Chapter 3
Corbin straightened his stance, a spark of defiance flaring in his eyes. His voice was steady and sure as he responded to Saskia's words.
"The spirits may be troubled, but they are not the only forces at work here." He said, his words laced with a hint of steel. "The power of the Messiah resides within me, and I will not allow it to be quelled by fear or uncertainty." He stepped closer to her, his gaze unwavering "You speak of a future where I will lead our people to salvation, but I will not walk that path alone. We will do more than just survive, Saskia," Corbin continued, his voice strong and resolute.
"we will thrive, and we will build a future that is brighter than the one you have left behind."
He stepped forward, meeting her gaze with an intensity that betrayed his inner fire. "I, Corbin Tempest, the Messiah, welcome you to this place, a kingdom will be forged in the crucible of survival," he proclaimed. "Here, beneath these ancient stones, we will build a refuge for the faithful and the steadfast. Here, we will erect a bulwark against the horrors that stalk the wastelands, a bastion of hope in a world gone mad."
He extended a hand to Saskia, his gaze never wavering. "You have come to the right place, my lady" With these words, Corbin sealed the pact between himself and Saskia, a pact born of destiny and will be forged in the fires of survival. The group of people that came with Saskia kneeled on one knee, submitting to their now governor. Lord Corbin Tempest, the Messiah.
After the pact was made, Corbin showed them the abandoned apartment near the manor, these buildings were 4 stories high at least. He sent the seer to "oversee" the partitioning of accommodations. The survivors had to clean them themselves, and those families would leave together as all apartments had a maximum of 3 bedrooms each. Corbin quickly went to the manor's basement and stored all the supplies he bought in his reality in the storage room. He knew that it could only last them at least 4 days but he wanted to send his people to scavenge for useful things to sell in his world. Of course, he wasn't going tell them he wasn't from their reality, he would only tell them to store various pieces of jewelry and other things in the garage.
After his inventory unloading, he went back to Saskia and told her where the supplies were and gave her the instructions to feed the rest of the camp, it was a 112 people, so Saskia was naturally happy that her people were already being taken care of. Before he left, he remembered that he needed soldiers, people who'd fight for him and his camp, so he directly asked Saskia. Saskia told him about Kraven and his team. Excluding Kraven, 12 of the 112 were Kraven's soldiers that he defected with when he left Rustenburg City. They were also believers of the messiah and naturally followed. Corbin didn't talk much and left to the manor.
"Aiden, how many Aether crystals do I need to absorb to level up?"
**You only need at least 100 D rank crystals of any kind as you can absorb any kind to level up, as you continue to level up, you will need more and more crystals. The number of Aether crystals you need to absorb increases by half at every level**
While Corbin was sitting in his new office, Kraven walked in. "Sir Corbin, Lady Saskia notified me of your request to see me. How may I be of service?" Asked Kraven in stiff tone.
"Oh Kraven, yes please sit… I'm not sure if Saskia knows this but I'm not familiar with the wasteland as I've always lived in isolation. Please me about what you know from the monsters that lurk in the dark to the Etherwalkers." Corbin needed information about everything in the wasteland so he had to lie to the teeth for information, luckily as the Messiah, no one within the walls would think of such.
"My Lord Corbin, Etherwalkers are those who have the ability to channel the power of the Aether crystals after their first awakening to enhance their abilities and combat the Etherlings of the wasteland. We Etherwalkers have the "Energy Conduit" on our first awakening, with energy conduit, a user can channel the etheric energy into a physical weapon, infusing in a blade or similar weapon that glows with energy and delivers devastating strikes capable of cleaving through even the toughest materials, including the hardened hide of the evolved undead.
There's Rank E & D, these Etherwalkers have basic proficiency in the power, capable of activating the energy infusion for short periods with minimal effect, the middle level where we get our second awakening is Rank C, this is where awaken our Aether affinity abilities, I am an Infernus type Etherwalker, this type of ability is known for its fiery nature, enhancing an Etherwalker's offensive abilities and allowing to project scorching waves of flames. Among other Aether affinities are there are Frigidus which is icy and cold, Fulgur which is of lightning type and increases the users agility reflexes etc, Terram grants the ether walker the ability to manipulate the earth raising rock shields etc, of course there are abilities I am not aware of as it's only been 2 years since the outbreak.
The are Etherlings with abilities as well, these are usually Rank C beasts to S, although we haven't heard of the S rank existence doesn't mean there won't be one. There's Rank D Shambling dead which are traditional zombies, slow moving but relentless in their hunger for flesh, The Rank C slashers, these are mutated creatures with Razer sharp claws and animal-like cunning, an example of a slasher is an Infernal lizard, these are reptilian creatures with leathery skin and blazing red eyes, spitting streams of flame at their enemies, they're one of the many sources of Infernus Aether crystal for Infernus Etherwalkers like myself. The strongest Etherling I've seen so far is a Rank B Blighted Titan,
Now I will list them by strength, Rank D: Common Shambling dead, Slashers, and Pack Hunters. Rank C: Spitters, Brutes, Shadow Stalkers, and Sand worms. Rank B: Revenants, Frigid Slashers, Fulgur Brutes, and Terram Spitters. Rank A: Spiritus Pack Hunters, Infernus Sand Worms, and Blighted Titans. Now lastly we have S rank who are yet to surface. That's about my Lord." Said Kraven after along presentation.
"I see, here's what I need you to do. I want you to gather people who will go hunting with us, even if they aren't Etherwalkers let them come, at least 20 people will suffice. We will go outside the manor walls for clearing out beasts…. And if you find any gold or jewelry collect it and bring it to me, I have great use for it. What's the closest base to buy supplies? Mainly for repairing and reinforcing the manor and everything within? We will need weapons as well." Said Corbin as his mind was running amok.
"Ah My lord, the closest base is Waterkloof, 10km away from us, west off here my lord. We will need lots of Aether crystals to afford weapons or any supplies for that matter. Unless we have something to batter when we get there, food items are very expensive at the moment so we can try to scavenge for them in this area."
After their meeting, Kraven quickly went back to the temporary canteen to inform his men and recruit a few more. Luckily all of his men are Etherwalkers, Rank D or not what mattered was that they had the potential. Corbin wanted to prove themselves to him in the waste so he can know who to bless with the genetic modifier. While it took years and heavy resources for Etherwalkers to rank up, the genetic modifier would help them by an immediate rank up. The genetic modifier would be like absorbing close to 40 000 of Infernus Rank B Crystals, the reason many were struggling to rank up was how hard it was to collect crystals while you had to spend on expensive armor and weapons.
While Corbin was still thinking of a way forward, Saskia walked in with a container full of various crystals. There were hundreds of various affinity crystals in the case. "My Lord Messiah, your people have brought you an offering, it might not be much, but we promise to do more in the future," Saskia said with a bow. These were enough to put him to level 5 and be left with a few more. 'This is truly something I could use at the moment, let me accept them but have them know that I will take no tributes in the future, at least once I have created a point system in exchange for crystal. These point will be used to goods here in the base. Yeah I'm fucking genius.' Thought Corbin
"You have my thanks Saskia, please extended my many thanks to our people as well but please let know that I will not accept tributes in the future, just taxes but that will be discussed tomorrow after our first mission with Kraven and the hunters." It was now 19h00 so he needed to quickly finish his business and rest as he had a long ahead of him tomorrow morning. Saskia bowed and left the office; Corbin was focusing on his status after he absorbed the crystals through system and leaving half in his inventory ready to squander the tribute he had received from the Jua Kali Church.
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Status
CORBIN TEMPEST [Level 30] 23 YEARS
STR: 36
INT: 23
AGILITY: 39
ENDURANCE: 39
INVENTORY [2/10] (NOTE THAT ALL STORED ITEMS ARE STACKED IN SUSPENDED TIME)
Slot 1: 420 Rank C Aether crystal Slot 2: Serpent fand Daggers, Rank C
INBOX [0]
COSMIC CHARGE [100]
COSMIC STORE [OPEN}
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"This is promising, I'm sure I can now be compared to a Rank C mid stage Etherwalker, hold on... Aiden, you said I can absorb any crystal while other need to absorb crystals of their nature, why is that?"
**That's because you used the S ranked genetic modifier, the only one of its kind. Your body is able to absorb and harness every form of Aether crystal energy type. Rank A modifiers will only give the users the ability to use a maximum of 2 affinities. They will choose themselves which affinity crystal to absorb, once that crystal is absorbed then the affinity will be fixed**
"I see, is there anyone who can use more than one affinity in the wasteland other than me and the four people I'll choose in the future?"
*No, such a case is impossible even among beasts. The bodies will corrode from within due to the instability of the two affinities**
Corbin now knew who'd he's be his first Knight, that person is obviously Kraven. He will be one of his future Four Horsemen of destruction but for now he needed to buy a few things as he looked at Store for the first time.
[Universal Store]
Ceramite Armor: Rank C- Made from a lightweight but extremely strong ceramic-metal alloy infused with Aether crystals, this armor offers excellent protection against slashing and piercing weapons, as well as resistance to extreme temperatures. [10 Rank C]
Reactive Armor: Rank B, reacts to impact, hardening upon contact to deflect incoming attacks. Infused with a mixture of Fulgur and Terram crystals, it also provides electrical and earth resistance. [30 Rank C]
Standard Uniform: Uniform Jacket, combat pants, and boots made from a durable synthetic fabric. It provides protection against elements and minor abrasions. [100 Rank D]
Corbin decided to buy x30 Rank D standard uniforms for 2 rank C, a 1000 rank D crystal made up of 1 rank C crystal. He also bought 25 Rank D blades for that could be charged with Aether energy. These were to be handed over to his new force, after storing them in the basement. Corbin went to sleep as he waited for his big day.