SL: Chapter 748 – Viewpoint 65 – Day 6,517

Clarissa

I looked at my maps of the Systemic Lands. Michael had left yesterday morning. It had been a nice meeting and it appeared he had moved past the death of his mother. Healing from something like that was never simple and the main cure was time.

Moving a marker that indicated him, I placed it on his grinding spot. It was important to be aware of he was. He hadn’t given up, which was important.

“Supreme Leader Clarissa, new information from Purgatory. They are looking at military expansion,” an aide brought me a decoded message. Even with our secure information channels, there were still codes both for the information and the timing to confirm it was authentic.

I was no military leader, but I had picked up a few tricks over the years. I took the message and looked it over. “Update the main map and file it away. No change to Purgatory’s status or operations in that area,” I ordered. My aide bowed and quickly got to work. Everyone else on the airship was working quietly and efficiently.

Standing up, I made my way up to the top deck as my two guards stayed next to me. While it seemed silly need to protection on my own airship, I was taking no chances. I knew what the sword did to Michael at super long range. I was going to survive no matter what. The wind whipped past us as we moved to a key location for a grinding cluster.

I had high level grinders cluster for resupply and information, so they didn’t have to go back to cities. While knowledge of my portable store would spread, that would only increase the value in the eyes of these elites. Eventually one would get one and I could trade it to Michael for a hundred billion points. Those points were worth a lot to me instead of another portable store.

Without taxes I needed another way to increase my strength. The food businesses would take time to improve and take off. There needed to be a market for food products first, which meant people grinding in level 4 zones. It would take time, but eventually things would recover. Everyone wanted good food.

The challenge was moving all those points towards me. Reinvesting into my people out in the field was the best option and looking to sell Michael a portable store. What he would pay for information and other help was far beyond what I could get from other people our my businesses. Maybe much farther in the future I would look to get some points back from my investments, but I wasn’t counting on them.

Looking out over the landscape below as the airship flew along gave me a sense of comfort. I was mobile and safe. Well not perfectly safe, but being mobile was a huge improvement to prevent me from being targeted. I didn’t fear Michael. I knew how he thought. In fact I might know him better than he knew himself.

There was no concern in my mind that he would target me unless I went after him first. I had plans in case there was a powerful target, but if he couldn’t beat whatever it was, then I doubted I would succeed. He kept speeding further ahead in terms of power, especially after the second meta-point.

There was a bell that was rung loudly. We would soon be turning and the flying monsters behind us taken out as we slowed down. I made my way back inside to my command center. There were people monitoring and communicating with my forces all across the Systemic Lands. While they weren’t always doing something, they were on call during the day.

I had a night watch as well of course. But I preferred to keep communications around noon, since that was a clear time, everyone understood. Regardless, my team of workers needed to plan out grinding locations, pass along information, track the movements of the cities’ grinding teams, and coordinate skill gain. I needed to keep my people ahead of the wave of fresh people spreading out throughout the Systemic Lands from their cities.

The conflicts that broke out and infighting would slow them down more. Once my forces were grinding in level 5 zones, they would be solidly emplaced with no easy way for a city to target or remove them. I was the support hub for teams of grinders out there in the wilderness. In exchange for that support, they kept us informed, paid a reasonable fee, and listened to instructions given.

Trying to control them too much or take points away would only build future resentment. I wanted people who were loyal to the system I was setting up and in charge of. Michael had quality locked down, but I would have quantity. Despite his immense power, he was only a single individual and could be worn down in a variety of ways.

There would be some minor attrition due to stupidity and people leaving my system, but in time most would get used to the help they were given. I would need to manage them carefully, but after Michael I was a grandmaster in handling difficult personalities.

I heard my people using skills. No cannons, since cannons cost points. While I wasn’t poor, I wasn’t going to waste points if I could help it. People would recharge in energy, like mobile cannons. And we hadn’t flown that high to avoid the worst of the high-level flying monsters.

“Supreme Leader, we will arrive at the destination in the next hour,” one of the flight crew came to tell me. I nodded and dismissed them. While I could have taken up another title, I liked Supreme Leader. It had a certain gravitates around it.

The big challenge would be increasing the number of grinding teams without compromising our operational tempo. A second airship would be useful, but without a portable store it wasn’t possible. While I was going to give or sell the second one that was requested with a meta-point to Michael, the third one would help me expand my operations.

There were only so many supplies people could take with them. Anything longer than 100 days was a difficult. Perhaps I could make supply depots like hidden paces and restock them. People could come back and resupply. But that wouldn’t solve the issue of turning crystals into points and purchasing stats. The only answer was another portable store.

A shame that I didn’t devote the entire Empire of Purgatory to purchase one in its waning days. If I had known everything would collapse and then be destroyed, I could have been much more ruthless in extracting all possible points. Labeling it as some kind of emergency measure, it would have been highly lucrative. But that was the past, the only option was to keep looking forward.

My guards would secure the area and check everyone against the list of grinders who were supposed to be here as well as confirming pass codes to make sure they weren’t duress. There would be sweeps of the area and the portable store was put into rapid use. Everyone got five minutes and was told to have what they wanted to do with it in mind ahead of time.

Each person would contribute a set fee. No percentage was being taken. So, if they were able to grind more then they would get stronger. The amount was enough to cover my operational expenses, but it would not allow my personal guards and people to become stronger.

Once everything was purchased, we would host a large dinner, and I would come out to talk to everyone and we would share information. If there were personality conflicts, I would move people to another grinding zone and have them start there. We would depart after the dinner, even when it had gotten dark, since I wouldn’t remain in one position for a long time if I could help it. The risk was too high.

“The compiled information for this region,” one of my aides handed me an information sheet which I looked over and compared to the master map. The colored tokens were made of heavy metal so they wouldn’t easily shift and there were railings on the map table.

Once a day a quick copy was recorded on a piece of paper for our records. Also, in case we needed to engage in combat maneuvers and the positioning of everything was disturbed. While being based out of an airship was quite nice for mobility it brought along other problems.

Having a long term outpost might be useful, but it would reveal the location we were meeting at and making setting up a trap easier. Once more income started coming in, I would arrange for backup bases across the Systemic Lands and in the cities.

One loop every 60 days around the Systemic Lands was doable while leaving 40 days for other affairs. Tomorrow I would be meeting with another grinding group. My agents in the various cities had done a good job finding capable people who wanted to join up with my organization to get ahead. I knew there would be people eying my position, but if someone was eying my position I would bring them along to meet with Michael.

That would keep any ambitions in check. While I let these people know I had a powerful backer who was able to grind against level 7 monsters, it was one thing to be told this another to see someone that powerful. I didn’t expect things to reach that point, with how light I kept my control over these grinders.

People grinding up points weren’t the issue. It was crazy things from outside this place, the System itself, and those who got invested into politics that were the problem. I planned to keep a light touch going forward, until my position was just assumed and looked as natural. The best and most compliant of individuals I would help progress quicker. Better grinding zones and better skill combinations.

All that information was the foundation of the Empire of Purgatory and I had kept a copy despite everything that happened. While Michael didn’t care that much about such things, it was the perfect leverage I needed to get my organization off to a strong start. In the future all the grinders would be under control, and the best would work directly for me.

It was honestly ridiculous that I had to help Michael fight that Sphere. I wasn’t a fighter. If I had to fight, something had gone terribly wrong. I was an administrator. It was nice being the sole person in charge without having to worry about Michael and his oversight. It was positively relaxing in comparison. No risk of being melted or having to rip my eyes out as an apology.

Now I would build a foundation that could survive whatever happened in the future. That was why I wanted an army of disposable combatants to put between me and whatever threat showed up next time.