Chapter 111 - Progress

They look exhausted.

As the diesel truck slowly approached their new faction town, Blake could see his town’s defenders from atop the cab. Spread across the ground, outside the ring of campers, were vast piles of corpses. 

Next to the mounds, his four defenders struggled to defeat a single large Ursa. Their movements were slowed from exhaustion, and their attacks feeble. Jeremy did his best to pin the monster from behind, but was unsuccessful. Jimmy attempted to land a critical blow against its unprotected eyes, but could not. Meanwhile, Jared and Antonio’s shields looked almost broken, as they were continuously rebuffed by the large creature’s paws. All four had major damage to their armor, with blood caked across it.

They need a break.

Now that Blake returned, they would receive far less nano per kill. His presence meant they would never face true danger. He could easily kill the level zero monsters at any time, and could heal any injuries they caused.

No risk and you get a pathetic reward. 

The same was true for the presence of firearms. Before he left, he asked his faction members to keep their guns hidden. They were to only unveil them if the town was in danger of being overrun, not to save their defender’s lives. Then, when the four combatants finished off their enemies, Blake told them that he was about to leave with all their firearms.

He ignored Antonio’s protests, and left them to defend the town alone. Once he left, they began to receive the full amount of nano for each kill, despite the fact that firearms were stashed nearby.

It was a trick Blake had learned in his last life. They had no knowledge of the rifles, and the non-combatants would not use them to help in battle, so the Architect did not penalize them for their presence. 

And here I come, ruining things for everyone by showing up.

He unstrapped his bow and retrieved a conjured arrow from his quiver. As he nocked the projectile and drew back the string, he fed chi through the enchanted circuits and into the metal tip. When he was certain his aim was true, he released the string.

The attack shot forward like a bullet and immediately penetrated deep within the thick hide of the Ursa’s flank. A moment later, the Ursa exploded and showered the four with its entrails.

Once the monster was dead, Antonio and Jared sank to the ground and panted. Even Jeremy and Jimmy leaned heavily against their spears. As the truck approached the opening in the circle of campers, Jeremy nodded to Blake in appreciation for his assistance. 

“Looks like you guys need a dip in the river,” Blake smirked.

Jimmy raised both his hands and raised his middle fingers.

Blake jumped from the top of the cab to the ground, then strode towards his exhausted defenders. “Don’t worry,” he told them. “I’ll keep the town safe so you guys can take a break. Get cleaned up and then get some lunch. You deserve it.”

“There’s monsters… out by the river,” Antonio croaked between breaths.

 Blake turned to the diesel truck which had parked in front of the town’s entrance. “Hey Scott!”

The man exited the truck, rifle in hand, and approached Blake. “What’s up, boss?”

Blake hiked his thumb towards the exhausted soldiers. “Can you watch their backs while they get cleaned up in the river?”

Scott grinned. “Sure thing.”

“Could’ve used that rifle an hour ago,” Jared muttered as he slowly climbed to his feet.

“You’re right, it would’ve helped a lot,” Blake admitted. “But, then you wouldn’t have gotten shit for nano. Your mastery would’ve barely gone up as well.”

Jeremy’s eyes crossed as he navigated his interface. “Holy shit! I made almost ten million nano in the last couple of hours.”

“Not bad,” Blake nodded. “Now, if I’d have left you a rifle, or stayed myself, you’d be lucky to have one percent of that.”

“Yeah, but my arm’s busted,” Jared complained as he held it tight to his chest.

“Here, let me fix it for you,” Blake insisted.

He approached the injured man and placed his hand over the broken arm. After five seconds, his Transferable Focused Regeneration was applied. 

“It should be fully healed in an hour,” Blake informed the soldier. “If not, come back, and I’ll apply it again.”

“Are you sure? I didn’t feel a thing.” Jared asked doubtfully as he tested its range of motion. After he moved it slightly away from his chest, he winced.

“It’s Regeneration, not an instant heal,” Blake rolled his eyes.

“Whatever you say,” Jared muttered.

“Anyone else need healing?” When the three others shook their heads, Blake checked his interface. “Then it looks like we have a little over an hour before the ‘Survive the Onslaught’ directive completes. I’ll hold down the fort until then.”

“What happens when the timer reaches zero?” Jeremy asked.

“Everyone that participated gets a reward,” Blake answered.

Jimmy seemed to perk up. “What kind of reward?” 

“Who knows?” Blake shrugged. “It’s usually nano, but the Architect can give whatever it wants, however it wants, to whomever it wants.”

Antonio frowned. “Seems kind of arbitrary.” 

“Yes it does,” Blake agreed, then waved goodbye to the exhausted soldiers and leapt atop the wall of campers. Once he stood on the raised temporary structures, he could see the horizon in all directions. Three goblins approached from the west, while a pack of Manders slithered in from the north. Luckily, the level zero creatures could not cast fire spells.

Can’t have that.

Blake waited until the monsters were within range and then quickly eliminated them. Once he was sure they were safe from attack for the next few minutes, he hopped down and approached Brent. The constructor was hard at work on the faction hall.

“Hey, Brent,” Blake greeted the busy man.

“What do you want?” Brent growled in annoyance.

Damn. Someone’s extra cranky. Although, he didn’t get much sleep last night.

After the level one faction hall was fully constructed yesterday, Brent and his laborers had worked around the clock. They quickly completed the three prerequisite buildings overnight, and now looked to be almost done with the faction hall upgrade.

“I was just checking up. Seeing how things are going.”

“Fine,” Brent grunted as he returned to work.

Okay…

“How long do you think it’ll take to complete the wall?” he asked.

“How the hell should I know?” Brent huffed. “Roger’s in charge of the wall, not me. Go ask him. All I know is I’m finally going to get some sleep after this thing’s done.”

“And how long will that take?” Blake asked.

“Should be done in an hour. Unless I’m distracted,” Brent said pointedly.

Okay, okay. I got it.

Blake stopped bothering his constructor and took a moment to observe the small camp he stood within. At least fifty people worked within the two acre area they had walled off, while another thirty resided within the campers they used as the barrier. Some people organized boxes of supplies, while others skinned and roasted edible monster meat over the fire. 

Off to one side, Josh taught their new faction members the rules they must uphold, along with a shortened summary of Blake’s guide. Jobs were assigned and volunteers for combat classes were appreciated. Once he was done with the onboarding, he would get people situated within their temporary lodging until bunkhouses could be completed.

Looks like things are coming along nicely.

The calmness of the scene was a far cry from his previous experience. Four days after Invasion day, in his last life, Blake and his family were barricaded within their apartment, frightened from the monster which feasted on their neighbor, directly outside their home.

That’s still happening. I need to get out there and save those people.

***

“Roger said the wall should be finished tomorrow night,” Blake told his mother and Jessica at their nightly holo-chat meeting while he sat within the upgraded level two faction hall. The building had been completed for over eight hours now, and most of the rooms were filled with supplies. Meanwhile, Scott and a few other volunteers stood watch beside Roger and his laborers as they constructed the wall.

“That seems fast,” Jessica noted.

“It is,” Blake agreed. “But, they have a lot of laborers to assist them and are going to work around the clock.”

Donna shook her head. “If only people had worked so hard from the beginning, the portal room would be completed by now.”

“Amazing how monsters attacking at all hours will motivate a person, right?” Blake said wryly. 

“This is true,” Jessica grinned. “I have seen a noticeable increase in work ethic over the last three days as well. I guess seeing is believing.”

“I suppose that’s true,” Donna admitted. “Our outer wall is almost done, even though we had to stop work on it multiple times due to monster attacks.”

“How are the combat teams?” Blake asked.

“Very effective,” Donna replied. “Kasey has had a ton of new recruits as well. We actually ran out of level one nano-gear and had to distribute level zero to the newcomers.”

Jessica nodded. “The same thing happened here. I just hope people don’t get killed because we can’t afford to outfit them.” 

“I wouldn’t stress too much about it. I’m sure a few will die here or there, but it’s nothing compared to the last time I went through this. Then, people not only had no gear at all, but had no clue what was happening either. At least this time, they’re given weapons and enough nano to learn how to use them.”

Donna frowned. “I hope you’re right. Luckily, our recruiting is going well enough that we’re flush with nano and will have no problem supplying our new recruits with nano. A second round of people came in from Whiteriver today.”

Blake frowned. “I thought they showed up on Invasion day.”

His mother shook her head. “No, that was only about a third of the town. Most either didn’t believe the tribal council, or refused to leave out of stubbornness. However, now that monsters have appeared, that seems to be changing. Chairman Tessay left some horses for those who remained, and they’ve been flooding in since the Invasion began.”

“That was true for us today as well. Almost everyone in Payson our convoy crossed was eager to join. At least, in the morning and afternoon, they were,” Jessica amended. “For some reason, more recently, people have begun to reject our offer.”

“Did they say why?” Donna asked.

“Just that they did not trust Blake’s faction.”

“Stupid Warner,” Blake muttered to himself. In a louder voice, Blake said, “I actually had some people turn me down as well. The first three trips to town were great, but the last one got weird. Multiple people were very thankful that I saved them, right up until they found out who I was. Then they begged me not to kill them, like I was a monster or something.”

“That is odd,” Jessica frowned. “Do you think someone is spreading falsehoods about you? Perhaps President Warner?”

“I wouldn’t put it past him.” Blake shrugged. 

“Maybe you should get Jennifer to make a few videos to counter the propaganda,” Donna suggested. “Oliver thinks she’s very persuasive.”

He laughed. “Oliver is obsessed. He’d believe anything she said, no matter how outlandish it was.”

His mother attempted to hide her smile. “Perhaps there is some truth to that, but she was a popular influencer. We could use some of that influence right now.”

“I agree,” Jessica nodded. “I believe partnering with her would drive up recruitment and save lives.”

Blake sighed and rubbed his temples. “Fine, I’ll ask her when I get back to Pinetop. I’m too busy right now.”

“It’s been a long day for you. Maybe you should get some sleep,” his mother suggested.

Blake shook his head. “I can’t. Not yet. I need to run a scenario and earn some nano.”

“Blake, you spent all day saving people,” his mother began.

“Exactly,” he interrupted. “And I’d be out there right now, saving even more people, if it wasn’t dark.”

“You’re going to burn yourself out,” Donna warned.

“I need to run through at least one scenario a day if I ever want to level again. Two would be ideal.”

“You could just borrow from the treasury,” Jessica suggested.

Blake shook his head. “We need that money to upgrade the town. Besides, if anyone should get a loan, it should be the new recruits, not me. I also don’t want to look like I’m stealing taxes for my own gain. That happened a lot in my last life, and generally didn’t end well for anyone involved. I know I was pissed at Baron Bob.”
 “At least promise me you’ll be done for the day when you get back,” his mother pleaded.

“Of course,” Blake agreed.

“Then Jessica and I should let you get to that before it gets too late.”

Blake said goodnight to his two chancellors and ended the call. He was about to grab his spear and head to the Tiefling scenario, when he noticed that multiple notifications had appeared during his meeting.”

I should check these before I go.

As he opened the messages, he frowned. All of them were from Oliver, and they all asked him to talk with him as soon as possible.

Odd. What does he want?

Blake opened a new holo-chat with his brother, and the alchemist immediately accepted. He leaned back in a reclining chair within his bunkhouse with a beer in hand. When he saw Blake, he leaned forward and said, “Bro!!! What took you so long to return my call?”

“I was in a meeting,” Blake replied. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, no biggie, just found out you went on a killing spree.”

Huh?

“What are you talking about?” Blake asked, confused. 

Oliver snorted and took a sip from his beer. “You really need to subscribe to Jennifer’s videos. She dropped a new one like an hour ago. Evidently, someone recorded you killing four people outside Payson with your spear.” His brother leaned back in his chair. “I watched the vid, bro. It looks bad.”

Someone recorded that? Shit!

“I need to see the video. Where is it?”

Oliver swallowed another gulp and said, “It’s on her subribbit.”

“She has her own?”

“Yeah dude, everybody loves her. She’s so popular, the Architect just made one for her.”

Is it paying that much attention to what’s going on, or did that happen automatically?

Blake navigated through the new social media section of his interface until he found the video Oliver told him about. It was titled, ‘Breaking: Is Humanity’s Scion Guilty of Murder?”

Stupid clickbait.

He unconsciously scratched his armored forearm, which hid the sprawling Mark of Cain. After he opened the video, it revealed Jennifer as she stood in front of a decorated wall in her bunkhouse. Her face held a somber expression, forecasting the seriousness of the allegation.

“Hello everyone. I am sorry to bring you disheartening news. According to an eyewitness, Blake Summers, also known as the Scion of Humanity, killed multiple people outside of Payson, Arizona two days ago. She even has video proof of her claims.”

Jessica sadly shook her head.

“Wanda Krasell was in her home two days ago when she heard a gunshot. After she recovered from her shock, she rushed to her front window and peeked out the curtain. What she saw next frightened her to her core.”

Suddenly, Jennifer was replaced by a video, shown from inside a house. The view was taken through the glass panes of a dusty window and showed seven people in the middle of the road. While the figures were distant, you could still make out their features. 

Blake stood over a body while four men and a woman kneeled before him. The recording was not able to capture his words, but clearly showed him angry at those before him. Suddenly, Blake unclasped his spear, spun in a circle, and four people dropped to the asphalt, dead. Next, Blake killed the woman, and stabbed the body on the ground.

Shit. That even looks bad to me.

He again scratched his forearm as he watched his past self drag the corpses off the road, and then rush away. Finally, the video ended and was replaced by Jennifer.

“Unfortunately, Wanda was only able to record the end of this event, and we do not have the full context available to us.”

Damn right you don’t.

“However, she states that none of the men or women who were killed made any overt threats toward their executioner. She states that before she began the recording, Blake rounded the people up around the body in the road and had them kneel. As far as she could tell, they were all unarmed.”

Of course they were! I disarmed them after they tried to kill me!

“I attempted numerous times to contact Blake Summers for his side before I released this video, but he refused to comment. Is this all a big misunderstanding, or is it really as dark as it seems? Time will tell. Until then, This is Jennifer Taylor, featuring, ‘News That Matters’.”

The playback finished and Blake quickly checked the responses beneath it. Evidently, only paid ‘subscribers’ could leave a comment, yet somehow thousands of people had already done so.

Who pays for this crap?

Almost everyone replied with shock or anger at what they saw. Some even called for Blake’s execution. Only a few staunch Domers asked the others to wait for Blake’s response before they passed judgment. However, those who defended him were quickly shouted down by the mob.

Blake leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

SHIIIITTT.

“Well, from your expression, I can see you finished the video,” Oliver said unhelpfully. “So, what happened? Why’d you kill those people?”

A sudden thought occurred to him. Blake leaned forward and narrowed his eyes at his brother. “You aren’t recording me right now, are you?”

Oliver scowled. “You really think I’d do that to you?”

“If it got you a date with Jennifer, you might.”

“Screw you,” his brother told him, visibly upset.

“Sorry,” he apologized. “As for the people in the video, they set up an ambush. They were just unlucky that I was their intended victim. They all had guns and even shot at me first. By the time that recording started, everything was already over. I told them to never do it again, or I’d be back, but I could just see it in their eyes.” Blake shook his head. “They didn’t even feel remotely bad about what they were doing. They planned to do it again. So, I made sure they couldn’t.”

“Bro… that’s dark.”

Blake nodded in agreement. “Yeah, but necessary.”

“You totally gotta do an interview with Jennifer. Tell your side of the story.”

Blake took a deep breath. “I suppose so.”

“And stop ignoring her when she tries to get a hold of you. If you actually answered, you might’ve convinced her to hold off on the video. Actually add her to your contact list.”

“You think if I contact her now, she’d take it down?” Blake asked.

Maybe when she hears my side… 

“Are you serious? It’s already out there. Everybody knows, the Archi-net is forever.”

Is that a play on ‘the internet is forever’?

Blake looked on in horror at Oliver. “Please tell me people aren’t actually calling it that.”

“What, you don’t like it? I made it up myself.”

“Please, never, ever, repeat that abomination of a word,” he begged his brother.

“Fine,” Oliver huffed. “So, are you gonna finally call her?”

Blake nodded. “Yeah, I will.”

After I finish a scenario.

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