I’d expected something beyond enthusiastic approval when I told Sybil I would be soon going on an expedition with a couple guards and Farahlia, but true to form and personality, she nearly immediately understood what I was getting at.


    “I cannot travel with you, due to my importance managing the details of the New Empire’s creation. If both of us were absent in its infancy, then it may die still in the egg.”


    “And more than that, we both know that your presence here is, at this time, much more important than mine. You’re my appointed agent, and though I’m competent in ruling and managing, you’re stellar. Your work will be more important for the time being.”


    “True. When do you plan on setting out?”


    “Once you and the rest of the first wave of Keel finish your evolution. I’d also like to figure out what we’re going to do about those ants before then, but I trust in Joral and Took’s abilities to do so. Of course, I’ll be assisting in whatever needs doing first, but more and more of our enemies will learn that we’re here. If there are keelish easy to reach for them, I can’t imagine they won’t slaughter them to keep them from joining us.”


    “Of course. Now, are there any additional subjects you would like to discuss with me before we gather your elites?”


    “I don’t think so, but I would imagine that if I’ve missed anything, you’ll remember.”


    “If that is the case, then I would like to request that you search for further diversification for sustenance. I know you gave instruction to specifically search for certain underground plants to consume, but there has yet to be any success on that account. The Sik’Tal continue seeking for this plant, but they have yet to discover it, so if possible, any additional information that would allow us to discover the location of these plants would be greatly beneficial.”


    I chuckled to myself. “I had forgotten that. Thank you.”


    As Sybil descended from the wall and began issuing three commands at once, somehow signing something different with each hand while giving a different assignment with her words. Three keelish hustled off in different directions. Sybil herself glanced back at me, signed “Returning soon” to me, then walked deeper into the center of the city’s ruins.


    I was left alone, and could finally try [Spear of the Many] for the first time in a while. After all, Vefir would be with me before too long and he wouldn’t refuse to heal me. It was reckless and probably foolish, but I wanted to indulge in exactly what I wanted nonetheless. I was the absolute leader of my people, I would establish an Empire and ascend as our emperor, claim the title of Zaaktif for myself. So, if I wanted to indulge in reckless [Skill] usage, I would.


    With a deep breath, I activated the [Skill] at a mere 1% of only 50 of my faithful followers before looking at my [Status] for the briefest moment.


    [Stats:


    -Constitution: 235(+59)


    -Strength: 269(+60)


    -Agility: 243(+66)


    -Intelligence: 239(+48)


    -Magic: 263(+15)]


    Even though I’d only pulled a slight percentage of the smallest group of my followers that I could, the surge in strength was obvious and immediate. Beyond that, I could see here the general growth in strength of all my followers, compared to what I had done before. I knew that many of the keelish that had seemed to be on the verge of evolving to khatif had completed their evolutions in the past month, as if arriving in Nievtra gave them permission to do so. With such a marked increase of the bottom line of strength among my people, I received such a large increase to my own while drawing out a much smaller percentage than before.


    Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Cautious, I stepped forward while taking special care not to launch myself off the wall. With each additional step, I grew more confident, and within a minute, I was jogging at about my usual sprinting speed, the uneven stone wall underfoot never causing me any stumbling or difficulty. Instead, I continued running, growing closer and closer to my [Skill] amplified top speed. Another minute later, I had reached this artificial cap to my speed, and more importantly, I wasn’t feeling any discomfort beyond the controlled burn in my lungs and legs. I could feel the strain of my superlative [Skill] slowly mounting in the back of my head like the pangs of dehydration, but it was much slower than I’d ever experienced before. At this level, I could keep up the [Skill] for at least ten minutes without ending up with anything more severe than a headache.


    Slightly nervous but mostly excited, I expanded the number of followers I was drawing from from 50 to 100 as I checked my [Status] again.


    [Stats:


    -Constitution: 235(+109)


    -Strength: 269(+118)


    -Agility: 243(+134)


    -Intelligence: 239(+94)


    -Magic: 263(+30)]


    Those I’d drawn from seemed to be from the Hak’Tal, greater physical stats and lower Intelligence and Magic. Though the strain had increased, I continued to draw more deeply and widely until my stats had doubled. As I did so I could feel my heart beating behind my eye, the stress of maintaining the [Skill] quite painful. Even so, the increase in everything about me, effectively doubling the strength of my body, was a glorious feeling. The strain on my body and mind more than doubled or tripled the deeper I drew on [Spear of the Many], straining me much more than if I’d just done the same thing again. A part of me wondered if it was merely the strain of additional stats or if instead the burden would be different if I was getting the same amount of stats from more or less of my followers. Even so, I didn’t care about that experimentation now. I nearly fell off the walls as my stats surged and I needed to throw myself to the side.


    With a grunt, I tumbled from my feet. I fell from the walls, and I only barely was able to gather myself enough to tuck in my arms over my head. The twenty foot fall didn’t bother me. My body, strengthened by [Spear of the Many], bounced off the ground, and I felt an ineffable power surge through my scales and protect me. I could worry about that later. I laughed loud and leapt high enough that I landed with both feet on the wall. The wind rushed over my scales as, now reckless and free, I sprinted without caring for regality, perception, or safety. There was only my long, circular track to run and me.


    The gray wall was all I paid attention to, my eye’s second lid closing against the wind whipping my eyes.In the fading light of day, I shifted to my thermal vision, and since a large part of that sensing came not from my eyes, I could see the path ahead of me in distinct clarity. Before I could truly enjoy the feeling, though, my body began screaming its limits. I’d put my Skill through its paces, truly, for the first time. That was reason enough for excitement, and I let [Spear of the Many]’s stats drain from my body.


    Lethargy, weakness, and a full-body ache swept over me, though I didn’t need healing as I would have had I tried even half of what I’d just done before my evolution. I groaned, though I still could walk to where Foire, Trai, Joral, and Shemira already stood. Before anyone could say anything, Vefir stepped from behind Shemira and looked me up and down.


    “You tried that ability of yours again.” He stated, his tone only barely on this side of disapproving. “You don’t seem nearly as hurt by it now.”


    “Some things change, I suppose.” I laughed, disregarding the looks I was getting. “Now, it’ll just be a moment before we have the rest of the cabinet arrive and we can begin our meeting.”