Theodora Greyman, the elected President of Zone 1, current Chairperson of the New Earth Council, and probably the most politically powerful individual on Earth smiled out at the thousands of people that gathered at the newly constructed System Remembrance monument in the outskirts of the Orchard to attend the grand opening ceremony.

Not the ideal location, but there are always concessions to be made before everyone falls in line… As the Senator from the Orchard, Senator Firefly wields too much influence at the moment… But patience is the most important virtue. Theodora let the previous announcement of her speech hang in the air, allowing the carefully selected words to sink into the watching audience. Then, for good measure, Theodora Greyman repeated those words again.

“This is an era that needs heroes. That’s why the Hero Tithe is so critical to our future development. It’s why every Zone has agreed to enact the Hero Initiative and support the New Earth Councils administration of the program. Those that have the power to protect our world should be rewarded. I don’t think any of us can claim that they would have made it this far if not for the brave individuals who delved into the dangerous Raid Dungeons of each Zone… We stand on the shoulders of giants. And it is outdated and simplistic thinking to expect such heroes to expend themselves solely out of the generosity of their hearts.”

Of course, the Order Ducis still refuses to acknowledge the Hero Initiative proposal… But even if Randidly Ghosthound understands what I’m planning, there should be no reason for him to stop it. Enticing high-Level individuals to register by offering a stipend depending on their strength shouldn’t attract his attention until it’s too late...

A ripple went through the audience as Theodora talked about the current people standing on the shoulders of giants. Saying Randidly Ghosthound’s name directly was dangerous, but it was equally dangerous not to acknowledge him and his ilk altogether. Although they were part of the previous era of political power in New Earth, the group of individuals led by Randidly Ghosthound still held far-reaching influence.

Especially because the Order Ducis was practically sprinting through the newly opened up Wildlands on that moving city of theirs, proselytizing all the recently released population to worship the Ghosthound. And initial estimates put the number of people in the Wildlands at almost ten times the population of all the freed up Zones combined.

Almost fifty percent of those people die before they can be rescued, but that still means there is a group of people five times our current population indebted to the Order Ducis… And as those people flow toward the established Zones...

President Greyman’s gaze slid side to side over the sea of people. They were currently digesting the term Hero Tithe and Hero Initiative, but simply giving them exposure to it was enough right now. Time for the speech to proceed to the next topic.

“Further details regarding the Hero Tithe have already been shared with the leadership in each of the Zones; if you possess the requisite strength and the generous spirit to work for the good of our world, I encourage you to register. Those with strength will be rewarded; that’s the only way to build a better world. Those who live safely should know the names of those they need to thank for their prosperity.”

There was polite applause, likely started by some of her agents who were standing amongst the crowd and using their Skills to monitor the emotions surrounding them. Theodora’s smile widened as the polite applause caught on and the larger crowd joined into the clapping with enthusiasm to spare.

She took a moment to glance down at her notes. Wireless Internet’s return. Sports Entertainment Channel. Thank the donors for the monument.

Theodora casually looked up past the spacious green lawn that had been entirely obscured by the standing human bodies and toward the monument at the other end of the green. It was a clock toward, frozen eternally at the time believed to have been the last minute that Earth experienced without the Nexus’ influence: 11:56. Although the mechanism of the clock continued to tick as the gears whirled forward, the brass hands of the clock remained entirely frozen in that minute.

More than just a statue, the monument was actually a small museum. Visitors could go within the clock tower and see quite a bit of information about the Earth before the System arrived. The first floor was dedicated to maps and flags of all the different countries on the original Earth. The second floor was dedicated to the Earth’s rich history, although Donnyton’s delegation had convinced the builders to include mythological books on that same floor.

The third floor was a small art museum, including reproductions of famous paintings currently considered lost in the initialization, including the Mona Lisa, A Starry Night, and the Girl with the Pearl Earing. The fourth and fifth floors were dedicated to pop culture and fiction, including movies and novels that had been particularly popular as well as viewing rooms so anyone could stop and enjoy the materials.

Perhaps the most overlooked benefit of the System is the unification of all languages… Certainly makes global politics much simpler.

After letting the crowd quiet down, President Greyman continued to speak. “And there is one last thing before the grand opening of the Remembrance Monument. I’m happy to announce that with the expansion of the rail system, we have finally implemented a previous promise of this administration. All areas serviced by the manatech trains will from this day forward have access to wireless internet, courtesy of the New Earth Council. Although vast amounts of information were lost from our old world, we are happy to announce that some of your favorite old-Earth sports will be coming back, with the benefit of the System to spice-”

DOOOOONNNNNGGGGGGG.

Theodora Greyman paused and looked up at the clock tower opposite her as it rung its bells at an almost deafening volume. Its hands remained stubbornly at 11:56. A brief glance at her own interspatial watch confirmed that it was already noon. It was a beautiful day, the perfect day to deliver the speech.

Smiling like a bemused aunt at a nephew’s dinner faux-pas, Theodora waited for the ringing to cease. Perhaps we shouldn’t have made the remaining mechanisms of the clocktower still function. It’s certainly rather ominous that it continues to ring every hour, despite the hands never changing… Still, the populace needs to support the Hero Initiative, and that will only happen if people are afraid.

Sacrificing citizens is a depressing business, but we might need to slacken the patrols at the border and let some Raid Bosses into the interior...

Taking another glance at her notes, President Greyman prepared to continue with her speech as the crowd muttered uneasily to each other. Flashing a smile, she said. “It appears that I’ve been a little long-winded; the monument itself is losing its patience.”

The crowd broke into nervous laughter, their attention slowly pooled within Theodora’s hands. Their focus was soft and supple, easy to manipulate. Her smile became much more confident and she once more determinedly resumed her speech. “As I was saying-”

A ripple ran through the crowd as several individuals exploded into motion. Those individuals forcefully leapt upward, all of them dashing from the stretch of greenery toward the edges and into the surrounding streets. A strange feeling descended on the area as most of the surrounding people focused on the sudden movements.

A second later, Theodora Greyman’s danger sense tingled. Her eyes went back to the clock tower and the extremely eye-catching six-story tall humanoid figure that had suddenly ballooned upward next to the Remembrance Memorial. Its body was an unblemished scarlet; its entire being seemed to have been sculpted from fresh blood. Compared to the two and three-story buildings surrounding the greenery, its figure couldn’t be overlooked.

A bloodbeast?!? Here? For a split second, Theodora was so confused that her thoughts seized and refused to proceed forward. But she wasn’t the President of an entire Zone just because of her political acumen. Very quickly, her sharp mind made some connections. So it seems that murder from the new Zone hasn’t quite been stopped yet, even if the murders ceased. Still, this size-

As the bloodbeast began to raise its arm, an arm that was the size of two city buses connected end-to-end, many of the individuals in the crowd with weaker danger detection Skills twisted around to look at the towering bloodbeast. Its crimson body was a stark contrast against the clear blue sky. It towered up above the surrounding buildings, an intimidating monolith.

One person screamed, and then the lawn erupted into chaos.

Those with higher physical Stats simply barreled over those who got in their way as the crowd surged to escape. Everyone was trying to vacate the area between the bloodbeast and President Greyman, but the small side streets connecting to the corner of the greenery couldn’t accommodate so much foot traffic; Very quickly, the rapid exodus mired into a swamp of struggling humans.

Theodora watched as many weaker individuals were knocked to the ground and trampled. Some members of the police were stationed around the perimeter of the speech, but they couldn’t fight against the explosive flow of bodies out of the path of the bloodbeast. Some were buoyed away by the determined crowd, rapidly overpowered by the mass.

“You will die today.” The huge bloodbeast rumbled, its arms pointing across the clearing lawn toward Theodora Greyman. There could be no doubt that this was an attack; perhaps the first assassination attempt since the System had arrived.

But who is it? Still that lone murderer? Or have the Nemesai finally revealed themselves? Either way… Theodora’s face split into a sly smile. True, we cannot wield Mjolnir with so many innocents in the area. But did you really think that was the only trump card that Zone 1 possesses? Heh, it’s a bit early, but this is also a good chance to remind the population why they need us...

The huge arm of the bloodbeast folded outward and revealed a dense sphere covered in a strange series of runes. Even as about half of the crowd was still struggling to get out of the way, the bloodbleast released a blast of white light from the orb that surged forward. President Greyman’s mouth pressed into a thin line as the people remaining on the green were knocked off their feet as the blast of energy passed above them. Figures spun like pinwheels through the air as they were whipped helplessly off of their feet.

Even though President Greyman trusted the reports given to her by East Providence’s research team as the strength of her bodyguard, she still felt her heart tremble before the approaching attack. But she refused to move. Sometimes, half of the result was simply due to attitude. So long as she remained confident-

There was an approaching flap of wings. The blast of light surged forward. Theodora Greyman’s nerves distorted her perception of time.

There was a flickering shadow and the head of President Greyman’s security detail superimposed himself between the President and the blast of energy. He was the most balanced of the genetic experiments that combined the physical strength of a Raid Boss with the growth potential of a human mind. Rather than fusing them into one being, these experiments bred symbiotic organisms that possessed the traits of both.

The reports stated that the guard was invincible against foes under Level 70 and could fight evenly with monsters that hadn’t yet reached the tipping point of Level 90. The researchers were cautiously optimistic that if three such experiments were successful, Randidly Ghosthound wouldn’t be able to claim to be invincible on Earth any longer.

Which had certainly caught President Greyman’s attention. Just like the rest of the Earth, no one could avoid measuring their strength against the mysterious Randidly Ghosthound.

The blast of white light hit her guard. There was another flap of wings and then Theodora grunted as an arm seized her waist and pulled her to the side. There was a terrible roar, a blast of heat, and Theodora instinctively activated her best defensive Skill, Mana Body Armor to protect her from the sudden threat.

The grip on her waist tightened and the energy body armor shattered before it had even formed.

Whoever had grabbed Theodora apparently lost their grip, because all of a sudden Theodora found herself tumbling freely to the side. The air smelled like charcoal and sulfur but her combat training instantly surged to the forefront of her mind. After rolling a little bit further away, Theodora sprung to her feet. When she saw the person who had flung her to the side, Theodora’s eyes narrowed.

“Alana Donal,” President Greyman said cautiously. Is Donnyton moving against me? But Alana should have been missing for several months… “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Alana snorted and pointed with her spear. “Saving your life.”

President Greyman opened her mouth to retort, but the words died on her lips as she saw how far she had been thrown from her initial position. The head of her security detail collapsed forward, a huge smoldering hole through his chest. The stage and podium that President Greyman had been delivering her speech from was now an inferno surrounding a pool of molten stone. The aides and police officers that were near the epicenter of the blast lay unmoving on the ground, covered in burns.

Theodora Greyman’s Human Insight Skill informed her that they had died almost immediately, their organs boiling within their own bodies.

The stage had been built at the edge of the green so that it took up the street and was pressed up against the houses surrounding the green area. And those houses were now hollowed out and collapsed, fires beginning to lick up the walls. Had she not been moved… President Greyman would be no more. Erased, just like that, without ever understanding how foolish she was.