. It was swallowed up by the blackness. I fired several more blasts. There was definitely some kind black liquid down there. Air Burst.

The level had been decreasing slightly over the decades. Enough to be noticeable. Not enough to be a concern or worrying. If it was fuel or something else, we had millennia left. Based on where the bedrock of this place was beneath the solid zones, we had an insane amount of whatever the stuff was left. Air Burst.

I guess the bedrock could be considered the floor. I hadn’t thought of it since it wasn’t like a wall. But it was insanely hard. There were floating pieces of the stuff in level 9 zones. It was far too durable. Even annihilation blasts didn’t do anything. Air Burst.

Not that I was going to bother digging down to the stuff in a regular zone. I had no doubt Clarissa had a deep research base somewhere, with some smart people testing the stuff. A waste of points, but that was her choice. Air Burst.

This place wouldn’t be solved with research, but with power and smashing things to answers. It was a brutish way, but it was the only option left. Like a zoo where all the zoo keepers were no longer present. We had to break free. Air Burst.

I had no idea what would happen if things failed or we reached a certain point in time. But I didn’t expect it to be anything good. Humans were fragile. We needed precise environmental conditions. While I could survive in a far greater range of environments thanks to my stats, the majority of people couldn’t. Air Burst.

While I would make decisions with my own judgement, that didn’t mean I wanted people to die. Ultimately, they were fellow humans. People of Earth and we were dealing with aliens. It was better to keep people alive if possible. If anything, they could be used as guinea pigs for whatever was needed. Air Burst.

I saw zones ahead of me. The obfuscation effect was annoying but another interesting piece of information. By itself it meant nothing. But knowing this was a training facility, it was probably meant to keep people separate from each other, or a byproduct of the energy. It was hard to say. Air Burst.

This was the zone with the tower I had cleared previously. I gained elevation and kept flying while adjusting my heading South and slightly West. There was enough time to get to Heaven, the city East of Purgatory before the end of the day. Air Burst.

Someone from Clarissa’s group would find me or she would be there herself. It didn’t matter that much to me. I wasn’t going to overly worry about her decisions. Flying diagonally to the next corner would take a long time. It would be 11 zones from my planned departure point that I would have to cross diagonally. Air Burst.

There was a level 6 zone jutting out directly South of Heaven. With how I knew the walls were placed, the corner should be 11 zones to the East and South. The South wall was in question, but there was a long peninsula on the Western side of the Systemic Lands. Air Burst.

If my guess was off, that would mean there could be something interesting along the South wall and I would to check things much more thoroughly. But I didn’t expect that to be the case. It was a shame there were no other lands with people. Air Burst.

While the risk of meeting someone that could match me was possible. It would be nice to have someone else to rely on. I had started alone and now I was going to finish alone. Flying over the zones as fast as I was, made me reflect on how far I had come. Air Burst.

As I began to cross over lower level zones. I saw people below me, grinding away on monsters. Some of them would occasionally spot me flying overhead and point upwards. It was amusing in a way. I didn’t travel about, so there weren’t stories of me flying about places. Air Burst.

Perhaps the portable store had made me too distant. But it was also too useful. Seeing the people below me, grinding monsters made me happy. Even without me, everyone had found a way to coexist. I had no doubt that Clarissa was making sure there was no Divine Empress situation or other nonsense, but it was nice to see things functioning. Air Burst.

I might be cruel and unrepentant, but I was the only one those people could count on. I had to succeed no matter what. The new arrivals who were scared and afraid. To the grizzled veterans fighting in level 6 zones. Even if they weren’t up to my standard, they were all my people. Air Burst.

It was us against the aliens and the monsters. That was what the Avatar was missing, her humanity. “Collective, you out there?” I called out. No response and I could only shake my head. I had tried in the past as well, but there was an ember of hope that someone or something would resolve things for me. Air Burst.

But it would never be that easy or simple. I noted a small airship in the distance, flying towards the East. Probably to some high level zone. The elite grinders going to work hard and earn some points. Air Burst.

We weren’t going to cross paths, but it was nice to see that people had come so far. I was not a steward like Clarissa. At best I might be a guardian. A bad guardian, but there was no one better for the job. I had killed the others who might have been here instead of me.

The only one with the determination to gain my strength had been the Divine Empress. But she was mentally damaged. Still, I thought fondly of her bravery and tenacity even after all this time. I would love to face her now, with my power. It would be interesting to see her reaction as she lost her head. While I might respect her memory, I would never show an enemy mercy. That lesson had been learned. Air Burst.