"So, how did it go?"

"..."

I hope this doctor doesn't see the miscellaneous items I hide in my pants.

"Alright."

After awkwardly shuffling away, I return to the room.

I tell Val that the Saint isn't going to do anything and if she wants to leave with me. She decides to stay behind.

I recall something Dean Palmer, of all people, told me. Something about needing to be influential enough for powerful people to care about me.

If I can't get a Saint to heal my mother, I'll get someone better. Or I'll do it myself once I have enough information.

I should learn everything I can about that mana sickness and mana in general... That sounds like it will take a long time just to collect all the materials. Perhaps I can be more efficient and have someone else do it for me, and I can absorb everything into my [Lexicon].

As I left, I checked to see what I had taken from the reception room beside the bell. Unfortunately for me, the doctor noticed. I thought he left, but he was still standing in the elevator.

He points at one of the items I took from the reception, slightly sticking out from my pants, and says, "The Saint gave you that?"

"..."

I look down at a pink card. It's like an ID, but there isn't information on it. I slowly take it out, expecting him to take it back or for a shitstorm to descend.

"I'll register you as a special healer then."

"?"

"...You seem confused. You know how you must go through the Valentine Corporation to become a commercial healer?" I nod. "Well, that's basically a master card. The VC doesn't get a single cent from your business, and it labels you as an affluent or skilled healer."

"Even if it's a blank card?"

"Seeing as the Saint gave it to you and didn't tell you about it, he must not care enough to bother. I'll set you up and put you in the system. Note that even though this is a master card, that doesn't make you a master healer. Just drip blood on it, and I'll confirm it in the system."

He pulls out a tablet from a deceptively small pocket.

"Uh-huh."

"The card also allows you or direct loved ones access to any Valentine Hospital and the best care they can provide, but there isn't any major discount to note. More of a priority thing."

"Yeah. Is the Saint the only one who can hand these out?"

"No, there are a few others. The Saint might have given you that card in part of that since he isn't coming to heal the patient. If he was, he'd already be doing it."

"I'm going to go. Register me or whatever of your own volition."

I dripped blood on the pink card at the doctor's instructions and walked away.

The other things in my pants are office equipment. Pens, a stapler, and a clipboard. There aren't any documents or paperwork, strangely.

Master Giles walks me out of the hospital. I turned to him and thanked him for everything he's done, and he just nodded with his eyes closed.

I find an alleyway and enter my mansion to tell my father the news.

~

"Mother is alive but unconscious and will be hospitalized at the best hospital until further notice."

"...that's a lot at once. Thank you, son. It was only a few hours since our family split, but you already put the pieces back together."

"But it's not. Mother's not awake."

"I have faith. She's stronger than you think. Plus, she has two wonderful kids watching after her. Alchemist Rain told me that I'm supposed to sleep until morning, so please take me to the hospital in the morning."

I would take him now, but he looks miserably exhausted. He's not technically injured anymore, either, so it's not like I can dump him in a hospital bed and call it a night.

I told him I'll do just that, and I left the mansion to meet up with my people. I'm going to level this leadership skill one way or another.

In the short time I was inside the mansion, the phone lines must've gone back up since my phone blew up with notifications. I thumbs-up-reacted to any message I didn't feel I needed to answer.

I message the group chat.

[Big Boss: Anyone dead?]

[Lord Rob: 💀]

[Legal Department: All good here!]

[Public Relations: I heard about what you've been doing. Excellent work.]

[Big Boss: Use my Rankable account to announce that we will start the rescue operations again and meet at the apartment buildings I bought.]

[Public Relations: Done. Anything else, Mr. Vincere?]

[Big Boss: Idk. Some bigshot enforcer wanted to meet with me or something. Can you tell them I'm not interested and not a rouge agent undermining the safety of the Prime Territories or something like that.]

[Legal Department: WHAT]

[Public Relations: Alright.]

I put my phone away and crouch down. I grab the sides of my head and stay like that for a minute or two.

"Fuck."

I stand up and continue on like nothing happened.

~~~

It's been a week.

The capital city Auroran has an estimated population of 3.3 million people. It's the most populated city in the Prime Territories and home to many guilds, businesses, and Great Families.

The crack in the planet that runs straight through the city claimed tens of thousands of lives. Thousands more died in collapsing rubble, and over ten times that amount were injured.

It's estimated that roughly 80% of the capital's residents became homeless due to this disaster.

Ironically, this bastion of humanity might of got hit the hardest. 'At least out of the cities that survived this kerfluffle.

All the cities next to the ocean got destroyed by subsequent tsunamis. Only Prismarine, the home base of the Cerulean Shield, managed to endure the massive tidal waves that followed. The entire east of the Prime Territories requires aid.

The Northern and Western mountain cities experienced massive changes to the terrain, and some unlucky cities became engulfed in the earth or were the victims of landslides.

The border towns got hit by a small beast tide triggered by the quake. Being border towns, they were well prepared for the onslaught from the South and South-West, but it was the first 'wave assault' they had experienced in decades.

The interior cities surrounding the capital, which include places like Bluefield and Goldenfield, had their industries disrupted due to the massive damage to their fields. Earth mages and other classes that can repair terrain had their hands filled with the mountain cities.

After making my rounds in the residential districts of the capital and amassing many volunteers to help in rescue efforts, I can safely say that hundreds, if not thousands, of people, would've died without my direct input.

So many people joined our cause that we had to split into multiple hundred-man teams.

Due to the expert work of my PR manager, I became the face of the entire operation. Pictures of me bloody and covered in concrete dust, pulling bodies out of the rubble, and healing the near-dead cause quite a stir on the Internet.

My father slept for three days straight, and when he woke up, I took him to the hospital to see my mother. Val elected for her to stay behind with the two of them until the institute called her back to continue her training.

Rain saw no reason to leave my mansion until I reminded her about her workshops. She departed to decontaminate the sites before the government came down and red-taped the place. Maybe she can salvage something as well.

One more thing to mention, Rob has been proactively stealing bones from the deceased when no one was looking, and I only found this out at the end of the week.

He didn't integrate the bones into himself. He's afraid the victim's families might recognize them. Or something like that. It was hard to understand Rob since he communicated in emojis.

Clout wasn't the only thing I got after this week. My efforts weren't in vain since I managed to rank up my leadership skill and complete my last class requirement.

What was the class's name again?

[Distinguished Master B]

[Have three tamed beasts be nobility, have dominion, or "rule" over something. (5/3)

Have adequate leadership skill. (C/C)

Unique Servitude to rank A (Completed)

Have at least six "Master" skills. (Completed)

Be nobility. (Completed)]

Time for the goodies.

[Conditions Met]. [Conditions Exceeded]!

[Hidden Requirement Met]

[Distinguished Master B] > [Monarch Master A]

[Monarch Master A

Even those with dominion have bowed their heads.]

Name / Nickname

Ellis Vincere / The Last Winner

Race

Human

Class

Monarch Master (Rank A)

Level

100 (0/250m)

Titles

Proud Owner of a Rock, Fell the Mighty, Heptad Attuner, Indulger… ▽

~

~

Health Points

8,600/8,600 (+150% bonus)

Mana Points

1155/1155

Armor Points

0

Might

230 (195 +10% + 15)

Agility

229 (185 +10% + 10 + 15)

Vigor (P)

688* (618 + 25 + 45)

Mind

226 (126 + 75 + 30)

Spirit

235 (225 + 10)

Perception

45

Charisma

90 (35 + 15 + 40)

Attunement

100

Luck

12 (2 +10)

Unused

0

[Noble D > Noblesse Oblige C

The User exudes noble conduct. Noblesse Oblige is the noble's duty to protect and support those less fortunate, utilizing their influence and resources for bettering society.

The User's charisma stat is doubled when dealing with the less fortunate.

+30 Mind

+40 Charisma]

This is what my leadership turned into right before my class advancement. This isn't a new skill, but looking it over makes me recall the whole 'what is charisma' conversation again.

[Unique Servitude A (5/5) > Servitude to the Monarch A Lv1 (5/5)

-Any creature can be designated as a servant with their consent or if they cannot resist. A servant is necessary for other Monarch Master skills to work. All servants know the location of their Master.

-Servants must be unique in some way. Servants must be considered 'rulers.' All servants gain a passive +25% to all stats.

-The servants carry the dignity of their Master. The Servants will receive an additional bonus to one of their stats equal to 10% of the Master's highest stat. This bonus will apply to the same stat.

-Servants cannot have a higher Spirit stat than the Designator

-Registered Servants: Flash Gordon. Rob. Duchess. Khan. Prometheus]

So, my tamed beasts get an additional 68.8 vigor? That rounds up, so that's a hefty amount of extra hit points.

[Thralldom B (2/?) > Court of Allegiance A (2/?)

-A Monarch isn't the one with thralls. They own the owners. They aren't at the level of servants, but they are still the 'underlings' of a Master. They must be subservient or equal to the Master. They have to consent to the skill. They must represent a 'faction.'

-The Master will be aware of any intentional treachery by a court member.

-The Master can learn the location of a court member with permission.

-The Master's words will hold more weight.

-The Master or any court member can announce a 'meeting.' After a majority vote - unless the Master declares it an emergency - a mental Court of Allegiance will occur, allowing communication, transfer of resources, and the sharing of knowledge. Not all members need to participate.]

[Dylan Silvervein - Cultivated Tamer of The Cult of Ebony Death

Rain Wang - Alchemist and Artificer of the Wang Family.]

I noticed that this skill turned into something less domineering and more communicative. It's less 'forceful' for lack of a better term. This mental [Court of Allegiance] draws my attention. I'll test it out later if it's what I imagine.

[Master's Hand C > Royal Decree B

The master's order should be followed. The User can command the targets verbally or nonverbally. They may resist if they have a higher spirit stat or if the action will harm them.]

A simple buff allows me to also use my words. Not too sure how much that changes. Oh, wait. 'target' is now plural. Never mind, that's a massive buff!

And last but not least,

[Master's Gift C > Master's Bestowment B

The master may graciously bestow a boon upon his servants. A servant will gain access to one of the master's possessions and be able to use it.

Skills can be given but require the master to pay double the activation cost before the servant can use them. Skills return after the servant activates them.

The master can hand out three boons at the same time.]

Either three of my skills/stats/whateverthefuck to one of my tamed beasts, or I can spread out one boon each to three tamed beasts. Useful, but...

I'm more excited to start leveling again. I have a fracture lined up in the FIB, but I have other things to do. I'm supposed to go to the other cities in the Prime Territories and help them. A road trip of heroism and saving those in need.

Nah, I'll help them out when the next disaster hits. I'm already the head of our 'organization,' and the other cities are either being abandoned or already getting the aid they need.

Next time. Next time. If anything, I'll donate blood to save lives. Donate to Rain so she can make boosted healing potions. All I have to do is convince her to give out for free to help lessen the burden of healers and alchemists in low-resource areas.

She can call it a promotion, others can call it humanitarian, and I can call it an excuse.

Let's try that skill now. I can call Rain, but this seems like the perfect opportunity to see what a "Court of Allegiance" is.

I activate the skill, and my system window pops up.

[Ellis Vincere (Master) has initiated a meeting.]

[Rain Wang abstained from voting.]

[Dylan Silvervein has voted positively.]

Ah, shit. Forgot that Dylan was a thing.

[The meeting commences.]

"What the fuck is this?"

"Hi!!! Ellis, you called?"

As the Master, I have multiple options presented before me. A mute button, a resource tab, a setting labeled '3d', a kick button, etc.

I immediately kick Dylan from the meeting and turn on the 3d option. Rain appears in front of me in her lab coat and goggles. She looks like an apparition. Kinda like only one of my eyes can register her existence, and the other only sees the background.

I assume she can see me lounging in my library, holding non-hallucinogenic tea in a mug.

"This is a new skill."

"It's distracting. It says here I can vote to turn off this 3d effect."

"How's the blood thing going?"

"Good. My dad stole some for his pill thing. Don't forget to pick that up whenever he finishes it."

"How long do you think it will take?"

"I don't know. I know my dad has to 'marinate' his ingredients, so it should take days to weeks longer."

"Damn. If I give you more blood for healing potions, can you donate them?"

"..."

"Hello?"

"Donate to who?"

"Give it to my lawyer or PR manager. I'll tell them to drop by your place when you're done. By the way, will my blood or its properties be identifiable?"

"I'm good with keeping trade secrets secret. To answer your earlier question, I'll need some sort of payment for the labor and other ingredients."

"It'll be good promotion."

"I need more than that."

"Talk to my lawyer about that then. I own a company, you own a shop, and we are both great at what we do. I don't see how it would be a bad collaboration."

"Sure, whatever. Handover the blood first, blood boy."

"One second."

I open the resource tab. I only see the heaps of metal I bought for Prometheus, various elemental stones from Flash Gordon that fell off, a handful of Duchess' feathers, and Dragon blood.

I find one of the empty barrels and open the lid. I place my bare leg above the barrel and cut my femoral artery with my sword. Thank god it does extra damage to me.

"I can see everything, but I can't look away."

My blood shimmers as it cascades out of my body. I have to saw pretty deep and keep the wound open by tilting the sword to keep my passive healing from closing the wound.

My [Battered Bones] skill increases my blood production by modifying my marrow. I'm abusing this and [Heal Anything] to jetstream blood into the barrel.

I have a quick break after filling the 55-gallon barrel of blood. Then I fill another using the same method. I let my leg heal before cleaning up any spillage.

Looking back in my resource tab, I can see the two barrels of [Human Blood*]. I try to send the resource, as the skill suggests I can.

[Ellis Vincere (Master) is sending [Human Blood*]x2 to Rain Wang. Resources should arrive at a designated spot nearby the court member. They will be withheld until the court member accepts the resources or until they are out of active combat.]

"Okay, this skill is cool as fuck. Imagine the business potential!"

"Accept it."

[Rain Wang has accepted.]

"Yeah, they're here. Alright, I'm leaving to crack these bad boys open."

[Rain Wang has left the meeting. The meeting is automatically closing.]

I got kicked out of my skill, but as Rain said, this shit is cool as fuck. It works while I'm in my mansion, lets me see who I'm talking to, and sends blood wirelessly!

Ugh, now I have to leave my mansion to call Free Chains the boring way.