SL: Chapter 738 – Day 6,139 (Part 2) – Gathering

I was sitting at the opposite end of a rectangular table, opposite Father John. Young Michael sat on my right and there were five other people sitting at the table. Four men and one woman. “First, let me say welcome to our guests. Emperor Michael, and Young Michael. To new friends,” Father John said and brought up his cup. We all drank. Food was brought out and served on individual plates.

“Any advice for fighting the monsters?” one of the men asked. I didn’t care enough to remember their names when they had been introduced.

“There is a leap in difficulty every 3 levels. A level 4 monster is much more difficult. Their combat abilities vary much more. When you face a boss monster you will understand,” I replied.

“What about stats. We have unlocked some new stats in the store. Are some better than others?” another man asked.

“Body, Mind, Spirit, Perception, and Regeneration are probably the more useful stats. But they all serve their purpose. Melee fighting will struggle once you start facing higher level monsters. Ultimately skills are the best option moving forward. But then you need more stats to have the energy to use those skills. It is a never ending struggle to get more stats to kill more monsters, even for me,” I replied.

“What exactly happened? Why did everyone die?” the woman asked.

“A calamity from a sphere. It twisted the energy of the Almighty System and killed quite a large number of people. With some help, I entered the rainbow dimension and defeated the sphere,” I replied.

“Rainbow dimension?” the woman asked.

“There is a surprising depth to this place. All of you have only touched the surface of the Systemic Lands. I am not about to hand hold you. Learning to deal with things through critical thinking is just as important as other skills,” I explained.

“Is there a way home?” one man asked, and everyone stilled at that question while listening more intently.

“I would give up any thought of getting home to Earth or leaving this place. The exits I have found, only lead to death. The rainbow dimension has no air, and the supposed exit portal has monsters beyond comprehension, literally. No, this is our future for all intents and purposes,” I replied. I focused on my food while quiet settled over the table.

“What about you, Young Michael. What are your thoughts?” one man asked.

“Most of you will probably die eventually. Only the strong survive. That is a rule of this place. There is no one stronger than Emperor Michael,” he said. Everyone looked back at me.

“Hmmm, I would like to think so, but hubris has a way to knocking a person down. But in terms of other people, I am not worried.” My mind went to the ranking offered through voting. That would be a better investment than a portable store. To know what threats still remained out there and to gather more information.

A trillion points might have seemed like a lot before, but with the tower grinding strategy, it was no longer out of reach. A trillion points, didn’t seem impossible. If I could find a higher level tower and kill level 8 or level 9 flying monsters, boosting my grinding speed to over 10 billion a day, it would only take a 100 days to get a trillion points.

The towers were still the answer. I enjoyed my meal while Young Michael held the conversation as these people asked basic questions. Basic for us, but incredibly useful for them. What skills were the best? How did skills interact with each other? Young Michael had looked at me and I had shook my head. While we would answer basic questions, I wasn’t about to let them take all the hard work I had accumulated. If they wanted more than basic information, then they would have to pay.

While it might seem cruel, these people hadn’t progressed far enough to worry about such things. And it would be interesting to see what they came up with, without my interference. Would the reaction chart for energy still be the same? I didn’t think things would change, but it would be interesting to see how things developed with a more hands off approach.

And they were getting far more information than they would have otherwise. “Emperor Michael, what do you think is the best governance model?” I was dragged back into the conversation.

“How do you run things?” I asked.

“Father John manages the city while us combat leaders rotate back for rest and to keep things stable,” the man who had asked me replied.

“That is a good strategy. But one very strong person is worth several weaker people. Numbers have less impact than you would think. Also, the more you grind, the less you will want your work taxed.” There were nods at this statement. However, a city needs a tax to survive. I would suggest creating a strict class system between leaders and those who aren’t leaders. A higher tax rate for anyone grinding in level 1 to 3 zones and a heavily reduced or no tax rate for anyone grinding in a level 4 zone or higher,” I explained.

“That would reduce our funds,” Father John said, and I shook my head.

“You want people with a high level of combat power to support you and have your back. The city would act as a place for them to recover and support. Also, once you have teams regularly clearing all the zones up to level 3, the income will be quite large, even with a small tax rate. But once someone can grind in a level 4 zone, they can go to other cities. So, unless you take everything over, a tax will push people away,” I explained.

“Why level 4, why not level 3?” one of the men asked.

“That is the first big difference in combat ability. The monsters jump in difficulty as well as the terrain itself. Anyone who can grind in a level 4 zone is serious about getting stronger. Even in my time, the number of people who could grind in a level 4 zone was quite small. It is difficult to become that strong. While grinding monsters for points might seem slow now, when you do it for decades, it wears on you. If you can get to level 4 monsters, then you will keep pushing to get stronger. That kind of mindset deserves to be respected,” I explained.

“Thank you for explaining,” Father John said.

“When I say I am combat level 8, you might have some idea of the horror that represents, but it is doubtful. That is also why I am not getting involved more with this city or its governance. Hopefully, in time, there will be individuals who climb their way up to speak with me on a more equal basis,” I said and Young Michael let out a snort at that. Everyone looked at him.

“No one is catching up with you. You shouldn’t give them false hope,” Young Michael said.

“True but pointing that out is a bit rude. I would prefer there are more capable people. I don’t want to crush their hopes,” I replied.

“It is better they don’t get any ideas. I am a high combat level 6 and you are so far beyond me, I don’t think I will ever catch up. The problem is that you spend most of your time grinding. These people, they take time off. Over a 100 days of grinding and only take 5 days off for traveling, and they said they have a 40 day rotational system. A quarter of their time is spent resting.”

There was silence at Young Michael’s critique. “Not everyone has the mentality for grinding constantly.”

“That is why they are weak. Mentality is far more important than any stat. You taught me that.” I nodded at this statement.

“A hundred days?” one of the men asked with a touch of nervousness.

“Yes. I was a bit weak this time and didn’t go until my supplies ran out. But that is the kind of thinking one needs. Somewhere out there, in the other cities, there are people like me, who will grind, and grind. They will get stronger more quickly than all of you. When that happens, eventually there will be an insurmountable difference in combat level,” I explained.

That was the tough part. Human mentality was not meant for this place. People wanted to relax, take time off. Grinding constantly, fighting monsters, was seen as a struggle, not as a necessity for survival. I didn’t mention, but how many points they earned per day mattered. They could be looking to increase that number however possible.

But it would be like telling someone to exercise. It was easy to say, very difficult to accomplish when someone didn’t have the right mentality. Young Michael was right to look down on these people. They were soft, but I didn’t care enough to point it out.

While it was rude, it was better he said something rather than me. At least these people should hopefully begin to understand the threat they were under. Father John was too good. That was the problem. He had created an environment of peace in Purgatory, not one of competition. While it created a stable environment, the people here lacked the sense of urgency they desperately needed to cultivate.

I had no doubt they would ask for my intervention eventually, or struggle through some serious fights. But that would weed out the weak from the capable. Those that could fight and kill other people from those that couldn’t.

These people were also in teams. That was another misconception I didn’t correct. Young Michael picked up my crystals while I did the grinding. That was what I had done in the past, having someone pick up crystals and manage things on my behalf to strengthen myself more quickly.

While their leveling up of the city was an impressive display of teamwork, that teamwork wouldn’t hold togeather against singular strong opponents. They would be crushed. What Young Michael was telling them was the tip of the ice burg.

It was interesting to see why more collective civilizations failed in the Systemic Lands. It was like having five strong fingers compared to one strong fist. The fist was more useful for hitting, while the strong fingers were more useful for building. These people were builders. The more volatile aspects had been killed off. Father John was no vegetarian, but he lacked the perspective of what higher combat levels meant.

All of these people didn’t understand the horror of someone like me or the Divine Empress. Someone who would just grind and grind, becoming impossibly strong. They might have a chance, like the Astrologer did and his nation, against the Divine Empress, but the outcome would be hard to say. Those two balanced each other out quite well, but it was like balancing on the top of a peak, one strong gust and the situation would tilt in one direction.