Apocalypse Redux

Chapter 110: Auspicious Meetings

The main lobby of the ‘conference center’ was a vast space that would likely be further subdivided at some later date, but right now, it was still a single immense room the size of a football pitch with a curving roof overhead.

Said roof was made mostly of glass and steel, but someone with earthmoving and manipulating [Skills] had clearly been involved and added a bunch of fancy crystals to the whole affair. It looked pretty, but also somewhat pretentious at first glance. Pre-[System], doing something like that would have gotten rather expensive, so someone sticking that many crystals on a building would have been the very definition of ‘trying way too damn hard’. Depending on how you looked at it, this interesting design choice could be taken as being gaudy, forward thinking, or simply the work of a designer who’d taken advantage of the sudden availability of crystals.

Another thing that was apparent at a glance was that weapons were permitted at this conference. Sure, banning weapons would have been rather pointless, given that half the people here could either summon their own or simply didn’t need them, but it was still odd to see people having swords, daggers, and in one case, a spear strapped to their bodies like that.

That being said, there were two kinds of armed people. Some, like Isaac, simply considered their weapons to be a part of their standard outfit and wouldn’t leave it behind, but didn’t flaunt their armed status either. As such, the weapons were strapped casually wherever they belonged, practically blending in with the rest of the outfit.

Others, though, flaunted their instruments of death so blatantly that Isaac reduced his estimate of their mental maturity by a couple of decades. Bandoliers of throwing knives strung across someone’s chest, twin sabres crossed on someone’s back, and so on, and so forth. Wearing full battle rattle to an event like this, as if they expected to be in for the fight of their lives … it was nice to know who here was too caught up in the glamor of monster fighting and who was here to take this seriously even if it was just ‘a bunch of people standing around and talking’.

Yet the most astounding thing was the sheer variety of other species present. Everyone one Bailey’s team was still human, even if that was a pure technicality in the professor’s case due to his extensive self-modification.

Meanwhile, Isaac had been offered the chance to turn into a Liosalfar, also known as a Light Elf, but that had been attached to a truly terrible [Class], so he hadn’t taken it, and none of the others had even been offered the option.

All in all, changing one’s race during the first or even the second [Class] Evolution was rare, but it did happen, and many of the people who managed to do so were present here.

Some people had been changed in incredibly obvious ways, like a young man with green tinted skin and a violin strapped to his back. He was a Nixie, a kind of water spirit from German and Nordic folklore with incredible skill in music, to the point where they could make furniture dance, or even ramp it up to the point where people couldn’t stop dancing until they quite literally dropped dead.

They were also meant to be stuck at the bottom of the body of water they were associated with, but when humans evolved into supernatural beings, those weaknesses tended to be somewhat reduced to make the whole thing somewhat more palatable. For example, Vampires didn’t burst into flame the moment sunlight touched them, they just lost all the racial bonuses, as well as another ten to twenty percent of their strength until nightfall if they got struck by the sun. Still a painful consequence, but hardly lethal.

It was similar with the Nixie, they had their associated body of water and they needed to jump in every so often, otherwise their racial bonuses would slowly drain away over a span of several weeks, then reducing Stats after that, but not to the point where they’d be crippled and it would all be restored after they visited home again.

In other cases, you not only needed to look for the changes, but you also needed to know what to look for. For example, in the far corner, an elderly Japanese man stood, with hair like quicksilver and only showing a handful of signs of age, none of which impacted his looks in the least, only serving to make him look distinguished. But that wasn’t what made him stand out, that was the ethereal, practically invisible, fox tail that whipped around him.

Patrick nudged Isaac with his [Aura], using it to point out the elderly man. Of course he’d notice the magical tail, given that his [Class] was focused on researching stuff like that.

“That would be a Kitsune.” He replied, likewise speaking through his [Aura], though he was addressing everyone in the team, feeding the conversation through Amy’s [Aura of Mystic Union] so no one else could overhear. ‘Gossiping’ about anyone here was bound to get overheard and could easily lead to trouble.

“Aren’t those usually young women, mythologically speaking?“ Raul asked.

“The standard human forms of a Kitsune are a young woman or an elderly man, though their shapeshifting can get as extreme as a titanic tree or even a second moon in the sky. Their human shapeshifting grows more refined as they gain more tails and grow stronger, but for now, that guy is locked into the two standard forms for now. In fact, I’m pretty sure he’s nowhere near as old as he appears and because the only limitation on that form is old, he turned himself into quite the silver fox.”

Amy looked at him with a raised eyebrow, silently judging him for the terrible pun, but Isaac just shrugged and continued.

“Once a kitsune grows a second tail, they gain the ability to use foxfire, as it’s generated by them rubbing their tails together, which is a nasty offensive power. Eventually, once they grow their ninth tail, they become damn powerful, but that’s supposed to take a thousand years and I’ve never seen it.”

“So are the tails linked to age, raw power, or number of [Class] Evolutions?” Patrick asked.

“I genuinely don’t know.” Isaac said “The first tail is gained with the race, the next two come hand in hand with the next to [Class] Evolutions, but where it goes from there, I’ve got no idea. Also, while they barely gain anything when they first get the race, they grow vastly more powerful as the number of tails increases, until it becomes the strongest race I know about.”

“Interesting.” Bailey replied aurically, then spoke out loud “So, let’s meet here again in three hours, each of you has a list of talks you want to see and people you want to meet, and I don’t want to keep you.”

Before the group could break up though, a middle-aged man in a stereotypical ‘man in black’ suit approached them. They might have never met in person, but everyone on the team remembered that night, when the city of Los Angeles had nearly been destroyed by a monster and the man who’d had to deal with it all.

“Chief Allen, it’s nice to finally meet in person.” Bailey greeted.

“Actually, it’s Special Agent in charge now.” Allen corrected, reaching up to scratch his neck as he did so “I left the LAPD after … an irreconcilable difference in opinion.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” Bailey said.

“Ah, don’t be, my new job let’s me work to ensure that something like that night doesn’t happen again.” Allen replied “That night is actually why I came over here. I’d like to thank all of you for your help during that Event. I was too busy to say so that day, and anything other than an in person conversation would have been insufficient to convey my gratitude. So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Your warning about the Elementals helped us prevent the beast’s final form from destroying the city and your ideas for fighting the individual fragments saved countless lives. You all are a credit to your profession.”

“Thank you for saying that.” Bailey nodded.

Isaac took this as an opportunity to ask a question that had been burning on his mind “Excuse me, Agent Allen, but your new job with the FBI wouldn’t happen to be related to taking down wild monsters, wouldn’t it?”

It was a stab in the dark for the most part, but it made sense. A man far older than traditional FBI recruits immediately ending up in a rank one step down from a director was a strange occurrence, and wouldn’t have happened without someone having a plan for him.

And what possible use could a federal law enforcement agency have for a man who not only had some experience dealing with large scale monster attacks, but had also set up a small scale levelling program, even if the latter had been unofficial?

“That’s right?” Allen confirmed, raising an eyebrow in response “Why?”

“Well, your German counterpart, the guy in charge of the strike wing belonging to our agency for the supernatural, is here as well. If you want, I can introduce you.” Isaac offered.

“That’s very generous, but don’t you have other things to do?” Allen asked.

“Sure, but I can spare a few minutes and this could be rather beneficial to everyone involved, couldn’t it? Certainly, a face-to-face meeting would be a more effective way for you two to get to know each other than any other method?”

There wasn’t much one could say against that and Allen agreed, leaving with Isaac after promising everyone he’d help if they ever found themselves in trouble.

The actual meeting between the two federal officers went by quickly and smoothly as well. They were somewhat similar people and smart enough to immediately realize what they could accomplish together.

By the time Isaac left the pair to their discussions, the rest of the team had already scattered to the winds, leaving him alone to go exploring.

There were a lot of interesting things here, ranging from people selling devices, gadgets and weapons that wouldn’t have been possible without the [System] to talks by some of the world’s greatest experts. Hell, Isaac himself would later be giving a talk on the proper use of [Aura].

But even though he hadn’t been this convention’s equivalent in the other timeline, he didn’t really feel the need to go exploring. After all, Isaac knew the contents of most of the talks that would be given here, none of the devices were new to him either, and any plans for the future that others had made, the team could come up with as well, there was simply only so much you could plan for without knowing what to expect.

No, the reason he was here, the reason he’d actually been excited to come here, was the people.

Flexing his [Aura], sending nigh-imperceptible threads of his will through the entire building, Isaac found quite a few he recognized.

For example, the tall woman with tanned skin, a long ponytail and a bronze short sword strapped to her side that was currently inspecting a stall that promised ‘extreme enivornment safe clothing by a Level 20 [Tailor]’ would later become known as ‘the Atlantean Sentinel’, after her [Class] of the same name. Wielding a devastating combination of [Warrior], crowd control and hydrokinetic [Skills], Areti Tassa was a terrifying foe underwater, able to obliterate both swarms of monsters to thick you could walk on them to marine leviathans large enough to bite an aircraft carrier in half.

She’s died a year ago, killed by an ice-based [Raid Boss] called ‘The General of Cocytus’. If Isaac had any say, by the time that thing showed up, there would still be other people available to fight that thing, people who weren’t hard-countered by its ability to freeze everything in sight.

On the other side of the room, observantly looking around, was another familiar face. Thomas Stanley, a sensory specialist just like how Isaac had pretended to be for a while during the serial killer investigation. He coupled that with the [Telekinetic Domain] [Skill] and its upgrades from the Aspect of the Poltergeist to devastating effect. However, the combination of his name and specialization had earned him the unfortunate nickname ‘Peeping Tom’, not because he had any such inclinations but because some ‘hilarious’ jackass had decided to crack stupid jokes.

Right in front of him was a rather plain looking man, the only thing that stood out about him being a pair of curved, goat-like horns that occasionally flared with dark flames. According to the nameplate, this was ‘Jaden Burns’. He also had a title, ‘The Black Flame’, but he was constantly changing between feeling ashamed of having picked such an edgy name and feeling proud of having actually earned a title. Right now, he was just another person with Levels to match the current frontrunners, but once he got proper control of the [Hellfire] he’d accessed via an Aspect of the Imp, he’d grow to be a standout powerhouse.

So much talent in one room would have been intimidating even to the Isaac of the other timeline. He might have survived until the end, but as much as his own personal power had helped on that front, Isaac was under no illusions that luck hadn’t played a major part in his continued survival. He might have been powerful and locally famous, but not someone with world-wide renown.

In this timeline, though, he was arguably one of the most widely known people, given how many people were using his [Aura] techniques.

At the end of the day, though, there was only one group of people he was looking for, and they were currently examining the series of weapons stalls set up near the center of the room.

Isaac strode forwards, heading in that directions, but cautiously changed directions and took a more circumspect route to avoid one of the folks there, because the man was probably looking for him. He reallywasn’t looking forwards to a personal conversation with Wyatt Reyes.

That man was curious little puppy, sticking his nose literally everywhere no matter how much it didn’t belong there, backed by a series of investigative and analysis [Skills]. It was an attitude that should have gotten him killed in short order and it would have done so … if it hadn’t been coupled with near-clinical levels of paranoia that led him to have counters prepared for basically anything he encountered.

He was also a master with his sensory [Aura] and someone who Isaac had based his own [Aura] use off. Thankfully, Isaac’s current tricks were far in advance of what the other man could have right now, so they’d avoid notice, otherwise, he’d already have been boned.

At the end of the day, there was a good chance that a conversation between Wyatt and Isaac would go off without incident, but it was also possible it wouldn’t. And with Wyatt’s persistence, any small opening could lead to the man doing an in depth investigation, which would be problematic. Therefore, if Isaac could avoid it, he would.

Isaac reached the group he was heading towards a few minutes later. It consisted of three men and two women, all of whom were dressed in what could only be described as ‘a modern tailor got his hands on medieval clothing patterns, then made them using current day fabrics. The end result was a little out there, and definitely unique in this room, but it also fit the group, and its somewhat eccentric leader.

Arthur, ‘The Returned King’

The man’s surname wasn’t showing up on the nameplate alongside the title because the government had told him to stick the idea of changing it to ‘Pendragon’ somewhere unfortunate, which was quite understandable. As his power and influence grew, that would eventually change, but for now, Arthur Wells was merely a competent fighter whose first name happened to match a legendary king he’d decided to style himself after. Well, styling himself after King Arthur Pendragon would have been one thing, but Arthur Wells was actually claiming to be the embodiment of the ancient tale of how the legendary king would return in England’s greatest hour of need.

As Isaac got within a few meters, an [Aura] washed over him, immense pride echoing within, but also protective warmth, all submersed in a sea of authority. This was the [Aura of the King].

But a second [Aura], slightly visible in several different shades of steely grey, feeling like metal, oil and leather, the [Aura of the Knight], was wrapped around him.

Two [Auras] should have been impossible, and it was for almost everyone but the rare few holding [Classes] that had [Skills] which changed that. These [Skills] were expensive, costing four times as much as standard [Skills] of the same rarity and the [Classes] they belonged to were epic at a minimum. Lastly, [Classes] with those kinds of [Skills] lacked other central [Skills], meaning Arthur didn’t have an equivalent of [Form of Horror] or [I Am The Sword], but the [Auric Knight] wasn’t meant for one on one fights against powerful fights, involving huge, incredibly powerful attacks. Instead, he had two [Auras], one for creating close range effects, personal defense and enhancing attacks, the other meant to be used to strengthen and communicate with his allies.

Combine that [Skill]set with a few strong allies, and you got a group that could defeat most other groups of equal size with ease.

But a fairly unique [Class] wasn’t what made Arthur so important to Isaac. No, that honor went to the vast following he’d amassed. He was the leader of one of the few western ‘Guilds’ that also used the name, the Guild ‘Camelot’, for obvious reasons. He was probably getting crap for picking that name, though that would clear up once he started actually helping out around the Isles.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Wells.” Isaac greeted him, inclining his head in greeting “Or would you prefer Pendragon?”

“One thing is for certain, Mr. Thoma, you’re fairly well informed.” Arthur replied with a grin so bright it could seemingly blind someone “Wells is fine, though I’d like it if you called me Arthur. I have a feeling we’ll be working closely together in the future.”

“In that case, call me Isaac. And I do believe we’ll be seeing a lot of each other from now on. After all, we live only an couple of hour’s travel apart, and I think there’s a lot we can do for each other.” Isaac replied.

“Well, there’s that. But first of, I’d like to thank you for your papers on [Aura] use, they were quite useful.” Arthur said.

“You’re welcome. I’ll hold a talk on that later, in case you want to drop by, but I’m also available for a few private training sessions in a few weeks, though.” Isaac said.

“That’s certainly a generous offer, though I don’t suppose there’s any chance you’re willing to accept a more permanent place in my court? After all, there’s a lot Camelot can do for you.” Arthur offered, his megawatt smile on full display.

Isaac shook his head “I’m afraid a large reason for my ability to instruct your people is that I work with some of the finest minds in the world. Once all is said and done, the last mystery is lifted and all there is left to do is lead a horde of brave souls to slay the dragons, I’ll gladly accept a place at your court. Until then, though, my place is with Professor Bailey.”

“That’s hard to argue against.” Arthur nodded “If you don’t want a position though, what is it you’re looking for?”

“Allies. We live in a dangerous world, and no man can do all there is to do. Should an incident like what happened in Los Angeles occur closer to home, can I count on your help? Or, should some additional support be needed to conduct a large scale experiment, would you be willing to assist?” Isaac said.

“Of course.” Arthur declared magnanimously. For a moment, it seemed like he was about to throw an arm around Isaac’s shoulders, but he clearly thought better of it and straightened

“Your research helps the entire world; how can a king do anything but support you?”

Isaac shrugged “Assuming you know someone’s allegiance can bite you in the ass rather badly. There’re many people who support what we do, but discussing terms and gaining confirmation is what I’m here for.”

“So, the stalls and talks don’t interest you?” One of Arthur’s companions spoke for the first time, sounding surprised.

“No.” Isaac shook his head empathetically “The only talks I’ll be attending are the one’s I’ll be giving, and Germany has no shortage of skilled craftsmen. Allies, on the other hand …”

“I understand.” The woman nodded, holding out her hand for him to shake “Elena Hightower, pleased to make your acquaintance. Would you be available to hammer out the particulars before the end of this conference?”

“I’m available right now.” Isaac said “Also, I believe there are private workspaces available for that purpose.”

As the two of them headed off, Arthur was already busy chatting up someone else. He was personable and charismatic, able to sell the idea of himself as a champion of whatever the hell it was he wanted to achieve, but his ‘support staff’ held a huge amount of power and influence as well.

An hour afterwards, they had a complete agreement in place, signed and notarized, which would see Isaac ‘drop by’ for two days every three months. It really wasn’t that big a drain on his time, but it allowed him to easily point out and help remove the largest flaws in someone’s [Aura] use, and that could make a huge difference.

By binding himself more closely to Camelot, he could help ensure that there was a powerful force to defeat free monsters and [Bosses] in Europe, easily reachable via portal from the university. A second portal user could be sent through and then put the warriors of the Camelot guild anywhere within their range.

He spent the rest of the time talking to random people. He sought out some of them, others came up to him because they recognized him from the recordings of his talks and lectures. Sometimes, the conversations were simple ‘I’m an admirer of your work’, in other times, there were suggestions for cooperation or trade deals, given that it was well known that Isaac had amassed a huge stockpile of valuable monster bits.

Running into so many people, seeing all those lives he’d impacted, maybe even improved, made it very hard to not just spend the rest of the conference floating on cloud nine.

He also ran into Yoo-jin during that, but they only had a brief conversation during which Isaac told the Guildmaster about his plans to visit Korea post-Event. Well, it was still up in the air whether there would be an Event during the Autumn Equinox, but chances were there would be another Event.

And then, finally, the main even arrived. The big, round table discussion on what to do about the Event, should it occur, except very few people actually had the political power to put the eventual decisions into action and a lot of people here thought they were the most important ones there.

… this was going to be a clusterfuck for the history books, wasn’t it?