The great city of Te Boreas, a city that has stood for a thousand years and should stand for a thousand more. The king had inherited a storied culture, but still it was one that had come with quite a few problems of it's own. The political landscape of Te Boreas was a mess with all of the power spread amongst all of the guild leaders and the kingdom itself.
For a kingdom or a king, sharing power was a problem. The king had no choice but to watch as the people kept getting exploited by both the craftsmen and the adventurer's guild. Not that he was any better than them but, at least he had a vested interest in seeing his Kingdom grow in any shape or form. But still the politics held sway, and without much power in his hands there was almost nothing the king could do to really put the guilds in their place.
But now there was this problem looking right back at him…..perhaps not in the literal sense. But the moment Cole had stepped foot onto the sixth floor, the system itself had given him a warning and a quest. And for just a little bit of time he had hope, the floors were not as disconnected from the rest of the universe as many people had thought. News could still travel, especially when one kid had caused too much trouble across five whole floors, against 5 civilizations.
But still the king had to think about the bigger picture. He had to make sure he utilized this 'World Breaker' better than anyone ever could. But the guilds were too entrenched, and by this point the kingdom's reliance on the guilds to rule, protect and provide was too much. There was only so much political maneuvering that could be done in order to reduce their scope of influence and power. So in the end Cole just became a decorative ornament on the field of play.
He couldn't touch the guilds that much because they all needed each other. They could not survive without the other, not to mention the people that looked up to the guilds for protection also had power of their own. It was they who ensured that Te Boreas and it's guilds remained rich and it's corrupted Economy kept thriving in whatever messed up manner it possibly could. The king for just a fraction of a second had a bit of hope that he could change things around…..but in the end he still fell in with the people he hated, ignoring the mad man he had hired in the first place.
And now perhaps that Mad Dog had turned around and bit him hard on the hand. The king was worried, he could not afford to get into a full blown war with the guilds. Both sides have been looking for a way to reduce the power of the crown and if they ever found out that Cole had been under his leash, then there would be hell to pay and perhaps this would be the chance the guilds have been waiting for to completely eliminate the royal family as a whole and establish full control.
Cole could and would give them a reason to do so with his latest stunt. The king had to admit that he had no really thought it through when he aligned himself with Cole Raen Night. All of his advisers had warned him about it, but still he would not listen. He was so enamored by the raw power and the potential for great changes Cole could and would implement in his surroundings everywhere he went. But Cole could not be controlled or guided, and his unpredictability was causing problems.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! You have to see this! Our….our approval ratings…it's …..it" the idiot that just ran into his office was his assistant. The fool was dumb, powerful but with a head full of air. But of course he was really good at his job, it also helped that said assistant was his childhood friend, or the fact that he was married to three of his Assistant's 6 sisters, and one of his daughters. They were more than just friends, they were family.
"I don't know how that Cole boy is doing sire, but public opinion over the last few days has swayed heavily in our favor. Apparently the craftsmen guild and adventurers guild were the reason why the expedition had failed. Their greed and their nonchalant attitude about the lives of the people has finally come to light!" The king paused and looked at his assistant….what sort of fairy tale story was this fool telling. Such a thing has always happened in the last before, the guilds would squash such thoughts soon enough.
"There are people on the streets protesting and recruitment for the army has increased by a whopping two hundred percent. I'm not one to talk much sire but, the rumors are being spread by a third party and somehow they are swaying public opinion enough that this is not being whispered in tavern and hidden corners. That bad omen might actually be able to pull this off!" and that was when a few bells started ringing in the king's ears.
"You're saying Cole is responsible for this?" The king asked, not exactly sure he's ears weren't deceiving him.
"My runners were able to confirm that, the rumors being disseminated amongst the people and discrediting the two other guilds was being done by his people. Members of his race and other newly acquired followers. This has to be one of the most effective strikes we have ever delivered to the two guilds. It's only been two days but the guilds have been hit hard, 15% of their revenue has plummeted with the people preferring to come to us for help even if our services offered would be unable to match that of the other guilds.
Sire listen to me, this is just the a very well timed hit. But if you really want to take advantage of this site, then I believe you have to strike while the iron's hot. This is an opportunity I'm not sure when you'd be getting again, so make the best of it. By the end of this you might not be able to bring the guilds down, but you would have claimed a massive amount of their power for yourself. This would force them to come to you, you'll be the one calling the shots and you can rule just as you've always wanted!"
The king had to admit….it was so easy now to see the future he wanted, to see the Te Boreas 10 generations of his family had hoped for, for their lost glory, for the return of the rightful rule of the kingdom their forefathers had bled and sweated for and the establishment of a dynasty that would be spoken about for years upon years to come. A dream that every king who has sat on this throne has wanted unequivocally. He turned to his assistant and asked.
"What should I do?"
"Well that is easy my Lord….. it's about time we Invite the World Breaker to the great city of Te Boreas, because honestly speaking my King….. he's talents are wasted out there in the wilderness."
<<<<>>>>
Cole was annoyed, the king of rather his representatives had refused any form of communication between them, insisting that the king would have a sit down with him one on one. Cole had not completely eliminated the idea that this might be a trap, but in the end he did want them to take him a little bit more seriously and now he has shown that he was not to be messed with, naturally a sit down would be next.
But Cole really worried about the fact that said sit-down would be in a place he had about absolutely no control over. Plus he had to think like his enemies, if he was in such a scenario and he was returning back to Te Boreas he would make sure, he never made it to those massive gates. So he was expecting some assassination attempts on his way back to the city.
"are you absolutely sure it's a good idea, you don't have any back ups, and I don't trust the squad you have with you." A voice said to Cole as he watched his unit prepare to move out of the camp that has been their home for the last two and the half months.
Honestly speaking this was the longest Cole felt he has been on any floor, and it was showing seeing as Tehilla was calling him from earth just to see how he was doing and what was taking him too long. Cole had pretty much shut most if not all of his family out, the person who still had connection to him was Tehilla, and mainly because the woman threatened to dump his sleeping body in the ocean if he avoided her.
Plus with her Pregnancy coming along, Cole was getting his ass kicked. Honestly fathers purposefully never tell their sons how much hell being a husband and father was. Especially when your woman is pregnant, everything is pretty much your fault and you're always insensitive and the ultimate enemy. Cole was not sure how many times he has heard the phrase 'You Did This To Me!' from Tehilla.
"You don't have to worry so much, apart from the new recruits undergoing training, every other person close to me is a Raen. I can't exactly trust anyone else to watch my back unless they are exactly like me and have similar stakes. This is not a game, anything can how wrong on this floor, the leaders here are ruthless to a level I don't think we've seen since…..since my grandparents." Cole fell silent, Tehilla gave him a minute before she spoke up.
"Baby you need to grieve, you can't keep running away. They're your grandparents and you love them very much, it's okay to take some time off and just cry. You are already the Lord of chaos, that is plenty negativity to last us a lifetime. So don't carry anything else…..our child needs you here Cole…..all of you. So stop running." Cole sighed and shook his head before smiling softly.
"I don't deserve you, you know that right? I can't believe I never saw just how amazing a person you are, Sarah was never this bothered about my wellbeing….or so eloquent with words." Cole said to her as he raised his head to notice that his unit was ready to break camp.
"Well in your defense I was a cripple, stiff, and let's just be honest...I was some crazy ass obsessed bitch. Just because you want something to be doesn't mean it would. You can't force love, sometimes you just need to get run over by a car and almost die trying to save the man you love from his psychotic aunt for you to get loved back in return." Cole had a dead pan look on his face.
"Really?"
"Please loosen up a little, now you're the stiff one. Just be careful out there, remember none of this is worth anything if we don't get to share it together. So stay safe, you're going to be a daddy soon…..I love you Baby." Cole placed his hand on his chest with a forlorn smile on his face…..she was probably right besides his sleeping body right now, and the temptation to just log out and go fall asleep in her arms was massive…..but there was work to be done.
"I love you too baby girl, catch you later."
Cole ended the call and turned to face his gather unit. The original old guard of 30 denizens and aspirants, a unique unit capable of causing great havoc and the new guard, harvested from Pasco and his former expedition buddies. There was two of them attached to the old guard with the underlying numbers learning directly from Cole. With sixty something plus soldiers remaining there was an excess of bodies for the sub-units Cole was building.
Honestly he was just making this up as he went, winging it and not putting too much thought into it. His goal has not changed yet, And it was unequivocally the discovery and acquisition of an Animech and how to make more of it. A specialized division of giant animal robot pilots would make for a fearsome sight on a battlefield, so no matter what…..Cole was going to get his own goddamn Gundam!
"Many of you were born here, this is home for a lot of you. But what you have become a part of right now is not something you can run away from anymore. Of course I can give you a choice, but I have a deal with your king and since my secrets have been exposed to you all, there is no longer any choice available for you people. You become Raen or YOU DIE!"
"But it's not all bad, for those of you still feel particularly patriotic, you will be part of the narrative that will usher in a new Era for your people. I believe your king can do better and he should be able to do better…..if he has the power he needs. So we will give it to him and let him prove himself to his people, we will do right by the sons and daughters of Te Boreas to end the centuries of senseless bloodshed.
We will usher in a new age, a government for the people, a king who would truly serve you all. And after that you all will leave to me to the next world, and the next or you can choose to settle down in my territory and live whatever life you want…..though I reckon that would be a complete waste of your talents. So any questions?" Cole asked, only for one hand to be raised up.
"Yes Pasco?"
"I'm sorry sir, but this new stages err Worlds. What are we going to be doing once we get there sir?" Cole chuckled, a sound that inadvertently sent chills up the spine of everyone present.
"Well we'll be breaking Them Of course!"
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