SIS B5: Chapter 4: Ranking Rewards and Heavenly Edict

A/N: Back from both my week-long holiday in England (where I could not, for the life of me, write a word on my laptop. I have been institutionalised by my mechanical keyboard) and from refurbishing my room. Both draining activities and both over now, so we're back to the normal weekly schedule!

***

On his way back to Fort Home, Daz called upon his ranking list.

Daz Crowthorne's Ranking List
List                             Rank               Reward Tier Reached
Lord                               1                                 No.1
Point                              2                               Top 2
Kill                                 33 [-680]                Top 100 [Up from top 1,000!]
Evolution                     3                                Top 3
Skill Creation            91 [+4]                     Top 100
City Owner                 6 [-5]                       Top 10 [Up from top 100!]
Potential                     3                                Top 3
King                            62 [+1]                      Top 100
Ember Insight         22 [-2]                      Top 100
High King                 18 [+2]                      Top 100
Titleholder             189 [-42]                  Top 1,000
Emperor                   4                                 Top 10]

[Due to being in the top 100 ranks for overall kills, the host has gained the right to select one SSS-rank skill (Lower Tier) for free.]

Daz frowned deeply upon reading this. Not because he disliked the reward, no, he had already picked out what skill he would obtain if he ever broke through the top 100, after all.

He was disturbed because he rarely killed things. The only reason this particular ranking would have exploded so much was... "It counted the 5,000,000 lost from the cracks as my kills. How in the world am I not number one, that being the case?"

This was an incredibly troubling thought.

Regardless, Daz would not look a gift horse in the mouth. Before looking at the other notifications, he acquired the skill he had already chosen to earn from this increase in ranking months ago.

After all, since he had been given a free SS-rank skill at both top 10,000 and top 1,000, respectively at the (Middle Tier) and then the (Higher Tier), it only made sense for it to proceed past that to SSS-rank (Lower Tier).

[Holy Rock's Focus [SSS-Rank (Lower Tier)]

Description
A skill created by a rock who, over many hundreds of thousands of years, gained sentience after becoming the central figure of a local religion.

The rock could not speak, it could not see, it could not hear, it could not taste, and it could not touch. What it could do, however, was think.

It took the rock several ages to understand it was all alone in its existence. It despised being granted the gift of the mind. Why could it not simply continue to be an oblivious rock?

Several more ages passed before it learned to focus inwards and overcome its personal demons through meditation.

I... What? You... You could have got a skill equal in power to your chains. You could have made your body nearly indestructible in the system. You could have done so much... Instead, you chose to get a fucking rock's method of compartmentalizing its loneliness?! You are seventeen shades of messed up, my dude.

Level
1

Abilities
Allows the host to enter a trance where their earthly troubles are forgotten. The length of time spent in this trance will directly reduce the size and effects of any mental demons the host may have.]

From an outsider's perspective, this choice of skill may have seemed foolish. The Master of Flavour Text certainly seemed to think so.

To Daz though? A man with an empire on his shoulders, the deaths of over 5,000,000 people weighing down on his heart, and the truth that he was essentially immortal now thanks to his Curse of Loneliness...

Well, Daz felt he needed this skill more than any other for his own mental well-being. He had decided on this skill months ago as one of the four possible options for if he ever increased his kill ranking.

Now that it had actually happened, it was the only logical choice given his mental state and his new powers. At least, that was how Daz felt about it.

'It is okay to look after myself every once in a while. If Mu has taught me anything, it is that,' Daz thought with a nod as he smiled and resumed his notifications.

[Due to being in the top 10 for overall City Owners, the host may select any one city of theirs. That city will become immune to all forms of damage for 6-months.]

'Well, that would have been fucking useful during the war with the Truthians. The high king reward of a Casus Belli Token was useless in comparison,' Daz thought bitterly.

Of course, he had plans for that token which would help him make the best use of Crusher's limited time left of Earth, but if he had had this boon a mere week ago, he would have been able to spare New Earth from its destruction.

Perhaps then, during the attack, he could have teleported to Las Vegas or Incheon and saved one or even both of them.

'You're a cruel bitch, system,' he thought in disgust as his contempt for the overbearingly powerful existence that now ruled over his life in some capacity only grew.

[Due to being in the top 10 for overall Emperors, the host has been granted a [Randomly selected item fit for an Emperor].]

As soon as he read that notification, the Ridomochi Final Model's dashboard started to glow brightly as an object appeared on it.

This object was long with an oval head. It was golden in material and ornate in design. Red metals lined the item and jewels of all shapes and sizes decorate its head.

"A sceptre?" Daz mumbled as he picked up the item and used The Crystal Digger's Master Identification on it along with Secret Override.

[Mark of the Fallen Ones [SSS-rank (Higher Tier)]

[Description
Staff. Sceptre. Symbol of the State. The Emperor's Will. Call it what you wish, it is the tool that has made and destroyed many a king and emperor alike.

Even sovereigns are not free from the darkness owning this item brings along with its gifts. Use this item with wisdom and great caution.

Mark of the Fallen Ones, huh? Fitting, given the circumstances. Knowing you though and how you like to abuse those dice of yours, I expect you to use this thing like a musician would a drum stick - liberally and with wanton abandon.

Stats
Durability: 67,873/200,000

Skills
Bound
Heavenly Edict
Durability of Exchange]

[Bound
This item is bound to the host, Daz Crowthorne.]

[Heavenly Edict
Allows the bound host to exchange their lifespan for edicts that cannot be broken by anything bar God-ranked abilities and powers.]

[Durability of Exchange
This item cannot be damaged via conventional means. In exchange, however, every time [Heavenly Edict] is used, an amount of durability equal in value to the edict created shall be consumed.]

[Randomly selected [Mark of the Fallen Ones] secret: The average durability consumed via [Durability of Exchange] is 430.]

Daz stroked his chin thoughtfully as he flew through the air in his car. Fort Home was only a minute or so away but he was absorbed in the possibilities of this extremely powerful object.

'So... How does this work, exactly? I would assume it means I can just turn my laws unto unbreakable parts of life... but... how does that interact with the world?' he thought with a careful crease of his eyebrows. 'The secret was useful for once, which is nice. If this isn't an overly dangerous tool to utilise, I could make every law in New Earth an edict without even coming close to destroying the thing.'

However, regardless of how many times he could use it, how it worked still left him wondering.

As far as Daz knew, it could instantly punish people about to act against the edicts, or, it could just freeze their bodies. Perhaps it altered his citizens' minds to make even thinking about breaking the law impossible.

'Empire-wide unbreakable mind control is hardly what I need right now in regards to public relations. The cracks have set me back enough there as is,' he concluded with a shake of the head.

Daz was also concerned by the lifespan issue. He was effectively immortal with his Curse of Loneliness, but would consuming his lifespan make him grow older to the point he'd eventually have to deny dying of old age every waking moment of his life?

Testing was required. Luckily, he had the perfect person in mind to help him with that.

***

"Your Maj- No, Your Imperial Majesty," Lyle bowed respectfully, "I assume your summons is in relation to your most recent promotion? We must hold a celebration and an inauguration ceremony immediately. I'm sure doing so in the correct manner will ease the citizens' minds and help distract them from the current consequences of the war with the Truthians."

Daz waved dismissively as he took his place on his throne. "You are free to do so, just plan it around my other obligations. No, though, that's not why I called for you."

"... Why then, Your Imperial Majesty?" Lyle questioned respectfully. "I live to serve. Whatever you require, it shall be done."

Daz smiled a little bit. 'He may be frighteningly loyal, and he may have a strange godly-being unrelated to the system living inside of him, but he's always proven himself to be reliable.'

Reaching into his Industrial Item Box and pulling out his new Mark of the Fallen Ones, Daz spoke, "I need to see exactly how this works."

Lyle's face bore a look of confusion on it. "May I?"

Daz nodded, allowing the man to use whatever version of Identification he possessed on the sceptre.

Lyle's emotions began fluctuating immediately. Daz felt joy, hope, excitement, and a few other positive feelings at first. Not long later they were replaced with worry and hesitation.

[Ember of Empathy [Entry-level (initial mastery)] has increased to 23%.]

"Your Imperial Majesty... This... tool is incredibly powerful but I have no doubts it has earned its name. As valuable and amazing as it is, I do not suggest you ever use it," Lyle said with a surprisingly amount of sternness in his tone. "In fact, destroying it may prove wiser. Removing the temptation and whatnot."

Daz raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"As you no doubt already know," Lyle started explaining immediately, "one's lifespan is nigh without an equal in value. As an Archreaper, you can be expected to live for hundreds of thousands of years, no?"

Daz nodded. "At least, yes. That's ignoring my Lifeforce stat as well as a few of my other stats that boost longevity."

"Indeed, such as Regeneration," Lyle agreed. "However, this tool of yours which I assume was rewarded to you for reaching your new and very impressive status could take a day or tens of thousands of years off your life per edict."

The former jewel and jewellery-seller shook his head. "We have a robust legal system with few-to-zero cracks in it. Our crime rates are minimal with less than 0.02% of the population having committed a crime under your rule. The lack of bureaucracy and the inclusion of several individuals with abilities similar to your own to detect lies makes it almost impossible to avoid punishment."

That was certainly true. No one on New Earth quite had an ability that was equal to Daz's Eyes of Truth, but as Lyle had stated, there were similar, weaker powers out there being employed by his judges.

"While it would be a boon to free up Alpha when it comes to the rare cases of extreme criminality or obscure and unclear cases, that alone is nowhere near the worth exchanging your very valuable lifespan would represent. Excuse my crassness, Your Imperial Majesty, but a good dictatorship only remains good so long as the dictator does. We would never want our incorruptible former Justice Reaper to die, whether from old age or otherwise," Lyle stated calmly.

Daz slowly nodded. "While I would normally agree with you since we have no idea how long it might take to carve out a stable existence for ourselves in the greater system, I need to know exactly how this item works."

"But the risks are too hi-"

Lyle stopped talking immediately once Daz put his hand up. "I have a curse that makes me effectively immortal. I wish to know how this interacts with said curse," he said, gesturing to the sceptre.

Lyle creased his brows in thought for a moment. "That... that would explain how you defeated the cardinals without access to the system. And it also justifies how you could survive your purposeful detonation of a Star of Eternity."

"I'm glad you understand. So, Lyle, are you willing to help me test this?" Daz asked.

Lyle wore a helpless expression on his face. "Honestly? No, Your Imperial Majesty. Your job will only get harder if - while not dying - you get older. Regardless, I live to serve. I will do as you command."

"Thank you for caring, Lyle. It... means more to me than expected. Still, I doubt I'll become Crosius with but a single edict, now will I?" the young reaper grinned.

Lyle chuckled faintly. "Hopefully not for that is a fate I wish upon no man nor beast."

In the corner of the room, at his desk, Crosius snorted. "Ignorant youths."

Daz smiled as he shook his head. He then used the sceptre's skill, Heavenly Edict.