SL: Chapter 745 – Day 6,512 – Heavy Is The Mantle Of Responsibility

“Oh, they have an airship port already,” I replied looking at Purgatory. There were no docked airships, but the tall tower jutting above all the other buildings near the plaza was unmistakable. That brought back memories, of leaping off the tower and fighting the Ritualist. Naran had been a good teammate. I looked at Young Michael’s back, I had another good teammate.

“Shall I dock?” he asked.

“Yes. Since they built a place to dock, we will be polite. No need to make a huge fuss. Unloading and restocking will be a bit annoying,” I replied.

“A longer walk,” Young Michael said. While we could have gone to another city, I liked returning to Purgatory. At least the people here knew about me and my power. I also had a sentimental attachment to this place. While it wasn’t home anymore, it was like a vacation destination. I enjoyed coming here occasionally and enjoying my time away from the grind.

“At least the place looks prosperous, with a clear line to the store and colored buildings,” I said as we flew over the plaza. Everyone was looking up at the airship.

“If there wasn’t any color, it would be way too dull,” Young Michael said as he maneuvered the airship next to the tower. We were soon in place and I made my way out onto the top of the tower. It was a basic airship port, just one level at the top.

“Welcome, Emperor Michael,” a guard said while saluting. The other nearby guards quickly came to attention as well.

“Hmm, Father John?” I asked.

“Your arrival is unexpected. He is currently touring other cities at the moment. If you wish, I can dispatch a runner to recall him,” the guard said.

“No. We will be here for two nights. We need to unload crystals and restock up on supplies,” I said.

“We have a handcart and porters to assist you if you desire,” the guard said.

“Alright, Young Michael, you watch the airship while I supervise the unloading. Then you can handle your share and the restocking. Then you are free,” I told my teammate who nodded. Things went smoothly as chests of crystals were moved from the tower to the plaza and then to the store, where I claimed my points.

I was only able to get 25,000 base stat points all of which went into Regeneration, bringing it up to 1,350,000 after my two meta-points. That should bring my energy regeneration up to 13,500 per minute or 225 per second. The boost to my Regeneration stat increased the energy regeneration by 2,250 per minute. It was a decent boost, but nowhere near enough. I needed over 1,000 per second, which meant over 60,000 per minute. Still every bit helped and would only increase my grinding speed going forward.  

I didn’t have to pay taxes of course. If they had tried that, I would have melted them. At least this Father John seemed to have a good handle on things. There was no trash in the plaza and there were several businesses that were operating.

Purgatory was building back up. While it might not reach its former glory without me present, it was nice to see the place coming back to life. I did pause at the store and hesitated for a moment. I then paid 110 million points to upgrade it from tier 4 to tier 6. The Rod of Control was already purchased, but I wasn’t about it being upgraded and gaining a vote. I had way too big an advantage regarding the votes to be worried about being overtaken in that regard.

If a city didn’t want to give their vote to me after getting one, then we would have a conversation about if they preferred living or letting me have their vote. I had no doubt that while most people would make the smart choice when the time came, others would cause trouble. The stupidity of humanity was a truly unlimited resource.

Now Young Michael could buy some mystery meat and sugar. Now that was the most important crystal in the Systemic Lands, not the point crystals, but sugar crystals. Perhaps there would be some dessert stores the next time I came back to Purgatory. I could only hope so.

There was a bit of commotion as people realized the store had been upgraded. I got a lot of looks, until the guard escorting spoke up. “Emperor Michael did you upgrade the store?” he asked.

“Hmm, yes. Consider that my contribution for the tax of this place. A small amount of 110 million points is pocket change for me,” I explained. It really was pocket change, since I could earn ten times that in a single day.

“Thank you,” the guard said, but I ignored the thanks and began looking about the plaza at the various stores. There was no Gray Duck. Now that had been an amazing restaurant, the premier restaurant of Purgatory. A shame it had been wiped out. Now there was the Golden Goose.

Really? Golden Goose, that was much more pretentious. But time to see if they lived up to their name. I made my way to the restaurant.

“Wel….welcome. How many?” the host asked.

“One. Bring me everything on the menu and some fruit juice,” I ordered as I walked over to an empty table and sat down.

“Of course, right away. Are you sure you don’t want a private room,” the host said. My escort stood awkwardly off to one side of the restaurant, while the other guests looked at me nervously.

“I sit where I choose to sit. Why aren’t you taking care of my order?” I demanded.

“Of course! Sorry for the inconvenience,” the host said. A server quickly brought me a glass of fruit juice. It as alright, nothing impressive. Soon the food began to be brought out. I began to sample a couple of bites from each dish.

They were alright, but nothing impressive. The selection was also a bit lacking. No meat or white bread. Clarissa really did bring the culinary world to life to fund her side projects. She needed to get on that again, so I could have better food to eat.

“Is everything to your liking?” the host came back over and asked as I pushed the last dish away.

“It was alright. Not that impressed. Keep the change,” I said and put a level 6 crystal on the table. That was worth 151,200 points, which should more than cover the meal. It was hard keeping track of how much everything should be worth. I just didn’t have anything smaller and didn’t care for change.

I left the Golden Goose and began looking at the other stores. One was selling posters and action figures. Many of them matched my likeness. I entered the store. “Hello, how…Emperor Michael! Are you really him?” the shopkeeper asked with a big smile.

“Yes. Selling my appearance?” I asked lightly.

“Of course. Since you incredibly famous. To spread the glory of your name across this place. No one wants other action figures or posters, only those that look like you,” the shopkeeper said.

“Bold of you do that without my permission,” I replied.

“Ah…sorry?” he said.

“Hmm, they are quite good. How much do you charge?” I asked.

“It is 2,000 points for the basic action figure and 5,000 points for the cloth poster,” he answered.

“Interesting,” I replied and left. The shopkeeper was bowing and thanking me more my mercy, but I didn’t care that much. What could I squeeze out of a small shopkeeper like that? It would be a joke asking for points from him. If I needed to that, then I might as well kill myself in pure embarrassment.

The other stores were similarly disappointing. They were interesting for a couple of seconds, but that was it. There was nothing I hadn’t seen before or expected. There was even red light district with several women and men offering their services. I avoided the place. I would probably rip a partner apart.

Young Michael was lucky he had avoided any accidents so far. But he was practicing precise energy control quite a bit. So, one could even call it training to properly control his strength and movement. I made my way back to the tower and took a seat on the edge, letting my legs dangle over the side, while looking out at the plaza as the light source disappeared behind the horizon.

The guards accompanying me, just stayed in the background, not doing anything. I wonder when they would break or switch out, but that was only a minor detail I wasn’t worried about. I was thinking long term. All these people, while they weren’t my people, they were people.

As the strongest human in the Systemic Lands, did that make me responsible? I had never considered that question before. I had been Emperor, but that was about taxes and maintaining my personal power. That wasn’t about humanity itself. Now that I was the defacto person in charge, it was a heavy question.

While lives were cheap, humanity wasn’t cheap. I didn’t like thinking too much about Earth or why everyone was brought here. While it was a common topic of conversation, I didn’t like it as much nowadays, especially after the voting disaster. I felt more worried than ever before. Even if I survived, what would I be without anyone else? An Emperor of one? An Emperor of none?

Other people might look up to me and be trying to catch up, but now that I stood at the top so far away from everyone else, I had to worry about the bigger picture. It didn’t escape my notice, that I was sitting on top of a tower, judging others, thinking how much I was above them, but it was fact.

I joked about the title of demi-god, but I really was the protector of everyone. My strength didn’t just represent my chances of survival, but the chances of everyone else. All these people depended on me even if they didn’t know it.

That was the mantle of responsibility I now wore as the strongest. Clarissa might be capable, but in direct combat, she was useless. In terms of scheming and plotting, no one better. But she had less chance than a snowball in a volcano against a powerful threat. Schemes could only go so far against absolute power. At best it would be a battle of attrition, where a single mistake on her part would be the end.

I had to keep grinding and becoming stronger. Not just for me, but for everyone. It was weird, when I was weak, I was selfish and worried. Now that I was strong, I was generous and easy going. It was a nice change to be able to sit here and relax, without worrying about the immediate future.

The peace that I had fought more had finally arrived. I took a deep breath as the light source dipped behind the horizon. It was nighttime, but I planned to sit out here tonight. While I needed less sleep with my stats, I rarely took advantage of this, preferring to maintain a more natural schedule.

Sleeping was a good way to relax the mind from the stress of grinding. Trying to squeeze out every minute, would wear me out long term. But tonight, I would sit here and think about everything and if there was anything I was missing.

The communication orb Clarissa had given shook.