The Systemic Lands
Chapter 478: Day 924 – Tournament Planning

It was early morning. I had gotten back yesterday to Purgatory and rested up. Now it was time to settle some things. The first was the point crystal from the level 5 monster. I had been putting it off since I didn’t want to see the amount come in at 25,200 if the pattern held. Level 1 crystals started at 5 points and then they went up by a multiple of 10, then 9, then 8, and most likely by 7.

That was why the highest theorized level was level 10. Since after that point, the point value wouldn’t go up anymore. I doubted there would be a change in the pattern, but I was hoping they were worth a million points per crystal.

It was very unlikely, but the number of points went up for stats and the difficulty increased. At the same time each stat did less and less. Making the points worth less while I was getting less of them based on the difficulty.

All of this meant, was that there were several curves for stats, power, and points that were coming into play more and more. At the start none of this really mattered. I could see these issues after working out the point pattern and then the power decline per stat.

But everything was reaching a breaking point. Or it already had. That was why level 4 was more than just monster difficulty, it was also getting enough stats to fight at that level effectively. That was the real issue, and I had no good way around it besides passive income from my Empire.

This was also the reason I had been less gung-ho about grinding than I had been in the past. After the heist, and my passive income, grinding wasn’t really that important. Combat experience was. I just wanted to be able to make a dent in my points myself.

I waited till the end of cashing in chests to cash in my level five crystal. I hadn’t gotten any out of the tower which had been a shame. Now I could finally learn the truth, even if I knew what it would be in my heart and didn’t want to confirm it.

Letting out a sigh, it was exactly what I expected. The point crystal was worth 25,200 points. Following the increase of 5, 10, 50, 450, 3,600, and now 25,200. After that it would be 151,200 for level 6 and 756,000 for level 7 if the pattern held. Level 10 would only be 18,144,000. Well, it was nice to have a guess confirmed, even if I didn’t want it to be. Silver linings and all that.

With my taxes collected and my guess confirmed I made my way back to my Imperial Palace. Now it was time to get started with something much more exciting. I made my way to my private dining area and Clarissa showed up as well.

“Good morning Michael.”

“Morning Clarissa. It is 25,200.” She nodded at that.

“Unfortunate. At least we know for sure now. Any issues with the shoulder?” she asked.

“No. It is fine. So, I was thinking of taking up a hobby,” I said. Clarissa froze as she was butter some fresh bread. I was enjoying some mystery bacon, or mystery meat strips. Crunchy, just the way I liked my mystery bacon.

“Oh, what hobby are you thinking of?” she asked.

“Monster battling. Francis told me about it, and I think it would be fun. I wanted to get in touch with the organizer since I was thinking about taking over the tournament or participating. I really wanted to see what rule set they have come up with as well. I was thinking maybe a level structure, with single competitors with up to two monsters and then teams with up to six. But a lot would depend on the monster type. We don’t want any bulbs shooting beams into the crowd.”

“Okay, you are in charge,” Clarissa said.

“What?” I asked.

“I was dealing with it before. Everyone has their own ideas. And since it is between cities, that means Governors. And there are really only two people who officially out rank them. You and me. It was one of my bigger time sinks and I honestly wasn’t that interested. If you want to take over, you are officially in charge.”

“Uh, that was easy,” I replied with a grin.

“Good luck. You will need it. And no melting people. That is my only rule,” Clarissa said.

“Can I threaten them?” I asked with a grin.

“Of course. Threaten them a lot. But monster battling is supposed to bring people together, with something new, fun, and exciting that wasn’t possible on Earth. Monster’s aren’t animals and that is made very clear,” Clarissa said.

“Good. Imagine PETA or something. I think that stood for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. What would a monster support organization be called?” I wondered.

“Nothing. Don’t even mention it. There is enough stupidity going around. A casual mention by you would get people talking about something like that. Even if you meant it as a joke,” Clarissa said very seriously, but I could tell she was a bit amused by the topic.

“Don’t worry. I won’t start up a Monster Enlightenment Attainment Tournament.” I was pressed for time so came up with something stupid. At least the acronym made sense in the end.

“Just call it Monster Battling Tournament, or MBT. Keep it simple and easy to remember,” Clarissa countered.

“That does sound decent. So, what have you done so far?” I asked.

“I have a working committee of five people. You can find them in the conference room that has been set up. They represent a subset of the governors for this monster battling. So, you need at least three to agree with you. That was how the committee was set up, with me having veto power. But now you can have the veto power.” Clarissa seemed far too eager to give up this project when it stood to make a lot of money.

“You are quite easy going about handing this over to me,” I replied.

“Like I said, political headache. And it doesn’t interest me as much as it does you. One thing you learn in my position Michael, is to delegate wherever you can to people who won’t mess things up.” Well if I messed up it would be on me. I actually felt a bit nervous at this. I really had to make sure the tournament was amazing. I couldn’t just steam roll everyone at the end and laugh about it to make myself feel better.

“Couldn’t you do the work, but I just give input,” I suggested.

“Nope. This is your hobby. Enjoy. I have already submitted the paperwork,” she replied.

“But, we are having breakfast and I am the Emperor,” I countered.

“I am just that good Michael. It is your project now.”

“Hmm, fine.” I munched down on my crispy mystery bacon.

“As a heads up. There is a celebration planned for day 1,001 to day 1,004. So if you plan to do something, make it fit in that time frame. And the budget is coming out of your share, but you can keep all the profits.”

“Really?” I asked. “I don’t have people to run accounting or manage my income like that. It all goes towards me.” Clarissa paused to consider that.

“Alright, that makes sense. I will appoint one of my assistants to work on the budget aspect and to hire staff on your behalf instead of the committee. Samantha is quite capable, and you should be able to work well with her,” Clarissa replied.

“Thanks.”

“If you need anything, feel free to ask me. There will need to be zoning considerations for the arena, inside or outside the inner wall. I am effectively Purgatory’s governor, so I am in charge of approving new construction.”

“Really? Not delegating?” I asked.

“For now, no. It is too important that our grip on this city remain secure. Maybe in time, I would appoint a Vice Supreme Governor, which is a mouthful, to the position. But I haven’t found anyone capable or trustworthy enough.” I nodded at that.

“Also, we are going to be purchasing several buildings. So, planning would fall to me anyways as the head of the Imperial Government. For more minor things, I have a staff. A much bigger staff than other governors. That position, is one I am leaving open to encourage people to do a good job.”

“This Samantha on that list?” I asked.

“She is. Her ability to work with you would go a long way in securing her the position of Vice Supreme Governor, or Governor of Purgatory.” I nodded at that.

“As long as the bureaucracy doesn’t become bloated. No free loaders,” I said, and Clarissa nodded at that.

“Yes, I completely agree. That is why there are regular audits and I am keeping a tight grip over my auditors.” She meant spies that could do accounting. But it was the same thing really, just with a nicer title.

“How are things going with you? Any issues?” I asked Clarissa.

“Nothing serious. Just managing some small disagreements and trying to get all the zones productive. A lot of it involves waiting for right now, for people to get more stats and spread out. Some business planning and food research I am funding myself. Doctor Katz did hire a biological expert recently. Quite talented and might produce some interesting results.”

“Oh, like what?” I asked.

“Using energy to create automatons and looking into ways to increase one’s stats without purchasing them.” Now that was interesting.

“If there is a breakthrough let me know,” I said. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the NøᴠᴇlFire.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

“Of course. As for other people. The kid is doing fine. Regular checkups and he is mellowing out a bit. You want to train him or something else. We don’t have other kids in his age range,” Clarissa explained.

“Get him a tutor. Someone who could take over a school and the kid can be their test. They do a good job, they can get the position.”

“Running a school is different from teaching,” Clarissa replied.

“We aren’t going to have that many teachers. I mean, how many kids are there?” I asked.

“That is another problem. There was a small baby boom during the war.” I paused eating my crunchy bacon.

“How many?” I asked.

“About ninety pregnancies. Combined with the twenty or so children from before. Well it is a decent amount,” Clarissa said. They didn’t have access to the cities. And people got togeather. Without restorations, they got pregnant. I closed my eyes and considered the situation.

“Most of them were soldiers or supporting our soldiers. So, can’t execute them,” Clarissa said. I knew that. They fought for me. But this place was no place for children.

“Other than that, the no pregnancy rule is enforced?” I asked.

“Yes, it is.” I nodded at that.

“Use the kid as a test for a teacher. I will let them be for a couple of years then I will speak to the kid and decide what to do. Qi Ji Long will either be a balanced individual, or he is going into the void,” I replied.

“The last thing, is that the Avatar, has begged to see you,” Clarissa added.

“That…individual, can suffer,” I replied.

“She is breaking quickly Michael and she said she had something important to tell you,” Clarissa added. I had seen the Avatar chained up this morning, but had kept my distance. But perhaps a visit would be interesting.

“Alright. I will see her and if you could get Samantha to come see me and get her up to speed?” I asked.

“I will,” Clarissa replied and I nodded at that.

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