Mathew

Arriving at the goal, Mathew willed his ownership over everything from the Hub to here. Red energy in the Alpha spectrum surged in response to his demand to be recognized. The remaining Alpha and Lieutenant cast baleful gazes at Mathew in response. With venom and spite, they submitted to the loss of Territory.

At this point, they had to. The loss of the other Alpha, coupled with the reduction of their forces, meant their Territory would diminish. If it wasn't Mathew, it'd be another outside force taking their holdings.

[War resolved

Carrion Knighthood is victorious and has accepted concession from the Bramble Weavers

Human Territory expanded]

Interlocking plates of his reinforcement began to fill the space they'd conquered. The reinforcement Mathew had established diluted itself by stretching so far, some more work would be required to return to 100%. Having the grating thorny vines fade off his senses was a welcome relief. Feeling the weight of his new neighbor's eyes land across the distance less so. This was the reward he'd come to expect from success. More work. At least more problems weren't the only reward.

[New title awarded: Conquerer 1 - Winner of a Territory war

Reduce the reinforcement of a Territory 5% faster]

[New title awarded: Pioneer - Claim Territory from a non-system faction [recalculating]

New title awarded: First Pioneer. First pioneer overrides title pioneer - Be the first to claim Territory from a non-system faction in a given age

Gain a governing title]

[New title awarded: insufficient culture to automatically name tier one administrative authority. Name new title_]

Mathew watched the last part of the system message blink like an old computer document to let you know where you were making changes. Making a government one accident at a time. He sighed.

With a slight push of willpower he learned that tier one was the lowest but upgradeable. What did he want the lowest level of leadership to look like? There were two jobs leaders had to do. To listen then change, and to listen then stay the course. Kinda tough spot to summarize with a single title. What would Pa have to say on this?

Mathew laughed. He liked the idea of naming the title "Pa." Even though it'd be a bit absurd and plenty of people wouldn't like it. To Mathew, Pa was the best leader. Finding the lost and giving them clarity and a better purpose.

What was Pa to me? Mathew thought. Everyone who mattered called him Pa; that was all he had to be. There was never a need to define and peel away the myth the man embodied. The man was wise counsel.

Wise guy, Mathew joked while feeling the loss once again.

Inputting "Counselor," the system notification changed.

[New title awarded: Counselor - Be a trustworthy source of wise counsel

Territory administration tier one granted

Rewards for wise counsel established]

Well, that would take some looking into. Maybe not at the edge of a newly contested Territory. Mathew opened his mouth to call for everyone so they could leave when a new system message showed up.

[History of the Ages and Current Events world lore as established by the system and connected to the World Library asks for your honest words on this historic moment and also how you would like your accomplishments handled]

World Library, Mathew had heard that before. Digging through his skills and perks, he found it.

[World scan - tap into world libraries better]

Can this put us on the map? Mathew's worries about integrating with the natives came back to the front of his mind. Being so far behind the natives' knowledge and achievement, how were any Earthlings supposed to be anything but relegated to the bottom?

This may be the answer. But why? Mathew had been in Lerternum for about a week. The Alpha that literally split his mind into slices was considered pest control. How is he the first in an age to conquer Territory?

Looking for more information, Mathew probed the notification for details. Instead of drawing out the embedded data, the window opened into a sitting room. A blank white expanse spread out to infinity. On the floor, there were two wooden chairs and a table. Each familiar to Mathew. He'd helped with making them. The man he'd aided sat in the chair facing him.

Stepping angrily into the window as a mental avatar was so natural Mathew didn't even notice it. "You aren't him. Why are you wearing his face?"

"This form is one you'd find comforting. As an intelectus of The System, I don't have an identity of my own. So I borrowed one," Pa shifted into a reflection of Mathew. "Is this better?"

Calming himself, Mathew focused. "You're a representative of the system. Why are we in the middle of nowhere? Why don't we have any support?" Cold fury threatened to expand in a blaze of rage.

"I'm an intelectus for The System, specifically from a branch of lore. There is much I do not have access to. The System will also never give away information for free." The Intelectus shrugged with Mathew's shoulders. "You already know the lack of support is due to the fall of the Originals. As for a great many things you consider unfair, I'd guess that someone doesn't like you."

"Now on to business. The System facilitates the trade of information via information-related skills. This now includes you. Congratulations on doing something noteworthy," Not-Mathew picked up a beer that materialized on the table. "So now you get a limited choice in how this trade works. Specifically, someone using a [lore] skill or a [current events] skill. In addition, you may add your own words to commemorate the event."

"Limited choice?" Mathew asked.

"Yes, how expensive do you want to make the acquisition of your accomplishments to be?" Not-Mathew continued. "If your price is low, you will sell more and get almost nothing. Too high, and you will not sell as much as possible. While this price could be automated and often is, big moments in current events that can be isolated to a ruler follow special rules."

Mathew weighed his options. As he saw it there was an opportunity to gain clout and give all the survivors a leg up. There was also a risk.

"Why hasn't anyone else done this? How long has the current age been going?" Mathew asked.

"They do not have a mutable Territory mantle; therefore, they may not change the boundary of a system Territory. The present age has been in accordance for well over a dozen millennia," Not-Mathew's eyes glimmered. "Now you see why such events follow special rules?"

Mathew grunted in response. The risk was too much. Doing something that hadn't been accomplished for thousands of years was not a good thing. He'd already gotten hints of power players and old money. This seemed like one of those secrets that simply knowing was dangerous.

"Can I hide the information?" Mathew asked his reversed image.

"No although, the cost naturally rises the more degrees of separation there are between the one who pays and the event. To your next question, people pay with System Energy. Generated through the skill in question by a person's expenditure of willpower. You can use it to fuel various administration functions or even convert it into more Essence," Not-Mathew chugged the bear before it was crushed and thrown it into a suddenly materialized metal trash bin.

"For [current event] skills, I'd like it as expensive as possible... For [lore] skills, I'd like the cost to become cheaper over time. Starting as expensive as possible and lowering to the automatic price after ten years," Mathew raised his mental hand to stall this event from ending. "How do I build a [current event] skill?"

"Where you are, I doubt you can," Not-Mathew shrugged. "You do have scan, which is the base of many information skills. Level ten should provide you more insight. Before I go one last opportunity. What does this historic event mean to you?"

Knowing he couldn't stall anymore or pump the mind for more information Mathew answered. "This is just another moment we have to save and protect innocents of the future and get revenge for those we are too late for."

This small world held within a system notification compressed back into a block of text. Mathew found his attention back within his body.

[Deal complete]

No point in over-worrying about what he couldn't control. He made a mental note to tell everyone when there was a good time.

"Alright, we have the Territory," Mathew called out. "Grant, does anything special happen at level ten?"

"Not that I know of," Grant shrugged. "No one I know got to level ten. Clare may tell you differently, but when I asked, she said that the system and her hybrid status don't get along well."

They walked in silence, Mathew's mental attack running in the background to alert him of new threats. A second effort of willpower and he drew up the functions associated with his new administrative role.

[Counseler

Quests

Property

Add function]

Absentmindedly Mathew looked through the new options. This seemed to be the sort of thing that would shape day-to-day activities. The side of making and giving quests was fairly straightforward. What Mathew found most interesting was that it used system energy (SE) to build a quest but could award progress towards a new level.

The second tab allowed ownership of property to be defined by the system. Space within his own Territory could be sold or rented to an individual for SE. Items could be marked by the system so their owners could be verified. Given the ability to upgrade the security of a mark, theft wasn't eliminated. Still, the ability to preemptively resolve disputes would do a lot of lifting for Mathew.

He was willing to use his mental attack skill to be a flawless judge if required, but he wasn't ignorant of what that would be like for anyone else. A ruler who claimed to get inside anyone's mind and unilaterally act as a source of truth. Mathew knew he'd get suspicious about it.

Moving on to the last tab [Add function], it would let an administrator create a new function. Examples of local and national notifications and personal messages were there, but there weren't clear limits on what could be done, only costs. Everything would incur a cost and there was a minimum infrastructure cost to anything generated.

Mathew's mind immediately went to a basic party system. His effort to connect minds worked well for a short while. The coordination between himself and Amber was deadly... but he didn't have the skill to maintain it in the heat of combat, and even if he became proficient, no other hunting or raiding party would have that advantage.

If Mathew could generate a system function for this, not only could his own mental efforts be focused, but new groups of fighters would have a considerable teamwork advantage. Mentally tied up, Mathew's foot caught under a regrowing vine. The snap of it breaking brought him back to the present in newly acquired Territory. Making a mental note to make a party system another time, he paid attention to the surrounding on the way back to the Hub.

"Hey," Ben pointed to the hand-width vine splintered apart. "How strong are you exactly? I saw you had like 4k health. So I can guess."

Pride swelled in Mathew's chest as he casually shared his stats.

[Mathew Gains Starling ~ Fate Breaker

Otherworld Human/Carrion Beast Hybrid

Carrion Knight 1% to level 10

Health 3986/4310

Reserves 38,741

Magic digestion:

Digestion points 1506/3880

Pooling points 970/970 0%/25%

Body Total 316

Strength 79.3

Agility 67.2

Durability 98.8

Endurance 71.3

Mind Total 230

Willpower 60.5

Cognition 46.8

Resistance 69.1

Resilience 53.8

Alpha Skills

Deathbattle chains 8

Combat skills

Living skeleton Armorment 29

Bone regeneration 9

Mental resistance 12

Conditional Ambush 14

Mental attack 22

Mental support 10

Crafting skills

Living skeleton Armorment 29

Utility skills

Digestion 44

Class Construction 1

Scan 14]

"Holy shit!" Ben exclaimed. "You're a fucking monster!"

Mathew tried really hard not to smile, "Only half monster, thank you. Speaking of strength. I'm not the best fit for securing that chronosphere. Do you think you can stealth Harper down here safely?"

"Uh, yeah. Why me? You're the guy I'd want around in a pinch," Ben asked.

"I couldn't protect you, if it wasn't for Grant..." Mathew left the rest unsaid. "Plus, wherever I am, danger follows. Nah, you're the man for the job."

"Alright, I'll do my best," Ben replied.

Mathew's higher cognition again let him notice the skills that had reached perk points that he hadn't spent. This time he tried to keep half his mind in the moment, so he didn't casually break the environment.

[Mental support ~ perk tier one

Amplify - Increase the effect of another's willpower

Process - Generate an intelectus to aid the processing of another

perk tier two

Mind Rejuvenation - Spend willpower to amplify the resilience of another]

The most powerful advantage was the one that would let you use the downtime between combat to get stronger. At least, that was what Mathew was operating under. With this in mind, he selected mind rejuvenation. With Mathew's ability to rapidly convert reserves into stamina and willpower, he could perform stat training that others would have to spread over a much longer time. In a small way, he could give this benefit to others.

With how Territory pressure worked, making anyone stronger would give him more influence. That he could then use to hold more Territory. There were opportunities he was giving up. Even then, it was a good strategy to ensure everyone he partied with could keep up with him. If he became the engine to fuel a whole team, then they could specialize further.

Being honest with himself, Mathew knew he had to lean into his mental powers more. Just like Amber said, he needed to accept who he was. Mathew needed to lean into this power and make all the advantages he could from it.

[Mental attack ~ perk tier two

Direct - Improve efforts to restrict thought patterns

Backfire - Breaking another's will construct will cause damage

Dexterous attack - Improve control of mental efforts]

If there was anything he learned from Ben's near-death experience, it was that he still wasn't strong enough to protect the people right in front of him. The basic animals seemed to be within his control, but the Alpha barely stuttered. It was the worst case scenario, where the highest threat was the one left insufficiently answered. Mathew picked direct. The time to worry about having power over the minds of others wasn't now.

Maybe next time, he could hold the attention of an Alpha. Mathew tried not to kick himself over it. Clearly, some of the reason it targeted Ben was its survival strategy of wearing down a force. All the same, he'd do all he could to avoid making the same mistake twice.

Breaking from the darkness of the bramble canopy, Mathew could see the clear skies and jagged rocks of the Spire. He already missed Ripper, but the slug of warmth at seeing the heart of his Territory lifted his spirit. Rejecting a kneejerk reaction to fight himself, Mathew tried to embrace this as part of who he was now. It didn't mater if this was him as a man or him as a monster. Being happy to have expanded a secure home belonged in who he wanted to be.

Time to finish reinforcing his control of the Territory and then to make a new weapon. When he'd crafted Ripper, he didn't have the depth of resources and levels as he did now. The only thing keeping Ripper viable so far is that it was brutish and could grow stronger over time. This fight against the Bramble Weaver was near its limit. With the Bramble Weavers being weaker Alphas in an individual sense, Mathew could only imagine the catastrophic result of an impact beyond Ripper's limit. With so much more reserves and thousands of health, Mathew felt he could craft something truly big.

With that in mind, he checked a newer tab.

[Consumed designs - monsters

Bramble Weaver 100%]