Prince crossed his arms as he stared down at Bastian from his vantage point.
The people still watched, awkwardly.
Zane held Zora in a princess carry and watched attentively.
Everyone was waiting on him. His words. His call. Whatever he wished to do. He had killed Marcus, and earned their trust. Prince still didn't know why they were so trusting. It would get them killed.
"We'll get to you later," Prince said. He motioned Bastian away.
Bastian nodded, vanishing into the crowd.
Suddenly, an array of beautiful women in various states of undress exited Marcus' house.
In all, Prince estimated that they were a group of 80, perhaps.
"I-Is it true? Is Marcus dead-" One began, when Prince jumped to the bottom.
A deathly aura radiated from him. "Who are you all?" He asked.
They all took a step back, though some stared at him defiantly.
"Those," A woman from the crowd started. She walked up to Prince, her demeanor calm. "Are Marcus' slaves. Most likely, he told them to wait while he came outside to check the disturbance."
"Huh." Prince frowned, scanning her.
Name: Olivia Gaos
Race: Human
Origin: Earth (#2Y-B379)
Level: 15 (F-Grade)
"You're high-leveled." He commented.
"I'm a manager class." Olivia replied.
"That means you guys know where the Nexus Crystal is?" Prince asked, turning to the group.
"Y-Yeah." One said.
"Nice." Prince sighed. "Alright. I'm gonna give you guys two options." He turned to the crowd.
"You all can either go strike out on your own and take your chances out there," Prince pointed toward the Antlantis dungeon. "Or, you could join me."
About 10 people left. Prince nodded. Way less than he expected.
"The rest of you. Don't get any illusions of benefitting off of me for free. Ever. Don't try me. You're going to have to pull your own weight, understand?" His aura billowed out of him like a rising tide.
Everyone nodded. Some individuals gulped.
"Good." Prince then turned to address the 80 women.
"As for you all..." He started, then stopped. "Hmm."
"I killed your rapist." Prince said, crossing his arms. "Whoever wants to assist me and fight by my side is welcome. Whoever has the same drive I do."
He felt the fires in their eyes.
"The rest of you can leave and join the regular populace." He said.
About 20 left, leaving him with 50. 50 who had similar fires to him, burning in their eyes.
"Now then. Show me where the Nexus Crystal is."
Prince had a feeling that this would turn out well.
He already had an idea for what to call his all-female force.
The Valkyries.
***
Soon, they found the Nexus Crystal, and had claimed it, converting the entire territory into that of the Towering Peak's. Prince had also sent a notification to everyone, allowing them to join his Faction
On the way to leaving the city, Prince quickly talked to Tah'Mahkul, and bought cheap weapons and armor for his Valkyries.
They didn't have the air of proper warriors, as the highest among them was level 5, but at least they were properly equipped.
And they got to practice on the orcs they saw, as well.
Tah'Mahkul also mentioned that now that the territory had been converted, he could teleport to the main Towering Peak area.
And with the fact that almost everyone was a superhuman, they made the journey back to the Malovolent Mountain easily in a few hours.
When they arrived, everyone set their things down in the woods, a little apprehensive.
"Did you think it would be easy?" A burly many snorted.
Olivia's mind was running a mile a minute. She was assigning different people to work on different things. She did really seem to be a manager.
After a few minutes, she came up to Prince, who was leaning against a tree.
"What?" He mumbled.
"Uhm..." She seemed unsure of what to call him. "Faction Leader," She settled. "I know this is a lot to ask, and we have no trust, but I would like to request the Faction manager position-"
"Olivia," Prince started.
"And it helps me level up my class and I thrive in the-" She continued, faster.
"Olivia," Prince tried, again.
"And it will make sense I promise-"
"Olivia!" Prince said, exasperated. "Sure."
Olivia blinked. "Oh."
Prince wasn't good at managing things. Having someone do that for him would be nice. He sent a request to Olivia, asking her to be his Faction Manager. She accepted, quickly going through the Faction menu.
Prince informed her of the situation, including the flaming monkeys, Rejuvenating River, and goblin village.
Olivia wandered off, mumbling to herself about things.
"Well," Prince yawned. He looked at the sky. It was darkening. "That's handled."
Prince closed his eyes and went to sleep.
This new world fit him much better than the old one did.
Bastian entered the area.
Prince opened one singular eye, annoyed now. "What do you want?" He asked.
Bastian frowned and sat on his knees. "I just came to say I'm sorry for hurting your friend."
"She's not my friend," Prince said, though it was nice to interact with humans.
"I... See..." Bastian said, awkwardly. "Well, I apologize all the same."
"Bastian," Prince sighed. "You're strong. Really strong. However, I can't help but be unsure of your... Intentions."
"No, you can trust me, I swear!" Bastian said. "Now, I'm... In debt to you guys, so I'll help. I'll even make a System Contract!"
"Oh?" Prince opened both eyes. "System Contract?" He had heard of the term before, but had never gotten a proper explanation.
"It's basically a regular contract made between two people. The System, however, binds it, and makes sure that if either party breaks the contract, they receive the appropriate repercussions." Bastian explained.
"I see. How do I do it?"
"Just call upon the System."
"Okay. By the System, you, Bastian, can not intentionally damage or harm any member of the Towering Peak unless permission is given. Otherwise, you will deal the same damage you dealt them to yourself. Do you agree?" Prince said.
He felt a tugging at his soul. A pressure descended, the System's presence watching over them.
"Yes," Bastian said without hesitation.
An ethereal blue chain spread between them for a moment, before fading away.
"Nice," Prince said. "Now go away. I need to sleep."
Bastian left, sustaining no obvious side effects.
Prince yawned and went to sleep.
...
Miami, Florida
Enchanted Forest
Itzel released a sigh. Before her, numerous workers carried gigantic logs and worked on trees that towered over them.
She herself sat on a tree stump, her axe beside her.
"Madam," A french guy appeared next to her, handing her an envelope. "An information packet.
Itzel sighed, snatching the note out of his hand. She opened it, quickly reading it.
"Oh." She started. "Towering Peak? Prince Collins, brother of Luke Collins?" She smirked. "This was worth the 20,000 credits."
The letter wasn't actually a letter- it was just a bunch of information about the world currently getting shot into her head. The letter went up is flames, burned by her Fire Essence.
"Send a message to that Faction," She said. "That the World Tree Faction wishes to have diplomatic relations."
A grin appeared on her face. "It may be time."