SIS B5: Chapter 8: Phone Call and Request

A/N: Apologies for the delay. We should be good from here on out, but we'll see. I had a few technical issues and some motivational ones, but nothing serious.

***

Daz ended up choosing three more things the help his empire from the shop. He had yet to buy them and was, instead, looking over them one last time to confirm that they were truly what he wanted.

After all, he wasn't only spending his money here but the money of every town and city belonging to the empire.

[Growing Wall of Identification

A wall that acts to protect all settlements and borders controlled by the host's empire. This wall, while not the strongest thing to exist, can repair itself using ambient energy in the air. It can also identify anyone who passes through or over it, making it the ideal tool to locate spies and other persons of interest unaffiliated with the empire and who do not have permission to be within its borders.

Note: The wall connects itself to other settlements and borders via underground means. If one such connection is destroyed, the time to self-repair it will be 5x slower than normal.

Interesting choice. Just when I thought you were getting less paranoid, boom, invasive wall that doesn't give a fuck when it comes to personal privacy. That's a bit ironic, isn't it? Walls are usually meant to repel invasions, aren't they?

Cost: 150,000,000 (37,500,000)]

Ignoring the remark from the Master of Flavour Text, Daz felt rather strongly about this defensive upgrade.

While the strength of the walls themselves would be laughable to anyone that could seriously invade his lands, the sheer utility made it worth the half of his remaining empire points it demanded.

Hell, without his Godly Universal Management skill, it would have been impossible to buy the thing in the first place just like the Full Housing Restoration upgrade.

That only further showed how valuable it was since he had worked rather tirelessly to foster a culture of saving and careful spending in light of the failed semester goal fine.

Not only could the new wall notify him if anyone suspicious entered his empire, but the presence of walls appearing around every city, town, and border of his, would give peace of mind to the citizens.

If there was one thing Daz's people needed right now, it was a feeling of safety and security.

The walls would also adapt to allow not only the borders of cities to grow without the need to worry about expanding them but also for his empire's borders to do the same.

Daz was sure he could simply upgrade the thing later if he truly wanted it to become a powerful defensive force, but that wasn't what he needed it for right now.

Sometimes, all that was needed to stop a war was the threat of one. Likewise, sometimes, all that is required for someone to feel safe is some walls and the odd police patrol.

It was a manipulative tactic which didn't sit wholly well with Daz, but he hardly had a choice given that over 5,000,000 worldwide had just instantly died as a result of his actions.

He confirmed the purchase then moved on.

[Confirmed. The empire points of the host's empire [N/A] have changed from [72,199,225] to [34,699,225].]

The next empire upgrade was another restorative one much like Full Housing Restoration was. However, it differed in that it was more of a solution to a new problem than it was an answer to an existing one.

[The Greats Bridges of [N/A]

Large rifts and splits divide the land of [N/A]. This purchase will create great bridges of stone and metal that will allow safe traversal over said rifts and splits.

As these bridges are great structures, they will be far harder to damage to normal bridges and will be able to bear far more weight.

A patch job instead of actually fixing the issue? Well, you do like to work with what you have, so I can't exactly fault you for this one.

Cost:  60,000,000 (15,000,000)]

"That 'N/A' sure is unsightly. Hopefully, the people choose a name for the empire soon," Daz whispered with a sigh before he confirmed the purchase.

[Confirmed. The empire points of the host's empire [N/A] have changed from [34,699,225] to [19,699,225].]

Sadly, his options for the final upgrade he selected were rather restricted since his upper limit of cost was just under 60,000,000 base price.

Still, Daz had found something that would be both worth the purchase and highly appreciated by his people.

[[N/A] High University of Growth

A university that will create branches all around your empire which lead to the same building. In this university, specialised teachers will be assigned to anyone who wishes to learn and grow. These teachers will be provided by the system.

Those who have graduated from this university will be recognised and respected across your entire empire.

Really? You already have a fantastic medieval academy in your capital and now you make an empire-wide university? You stupid reaper. You have a planet to conquer. I highly doubt it's wise to be wasting time on educating the peasants.

Cost:  40,000,000 (10,000,000)]

Daz ignored the Master of Flavour Text's rude words once more. He knew he had to unite Earth, but he also had to provide a future for everyone. If he didn't, then what was the point of it all?

It would be easy enough to focus just on himself, Rose, Madison, and perhaps and handful of others like Mu and Vanessa.

He could probably find a way to stay safe indefinitely once the trials ended as well given how resourceful he and his sister were.

"If they end..." he muttered.

Still, that wasn't his goal here. He wanted to save everyone, and if they had no future, then he could hardly say he had properly fulfilled his goal.

This resulted in the empire points, and consequentially the city points of the whole empire, to dwindle down to next to nothing, but it was a worthwhile investment in his eyes.

[Confirmed. The empire points of the host's empire [N/A] have changed from [19,699,225] to [9,699,225].]

He could likely afford one or two more cheap upgrades but he didn't want to deprive all of the cities and towns he controlled of all of their funds. That would likely spark outrage.

Just as he was done, his phone started vibrating in his pocket. 'Took longer than I expected. Now, who is phoning me, exactly? I would wager Rose but I've been wrong before.'

Reaching into his pocket and pulling the device out and up to his ear, he hit the 'accept call' button.

"Hello, you're through to Emperor Daz, how can I help you today?" he asked a bit jokingly, expecting his sister to respond to him in annoyance as she always did when he teased her.

"Very quaint, Daz," a refined womanly voice which he recognised said, chidingly.

"Ah, Grandmother. I would have thought you'd use the system's holographic method of communication to voice your complaints of my recent actions to me, not a cellphone," he commented.

"... Daz, I don't hate you. I have come to learn since we met at the Blue House that you, unlike your father or my ex-husband, can be reasoned with. There's no need for your guarded remarks. I'm not phoning you to yell at you anyway. I know our familiar relationship is nowhere near as important as our political one is," Ho Ran stated.

Daz's eyes widened slightly in surprise. He knew Ho Ran was a stubborn woman. She had to be to leave the Hamilio family.

So for her to admit that her opinion on him had been changed told him a lot about her. His respect for her grew at that as well.

'I doubt she'll give me any slack when she trains me in Gravital Body still,' he privately thought.

Speaking of which, their next session was coming up soon. As was his next training slot with his grandfather. It was easy to forget about that sort of stuff when he was busy running an empire and keeping it from falling apart of being destroyed by outside threats.

"I'm happy to hear that. If that's the case though, why the call?" he asked.

"Can be reasoned with, but still painfully blunt. Very well. I wanted to see if I could grab you before you finished your upgrading spree so I could suggest one.... and... and to thank you for restoring most of Incheon. That means a lot to me, Daz," the woman confessed.

"It's not like a did that for only Incheon, still, your thanks are appreciated. The city's loss was a huge matter for me too. Sadly, you caught me just when I had finished buying upgrades," Daz explained. "I'm happy to hear whatever ideas you have though for when the empire gets more base, city, and empire points."

"That's a shame, though not totally unexpected. Decisiveness is not something you struggle with. No Hamilio ever has. My suggestion would have been to get an upgrade that can help us find any mythical cities related to the world of Murim," Ho Ran claimed.

"The world of Murim? I feel like I've heard of that once or twice in my research of mythical cities..." Daz noted offhandedly.

"It was just a load of nonsense as far as I was aware. Well, until the system came. Artifacts have popped up here or there from the legends. The world of murim is basically Korea's version of ancient China's myths. As in, cultivators and whatnot. There are a few cities I'm looking for but I'm not having any luck," his grandmother admitted.

"Well, I do have a title that can help me find mythical cities," Daz said in a leading manner as he reached into his Industrial Item Box.

What he pulled out was a ticket. Specifically, it was the Celestial Seizure Ticket which he had earned for completing the quest, The New Earthian Annexation of Taiwan.

The ticket's description had implied quite heavily that it was related to a mythical city; a mythical city he wanted litttle to do with since Adya - a representative of one India's eight kings - was likely involved with it.

Now though, with his title, Collector of the Mythical, the small slip was exuding a certain energy only visiable to him. Using it would lead him to a mythical city without a shadow of a doubt.

It was as if the spectroverse itself was telling him 'yes, you can gain a mythical city if you use this ticket. Stop letting it collect dust.'

With such a power, perhaps he could help his grandmother with achieving her goals. Not now though.

"I'm happy to offer any help I can, just after I've handed a few matters first," Daz stated.

"Such as?" Ho Ran inquired.

"A few personal matters, a bit more tidying up locally, then taking a trip to visit my fiancée's family," Daz replied as a grim smile surfaced on his expression.

It pleased him to think of how he would handle the people that had abused Madison as a child and who had so callously thrown her away in a bid to gain the Hamilio bloodline.

"The McArthur's? Arrogant lot, them. Then again, aren't all esper families? Well, when you have a moment, I'm looking for the true versions of Jolbon and Gyeonju. Supposedly, they're veiled in the world of Murim. That's as far as I could find out on my own. It's a big detriment not having an omniscient future-seeing power, now isn't it?" his grandmother asked with a bit of snark in her tone.

"Tell me about it. As if I didn't have enough paranoia issues as it was already. Being able to literally predict variations of the future can be a real pain," Daz sighed.

"Hah. I don't think Lorenzo or Davido would ever say something like that out loud, even in jest. Well, it was nice talking to you, Daz. Odd, hearing myself say that. Thanks for considering my request," Ho Ran replied.

"Any time, Grandmother," Daz answered as he hung up.

Just then the doors to his throne room swung open as Vanessa walked in while pushing Rose's wheelchair.

"Well hello, you two," Daz greeted as he slumped into his throne a bit.

Even despite his somewhat low mood due to recent events and his pressing responsibilities, he still felt a tinge of joy upon seeing his little sister.

Daz put that down to his Ember of Love. It also helped that his Ember of Empathy let him know that she was, deep down, happy to see him too.

"Didn't think about warning me before you shook the foundation of our little chunk of Earth, huh?" Rose spat. "At least this time it wasn't literally."

Vanessa smiled wryly as she shook her head. "Hi, Daz."

Daz nodded at her before he spoke to his sister. "Is that the only reason you're here? To yell at me? I don't mean to be rude, but you're hardly intimidating."

"If I wanted to intimidate you, I'd walk around wearing a refrigerator and a weird looking halo. I bet that'd spook the hell out of you," Rose snorted.

"It's a good set of armour, not a fridge, thank you very much. As for the halo... yeah, I can't really deny it's a bit odd. Even more so if you can see spirits. Anyway, joking aside, you did have a more serious reason for the visit, right?" Daz asked with a warn smile spread across his lips.

Rose nodded. "First, good job on that announcement. Even if I only had literally a couple of minutes to work with, it was enough to get some orders out and keep everything from exploding. Or imploding. Take your pick."

"Well, you're welcome. And second?" Daz asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Second... take me to El Dorado... please. I, uh, want to see it," Rose fumbled a bit awkwardly as she tried to hide a creeping blush.

Daz grinned. "I'd be happy to."

Regardless of her reasoning which she clearly didn't want to explain, it would be beneath him to deny a request to one of the few people he would happily give his live for.