CHAPTER 29: LEVEL FIVE
Gettysburg's fields still smoked with cannon fire when my interface flashed the notification.
[EXPERIENCE THRESHOLD REACHED]
[LEVEL UP: 4 → 5]
[TITLE: CHRONICLE KEEPER]
[MAJOR UNLOCK: TERRITORY ANNEXATION PROTOCOL — FULL ACCESS]
The Civil War mission had been straightforward—someone had introduced repeating rifles to Confederate forces, and the timeline was bleeding from the changed casualty ratios. Sara's plan: infiltrate, neutralize the weapons cache, restore the original flow of the battle.
The absorption came from the anachronistic rifles themselves—future technology forced into the past, radiating temporal wrongness that my system drank like water. Sixty-five XP spread across multiple absorption points, enough to push me over the threshold.
I stood in a copse of trees at the edge of the battlefield, watching the Legends coordinate the cleanup while my interface expanded with new options.
[TERRITORY ANNEXATION PROTOCOL — ONLINE]
[— FUNCTION: CONVERT RESOLVED ANOMALIES TO CONTROLLED TERRITORIES]
[— GENERATE PASSIVE RESOURCES]
[— UNLOCK ERA-SPECIFIC ABILITIES]
[— ESTABLISH PERMANENT TEMPORAL PRESENCE]
[STATUS: FULL FUNCTIONALITY ENABLED]
[ANNEXATION REQUIREMENTS:]
[— RESOLVED TEMPORAL ANOMALY (MANDATORY)]
[— 200 ⧖ TEMPORAL CREDITS]
[— 50 ✧ CHRONO-ESSENCE]
[— 24-HOUR STABILIZATION PERIOD]
[— HOST PRESENCE DURING STABILIZATION (PARTIAL)]
The numbers materialized in my vision—costs, requirements, limitations. The preview I'd been working with since Level 3 had been theoretical. This was operational.
I can build an empire now. Actually build it, not just plan for it.
My hands trembled. I hadn't expected the physical reaction—the surge of something between fear and excitement that made my pulse accelerate and my breathing shallow. Level 5 had felt like a distant goal, a number on a progression chart. Now it was real.
[STAT POINTS AVAILABLE: 3]
[ALLOCATION OPTIONS:]
[— TEMPORAL AUTHORITY (TA): 14 → GOVERNS TERRITORY CAPACITY]
[— CHRONO-STABILITY (CS): 7 → GOVERNS RESPAWN CAPACITY]
[— ANACHRONISM AFFINITY (AA): 5 → GOVERNS ABSORPTION EFFICIENCY]
[— ADMINISTRATIVE CAPACITY (AC): 3 → GOVERNS CONTRACT SLOTS]
[— TEMPORAL PRESENCE (TP): 5 → GOVERNS DETECTION RANGE]
I studied the options. Territory Capacity scaled with TA—at 15, I'd gain another slot. Chrono-Stability was insurance against paradox effects. Anachronism Affinity made resource gathering more efficient. Administrative Capacity controlled how many agents I could field.
Expansion first. More territories means more income. More income means faster growth.
[ALLOCATE: +2 TA, +1 CS]
[CONFIRMED]
[STATS UPDATED:]
[— TEMPORAL AUTHORITY: 16]
[— CHRONO-STABILITY: 8]
[— TERRITORY SLOTS: 1 → 2]
Two territory slots now. Room to grow.
[CURRENT RESOURCES:]
[— TEMPORAL CREDITS: 145 ⧖]
[— CHRONO-ESSENCE: 94 ✧]
The numbers weren't enough. Annexation cost 200 ⧖ plus 50 ✧—I was short on credits, flush on essence. The Gettysburg mission had paid well, but not quite well enough.
One more mission. Maybe two. Then I can claim another territory.
I pulled up the target assessment interface—the same scanning function I'd used to evaluate the Vandal Savage resolution, now with full annexation parameters loaded.
[TARGET ASSESSMENT — PRIORITY RANKING]
[— 1940s JSA ERA: SUPER-SCIENCE, METAHUMAN DATA, MILITARY INFRASTRUCTURE]
[— VIABILITY: HIGH]
[— STATUS: AWAITING ANOMALY DETECTION]
[— 1980s COLD WAR ERA: INTELLIGENCE NETWORKS, TECHNOLOGY BASE]
[— VIABILITY: MODERATE]
[— STATUS: MULTIPLE POTENTIAL TARGETS]
[— 2020s POST-CRISIS ERA: METAHUMAN ABUNDANCE, ADVANCED TECH]
[— VIABILITY: HIGH RISK/HIGH REWARD]
[— STATUS: TIMELINE INSTABILITY ELEVATED]
The 1940s glowed brightest on my mental map. The Justice Society of America era—superheroes before superheroes were common, scientific advancement driven by wartime necessity, metahuman genetics in their earliest documented stages. A territory there would generate specialized resources I couldn't get anywhere else.
I need to position for that mission, I thought. Make sure I'm there when it resolves. Make sure I have the resources to annex.
"Bennett!" Sara's voice cut through my strategic calculations. "We're wrapping up. You good?"
I dismissed the interface and turned to face her. "Good. Just... processing."
"The battle?"
"The mission." I gestured vaguely at the smoking fields. "Wondering how many times history has been changed and changed back without anyone noticing."
Sara studied me for a moment—that assassin's evaluation she did when she wasn't sure whether to trust someone's explanation. Then she nodded.
"Gideon's detecting residual anomaly signatures. We need to sweep the area before we jump out."
"I'll take the eastern perimeter."
"Do that." She paused. "And Bennett? Good work on the infiltration. Your analysis of the supply chain saved us hours."
Praise. Genuine praise from the captain.
"Just doing my job."
I walked toward the treeline, interface humming with new possibilities. Level 5. Territory Annexation. Two slots waiting to be filled.
The tutorial phase was over. The empire-building had begun.
Somewhere in my interface, Snart's next report was queued. Whatever intel he had could wait until I finished the sweep. But the notification tag suggested urgency.
Someone else is hunting the same eras.
Competition. I'd known it was coming—meta-knowledge confirmed the Legion's activities during Season 2. But confirmation from Snart meant they were real now. Active. Building the same kind of infrastructure I was building.
The 1940s target would have to wait until I dealt with whatever Snart had found.
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