In the blink of an eye, another three months passed. During this time, we were able to conquer the seventy-third floor, and after many reforms and referendums, we solidified the government. The game also slowly changed to match the situation, creating events that often involved the whole SAO republic and not only guilds, further strengthening players' unity.
On the subject of players, almost everyone somewhat got used to the current state of things, and while that helped as everyone's morale was sky-high, the feeling of wishing to remain in the game for live started to take root in players' hearts. This was something I was afraid of, and after seeing the speed at which that feeling spread, my feeling of urgency to clear the game intensified.
Our Flame Cherer guild was also influenced by the feelings of the players, and as we got used to the game, more and more of our time was spent simply living together. Eden would regularly invite me to perform, and Elysia would also ask me out for dates almost every other day. Even Asuna would spend most of her free time by my side, with the pretext of learning how to become my assistant or secretary later. As for Mito, she was the most extreme. Some days, she would be lurking around me from the moment I woke up to the minute I was going to sleep.
Sakura and Fu Hua didn't have much of a change in their behavior, but they were more mature compared to Elysia, Asuna, and Mito while having a confirmed relationship with me much earlier than Eden. I didn't mind their actions, as half of our purpose in this world was to spend time together.
Lately, my days mostly revolved around helping on the front and resolving some minor issues in the government. Luckily for me, now many qualified public servants were working for the SAO republic, so my presence, aside from ceremonial matters, was needed only in emergencies. The front line was also jointly managed by Mei and Heathcliff, while my role became purely advisory, taking an active role only as strategist and commander for boss raids.
In those three months, Heathcliff became the most familiar person to us, aside from Asuna and Mito, thanks to the disclosure of his real identity. Thinking back on it, our talk that day must have not only exhausted him but even shaken his spirit to the core.
Thankfully, we were able to reach cooperation that satisfied both parties. In exchange for giving him control over our Overworld part of Project Alicization, which was second only to me, he agreed to join Rath and our other, not yet disclosed organization after we added the same pardon promised to Koujiro Rinko.
With that, he let go of himself slightly, enjoying playing even more with our support, though his sometimes careless actions, such as keeping the immortality cheat always on, made Mei scream at him not once after yet another boss fight ended with him at exactly 70% of health. The job of cooperating with Heathcliff was left to Mei, so my time remained as free as it was before, though from time to time, I had to prevent murder due to their disagreements.
Aside from that, most of the things that happened are not worth mentioning. Like every other day, after returning from a night of leveling, I busied myself with matters of government. Today, Sakura was accompanying me, so we had some small talk while I worked.
-"Sigh, another person retired from the front."-Sakura sighed after glancing at the document before me.
~"Indeed, that would be the fifth person to do so this past week."~I nodded, also slightly distraught.
-"Soon, we won't be able to man two full raid parties."
~"We will be able to finish this game with only one, but the problem is that our clear time is getting longer and longer. From floors every other day at its height to nor even one a week now."
-"There are only twenty-five left."
~"Twenty-five weeks is half a year, not to mention that at this rate before we clear the eightieth floor, our speed might drop below one floor every two weeks. It's true that we will be able to clear this game no matter what, but we can't waste so much time here."
-"Is something going on in the reality?"
~"Some private firms backed by the US, China, and Russia are putting pressure on our Rath with the UN and some more shady methods. For now, it's not so serious yet, but we can't say that it'll stay that way."
-"Won't Japan stand on our side?"
~"There are no allies in politics, only interests. For now, we are worth the price of their backing."
-"Sigh, I sometimes miss the simpler times of hunting honkai."
~"It's not that bad now. What worries me is the message I received from Artoria before we descended here. The upcoming months will be troublesome."
-"Will there be war?"
~"Definitely, but not immediately. The mages, magicians, or whatever they want to be called bought themself at least half a year with their desperate actions, but any chances of peacefully resolving our conflict disappeared because of that."
-"Is it truly that bad?"
~"They quite literally shattered their world by colliding all different timelines into one to strengthen the rules of their world, which limited my and Artoria's ability to use our power there as well as strengthen their 'mystery' and magic."
-"This sounds like a good move for them."
~"Heh. There is a reason why all those timelines are known as Lostbelts to our partners in World Compass. Not only did they bring the age of gods back, but they also gave all powers that were removed from the 'main timeline' due to their danger a full freedom to wreak havoc."
-"This..."
~"The only upside I can see of that situation is the opportunity to observe [Time] and learn about timelines and rules governing them from that clutter."
-"..."
~"OK, let's not focus on that as first we need to deal with this world. I'm done with my work. Interested in taking a look around the market?"
-"Sure."
While we were shopping, we encountered Su and Fu Hua, who were buying supplies for the next expedition to find the boss room, so we moved together. The girls took their sweet time looking around as Su and I talked a little further back.
-"I've seen the data sent by Nuwa yesterday. The Fluctlights are starting to show results. Some even can be considered to be somewhat sentient. But we are still far from achieving true sapience and self-awareness."
~"Yes, this is also where we failed in Hold before. As artificial beings turn sapient and start to understand their situation, the stress on their spirits collapses them. Even the Soul seeds would be damaged by that."
-"That's why I'm a little worried about our best test subject, Quinella. From the very beginning, she was rather unstable, but the slow changes in her Fluctlight made me associate her development with the progress of patients diagnosed with antisocial and narcissistic disorders, maybe even slight paranoia."
~"What do you suggest we do then?"
-"Treating any of those disorders is hard and individualistic, not to mention that it would require a level of interference that would be against the limits of our experiment. So, slowing the progress is a more feasible method for now."
~"Go on."
-"I suggest that you guide her as a 'god'."
~"Why? That would still be an interference, so I would rather avoid it."
-"I believe that with some guidance, she would not exhibit such extreme behavior, and by introducing a person like a 'god' in her life, we can curb her superiority complex."
~"That is if she doesn't rebel against said god."
-"I believe that you can deal with any woman."-Su said with his usual smile, though, to me, it seemed more mean this time.
I gave him a side eye and skipped the subject.
~"Prepare a solid plan, and I will implement it. Just remember that the test's overall progress and objectives are more important than a single test subject."
-"I'll keep that in mind."
While our conversation ended, the motion that Su proposed gave me something to think about. Being a god who guides others in need struck a nerve in me that forced me to reflect.
-"Yue."-Fu Hua called out and interrupted my thoughts as she and Sakura returned from a nearby shop.-"We heard something interesting from the players inside."
~"Hou? If gossip is interesting enough for you to mention it, it must be something truly extraordinary."
-"We just learned that your harem spans hundreds of people, both NPCs and players."-Fu Hua spoke with a smile that promised suffering to the one responsible for said statements.
-"Not to mention that your tyranny resulted in the embezzlement of countless gold coins."-Sakura was not amused, so her hand hadn't left the handle of her katana since she returned.
~"Oh? And who is the hero who plans to slay the demon king?"
-"ALF extremists, the Army, and especially their leader, Kobatz."-Sakura reported those at fault directly.
~"Them? Then it's not worth the time."
-"Can we deal with it?"-Fu Hua asked, still feeling uncomfortable with someone slandering me.
~"Feel free. Though, those fools are not worth it."
-"Treat it as a little pastime activity of your harem."-Spoke Elysia, who suddenly appeared from the side.
With her were Eden, Asuna, Mito, even Griseo and Mobius. Connecting the dots that Fu Hua or Sakura must have sent them a message, I started to pity those behind such a pitful attempt at my reputation.
~"I'll inform Thinker and Yulier that you plan to do something. Please try not to involve those who are not responsible."
-"Sure!"-Girls responded perfunctory before going their way.
Shaking my head, I decided not to bother with this and went to pick up my weapon before going to the front.
Slaughtering my way through the yet unexplored region of the seventy-fourth floor, I let my thoughts wander on some matters I had kept in the back of my mind for some time already. Despite most of my time being spent conducting research and experiments, I noticed a change in how I approached matters outside my lab and workshop.
My prior disdain for politics slowly turned into me using them before considering any other method lately, especially when it concerned mortals and those far weaker than me. While I didn't want to admit it, it would seem that the 'benevolence' of Yaoshi influenced me through Abundance more than I thought.
Even my own Path of Ordination influenced me into unconsciously assuming the role of teacher, treating others as children who need guidance from me, one who knows the best future for them. Even among Chat Group members who I treated as friends first, I started to try and mentor them, straining our relationship with that.
Shaking my head, I killed yet another monster in my path as I stopped dwelling on what had happened to focus on how to amend that. The first thing that I had to address was the source, the influence of Paths. Here, I found something that made me chuckle at the irony of life.
Ordination made my Soul transcend the world, while Abundance made my 'flesh' fuse into my entire world. So, with my spirit lacking behind those two, I was influenced by the two Paths to better perform my role as Aeon. To prevent further changes from occurring, I needed to strengthen my spirit, and I already knew the method to do so, but this was what I always avoided to 'still be myself'.
Aside from visiting THEM, other methods always required me to either sacrifice part of my freedom by imposing some restrictions or were unsatisfactory with their effectiveness. But even then, all those required me to leave this world, so for now, I needed to settle for some temporary resolutions while the decision on what permanent resolve was left for further consideration.
The second matter, rectifying the changes that took place in me, was something even more pressing, and as I could start doing something about that instantly, this was something I focused on.To be honest, some changes, such as my patience for those whom I would ignore as insignificant, were beneficial to me, so the difficulty here was not how to correct those changes but rather how to differentiate positives from negatives among those.
Because, admittedly, I was not the best judge of character, at first, I wanted to seek the help of Flame Chasers, but thinking about it for a little longer, only I could decide what 'I' was, so while I didn't mind others opinions, those couldn't be the core behind my decisions. After reflecting on this issue for another three hours, I have decided that, although it contradicts my previous thoughts, it guarantees a result that aligns closely with my true self.
For now, I will engage in deep introspection and self-critique to identify all elements that seem out of place, though I will not seek to suppress or change them. Only after that first step would I contact those closest to me, comparing their opinions with my own considerations before finally taking any action.
With this aspect planned, I contemplated some less important matters, but soon, a message from Kevin brought me out of my special state. As he was not that far from my current location, I quickly arrived at the camp he was in.
~"Kevin."
Kevin looked at me and nodded before leading me into the tent where Mei and some other Cleaners stood around a sand table depicting this floor.
-"You are here. Look at this."-Mei spoke without looking up from the map.-"We found the boss, but Cardinal System made our life much harder this time."
~"Faction stronghold?"~I noticed that the boos room entrance was located in a castle-looking building.
-"Yes, hostile one at that. Either we work on their questline and slowly farm reputation, or..."-Mei finally looked at me.
~"We fight our way through."~I met her eyes and answered calmly.
-"I already contacted some people who started working on gaining a reputation, but from their reports, turning that faction into a neutral one will not be easy, let alone quick."
~"How long?"
-"Lower estimation, two weeks, higher, month."
~"Then we will have to fight."
-"We will need more people than two raid parties."
~"Can I leave recruitment to you?"
Mei thought for a moment but finally nodded, agreeing to take on this task.
-"What about war materiel?"
~"Let Eden deal with it."
-"Sure, then you..."
~"I'll fully focus on strategy and preparing for the battle. For the boss fight to go smoothly, we have to conquer this stronghold without involving our top combatants. To achieve that without putting weaker players in danger, I need some more planning, and they need some more training."
-"Good, I'll bring the people for you in a day or two."
~"Sure, leave Kevin to me. I need him to be my helper."
-"Sure, just return him to me without much damage."
With the tasks distributed and our purpose clear, we got to work without wasting more time.