FB: Chapter 39 – Administration Union

“Today we are covering the shocking outcome of the Tournament of Champions held in a Gauntlet format. In a shocking twist, that almost no one could see coming, the Human Emperor arrived, and a debuff was applied to all those who looked upon him. Only Foxy Blight and Eagle Eye avoided such an outcome. I am your sparkling host Rebecca,” the woman said.

“And I am your serious host Fred for a special ENN segment,” the man next to her added. “And let us welcome the tournament winner herself, Foxy Blight.” I just smiled from where I was seated.

“Thank you, both of you. The last match was the most troublesome, but with my new special legendary skill Blink, it was simple enough to win.”

“Foxy, there are so many things to cover. Let’s start with the biggest question our viewers have, how did you know about the Human Emperor?” Rebecca asked.

“He is the Human Emperor and one of his titles is Divine Saint. It is natural to kneel in the presence of such an august and important figure. This is his empire, and we are all living in it after all,” I replied with a smile. While it didn’t seem likely, it was possible that the Human Emperor saw this interview somehow since it was happening inside Exponential. If there was one talent I was S level in, it was sucking up to my bosses.

“And the reward. Many would have requested money or a noble title. What exactly is a Travel Passport?” Fred asked.

“Money and noble titles are things I can naturally get by just being me. After all I am the one and only Foxy Blight. Others can only look upon me with jealously. As for the Travel Passport it allows an individual to go to restricted areas, outside the border, while being allowed to return without consequence and limited inspections. The main requirement for such an item is recognition of the Human Emperor, which is why I requested such an item from his esteemed majesty,” I explained.

“Could we see it?” Rebecca asked. I shook my head at that question.

“Unfortunately, no. A girl has to keep some mystery after all,” I replied. There was the small chance they had someone nearby with a theft skill. I would not be taking it out at all. Losing the Travel Passport would be a disaster. Since the Human Emperor had given it to me personally, there was a near zero chance to get a second.

“The next most talked about question is that skill you showcased in the last match, Blink. How does it even work?” Fred asked.

“Well, the specifics I will be keeping a secret, but it requires strong mental focus to visualize where you want to teleport. An outline appears and then you confirm. But it is only the start. I plan to get several more special legendary skills in the future,” I replied.

“Did you get a title from winning?” Rebecca asked.

“Hmmm, not yet. There are still some things left I need to complete to get the Grand Champion title. But I am not overly worried about such a thing. Oh, before I forget. To all those Champions who thought I won unfairly since you were debuffed, I am open for a rematch any time. In fact, I have already arranged an open challenge to all of them,” I said.

“You aren’t afraid you will be beaten?” Fred asked.

“Unlike matches between Champions and regular people, the titles aren’t lost even if you lose. Well if I get a higher ranked title, then it might be lost to the person who beat me. Once that is the case, people will have to put up some more platinum or merchandising rights to have a shot at taking my title,” I replied. I suspected that there would be a higher ranked title above Grand Champion if I kept winning matches.

It would be a big risk, but I suspected that getting such a title would grant me the ability to get an extra title since the title chain followed the same benefits as the Slayer title chain. Having 5 titles to everyone else’s 3 titles would be insanely broken. One could only have a maximum of 16 skill shards equipped. That meant that once someone reached level 120, they were effectively capped in that regard.

The real trick would be bringing Luck up to an even higher value. Other people might think that I should move on to other stats to have more MP to use Blink more. They were idiots. Getting critical hits with poison would allow me to kill things that were incredibly annoying to kill. One could never have enough Luck, since the higher-level monsters would have Luck of their own to negate my Luck.

“Foxy, there are reports you have cashed out 100 platinum, crashing the currency exchange?” Rebecca asked an annoying question.

“Absolutely true. I needed some pocket change in the real world, and a couple billion is just enough to keep the interest of a girl like me. Someone who stands above all other players,” I said with a grin.

“Aren’t you afraid you will generate hostility with the player base?” Fred asked me.

“What is my name?” I demanded of the host. He gave me a questioning look before answering.

“Foxy Blight?” Fred hesitantly said.

“Yes. I am Foxy Blight. Men want to beat me senseless. Women want to be me. The masses adore me. And the powerful are jealous down to their bones. It isn’t like I plan to hide away. I will be taking matches in the coliseum going forward. And if some groups want to plan an ambush, they will fail, and my popularity will only rise up to new heights. I mean, I am only going after the elites and if I directed my fans towards their organizations, it would be quite troublesome. I will fight slander with truth, also kisses,” I blew a kiss towards the camera. I knew people would be chanting ‘Kiss of Death’ after seeing me say that. I was really stirring things up now.

It was also a warning and a threat to all the idiots out there. My popularity with the masses was quite high. People liked a winner. As long as I kept winning, everything would be fine. The path of audacity. The moment my invincible halo was punctured, then there would be grave problems. But I would keep going as I had until I was slapped back down, and then I would adjust. I was like Icarus, seeing how close I could get to the sun before I got burnt with my trash talk.

After that the interview wrapped up and I immediately left. I had more business to take care of. While it might be nice to bask in my victory, this was only a small stepping stone in order for me to secure my legacy in Exponential. Standing at the top was dangerous, since everyone was looking to bring me down and any weakness they could exploit.

As I rode in my rickshaw through the Capital I was sending off quick messages to the various congratulations I had received. Thankfully there weren’t that many. I had blocked all incoming friend requests a while ago and messages that were from people not on my friends list or from my guild. I was also alerted that Hammer Crusher had signed up for another match against me as well as Eagle Eye. Stupid S level combat fanatics. Still, I wouldn’t say not to free money.

Any Champion I beat after the Tournament would only get one chance to fight me. I wasn’t going to let them keep challenging me over and over. They just needed to get lucky once, while I had to win every single time. I would require them to pay increasing amounts of money to challenge me again, same for anyone else who lost in the future. It never hurt to have more money in game.

I arrived near the center of the Capital just outside the grounds beneath the floating Imperial Palace. The massive seven story building I stood in front of was just one of many that was part of the vast complex right outside the main gates to the Imperial Palace that was the Administration Union’s headquarters.

They effectively handled the day to day bureaucracy of the Human Empire on behalf of the Empire. This was their main office in the Human Empire. They regulated everything including Unions and Guilds. It was said that anything the NPCs did could be traced back to this complex in some way.

I was only able to enter the place due to my title as Champion and winner of the tournament. Without that I wouldn’t have the prestige to visit the Administration Union in the Capital. “Welcome Champion Foxy Blight, how can the Administration Union of the Human Empire assist you today,” I was greeted by a lovely female receptionist.

“I wish to file for a patent of nobility,” I replied.

“There are two main requirements for a patent of nobility. The first requirement is the necessary fame, which your recent victory in the Tournament of Champions has achieved. The second requirement is the necessary fee to pay the Human Empire for consideration, which would be 100 platinum,” the receptionist said.

“I will pay that fee right away,” I replied, and she brought out a runic plate. I put my hand on it and lost 100 platinum. A title of nobility was a key component for opening up various opportunities.

There were eight ranks of nobility, Lord, Baron, Viscount, Count, Earl, Marquis, Duke, and Emperor. Lord was the noble title given to landless nobles. Baron through Count would have control of a town. Earl through Duke would have control of a city. Being a noble allowed one to own property outright.

To balance that out, the higher up in the ranks you climbed, the more taxes you owed to the Human Empire. Nobles were treated better by the various guards and NPCs. To rank higher in many unions, one needed a noble rank. That was another reason why the Administrative Union was so powerful, since they controlled the assignment of noble ranks to individuals.

“Your fee has been processed and accepted. You have earned the title of Lady,” the receptionist said. This was the same as Lord, just changed to match my gender.

Lady
Awarded for becoming a human noble by having a high reputation and paying a fee at the Administrative Union.
+Recognition as a human noble

That filled up the last of my four title slots, but that was fine. Getting recognition as a human noble was very important for all my future plans. “I would like to request permission to manage the Town of Halfenbrook.”

There were mines nearby that could be exploited and it was a minor town. While there were 1,200 towns across the Human Empire, only about two thirds of them had actual NPC nobles managing them. Some places like Murk Town just had an NPC from the town in charge of the settlement. All 36 cities had nobles ruling them, but there were towns that didn’t have a noble.

Halfenbrook was considered one of the best towns in the future that didn’t have an NPC noble in charge of the place. It was in an ideal location for trade, lots of unexploited mines, and while the beginner areas weren’t great, they weren’t bad either. Enough that a guild could use the place as a base, but not great enough to attract hordes of random people to the town.

“To be granted rulership of the town and its surrounding lands requires that a noble show their competency in rulership,” the receptionist explained. “There are reports of a monster wave building in the area. Stop the monster tide at its source or through battle, while protecting the town.” The attendant handed me a quest scroll. I took it and opened it up confirming the information.

In forty game days, ten real world days, the town of Halfenbrook would be attacked by a monster tide. If I managed to defend the town, then I would be granted the title of Baron and could rule the town. I planned to turn the town into a guild town and lock down the surrounding zones as much as possible.

I opened up the guild message board with a smirk. Time to make these people earn their keep. I always enjoyed a good scheme and trap.

All members are immediately ordered to the town of Halfenbrook for the next eleven real world days for a guild quest. Keep this information secret and don’t let any other players know. If we complete the quest, we will gain control of the town. More information will be released in the following days. Investigate the surrounding territories and watch out for large groups of roaming monsters. Reminder to not cause trouble for the NPCs in the town. Feel free to kill all players not part of our guild outside the town to drive them away. Don’t bother with people inside the town, since it will cause trouble.