Iron Throne Faction

"Huh?"

Prince had been expecting to run into someone, but not so soon.

The woman he had run into seemed a little younger than him, her hair done in a curly ponytail. She wore a zip hoodie and jeans. She was pretty, but Prince decided to look at the thing that really mattered.

He scanned her.

Name: Zora Pearl

Race: Human

Origin: Earth (#2Y-B379)

Level: 16 (F-Grade)

She did the same, it seemed.

"Oh!" She said cheerfully. "You're from... The Towering Peak Faction? Is it a major Faction? Has to be, considering you're a World Ranker."

Prince wasn't sure if this was fake cheerfulness or if she was just this... Happy, all the time. From the looks of it, she didn't seem to be a part of a faction.

Hmm... Free labor...

"Zora Pearl, is it?" Prince asked. Zora nodded excitedly. "Where are you coming from?"

"You're not from around here?" Zora grinned slyly.

"No."

"Awesome," She said, clapping her hands together. "That means you can help me."

"Who said that?" Prince asked. He didn't even know this lady. Why would he help her?

Zora flinched slightly. Prince wasn't sure why.

"Well, you see..." Zora began to explain. Prince wasn't interested in her sob story, but he decided that he might as well listen.

To cut the long story short, after killing some of the monsters around here for a while, Zora had stumbled onto a group. The group leader, Marcus White, had seemed pretty nice at the time, like someone who knew what he was doing.

Zora, along with the other strongest, Zane, had been doing the guy's dirty work without even knowing it. He managed to convince them to recruit more any more people they found until Marcus had created a faction of well over 50 people.

It was then Marcus showed his true colors, killing people behind the scenes and exercising his power over the weak folk.

Zora had finally figured it out and confronted Marcus, who had nearly killed her when his guys pulled out glocks. 

She managed to escape and whatnot, and wanted Prince to help her kill the dude and bring everyone back to his Faction so they didn't die instantly.

"Sure." Prince said.

There were two reasons why he accepted her request.

First, he would get to see how he fared against guns.

Second, he would be able to get some people for his faction. Because while Prince wasn't interested in the dirty work required to manage one, it would be pretty cool to be the head of one.

"Great!" Zora said. She seemed to get the idea that Prince was from some powerful faction.

He decided not to tell her it was only him.

"Follow me, I'll lead the way." She said, taking long strides away from him.

Prince shrugged and followed.

As they walked, Prince noticed how desolate this place now felt. It was practically a ghost town.

Suddenly a green man jumped down from a broken window and landed before them, blocking the road.

It was at the very least 7 feet tall, with muscular biceps, a protruding potbelly, and well-defined legs.

Its important bits were covered by strips of thin cloth.

Lesser Orc - Level 14

Orcs are the counterpart to Goblins, but they are by no means the same species. Lesser Orcs are low-intelligence brutes, while Higher Orcs are intelligent enough to be considered System Cultivators.

Prince sighed, preparing to attack, but Zora beat him to it.

Her fist flashed out, grazing the orc's chin. The punch carried enough force to blow the orcs head off, however. Which was strange, considering Zora was only two levels above it.

Prince also received a hint of Dao.

Zora's was like his, but more offensive. Focused on the fist rather than the whole body.

"Another one." Zora frowned.

Prince gave her a questioning look.

Zora answered him the next moment. "These orcs are from a leftover dungeon that Marcus and his guys cleared. But they're not the main dungeon around here."

Zora then pointed further into the city.

Prince turned, catching the faintest hints of a giant dome of water.

"There lies the E-Grade Dungeon Atlantis." She said.

Prince grinned. "Oh. No one's conquered it yet?"

"No one's E-Grade." Zora shrugged. "Well, except for the Top Rankers. Rumor has it that Dante King is level 58, nearly a middle E-Grade."

"Huh." Prince said. A new notification popped up.

Warning. Entering Iron Throne Faction Territory.

Without noticing it, they had reached their destination.

"Welcome," Zora said, without much excitement. "To the Iron Throne."

Prince looked around.

People filled the streets now, walking with pots and pans as armor. They weren't true warriors, but they had iron in their eyes.

Buildings had been repurposed into homes. A few people turned their gazes to Prince.

His savage appearance and destructive power hadn't gone unnoticed.

"So," Prince said. "Why don't these guys just leave?"

"Don't you know?" Zora said. "When a Nexus is claimed, that Territory becomes a Safe Zone. No monsters can spawn in there."

Prince supposed that made sense. Not everyone was like him, after all. 

For some, the apocalypse was a nightmare.

For him, it was a dream.

Prince paused.

His attention was drawn to a merchant's stall. But that wasn't what made him pause.

But that wasn't what made him pause.

The merchant was a catman.

A literal cat at stall, who could walk on two legs and was the height of a human. It was, however, a hairless cat with pink skin and a protruding belly.

"What..?" Prince pointed to the alien.

"Oh, that's just Tah'Mahkul. He's a merchant from another planet, who was given permission by the System to arrive. Conveniently, he arrived here."

Prince nodded but was already going to the guy.

Name: Tah'Mahkul

(Multiversal Merchants Faction of #1D-C190)

Race: Nyanthelope

Origin: Planet Bultrophos (#2Y-B385)

Level: 89 (E-Grade)

Tah'Mahkul opened one sleepy eye and yawned. "You looking for some-"

The merchant's eyes snapped open. Prince assumed he had scanned him.

"Ohoho." Tah'Mahkul stood, stretching. He immediately went bussiness mode. "Would you like to take a look at my wares?"

A screen appeared before Prince.

It showcased things like skills, items, and other miscellaneous things up for sale.

Unfortunately, the System used a currency called credits.

"Oops," Prince said. "What are credits?"

"Ah?" Tah'Mahkul said, slightly annoyed. "They're Multiversal currency. Tch, hold on."

Tah'Mahkul snapped his finger, producing something out of thin air. Prince wasn't sure how he did that, but the cat man now held a thin black card in his hand.

He handed it to Prince.

"Here." He said. "This is your credit card. Now, let me see if you have credits already."

Tah'Mahkul swiped at a screen lazily. Then his eyes bulged.

"Boy... You... Conquered a dungeon all by yourself?"

Zora, who was nearby, looked at Prince with surprise.

"Yeah." Prince said awkwardly.

"Well then!" Tah'Mahkul grinned devilishly. 

Prince looked at his card, which now had a number that grew until it rested at 10,000. 

"Okay, that's enough," Zora said, pulling Prince away from the money-hungry merchant.

Prince slipped his credit card into his pocket and continued walking.

"First," She said. "Before anything, you need a shower. Before we conquer this place, we need to do it in style."

Zora knocked on a door.

A burly man answered it. He was handsome, taller than Prince, and had the muscles of a body builder.

"Zora?" He asked in confusion, scanning Prince. Prince did the same.

Name: Zane Carter

Race: Human

Origin: Earth (#2Y-B380)

Level: 20 (F-Grade)

"Zane." Zora said, pushing Prince inside. "We need your help."

"Yeah..." Zane said. He sighed, closing the door.