I Killed the Hero and Took His Achievements-Chapter 48: The Citizen Battle Pass

[Location: The Imperial Palace - The Throne Room]

[Time: 09:00 AM]

[Status: Administrative Hell.]

Managing a kingdom is boring, managing a continent is tedious, and managing a planet? It is a bureaucratic nightmare. I sat on my throne which was made of melted swords and gold. Piles of paperwork surrounded me like a defensive fortification.

"Your Majesty," Varic, the new Manager of Oaklan staggered while holding a stack of scrolls. "The farmers in the Western District are requesting a tax reduction due to the locust plague."

"Denied," I said without looking up. "Eat the locusts. They are high in protein."

"But sir! The locusts are made of metal! They are the leftovers from the Technocracy raid!"

"Then melt them down and sell the ingots. Next."

Seraphina, the Harlot Pope walked in. She was wearing a dress that was strategically torn in all the right places. "Master," she purred. "The cultists in the South are restless. They say they need a ’Miracle’ to keep their faith strong."

"Tell them the miracle is that I haven’t massacre them yet. Next."

Gallywix walked in. "Boss! The labor unions in the mines are striking! They want benefits plans!"

I rubbed my temples. This was inefficient. I was the Emperor of Avarice, the Void Walker, and the Slayer of Gods. Here I was, dealing with paperworks and minor issues. "Enough," I stood up. The room went silent. "This system is flawed. People are lacking motivation. They only work when they feel threatened."

"Fear is a good motivator," Sylvia suggested while sharpening her ice claws.

"Fear is temporary," I corrected. "Addiction is forever." I walked to the balcony. I then looked down at the capital city. There were millions of people. They were just wandering around while living their little lives, and waiting for me to tell them what to do. "I need to automate the population. Sol," I spoke into the air.

"ONLINE. I AM CURRENTLY ORGANIZING YOUR MUSIC COLLECTION. YOU HAVE TERRIBLE TASTE IN MUSIC."

"Shut up and open the System Admin Console." A massive blue screen appeared in the sky above the city.

[System Administration: North/South/West/East Sectors.]

[User: Cain Cross.]

[Privilege Level: Administrator.]

"I’m going to patch the reality," I grinned.

"Patch it how?" Ahri asked while tilting her head.

"I’m going to gamify their lives." I began to type on the holographic keyboard. "Everyone loves seeing numbers go up, a progress bar, and a shiny reward."

[Initiating Global Update: Patch 1.0 - The Citizen System.]

A pulse of mana swept across the planet. Every single person on the planet, from the beggar in the gutter to the noble in the high tower suddenly heard a ’Ding’. A blue screen appeared in front of their faces.

[Welcome to the New World Order.]

[You have been assigned a ’Citizen Score’.]

[Current Score: 0.]

"What is this?" Varic gasped while looking at his own screen.

"It’s your new god," I said. I continued typing.

[Daily Quests Added.]

[Quest: Manual Labor.]

[Objective: Mine 100kg of Ore.]

[Reward: +10 Credits. +50 EXP.]

[Quest: Snitch.]

[Objective: Report a Rebel/Heretic.]

[Reward: +50 Credits. +1 Loot Box.]

[Quest: Worship.]

[Objective: Pray to Emperor Cain for 1 hour.]

[Reward: +5 Credits. +1 Stamina Potion.]

"Credits?" Gallywix asked while his goblin ears were twitching at the sound of currency.

"Cain Credits," I explained. "It’s the only currency accepted at the new ’System Shops’ I’m building them in every town square." 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"What can they buy?"

"Food, water, medicine." I paused for dramatic effect. "And status."

I activated the next phase of the plan.

[The Battle Pass.]

A massive golden bar appeared on the screens of every citizen.

[Season 1: The Age of Avarice.]

[Tier 1 (Free): Loaf of Bread.]

[Tier 10 (Premium): Healing Potion.]

[Tier 50 (Premium): Clean Water for a Month.]

[Tier 100 (Elite): Minor Noble Title + Tax Exemption.]

[Unlock Premium Pass: 100 Cain Credit monthly.]

"You’re... selling nobility?" Sylvia stared at me.

"I’m selling hope," I said. "Look at them."

We looked down at the city. At first, there was confusion, then realization. A blacksmith looked at his screen. He saw the reward for mining. He didn’t wait for orders. He grabbed his pickaxe and ran toward the mines.

A beggar saw the ’Snitch’ quest. He looked around suspiciously at his neighbors. A group of peasants saw the ’Worship’ quest. They immediately dropped to their knees and started chanting my name. "Hail Cain! Hail the System!" The productivity of the city spiked instantly.

[Resource Income: +500% in the last 5 minutes.]

"It works," Gallywix whispered in awe. "They aren’t working because they have to. They’re working because they want to level up."

"Dopamine," I tapped my head. "It’s the ultimate drug."

"But Boss," Seraphina pointed out. "What about the people who refuse? The intellectuals? The scholars?"

"Ah. The free thinkers."

I checked the map. A group of scholars at the University of Magic were protesting. They were standing in the courtyard, holding signs that said "Down with the Gamification!" and "We are People, not NPCs!" "Let’s deal with them."

[Location: The University of Magic]

I teleported into the courtyard.

The scholars froze. Their leader, an old wizard named Gandore, stepped forward. "Tyrant!" Gandore shouted. "You reduce human life to numbers! You mock the dignity of existence!"

"Dignity doesn’t bake bread, Gandore," I said calmly.

"We refuse your system! We will not engage in your ’Quests’!"

"Okay." I opened the Admin Console.

[Target: Scholar Faction.]

[Action: Set XP Gain to 0%.]

[Action: Set Credit Gain to 0%.]

[Action: Flag as ’Non-Participants’.]

"Done," I smiled.

"What did you do?" Gandore demanded.

"You are now free from the System. You don’t have to do quests, and you don’t gain credits."

Gandore smirked triumphantly. "Ha! You see? We have won! We are free!"

"Sure."

I walked over to a nearby vending machine I had just installed. It was filled with warm bread and fresh water. I tapped my issued credit card. It dispensed a bottle of water. I drank it. "Refreshing."

Gandore walked up to the machine. "I am thirsty as well." He tried to put a gold coin into the slot. BZZT.

[Error: Invalid Currency.]

[User not registered in System.]

[Access Denied.]

"What?" Gandore hit the machine. "Take my money!"

"It doesn’t take gold," I said. "It takes Credits. And you, my friend, have zero earning potential."

Gandore turned pale. "But... all the shops... all the farms..."

"All owned by Avarice Inc.," I spread my arms. "All automated. All connected to the System." I leaned in close. "You can’t buy food, you can’t buy water, and you can’t even buy a blanket to sleep on. You are free to starve."

The scholars looked at each other, then at the vending machine. "Wait!" one young scholar cried. "I... I want to participate! I want the Battle Pass!"

"Traitor!" Gandore yelled.

"I’m hungry!" The student ran to me. "Please! Emperor! Let me grind!"

I looked at him. "Beg."

The student fell to his knees. "Please! I’ll mine! I’ll snitch! I’ll do anything!"

I tapped his forehead.

[User Re-Registered.]

[Penalty Applied: XP Debt -50%.]

"You start at Tier -1. Get to work."

The student scrambled away, running toward the nearest quarry. One by one, the scholars broke out. Hunger is a powerful argument. Finally, only Gandore remained. "You... you monster," he whispered.

"I’m a Game Master," I corrected him. I left him there. He would break eventually. Or he would die. Either way, he was no longer a problem.

————————————————————

[Location: The War Room]

I returned to the palace. The resource counters on the screen were spinning like slot machines.

[Iron: 50,000 Tons (+200/sec)]

[Mana: 1,000,000 Units (+500/sec)]

[Faith: Maxed out.]

"We have the resources," Sparky said, looking at the data. "The population is grinding like crazy. We can finish the Ship Upgrades in a week instead of a month."

"Good." I sat in my chair. "Now, let’s check on our little pet project."

"Pet?" Sylvia asked.

"The Hero, Kenji."

"I thought he was dead? Or a robot?"

"The Church’s Mecha-Kenji was destroyed. But the System... his System is persistent. It spawns a new replacement."

I opened a remote viewing window.

[Target: Kenji (Respawned).]

[Location: The Radioactive Wastelands of the West.]

[Status: Level 5.]

The screen showed a desolate landscape of green glowing rocks and acid pools.

Kenji was there. He looked human again, but he was missing an arm. It had grown back, but it looked... wrong. It was like a lizard’s tail that hadn’t finished regenerating. He was dragging a massive sack of rocks.

Walking beside him was an old man with a long white beard. The old man was shouting at him. "FASTER, DISCIPLE! IF YOU WANT TO DEFEAT THE DEMON LORD, YOU MUST CONQUER THE MOUNTAIN!"

"Yes, Master!" Kenji screamed while veins were popping on his neck. "I will become strong!"

Sylvia squinted at the screen. "That old man... isn’t that Unit 77? The custodian robot from Atlantis?"

"Yes," I chuckled. "I put a fake beard on him and downloaded a ’Wise Wuxia Master’ personality chip."

"What is he doing?"

"He’s mining Uranium." I zoomed in on the rocks Kenji was carrying. They were glowing with lethal radiation.

[Item: High-Grade Uranium Ore.]

[Effect: Causes cellular decay. Permanent Stat Reduction (Intelligence).]

"Kenji thinks he’s doing ’Spirit Training’," I explained. "He thinks the burning sensation is his ’Qi’ awakening. Actually, it’s an acute radiation poisoning."

"You’re making the Hero mine fuel for your nuclear arsenal," Ahri realized while her tails were wagging with impressed delight. "That’s... hilarious."

"It’s eco-friendly," I said. "Recycling heroes."

On the screen, Kenji collapsed. He vomited blood.

"GET UP!" The Robo-Master shouted, hitting him with a stick. "DO YOU WANT THE PRINCESS TO DIE? DO YOU WANT THE WORLD TO BURN?"

"NO!" Kenji roared. He stood up, his skin glowing green. [Skill: Limit Break] activated. He lifted the rock, and ran faster. [Uranium Shipment: +50 tons.]

"Look at him go," I wiped a tear from my eye. "He’s the hardest worker I have."

"Does he know?" Seraphina asked softly. "Does he know he’s working for you?"

"Of course not. He thinks he’s in a ’Training Arc’. He thinks he’s going to unlock a secret ability to defeat me."

"Will he?"

"He’ll unlock Leukemia," I said dryly.

I closed the window. "The Hero is busy. The Kingdom is automated. The resources are flowing. It’s time to upgrade the Army."

I looked at the map of the ancient graveyards. It was the battlefields of the last great war which had millions of corpses. "Goblins and Humans are fine for labor," I mused. "But for the Space War? Flesh is weak, flesh needs oxygen, and flesh feels fear."

I drew the Soul-Eater’s Fang. "I need soldiers who don’t breathe." "Sylvia. Ahri. Get the shovels. We’re going to the cemetery, and we’re going to build the Necro-Mechs."