Death's Disciple [Sys Apoc, OP Villain MC, LitRPG] Chapter 45: 1.45 Stand-off

Read chapter 45 of Death's Disciple [Sys Apoc, OP Villain MC, LitRPG] by TTReynolds on NovelPedia.

1.45 Stand-off Chapter 45 The groups in front of me were now in a tight mexican stand-off, each with spells and blades at the ready. Neither wanted to be the first to set off the fight, but emotions were still high, and adrenaline was pumping. “Paragon Guild and Nature’s Ancient Guild are currently at odds over a Dungeon Rift here outside the small town of Savannah Missouri,” one of the newscasters was narrating to the camera. “We are going to move back for the safety of our crew, please stay tuned for information as these events unfold.” Even the civilians knew things were getting dangerous and trying to get distance from the two parties. “The dungeon is under contract with Paragon, you can’t just claim it,” one of the Hunters shouted. “You big guilds just think you can have whatever Dungeons you want. This isn’t fair, we need to grind too.” “Fair? We paid the contract fee already, take it up with the Rift Hunter Affairs department!” “And how’d you get the money to pay it? By taking over all the other Dungeons already, leaving nothing for the rest of us!” The argument continued. I was watched carefully, ready to intervene the moment it became physical. Is that my best move right now though? I wondered. Situations like this were exactly what I was worried about from the start. Rift Hunter Guilds, corporations and government entities treating Rifts like resources hubs. As the world changed around the existence of the Dungeons, the economy would have an overhaul world wide. It was already happening, just months into the planet’s initiation it became common knowledge the Dungeon Shops offered humanity a way to circumvent the near catastrophic resource scarcity problem that was looming from over consumption and a ballooning population. The dungeons could offer ways to get raw materials and energy without destroying Earth further. Labor could be redirected to making food and water cheaper instead of mining for metals and raw elements for industry. But all that just made the Dungeons, and by extension of the Rift Hunters that could enter them, all the more enticing for powers to monopolize. If left entirely unchecked, Rift Hunter would become the title to a grueling nine to five job instead of a title for those wanting to protect and uplift humanity during the System change. It would be a soul crushing business, and humanity would be right back were it started. Killing and eating each other for greed. Allowing this fight to unfold, and the subsequent news coverage of it after, could serve to highlight this potential issue, and public attention can push to have this stopped before it became a worldwide problem. Or it can spur the creation of further government regulation where the controlling powers just became the corrupted politicians and their families, just like everything else. Just like grandma tried to do with us. I reminded myself. So stop them, or let it happen? It was a tough choice. I idly thought about slipping away quickly and returning as ‘Azazel’ to make a big public splash. Perhaps even kill some of the Hunters causing problems to further focus worldwide hatred on my evil persona. But that thought was short-lived. I didn’t want to kill any of them. I didn’t blame either side here for what was happening. They were falling into the trap that was already set for them. These new Hunters needed to get stronger and gain loot, which meant they needed access to dungeons. Their reasons for doing this could just be pure greed, but I didn’t know that for sure. Many might have been worried for the safety of their loved ones and were wanting to grow stronger so they can protect them. It was the same thing I was doing; wanting to grow stronger to protect my parents and humanity as a whole. But I wasn’t the only one with parents. Some had wives or husbands, children, siblings or others. They were doing what they could in a horrible situation just like I was. And yes, I was basically treating the Dungeons as grinding spots and loot d