Almost as soon as they arrived Maximilian could tell something was wrong. It wasn't the same part of himself that warned of danger so he wasn't too worried. For a moment he thought it was the harpies and prepared himself for battle but that wasn't it. The five of them fell somewhere between disappointed and impressed with what they saw. He led them into the settlement proper and had to admit he leaned toward impressed. Nezha had been busy. The settlement had chanced in layout since he had left. It was a series of concentric circles that radiated a smaller group of buildings in the middle. Before he could inquire about it further he heard several shouts in rapid succession. A moment later a trio ran down the street with spears in hand. He glanced back at the harpies but before he could offer an excuses there was another set of shouts.

  "Step away!" The first voice called out.

  "Release her!" Came the second.

  Maximilian didn't bother listening any further. He pushed off from the ground and shot through the air like a bullet. It took him two jumps before he landed on top of a house and could make it what happened. What he saw ruined his good mood. The former leader of Bridgerock had gotten free. Not only that but he had taken one of the other citizens hostage. He had a dagger placed against the woman's throat hard enough to draw blood. From there it didn't take a genius to figure out what happened. Either someone had released the leader or he had a secret that let him get free. It didn't matter. The man was exhausted and hadn't had the chance to absorb spiritual energy. Which meant he wasn't dangerous at least not to him. The hostage was the problem. He ran through several approaches to the problem but none could guarantee that the hostage wouldn't get hurt. As far as he could tell they were less than level three and had no killing intent. He shook his head and resolved himself to try and settle things with words. He stepped off the house and landed a few feet behind the three warriors trying to talk the man down. Now that he had announced himself the conversations died down. People scrambled to move out of the way. Something he convinced himself was out of respect and not fear.

  "Listen let her go." He began. "I imagine you want to get out of here? I can let that happen as long as you let her go and don't try to hurt anyone else." Maximilian glanced at the woman who trembled like a leaf. He considered allowing her to get cut to stop the man and then healing her with a pill. If she were stronger he would try but he didn't think she'd survive long enough for the pill to work. That and he wasn't sure how healing pills would work if your throat was torn open.

  "I am supposed to believe that? If you want to save the bitch than how about you slit your throat?" The man laughed and pressed the blade deeper into her neck. Blood now flowed down her front. Maximilian took a breath to calm himself and made up his mind. There was no way he would do that. He took a step forward and the man tightened his grip. At least the man was insane, he still wanted to get out of this which made the situation not as bad as it could be.

  "We both know that won't happen so let her go. You have to understand you aren't able to force your way out of here. I will grant you use of the teleporter." That made him hesitate. Maximilian was about to continue when he saw someone move about fifteen feet behind the man. It was one of the earlier bandits only he looked much better than before and he wielded some sort of staff weapon. Maximilian realized what the man wanted and decided to play along. Maximilian walked to his right which forced the kidnapper to move into the path of the other warrior. "I am willing to let you survive this but you are testing my patience." Maximilian continued. He did his best to project an aura of command and intimidation. He wasn't sure if he would kill the man if it came to it and he hoped he wouldn't have to. Fortunately for him the man didn't look behind him. Not until he was hit over the head. Maximilian grimaced at the sound his head made when he was hit with the staff.

  The man crumbled, the woman ran to someone in the crowd and Maximilian walked up to him. He confirmed the man was still alive which was good. "Good work. I am afraid I don't know your name." Maximilian said as he looked at the staff user.

  "Joshua, Joshua Graham. Consider it a thank you for not killing me and the others."

  Now that he had taken the time to look at the man he noted he was frail looking. Like he had eaten in days though it was an appearance issue. He had spiritual energy and a decent amount of it from what Maximilian could tell. The man was almost a foot shorter than him at around 5'6 with short black hair that was in need of a cut. He wore cultivator clothes over top what looked like a prison uniform. Maximilian's eyes narrowed as he considered what to do. On one hand he wanted to ignore the man's past. After all the world had ended did anything else matte? Only he knew it did. If he went to jail for something he didn't care about than that was one thing. If he was something else...Joshua must've seen something in his eyes because the man sighed and then stood up straight. Before he could offer any words in his defense several gasps and hushed whisper's filled the air. Based on the look of shock on the man's face Maximilian figured what had happened.

  He turned around in time to see the five harpies land a few feet behind him. The five looked like a squad of elite soldiers when compared to the civilians around them. Maximilian smiled and pushed a bit of spiritual energy into his vocal cords. "Greetings everyone. It appears that I have returned at the right moment. I would like to introduce an envoy from a nearby nest of harpies. They are here to collect a skill from the library." He paused as he realized he hadn't given them permission to learn the same skill. He was about to call for Nezha when the construct appeared with Kim and Mama June right behind. "Perfect. I am going to open the library to the citizens of Nubia. Please make sure that everyone has access to the skill slip. I will be taking our visitors to learn the skill and then several more will appear."

  Maximilian discussed a few more details with Nezha before he gestured for the harpies to follow. He felt a bit like a fantasy movie protagonist as the powerful looking group stepped up around him. He could tell that they weren't there to defend him if anything he was the one stopping them. He wasn't sure why but there was a passive sense of danger coming off of the group. It wasn't directed at anyone in particular. It wasn't until they were headed down the stairs to the library that he decided to question them about it.

  "You should've killed the foolish one. Why would you allow someone that openly questions your authority to seek shelter within it?" Volaene the harpy replied.

  He was about to argue with her but decided not to. He understood where she was going with her comment and to some degree it made sense. He wasn't letting him live in Nubia, more like imprisoning him but it was somewhat the same. He wanted to give her an answer but he couldn't at least not one that didn't sound weak even to him. He wanted to be a hero in this world but he also wasn't sure what that would mean. What would be the difference between being a tyrant and hero? He could've killed that man easily enough. He could've justified it to himself without issue. By the time he had led the group to the skill slip he was no closer to answer so he decided not to think about any longer. He would find the answer by living. He waited for the first two groups to finish before he decided to do some reading. He had planned to leave but his gut told him that wouldn't be wise. Not while the harpies were here and everyone was on edge. He spent an hour perusing the books and learned quite a bit about the multiverse. He had found an account of a cultivator from long ago. A person who had started off in the Graceful Swan Sect.

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  At the time the sect was rank 3, which meant their strongest cultivator was in the third realm or what the writer called "Revolving Core". The writer didn't explain what that was, so he was out of luck. Not that it was important now. Just knowing what was waiting for him was enough to make him feel better. The brief parts he could read doused his desire to join a sect or really any faction. The writer made it seem less like a community and more like a byzantine labyrinth of political backstabbing. Which was oddly normal. He was forced to put the slip away when the final harpy left. He decided to splurge on his new prisoner now that they were gone. He purchased a mother-daughter array. One that would not only drain your spiritual energy but used that same energy to reinforce itself. The array was strong enough to hold him which should be more than enough to keep the former leader of Bridgerock steady. Until he could decide what to do with him. That was something they would deal with after he found his mother and father. He left the rest of his credits with Nezha in case before he headed back through the teleporter. After a brief stop with harpy matriarch Maximilian was once again speeding through the forest. He replayed the recent events as he ran and tried to come out with what he had done wrong. He still didn't regret his decisions, but he could tell that he had bought himself time. There would come a time where he had to kill people. Order was gone, the social contract was gone and there was no one in that seat. With the proverbial throne empty people would take the chance to live out their fantasies. Even his own desire to be a hero was that. He wasn't willing to delude himself that he was better than everyone else. He considered himself an amateur student of history. Yet, it was enough to know that everyone thought what they were doing was for the best.

  He allowed his mind to reflect on his worries for several hours until the sun had started to set. He didn't want to risk stumbling across a monster in the middle of night. Especially since he would have to release his Dao to see. He traveled for another ten minutes until he came across a thick enough tree. He leaped into its canopy and braced his back against the trunk. He glanced down at the forest floor and smiled. He was never a fan of high places before but knowing that he would survive the fall did wonders for that fear. He summoned a pair of spirit stones and started his cultivation technique. He slipped into meditation as spiritual energy poured into him. He watched his Dantian fill with energy in rapt fascination. He still couldn't wrap his head around it. Part of him still expected to wake up. That he would find it all an elaborate dream.

  He didn't move until he felt the warmth of sun on his skin. The sounds of the forest were the next. He opened his eyes and stared at the forest floor. He hadn't gained a level from the session, but he was close. Very close. He didn't have enough information to compare his growth rate with the rest of the world's. so, he couldn't rest. He wanted to get his class as soon as possible and then level 81. He got to his feet and pushed off into the forest. He stayed in the tree canopy so he could feel the wind through his hair. His locks felt stronger than before. He couldn't help but compare himself to the biblical story of Sampson. Though he doubted his cultivation would disappear if he cut it. He would have to get his mother to redo it when he found her. Maximilian continued his journey through the forest for another four hours before he encountered something else.

  The forest gave way to a city. Or rather pieces of one. He leaped from the forest and through the window of what used to be a hotel. It was surreal to go from the natural environment and into one that was old world. It almost felt like a dream. A dream that was shattered when he saw the blood. It had long sense dried but it told a clear story. Whoever had been here when the Network arrived didn't survive. He walked through the halls and found most of the rooms had been broken into. He was the furthest thing from a hunter or tracker but based on what he could see. Whatever had attacked them was on four legs. The doors looked like they had been blasted open instead pried. Further the hinges were fine in most case. Once he verified that there were no survivors he left through the main door and continued on. The small piece of city was something out of an apocalypse movie. Abandoned cars, phones and other items lay discarded in the street. Most of which were broken.

  He was about to return to the forest when he heard something odd. He turned and bound through the remains of the city before he caught sight of the problem. There were two groups of people standing outside of a wall of settlement. It was now that he figured out where this section of city had come from. It was Philadelphia. At least the portion of that held the liberty bell. His attention was drawn from the settlement to the group of seven cultivators that stood in front of it. He decided to get closer until he could understand what they were saying. When he shook his head. The cultivators were threatening "The Government". He wasn't sure which government it was supposed to be since he didn't see any flags or any other identifiers. It didn't matter. He would stop the chaos and with any luck they might be able to help him find his parents. Even if they couldn't it would be better to have someone trying to reign people in. He did a quick survey of the two groups and was unimpressed. The non-cultivators were fifteen former soldiers with rifles. The cultivators were a mix spell-casters and warriors. The warriors held swords while the three casters were pyromancers from what he could see. Though to call them that was a bit of a stretch.

  They had a small fire ball that floated around them like Static Bolt. He wanted to take some more time to see what they could do but that wasn't possible. He leaped from his building and landed in the middle of the two groups. His arrival caused both sides to level their weapons though neither worried Maximilian. Even without the defenses of his robes he should be fine. "Greetings." His gaze passed over both groups before he held up both his hands. "I am not sure that the issue is between you but I would appreciate if you would lower your weapons. I would prefer." Maximilian was interrupted when a trio of fire bolts shot toward him. Water met fire as his Dao field exploded outward. He had enough command to stop from swamping either side with his water. The fire was harmlessly extinguished but Maximilian had no interest in letting things go further. He couldn't promise the safety of the others. He decided to take a gamble. He unleashed his killing intent for a fraction of a second. The resulting stillness was deafening. When half of both groups dropped to their knees with their hands around their throats he let out a sigh of relief.

  It wasn't enough to kill them. Probably wasn't safe for them either but it was better than what could've happened. It also confirmed that the lack of killing had weakened it. He doubted that would last but it was nice. He gestured toward the cultivators as he focused on the soldiers. "I am not sure if they broke any laws while they were here, but you should be able to arrest them. Don't count the attack a moment ago against them. It was hardly a threat." He flashed the guard closest to him a smile that was meant to disarm the situation. Instead caused the man to stumble back a step. He walked toward the cultivators. The few that had kept their feet were as white as sheets and trembled like a deer in head lights. He had summoned some rope from his bags when a voice stopped. His head whipped around as a woman stepped out of the settlement. Even from the distance he could tell who it was. Her hair was done in thick ropes that hung down her shoulders. She wore a business suit that had seen better days but none of that took away from the look in her eyes. A haze that felt like it could see through your soul.

  "Mother."