Being an A-Rank [Adventurer] has benefits I never could have perceived until now. The counter-invasion is being helped immensely by my efforts, all because of my ranking up.

With my Fast Travel ability, I can zip back and forth between different areas with relative ease. I can carry things across the world, and I can even ferry people, as long as I am holding their hand. It’s quite wonderful.

The last part has made things incredibly straightforward, too. The Goddess and Esther stayed back in Mutsu during our attack on California, continuing their research into how to cross through universes without utilizing The Goddess’s Domain and altering the U.S. to our impending attack on Mystix. Normally, a boat ride would take several days to cross the Pacific Ocean and return to northern Japan, but I can do so in mere seconds. Just after the battle of Santa Barbara wrapped up, I brought the Sorting Scepter I found to them, and returned the Beaver Hopper Clan members to help impart their wisdom into the process as needed.

That all has turned out to be absolutely key to solving this thing.

Inter-world travel is not normally allowed with Fast Travel, which makes perfect sense considering that crossing universes is normally not achievable in the first place. However, with Ghost Eryk still residing on Mystix, I am able to travel there with ease as well.

...Or, rather, I would normally be able to. However, traversing universes with the Fast Travel ability requires passing through The Goddess’s Domain. That’s something I unfortunately learned as I attempted to travel and accidentally ended up having to avoid massive gunfire from the U.S. troops stationed there.

At the Mount Osore test base, I arrive with Delta and Francis in tow. Julie teleports over with what I can only assume is also a Fast Travel ability but altered through the powers of a glitched reincarnation.

We enter the mobile laboratory and find The Goddess and Esther standing in front of us with giddy looks in their eyes. Behind them is G’L’K, the demure and helpful lava girl.

“We’ve gone and done it,” The Goddess proclaims. “Our work is officially actually done.” She high-fives Esther. Esther walks over and high-fives her two mothers as well.

“What exactly has been accomplished here?” I ask. “I’m eager to learn all about it.”

“We have finally invented the Quantum Decryptor!” The Goddess exclaims. “We’ve created a device that’ll completely violate the fundamental nature of the multiverse!”

Delta’s head snaps towards the woman. “That sounds incredibly dangerous and risky.”

“It’s safe, as long as we don’t let it get mass-produced or nothing,” she says in a tone that betrays she has not even begun to think of any potential worst-case scenario consequences yet.

To be fair, I’m sure this scenario will never come up. If it did, it would be far in the future, from some rogue agent trying to set up a rival Domain or some crazy nonsense like that. It’s too difficult to build a Quantum Decryptor to even consider it at the present time.

“It was so, so difficult,” The Goddess says. “We had to use the beavers’ real helpful advice. We had to synthesize hyperstone from lava girl over there. We had to reverse engineer that Sorting Scepter that Eryk gave us. And we had to harness the energy of Mount Osore to its fullest. So now, we can downright win this thing.”

“All of that sounds far beyond my comprehension, but if it means we can send our armies to Mystix, that’s all I desire,” I say.

“Yep. We can hoist our little old Multiversal Portal Generator to California, attach the Quantum Decryptor, and bam. We got ourselves a downright delectable dish of liberation.”

“And, of course, I’ll do the honors and help transport all of the items in this laboratory to California,” I say. “With my new Fast Travel abilities, I can help make our attack come as fast as possible, before the U.S. has finally prepared itself for what is to come.”

“And I can speed up the process too,” Julie adds.

“Super helpful, really,” she tells me. “You moved up the schedule by a good week. Long as we have an army, we’re ready.”

“Well, we have the combined forces of all our allies in California, and new volunteers are showing up every day from around the world,” I say. “But they’re mostly untrained. Systemless. All they’ve got is a passion for freedom and a head full of ambition.”

“That may be all we need,” says little Esther. “I feel like passion and ambition are the most important factors in restoring balance to the multiverse. It will take both those things to succeed. But possibly nothing more.”

Esther, that strange child, always has a way of putting everyone at ease.

“Then let us be off,” I say. “Julie and I will bring everyone to California. And then we will assemble our army to sneak straight into Mystix. Fight them right where they are strongest.”

“Sounds about like the best plan ever,” Delta says.

***

Now, everyone in Mutsu of fighting age and willingness has been taken back to California, along with all our supplies.

A grand volunteer army has joined our contingent. So has the Persian Mob that helped take back San Francisco. And, in addition, the 30 Guildmasters of Hollywood, enticed to join by the charismatic powers of Taylor Bacall. The Systemless Squad is better than ever.

Tomorrow morning, we will send all our forces to Mystix. All except what’s needed to defend California against the U.S. forces that are actively trying to re-conquer the lands we have taken as we speak (the Battle of Primm will be spoken of for generations, I suspect).

But not many forces will be needed for such a thing. Because there is one simple, cold fact about this mission: If we lose at Mystix, the Systemless Squad will be defeated forever. California’s liberation is pointless if we cannot defeat the enemy at the source of their greatest powers.

And furthermore, the people are on our side. There is open revolt throughout the United States, and especially the client states it is occupying in foreign lands. The tide of history rises against authoritarian oppression. Even if the Systemless Squad falls, the world will not remain static forever. Our inspiration may be enough.

I greet one new volunteer soldier, some hearty nomad known as Cale P. who seems far more than eager to help defeat Biden and his cronies.

“Thank you so much for your service,” I say.

“I can’t believe I’m meeting you,” Cale P. says. “I’m blessed for this time to finally talk to THE Eryk Solbourne in person. Like, it’s been my dream to have wings and flame and fly around fighting with you.”

“Oh, that sounds nice. I—”

“You are the towering figure of my dreams,” he continues. “The pride of the viceroy in my heart. The great predator of the battlefield. One day, in the far future, underneath burning stars and falling skies, our descendants will speak epic poems of your name. The Godking wills it.”

“Um, there is no Godking,” I inform this warrior. “Only The Goddess.”

“Well, a lot can change.”

I let this overenthusiastic Cale P. move on, and feel somehow very uneasy as well as extremely motivated to do my best in the coming event tomorrow.