I stepped through the portal and appeared to a round of gasps and shocked cries. The room was about half again as big as my own. The former chief sat at the head of a table flanked by four others, two on each side. I didn't recognize any of them which meant either they weren't at the auction or they were new. None of them had any real power so I wasn't too afraid.

  "Greetings. My room wasn't ready for a conversation so I decided to join yours. I hope you don't mind." I used psychokinesis to pull out a chair and then I sat down. "It was weird. The room I was sent to was set to fill with poison. I assume you wouldn't know anything about that?"

  "Just what are you here for?" James began. His hand inched ever closer to the box in front of him.

  I grinned and grabbed it with psychokinesis. I let the box float about ten feet off the table while I decided what to do next. "You know I felt pretty guilty about what I wanted to do. Like it was evil or something and perhaps it is but this changes things. You see the way I see it. You either planned to kill me with the poison well in advance or you've used that setup before." I released a small burst of my aura to stop them from interrupting me.

  "I don't care which. Not really. I am sure you and your people have received the updated World Quest. The System wants us to unite the planet under one leader. I've decided to be that leader."

  "And you expect the rest of humanity to stand by while you appoint yourself some kind of God king?" The woman to his right asked. The color slowly returned to her skin. She wore a veil that had some kind of array in it. An array that stopped me from seeing her face. Even with the Eye of Heaven.

  "Pretty much. What do you think will happen if the System deems us a failure? It might abandon the planet and remove its protection. If that happens how long do you think people like you would survive? Who knows what kinds of governments and countries exist out there?"

  "Still none of that is a reason why you should be in charge. You aren't even thirty years old. It would be better to let the proper government resume control and bring order to the world. If you and the rest of the cultivator ceased their fighting we could build something better." Now it was an older man's turn to speak. He looked like he was in his sixties with a round face and bulging belly.

  "You can't be that naive. You don't have the power even if I gave the position to you. I don't believe any of you have unlocked the quest for this either." The look of confusion that spread across almost all their faces told me I was on the right track. "How long could you keep the top one hundred obedient? Let alone the top ten. The world would devolve into civil war before the year timetable was over."

  "And just how do you intend to do it?" James asked. His eyes locked on my own.

  "Same way every other country did. I will recruit who I can and the rest." I paused as a weight settled on my shoulders. I opened the Eye of Heaven and released a bit of my aura to punctuate my words. "The rest I will kill." An eerie calmness settled in the room after that. An almost tangible silence. Anticipation filled the air as if we were in a room surrounded by gunpowder. A feeling that lasted until I heard footsteps thunder down the hall. I expanded my soul sense and caught over a dozen cultivators rushing toward us. "Ahh, I suppose they've figured out I left. If you or any of your people disagree with me. I will be waiting in what remains of a city northeast of here. You are welcome to face me there."

  I activated Apportation just as the door opened. I pulled the bomb with me as I stepped through the portal. Just as the portal closed a dozen spells shot toward me. In the next moment, I stepped out of the portal and onto a rooftop five miles away. I continued until I arrived at the city. I still wasn't sure what city it belonged to. Definitely somewhere in Asia but other than I was clueless. There were no signs, buildings numbers and the architecture didn't scream any one culture.

  I took a seat on the edge of the tallest building and gave the strange box my full attention. The sigils used in the array were different from the ones used by the System and those used in the lesson at the academy. These seemed like something an elf would make. They were beautiful and fragile-looking. As if they could snap if you stared at them too hard. Only the amount of energy they contained made it seem like the opposite. I was pretty sure I could break the array if I wanted thanks to the eye but did I want to?

  It could be useful if I have to fight a strong enemy in the future. There was another use for it of course. I pulled out the practice array discs and laid them out in front of me. From what I understood there were at least three different styles of arrays. The ones from the System looked a bit blocky. Like the kind of shapes you would get from a machine. Next, you had the ones on this box that were fancy and a bit extra. Like they were designed to be pretty. Next, you had the ones from the Chimeric forest. Those like older and more natural like they were made by forest people or at least someone who wanted the symbols to look natural. Last, there were the ones from the academy's lessons. Those looked uniform and simple. Like they were designed to teach you the basics of drawing.

  My assumption is that each group or maybe even each person would have their own unique style. Kind of like handwriting. Which would also mean that no style was better than the others. It was just what you decided to do. The real test would be energy and probably size. Which meant I should be able to use this box as an example to practice with. Even if I don't have a design for whatever array this was. I sat down, formed a thin stylus of spiritual energy, and got to work.

  After five hours I put my stuff away and lay down on the roof. I had a slight headache and still couldn't get the array right. The problem wasn't the array but the size. I had to take an entire disc to form the first few sigils. At that rate, I would need a small mountain of array discs to from the whole thing. It was difficult to make the sigil and fill it with the right ratio of energy.

  Even with the Eye of Heaven it was kind of like trying to rub your stomach and pat your head at the same time. I took a short break before I summoned a pair of spirit stones and rotated the Ethereal Codex. When I recovered my energy I wiped the discs clean and started again. I repeated the process every day for a week before something changed. An energy fluctuation interrupted my practice. I expanded my soul sense to its maximum and caught several people making their way toward me. I sent everything into my ring and grinned. "Guess it's show time."

  I cracked my neck and rolled my shoulders while I waited for the group to arrive. The group was an interesting mix. I could immediately tell that Romulus and The System's Herald weren't present. Likewise, I could tell that Amahle was. I was pretty sure Masquerade was too. Either way, there was nothing I could do about it. Several of them arrived with movement spells while the others used brute force. The majority were weapons users. Some even had old-world weapons including one archer who also had a massive sniper rifle on her back.

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  "Amahle. Hi again how's it going?" I asked with a grin. "I don't want to kill any of you because you all are rather strong and thus your deaths would weaken Earth. That is dependent on something though. First, where is Romulus?"

  "He decided not to assist us so we went after him first." A man with two wicked daggers on his hips replied. The man wore a black robe that made me think of someone cosplaying an assassin. He even wore a black half-mask to cover his face. I glanced at the others and none of them moved to deny it so I figured it was true.

  "Did you kill him?"

  "No, he got away and we left his people alone. He was injured though." This time a man with a large Bo staff replied. He wore a mix of white and gold armor that looked pretty sturdy. It even had spiritual energy coursing through an array drawn on top of the metal.

  "Good, good so I guess this doesn't have to be too personal. You all are welcome to turn around right now. You don't have to fight for the government."

  "You think we should let you be king?" Amahle finally spoke up. "No way, why shouldn't any of us rule or why couldn't we all rule together."

  I sighed. "You all couldn't even get along with Romulus and the moment you disagreed you attacked him. Even knowing you were coming here to fight me. We all wouldn't get along. The moment I left or if I got hurt you all would move to take advantage. Same for the rest of you." I held up a hand to stop whatever argument she was about to present. "I made my choice."

  I released my aura in its full glory. The world became a bloodied battlefield. The buildings groaned and windows shattered. "Now last chance. Anyone that doesn't want to fight can run." When no one moved I grinned. "Let's battle for the world." I formed a halo of blades as a dozen attacks shot toward me. My heart raced as the flame of battle ignited. Six blades clashed with six attacks before I activated Apportation.

  I stepped through the portal and reappeared next to the man with the Bo staff. I launched a kick into his kidney that launched him through the closest building. Before I could follow up Amahle appeared her thin blade aimed at my heart. I launched myself backward and off the building. Another halo of psychic blades formed just as the cloaked figure stepped out of a pool of shadows. A beam of utter darkness coalesced in his fingers.

  The beam shot forward like a laser as I braced myself against the side of the building. "Not bad. Not bad at all." I called out as the beam chased me down the side of the building. At the rate he was spending energy, he wouldn't be able to keep that up for long. I launched three blades at the Bo staff user and the archer who waited at ground level. The warrior activated a skill that doubled the size of his staff and caused it to glow with transparent energy.

  Despite its size, he was able to move it effortlessly. The staff shattered my blades and swung toward me. I didn't need my danger sense to tell me that I couldn't let it hit me. I slammed my foot into the building's window and fell through. I landed, went into a roll, and then sprinted for the other side of the building. I blew out the window and stepped back onto the side of the building. "You should so show me how to do that." A voice called out right before a lightning bolt the size of a car shot up from the ground.

  I expanded my Tao field to meet the blast. Time slowed to a crawl as the two waves of energy clashed. For a moment it was impossible to tell which of us held the advantage. The stalemate was shattered when a ball of fire shot toward me from above. I gritted my teeth and abandoned my defense. I pulled back and spun to avoid the lightning while bracing myself against the flames.

  White hot pain shot along my arms as the scent of my burning flesh filled the air. I formed another halo of blades and shot them at both targets. The duo retreated narrowly avoiding my attack before ducking through an open door. I released my hold on the side of the building and rocketed after them. I slammed into the ground like a meteor a moment later. "I hope you all have something more to show me. I haven't even started to fight back."

  A scream of danger forced me to leap back just as Amahle and another swordsman appeared. Twin blades, one rapier, and one cutlass swung to rip me apart. Energy surged into sigils on their arms and then edges nearly doubled in size. A wall of compressed space formed just in time to block both strikes. I let out a roar and launched the wall forward at the pair who scrambled to move. Amahle was successful the second swordsman not so much.

  His screams filled the air as my attack severed his right arm. He activated a movement ability that doubled his speed as he ran to get away. I grabbed his sword and stowed it in my ring. I expanded my soul sense to get a better understanding of the battle. The swordsman popped a pill to stop the bleeding but it was clear he wouldn't return. His spiritual energy was nearly exhausted and his heart wasn't in it. Amahle was above me along with several other cultivators.

  The archer was preparing a shot while Masquerade and Ebony Rose prepared some other attack. I ripped a door off its hinges with psychokinesis and launched it like a disk in the archer's direction. To her credit, she didn't panic. Instead, she launched an arrow that split into more than a dozen just before they shot through the door. I activated Psychic Aegis in its wall form to counter. As soon as her skill was done I launched another door at her.

  This time she wasn't fast enough to dodge. The door slammed into her like a cannon ball. I was pretty sure it wasn't enough to kill her but she wasn't going to rejoin the fight for a while. I activated Apportation and stepped through the portal. A moment later I was on top of the building. I pushed a bit of spiritual energy into my throat to amplify my voice. "You all can still give up. I am not very good at not killing people with my spells. I would prefer it if I didn't have to kill you all."

  I had just finished when I saw someone appear behind me. They somehow stepped out of the metal of the building as if it were made out of water. It was soundless which made the skill or spell that much more interesting. I recognized the figure as soon as their body became normal. It was a masquerade only their aura was much different than when we fought together. If my own killing intent was like a dozen bloody battlefields then theirs reminded me of an assassin. A blade that would kill with precision. He raised a pair of daggers that thrummed with power.

  Energy surged into a sigil just above his heart and then the world changed. Everything became deathly silent. My danger sense screamed as he took a step forward. The lack of sound gave the motion an almost hypnotic effect. I couldn't be sure he was actually moving. Another step and the sense of danger grew. I spun to face him only to stumble back a step. In the next moment, he was in front of me. His daggers twirled as they shot for my throat. I raised both hands but it felt like I was trying to move through molasses.

  I expanded my Tao field as the blades flew closer and closer. The strand of adamance filled my mind as I fought to end whatever this was. It wasn't enough. The blade tore through my Tao field like it wasn't there. I gritted my teeth and sacrificed my left hand to stop either blade from ripping my throat open. Undaunted Masquerade spun his daggers around and stabbed them into my chest. The pain ended whatever his skill did to my mind and I launched a kick into his stomach.

  Sound returned to the world a second later as the other cultivators returned to the battle. I summoned a healing pill from my ring and swallowed it. "Alright, not bad. Not bad at all. Now it's my turn." My energy surged through my channels as Masquerade once again sunk into the building.

  "Retreat!" Amahle called out as she activated a movement skill that caused a miniature tornado to surround her.

  I grinned as they activated a variety of movement abilities. It didn't matter. There was no way I would let anyone get away now.