Killing an army turns out to be pretty solid XP.

Armor of Baldr is now level 8!
Move is now level 8!
Equilibrium is now level 7!
Kinetic Condenser is now level 3!
Summon/Dismiss is now level 15!
Convey is now level 4!
Kinetic Condenser is now level 4!
Heal is now level 12!
Quickcast is now level 9!
Biomancy is now level 15!
Move is now level 9!
Meditation is now level 7!

Lawmen of the First Station defeated!
+274,051XP
+$301,430
+314 suits of Lawmen armor (Hammer)
+94 suits of Lawmen armor (Brave)
+14 suits of Lawmen armor (Keeper)
+4 bags of keel nuts
+6 bok-whittling knives
+34 copies of Lawmen Guidelines and Bylaws

Inventory maximum reached. Excess loot sent to Temple.

DING! You’re now level 35 (from 33)!
+200HP
+200MP
+20 stat points
+2 paragon points

Lawmen of the Second Station defeated!
+204,952XP
+$259,024
+440 suits of Lawmen armor (Hammer)
+88 suits of Lawmen armor (Brave)
+9 suits of Lawmen armor (Keeper)

Inventory maximum reached. Excess loot sent to Temple.

DING! You’re now level 36!
+100HP
+100MP
+10 stat points
+1 paragon points

Lawmen of the Third Station defeated!
+234,952XP
+$259,024
+240 suits of Lawmen armor (Hammer)
+58 suits of Lawmen armor (Brave)
+4 suits of Lawmen armor (Keeper)

. . .

So the pop-ups continued. John was able to tally the suits of armor up to 1,104 Hammers, 304 Brawlers, 551 Braves, 93 Keepers, all 30 Shapers… and, although her armor remained on her body, one Warden. The Purifier’s armor or equipment was nowhere to be seen on the list; he had either not counted as John’s casualty… or he had survived. John had to hope for the former, but he couldn’t assume it, not with an enemy that able to kill on the scale John had seen.

But more than the flood of thousands of suits of armor in his Temple hopper and armory, John considered the thousands of lives that once occupied them… and how their blood had been shed to earn over a million U.S. dollars (in a system of conversion that still made no sense to John) and XP. He glanced at his empowered character sheet, baffled at his options… and at how relatively easy it had been to obtain power.

No, not easy… lives were put at risk, others lost, thousands killed for… for what? The Warden’s estimate of the adversity they would face had not been met; perhaps they had retreated, or perhaps the Warden of the Ninth Disk thought it wiser to withdraw just his or her forces. Whatever the reason, some Lawmen still remained… but the massacre was witnessed by the brave or foolish of the Plate, and word of the slaughter would reach criminal minds and ambitious souls soon enough. What chaos had John unleashed on the innocent by removing their police? Would it be better than the brutal rule of law before John intervened?

As he swiped away the notifications, two “achievements” popped up among the skill increases and gains.

Achievement unlocked! “Nothing Personal”!
Kill over 100 enemies by your own hand in a single battle. Like lambs to the slaughter!
+1,000XP
+1 stat point

Achievement unlocked! “You’ll be the Filth I Wash Away”!
Kill over 1,000 enemies by your own hand in a single day. Will the blood ever wash out?
+3,000XP
+100HP

John hastily dismissed them both, his teeth clenched as he did so. That half-hour of slaughter, of the enemy falling on him wave after wave with ceaseless bloodlust, with nothing but the want to kill him… it seemed so surreal now, and the hundreds of ways his victims twisted and strained as his blows laid **** into their spines, hearts, or brains began to blur together to form a macabre dance.

This was the right thing to do, wasn’t it? Everyone had said so, or seemed to agree to it… and yet it ate at him. His enemy was relentless in its threat to his cause, his people, and his beloved… but it still ate at him. Even if they attacked first, this was self-defense: their paths were inevitably crossed, and John had just secured the Plate for his people. So why was making everyone safer casting such doubt upon his thoughts? He busied himself with his sheet as he tried to distract himself; he had no answer for the mounting guilt on his heart except to swallow it and persist.

Stat Points: 71
Paragon Points: 8
Master XP: 1,672,241

He had a lot of decisions to make, and the coming challenges—whatever they were, given how little he knew of the Peak or of being a King—demanded he not waste his points. His personal strength had been required at times; getting his strength past 100 seemed wise both for the HP bump and any future requirements of his personal might, enhanced by perks as it already was. He also had agility perks to consider. With his mana and damage output—so far—sufficing, and charisma thus far doing almost nothing, it seemed best to dump his points into those two low stats.

+49 to Strength.
+22 to Agility.

Achievement unlocked! “Power and strength and appetite”!
You have gained 100 Strength and maxed out the paragon talent “Bulging Biceps”! Flex, boy!
+10,000XP
+5 Strength

Tempting as the additional health perks were, John needed something that sounded more useful in the coming battle. John had no interest in destroying Vantage, so Hack: Destroy was out; the inspiration perks were uninspiring to him; the greater and greater mana pools did not give him a new tool to use; he still hadn’t even seen the leylines necessary for Leyline Caster to mean anything; and Abysswalker…

ABYSSWALKER 0/5:
Allows creation or violation of illusion barriers without permission or spells of up to 2 square miles per level, and as long as the original barrier creator isn't of a higher level.
1: Created barriers may contain monsters set by level or be completely unoccupied.
2: Created barriers may feature time dilation, up 5^X% (where X is the level of Abysswalker).
3: Created barriers may feature a particular type of monster, instead of randomly chosen based on locale.
4: Created barriers may attempt to trap other material beings or specific entities within the Abyss, with success based on their paradigm and level.
5: Created barriers may include a partial breach, letting the Dream ravage the barrier.

… was another tool entirely, wasn’t it? Stemming from that same “paragon soul” root that gave him those spells that had saved him and others so many times, John had to wonder what could stem from such a perk. Moreover, creating barriers so aggressively permitted an entirely new mode of attack… and might be what permitted him some alone time with the so-called King of Vantage, even in the middle of her fortress.

The scenario seemed likely enough to John, and he would still have points left over for **** Casting, a tool that he had wished he had several times he had tried to use his paragon spells. With a slow nod, he began pouring his points into Abysswalker.

“John?” Tricia’s voice failed to break John out of his concentration, but he did nod with a “hmm?” in response. He had secluded himself into one of the spare “bedrooms” in the wall as he worked with an interface Tricia could not see; his focus, and more importantly his silence since returning, worried her. “I wanted to verify your… condition.”

“Condition?” John spoke as he finished plugging in the fifth point.

New skill gained: Abysswalk.
Abysswalk lvl 5 (max), variable mp
A multi-purpose spell that either creates or breaks into barriers.
Abysswalk (Creation): creates a barrier of a size up to 10 square miles in whatever shape the user desires. This barrier may contain monsters set by desired type and level, or be completely unoccupied; may feature time dilation of up to 3,125%; may be created to trap an individual or group of individuals, none of which exceed your level, who is/are either already inside it or wandering into its overlapping space on Earth or in a Kingdom; and may be constructed with a partial breach, inflicting raw Dream essence upon some or all of the barrier’s contents prior to the user or other parties entering. Costs [(100 per square mile) x (10 + (10 per variable added))]mp to use and reserves 10% of that until the barrier is dismissed. Only one Abysswalk barrier may be created at a time.
Abysswalk (Violation): infiltrates any illusion barrier not bearing a Throne and not made by a caster of higher level. This use costs 100mp per level of the barrier creator, +250mp per additional entity brought in from outside (not including summoned minions).

The spell’s efficacy against the Peak remained to be seen; for now, John was mostly curious about the new perks.

DELVER OF DREAMS 0/3
Grants greater sight of the Dream at large, permitting detection of Kingdoms far beyond the usual range. Detection range of Kingdoms is increased by an exponent equal to the ranks in this perk +1.

STIR THE ASHES 0/1
Permits the exploration of abandoned or hidden Kingdoms: realms that either contain an infinity gem not yet converted into a Throne, or permanent remnants of some past reality lost in the Dream. Such realms are unveiled when within half your maximum Bridge distance, regardless of ranks in Delver of Dreams or other paragon perks.

What the… shouldn’t these be in Paragon Mind? And these don’t even do anything worth… damn it… damn it!

“You haven’t spoken to anyone since-” Tricia visibly flinched as John pounded the wall behind him, cracking it with the sudden impact.

Many heads turned at the worrying sound; cursing, John hovered his hand over the interface anew. “Sorry,” he started in a loud reply until, with a flinch, he realized how surprised Tricia had been by the outburst. Quieter, he said, “I just…”

“It’s alright. I’ll… come back later,” Tricia muttered.

“Wait, no, it’s about the Game, not about you! Sorry, I mean it,” John urged, his eyes too worried for Tricia to leave. “I… I’m…”

Tricia took a step closer to him, her eyes wandering over his armor. It was barely marred by use; unlike with Miles, the enemy had barely had any chance to lay a mace, rune, or claw on John. She considered his tenderness, and how it wasn’t anywhere to be found in his current mood… and the idea brought a tiny, mischievous smile to her lips. “Do you want to… take another ‘break’ in an illusion barrier?”

John blinked at her… and gave a small smile as he caught her drift. “You know I always will be.”

“Is Master alri-aie?!” Until now, Lily had been very cautiously making her way towards the sound of her Master’s voice; she had heard his brief exchange and, even then, had not managed to get a word in with him. Useless as she felt without her glasses, she couldn’t bear the idea of failing to attend to her Master’s needs… especially if they were sexual.

Level one or not, Lily was a succubus; she knew exactly where the conversation began to head, and she grew too eager to continue her cautious, groping journey towards John’s voice. So she ran headlong towards it… and into, then over, a low bench. John tunneled her prone body into the bedroom behind him, flopping her onto the cushions inside. John addressed her before returning to the interface, “Lily, why are you still walking around when you can’t see a damn thing?”

**** Casting +3

“W-Well,” Lily struggled to manage as she sat up, her fingers steepled nervously as she tried to look at John… and instead was stuck staring at the back of the hole she was in.

“She has been very forceful about helping you,” Tricia sighed, “even with the former Order members who are wary of her appearance... for obvious reasons.”

John glanced back at Lily; the squinty-eyed succubus was now groping a wall in her efforts to find him. “Oh yes, quite the threatening hellbeast,” he muttered. He looked at his new sheet one more time before shutting it down.

“Aha,” Lily exclaimed as she heard his voice, “Master!” She perched her hands and chin on his leather clad thigh, grabbing hold of him as if she were afraid of losing track of him forever. “You worried us so… and to think you went out there, blindly attacking so many enemies…”

John shifted where he sat; inadvertently, she returned him to his worries… and the threat that lay ahead. “That’s…”

“What if there had been a nice, two-star bounty or some such out there?!”

John looked askance as Lily pursed her lips in an effort to seem upset.

“Without me there to guide you, who knows what opportunities you missed! What if you even spared a bounty?!”

“Christ, Lily… do you even still have the bounty system in that head?” John looked at her sheet proper.

“W-Well yes! I just need to find a bounty to test it, that’s all… and there’s probably one hiding in here somewhere! They’re like cockroaches,” she continued, missing his surprised expression, “but if cockroaches were filled with diamonds that were full of tasty souls, and if cockroaches had guns—Master, you can deal with guns, right? Back at that awful prison—”

But John wasn’t surprised about her ability… rather, there was another detail, one on her sheet, that had not appeared until now… not until she sat muttering by his side, calling him Master, and only after arriving to Vantage. “Lily… who’s your Master?”

“Oh… well, after the… um, my other master,” she carefully explained, still bound by John’s instructions to keep his ties to the Extinction Kings a secret, “you, Master.”

“Other… master?” Tricia repeated, her eyebrow raised in suspicion.

“Well… maybe not so much, anymore.”

Lily (CAPTURABLE: WILLING)
Level 1 Succubus Minimus
<The Extinction Kings>
HP: 23/23
MP: 90/90
Stats: Str 12, Agi 14, End 20, Int 17, Wis 12, Cha 24, Lib 56
Status Effects: Resurrection Sickness (12 days), Terminal Demon Illness (Amor)
Qualities: alluring, demon, flight (disabled), immune to charm, sex eater (disabled), short-sighted
R/S: +200
An adorable, weak, and occasionally pathetic succubus who cannot gain levels or drain life energy. Her last orders were to serve you, but she has fallen quite head-over-heels for you and even married you against all better judgment given the conflict of interests and lack of professionalism in doing so. She secretes a lust-inducing sweat and has a habit of sweating kind of a lot. Her pitiful shortsightedness requires very special lenses to correct her vision, as demon eyes do not focus and perceive the world as those of mortal creatures do.

Capturable…?! She had been **** or **** before, but this prompt had never appeared before. But then, that was mostly when he paid her mind, and that was back on Earth when he had the luxury; only now, as she sighed happily by being on his lap, did he finally realize what had come to pass. “Are you sure… being sent here didn’t wipe your previous master’s control of you?”

“W-What? Hah, of course not, that would be… so strange…” Lily squinted up at John before slowly climbing up him, bringing her face close to his. She smelled of sweat and strawberries. “W-Why would you suggest it? Are you trying to trick me?” she pouted.

“If… if it was true, would you want me to… brand you?”

Lily beamed a smile. “O-Of course! That’s like getting re-married, but better!”

Tricia choked on nothing at that.

Lily couldn’t see Tricia, but she imagined a jealous expression on that mere mortal’s face. “And Lily would love to be branded before all your other ex-wives,” she half-sang, “if it were possible.”

John wasn’t sure how to respond to that… though the idea of putting her in the psychosphere room, and letting her detect bounties from the safety of his head… and she did want it anyways… so...