Sworded Affair

Chapter 65 : The Game of Life

[Connection established!

Objective: Connect to at least one other Dungeon complete!

Objective: Create a broadcast link with Emma Knight complete!

(Timed Bonus) Objective: Create the link before she reaches the 9th floor of Scholomance complete!

Fast Travel connection (Scholomance) unlocked.

+10 Reputation (Paradox) gained.]

"Finally!" Felix leapt up, just a few steps shy of literally dancing in joy.

Overmind might have given him a lot of advice on how to form the link, but she hadn't gone so far as to nudge the process along herself. It had taken many, many attempts to reach this point, so it was with understandable excitement that Felix activated the connection for the first time, seeking out his sister within the confines of the tower. Finally, the screen he'd dedicated exclusively to this task showed something other than static; the dimensions of the panel grew until it encompassed the entire wall of the Dungeon Master's office, resolving into a grassy plain full of corpses in varying states of decomposition. They were in formation, Felix realised, lying in reasonably recognisable rectangles that betrayed nothing of the cause of death.

"The campsites look to be the same, albeit with less bodies," Felix muttered, scrolling his viewpoint to take in the full devastation on display. "Something to do with the castle in the distance? There are some impressive wards in place; certainly the work of a mage who might be powerful enough to do this. Not that it's any of my concern really; I don't see Emma anywhere, her armor is very distinctive."

[Quest obtained!

Siege the Moment

Objective: Break into castle within 30 days.

(Bonus) Objective: Capture the Princess alive.

Rewards: ???]

"Not an administrator quest for once!" Felix exclaimed, as new streams of information began to fill his mind; designations of units and formations, economic and political history in the context of the siege, available contacts for advice and hard power and far more besides, all making itself available to him.

Even more important than all of the above was an innocuous little button that had affixed itself to the corner of his vision, one that promised his reign enduring popularity for years to come.

"Enable Streamer Mode," Felix declared. "Broadcast to the theatre and all external connections; set a time to countdown, we go live three hours from now."

[Broadcast active.]

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

Conjuring up a pen and a pad of paper, Felix knuckled down and began to write out his strategy. Sure, he could have done this all digitally, but he'd always found his thoughts flowed better when paired with the actual act of writing everything down, especially when he was under time crunch. This was the first ever broadcast of his nascent entertainment empire after all; nothing could be permitted to ruin the opening episode of Theatre Plays: Castle Wars.

---

Even if I don't get any of the other rewards, this trial has already been worth its weight in gold, Emma thought as her System dutifully transcribed yet another page on the life, death and many affairs of the First Duke of Hell.

Truly, she didn't even mind the lack of EXP (evidently the System deemed her too powerful to benefit from killing helpless soldiers, which was honestly fair enough). Princess Astaroth, as it turned out, was something of a history buff; one who rarely got to indulge in lecturing at length, given that most of her prior acquaintances already knew most of the content. Emma was a complete novice however, and more than willing to lend an ear. Three days had passed in the blink of an eye, with the Princess lecturing nearly non-stop, pausing only to eat and sleep as she carefully built Emma's foundation of magical knowledge from the ground up. Emma didn't believe every word without question of course; every textbook and every historian had their own biases, both personal and ingrained by their tradition of scholarship. Nonetheless, this was still an invaluable experience, drastically cutting down the number of questions she'd need to ask Edith going forward.

Emma didn't let the System do all the work either; her hands were hard at working, pencilling out a detailed map of the magical world, one that the Princess assured her was barely changed by the terminus. Apparently, most magicals lived out in remote areas, keeping them away from the truly dangerous Demons whilst their abilities made short work of the few stragglers that emerged.

"Good work on the map," The Princess praised, as Emma added the finishing touches to the horn of Africa. "Now explain from top to bottom the positioning of major factions within the magical community."

She'd gone all-in on the history teacher persona, even producing a pair of glasses and a ruler to fit the aesthetic, whilst the crumbling stone meeting room had been remade into a classroom that could have fit into any public school in England. Even now, the Princess was tapping the North of Scandinavia, waiting for her to begin.

"The Eternal Britannian Empire encompasses all of what is traditionally considered European. From Iceland to western Russia, down to the border of Bulgaria and Turkey, then back again to Spain and Portugal; Australia is also included and has been since the founding years. The capital historically sat in Bucharest, but was relocated to London in 1916 after the Romanian Debacle during World War One. The Empire is a diverse organisation; ruled by magical girls and principally staffed by practitioners of the Western tradition, it nonetheless allows any magical being citizenship, so long as they follow Imperial Law.

Of the other continents, Africa's structure most resembles ours. The Cult of the Dead rules the continent's magical community, through the unmatched military assets granted by necromancy, and their expertise in creating and distributing the water that gives life in a region infamous for scorching heat and endless sand. Joining the Cult requires sponsorship from an existing member; it is not required to live and practice in Africa however, as the Cult will happily accept taxes instead.

The Americas and most of Asia, by contrast, are not unified to the same degree. The Americas are carved up into a patchwork of fiefdoms; composed partly of tribes whose borders predate European settlement, and the rest filled by the domains of particularly powerful summoned beings, many of whom have broken the chains of their Warlock to walk freely upon the world. Asia is likewise scattered, with power held by Cultivators across dozens of sects. Most numerous are the Daoists, followed closely by the Buddhists, but many more branches exist, all of them competing to reach Heaven and leave their opponents in the dust.

The most notable of such powers are as follows-"

The warbling sound of a military bugle broke Emma from her recitation, head tilting towards the Princess.

"That's not one of mine," Princess Astaroth shook her head. "Let's go take a look outside."