Apocalypse Redux

Chapter 143: Camelot

“Shall we, milady?” Isaac asked in a mock-formal tone, holding out his right hand like a gentlemen trying to lead his lady friend to a ball.

“We shall.” Amy replied, dipping her head as she took his hand and the pair walked straight at the wall … until a portal irised open, opening up into a cordoned off section of Heathrow Airport. Zipping straight past the borders of a country wasn’t a good idea and was frowned upon. In the EU, it wasn’t a problem given that you never had to show your passport, like, ever. But Britain wasn’t a part of the EU anymore.

Of course, actually enforcing these borders was going to have the devil’s time detecting these portals, forcing them to rely solely on people obeying the law and teleporting into set locations with passport control and the like.

Amy and Isaac, of course, did exactly that. Heathrow Airport was London’s teleport location, including such things as a passport control booth, customs booth and even a small lounge that people could wait at until their ‘ride’, aka someone with a long-range teleport ability to arrive.

Amy had teleported Isaac here as a favor, then followed along herself because she her flight to New York was from here rather than the airport near the university as the flight from Heathrow was marginally shorter.

“Good afternoon. Miss. Shaw. Will you be staying long?” The guy at passport control greeted Amy before he’d even received her passport. Clearly, he’d recognized her, most likely because he was often in this position and she was a frequent ‘flyer’.

“Good afternoon, Miles. Nope, I’ll be flying out from here in a hot minute.”

Passport opened, scanned and returned, simple as that. After all, she had a British passport.

For Isaac, it took a little longer.

“Purpose of visit?” the man asked as he compared Isaac to his picture in the passport, then scanned the document.

“Business.”

A new stamp was added to his passport, and that was that.

“Now, the signage is still very messy at the moment, so take a left at the emergency phone, continue onwards for maybe fifty meters, then take another left until you reach the security door, go through that but make sure you have everything you need because it will lock behind you …”

Yeah, based on the lengthy description the guard had to rattle off to let Isaac know how to get out into the airport proper, it was a mess. But he’d been able to memorize it, and soon enough, he was standing outside the airport, several taxicabs already ready and waiting to take him to his destination. He didn’t need them, though. Using [Sneak], he reduced his noticeability, then exploded into motion. Sure, the somewhat flashy acrobatics meant that the stealthy effect was vastly reduced, but it helped.

He leapt across the road in a single jump, lingering there for a brief moment before taking his next hop, until he wasn’t just no longer standing in front of the airport but also outside the whole tangle of roadways that connected the highways to the airport. At that point, he just ran alongside the highways,

Five minutes later, Camelot came into view in the distance.

The inspiration was rather obvious, even from afar. It was a compound with all the stuff needed to be fully self-sufficient. Farms that were almost certainly being worked by high-Level [Farmers] and [Botanists] who could grow crops in a matter of weeks, or even days lay on the outside.

A series of traditional training spaces such as archery ranges and dusty dueling grounds lay within, interspersed with three- and four-story buildings that likely served as dormitories and logistical buildings.

At the center of all this, though, lay a massive castle-like structure. It wasn’t the classical logistical and bureaucratical center combined with a fortress of a true historical castle, but rather a massive, old-style building, yet the inspiration was clear. It was at least as tall as a regular three-story building, a massive block of stone with a series of small windows covering the outside, just like the small openings of a real castle meant to conserve heat. Four small towers jutted up at the corners of the building, nowhere near high enough to be of any use, clearly decorative. All around the edge of the buildings, crenelations rose, most likely also decorative. It certainly helped show that the building was meant to be a castle.

Lastly, a massive and perfectly round lake lay off to the side of the road that led towards the castle. Surrounding that were a series of twenty-eight mosaics, each one showing the moon in a different stage, the full cycle of waxing and waning on display. No doubt as to who that area belonged to.

Isaac vaulted the guardrail onto the street that led towards the compound and strode along it at a more mundane pace that he’d been going at earlier. His [Aura] whipped out once he was close enough, scanning the areas below the surface that weren’t immediately visible. Highly modern plumbing and electrical systems, countless subterranean rooms, etc.

The entire compound was filled with life, ranging from people training in the facilities to just regular workers going around, doing their jobs. As that happened, the [System] was on full display.

An archery range that was a mere fifty meters long had targets that were up to a kilometer away, space withing warping to allow high-Level people to be trained without needing an insane amount of space.

A training filed that should have been engulfed in a massive dust cloud after a single fight still looking perfectly fine after what must have been hours of use.

A courtier deciding the paths were too cramped and just waltzing along on the rooftops.

And so on, and so forth. Sure, the university had started shifting over into full [System] use, with everything adapted to take full advantage of the new possibilities offered, but this place had already achieved that. Hell, even South Korea was only partially there. But Camelot had managed it. And. It. Was. Glorious.

One day, the entire world would be like this, technology continuing to do the heavy lifting yet magic and [Skills] practically erasing small problems and inconveniences, cracked mugs being fixed with a wave of one’s hand, damage to buildings that should have taken weeks or months to fix melting away at the touch of a [Geomancer].

It could be a wonderful world. Countless people would be out of a job due to how capable a single worker could be and something would have to be done about that. The economy would shift to an insane degree, and that would cause a lot of trouble until things settled. And there were oh so many more problems that would need to be dealt with. But eventually, this world would grow to be a paradise. If only humanity lived long enough to reach it.

He'd been told to head straight into the main building, so he didn’t linger, instead taking in everything in passing. Quite a few people noticed him, but no one so much as batted an eyelid. There were so many people here that it was impossible for everyone to recognize everyone else and a series of early-warning [Skills] and enchantments hung in the air, massively mitigating the damage someone could do just from waltzing in here. Taking part in the actual events or entering the buildings, on the other hand, would definitely result in one being challenged.

There was a distant sound of people walking through the main building at a rapid pace, which soon stopped. Clearly, everyone was ready on that end, so Isaac picked up the pace, striding through the vast wooden gate that led inside a few seconds after the ‘court’ had gotten into position.

“Greetings, Dr. Thoma. Welcome to Camelot!” Arthur announced at wall-shaking volume. The main man was sitting in a large chair, not quite a throne but certainly larger than was needed. Several people were standing around the ‘chair’, most unnecessary yet also needed, just for appearances sake.

Isaac looked up, meeting the ‘king’s’ eyes, then dipped his head. Slightly. No one would have ever mistaken it for a bow, or anything in even the same remote area, but it was an acknowledgement. It clearly demonstrated that he acknowledged the man sitting in that chair up their as the person in charge. It was also the start of playing along with this whole affair. This was Camelot, home to a delightful mixture of medieval reenactors, medieval martial arts fanatics and in a certain sense, doomsday preppers. And Isaac was all there for it.

“Thank you for this wonderful welcome.” Isaac announced warmly “I have brought with me good tidings from Germany. I’ve recently evolved my [Class] and stepped into the shoes of Master Hildebrand, teacher and companion of the legendary king, Dietrich von Bern. I’ve travelled here for the pleasure of training with your knights, working together and discovering new horizons.”

“That would be lovely.” Arthur mirrored Isaac’s warm expression.

“However, courtesy dictates that one not show up empty handed to an occasion such as this. As such, I have brought you several gifts, both from faraway Korea, and the forges of my home.”

Oh yeah, Isaac was definitely going all out on this. It was silly, but why not be a little silly? He made a sweeping gesture as an engraved core vanished in his pocket, allowing him to access his storage space and letting materials spill out.

Well, ‘spill’ was a bit of an exaggeration. Everything was packed up and neatly stacked as he manifested it, but the sheer variety of boxes still gave the whole affair a bit of a messy air.

Rare materials and fancy equipment from Korea’s Dungeons, fine clothes spun from spider silk from the crafters at the university, all immediately apparent as useful and beautiful.

And that’s when the suit of armor appeared, properly displayed on the armor stand.

“Lastly, I have here a suit of armor created by the world’s greatest living blacksmith, heir to the great master of old, Wayland, forged for a king!” Isaac announced proudly, making the [System] description become visible to everyone.

Arthur, who’d been about to respond, suddenly swallowed his tongue in surprise. He covered it well, but they all lived in a society of superhumans. Everyone noticed his little stumble.

Elena Hightower, his primary mage, right hand and person in charge of Camelot’s diplomatic relations, was doing a far better job of concealing her amusement at Arthur’s antics. Yet she was also deliberately not doing a perfect job.

Isaac had to bite back a chuckle of his own as Artur finally caught himself.

“This is a kingly gift. I’m honored and grateful to have received it. Truly, words alone cannot express what this means.”

Arthur rose from his seat and slowly walked towards the armor, one hand reaching out to reverently trail down its front.

“I believe there’ll be time to try that on later. Wasn’t there something you needed to do?” Elena’s voice cut through the silence, the first sound in a while seemingly deafening. She’d spoken softly, yet her voice rang through the throne room like a gunshot.

“Ah.” Was the extremely unintelligent reply that Arthur gave in response.

“Really, thank you Isaac.” She said, addressing their guest “I’ll make sure this all ends up getting put to good use.”

A wave of her hand later, the whole assemblage, armor included, vanished.

“I’ll be around, if you’d like to talk in private.” She said, before suddenly vanishing. It seemed someone had learned to teleport.

Arthur awkwardly scratched at his neck, still looking at the place the armor used to be, then cleared his throat.

“So, Isaac, I believe this is your first time in Camelot? I think you’d like this place.” He gestured at a door, recessed in the wall “Shall we?”

He led Isaac towards the door, with only a single courtier following. Incidentally, this was the courtier who’d been projecting a ‘do not eavesdrop’ bubble around everyone present, though said bubble was now collapsed around Isaac and Arthur. Clearly the ‘tour’ Arthur was pretending to give was nothing more than the pretext for a conversation.

Everyone else, meanwhile, busied themselves with the goodies Isaac had brought. Of course, the physical objects were no longer present, but they’d memorized what had been there using some king of bureaucracy [Skill] and were now animatedly discussing potential applications.

“This really is a wonderful place.” Isaac began the conversation “I don’t think there’s anything like it on planet Earth, at least not yet.”

“Hopefully, that’ll change at some point. Not being unique anymore won’t be fun, but nothing compared to what we as a species stand to gain.”

“That’s very admirable.” Isaac replied.

They continued to talk about Camelot in non-specific terms, a topic that most certainly didn’t necessitate an anti-eavesdropping [Skill].

Until, finally Arthur just went ahead and finally got onto the meat of the matter.

“What will happen the next time a [Raid Boss] is summoned?” Arthur asked.

“It gets nuked?” Isaac asked rhetorically, raising an eyebrow.

“In theory yes, But that requires someone to act. And what happens if it emerges in, say, London? A nuclear warhead stands to kill far more people than a [Raid Boss] in a situation like that.”

“You’re assuming that there’s anyone available to beat it.” Isaac responded.

“I know there’s no one available to beat one, not yet.” Arthur sighed “Not even us. But people will still hesitate to go to the nuclear option in that situation, because people are people.”

“Because people are people.” Isaac echoed, pausing for a moment to let it hang before continuing “That’s the explanation behind just about every ill on the planet, isn’t it?

“Climate change? Human greed.

“Racism? Because people can be jackasses.

“Drunk driving? Human irresponsibility.

“And then we’ve got the [System], all of that can have massively worse consequences.”

“Yep.” Arthur sighed “People are horrible. They’re also awesome, creative, wonderful, but also horrible.”

“So, is that what you wanted to talk to me about? The future?” Isaac asked.

“In part. But I’d also like to ask you about your experiences in Korea. You’re one of a mere handful of people who’s fought a [Raid Boss], and the only one whose done so mano a mano. How do we beat the next one who isn’t nuked into oblivion?”

“Together.” Isaac stated simply.

“Obviously.” Arthur said, raising and eyebrow.

“The only way to beat one of these things is teamwork, and Camelot has a good foundation for that. You’re knights, in [Class], but also in deed. You’re a leader who almost certainly has the [Skills] available to create a formal Party, granting all the cooperation boosts that come with it. Every [Knight] is also able to build themselves as a tank, and even those who went in a different direction, so long as they’re fully specked into damage, they can function somewhat as tanks. Throw in Camelot’s magical arm and you’ll be able to beat a Demon Lord like the one I fought in Korea. You’d suffer great losses, no doubt, but you’d win.

“That is my professional opinion. You can win, but it would be a pyrrhic victory. You’ll need to train together, train formation fighting, then, and only then, you’ll be able to crush your foes into paste. Even if they’re [Raid Bosses].”

“Thank you.” Arthur clasped Isaac’s shoulder “You’re a good man, Isaac Thoma.”

“Don’t thank me yet, I haven’t even gotten to the good part.” Isaac flashed him a smile “I can grant epic-rarity [Skills] with my new [Class]. Give me an hour, and you’ll be able to equip that armor with a thought.”

“Now that sounds awesome.” Arthur’s face seemed to crack in half, his grin was so wide “My [Class] has a [Skill] like that, but it would have cost me the points needed to get an important team-boosting [Skill].”

He gave Isaac a raised eyebrow “And you can just give me something like that?”

“I’d be happy to.” Isaac said “You, and some of your knights. There is a limit as to how often I can do so every week, but I’d glady use those charges up here.”

They continued to walk side by side, discussing the particulars of the training program, until eventually, Arthur lead them into a massive underground room.

It looked like a Sci-Fi nerd’s wet dream, with large screens lining one wall, cameras and other doodads cramped everywhere else. It was almost certainly the ultimate multi-purpose room, the heart of the Camelot. Right now, though, it was currently configured to be a training room, with mats like what you’d see in a martial arts dojo lining the floor.

Fighting, in such a room, even for training purposes, should have been recipe for massive and expensive damage. But a powerful [Skill] drenched the whole affair, solidly preventing any kind of damage from being inflicted from someone below Level 50 not using a cooldown [Skill].

And in one corner, Arthur’s armor waited for him.

“I’m guessing this is the part where we spar so you can get my measure as a warrior?” Isaac asked.

“You’re the man who beat a Demon Lord into paste, nearly getting ripped to shreds in the process, all to protect a city you have little connection to. I know you are.” Arthur shook his head “But I’d still like to spar against you, away from prying eyes.”

Indeed, the courtier who’d been following them had remained outside, all the while extending his anti-surveillance field over the entire room.

“How about I first teach you how to directly equip your armor, and then, we spar?”

Arthur’s only reply was an infectious grin.

Actually teaching the [Skill] was a matter of a quarter of an hour, of Isaac explaining how to put on the armor with the intention of passing along the [Skill].

[Fully Geared] and its weaker, taught version [Phantom Armor] were both incredibly useful quality of life [Skills], but normally not worth buying instead of others with a more direct use. Isaac certainly wouldn’t have grabbed it in his first life.

But having it, and being able to switch armor and clothing at a whim did allow for quite a few new tricks to be used, not the least of which was instantly restoring one’s defenses in the middle of a fight.

Just being able to change clothes like that would still not have been worth five [Skill] points, though.

Everyone he chose being able to do so, though? Abso-friggi-lutely worth it.

And then it was finally time for Arthur to wear his suit of armor for the first time. It manifested on him in an instant, and he transformed from ‘very fit medieval cosplayer’ to ‘storybook hero’.

Gleaming silver plate covered every inch of exposed skin, save his face, yet even that was vastly more covered than it appeared. As it was, one could basically not see the bars of the visor, yet Isaac knew that more than ninety percent of Arthur’s face was covered. [Skill] and [System] fuckery at its finest.

“So, shall we begin? No [Skills] except for what is needed to make sure no one dies? I’ve got one that can turn my all my blows non-lethal.” Isaac asked, his own clothing being replaced by a full suit of black, incredibly fine chainmail, with a metal cap covering his face, essentially wreathing him in stab-and-slash-proof cloth, so light was the metal.

The level of protection this suit afforded against blunt impacts was functionally nill, and any attack that was stopped from piercing or cutting him would basically be turned into one, but that didn’t matter. Blunt hits were damn easy to survive, simply by turning on [Flight of the Poltergeist], nixing gravity’s influence on the situation, and just letting the force sweep him away, absorbing the impact not with his body, but his momentum.

“Ah, I was wondering why someone with such an excellent blacksmith wasn’t armored. Also, I agree with your terms.” Arthur laughed, drawing his sword. It was beautiful and well made, but Isaac had a sneaking suspicion it wouldn’t last another week. Another consequence of the sheer Level difference between crafters and fighters.

“I just don’t like to wear armor when I don’t need it.” Isaac shrugged, then exploded into motion, swinging his blade in a blow that would have decapitated his opponent … if neither of them did anything and [Absolute Blade Mastery] hadn’t ensured that even a direct hit to the jugular wouldn’t do any damage.

Arthur meanwhile just interposed his sword, then countered with a slash that forced Isaac to backflip away, pushing himself into the ceiling. He kicked off the thankfully highly durable ceiling, coming back down like a meteor.

Even though the impact knocked him off his feet, Arthur managed to slam his sword into Isaac’s, sending him flying.

The two were suddenly almost twenty meters apart, but Isaac had landed on his feet while Arthur was still scrambling to his feet, only to be knocked flat on his back as Isaac closed the distance between them.

The knight actually had a couple of Levels on Isaac and the raw Stats that went with that, but Isaac still had a few extra points of Agility and he was trained in getting the most out of his speed.

As good as Arthur was, in a real fight, he’d already have been dead.

They clashed, again and again, until suddenly, Arthur spoke up.

“Do you believe in reincarnation?” he asked, causing Isaac to pull his sword strike, then dismiss Old Reliable as he settled into a relaxed stance.

“What makes you ask?”

Arthur sheathed his sword before responding “You introduced yourself as the heir to Master Hildebrand earlier. That information was already publicly available, and I read up on him. A grizzled veteran, a man who taught a king and led his men. Are you truly just a normal man with an odd [Class] who took on the demeanor of a grizzled veteran? Or are you truly him, reincarnated, with your power and memories returned once you hit the required Level?”

Ah, now things were starting to become a little clearer.

“You’re worried you’re just him, aren’t you? Another person, reincarnated?” Isaac asked.

Arthur grimaced.

“Before I answer, tell me, would it matter?” Isaac asked “If you were King Arthur reincarnated, that would mean that King Arthur was you. It means that you’re the one legendary king, that there’s no need to feel inadequate.

“If I were truly the reincarnation of Hildebrand, instead of just a person who got his inheritance, so what? Do I exist then and now, or just now? If my past life did something incredible, that means that I did something incredible. It’s as simple as that.”

“That helps.” Arthur nodded “But you didn’t answer my question.”

“Right you are.” Isaac replied “Basically, I don’t believe in reincarnation because I haven’t seen the evidence yet. But I do believe it’s possible. Looking at everything else that has happened in this world, everything that is now in this world … why can’t reincarnation be possible too? But just like belief in the divine without having seen the gods with your own two eyes, it’s a matter of faith.”

“Have you?” Arthur asked, startling Isaac.

“Huh?”

“Have you seen the gods with your own two eyes?”

Isaac shook his head “No, not directly. But I believe they’re out there, that they’re behind the [System].”

“… crap.”

“That’s an issue for another day, though.” Isaac shook his head “I don’t want to open that can of worms just yet.”

Old Reliable manifested once more and he grinned.

“Shall we?”

***

“This is your room for the entirety of your stay, the bed will be made every day unless instructed otherwise, if you need anything, all you have to do is ask. Will that be all?” the man asked from the door of Isaac’s room.

Perhaps he was a concierge, or maybe a seneschal? Isaac wasn’t entirely clear on the exact role his guide held, but the man was professional and had showed him everything he might need after the sparring match had ended.

“No thank you.” Isaac shook his head, then walked over to his bed and flopped into it. Today had been exhausting. Awesome, but exhausted.

The room itself was a large room with a massive four poster bed, a fireplace that was currently lit, and a massive fireproof shag carpet on the floor. It was a beautiful room, with a nice medieval flair to it.

Isaac would explore it later, though. Today, he’d inspected a lot of people and been inspected by a lot of people, and that had boosted all the right [Skills].

For example, [Hunter’s Gaze] had finally hit Level 30 and evolved.

Hunter’s Gaze (epic, Level XXX)

There are many possible upgrades to the basic Inspect Skill. Some allow for improved examination of details, others are far better at piercing information protection Skills.

This one is different. It loses any ability to gaze past defenses for raw details unless the defenses are very weak, but gains an incredible power at getting rough information on the user’s foes.

Barring an incredible Level disparity, the user will be able to sense whether someone’s Stats are higher, lower or comparable to the User’s, how many Aspects they have and what their overall affinities are.

But by using the information gained via this Skill, an Undying Wraith will be able to deduce anything Inspect could grant, and more.

In addition, this [Skill] allows the user to see mana and sense the purpose of Skills being used in front of him.

After countless fights where this Skill has been used to seek out every secret an enemy held has evolved to see absolutely everything an enemy might try to hide, instantly recognizing passive Skills, all manner of active abilities and slotting them into a newly gained mental library and highlighting any past experiences with similar Skills. Lastly, it gains vastly enhanced Privacy penetration abilities and further grows as the user’s Perception increases.

And now, it has reached the pinnacle of its power, able to read the past Skill use of those that would oppose the person wielding the Hunter’s Gaze.

The more powerful a Skill, the greater and longer lasting an imprint it leaves in its user’s spiritual body. And the more recently it was used, the stronger and clearer said imprint was. Should a foe have used all their Skills recently, this can be read like a book, figuring out the entirety of their Skillset at a glance.

And even should that not be the case, this Skill will still be useful as it provides a vastly improved ability to understand an enemy’s powers and abilities, eventually allowing them to be beaten or countered with contemptuous ease.

It had now doubled down on the ‘know thy enemy’ portion of its purpose, allowing him to read his opponents like a book if they’d used their [Skills] in the recent past. A truly fitting capstone for one of his favorite [Skills].

[Unknown Fear], meanwhile, had also gained an awesome new effect.

Unknown Fear (epic, Level XX)

There are many things that people are afraid of. Mostly, those things are definable, specific things. But there is another kind, the fear of the unknown.

With this Skill, the user becomes the embodiment of this fear. An unknowable entity, become fear itself.

It will block out any same Level and rarity Inspection Skills as a matter of course and is boosted by any stealth Skill, gaining strength as if it were one Level higher for every two Levels in a stealth Skill. Further power is gained based on Agility.

In addition, this Skill may now be used to project a false status when Inspect style Skills are used. However, the user of Unknown Fear does not have true control over what the other person sees, they can only switch between showing them whatever they hope to see, something menacing, or merely a blank façade.

After countless fights where this Skill has been used to hide its user’s true nature from warriors and kings, knaves and stalwart defenders of justice, it has evolved to hide even its own attributes. Initially, Unknown Fear merely showed the vast, unknowable abyss to those who dared to Inspect its user, yet that, in itself, could identify them. This kind of all-encompassing darkness is by no means unique to Unknown Fear, but it is hardly a common impression to receive from a failed Inspect.

Now, however, whenever the user chooses to take on a different persona, the feedback likewise subtly shifts to the point where it cannot be connected to them. In addition, it will always take on the same feedback type when the same persona is taken up.

As the [Skill] said, someone connecting him to a fake persona of his based on how he swallowed [inspect] like a black hole was damn unlikely, but it could still happen. No, it could have happened. Not anymore, though. Nope, not at all. Perfect.

But before Isaac did anything else, he just wanted to go to sleep.