A Relatively Powerful Mage

Imri stepped through the portal and saw the area around what used to be Chicago. It was surrounded by a barren desert for as far as he could see. The portal had been opened near one of the more immense dunes, hopefully obscuring it from prying eyes, but they were still exposed from several directions. Rayden nodded to Imri before heading the opposite way, back to Celestia. Moments after he was through, the portal winked out of existence. Imri collected the tablet-like device enchanted with the portal rune and the stakes that defined the portal location.

He placed the items in an inconspicuous-looking pouch that had been spatially expanded to the size of a large backpack. He had then added a false bottom where the normal pouch would end, making it appear like a standard item to an untrained eye. The item was then finished with Low Gravity runes on the inside of the pouch to offset all the weight in the small area of normal space. He had also discovered that if he flipped the pouch inside out, it would temporarily disrupt the anchors and deposit all the contents onto the ground around him.

The five other people in the group looked to Imri for guidance despite having had several briefings on the plan before arriving. Imri was here solely because he couldn’t be identified, even by someone close to his level, thanks to Enigmatic Being. Conversely, almost nothing could fool his combination of levels and Omniscient Eyes. He could bail the group out of a bad situation if anything went wrong, but that was an emergency contingency.

When Imri didn’t assert himself, the expedition leader, a man named Joel, began addressing the group. He reminded them of the plan; they were entering New Chicago, discovering the situation, and getting out. Two of the team members had experience as undercover cops, and they would dig a bit deeper into the inner workings of the government and its power structure.

They strode up to the top of the dune, getting a good view of New Chicago, and began observing its daily activity through a pair of binoculars. Imri wasn’t sure where the ‘New’ part came from; it was just Chicago. All the skyscrapers and buildings that had been there before were still there. The only new developments Imri saw were a series of ramshackle huts that already looked abandoned. He guessed they had been hastily built simply to fulfill the settlement rank-up quest rather than serving any practical function. He had considered doing something similar but had decided against wasting the time and resources building something that served no other purpose.

It wasn’t just the building that brought back a sense that everything was the same as it always had been. Cars and trains traversed the city, moving on the same routes they always had. Existing businesses had reopened, and well-dressed professionals went about their daily commutes as if nothing had changed.

There were also some signs of hardships people were enduring. A significant number of buildings had sustained damage and were still in disrepair. Many people were panhandling for money, and the parks and other outdoor spaces had become tent cities despite the surplus of buildings. Military police patrolled throughout the city in full force, with M4s at the ready and fully covered in tactical gear. The sights reminded Imri of a war-torn city shown on the news.

After the last reconnaissance, the team set out for the city, but Imri stayed behind. He had given Joel a Spatial Beacon and instructions to find a quiet alley and radio that it was all clear. During that time, Imri stayed out of view and remained where he was. He had to wait longer than expected and was getting worried when his radio cracked to life.

Imri received the all-clear message and used Blink, targeting the Spatial Beacon within the city. However, instead of appearing beside the rest of his team in an alley, he was in the middle of a street. He immediately knew something had gone wrong, and he hadn’t reached his Spatial Beacon. Fortunately, it was close, likely only a block or two away.

Imri was forced to deal with his immediate surroundings as a car honked at him and slammed on the brakes. He reacted instinctively, teleporting to the nearest safe area and narrowly avoiding the oncoming traffic. Fortunately, his spell worked as he had intended this time, and he appeared on the sidewalk. Unfortunately, based on the sounds of cars impacting and glass shattering, he had just caused a several-vehicle accident.

While Imri did feel bad about the damage he had caused, he certainly didn’t want to stick around and answer questions for an accident report. He used Blink for a third time, again targeting his Spatial Beacon. This time, it worked, and he appeared in an alley beside the other team members.

“Everything alright?” Joel asked.

“I think so. Something went wrong with my spell when I tried to reach you, and I ended up in the middle of the street. Fortunately, it seemed to be a one-time thing, and everything since has been working as expected,” Imri explained. “Everything alright on your end?”

“They were thorough when they questioned us, but nothing we hadn’t prepared for. I get the sense that paranoia is their standard operating procedure,” Joel said.

Imri nodded, glad he avoided the interview; with the others being thoroughly questioned, he was certain he would still be there with his resistance to being identified. Even with his spell not working properly, it had still ended up better this way.

“Does anyone else feel a bit off?” one of the other infiltrators asked.

Imri did feel a bit sluggish. It wasn’t overly concerning, and he had attributed it to his spell malfunctioning. However, he had to reevaluate when everyone else nodded in agreement. Then, Imri realized what was happening.

“They have a Security Array,” Imri concluded. He elaborated when he only got blank stares back. “It’s one of the potential upgrade options for a settlement. It provides a resistance to spell effects originating from outside the city, so that’s why my spell didn’t work as expected. Its other effect reduces the primary stats of those considered hostile by a small amount. I’m guessing that's why we feel a bit off; our stats are each being reduced by a point or two.”

“Do they know about us then?” Joel asked.

“I don’t think so. If they did, you never would have gotten in. Someone astute enough might be able to figure out why a person appeared in the middle of the road, but even that requires several intuitive leaps,” Imri said with a shrug.

“Why doesn’t Celestia have this Security Array?” someone asked.

“Because we didn’t need it. I’m not sure why they needed it; there were no signs of monster attacks or invading armies. Either way, this is good intel, and we should try to figure out what the other arrays are,” Imri pointed out.

The others nodded and listened carefully as Imri reviewed all the potential arrays. When that was done, they all dispersed, integrating themselves into the city's population. They had devised several methods for emergency communication, most of which involved dead drops, but they were mostly on their own from this point forward.

Imri wandered around the city, mostly aimlessly, taking in the sights. He mostly watched the people, using Identify on everyone he saw. It amazed him how low-level everyone was, with the vast majority of people being between levels 1 and 3. Someone at level 5 practically stood out as an achiever in this group, and even the newly integrated refugees of Celestia out-leveled them by a couple of levels on average.

The other notable trend was in the types of classes and professions everyone had. He had not seen a single individual with a mage or similarly fantasy-esque class. Almost everyone had a very mundane class that was likely related to their work before the integration. Even the police, who should have had some experience dealing with monsters, weren’t much better, and on average, they were only a level or two higher with equally mundane classes.

Imri did attract some attention as he traversed the city, gaining especially thorough glances from the police. He guessed they had tried to Identify him and failed. Either that or his worn clothing, which was intentionally threadbare, made them wary he was a vagrant.

Wanting to eliminate the possibility of the second option, Imri ducked into an open department store. However, before he could enter, a larger man acting as a security guard stopped him.

“The store is for paying customers only,” he said in a serious tone meant to intimidate Imri. It might have worked if Imri didn’t know he was level 4.

“Do you take credits?” Imri asked.

“That’s all we take,” the man said sternly, looking up and down at Imri’s seemingly meager belongings.

Of course, he didn’t see the millions of credits in enchanted items and precious minerals hidden in Imri’s spatially enchanted bag. Nor could he see the millions of credits in Imri’s possession available to him at any time.

“I’m new to the city; I’ve been wandering the countryside and slew my fair share of monsters. My clothes might not be in the best shape, so that’s why I’m here. I have a few thousand credits from a few quests I’ve completed,” Imri explained.

“Monsters and quests—you almost sound like a proper adventurer. What is it like out there?” the man asked, instantly switching from hostile to curious.

“It’s equal parts amazing and terrifying. There’s nothing as exhilarating as defeating a strong monster and gaining a slew of powerful abilities, but you can only get that by truly risking your life. The true powerhouses do that day in and day out,” Imri said truthfully. The security guard nodded along, hanging on Imri's every word.

“Were you one of those people who got to create one of those nexus things, like Baroness Horn?” the man asked.

“I thought the Baron's name was Pearson?” Imri asked with genuine confusion.

“We don’t talk about that man here,” the man said, spitting on the ground.

“Why, what did he do?” Imri asked.

“He’s a right bastard. He only cares about his own power, the rest of us be damned,” the man said before leaning in and whispering conspiratorially. “All the Barons and Baronesses are like that.”

“All of them? How many are there?” Imri asked.

“Five, I think. Yeah, five,” he said after thinking about it momentarily.

When Imri stopped and considered the implications, it made some amount of sense. Among the millions of people who had been integrated from Chicago, it wasn’t that surprising that several people had been able to reach level 10 within the first month. The Chicago area had plenty of people and land to support multiple nexuses.

“Do any of them have the Count or Countess title?” Imri asked.

“Not that I know of,” the large man said with a shrug.

“Can I go in?” Imri asked after the conversation stalled. The man nodded as he stepped aside, allowing Imri to pass by.

Inside, the store looked much the same as before the integration. Racks of clothing were displayed, and only a few areas were not fully stocked. However, there was a distinct lack of customers.

“Sir, can I help you find anything?” a middle-aged woman asked.

“I’m new to the city, and my clothes have obviously seen better days. I have some credits to spare, but I don’t know how much that will get me,” Imri explained.

“Not a worry; all our prices are indicated on the items. They still have dollar signs, but the numbers are correct,” the woman explained.

Imri did a double take. He had seen the numbers and assumed they hadn’t been adjusted since the integration.

“I know it's a bit much with how hard credits are to come by, but the price is fair given the supply chain shortages,” the woman said in a rehearsed speech, having mistaken Imri’s shock of disbelief the wrong way. Imri also suspected the term ‘supply chain shortages’ was substantially underselling the issue.

“It’s fine, I understand,” Imri said quickly, not wanting to draw too much attention to himself.

He took his time, picking out the better part of an entire wardrobe for himself. He also purchased a couple of suits, wanting to look respectable for his dealings in an official capacity as a noble for the coming auction.

Once he was done shopping for himself, he pulled out a list of everything Emelia had mentioned she missed wearing. He didn’t know what half of the items were, but the staff was more than willing to help him pick out plenty of items in her size.

Imri took a deep breath and made his way to the jewelry section. His nerves got the best of him, and he stammered his greetings to the salesman behind the counter. He took another deep breath before he got them under control.

“Can you show me your wedding rings?”