SL: Chapter 753 – Day 28,214 (Part 2) – Embarrassment

“Well, I should probably not mention your major screwup,” Clarissa said.

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” I replied.

“Hmmm. If you say so. Upgrading a city rapidly to create two overlapping monster attacks and not even dealing with them?” she asked. Someone purchasing all the upgrades possible at once allowed me to bypass any lockout the Almighty System had in place for the store.

“I didn’t think about it. And we agreed to not mention that,” I said.

“Well, your ten billion point donation was appreciated for cleaning up that mess. You are lucky Purgatory is still standing. If I didn’t know better, I would think you were trying to destroy this place,” Clarissa said. She had to intervene herself in that screw up and didn’t let me forget it.

“Fine, Supreme All Knowing Leader Clarissa. What do you request of me?” I asked.

“You help is enough. Now that you have made a reappearance, my position is even more solid. While you might enjoy hiding away at the edge of the Systemic Lands, I am involved in managing things,” she said.

“Like the tension between Purgatory and Ascension?” I asked.

“Yes. I can move freely anywhere in the Systemic Lands, thanks to my influence, but some people needed reminding and your desire to purchase the ranking list was perfectly timed,” she replied.

A waiter brought out fresh desserts and then rushed off. “How much trouble will that cause?” I asked about the deaths.

“A lot, but none that you need to worry about. I will handle everything. You just be you,” Clarissa said. That was easy enough as I enjoyed my dessert. We finished and then made our way out of the building.

At the bottom of the restaurant there was a nervous Jean Paul and a group of guards in uniforms. “Miss Clarissa, you and your companion are requested to come in for questioning on a fight that occurred at the Golden Duck up above,” the leader of the guards said.

“No. That sounds boring and tedious. You will ask questions, I will make threats, then you will hesitate to believe them, then I will kill a bunch of people and threaten everyone. Let’s just skip to that part. They threatened me and I responded. Are you threatening me?” I asked and tilted my head to the side. The guards looked a lot more nervous at that.

“We need to confirm your identity. The inner city is off limits unless you have a travel pass that is proof of your identity. As for the fight, we just need to ask you and Miss Clarissa about what occurred,” the guard said.

“You are annoying. If you say another word to me about questioning and identity, then I will give you the proof you want by instantly removing your head from your body,” I calmly replied.

“I-“

He didn’t say anything else as there was a brief flash of light. His head slid off his neck and his body collapsed. “I am Michael, Emperor of Purgatory. The one who stands at the top of the Systemic Lands. The one who has slain the Ritualist, Divine Empress, Astrologer, Monster, Bastard Disciple, and the Sphere. The one who saved the Almighty System itself from the third calamity. The one who possesses combat level 10.”

No one even dared to breathe. Jean Peal instantly knelt on the ground with both knees and pressed his head to the ground. The guards all backed away. The few people watching all paled at my declaration. “My decades of constantly grinding has left me with little patience. Now where are we going next Clarissa?” I asked.

“Monster tournaments are popular. There is one this evening,” she said and I nodded at that.

“Then let us attend. It will be interesting how their skill compares to my old friend,” I replied as we left the smoking corpse behind. “A shame that the guard didn’t realize the enormity of who stood before him. Stupidity is truly endless.”

“You are someone that the rules aren’t capable of handling,” Clarissa said.

“Whatever. Let’s see some monsters fighting,” I replied. We made our way to Coliseum. Clarissa paid for two prime viewing box seats near the middle of the arena.

The crowd was excited, but I noticed more and more looks sent in my direction and whispers. “Do you think there will be a riot?” I asked Clarissa.

“Probably not. But there might be someone who is foolish,” she replied, and I shook my head. The door to our viewing area burst open. Clearly Clarissa was turning into a seer or she just had a good understanding of the nonsense that was human nature.

“Emperor Michael, I am your son!” I looked at the man who had burst in. He looked nothing like me. He rushed forward to stand in front of me while I remained sitting. “I have returned after years-“

I stood up and removed both his arms while slamming my palm into his chest. He went flying into the arena while his arms went away from his torso flying out into the arena as well. The timing on that had been difficult, but I had gotten it just right. The arms were separated and still maintained some momentum, but went flying away from the man’s body.

I sat back down. That took less than a second. The man was screaming in the arena. The announcer who was bringing out the first round of monsters was hesitating. “Get on with it,” I shouted loudly using energy vibrations to create sound energy and convey my words across the arena.

The monsters were let in and the disarmed man died horribly in the middle of their clash to the half cheers of the crowd. “Is this enough showing off?” I asked Clarissa after the third monster match.

“Until the end. Then we can leave,” she replied, and I let out a sigh. I screw up one time and Clarissa was never going to let me forget it. It was a big screwup, but it had been a long time since it had occurred. But she would never let me forget. It made me smile slightly in amusement.

I knew she was picking on me to remind me that I still had connections to this place, to humanity.

There was a knock on our door. “Come in,” Clarissa called out. While she had guards, they were noticeably absent. She was using me for protection and as a bludgeon.

“Emperor Michael,” Father John entered and greeted me. I actually stood up and turned to face the man. He held out his hand to shake. I gave him a small head bow. I wasn’t going to shake anyone’s hand. That was the proper etiquette when there were touch skills out there. He bowed deeply back.

“I see you have managed things well,” I said.

“Clarissa has helped quite a bit,” he replied. “How have you been?” he asked as we both took a seat. Clarissa was on my right with Father John on my left.

“Grinding. Just grinding high level monsters,” I replied.

“For years?” he asked.

“Yes. I am combat level 10 now. Even if fighting such monsters is incredibly annoying,” I replied.

“I see. You are far beyond anyone else then,” he replied.

“Yes. Clarissa wanted me here to make a point. I don’t what that point is and I don’t care.”

“There is a throne if you wish to take it up. I am just the First Steward of Purgatory,” Father John said.

“You can keep the post with my blessing. You seem to be running things well enough. There is no need to set aside taxes or anything else for me. I earn more in a single day than your entire Empire does,” I replied.

“That…that is quite a bit,” he replied.

“Ten billion,” I casually stated and he went silent. It was to impress on him the very large gap that existed between me and everyone else. There was no room to play tricks or target me. I was so far beyond everyone else, that it would take everyone uniting and a lot of luck to actually kill me. And there wasn’t any luck here in the Systemic Lands.

“May I ask what are your current plans?” Father John asked as the monsters kept fighting each other to the anemic cheers of the crowd. Most of them were watching Father John and myself.

“To get answers that I can. I don’t care for titles, honors, or politics. I only care for knowledge and power. And this Empire has neither,” I answered.

“Thank you for not killing everyone,” he replied. He understood the current situation very well. Father John was a very smart man. Not pissing me off might not seem like a high bar, but for many it was insurmountable.

He knew that I could wipe out this entire city and government with but a thought and a tiny bit of effort. He knew how powerful I was before, but now I was even more powerful. Grinding for decades would leave that impression on people.

“This city is nice. Happy. You are doing well helping people live,” I said.

“I do my best. The population issue is a huge hassle, but the food plans Clarissa delivered were a godsend. While we spend points like crazy, we are trying to keep things stable,” he replied.

“You did far better than me. I could only think of a conflict zone back in the day. Have my people fight against other people in a battle royale area in the middle of the Systemic Lands.”

“It isn’t perfect, but we are managing. Um, I know others will ask this, but have you made any progress to figuring out the System behind this place or if we can go home?” Father John asked.

“Give up all hope in that regard. As for answers, I plan to go out and seek them myself. The Systemic Lands still has some unexplored corners I plan to check out.” Literally the corners. I planned to check each one and make sure there was nothing tucked away there. Like some kind of maintenance portal or some other nonsense like that.

“You are welcome to stay as long as you wish and no one else will bother you. If they do, feel free to deal with them as you see fit,” Father John said.

“I am curious, why did that man think he was my son?” I knew I would regret asking, but I was a bit curious.

“Some of the top grinders have heard that you have a son, also named Michael in another city. He is known. And well, some other people have tried claiming such a thing themselves,” Father John said.

“Why?” I asked.

“Why do crazy people do crazy things? Only God knows,” he said.

“Well, if any of them wish to make such claims, they are welcome to stand before me, and I will judge them. Otherwise tell them to shut up. It is annoying. Young Michael is a good friend, and he has been around for a long time. One of my few friends.”

“We have a policy of not bothering him or others you might know. Doctor Katz and Michelle,” he said and I nodded at that.

“Let them live their lives in peace. I am more than enough for whatever might come. They have earned their respite from my presence. I bring nothing but pain and suffering,” I muttered the last part and Father John didn’t respond to it.