Chereads / 100%ing The Apocalypse / Chapter 9 - A New Pet

Chapter 9 - A New Pet

Looking at the achievements that Luke had unlocked he couldn't help but get excited. At the same time, unlike usual, the achievements were not simple upgrades to his status. As a result he also found it all fairly daunting. So much so that for once he was quite appreciative that Ava was there to help.

*ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED*

[Adventurer] Hidden Silver Achievement unlocked for discovering and claiming a Seat of Power. (System Expansion: Surveyor)

[Guardian of the Eastern Skies] Hidden Silver Achievement for making the Guardian of the Eastern Skies yield in combat. (The Guardian of the Eastern Skies will now follow your command)

[Pecking Order] Hidden Silver Achievement unlocked for completing the Completion System Boss Battle for The Seat of Power: London-East (+15 Defence, +20 Speed, +50 Stamina and The Title: Pigeon Pontiff )

[Usurper] Hidden Silver Achievement unlocked for Defeating a Seated Lord. (+15 to all stats and Title: Lesser Lord )

"There is a lot to try and understand here Ava could you help condense it," Luke said.

"I didn't hear a please." 

"Please." Luke sighed but didn't argue. He was already regretting his naïve appreciation for Ava's presence 

"I will begin with the System expansion, as it's a fundamental tool for you as a Completionist. If you open your status screen there will now be a new option. To put it simply you now have a map."

Following along Luke did indeed have a map available and it was a depiction of Azure London. There was also a marker to show where he was. However, the majority of the city was blurred out, much like the fog of war in a video game, apart from the snaking route he had taken earlier in the day. 

However, that quickly changed. Next to his marker on the map, a throne-like icon appeared that turned gold just as soon as it had popped up. This was followed by a large chunk of the eastern part of the city revealing itself. The chunk was the shape of a pizza slice and next to it a large '11%' appeared.

"As you explore parts of the city it will automatically be recorded on this map. Apart from that it also provides an additional function, it allows you to check what percentage of completion you have achieved in each area. In the east section of London, you have reached 11% as shown."

"But how come it has revealed the entire eastern part of London?"

"I was getting on to that, be patient. As you can see from your unlocked achievements, what you discovered here was a seat of power. There are 8 in total in London." As soon as Ava had finished getting out the words another notification appeared, but this one was different. 

[London Calling] Hidden Gold Achievement revealed. (1/8 London Seats of Power completed)

This time he had not unlocked an achievement but revealed one. Having seen just how much he could get from a silver achievement, the moment he saw the word 'gold' he was desperate to unlock it. He started to wonder where he might find the other seats of power. 

"Are they also in high places or was this a one-off..." Luke thought out loud.

Ava coughed to regain Luke's drifting attention. "Each seat will have a seated lord. Once you have defeated them you will instantly reveal all of their territory on the map. However, don't get ahead of yourself, the Guardian of the Eastern Skies is by far the weakest of the 8." Ava said and Luke looked back towards where the Guardian had been. However, to his surprise, it was no longer there. In its place was a silver falcon that was about a third of the size. 

"Where did the Guardian go? I thought they were meant to follow my command now?"

"That there is the guardian. You have removed them from their seat and so they have lost some of their power. However, the upside is that thanks to the [Guardian of the Eastern Skies] achievement as you said they will now follow your command, plus their power is not gone for good. As you increase your completion percentage for their region they will grow in strength even beyond what they were when you fought them."

"Wow, I can deal with that." As Luke spoke the Guardian flew up onto his shoulder and stroked its head against his. The guardian's smaller form was a great deal cuter. All its features were less pointed and it didn't have such an intimidating aura. Immediately he felt a large bond with the little guy. "Hey, while your name is impressive it's a bit long do you mind if I give you a new one?"

The Guardian responded with a "Kreee" that Luke could tell was an approving call.

"Then I think I will call you Ra, since you look a bit like a falcon and even if it was only brief you brought back the sun for me."

Ra seemed to like his new name and started to do celebratory laps above Luke's head. 

"Ava, this is the sort of companion people love. You could learn a thing or two from Ra."

"If you are done, there is still the matter of your titles," Ava responded with an irked tone. "The rules for titles are straightforward. You may have as many titles as you want active as you want, but you must have at least one at all times." 

Luke had received two new titles from the fight:

[Pigeon Pontiff - Predator Pigeons will not attack you, but you will also be unable to harm them while active]

[Lesser Lord - A slight increase in likeability to those not in leadership, positions. A slight decrease in likeability to those in leadership positions.]

Both the titles didn't appear like they were that incredible. They both had positive and negative aspects. But for Luke, it didn't matter, he was just excited that he could finally get rid of the [Bog Roll Bandit] title. It did nothing useful at all and Luke really didn't like the sound of it.

Luke had already done his fair share of fighting Predator pigeons for the time being so he decided to activate the [Pigeon Pontiff] title, which was an easy process and went very smoothly. On the other hand, when he then tried to deactivate the [Bog Roll Bandit] it didn't work.

"What's going on why is the Bog Roll Bandit title still there? Shouldn't I be able to get rid of it now?" Luke said frustrated.

"That is strange… it must be... some sort of glitch?" Luke could hear Ava struggling to stop themselves from giggling.

"Wait are you stopping me from taking it off on purpose, is this your doing?

"I'm afraid I can't answer that."

"Why the hell not?"

"Because I don't want to."

Luke just gave up there was no arguing with Ava it seemed. Eventually, he would be able to change the title when Ava had grown tired of the annoying prank. With everything he had gained, he wasn't going to let a little thing like that get in the way of his good mood. 

Instead Luke turned his thoughts to what he was going to do next and where he was going to go. It didn't take him any time at all to come to a decision. He was exhausted, so as much as he wanted to experience more of the city with his system he needed somewhere to rest first. Thankfully now he had a helpful guide to assist him in finding somewhere to do just that.

The map displayed several different icons that Luke couldn't understand and for the time being he didn't want to ask Ava. However, the most confusing thing of all was an icon that he could discern.

One icon was a collection of houses that obviously indicated a survivor's settlement and it was in this section of the city. However, it was common knowledge that this Eastern area of the city was empty. There wasn't even a faction that claimed control of it. Despite that, there was definitely something on the map.

Since the nearest alternative safe zone was all the way across the city Luke decided he might as well see if he could get some rest at this mystery location.

As such he decided his next goal would be to head for the settlement called "Pleasure".