We spread quickly, taking new jobs and forging new lives. Some became guards, others doctors, lawyers, engineers, and a few filled the hero or dark lord role. Users adapted to their new lives and found ways to integrate themselves, or they died.

Parameters gave enough strength to grant the old a semblance of their youth. They made boys as strong as men and men into superhumans. Many raced to increase their Parameters as quickly as possible.

Those men were like candles burning at both ends; eventually, they burned their selves out. Often, they destroyed everything around them, and it was the working users who picked up the pieces. To limit the destruction of the world around them, those users who became their professions formed a government. But, unfortunately, in forming a government, they infected the new world with the corruption of the old.

…

I sat with Nia in a waiting room that was generously furnished. The chairs were new and earthly made; I could feel it in the craftsmanship. I sensed it in the QI within the carving. A user's touch echoed through the waiting room, and it made me uneasy.

We were given a few joint apartments to live in while we stayed in Bridle. Compliments of the council out of respect for a Flank town ambassador and their entourage. Kale and the others separated from us to either explore the city or freshen up in the apartments. A door opened, and a female user stepped through.

The user dressed like a secretary and cross around her neck, the wings, and the horns on her head. Her purple forked tail wrapped around her waist, leaving the heart-shaped point to poke out at the side. For a succubus, she dressed positively modestly. Her cardigan was buttoned to the top, hiding even a hint of cleavage. The pants she wore while form-fitting were ironed and didn't expose even a hint of skin. Even her nails had been trimmed to the nubs for practical use over an expression of wealth and desire. Her clothes spoke for her; despite her nature, she was here for business and nothing more.

"I understand you are a powerful user Mr. Red. However, while we of the User union appreciate your strength, we must inform you there are rules." She pulled a form from her inventory and presented it to me.

After I read the first page, I flipped to the next one faster than the last. The more I read, the more unsettled I felt. "I see, you can take the humans out of the old world, but you can't take the old world out of the humans. A union, how disgusting. You were given a chance to start over, and you had the bright idea to unionize and impose your arbitrary rules." I said.

I heard the grinding of teeth, and Nia giggled. "To think, I thought you were reserved. Or are her demands really that insulting?"

"I don't know where your animosity towards peace comes from, but it's unhealthy. What part of." I burned the contract in my hands and tossed the ashes on the ground.

"Does that answer your question? Scheduled pleasure and work hours you want to give me the responsibilities of a job and pay you for the pleasure." I said.

"You are no longer what could be called a human. Not by our standards anymore. But there is hope for you. Smit's report benefited you greatly. You value a denizen of this world enough to comply to preserve their life. I know some of our rules are difficult, but they are necessary. If you stop thinking of yourself as human and instead as a military asset, then our union makes all the sense in the world." The succubus named Linda said.

This was so interesting a woman who gave up her humanity for succubi beauty called me inhuman. She even had to gal to shame me for my strength. If that wasn't enough, she was a succubus wearing a Christian cross. Did she flick her bean to hypocrisy, or did she think Jesus would forgive her? How long had we been waiting before she shoved a binding document in my face? This sort of predatory behavior really pissed me off.

Her charisma and glamour beat against me in waves of lust-filled power. Not only was it an irritation, I felt personally insulted by such a pitiful attempt. This woman must not have focused much on charisma for a succubus, or worse, she believed her class bonuses would be enough.

I thought about popping her head like a grape and tossing her body out the window.

My chair handle gave a forlorn crack before coming off the piece. At my accident, the bitch cracked a knowing smile.

The Secretary was her registered nickname; her username was Team Edward For Life or Tefl. I could tell by her mannerisms and how she dressed that this woman wasn't used to looking beautiful. That or clothes made her feel completely uncomfortable.

"You’re wasting your time miss, Red is a true gentleman and wouldn’t be swayed by such base charms,” Nia said. I glanced at her.

Pink auras gathered around the both of them, pushing and slurping like fleshy tongues against my skin. They felt slimy to the touch, like dipping my hand in a mold of warm pudding. My will wasn’t enough to stop the suction I felt pulling at me, inviting me to react without thought and give in. There wasn’t anything subtle about the way they poured their hungry power out.

I could feel them clawing at my own QI, my soul. Their auras had their own gravity, and if I fought with a burst of loose power, I’d feed them.

My aura glowed a brilliant blue before giving ground shining brightly just above my skin. If I had brazenly unleashed my aura, I’d only empower them. So, I concentrated it above my skin with more than enough power to hold them both at bay. After all, the closer my QI was to my body, the more control I had over it.

When I stared down at my hands, they looked more like my grandfather’s sausage fingers than my own delicate digits from a life of being a shut-in. The shimmering blue barrier fit like a glove over my skin, only visible to those with spiritual senses. QI and the soul are two words materially the same but philosophically different. Demons desire human souls for their own reasons but possess auras like cultivators.

QI is a journey to forever cultivate the phenomenon of human consciousness. In contrast, the human soul was a backup drive of a human’s identity meant to survive after the body’s death. That’s how I understood it through my own observations.

I stood up unbothered by the auras both succubi produced. “I don’t need your protection or the favors you offer in exchange for fair taxes,” I said.

They were effectively forming a shadow government; given enough time and users, they’d take over the city and balkanize the users in other cities. Once they grew so large, they’d become unstoppable. I needed someone to talk to about this before I made a drastic decision. My gut told me to hunt down and slay their leaders as a warning.

No, that was rash, and something King would have done. But, it was an option, and honestly, wiping out a government would feel cathartic. But, on the other hand, wiping out a union in its infancy felt like an anarchist’s wet dream like a dark lord crushing baby seals.

“Personally, I dislike talking about my beliefs with strangers. But you’ve made your stance very clear with the contract.” I glanced over at the succubus lamia. “Nia, would you say she was rude shoving a contract in my face to join a union of all things,” I asked.

“What’s wrong with unions? Aren’t they meant to maintain a group’s interests? I mean, my mother put a tariff on Audi enchanted items at the behest of our Magical Engineers guild. I don’t see why those matters aren’t it just common sense to help out local industries.” Nia said.

The Secretary smiled and seemed to preen at Nia’s words. Her titties seemed to jiggle in their tight cardigan. The movement drew my eyes and made my mind blank out for a second.

“It seems you’re too busy leering at this sexy form to reply. Are you going to use the cheaper product makes everyone richer retort? I’ve heard it a thousand times, and it's old. You don’t care about the people or the families ruined from lost jobs. True evil is the will to let others suffer to line your own pockets.” The Secretary said.

A flash of anger swept through me. My mind wasn’t at its maximum output, and I could tell I was losing this little debate. So, I needed to retake the offensive and ask unexpected questions. Only my mind struggled to turn the right gears and direct my point. In my mind, I pictured a knight charging a dragon, ready to impale the beast, only he couldn’t point his lance in the right spot.

“Can you prove that the loss of demand for common goods normally created by magical engineers has a negative impact on commonwealth? Are you saying that magical engineers can’t create niche goods instead of common goods easily manufactured and sold cheaply to another nation? What of innovation? If magical engineers have to focus on remaking the wheel, they with never make anything other than wheels.” I said.

The Secretary smiled as if she’d won. “See, he’s evil; all he’s interested in is profit and innovation. He wants to cause an unsustainable increase. So perhaps I was wrong to even give you a chance. But I assure you before long, you’ll beg to join the union.” The Secretary said.

“I see you’re the type who’d rather rule in hell instead of serving in heaven. How like a demon. Go ahead, take over this city. I already have a name for you. Neo Detroit,” I yelled.

She covered her mouth, eyes wide. “How dare you that wasn’t our fault it was you capitalists buying cheaper cars?”

“I’m glad the name fits already,” I said.

Nia looked between us with confusion written clearly on her face. “Was that a cursed word?” Nia asked.

“Yes,” I said with a smile on my face.

The door to the meeting room opened, and the city governor’s assistant invited Nia inside. My part in this journey was over.

System Updating 80%

Ding!

10th Quest Completed

Deliver The Governor’s Daughter Safely to Bridle

Rewarded: 3 AG Skill Dice, 2 Brz Upgrade Dice

Reward withheld until System Update completed

I sucked in a breath and turned to the succubus who was still in the room. “What do you want?” I asked.

She looked away. “I think I can change your mind about the union. We aren’t like the ones who ruined Detroit. Let me take you out to dinner and show you a good time. I’ll show you that a little mercantilism isn’t a bad thing. And please call me Linda. The Secretary is my business name.” Linda said.

I nodded and pulled out one of my last beers. “I’m sorry, but you can’t drink in the city. A new law recently passed banning alcohol.”

Flames erupted from my body, and the room’s temperature skyrocketed. I was seconds away from reducing the whole building to ash. “You can still drink in a pub but not in an office waiting room,” Linda yelled.

I withdrew my flames, leaving behind the charred remains of a once pristine waiting room. Guards rushed in brandishing wands and guns. “Everyone, calm down. I just told a joke that went over poorly. The Union will pay for the damages.”

After she left a card, we were down an elevator and at a little pub somewhere in the red-light districts of Bridle. Just outside the window, succubi danced in the windows attracting young men off the street.

How many of those men would come back out?

A pretty young redheaded user slammed two mugs in front of us. “You have to understand we can’t have superpowered humans running around drunk on the streets. Here in the red lights, a user can have a good time, sleep off their fun, and go back to work. These are scary times, and people appreciate some familiar order.” Linda said.

“What about events? How does your Union handle those?” I asked. Linda frowned with a heartbreaking expression on her beautiful face.