System Change

“Here are four communication range boosters,” Holcom said to Amelia as he held out four spike-looking rods with a flashing blue light on the top of them. “They are made to absorb energy passively as soon as you place them, so just stick them in the ground or in a tree—somewhere that people and monsters won’t find them—then you can just leave them.”

“Can I bury them?” Amelia asked as she took the communication boosters and stored them inside her bracelet. “Or does the top need to be exposed to work?”

“You can bury them,” Holcom replied. “But that may or may not hinder the range by a certain amount. It’s not something I can know right now, with this different planet being governed by a different system.”

“Very well,” Amelia said. “I will look out for good locations to place them and will only bury them as a last resort.” The red near-giantess turned her attention to Darvin and then asked, “Is there anything else you need before I go find The Queen?”

“Nothing,” Darvin replied. “The sooner you leave, the sooner you return. Make haste and don’t take too long getting rid of your opponent. A quick kill would be best.”

Amelia pursed her lips for a moment, then relaxed. Finally, she shrugged and said, “Then I will be on my way.” The woman took a step toward the door, then stopped with a frown.

“What is it?” Darvin asked, but she ignored him.

Amelia brought her bracelet up and accepted the communication. She placed the device close to her ear, then let the person on the other end talk for nearly a minute before she replied, “I understand. Thanks for the information. Have them keep an eye on him, but do not engage. If he makes any moves, have them report to you immediately, then report to me or another council member. I will be away from my post for some time. I will get you in contact with someone else. Please stand by.”

The woman then ended the communication and turned back around to look at Darvin and Holcom.

“That sounded important,” Holcom said as he floated over to the couch and took a seat.

“It seems that Jace Whitaker has made an appearance,” Amelia said.

“Oh?” Darvin’s eyebrows raised. “Did the madman do something? Or has he only just arrived?”

“The soldier did not have much to report,” Amelia replied. “Apparently, a bald man with red irises, wearing leather armor, arrived from outside the protection circle, and he looked bedraggled. Once inside, he set up a tent and entered it. When one of our soldiers confronted him, Jace threatened the soldier with death if he disturbed his sleep. Just a small amount of his aura was enough to send the soldier and others into a panic.”

“That definitely sounds like Jace. I don’t believe anyone else would act in such a brazen manner around soldiers like that,” Darvin said. “Was there anything else?”

“Yes,” Amelia replied. “Something… strange.”

“What was it?”

“Well… the array that Jace ventured into was the one that Wri left from after arriving there through teleportation not long before he was killed,” Amelia said. “That… paired with Jace’s current state… well, it leaves many questions.”

“Surely you jest,” Holcom said. “You believe that human of Kelvin’s could defeat one of our system-chosen Champions and probably a battalion along with them? He probably just had a run-in with some native or a monster and barely escaped. He has never looked like much based on the couple of times I saw him.”

“Uh…” Darvin muttered, and everyone looked his way. “About that…”

“What? Do you know something we don’t?” Holcom asked.

“Well… the system allowed me to look at and modify parts of the list before the requests were sent out,” Darvin explained.

“So? What of it?”

“Well… Jace was on the initial list,” Darvin finally said after staying quiet for a moment. “In fact… we have two Champions who were not on the initial list.”

“And you’re only telling us this now?” Holcom looked irate because of his fellow Malaxi. “This is important information that we should all know!” The man sighed. “Who was the other one on the list?”

“I do not know the other person. I had never heard of them,” Darvin said with a shrug.

“Wait…” Amelia said from the side. “Where was Jace on the list? We know that, most likely, the list is in order of strength based on what the system perceives.”

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“He… was fourth,” Darvin said. “But that is one of the reasons why I am still unsure of his strength. Briya was a couple of spots lower when I initially looked at it, but after changing, and once everyone accepted the requests, the list was different. So, I may have only gotten a list that wasn’t actually updated.”

“Hmm…” Holcom rubbed his chin in thought. “Perhaps the list changed based on how everyone would compare with the Guardians from the other system once they were chosen? Cuthos, Awery, and Wri are all close-range fighters with abnormally high defenses, yet they are all at the bottom of the list if you do not count Kelvin or Trischa.” He looked over to Trischa, who was sitting quietly on the other side of the couch, and said, “No offense.”

“None taken,” the woman said. “I am a support class. I wouldn’t last five minutes against any one of them in a one-on-one situation. I know my worth.”

“And obviously, Kelvin and Trischa were the two modifications you made, correct?” Holcom asked.

“That is correct,” Darvin replied.

“Not to mention the fact that two of them have already been defeated,” Holcom sighed. Then he chuckled.

“What’s so funny?” Darvin asked.

“Kelvin was already furious that he was at the bottom of the list,” Holcom said. “Wait until he finds out that some random person was actually supposed to be there instead.” The Malaxi shook his head. “But back to the point… Jace was on the list, and he was ranked highly by our system?”

“Yes,” Darvin said.

“And we know that he is on this continent now, but we don’t know if he was on it when we first arrived, because we have all already received one teleportation based on time here…” Holcom continued, thinking out loud. “No… He was definitely here… Actually…” Holcom nearly facepalmed, then brought his communication device up and sent someone a message. Moments later, his bracelet buzzed, and Holcom snorted. “Bald man, dual-wielding blades…” he shook his head. “Jace is the person who captured this Stronghold and defeated the two Guardians.”

“That…” Darvin took in a deep breath.

“My soldier was waiting to give me the report,” Holcom said. “He’s been interviewing witnesses to the battle since we arrived here a few hours ago. All information has been voluntary since we cannot interrogate any citizens of the captured Stronghold. If not for the communication boosters, we would have known about Jace earlier…”

“A couple of hours probably wouldn’t have made a difference,” Darvin said.

“No, it very well could have,” Holcom said. “Those couple of hours reprogramming the boosters and ignoring the soldiers could have made the difference between Wri being dead or alive. You may have been able to get in touch with Jace or—”

“Wait,” Darvin said. “So you do believe that Jace is the one who killed Wri?”

“Knowing what I know now, of course he’s the one who killed Wri!” Holcom shouted. “And you may have been able to stop it by contacting Jace or having someone else contact him if he wasn’t in range. Or, if you had not been so dumb as to hide information from us, Wri wouldn’t have provoked someone who was higher on the list than he was.”

“You think Wri provoked Jace?” Darvin asked. Then he frowned and nodded.

“Yes,” Holcom answered, even though it seemed that Darvin had already come to the same conclusion. “Wri and Kelvin do not get along at all. Of course, Wri provoked someone under Kelvin’s command.” Holcom sighed, then relaxed. “It’s all making so much more sense now.”

“What should we do about Jace?” Trischa asked. “Killing one of our own…”

“Let him be,” Holcom said. “It’s obvious what he’s doing. There is only one reason that he would be going in that direction.”

“It’s where the other two Guardians are… and another Stronghold,” Darvin said.

“Exactly,” Holcom replied. “So, either that maniac gets himself killed, or he takes out more Guardians and a Stronghold. Or… better yet… he does both!”

“We…” Amelia started and frowned. “Trischa and I should go help him in the attack.”

“No!” Darvin commanded. “You will go take out The Queen, and Trischa will stay here—guarded—until she is needed.”

“But…” Amelia stared daggers at Darvin and clenched her fist. For a moment, the room felt heavy, then she sighed. “Fine… I’m off.” Without another word, Amelia turned around and left the room.

“What now?” Holcom asked, but Darvin was already pounding away at his communication device.

Finally, Darvin looked up. “We’re sending the boosters out. I need to get in contact with Jace.”

***

Amelia was not happy with Darvin. She considered him a friend, and they were quite close, but the man wasn’t thinking clearly—he was viewing the invasion like a game that there was no way he could lose. Amelia knew better. There was almost no way that they could have such a massive advantage.

Also, she was almost certain that The Ascending Monarch was Derek Hunt. The battle that Awery had was over way too quickly. She had sparred with the centaur on multiple occasions before, and he was strong, and his defenses were solid. She knew that if they both fought a life-or-death battle, she wouldn’t have any problem defeating him, but she wouldn’t have been able to do so as quickly as The Ascending Monarch had.

In Amelia’s opinion, they had already messed up. Once Trischa was found, she and Amelia should have gone on the offensive. They should have already attacked the other Stronghold. And now that she’d just learned all the information about Jace, she was furious.

No, she wasn’t furious at Jace, but at Darvin. Amelia didn’t like agreeing with the arrogant Holcom, but he was completely correct. Not giving them all the information was a huge mistake. Then, to top it all off, they had such a strong potential ally in Jace, yet Darvin didn’t want them to help him.

Taking over another Stronghold and defeating one or two more Guardians would be big. The Queen could wait. The pull toward her hadn’t moved an inch since they arrived, and she was definitely alone. It wasn’t like the weakest Guardian could escape. And there were scouts who could set the boosters up—having Amelia do so was a complete waste of her time.

If Darvin didn’t get his head on straight, Amelia was going to have to do something. She didn’t want to command all the Champions, but she could, and she would. While thinking all this, Amelia finally made it to the Stronghold’s gate and walked out. She would plant the boosters, and she would take care of The Queen. She would do so quickly, so she could get back and try to talk some sense into Darvin. Maybe I should just beat some sense into him, she thought as she closed her eyes and sensed the pull to The Queen.

That way, she thought. Amelia cracked her neck and knuckles, then oriented her body towards the pull. Next, she took a deep breath in. Finally, she concentrated. The sand, rocks, and anything not attached to the ground began to rise. After a second, even parts of the ground broke free and rose up. Finally, Amelia herself rose into the air. Moments later, she exploded towards the direction of The Queen—leaving nothing but dust and a sky-splitting boom in her wake.