Utopian System

"We have crucial news," Cassandra began, her voice laden with anticipation. Her frog familiar perched attentively on her shoulder.

"My seductresses have informed me that Elio plans to cross to the other side of the wall tomorrow."

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Saren frowned, his salamander shifting uneasily on his lap. "Is he mad? Why would he risk everything like that?"

"That doesn't matter now," Angela interrupted, her sleek salamander coiling around her neck. "What matters is that this is our opportunity."

Cassandra nodded. "Exactly. It's the perfect moment to set our plan in motion. I need you to gather all our loyal soldiers and every member of the families who's still on our side."

"How many do you think we can gather?" Angela asked, her salamander's scales shimmering with anticipation.

"More than 10,000," Saren responded confidently. "Our families are extensive, and many still remember who killed the one who gave them their privileged position."

Angela smiled. "And don't forget the level 3 soldiers and, though few... even new level 4 that we've... acquired."

Cassandra nodded, her frog croaking softly. "The cores obtained from the debtors have been a valuable addition. Plus, Elio made the mistake of giving invocations to some of ours who pretended to be on his side."

"Which plan will you apply then?" Saren inquired, his salamander's eyes gleaming with curiosity.

"The third one. We'll spread the message that Elio is an impostor," Cassandra explained. "That his leadership will lead us to ruin. We'll especially target the high-level soldiers who've become arrogant under Elio's regime."

"Clever," Angela murmured. "Appealing to their pride and ambition."

"Exactly," Cassandra continued. "We'll make them wonder: Why follow Elio when they themselves are so powerful now? Why hand over part of their wealth to a boy who doesn't know how to use it properly?"

Saren smiled, his salamander puffing up proudly. "We'll suggest they keep those riches, show who they are now that they have power."

"Precisely," Cassandra nodded. "The goal is to generate an altercation, create chaos and confusion."

Angela nodded, her salamander's tail twitching with excitement. "But how will you get their attention, what do you plan to tell them?"

Cassandra walked to a nearby shelf and pulled out two ancient books. One was the founder's book, familiar to many in the city. The other, however, was a tome few had seen: the creator's diary.

"We'll tell them the truth," Cassandra declared, her voice charged with conviction. "That Elio found the Goddess outside, that he goes against everything God wants... That he's making the barrier fail on purpose."

Angela frowned, processing the information. "But Cassandra, if Elio were really an agent of the Goddess, why would he help the city grow stronger? Wouldn't it be more logical to weaken us?"

Cassandra smiled. "That's the brilliance of his plan. By making us believe we're stronger, he's making us complacent. We're blindly trusting his leadership, ignoring the signs of danger. And when the barrier finally falls, we'll be completely unprepared."

Saren frowned, his salamander mirroring his concern. "Are you sure about this?"

Cassandra nodded, opening the creator's diary. Her eyes landed on a paragraph she had read countless times:

"Sacrifice will be necessary when you reach a million. Reaching any mana deposit before having high levels is practically impossible. You won't have strong invocations, maybe level 3 after a few decades, but it's not enough. Not even with level 4 could they achieve it. It's impossible to get so many cores. Your best course of action is to get level 3 and learn to control the elements in depth.

That way you could slowly rise to level 10 and get more cores... That's how you'll reach the Mana deposits! But to get there, you need sacrifices, unfortunately... But it's her fault!"

Cassandra closed the book.

"The creator himself said it's impossible to obtain so many cores and sacrifices are needed for the city to survive and prosper. Elio refuses to accept this reality, and his supposed idealism... or in case my assumption about the Goddess is incorrect, I should call it stupidity, is putting us all in danger."

"And then what?" asked Angela, her salamander's scales flickering with concern. "Elio has achieved things that seemed impossible. He's gotten more cores from the sea of monsters than we ever thought possible. Shouldn't we consider that maybe there's more at stake than we know?"

Cassandra shook her head, her frustration evident. Her frog croaked in agreement. "That's precisely the problem. How has he gotten so many cores? How has he managed to get so many people to reach levels that, according to the creator, should have taken decades? Something doesn't add up."

Saren intervened, his voice calm but worried. "Perhaps Elio has found a way the creator didn't foresee. After all, generations have passed since that diary was written."

Cassandra stopped, looking at her grandfather as if he were stupid. "Grandfather, think about this: How can a kid go against the words of the creator himself? How can he defy what God established for our city?"

Saren seemed increasingly convinced, his salamander nodding along. "It makes sense. Elio has always been... different. His rise to power was too fast, too convenient. I now understand your reasoning about the Goddess helping him.

He couldn't have come out alive from there, unless... unless Elio isn't acting in the name of our God."

Angela gasped, understanding the implications. Her salamander hissed softly.

"An agent of the Goddess," Cassandra repeated, her voice barely a whisper. "Think about it. Everything he's done goes against what the creator established. His actions, though seemingly benevolent, are leading the city to the brink of collapse. The barrier is failing because Elio is actively working to destroy it."

Saren still looked skeptical about the plan. "But he's given them so much... We'd need solid proof to make them believe such a claim."

Cassandra nodded, understanding her grandfather's caution. "I know, and that's why we need to act now. With his absence, we have the opportunity to open the city's eyes. We must reveal the truth before it's too late."

Angela straightened, her determination evident. Her salamander's scales glowed with anticipation. "What's the next step of the plan then?"

Cassandra's eyes shone. "When the dust settles and there are some casualties, we'll demonstrate that the barrier is no longer malfunctioning."

Saren and Angela exchanged looks of understanding. "Because the deaths will have reduced the population below the limit," Saren concluded, his salamander nodding gravely.

"Exactly," Cassandra confirmed. "It's a necessary sacrifice for the greater good of the city."