Utopian System

"Here!" Kriz lifted the trident with a radiant smile. "Another for your collection of weird weapons. Did you notice each one is more awkward to use than the last?"

"The artromus trying to make things difficult for us even after death," Valeria added.

After the battle, the group was already helping coordinate acid extraction with the toxic summons.

"Though in the end it doesn\'t matter much," Mei continued. "Once you combine them, they become something completely different. Like that sword of yours, who would have thought those weird weapons (the scythe and hammer) could form something so elegant?"

When they finished freeing the chamber, Elio used the mana he had bravely (or foolishly) carried to buy some emblems. Lucien and Ren had insisted there was no way Elio would lose this fight.

Lila observed while they distributed the water emblems among the support group. "It\'s the first time," she said softly, "the first time we all survived the encounter."

"And how!" Aria smiled, her elephant-salamander still full body of earth helping with cleanup. "Did you see its eyes when it lost control of the water? Priceless!"

"We could start the next deposit right now," Valeria suggested, "but after such a spectacle, I think we all deserve a rest."

"And a celebration," Kriz added. "Or have you forgotten the tradition? Every defeated artromus deserves at least one exaggerated story about bravery."

"As if you needed to exaggerate anything after today," Brok rolled his eyes, but was smiling. "EmberG\'s transformation and Aria\'s Salaphant were epic enough on their own."

"Hey! Who would have thought we\'d end up winning without a scratch?" Kriz gestured animatedly. "This is becoming too easy!"

The group began their return to the city, the atmosphere light with victory.

Three deposits conquered, only one left to face.

Now they\'ll have 3 daily challenges, more summons for the city.

The path had been hard, they had lost friends in the process, but today... today they had shown how much they had grown.

"You know what\'s best?" Diana smiled while walking. "The face Ren will make when he sees his theory about Aria\'s combined summon advantage was correct. He\'s going to be unbearable."

Laughter filled the tunnel as they returned home. Tomorrow they would worry about the last deposit.

Tonight would be for celebration.

♢♢♢♢

Before preparing the celebration feast, they decided to seek out the management group.

The group found Lucien, Ren, Selene, and Tarec in an office on the wall.

"Well?" Selene pointed to the trident Kriz still held. "Are you going to complete the collection?"

Elio hesitated, his fingers brushing his current sword\'s hilt. "I\'m not sure. It took me quite a while to master the sword form... this form after the first fusion. Changing it now..."

"It will probably maintain the sword form," Ren intervened, his eyes shining with that gleam everyone recognized, he had been researching something. "The system seems to favor basic forms from the shop when concentrating power in a single point."

"Like how the system armor returns to standard form instead of robes when combined?" Mei asked, catching the implication.

"Exactly," Ren nodded. "In fact, I made an interesting discovery. I was working with a level 5 who doesn\'t have the combined system armor yet, almost everyone was given support instantly so I hadn\'t thought about it, but this one allowed me to test by bribing him and... he can\'t access the level 6 challenge."

The silence that followed was heavy. The implications were enormous.

"Are you saying..." Selene began, "that without the million mana to pay for the new armor..."

"Without the system armor, it\'s impossible to surpass level 5," Ren confirmed. "All those soldiers, over three hundred now, could only progress thanks to that initial support we gave them."

"That\'s why the small statue reward at level 6 works that way," Lucien murmured. "The armor is an integral part of the process."

"But with more people rising to high levels and practicing for tunnel levels..." Tarec left the sentence incomplete.

"It\'s a matter of time before people realize," Zara completed.

Elio turned to Ren. "We need a program. Something fair, transparent. A way for people to earn the right to the armor without generating resentment in the population."

"Something like a logical excuse to invest resources?" Diana suggested.

"But based on real merit," Aria added. "Contributions to the city."

Elio nodded, his mind already working through possibilities. "The sword is the least of my problems now," he smiled weakly.

He observed both weapons: the combined sword and blue trident. "I suppose you\'re right ren. If the system really favors basics..."

Elio decided to test by fusing the weapons, to prove Ren\'s hypothesis and obtain a stronger weapon.

♢♢♢♢

The fusion was almost anticlimactic.

The new sword maintained its familiar form, but now gleamed with three intertwined colors: green, brown, and blue, as if the elements themselves had merged into the metal.

Attack power settled at 75 points.

Ren was right again.

"Well," Kriz smiled, "at least you won\'t have to learn to use an artromus arm or something."

But the joke barely relieved the tension.

They had won an important battle today, but Ren had just revealed a potentially more complex challenge than any artromus.

And not just that, Elio felt something wasn\'t right, what Ren said about the system echoed in his mind.

Maybe Kriz was right… is becoming too easy.

So it will be hard soon.

Anyway he had to be a leader, he couldn\'t think forever so he decided to set aside the feeling for now...

"One problem at a time," Elio finally declared. "We\'ll worry tomorrow. Tonight..." he looked at his companions, "tonight we celebrate that we all returned alive."

♢♢♢♢

The celebration was in full swing.

Kriz entertained everyone with an exaggerated recreation of the battle, using a broom as an improvised trident.

"And then the monster\'s eyes went like this!" he made ridiculous faces that had everyone laughing. "It couldn\'t believe we were stealing its water!"

"Please," Aria rolled her eyes, though smiling. "Your face the first time my elephant salamander grew wasn\'t much better."

"Hey!" Kriz protested. "I\'d like to see you maintain composure when an unknown amphibian the size of a house appears in front of you!"

Ren burst out laughing. "Composure? You screamed like a girl!"

"Says the one who almost knelt when EmberG transformed," Valeria intervened, prompting another round of laughter.

Diana, who normally maintained certain professional distance, had relaxed enough to join the jokes. "At least neither of you ran away like that time during Elio\'s level 10 training..."

"We promised never to mention that!" Kriz feigned indignation while others demanded details between laughs.

Mei observed everything with a small smile, taking mental notes as always. "Post-battle humor is a fascinating defense mechanism..."

"Only you could turn a party into a scientific study," Lila joked, passing her a drink.

But Elio was alone, apart for a few minutes.

Amid the general joy, Lucien approached where Elio observed his companions from a quieter corner.

"The fourth deposit?" he asked simply.

Elio nodded slowly. "Ren is right, you know? All of this... feels planned. As if our options were an illusion. I can\'t help thinking something will happen after the 4th deposit."

"Are you thinking about the war between gods?"

"Exactly. We\'re pieces on their board, moving along predetermined paths." Elio clenched his fist. "I\'m supposed to be the leader, humanity\'s ruler, but sometimes I feel so... powerless."

Lucien studied his former protégé for a moment. "You know why people follow you? It\'s not for your title or your power. It\'s because you never give up, even in the darkest moments."

"Sometimes I wish I could..."

"But you won\'t," Lucien interrupted with a smile. "It\'s who you are. And as a leader, that determination is your people\'s hope." He moved slightly, revealing Zara watching attentively from afar. "Though some see you beyond the leader... some see you as you truly are."

With a wink and a pat on the shoulder, Lucien walked away. "Enjoy the night, at least today."

Zara approached, her eyes meeting Elio\'s.

They didn\'t need words as their hands naturally intertwined.

The last months had softened the initial awkwardness of these moments, transforming it into comforting familiarity.

To the dismay of Lila and the numerous admirers Elio had accumulated (both among the main group, builders and the general population), these quiet moments between Elio and Zara had become more frequent.

The shared free moments, though scarce, were a treasure for both.

Zara still waited for something more formal, a declaration that would solidify what they already knew.

But she understood Elio\'s reluctance... the deposits, city security, the war, all humanity problems always came first. It was frustrating, but it was part of who he was.

For now, this moment of peace was enough.

They understood each other in a way no one else could and united by the shared pain of Micah\'s loss... things hadn\'t returned to normal between them. That void would never completely fill, but it had made them mature more and pushed their relationship as if their friend\'s ghost wanted them together.

And so, holding hands, they made the weight more bearable.

Their friends\' laughter continued in the background while they remained in their small bubble of tranquility. They weren\'t the leader and his general, they weren\'t public figures with monumental responsibilities.

They were simply Elio and Zara, two friends who had found something deeper amid their world\'s chaos.

And for tonight, that was all they needed to be.