Amazon Apocalypse 5: Chapter 41

Being a Prophet of Forbidden Knowledge seemed to not feel all that different from being a Sage of Forbidden Knowledge. My core abilities remained unaffected, as did most of my other abilities. Truthfully, my build hadn’t changed much, and I wasn’t feeling any different.

I’d probably have to wait until I was in combat. Checking out the bonuses to my current stats, I guessed I’d probably received something around a twenty percent boost in my overall fighting ability thanks to the boost a few of my titles were getting. The new class granted bonuses to more than I thought, including Exalted Forerunner of Earth, Death Defier, Bloodline Patriarch, Shard King, Spell Architect, and Holy Saint of the Goddess in Jade.

Under the right circumstances and with all the right buffs and preparations, I might be able to face someone some seventy to eighty levels above me. Any more than that, or without proper preparations, and have to avoid the fight.

I would have to keep my eyes out for someone to test my new power out on when this stage of the integration ended. This was an upgrade that would have been pretty handy to have while on a crusade on Ladwick, but now I found myself short of worthy foes.

But now that I had time, it was a good opportunity to resume my research on translating the Architect language with Reluna. Curiously enough, Mimiko was the source of our greatest breakthrough.

“Oh, the two of you are interested in learning the ancient language of the ancestors?” Mimiko asked.

“Yes, very much so,” I replied.

Mimiko nodded along. “You are wise to do so. All the most powerful cultivation manuals are written in the ancient script. Remember the cultivation manual I took from Elder Blackhand? Only the annotations make sense to me, but the original text is written in the ancient tongue. It’s difficult to parse, but I’m slowly going through it. The variation you are studying is obtuse to me, but other scripts you're looking at make greater sense.”

She produced the cultivation manual the two of us had swiped together and showed me. My eyes widened, and I reached into Morgathor’s Satchel dangling by my waist and rummaged around for a few cultivation manuals. Sure enough, the characters were extremely similar to the ones I’d been studying.

I’d glanced right over them before because the writing was hand-written, not the blocky machine print I was used to seeing on architect items. But besides a few small variations, the patterns were ones I recognized.

The dialect was different, but enough of the words were the same that the influence was obvious now that I saw it. The content was also different since the ancient cultivator architects were less scientifically inclined and more spiritually inclined. But learning this language would be like learning medieval Italian to help with my study of Latin.

“Mimiko, I’m drafting you for our research project. I need you to teach me everything you know about the Architect language.”

I grabbed Mimko’s hand and held it tight, and her face flushed as she nodded.

“I would be pleased to be of service...”

And so Mimiko gave us language lessons. Then Reluna and I translated those language lessons into talismans, which was a process that seemed to fascinate Mimiko.

“As a young disciple in the Black Beast Sect, the elders forced us to memorize these characters. I did not realize they could wield such power. Perhaps there is something unique about them while in System space,” Mimiko said.

“Perhaps. I’ve heard it said that this was the language the System was written into existence with. Such a language would have power beyond the physical so long as the System itself existed.” I shrugged.

“And it would explain why you have such trouble mastering these words, wise and intelligent as you are,” Mimiko said as I focused on my work. At some point, she’d started rubbing my shoulders as well.

“Am I having trouble, in your opinion?” I asked, frowning.

“At first, I feared your talents lay elsewhere. After all, I studied and learned these characters when I was scarcely more than a girl. But now I suspect there is another hand at play here. The System is a greedy and jealous god, and it wishes to keep its secrets to itself. It would be harder for you to learn the ancient script than for a carp to swim upstream and leap over the dragon gate. For you to achieve so much already is a trial worthy of legend.”

I smiled and nodded along, though I couldn’t help but feel like Mimiko was hyping my efforts up a little too much. Something was stopping the language from clicking in my head the way so many other things did with my enhanced intelligence stat, almost like learning this language was as hard as it would have been before the integration. But I still felt I could do better.

“And what of me? How do my efforts measure up?” Reluna asked hopefully.

“Poorly. Pay more attention,” came Mimiko’s sharp reply.

With Mimiko’s guidance, Reluna and I developed dozens of new talismans. When I had the time for more research, I’d be able to analyze those fundamentals further to achieve far greater levels of artificing. I already had designs for Mark Two sets of armor, but a few of the ideas I had in mind were so good that perhaps I ought to skip right to Mark Three.

Though our progress was slowed thanks to constantly testing new talismans, I was happy with our progress and not overeager to finish clearing the golem shard, at least until something new came to my attention. Which was exactly what eventually happened.

***

“Your imperial Carter-ness? We found something,” Rick said, still fumbling with the formalities. I was pretty sure I’d thrown a wrench into whatever Reluna had drilled into everybody’s heads with my return and series of contradictory orders. About half the legion were still wearing Reluna’s ridiculous colorful uniforms, while the other half wore camouflage fatigues.

Truthfully, now that I saw them in camoflauge instead of that blindingly bright red color, the uniforms were actually a pretty smart design. They had plenty of pockets for bags of holding and the kind of tools a high-leveled fighter needed, such as a sword and dagger holster, along with a jacket and pants made of durable, high-level monster hide. If it wasn’t for the terrible choice of color, I’d owe Reluna praise for coming up with it.

“You may address the Carter,” Mimiko said, waving Rick forward.

I looked up from my work, where Mimiko had both me and Reluna copying a series of symbols she’d written for us.

“What is it, Rick?” I asked as I dropped my pen and stood.

“We found something you might be interested in. Sir Sandon sent a message saying the knights he’s been talking to knew of a group of human survivors. They gave us the location. We chased it down and found them.”

“And they’re still alive?” I asked.

“Still kicking. And it looks like they’re in the best shape of anybody we’ve bumped into until now. They’re all pretty low-level, but they must have figured out the golems deal with the monsters, and they don’t attack you if they aren’t provoked.”

Rick shrugged as he spoke, but it was the most likely assessment of how this human settlement had survived.

“Point me there. I think I should drop in and say hello to these survivors.”

I had originally intended to leave Reluna and Mimiko to their studies, but when I mentioned I was leaving, they both joined me. The two of them seemed to dislike one another a bit, though thankfully, each liked me more than they hated the other. The two spent considerable time glaring at one another as I flew them to our destination.

“There it is. They’re in treehouses, just like Rick said.” I nodded in the direction of the survivor camp.

“Why live in trees?” Mimiko asked curiously. “Do some system powers transform people into squirrels?”

“There are vast and powerful forces you don’t comprehend,” Reluna flashed Mimiko a look of superiority.

“Oh? Do you know why they’re living in tree houses?” I asked Reluna.

“...no.” Reluna admitted, shoulders slumping.

“We’ll ask.” I chuckled, then landed us. I set the two ladies down, and they bickered a little while I tried to catch the attention of the locals.

I spotted a dozen of them from afar and ran a few quick examines to figure out their average strength. Overall, I wasn’t too impressed.

I wasn’t sure I saw a single one of them over level ten. How had they survived? And how were there so many of them? Perhaps it had something to do with why they were living in the trees.

“Hello! Hail the camp!” I cupped my hands and yelled.

A few people looked my way, but I was generally ignored. After a minute or two of yelling and waving, I realized there wasn’t any real guard monitoring the forest outside their home.

I was patient, though, and eventually, a woman roughly my age showed up and waved to me.

“Hello? Do you three need help getting back up? The rope ladder is tricky in the wind. I can get somebody to pull you up if you need?” the woman offered.

I shook my head. “Actually, we’re not from your camp. We’re from another survivor group and wanted to see how you guys are doing over here.”

“Oh, I didn’t realize any other humans were near here. You should stay off the ground though, these woods are dangerous! One wrong step can set off the big stone men that patrol these woods off, and then you’re finished. It’s why we stay up here,” the woman said.

I turned to Reluna and Mimiko and raised a brow “Mystery solved.” Then I turned back to the woman.

“Can I have permission to join you up in the trees?” I asked.

“Of course! I don’t know about the others, but I’m interested in hearing about anybody else who’s survived. You wouldn’t happen to know what’s happened to Toronto, by any chance?” the woman asked.

I grabbed Mimiko and Reluna, then took flight. One big flap of my ethereal dragon wings took me to the top of the treehouse, where I landed and dropped off my two female companions.

“No idea what happened to Toronto, I’m afraid. The survivors I’ve met are from all over. Texas, Pennsylvania, Greece, and a few other places. My name’s Carter, by the way.” I held out my hand for a friendly shake.

"What was that? How'd you jump up here? And also... my, you are a handsome one now that I see you up close." The woman seemed to suddenly lose her train of thought.

I had expected questions about my dragon wings. If these people were below level ten, they wouldn't know much about abilities. The second line of thought wasn't one I'd been prepared for though.

I reached out and grabbed her hands to shake it. She seemed to suddenly wake from a stupor and returned the gesture by grabbing my offered hand in both her own.

As she shook my hand, her eyes looked me up and down as she smiled and shook. “My name is Linda. And Carter, I have to ask, have I seen you before? Maybe you were an actor on TV? Or were you a professional model, maybe? Before the apocalypse, I mean?”

I smiled sheepishly as Linda looked me over and verified my charisma skills were working at minimum capacity. Linda was barely any stronger than a normal human. The sheer stat difference between the two of us meant I was probably glowing to her eyes. A perfected human body wasn’t the sort of thing that existed without the aid of photo editors back before the integration.

“No, nothing like that. I have a pretty common face. You’ve probably just seen someone like me.”

“I think I’d remember meeting someone like you...” Linda held a hand over her lips as she suppressed a giggle. I noted she still hadn’t let go of my hand. The massive stat difference between the two of us seemed to have affected her so much she wasn't thinking straight.

“Anyway, like I said before, I was wondering how you guys have been--“

“Are you single?” Linda cut me off.

I stood in stunned surprise for a moment. No woman had ever been quite that direct to me before. Well, unless I counted Amazonians, but that was cheating.

“Uh...?”

“Let’s go back to my place! I just finished redecorating. It isn’t much compared to before the end of the world, but I’m proud of all the work I’ve done. The golems leave out planks of wood that we can steal, and I’ve finally finished building my bedroom! It's taken months of work, but you can stay in it too while you're here.”

Linda grabbed me by the wrist and clearly had immediate plans. But when she tried to drag me along behind her, she found it impossible to budge me. And not from any action of mine.

Looking behind me, Reluna and Mimiko had joined forces and grabbed my other arm.

“My lord, there’s no need for you to associate with the local harlots,” Mimiko said haughtily.

“I am a masterful interrogator. Wait here and I shall discover all we need to know,” Reluna said.

The two glanced at one another, and suddenly their former animosity evaporated like it was never there. At least until they fixed their gazes on poor Linda. Whatever womanly signal they cast the poor woman must have been a truly terrifying one, because poor Linda collapsed right then and there and fell unconscious to the planks beneath us.

“Uh... ladies? Do either of you have a healing spell?” I asked.

***

Mimiko turned out to be familiar with the healing arts, and she used her powers to find Linda’s residence and drop her off there so she could heal up and awaken in her own bed. Meanwhile, Reluna hunted down several locals.

I expected them to be shocked by her blue skin and pointed ears, but they proved remarkably welcoming. I suspected these people were already in contact with the Omykir knights, or at least had some non-humans appear among them. Reluna didn’t catch nearly as much attention as I feared.

The two ladies were remarkably effective when working together. They went through the town like a whirlwind. Pretty soon, I found myself chatting with an old man who Mimiko declared to be the village chief.

“So your daughter is Linda? She’s the first person we met here, and she invited us up. I hope you don’t mind our intrusion,” I said.

“No apologies needed for me, son. And I think I told your lady friends that Linda was like a daughter to me. I’m not actually related to her,” the old man shrugged. “Not sure why they called me the village chief, either.”

“But you at least know what’s going on?” I asked hopefully.

“Aye. As well as anybody can in these troubled times. After the end of the world and this damn floating box bullshit pressed itself to our eyeballs, me and everybody else here found ourselves in an unfamiliar world. There used to be a little tourist trap around here for people visiting Niagara Falls. It’s gone now though, and you wouldn’t be able to tell it was ever here. The damn golems cleaned it up so thoroughly it looks like it never existed.”

I looked around. Sure enough, there was no trace of any man-made structure anywhere near here.

“Looks like. Sorry to hear your home is gone. I’m glad you survived, though.”

He waved off my concern. “It wasn’t so bad. The golems don’t actually bother you unless you do something to piss ‘em off. We spent the first few months living in those cabins over there. The thing is, something eventually sets them off no matter what, and you better have somewhere to hide then. There are still a few folks who risk it to enjoy the cabins, but most of us are quartered up in these here fruit trees these days. Besides the occasional run for new planks and nails, we’ve got everything we need up here.”

I nodded along. I was only now noticing that the tree we were in was some sort of enormous apple tree, at least ninety feet tall. The lower branches had all been picked clean of fruit, but some stuff was still in harder-to-reach places.

“You must be getting tired of fruits. And I imagine your furnishings would improve with better tools, right?”

“Aye, yes to both,” the old man said.

“I’ve got a bit of both on me. I’d be happy to part with them. In exchange, do you know anything about how the golems work? If you spent time living in the cabins they watch over, you must have seen something.”

“Aye. There’s a central hub where the big guys come out of. The huge ones, you’d know it if you’ve seen ‘em.”

“I’ve seen them,” I confirmed.

“North, north, west of here. That way, you’ll come across a pit in the ground with a big stone spire in front of it. I think there’s some sort of cell tower there controlling the other golems. Me and a few others tried to walk into the facility to see if we could turn it off, but the golems there aren’t as shy about keeping everybody else out. Lost two friends there, and my leg hasn’t worked right ever since I twisted it on that run.” The old man shook his head sadly.

“Sorry to hear that. I’ve got some tea you might like. It’s popular among non-humans and is known for healing aches and pains. I’ll throw it in with the tools and food.”

“Any help is appreciated. I didn’t ask for anything. Don’t let me strip you of the tools of your trade, son,” the old man held up his hands.

"Don't worry about me. I've got plenty to share."

I flipped Morgathor’s Satchel over and poured out most of the hand tools I’d scooped at that department’s store and mechanics’ shop I’d raided. I only hung onto the best for myself. The rest I freely shared.

I also dumped out the food. Ever since returning to Crownhill, I realized Bridget had completely spoiled me. Without her to cook, I’d hardly been eating anything. The tea I mentioned would be a single health potion from Mucaria. It should work well enough for a badly healed leg.

“By god! How big is that damn bag of yours, son?” the old man gaped at Morgathor’s Satchel like it was a miracle bag. I stared at it and laughed. I’d made a similar face when I saw my first-dimensional storage item, but these days they felt commonplace.

“Here. I’ve got a spare. Maybe it’ll help with your next plank run.” I tossed the old man a spare bag of holding. It was one of many I’d made for the Nineteenth Legion during our travels.

The old man stuffed his hand into the bag and stared at it in amazement as his arm disappeared up to his elbow, despite the bag only being the size of a purse.

I would have continued chatting with him for a while longer. There was a lot to tell him about the world beyond these trees, after all. But Reluna and Mimiko finished their interrogation.

“We’ve found everything we need. We are ready to leave upon your order.” Mimiko bowed her head, though I sensed she wanted to go right then and there.

“Let’s not dally any longer,” Reluna added, being a bit more direct.

“What’s the rush, ladies? Is the lead you found that good?” I chuckled.

I heard a groan from the back room, and Linda’s voice rang out. “Ugh. I just had the most amazing dream. There was this incredible guy there...ah... I haven’t felt my heart flutter like that since I was a teen!”

“Your precious time is wasted here, my lord,” Mimiko said more urgently.

I chuckled. Sakura probably put them up to this. Either that, or the ladies somehow thought poor Linda was new competition for them. I was just glad to see the two of them could join forces when needed, as both were useful assistants in their own ways.

Truthfully, I didn’t mind them pulling me away from Linda. Given the level difference between the two of us, I couldn’t be sure if she even liked me, or if the enormous charisma advantage I had over her simply overwhelmed her mental faculties.

“Alright then. I have our destination. Let’s go.”

<Note>
Golems aren't going to take too long, given Carter's current level. We've got a few things to clean up on Mucaria, but I'm pushing some earth stuff back to next book, such as the bulk of the next level of the integration's diplomatic interactions.

I haven't forgotten about Sakura's dad either.