Maximilian sat in what passed for a meeting room as several of the settlement's leaders explained things to him. It turned out that the people who had attacked had been a problem for the last few weeks. They had been after the settlement itself, which answered some of his questions. It also turned out he hadn't needed to kill them. As they were looking for a place to live. Now he didn't feel bad about it, as they had been offered the opportunity to join as citizens. An opportunity they ignored. He could understand their motives. Everyone wanted to be at the top. That being said, it was clear that the settlement was on the downturn. Not because they were weak but because they didn't want to fight. They had a decent cultivator population, but most of them no longer wanted to put their lives at risk. This left them with fewer and fewer warriors. A problem that had helped lead to his father's death. He had to resist the urge not to go and show those people why their actions were wrong, as he knew that wasn't fair. He couldn't and wouldn't force people to risk their lives. It wasn't all bad, though. The settlement had several interesting people. Including a group of construction workers who had built almost all the houses.

  "Alright." He began. "The way I see it, you all have two options. You can continue doing what you've been doing. I am sure you already understand where that path will lead. Or you can take the chance and join Nubia. For reasons that should be obvious, I want to protect this place. Which means I will put in considerable resources into doing that, but I can't as long as you are independent. I won't have access to certain menus, and I won't be able to teleport people in."

  "As far as I can see it, there ain't much choice," Hank, the unofficial leader of the fighters, began. "We don't have the power to defend this place. When you add in the increasing levels, we are on the decline."

  "You and I both know that isn't the issue." A woman in her early twenties replied. Her gaze shifted from Hank to Maximilian, where it softened. "I know what you lost—"

  "Stop. That isn't what we are here to discuss," Maximilian stated. "I understand your fear, and in truth, it doesn't matter. We are only having this conversation because I want to. Because my father felt this place was worth dying for. I ask you all to make the right choice." Ordinarily, Maximilian would've stayed to go over details, but he didn't want to. He didn't want to convince these people to join because they weren't worth it. He knew that his feelings were because so many of them stood there while others risked their lives. A feeling made worse by what happened. Even knowing the answer intellectually did nothing to make him feel better. He was about to head into the forest to find something to fight when two people approached him. He resisted the urge to sigh as Meredith and a boy no older than twelve or thirteen looked at him. The boy was African-American and was on the skinny side, though he wouldn't say he was frail.

  "Am I to assume that this is the young man my father protected?"

  "That is correct. I felt it would be best for the two of you to meet," Meredith replied as she nudged the child forward. The boy only took two steps and then stood there like a deer in headlights. The fear on the boy's face only made Maximilian's inner turmoil worse.

  He smiled, an act that felt harder than anything he had done since the Network arrived. "What's your name, little one?"

  "Fa-Farrelll." He started only to take a deep breath and summon his courage. "My name is Farrelll."

  Maximilian's smile became a bit easier as he looked at the child. He still looked like he would fall over if too stiff a breeze hit him, yet he did have courage. More so than many of the other people here. "I see, and what can I do for you, Farrell?"

  "I wanted to say I am sorry. I was trying to help, and then, well, the snake was fast, and I tried to move, but I couldn't." The boy began to shake as he recounted what happened. Maximilian found his irritation and anger fading as he stared at him. What he had done was foolish, to say the least, but it wasn't malicious. He wasn't sure what he would've done in the boy's place. He doubted he could watch the fight without doing anything.

  "Are your parents here?" He asked, though he was somewhat confident that the boy was an orphan or at least he hadn't found his parents. The fact that Meredith stood here and not anyone else emphasized that to him.

  "No, I lived in an orphanage before..."

  Maximilian sighed and patted the young man on his head. "Tell me, would you like to follow me? I am not sure I am experienced enough to have a student, but I can show you what I know." He was going to say more, but the boy looked up at him as if he had just promised him the world. The mix of hope and excitement was enough to make Maximilian laugh. "I guess that's a yes. If you have anything you need or want to bring with you, collect it. Regardless of what they decide, we will leave afterward."

  "I don't mean to question you, but I have taken it upon myself to look after him," Meredith replied.

  Maximilian glanced at her and nodded his approval. He meant what he had said, but he also knew he wasn't the person to take care of a child. At least not right now. He would have to go out and do a lot of fighting, and the boy wasn't able to cultivate. "You can come. I will tell you that in Nubia, everyone is expected to contribute somehow. I am not going to send anyone to the front lines if they don't want to, but find something else to do." From there, they exchanged a few more pleasantries before they left. Mostly at Farrell's insistence. The boy was beyond excited, which raised his mood. He wasn't sure what it was about children that made everything seem so simple. He wished he could say it was enough to make him forget his pain, but it wasn't. He was still sad. He was about to head into the forest when the leaders exited the meeting room. He didn't need them to tell him what they decided. He could see it on their faces. His population would grow yet again.

  It turned out to be a lot easier to give up power than it was for him to take it. Sure, he could've just killed everyone, but the Network would've given out a quest and made it a battle royale-like situation. Where he would've had to hold the title or kill anyone capable of winning. Which could be a problem. If, for example, there was someone in the forest whom he didn't know about, they would get the quest. He would then have to either stay here until the limit ended or go to hunt them down. Assuming the person didn't just run away, it would be irritating. He figured the Network would force them to fight, but it did offer an interesting theory. One that he would like to test at some point. If someone stronger than him attacked Nubia, but he hid until the timer went out, would he win? As long as he never left the area. On one hand, the Networked wanted people to fight, but what about stealth classes? The idea was interesting. A chaotic cat-and-mouse game. Of course, it was also possible that it wouldn't work like that at all, and he would just lose the settlement due to refusing to fight. With the settlement officially under his control, Maximilian activated the teleporter. Once he confirmed he was able to make the connection, he sent word for Farrell and Meredith. He would get them set up, and then he would do the impossible. Time seemed to fly as he got the two settled. He arranged for them to have a house somewhat close to his. In the inner circle of Nubia. He had also sent word to have his mother meet him at his home. He went over things with Meredith for the fifth time when he stopped. He knew he was just stalling. Stealing time for himself. He said his goodbyes and made his way to his home. He opened the door and found his mother sitting there. She looked tired but in good spirits until she saw his face. Her face shifted between half a dozen expressions before he explained.

  Maximilian sat on the roof of his home. His mother had left. Had returned to her house and hadn't left for the last three hours. The sounds she made would haunt him forever, but there was nothing he could do. He had tried all he could. He explained what happened several times. Reminding her that he had died a hero. None of it helped. At least not right now. She needed time. They needed time. Only time was the one thing they didn't have. Maximilian glanced at his quest progress and saw that he was less than a hundred people away from completing it. He wasn't sure how long it would take to find them, but he was fairly sure it wouldn't be long. His identity made recruitment easy. If anything, it made things more annoying than they needed to be. He had opened the settlement to anyone who wanted to live here, but that was easier said than done. He didn't have much. Not in terms of safety or necessities. The settlement didn't have many rewards for the contribution system. He had left just about everything he had collected, including healing pills, but that was it. He patted his now almost empty bag and looked up at the blue sky. It wasn't as bad a problem as it seemed. Contribution systems were weird. He didn't get why people needed to be rewarded for advancing. He turned his attention to the rest of the world, or rather to the leader boards.

  He was concerned about the levels. Not for himself but for everyone else. Even Justinian had started to fall behind, which was the primary reason he was afraid. If this continued, the gap between him and them would become a gulf. One that no one could bridge. If he assumed that the harpies, lizardfolk, and tree people were increasing at their pace, it was fine. If they increased at his pace? Humanity might face dire consequences if that were the case. Things were much more interesting when it came to the other two leaderboards. One of which wasn't the greatest for him.

  The dao leaderboard was the most confusing, but he thought he understood what it meant. Getting a dao was hard. He wasn't sure if it was just affinity or if there were other factors, but only four members of humanity had at least one? That was catastrophic. If the numbers were different for the other species than they were fucked. He had seen how strong they were, and there was no way power alone would make up for that. Especially when the Network worked by rewarding the powerful with more power. The only saving grace was classes. He couldn't be sure, but he figured a good class would come with a dao or at least tell you how to get one. Though he had to admit that it felt more like wishful thinking than anything based in fact. Last were the wealth standings.

  He knew that being top ten for money wasn't anything to be upset about, but it still sucked. He also didn't get why his wealth had grown by so much. He had made more money, but he practically spent it as soon as he got it. The only answer he could come up with was that it was related to his assets. Things like the mental crystals. Either way, he needed more money. Especially if he was going to buy any of the fancy things the multiverse had to offer. He doubted a spa would soon open on Earth, but he had time. He closed the leaderboards and sighed. There were things he had to do. He still hadn't figured out where Justinian and Yao Wei were, making diplomatic overtures almost impossible. He also needed to figure out how to awaken his physique. It felt like his laundry list of goals had only grown larger. Which meant he had to get moving. He cracked his fingers, took a breath, and then made his way to the teleporter. It was time to get back to work.

  Maximilian stepped out of the teleportation array and back into Jericho. He was pretty sure the settlement was named by his father, which only made the place more disappointing. It lacked the mythical walls and much of anything else that should be there, yet he couldn't leave. Not completely. He ignored the people who had gathered to enter and exit the teleportation room. Instead, he made his way out of the settlement. He stared at the forest. At the battlefield that had taken his father. He was here to train. Just to train. He reminded himself as he shot into the forest. It took him thirty minutes to find his first opponent. A beaver-like creature the size of a minivan. The rodent launched itself at him only to meet a fist harder than steel. It swung its tail in a vain attempt at swatting him away. Maximilian jumped high enough to avoid the attack, following with a spinning back fist before he landed. He felt the bones in the beast's face resist as he continued. Each attack was sloppy, but it made no difference to the beast. Nor did it matter to the human. He reduced the spiritual energy in his hands to a minimum. Every blow sent a wave of pain along his hands, up his arms, and into his body.

  All too soon, the beast collapsed, forcing Maximilian out of his stupor. He glanced inward at his dantian to confirm how much energy he had gained. It wasn't enough. He used spiritual energy to purge his fists of blood. He turned in time to see a snake staring at him. The serpent was one of the poisonous varieties, an adder from what he could tell. It opened its mouth to reveal dagger-like fangs. Beast and man stood there as if locked in a trance for several long moments. Suddenly, the ground exploded as Maximilian surged forward like a thunderclap. In an instant, he had cut the thirty or so feet between them to nothing. His fingers arced with bluish-white electricity as they speared through the beast's scales. The serpent's body practically collapsed until he had sunk his entire arm into the creature. The snake let out a hiss of pain right before it tried to bite the human in two. Before its massive mouth could close, his other hand shot out.

  "So weak." He spat as if just speaking the words disgusted him. A cataclysmic killing intent exploded out of him like a beast that had slipped its chains. The serpent exploded as if crushed by the hand of an invisible god. Maximilian stood there as blood rained. His anger was extinguished. Not because he had killed the serpent. It wasn't the one that had made him angry. No, it faded because there was nothing more for him to be angry at. The anger left nothing in its absence. Just a hollowness. An emptiness that made him want to hide away in some hole. Yet he didn't. He cracked his neck and circulated his spiritual energy to clean himself. He had been depressed long enough. He had to get moving. He had to get fighting. If he wanted to prevent this from happening again, he had to get to work.