Eternal Dominion book 5: Interference Read online

  Eternal Dominion book 5

  Interference

  Bern Dean

  Bern's Books LLC

  Copyright © 2022 Bern’s Books LLC

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

  Cover design by: ebooklaunch.com

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Morning, October 15, 2266.

  ED year 1, day 272.

  Evening, October 15, 2266.

  ED year 1, days 273-274.

  Morning, October 16, 2266.

  ED year 1, days 274-275

  Evening, October 16, 2266.

  Morning October 17 to Morning October 18, 2266, and ED year 1, days 276-280.

  ED year 1, day 281.

  Evening, October 18, 2266.

  ED year 1, days 282-283.

  Morning October 19 to Evening October 21, 2266, & ED year 1, days 284-290

  ED year 1, days 291-292.

  Morning October 22, 2266.

  ED year 1, day 293.

  Evening October 22, 2266.

  ED year 1, days 294-295.

  Morning October 23 to Evening October 24, 2266, and ED year 1, days 296-299.

  ED year 1, days 300-301

  Morning October 25 to Evening October 27, 2266, and ED year 1, days 302-308.

  ED year 1, days 309-310

  Morning October 28, 2266.

  ED year 1, day 311.

  Evening October 28, 2266.

  ED year 1, days 312-313.

  Morning October 29, 2266

  ED year 1, day 314.

  Evening October 29, 2266

  ED year 1, days 315-316.

  Morning October 30 to Evening October 30, 2266, and ED year 1, day 317.

  ED year 1, days 318-319.

  Morning October 31, 2266.

  Thanks!

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  Afterword

  Morning, October 15, 2266.

  Alex was driving to the morning run as he would on any other normal day, only one detail was different. Instead of three people in the car, he had five. A pair of redheads sitting and smiling at Alex in his rear-view mirror were the new additions. Ava and Mia Quinn had come with Nantan as part of an official visit from the workshop Abysses End. They were two of the four young members that had come along for the visit. Only they were supposed to all be on a plane right now headed back to the Abysses End office in Dallas where they were based out of to play Eternal Dominion (ED) for the workshop. Instead, they were waiting at the car when Alex, Nicole and Sam went to leave that morning. After getting part of their story and learning that they would be renting an apartment in the same building as Alex, they had insisted that they join them for the morning run each day. Alex knew that Abysses End had sent the twins to seduce him into joining their workshop, thereby securing the first guild bonus they coveted due to the 1.5 multiplier to the member cap it provided. His guild was the only one with the bonus and every major workshop wanted it. However, Alex was not going to let any of them have it. He would sooner remove it from ED all together than allow another guild to secure it. The only issue was that he knew the major workshops were never going to give up and so his guild needed to grow stronger faster than any other guild if he wanted to have any hope to survive.

  Sam and Nicole had already put a plan into place to use the twins that Abysses End wish to seduce him with to keep any more girls away. The only issue that Alex had with it was that it required it to appear to those not in the know that he was dating them along with Sam and Nicole. He already felt overwhelmed with just the two girls, even if he had fallen in love with them in this life. He could still remember how he had ended up alone after several failed relationships in his last life before awaking 20 years younger on the day ED launched. With his new lease on life, Alex had wasted no time in correcting the mistakes he made the first time around. He had ensured that his friends stuck together to help each other grow and thrive in game. As things stood, they were all over level 60 in game while most guilds didn’t even have any level 50 players yet. Still, Alex had many more things to do before his guild was safe and he needed to make sure they were ready for when tier 5 players were commonplace. He knew that was when all hell would break loose at that point, as travel between continents would be easy so long as you had the coin to pay for the teleportation gate use. Workshops that were currently spread thin would consolidate and remove their competition from their selected strongholds. Even major workshops would be destroyed during this phase of ED as they each vied for dominance with each other.

  With these thoughts all rushing through his head, Alex pulled up to his parents’ house where everyone still met for the morning runs. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out of the car ready for the onslaught he knew was coming. When the twins came into view his sister Anna’s reaction didn’t disappoint as her mouth was open wide, while he could see his mom glaring at him. His father was massaging his temples as Dan looked confused and Jessica looked downcast. Lauran just shook her head as Fred and Amanda seemed not to care or be surprised.

  “I thought they were leaving yesterday?” questioned Dan

  “So did I, but here they are,” sighed Alex.

  “What, were they just waiting for you when you woke up?” Dan asked in confusion.

  “Pretty much,” Alex responded.

  “Really, that’s all you have to say?! You know that they have been all over you this last week and you just want to act like nothing is wrong! Alex you are disgusting. I don’t understand how I can be related to such a philanderer!” cried Anna while pointing her finger in Alex’s face.

  “I can see you have been expanding your vocabulary sis. As for me saying more, what would you like me to say? Hey, everyone, Ava and Mia didn’t want to leave so they decided to move to the area and will be hanging around with us moving forward,” retorted Alex sarcastically.

  “You forgot to add how they are intending to work their way into your relationship with Sam and Nicole. Really, it’s the details Alex. We all know that you can’t seem to keep the women away in or out of ED. Amser is going to love this,” quipped Amanda.

  “Yah, that’s another call I have to make this morning. Life is great. Now, can we just get this run over with before things escalate further?” sighed Alex.

  “Alex, we need to talk. I think you should join me inside with your father as everyone else goes on the run today,” Mrs. Bell stated sternly.

  Alex could tell that his mom was about to lose it from the look she was giving him. Not wanting to make things worse he decided that it would be for the best to do as she said.

  “Okay. Dan, take charge and lead the run. I’ll see you all when you get back,” Alex said, accepting his fate.

  Alex went inside with his parents and his mom wasted no time in laying into him.

  “Alex what the hell are you doing?! You know those two are just after your wealth and you’re acting like them being here is no big deal! Tell me, are they going to be joining Sam and Nicole at your apartment?!”

  “Mom, please calm down.”

  “Don’t tell me to calm down! I need some answers.”

  “Mom, the short answer is I have no idea anymore. Yes, I am aware that they care about credits far more than anything else and that isn’t a big deal to me, and finally no, they will have their own place. Can you please calm down?”


  “Alex, explain what is going on now or so help me I will force you back into your old room and never let you out.”

  “Mom, you and I both know that isn’t possible anymore, but don’t worry, I will give you the rundown.”

  Alex spent the next 20 minutes going over the plan Sam and Nicole made as well as how the twins would be acting like they were dating Alex when in reality he was paying them to keep other women away. His mom was unconvinced that the twins wouldn’t try to double cross him or go from pretend to real if an opportunity presented itself. Alex agreed with her and said he said a similar thing to the girls before he agreed to their plan. When everything was said Mrs. Bell was still pissed but it was at least partially directed at the twins, Sam, and Nicole as they were the architect of this plan.

  “Alex, I don’t like it. I think you are all being irresponsible and setting yourselves up for a disaster,” Mrs. Bell said while looking at Alex sternly.

  “Your mother is right son. You are really getting a bit too deep in this. Sam and Nicole were one thing but, then Jessica happened and I’m still wrapping my head around that mess. Now you’re going to let two more girls act like they are your girlfriends to avoid adding any more while they use the situation to profit. It doesn’t make any sense to me,” agreed Mr. Bell.

  “Mom, dad, I understand, and you are likely right and in a few months I will be regretting letting Nicole and Sam talk me into this plan. I was ready to call the whole thing off and just deal with the fallout from Abysses End but they insisted we stay the course.”

  “Why?” questioned Mr. Bell with true befuddlement.

  “As bad as the twins are at least they came from the front and didn’t try and take me from Sam and Nicole. The next group of women may not be so nice and they worry about when that strike will come and just what kind of woman they will have to defend against. So, they decided to try and make an uneasy alliance to hopefully avoid that,” explained Alex.

  “I see, the devil you know and all. Okay, I can accept that and this plan under the condition that you don’t do anything beyond kissing with the twins,” hesitantly said Mr. Bell.

  “You can’t be serious!” all but yelled Mrs. Bell.

  “Honey,” Mr. Bell calmly said.

  “Don’t you honey me!” yelled Mrs. Bell

  “Look, even if we don’t like it, what are we to do? Cut him out of our life? Not likely so as long as he is straight with us. We need to accept that Alex is an adult. Besides, even if he falls into this trap, what will happen? More grandbabies and a few more daughters-in-law?” stated Mr. Bell while looking helpless about the situation.

  “Alex, you better be ready when this all comes crashing down on you. You have others who are relying on you now, don’t let them down,” huffed Mrs. Bell.

  “Thank you, mom, dad, and don’t worry, I will make sure that everyone is taken care of.”

  “Good, and make sure you talk with Jessica about this as well. I’m sure she is really confused right now and I don’t want her doing something she will regret again,” counseled Mrs. Bell.

  “Will do,” agreed Alex.

  The three of them went out front just as the group was returning from the run and Alex pulled Jessica to the side to talk. The conversation went well for the most part as she accepted that the twins were just another part of life for now. She brightened up when she learned that they didn’t know about Alex’s planned move at the end of the year. He also told her to feel free to talk about the situation in therapy if she wanted to. With a quick hug she let him go and he left with Sam, Nicole, Ava and Mia to go get them a hotel room. Once they were in the car, Ava and Mia started asking Alex about Jessica and what his relationship was with her. To which he responded that it was complicated and he wasn’t’ exactly sure himself, much like how he viewed them. The twins exchanged looks before smiling and dropping the subject. Getting Ava and Mia a hotel room at 5:30 in the morning was easier than Alex had expected and he was happy when he was back in the apartment by 6:00. He couldn’t wait to jump into ED and forget reality for a while.

  ED year 1, day 272.

  Xeal awoke in ED ready for a busy day. Even if it was midnight in game right now, he still had a lot to do this day. He needed to take Dyllis on a date as part of their courtship and send Casmir to train under Earl Smythe, on top of his regular tasks. He had decided that he would focus on reaching tier 5 and traveling to other continents and establishing partnerships across all of ED. Xeal was almost at level 64 and needed to reach level 79 before he could attempt his next tier up challenge. While he knew that the challenge would be simple for him, he also knew tier 5 was the last challenge before players started to have real difficulty raising their tier. It also was usually a full quest that took days or weeks in ED time to complete. Meanwhile Xeal was on the clock as he only had 118 ED days to be done with it and meet up with Geitir’s workshop leader if he wanted to keep the trade deal. The kicker was he needed other players to be able to make the trip to exchange resources if he didn’t want to continuously act as an errand boy for the foreseeable future. With these things and many more on Xeal’s mind, he went about getting things done, first by sending a message to Casmir to meet him at his mansion.

  As Xeal made his way to his dining room he noticed Midnight following behind him. The catlike matagot had essentially come with the mansion and was cared for mainly by his head butler Maxwell who had served Prince Victor before semi-retiring in Xeal’s service. After giving Midnight the first bit of his midnight snack, Xeal went about looking over the reports from his guild. The fort town was coming along nicely and the guild had already started work on the battle arena that would serve as the foundation of the town. It was going to be next to the simple guild hall that was also mid-construction. When finished it would have one main arena that could seat 10,000 and ten minor arenas that could seat around 100 each. Additionally, there would be 80 training rooms designed for small groups to train together, or an individual to use one of the mirror shards to fight a shadow doppelganger. Once they were able to get everything up and running, his guild would have its first true training ground that would help hone the skills of its members with the potential to reach tier 7 and beyond. Unfortunately, with only 4,000 of the shards available, only a small part of his guild would be able to use them each day. Xeal knew that if he wanted to increase the number of top tier players further, he would need to secure more training opportunities for his guild. Xeal was going over the various options he knew of when Casmir was brought in by Maxwell.

  “Casmir, thank you for coming.”

  “No problem. So, what do you want me for?”

  “I have an opportunity for you and your team if you want to take it. Now understand that if you take it, you will be spending most of your time in one area of the map.”

  “Okay, that sounds restrictive. What is the opportunity?”

  “Earl Smythe is looking for an officer candidate to train up. You would be reporting to him much like I do with the prince. The difference will be that while the prince sends me out all over the kingdom, most of your duties will be within the earl’s lands, at least before you reach tier 7 and your team is sent into the wild lands that border the earl’s domain.”

  “So, I would become the subordinate to an earl. I’m not going to end up with a bunch of NPC noble ladies after me, am I?”

  “I wouldn’t expect so. Depending on how prominent you become you may find yourself with a few suitors though.”

  “Will this put me on the fast track to nobility?”

  “It should, though you will still have to work for it.”

  “Alright, why me and not Takeshi, Ignis, Amet, or any other vice guild leader for that matter?”

  “Takeshi would be hindered more than helped if he took this opportunity and the rest either would be a bad fit, or don’t have the raw talent to succeed in this role. I won’t lie to you, our guild has an expert problem right now. Other than Amser, Takeshi and I, we are lacking in true top
tier talent. We are making up for that with our elevated levels for now but, once we reach a bottle neck at one of the tiers, we will be in trouble. Of the players who have the talent and potential to join us, you are the only one who is in guild leadership. Taya and my friends are great, but they will never be a top player unless they have a few heaven defying opportunities. Their roles will become more administrative as time goes on as you and Takeshi will remain on the front lines.”

  “So why haven’t you picked up any more vice guild leaders?”

  “Times have changed. I can’t just bring players in and install them as leaders like I did with you three. Now it has to be justified, either from us absorbing another guild and keeping some of its leaders, or one of our members who have gained the recognition needed to be accepted by their peers. Believe me, I have a few in mind, but they haven’t checked off all the boxes yet.”

  “Okay, so if I take this opportunity, how will it affect my role in the guild?”

  “You would be the vice guild leader responsible for that portion of the kingdom. As we expand, others will be put in similar roles where applicable. Not every city or town will have a vice guild leader, let alone a guild hall. Most that do get a guild hall will only have a guild manager assigned to it. Earldoms will be the smallest that will have any vice guild leaders assigned to them. In all likelihood you will probably be in charge of the whole march that Earl Smythe’s lands fall in.”

  “March?”

  “It is the technical term for a marquess’s lands. Even though Earl Smythe city is the closest to the border from where he is, the land on that border is owned by one of the marquess families and his lands are a part of theirs as well. When you have met the earl’s standards, he will likely introduce you to the marquess as one of his new commanders.”

  “All this nobility stuff goes way over my head. Are you sure I should step onto that path?”