Chương 41: Chapter 37 – Preparations (part 2)

~15 years remaining After ensuring that Jhilsara was on board with everything, the next order of business was to get her a way to contact me… all of the mes, actually. The answer to that was a set of magic items that were relatively simple in their purpose. They were basically just magical radios that were only tuned to one frequency.

It was a bit more complicated than that in actuality since I wanted the items to work no matter which dimension we were in, but thankfully, it didn't take too much time before I got a working prototype that I passed off to her, myself, and the clone that I had brought with me. That just left handing one off to the other clones, and that was good timing because I was getting a feeling through our link that the one I had sent to search Gram wanted to speak with me in person.

Titus 03: Hey, when you're free, I think I finally found it. And I think you should see it in person Make that more than a feeling. I thought with a slight snort.

"Sure," I replied to the [Message].

"I'll be right there so I can give you your communicator, too." After a casting of [Teleport to Beacon] to get me as close as possible, I made my way into the old library that had dozens, if not hundreds, of dusty tomes and scrolls littered everywhere.

"It turns out we're a lot worse at historical research than we thought," Titus 03 stated as I came in and saw the mess.

"Either that or it's a lot harder than we gave it credit for."

"Probably both," I agreed immediately.

"Now, let me see it." He held out the scroll but didn't immediately relinquish it.

"Promise me not to freak out," he replied. I just pulled harder and took it. It wasn't a very long read. The prophecy that had been given to Titus the Tyrant, AKA Pride, had been a short one. I had remembered that it mentioned my defeat and the dawning of a new age, and I wasn't quite sure how that was possible at this point. The answer came to me as I read it through.

"Okay," I said, closing my eyes.

"Maybe we're still misinterpreting it?" Titus 03 asked hesitantly, seemingly afraid of me being angry.

"There has to be-""I think it's clear what will happen," I cut him off sharply. Then, with a sigh, I asked a different question.

"AltSys, are you there? Anything you can share about this?" System: To make your idea work, you're going to have to catch him off guard. And he's not going to easily get into position for it. You're planning on using the one thing admins are afraid of; after all"But it will work?" I asked. System: If you make him angry enough I chuckled.

"I think I can handle that." System: Last messages before I stop replying. Running out of manipulation points. You'll need your own stockpile of manipulation points before he comes back, or he might be able to outright delete you. Make sure to make them towards the end because your conversion efficiency also determines how many you can store. I had been slightly worried about Admin doing admin things to me, so that wasn't as concerning as it could have been.

In fact, it was partially good news since I could stockpile the points instead of needing to create and use them all at once. System: And, lastly, you need to be more worried about protecting everywhere from the other demons. Admin is coming in at level 100, and he's going to be buffing all of the demons underneath him. Expect Anger to be level 50 and for them to be respawned a few times. That message hit me like a blow to the stomach.

I figured I would be able to handle Admin 1 on 1 no matter how strong he was with all the prep time I had. However, the ideas I had been toying with were going to be nowhere near sufficient to deal with high-level demon hordes being teleported into random cities. I need to step up my plans for protecting Placeholder… a lot. I thought. Aloud, I said, "Thanks for the heads up, AltSys. That could have been bad."

"What could have been bad?" 03 asked in confusion since he wasn't in on the message train.

"Nothing you need to worry about," I replied with a shake of my head. Then, an idea started to crystallize. I'm not sure that will work. I thought. But it would definitely catch him off guard. However, the good news about being in multiple places at once was that I could pursue basically every lead I had.

"I have your next assignment," I told 03.

"Yeah?" he asked, his head cocked.

"I can kinda tell through the link, but what is it?"

"Bandit hunting," I replied.

"More specifically, you're looking for a bandit fort…"

Later that day I stood in Dave's Paradise, the zone above Jenkins that was probably the easiest "dungeon" in the world to clear. No one was there because it had already been cleared for the day, and that meant there was no boss to fight. But I had some things to test that might include a fix for that. No time like the present. I thought as I walked up to the green obelisk that showed the zone was under Dryadal's control.

"Claim," I stated. I wasn't sure what would happen. I was the [Hero] by virtue of the class Joshua passed on to me. However, my race still said I was a Demon Lord, and I still retained all of my skills from the [Demon Lord] class. The answer was… the same thing that happened the very first time I tried to claim an obelisk. An explosion launched me 50 feet away from the obelisk into a rough tumble. I popped up quickly and dusted myself off.

"That also means…" I muttered as I approached the obelisk again.

"Claim for the Demon Lord faction!" I ordered. System: Zone, Dave's Paradise, has been claimed by the Demon Lord Faction And then…

"Claim for the Hero faction!" I ordered immediately after. System: Zone, Dave's Paradise, has been claimed by the Hero Faction The health bar for the "Blob of daves" appeared, and I started a quick cast that would wipe most of them out.

"[Hell Bl-" I stopped midcast. It felt wrong now. A part of me wondered about not using a spell anymore just because it invoked Hell, and another part of me said that was a stupid criterion. However, the louder part of me realized something else. My final confrontation is against demons. I should be focused away from fire. That answered my question beyond a reasonable doubt. [Hell Blaze] was no longer on the table for a multitude of reasons." [Hurricane]," I cast instead. It was horrific overkill for the poor balls of slime that I was against, especially given all of the skill levels I had gained in magic over the years, but it did the job. And that left only thing to take care of." Jhilsara," I said, speaking into my communicator." Are you there?" There was no reply for half a minute, and I wondered if she had violated her promise to keep it with her at all times. That worry was relieved when I heard her groggy voice." Titus? Do you have any idea what time it is?" she groaned in reply. I looked up at the moon shining brightly in the nighttime sky." No," I replied honestly." Sorry. I don't sleep, and I have [Darkvision], so I sometimes forget about timing. I'll contact you again at a more reasonable hour." I was about to put my communicator back into my inventory, but she interrupted me." Wait," she said." If you and your 'clones' will be up at all hours of the night, you will still need someone to coordinate you. I will take care of it. Now, what did you need?"" I need either Titus 04 or 05 to move up towards Dave's Paradise," I replied." I can force the boss to respawn, and I want to see if they can too. If they can, I want them to work on getting as many people leveled through the dungeon as possible."" Are they not your current sources of income?" Jhilsara asked." Are you sure I should reallocate them?" And that proved why I had hired her. She was half awake in the middle of the night and already made me realize some flaws with my plans. And I was beginning to see that even stretching myself 6 ways wasn't enough.." Actually, scratch that," I replied." First order of business is I need more clones. And for that, I need mana. Do you think that you could organize mana donations?"" People do not as of yet know the [Demon King] is coming," Jhilsara replied." I doubt you will have many volunteers." Then, she paused." Perhaps if you paid them instead? A modest amount like 1 gold for every 5 mana?"" That's genius," I replied." Do it. I'll be dropping off a mana crystal that you can have people start filling." I nodded to myself." Also, I think I have some organizations where I could get volunteers. I'll follow that up, too. Thanks, Jhilsara. Talk to you more tomorrow."" Wait!" she called out again." I attempted to contact you earlier today, but you did not have your artifact out. You need to always keep it out if I am to reach you and coordinate your movements." That… was a pretty big design flaw, but I shrugged it off for the moment. I can fix that after I have some more clones running around." Alright, will do," I replied." Sleep well." She replied with a grunt, and then the line went dead. The next evening"Brothers and sisters of the flame!" the leader shouted to the cloaked congregation." Our numbers may have been greatly reduced during our lord's last call to arms, but we must not give up hope! The lord of flame will return once more and-" I interrupted his speech by choosing that moment to teleport onto the stage." Yeah, like right now," I stated. All motion in the room ground to a halt for several seconds." You… you're not him!" the leader shouted after recovering for a moment." How did you find us? Who are you?"" Really?" I asked with a sigh." A change of eye color is enough for you to not recognize me? Seriously?" And that started up the murmurs." You aren't wearing his armor, either!" one shouted." Or his staff!" Another cultist decided that was the moment to throw a vial of alchemist's fire at me. It cracked against my chest, and I lit aflame, but all I did was gesture down at it and raise my eyebrows." You could just have a fire resistance artifact somewhere!" he continued. I sighed." You know what? Those are fair critiques," I said." I was pretty much wearing my armor and using my staff 24/7. I can understand the confusion. So, let me prove it to you the only way that can't be faked." And so, for the first time since I had become [Hero], I unleashed my Demon Lord aura. It felt… wrong and uncomfortable. So, I kept it up only long enough to cause about 40% of the room to fully prostrate themselves." Hail to the lord of flame!" the leader shouted." Hail!" the others on the floor shouted. However, they were a slight minority. And the majority included a cultist who drew an adamantium blade." I know what your eyes signify," the cultist, who I had to assume was one of my "fangs" continued." You have betrayed us." I pulled out the Hero's sword." If you mean that I am no longer fighting the [Heroes], that is correct. I have no need to fight myself." He jumped up on the stage and we started circling each other." However, you have forgotten yourself. What is the purpose of the Children of Flame?" I asked." To defeat the [Hero]! To bring forth a new world of glorious flame!" he spat as he came forward with an attack I easily blocked." Wrong," I replied." The purpose of the Children of Flame is to serve me. And if I have given you your power, I can also take it away." He yelled a battle cry and likely activated [Power Strike] or some equivalent. Unfortunately, for him, [Sunder] was faster. With a thunderclap, my fang was dropped to the ground, and his sword clattered away." He's not dead," I told the crowd." I am responsible for creating your organization, and that means that I'm responsible for how you all have turned out. And I have led you astray. For that… I am sorry." Giving a deep bow in front of a room of cultists who had no idea how to respond to it wasn't the most awkward thing I'd ever done, but it was close." L-lord of flame, please stop!" the leader continued." Your word is our law. There is no way that you could be wrong!"" But I was wrong," I continued." And if my word can't be wrong, then how could I say so?" That flummoxed him, so I continued." You all joined because you believed in my cause. You believed in the dawn of a new age brought forth by my hands," I stated looking out across the room." And that… that … I can still promise you. A new age, not brought forth by defeating the [Hero] forever and destroying the world, but by defending it from the [Demon King], the greatest threat that Placeholder has ever seen." I took a deep breath and let passion fill my voice." So, will you help me? Will you serve me once more, not to purify the world with fire, but to preserve it through the coming flames? Will you do my bidding and usher forth an era of peace and prosperity that none before have ever seen?" The room was quiet for a bit, and a part of me worried that my entire trip had been wasted. I was starting to calculate contingencies and how many cultists would need to be killed or imprisoned by my own hand when…" I will!" one cultist shouted. The others turned to look at him, and he shrank back ever so slightly. And then, he started rambling at high speed." I never liked the idea of burning the whole world in the first place. I mean… I have a cat at home. Would he have been safe through something like that? What about my parents and my cousins? I mean, I only joined because I thought it would happen later, and-""Thank you," I said, with a hand up, calling him to stop." That's enough." Then, turning back to the room." Anyone else?" I had been hoping that one courageous youth would have been enough to start a chain reaction, but it didn't seem like it." Question, lord of flame," the leader said." Yes?"" What will happen to us if we don't join you?" he asked. I frowned." The only things I can think of are imprisonment or death-""HAIL TO THE LORD OF FLAME!" the entire room shouted in unison as they all fell prostrate. That wasn't exactly how I wanted to regain the loyalty of my cult, but I had to take what I could get at that point." Up on your feet," I stated." The first order of business is I need as much mana as you can spare to charge some giant crystals. I'll leave one here with you and be back for it in a bit."" Yes, lord of flame," the leader replied." And second… I guess I'll need to make sure another organization doesn't hunt you down," I continued. Bolstered by my success, I was sure that negotiations with the Hero's Shadow would go just fine. The next day"Absolutely not!" shouted one leader of the Hero's Shadow. And the other six sitting there nodded in agreement." How could you possibly think that we could come to a truce with those… those… raving lunatics!?" he continued." Sit down and shut up," I stated. And as he immediately complied, with a look of shock over his face and an inability to open his mouth, I realized that I had messed up. I had revealed that I was the [Hero] because that seemed the easiest way to get people naturally on my side. AKA, their own choice and not just going "because I said so" as the Grandmaster. And one of their leader's immediate following of my command just outed me as the latter." Fine, I admit it, I'm the Grandmaster," I stated. That relaxed everyone in the room." It all makes so much sense now."" No wonder Joshua always had him around."" He does look a lot like the last [Demon Lord], though." Thanks for that fantastic segue. I internally quipped." There's a reason for that," is what I said aloud. Then, I took my status and flicked it to everyone in the room. And that got the shouting started back up." Everyone shut up and sit down," I ordered. And, by the oaths sworn to join that organization, they quickly obeyed." Now, go ahead and ask your questions, one at a time, and keep calm," I ordered again." How did you infiltrate us so thoroughly?"" I didn't," I replied." You can't infiltrate something that you yourself started. Next question."" Why would you start an organization to protect the [Hero]? That doesn't make sense!"" My side started getting too good at killing off [Heroes]," I replied." And I needed to make sure that I kept a specific one alive until the right point." Then, deciding there was no reason to hide that." It was my brother. I needed him for a special ritual. It failed. Next question." The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident." What are you planning to do with us? And with the world?"" That was two questions," I snarked." But I'll answer both. For the world, I'm trying to protect it for when the [Demon King] comes back." I paused for a moment." Sidenote, we have a date for that. April 17 th, 449. Anyway, as for what I'm planning to do with you, I think that I'll set someone else up as Grandmaster since it's obvious you'll never willingly do what I say. As a bonus, I'll remove the part of your oaths where you need to protect the [Hero] since you have something much more important to protect."" And what is that?"" The world," I stated bluntly." I need as many people as possible to defend against demon invasions that could happen anywhere at any time. That got them muttering amongst themselves. I could tell they didn't trust me." And what about your cult? You're asking us not to move against them, but what happens if they hurt someone?"" If a part of my cult is going renegade, let me know, and I'll take care of it," I replied." Empty words when we have no way to contact you," he scoffed." As a leader of the Hero's Shadow, you all have to know [Advanced Message], right?" I asked. They all nodded, confused as to how that was relevant." Then, it's quite simple. You just have to send a message to Titus Null." That was the tipping point. I had trusted someone with my real name. I could be [Messaged]. I could be scried on. And after removing all of the oaths from everyone in the organization (I didn't trust anyone with absolute control like I used to have), I got an oath that they would do as I asked regarding the children of flame… For a trial period. I took what I could get. Either way, I had another organization preparing for the coming attacks. But that was just the beginning of my own preparations. A month later ~15 years remaining My clone finally got a hit on a bandit encampment, so it was time to teleport in and get what I needed. By the time I did that, the bandits were all lying on the ground unconscious, with an astounded contingent of [Watch Officers] looking on. Their eyes popped open even wider as I went in and took what I came for." By the blue text!" one of them swore." How did you lift that!? And how are you moving with it in your inventory?"" I'm high-level," I replied." And I have [Pack Mule] at level-" I was about to say level 8, but that reminded me that I hadn't checked it in a while. I flipped open my status and saw that it was level 10. I was confused for a moment before remembering. I'm the [Hero], and have [No Restrictions] now… which means no decreased experience. And then, I have increased experience to all skills. So, that might mean that my skills basically go up a level or two for free. I paused as that sunk in. Wow, that's horrifically overpowered. Then, remembering that I had momentarily zoned out while looking at my page, I finally finished answering the officer." Well, let's just say it's high-level," I finished. I could tell they were still a bit concerned, but they had 4 dozen or so bandits they needed to restrain and move out, so they didn't bother asking more. My clone did, however." Why did it need to be a bandit one anyway?" he asked." Couldn't we just make our own?"" A bandit one is smaller," I replied." Now for your next orders, I think it's about time to make another clone, so-""Actually," he interrupted." Do you think I could swap out for 04 or 05?" he asked." They've been grinding mobs nonstop, and I bet they need a break." I looked at him quizzically for a moment and then nodded." Yeah, that should be fine. Go ahead and coordinate the swap with Jhilsara." He nodded and pulled out his communicator." Oh! And before I forget, I think they could use some better weapons, so maybe that should be your next focus?" he said." If they had something that could steal stamina and health, they could probably grind higher level areas like the north." I just stared at him for a moment." What?" he asked defensively." I had a lot of time to think while I was trying to track down groups of bandits, okay?"" I'll handle weaponry myself next," I said with a shake of my head." Dismissed." He nodded and then walked off, talking to Jhilsara. Meanwhile, I watched him with a hint of suspicion. He's being… helpful. I thought. Given my interactions with Demon Slayer, that seemed… concerning. However, I still had some weapons to make. I tabled my paranoia for the moment and pulled out my forge pocket dimension. It was time to test out the new material. Later that day It turned out that angelium wasn't any more difficult to work with than demonite. Unfortunately, it also wasn't any easier, meaning it needed its own special fire. Since it had been a month, I decided to stop by Heaven to defeat the strange three-headed boss once more and ask some questions. I defeated their trials the same way, since they apparently hadn't updated them, and then decided to pose the question." How am I supposed to work the angelium?" I asked." For demonite, I had [Hell Blaze] to create… well, cursed fire, I guess. But what do I do to melt angelium?"" You show your wisdom by asking us," the owl hooted." Allow me to demonstrate. [Sacred Flame]!" he cast. As he did, a golden pillar of flame appeared next to me momentarily before fizzling out." It will be difficult to learn, but I shall show it to you as many times as you shall need, you need only-""That should be it," I replied after nodding my head." I think I got it. And if I don't, I have a skill that I can recall it. Thanks!" I left the flabbergasted beast behind and returned to Placeholder. Later that day"You know," I muttered." I kind of forgot the Hero weapon had this abiilty. No wonder it's always been such a threat." And what brought that reaction on was the prototype I had completed out of mana-infused angelium, or as the System called it, couragium. It was a white blade with a tinge of blue throughout, and I had added my Superposition enchantment to it because, of course I would. And the Hero weapon had reacted to that. System: Equipped weapon has a better damage type (VII) than the Hero's Sword. Would you like to upgrade the Hero's Sword to match it?" Yes," I replied. System: Hero's sword damage type upgraded to Slashing VII However, that wasn't the end. System: Equipped weapon has a better enchantment than the Hero's Sword. Would you like to upgrade the Hero's Sword to match it?" Holy frick," I muttered." That's allowed?" The prompt didn't respond, which was probably a good thing because that usually only happened when I was crazy." Uh, yeah," I finished." Do it." System: Hero's sword has been given the Superposition (choose 2) enchantment So, with the choices it already had on it, that meant I could pick any two of life drain, mana drain, stamina drain, extra damage to demons, and extra damage to bosses. It was a great start. However, I had a sinking feeling it wasn't enough. Admin is coming back with as much power as possible. And that would probably mean armor with a slashing resistance of X. I thought grimly. So, I either need to create a legendary weapon…." Or go bigger," I finished aloud. I had an idea. A crazy idea. And it would take almost a year's worth of angelium to make it, but it would likely be my only shot at dealing any appreciable damage to Admin. I got to work on a steel prototype right away. A month later I sat down at the adventurer's guild, and Lhoris joined me not a minute later." Jhilsara said you wanted to speak to me?" I asked." I did," he stated." After everything, there is no world where I can fully trust you." I winced at that remark, but he continued." However, there is also no world where I can ignore your warning," he stated. Then he pulled out a truth stone and set it on the table." No more lies. Is it true that the [Demon King] is returning and will be more powerful than ever?"" Yes," I replied." And I have the exact date of his return."" And how could you know such a thing?" he asked me skeptically. And that was an awkward question to try to answer. After all, I wouldn't be able to explain admins to someone who had lived their whole life in Placeholder." Let's just say that I have it on good authority from someone in a similar position as the [Demon King]. Someone who also wants him dead," I replied." No trickery with your wording," he scowled." Answer me plainly, or don't answer me at all."" I can't answer you plainly," I snapped." This situation is not so simple. I can't break it down in a way you would understand, or without revealing knowledge that seems to have a 50/50 chance of mentally breaking people." Lhoris was taken aback but nodded slowly." We'll move on, then. Is it true that you killed the [Demon King]?" he asked." Yes," I replied." Why?" I barked out a laugh before I could stop it. He raised an eyebrow." Sorry," I said, shaking my head." You have no idea what our history is, so you don't realize how absurd that question is." I collected my thoughts and then continued." To keep it simple like you asked? One. He lied to me and tricked me into opening the portal under a false promise. Two. He is directly or indirectly responsible for a large amount of the suffering I've gone through. Three. I've had a sneak peek at what the world would look like under him, and I wasn't a fan of the entire world being enslaved and tortured in perpetuity. Four. He tortured me and then killed Joshua, the previous [Hero], in front of me." I paused and looked Lhoris in the eye." Do I need to go on?" Lhoris instead stared thoughtfully at the truth stone." No, I am convinced your quarrel with him is genuine, whether or not you've somehow managed to lie about your motive," he replied." So that leaves me with my final question." He leaned forward and looked at me." What specifically would you have me do?"" Like I mentioned, I need a [Commander] for a group of rapid-response teams. If he's going to teleport demons everywhere like last time, I need a couple of parties who can respond anywhere in the world."" And how would a team do something like that?" he asked, his skepticism returning." We cannot simply appear anywhere like you can."" And if you could?" I asked. He frowned." What you are speaking of is forbidden magic."" But it's only forbidden because of the side effects," I corrected." So, full disclosure, there are going to be side effects. I'll try to mitigate them by getting a class tailor-made for it, but I can say beyond a reasonable doubt that even training for it will cause long-term issues that can never be healed."" You would ask me and dozens of others to go through it despite knowing that in advance?" he asked." Yes," I replied." Because it's the best way I can think of to save lives. I'll scrap the program if no one volunteers, and we'll just do our best through normal means." I grimaced and looked away." I just know that for this upcoming fight, Placeholder will need to throw everything it can just to survive. And I want more for this world than that. I want to defeat the [Demon King] and his armies with minimal casualties." Lhoris was silent for a minute, and I almost got up to leave." What does the training look like, and when will it start?" he asked. A tension that I didn't realize was there left my shoulders, and I sighed in relief." It will involve intense skill training, forbidden magic, and giant flaming murder snails," I stated. He raised an eyebrow at the last part, so I quickly added." It's the fastest way to get you to level 20. Oh, and you start as soon as you can get a full party together."" I know some men who went off to fight your army that are returning soon. I will have a party together within the month," he stated." Glad to hear it," I said, rising and shaking his hand." And I apologize in advance for everything I'm going to put you through." The next day"Sorry, everyone, the tomb is closed!" I called out as I stepped in from the biting cold of the United North." Please exit in an orderly fashion. The tomb of the First Queen is closed indefinitely! Sorry for the inconvenience!"" Who do you think you are?" asked an irate woman who seemed to be in charge." And what gives you the authority to shut us down indefinitely?"" I'm the [Hero]," I stated as I pulled out the Hero's Sword and flipped my armor to mithril mode." And… I'm the [Hero]." That response baffled her, so I just decided to repeat myself." Everyone out! Tomb's closed indefinitely!" I bellowed as I strode down the steps to the main attraction… an old enemy stuck in a single moment of time." But, why are you shutting us down!?" the woman protested as she followed behind me." Because an empty tomb isn't much of an attraction," I stated. Then, switching my weapon to a staff, I looked in Gertrude's direction and prepared to cast." Wakey wakey, you crazy old battle maniac," I muttered. 1 month later"This thing is a useless waste of metal!" one of my monster farming clones complained as he swung a giant prototype sword. He one-shot 3 wolves with it, but the swing drove the blade into the ground, and he punched and kicked the next dozen or so enemies before retrieving it." Alright, be specific," I stated." What issues are you having with it?"" First off, the length. It's completely impractical," he said, gesturing toward the blade that was longer than I was tall." Besides throwing the balance off, I can't make any sort of vertical swing because the ground will be in the way. I know the point is to use it to fight Admin, but you have to realize that limiting our attacks to horizontal swings will make everything super easy to read." I frowned but nodded." The problem is that I need the reach since Admin's way taller than me, so I'm not sure I can compromise on that. I'm pretty sure that I'll need to be able to block his swings and not just dodge."" Fine, but the weight is still a huge problem, too," my clone said, hefting the blade and swinging it." It takes a full stamina point to swing, and since it weighs… what, 50 pounds? If I'm not completely braced the blade ends up swinging me."" I could maybe give it some gravity enchantments to negate its weight?" I asked. My clone scowled." That wouldn't be enough. It's not a weight problem. It's a mass problem. Remember your freakin' physics classes." He paused as we both came to the realization that… I had likely never actually taken any." Anyway, why the frick do you have so much blade here? If I cleaned it off, I could seat a family of four down for dinner at it."" For enchantments," I stated." This was a rush job, so you didn't get the full suite, but I needed that much area for all the runes I'm going to put in. Including ones for gravity, it sounds like." I gestured for him to hand me the blade, and he seemed surprised as he forked it over." You're not going to force me to keep using it even though I hate it?" he asked." No? Why would I?" I asked in confusion." I thought it was Demon Slayer all over again," my clone muttered so softly that I wouldn't have been able to interpret his words… if I wasn't also slightly in his head due to our magical bond." Anyway, thanks for testing it out and letting me know what to improve on," I said." Get another job from Jhilsara, and I'll bug another clone for the next round of testing. If you're lucky, you might get to kill giant snails with Lhoris." My clone snorted but then looked thoughtful." Are you sure you want to take me off this?" he asked." Weapon R&D is pretty important."" And that's why I'm handling it myself," I replied." Though, it turns out that firearms are a lot harder to make than I thought. I can't seem to make a black powder substitute."" Maybe it's because this is supposed to be a fantasy world and not a tech one?" my clone offered." It might be legitimately impossible by design." I frowned." I hope not. That would make Lhoris' team a lot less impactful." My clone mirrored my frown, but then his eyes widened." Hey, maybe you just need to make a magic gun instead."" I've toyed with that, but then it almost makes more sense to just make a whole bunch of healing staves," I stated." Having an enchantment that shoots metal out doesn't get enough momentum going to do any real damage."" No, I'm not saying to enchant the gun. I'm saying to replace the gunpowder with a magical version!" my clone replied excitedly. My eyes widened as I caught on." Have the bullet casings enchanted to perform the explosive propulsion-""And then use charged powdered magicite as the mana source!" my clone finished." That just might work," I murmured." You're a genius," I said, looking at my clone." Hey, don't flatter yourself," he quipped." Now, you better check in with Jhilsara. It sounds like you'll need even more charged magicite than you thought."" Good idea," I said, grabbing my communicator and activating it." Jhilsara, are you there?" I asked." We've been over this. State your designation when checking in," came a nasally male voice." Who the frick is this?" I asked." Oh great," the voice sighed." Another new copy. Well, to explain this again, you were given a designation when you were created. Most likely Titus 10. Please start all communications with that designation so that we can coordinate your activities more easily." Oh. I thought. Jhilsara must have delegated some of the work out." I'm the original," I stated." I imagine that this is what Jhilsara wanted to discuss in our business meeting in… oh. I missed that. Sorry."" 10, 000 apologies, sir," the voice replied after a moment, suddenly subservient." We didn't want to disturb you if you were in the middle of important work. However, you should choose a designation as well to smooth matters."" If they're all Titus 01 through 09… I guess that makes me Titus Prime?" I asked." Neeeeeeeerd!" my clone called out, and I quickly shot him a glare." Understood, I will mark that down," the voice stated." So, let me try this from the top then," I stated and then cleared my throat." Titus Prime, checking in."" Go ahead, Titus Prime," he replied." I'm requisitioning charged magicite. A lot of charged magicite…" A year and a half later, ~13 years remaining"It took you a lot longer to gather the leaders than I expected," I told Jhilsara as we walked to the Jenkins' town hall meeting room." I had to move both the heavens and the earth to get this meeting," she replied." You are fortunate they were able to meet so quickly."" Yeah, yeah," I sighed." Politics and government. I get it. You've earned your keep." If I was being honest with myself, it would probably have been another decade before I would have secured that meeting on my own… if I had gotten it at all." Oh. Speaking of your pay…" I prepared to pull out her 15, 000 gold (she had gotten a deserved pay bump), when she interrupted me." Split it two ways. The other half goes to my [Aide] to distribute to the rest of my workforce," she said, nodding to the nasally-voiced elf, Klaern, who was following behind. And yes, that was a workforce that she mentioned. Perhaps the best part about working with Jhilsara was that she had mastered the overpowered art of delegation. Anyway, I didn't often give coin denominations much thought, but I did in that moment as I prepared her pay. Her payment was initially going to be a 10, 000 gold coin and a 5, 000 gold one since that was the smallest number of coins it could split into. However, splitting it two ways at the last second meant that I didn't end up with 2 coins in my hand from my inventory. I ended up with 6. 2 sets of 5000 gold, 2000 gold, and 500 gold. I paused and stared at that for a moment." Jake?" Jhilsara prodded, using my fake name as we were in public." Nothing," I replied. It had given me a stupid and impractical idea… but one I would likely end up using in my final confrontation with Admin. I tossed them their pay, and we kept moving. We made it into the townhall, and it was packed. Delegations from every nation were crowded around the table, even from the merfolk, Besti, and the United North. To my surprise, even Gertrude had decided to show up, though I doubt she possessed any political position. The crowd quieted as I entered, and I approached my seat." Thank you, people of Placeholder, for responding to my call so quickly," I started." I am the new [Hero] of Placeholder, and I bring word of two vital pieces of information that needed to be discussed and handled. The first and most grave, is that the [Demon King] will return sooner than expected." That caused some murmurs among the crowd, but I held up a hand for silence." Fortunately, I have been given the exact date by… I suppose you could call it prophecy," I stated." April 17 th, 449. On that day, the [Demon King] will return, and the hosts of Hell will be stronger than ever. I need every nation to prepare to protect its people from demonic incursion, similar to what we saw during the last [Demon King]." That caused a bit more chaos, and I let it go this time as groups started shouting at each other. I didn't answer it until I received a direct question." And how do we know you're telling the truth!?" a Gram delegate shouted. I pulled out the Hero's Sword and then shifted the Hero's Regalia a few times." All I can offer proof of is my class. Beyond that, you will need to trust the truth stones all of you are attempting to furtively hide that I am not lying." The delegate almost shot back again, but he was quieted by a hand motion from Gram's [King]." This is indeed grave news, and we will discuss it more amongst ourselves at a later time," he said, eying the other delegate." Now, what is the second piece of news?" I pulled up my status, and Jhilsara grabbed my arm." Don't," she hissed." You don't need to tell them. It will just undermine your warning. They don't need to know."" But I need to come clean," I replied quietly. Then, with one swift flick of my wrist, I sent a copy of my status to everyone in the room. There was stunned silence for a moment, and then weapons were drawn. The Dryadal group shouted one thing, Gram another, and the other nations also shouted incomprehensible things. I was even treated to a crossbow bolt that bounced off my armor ineffectively. We were all interrupted as a fist crashed down on the table, splitting the giant stone slab in two." Oh, would all you lilly-livered cowards shut yer pie holes!?" Gertrude shouted." He ain't attackin', and if he was, he woulda already killed every one of ya delicate little flowers."" [Queen] Gertrude, you don't understand!" a delegate from Dryadal said." He's the [Demon Lord]! During his latest scheme, he was personally responsible for the death of 73% of our armed forces!" Gertrude looked at me and raised an eyebrow in a way that indicated she was impressed. … And that was probably the most ashamed I'd ever been of someone's approval." So, what it's soundin' like ta me," she said, sitting back down in her chair." Is that he ain't askin' us to let him join our side." She shook her head." No, if he's the bigshot [Hero] now, he's even stronger than before, ain't ya?" she directed the question toward me." Probably double what you saw earlier," I stated, which was an accurate guess with the [Hero] skills… and the fact that the world had that much trouble with Demon Slayer, not with me personally." So, I ain't no pencil pusher like you, poindexter," she continued, addressing the delegate." But double your 70 whatsit percent means he could take your entire army you had back then and then come back for some seconds." She snorted." So, this ain't him asking if he can join us. He's askin' who wants to join him." Everyone looked to me, and though I hadn't been planning on going that route, I had to admit that I did constitute a bigger military threat than the armies of everyone else in the room combined. And that was before you counted my slowly growing army of clones." I guess so," I replied… which caused another uproar. The uproar included at least one person shouting, "We'll never surrender to you!" And I had enough." Then don't!" I snapped, quieting and confusing the room." Whether or not you are willing to coordinate with me, I will still try to save your people. Whether you want it or not, I will still do my best to train and equip your warriors for what's coming. And, whether you can forgive me or not, it doesn't matter!" I took a deep breath." I primarily came here to tell you the truth. What is coming, and who I am. You are rulers of your people. You will know better than me how to handle that information, but you needed to have it before you could make a decision!" I paused and collected myself." And I know that none of you can forgive me for what I've done. And that's okay. Should Placeholder and I both make it through the coming crisis, you can put me on trial. Put me to death or jail me for the rest of my eternal life. I don't care." I looked at each delegation in turn." Because right before Joshua died, I promised him I would take care of the world. And I will do whatever I can to do just that. Just don't put your heads so far up your asps that you get in my way." I turned and strode out of the room as the shouting match began anew." You were still hiding something," Jhilsara stated." At the very end."" You're right," I sighed." Joshua asked for me to protect two things. The world of Placeholder, and…" I pulled an item out of my inventory, and it appeared in my hand as a shimmering and twisting blue light." This," I stated as my head started to hurt just from looking at it." No idea what it is. [Appraise] is useless, and my inventory just gives me a bunch of question marks." I put it back in my inventory since Jhilsara was starting to go cross-eyed, too." I just know it's important… maybe more important than all of Placeholder," I stated." Do you truly believe you will manage to protect both?" she asked." I'll certainly try," I replied. Then, the moment was over." What's next on the agenda?" I asked my probably-overworked helper. A month later"It's finally done," I breathed a sigh of relief, looking at my second attempt at creating a couragium greatsword. The first had ended in a failure that was both fascinating and catastrophic. And it was a firm reminder to clean my forging tools better to ensure demonite and angelium never mixed again. It was also more than a greatsword because I realized I had run into another problem with my weaponry. The Hero's staff was actually somewhat weaker than Singularity, and I could never make a replacement because my [Staff Maker] levels were never going to hit 9 so that I could make a masterwork staff like I could with Elnil's help. However, there was nothing stopping me from using the handle and a portion of the blade as a focus instead. And so, that was my plan. Create a masterwork or legendary weapon that was both a greatsword that could cut through Admin's armor and a spellcasting focus that could replace singularity. With the initial couragium prototype completed, I braced myself as I shifted my hero weapon into the same greatsword type. Then, I synced the enchantments and damage. It was beyond my expectations. Hero's Greatsword A unique weapon only usable by the Hero. Deals extra damage to demons and boss monsters. Has received multiple upgrades from other weapons. Also functions as a spellcasting focus. Materials Unknown Tier Legendary Base Damage 100 sla X Damage Scaling 4 per 1 Casting Type all III Enchant Masterwork Mana Capacity (1000) Enchant Holy Enchant Masterwork Superposition (0 of 4 active) Enchant Masterwork Sharpness (Inactive) Enchant Masterwork Health Drain (Inactive) Enchant Masterwork Mana Drain (Inactive) Enchant Masterwork Stamina Drain (Inactive) Enchant Demon Slayer (Inactive) Enchant Boss Slayer (Inactive) Enchant Grav Assist (Up, Down, Left, Right, Forward, Backward) (Inactive) Enchant Grav Boost (Up, Down, Left, Right, Forward, Backward) (Inactive)"100 slashing X damage?" I asked." And 4 damage per level? So, 200 slashing X damage?" I whistled in disbelief. That would cut through the Hero's Regalia like butter, and I couldn't survive two hits from it even without the skills or enchants. And boy oh boy were the enchants fantastic. It had the same mana capacity as Singularity and an improved version of the full suite that I had used on Herobane. Even better, I got to pick 4 of them at a time instead of 2… though at least one of those would likely be taken up by one of the newcomers. Grav assist, and grav boost were custom gravity enchantments I had cobbled together. The first one shifted the gravity on the weapon so that it pulled in the direction I chose, while the latter did the same in a more… violent and sudden fashion. And that was my solution for the weight and length problems. They didn't matter if my weapon also functioned in a way that gave me extra mobility. The only thing left to do was practice with it a ton until it was second nature. Things are finally looking up. I thought.