The Pilot of Wrath

Chapter 20 – Reckless Stupidity

Matt and his group watched the ranting human march up to them, obviously angry. Matt observed and took in what this Lord Alfron Princote was wearing. He was a moderately tall man, with pale skin and a mop of brown hair flopped over to one side. He seemed to have a black military uniform, with a high collar neatly buttoned above a shining steel breastplate. The saber Matt had spotted wasn’t the only weapon on his hip as there was also a highly polished revolver in a belt holster opposite the sword. Finally, Matt used identify.

Human. Level 18

Level 18 was not bad from what Matt had seen of this group but a whole 10 levels below his own. He has heard quite a lot about this guy from Rohm and Franklin but would reserve his own judgement for now. He could also feel that the man had a blessing of some sort but there was no telling from which god. It turned out he wouldn’t have to wait long since the lord had finally crossed the distance from the mech to the small group.

“Governor Franklin.” Alfron began, his tone very condescending. He then addressed Rohm “Captain Rohm, is that your construct?”

“Yes, Lord Alfron, I was…” Rohm began before he was cut off by Alfron who turned and addressed Matt.

“And you. I assume that the other one is yours?”

“Yeah, we just got here.” Matt said, waving his hand to Tobias. “We were just…”

Alfron cut him off before he could say any more. “I will have you know that failing to have your construct standing in the marshaling yard is a punishable offense. Since you are new, I will let it slide this time.”

Matt dead panned him for a moment before responding. “I am not one of your guards to order around. We only arrived here less than an hour ago and were negoi…” Matt was cut off again and the pattern was becoming obvious.

“Then consider yourself conscripted.” Alfron sneered. “You will take your construct to the marshaling yard with captain Rohm and then we can see about fixing the exterior.”

“What’s wrong with it?” Matt asked, skipping past the first part. He planned to circle back to that in a more creative manner. Franklin and Rohm seemed to be ok with Matt handling the situation on his own for now.

“What’s wrong with it?” Alfron sputtered. “It’s garish and completely unsightly. It is dishonorable to try and conceal yourself on the field of battle. And further…”

Now it was Matt’s turn to cut him off. “Bullets and blades don’t care about honor. I will not be a conscript in your frankly unimpressive military. So, you can take all this talk of rules and gallantry and shove them up your ass for all I care.” Surprisingly, Matt was allowed to finish his sentence, most likely because Alfron was just staring at him, mouth handing open and face turning red.

“How dare you!” The stunned man unfortunately didn’t stay that way for long. “Such gross insubordination from a level zero. I will cut you down myself. I challenge you to a duel!” the last part was shouted and everyone that hadn’t already been looking at them was now staring in shock.

“No.”

Alfron was stunned again. “What do you mean no? Are you a coward after all?”

Matt sighed. “I mean no because dueling is stupid. All that happens is one or both people die, leaving the city no better off.” Matt paused then turned to the Governor, having an idea float through his mind. He couldn’t be sure if it was his or if it was Van’s influence, but it stuck. “Frank, is this guy really necessary? It seems he is doing more harm than good.”

After a moment to consider, Franklin gave his assessment. “He is the only commander we have.” After a pause, he continued. “Unless your offer stands?”

Matt nodded then turned back to the still red-faced lord. “I guess you are in luck, I changed my mind. So how does this duel work? Want to use our constructs or do we duke it out on foot?”

“Humph, I see you found a spine after all, pity you’ll never get any levels to actually use it.” Again, Alfron sneered, looking Matt up and down. “Let’s fight on foot, I don’t want to damage your construct core when I kill you.” He then promptly turned and strutted out into the open field next to the where the interaction had taken place. He scraped his heel over a spot in the ground then walked about 50 meters and did it again.

Tobias was giving him a look that read ‘I hope you know what you are doing’ and followed them toward the area that Alfron had picked. There was nothing of value in the area and the only back drop was the walls of the city. The growing crowd of spectators decided to stay back on the other side of the road, keeping a few hundred meters between them and the hasty arena.

Matt understood what it was Alfron had marked out, starting points. With a smile at the others, he put his helmet back on and took his place. Rohm began to follow, saying he could officiate, but Franklin decided to take that role. He said it would bring some legitimacy to the fight.

“Any rules?” Matt called out to Alfron.

“To the death.” The man shouted back as he drew his pistol and saber. Matt noted he used his left hand for the pistol and his right for the sword. Matt shrugged and pulled out his rifle, getting in a squared off stance with his muzzle pointed down, mimicking Alfron.

“If there is no way to resolve this peacefully?” Franklin questioned, seeing 2 head shakes he sighed. “Then, in 3…2…1. Begin!”

Alfron was the first to move, mostly because Matt wanted to see what he would do. He leveled his pistol at Matt and fired, the round went very wide, passing to the left of his torso by what felt like more than an arm span. With a yell, he charged, saber low and behind with the revolver still pointed at Matt. Alfron began to cock the hammer to fire another shot but that was when Matt acted.

Snapping his rifle up, Matt flipped the selector switch, rotating past semi and straight to auto. He centered his sight on Alfron’s chest while he was still 30 meters away, then pulled and held the trigger. A long burst of over a dozen rounds crossed the distance in a flash and hit the man in the chest plate. There must have been some defense skill active since Matt noticed mana rushing to the area along with a yellow shimmer rippling from the impacts. Still, regardless of the penetration, it stopped Alfron in his tracks. Matt then let loose a second burst, this time imbued with his plasma affinity.

There was no stopping the second burst that Matt fired. 5 rounds, all imbued with his plasma, ripped right through both the front and back of the armor, carrying a spray of metal and viscera out the back. He saw a burst of light and mana as the first broke the protective shield, but nothing after the man dropped to the ground in a heap. Advancing a little further, Matt saw he was still alive, so he moved at an angle to see the man’s face. The expression was of fear and disbelief. Matt just stopped 10 meters away, looking him in the eyes.

“To the death.” Was all Matt said before he put a final round through Alfron’s head, ending the fight. As he turned to face Franklin and the crowd of now stunned onlookers, his rear camera picked up on some movement. In the distance, next to all the other constructs around the barracks, one fell face down into the dirt. The onlookers from the duel all began whispering to each other but not loud enough for Matt to hear over the distance.

Matt stood over the body of the former commander. “Pathetic. Not even a level out of you.” He said to the corpse. The fight was exactly as he expected, short and brutal. Matt didn’t want to stretch the experience out and longer than it had to be.

He wasn’t sure how he felt about killing the man. On one hand it wasn’t Matt’s first time taking a human life but on the other it was very sudden, the circumstances feeling odd to him. Hearing footsteps he looked up to see Tobias walking up to him with Franklin and Rohm hanging back, eyes wide with an unfamiliar expression on their faces.

“Tamp it down bro.” Tobias said.

It took Matt a moment to figure out what Tobias was talking about, but then realized his aura was flaring out over the area around him. He reigned it in and Tobias gave him a nod, walking over and clapping him on the shoulder. “I got to figure that aura shit out. I can’t keep letting it go nuts when I’m not paying attention to it.”

Tobias turned to the other 2, still waiting at a distance and waved them over. “It’s not the most convenient but it doesn’t actually hurt anything. Well, it doesn’t hurt them yet. After it’s changes at your evolution there is no telling how powerful it will get in the future.”

Matt turned to Franklin who had made his way over. “So, what now?”

The orc hesitated for a moment. “Um, well. Everything he had is yours by right of conquest. His title, position, equipment and other belongings all rightfully belong to you now.” Rohm was nodding along, seemingly confirming the words.

Thinking about it for a minute, Matt came to a decision. “His construct goes to the forge for Tobias to do whatever with. As for his other things, give it to whoever needs it.” Matt took a breath, steeling himself for the next part. “I want neither his title nor position. I am happy to take an advisory role, but I will not be the commander of the fighting forces.” He looked at Franklin. “I leave you to pick the next commander.”

Without missing a beat, Franklin clapped Rohm on the back. “Well Rohm, I think it goes without saying, as the next most senior in the chain of command, this falls on you.”

Rohm didn’t exactly look happy about the situation, but his aura felt more determined than anything else. Matt didn’t know of the succession before but seeing as Rohm was the only other person he knew; it was fine by him.

Rohm bowed deeply from the waist and addressed Matt specifically. “Thank you, Matt. You have done a great service by removing that tyrant from our midst. I will not let you down.” He stood straight again before continuing. “I have a small request. Can you address the rest of the pilots and inform them of the change and your plans?”

“I’ll do you one better.” Matt said, looking to both Franklin and Rohm. “Gather anyone that is a combat focused person and have them assemble for a quick meeting. Um, on second thought. How many people is that?” Matt had to back pedal on his statement, unsure of how much he was biting off.

“Of our 50 thousand citizens, give or take, about half had originally wanted to focus on combat related classes. Not all are of a soldiering profession like pilots, probably only a quarter of our total, probably less.” Franklin said as he rubbed his chin.

“Ok, so 10 to 15 thousand?” Matt asked getting a nod from Rohm. “Shit that’s a lot more than I thought. Hmm, here is the plan. Frank, can you survey the populace to find out who wants to be military so we can get firm numbers?” Getting another nod, he moved to Rohm. “I will go with you to meet the pilots today.”

“We should probably schedule a meeting for broad plans if there are major changes being made.” Tobias said to Franklin. “How about with us and a few key leaders?”

“Sounds great.” Franklin said. “I will calm the masses and get things ready. How about we meet tomorrow morning?”

Matt and Tobias agreed. Rohm lead the group to the pilot’s area where a crowd had already gathered around Alfron’s fallen construct. A few saw them coming and ran over after spotting Rohm.

“Captain Rohm, what’s happening?” asked an elf as she got close enough.

“Alfron is dead. He tried to honor duel Matt here and lost. He lost badly, not even getting a hit in.” Rohm told her.

“You must be joking.” She looked at Matt, a funny look appearing on her face.

Matt saw where this was going and stowed his hood in his storage ring. The elf gasped and covered her mouth. Rohm looked shocked at the reveal, finally being able to see Matts level. Franklin was behind Matt, muttering under his breath about stupidity and foolishness.

The elf woman immediately bowed and spoke to Matt. “Commander Matt, I apologize. Please forgive me for not showing the proper respect.”

Rohm facepalmed while Tobias laughed. Matt raised her up so he could talk to her properly. “I am not the commander. I don’t want his title and passed it to Rohm.” Seeing the confused look on her face he continued. “My name is Matt Shultz, I’m new to the city, just arriving an hour ago. What’s your name?”

“I am called Jess, lord Matt.”

“Knock it off with the lord stuff. I don’t care about titles and come from a nation with a rocky history involving nobility.” He looked her up and down, seeing that she was not wearing the plate armor of other pilots. “I assume you are a pilot? What is your specialty?” He had identified her as a level 6 but, as per usual, didn’t get more than race and level.

“Well, I am auxiliary. Lord Alfron didn’t care for women in “His” guard but couldn’t do anything sine myself and a few other women are pilots.” She shot a nervous look at Rohm who just smiled kindly.

“Rohm, what is the average level of pilot?” Matt asked.

“I would guess that of the 200 of us that only 30 are above level 10.” Seeing the look from Matt, he explained. “Lord Alfron kept us in a guard position. We rarely fought anything with most of us only getting to where we are because of the 5 levels we got from the tutorial.”

“Alright Rohm, Jess. Gather the pilots for a quick meeting. This shit is changing now.”

Both of them sped away, Jess running to the barracks with Rohm going to the group of pilots. Matt confirmed with Franklin that he would be present for this meeting to prevent any hearsay and back Matt’s story. He went to go retrieve his mech while Tobias walked with Franklin over to the marshaling yard. Diverting slightly back to the scene of the duel, Matt shoved the corpse into his storage. No sense leaving it out in the sun.

Matt climbed in the mech and moved over to the assembled pilots. Van began commenting on his fight after getting a quick brief on the situation. The general theme of Van’s thoughts was he wished it was a mech fight so he could properly crush the man. Matt promised that they would have future fights but for now he had to have a talk with his “peers”.

It would be said by everyone present that this was not the most inspiring speech and indeed left the majority of those gathered rather confused. Matt approached in his mech, he knelt and left a hand hovering above the ground so everyone could see him when he stood there. Looking out to the small crowd, he saw all the various races, elves, felids, humans, and a scattering of other beast folk, even what he thought were a couple dwarves.

Taking off his helmet, he cleared his throat and began to address the group. “Hello. My name is Matt, I traveled here with my friend Tobias. We arrived not long ago, and it seems I found a bit of trouble parading around in the guise of a “commander””. There was a little laugh from some of them, proving once again that Alfron was not well liked. “He challenged me to a duel about honor or something and he lost.”

“The end result is that Rohm is now the commander of the military in this city since, frankly, I couldn’t be bothered with that.” Another laugh but more strange looks. “I will be acting as an advisor to Rohm for now with our first task being to fix all the mistakes that have been made. You have been on the ground for the same amount of time that I have, but your levels are just… awful.” A couple people nodded but even more looked offended until they identified Matt and saw the disparity.

Matt continued for a little while longer, telling the pilots that there would be a more formal meeting the next day. He fielded a handful of questions about some of the plans but deflected most of them until the next day. Thankfully, Rohm took over and dismissed the crowd, telling them to return to their duties for now. Before leaving, Rohm offered him space in the barracks, but Matt declined, saying that he would camp out tonight.

Rohm took his leave, promising to get a list of pilots, their roles and questions or complaints for the meeting the following afternoon. After he left, Franklin invited Matt and Tobias on a brief tour of the settlement. He explained that it could not be referred to as a city until the local area was “subjugated”. He said there had to be a greater average level of the populace than the local beasts which grew in level moving outward from the walls. At a certain range, the settlement would become a city and there would be additional stages to the growth after that.

Matt was unaware of this but was able to confirm the levels increasing in the forest the farther out they went. While they talked, Franklin guided them to a small building with nothing inside except a table, some crude chairs and a map. The map being hand drawn and showing the city and the surrounding area. He explained that they only had accurate surveys a kilometer from the walls and the rest was just based on visual observation from the walls themselves.

Another map, much more heavily marked than the first, showed the star shape of the settlement. This one had a series of grid lines lightly overlaid showing a much more accurate scale. The settlement had 6 points to the star with the V between each point having a gate. The internal size was a little hard to pin down, but Matt saw that from inside point to its opposite was over 6 kilometers across.

There were markers for a few building projects and Tobias asked how they built the walls so quickly. They then had a half hour explanation of how the settlement point system worked and what Franklin had decided to do.

“Ya see, in the tutorial we were all given some basic guidance on our classes, mine focused more heavily on my governor class than my defender class. After I made it to level 5 and selected my first skill, I was allowed to open the city planning and control hub. It is populated with a basic city, and you can trade based on that value.” Franklin paused to make sure they were still following along.

“I chose to forgo some of the niceties in favor of a better location, resource wise, and a better perimeter wall. I only kept the forge since I was hoping to get a Forge Master like I said earlier. The way I see it, we can build everything else and buy things from the forge if we cant.” Franklin explained.

“So, the forge can make buildings?” Tobias asked.

“Well, no. It can make tools and some things like a metal forge or any parts but it’s a hefty sum. You can offset the cost to summon those items if you have designs, materials or are replicating something that was already made.” Franklin looked a little ashamed of his admission.

“Smart play.” Matt said, giving Franklin a thumbs up.

“Oh, well someone finally thinks so.” The orc laughed. “Truth be told I think the novelty wore off after the first week of roughing it. We focused on housing and kitchens before anything else. I wanted to make sure the people are fed and housed first.”

“What resources are in the area?” Tobias asked. “You said that you picked a better location. What did you mean?”

Franklin pulled out the map of the surrounding area again and pointed to some marked locations farther out than the 1-kilometer survey range. “The hub showed me a general layout of the area with resources that could be found. Here we have metal deposits, doesn’t say what kind so don’t ask. And over here is plenty of stone for buildings. There are mineral deposits to the south a way and of course we have plenty of water and wood around.” He stopped there and looked back to them. “I am hoping you will be able to give us some insight to what lies deeper in them woods and some ways to make it safer in here. We have our first system event coming up in a couple months and I’m a little nervous about it.”

Matt was excited and asked the question before Tobias could. “What kind of event?”

“It’s called a settlement defense. I hear from the tutors that it will be the early make or break for any city.” Franklin deadpanned.