agoraphobic_dragon

Status Update - Health

Hi, Everyone.

I'm still dealing with the health problems. They are not dangerous, but persistent enough to prevent me from writing. I expect the hiatus to continue for a month. My apologies.

As a result, I'm pausing the payment cycle for the month.

I hope you're having a better time than I do.

Small Hiatus due to Health Problems

Hi everyone.

I'm going through some health problems, so I will be unable to update the story for a few days. Hopefully, I'll be feeling better in a week (according to medical advice).

I expect to be able to update the next Tuesday.

My apologies for unexpected delay.

Godfather's System 232

Thanks to the constant location tracking, I was aware of my party member’s location at all times, so I didn’t expect his appearance to be shocking.

Yet, it was.

What shocked me wasn’t the size of the guard contingency that followed him or their skill, which was easier to assess now that they were on the move as they occasionally fought against the beasts that drifted close.

They had fifty guards, every single one of them fighting with a smooth application that could...

Godfather's System 231

Three hours after I had listened to that snippet, I was on board another grain delivery wagon, hidden in one of the empty crates, being driven out of the town. Yet, even after three hours, I was mulling over the implications of those dozen sentences I had heard.

Of the many implications, the biggest had been the implied scale of things. I had long concluded that there were multiple worlds under the control of the gods. The Ascension concept alone had revealed that, and there were many ...

Godfather's System 230

The discovery of the potential hidden base threw into the mix another detail that needed to be considered, but coming to a decision was easy. Was trying to infiltrate their base without risk? No. But then, what I was trying to do was infiltration at a national espionage level. At this stage, nothing was without its risks.

And, I would prefer to infiltrate their real base rather than try to make contact with a potentially hostile asset under their direct control while they were trying t...

Godfather's System 229

I decided to approach the general to understand the truth of the situation. Unfortunately, that decision didn’t answer the question of how. The mysterious organization had assigned hundreds of trained agents between eight bases to keep an eye on things.

I wasn’t naive enough to think that they wouldn’t have a security detail with the general. They would probably have their strongest agents there, which would increase the difficulty of my approach.

However, this wasn’t th...

Godfather's System 228

As I walked around the camp, I was frowning tensely, wondering if my strong suspicions about the fact that I was the target were correct.

Of course, when I said they were targeting me, it wasn’t about any of the many identities that I cycled back around the border. I even doubted that they were searching for my true identity, as the hero that had been tragically lost during the explosion — or, from the perspective of Bertnam’s organization, in their control already.

No, th...

Godfather's System 227

I stayed in my concealed nook for a full day, from morning to morning. Sitting in the shadows for that long, carefully watching and cataloging the daily lives of four thousand people wasn’t particularly entertaining, but contrary to what my constant running around implied as I enjoyed my stat-provided second wind, I was still an old man.

I didn’t lack that little bit of patience.

I observed the group for twenty-four uninterrupted hours, not even communicating with my Party m...

Godfather's System 226

Once the door started to crack open, some light finally entered the tunnel, allowing me to get a better view of the area. The first thing I noticed was a painting, drawn in the likeness of a snarling wolf surrounded by flames.

The sigil of General Amilin. Not his ancestral one, but the new one he had created for himself during the rebellion according to the interrogation. One of the many nuggets I had managed to extract. Seeing that sigil in place gave more validity to the information ...

Godfather's System 225

“Let’s see what we will find inside,” I muttered even as I looked at the entrance of the tunnel that led toward the sub-base, properly concealed and camouflaged.

Infiltrating the base was not a challenge, but it had nothing to do with the competence of the supervisor. The equation was simple, and similar to that of a radar signature. Just like the bigger planes were easier to detect, the active security measures were strong enough to stop a dedicated infiltrator could be detected...

Godfather's System 224

I exited the room fifteen minutes later, disguised as a servant, leaving behind a very convincing crime scene, where the guard captain had killed the noble in a fit of anger, before realizing the depth of his mistake and committing suicide.

I had even forged a letter from his handwriting, begging the gods for mercy, hoping that his suicide would cleanse his sin.

There were some inevitable small inconsistencies. A careful investigation, for example, would have revealed the signs ...

Godfather's System 223

As they dealt the cards, I felt somewhat nostalgic. Ironic, considering I owned multiple casinos at the time, with even more under construction, but I had been too busy to sit down and play a game of my own.

The last time, I had been trying to swindle a silver mine out of Baron Tarug. It wasn’t too long ago from a time perspective, but with running between crises every day, it felt like years had passed in between.

Someone else might have been annoyed that they had to lose, bu...

Godfather's System 222

“… I lost again. You’re incredible, master hunter,” a player exclaimed as he pushed his cards away. “I think that’s it for me.”

“Me too,” said another player. The third one just nodded. They stood up simultaneously, ready to make me fifty denicas richer and call the game that had lasted an hour to an end.

“Oh, come on, kids. You still have a chance to avenge your losses. Maybe I’ll even play with a handicap,” I said, smiling widely in apparent excitement....

Godfather's System 221

When I walked toward the gate, there wasn’t any line, with most people leaving the town. A great number of them carried tents with them, showing their intent to join the growing temporary town outside rather than to stay in the town, mumbling about overcharging inn owners.

I moved in the reverse direction until I stood in front of a guard. “How much for the entrance fee, brave guard?” I asked.

“Sixteen denicas, old man,” he answered, his tone without infliction, remindi...

Godfather's System 220

After having stayed with Dahmut for a day, putting together a plan for him, and even helping him to take down one of the Somaton handlers, I left the capital with the satisfaction of a job well done. Of course, Dahmut was capable enough to kill him, but disguising his death as an accident had been a tricky issue. 

People with the System didn’t die by slipping in showers or in convenient car accidents. Leading the two nobles near before inciting them to fight hadn’t been easy, b...

Godfather's System 219 - Interlude Dahmut

As Dahmut looked at the streets of the grand capital of the Ralum Kingdom from the window of his recently purchased shop, he was thoroughly underwhelmed by the so-called wonders of the capital. Maybe it was unfair of him to think that, as they were merely the outer ring of the city, filled with commoners and commercial districts, but considering the difficulty of entering officially, he had expected more. 

Maybe it was working for the boss that was distorting his perception. <...

Godfather's System 218

“… How about it, Dahmut. It was fun, right?” I asked even as I had pulled myself out of the crate, watching as the newest member of my Heroic Party pressed his trembling feet on the ground after bursting out of a barrel, his legs shaking as rice spilled all around him. 

“We have different understandings of what’s fun, boss,” Dahmut answered. “Even with the boost to my abilities after the Heroic Party, this was not exactly fitting my understanding of fun. I felt like w...

Godfather's System 217

Once the cultist fortress was dealt with, things had fallen into a routine, and a week passed. 

It had been a very productive week. 

I spent most of my time in the mountains, exploring the deeper parts while bringing the System Beacon I had taken over from the flying castle, revealing it while I explored the mountains. Since it had managed to awaken the sea beast from its slumber, I expected it to awaken any other sleeping King Beasts deeper into the mountains, if they w...

Godfather's System 216

I ran toward the cultist castle that was currently suffering under an endless rain of mana-enhanced metal siege ammunition that fractured into pieces to destroy the defenders, avoiding the occasional mana blast or arrow rain as I moved without the assistance of Concealment. 

I was dressed in a matte, black armor set, similar to the Shades, but even fancier. Avoiding Concealment was a deliberate choice. Since we were using the weakened cultist castle as an opportunity to intimidate ...

Godfather's System 215

As I approached the cultist castle, I wasn’t in a hurry to act; not with the siege already in place, locking the cultists in. 

The way Takis had approached the siege was interesting. He didn’t surround the castle completely like I had expected. Instead, he split the army into three groups, each camping quite a distance away from the castle, guarded behind three layers of interlocked wards. 

Each location had a shocking number of mobile siege weapons: ballistas, catap...

Godfather's System 214

“An impressive view,” I said to Mahruss as we watched the army move out of the first mountain pass and started to spread. It certainly was, with their magic matte dark gray armor catching the sunlight in interesting ways, contrasting with the golden presence that followed them. 

I had insisted on adding the colors for a very simple reason. I wanted to reinforce a certain message. 

For the other forces of this world, even the royal military, there was a huge gap betwe...

Godfather's System 213

“… Holy Crusader has done an excellent job gathering your future brothers in arms,” I said as I looked down at the army camp from the flying cart we currently occupied. Just me, and the sixteen Shades. Zolast had been tempted to join, but solving the city dungeon was a bigger priority than having another safety net for the new army. 

Particularly since, once they reached level thirty, their leveling up from hunting wild beasts would slow down significantly, and they would nee...

Godfather's System 212

“… It looks like the Holy Crusader and the great general worked hard,” Zolast said as he entered. He avoided their names to the benefit of the sixteen new recruits that we had just collected. 

Recruits that were lying on the ground, demolished completely to the point that they couldn’t even move. My recently recruited, and even more recently named worshippers.

Sixteen Shades. It had a nice ring to it, like one of those knightly orders people loved so much. 

Godfather's System 211

We walked away a bit while Herkut rested. “How’s the experience,” Zolast asked. 

“Weird,” I answered. “Functions are more or less what I expected, but it feels weird,” I answered. 

“How so?” 

“I don’t know. It doesn’t feel … natural. The difference is not easy to explain, but if I were to explain, the class System feels flexible and responsive, while the divine system feels more solid. Hard to explain.” 

“Is it like the...

Godfather's System 210

“That was not fun…” I muttered as we left the dungeon. Spending a day in the dungeon, doing nothing but follow Zolast’s instructions to fiddle with the dungeon had been particularly boring. 

“Really? Just a day, and you’re already complaining,” Zolast teased. “You’re lucky that I have Awakened every related stat, or upgrading the dungeon to a workable quality would have taken months.” 

I shuddered. Lucky indeed. It had been boring, particularly since ...

Godfather's System 209

After the mission assignments, the youngsters dispersed, while I traveled to Town Maell with Zolast. At first glance, Town Maell might have seemed like a lower-priority target. The mountain range was teeming with monsters and cultists alike, representing a threat, while the new city was still being built, its defenses far from perfect, particularly vulnerable to sabotage. 

I wished that I could clone myself and supervise both operations at the same time, even with a lifetime of exp...

Godfather's System 208

“… So, does that mean the boss is now a god?” Terma asked. 

“Boy? Can’t you wait until dinner is over?” I asked even as I sipped some of my drink. 

“Why? Ascension to godhood not an appropriate dinner conversation?” he quipped. I chuckled, though Zolast threw me a glance, showing that he had caught the slight hysteric edge in my tone. 

I couldn’t help it. Today had been one of the most stressful days of my life … and considering everything ...

Godfather's System 207

As I approached the castle once more, I understood what drove the snake mad enough to attack. I got hit by the same effect. A thick sense of bloodlust, one that blanketed my mind. 

It was similar to Charisma, yet not exactly the same. If it had been Charisma, it would have been easy to deflect. Instead, I found my heartbeat quicken as an animalistic desire to shed blood filled me. Worse, it was only the amount that had been spilling over the protection of my Resilience. 

Godfather's System 206

The realization that Calamity’s deadline moving forward was an unwelcome realization, as much as the undead army that was attacking the new city. Still, not wanting to be distracted under a live-fire situation. I shook my head and ignored both facts as I focused on my approach. 

As for the undead, I trusted Takis and Mahruss to handle the mess by using our army. The princess and her ducal army was there as well, so it should be achievable … particularly with the other team dela...

Godfather's System 205

I approached the mountain range that covered the horizon, my mind already churning ways to optimize my approach. Technically, I could cut through the beasts, as most of them were merely corrupted giant beasts, only occasionally interrupted by their lord beast equivalents. Neither had the ability to slow me down. 

Unfortunately, that approach had its drawbacks. It would alert the observers to my approach, giving them a chance to retreat or set an ambush based on their preference. I ...