Day 1
Processing took forever and a day, but he was out in 12 hours with loot.
A backpack full of fasting pills, camping supplies, and a one-time gotcha spell scroll hung on my back with one strap. With our systems up and running, it was up to us when we left for our prospective worlds. For an evil slave dealing organization, the Visage Sect was laid back. I wouldn't think of crossing them, but they weren't the worst group to work for. The people working in the Sect could be all assholes, but there seemed to be attempts to counter them like the insurance. Unfortunately, I was at the end of the freebies. Besides the housing, I had to pay for everything else.
"Hey there, handsome if you find any weapons and armor you don't need, you should bring them to us. We will buy it at a fair price." A cute Asian girl twirling a sign for Hard Dragon's Pawnshop said.
"Thank you, I will think of you first," Vincent said.
He found a bench and stared at the continents hovering beyond the sun. There were whole worlds above this one he was planted on. The Sect had taken planets, peeled their surface area away, connected them into flat planes, and then stacked them. One after another, supercontinents were stacked with stars between them. I was on the slave continent; I could purchase a ticket to the higher world and become a free man with enough credits.
There were no chains or slave masters out in the open, and if he wanted to be free, all he had to do was up his net worth to the Sect. It was maddening how free it all felt. Of course, there was a fly in the ointment.
My challenges had no context and might be impossible.
Challenge 1 Time Limit 10 years.
Acquire the specified skill trees from their owners.
1. Swallow The Light
2. Age Of Ice
3. Eldritch Borne
I had no idea how I would find the people with those skill trees. No scouting device could detect skill trees. I would have to find the holder, abduct them, and take them to a processing center. The price would come from my pocket if the person didn't have the skill tree or one worth enough.
The debt I had was shared by everyone else, and they could add to it.
"We are here to help you with all your preparation needs. Up to 500 credits, no questions asked, and after you pay it back, we double the amount you can purchase." An Indian woman yelled; she twisted her sign masterfully and winked at me.
There was a line of men rushing into the shops. The interiors of the shops were about 10 times the size of the outside, giving them a vast capacity. Space manipulation was a staple of higher realms, apparently. I had no context except what they told me.
What I did know was survival of the fittest. If these people fail to pay back their debts, Someone will kill them to cut the losses for the group.
I wasn't getting any rest or time to think in public. I needed to find my apartment and get time to think.
…
My room was spartan; there wasn't even a bed. I would have to go out and find one when I earned some money. Teleportation only required the circles before the Integration. I could go to my target world from anywhere designated. That includes my room.
I reviewed my camping supplies and ensured I had everything I needed. My world was called Menagerie Nightmare by the scouts that entered it first. The first people enslaved by the Sect were often the special forces of the world they found. With their combat training, it was a no-brainer to make them scouts. They named the universe after half of them failed to make it back. The danger level wasn't maxed out; it was really mid-range dungeons that changed the danger rating. Intelligent entities capable of altering the planet's inhabitants on a molecular scale numbered in the hundreds.
My first destination was set to be an older dungeon; the intelligence within was supposed to be in hibernation. Once I appeared, my system would integrate me into the sleeping dungeon's system. Any later visits should go unnoticed afterward as a bug in the dungeon's system.
I took out my spell scroll and opened it.
My mind strained under a sudden influx of information. Nestled in my mind, a 20-sided die rolled.
New Spell
Burst has taken the only spell slot.
Burst: Mana becomes light energy gathering around the body to follow up attacks.
Effect: +1D4 Light DMG
T Limit: 15s
Set T Bonus: +5s x spells/ability slots with spells/abilities with Burst in their name.
Set DMG Bonus: +1D4 x spells/ability slots with spells/abilities with Burst in their name.
Stat T Bonus: +1D4 x (WIS/10 Rounded to nearest whole number.)
Stat DMG Bonus: +1D4 x (INT /10 Rounded to nearest whole number.)
Cost: 10MP
Cooldown: 30s