Chapter 33: Chapter 32: Long-Awaited Rewards

“Guys? Come on you need to wake up. Either keep going or go to bed.” Carl had’t even realised the rest of them had passed out around midnight and the other three students were passed out behind him as they worked on plans for the forward bases.

They had left him to focus on the forward base for Lunelia, the dense forest world Kyubi had given him to transform into a menagerie world.

He had an incredible eighteen slots to work with, but he wanted every member to have their own pet, that way he could open a portal directly to any of them if they needed reinforcements.

A realm gate appearing in itself would be enough to make most hostilities grind to a halt in anticipation of what would come through. If that thing happened to be all eighteen of the creatures he had with him… Well that would become quickly devastating to most forces.

Lillim even said that if eighteen creatures like Squidge and Levi suddenly appeared, then Samael would likely sound a retreat until he could properly evaluate and strategise.

“Carl… You’re a tyrant… You see that morning sun don’t you?” Gillian murmured as he unstuck himself from the coffee table he was sleeping on.

“I didn’t say you guys needed to do an all-nighter, I just said we needed to get started, I figured you guys gave me Lunelia so that you could all go at your own pace. Archyon, is mainly dependent on my powers anyway, so all you guys needed to do was plan a place like this.” Carl argued as he prepared to make coffee and breakfast.

“Lillim is done with the harsh training, so you figured you would take up the family business and work us into the ground.” Alysse added as she too unstuck herself from the table.

Carl was almost amused by the fact they were calling him a tyrant as he made his way to prepare their morning meal, as he had done every day since they joined.

“Well as a “tyrant” I’m choosing breakfast. Which will be dry toast if you idiots don’t shut up.” That was enough to put an end to the insults.

“Hey, Carl… Seriously though, how you doing?”

“I’m crap, but our parents, Lillim and Kyubi were right and we need to get over it.”

“Ready to talk about him?”

“No. I’m not… I don’t want to think about him for another year at least, ask me about after my first anni-”

[ SYSTEM NOTICE : CALCULATIONS ARE COMPLETE ]

“Everyone, my system is finished calculating!” Carl’s words were enough to rouse everyone as he minimised the notifications so he could finish preparing breakfast before they unpacked whatever the system was throwing at him.

As Carl finally sat down with his own plate, the glare his grandmother gave him told him what his priority should be.

With a sigh he looked at the notifications in order.

[ APOLOGIES FOR THE DELAY. ]

[ INTERFERING FACTORS IDENTIFIED ]

[ TIME DILATION, EXPLOSIVE GROWTH, MOMENTARY DEATH, DIVINE INTERVENTION ]

Carl relayed everything it said and earned a shrug from Lillim.

[ REWARDS FOR MISSION COMPLETION CALCULATED ]

[ HAND OF GOD : YOUR CREATIVE SPIRIT AND REQUESTS HAVE SURPASSED THE SYSTEM, CONTROL OF PET CREATION SEEDED TO CARL REAGA. ]

[ LOVING SPIRIT : YOUR TEARS AT THE SACRIFICE OF THOSE USED TO CREATE THE CHIMERA HAS TOUCHED THE HEARTS OF GODS OF CREATION, YOU HAVE EARNED THEIR BLESSING AND CAN CHOOSE TO LET INTELLIGENT CREATURES RETAIN THEIR MEMORIES. OPTION WILL BE GRANTED AT NEO CHIMERISM ACTIVATION. ]

[ COSMIC KNOWLEDGE : YOUR UNSPOKEN WISH TO GRANT YOUR FRIENDS A PLACE OF THEIR OWN HAS EARNED YOU KNOWLEDGE OF SEVERAL UNCLAIMED WORLDS. ]

[ COORDINATES AND ENVIRONS WILL NOW BE INSTALLED… ]

Carl’s head began to pound as information flowed into it, it felt like it lasted hours as everything from planetary mass and environs, to coordinates and stellar cartography flowed into his mind.

The pain was so intense he fell from his chair and writhed, but despite how it felt to him, Carl was actually only disabled for half a minute at most.

[ INSTALLATION COMPLETE ]

Lydia rushed over and began checking him over as he cradled his head, forehead dripping with sweat and veins bulging beneath the skin which had turned a deep red colour. Only when she was satisfied there would be no long term effects was he permitted to move and return to his seat.

[ SYSTEM NOTICE : AS ONE RECOGNISED BY GODS YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO CLAIM THESE PLANETS, RECOMMEND IMMEDIATE DEPARTURE… ]

[ FACTION MEMBERS BEARING “CHIEF” TITLES OR HIGHER CAN CLAIM PLANETS ON BEHALF OF THE PATRIARCH/MATRIARCH, THE PATRIARCH/MATRIARCH HAS THE RIGHT TO BESTOW DEEDS OF LAND OWNING AS HE/SHE SEES FIT. ]

“Damn it! The system downloaded information on unclaimed worlds into my brain but it says it recommends immediate departure. I wanted to get my plans for the menagerie world f-”

[ DRAGON KIN : THE DRAGON GODS BAHAMUT AND TIAMAT HAVE BESTOWED THEIR BLESSING ON EQUINOX. THEY PROPOSE FORMAL ALLIANCE WHEN YOU ARE STRONG ENOUGH TO DEEM HIM A PET. ]

[ THE MATRIARCH’S ANCESTOR REQUESTS YOU TO STAND READY TO ANSWER WHEN SHE CALLS. ]

Carl covered his face and screamed into his hands. The system telling him to depart immediately, then telling him dragon gods have laid out terms for an alliance proposal and what could only be a message the Faylorna wants him to be ready to answer her summons at a moments notice.

“How can I be in two places at once!?” Carl ranted childishly as Lillim sighed and walked round to him before slapping him round the head.

“Did the information scramble your brains Carl? Or did you perhaps mean to imply I’ve been training the other three for nothing all this time?”

“They can’t go on their own, can they? How will they get back?” His answer was several more slaps to the head.

“Are your brains back in place now or do they need more rearranging? Give your chief of realm-gate affairs remote access to the gate-room, if you have I’m sure you can designate others to have it.

Then send your three friends to survey and claim worlds, then your ecology adviser, beast-master and pet-keeper to study them in more detail.

Honestly boy, you have to learn to be a leader… Maybe I have allowed myself to become your crutch. As of now, you lead and Kyubi and I will be restricting our assistance until you learn to do it properly.”

Lillim was clearly restraining herself quite a bit, the anger in her eyes clear for all to see. Even Carl couldn’t argue, she was making too much sense for that, so instead he nodded and apologised.

“I’m sorry Grandma, I have been too dependant on you and too immature. Alysse, Giilian, Blanc, can you three start surveying worlds for me while I remain here planning the menagerie and also focus on the system functions I’ve been neglecting. Please though, be careful.”

“Course you can bud, I’ll lead the survey and claiming team. No offence to the others of course, I’m only saying I’ll lead because I have more experience. I’ll take full responsibility for any screw ups too.” Gillian said, strangely enough without arrogance, he had led many groups in the past.

Carl’s only concern was that that experience was redundant, this wasn’t school, this was the real world and genuine frontier colonialism with a massive list of dangers. “Fine… I need to learn to lead, but we all need to learn this stuff. Your secondary mission is to use whatever experience you get from this to write up standard operating procedures going forward.”

“Roger, roger!” Gillian chuckled, before taking a bite of breakfast and reminding Carl his was growing cold.

When they finished eating Alysse got to work on respirators and other first-time exploration equipment they may have need of on such a mission.

Lydia began putting together field med-kits and a quarantine zone, which reminded them that they would be spending the next couple of weeks in isolation regardless.

The quarantine zone brought to light several shortcomings not previously considered and highlighted the need for Carl to start studying all possibilities and options his skills provided.

The more the others did as he relayed the planetary information the system gave him to the other three, the more he understood Lillim’s frustration.

“Okay guys, you put me to shame already, I’m gonna put Lunelia on hold. I think I need to learn what I have to work with first. I’m sorry I dropped the ball so badly, I let everything going on not just distract me, but completely blind me to it. I got so used to not having a dependable system I neglected it completely.”

“Hey Carl, you messed up, no big we all mess up. Fully expecting us to mess up this mission too. As long as no one dies and we learn from it that’s what’s important.” Gillian said, patting him on the shoulder as with a glint of amusement at remembering when they first claimed the land on Lugeria.

“Yeah Carl, none of us thought about this eventuality. We’re working of theories and school text books, we can’t blame ourselves for being inexperienced we can only go out and get the experience.” Alysse added.

“Well I got the notification you granted me remote access, are you gonna give the others it to?”

“No, it grants access to programming and stuff too, if someone messes it up without realising people could get hurt. You and only you, if Alysse needs access for maintenance, upgrades or whatever else, you do it together. Oh and depending on how long you guys take I might have a pet ready for you.”

With that Carl hugged them goodbye and returned upstairs before he was tempted to go with them.

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