As part of the temple, he also added in a teleportation node so he could teleport directly into it and purchased an additional node that could be placed elsewhere for an additional million credits. It seemed like the SYSTEM didn’t want people setting up teleportation nodes unless they had a significant amount of credits.
Once he had everything purchased and the SYSTEM was finished making changes to the temple, Anton made his way into the main hall where a 30-foot-high statue of Keres looked out over the room. Unlike a lot of statues that have been seen in the past, which might resemble the person they were meant to represent vaguely, this statue was a lifelike representation of the Goddess as he’d seen her. Additionally, it accentuated the feminine aspects of her physique quite well.
“It is a nice ass, if I do say so myself,” the voice of Keres whispered from the room around him.
Anton had assumed that she would feel him activate the Temple and just smiled as he said, “So, is it blasphemy for me to agree or disagree with you? I mean you’re the one complementing your ass, so if I agree with you am I the pig-headed pervert or a loyal servant.”
“Please, your my loyal servant, in some alternate reality of course because we both know that’s not you,” The Goddess Keres said with the hint of laughter in her voice, “Still, you have done well today.”
Anton smiled, “Maybe classify me as one of appreciates his Goddess’s ass…ets at least.”
The goddess didn’t respond to the statement and instead changed the subject, “So, you have come to enjoy the Mark I left on you,” Keres said from a point directly in front of him as a translucent image of the Goddess appeared.
“Let’s say that I’m a realist and right now, you have helped take care of my family and friends, as far as I know. If that’s true, I am appreciative,” Anton said.
“Your family is fine. Caitlyn is currently acting as an ambassador of sorts while your sister spreads my word and brings in more followers. That isn’t to say there haven’t been uprisings from other gods, but none were able to provide for their followers what you did for Caitlyn. I am still astonished that you left all eight artifacts to her when you could have claimed them for yourself. That action is what has garnered most of my goodwill toward you, if you hadn’t figured that out yet. It gave me an opportunity to establish a foothold I might not have otherwise been able to in a world with a mostly Christian population before the SYSTEM came along.”
“Before we continue, can you give this staff to my sister?” Anton asked as he placed the Divine Staff of Healing on the altar. “
“Yes, I can,” The goddess said as darkness enveloped the staff and it vanished.
“I still don’t get it. Are you evil, neutral or somehow good?” Anton asked.
“That is a question of morality and philosophy. I am what my followers need me to be, but if you must know, the purpose I assumed when I took up this mantle was previously neutral, leaning toward evil. I am more neutral, leaning toward fairness and justice, which can be achieved violently when necessary. In my case, the more often that happens the better.”
“So, I have created a temple in this other Universe, can I come home now?” Anton asked.
“The simple answer is no. You are far too powerful for Earth, or the planet you’re on, which is fine. The SYSTEM you are currently in cannot remove you at this time. Just don’t give it a reason to. I do plan to send through a couple of people from Earth as soon as they reach level 400, which will be a while baring explosive growth.” Keres said.
“You know…you’re making me like you less and less,” Anton said honestly.
“Seriously? Are you telling me that you want to miss watching the shit storm you created above you. I can’t even look upon the area yet, I don’t have enough conviction sources in the area but the gods in that realm are bitching to anyone who will listen about how an upstart is trying to wedge a new pantheon into their pure and structured universe. Like that shit was going to last…” Keres said as a look of pain crossed her features and she change the subject, “which is something we will not discuss at this time, if ever. Just know that if you’d like to get a message to your family or them to you, you can do so through the temple in an email-like fashion.”
“So, what you’re saying is go forth in this area, try to get as many followers as I can for you and make sure to piss the gods and goddesses off here. Or is there someone here you don’t want me to piss off?
“Just stick with making the evil gods mad, lead the good ones alone and I leave to your judgement on the neutral ones, though I would offer that messing with any gods that govern nature is probably a bad idea, just something to keep in mind.”
Keres nodded her head up and down as she said, “That is NOT what I’m saying, but as someone who is only Marked by me and not a true representative of my will or clergy, your actions, while they might be viewed as something I might orchestrate, will be viewed as your actions. You are a free agent who they can poach or kill you without fear of direct reprisal from me, if they could kill you. It is the game we play at our level, after all.”
“So, no safety net,” Anton said.
“No safety net. Now stop looking at my cleavage and ass and go do something…interesting.”
Anton made a point to walk over to the statue and look up at the crack of the Goddess ass, as he said, “You know, that is a very nice ass…” as force gripped his balls and squeezed ever so slightly.
“That I may dream about in the future but will most assuredly never disparage or ridicule.
The translucent image of Keres winked at him and vanished as the force cupping his balls squeezed just a bit more before disappearing altogether, which left him feeling both violated and aroused. After a moment he said, “Point taken, thanks for the talk,” before he released his manifested form and shot up through the roof of the temple, through the ground and up into the sky at least one thousand feet.
As he looked around to get his bearings, he knew that he was on the west side of Haven a few streets north of Brax’s Inn. That wasn’t the most interesting thing though. The streets were full of people from all the temples in the area, and they were spreading out through the city. Anton floated above everything and watched as men and women of all races rushed across the city on the hunt for the one thing that every sentient creature covets, wealth.
***
Scuff walked up to one of only three taverns in the Merchant’s quarter as a hand lanced out of a nearby shadow, grabbed him by the back of the neck and lifted him up off the ground without effort.
“I’ve got one!” a burly man in ragged leather armor called out”
“What have you got there, Burk?”
“One of them Assassin’s, I’ve got one of them Assassin’s”
“I’m not an assassin,” Scuff screeched.
“Let him go, Ralph. He doesn’t have a tag over his head. If you kill the goblin in the city, you’ll be paying a fine, not making money.
“Well shit,” Ralph exclaimed, “I could swear this one was part of the Assassin’s guild.
Scuff didn’t say a word, because as far as he knew he was part of the Assassin’s Guild but if he didn’t have one of those marks floating above his head he’d count his lucky stars and keep his mouth shut.
“Ralph looked over to the bartender and pointed at the Goblin, “Get this guy a meal and a drink. It’s on me,” Ralph said before he turned to Scuff, “No hard feelings, but if you had been in the Assassin’s guild, you were going to be our payday. Anyway, enjoy your meal, Sorry for almost gutting you I guess.”
Scuff just nodded and scurried to a table in the back corner away from everyone, where he ordered his meal and an ale. He still couldn’t believe he hadn’t been marked, and he watched as people came and went and talked about the latest sightings of this or that assassin someone had noticed.
Scuff kept to himself while he watched everyone rush around. For some reason he’d been spared. He would need to be even more careful going forward. Maybe the SYSTEM was telling him that being a Rogue was good enough? Maybe, since his focus had been on information gathering, that’s what he should be focusing on. The question then was, who was he going to gather information for?
***
Anton moved further up until he could look down over most of the city and see how various mobs had formed and seemed to be going through every portion of the city. Intermittently he’d receive notifications that this or that Assassin had been found, killed and that the SYSTEM had paid out the award he had promised. Additionally, every once in a while, he’d receive a notification and 400 to 500 Convictions. That happened whenever the bonus was paid out for a violent death. Additionally, a new notification appeared which let him know exactly why he was receiving Conviction.
A New follower of Keres has been recruited. You have received 415 Conviction.
A new follower of Keres has been recruited. You have received 401 Conviction.
A new follower of Keres has been recruited. You have received 403 Conviction.
Anton minimized those notifications and altered his settings so that the notifications for recruiting people would not override more important notifications.
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With everything underway and people on the hunt for the Assassins, Anton headed back to John’s Trade shop. As he approached the Merchant’s district, he noticed that the city guard and some adventurers had been posted at all entry points into the district and at the entrances to the various shops. It looked like the Merchant owners and the city guard were working to ensure none of the assassins could take refuge in the district.
Anton passed through the doors to John’s Trade Shop and manifested just inside the door.
“Welcome to John’s…. Oh, it’s you,” John called out.
“Yep, I’m back. How’s business going?”
“I haven’t stopped visiting the hub until just about an hour ago. I haven’t made a dent into the items you dropped off yet. Also, what were you thinking about setting everyone up after the Assassin’s Guild?”
“I was thinking that they were one of the most evil, unscrupulous organizations I’d come across.”
“There are Good, Neutral, AND Evil Gods in the Temple District. Those that serve those gods follow those paths. Are you saying that you’re going to kick the evil gods out?
“Not at all. What I am saying is that Haven will be a Haven, which, when I arrived, seemed to be implied by the name of the city and the attitude of the pleasant people I came into contact with. When I absorbed the memories of the Assassin’s Guild Leader, well I learned that Haven was not neutral or safe territory at all and that the crimes the guild had been part of…Well…”
“You’ve made an enemy of at least three gods and the clergy of those gods,” John said.
“Actually, I watched what was going on for a bit. It would seem that the servants of the Gods you’re worried about don’t take kindly to what the Assassin’s guild did, or they just want to earn the bounties that have been offered because they seemed awful energetic to get out and hunt the criminals.”
“That doesn’t sound right,” John said.
“Think about it. They’re evil. Those that may have been above them have been labeled as criminals and a huge bounty will be paid out to them and their God or Goddess if they take down their fellow followers, thereby allowing for advancement within their ranks as well. Then, once the hunt settles, someone will try to re-establish the Assassin’s Guild again. Why wouldn’t they hunt the criminals? They can get a payday and a promotion out of the deal.
“When you put it like that, well, is that what you intended?”
“Not exactly, but I’ll take it. It makes it so I’ll have one less shadow organization I’ll have to deal with,” Anton said with a smile.
“Speaking of dealing with things, I’m sure you're quite busy, so why did you stop by?” John asked.
“I need a place to set up a teleportation node to my God’s temple that others can use freely. I was thinking about putting it here in your store somewhere, maybe attached through a secret panel in one of the side rooms?”
John looked thoughtful as he looked around, “Well, as you know, there is a bit of dimensional magic involved in the shop, it’s bigger on the inside. So yeah, we can add your teleporter to it. How secure do you need it to be?”
It needs to be accessible only to those who can produce the Mark of Keres and yourself. I do not expect many visitors to begin with. If we can get a steady flow of supplies flowing to it, it’ll be more of a secure location to catch a nap and possibly get some food,” Anton said.
“That won't be an issue. If you hire a cook and we bind them with an oath, as well as his or her assistants…”
“Yeah that sounds good. How about I let you handle getting it all set up as well,” Anton said as he pulled out the teleportation node and handed it over.
“I take it you can get into and out of it without an issue,” John asked.
“I can. I’m going to leave this to you to handle, though. The people you chose can have access. Also, hire a cook and a small cleaning staff to clean the place. Also, there is a goblin named Scuff, If you can find him, add him to the list, I’ll talk to him. Except for them and yourself, no one is to have access to the Temple unless they have that mark. For those you hire, have them make a SYSTEM Oath but offer them four times the going rate of pay, paid out of my funds of course.”
John smiled; I can do that. There’s so much profit coming in from your goods that you can easily afford the upkeep of a single Temple.”
“Profits?” Anton asked interested.
“Yes, as I said I’ve already been to the Hub. I took a few of the artifacts you left with me, and their trade value alone allowed me to put the one trillion credits aside that you requested and start stocking the shop. Don’t you worry, though, I’m keeping track of everything that’s earned and purchased with your money so I can break down how much has been invested in the business.”
“Sounds good. I’m going to take a look around the area surrounding the city and maybe the whole planet. I may be gone for a bit. If you need to, feel free to hire more guards.”
“You’re not going to try to bring the city under control?”
Anton smiled, “Actually, No. Individuals of power here are over level 400. If they can’t control themselves or their rivals, they’ll deserve what they get. Don’t worry, I’ll be checking on…”
John cut him off as he handed him a ring, “This ring will allow me to contact you as long as you're close by.”
“Define close by,” Anton said.
“Anywhere on the planet in this dimension or any dimension that can perceive this dimension,” John said.
“That sounds perfect,” Anton said as he put on the ring. He watched as John concentrated and a mental connection was established.
Can you hear me now, John asked.
Loud and clear. I was worried it might not work, but it seems to be working fine.
Why wouldn’t it work? John asked.
Magic doesn’t like to work around me, Anton answered truthfully.
Is that why you are so willing to sell so many magical items, John asked?
That, and I had so many of them, Anton answered truthfully.
John switched back to using his voice,” That ring should allow you to reach me from anywhere on the planet, maybe even one of the local moons. If you’re out of range, I’ll send a message through the Portable Exchange Tab.”
“Sounds good. By the time I get back, the Assassin problem should be taken care of and the shadow council that actually runs the city will probably want to talk to me.”
John looked confused, “Shadow Council?”
A large city isn’t just run by the council that I destroyed. Some people were running them. I’m sure they’ll try to utilize their influence to stabilize and take control of the city. They’ll probably even put pressure on you. Don’t worry about it too much. When I get back, I’ll take care of it. Just keep yourself and ‘our’ business safe.”
Before John could respond, Anton released his manifested body and flew out the door and then off to the side and up around the edge of the portal over the Merchants District. He’d figure out where that portal went later. Right now, he wanted to get a feel for how the city was set up. He didn’t even bother looking around to see what was going on in the city. People were hunting for assassins and trying to make themselves rich. If there was one thing anyone could count on, it was the universal truth that while people might not be greedy, an easy way to increase their wealth would entice almost everyone to participate. As his speed as a Specter had increased to 27,877 miles per hour or about 8 miles in a second, Anton was 10 miles above the city within two seconds.
As Anton looked down on Haven, he could see that while it was a large city, the farmland surrounding it took up a large area of the land in all directions, which was surrounded by rivers on two sides and forests. On the other side of the forest to the north he could see mountains in the distance. The mountains had to be at least 100 miles away. To the south, past the forest, he could see a hint of lighter green and light brown beyond. Was there a desert to the south?
Anton flew south for a minute, and sure enough, after their forest, there was an extensive grassland followed by a desert that ended with a water line onto an open sea or ocean. From ten miles up, it had to be an ocean because he couldn’t see an end to the water to the west, east, or south.
Anton decided to see where this went and continued south. He brought the compass up on his head's up display in his vision and kept the compass pointer on South as he shot in that direction. He saw a couple small islands but nothing else stood out, except for…were those giant turtles? They looked like they were about an inch in size, which meant they were big. Anton paused his trip south to drop to the surface and verify that the turtles were in fact over sixty feet long. They were huge and seemed to be swimming on a course that was parallel to the coastline. He'd only been traveling for about 30 seconds when he noticed them so they couldn’t be more than 240 miles from the coast. Also, once he dropped in closer, he saw that the smaller sea turtles were all toward the center of the turtle swarm, which was the only way he could think of describing it. He also dipped below the surface and saw that a few adults were also swimming along under the young, protecting them from would-be predators that might come up from below.
Anton stayed a little closer to the surface as he only rose to about a mile above the turtles before he headed south again. After a minute he’d left the turtles far behind and continued until he saw a snow-covered coastline. Unlike a normal coast, he could tell that mountains rose out of the ocean to peaks that were over a mile high, where he could see large white birds…they weren’t birds, they were Wyverns, which promptly ignored him in his Specter form.
Once he crossed the coast, a group of large steaming lakes became visible and just 100 miles inland he came to a prominent meteorite impact site that was at least a mile in diameter with a lake at its center. At one end of the valley, the crater created a river that ran out of the crater valley as a waterfall that dropped at least one thousand feet to the ground below. Outside of the crater, the landscape was covered in snow, and even the mist from the waterfall crystallized as it dropped toward the ground below. The winds caught the snow and it dispersed for miles in all directions. As long as it remained cold here, it would snow all the time. Still, inside the crater, the natural warmth of the lake created a temperate zone.
Then something caught his attention. There was a mansion beside one of the lakes. A mansion that would not be out of place on 20th Century Earth. Sitting in a lawn chair next to the lake, in a purple bikini, well, the lower part anyway, sunbathing was a beautiful blonde woman. As Anton drew closer and his eyes took in her almost nude body, her lips quirked into a smile before she looked up directly at Anton. In a voice that carried evenly to him but didn’t seem to be any louder or softer than someone speaking as if they were right beside him, she said, “Please, join me,” as a chair appeared beside her. Her chair morphed around her as the top of her bikini and a loose white see-through camisole appeared on her.
Since she could clearly see him, Anton flew down, manifested beside the chair she’d provided, and sat down. “Good day, I am Anton. May I ask who I’m speaking with?”
The woman smiled before she said in a light-hearted voice, “So severe. Let’s say that I’m interested in this planet and have been watching you closely since you arrived.”
“And what did you think?”
“You get results that work in my favor so I am pleased,” she said.
“Okay, so why did you want to see me?”
A look of confusion crossed the woman’s face, “Me, wanting to see you? You’re the one flying to the southernmost continent and visiting me in the house I set up?”
“I…”
“Please, you may be able to take on the form of a ghost but I knew you were looking at me as soon as your eyes zeroed in on my chest. You were practically burning holes through my nipples,” she said with a laugh.
“That’s a bit of exaggeration…”
“Is it, where you looking at my chest?”
“Yes,” Anton admitted. If he were going to be damned, he’d be damned for shit he actually did, and he did look at her chest.
“And”
“And, you are very beautiful,” Anton said honestly.
“Not afraid I’ll think you’re a pervert, then?”
“Not at all. In the right circumstances I’ll even admit to being a bit perverted but in this case, seeing a topless woman sunbathing over 1,000 miles from civilization was a bit of a surprise. As I said, you are beautiful.”
Two glasses appeared between them on a table that had just appeared. “I think I like you, Anton. The glass is full of lemonade; please enjoy. And yes, I can see what abilities you have, so acting like you’re worried about poison being present will not work with me. Enjoy your lemonade.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” Anton said as he picked up the glass and took a drink. It was quite tasty.
After a minute she smiled and offered, “Please feel free to call me Liandra,”
“Very well Liandra, what are you doing on the planet. If you can tell who I am, you must have some very powerful skills or spells.
“Would you believe me if I said I’m working?”
“Why wouldn’t I believe you?”
“Okay, bad question. A major change happened a short while ago. That change has accelerated a few things, which the various SYSTEMS we know about, have reacted to; The Trial of Transcendence, the Battle Royale that you recently participated in, and a few other SYSTEM events in different universes that are going on even as we speak.
“Who is we?” Anton asked.
“It really doesn’t matter who ‘we’ is. All you need to know is that as an immortal, it is very likely that ‘we’ will cross paths. I wanted to take this opportunity to reach out so that even if we can’t be friends, we’d at least like not to be your enemy,”
“Are you a different faction of God than those running this Universe then?” Anton asked.
“Yes. But no, I am not a Goddess as it were, though it is arguable that I am as powerful as they are.”
Anton didn’t know if Liandra could be more powerful than the Gods but he guessed anything was possible, “So you saw an opportunity to talk to me and set up this encounter?”
“I did.”
“Very well, what’s your pitch?”
“Pitch?” Liandra asked.
“Deal. What do you want?” Anton clarified.
Liandra smiled, “Right now, nothing. One of us may need a favor later on, but at this moment we do not need anything from you.
“Now don’t get me wrong because the sexy blonde look is definitely you, but, why the half-naked introduction?” Anton said.
“Because it’s fun,” Liandra said with a massive smile as every artificial structure and she vanished simultaneously. Anton was left sitting on a log next to a naturally heated lake. The crater was still temperate and quite pleasant to sit in, but he was still on the southern continent of the coldest continent here.
Anton considered Liandra for another moment, figured there was now a third faction at play that he didn’t understand, and decided to continue exploring. He deactivated Manifest, shot out of the crater, and headed south until he came to a point where the compass failed to work. He kept his trajectory and continued until he left the frozen continent behind as he headed north on the opposite side of the world. He wondered what he was going to find on this side of the planet.