An awkward moment followed the capture of Julius, and Aaron glanced across to his comrades. “Talia?” He said, catching her gaze. “...I think you can drop the sword.”

  She hesitated a moment, and then nodded and lowered her scepter, and the avatar shadowed her. Zero picked up on Aaron’s demeanour without a word and calmly walked over to nestle his nose in Aaron’s palm.

  Exhaling, patted the man on his shoulder, trying to make sense of it all. “Mate, what happened?”

  “It’s… it did something to me,” Julius said, sounding lost for words as he rested on his knees. “My mind was a fog. It’s strange, so strange. “I felt like I was in control. Like it was me the entire time. But this fog. The moment it was lifted, everything was different. Like the world around me had been distorted. How could I not see it? It’s all so obvious now.”

  “Slow down, mate. Take a moment and gather your thoughts.”

  Julius nodded and swallowed. Aaron offered him a hand and pulled him to his feet.

  “Hold your thoughts. Let’s go somewhere a little more comfortable.”

  Leaving the vault behind, they headed back to the elevator. Aaron had plenty of questions to ask, but the man was clearly rattled and needed time to process, and it made no sense to interrogate him down here. After all, he didn’t really blame Julius. The mind-controlling powers were strong. He had felt them himself, and he had fought off similarly powerful effects before. And could only imagine how hard it would be for someone unprepared.

  But as they were leaving, Aaron noticed a little black marble on the ground and collected it.

  Drained Void Core [ Epic ]

  This was once a void core capable of storing and expelling huge amounts of void energy. Drained of its power, a small remnant of energy remains deep within.

  “Huh..”

  Aaron rolled the marble between his fingers. He could sense the tiny amount of power within. It was nothing like the void he had felt before, but the thing was likely still dangerous and not to be left lying around. He didn’t know if he actually wanted to keep it himself, even if he could purify it, but he threw it in his scabbard for safekeeping. Better in there than falling into the wrong hands, he figured.

  Once down, they went upstairs and made their way to a private room. Julius’ guards were concerned when they saw his state, but he waved them off and told them to leave him, and they reluctantly obeyed.

  Lying on his bed, Julius sipped healing potions and gathered his words. “It all started back in the Tutorial. A dungeon, to be precise. At the end of it, I was given a choice for a reward. Power or wealth. Considering the circumstances, I figured that power was an easy choice. But the damn thing tricked me, and I was given an inhabited void core. Not that I knew what it was at the time.”

  What a strange dungeon reward, Aaron thought. It was a good bit of information to learn. If dungeons could deceive people like that, caution when looting rewards was likely worth keeping in mind.

  “At the time,” Julius continued. “It seemed like a blessing. My energy was so much greater when using the void. I could hold the core in my hand and draw on it to use Skills instead of mana. But soon it started to grow. Getting larger every time I killed something in the Tutorial. And soon, it turned into that cloud of void you saw, and Maverick began to talk to me. He offered me all kinds of things in return for my help feeding him souls.”

  “Right, you mentioned souls before,” Aaron said.

  “Yes. Beast souls. I had people bring them to me alive for special rewards. It wasn’t easy, and I’m ashamed to say that people lost their lives trying to capture beasts alive. Damn that bastard!” Julius suddenly spat, rage filling him and his hands shaking.

  “Easy. He’s dead now.”

  “What do we do?” Talia crossed her arms. “We can’t exactly blame him for what Maverick did, or even just for being deceived, but I don’t really think we can trust him yet.”

  Aaron agreed about not trusting him, but he also didn’t quite distrust Julius either. Aaron had a better understanding of how the void worked than most, and it was clear that Julius deeply regretted what he had done. The fact that he had immediately thought of the people who died trying to bring him live monsters spoke volumes of his character. He couldn’t really just give in and let him have the leader position, but his Class and Profession were too useful to completely oust him. And he didn’t feel like Julius really deserved such a severe punishment.

  “Yeah, I was thinking the same,” he said, scratching his chin. “What about you? What do you think we do, Julius?”

  Julius’ expression shifted to shock.

  “Me? After everything I’ve done? I don’t deserve anything. I will accept whatever punishment you give me. I deserve death for bringing that thing here.”

  “Whoa! Mate, we’re not going to kill you. Chill. There’s no way we’re going to punish you for being mind-controlled, Jules. Now, please. Relax a little. Maverick was the monster. Not you. Now, let me ask you again. What would you do in my shoes?”

  “Why are you asking me?” Julius said, face in his hands. “I’m a failure of a leader.”

  “Look around, mate. You’ve got a whole following. And from the sounds of it, you have always had. Even before the void, right? I need help, not a pity party. Seriously, look at me. Sure, I’ve saved a few stragglers, but I’m far from being a leader of any kind. And Talia,” Aaron said, glancing back at her.

  Talia threw up her hands and shook her head. “I’m not much better, honestly. They just follow me because I keep them safe.”

  “See. This isn’t our game. Talia’s people rally around her because she’s strong; that’s it. We’re fighters. Not leaders. So, please, what would you do, Jules? Talk to me. Help me out, mate.”

  “...I would… I would keep it under wraps at first. Make sure no one realizes anything has gone wrong. Take the prisoner behind closed doors and have a serious discussion until things are settled. Then, I’d have the group present a united front and make a public announcement talking about the resolution of the obelisk issue without letting on that anything strange had happened. The people might be confused by the outcome, but that’s better than the fear or outrage that they would feel if they knew the whole truth.”

  “Brilliant. You’re not my prisoner, though. However, you are a pretty good leader, see?” Aaron said. “Alright, let’s do it!”

  “Do it?” Julius looked up, and Aaron just smiled.

  The trio made their way to the foyer, where the obelisk was. Julius assured his people that he was alright, then ordered them to clear out and to make a perimeter and lock all doors so they wouldn’t be interrupted. Before they got to any real discussion, though, Julius verbally revoked his claim on the obelisk. With no competing claims, all Talia had to do was confirm her own claim to receive ownership. Aaron thought that this part would have waited, but Julius seemed intent on revoking his claim, and with no one else around, Talia was really the only option.

  “So, what are you waiting for, Talia? It’s right there,” Aaron said.

  “Maybe you should do it?” Talia said, hand hovering over the obelisk.

  “Me? Why the hell would I do it?”

  “I’ve been thinking,” she said. “With everything that’s happened. There’s a tension in the camp. Even if Julius tells his people to go along with it all, they’ll be pretty unsure. The two groups don’t really get along that well yet.”

  “Okay? I’m still not sure how my taking control of the thing helps any of that?”

  “Settlements have roles, don’t they?” She said, turning to Julius.

  “Roles? Yes, I believe so. That’s what the inspection window said. But I haven’t claimed it, so I can’t say for certain what they do. I haven’t seen the obelisk’s control menu, after all.”

  “What are you getting at, Talia?” Aaron said, missing whatever was going on between them.

  “Well,” Talia said. “The inspection window says here that the owner of the obelisk has ultimate power over it, including the ability to delegate roles.”

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “And?”

  “Well, the leader doesn’t have to be like an actual leader from the sounds of it. More like a figurehead with veto power. Sounds almost like modern royalty, or how presidential figures work in some countries.”

  “Oookay. You’re going to have to explain a little better than that. What are you getting at, Talia?”

  “I’m saying that perhaps the owner of the obelisk should be someone we can all trust with veto power. And Julius and I have a history… And more importantly, there are all our followers to worry about. Even if we do it all peacefully and have Julius publicly declare his intent to concede, that’s not really going to help resolve the tension and bad feelings.”

  “Wait, wait, wait! How am I meant to fix any of that?”

  “You and me, we’re not leaders, right? You said so yourself. But if you had veto power, we could put Julius where he belongs. Leading this place. I’d be happy with that, since you would have veto power, and I’m sure my people would be fine with it too. And that way, Julius’ people wouldn’t have to worry about me taking control. You’re the closest thing to a neutral party here, and you’re the strongest. Maybe they won’t be happy that their preferred leader didn’t get the role, but it won’t make the divide any wider, and we still get the benefits of Julius’ abilities.”

  “Julius?”

  “I… uh… I don’t deserve this. But I’ll do whatever you want me to. I owe you that much.”

  Aaron furrowed his brow, still uncertain of the logic behind the proposal.

  “Think about it, Aaron,” Talia continued. “It’s not just about keeping the peace. You’re the strongest person here, and that’s while underleveled. In a few months, the gap between us is likely to widen even further. No one will mess with you. Heck, most people won’t even dare to mess with the settlement if they know you’re attached to it. Just having your name plastered on the thing is likely to give us security. Just be a figurehead. Maybe settle arguments between us if they arise. That kind of thing.”

  “You’re the highest ranker out of us,” Aaron countered.

  “Come on.” Talia rolled her eyes. “Don’t blow smoke up my ass. We all know it won’t stay like that forever. You’re probably the strongest person on our world, and anyone who doesn’t realize that yet, soon will.”

  Aaron looked across at Julius.

  “I’m not complaining. You did beat Maverick, after all. I might have been in a daze, but I could feel his power. To be honest, I didn’t think an E-grade beating him was even possible.”

  “Fine,” Aaron exhaled in defeat. “I suppose I can be the damn leader. But don’t make me regret this!”

  Walking up to the obelisk, he pressed his hand against its surface and waited. He had missed the original window to claim it, so he couldn’t challenge for ownership as per normal, but a moment later, Talia relinquished her claim, and the option to claim it appeared. Aaron accepted, and as the original challenge window had expired, he was immediately made the owner of the obelisk.

  A sprawling menu appeared before his eyes in an instant, with far more options than he had been expecting.

  “Bloody hell,” he groaned, trying to make sense of it all.

  There were pages upon pages of options. There was even a map mode that showed the extents of their system-recognized territory, with a few labels dotted upon it.

  Quest Received: Slay the Encroaching Beast Lords

  Three beast lords encroach on your new territory; slay them to secure your land.

  0/3 Completed

  Rewards: Increased System Controlled Territory

  Great, a Quest! So much for getting my bearings! They’re already throwing things at me, he shook his head and swiped away the quest for now. Having a goal was nice, but it could’ve waited.

  “Something wrong?” Talia asked.

  “No, just a quest. I’ll deal with it later. First, let’s figure out these roles, so I don’t have to deal with this anymore.”

  “Okay, ready when you are,” she said.

  He scrolled down the list of roles. At the moment, everything was available. Just as Talia had expected, there were multiple roles to divide management responsibilities between. Aaron was granted the owner role, which wasn’t a normal role that could be granted through the menu, like the others. Although it did come with perks, just as the erst of roles did.

  Let’s see here…

  Available Roles:

  Owner: This default owner role allows the user to provide other roles and lock roles, preventing mayors and other leadership roles from changing selected user roles. An owner may also claim plots and build buildings.

  Mayor: The mayor takes on the senior role, managing the overarching governance of a settlement. With this role, the user can distribute other roles, and may claim plots, place System buildings, and allocate managers for them. They can also provide all kinds of quests.

  Builder: The builder role allows users to place System buildings and allocate resources for their construction.

  Guard Captain: The guard captain role allows the user to promote other guards. All users with the guard role can operate buildings with the defense tag. They can also provide combat and defense-related quests.

  Store Manager: The store manager role allows the user to operate the store building and allocate resources where needed. They can also provide quests related to resource gathering.

  The list went on and on with all kinds of roles granting different things related to settlement management. But Aaron didn’t care for all the details. This was already beyond what he had agreed to.

  “What have you gotten me into, Talia?”

  Aaron quickly read over the details of the roles that sounded to be the most senior ones for them to hear.

  “Sounds like Mayor is the most senior role. Are we giving this to Julius, then?”

  “Yes, sounds good to me,” Talia said. “From the sounds of it, the mayor will put Julius in a position of hierarchy over everybody besides you.”

  “Are you sure?” Julius said. “After everything…”

  “Mate, enough of that. Please. It’s starting to annoy me,” Aaron said.

  Julius glanced between the two and nodded.

  “Good,” Talia said. “This way, we’ll still get your leadership boons; that’s not something we can waste. And if I understand correctly, your Class will gain experience passively just for being the mayor, right?”

  “Correct,” Julius nodded. “I’ve always received experience for being a leader. I’m sure this will work the same. It is the very reason I am at a higher level than all my followers, despite the fact that many of them have hunted considerably more beasts than I have.”

  “Well, it’s settled then,” Aaron said and made Julius the mayor. “What about you, Talia?”

  “I’ll take the guard captain role if everyone is okay with it.”

  “Done,” Aaron said, not waiting for anybody else to respond.

  “I’m surprised this moved along as smoothly as it has,” Julius said. “I really can’t thank you enough.”

  “Just do a good job, okay?”

  Julius nodded again.

  “Besides, we’re only just getting started,” Aaron said. “We’re sure to have plenty of hurdles.”

  “By the way, Aaron,” Julius said. “Let me get my people to set you up with a room. You can have a presidential suite. All yours. I’ll make sure you get everything you need.”

  “No, keep it. I’m good. I already spotted a piece of land I want.”

  “Are you sure? They are quite luxurious, even after the damage done to them by the Integration. And now that we have the obelisk claimed, I’m sure our people can get all the building’s systems functioning again. You know, plumbing, power, and such. I’ll even get the lights going. We can use it as a beacon to gather more survivors!”

  “Power?” Aaron raised a brow. He hadn’t expected that.

  “Yes, we can buy mana cores from the System Store for System Credits. We’ll have this place up and running in no time.”

  “That’s amazing. But no thanks. I’m good. I’ve got plans in mind.”

  “Suit yourself. But let me know if you change your mind.”

  “Will do. And you, you good, Talia?”

  “Yes, this turned out perfectly,” Talia beamed.

  “Yeah, not bad,” Aaron said. “Take a moment, everyone. Gather yourselves and rest. In the morning, we’ll call the people and make an announcement.”

  Morning came, and Julius called his people, sending out runners to gather people from all around the fledgling settlement, and herd them to the courtyard in front of the Bellagio.

  As a crowd formed, Aaron and Talia stood beside Julius. He still looked pale and less certain than he had previously, but nonetheless, he did his duty, passing a short nod to Talia and Aaron as he stepped up to a podium to address his people.

  “Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I’m sure you all have places to be this morning and work that needs doing. And so I’ll keep this as brief as I can. But this is important. I want you all to know that I willingly gave ownership of the obelisk to Aaron here.”

  Gasps filled the crowd, but silenced as he raised a hand.

  “Calm yourselves. Aaron, here is an incredible man. None other performed as well in the Shadow Trials as he did. And he might just be the strongest person on our world. Owning this settlement adds a great deal of security for us. But those are only the supplementary benefits.

  “The real benefit to ceding the ownership of the obelisk to Aaron is unity. Before, there was tension in the settlement. Talia and I were competing for ownership, and the people were divided as well. This world is far too dangerous for us to be working against each other like that when we haven’t even fortified the settlement yet.

  “Despite his role as the owner, Aaron will not be making the day-to-day decisions. He has left that role to me and has given me the title of Mayor. I will be continuing in the same role I have been, taking charge of the settlement’s fortifications and day-to-day business.”

  The crowd brightened at that news, and a few cheered and whistled.

  “Talia, meanwhile, will be taking the role of Guard Captain. She will be using her prodigious skill to keep the settlement safe from harm. This arrangement plays to both our strengths, and with Aaron at the helm, we will be able to focus on our roles without worrying about either side overstepping.

  “Together, we can build something truly amazing here. Through compromise, our people can come together, and that is what will truly make us strong. Together, we can keep our people safe and work as one. So please, all of you, celebrate this day, as we have taken one massive stride forward!”

  The crowd hesitated for a moment, and then cheers broke out. It seemed nobody wanted conflict, and with both leaders working together, peace seemed achievable. It was obvious this was the best of both worlds. Strong leadership and strong defenders.

  With his speech concluded, the crowd gradually began to clear out. There were plenty who still wanted to celebrate the day, but the settlement wouldn’t build itself, and there was no shortage of jobs that needed doing.

  Aaron said his goodbyes and made his exit. It was time to gather up his people and settle the little plot he wanted. Then, he could deal with the Quest and other pending issues they had to worry about. He also had a Skill purchase waiting for him.

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