Chapter 52 - Golden Goose

The apex faction representatives of the ICBB argued. And argued. Then they had a break and Max was offered ‘human food’. He was excited at the prospect, wondering what kind of treats that might entail. When he was escorted back to his room, there was a pile of carrots and a bowl of oatmeal waiting on a table. Max let out a little laugh and sat down to eat. Not exactly the feast he had hoped for, but he wouldn’t turn down a free nutritious meal. Maverick lamented in great length not being able to taste things. Max told him he was being rather dramatic over a couple of carrots, which resulted in the weapon sulking.

After finishing his meal he returned to the audience chamber to listen to more and more arguing. They intermittently examined his soul and Spiritual Energy as well as Mavericks.

They had scribes making notation and functionaries hassling around Max taking measurements with devices of various shapes and colors Max could not have even imagined before seeing. While all that was mildly interesting, it was sparse. Mostly the audience consisted of arguing.

“...and if the weapon reaches autonomous function? Or transmutates into an automaton, or similar complete sentient entity?” one of the grays demanded.

Maverick’s soul thrummed with excitement at those notions. Max admitted he was intrigued himself. He had had no idea what kind of an advantage their Cultivation path could be. Apparently it was a big deal.

“Ridiculous proposition,” The Zoos-representative said calmly. “Has there been any indication towards such evolutions? If not, is this not but mere conjecture and projection?”

“And who is to say you know not more and only downplay the issue?” The leader of the frogs croaked in his resonant burble.

The jellyfish turned to the amphibians and said in a note louder than Max had heard before. “You would accuse us of deceit?”

The frog-creature hesitated.

“Enough,” Azzzhtik’Likzirrruk said. “We will not devolve into bickering amongst ourselves. Does anyone else have input that can be considered useful?”

There was some negotiation between the parties, but eventually silence fell. Azzzhtik’Likzirrruk took this as a cue to continue.

“If not, I will issue a ruling. Subject #266830151, also known as Max Cromwell will not be removed from the games, nor will his status as a player be altered.”

A chorus of angry shouts, croaks, buzzing and metallic screeching filled the air.

“Silence!” Azzzhtik’Likzirrruk snapped. “As compensation, as suggested by the Zoos-collective, each of the hurt parties will be offered a choice. You can issue a population wide system message between two choices. You may choose to disclose to your representatives the nature of this new Cultivation path and means to obtain it.”

“How ridiculous!” The frog-leader cried out. “To postpone cultivation until you find a piece of [Unique] equipment?”

“Or,” Azzzhtik’Likzirrruk screeched loudly, cutting the leader of the frogs short. “You may issue a population wide quest to eliminate subject #266830151. Considering the approximate value of this [Path of Divine Soulbond] relative to the other paths, the reward can be as high as an A-grade item or supplies of equivalent value.”

“Surely an S-grade item would be appropriate,” one of the grays lounging on the green gel suggested.

“I concur,” the frog-creature leader said.

“Do you want to use veto power on this matter?”

“Yes,” both parties answered immediately.

Dear lord Odin in Valhalla, wake me from this nightmare. I’ll have a bounty on my head? AN S-GRADE ITEM BOUNTY!?

“Very well,” Azzzhtik’Likzirrruk said. “Let the record show both parties used veto power here. The record should also now state which hurt party chooses which compensation.”

“Kiritus-Corporation chooses to issue a bounty,” one of the grays said. “My representatives are in the same initial arena. The choice is obvious.”

“Forkkrof-Syndicate also chooses to issue a bounty,” The frog-creature raised a hand inside the green gel. Neither he or the other amphibians in his party were happy about this ruling. They all regarded Max and the Zoos-jellyfish with open hostility.

There were some fast slashes of screeching metal in the air as the fly-creatures conversed. Max couldn’t make out but a few stray words of what they were saying. Finally Azzzhtik’Likzirrruk spoke.

“The Swarm has decided to inform the population of the chance of a new, more powerful cultivation path.”

The leader of the Forkkrof-Syndicate laughed openly. “Good luck trying to find a fool willing to postpone Cultivation until they find an [Unique]. They’ll either power up too slowly or die trying.”

“The incompetent ones will,” Azzzhtik’Likzirrruk said. “But there are two billion and seven hundred and seventy nine million Asbanti left in the population. We only need two to succeed to accrue an advantage. What is a few million lives for a weapon like this?”

The offhanded way the fly-creature of the Swarm said it chilled Max.

What is a few million lives?

It wasn’t even a comprehensible number of people. But to be so nonchalant about it. Max tried to reason with himself. This creature was probably thousands of years old and it had seen species bite it by the trillions. It didn’t make him hate the flying ugly thing any less.

“Does this conclude the proceedings?” The Zoos-jellyfish asked. “We would like to transport our representative back to the Games.”

“Adjourned,” Azzzhtik’Likzirrruk. “Take your human.”

“Follow us, Max,” the jellyfish said in its placid voice.

*

Max found himself again in the forest opening he had been picked up from. The dead pride of panthers lay scattered around the area, and shocked eyes of the Stranger looked somewhere beyond mortal view as his limp body cooled on the grass.

The plastic jellyfish of the Zoos-collective had followed Max. When Max turned towards it, the robotic voice immediately began talking.

[That went better than expected. We are pleased.]

Max bristled. “I didn’t do anything wrong! And now I have a massive bounty on my head.”

[Yes. That is a regrettable turn of events. But your advantage is substantial. If you wield it properly, you should be able to fend off coordinated attacks.]

“Hey!” Maverick snapped. “We didn’t ask for this mess. My sidekick and I don’t need a target on our backs. Since it’s not our fault we are in this mess, we need compensation.”

[Regretfully the Zoos-collective is not allowed to give further help. We ran over the rules in 316 iterations, trying to find a loophole. It is in our best interest that you will not be eliminated.]

“Then give us information,” Max said, trying not to frown. He was still angry. But he had to believe the Zoos-guys. If it was up to them, they would have probably kept Max’s advantage under wraps. It was just a shitty situation. Sometimes life sucked. It sucked even more trying to be reasonable and not pointing fingers. What was Max supposed to do with all this frustration if not redirect it at the innocents.

Well, the Zoos-guys weren’t exactly innocent, but they were more on Max’s side than the other crazy races of the ICCB. Screw all of the ICCB anyway.

[We have prepared some information that we have deemed legal to disclose. This will be weaved into your introduction to Cultivation, which you have fortuitously already acquainted yourself with. Please sit down.]

Max was taken aback by the jellyfish’s request. Previously the Zoos-collective had had no regard to whether Max was tired or dying. They were polite, surely. But now they were almost considerate. They had even fed Max. The oatmeal sat nicely inside Max.

[The Zoos-collective urges you to prioritize Cultivation as long as you can provide materials for advancement. Levels and Cultivation work in tandem, and both seem equally beneficial, but it is not so.]

The jellyfish paused as if to give Max time to digest. Max wished he had a pen and paper. Or better yet, a smartphone.

[But survival is utmost. You should also continue killing creatures and looting them. Creatures above level 15 have a chance of dropping Cultivation material. You will need [Spirit Coins] for the initial levels, and later on rare materials relating to your path. We cannot fully predict which materials the Framework deems necessary for you to advance.]

“Didn’t you create the Framework? You can’t look under the hood to see what is going on?”

The jellyfish was quiet for a while, as if going through some internal negotiation.

[We cannot disclose to you details of the origin of the Framework. Know only this. The initial levels of Cultivation with the help of the Framework are mostly mechanical in nature. Simply get your body attuned with Spiritual Energy through cycling techniques and advance using [Spirit Coins]. The later advancements will require spiritual insight.]

“What kind of insight is that? You mean like the training I’ve done to get a more intimate sense of mana?”

[Precisely. You have had good fortune with you. This is why your advancement in the Heavenly Arts has been remarkable.]

Max thought about that. He had gotten the world’s first achievement. While he liked to think he had worked hard on the Cultivation, and of course Maverick being able to sneak in extra levels had helped tremendously in sharing the workload, he was surprised nobody had done it better. Had the training with Mana Durum had put him through helped him that much? Max felt queasy thinking how hard cycling Spiritual Energy to everyone else must be, because it was a strain and a half to him.

[We suggest a regimen of Cultivating as far as your resources will take you, using that gathered power to acquire more Cultivation resources and to repeat this process. If possible, challenge some bosses for further equipment upgrades. But an emphasis on Cultivation will be beneficial.]

Max nodded, eyes on the ground, watching the grass sway idly in a soft wind. The faint sun cast a little warmth on the back of his neck. Everything had been going so well. But now he was in deep shit again. Deepest shit he had ever been in his life. He had the entire population of two species against him. The grays and the frog-people were probably issuing their system-wide messages right now. One way or another Max’s fate was being determined right now.

[One more thing, Max. We would like to make a request of you.]

That was unusual. It snapped Max out of his thoughts. Request? Max felt like he didn’t have much of any say in anything when dealing with his patrons.

“Sure?”

[We have observed that you have poured a substantial amount of resources to improve the circumstances of your fellow tribesmates. We ask you to act more selfishly in the interest of your self-preservation. You will need to take the bounties put on your person with seriousness. The other species will come at you. And they will be organized. That is a unique opportunity for growth. But one you must be ready for.]

Max ruminated on that for a while. What they said even struck Maverick serious. The two of them reached an understanding between their souls. They resolved to overcome this. They resolved to win. Max would continue running at the forefront. Maverick would be by his side and they would outfight anything thrown at them.

Max would earn humanity its right to exist. And that journey would start with himself.