System Change

“Would you look at that?” Derek muttered as he hovered in the air beside one of the protection circles covering a teleportation array. It wasn’t anything going on below him that had caught his attention, but instead the Guardians and Champions list for the invasion.

Guardians

Champions

Ascending Monarch—Active

Braxi—Active

Old Goblin—Active

Sir Brandt—Active

Vendra—Defeated

Aria—Deceased

Big Sparky—Active

Osian—Active

Siren’s Second—Active

The Queen—Active

Amelia—Active

Great Ul’oc—Active

Jakis—Active

Silent Night—Active

Holcom—Active

Wri—Deceased

The Indomitable—Defeated

Shield—Active

Azureblade—Active

Trischa—Active

He’d stopped in his search for Champions and other invaders the moment he saw that one of the Champions was in a battle. He hadn’t had much hope that the person was going to be defeated, as there wasn’t a Guardian in battle with him. However, he was pleasantly surprised once the status changed to ‘Deceased.’

So… I guess we have someone on our side that didn’t accept the option to become a Guardian? he thought to himself. Currently, he was wondering if he should have chosen to join the battle, but not accept one of the ‘Chosen’ positions. It was honestly becoming a pain in the ass for him.

As soon as I get close to anyone, they take off, Derek thought. Being a Guardian was basically the equivalent of putting a giant neon sign over his head that said ‘run.’ He was moving from array to array as fast as he could, but, other than a few groups full of nobody special, he was failing to run into anybody. It was honestly a pain.

He even interrogated a few groups of invaders. If they could be believed, then none of those groups had heard or seen anything about the Champions. Derek chose not to push too hard, as he wasn’t big on interrogations—at least, when he did them and those he was interrogating were weak. So far, everyone other than The Indomitable and the invaders who surrounded him had been very weak.

If he didn’t find a good fight soon, Derek was going to hop into the void and go check in on that Old Goblin. Surely, he’d have better luck on the other continent than he was having here.

As he was thinking that, Derek felt the buzz of a communication crystal coming from his storage device. He quickly took out the red crystal and answered. He hadn’t even bothered to look to see who was trying to get in touch with him.

‘Yeah?’ he answered.

‘We’ve gotten a small amount of information from the armies that attacked Eloria and Savannah,’ Natalie’s voice rang in Derek’s head.

‘Anything important?’ he asked.

‘Just that Champions can’t stay inside the protective barrier for very long, and that they can only go back in when they are able to use it to teleport to another random array,’ Natalie explained.

‘So… there aren’t any Champions hiding inside the Array?’

‘No, none,’ the Savannah City Lord replied.

‘That’s good to know, actually,’ Derek said. ‘It means that I’m not out here wasting my time, at least.’

‘And… we now know that the Champions Jakis and Silent Night originally teleported to this continent,’ Natalie explained. ‘Silent Night was seen close to an array near the above-ground Stonehelm in Vellum, and Jakis was at the same array that produced the majority of invaders who attacked Eloria, which was Northwest Indria.’

‘I see,’ Derek replied. ‘Looks like I’ve been searching in the wrong areas… Were you able to get any information about the two Champions?’

‘A small amount,’ Natalie replied. ‘Jakis is a very arrogant person who looks almost human. However, according to the rumors, he can transform into some kind of beast and is very strong. Jakis is actually his name, too. Silent Night is a bit different. All I could get was that she had the features of a feline. She was only seen for a moment, then she disappeared without a word.’

‘Well… it sounds like Silent Night is a lost cause for me right now… I don’t know how I would be able to find a Champion who is good at hiding without meeting her first. But Jakis may be a good lead. If he’s arrogant like you say, I may be able to find him. Us arrogant folk aren’t too keen when it comes to hiding,’ Derek replied.

‘I was thinking the same thing,’ Natalie said.

‘Is there anything else?’ Derek asked.

‘Did you see that they lost a Champion?’ Natalie asked.

‘I did,’ Derek replied. ‘Do you know anything about that?’

‘Nothing,’ Natalie said. ‘I was hoping that you would be able to shed some light on the matter, but I guess you don’t know anything more than I do.’

This tale has been pilfered from NovelFire. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

‘Nope,’ Derek said. ‘I’m just happy that there’s someone else out there capable of handling things. It makes things a little easier on me.’

‘Since they have the ability to take a Champion out of play, I doubt it’s long before we learn of them,’ Natalie replied.

‘That is true,’ Derek said. ‘Is there anything else? Do you have any other information for me?’

‘No, nothing,’ Natalie replied.

‘In that case, I’ve just about searched all the arrays around Cydaria. I guess it’s time to head to Indria and look for that Champion,’ Derek said.

‘Good luck,’ Natalie replied. ‘Be careful.’

‘Sure…’ Derek replied, then he halted communication and put away his communication crystal. Next, he tore the void open, stepped inside, and picked one of the dungeon locations towards the northwest part of Indria that he and Alanah had gone to.

Just before he exited, he turned up his Void Sense and searched for a certain aura. In only a few seconds, he was able to locate it, and Derek smiled. It looks like Kelvin may be on this continent if my sense of distance is right. It’s almost impossible to tell inside the void without another aura to compare it to. I bet he is that Champion called Azureblade. Derek didn’t bother going after the man yet. He already knew his aura, so Derek could get to him any time that he wanted.

In his head, if Kelvin was a Champion, then the other side only had seven Champions left, not eight. If things get too bad, I’ll see if he can lead me to any others. Derek laughed, then, on a whim, decided to search for another aura. Surprisingly, he found it close by, too.

What’s up with that? he thought. He’d looked for Jace, and he’d found him. The man seemed to be on the same planet as he was, possibly on the other continent, or maybe in the ocean somewhere. However, his deep crimson aura was burning fiercely, but also kind of flickering—it seemed to be a bit stronger than it was when he found it back when he visited Earth. But back then, he was much farther away from Derek than he was now.

There’s no way he’s a Champion, too, is there? Derek thought. He looked over the list again, then shook his head. No, he wouldn’t use any of those titles or names. He’d most likely just use Jace. In any case, it doesn’t seem like he’s in any trouble. But… that flickering… I wonder if he’s in a battle or was just in one or something.

For a second, Derek thought about the two Guardians who had already been taken out by a mysterious person, then he thought about Wri. Surely, he’s not that strong, is he? No… I can’t put anything past Jace at this point. If he is strong enough, then I have no doubt in my mind that he’d try to fight Guardians… Hell… I wouldn’t put it past him to attack a Champion. He was always stronger than I was, and he’s had plenty of time to grow… especially if the tutorial gave him a bunch of advantages.

Derek frowned, then put Jace out of his mind for the time being. Now that he knew the man was on the same planet, he made a mental note to go see him later. It would be nice to get a win in his column against the battle maniac. What was I again? Zero to twenty-seven… twenty-eight? Derek grinned. I look forward to it, he thought.

After that, he ripped the space in front of him open, then stepped out onto the lands of Indria. Jace could wait a little while longer before visiting his old friend. He had a lead on another Champion, and he was going to see if he could make anything out of it.

***

Jace stepped inside the barrier protecting the nearest teleportation array and let out a sigh. As soon as he was inside, he looked around and saw some people running around. There were also a bunch of tents set up. Good, he thought. Currently, Jace didn’t seem much more powerful than one of the invaders running around. So, with that in mind, he walked to an unoccupied piece of land inside the barrier. With a wave of his hand, a small tent appeared.

The tent was nothing like the command tents that he was used to. Maybe I should have brought one of those weaklings with me instead of firing them all, he thought. They could at least set up a pretty good tent. But he really didn’t need anything like that. He didn’t plan on staying inside the barrier too long. On the bright side, even though it wasn’t big and luxurious like the command tents, it was pretty safe. It had protection runes in it, at least.

He wasn’t too far from the other Stronghold, and if he wanted to, he could use the teleportation array and see if he could end up anywhere near another Guardian. That was his backup plan if it didn’t seem like he was closing in on the Stronghold within the next few days.

Jace stepped inside the tent, then waved his hand again. A cot appeared, and he sat down on it. Now… what does this damn system want now? he wondered, then opened one of the notifications he’d received as soon as he’d walked through the barrier.

Congratulations!

You have made a number of accomplishments in the current invasion.

Would you like your accomplishments to be known?

You may choose to share your accomplishments with all, your own side, or you may choose to keep them private.

Keep them private, Jace commanded without a second thought. He really didn’t care if anyone found out about him capturing a Stronghold or killing the Guardian… or Champion, but he knew that the second his ‘accomplishments’ went out, his communication device would start buzzing nonstop, and he really didn’t feel like dealing with that blue guy or Kelvin.

He’d actually already thought about ditching the bracelet after he found the storage rings. However, the fact that it was able to hold the rings was what was keeping him from doing so. If not for that, he would have tossed it. For now, it was a matter of convenience.

After that, he dismissed the notification about his accomplishments and moved on to the next.

Congratulations!

Your accomplishments have netted you ten teleportation array uses.

To use, walk to the center of the array and select the prompt.

Teleportation Array Uses Remaining: 11

“That’s good,” Jace muttered, then closed the notification. If the first try didn’t get him close to a good fight, then he would have ten more. I wonder what it’s like for the Champions. I bet they have to choose to teleport to even be able to enter the barrier. Once again, Jace was glad he hadn’t accepted becoming a Champion.

Time to get some rest, he thought, then laid down on his cot and closed his eyes.

“Hello!” Not ten seconds after he got comfortable, a voice rang out from outside his tent. A voice which Jace promptly ignored. However, it didn’t seem like the voice was going to take the hint. “Hello!” it shouted again. “I know you’re in there. We saw you put the tent up.”

Jace rolled his eyes, then sat up. “Should have gotten sound dampening runes…” he grumbled as he stood and walked over to the flap, then pulled it open. “What the fuck do you want?” he snarled and released a little of his aura.

“A-ah… s… s-sir…” the man stuttered as the aura landed on him.

“Well?” Jace asked. He retracted his aura so the man could speak.

“W-well…” the man started. “I’m working for Counselor Amelia and was speaking to any newcomers to see if they had any information about Counselor Wri.”

“Wri?” Jace said. “Haven’t seen the lizard.”

“Is… is that so?” the soldier asked. “But you know him?”

“Yes, I have met him. I am… was a Lieutenant in Kelvin’s army,” Jace said, then rolled his eyes. “Now, I need sleep. I’ve had a hard week. Leave me alone.”

“Was?” the soldier said, ignoring Jace’s command to leave him alone. “You are no longer in the army?”

Jace, quicker than the regular soldier could make out, blurred and grabbed the man by his neck. “I said that I’m tired. Ask one more question, and you’re not going to make it back home. Do you understand me?”

“Y-yes!” the soldier cried out.

“Good.” Jace set the man back down on his feet, then patted his shoulders. “Now… get out of here. I’m going to sleep. Let everyone know that if they disturb me, they will die. Got it?”

“G-got it,” the soldier muttered, then turned and ran off.

“Idiots…” Jace muttered, then placed some alarms around his tent and went back inside. He didn’t feel like it, but he spent the next ten minutes reinforcing the tent even more than it naturally was with the runes. He also made sure all the runes were full of mana.

At least in the barrier, the soldiers and invaders were all known entities, and it was unlikely anyone would attack him. If any did, he wasn’t worried unless it was a Champion. His alarms and the protection runes would give him plenty of time to prepare if anyone inside did choose to attack. He also had plenty of teleports available if he needed to escape.

He’s going to contact Amelia… isn’t he? Jace rolled his eyes. Then he took the storage rings out of his bracelet. He put one on, then placed his bracelet inside the other. After that, he tossed the ring that was holding his bracelet under his cot. That’s better. This way, at least his communication device wouldn’t wake him up when Darvin or Kelvin came calling.

Finally, Jace laid back down on his cot, and within minutes, he was out. Hopefully, by the time he woke up, he would be mentally recharged and ready to go. After all, there were still many battles to be had.