Apocalypse Redux

Chapter 161: A Troublesome Letter

Coming back home was less troublesome than Isaac’s travel to Leipzig, simply because their building didn’t have any useless “arrival room”.

[Portal] opens, person steps through, done.

“How was Leipzig?” Bailey asked as soon as he saw them.

“On the surface, it was a waste of a trip because neither of us was needed. Except, reading between the lines, I did figure out a few interesting things. I’ll tell you about it later.” Isaac said. None of his coworkers had the same level of information defense he did, so telling them about the new developments before the message about what Krebs had told him arrived. Knowing about that ahead of time might result in the police picking up on something and digging deeper.

To his credit, Bailey didn’t press the issue, instead nodding and heading back to his office after exchanging a few more pleasantries.

Isaac, meanwhile, headed right into the nearest summoning room while looking at the requested materials list available on the team’s private text channels in the university’s internal messaging system. The crafters wanted a bunch of stuff, one of the new research assistants had a hypothesis involving a monster too powerful for her to fight and wanted help with that, and there were some projects he wanted to “initiate”.

Three hours later, the list was completely worked over, the crafters were happy and there were several other researchers that would almost certainly be staying very late, digging into the information that Isaac had provided. Others, meanwhile, had been inspired by a few of his asking “boy, I wonder how that thing works” combined with a few subtle hints and were now practically in a fugue state. Some of these topics were ones where he knew everything and just wanted to ensure that the world figured things out on its own, but others were ones where his knowledge was extremely superficial and he’d only been able to help avoid a few false starts.

Things were coming together now, just in time for him to run off chasing ghosts. Isaac swore softly.

Before going home though, Isaac dropped by Stagmer’s to put in a few orders. Specialized pieces of armor to counter specific threats, some ideas he wanted to see put into action, and the like.

Once he’d finished writing the information packet, he doubled back, dropped it into the [System] research faculty’s mailbox, and made his way home.

And with all that out of the way, Isaac headed home and spent an hour in front of the idiot box, watching the evening news, followed by a crime show that managed to have him facepalm at the end as he realized that he’d missed a rather obvious clue right at the beginning. Sure, he hadn’t been putting in quite as much effort into predicting the plot as he had into finding his mystery organization, but the failure still stung.

What followed was a night of grinding XP and Aspects to be used later. Right now, his priority was gaining the full set of [Skills] he wanted from his current [Class]. Then, when he hit Level 100 for the fourth Evolution, he could check his current available Evolutions and decide whether to slot them before or after he evolved.

Really though, Isaac doubted the Aspects were what would make or break the next Evolution. They were an “easy” way to get a better [Class], but Isaac had a lot of other things going for him now, ones that would grant him great upgrades independent of his Aspects. For example, [Hildebrand’s Heir] was completely independent of them, being instead based on his actions as a teacher. If his actions hadn’t been enough to earn him a good [Class], then what the hell had he been doing?

So, if all things worked out properly, he’d be gaining the Aspects now, at a point when their drop rate was higher due to his lower Level but slotting them at a later point. These Aspects weren’t ones that he needed right now, but they’d be important later as he started stacking on more and more, creating powerful synergies that would utterly kick ass in the endgame.

As for right now though, slotting them would have been a waste of XP, and using the gained [Skills] a waste of mana. The only real exception had been the Aspect of the Acid Drake, but that one actually served a purpose here and now in that it mitigated his weakness to acid.

One brief catnap at 6 am later, and Isaac was up and raring to go, heading to work at a little after seven.

Once again, the building had grown more crowded. It was finally finished, with even the topmost floor having all the interior furnishings needed to turn it into a functioning office space. And now that that space was available, it was being used.

Ironically, Bailey and his direct subordinates, Isaac and the rest of the team only used a single floor, the basement, and had done so since the very beginning. The rest of the building was occupied by research assistants doing mundane drudge work or testing their own hypotheses, and the support personnel. IT, manufacturing of reagents, all of those things were done in-house if possible. Or at least if there wasn’t a verysolid outside provider available.

Sure, there were certain things that the whole world sourced from companies that had their production down pat, but for most things, those companies were yet to even be created.

Actually … what if that was exactly what he did? Create companies that could create the base materials for potions, mystic alloys that required specialized equipment to create that most people who’d use said alloys didn’t usually possess. It hadn’t been a viable option before as the world as a whole hadn’t known how to make these things, so creating those companies would have drawn a lot of eyes.

Now though, his knowledge would only help put him ahead of the curve, and his sources would be easy to explain enough based on his job.

On one hand, creating companies would require much of his highly limited time and to be entirely honest, he didn’t need the money, at least not as things stood currently.

On the other hand, one could never really have too much money, at least until you had “fuck off” levels of wealth. And once he did, there were so many things he’d be able to do with that cash. Funneling money into the team was only the start, he’d also be able to pay for “leveling scholarships”, for lack of a better word, ensuring that people with a level head would shoot to the top of the power rankings. Also, enough money would lend an additional degree of weight to his words. He had physical power, influential allies, and the power to make others stronger. But not money, at least, not yet

In addition, there was something else that could happen if he was able to properly streamline the production process. Safety not just for the workers, but for the world itself. Many, if not most of the problems the other timeline had faced had been caused by people looking to get stronger, but industrial accidents caused by insufficient safety precautions during material procurement had been damaging as well.

But if he was a part of that industry, he could help set the safety standards, prove that it was possible to make a profit without ending up with an accident report a mile long at the end of each fiscal year, and with his connections, he might even be able to help determine the official requirements for workers’ safety.

This was a new idea, born of idle musing, but it was one that was worth following through on.

However, it would also be one of his most ambitious projects, well, ever, and it would take a hell of a lot of time to see through. In addition, his [Class] was highly unsuitable to administration, leaving him without [System] assistance on that front. The [Advanced Bureaucracy] he’d picked up in Korea would help, of course, but he’d still have to hire a lot of people to help him. And those people would need to be trustworthy, and that would be the real hurdle.

Isaac would be able to draw on the Dungeon Guild, as well as the university’s graduates and possibly police officers who’d changed careers for reasons other than misbehavior. But it would still be a pain in the ass to achieve.

If, no, when he went to work on starting a company, it would massively eat into his free time, to the point where his time would be evenly split between university and his start-up, with very little left for levelling or leisure.

Yet the university didn’t really require his input to run smoothly anymore, and hopefully, it wouldn’t take too long for his potential company to achieve the same degree of independence.

But before he did anything here, he needed to weather the storm the message someone would read sooner or later would kick up.

“Isaac, what’s got you so excited?” Bailey called from behind him, then suddenly appeared next to him and matched his stride. Sure, people didn’t normally run anywhere near this fast in the building and really weren’t supposed to either, but there were exceptions. And catching up to someone was one which was often ignored.

“How do you know I’m excited?” Isaac asked.

“You’re louder than normal, and you don’t have you’re not wearing your normal ‘resting poker face’. If you were ten years younger, I’d be assuming you’d gotten into the cookie jar and eaten the whole thing in one sitting.” Bailey laughed “So, which canary did you eat?”

Isaac activated [Perception Interdiction] and explained his new realization.

“Basically, I’d be able to essentially set industry safety standards, we’d be able to fund even more research than we already can, and so on, and so forth.”

“That’s going to be a lot of work, though. And I know how much you hate paperwork.” Baiely remarked.

“I’ll still do it, though. If it’s necessary.” Isaac said “Hating paperwork is not the same thing as being unable to use bureaucracy.”

“That wasn’t a criticism, that was an offer of help. Unless I’m banished to sleep on the sofa or in danger of losing what I’ve built here at the university, my time, influence and expertise are at your disposal.”

“Thanks. That means a l-“

“Professor Bailey! Look at this!”

… Aaaand there it was.

“What’s wrong?” Bailey snapped, alarmed.

“I just found this in the mail!”

The young man running down the corridor, waving a manilla envelope in the air, wasn’t someone Isaac recognized, but that was to be expected, considering how many new people were in the building.

“Given that you’re waving it around like that, I’m assuming that isn’t a bomb? Or anthrax, for that matter?” Isaac commented dryly, startling the kid enough to nearly trip over his own two feet.

Bailey gave him a gently rebuking stare as he accepted the envelope. Then, his eyes went wide.

“If this is real … I’m going to make a copy, then take this straight to the police.”

“The real question is who sent it to us. Checking will be simple enough to check, the list says part of the connection is how the contacts are impossible to track, right? If the cops can look into this and don’t encounter information defenses, this is fake. And if they have problems, that’s going to be a problem, sure, but we’ll still know something is there.”

“True.” Bailey nodded.

“I’ll check the mailbox, see if I can figure something out,” Isaac said and turned on his heels, striding back out.

Ten minutes later, half the lobby was cordoned off and being checked over by crime scene investigators and several detectives were glaring at their copies of the letter with an intensity that indicated true hatred. Clearly this letter had given them new leads, given that they were studying it so intently, but they were also obviously not getting anywhere.

Of course, now that the professionals were here, Isaac had bene removed from the investigation area and was now outside the building, talking to Habicht on the phone.

“Can I ask you for a favor?”

“As long as it isn’t illegal, sure. But I’m very busy, so if it isn’t something I can justify as work, it might take a while.” Habicht said, and Isaac could hear a computer keyboard being used in the background.

“Don’t worry, this shouldn’t take long.” Isaac assured him “I need a good PI, but discretion is even more important. I can power level them if necessary, but trust is harder to get.”

“Did you know there are people who gain [Skills] that let them swear [System]-enforced oaths? We locked up a bunch of jackasses last week who literally can’t talk and it’s been a pain to deal with them.”

“Yeah, I heard about that.” Isaac said “Trustworthiness is great, but it being verifiable is even better. I’m guessing you have someone in mind?”

“A couple. I’ll send you their contact details in a sec.” Habicht promised.

“I don’t suppose you could put in a good word with them for me?” Isaac asked.

“Obviously. Oh, and did you already get your job offer from the BAU?”

“Yeah, I got it this morning.”

“And?” Habicht asked.

“I’m coming in for an interview, but I don’t think it’ll work out,” Isaac said.

“Thought so.” Habicht sighed “What do I need to tell them to sweeten the pot with?”

Isaac let out a bark of laughter before responding.

“There isn’t really anything specific I want. I like my current situation, and I like seeing what I do affect the world. Can you offer the same thing?”

“We can try.” Habicht said “Talk to you later.”

Then he hung up.

Once the cops had retreated from the lobby, unhappy about having found precisely nothing, Isaac gathered the rest of the team in the meeting room, heavily protected from eavesdropping.

“I have a confession to make.” Isaac began, earning himself odd looks from everyone except Bailey, who was giving him a “you brought this on yourself, but I get it” look.

“I wrote the letter we got earlier today because I got the information from a source I couldn’t reveal to the police. And I didn’t tell you guys ahead of time because that knowledge might not have stayed secret with so many cops sniffing around.” Isaac decided to not beat around the bush “If there’d been a safer way, I’d have gone that way.”

“Let me guess, the serial killer?” Patrick asked “The only thing I can’t quite figure out when you talked to her. Did you break into jail?”

“That does sound like something Isaac would do, isn’t it?” Amy suggested.

“The real question is if everything in that letter is true,” Raul said, giving Isaac a disapproving look.

“I verified as much as I could, and the cops did too. There’s something out there, but the only conspicuous thing about it is its absence. In other words, this is a mess, one none of us possess the knowledge or experience to clean up. So I passed it along to those who do, and with any luck, the situation will resolve itself without any of us needing to lift a finger.”

“But you don’t expect things to go that well,” Karl stated, not even bothering to phrase it as a question.

“A man can dream, can’t he?” Isaac asked rhetorically.

“The important thing is that we’ve got a lead to the people behind the robbery.” Bailey said “No matter how long it takes, we need to deal with this.”

“Is no one going to talk about the fact that Isaac broke into jail to talk to a serial killer?” Karl burst out.

“I didn’t break in, she has a dream walking [Skill],” Isaac explained.

“And now we’re dealing with Freddy Krueger?” Amy groaned “Why did you let her live again?”

“Because I know the limits of even high Level dreamwalking.” Isaac explained “Firstly, you cannot take damage in a dream that will be transferred to your real body. The only potential threat is a non-stop onslaught of nightmares making it impossible for someone to sleep and eventually doing damage that way, but that would be very hard to kill someone with as very few people’s Fortitude is low enough to make sleep deprivation a true danger in a reasonable timeframe.

“Secondly, the sleeper can always escape up on their own. There are [Skills] that can make it harder, but even those can be overcome. They’re just like real nightmares, they suck while you’re in them, but you’ll always wake up, eventually.

“And thirdly, if the sleeper realizes what is going on, they can use their [Aura] to fight back, and the user of dream magic is vulnerable. They can cut the connection very quickly, but ‘quick’ is not the same as ‘instantaneous’, especially if they get caught by surprise.

“There’s also a range limit, and if this does end up getting abused, we’ll hear about it as a rash of odd nightmares will be noticed and the connection to [System] shenanigans will be obvious. So who will get called about that?”

“Ghostbusters, obviously,” Amy replied instantly. Raul and Karl groaned, Patrick just sighed and slumped back into his seat.

“And what about the fact that you’re talking to a serial killer?” Karl continued “That … it doesn’t seem right. Or like a good idea.”

“I know,” Isaac said. He understood, he really did. Dealing with someone who had done such awful things felt like taking a bath in raw sewage like you’d tainted yourself irrevocably like you were dirty in a way that could never be washed away. At least the first time. Eventually, with time, you learned to adopt a more … utilitarian approach.

“But this wasn’t something I could just turn down without a concrete reason. We have a lead, for the first time ever. It also won’t suddenly make her a threat again. And if it does, I will take care of that. I’m not washing my hands of this situation, I’m fully aware of what my actions can result in, and I’m choosing to do what I do.”

“Sorry,” Karl said in a small voice.

Isaac shook his head “Don’t apologize. You were right, there was a danger there. And just assuming that the person you’re talking to has thought everything through is how you end up with a mistake happening that could have been prevented with a thirty second conversation.”

He looked around the room, meeting the eyes of everyone here.

“I do have some good news. How would you all feel about making a few million euros?”

***

It had taken several hours, but they’d eventually managed to hammer out a decent business plan, as well as determine what materials would be the easiest to mass produce.

Now though, Isaac had something else to do. An important meeting that might allow him to get more information on his mystery organization.

The restaurant named Salutation stood before him, lights starkly illuminating it amidst the blackness of the night. Isaac could hear that the bar was stuffed to the gills with patrons, but it was a surprisingly calm atmosphere for such a crowd. Also, it was very noticeable how the reception area was out of view of the main seating area. It was something he’d spotted during his first time, but it hadn’t been as apparent as it was now.

“Good evening Mr. Holt.” The maître de greeted him “If you’d follow me, please?”

Isaac was, once again, wearing a tailored suit, though one deliberately not purchased from his usual tailor.

The path to the private dining area was likewise familiar, and very noticeably away from the crowd, in such a way that no one not currently entering or leaving the establishment would encounter those heading deeper into the building.

Isaac entered the room a moment later, being greeted by the familiar sight of the pair of human gorillas in suits, standing beside the hidden door in the wall opposite him. They’d leveled to almost sixty and gained quite a few Aspects, including the standard phase-healing combo that Calise had also had the last time Isaac had seen him. Throw in some that provided shielding [Skills], ones that could buff another person’s speed, etc.

Overall, they were very powerful by most normal standards, making them able to deal with almost any threat their boss would reasonably encounter.

“Ah, Mr. Holt, it’s been a while.” Calise greeted as he entered the room, never one to be seen waiting for another person.

“That it has. I hope business has been treating you well.” Isaac replied.

“So, what do you have for me today?” Calise asked before calling over the maître de and ordering a bottle of good wine.

“Aspects, information, and a request,” Isaac responded, gesturing to the suitcase he’d set down against the wall.

“Information.” Calise steepled his fingers as he placed his elbows on the table “That can mean a lot of things.”

He looked Isaac straight in the eyes “Am I going to be happy about it?”

“Maybe, maybe not. But it’s definitely going to be useful. Remember that group I asked you to track down? I found more information.”

Isaac slid a manilla folder across the table. It contained a version of what he’d sent to the police, but with one fewer person included and the information was slightly different. Calise had contacts in law enforcement and was in a position to compare both documents. While it would be obvious that they shared a common source, they wouldn’t be quite as closely linked.

“Unfortunately, it’s more of the same. A black hole that no [Skills] can pierce, noticeable only because of what isn’t there.”

“That’s unfortunate.” Calise sighed “I don’t know whether I want to hire these people, or ‘drive them out of business’. They haven’t directly picked a fight yet, but indirectly, they’re a pain.”

The wine had arrived by now and he paused to take a drink before continuing.

“These jokers actually contacted me through a few intermediaries, all hush-hush, asking if I’d like some free money. ‘Free money’, hah. They wanted to make ‘connections’ and ‘plan for the future’, but they couldn’t even tell me what they were all about. No standards, probably.”

“Contacted for connections and barely described plans. That’s a story you’ll find over and over again in the file.” Isaac gestured “I don’t suppose you remember if they contacted you before or after you asked around about them?”

“After.” Calise grumbled “Annoying bunch of pricks. What the hell do they want?”

“There is more there, no doubt.” Isaac said “They’re clearly working towards something, but in a way, it feels almost … clumsy. Like they’re using [Skills] to plaster over a lack of true experience.”

“That’s it!” Calise clapped his hands “That’s why they act like a bunch of wise guys who picked up what they know from movies.”

He laughed “Damn. Any clown can become something in this world, can’t they?”

“If they were actually clowns, I wouldn’t be worried about them,” Isaac replied coldly.

“Who said that clowns can’t be dangerous?” Calise raised an eyebrow.

Isaac shrugged “Point taken.”

“Now, you said you had something to ask? I’m assuming you didn’t mean wanting me to look into our mystery friends again.”

“It’s related.” Isaac said, “In essence, I’m looking to hire an investigator, someone who isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty but is also excellent at staying under the radar.”

“Not trustworthy?” Calise asked.

“I figured that was a given,” Isaac replied with a wry smile.

“I might know a couple of guys. But why are you looking for someone to do this exclusively? I’ve already got plenty of people working on this.” Calise said.

“Someone who can focus on this exclusively might be more helpful. And an investigator for other things would be useful as well.”

Isaac then mirrored Calise’s earlier stance, elbows on the table, fingers steepled.

“Of course, that is something I’d be willing to play plenty for. However, there is another option. I’d like to hire someone, permanently. A few days ago, I met someone who was able to give an [Oath] that the [System] itself guarantees and enforces, making them utterly trustworthy if their specific [Skill] allows for it. So, in that case, is there someone like that whom you know of? A skilled investigator whom I’ll be able to trust absolutely?”

Isaac then leaned back in his chair and reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a small glass vial before continuing.

“Of course, given that you would be losing a subordinate permanently, the payment would be vastly more substantial.

“This here is a vial of Demon Lord's blood, and I don’t think I have to tell you what this is worth. You can have this, and the entire case of Aspects I brought if you can find me someone to fill my needs.”

Calise froze, looked at the vial for a moment, and licked his lips before finally replying.

“How hot is that?”

“Not at all. It was never recorded on any lists because they left it to soak into the soil back in Seoul. You might want to wait before selling though, given that there is currently only a single source where this could have come from. But once a few others have gone down, there shouldn’t be a problem.” Isaac explained.

In fact, the blood wasn’t from the dirt underneath where the [Raid Boss] had died but rather retrieved from his bloody clothes, which he’d stored right after arriving at the hospital and no one had bothered asking about them. This had resulted in him having five such vials, ones that weren’t on any lists, a ghost to the systems of bureaucracy.

“It won’t be nearly as valuable then, though,” Calise observed, so Isaac just pulled the second vial out of his pants.

“It’ll still be extremely rare. You can’t summon a [Raid Boss] without everyone nearby learning, so getting it on the sly is nearly impossible. So you’d have to steal it. And given that it’ll be in the possession of people capable of taking out a monster strong enough to trash a city, that might be more than a little difficult.”

Sure, he was giving away a very dangerous substance, but he trusted Calise because the man was one of the most logical people he’d ever met. The mob boss knew what kind of hell messing with this stuff would bring down on his head, no matter what kind of profit he might be able to get. So he’d be just as careful with it as Isaac was.

So sure, he was making a criminal richer than he already was, but honestly, that was a worthwhile trade in his mind. If he could get a subordinate on the other side of the law, a minion, he could do so much more than he currently was. But he’d have to be able to trust that person, which was why an appropriate [Oath] was so important. And if anyone would have gotten one, one of Calise’s subordinates or acquaintances would have.

Now, if Habicht also came through and gave him a proper investigator with a confidentiality [Skill], finding the group would be a cinch. Sure, the cops and organized crime were good at finding people, but the sheer boost he give them by stacking on a million useful and synergistic Aspects was not to be discounted.

Besides, as great as it would be if all this resolved itself without needing his input, he couldn’t afford to leave this be without doing everything he could to ensure that this ended well.

Calise nodded slowly “I suppose you make a good point. I’ll make some inquiries, but it might take a while.”

“Thank you,” Isaac said.

“I think you might be overestimating how much my guys are worth. By a lot.” Calise observed.

“You can’t put a price on true loyalty. Loyalty that you can see is real, written black on blue in the [System] window. Coupled with the knowledge, skills, and experience you’d be losing access to, I believe it’s fair.” Isaac said. He also briefly considered commenting on how one shouldn’t be too generous to a sucker but decided against it. Calise valued loyalty over short-term profit and would have been extremely insulted by it.

“Eh, that’s your choice to make.” Calise shrugged “Like I said, I’ll look into it, but finding an appropriate person won’t be fast.”

“Sooner is better, but not necessary.” Isaac said “How about we move on to the next topic? I brought some fantastic Aspects with me this time …”