Rise of the Apex Predator: A LitRPG Adventure

Chapter 29 – Takeover

Aenon slept through the rest of the day and the following night, that’s how tired he was. Plus, the bed was the most luxurious and comfortable one he had ever lay in. When he awoke the next morning, Venge was laying on the ground next to his bed. Her ears perked up when he got out of bed yawning. That was the best sleep he had in forever. He went for a quick soak in the bathtub, before donning his armor. He had a lot to get done today, including some crucial planning. But first he needed to review his status and notifications.

Name

Aenon Fenrast (13 yrs)

Race

Ascended Human (F)

Level

13

Class

Void Stalker (0/100)

Level

10

Subclass

Abyssal Warden (0/100)

Level

17

HP

15065

MP

16865

HP/min

302

MP/min

357

Stats

Strength

1507 (1376+131)

Intelligence

1687 (1380+131+40+136)

Constitution

1508 (1377+131)

Willpower

1785 (1384+131+100+170)

Dexterity

1510 (1379+131)

Perception

1553 (1382+131+40)

Titles (!)

Rebirth (0)

+1344 all stats

Skills/Effects:

Detect and resist the effects of soul attacks and spells.

Double the available Skill slots per evolution level

Ability to fake Titles, stats, and levels. This effect cannot be bypassed even by Overseers.

Can bypass certain System restrictions.

Unfettered: ???

Stat Point multiplier: 2

Alpha (1)

+50 all stats, +30% stats in presence of your pack

Soul Forge (1)

+80 all stats

(Really) Late Bloomer

+1% stats from Titles

Skills

Slot 1

Stealth (Woods, Urban) – Savant

Slot 2

Weapons (Dagger, Unarmed, Traps) - Savant

Slot 3

Tracking (Woods) – Expert

Slot 4

Mana Manipulation - Expert

He had gained a total of 8 levels in his Void Stalker class, and 16 levels in his Abyssal Warden class. It was hard to figure out how the XP was distributed between the two classes, but from a cursory glance, it seemed like his actions dictated the distribution. He had spent most of his effort on gaining aspect proficiencies and crafting new spells, and minimum time in direct combat. He would need to study this further to be sure, but it didn’t matter for now. He still had a few Title notifications to go through.

Title achieved: Bulwark (1)

Title achieved: Speed Runner (1)

Title achieved: Hoarder (1)

Bulwark (1): Accept and complete more than 95% of your settlements quests.

+5 all stats

Speed Runner (1): Complete majority of accepted settlement quests in a record time

+10 all stats

Hoarder (1): Have more than 50 completed quests that are yet to be turned in

+5 all stats

Aenon’s eye twitched looking at the pitiful Titles that netted him just 120 stats in all. Even with his Alpha, Soul Forge, and Late Bloomer titles he had 909 stats in total, which did not even qualify for an E-grade evolution for a human. He was still not sure what the requirements for an Ascended Human were, so he had no point of reference. But this clearly showed how difficult it would be to gain Title stats as an ascended human. He had taken down enemies way above his level, but since his base stats were higher, they weren’t really a challenge.

Curiously, he was not getting any Planetary First titles either. Which either meant the other humans had claimed most of those, or he was no longer qualified since he was not a normal human anymore. He really hoped it was the former.

Having checked his notifications for now, he left his room with Venge in his shadow as usual. He went straight for the mansion’s main office on the first floor since he sensed both men huddled together within it. He casually entered the room without knocking and went straight for the main chair behind the office desk. If he was going to pretend to be their superior, might as well go all the way. Thankfully, true to their word, neither man complained nor had any negative emotions radiating off them.

Both men stood at attention by the chairs opposite him, and only sat down when he waved at them to have a seat. He had a brief idea what he wanted to do but would need to gauge the situation before that. He addressed the former village head first.

“I need a status update on the village. And then, I want your honest thoughts about transferring the village ownership to me. Is it recommended to do so, and would it affect my classes,” he said authoritatively.

To complete his System quest about setting up a domain he would either need this man’s permission or take over the ownership of the village itself. The first option would keep him free of any future politics but reveal that he was setting up a domain. The second option would come with some responsibilities, but he could hide the fact that this village was within his domain. Not to mention, Vincent had said in his first speech that it was the end goal to have someone else takeover eventually. But he needed to understand the current situation before taking the leap.

“Ummm… Ahem. Of course. Sir. Let’s start with the status report first,” Vincent said after the initial shock wore off. He was probably expecting something like this, just not so abruptly. “As you already know, all citizens of the village have left this place after the treant attack. As such we have very limited resources, and even less in our treasury. But thanks to your hard work, at least the neighboring areas are clear of the deadlier foes. All we need right now, is to somehow clear the roads between here and the nearest settlement and entice some people to return.”

“And that is all we need to get the village going again?” Aenon asked.

Vincent shared a glance with his friend to his right before clearing his throat and continuing, “Well, you see, Jadefall is no longer classified as a Village. When all its people left, it was demoted from a Village to an Abandoned Village. It is still above the rank of a Ruin, which means monsters cannot enter it freely, but it is a matter of time. If we do not get new settlers within the next 3 months, this place will be classified as a Ruin and all monsters can enter or even take over this place.”

Aenon took some time to digest these facts. He was weighing his options when Vincent continued, “As for handing you rights to this place, I can do so if you wish. My class is non-combat oriented, and I gain levels based on how well the settlement I govern runs. Currently, with the situation, I cannot level up my class. So, it is of no consequence to me. In fact, it is in my favor to hand you the ownership, since then you can assign me an administrative role, and that may allow me to level up.”

“Hmmm, wouldn’t that be a demotion for you? And what about my classes? Will I have to abandon one to be able to take ownership?”

Vincent shook his head, “Nothing like that. Most empires in the multiverse, have powerhouses at their helm. In fact, it is a requirement by the System that anything bigger than a city, needs to be owned by a combat-oriented player. I was just a stopgap measure till someone grows powerful enough, at which point I would have to swear my fealty to that player.”

“I see. Then what about my responsibilities as a settlement owner?” Aenon asked the main thing he was concerned about. He did not want to be tied to the settlement.

“That is all up to you. You will essentially be setting up a governing body that will act in your stead, which can be one individual, or a council. You will have full veto power of course and can overturn any decision made by the assigned person or council. You can be as hands-on as you wish, or just set things up and go do whatever you want. Although you will be required to defend your territory in case of an invasion. You will have the option of teleporting to any settlement of yours in case of an attack, irrespective of where you are in the multiverse.”

Aenon liked the sound of that. But he still needed some more information, so he asked, “What about the perks of owning a settlement? Are there any?”

“Oh absolutely. You can tax the settlers, and the treasury will basically be yours to spend as you please. Although, I must warn you, should you fail to address the needs of your citizens, or exploit them, the System can penalize you heavily. This can include loss of levels, or even Titles. Apart from that, you will have your very own portals to fast travel between your settlements.”

“Anything else I should know?” Aenon was almost sold on the idea of taking over.

Vincent fidgeted for a bit before Blake decided to speak up in his friend’s place, “There is one last thing you need to be aware of. Settlement that are close to some powerful creature often fall within the Domain of said creatures. Some of them may not take kindly to that and would attack the village or city to destroy it. You will have to reach some kind of agreement with this entity. Failing which, you must either surrender the place or fight to defend. Recently we detected someone/something trying to claim this abandoned village as within their domain. Personally, I would just try to strike a deal. Even if it involved paying some kind of regular peace offering. The presence was stronger than anything I have ever felt.”

And there it was. The main reason why Aenon wanted to claim the village. If he played his cards right, he could essentially claim that this ‘entity’ had reached an accord with him and wishes to remain hidden. He could even claim that the ‘entity’ had promised its protection in case of foreign attacks.

“Yes, I detected it too. Is that the only creature claiming this village as part of its domain?” Aenon asked in a neutral tone. He needed to get more information on the remaining 4 apex predators he needed to take down. So far, his pack was not able to find their location.

“Well, it is the only one I know of. As the village head, I have a detailed map of the surrounding areas. The size of a creature’s domain is proportional to its soul strength and Jadefall is outside the domain of all nearby powerful creatures above level 200. That was the very reason its location was selected.

That gave Aenon pause, since this would mean his domain claim was wider than he previously anticipated. No wonder they could not find the other Alphas. They were not within range of the village. And it also meant, the main requirement of releasing one’s Presence was to be level 200. He still had no idea why was able to release his, but he guessed it had something to do with his Unfettered ability. He was deep in thought when he noticed Blake was feeling nervous, as though there was something he wanted to say.

“What is it?” Aenon asked him directly.

“Well, ummm, we detected your Presence the other day during questioning. You are obviously close to level 200, but… ,” Blake hesitated.

Aenon merely raised hie eyebrow, waiting for him to go on. When he didn’t, Vincent decided to.

“The thing is, it might be difficult for you to negotiate with this creature, if it ever shows itself that is. Your limited domain will anger the creature if you do not learn to control it,” he finished speaking in a hurry.

That was another thing Aenon was confused about. Why was he able to subconsciously release his Presence completely during certain times but failed to do so when he actively wanted to. Unfortunately, he couldn’t ask this question as it would expose the fact that he was not knowledgeable about the matter.

“You do not need to worry about that. I have my ways,” Aenon replied curtly. “For now, let’s go ahead with the ownership transfer.”

Vincent nodded in a hurry and pulled up his interface. Seconds later Aenon got the notification.

System Notification

Settlement Claimed: Jadefall

Settlement Type: Abandoned Village

Citizens: 2

Unlocks settlement interface.

Unlocks ability to fast travel between owned settlements.

Title achieved: Landlord (1)

Title achieved: Planetary Forerunner (1)

Landlord (1): Claim ownership of a settlement.

+20 all stats

Planetary Forerunner (1): Be the first to claim a settlement on the newly integrated planet.

+30 all stats

System Notification

You have attempted to release your Soul Presence to establish your domain. However, only 1 Apex predator has submitted to you, and you are in reach of a System established settlement. To completely claim this area as your own,

Defeat or gain allegiance from all Apex predators (Progress: 1/5)

Gain approval from the settlement head (Progress: 1/1)

Aenon got a wide smile on his face. Now this was more like it. The titles were good, and the fact that he got a planetary first meant he was still considered human after all. He was still basking in the ecstasy of his stat gains when the shard in his soul space thrummed to life again. He feared what it would do this time, since he was in the presence of two others, when he noticed that both men were frozen. Not frozen in fear, but in time itself. Like someone had hit pause on them.

The same white tendrils as last time shot out of his chest and flew out the window. They were incorporeal, as they went right through the walls of the mansion. He felt his mind being bombarded with foreign feelings, but they were isolated. He got a mental nudge to name the place, and so Aenon chose the new name. And just like that feeling subsided, with no discernable change in his surroundings. He wanted to check what was different, but Vincent and Blake started moving at that instant.

“It is done,” Vincent said. Neither he nor Blake showed any indication that they witnessed the strange sight. Aenon decided to put it off for now and focus on this discussion.

“Very well. Could you show me the map of the surrounding area?”, he asked Vincent.

The older man walked up to the side cupboard and retrieved a rolled-up parchment and lay it out on the desk. It covered most of the large desk and showed the things Aenon previously had no clue about. Vicent had a puzzled look though, and Aenon knew why. The name of the village had changed to Reality’s Edge.

“A good name,” Vincent said with an approving nod. The map showed the forest to the south and the mountains to the north and west. Additionally, it also showed the river going into a water body of sorts, Misty Swells, and a castle to the east, Pinespire. The castle was on a plateau and had some ruins to the south of them. The more interesting additions were the dungeons with question marks on them, which probably meant they were yet to be explored.

There were four creature symbols shown on the map, a dragon, a wyvern, a mermaid, and some kind of sea creature. Whether these were the apex predators, he didn’t know. But he intended to find out. As for Pinespire, it was roughly 120 km (75 miles) away and looked to be the closest settlement. Which probably meant the survivors may have gone for that. The two roads crossing the mountain went into unknown, so the chances that people would take it was slim.

“Pinespire is the closest to our village and is a fort type settlement. Most of our citizens were teleported there by the arbiter, and the rest travelled there by foot. Hopefully they made it, but we have no way of knowing for certain. It’s a long and treacherous journey at the best of times, but with the treants wreaking havoc...," Vincent trailed off.

“What about Arrowdeep? Is it not a settlement?”

“Oh, yes, it is. But it is closed off to players for now. The average level of the players must be higher to be able to access it. It has a seaport, which means it allows players to travel by ship to distant lands. I do not have the map of the surrounding areas unfortunately.”

Aenon nodded before pointing at the creature symbols, “Are these the powerful monsters with domains you mentioned?”

“Except the mermaid, yes. The merfolk are sapient beings who sometimes conduct trade with humans and are not designated as monsters. The dragon, wyvern, and sea beast are all peak level creatures that we tend to avoid. And they leave us alone too, if we don’t disturb them,” Blake was the one to respond.

So that meant, if these truly were the adversaries he was looking for, there was still one apex predator missing from the map, but at least this was a start.

“What about Neverhelm? I see some humanoid creatures there,” Aenon asked while pointing at the map.

“Ah, those are undead. Nasty creatures, but luckily, they won’t leave the ruins, and they don’t multiply. Unless of course some overeager adventurers go in and add to their ranks,” the experienced guild leader said with a smile. Looks like he was starting to warm up to Aenon, a little bit at least.

Aenon took it all in, formulating a plan in his head. For the first time since he arrived, he was not going in blind. And he was really excited about it. So many things to explore, and dungeons to conquer. He was practically giddy with excitement with this new chapter of his life.