Buttopia
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Chapter 71: The Empire of Dave
🕑 Added 2024-12-30 20:39:11 +0000 UTC“I demand proof of the faction’s solvency. They may be registered with the Arena, but have they even challenged a single floor? Can they even field a squad, for that matter? I’ve seen Dave’s accomplishments, if you can call them that, a few dungeons, while he was mostly carried by his betters, so tell me, how exactly is this faction solvent?” Korl asked, the rage now plain in his voice. I disagreed with my own capabilities; at least past the first dungeon, no one had carried me. Sure, Elicec was emerging as the real combat leader, but I was never going to be good at that anyway. This was entirely beside the point, though. Korl was mostly right, if for the wrong reasons. In no way was I qualified to run a faction. The idea that my house would be the main source of mana for Earth had been bad enough, but this? Dammit, Mel, was this really the only choice?
“Hmm, Korl has a point. I’d rather not grant a universe to a faction that is completely incapable. The Spiral doesn’t need that kind of instability. Melhelm, what are the plans for continuity of faction?” the three balls asked. Great, so it wasn’t just Earth. It was the entire universe.
“See, those two over there are. They just happen to be Dave’s kids. The daughter is currently knocked up, so the line of succession is pretty secure,” Mel answered. Alex’s eyes went wide when Mel said this, but she managed to stay silent. Was I going to be a grandfather? I tried to sneak an approving smile at my daughter, but she wasn’t looking my way.
“And the rest of the offices? Are you planning to pull double duty as an adventurer hall representative and Arena manager?” the judge asked. Just how many positions did we have to fill to be a real faction?
“I am, but as most of those here haven’t sworn the soul oath, I ain’t gonna risk commenting much there,” Mel answered.
“Exception granted. If he’s going to be a faction leader anyway, it’s not like that will matter, and I want to hear it all before I render any decision,” the judge said. I felt a wave of force pass over me after the words. Had that temporarily disabled Mel’s soul oath? Wait, why didn’t faction leaders have to take one? That was strange.
“Thanks. As you know, my record as a manager speaks pretty damn well for itself. While I may have retired, that doesn’t mean I ain’t willing ta return to help some people I consider my friends. And no, we obviously can’t field a full squad. But that ain’t a damned requirement anyway. Hell, Sanquar here famously fought alone most of the time. Cecile, Elicec, Elody, and Dave himself oughtta be plenty until we recruit some new climbers,” Mel explained. It seemed like there was no avoiding the Arena now, and somehow, that was much less of an anxiety-inducing thought than being emperor was.
“Fine, I can see where the vast majority of offices can be filled with who you have here, but there are two pretty big gaps. How do you plan to manage traffic between the Spiral and here? This world is mana barren, so you aren’t building any kind of door anytime soon, and not even Miss Elody here is capable of being an official Spiral liaison,” the judge continued. I thought I knew the answer to at least one of those. Traveler’s offer could easily fulfill the first part.
“One of the Travelers has already granted Dave, and by extension his empire, free travel, and is planning to migrate here in a new traveler’s gate once we have all the paperwork done. As for the second, you’re right; we don’t actually have anyone lined up yet. But, hey, Pryte, interested in a change of scenery? I imagine your job is about to get real unfun soon, so why not change up your career a bit?” Mel called to the little man next to Elody.
“Yes, actually, I would be very interested,” Pryte answered, sounding oddly afraid. Had Korl threatened him? What had happened once the paperwork was discovered and they realized Sanquar was here and learned of Pryte’s role in hiding it for as brief a time as he had managed?
“Well, then I have my ruling, which will be contingent on one thing, which I will cover after it. I doubt either party will be overly happy with it, so I’m confident it’s the right move. Korl, they do, in fact, have everything needed to form a faction, and while yes, the laws on the matter are archaic, they are still on the books. Dave was able to repel the orc invasion, even going so far as to kill the Singing Blade’s squad leader. He has every right to lead his universe. That said, Melhelm, you need to recognize we cannot have any more chaos than we currently have. Things have grown increasingly tense with how long it has been since the last System expansion, and we don’t need a faction war breaking out trying to claim this new universe. So, The Empire of Dave has one month to climb past the tenth floor of the Arena. Otherwise, the universe goes to Korl,” the judge said. Mel’s jaw dropped, and I was sure that wasn’t a good sign.
“Zcalria, we need longer than that, please. No one can climb that fast,” Mel said pleadingly.
“You aren’t getting it, and trust me, Melhelm, it’s for the best. You need to prove just what your faction can do, or the wolves will be on you before the week is out, but as I said, this is still contingent on a single thing. Dave, you haven’t spoken the entire time I’ve been here, despite the fact that you have looked ready to. Is everything Melhelm has said true? Are you really willing to be the head of a faction?” Zcalria asked. I was not, but it turned out I was going to a grandfather, and I was already a father. That meant I had responsibilities to protect my family, and even beyond that, I couldn’t just abandon my friends who had been so willing to follow me back here.
“Sorry, my dislike of Korl primarily kept me quiet. Mel understandingly made sure I didn’t put my foot in my mouth there. Do I want to lead the faction? No, not really. I’m going to, though. I can’t run away from reality, and this is the hand that was dealt, so I guess I’m the emperor of the Empire of Dave,” I said. What choice did I have but to do everything in my power to protect those I cared about?
“Good answer. Well, that settles that for now. I’ll see you all in a month. Korl, in the meantime, you are to stay out of this universe,” Zcalria said before both he and Korl vanished.
“Dammit, dammit, dammit. That was going so damn well too, but y’all just ain’t ready for that quick of a climb. I know Dave can do some insane shit, but there’s just no way,” Mel said, sighing loudly and changing color to a dark blue.
“Put aside the idea we can’t, as we now have no choice, and I have not signed on with a losing faction. The judge was nice enough to leave the soul oath inoperable as far as I can tell, so explain what you are so worried about Mel,” Elody said.
“Look, you can likely carry them all through the first seven floors without much of a hassle. I ain’t worried there. Hell, ya can probably even find and recruit the three more people yer gonna need for the eighth. With a lotta luck, it’s even possible y’all make it through the ninth. The problem is the Tenth. It’s a two-squad duel, and killing is entirely allowed. Whoever we are up against is gonna have been paid to go for a total team kill, and I promise they will be fielding a full fifteen people. I don’t know how we get y’all ready to win that fight in time,” Mel said, his color going even more blue.
“Okay, then we worry about the tenth when we get there. Why do we need to recruit more people?” Elody asked. Not to mention, how did we recruit more people? We didn’t exactly have, well, anything to offer.
“The first floor is a grand melee. Well, it’s more of a bloodbath, honestly, but a hundred faction squads and just as many free agents are tossed into a constructed city, and hundreds of monsters are let loose. None of the free agents are prepared for it. Almost all of them end up dead by the end. The few that make it through are usually so far in debt to a sponsor they may as well be their slave. The floor ends once only ten squads and or free agents are still able to fight, and all the monsters are dead. Which means people generally start slaughtering each other, and the faction with the most power will have outfitted their squads so well that the free agents don’t really stand a chance,” Mel explained.
“Couldn’t they just all band together and instantly win once the monsters were dead?” I asked. It seemed like a viable way.
“They could, and it’s even happened before. They were all dead by the next day. Those at the bottom do not get to make peace calls for those at the top, and trying to disobey a faction leader is a great way to end up dead, but the good news here is that with all them free agents desperate to get through it alive, there’s likely to be a few you can convince to join up. Oh, and the word free here is a bit of a misnomer. Some of these guys will not be there of their own free will. They just won’t have any squad backing ‘em,” Mel explained. Well, that at least explained how we could get some people.
“Hey, you’re the ones that killed Wralf, right? I’m willing to join your squad in exchange for my life!” a voice yelled from a figure exiting the woods. Was that an orc?
The first floor of the Arena was originally designed as a way for people to make alliances and learn to form bonds that would teach them how to better defend their own worlds and help promote the diversity of System pathways. Instead, it has long since turned into a way to churn through those unlucky enough not to understand the reality of what the Arena has become.
Personal Diary of Sanquar
Comments
viperfan7
Lawls, already a new recruit
