Tower of Avarice: A LitRPG story

Chapter 81 – Floor 9: Part 2

Mayor Goodwin led a party consisting of most of the town to the newly constructed mansion on the hill just outside of town. After seeing what the Demon had done to the Reeve, freezing him in place for minutes with only a few words, she should have expected the creature to have more tricks up its sleeve.

The fact that the Demon resembled a handsome young man was unsettling, they had let it into town without a single question! Imagine the destruction such a monster would be capable of in a large community.

After she had gathered the townspeople to fight the monster, a thought had come to her. Why would a Demon with which abilities and power come to Reesh and declare himself the ‘owner’? With his power, the creature wearing the face of a young man could conquer a much better place, why take over a backwater like her town?

As they walked up the hill, the Mayor couldn’t help but admire the structure in front of her. It was an elegant palace with white stone and dark brown timber. There were statues in front of the entrance depicting warriors with swords and axes. Large, stained glass windows of multiple colours brightened the exterior, although something about the mansion unnerved her.

It wasn’t the fact that it had appeared from nowhere; it was more like she was looking at the lair of a predator, the home of a monster that could easily kill her.

Steeling herself, the Mayor led the way into the mansion, where a large hall confronted her with a throne at the end. To any outside observer capable of resisting Mathew’s ‘Fear’ Blessing, they would see a normal young man sitting on a large, wooden chair and staring at the mob that entered his home with amusement.

But to the crowd, they were seeing a giant capable of obliterating them with a mere gesture. The Demon sat on a throne made of bone, the screams of the dead haunting them with their cries. An enormous halo of darkness surrounded the seated creatures, a roiling mass of evil that chilled them to the bone.

“Demon!” they shouted as they ran.

Most of the mob didn’t set foot inside the structure; the ‘Fear’ Blessing drove them away on mass. The Mayor, who had made it the farthest inside, was about to turn around and run away as well when a familiar voice spoke.

“Halt Movement.” It ordered, the soft tone carrying over the distance between them without issue. The Mayor felt her body freeze, and she was incapable of movement. She could only stare as the creature stood, its head grazing the roof of the building as it stepped down from its throne.

The terror pushed at her, and she thought her heart would freeze. She was begging the gods to save her when the creature changed, the figure before her shifted, and the Fear disappeared as if it was never there.

In the place of the demonic giant was the young man, with an amiable smile as he approached her. As quickly as she had frozen, the force released her and she fell onto her knees, gasping for breath.

A hand was held in front of her, offering to support the Mayor back to her feet. She looked up in surprise at the Demon, who appeared to be a young man.

“Hello again, Mayor Goodwin. I thought you might join me for a discussion about Reesh’s future now that I have settled in.” The young man said, and the Mayor couldn’t help being stunned by the juxtaposition between the demonic figure who had greeted their arrival and the handsome young man in front of her.

Her hesitation must have been comical to the young man; he began to smile at her appearance, but he didn’t retract his hand. After another moment, she took it. She was surprised that it felt…human and warm.

Regaining her feet, the young man gestured to the side of the hall. She followed behind him numbly, expecting any moment for him to turn and assault her. Against the power he displayed, she was helpless. The mere sight of his demonic form had driven away a mob of hundreds. What hope did she have of escaping?

He brought her to a small sitting room with expensive furniture made of wood and gold embroidered cushions. Waiting on a table was a pitcher with multiple glasses and plates of fruit and food she had never seen before. The smell was tempting, and even with the presence of the Demon beside her, the Mayor’s mouth watered.

Despite being the Mayor of Reesh, Goodwin was too poor to afford such luxuries as the food and wine arrayed before her. She had been widowed at a young age, leaving her with a home and a bit of money her husband and parents had left her. But her clothing was worn and thin, her hands dry and cracked from labouring in the fields and river.

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Mathew observed the mayor as she took the preferred seat across from him at the small table. She was an older woman in her forties or fifties. Wearing a dress that had been faded by the sun and patched too many times, he could tell she had a hard life.

The old him would have felt sympathy for terrifying someone like he had, but that was years and nine Floors ago. He was changed, likely irreparably. He did what he needed to do to progress in the Tower.

But it didn’t mean he had to be a monster. He had shown them the stick, that they couldn’t fight him. It was time for the carrot.

“Please.” Mathew said, gesturing to the table of food. He had purchased it from the shop using Aether, and compared to when he had first entered the Tower, it was quite a bit higher quality than he had found any of the locals enjoying on any of the Floors he had been on.

Compared to what Reesh had, Mathew knew it would be irresistible. Indeed, no sooner than he had offered that he caught the Mayor’s hand twitch toward the food before stopping. He let out an exaggerated sigh.

Perhaps he needed to ‘set the table’ before he offered the carrot.

“I have a question to ask if you don’t mind. You named me ‘demon’ when I first arrived in Reesh. And your friends shouted it at me as they ran a moment ago. Are ‘Demons’ common in this world?” Mathew asked, not bothering to hide the fact that he wasn’t from here.

The Mayor hesitated, looking at him for a moment and licking her lips nervously before responding.

“Not… for many centuries.” She paused. “The Lords and Ladies drove the Demons away, so the scriptures say. As I’m sure they will drive you away.” She finished. Her eyes opened wide as she realized what she had just said, and she slapped a wrinkled hand over her mouth.

She expected to be killed for her comment, but instead, the young man nodded thoughtfully.

“These ‘Demons,’ they looked like me and had similar powers?” Mathew asked. The Mayor nodded quickly.

“Yes, I believe so. We have been cautioned of their return. The gods had delivered a warning to the Lords and Ladies. I-I did not expect to see a Demon in Reesh.” She said quietly.

‘Players.’ Mathew thought.

The ‘Demons’ of the past were likely players like him who came to this world as a way to ‘shake things up’ or some other reason only the gods knew. If they warned that more ‘Demons’ were coming, then it was probable that Mathew wasn’t the only Player arriving on this Floor.

Just as he was about to respond, a faint ‘Ding’ rang out of the room. Mathew immediately checked his wristband, ignoring the look the Mayor was giving him at his strange action. She couldn’t see the words that now appeared in his eyes.

Update to Rewards:

To all participants,

You will be granted Aether based on the number of people residing in your ‘Sphere of influence’. Each day, 1 point of Aether will be awarded for each living person in your area.

Fighting between Players is forbidden and will result in penalties.

The message wasn’t signed, and Mathew closed it after reading.

‘So, he just needed to secure the area and encourage people to settle in Reesh or expand his control area. This made things easier for the moment since now he had an even better ‘carrot’ for the Mayor.’ Mathe thought as he regarded the woman in front of him.

“I own Reesh. The Lord or Lady of this land will never be able to take it away from me. And you are correct, Mayor Goodwin; more ‘Demons’ will be coming to this world. I will protect Reesh and the surrounding area from all threats, including the other ‘Demons.’ All I ask in exchange is the fealty of yourself and every person living here.” Mathew stated.

He didn’t outright deny the title of ‘Demon.’ He was here to conquer territory until the god that brought him here allowed him to progress to the next Floor. Mathew was only meant to be a way to eliminate the stagnation that had taken hold of this world, and he wouldn’t abuse or mistreat the populace.

Not if it didn’t align with his interests.