Ashanti sat in her office, going over a variety of documents. Reports on recent monster sightings, food growth, and the average levels of their citizens. A small number of information slips were scattered about, but they were a mixed bag. The shop made them available, but recording information was strange. The closest analog she could draw to Earth's tech was an autobiography or a recorder. Only it was in your head and worked on intent. You didn't have to narrate what you wanted to share, but it was easier. Some of the children had figured out how to do it through thought alone. Which was why she had purchased five for herself. She hadn't mastered it, but she could get short messages through. She added it to the list of things to work on in her spare time. Today was about something different. Maximilian had come back several hours ago. He hadn't come by, which worried her at first. Now she understood. He was getting ready to hit level 27. She disliked what he was doing, but she also knew it was needed. She had no idea why he leveled so fast. Even with him fighting as often as he did, it shouldn't be possible. There were more than a few people in Nubia who hunted day in and out, but they weren't even half as fast. Part of that was because of their situation.

  They had purchased the skills from the Network shop, and they weren't the best. Not bad, but nowhere near enough to fight. No one had gained the "dao". The strange power he used to free-form skills. At least no one that she knew about. She was glad he was safe, but she also disliked how lax everyone had become. Either everyone had settled into comfort beneath the shields, or they were adventurers. People who were arguably worse. They helped deal with the food problems, but they were a far cry from the army. The guards were okay. Joshua, especially, but it was clear that Nubia was Maximilian. If he were to fall,l they would fall soon after. There was little she could do about that. Her thoughts were interrupted when Joshua and another guard entered the room. Ashanti waited for them to explain, and when they did, her eyes widened. She summoned the leader board to see it with her own eyes.

  He had done it. She wasn't sure what would happen next. Part of her expected some message to ring out. Or some new monster. Nothing came. It was a monumental moment for them, but to the Network? It had likely been done millions, if not billions, of times. She grabbed her jacket and was about to go search for her son when she saw Joshua grimace. Her eyes narrowed, and then she shook her head. He had left because, of course, he did. She wanted to scold him for that, but she couldn't and she wouldn't. He was her son, but he was a king or emperor now, and that was strange. The last thing she needed was to make the situation worse for him. She would play her part and help him the best she could.

  "Alright, the others should realize what happened soon. We need to be ready. From what I have been told, a class should represent a spike in power. I am not sure if that spike will be immediate or gradual, and neither will the rest of the world. I want our guards on full alert. I believe two things will happen." She held up one finger. "Opportunistic actors will seek us out for favors and relationships. We don't agree to anything until I have spoken with his majesty." She held up a second finger. Her gaze hardened as she spoke. "The second group will try to snuff him out before he can become a problem. We can't afford to become weak for him. I want people ready to go at all hours for the next week."

  "Should we expect an attack?" Joshua asked as he tensed like a coiled spring.

  She nodded. "We aren't in a position to be relaxed. We assume the worst. Notify me immediately if anyone approaches the settlement. No exceptions."

  A small part of her thought all of that was craziness. She was commanding people to get ready to fight like some general. She had no experience, no right to do that, yet here she was. The Network brought insanity to the world. insanity that none of them were ready for. She discussed a few more things with Joshua before the guard left to spread the word. She took a seat and looked out the window. The view here likely would have cost her more than ten times her salary. If it were even possible to pay for. Yet it was hers. She watched the clouds and birds in the distance. Birds that could likely kill her if she gave them the chance. It was insanity. Despite all that, she would be lying if she said it wasn't interesting. She had never been a thrill seeker, but she could see the appeal. She took a deep breath and turned her attention to the few things she could control. There weren't many ways that she could help her son. She would do everything she could to support him. She reached into her pocket and opened a locket. It was a simple thing. A small storybook pendant that opened to show her and Maxwell. A gift for their 15th anniversary. She wondered what he would say now. Would he want to go out and fight alongside their son, or would he stay with her? She sat there in the heavy silence until she was ready. She had more work to do.

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  Justinian thrust his spear into the heart of his opponent. A grizzly bear-like monster that was the size of a car. It had metallic fur and nasty claws that could split stone with ease. He twisted his wrist and then unleashed a beam of light from his spear. The light punched through the beast's heart and out its back. With that, a battle that had started nearly ten minutes ago ended. Justinian ripped his weapon free and dropped to one knee. His left hand hung limp at his side. Several of his ribs were broken, and his armor was in tatters. He would need another replacement. It was a good fight. He took a moment for himself. A moment to recover and to get back to top form. A moment that ended when he heard footsteps. He used his spear to help hold himself up as three of his guards approached. One tossed him a healing pill. While the other started talking.

  "Sir. We have a few updates. Our food stores have steadily improved with the shift in focus to agriculture. The additional patrols have reduced the amount of beast attacks..."

  Justinian nodded along as he went over the updates of Constantinople. The updates were dull to say the least. Most of the problems had been dealt with, and they had settled into routine. He didn't begrudge them that, but he knew it was foolish. He had no idea how the Network did things, but he knew that an event was coming. His token had told him as much. Which meant that now was the time to pick up the pace. Not ease up on the gas. He had tried to tell everyone that, but he had been too successful. He and his legion had slaughtered the beasts near them. With the threats gone, most people were more than willing to bury their heads in the sand. Pretending that they were safe. He remembered the warnings from his history courses. How easily people surrendered control for safety. He had known his professors were right, but knowing it and seeing it were different. It was disgusting. He wouldn't say this new world was fair. The leader board proved that, but it was recent. A world where money didn't matter. Neither did age in a way. He knew age played a role in whether or not you could cultivate. With most non-cultivators dying out during the tutorial. Yet it was the closest thing we could get to one.

  He could grab power and authority with his own hands. He could choose who rose and who fell. At least he could for most people. Yao Wei and Maximilian were outliers. He was somewhat confident in beating the former. Their levels were close. Though from what he heard, Yao was some sort of soldier before this. He wasn't sure how much that experience would help him, but he wouldn't be reckless. As for the other one, he had no idea what to think. He was a politician from the Midwest. It was hard to find accurate information on people, but the government had provided some information. Nothing in it would explain why he leveled so fast. It was as if he sprinted while the rest of them walked. He had doubled his hunts and chased after dangerous beasts, yet it wasn't enough. Even fighting the weird bears hadn't been enough to close the gap. It had made him a bit stronger, so he considered it a positive development.

  "Since we can't beat him to level 27, we should look for other opportunities. We need to find ways to earn titles. Ways that aren't related to leveling up or progression." Justinian said. He flexed his left hand now that he could move it freely. He placed his spear into his spatial bag and headed back toward Constantinople. "Our focus needs to shift to the trial. My guess is that it will be the opportunity to ignite our momentum. I want you to make a list of people who are willing to go. Willing and with decent enough strength to help us. The other elites will be there, so I don't expect anything crazy to happen. Still, it's better safe than sorry. Keep everyone ready to fight."

  Justinian gave several more instructions as they returned to the settlement. It had gone through a rebirth of its own over the last few months. It was now surrounded by a stone wall that had been improved by an array. He wouldn't call it impenetrable, but it was strong enough to take his skills and keep on going. It should be strong enough to fend off a siege for a few weeks. He was a bit worried about the harpies. A wall made no difference to someone who could fly. They hadn't seen many of them, but he doubted that would last forever. The same thing was true for the lizard people. He had wanted to reach out and form a friendship with them, but he couldn't find them. Either they weren't in this part of the world, or they were somewhere he hadn't found. "Keep the city open to diplomatic efforts, but no groups larger than three. I don't want to get hit with a Trojan horse."

  They discussed a few more things before he left them to their issues. He made his way back to his home. The remains of an old manor house that he transformed. Now it was a palace. He had taken several art pieces from a few museums and left them inside. None of that would help him for now. For now, he needed to focus on his cultivation. He doubted he would get a new level before the trial, but he could make progress on this Dao. It cost him a massive amount of his wealth and time, but the Veritas Information Hall was more than worth it. He had learned there were weapon-related daos. Which should mean he could get one for his spear. Something that would help bridge the gap between him and Maximilian. He had learned that there were elemental daos, and he assumed he had those. He just needed to progress.

  Elsie sat at the head of the table. Surrounded by the council that made up the World Government. She stopped paying attention to their argument more than an hour ago. The leaderboards showed a truth that everyone outside of her had struggled to accept. They were no longer at the peak of the mountain. They no longer held the monopoly on force, nor did they have the most of it. As much as it annoyed her, their recent attempt at control had failed spectacularly. They weren't even able to bring the perpetrators to justice. No, the new world was not one for their generation, but that did not mean she would sit by and do nothing. She could get stronger, but that was a no-go. At least not directly. She had tried fighting with swords and spears, but hated it. Her bodyguard was better suited, but even she wasn't able to catch up to the top ten. The top one hundred was fluid. Names changed by the hour, yet it didn't really matter. The levels barely rose. As if everyone tripped at the same point. They all had theories of course. The undisciplined civilians were being reckless. That they would all rise and fall. The military would take the top spot in time, and then things would return to normal. More than three months later, they were here. Falling. Fading.

  She held up a hand to stop the arguments. She had heard enough. "The way I see it". She paused and let her eyes pass over everyone here. The United World Government was a collection of seven former leaders. Not counting herself. A collection of non-cultivators. "We have three options." She held up three fingers, first emphasis. Small tricks he picked up through speech and debate training. "First." She put the first finger down. "We can abandon our empty thrones. Join up with the other powers and attempt to curtail their impulses. Join them and salvage our own power. Our influence. It has its merits. We would not be at the top, of course, but a low seat at the head table is better than fighting for scraps."

  She could see that they weren't very interested in that option. That they wanted more. Like the frog, they had grown too used to things. Used to letting others fight for them. Now that things were changing, they weren't ready. She lowered her second finger and continued. "We can attempt a dramatic act. We aim for someone at the peak. Perhaps at the peak. We gather our cultivators, our warriors, and our weapons. We attempt a powerful strike. If we succeed, we will be rid of an enemy, and we will place ourselves at the top. For a time at least."

  She noted the grim nods and the slightly too eager sadness in their faces. She could tell that many were thinking about it already. The justification they would use. How would they paint themselves as the victims? That they had no choice but to act. Even with nuclear weapons, there were enough explosives to do serious damage. She doubted that option would work. The problem, like everything else, would be the details. They had no way to gauge power outside of level. They had already confirmed that two beasts at the same level could have wildly different power levels. Wouldn't it be the same for humans? Even if they were able to get everything right. What would they do then? Humanity would lose one of its leaders while the other species. Would be fine. Nothing would stop them from surging over the rest. No, it wouldn't work, not unless they could arrange a strike on everyone at once. Not unless they could scare everyone else off.

  She lowered her final finger and presented the third option. The best option, and thus one she knew no one would take. "We could play by the rules. We could give the Network what it wanted." She flexed her fingers. Taking a moment to appreciate the changes. How strong she felt. She hadn't leveled up much at all, but she still felt wonderful. She felt stronger than she had as a young woman. She couldn't even imagine what those at the peak felt. Justinian, Maximilian, and the Wei. All of them should have dozens, if not hundreds, more points than her. "We could fight. We could get stronger. We know it's possible for us. Even if we can't properly cultivate. We could gain strength ourselves. We might grow enough to challenge those at the top. We could then shape the future with our own hands."

  When she finished, she sat back. There was nothing more for her to do. She had said her peace and presented them with direction. After a few silent minutes, the group started up again. Now debating the merits of her options. Sure enough, less than an hour later, the council made their call. She refused to vote. Not that it mattered. They were unanimous. She waited until they left her alone before she got up. She walked over to the window and stared at the foreign world. A world that had once belonged to them. A world where humanity used to sit at the peak. Freely able to alter and shift everything within it. Even the worst disasters of Mother Nature could be curtailed. Now. Now what did they have? She would need to adjust. Which meant she had to play the cards she had before they were useless. She strode from the room. It was time to begin the first chapter of New Earth.