Amazon Apocalypse 5: Chapter 12

I dreamed of ancient spires and forgotten magic. I was a scholar or a priest. It was hard to say which. Maybe a little of both.

There, among many others like me, I lived in an age of wonders, though I didn’t consider it such at the time. A sense of pride burned brightly in my heart, knowing that I was part of something bigger.

“Gravlin, today’s the day they put out the list! How can you fall asleep when we’re about to find out if we were accepted into the System program?”

“Huh?” I blinked a few times in confusion, like waking from a lengthy dream. I had been someone named Carter before. I’d been a survivor from a different age that had yet to come.

I shook off the thoughts of Carter Smith, shedding them like an old set of clothes as I slipped into my current role. The girl next to me was Lidya, an old friend of mine who also aspired to join the architects in their great work.

“Don’t huh me!” Lidya said, hands on her hips. Then she reached out and too my wrist in mine, dragging me off toward the program facility. It was a big building made of stone and glass, erected through a unique combination of cultivator magic and modern science. Combining the two had taken our civilization from a small feudal world into a galaxy-spanning civilization. Magic and science, unified as one.

The thought excited Gravlin just as much as it had done in his youth when he’d become a Scholar of Sacred Knowledge. He would be someone who analyzed the accounts of cultivators, new and old.

The path to power of each cultivator was a sacred and personal thing, and achieving immortality was an closely coveted art. But if people like Gravlin could devise an exact science to it, then the process could be systematized, replicated, and perfected. This program was the culmination of that work.

If this worked, someday it could be rolled out to everyone. But first, they would start with a few. Gravlin and Lidya were among the first volunteers.

We waited patiently in line among a crowd of others, all of us fidgeting nervously, but not a single one of us dreamed of cutting in line or pushing our way to the front. When Lydia and my turns finally came up, we excitedly leaped for joy to see our names at the top of the list.

“We’re in! Gravlin, can you believe it? In a few weeks, we’ll be immortal cultivators just like that!”

From there, things seemed to blur a moment as weeks passed in the blink of an eye. The next thing I knew, I lay in a medical gown with Lydia off to my side.

Medical staff buzzed around us, and we waited equal parts nervous and excited for the upcoming procedure. I knew what it entailed, but the doctor in charge explained again one last time for us.

“This procedure will connect you directly to the Kindling, the astral space from which magic originates. You will no longer need to draw in the universe's energy for power directly. Each of you were selected because you possess incredible knowledge, but lack the natural spiritual roots that cultivation requires.”

“I can hardly wait!” Lydia said excitedly. “Think of it, Gravlin! Perfect health, massively enhanced intellect, nigh-immortality, and the ability to fly through space! Until now, cultivation was affinity based on luck. Thanks to this invention, anyone will be able to do it, and have perfect talent in the process!”

I could hardly imagine what such a world would be like. Rows of young men and women sat beside us, all undergoing the same procedure. We would be the first of many.

“Well, if both of you are ready, we’ll start the procedure ready. You’ve already been informed the procedure isn’t without risks?” the doctor asked.

“Yeah, yeah, we signed all the paperwork. Let’s get started!” Lydia said excitedly.

And so the process began. I remembered the excruciating pain, and the agony coursing through my body made me ache all over. Things grew hazy for a moment once again, and before I knew it, I was waking once more.

When I rose, power filled my body like I’d never known. I could sense the differences in my body immediately. My skin was soft, but just beneath the surface, my flesh felt like it was made of steel. I knew I could be shot, stabbed, or even crash land on a planet without much more than getting a little dirty.

My skin was smooth and flawless, like that of a baby despite its toughness. The rest of me was without a single ache or pain. It was like I’d had a stuffy nose and an aching back all my life, but I hadn’t realized how miserable it had been to live with them until they were gone.

My mind was faster too. The clutter of neurotransmitters from my unconsciousness were swept away in an instant by perfected biology. My brain processed inputs from all my senses, as well well as a new spiritual impression of the world around me that I was already getting a feel for. Everything fell into place for me in an instant, like I was the pilot of an aethersmithing masterwork. That was closer to the truth of cultivation than most people realized.

“Please remain seated, Gravlin. Your procedure went extremely well, and you have been uplifted to what cultivators call the Immortal realm, but we need to do a few more tests before declaring you an A-Grade product of the procedure,” the doctor said.

But my attention was on the bed next to me. There was a female form lying there, covered by a blanket. I sensed no life from the person beneath it.

“Lydia...” I asked, already knowing the answer.

“I’m sorry, young man. But the procedure isn’t perfect. She knew the risks, and just wasn’t lucky.”

I looked around to all the blanket-covered tables nearby. Lydia hadn't been the only one the procedure failed on. In fact, I was the only one sitting up in the whole room.

Time blurred for me again, and I sank myself into my work. My instantaneous upgrade from a normal mortal to an A-Grade of the Immortal Realm took a bit of time to get used to, but once I’d grown accustomed to it I could use the full might of my new mind and body to continue refining the process I’d used to gain my power. I needed to understand where we went wrong.

With my enhancements, inhuman dedication, and immortality, I climbed from the bottom ranks of the scholarly society dedicated to the procedure to its leadership in just a few short centuries. During that time, I watched as the world I grew up in shifted and changed. The sense of wonder I’d enjoyed as a young man faded as the procedure became increasingly divisive.

Solving what killed Lydia was my first task. The way I’d shot from mortal to A-Grade so fast did it. Few souls were as flexible as mine had been, and most would need decades or centuries to reach A-Grade. There had to be a way to hand out the biological upgrades cultivation provided gradually so the soul could adjust.

Perhaps the rate of growth could even be adjusted based on some sort of contribution system? That would also help manage the cost of the procedure in Kindling energy. But then we’d need an elaborate computer system to determine rewards based on relative contributions. It was truly an enormous task, but I was immortal now and had nothing but time. I rolled up my sleeves and got to work. Time was of the essence now, because our great work wasn't without its opponents.

The old cultivators who’d spent centuries or millennia growing their power the traditional way were growing increasingly anxious as what made them special was stripped away from them bit by bit. Their ways were relics of a bygone age, and when our great work was completed, they would be reduced from living gods to ordinary members of society.

But they wouldn’t go down without a fight. They spread lies about the process, saying it was a hollow and soulless way to gain power, or that it altered the fabric of the Kindling, drawing it dangerously close to the physical world and inducing increased monster attacks. Their lies rallied entire worlds to their cause, despite all the good it could do.

“Those old monsters... I can’t believe they’re tricking so many people! The procedure would change their lives for the better. They just need to see. We just need to distribute the upgrades to entire planets all at once. Some sort of… integration."

And so work began on the mightiest construct of magic and science our civilization had ever known. It would change the very fabric of reality and manage both leveling and the integration of new worlds into our coming utopia.

“What shall we call this creation?” asked my lab assistant.

“Simple is better...” I murmured. “How about just calling it the System?”

***

I felt somebody shaking me to wakefulness, and all thoughts of Gravlin, the Scholar of Sacred Knowledge, began fading. I wasn’t Gravin, I was Carter. All that I’d known before had been dream, though I couldn’t help but feel that hadn’t all been my imagination.

“We have to wake him up for real this time. Everyone’s ready to go.” I heard Sakura say.

“He won’t budge still. Maybe we should call in a physician...” Bridget asked worriedly.

“Carter... Carter!” Myrina nudged me. I could feel her sitting on top of me.

“He can’t hear you. He’s really out of it,” Sakura said.

“I know what he’s doing! He wants us to wake him up with a blowjob! Bridget, Sakura, help me with his clothes,” Myrina said.

Sakura sighed. “It’s not that simple, Myrina. He’s been asleep for days. This has to be something serious.”

“There’s no way Carter would fake being in a coma for a week just for a blowjob,” Bridget said.

I figured that was my cue. “No, Myrina’s right. Only a blowjob can wake me up.”

There was silence all around me.

Sakura exploded with anger. “You...! You faked being in a coma for sex! I should have known!”

She wrapped her arms around me and held me tight. Despite her tone, I could feel her relieved tears wetting my shirt.

Bridget breathed a sigh of relief, and cracking my eye open, I could see she was shaking her head as she tried to stifle her laughter.

“Okay, very funny Carter. I’m glad you’re alright. What happened to you?” Bridget asked.

I held still, pretending to be unconscious while I peeked up at Bridget through a cracked eyelid.

Bridget sighed, then reached into her pocket for a hairband.

“Alright, Sakura, Myrina, step aside a moment...”

One blowjob later, I was awake and on my feet.

“It’s a miracle! You ladies cured my coma,” I said as I pulled my pants back on.

Bridget wiped some sticky white fluid from her lips, and she rolled her eyes. “We really have to go. You’ve been out for a week straight. Prince Herius is expecting us to join the rest of his army for the campaign. We’re going to muster on Glacia.”

“What happened to you, anyway?” Myrina asked.

“B-Grade job quest. The reward hurt a lot and knocked me out for a while. It was some sort of soul upgrade.” I shrugged.

“It better have been something good to knock you out for a week. Wait... how long were you actually unconscious, and how long were you faking it?” Sakura looked me over with narrowed and suspicious eyes.

I chuckled and waved her suspicions off as I turned my attention inward. Now that she mentioned it, I felt better in a lot of ways. Mana flowed all around me, and now my natural affinity for manipulating it was better than it had been when using my old Power of Nature skill to its fullest.

It was like the mana itself loved me. It gathered and swirled around me in great billowing clusters. Normally, mana had a tendency to spread out and equalize in any given area, but not around me. It naturally accumulated in my vicinity, like a second mana pool always within arms reach.

But mana wasn’t the only thing that seemed nearer to me. My aethersmith senses had been greatly expanded as well, and with it I could peer into the Kindling. That raw, chaotic energy seemed closer at hand. If I knew how to wield it, it might respond to me even more eagerly than the mana around me, though who knew what effects such a substance might have on the material world.

I’d already spent all the spare time I had, though, and we had to get moving to avoid keeping the prince waiting. Sakura, Bridget, and Myrina took me in hand, and the four of us went to the teleportation array. Cyra was with the army and had led it to the mustering grounds on Glacia, but as their leader, I had to catch up with them.

***

When we arrived at the mustering grounds, we looked less like we were going to war and more like we were going on parade. Prince Herius troops stood with feet together in dress uniforms with their eyes dead ahead. Their boots were polished to such a shine I could see my reflection in them, and every one of them looked like they were prepared to stand exactly where they were for however many hours it took.

Behind and beside them stood great beasts in similar armor. Griffins stood proudly saddled with armor adorning bodies, which reminded me of a lion with an eagle’s head and talons. A core of slightly built, stern-looking woman with bows sat upon their backs. Beside them were great war bears covered in heavy armor, and atop them were bulky men with long glaives.

The sight of the elite troops standing at attention made me feel a bit bad about running late, but thankfully I wasn’t the only one who hadn’t shown up on time.

Prince Herius’ personal legion was the only one fully stocked with elite troops. The other eighteen were far less parade-ready. Only half the other legions had arrived. Men and women were still trickling in through nearby teleportation arrays, and they were of varying quality.

The average trooper wore a standard uniform that looked similar to those of the elite troops but with fine leather swapped for cheaper fabric in places that were hard to identify at a distance. They also lacked the badges and decorations that the prince’s elite troops proudly wore.

But that was only the average soldier. Every third man or woman had the look of a wide-eyed farm boy or girl who’d never been to the city before. They stared blinking at the tall buildings of Glacia’s imperial capital as they set foot on cobblestone roads. Half of them were barefoot, and the half that wasn’t certainly had nothing polished to the level of Herius’ elite troops.

These were the new recruits, and from the look of them, they hadn’t gone through any training at all. Nor had they been issued gear. Also, a few of them weren’t even F-Grade, despite earlier promises to the contrary. What were we supposed to do with recruits who weren’t even level ten? They wouldn’t even be able to dig latrines for us at any speed, let alone fight side by side with us on the battlefield.

I made my way over to Prince Herius, who was currently in a heated debate with a lean woman with dark hair and olive skin. Her high cheekbones gave her an aristocratic look that matched her sharp uniform well. From what I could overhear, many of the E-Grade troops were her doing.

“I assure you, Prince Herius, we’re still meeting the required number of D-Grades!” she began.

“Legate Abesa, you know I can’t bring E-Grades along! They’ll slow the whole army down.”

“They won’t be E-Grade for long. One fight, and they’ll all reach F-Grade. It’ll be fine. We’ll bulk up our numbers by drafting any surviving locals if we need more people,” the woman named Abesa replied. She had her hands on her hips like she really couldn’t believe this was such a big deal.

“They’ll only level up if they survive! What are the odds that E-Grades will survive any serious clash between armies in a warzone? Do you realize how bad it’ll be for morale when we have to spend a day burying the corpses of thousands of E-Grade recruits?” Prince Herius scowled at the woman beside him.

“Who says we have to bury them? If they die, they were simply weak and not fated,” Abesa callously replied.

Naturally, the argument had my charisma senses tingling. While the armies were still trickling in, all the generals were already present besides me. If I wanted to direct attention away from my tardiness, this was my opportunity to do that.

“I have to agree with my brother-in-law. Weak troops will only cause problems for us,” I began, stepping up to Prince Herius’ side.

The prince was the same as I remembered him when I bumped into him on my way to look for Cyra. I hadn’t recognized him at the time, but his regal bearing and casual grace gave him away as royalty in retrospect. He wore his fiery red hair tied back in a ponytail that made him look a lot like his younger sisters, Myrina and Cyra. He leaned against the hammer-staff I’d seen him using before.

“Ah, the legate of our auxiliary forces finally arrives...” Legate Abesa began, clearly trying to take the attention off herself and redirect it onto me. Nearby, unfamiliar faces all turned in my direction. But that was all the better for my purposes.

“Only C-Grade...” another Legate muttered. Most of my peers were B-Grade, like the prince himself. I was a bit behind on that front, but I wasn’t worried. I’d take care of that little issue soon enough.

Now was my opportunity to flex the resources I’d prepared. Clearly, that was something the other armies were lacking, so now I was doubly glad I’d done so much to prepare.

“Prince Herius, it looks like we’ll have several thousand troops below expected strength. I suggest we issue them experience pearls until they reach level ten. They can choose their classes here and now based on what their century needs. That should neatly solve our current crisis, yes?” I smiled, hands spread with naive honesty.

“Experience pearls? For thousands of recruits?” Abesa scoffed. “For a dozen or so, sure. But for thousands of troops? Who’s going to pay for that?”

“That’s a good idea, auxiliary legate Carter.” Prince Herius nodded in my direction, turning back on Abesa without missing a beat. “Your family will provide the experience pearls. You promised me one thousand D-Grades and four thousand F-Grades. Two thousand low-grade experience pearls ought to bring your unit up to full strength.”

The other legates seemed uncomfortable about that, and I suspected Abesa wasn’t the only one to arrive with soldiers at a lower level than promised.

I let Abesa squirm for a while and allowed the tension to build. Then I swooped in to rescue them all.

“Ahem. Prince, if Abesa lacks the resources, I can provide them. I happen to have quite a few experience pearls in storage. Only... I don’t have anything low-ranked enough to be used on E-Grades. I’ll need my legion’s chefs to dilute the pearls. A simple tea should suffice, you think?”

Prince Herius raised an eyebrow. “Your legion brought personal chefs along?”

I smiled again and gave a helpless shrug. “Nothing improves morale like good food. And, let’s face it, graduates from the Dragon Lodge are a bit spoiled. They can’t be treated like peasant recruits from some farming village. They’re used to a certain level of luxury. If the E-Grades could line up, I’ll get it done.”

"Wonderful. Legate Carter, you may extract Legate Abesa's debt to you out of her share of the loot when the time comes." The prince nodded to me, and I turned to pass along orders to Bridget to prepare some special tea. I’d stashed away quite a few experience pearls. Some I’d bought myself, others had been given to me by the Dragon Lodge as part of the supply package they’d given me upon receiving my assignment.

Originally, I planned to use them as quest rewards to help motivate my troops, but parting with them was a small price to pay to give my troops to ingratiate myself with the other generals and the troops. I didn’t want the other legions thinking my army was full of spoiled rich kids. Sharing some of the wealth would buy my guys a little favor. And besides, the experience would all go into making more meat shields to stand between my wizards and the enemy.

By the time I reunited with the other generals, some of the former E-Grades were jumping for joy and celebrating their choices for classes. Truthfully, getting those early classes through an experience pearl might have cheated them out of a rare class or two. But I judged reducing the risk of dying worth the slight loss in future potential. These people wouldn’t have weak monsters to hone themselves against and would struggle to survive even against the most minor threats our army might face unless they had levels and a few class abilities under their belts.

We had to wave them all to silence so that Prince Herius could give his speech before we marched to war. He’d clearly rehearsed something for this, and our little parade through the imperial capital was just as much for the citizens in the city streets as it was for all the members of the new army.

“Soldiers of Glacia! We march to war today not just for us, but for all the worlds of the Arcadia Multiverse! Ladwick, the world we go to liberate, was brutally ransacked by outlaws and barbarians from unintegrated space! Lawless savages known as the Black Beast Sect turn loyal citizens of the System into resources for their dark and twisted empowerment rituals. The world’s nobles and defenders have perished or fled in terror, abandoning this planet to the enemy. Mad savages tear down the infrastructure of the System that prevents monsters from spawning around or within sapient beings like you or me. It is our holy duty to rescue our brothers and sisters in need and restore peace to their world. To that end, I share with you this most righteous quest!”

New Quest Available: Vakopa Crusade

Prince Herius has agreed to join the crusade to liberate border worlds in the Vakopa sector.

Your chosen destination is the world of Ladwick, previously a thriving metropolitan world, and one of the wealthier worlds in this border sector.

Reward:

You will be labeled a Crusader of the System for the duration of this quest, granting you the following boons.

• Significantly increased favor with the System for the duration of the crusade.
  

• A 50% Luck bonus, making fortuitous encounters far more likely.

• All activities while on crusade grant +25% experience, and all class, race, bloodline, or skill evolution will be enhanced.

• Gain passive experience so long as you are part of a crusading force.

“Now, march with me to war!” Prince Herius raised his hammer-staff and gestured onward, and the rest of us followed close behind.


<Note>
Whew! Big chapter. But I didn't want to blue-ball you guys on the Vakopa Crusade any longer. More details will be explained as we go, but things should get moving faster from here. We're deep enough into the novel that the main plot needs to start coming into focus.