Maximilian sat on one of the peaks around Nubia. The remnants of his recent level-up passed through him as he watched the sun set. He had placed all of his points into Intelligence. He couldn't say he had a master plan for those points. He was sure all the attributes were even. Still, he preferred Intelligence, with Wisdom a close second. The clarity in thought was a big plus. He hadn't thought the attribute made him any smarter, and he still couldn't say it did, but it helped him deal with his knowledge. Real-time calculations that were likely impossible before could be done easily now. That didn't take into account the pure power it provided. Though he did wish it would help with his dao. Though he couldn't say he needed the help between his affinities and physique, it was almost second nature. At least the basic stuff was, anyway. He assumed that there were complicated things he had to learn. He just didn't know if he was at the limit of what he could do with what he had. On the topic of dao, he had made a difficult choice. He would hold off on solidifying a new dao until after he got his class. His conversation with Notopa had introduced some doubt into his path. He didn't think he was doing the wrong thing, per se, but that he had sprinted forward too fast. It didn't take a genius to figure out he had way more dao than he should at his level.
He tried to confirm it through the library, but it hadn't been easy. It lacked anything that would help you cultivate, which he hadn't minded at first, but now he did. It wasn't all bad; he had been able to make some logical connections. If we didn't count the "young masters," a term he didn't like very much, then he was an anomaly. Most people didn't get a dao with their classes. From what he read, the class's rarity would determine if you gained a dao from it. With the vast majority not getting anything. He had tried to learn the rarities and had succeeded to a point. He knew common, uncommon, and rare existed. The only account of someone getting a rare class was the story of a guy who, for some insane reason, selected the random choice option. A decision that gave him a rare class that set him on the road to becoming a famous painter. It was insanity, but it showed that luck or fate had a way of influencing things. Maximilian couldn't say that the man had been fated to do that or not; there was no way to know. All he could say was that it worked out for him. At least for a few centuries before the story ended. The lack of a proper ending should've meant that he had either died or that nothing else important happened. Either way, it had little to do with him.
That being said, it didn't mean he would stagnate on his dao progression. He would just focus on what he had, including his lesser dao of static. A dao that he hadn't done much with since he got it. He still had some time before he would be ready to improve it, but he could tell he was getting closer. All of that was to say that he hadn't gotten much stronger in the days before the World Congress. Smarter maybe. He stayed where he was until the sun had fully disappeared. After that, he got to his feet and made his way back into the settlement proper. He knew that formalizing the government wouldn't change anything, but it was still odd to see no changes. Especially after the hours they had spent debating it. They hadn't even gotten a reward from the Network, which was interesting. He wasn't sure if that meant the Network didn't care about that sort of thing or if they had done something wrong. He knew the Network did reward you for non-combat, so that fear was eased. He put all that to the back of his mind as he prepared himself for the upcoming day. He entered his home and began his nightly rituals.
The next day, he was the first one up and ready to go. Something that only served to heighten his annoyance. He hated waiting and being late, not that the second would happen. No, the problem was the waiting. He couldn't help but feel like there were other things he could be doing. A feeling that was made worse by the fact that he did have other things he could be doing. He had already tried to practice his proto-skill only to lose control and almost kill a person. Something that was made worse by the attributes everyone else had. It felt a bit like he was surrounded by glass. When it was finally time to go, he almost bounced to his feet. He was a bit surprised that everyone had agreed to be guards. The final party included himself, his mother, Joshua, and Sarah. Sarah wanted to repay him for the group he had killed earlier. Two other non-cultivators joined them, but he didn't recognize them. He decided that the two unknowns would protect him. He gave a speech about wanting to give them a chance to prove themselves, but it was mostly due to him not trusting them with his mother. He doubted they would betray them, or anything, but they might be too slow or too weak.
"Alright, I am going to go through first. If I don't return in five or so minutes, stay away." He held up a hand when his mother looked like she wanted to argue. He wasn't going to debate this. Appearances aside, it would be dumb not to let him secure the teleportation area. If it was a trap, he could deal with it without the risk of friendly fire. If not, then it wouldn't matter since he doubted there was anyone they wanted to impress waiting there. Regardless, he would deal with it. They exchanged a few more words about what to do if they lost access to the UWG as a teleport location, but there wasn't much to plan. He would deal with it. With everything handled, he smiled and stepped up to the array. His heartbeat picked up in anticipation. He confirmed his intent, stepped through, and was pulled through space. The process only took a few seconds, but he could feel the spatial dao around him. He could also tell it was far beyond anything he had. His brief attempt to understand it only left him with a headache before the process finished, and he found himself in a familiar room. He raised an eyebrow as he found himself once again surrounded by men and women with weapons.
"I am starting to think that you all enjoy pointing weapons at me. I would appreciate it if you lowered them. Unless this isn't a diplomatic mission?" He phrased the last part like a question while releasing just a bit of killing intent. Just enough to make them sweat. When no one moved for several seconds, his smile faded. "I believe we have made a mistake. I wasn't asking." He released a bit more killing intent this time, enough to force the guards to kneel. Something he had only recently learned he could do.
"I would appreciate it if you didn't hurt my people," Elsie said as she entered.
Maximilian controlled his killing intent and removed the pressure. A smile returned to his face. "Forgive me." They stared at each other briefly before he turned back toward the array. "I will tell my people that it's safe for them to come through now. Do not threaten them." He gave them a moment to compose themselves before he stepped through the array. A few minutes later, his group of five was all gathered in New Philadelphia. The settlement was almost a different place compared to the last time. More and more people had taken up the new world fashion. Cultivator robes in various colors were the norm, but there were other outfits. Victorian suits and Greco-Roman tunics were also amongst the norms. He wasn't sure if that was the Network or if fashion designers had decided to do whatever. Not that he minded. The diversity in clothing was nice. He made a mental note to go and visit some if he had enough time.
"The congress will be held in the old sports stadium." His mother started. "We have our assigned seats, so we can head over now if you like." Maximilian gave her a nod, and then the group of six was on their way. They caught the eye of several people as they walked, so Maximilian decided to play up the aloof, powerful guy routine. He sealed all traces of his aura and stepped to the front of the group with his mother at his right and the guards on their flanks. The whole thing was amusing as he wasn't sure if people stared because of his appearance or because of how armed the group was. That was one of the major changes in the New World. There were no weapons on anyone who wasn't a guard. He knew a significant part of the populace had spatial bags by now since they were somewhat common quest rewards. Which meant that they weren't unarmed, but they looked unarmed. Of course, that didn't count people like him, spell-casters. Over the last few days, he had learned that his path was rarer. Not because it was bad, but because most people just died. His titles made it easier to focus on Intelligence since most people didn't have all of them, which meant they were fragile.
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It was a problem with all the middle to long-range classes. Most monsters were the type with claws or talons, which meant they would charge you. If you couldn't kill them before they got to you then you would be screwed. Unless you could take a hit or two. Even some of the people he had taught Prismatic Barrier to had died. Without the Intelligence to power the skill, it couldn't hold up to the hits. When combined with the struggles of fighting effectively in general, it hadn't ended well for them. He still didn't regret giving them the skill. It had been an act of kindness, but he did wish he could've saved them all. He pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind as they arrived at the stadium. Or what was left of it. The entire building had been cut in half as if a god had swung a mighty sword. Only there were no outward signs of damage. Just half the building wasn't there. It was freaky. From there, the stadium had been further changed, though these changes were due to human hands. The main arena now had a large stage with a podium and several chairs behind it. The stands were divided based on species, from what he could tell. There were only humans here at the moment, and none were seated. He let his mother confirm the arrangements so people could see that she was in charge.
He had expected to be placed at the front as a show of status, and he was sort of correct. They were escorted to one of the old boxes. A place that he had always hoped to sit in as a child. Which added a layer of irony to it. It only took the end of the world for him to get a fancy seat. The box was covered in a soundproofing array, which just added to the feeling. He asked his mother to oversee the building of a place like this when they had the time and resources. He figured they could revive basketball and football at the very least. Though they would likely have to change the rules. He also figured they didn't need to divide things by gender anymore. A thought that made him chuckle.
"We have been offered a program for the festivities. Invitations have been sent out to all of Earth's factions, including the non-humans. With the intent being to ally." His mother began.
"They want to form a new United Nations?" He asked.
"I believe that is accurate. It seems the most common belief is that we are all in competition with Earth's monsters. That we need to subjugate them before they do us."
Maximilian tapped his fingers on the balcony in front of him. He was confident that it was the trial. Their test, or at least part of it. He was also somewhat sure that the UWG had to know that it would only be part of the problem. The Network wanted a sole ruler for the planet. The tutorial workers had said as much, so he wasn't sure what the point was. Sure, it was possible that they would kill each other, only for the monsters to swarm in and kill them all. That would be dumb, but was that enough to warrant this? "Based on what you know, how are other people doing?"
"Not good. Outside of the major factions, humanity is on the losing end of most conflicts. On average, the beasts are slightly stronger than cultivators. When coupled with our lacking combat ability, humanity has struggled."
Maximilian sighed as he stared at the people moving below them. It made sense, even with the power granted by the Network, most people weren't killers, which was another point toward being a spellcaster. It was less personal. It was still killing people, but it was different from stabbing someone. Especially since most of his fights with people resulted in them dying immediately. He was also willing to admit that it was his justification and that most people probably wouldn't want to die by electrocution or sword wound. Either way, that fear was what held humanity back. "I assume we still don't have any information on average levels amongst the other species?"
"That is no longer the case. Someone received a scouting skill and managed to compare the levels of some of the harpies and lizardfolk."
That made Maximilian shift his focus to his mother. Based on the look she gave him, the situation wasn't good. " The government didn't have enough data points to form a real average, but their levels seem to be higher than that of humanity. Closer to that of Justinian and the other members of the top ten. Yet there are reports. Rumors really of beings that have levels comparable to yours."
"Comparable but not higher?" He asked and then shook his head. It didn't matter when levels were that close, he doubted they mattered. "Do we know if titles are shared across the world or if they're divided by species? If they have the same titles as me, we could have a problem." He was somewhat confident in a fair fight with someone of his power, but against two or three people? Or even an army if they were determined enough to kill him.
"We can't say for sure. I can't even say for sure that the government wasn't just exaggerating as a ploy to get you on their side."
He sighed and crossed his legs. People had started to file into seats by now, including two of the other five boxes. He hadn't seen who had entered, which only made him more interested. His gut told him the event was about to begin. That and the fact that the people entering had changed from a small trickle to a steady flow. "To reiterate our position. We aren't here to commit to anything. I would like to see what they have planned, but as far as I can tell, Nubia is better off on its own. I don't see that changing here and now. Everyone is to stay together and avoid fighting. I don't want to give anyone an excuse to start a conflict. That being said, don't let people push you around either."
He had considered how he wanted Nubia to appear on the world stage, and he settled on strength. He didn't want to bully anyone, but he also knew that power spoke both in this world and the old one. The Network had decided to place his name at the top of a literal leaderboard. Hiding wasn't an option. Nor did he want to hide. He hadn't done anything wrong. He had worked his ass off for what he had. Sure, it was fair to point out he had a physique that gave him an advantage, but he earned what he had. He pushed those thoughts to the back of his head. Ultimately, the justification didn't matter. He was going to do what he wanted. "Keep my mother safe. It wouldn't surprise me if they target her or the rest of you. Whether it's the UWG or anyone else. It's most important that everyone gets back safely."
He was about to continue when someone new entered the arena. The figure was resplendent, to put it simply. He was tall, around six feet or so, with sun-kissed skin and short dirty blonde hair. He wore a golden breastplate adorned with filigree. Armor that looked more like a showpiece than anything effective. Of course, he could tell that it wasn't. The armor was high quality and could likely take a beating. He wasn't sure if it was stronger than his robes or not, but it was comparable. Maximilian couldn't help but grin as he stared at the man. Justinian had arrived. He had come with two others, though only one looked like they could fight. A dark skinned bald man with a sword sheathed on his left hip. The third was an older man, probably closer to thirty, in a three-piece suit. He had a salt and pepper beard that made him both look older and younger. He had that silver fox vibe going on. Maximilian's gut told him that guy served the same role as his mother. An advisor or governor. The trio was led to a box to their right. Something that Maximilian figured was on purpose. He just couldn't tell if it was done to keep tabs on both of them or to encourage competition somehow. Either way, things were going to get much more interesting.
