Reincarnation_RPG Read online

  “Exactly,” Tom said with a big smile on his face.

  “That wasn’t a compliment.”

  “I don’t follow,” Tom said, crossing his arms and trying to give John an ugly look, but John was too busy studying the landscape.

  “It’s really nice to feel that people are counting on you, but a leader is someone who isn’t needed, because they already did their job.”

  “That doesn’t make sense,” Tom said.

  “It’s about to. How do I make this thing do what I want?” John asked.

  “Just extend your mind to the area you want to affect. Identify what you want to do. The dungeon core will interpret your will as best it can, and you’ll see the changes.”

  “Ok, just point and think. Finally, something I can handle,” John said.

  John looked at mountain range and held out two hands in front of him. He lowered them, and the mountains receded into the ground with a thunderous roar that could be heard from where he was. He looked to the south where the desert seemed to go on for miles and raised one hand. Mountains reformed. He swept another arm at the Tar sea, and it receded as cracks in the earth opened up and swallowed the Tar before closing again, showing a smooth layer of rock. John aimed a fist at the rock and a giant section rose from one end of the Tar Sea to the entrance of the dungeon, becoming a road. The home inside the dungeon rose from underneath the ground, while the rest collapsed in on itself. The Generals and Max were lifted into the air as the rock shifted and merged with iron ore until a skyscraper stood with the stone mansion at the top. John flattened the dungeon entrance, so there was no trace of the it.

  “What are you doing? You’re destroying the dungeon,” Tom shouted.

  “That is one of the goals. Now, shut up and watch. This next part is going to take a lot of concentration,” John said.

  He raised his arm out to the sea and drew it into the desert. He twisted it and lowered it, letting it snake its way down and through the desert. It fell and filtered itself through the sand, falling underneath the small cracks into the large underground cavern. The river slowed but kept going until it reached the sunken smooth rock that used to be the Tar Sea and now had been transformed into a giant lake with a road running through it. John felt a little lightheaded and heard a warning sound in his mind. He was getting close to using the rest of the crystal.

  “Not yet. We have one last thing to do,” John grunted against the blaring noise in his mind.

  He reshaped the rock that lay beneath the surface of the sand and made it rise to the surface. The rock took the form of stairs, homes, pillars, a bath house, and a citadel. An entire city rose above the ground, capable of housing thousands, with buildings that rose as high as skyscrapers.

  John felt the throne he was sitting on fall away from him for a brief second before readjusting to catch John and Tom.

  “That’s a warning. The Crystal is almost out of power. If you keep going, it will be out completely, and we’ll fall, breaking the dungeon core controls,” Tom shouted.

  “It’s fine. There’s only one thing left I need to do,” John said.

  He flicked a hand in the air to see the area of the dungeon that gave negative stats. Ones that made you weaker -20% on strength -10% on wisdom along with damaging curses. John removed them all and placed +50% in charisma, added healing attributes to the city, wisdom, intelligence, and even a mild calming effect on everyone that entered the town.

  John put the final changes on the status alignments and felt the chair start to lower.

  “I hope you’re finished, because the dungeon core is out of juice. There’s no more for even a brief rainstorm. Everyone is going to be disappointed.”

  “We’ll see,” John said as the throne descended into the skyscraper that held the throne room and the Generals.

  “What did you do?” Quway asked, looking from one of the windows that lined the large room.

  “I decided to make this world work for me for a change. I’ve changed the dungeon core into a city core. We are going to get a lot of people visiting here soon.”

  “What did you do?” Zyn asked. “I feel strange.”

  “I’ve changed some of the curses to affect everyone for the better. Soon this place will be famous. It might take a few months, but you’ll see as this desert changes into something more.”

  Chapter 9

  The months that followed proved John more or less right. The mountains that were lowered allowed rain to come back into the desert, while the new mountain range caught snow on their caps to allow for natural run off. The saltwater from the ocean filtered and deposited itself in the large cavern that used to be a dungeon. The river widened farther than John had originally wanted washing away much of the sand, but with the help of the Generals, they were able to haul enough rocks to stop it from reaching the city. The river brought in fish and other creatures that were used to alleviate the food and water shortage, but the important part was bringing in soil.

  John had changed the climate and the dungeon into a city to allow for travel. The Demi-Humans, who were able to change into human form, left to bring back needed supplies and start trade. The Demi-Humans were able to create magically infused items that had not been seen in the world for over a thousand years.

  Tom had explained to John that it was originally Demi-Humans who had shown man how to use magic. The most powerful mages had been killed in the war with Thomas thousands of years ago. There was very little information on how to train, use or work with magic. John seized that opportunity. He had been wracking his brains to figure out how to develop his newly made city into a sustainable place that didn’t require constant work like:

  “Sir, there’s no drainage in the streets.”

  “My Lord, what do with all the new pests that have inhabited the city?”

  “What are we supposed to do with all the sewage waste?”

  “I hear a neighboring country is sending scouts to find out what happened to the Tar sea.”

  “My Lord, we’ve found three assassins in your bedroom this week.”

  It was always something! However, with the ability to create magical goods, they could start trading, and people always overlooked their own prejudice if there was profit in it for them. John only let the most skilled Demi-Humans leave under the strictest terms. They weren’t suited to be traders and recruiters. Most were Quway’s people who had the uncanny ability to blend into a crowd and lose anyone tailing them. They were the first wave, the first contact with the outside world. John sent them and made sure they sold quality goods at extremely low prices to the masses.

  Farmers and peasants who worked 16 hours a day were finding magical shovels that cut through the ground like it was butter. Quality kitchen knives, healing, and stamina potions. They were living better than some of the aristocracy. That was only the first part of John’s plan. The area where the Tar Sea had been had a horrible reputation, but the only people who knew the history of it were the very few who had received the most expensive education. Instead, Quway’s traders had a second objective; they spread rumors to the adults and children.

  It took a while for the main population to grow and even more for the human population to remain tolerant, but it was less work than John had thought. The status boosts he gave caused everyone to be a little more understanding, a little more forgiving, and find something they had in common. The ones who came so far away looking for work and opportunity had plenty. After a few months, the city was teeming with life as people went to installing wells and fixing parts of the city that John had not thought about when he first had created it.

  The people and the Demi-Humans were making this place their own, and it was more than John could hope for. He still put what little mana he had at the end of the day into the mana crystal, but his chores throughout the day kept him so busy he would often just go to his bed and fall straight to sleep.

  Max stopped wearing armor and had changed into plain clothes. Since she was always by John’s side, she
had stopped being his retainer and had transitioned more into a brawling assistant, which scared John more. She always made sure he was on time for daily meetings with the Generals and to settle disputes but couldn’t stand to be in them, and instead, she would always find she had something better to do, but John always noticed she was nearby when the stress was getting to him. She never had any words to say but having her near helped with the long days.

  However, he was happy. Besides the occasional assassins, who were quickly dealt with by Zyn’s guards, Quway’s secret police, or were unlucky enough to come across Max first, he didn’t have to worry about his life or anyone coming to find him. Everything was going smoothly. He had built a city that would soon flourish into a country. With the help of Tom, he had even started to write up a government process with what little he could remember from his history and government classes and the information that Tom had available. It was when they finished the first draft of the new government standards, elections, and processes that he asked Tom.

  “Ok, so we’re done?”

  “I’d say this is a good place to stop for the day,” Tom said.

  “No, I mean everything is ready for me to finally go home. The city is pretty much self-sufficient, and when the Generals start the elections, I won’t have anything else to do. They are able to live freely,” John said.

  “Yes, they are, even more so than they could when Thomas was around. I had hoped you had decided to forget about going home since so many need you here. You’re their hope.”

  “So, let them build a statue of me somewhere and forget about it. Don’t get me wrong, this world, once you get used to it, isn’t so bad, and it’s not like I’m going to leave right away, but a deal is a deal, and I held up my end. I have friends and parents back in the real world. They’re going to be so surprised when I get back. How does it work anyway? Can I choose the time I go back or is it like the car crash never happened to me? There’s no rush, but I think we’ve done enough that it’s time for me to prepare for my leave.”

  “About that, John, I have some bad news to tell you about going home. You can use the journal to go home, but when you return, you won’t have any of the powers you’ve gained in this world,” Tom said.

  “I’m not worried about that. I figured it would be that way.”

  “I’m not done. This hasn’t been used before. It is a risk whether it will even work,” Tom said, while walking around the table to where John kept ink and paper. He wrote down the password for John on it.

  “I know it’s a lot. I’ll leave this with you and check up on you tomorrow. Just think hard before you commit to anything,” Tom said, stepping out of the office that was in the highest building of the city.

  John looked out the window, where he could see the sun setting over the lake with it’s one long white road leading to the rest of the world, and he had a long thought about his place in this world and where he was from.

  John stayed up late sitting in his office, not wanting to leave for the night. He knew Max would be waiting for him outside the large doors, even though he had encouraged her to go out at night. One of the people who had come from the Kroacea kingdom had brought different recipes for alcohol, which made the bars in the area a new tourist attraction. Some nights he convinced her, but tonight, he didn’t feel like talking to anyone and just wanted to stay in his office brooding for the next hour or until Max finally decided to come force him to get some sleep.

  However, it wasn’t Max that burst through his door. Instead, it was a bumbling trader. John stood up, unsure of how the man had gotten into his office, but the man collapsed as soon as he entered the room, and John suddenly heard Quway’s voice out of nowhere.

  “Don’t go near him!” Quway said.

  “What’s wrong with him?” John asked.

  “I don’t know. I didn’t feel him until he was already on this floor. He’s one of my spies; he was disguised as a trader, but I feel something horrible coming from him.”

  Max came into the room after hearing the commotion.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, and John noticed she had one of her daggers drawn.

  “I’m not sure but stay back. I don’t know what’s wrong with him,” Quway said.

  The trader’s breath was harsh and ragged as he lay on the floor. Black boils bubbled on his skin, and he moaned in pain. His eyes were sealed shut by the swelling in his face.

  “Quway?” he rasped, recognizing the voice.

  “I’m here.”

  “A message for John. Chris knows where you are, and he is coming,” he said, and as if on cue, the boils on his skin burst open, pooling blood as he took one last gasp of relief before passing.

  Quway looked around the room like he was taking stock of the people inside it. John only saw Quway and Max standing over the dead body.

  “Take the body back to be preserved and examined. Find out if he had any interaction with anyone. If he so much as sneezed on someone, I want them quarantined,” Quway said. Two shadows appeared from the corners of the room and wrapped the body in a glowing levitation magic that even picked up the blood from the floor. When they left, there wasn’t even the slightest trace that someone had died in the office.

  “Quway, I thought we agreed there would be no spies in my or anyone’s offices,” John said more out of habit than actual anger.

  “We did, and I complied.”

  “Then who were those two?”

  “Those were body guards. You said that each general could assign two body guards,” Quway said matter-of-factly.

  John smacked the palm of his hand to his forehead. He had originally said that to stop from looking like some kind of mafia boss with thirty soldiers around him. Quway had not objected or sent anyone, and John had assumed that it meant Quway simply thought the soldiers that Zyn and Xyla had provided were enough. He should have known the Sordid Clan would never let an opportunity slip past them.

  “Call the generals for an emergency meeting tonight. And Quway,” John said narrowing his eyes.

  “Yes.”

  “Don’t mention anything about me going home,” John said.

  “I live only to serve,” Quway said, bowing before he walked out of the door.

  If I manage to live through this, I am going to have to talk with him and his elders.

  John walked down the long hall to the stairs that would lead to the throne room with the city core. It was the designated meeting room in the event of emergencies where only the Generals and John needed to talk. Max followed him. He could never hear her footsteps but knew from experience that she was there.

  “What did you mean ‘going home’?” Max asked.

  “Going home for the night, nothing big. We have something larger to worry about right now.”

  “If it was just about going home for the night, you wouldn’t have had to make sure to silence Quway. I know you think of me as a mindless secretary, but that is only because I have never had a reason to object to your direction, or question it, as my life is yours,” Max said.

  “I’ve told you countless times that debt is bullshit,” John said to defend himself.

  “You do not have to hold the rules of my tribe as truth for me to follow them. It is enough that they are mine. You think I don’t remember how we met, or that I know your desire is to go home. All the generals know you are a temporary relief, and they are getting ready for when you leave. They did not play nice with each other before you came, and they will not play nice now.”

  “I’m working on it. It’s not like I’m just going to jump up and leave without a word. I’ll make sure there’s a plan in place to keep those three in line before I leave,” John said, opening the doors to the throne room.

  He walked up the stone stairs to the throne, and Max stayed standing at the bottom of them. When he reached the top of the stairs and sat down in the stone throne, Tom appeared next to him.

  “Have the generals arrived already?” John asked.

  �
�You know them,” Tom said, and John looked up the balcony on either side to see Zyn, Xyla and Quway standing and waiting for him.

  “Why do we need to be called because of one man?” Xyla asked.

  “We are called because there was an assassination attempt on John,” Zyn said.

  “We are here, because we all have just been threatened with extinction,” Quway said.

  “The man was contagious?” John asked, and Quway nodded.

  “We have already started quarantining the city. People are being told to stay inside and out of the streets. If we’re lucky, the disease only spreads through physical contact. My people are already hunting anyone who encountered the messenger and placing them in quarantine,” Quway said.

  “Do not use the word hunting. I want the people who have been taken to be treated with respect and care. They are going to be scared, and I don’t want to cause a panic,” John said, and Quway nodded.

  “My soldiers are acting as enforcers to keep people in their homes and out of harm’s way,” Zyn said.

  “Call your enforcers back and keep them centered only where the messenger came from. Your soldiers get too excited when you let them off the leash like that. They are to encourage people to stay indoors and only to use force if someone objects. Even then, they should detain, not fight. I do not want a riot happening. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Crystal,” Zyn said.

  “My soldiers are scouting the surrounding area, making sure no one else appears that may be infected,” Xyla said.

  “You mean they’re staying out of danger,” Zyn shouted.

  “Stop,” John yelled. “Xyla how many of your soldiers allocated in the city do you have scouting?”

  Xyla remained silent for a moment before responding like a guilty child.

  “All of them,” she said.

  “Keep two in the sky. The rest need to be out surveying the city. Survey alleys and rooftops for anyone that is in the zone Quway has found and help Zyn’s soldiers by escorting them home or to a local jail if they do not comply. This time of night, you’ll encounter a lot of heavy drinkers who won’t want to go straight home. Convince them. Also gather all the top healers in the city. I want them working on the sick to try to find a cure and ease the suffering for those that are beyond saving.”