I summoned a simple defensive array that I planned to study. I activated the array and an earthen shield wall appeared. The wall weakened the explosion but wasn't able to stop it. I expanded my Tao field and activated the array in my robes as the explosive wave washed over me. The cage was decimated and I lost sight of the Herald. The world had been drowned out by the explosion. I wasn't sure if the Herald's skill was a different space or just sat on top of the town.

  I dropped to my knees and covered my head hoping that all those school drills would pay out. Several bones snapped as the explosion forced me down. A second later the ground gave way and slammed into something metal. I tried to rouse my Tao to reinforce my body or make another shield but it was like my body was paralyzed. When the world returned I lay in the middle of a massive crater. The bomb had almost destroyed the town and every part of my body ached.

  I let out a groan of pain as Xerxes landed next to me. I got to my feet and looked at my partner. He had a nasty wound going down the right side of his face and his left leg was wounded. Further, his aura wasn't even half as strong as it used to be. "He isn't dead." My voice came out hoarse and softer than I expected.

  I got to my feet just as the Herald managed to dig himself out of a building. I tried to form another set of blades, but I only managed one. Just maintaining that one blade took the majority of my focus. My head felt like someone was slamming an ice pick into me. Despite that, when the Herald pulled out a circular palm-sized object, my blood ran cold. "Good, good. I can't wait to see what you can do."

  I launched my blade and Xerxes unleashed a ball of fire. Neither attack had made it half the distance when the Herald snapped the token. The next second he disappeared. I scrambled to pull up the Leaderboard half hoping that I hadn't just fucked up. When I saw the names at the top I collapsed to one knee. The System's Herald was gone. Truly gone. "Son of a bitch!" I wasn't sure how long I sat there before I summoned a set of healing pills from my ring.

  I handed five of them to Xerxes and swallowed four. The sensation of my bones repairing themselves and the rest of my body healing only made me feel worse. There was no way for me to know where he had gone. On top of that, there was no way for me to go after him, and even if I could, I wasn't in a position to bring him back, especially if the token was given to him by an ally.

  "We should get back" Xerxes said. "The others will need to know what happened and we have to recover."

  I gritted my teeth and wanted to argue with him but he was right. There was nothing I could do here. There was also a chance that either Azariah or Desbera could do something about it. They might be able to buy information on any strangers appearing. I sighed and turned around. "Can you walk?"

  Xerxes nodded but it didn't take a medical expert to tell that his hind leg wasn't in the best state. There was no way either of us was going to be much good in a fight. "Let's stay here for an hour and then we can head back. I don't want anyone to see us like this. It would really ruin the whole royal aesthetic."

  Xerxes snorted and lay on the ground. "Did you have to blow it up?"

  I chuckled and lay on the ground. "Either that or try to wait until my other spells were off cool down. Either way, it probably wouldn't have ended well for me. That cage was a problem. What took you so long?"

  Xerxes let out an irritated snort and shook his head. "It kept returning. No matter how many times I killed it."

  "That sounds like an interesting spell. I wonder if he had to continuously fill it with energy or did it replenish from blood or from you?"

  "I will kill it next time."

  "Now that Xerxes is something we agree on." We stayed there for two hours before we made our way back. Part of me was upset that he managed to get away but there was another part. A part that I pushed as deep down as I could. A part that was happy that he escaped. He was definitely the most fun fight I've had. The only fights that could be compared were the ones with otherworlders. I had to leave Earth. We were back in time before I realized. A small group of Amaran soldiers were waiting for us. They were led by Aaliyah and Christopher. The relief in their eyes didn't quite match the apprehension in the actual town.

  "I take it everyone saw the change on the leaderboards?"

  "Hell yeah, you actually beat that guy?" Aaliyah began before she looked us up and down. "Looks like he got his pound of flesh. Did you bring his corpse back?"

  I shook my head. "We didn't kill him." That earned a round of murmurs and swears. I held up a hand to quiet everyone down. "We went at it and I used the bomb the UWG so graciously provided. We both survived but he decided to flee. He must've gotten a teleportation token and cracked it. He wasn't in any state to keep going.

  Further, I don't think he can return here. Earth should still be hidden by the System and he didn't have any teleporters as far as I know. They should have all been controlled by others. The only question is what happened to the one he got from the tutorial. Either way for now he won't come back."

  I was about to send my people back when a pair of women walked up to us. They were dressed in black and brown dresses with headscarves that reminded me of the Hijab. Only they were covered in tiny sigils. Further, they covered everything but the eyes. Based on their energy they weren't even level five which only made their outfits more interesting. "Excuse us. Would you be the Leader of these warriors?"

  "I am. How can I help you?" I flashed both women a smile and then glanced at the trio of nervous-looking fighters behind them. There were two women and a man who all had scars. One of the women was missing their right eye. Despite that, they all had decent auras. Their energy put them around level ten or so which wasn't bad. "Are your friends worried about approaching or worried that I won't like what you have to say?"

  "A bit of both. We haven't had the greatest history with strong people. We will have to ask for your forgiveness for any perceived disrespect."

  I chuckled and waved my hand dismissively. "It's no big deal now how can I help?"

  "We were wondering what one would need to do to join your group? Or rather be under your protection. It isn't hard to see what direction the wind is blowing.""

  "I wasn't aware you wanted to do that. I was under the impression that you all wanted to keep your independence?"

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  The women looked at each other before the second spoke up. "Independence has its place. I hope you won't begrudge us that."

  I laughed and shook my head. "Not at all. You and your people are welcome. You all would be expected to obey all laws and rules. Am I too assume you ladies are the leaders?" They both nodded and I continued. "I would love to hear how you two got the position for now I have no interest in taking control over it from you." I looked over at Christopher. "Can you arrange for someone to come over and take care of this?"

  "I can take care of it. Do you want us to station a group here to keep the town safe?"

  "Xerxes and I will stay here and set up a defensive array." I looked at the woman. "Would your people be able to take care of the defenses or should I send people here."

  The first woman shook her head. "We can manage. Especially if you keep your word with the array."

  "Oh right, would you mind telling me your name?"

  "Shamsi and Hasti." The first one introduced herself and then gestured to her partner.

  "Beautiful names. Are you related?"

  "Hasti is my niece. She was fortune enough to be in that tutorial."

  "I see, I see I wish the both of you good luck. I am going to set up the array." I gave them a polite smile before Xerxes and I made our way to the outskirts of the town.

  "Was it wise to let them join just like that?" Xerxes asked.

  I shrugged. "I don't think they will matter much. They're pretty weak. Though they must've done something right. I kind of want to know the story of their clothes. It might be worth it to learn the array."

  "Why didn't you just ask them for it?"

  I couldn't help chuckling at that. "It would be rather rude to ask for a woman's clothes. Plus with my current reputation, it might not be viewed like a joke. The last thing I want is that kind of reputation."

  The Qilin snorted before unleashing a small blast of flame into a squirrel-like beast. The thing was as big as rottweiler and its teeth looked more like daggers than anything. Despite that, the creature was nowhere near strong enough to challenge Xerxes. It was dead and neither of us had to break stride. "Do you intend to give them an array? Without making them pay for it?"

  I shrugged. "Between the money from our array business and killing beasts. I am not exactly poor. On top of that what I want is to control the planet. If everyone needs me for their defenses and other arrays then they can't exactly turn against me. In addition, once we leave Earth any uprising will be lessened if they can't count on those shields."

  "So it's all about improving things for yourself?"

  I shook my head and placed a hand against the bark of a sturdy-looking oak tree. "No, it's a bit of both. I want everyone to be helped but why can't I benefit from the arrangement?"

  Xerxes made out a sound that was a mix between growl and purr that made me stumble a step. The wave of amusement that passed over our bond made it clear what it was supposed to be. "Did you just laugh at me? Aww, how cute." I laughed and removed a set of array flags from my ring. A quick flexion of will and I ripped a five-foot chunk of dirt out of the ground. Next, I tossed a flag inside and dropped the dirt on top.

  "Don't be an ass. I still don't understand how that works. Won't everyone just pull the flags up?"

  I gestured for him to follow while I plotted out where the next flag would need to go. "They could but they would have to know where to look. I doubt anyone on Earth could find them. Not unless they had a scouting ability designed for it. They would then need to see through the layers of dirt. Further destroying a few of the flags wouldn't be enough. As long as the array maintains integrity long enough it will have served its purpose. Lastly, the array isn't designed to keep this place safe no matter what. It will protect and buy time."

  "It would be easier to just make the people stronger." He grumbled.

  "Not everyone can be strong. Besides time is something everyone wants to buy. Even if it's just five minutes."

  "Do you intend to go after the human? If we find him?" Xerxes finally broached the topic that had lingered in the air.

  I didn't immediately answer him. Instead, I focused on placing another two flags before I sighed. "Probably. Though I wonder how things will change for us. I doubt he will come back to Earth. I don't think he wants to fight me for it and I don't think he wants it."

  "Yet you do?"

  I laughed and nodded. "Of course, how many people can say that they took over the world. I also want the titles and the power. I want it all."

  "You already have it."

  "I do..." We settled into a steady silence as we finished our circuit around the town. When the final flag was placed I sent a stream of energy into the last flag. When it was full a wave of invisible energy spread out and connected to the other flags. I felt the array come up but I didn't trigger it. The shield wouldn't be as strong as Amara's but it should be able to deal with most beasts. "So now that's done should we head back?"

  "You don't want to hurt anyone else? No monsters or treasures on this continent?"

  I shook my head. "No we mostly need energy and the amount of slaughter we would need would be a waste. The others could use it to improve. We have a few other options. We can gather the energy but the battlefield could provide us with more. Treasures or other things might be there as well."

  "I thought you said we weren't strong enough?"

  I grinned. "We aren't. The strongest of the puppets or whatever they were could fly. That should put them in the third realm according to what I read in the academy. I am not sure we could beat one of those even if we cooperated but the rest. The rest I think we could handle. We also have the oceans to explore."

  "When do you want to set out?"

  "Let's focus on recovery and managing our new territory. After that, we can go exploring."

  I stopped by to make sure that things were going fine before Xerxes and I left. We returned to Amara and split ways. I was about to head to the Tower to do some cultivating when Azariah strode toward me. She was flanked by two rather strong guards. Probably around level 10 or so. Which for the city was impressive. "Your ship has arrived. I have the time to show it to you if you like?"

  I raised an eyebrow and gestured for her to lead the way. "Alright, let's do it. How much did it end up costing us?"

  "It wasn't cheap but we were able to work things out with that treasurer of yours. Between your initial investment and the money we are making through the arrays, we haven't lost anything. I can have a breakdown sent to you later?"

  I nodded and pretended not to notice that she hadn't actually answered the question. I would need to sit down and manage my own finances soon. At least understand them a bit. I wasn't sure if the System protected me from getting robbed like that but I didn't think so. The System didn't seem "kind" in the slightest. "Alright, is there anything else you can set up for us? Some more arrays to study would be golden."

  "Ah yes well that will be difficult in the short term. My trade connections aren't the strongest and people have taken offense to what we've been doing. So far your work hasn't caused issues for any of the top factions so we don't need to be too concerned but..." I let the unsaid warning hang in the air for a few seconds before I shrugged. It didn't really matter. As long as the earth was hidden we wouldn't be in too much trouble and once I left the world I would handle things.

  If the worst happened we could abandon the business and focus on making our own arrays. "Are you able to get me teleportation tokens to any other worlds?"

  "Oh right, I am working on it. I should be able to manage one or two soon though. Your work has earned you some interest amongst the Formation and Scripter sects."

  "Can you get me some basic information on them?"

  "I can do so though they all have relatively strict requirements for potential students. You would need to take a proficiency test so I would recommend you prepare yourself first."

  I nodded as we entered one of the large warehouses behind the emporium. The warehouse was almost twice as big on the inside which was just cool. I was led through a hallway and into a back room where I found something strange. The best way I could explain it was that the ship was kind of trapped inside a bottle. I could tell that the "bottle" wasn't tangible and was instead some kind of array. My best guess was that it was meant to show off the ship. Further, the array was based on the Tao of Space. Not too different from Compression though much higher quality or compression I guess.

  "This is my new boat?" I asked though I already knew the answer. I didn't know anything about boats but that was closer to a yacht than what I was expecting. "This was so worth it."