SL: Chapter 729 – Day 5,924 – Young Michael’s Eyes

“Everything is a blur. Very blurry. I can only make out vague shapes,” Young Michael said. Four days of working on his eyes and he was struggling to make any more improvement. At least he could kind of see things now, even if it wasn’t great. The eyes and facial structure had been rebuilt. I considered that a major accomplishment, just being able to see anything.

“Well, that is still progress. I know the last day you haven’t made much, but just being able to see anything is a huge accomplishment,” I told him what I thought. I also thought that not being able to see was very bad.

“I should be thankful for this much, but I won’t be able to fight properly like this,” he replied.

“Well you either need to hone your other senses or keep working at it. Look at the curvature of the eyes. That is important to reflect light,” I told him.

I had just gotten back from the zone where we had conducted the vote. I had spent some time out there checking the area and being extra cautious. There was nothing to be worried about. The memetic monsters had been wiped out by the Almighty System.

“Are we leaving Clarissa’s base soon?” he asked me.

“Yes. Tomorrow most likely. But you need to keep working on fixing your eyes. While it might seem slow, just keep working at it,” I told him. He nodded and got back to work. That was going to be a massive headache going forward. Losing one’s vision was a challenge.

What I wasn’t saying was that there may be some lingering curse damage. It was unlikely, but it was still possible. Only time would tell. That was why having a medical specialist around was so important. Also my mother still needed to be looked at. Losing key people was far worse than losing entire cities of nameless people.

Generic people could be replaced. It was harsh to say, but it was true. Someone like Doctor Katz of Jacob, the Fleshcrafter, were incredibly useful with skills that they had honed over the years. That brought to mind the other person at this base who I was concerned about, Michelle. Losing her wouldn’t be a disaster, but it would make it annoying for me to confront large low level groups that tried swarm tactics.

I left Young Michael alone and made my way to the command room where Clarissa was looking at a map with colored tokens placed everywhere. “Welcome back Michael,” she said.

“Thank you. Planning world domination?” I teased her.

“Just looking at my force distribution for my nascent intelligence network. Most operations have been moved to New Kochi.”

“Try to have your people influence the names of the cities to be the same,” I said. Clarissa looked at me and gave me a patronizing sigh.

“Really Michael? With everything else going on, that is what worries you? Remembering city names?” she asked me. I gave her a shrug and a smile.

“It is annoying to have to change names. And it is a good test of your operatives to influence public opinion with low stakes,” I replied.

“An actual answer, but I know you. You just don’t want them to change. That is fine. I will issue it during the follow up orders. At least I have an airship now. It makes things a lot easier. However I need more points,” she said while still avoiding the main topic. But I didn’t mind. Talking about small things like regular points was relaxing and something that was simple to understand.

“Well that will take a while. My crystal picker upper is currently half blind,” I said.

“He is recovering at least, that is good news. Michelle has also begun to stir, but I haven’t tried forcibly waking her,” Clarissa replied.

“You are keeping watch on her?” I asked.

“I am. Two guards at all times. With regular check ins, just to be sure. If she goes out of control, it would be a disaster, but I am hoping to avoid the worst of it,” she replied.

“That is good. Thank you for looking after her and my mom. How is she?” I asked.

“Your mother has been put on kitchen duty to keep her busy along with Bonita who has been assigned to accompany her. Your mother has no complaints. But you can’t show up for meals here. The airship area and the command center are safe, but the rest of the base I would need to make arrangements,” Clarissa said. I nodded at this.

“That is fine. If something happens, I won’t blame you,” I replied.

“Really? Are you sure?”

“I can’t promise, but I won’t blame you. I know having her stay here is an imposition, but there is no safer place for my mother,” I told Clarissa.

“As long as you remember that it is your choice. Now for the trillion point question, the zone, the monsters, the voting options?” Clarissa asked.

“It all reset. The cleared tower, the golden pillar, it was all reset. Same with the voting options. All five options were still available. No memetic monsters in the area either,” I explained.

“You spent quite a bit of time before getting,” back Clarissa replied.

“I was being cautious in my approach. Perhaps a bit too cautious, but I didn’t want to get killed by something stupid. So, I took my time, watching for any changes or anything unnatural at a distance.” Clarissa nodded at this. “The cost of a ranking was still a trillion points and the system golem showed up, but it wouldn’t answer any questions and disappeared after a set amount of time,” I explained.

“The same one or a different one?” Clarissa asked me.

“It looked the same, but the Almighty System could easily make an assembly line. So no idea if the sword is still out there,” I replied.

“That is the priority for my people to look into. Any sightings, direction it is moving in, and any other intelligence we can gather will be reported and recorded,” she said.

“So, what did we gain, what did we lose? Anything I am missing?” I asked.

“The information is nice to have. But the only choice left is the trillion point option, since I don’t think you want to fight memetic monsters?” she asked me.

“No. That exit portal leads straight to hell. I prefer to avoid hell if possible. While it might sound nice to experiment or try and lure out a monster to test myself, the risk is too high, even for me,” I replied.

“I have been thinking about the exit portal. What if the exit was overrun by those super monsters?” Clarissa asked me.

“Perhaps. Or it could be on purpose. I am leaning towards purposeful since it stopped the memetic monsters,” I replied.

“The other option for leaving is the rainbow dimension,” she replied.

“Where we can’t breathe,” I replied.

“With enough supplies, we might find something. That sphere had to come from somewhere,” Clarissa told me. It was reasonable suggestion for escaping this place.

“Possibly. Only as a last resort. It doesn’t seem like a good idea to flee to a place where we can’t breathe or get any kind of supplies. Even with skills, it would be a struggle,” I said.

“I don’t disagree with you. I have just been thinking about other options for leaving this place,” Clarissa said.

“For now, the vote can be shelved. The main thing is to make sure that I control the vote so no one can do something stupid. I will keep clearing towers when possible,” I replied.

“That is a good idea. A shame, there weren’t any good options,” Clarissa said.

“What? Like an option called ‘submit question and get an answer’? This place isn’t that kind or simple,” I replied.

“It does sound silly when you put it like that. Who knows how aliens think?” Clarissa asked rhetorically. There was no good answer to that. The fact that the Avatar was so messed up could be trying to think like a human while also thinking like the alien Almighty System.

“Where are you going now?” Clarissa asked me.

“Urg, you don’t want to pick up crystals?” I asked her and she shook her head. “I didn’t think so. With Young Michael blinded, and my mother working here, staying a long time increases risks. Grinding without a crystal picker upper is a nightmare.”

“It can’t be that bad?” Clarissa asked me.

“It is. When fighting I can rapidly move from monster to monster. But if I have to pick up crystals while fighting, that means I need to grab them when I dust a monster, put it in a pack, keep the pack secure, and fight monsters. I can do all of that, but it is a lot slower,” I replied.

“You could train someone up,” Clarissa said.

“That might have worked for lower level zones, but for a level 7 zone, I need someone capable. Right now that list is very, very short. If it was before the third calamity, there would have been people who knew what to do. Now with everything reset, there is no one with the skills,” I complained.

“Welcome to my world,” Clarissa said.

“Fine, fine. But it impacts your budget as well,” I pointed out and Clarissa looked a bit more serious at that key observation.

“Then you need to boost a city. And whip them into shape. Purgatory is a good choice with what you told me about that Father John. It sounds like he has a good handle on the city. A lot less blood shed than you,” she replied.

“Oh there is bloodshed, but he just kept things pleasant when we visited. Wearing white instead of gray is a power move, since there is no easy way to clean clothes. He might cloak himself in religion, but there is only one god I recognize, the Almighty System,” I said. For a moment I hoped my declaration would see me earn a meta-point. Unfortunately my god was an uncaring, stingy god. It was the god of penny counting.

While a meta-point was worth more than pennies, it was incredibly stingy in my opinion. Also, it didn’t like sharing information. It was also the god of pointless secrets. It clearly enjoyed making things as difficult as possible. Just explain things in simple way. It would make things better, at least that was my opinion.

Unfortunately, my god didn’t care about my opinions. Or anyone’s opinions. “Well, I will send some people along with you, if you are going East. I was hoping you would return and head in that direction. It will save them the hike,” Clarissa said.

“Won’t that make, getting back difficult?” I asked.

“You worry about getting me points and finding a crystal picker upper, I will handle my information network,” she replied, clearly setting some boundaries.