SL: Chapter 718 – Day 5,883 – Purgatory Drama

“Your pizza, Senor Michael,” Bonita said. She was terrible at picking up crystals without more stats. But she was good at flying the airship and making food. So, I took it as a win.

“Excellent as always,” I said with a smile. Enjoying my pizza. There were issues with it of course, since supplies were limited, since the cities were limited. Lots and lots of issues. But I wasn’t about to complain. I was used to living off fruits and vegetables.

Everything had reset, including East Bastion. My loop clearing towers was almost done. “Thank you Bonita,” I said.

“I will clean up now,” she said and went back to the kitchen. I didn’t get a crystal picker person, but I got a cook. It was a decent trade-off for such a small investment. She was not a professional chef, but she worked hard and didn’t complain in the slightest. That was the most important thing in my mind. Giving her 300 million points and boosting up her stats was more than enough. No need to go overboard. A single day on my part and I had someone to manage my airship for another 250 days or so.

I hate my sad but lovingly made pizza as we flew towards Purgatory. If anyone was still alive, they would have come back here. I was hoping for Michelle or Young Michael. Doctor Katz was a distant third. A very distant third.

Spinning the airship, I took out the flying monsters and kept slowing us down. I flew in over the city. A shame, the pit it had been in had given it a lot of character. Now it was a generic block city like all the other cities. I flew in over the plaza. Time to see what nonsense the people were up to. Flying in low over the plaza, I halted above the store pillars.

I picked up Bonita in a bridal carry and leapt off. She would handle buying supplies to make meals with. She knew my preferences and tried her best. It was a bit sad to be honest, but I wasn’t about to kick the old woman off the side of my airship. I might have done that in the past, but not today.

Tables and chests were set up. There was a even a white flag with a golden cross on it. “Welcome traveler,” a man dressed in white came towards me. He was holding a bible in his arms, which meant he had been holding it when the Almighty System had brought him here.

“Really, religious people now,” I muttered to myself.

“We have been struggling since we have arrived at this place. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated. We don’t have much, but we can offer, 5,000 points worth of crystals,” he said. That was a 1,000 level 1 monsters. A fortune for anyone starting off. For me it was a joke. “My apologies if that was offensive. I am Father John, a minister to the people.”

I considered how I wanted to handle this. Purgatory was special in that there was an actual leader with competence trying to properly greet me. While he might be religious he was also respectful. “And did you kill those monsters yourself?” I asked.

“Some. I had help thanks to people willing to work with me. But things are quite a struggle despite our best efforts,” he explained. “Do you know where we are?”

“You are in the legendary and storied city of Purgatory in the Systemic Lands,” I replied. “Once the seat of a powerful Empire, the Empire of Purgatory. Now, it has been reset.”

“Ah, thank you traveler. Any information in these times of confusion is useful,” he said. The fact he didn’t get annoyed with me was a point in his favor. Time for one last question before I had an actual conversation with this man.

“So, how many people have you killed?” I asked. He hesitated before answering.

“I unfortunately had to kill several sinners to preserve the peace,” he said.

“Oh, sinners? You judged them in the name of god?” I asked.

“No. I judged them with common decency. Rape and murder are not crimes to be tolerated. While I am not elected, I have chosen to step up and defend the people here and who have arrived,” he declared. “Even from you if you mean harm.”

“To you, I might as well be god himself in the flesh, or his son at the very least. But since you have chosen to be honest and polite, I will return that in turn. Wait here,” I said. I went and purchased a single table and chair. I set the chair on top of the table and took a seat upon it.

“I am Emperor Michael. Slayer of the Ritualist, the Divine Empress, the Astrologer, the Monster, and the Sphere of Calamity. I possess level 9 combat power.”

“Should I kneel?” Father John asked nervously.

“Since my Empire no longer exists and everything has reset once more in the third calamity, it is your choice. The things I speak of you have no context or knowledge of. Your 5,000 points, while quite a lot for you, are a joke to me. I earn over 300 million points in a single day,” I replied casually.

“Then you can help us, please,” Father John said and knelt.

“No. I will not help. Even if you and everyone swore to serve me, it would be an inconvenience and a waste of my time,” I declared.

“Father John, what is this man doing,” a group of around people hurried over from the edge of the plaza where they had been watching. A big body builder brick of a man helped Father John back to his feet. “We don’t want trouble, but we won’t take to threats.”

“This is why I dislike dealing with new people. You don’t understand the difference between me and you. I talk to out of decency since Father John was polite, but take care or else you might die instantly,” I replied.

“Keith, calm down. I will handle this,” Father John said. The big man gave me a glare but didn’t say anything as Father John turned back towards me. “Emperor Michael, what is this Systemic Land?”

“I will give you three questions. Consider this your first question. In return, whenever I return here you will give me no trouble or hassle for all time or until your death. Think carefully before you agree. If this agreement is broken, I will kill everyone in this city without remorse,” I replied.

“Just my life,” he said, and I shook my head.

“You are the leader, but I will spare you and kill everyone else. Melting them. A kinder fate than than the Divine Empress would have given with her Master Fleshcrafter,” I replied. He looked at the people beside him who nodded at him.

“I accept,” he said.

“Very well. The Systemic Land is this plane of existence we are now in. It is controlled by the god of this place, the Almighty System. It watches and sees everything. It manages the store which is required for life and the monsters which are required for points to use the store. There are multiple cities which have all recently been reset except for a few survivors like myself due to the third calamity caused by the Sphere, which I defeated at great and peril in the rainbow dimension. Saving everyone to come here in the future. You stand at the center of what once was the Empire of Purgatory, an Empire that had near absolute dominion over the Systemic Land. As for the purpose of this place, only the Almighty System knows that, and perhaps one day myself once I become strong enough to get answers. Now ask your next question,” I declared.

“Ask him how to get as strong as he is,” the brick of man whispered loudly towards Father John.

“What my friend said. How do we get strong enough to survive here?”

“Kill monsters. Get points. Use points to increase your stats. There are dungeons that you can enter and defeat boss monsters to get skill points. But the danger is great. Then you repeat that by going into a higher level zone, getting crystals to get points here at the store. Then you repeat that over and over. The zone around your city is level 1. I possess combat level 9, which means I can defeat level 9 monsters. You don’t understand what that means, but if you did, you would be much more respectful,” I explained.

“Will people keep showing up? And how do we care for them?”

“Two questions, but they are linked. Every 10 days, 250 people will show up in each city. There are 36 cities pulling from different locations on Earth. The Divine Empress was from China, which has several cities to the west of here. As for caring for them, I have given up on that headache. The Almighty System doesn’t care. I can’t bring myself to care anymore. Caring will only drag you down. There are only so monsters per zone that appear each day. I suggest getting to combat level 4 as quickly as possible. That is the true divide between weak and strong. Only the strong can control their lives. Since almost everyone else living here is now dead,” I explained.

Just as I was about to stand up. I saw a familiar face across the plaza, rushing over and smiled. The burden on my heart eased a quite a bit. “Emperor Michael,” Young Michael quickly bowed and said.

“Ah, Young Michael, you survived. That is good.”

“The techniques you taught me. I was able to bleed off the excess energy and keep it from overwhelming me. Unfortunately, Hendricks didn’t make it. Along with everyone else. Did you stop the sphere?” he asked.

“Yes. But not soon enough unfortunately. It was a close battle in the rainbow dimension. Very close.”

“As difficult as the Divine Empress?” he asked.

“Yes. Clarissa gets half the credit as well. Clarissa lives. She would love to see you again.”

“I wish I could have come with you,” he said.

“I am in need of an assistant to pick up crystals, if you are interested?” I asked.

“Yes! I mean, of course Emperor Michael, I would be honored,” he replied and I nodded at this.

“It is hard to find good assistance. Gather what supplies you need. You find anyone else?” I asked.

“Unfortunately no. Since I heard you stopped by here earlier, I waited around for your return and kept an eye on the store but haven’t spotted any other survivors. I am sorry,” he said.

“It is what it is. I had been hoping for Michelle and possibly Doctor Katz to have survived, but we can only wait and see if they turn up in the future. As for this place, a shame. The people of Purgatory were great,” I replied.

“It can be rebuilt,” Young Michael said while everyone else listened in without interrupting.

“My Empire building days are over. Now I stand above all others.”

“Well, I did manage something. I defeated death. It was a level 6. I barely survived. I got a meta-point,” Young Michael said. Of course he did. Everyone was favored but me. I had to bust my ass off to defeat the sphere, but Young Michael, gets handed a meta-point. I swear the Almighty System had a grudge at me for not killing death when it showed up the first time.

“Congratulations. What did you pick?” I asked.

“I considered my mother, but…she would want me to get stronger. I chose stats. They are the foundation of power after all,” he replied. At least I had done a good job teaching this kid.

“Well I have a working shower on my airship. Let’s get you up there, and we can share stories,” I said.