Utopian System

Selene nodded, silent tears streaming down her cheeks. The weight of their loss was palpable, hanging over them like a shroud.

Elio knelt beside Varick's body, remorse etched deep in his features. "I'm sorry," he whispered, his words barely audible. "Thank you for saving my family."

♢♢♢♢

Meanwhile, in the families' building...

Fathoran burst into the building, his breath ragged and eyes blazing with fury. The most loyal guards greeted him with looks of confusion and fear.

"Quickly!" Fathoran barked, his voice echoing off the walls. "Gather all the weapons, armor, mana, and cores you can find. Now!"

The guards scrambled to obey, their footsteps thundering through the hallways. Fathoran strode to the treasure chamber, where they put reserves of mana and cores for the families to manage the city and live in luxury.

As he surveyed his book's balance, his mind raced. 'I'm still far from 100,000 cores,' he thought, 'but if I could eliminate some of Elio's followers...'

The idea began to take shape in his mind. With the mana accumulated over decades in the city at his fingertips, Fathoran was almost certain that Elio couldn't easily obtain the million necessary to combine his armor. And if he armed all his loyal guards with maximum level armor and weapons...

'Perhaps,' he thought, a grim smile forming on his face, 'perhaps I can still win this.'

'I just need one day. One day to recover my mana, to prepare. My armor will recover more than 70 points, and that will be enough.I won't let him recover all his resistance.'

Fathoran headed to the main hall, where his most loyal guards had already gathered an impressive arsenal. The clinking of metal and the low murmur of anticipation filled the air.

Fathoran began distributing the highest level weapons and armor among his guards. 'With this, we'll be on equal footing. I just need to hit Elio one time, and the cores will be mine.'

'One day,' he repeated to himself. 'I just need one day.'

"Listen well," he began, his voice laden with authority...

♢♢♢♢

Elio looked around, overwhelmed by the number of expectant faces observing him.

The realization that now all the Summoners were on his side gave him a new sense of responsibility, the weight of it settling in his stomach like a lead ball.

The idea of leading all these people made his throat tighten. He took a deep breath, searching for the right words.

"I... uh..." he began, his voice faltering. "We need to distribute the cores."

Lucien, noticing Elio's discomfort, stepped forward. "Perhaps we should organize ourselves first," he suggested calmly. "Elio, what's your plan?"

Grateful for the intervention, Elio nodded. "Right, thanks Von...

"You are the highest summoner, call me Lucien, Elio."

Elio nodded. "Right, thanks Lu.. Lucien. I have more than enough cores to give level 1 invocations to all soldiers. But I'll need help distributing them."

He turned to his friends. "Zara, Micah, Brok, Ren, Kriz... would you help me with this? I'll give each of you a million cores for distribution."

Kriz whistled, impressed. "A million, huh? Wow, Elio, who knew you'd become so generous? Wait, that'll take hours!"

Zara elbowed him. "Not the time for jokes, Kriz," she growled, though a small smile tugged at her lips.

Micah, wide-eyed, asked, "Elio, are you sure about this? It's... it's a big responsibility."

"I know," Elio replied, his voice firm. "But I trust you. We have almost 100,000 soldiers on our side now. We need to strengthen them all in case the families want to..."

Elio realized that speaking of the families as if they were a whole or "evil" was incorrect.

He then turned to Lucien and Selene. "You two have shown an unwavering love for justice and this city. First, I'm going to fill your balances to 10,000 and 100,000 respectively, I'll give you the rabbit and the swift. You'll get a core balance and I'll give you a million as well so you can distribute."

Lucien and Selene exchanged looks of amazement before nodding gratefully.

Elio turned to Ivan. "Ivan, you've been instrumental in saving my family. I'll give you cores up to the rabbit, since you're level 3. You'll also help distribute another million cores."

Finally, he approached his mother. "Mom, I want you to have the salamander and a million cores. Later, I'll give you more for my brothers, in case... in case something happens to me."

Lena looked at him with concern, but nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation.

Brok crossed his arms, his imposing figure contrasting with his worried expression. "What about Fathoran? We can't forget about him."

Lucien intervened again. "You're right, Brok. I organized squads to watch the families' building. We should know if there's any movement."

Elio nodded, grateful for Lucien's initiative. "Thank you. I trust your judgment on this."

Selene, who had been observing silently, spoke with a firm voice. "We need a long-term plan. We can't just distribute power and hope everything turns out well."

"She's right," added Ren, his calculating eyes scanning the area. "I suggest we establish an operations center near the wall. It'll be easier to coordinate the soldiers from there."

Elio looked at Lucien, seeking his approval. When he nodded, Elio said, "Let's do it. Ren, can you handle the logistics?"

"If Von Lucien helps me... Count on it," Ren replied.

"Good," Elio continued, addressing everyone. "We're ten people who will distribute the cores to the soldiers. But we're missing something..."

♢♢♢♢

"Raelar and Varick..."

A heavy silence fell over the group. Lucien was the first to speak, his voice soft but firm. "Their bodies are still where they fell, Elio. With everything that's happened, we haven't had time to throw them..."

"No," Elio interrupted, his tone leaving no room for discussion. "We can't throw them there. They don't deserve that."

Zara approached, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Elio, I understand how you feel, but what can we do? We must throw them into the monster sea..."

"We'll burn them," Elio declared.

"But the oxygen..." Micah began, his voice tinged with concern.

"I'll pay for the oxygen used!" Elio replied firmly. "I'll pay more later if I have to! They don't deserve to be thrown into the sea of monsters like trash. They deserve a dignified end. If the sacred flame ritual was once a dance to entertain the families, mine will no longer be… it will be to honor our heroes!"

Lucien nodded slowly. "I agree. I'll arrange everything for a proper ceremony."

As Lucien walked away to make preparations, Zara remained by his side, her presence silent but comforting.

"Are you okay?" she finally asked.

Elio shook his head. "I don't know, Zara. I feel like I failed them. Both of them."

"You didn't fail them," Zara responded firmly. "They chose to sacrifice themselves. We'll honor their memory by continuing their fight."

Elio nodded, grateful for his friend's words. "You're right. And we'll start by giving them the respect they deserve."