67 Those Lef (1/2)
Sensing my discomfort, Torix grinned with evil on his lips…at least to me it was evil.
“Does the prospect of giving a speech seem so bad?”
I rolled my eyes, “It’s not something I’m used to. I’d rather fight giant monsters. I’m more in my element there.”
Torix turned and walked towards the command center of the steel legion. I followed beside him as he entered lecture mode,
“That is precisely why we’re doing it. The other unique skill I can show you is called Words of Power. You’ve felt it before from Elijah...” Torix coughed into his hand like he was embarrassed, “And, myself as well. It’s a useful power, especially whenever working in the galaxy. Most fighting types won’t even notice you using it.”
I tapped the edges of my armor, “I’m more of a do it myself kind of guy.”
Torix nodded, “One cannot fight against the might of many. It’s a fun idea, but it doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. You need to learn how to speak with others. Especially in the galactic environment. This is actually the perfect opportunity for a history lesson.”
We passed by a pile of bones crushed against the brick wall of a suburban basement. We both ignored it, such a sight being normal by now.
“Earth will become more and more integrated as time passes. People will select their builds and use the strength of Schema to achieve unimaginable feats. Your species will survive without Yawm destroying them. Over time, the dungeons will become training grounds, and the strongest will rise and rule. Governments will form as fragmented factions.”
He spread out his arms, “Wars will come between these factions. Once those wars settle and nations reform, the charisma builds will rise. One charisma build can convince an entire nation of his correctness. They can form cults, mold nations, and lead entire races. A warrior, no matter how strong, cannot match that level of influence.”
He lowered his hands, glancing at me as we walked, “In order to compete in that arena, you will need general competence with your wording and with leadership. The other two unique skills will give you just that.”
He turned forward, “In fact, that’s why charisma is fed by both chains of stats. Within Schema’s system, very few people were willing to invest into charisma. It’s easy to understand the value of strength. Swing harder and faster to crush a monster’s skull. Charisma? That’s a far more intangible attribute with less obvious benefits. Once someone’s gained too much of an edge over you in the attribute, you become their puppet.”
I shivered as a chill crawled up my spine. I shook my head, “Damn. You could have done that to me when we first met then.”
He nodded, “Indeed I could have. I could also summon monsters stronger than you, so I didn’t see the point in having a mindless puppet. Regardless, Schema rebalanced the system so that each chain of stats fed into Charisma after the problem came to its apex. They call it the Great Equilibrium. It was an interesting time, to say the least.”
We reached the steel legions outpost, quality, gray tents bracing against the wind. Almost everyone slept, besides for a few guards and supply men. They kept the camp lit during night using tesla coils contained in glass. Electricity would spark from them in every direction, giving everything a whitish hue. The coils had the advantage of being working defense turrets as well.
Most of the camp was set up within a few empty lots that were side by side. A few of the surrounding buildings were commandeered for use, however. One of those buildings was an old, three story tall bank. This was where the administrative center, armory, and the bombs were located. The bank vault was where the majority of that was held, being one of the few secure areas that wasn’t a dungeon.
We walked through two clear glass doors, passing two guards who gave Torix a salute. He held up a palm to them, letting them relax before we stepped towards a receptionist. It was human girl, almost dressed like someone normal. It was a blast from the past, coming with an ensuing wave of nostalgia.
She smiled at us, though the hairs on her neck stood on end,
“Hello. What can I help you with today?”
Torix answered, “I need to speak with corporal Briggs.”
“Of course, sir. This way.”
She walked off, maybe a bit faster than she should. We walked with her, making her fast pace seem needed. Both Torix and I were taller than her, so her strides had to keep quick or else she’d fall behind. At the rapid pace, we passed two hallways before reaching the vault doors.
The receptionist signaled for the door to open, but I stepped in front of the door,
“Yeah, that won’t be necessary.”
A giant beam of steel had been the lock for the door. I walked over and pulled, unlatching the mechanism. A few hydraulics pieces shifted before I grabbed the vault door and opened it. With a bit of weight to my pull, the door swung with a reasonable effort. It was like opening one of those heavy doors you almost faceplant, mainly because you didn’t know it was going to be heavy.
I did know though, so once the vault doors opened, rows of deposit boxes covered the walls. Steel reinforced the concrete walls, and a machine was placed in the back that looked like a dehumidifier. It probably gave the room fresh air and oxygen, working like a rebreather you see on tv.
There were several desks, along with quite a few valuables. Most of it was sensitive looking tech, the kind that wouldn’t be easy to replace. Besides for that, there were strange looking minerals, stones, and gems placed around. Some of them glowed, others absorbed light. A few were contained in capsules of glass, holding in storms of lightning.
Torix ignored all that and walked right up to a desk near the back. A blue man with hair like tentacles sat over a desk. He looked exhausted, just worn out beyond measure. Bags under his eyes, dark circles, and his face nearly on his desk, he looked like the hunchback of Notre Dame.
Unlike that hunchback, the hump on his back was muscle, and rippled as he moved his enormous hands to write on the paper. It looked out of place, like it shouldn’t be. Fingers of that size were meant for violence, not something so precise. There they etched in elegant handwriting on the papers.
He kept writing while glancing up. Once he saw Torix, he set the pen down and stood. With purposeful steps, he reached us and gave a quick salute,
“Good to see you sir. What is it that you need?”
Torix placed a hand on my shoulder,
“Hello Briggs. This is Daniel, my disciple. He needs to learn about the freedom fighters and a few of the surrounding towns. Give him the intel he needs for gaining their allegiance.”
I turned to Torix, my helmet snapping off my face,
“What do you mean gaining their allegiance? The fuck?”
Ignoring my refusal completely, Briggs set off towards his desk and rummaged for papers. As he did so, Torix grinned,
“Well there are three things for the words of power skill that you need. First, the persuasion skill. Second, the debate skill. Third, you you’ll need to use those skills along with speech craft, listening, and intimidation all at once. Can you name a better method than by getting us allies along the way?”
I glanced between Briggs and Torix, “Can I just…I don’t know. Threaten them?”
Torix shrugged, enjoying my squirming, “We’ll keep going through these different kinds of tasks until you get the words of power skill.”
I sighed, putting my hands on my hips. I took a step away from Torix, turning and walking in a slow circle. I reached back to him and lowered my hands,
“Man…fuck. Alright, I’ll do it.”
Torix nodded, “As I knew you would.”
Briggs had several disks in his hand, each them looking like cd’s with pulsing green lines on them. He reached me and held out four them, each held between his fingers. I grabbed them,
“What are these for?”
Briggs stood up straight into a salute, “They are disks of monolith. They’re storage devices supplied by Schema. You can absorb them into your obelisk, sir.”
The obelisk raised from my hand, the glass sphere reflecting the florescent lights. The band of gray steel at its center shined a bit too. I’d always wondered where the fuck stuff went whenever it sunk into my armor. Even with such precise handling of it, I still didn’t quite know.
That didn’t stop me from using it. Whenever I placed a disk onto the obelisk, the green lines drained into it. After doing this with each of the disks, the band at the middle of the obelisk shined green. It drained over the next few seconds. Once it emptied, a notification appeared in the corner of my screen.
Download Complete.
Simply and very effective, I grinned at Briggs, “Thanks man. Good to see there some steel legion members who know how to get stuff done.”
Briggs stuck out his chest some and scratched his nose, “I do take pride in my work after all.”
Torix nodded, “Indeed he does.”
Briggs exhaustion seemed to wane with our words, like he just needed a bit support to shine. He glanced at Torix,
“I was wondering sir, why are you asking uhm…Daniel to do this?”
Torix raised a finger, “Excellent question. He is, in fact, a human.”
Briggs shook his head before refocusing on Torix,
“Daniel is in the unique position of being a figure head for them. It wouldn’t be a stretch of the imagination to say he’s the strongest human alive, or at the very least one of them. That means he can act as a bridge between the steel legion and the other human parties.”
My head raised, “Ahhhhhhhh. I get it. I’m not a member of the steel legion, so they won’t look at me as a traitor. I can just say the legion are a necessary evil to fight off the big bad Yawm.”
Torix nodded, “Something akin to that. You’ll be able to leverage your title of rift closer and your unknown status I’m sure. Get them to accept the steel legion’s help. Draft up a compromise. Something.”