102 Chapter 102
< 100 EXP Gained! >
< Quest Complete: Kill the Governor >
The governor is a dangerous character to your people's continued survival. Disposing of him is the only way forward.
* Rewards:
-> Profession: Alchemist.
-> [Domineering Presence] has leveled up!
* DING *
< You don't have access to professions yet. >
< 100 EXP Gained! >
* DING *
< Hidden Quest Complete: Necessary Sacrifices. >
* Reward :
-> 1000 EXP
-> [World Traveler: Dimensional Jump]
* DING *
< You have leveled up! >
< You have leveled up! >
< Evaluating Performance... >
* DING *
< You are eligible for rewards! >
< + 2 CHA Gained! >
< + 1 LUK Gained! >
< + 1 WIL Gained! >
* DING *
< Warning, you have reached level cap! >
< You can no longer level up. >
< To unlock next level, use [Dimensional Jump]. >
* DING *
< System is upgrading... >
< Upgrade complete! >
- Narrator -
Xenon did not know how to react. he stared at the notifications, dumbfounded, his mind slowly understanding the implications behind the last quest. And the reward... It's something he's been patiently expecting for a long time now, yet it never came. But somehow, killing a man in cold blood was the last part of the puzzle he was lacking.
Was it truly necessary to kill Dale before he could go on to the next world? Was it the only way out? What if he had to kill someone he didn't want to kill... Would the system still force him to do that?
Furthermore, he reached the level cap, which means staying in this world would no longer be of any use. And the system's initial warning still rang in his head... He could not afford to stagnate, at the risk of a complete disaster for himself and everyone else close to him.
Xenon had a lot of thinking to do and a lot of decisions to make, but that was neither the time nor the place to do so. He took the gun the governor had on him and left. He was met by members of his group waiting for him patiently outside. They got worried, noticing his downcast expression, but none of them gave any remarks.
"Our work here is done. We carry on with the plan." Xenon ordered, before heading for his car. The next step was fairly simple: deal with the group for good. Their existence is an inconvenience for him, and he doesn't want any group this close to him. The other civilians at Woodbury might have been clueless about the real dealings of their group, but Xenon couldn't bring himself to care. His humanity wouldn't permit him to kill them in cold blood, but that's as far as his humanity goes...
- Xenon -
"You alright?" Shane asked once we hit the road. Good question. The short answer? No, I am not alright. But I can't afford to show weakness now, not when they need me the most.
"I'll be, don't worry about it." I said easily, though I doubt he was convinced judging by the look he was giving me.
"You know, as our leader, you ought to delegate a bit more." Rick remarked offhandedly. "You're not a foot soldier, Xenon. You don't have to participate in everything. We all need breaks every now and then."
"That's right!" Shane understood what Rick was trying to do, and so did I. I mean, it was pretty obvious to me, and frankly, I was in no shape to deal with the upcoming events. They had their instructions to the letter, covering almost all possible scenarios, except in case we lost because that's not possible.
"Alright." I sighed, not in any mood to argue. We need to group with the others back at Motherbase first before we take every fighter we have to Woodbury. We're expanding a lot of resources for this because of how much resources were at stake.
«Daryl, make sure Merle understands how much is at stake here. A lot of people hate him already, don't let him make things harder than they already are.» I advised Daryl. Merle was a handful, honestly. He made it very difficult to defend him with his unlikeable personality, and I don't want people to start doubting me because I opted to leave him alive. This is an opportunity to prove himself to the others. I doubt they'd start trusting him right away, but it's a start. Daryl nodded in understanding.
I watched as the group left heading for Woodbury, before sighing and going to my room. I was tired. It was a first for me because that rarely happened thanks to my cheat system and my endurance. I didn't truly understand the state I was in. Dale's murder certainly affected me, but I don't understand why. It made sense that I killed him. It was necessary. Yet it still affected me. My body felt heavy, almost in the same state as when I was shot, minus the pain. I wanted to do nothing but go to bed and spend a few days sleeping... And that's exactly what I did.
I took my clothes off and laid in bed, doing my best to drift to sleep, changing sides again and again. I felt worse when I finally remember that I had the perfect skill for this situation.
I channeled [Meditation], its magic doing wonders to my mind as I felt the exhaustion lesson considerably. My breathing slowly regulated itself. It didn't take long before I was drifting to sleep.
- Narrator -
«So... The governor wasn't exactly transparent with y'all.» Merle said with a smirk for everyone being held at gunpoint in the main street of Woodbury. They presented to resistance whatsoever for their onslaught, getting through the resistance in a matter of minutes.
«You see, it's not easy accepting everyone to our fold. Means more mouths to feed, and more idiots running about like they own the fucking place.» He continued. «So the governor came up with an idea!» He said theatrically. «Why don't we just kill the fuckers and take the stuff they painstakingly looted for ourselves? It would save us the trouble of doing it ourselves, and save them the trouble of living in this wicked world. A win-win for everybody, right?» He chuckled at his joke. «Except that the governor never understood that there are people out there you should never fuck with. And these gentlemen here are who I'm talking about.»
«Long story short,» Shane said, glaring at Merle for taking more time than he should when they had better things to do. «Your people attacked our people while we were hitting a hardware store, unprovoked. We killed them all, as I'm sure he would've told you by now, including the governor earlier this morning. This place now belongs to us. Now, I understand most people here are innocent, unaware of all the monkey business that's been going on, but frankly, we don't care. Your people attacked us, and in retaliation, we're taking this place. It's ours now. You have two options going forward: You can leave and try your luck out there on your own, or you can join us. But joining us means following our rules.»
Some of them were evidently outraged at their claims, but too fearful to voice their dissent. They opted to leave and try their luck somewhere else. The governor had allowed them to grow complacent in their belief they are safe from the walkers outside because they never had to deal with them. And they felt entitled to the privileges, assuming their old ways should not change.
But they were a minority. In fact, only three families left making a total of ten people. But a vast majority chose to join them instead after they asked all kinds of questions to judge Xenon's group.
- End of Chapter -
Author's Note: Sorry for the late release. Been spending some time thinking & planning for the next world.
A few things to know about the next world. He will not be *starting* in Essos, but North of the Wall instead, among the Free Folk communities.
Xenon will have Targaryen Bloodline, for the added talent in magic and dragonlord potential. And he will finally be able to change his name. Feel free to suggest a name in this paragraph's comments.
I also take any suggestions you might have about his powers, skills, bonuses... as long as they are reasonable. His first class will be Warrior, focusing on the use of physical strength, along with Aura, a bit like Nen in HxH.
