(Day 185) Aprilis 29th, 12th year of the Dragon, Age of Enlightenment

Over the last five days, I’d walked along the road helping people when I could, saying hello to the patrols from Venoran, and trying to blend in with the common folk. The Ocean was off to the east and while I wasn’t walking through the forest I walked along a tree line that was no more than a half-mile away in most places. Another nice thing about walking this main road was there I hadn’t seen any bandits or monsters. At the end of each day, I’d portal back to the Tower to spend time with Adaline.

The second night I returned to the tower I’d asked, “Adaline, do you have an issue with me upgrading the tower to the 20th Century?”

“What does that mean exactly?” she asked.

“Well, that means that I want to incorporate some of the technology from my planet into the tower. Stereo systems, intercoms, and television. I will of course leave your room alone and your lair in the vault but the rest of the tower is going to get an upgrade, what do you say?

“You had me at Stereo System,” she said with a smile.

“While we continued eating I had the nanites flood the entire vault and tower except for her room and her lair. Then they went to work. Within minutes the inside of the tower looked like a cross between a high-tech hotel and a techno geeks wet dream. I’d even converted the training room into a dual virtual reality room that we could both game in once I convinced her to try the games. This upgrade included constant portal access to the intergalactic web I was creating back home as well as access to all television channels on Earth. I would still get my news updates from my Thor aspect, but I wanted Adaline to be exposed to the level of technology I was normally used to. Once we were done eating I invited Amanda and Abi to join us to take a tour of our new home and their lifeboat should the shit hit the fan, which was a possibility.

They came over and we’d given them the tour. I’d also deactivate the traps on the second library. I didn’t need someone accidentally getting destroyed as they walked through the doorway. We sat down in the main room opposite the dining area and watched “The Matrix” on my 100” screen monitor on the wall. With nanites available, we had popcorn, drinks, and the most comfortable chairs that I could think of. I also figured this would be the perfect place for Adaline to be brought up to speed on my universe, technology, and pop culture while I was taking care of the Kingdom of Crimson Blood. While we watched the movie I also keep track of the progress my nanites were making as they spread throughout my place of power. They discovered a cave system in the cliffs the tower sat upon as well as some creatures that had come through when the Tower was moved to wherever we were now. Luckily no monsters were found. I made sure the rodents were taken over by the nanites then had them all run back to a portal and released them into the foothills below where the tower had once been. I didn’t need rodents or insects in here yet. This was all being handled while the Matrix continued.

As well as taking care of the unwelcome guests I brought with me I noticed that when I’d flooded the tower my nanites would have the ability to exit the barrier surrounding my place of power and then add to it. I tested this slowly by creating a pocket of nanites and then converting the interior to air right up against the outside of the barrier. The barrier adjusted and moved outside of my nanite bubble so that all the nanites and the air were back inside the bubble again. I tried this all over the bubble. The barrier acted like a balloon expanding as the surface it covered expanded. Going slowly the nanites expanded the radius of my Place of power by a full inch. As the bubble was expanded I added the mountain range back into the area as well as water. As I changed the mass gravity did not seem to be affected. I set the nanites to continue to try to expand the bubble and add structure to the inside of the place of power based on my memories and to stop if they detected any change in the barrier other than expansion. I didn’t want it to pop. I easily had 70 miles in one direction I could expand and a simple…

I created a portal on Primore where my tower used to be from one of my sensor satellite rooms then adjusted its coordinates so it skyrocketed upward. Once it was about three miles up I rotated the portal so it was looking at the ground. Then I put my satellite to work. I created a topographical map of the entire area around my tower out to 100 miles and loaded it into my primary memory, and then had the nanites start creating a mirror image of the surface in my Place of Power as the area slowly expanded the diameter of my Place of Power. Once that was well underway, I set my Thor Aspect to set up a viable ecology for an enclosed area that size. I knew it was sustained by magic, but I wanted it to be self-sustaining just in case. My Thor aspect started creating identical copies of the Place of Power for testing.

I left my Thor aspect to deal with the details and turned my attention back to the Matrix. The movie ended and Amanda and Abi went back to headquarters on Earth. Once they were gone Adaline and I made our way upstairs for a nightcap, some fun, and a good night’s sleep. I’d feign rest until she fell asleep then meditate and be ready to go in just about three hours. I’d portal back to where I’d stopped walking the night before and prepared for the next day’s encounters. Today as I rose and portaled back to continue my walk, Adaline was still sleeping when I crossed Venoran’s front line of defense and started walking the mile to Kingdom of Crimson Blood’s checkpoint.

As I walked towards the checkpoint I noticed Archers on walls, a mage, and four guards checking papers. Additionally, there was a building that looked like a barracks. My nanites detected another ten guards inside the building but part of the building went beyond my 500-foot range so there could be more. Two of the guards moved forward and flanked me as another took up position behind me. The guard in front of me looked at a paper then spoke

“By decree of the Council, former King Adamantadine, you are charged with Murder and Sedition against the Kingdom of Crimson Blood. You are not to be tried or captured. May your God have mercy on your soul for none here shall!” he said as all four drew weapons and took a step back.

As the guard had been talking to try to keep my attention the mage on the wall was trying to cast a spell unobtrusively. As he finished his spell and the guard finished his degree I said, “I really wouldn’t do that if I were you.”

The mage finished his spell and watched me expectantly. I felt the spell try to affect me when my ability “Return to Sender” activated. At level 100 there was a 100% chance that any spell that specifically targeted me would return to the caster if my skill level in whatever magic sphere they were casting in was higher. As I had skill level 500 in all primary magic schools it was unlikely that I was lower level than a mage serving the military on the front lines. I was right. I also recognized the spell. He’d cast “Disintegrate” on me. As the spell reflected I said, “Told ya!” while I simultaneously had my nanites infiltrate and remove all clothing from the soldier and archers. near me.

The Mage was there one second, gone the next. The clothes he’d been wearing and his items fell to the top of the tower. That disintegrate spell was nasty. My nanites could find no trace of him, none. The guards tried to react instantly only to find themselves naked and weaponless. The Archers also had the same problem as their bows, arrows, and equipment also disappeared. An Archer reached for a bell and rung it before I could destroy it. I’d noticed it of course but figured they wouldn’t use it. Good to know I wasn’t always right.

As the bell rang more guards poured out of the barracks and rushed toward me. I commanded the nude soldiers and archers not to move. My nanites also infiltrated everyone coming out of the barracks and froze them as they also removed all their equipment, armor, and weapons, leaving them nude as well. I didn’t bother to check my prompts; these soldiers were no threat to me. The last man to leave the Barracks was dressed in Magical Golden Plate mail and carried a magical Greatsword. He looked around quickly at all of his motionless naked men and women and looked like he was about to charge when he froze in place too. As I looked him over I noticed he had four magical items. Finally, something magical I could conduct tests on.

I walked up to the last man out and noted that he was a Captain. I hadn’t let my nanites strip him yet so he just looked at me with hate in his eyes as I spoke, “It would seem my dear Captain that you were misinformed about how to deal with me. Either someone wants you dead or truly does not know what they’re up against. Either way, I have a question for you. Is any of the magical equipment on you a personal heirloom or an item that has been handed down to you by your family?” I asked.

Confused by this turn of events the Captain answered “No, release me now so that…”

I had the nanites cut off his ability to talk, then had my nanites take control of him so that he could strip off the magical items and place them at my feet. Once all of his magical items were off the nanites removed the rest of his clothing and equipment. He was just as nude as his fellow soldiers. “You all just hang here for a moment, I need to test something.” I picked up the magical items and walked 50 feet away to place each of the magic items on the ground separated by about a foot on each side from each other. As I set each item down I used Identify on it.

Identify: Success! You have found a +10 Greatsword of Battle. Anyone that strikes with this sword receives 1/10th damage done back as health and stamina allowing them to stay in a battle longer before needing to rest or heal.

Identify: Success! You have found Chestplate of Defense +10. Reduces all damage done to chest by 10 and increases Armored Defense by 10.

Identify: Success! You have found Braces or Prowess +5. These bracers increase Strength and Dexterity by 5.

Identify: Success! You have found Boots of Armor Negation. These boots reduce penalties due to Armor worn by 50%

Four Items were more than enough to test. I stepped back to the group of naked soldiers and moved all of us back to at least 200 feet away from the items before I started. The first thing I had my nanites do was attempt to infiltrate each item. This time my nanites had no issues entering magical items. Once inside the analysis began. I download the information noting the differences between items made with magic and those that weren’t. I added the information to a database I was compiling. My goal would be for the nanites to eventually be able to identify the type of magic the items they infiltrated contained.

I had the nanites break down the sword first. I half expected the sword to explode but nothing happened. I did this for each of the other three items. Some energy was released but it was quickly absorbed by the surroundings. It seemed that permanent magical items were not that dangerous if my nanites were taking them apart. I had a thought and moved to where the mage’s equipment had dropped. I picked up everything and found what I was looking for, a wand. I used Identify

Identify: Success! You have found a wand of Mage Bolt, 25 of 30 charges. This want fires eight bolts, one from each school of magic that do 1-4 points of damage each. The wand recharges itself at a rate of 1 charge per day.

Everything else the mage dropped went into my storage space. I walked over and placed the wand where the other magical items had been broken down and placed it there. I walked back over to the group of soldiers and had them back up another 200 feet and hunker down.

I sent the nanites into the Wand and was pleasantly surprised when they were able to detect and discern eight different energy signatures as well as a link to a power source that was almost full. Once the signatures were recorded I had my nanites start to break the wand down.

BOOM!

As I had expected, it exploded. What I had not expected was the devastation that followed. I had thought that If a wand did a maximum of 36 points of damage multiplied by the number of charges so about 900 points of damage. If it followed normal explosion damage drop off that would be 450 at 10-20 feet, 225 at 20-30 feet 112.5 at 30-40 feet and 65 or less passed that. Instead at 200 feet away from the explosion, I felt the pressure wave as it knocked over all the soldiers behind me. I did something I hadn’t tried before and searched through my interface for nanite interactions. Then I categorized them by damage taken and sorted them by magnitude. I read the prompt,

Nanite, Identifier 1A4 (Click for Full Identifier), takes 50,000 points of varied magical damage. Nanite Destroyed

50,000 points of damage? Obviously, my math was off. Maybe my Orb of Knowledge would have information about how charged item damage worked if they exploded. Now though I checked on the naked soldiers behind me. I had the nanites repair any scratches they might have received and then had them fall into military formation in front of me.

“Listen up! I am about to allow you to move your right arm and nothing else. Does anyone here have the ability to Analyze their opponents? If you do raise your right hand. Otherwise do not raise your right hand.”

I released their right arms and a woman up front raised her hand tentatively. I immobilized everyone else and gave her the ability to speak. “Question for you, do you need to touch me to use this ability?”

“No,” she said obviously terrified.

I moved over and stood directly in front of her as I said. “I want you to Analyze me then I want you to tell everyone here what my classes and levels are. If you do this I will give you and everyone here one of these,” I said as I conjured a white toga and held it in front of her,” for all of you to wear. I might also be generous enough to give each of you a dagger so you can defend yourselves as you make your way south back to Crown port. Do you understand?” I asked.

“Yes, please lower your defenses I can’t Analyze you yet.” She said.

I lowered my defenses and she gasped, tears ran down her cheeks, and with a shaking voice she said “Monk Level 5,000, Cleric Level 5,000, Mage Level 5,000, Rogue Level 5,000, and Fighter Level 5,000 Hit Points 85,091”

I released her and handed her the Toga while I had a Toga materialize around each of the other Soldiers. “Very good. Thank you for doing as I asked.” Then I had a thought and smiled which made the woman flinch. “Not to worry my dear, you’re all going to be fine.” As I began analyzing every one of the soldiers to learn their names and faces I noted that the woman’s name in front of me was Karen. Karen stood where I’d left her looking at her fellow soldiers while wondering what she should do next as I pulled out 32 platinum pieces from my Belt of Infinite Wealth. I so enjoyed sticking it to that little prick of a divine.

“Alright listen up. I am going to place one dagger and one Platinum on the ground for each of you. Then I’m going to float above you and watch as you each take one dagger and one coin and then start walking back towards Crownport. I’ll give you a one-hour head start then I’m going to follow. The platinum coin is a gift from the Goddess Serena. It is to help you recover from this lesson in humility. Know that should you choose to follow her you will be welcomed with open arms.”

I floated up into the sky 100 feet above the coins and had daggers form on the ground. Once all 32 were created and permanent I released the soldiers. Only one person was stupid enough to try to take two coins, that was the captain. As he picked up the second coin it dissolved in his hands and my nanites took him over again. He reached down and placed the coin he had taken back on top of the others and stepped back through a portal that led to my vault which closed behind him. I made him lay down on the floor and then put him to sleep. I was sure I’d have more people in my vault like this before the end of the day. The rest of the soldiers took one dagger and one platinum and started walking South. When they were all on their way I landed and pulled out the Orb of Knowledge. Then I asked, “Are there any Clerical Spells that determine the alignment of the target?” To which I received a Prompt

“From Orb of Knowledge: Detect Alignment is a Cleric Spell of varying levels. You choose the Strength of the spell by praying for it from your God.

I created a small shrine to Serena and prayed for Detect Alignment at level 100. One minute later I could cast the spell. Over the next 9 minutes, I prayed for the same spell nine more times. When I was done I absorbed the shrine, opened a portal, and stepped into my vault next to the captain. I cast detect Alignment and sure enough, he was Lawful Evil. What was I going to do with this Lawful Evil piece of shit? I opened my map and looked for Adaline’s location. She was in her lair. I flew over to the edge of her lair area in the vault and amplified my voice with technology as I said, “Knock, Knock!”

Adaline stuck her head out of her cave in dragon form then morphed into her high elf and waved for me to come over. I flew to her side and landed lightly.

“Question for you. I think I’m going to be finding a lot of evil commander types. How do I know that they can’t be saved?” I asked as I pointed to the captain lying 9 miles away.

“Honestly, if you know they’re Evil it depends on the type. As you know there are different types of evil. My suggestion would be to put them somewhere that you will not have to deal with them for a while, keep an eye on them and let their actions speak for themselves.”

“Thank you I think I know what I’m going to do,” I said as I portaled back to the Captain and walked him through to a holding room on Trappist-1e. I had him sit there and watch as I recorded a new welcome message.

“Welcome to a stopover point. You will be here just long enough to hear this message before you are whisked off to another location. Unlike your home Universe, the Universe you find yourself in does not allow the use of magic or your personal interface. There are only two rules at the location you’re going to. No killing and no raping. That’s it. You will be free to do what you want otherwise. You will also receive any help you need acclimating to these new conditions.”

After I was done I stepped through a portal to Desirae’s location with the Captain following me. Quick as ever she’d already thrown two throwing daggers as I stepped through. A heart shot at each of us. I caught both easily and sighed, “Really?”

“You shouldn’t sneak up on a girl, even if you can turn her to electrons or whatever your little critters turn people to when you dissolve them,” she said

“Hilarious I’m sure, anyway the reason I’m here is to first ask you if you want company, you can say no. If you say yes, where do you want them dropped off as I get the feeling you are not the ‘welcome-to-my-home’ type?” I asked.

“I don’t mind company, who are they and where are they coming from?”

“These will be the die-hard loyalist from the Kingdom of Crimson Blood that do something stupid while I’m trying not to kill them outright.”

“Sure, put them in that city over there,” she said pointing off to the west, “I think you call it Dallas. There’s plenty of housing. Are you giving them the welcome package?

“A short version yes. They’re all going to need help adjusting to the no magic aspect of living here.”

“Do the same rules apply to them as me?” she asked

“No, if you kill someone you lose your arms and legs for a year. Not being able to scratch your nose would really suck I’m sure. If any of the people I’m sending here over the next couple of days or weeks attempt to kill or rape someone, I’ll store their pattern and end them, or let you do it as a lesson on what you are not to do while here. I might be able to bring them back at a later date, not sure if it’s true resurrection but I honestly don’t care. The only people coming here will be the really evil people, like you,” I said.

“Understood, last question, once they’re acclimated to this new existence, then what?

“I don’t anticipate running into anyone as high a level as you are so making them part of any team your running if humanity needs you isn’t the best of ideas, you far outclass them. Training them up as teams for diversions or backup, I can see that so yeah feel free to train them if you want. The nanites will have them physically healthy and ready to go in no time if they aren’t.” I said.

I used Mage Hands to pass her daggers back to her which caused her to raise an eyebrow at me Spock style.

“Oh that, yeah I have access to my interface and magic here now. When you get back to your house lookup information on ‘The Ancient Enemy’ and then adjust your expectations of survival and the training you need accordingly with the understanding that even I don’t have a clue what I’m going to try to do about it. Also, if you have any ideas let me know. If I don’t figure this out in the next two years, your universe is gone, this one might follow soon after.” I said then opened a portal and stepped back to Primore where I’d brought the Captain from moments ago. I looked around and had the nanites teardown and destroy the checkpoint and barracks as I started my leisurely walk south.

The next day, I was attacked by well over 100 soldiers and mages of the Kingdom of Crimson Blood. My database of magically scanned weapons and equipment had increased greatly and I was not able to recognize the magical spheres inherent in an item. I still couldn’t tell what an item did but I could identify if earth, air, fire, water, life, death, light and/or darkness magic were part of an items make up.

By the time I made it to the north gate of Crownport, the sun was setting and I could see the 1,132 people that I’d covered in togas making their way towards the small fort at the center of town. At that moment I decided to be a complete smart ass. I conjured two smoke grenades and then ran up into the sky a mile above the city. Activating the smoke grenades, I wrote in big bright blue smoke “Have a good night, I’ll be back in the morning.” Then portaled back to my tower.

From the tower, I opened a spy portal above Crownport and watched the city prepare for the next day. Men women and children were fleeing to the south from the city. Some with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. I opened a small portal next to my foot that emerged a half-mile south of Crownport off to the side of the road. I allowed a string of nanites to extend from my foot through the portal and down to the side of the road, well within my 500-foot radius. I had the nanites create food and water for those that were fleeing. I made sure to keep replacing supplies as they were taken. Next to the piles of food and water was a sign with the Symbol of Serena and a note that said, “May Serena’s Blessing lift your heart.” A couple of clerics of various gods were among those fleeing. If they took the food and drink and continued on I left them alone. Those that tried to desecrate the shrine, however, froze put their hands to their sides and dropped through portals into Trappist-1e for their welcome message and their transfer to Earth V with Desirae and the other 37 idiots that I’d sent there today. Most had been officers that completely bought into the council’s bullshit. Now Desirae was going to whip them into shape for me.

I also watched as the military brought those wearing togas together. Those that wanted to fight were led to get new armor and weapons. Those that refused to fight were not so lucky. The men were led out to a field caked with blood. I knew what was coming so opened up a huge portal and dropped them all onto the surface of Trappist-1e under one of the transparent bubbles. Some fell hard, others did not. Once they were on Trappist-1e my nanites infiltrated their bodies in moments. Once they were all infiltrated I separated them. The ones that had refused to fight and shown some intelligence I sent to Trappist-1e to sit through the welcome package. The others went to Desirae. The women were treated differently. Those that refused to fight were being led off to brothels to be whores and breeders. I portaled them out as well separating them from their captors.

Some of those that I’d released that had picked up arms again learned that those that chose not to fight had suddenly disappeared as they were being led away to be executed or turned into sex toys. Some fled. As they came within range of the food cart and stopped to grab food and water I had the nanites take them over and sent them to Desirae.

Once I was sure that all of the soldiers I sent back to Crownport were accounted for I portaled into the middle of Park on Trappist-1e in their temporary residence and message everyone to come to their doors. The capacity of the facility was 1,200 and he had 1,101 people here. They’d each heard the welcome message before I portaled into the center of the park, then floated up to the middle of the room. Being able to use Magic and abilities in my home Universe was nice.

I had my voice carried to every monitor and speaker in every room, “Hello everyone, I know we all got off to a rocky start today but I want to assure you that I only have your best interest in mind. You are all safe here and in a closed facility in my Universe where the ability to use magic is usually not possible. If you’d all come to your doors please.”

I waited as everyone made their way to their doors and looked out. While I was waiting I had nanites create banquet tables of food fit for a king, and kegs of ale and beer. Also, tables, blankets, and chairs in the parks that everyone could use. Once everybody was looking out of their doors I continued, “For the next couple of days you will be staying here as my guests. Hopefully, you will be able to return to your families and Crownport in very short order. As soon as I leave you may mingle freely and talk amongst yourself. There are only two rules you need to worry about. Do not kill or rape anyone. You are all adults and if you want to have some fun, have fun but do not force yourself on anyone. If you try to, you will be stopped and I will turn you over to Desirae, your Assassin Guild Leader, who is most certainly not dead. She will then teach you the error of your ways. So eat, drink, relax and rest. Tomorrow a woman named Abi will come to talk with you. Until then, enjoy my hospitality and have a good night.”

I portaled back to the tower and monitored the party. It took a little while for everyone to relax. Eventually, hunger won the day and everyone came out to eat and drink. It was surreal seeing so many soldier-type men and women running around in togas eating and drinking and talking about how scared they’d been. Serena was right, I had to try to think of each and every person I came across as an Individual. I might not believe in all the kowtowing things clerics did for their Gods but I was beginning to appreciate the guidance Serena was giving me.