Athanasia: My Hacker System

Luke had barely finished his sentence when a group of one hundred Krogers appeared through the gap.

To the human eye, the Kroger race appeared to be about half the height of an average adult human, their builds incredibly dense and wide. They had wide eyes, thick beards, and long hair that ended up in different coloured strands.

"Oh, they are dwarves!" Elena exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with a sudden, misplaced affection. She was visibly resisting the urge to run over and hug the chubby fellows or play with their round cheeks. To her, they looked like something out of a storybook, but John knew better.

He could tell that their chubby appearance was actually the result of an incredibly dense, excessive muscular build, packed into a compact frame designed for high labour and combat.

"Watch your tongue, human girl. We aren’t those lowly, fake creatures called Dwarves," a deep and harsh voice bellowed from the front. The sound was like stones grinding together, carrying a weight that belied the speaker’s height.

The Kroger who spoke stepped forward, clearly the leader of the incoming delegation. He wore a set of intricately engraved goggles pushed up onto a forehead marked by soot and grease.

"Those Dwarves you speak of merely showcase their pathetic, primitive talents in blacksmithing. Yet we, the mighty Krogers, are vastly more advanced than such a talentless race.

We don’t simply forge metal; we invent mighty creations that combine the arts of blacksmithing with the complexities of mechanics and the volatile secrets of alchemy. We do not just forge, we engineer."

The leader looked quite full of himself, radiating an intense pride for his heritage. Yet, the moment he approached John, his arrogant posture vanished. He stopped, stood at attention, and then bowed in deep, genuine reverence. It was a disciplined act that was instantly mimicked by the rest of the group behind him.

"We salute the supreme leader of our pocket trial," the leader said, his voice now respectful. "I am Goven, the leader of the Krogers in this trial. We have observed your progress, and we are willing to submit our entire ten-thousand-strong force to your mighty existence."

John moved his eyes across the one hundred Krogers standing before him, then scanned the grand defensive structures. He could see thousands of pairs of eyes peeping from the top of the high walls, watching the interaction with bated breath.

"Listen up!" John suddenly shouted, his voice amplified by the quiet of the stronghold.

"I am John Mirage, the leader of the human race in this pocket trial and the rightful ruler of this entire domain. I gladly accept your allegiance, and I promise you this... Together, we will embark on a dangerous journey ahead.

We do not aim to merely form a normal territory at the Source Code World. We aim higher. We intend to take over the entire new world ourselves."

John wanted to set the expectations high and clear from the very beginning. He needed them to know that he wasn’t looking for labourers, but for architects of a new empire.

What he got in response, however, was far beyond his expectations. A roaring, thunderous cheer erupted from the top of the walls, accompanied by a booming, hearty laugh from Goven.

"That’s fantastic to hear! Truly fantastic!" Goven shouted, his face splitting into a wide grin.

"Our race doesn’t particularly care to rule territory on its own; we hate the annoying politics, the endless useless work that came with the responsibility, and the petty squabbling that comes with it.

Yet, we still aspire to do great, innovative things in the new world. Serving a lord with a vision as vast as yours, my esteemed lord, will be our utmost pleasure."

"Thanks," John said, nodding with a small, satisfied smirk.

He reached into his inventory and pulled out a massive stack of golden scrolls he had prepared beforehand. "There are ten thousand contracts here, ready for your blood to finalise the deal. Spread them among your people, have them signed, and then come with me. We have much to discuss regarding the next step."

John watched as Goven took the scrolls and began executing the order without asking a single follow-up question. The first impression was excellent. John generally hated dealing with people who questioned every instruction and provided nothing but doubt in return. The Krogers, however, looked like the exact opposite, and he liked that.

As Goven and his one hundred elites worked to distribute the contracts throughout the stronghold, John reviewed the long list of questions he had compiled in his mind. He had learned a significant amount of information from Blakar, but he knew the Bulltors and the Krogers viewed the apocalypse through different lenses.

The two talked for several hours, sitting amidst the Krogers’ base while the ten thousand inhabitants within the territory signed the contracts.

According to Goven, once the pocket trial was officially concluded, the disparate territories they had been fighting over wouldn’t just vanish; they would merge to form a single, unified zone.

"... In the Source Code World, each conquered territory ends as a zone," Goven explained, his thick fingers tracing invisible maps in the air. "The zones will be protected at first for a variable amount of time.

This is the new world grace, a preparation period given to the conqueror of the pocket trial. It is a window of time to build, to fortify, and to brace for the arrival of the true challenges coming next."

Goven continued speaking about various mechanics, mostly repeating the information John had already heard from Blakar. However, his different viewpoint allowed him to provide nuance that the Bulltors had overlooked.

For example, John learned that when the territories merged, all the defensive structures laid out wouldn’t just stay where they were; they would merge and evolve based on their density and quality.

The more structures placed across the various territories before the trial ended, the higher the probability of generating a decent defensive landmark during the merge.

John’s eyes narrowed as he thought through the sheer number of walls, towers, and cannons he had already scattered; his farming and training strategies were about to pay off in ways he hadn’t fully realised.