Amazon Apocalypse 6: Chapter 55

Oh hell no.
I slammed the lid shut, and a wave of irritation ran through me. Just when I thought luck was smiling on me and my bloodline had led me to a lucky find, I wound up face to face with whatever this was.

I turned my thoughts inward and tried to figure out where this sudden rush of anger was coming from. I realized I'd already started to think of this ship and everything in it as mine. If the original owner was still alive, that was no longer the case.

I was no thief, let alone a cold-blooded killer. Even if I bought the ship fair and square, as long as the original owner was alive I couldn't consider it mine.

I cracked the lid open again and took a second look.
Pale, pearl-white hair cascaded across the pillow beneath her in long, silky strands. Smooth and faintly luminous skin gave her a soft glow even in the shadows. Her face had a fierce and ageless aristocratic aura that would be intimidating if the woman who held it wasn’t flat on her back. She was lying down, but I could tell she was tall. Taller than me, probably, with the kind of statuesque posture that would make her more than a little intimidating. She wore the ragged remains of what had once been something like the fine garments in her wardrobe behind me.

As I'd noted at first glance, her face was beautiful. In an objective sense, only the Goddess in Jade compared. Her beauty gave her a natural charm, but I shrugged off any irrational need to obey her that her high charisma stat induced. Not that she was even in any position to be giving orders.

Her face looked like half of it was burned off, and there were holes clean through her chest, stomach, and the corner of her mouth. One hand was missing at the wrist, as was an ankle. Some of the stains on the side of the lifepod were probably made when she dragged herself into it while hopping on one leg.

Any sexual interest I had in this woman was immediately squashed, and not just because my bed was full. Before the apocalypse, many a man spoke of the crazy-hot matrix. I considered myself fairly lucky in that regard, but I was still putting up with more than a little craziness as it was.

This woman was close to the peak of A-Grade, if past patterns for levels held true. If she was as crazy as she was beautiful, she would probably end up destroying my planet at some point. No thanks. I had my plate full on the female attention front.

Her wounds were severe. The lifepod seemed to have kept her alive, but that wasn't enough to wake her from her current state of suspended animation. In fact, if I deactivated the lifepod, she would die of natural causes in short order.

Hell, even if I left it active, her wounds would probably kill her eventually in a few thousand more years depending on how efficient the pod was at holding her in stasis. If anyone else had found her, it would be a mercy to let her pass here and now.

If I were anyone else, that’d be my only option. But instead I was me, and I’d gotten rather good at healing lately. Fixing up the worst of her wounds was well within my capabilities.

“Damn it...” I grumbled. It seemed I was going to have to heal this woman up just so she could take my fancy new ship away from me.

But I wasn’t about to let her die, so with a final grumble I did just that. I filled in the holes in her flesh, welded bone together, removed some rather deadly poisonous debris from her wounds, and generally put her back together again the same way I had her ship.

Truthfully, healing her was a little easier than fixing the ship, since I already understood Architect biology thanks to Mimiko. The only difference here was that, unlike cultivators, the Architects didn’t see much issue with body and soul modification.

Various tethers ran from her soul in all directions, though only some of them were directed at the System as I understood it. From the looks of things, many of her soul tethers looped back around and connected to a mechanical apparatus surrounding her cultivation core and spiritual roots, or extended off into nowhere, where whatever connection they once had was now severed.

This woman was probably from the early days of the System, before the version I knew had been established. Perhaps she even had her own private iteration of the System that was fully under her control, unlike the huge monstrosity of a System intended for the general populace.

I would have examined both these connections and her more if I hadn’t sensed her eyelids flicker just as I was finishing the process. I had an appointment to keep with the Goddess in Jade, and I wasn’t going to miss it because I needed to explain to an ancient ice woman that times had changed since she stepped into that pod.

I slammed the lifepod shut at the first sign of wakefulness. Now, at least, she wouldn’t fall apart while sleeping in it. I fiddled with the controls and adjusted them.

“Keep sleeping until you’re at one hundred percent...” I muttered as I hit what I hoped were the right buttons.

It actually wouldn’t be so bad if she woke up in fifty years when the integration was over. I’d have plenty of time to study her ship and build my own replica. And hopefully by then I’d be an A-Grade myself and capable of staving off any craziness she might introduce into my life before she took this ship and flew off to do who knew what.

Yes, I’d been overly hasty freaking out at the sight of her. She would sleep for a good long time. Surely she wouldn’t cause any problems for me anytime soon.

I slapped a big “Do Not Enter” sign over the door containing Seraphyne of the House of Nemaryth. The last thing I needed was one of the religious nuts I had running around here popping open that lid and discovering there was more than one goddess in the universe worth worshiping.

***

I finished right around the time we arrived at our destination. Since I wasn't using the fancy warp button, this time our stop was more of a gentle deceleration than a sudden slam.

“I’ve never docked at a cultivator space station. Any tips, Mimiko? Will this ship mark us as outsiders?” I asked.

“No, it should be fine. Many cultivators use looted ships, and this ship looks common enough that it could have been obtained during a fight with any of the splinter System factions you from the Arcadia Multiverse call the heretic factions. We should be able to dock as is,” Mimiko replied.

“And what about me? Anything I should do to disguise myself? I could pull that old trick of taping a broken core to my stomach again,” I suggested.

“It would be best not to. I don’t know how cutthroat this world is, but most cultivation worlds are full of opportunists. It would be best not to look weak and invite anyone to try their luck at attacking us. Withdraw your powers into yourself and we will pretend you are hiding your cultivation. You have the appearance and physical body of a peak Soul Formation expert, so it shouldn't be too difficult to sell,” Mimiko said.

“Right, that’s B-Grade?” I shrugged as I slipped into some plain cultivator robes taken off dead Black Beast Sect elders during the crusade. I wasn’t sure which, but Mimiko said the dark robes suited me. I was trusting her to help me blend in.

“Exactly. I am at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm, which places me among the highest tier of mortals in the cultivation world. Truthfully, I am a little excited for this trip. The last time I was in a place like this, I had to keep my head down. But no longer.” A confident smile spread across Mimiko’s face.

My heart beat a little faster at the sight of it. Mimiko was usually one of my most dependable people, but that smile was a little too Myrina-like for a moment. All cultivators loved to flash their power around, and it seemed Mimiko was no exception.

Once properly dressed and prepared for this trip, I went back to the controls and piloted us in. This cultivation world was a prosperous one. It was full of warring kingdoms, but one sect reigned over all the chaos and kept those at a certain realm or above in check to avoid any genocides of the mortal populace.

A cultivator in bright blue robes flew out into space to meet us. He was roughly at the same level as Mimiko, so she went out to meet him. I stayed in the ship while she negotiated passage for us. The transaction went smoothly, and soon we were given the all-clear to leave our ship here and continue on foot to the entrance of the Ninefold Lotus Heaven Realm on the planet’s surface.

The two of us floated down into the center of the planet’s smaller cities. Despite its small size, there was a reason this was the capital. Everyone here was a cultivator, though most only at what I’d call levels one to ten. The other, larger cities were strictly full of mortals.

One thing I disliked about cultivation was that so few were able to actually reach a decent level of power. Most people in cultivator territory lived and died as mortals. I was pretty sure that was a complaint I shared with the creators of the System. At least on Themyscira, most ordinary peasants could eventually reach the E-Grade and receive the benefits of long life and good health.

Mimiko held her chin high as she walked and projected her power around us, showing off the fact that she was nearly level two hundred, or the cultivator equivalent. People stepped aside as she approached, and most bowed their heads to avoid meeting her eyes.

“Apologies, great elder!”
“We dare not delay such an honored personage. Please, take our spot in line!”
“A thousand blessings upon you, great immortal!”

Mimiko was showered in praise merely for existing, and she looked like she was in heaven. Now, at least, I could see why cultivators of old didn't like the System's creators taking away what made them special.

We ended up skipping the whole line of people trying to enter the Ninefold Lotus Heaven Realm and passed right through the portal. The magical staircase in the sky that led to it seemed incredibly similar to the passageway into the Mucaria mystic realm.

Eventually, we reached the other side, where Mimiko's special treatment came to a sudden and abrupt end. A group of people looked us over from afar, then rushed out to meet us.

"Welcome to the Ninefold Lotus Heaven Realm, fellow cultivators. This humble gatekeeper and his comrades promise you safe passage to the nearest city, so long as you hand over all your valuables."

A swordsman bowed to us, showing power only slightly weaker than Mimiko's. But he had three people of similar power standing beside him. What was an unheard of level of power just behind me was suddenly the realm of common bandits in the Ninefold Lotus Heaven Realm.

Mimiko scoffed as she looked the four of them. "Do you dare?"

"Fellow cultivators, can't you see you're outnumbered? Surrender peacefully and we will even include an introduction to several local shopkeepers currently hiring assistants. Naturally, we will only charge you a small portion of your future wages for this service..." the swordsman bandit and his three comrades drew weapons and surrounded us. Most of them eyed me in particular.

Mimiko shot a glance at me, and I figured it was now was where I was supposed to play the whole hidden master in disguise thing.

"The four of you should go find honest work. Get out of here," I said. Then I waved my hand and stuffed a whole bunch of mana into a burst of sudden energy. Mana Arsenal was one of my few abilities that was close enough to cultivator powers that it could fool the eye, especially when I channeled mana through the tiny sliver of a wood spiritual root Mimiko had given to me.

"Soul Formation expert!" the lead swordsman yelled, eyes going wide. He and his comrades tried to run, but Mimiko appeared in front of them in a flash of light.

"Not so fast, fellow cultivators! I think you're forgetting to leave your valuables behind." Mimiko flashed them a malicious smile, much to their despair.

And so we ended up robbing the four would-be bandits. Honestly, everything they had looked like junk to me, but Mimiko was very excited throughout the whole process.

We also got directions out of them, which was the big win in my mind. The Goddess in Jade wanted to meet at some fancy tea house, and this mystic realm was pretty big.

From my research, the Ninefold Lotus Heaven Realm did the opposite of Mucaria. Instead of running faster, this place ran about nine times slower on average. Sacrificing that kind of time meant the mystic realm could be a lot larger and have denser mana. It also meant those inside it would find the mortal world passing them by much faster than they thought, especially if they went into some of the areas within this mystic realm that experienced further negative time dilation.

We flew to the city, where several cultivators on Mimiko's level flew up to meet us.

"Flying space is restricted in this city. The two of you will have to land immediately and pay a fine," said a rough-looking swordsman.

"More bandits." I reached for my sword and prepared to deal with them in the same manner. But then Mimiko bowed her head and offered some of our spoils to these bandits.

"Apologizes. We will pay our fine. We are new here," Mimiko said with head bowed.

"See that you stay out of trouble," the bandit-looking swordsman scoffed as he departed.

"That was the city guard," Mimiko explained when she saw my confused look.

I scratched my head. "Damn. The bandits at the gate were more polite. It's a good thing I brought you along."

We had several more incidents like that. Mimiko took the lead, both because she was experienced in cultivator society and because she could display her full power openly.

That worked well enough until we finally found the tea house the Goddess in Jade was supposed to meet us at.

We approached the building, which was a huge pagoda that towered over the city. It seemed like one of the finest places in the area. Cultivators really did like their tea.

"A table, please," I said to the waitress on staff, only to be met with a derisive snort.

"Today we're accepting only the most exalted clientele. I don't recognize the two of you, so I'm afraid we can't accept your reservation." She sneered at me openly.

I stood there blinking for a few moments and shook my head. Mimiko, however, took the refusal in stride.

"I am a Nascent Soul expert. You will make room for me," Mimiko commanded, flaring her aura.

But the head waitress gestured to the contents of the tea house behind her, which was already brimming with auras at her own level of power.

"Perhaps your cultivation is impressive on whatever backwater world you come from, but here in the Ninefold Lotus Heaven Realm, there are plenty at your level. And many of our patrons are famous or from impressive lineages. So sorry, but as I said, we will not be able to accept your reservation." The head waitress made a shooing motion, gesturing for the two of us to get lost.

Mimiko scowled. She'd encountered such treatment before, no doubt. But she'd been holding her head high ever since we arrived back in cultivator territory with her at the peak of C-Grade.

"Surely you can reconsider?" Mimiko tossed a handful of spirit stones on the table. It was almost everything those bandits from earlier possessed.

The head waitress looked at the spirit stones and was unmoved. This time, her words were less thinly veiled. "As I said, you're not worthy of a seat. Every table is spoken for. Today is a big day for our tea house, and every noble family in the city is here hoping to catch the eye of an important guest. Stop blocking their way."

Though she was only at the peak of D-Grade, she seemed fearless in the face of Mimiko's peak C-Grade power. The reason why became apparent a moment later when security came out.

"Who dares make trouble at the Heavenly Goldencup Tea House? Who's got a death wish?" said a tough-looking swordsman. At first I thought it was the same one who'd shaken us down when entering the city, but this one had a small mustache.

Seeing her power wasn't enough, Mimiko shot a glance at me, and I nodded. It was time to switch tactics.

"Who are you to dare stand in my master's way?" Mimiko scoffed, arms folded as I stood behind her serenely and raised an eyebrow.

"Please let us through without issue," I said.

The guard looked me up and down. I sensed him trying to do the cultivator equivalent of an examine, but I shrugged off the effect thanks to my high examine resistance. Surely I gave off the aura of an enigmatic and powerful cultivator they shouldn't dare pick a fight with.

"If your master is truly powerful, he'll tell us his name. Naturally, we won't bar the way of someone important," the guard said.

I'd already worked out a response for just this scenario with Mimiko's help.

"You aren't qualified to know."

The guard stared at me blankly, and I met his gaze with an even stare. Eventually, he shifted uncomfortably and broke eye contact and looked behind him for backup.

"Boss! There's people making trouble at the front door!" he shouted behind him.

Suddenly, a far more powerful cultivator appeared, and this one's level was only a bit below my own. I'd put him at mid B-Grade based on the feel. He looked me up and down and seemed much less intimidated.

"Fools. Don't you know what an important day it is for our tea house? Any other day and maybe we'd only cut off an arm or a leg, but if you dare make trouble today we'll have to kill you!" said the boss of the Goldencup Teahouse.

Some of the guests openly voiced their support for the teahouse owner.

"Yeah, you tell 'em! All the tables here are taken! Only one of us should get the chance to catch the supreme fairy's eye!" a young man sitting inside sneered at me. His hand went to his sword.

"Guardsman, do you need our help throwing these troublemakers out on the streets?" asked another long-haired young man in the teahouse. He and a dozen others like him looked eager for a fight. Maybe they thought this was their chance to show off against outsiders like me and Mimiko.

I needed to do something flashy. Maybe I could conjure an aura like what Mimiko was putting off, only scaled up to my own level. I was pretty sure I could use ambient mana to conjure something like what the guy across from me was doing, only a bit more potent.

I started releasing mana, a little at first, then more and more until it surrounded me like a shroud. The little wood spiritual root I'd gotten from Mimiko wasn't enough for all the power I was pouring out, but I artificially replicated the effect of a much bigger one, then flavored it with some of the nastiest aspects of mana I could find. Mostly, that meant void, death, blood, and other aspects that spoke of brutal violence.

The boss of the teahouse took a step back at the artificial aura I'd crafted.

"S-such powerful killing intent!" he muttered, suddenly looking back to the people behind him for support. But now they seemed to be choking on their earlier words. A few got up and started backing away.

Thankfully, our little standoff ended before I actually had to do anything with the sinister mana I was gathering. A familiar face leaned out the upper window of the teahouse.

"There you are, Carter! I already reserved the top floor. Guards, let him up. He is the special guest I mentioned," the Goddess in Jade said.

Whatever faces there were that hadn't gone pale yet certainly had now.

<Note>

Bridget is probably the only character who truly defies the crazy-hot matrix. Although she did kinda baby-trap Carter, so maybe not...

Maybe Cyra? She's dependable? But I guess being a warrior giantess isn't exactly conventionally attractive to most people, so maybe she's justified in not being as crazy as the others.