"Well, all of the regions in the world were split into sectors by the system. Each sector is ruled by the largest city within it. A Lord is simply a user who claims a sector as his own."
"How does one do that?"
"Uhm, well if the city is filled with demonic beasts, all you have to do is defeat the boss of that sector. If a human Lord occupies it, then all you have to do is perform a Lord challenge or take the life or that Lord yourself. If you are the Lord of at least five sectors then you have a state and you are a State Lord, if you have at least five states then you are a Nation Lord.
Once you reach level 49 you cannot level up until you become a Lord. Once you reach level 74 you cannot level up until you become a State Lord, and once you reach level 99 you cannot level up until you become a Nation Lord.
To become one of the ten Kings or five Emperors you must at least be a Nation Lord. Being a King, an Emperor or a Sovereign provides one with many benefits, although these have not been made public.
However, a Lord's benefits are clear. If you become a Sector Lord then ten percent of all of the experience of those in your domain will become yours. For State Lords, it is 20 percent and for Nation Lords, it is 30 percent."
Will's expression instantly became ugly the moment he heard these words.
"What kind of Lord does this area have?"
"We have a Nation Lord," said Alice, her confused expression becoming even more pronounced.
"Motherfucker, you are saying that every time I make a kill thirty percent of my experience goes to someone else?"
Alice was surprised by Will's sudden outburst and meekly nodded her head.
"Fuck that shit." As Will cussed, he continued to chow down like a maniac.
"There is a way to stop that from happening," Will's eyes shined as he heard Alice speak, "That is to go hunt in an area that is ruled by a demonic beast or to become a Lord yourself. So long as you become a Lord, your tax amount is reduced according to the ranking difference between you and the Lord ruling your area. For example, if you are a Sector Lord and you hunt here you will only have to pay 20 percent exp tax if you are a State Lord you will only have to pay 10 percent tax."
"In other words, I have to become a Lord...sigh." With a burp signifying the end of his meal, Will shook his head in dismay.
Alice looked at Will as if she was looking at an idiot.
'Have to become a Lord? Why does he sound like he can easily do it but he doesn't want to? Does he think it is that easy?'
Alice kept her words in her mouth and kept observing Will's strange behavior. "Alice, which is the largest city nearby?"
Alice tilted her head in thought, "That would be City B30, formerly known as
Miami. Why?"
"Nothing, anyway, do you have any more info to tell me?"
...
As he walked from school, Will pondered on the information Alice had given him. The creators of the system had created an organization called the Information Bank. If one wanted to become a Lord or form a guild, alliance, etc one has to first register with an Information Bank institute or IB nearby. Will wanted to take over Miami, it made sense for him to register with the IB there. Even in a city infested with beasts, an IB was a safe zone, and users would not be attacked in a five-kilometer radius from the IB.
Will went to a shopping mall nearby and bought a smartphone. He then installed an app that told him where every IB in every city was located. Somehow, humanity had been able to link these phones with the map function on your menu, so after fiddling around with the phone with the help of the sales clerk, an arrow with numbers appeared in Will's vision.
The number represented the distance to the IB.
Once he left the mall, Will created a stairway of ice toward the sky and headed straight for his destination. By nightfall, he had arrived at his destination. Even though the IB itself was located far from the City, it was easy to see the damage the demonic beasts had caused. As Will descended to the IB, he sighed in regret.
Cars were left abandoned in the middle of roads; the grass was growing on rooftops, while odd creatures roamed around as if they were in their natural environment. From time to time Will would see users battling creatures, or living in settlements across the city. It was when Will saw the damage done to the city that the idea of the collapse of the world as he knew it dawned on Will.
Democracy had fallen, many lives had been lost, and the future did not look promising, especially if it existed in the hands of a handful of people. In order to keep the promise he had made to Sebastian, Will knew he had to become far more than he was right now.
Will had to travel far above the city to the other side to get to the IB. As Will arrived at his destination, he was shocked, because he expected to see a game like a tavern, but was instead met with a modern skyscraper reaching into the skies like a never-ending staircase. As he landed by the entrance, the flow of different users in an out of the building made Will marvel at the sight. They were literally in the middle of nowhere outside Miami, but the building existed as if it had materialized out of nothing.
"Look at that, must be a newbie."
"Yep, I remember I was like that too."
"Looks young, I bet he won't last a day
"Nah, they say one should not judge a book by its cover."
"I don't know what kind of books you read, but my advice is to burn them."
The surrounding people talked as they saw Will look around like a lost child. He truly looked like a newcomer. "Excuse me, sir, can I help you?" As Will was looking around, a beautiful voice rang out in his ears.
...