Dungeon Robotics Book 5 PT 1 (Patreon)

1. If Amazon sends me a breach in contract message, I will be pulling them back down (Sorry!)

2. These Chapters are unedited. Edited version is on Amazon

3. I am putting these up for people to enjoy the Dungeon Robotic universe from the beginning.

Chapter 1

Necromancer Stronghold

“This is impossible,” Helicilia said, reading the report in front of her. The array of people in the room tried to hide their flinch. No one liked to bring bad news to the mistress. It generally resulted in someone being added to the army of undead outside the city.

“My apologies, Mistress, but everything we’ve done has barely slowed this force down, the biggest issue being the attack from the heavens,” a man reported, doing his best not to stutter. People had died when reporting to Helicilia for less.

However, Helicilia wasn’t even mad. She just couldn’t believe that nearly a century’s worth of work was coming undone in the span of a few weeks. So much effort had gone into making sure everything was set. So much time spent converting the north into their haven. The only holdout was the goblin dungeon to the west, but even that was nearly about to collapse.

“Tell me we’ve learned something by now,” Helicilia said, standing up to look out the window in the office. She wouldn’t let it end like this. There had to be something behind this mystery force. If they could find that, they would be able to deal with it, one way or another.

“Again, I have to disappoint. An aura much like a dungeon’s surrounds the fleet. Even members from Shadow have been unable to penetrate it. They are attacked almost instantly when they cross the invisible barrier. All our current information comes from long-distance scrying and scouting,” the man reported.

Helicilia’s fist turned white as she gripped the windowsill, and the stone cracking from the force. “Have we found its point of origin?”

Necromancers were the best at gathering information! She just couldn’t understand why this was happening now. Had she known a little less than she did, she would have believed it was divine intervention.

Helicilia had the most invested in this endeavor. If it failed, the work of her family over the last six decades would be wasted. She couldn’t even remember the number of people she’d sacrificed and killed in the last two years, let alone the last two decades. Her hands were thoroughly dyed crimson from the amount of blood she’d spilled. Not that she regretted anything. But if she was going to do something, she wanted to be the winner at the end.

“Yes, Mistress. It is the mountain fort that appeared overnight to the south. The mages have already confirmed there is almost a straight line between it and the dungeon that appeared in Robia Valley a few months ago,” the man replied.

“How is that possible?” She frowned. Those mountains were several hundred kilometers thick. She couldn’t think of anything that could get over them, much less carve their way through, in only a few months.

“I’m afraid we would have to ask the host that, Mistress,” the man answered before he thought about it. Fear clouded his expression as he took several steps back. “My apologies, Mistress! I meant no disrespect!”

“Huh? Oh. I don’t care right now! What have the non-blessed learned for us?” she asked distractedly.

The man gulped, glad he was still alive after his slip up. “Yes! That has also turned into a fiasco. The town has some way of being able to tell if a person is lying. The method doesn’t use magic apparently.” He read out loud from another report. “We have not been able to contact any of our people who we’ve sent in.”

Helicilia sighed. “Please tell me the other plan is still on track. As long as that one works, we’ll have nothing to fear anymore.”

“In that regard, I have good news. All factors have been adjusted for, and the ritual can take place within the new time frame. The only variable is the prince, but a contingency is being worked up to deal with him.”

“Good. Return now,” Helicilia ordered.

The man bowed and backed out of the room. An observer would be impressed by the fact that he didn’t bolt from the room once given the chance.

Helicilia turned back to the window to look at the surroundings. An army that would rival any country’s gathered outside. It was composed of undead ranging from tier one all the way to tier three. It looked grand to Helicilia, but she didn’t know if it would be grand enough for her master. He had his own vision of the world. That was what allowed the necromancers to gain so much strength.

“You appear to be having some trouble,” a voice echoed throughout the room. The shadows started to bend at twisted angles even though the single candleholder never moved.

“Master!” Helicilia cried, then immediately bowed, her face nearly touching the ground.

“It would seem a new piece has joined the chess board. One that could upset the entire game,” Cassin whispered into Helicilia’s ear. He was losing power lately, and the bitch Lelune was making things even more difficult in the other countries. He couldn’t afford to lose the north, not when he was so close.

“We’re taking care of it, Master. There is no reason to be worried,” Helicilia said quickly as she stood up.

“Worried? I’m not worried. I have many more toys I can use to dispose of this core that thinks he is more than a hole in the ground. Let’s see him deal with true power!” Cassin’s voice echoed through the room. The shadows warped and rippled, then Helicilia found herself in the gathering room. The shadows around the altar stopped moving and were pulled into a single spot.

The fallen Celestial Morka breathed in deeply, inhaling all the shadows that had been around the altar. She stood up as the shadow radiated from her, forming another pair of horns alongside the first pair. Her wings gained a liquid shadow appearance. Armor that appeared to absorb light formed around her figure.

“But, Master, what about the attack from the heavens?” Helicilia asked. They had captured Morka a long time ago. The anticipation of the powerful weapon finally being used exhilarated her, but at the same time the thought of losing it worried her almost as much.

“I doubt the core will attack itself with that weapon,” Cassin laughed. “Morka, my child, it is time for you to fulfill the mission I went through the trouble of getting you here for. Destroy those that would stand in my way,” the dark Celestial ordered. “Destroy the main core of this dungeon!”

“Yes, Father,” Morka whispered.

She held her hand out, and shadows swirled into a vortex around it. A double-bladed spear formed out of shadow and unholy green mana. It was deceptively simple, but Helicilia could feel the power rolling off it in waves. This was a Celestial weapon, something that could destroy entire towns.

“I thought the first council captured her?” she asked, confused.

“Ah, I let them think that so they would be more confident. Sped up my timeline by nearly a decade too,” Cassin said, not bothering to lie. Morka could wipe them all out easily by herself, after all.

Working up her courage, Helicilia asked, “What is your goal, Master?”

Cassin considered for a moment. The plan was already in motion, nothing could stop him from succeeding. Even if she had a change of heart, she was much too invested to leave the fold. He nodded to himself. “To return. Or more precisely, to bring my brothers and sisters back to this hell hole.”

“Brothers and sisters . . . but you are in Celestia.” Helicilia tilted her head.

“Indeed, but my home is not here. It is in the heavens, somewhere you can’t go to without incredible magic. My home is Deorus!” Cassin said. He almost felt joy at being able to tell someone after so long.

Helicilia blanched; she knew that name. It was buried deep in the old capital’s records, but it was the name of the demon world that had attacked many centuries ago. How did a demon become a Celestial? She recovered from her shock, then shook her head. It didn’t matter, as long as she got her due in the end.

“You are more powerful than I could have imagined in that case, Master.”

“Very good. Get Morka across the mountain, she’ll take it from there. I leave this mission to you personally,” Cassin ordered, his voice starting to fade.

“As you command,” Helicilia said, bowing.

She looked over to Morka, who hadn’t said a word since being addressed by Cassin. Helicilia couldn’t help but feel that she looked more sad than anything, even with her face that looked more like a mask. Morka turned to Helicilia, then walked out of the cathedral she had stayed in for the last couple of decades.

“I’ll arrange the trip for us.” Helicilia said before walking away.

Morka stared after her for a long moment before walking over to the window in the hallway. Even the fields of undead out the window were change to the cathedral she had been stuck inside for sixty-seven years, two hundred forty-one days, and seven minutes. She may have been given a mission by her father, but she planned to enjoy the outside for as long as possible. He’d made her wait, so it was only fair that she does the same.

Ezal

The last couple of days had been rough, as I had to keep the nobles and merchants in line. The ominous-looking automata walking the streets did a lot to keep them in place, but nobles always try to take as much as they can. The soldiers were always worried about upsetting someone they couldn’t afford to upset.

Just the number of times they’d tried to cause trouble in the local restaurants and shops was enough to give me a headache. The locals had resorted to having Regan install those obelisks inside their homes and businesses to keep the nobles from getting too much of a big head. If he was accepting gold and silver, he’d be the richest person in town by this point.

I sat down and rubbed the bump of my stomach that was steadily getting bigger. I didn’t care about rank, money, or any of that. I just wanted this child to know his father. Though, I thought, The next time I see Valamar, he better be ready for a fireball straight to his face for leaving like he did.

“Bruce, anything to report while we were gone?” I asked.

“Two of the nobles got into a fight earlier in the day. One was hurt severely enough that they had to be taken to the hospital but should have made a full recovery by this point,” Bruce reported with a salute.

“Probably staged,” I murmured.

“Most likely. The nobles do enjoy their games. I doubt they managed to learn anything.” He shrugged. “I do know that the hospital charged them enough to make several nobles cry tears of blood,” he continued with a chuckle.

“That’s good to hear,” I said, matching his chuckle. While not all nobles are evil or cruel, just take Val for example, most do have their own agendas on their minds. Getting a bit of a kick every now and then was good for them. “Anything else?”

“There are strange rumors filtering in from Lecazar. People going missing. I have a feeling it is related to the . . . event Lord Regan told us about a while ago.”

“Lovely. I just hope Regan manages to cut the head off their leader before they achieve their goal,” I said, tapping my finger on my desk.

“Immigration is only getting stronger as the . . . culprit grows bolder. People fear the Lecazar cities.”

“Make sure to keep the taxes under control. Remember, the protector of this area likes when people are moving here. The more the better. I know the lines at the gates grow worse every day, but do the best you can.” I smiled at him.

“Anything for you, Mistress.” Bruce saluted once more and walked out of the room.

I felt bad about not telling him what I’d learned, but it was safer for him. I hadn’t spent a lot of time with Bruce, but I knew he was the type of person who would charge off into the horizon if I told him Valamar was still alive. According to Regan, Val was in a peculiar situation. I would just have to trust him for now.

After Bruce left, I started going through the documents of the people currently in jail. We were still trying to decide what to do with most of them. The biggest ones were Dess and Chips. They were just . . . unstable. One day they would cooperate, almost like perfect gentlemen. The next, they would appear quite insane, talking to themselves among other things was not out of the norm.

The irony was that I wanted to recruit them if possible. They were both powerful and worked well as a team. I just couldn’t trust them with something as delicate as town security. I could send them to the dungeon, I thought after a moment. They would be a tremendous help in letting the guards reach further into the dungeon. They were also easy to control. I had never seen someone as obsessed with gold as much as Dess, while Chips was interested in eating.

Feuer had flown in while I was working on the paperwork and thinking. I grabbed him and scolded, “You need to stop running off.” I got the image of Gulv and sighed. “I know you like playing with Gulv, but it’s dangerous right now. I never know when I’m going to need you.”

I got the distinctive feeling that he was sulking. I hugged him to my chest and felt him cheer up a bit, then channeled a bit of the fire mana that was getting stored in my arm and leg to him. While there were no immediate changes, I thought I could feel him growing stronger as I gave him more mana.

I stood up and left my office, making my way to the jail section, pleased to find the soldiers hard at work training. Bruce was keeping them to a strict regimen. When I heard that the training was only half as much as the Royal Guards trained, I grew even more impressed with the guards who I’d seen on occasion on duty at the palace back in Lecazar. Surely, they would have skills to match their Thonaca doubles.

I noticed a few of the ex-slaves that Louella had freed among the soldiers. In particular, a large bearkin that was dominating the practice fights. He was using gauntlets that had wicked blades for claws. Facing down that would require a decent amount of courage, practice fight or not. The guards stationed in front of the jail were alert and saluted me as soon as they saw me.

“How is it today?” I asked them.

“They’re quiet today, Captain. Dess even more so than normal,” Tod, one of the guards reported. He was one of the youngest recruits we had and was from the original village.

“Thanks. Keep up the good work,” I said, then pushed the door open.

The jail looked more like a giant box to me. If you were more than ten meters away, you would think the walls were solid. But once you got close enough, you’d find that there were actually slits about three centimeters wide and a meter long. When I first came in, I thought it would be damp and humid like other prisons I had visited in the past. I was very wrong and was surprised that it was one of the most comfortable buildings I had ever been in. Other Regan-built buildings aside.

Because of that, we got a lot less resistance from the inmates than I would think they would normally put up. They only got one meal a day, but if I was being honest, it was probably better than some food you could find in other cities. They were in here to be punished, but some street rats would rather find a way to live here than struggle living on the streets. Not that I blamed them. When someone under a certain age was brought in, they were sent to the orphanage Regan had opened for Louella.

The dungeon really had a soft spot for Louella. If I hadn’t interacted with him on several occasions, I would think he was attracted to her. But I’d seen the way he looked at her—and other women, in fact—and knew he was not interested in her that way. I shook my head to clear my idle thoughts and looked to the pair in front of me.

Dess and Chips were separated in two cells so they couldn’t help each other. I looked into Chips’s cell and saw him sleeping . . . loudly. Then I looked into Dess’s cell and frowned when I didn’t see him. I channeled mana into my arm, ready for anything.

“BOOM!” Dess shouted as he fell face-first from the ceiling, landing roughly on the ground. I looked up and couldn’t figure out how he was staying up there in the first place.

I stuck Feuer through that bars and smacked him over the head. The solid black cuffs holding his arms didn’t allow him to rub the area easily. “Hello, Dess. Enjoying your time here?”

“Oi! That hurt, woman,” he complained with slightly crossed eyes.

“I could just put an end to all the pain.” I smiled, letting the bladed point sit on his shoulder next to his neck.

“My lady! That is completely unnecessary,” Dess said, backing up quickly.

“Good.” I pulled Feuer back through the bars. “I have a proposal for you.”

“I’m sorry, but I have an investment in a town far to the south. It would be cruel of me to abandon her for you.” Dess crossed his arms over his body like a woman would to hide her features.

“Sorry to disappoint you. I like my men with two legs,” I retorted.

“Leave Stubby alone,” he said as he pulled his fake leg toward him with a pout.

“I want you to be my soldiers,” I said before he could joke around more.

“Me?” he said, growing serious. “I have to ask. Are you insane?”

I decided to be honest with him. “I can sense that the amount of fire mana in you is very high and also very pure. I need someone that I can afford to lose but who’s strong enough to actually get farther than the tenth floor in the dungeon.”

Dess stared at me for a moment, then shouted, “Chips! What do you think?” The snoring instantly stopped, and I couldn’t tell if it had been fake to begin with.

“Food good. You get gold. Win-win,” Chips said with a shrug.

“You always have a way with words, my friend! Alright it’s a deal!” Dess said, sticking his hand through the bar.

I grabbed it, clasping a bracelet on him. “Not that I don’t trust you, but your record is a little spotty. I got this from a good friend. Try anything and I’ll know. It was made to resist mana and physical force, and even if you cut your arm off, it will still reattach itself to you,” I warned with a grin. Dess’s expression turned sour for a moment but he kept his mouth shut.

“Girl got you good,” Chips said as he laughed loudly.

Chapter 2

Louella

“Lady Louella. I am pleased to see that you are alright,” Elder Yuin Skywood said with a smile.

“Indeed. It was quite an adventure. I was worried for a bit,” I said with a soft chuckle.

While I was making pleasant small talk on the outside, on the inside I was groaning. I was sitting in Elder Yuin’s overcrowded tent again. It had been like this since I got back from the dungeon. Everyone wanted to see me for one reason or another, especially the nobles. They acted like it was the end of the world if I didn’t respond to them immediately.

My father had been spreading rumors that he was in charge, and I had to deal with that before someone did something they would regret. The nobles were playing their normal power games, while the merchants were doing their best to pull every loose coin in the valley into their pockets. Of course, the common people were getting dragged into the middle of it all. Luckily, there hadn’t been any deaths yet.

The various nobles and merchants had put requests in to see me as soon as they learned I was back. I knew most would express their well wishes and whatnot at my safe return, but I also knew it would all be shallow. What I really wanted to do was shove a lightning bolt up most of their asses, but doing that would get me into serious trouble. Maybe I should become a queen, then I could do whatever I wanted, I thought with a chuckle.

“What happened, if you don’t mind my asking?” Elder Yuin asked, sipping his tea.

“We were on the fourteenth floor when . . .” I started to say but drew a blank. Why was I on the fourteenth floor for so long? Surely, if I’d known it was going to take more than a day, I would have returned to the town to make sure my affairs were in line. Only, Ezal had had to come and find me . . .

I rubbed my forehead. “My apologies, Elder Yuin, I seem to have a headache. We managed to reach the fifteenth floor boss room, but the host said there was a problem and escorted us back to the surface,” I finished. It was rare, but some hosts liked for their floors to work perfectly. And if something went wrong, they might give the party a “pass” to leave the dungeon.

“I see. That is most unfortunate—as well as fortunate. It would be a great loss to lose one such as yourself.” Elder Yuin smiled.

“I appreciate your concern. How has your time in my humble valley been?” I asked to try to change the subject. Plus, it didn’t hurt to actually hear what he thought. If anyone could offer constructive criticism, it was Elder Yuin.

“Quite enjoyable. It is rare for a market to develop so quickly. Even for dungeon towns, this is an amazing pace. That library is already a treasure worthy of the royal city. There are books on economics”—he made an interesting face pronouncing the word—“that have amazing insights on the workings of money and its effect on the area. It was almost a kind of magic as I read it.”

“I’m glad you found something to your interests,” I said, then sipped at my tea. Regan’s library had almost too much information in it. I never knew what would end up causing more problems than it was worth.

“It makes me wish I was a hundred years younger,” he said with a faraway look.

Elder Yuin was rumored to be over six hundred years old. I couldn’t even imagine what he had seen during his life. I was barely two decades old and already felt like I was in over my head. It was almost a relief that I didn’t have to deal with a more proactive Yuin.

Thinking of his long life gave me an idea. “Elder Yuin, what do you know of Quin?” I asked. She was the king’s dog, from her own words, but I wanted to be sure there wasn’t more to the story. Elder Yuin’s eyes narrowed as they focused on me.

“Where did you hear that name? Actually, no, I don’t want to know.” He shook his head. “She is the king’s pet. From what I’ve heard, the king two or three generations ago helped her in some way, and she promised ten favors in return. She appears and disappears like a rumor. I wasn’t part of the kingdom at the time, as this was before the north completely fell.”

“I see. Have you heard about the Yunea?” I asked, taking another shot.

“Yunea . . . It sounds familiar but I can’t seem to recall where I’ve heard it from. My apologies. A long life is sometimes a bad thing.” He bowed his head.

“No. I heard the word in a conversation the other day and just wanted to see if Elder knew it. It is of no importance,” I said, waving my hand. A dead end, I could feel that Elder Yuin was being truthful. As truthful as a man like him could be.

“Either way I will look and see if I can find any information of this word,” he said and bowed his head again.

“It is much appreciated.” I smiled. With Elder Yuin’s resources, I wouldn’t be surprised if he learned some more information on it as soon as I left his sight.

A guard tapped on the pole at the entrance to the tent. “My lady, it is time for your next meeting,” he said with a salute.

“Already? Time sure flies when you’re having fun.” Elder Yuin grinned.

“Indeed. I will leave you then, Elder,” I said, standing up.

I curtsied, then paced to the entrance. I was glad Elder Yuin was as old as he was. If he were younger, he might make a more serious effort to claim Robia Valley or the magic in the area. I wasn’t sure if he was just playing with me or if he really was too old to bother as much, but it helped me out for now. While I’d been talking to him, his eyes would sparkle, but I had no way of knowing what could possibly be going on in his head.

Next on the list was Dirne Wintergrasp. He had spent most of his time in the dungeon library rather than trying to dig his hands where they didn’t belong. He was known for his extensive knowledge on potions, but I couldn’t remember there being a lot of books on potions in there. There was an uncountable number of books on science, though.

We made our way over to his tent, and I let my guard announce my arrival. I couldn’t exactly just walk in. Protocol and procedure, the funniest things about being a noble.

The guard called inside, and a moment later an explosion shook the tent. Green smoke poured out from the entrance and under the edges. A man dressed in richly colored but efficient work clothes rushed out, coughing up green sparks.

My guards surrounded me, rushing me back a couple of meters in case it was poison. One of my guards went forward to offer assistance, but the man just waved him away. Falling on his hands and knees, the man coughed for a good minute before the sparks stopped. Finally, he took a deep breath and sat up.

“My dear, haven’t you ever heard not to shout near a potion master?” he asked with an exasperated look.

“I’m here for a meeting with Lord Brine,” I said, nonplussed.

“Yeah, that’s me. My meeting wasn’t for another hour,” Lord Brine said while pulling out a time piece. He rubbed the back of his head and said, “Oh, looks like I got carried away again.”

Lord Brine was a tall man, probably around two hundred and ten centimeters or slightly over, which was above the continent’s two-meter average. I shook my head. It was scary what statistical data I saw as a lord of an ever-growing population. He had light brown hair that was unkempt at the moment but would look nice if it was cared for. For a scholarly kind of person, he had strong features that made him look very alluring.

One of my guards used wind magic to clear the remaining cloud of green smoke out of the tent, and we made our way inside. His tent was almost as cluttered as Yuin’s was. There were worktables everywhere along with shelves packed full of reagents and materials. I recognized some of the reagents. Just one shelf would be worth many people’s yearly gold income. The tent smelled strongly of mint. There was a bright green sheen to a lot of the surfaces.

Curiosity got the better of me. “May I ask what you were working on?”

“A new healing potion,” Brine said, excitement filling his face. “Many people say healing potions are a dying art. This is because they are horribly unreliable compared to a priest or Light mage.”

“The best potion I ever bought only lasted a few months,” I said. I’d brought a few potions to the valley with me when I moved here. They had all expired, turning to sludge before I even had the chance to use them. Worst investment I ever made.

Brine shot forward and grasped my hands. The guard next to me reacted, quickly putting his hand on the hilt of his sword, but Brine said, oblivious, “Exactly! It was one of the greatest mysteries of the potion community, with years sunk into figuring it out. Thanks to the library, I may havefigured it out!” Noticing the guard’s reaction, he quickly released my hands and said, “Ah! My apologies, I tend to get overexcited when it comes to my work.”

“It is alright,” I said, glancing at the guard. He lowered his hand and stepped back. “As you were saying.”

“I was reading a book about a thing called ‘microbes.’ They are living things that are too small for us to see but can easily cause us to get sick or diseased. In the case of potions, they can change the microbial composition enough that they will no longer work in the intended way,” he explained animatedly, using his hands to gesture.

I felt that if he were a teacher in an academy, I would have liked his classes. It helped that what he was talking about was actually interesting.

“If we can’t see the problem, how do we stop them?” I asked. The microbes sounded similar to the atoms that Regan had explained to me before. I wondered if there was a correlation between the two. I would need to find some more private time to read a bit more of Regan’s books.

“Ah. That is the biggest problem right now. But I think I might have a solution. It is a solution that was so easy to think of I’m surprised no one has ever tried it before. It is amazing what people will overlook once they are set in their ways.” Lord Brine groaned.

“If you really did find the solution, no matter how long it took, then people in the future will surely remember your name,” I said with a small smile.

“While I do this for the money, being remembered in history doesn’t have a bad ring,” he said as he turned a bit red.

“Well? Do I get to know?” I teased.

“Ah! Of course, Lady Louella. It was magic that had been around for decades. Preservation magic cast by an Ice mage. The microbes inside the potion should take much longer to spoil the potion. At least that’s the goal. Currently, I am trying to deal with the ice mana corrupting the potion itself,” he finished with a large smile.

“Couldn’t you enchant the bottle before putting the potion inside, or will that still affect the potion?” I asked.

“Interesting . . . I must admit I was focusing on preserving already made potions. If we scrapped everything we’ve made up until now and started a whole new batch pouring the potion into the enchanted bottles as it was made, then we might be able to achieve the goal!” he exclaimed.

“Wait, I thought you were working on a new healing potion,” I asked, remembering what he’d said at the beginning.

“Huh, oh I got sidetracked. Yes, I was working on a new potion. I was working to make it target the…” He paused for a moment. “That’s right, the cells of a person. According to the book I found, all healing revolves around the body’s cells repairing the damage. They are the smallest unit of life, if it’s to be believed.”He got up from his seat and moved to a worktable that was so covered in green powder it looked like it was made from it. He brushed the powder out of the way and picked up some sheets of parchment that had diagrams and lists of reagents on it. I worried I’d lost him when he started mumbling as he looked the sheets over.

“Lord Brine?” I called.

He jumped, coming out of his trance. “Sorry. I’m very enthusiastic with my work, as my assistants like to tell me,” he said, rubbing the back of his head.

“That’s alright. I better leave you to it. Wouldn’t want to delay a history-making event because of idle chitchat.” I laughed. If he truly made this happen, then it would be good for all mortals. I didn’t feel like Brine was the type of person to restrict access to these potions.

“My apologies,” he said with a small bow, “but yes, I would much like to get back to work.”

“Please try not to blow the area up,” I called as I walked out of the tent.

“The worst I’ve done is two blocks in the capital,” Lord Brine mumbled, which with my enhanced hearing, I was able to make out.

I groaned, hoping that Regan would be able to repair this area if such an event happened. I also made a mental note to have Lord Brine moved to a less inhabited location. At least Lord Brine was enjoying the town and being helpful.

“My lady, we should head that way,” one of my guards said with a gesture toward the opposite direction I was going.

“I have more meetings. What’s the problem?” I asked.

“Your father appears to be waiting to ‘ambush’ you while you speak with the other nobles. We have marked him, but as you know it’s not easy to make a move on foreign nobility,” the guard reported.

“Isn’t that the truth.” I laughed, then grew more serious. “I need to deal with him eventually, might as well get it over with,” I said, rubbing my forehead. “Send a runner to inform the other nobles for today that I will be late.”

“Yes, my lady!” The guard saluted, then walked off.

Should I just kill him? I thought but shook my head. That would only cause more problems at that moment.

I started heading for the next noble on my list. About halfway there, sure enough my father literally blockaded the dirt path. I’d never realized that he would go to such lengths to achieve his goals. The eyes of a child, I guess.

“Daughter!” Father exclaimed when he saw me. “I heard you nearly died in the dungeon! I’m so glad you’re alright.”

“Didn’t feel like coming in to save me?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

“I only heard yesterday, when you were saved,” he replied instantly.

“I’m sure . . . What do you want?” I asked, exasperated by this façade.

“Just for my precious daughter to forgive this stupid father,” he said with an almost convincing sad expression. I could still see the glint of greed hidden in his eyes. I was much more accustomed to it recently. Everyone wanted a piece of my valley.

“Alright, you’re forgiven. Go home. There is no more reason for you to be here,” I said offhandedly.

Father’s expression hardened as a frown replaced the sad look. He started to get angry, and I could see the veins in his neck start to bulge. I wanted to shake my head at how obvious he was with his display. I couldn’t understand why the emperor allowed the nobles to have so much power that they could act like children to get what they wanted. I was more disappointed in myself for loving this sorry excuse of a father for nearly eighteen years.

“Why are you being so difficult?” he growled.

“Because I don’t feel like giving you anything,” I answered honestly.

“You little brat!” he shouted, stepping forward.

I lifted my arm, lightning arcing across my skin and between Helios. I made sure that the mana rolled off it so that even non-mages could feel it. A small crowd had formed around us, as such things attract attention, but they immediately backed away when I created my lightning. Gulv spun around me as he floated near my head.

“I warn you, I will not hesitate,” I said calmly.

My father was a relatively powerful Air mage, but he was a coward. He glared at me before he backed away, his guards forming a protective wall around him. I laughed but let him move away, then lowered my arm, letting the spell die.

I turned to one of my guards and ordered, “Please tell the nobles left for today that I will reschedule our meetings. I’m in a foul mood.” I had taken a few steps away when my barrier activated. I could sense the needle-like strands of wind impact its surface. One of my guards wasn’t so lucky and had several holes through one of his arms, as well as his legs. The armor made by Regan protected his vitals, but it would still be painful. Anger rippled through me. How dare he attack me, his own bloody daughter, and my people?! Lightning flashed around me, uncontrolled and raging.

I turned back around to see my father being held back by two of his guards but with an expression of victory on his face. It quickly changed to horror, though, as he saw I was unharmed. My grip tightened around Helios as I tried to control myself.

“My lady, there are innocents around,” one of my guards said urgently.

“Don’t worry . . . I won’t hit them,” I murmured before I exploded toward my father.

Lightning rippled around me but avoided any people it came near. Father’s guards reformed their wall but were looking like they would rather be somewhere else. I pulled Helios around and impacted the chest of one of the guards. A decent dent formed in his armor, and I unleashed a full dose of lightning into him. It got so hot that I not only electrocuted him but cooked him.

I spun around and kicked the next guard, angling the kick so that he shot into the air, and sent him flying with a burst of lightning. The bystanders would be able to avoid him when he came back down. My mana surged and I sent out a burst of lightning around me that struck the rest of the guards. Six bodies fell to the ground. I wasn’t sure if they were still alive.

My father managed to avoid the burst by creating a wall of air in front of himself. He was well into tier two, so he should have been able to protect at least one of his guards. The fact that he chose not to just made him look even worse in my eyes.

“Don’t you realize the consequences of your actions?!” Father shouted, a terrified look in his eyes.

“I want to see anyone try to take my valley from me! This is MY land, MY people,” I growled in answer.

“How could you gain so much in so little time?” he whimpered.

“I didn’t try to use my friends and family like chess pieces.”

“You would never understand. The world isn’t such a nice place.”

“Maybe. You’ve certainly shown me that.” I nodded and raised a lightning-clad fist, ready to drive it through his skull.

“My lady! Please wait,” one of my guards shouted.

“What is it?” I saw it was the man my father injured. He held his arm while another guard wrapped bandages around his wounds.

“I understand your wanting to kill him, but it would be more useful to keep him alive,” he argued. “Plus, he was so weak that I barely even feel these wounds anymore,” he added, patting his leg.

I noticed him wince, but he did a remarkable job hiding it with a smile. I might not have seen it without my enhanced senses.

I looked back to my father. “Very well. I know a good place to throw you.” I smirked. It would be a waste not to make him suffer for the incident he caused today. Gripping his hand, I channeled lightning through it, making sure that it flowed back into me rather than the rest of his body. He screamed from the pain as the skin under my fingers quickly turned black.

“Stop! Please stop!” Father begged, tears running down his face.

I released his hand and turned to the guards. “Take this man to the jail. I’ll see to his future accommodations,” I ordered. I glanced at my father one more time, then walked away without a second thought. I didn’t think he would ever be using that hand again without a high-level healing.

Chapter 3

Regan

I cracked my metal knuckles as I looked around the area. It looked as though we would be stuck there for a few hours, but I wasn’t going to let it go to waste. If the necromancers wanted to play hardball, I was game. The main thing about zombies were their wave tactics. They would literally swarm their enemies until there just weren’t any left to withstand them.

Unfortunately for the necromancers, robots have the same play style. If they were going to respond to everything I threw at them, then I would just throw so much that they got overwhelmed for once. I moved to the surface under Alpha and looked around. I needed a good location to get started, and I didn’t want to disturb the husk of the dryad until Anubis was able to perform his magic on it.

A suitable spot appeared roughly a kilometer away. I needed a clearing, so I tossed one of my black hole gems into the air. The surroundings were quickly pulled up. I controlled the spell so that the ground would remain roughly how it was. When the spell was completed, I quickly created a Terra spell to smooth over the roughed-up turf.

My original goal was to do this much closer to Alara, but I wanted to force everything to ground. I had no idea what was hiding where, and using an air assault, while faster, left me exposed and at risk of passing a threat from the rear. It was a good thing I was uniquely equipped to handle an enemy like this.

Pulling materials from my subdimension, I started designing a starg . . . I mean a portal. I have got to watch those copyrights, I thought with a chuckle. Being trapped in that tower for so long had given me time to watch just about everything science-fiction related. My favorites, of course, were the three Star shows.

I designed a giant portal that would allow hundreds of my automata to pass through at once. It was connected to one of the floating islands, which was set to explode if something managed to breach my defenses there and was deemed too dangerous for the dungeon. It was an extreme precaution, but being that close to my core, I didn’t want to take any chances.

Internal teleporting inside the dungeon didn’t require any type of device, which made wherever I put the portal moot, but I didn’t want an adventurer to stumble upon an army of robots teleporting god knows where. However, teleporting outside my dungeon required a decent amount of mana to perform. Constructing a portal there would cut the mana cost by nearly half or more if it was maintained.

Thinking ahead a bit, I added a dialing system. That way, later on I could add portals in other places to allow rapid transportation. I could potentially link it to another planet, though the mana cost would be horrendous. Maybe I would design an energy storage crystal that would force adventurers to dive in my dungeons in order to use the longer-range teleportation. I still couldn’t understand how the demon world had managed to gather enough mana to create not just one portal but hundreds across the world, if the records were to be believed.

The portal mainly consisted of my mithril alloy. It cost several million points in mana but was worth it. Much like the sphere around my core on Alpha, nothing was going to be able to get through this easily. I decided to add some aesthetics around the area to make it fit in a bit better.

I went with a quartz material for the main structure around the “hardware,” the pure white material versus the black ground and forest making it stand out. I used a paneling design to give it a futuristic feel. The whole construction was one hundred meters wide with about one hundred meters in height. It was not small at all, but I wasn’t trying to hide, after all. I created a large temple-like structure around the portal, going with a Greek feel.

A few dozen meters from the pantheon-like building, I created a pillar every twenty meters and inlayed hundreds of magic scripts for defensive spells. Everything from barrier magic to illusion magic, I didn’t hesitate to throw the magic down. This was the first line of defense straight into a deep section of my dungeon. I didn’t want something to make its way in without my knowing.

I glanced over to the dryad, wondering if I should include it in the enclosure. Anubis really needed to wake up so that he could do his ritual. I could do it myself, having studied it three times, but I was worried that it would be corrupted by my mana much like everything else I used magic on was. Izora was still getting used to her, what I liked to call, “battle robes,” while the goblins were slowly changing further into a machine-type lifeform.

I used gears with treelike branches interweaving through them for a little visual touch. I hoped that Alara would like it when I freed her. Was this like getting flowers for a girl you liked? Since dungeon cores could literally create anything they wanted, I needed to think up a good present for her. Men brought flowers to the first date, right? I mentally laughed at the thought. Rather than a date, it was more like a fight to the death.

I was finishing up the structure when I felt Anubis awaken. The unholy-mana-absorption device finally finished, and he groaned as he stood up from the operating-table-like bed he was on. Vetur clapped him on the shoulder and helped him up. Those two were really like brothers.

I could see the mechanisms inside his body warming up as he activated and moved next to him, waiting for everything to start up. It was strangely interesting, as none of my creations needed sleep. I never had to wait for them to wake up. Finally, it looked like the process was done as he released a pitch-black breath of smoke from his nostrils.

“Anubis, how are you feeling?” I asked, truly concerned about the effects absorbing so much unholy mana might have had on his psyche. Anubis, as well as most of the creations from my dungeon, was like a child to me. I would hate for something to happen to him due to my oversight.

“I never want to go through that again,” he moaned in answer. He turned to Vetur. “Thank you, brother. If not for you, I would be a melted puddle of metal outside.”

“I will not let you die in battle without me, my friend.”

Vetur smiled, and they clasped hands, grinning. I wanted to shake my head. I just knew these two were going to die in a battle surrounded by enemies. Likely laughing the entire time.

“Are there any lasting effects?” I asked, turning the conversation back to the topic at hand.

Anubis checked his body over, then closed his eyes as he did an internal check. “None at this time. I feel Father’s help saved my mind from being corrupted.”

“That’s good. I won’t allow this to happen again. Even with the loss of Gamma, we can still proceed via air and will be doing so, but I’m launching some additional forces. If they are going to use wave tactics on us, we’ll do the same.”

“Yes, Father,” Anubis said and looked off into the distance. “The dryad’s soul dwindles. I am amazed she held on even after igniting her pool, but it won’t last for much longer.” Anubis tried to stand, and I sensed several gears inside his body start to whine in protest.

“How long do you think she has?” I asked quickly.

“Minutes . . .” Anubis answered.

“Then I’ll have to work fast.” I grinned.

I pushed him back on the table, then used my magic to create a diagram of his internal workings. I saved all my creations’ diagrams on a type of mental drive so that I could repair them if the worst should happen. While the siphon device had indeed cleansed his body of the tremendous amount of unholy mana, the damage was still done. Rusted gears, twisted circuitry, and other corrupted hardware were the significant result.

Because it was unholy mana, his body couldn’t just “heal” like my automata normally did. I held my arms out over him and changed its structure. After a few seconds a mini assembly line was created over Anubis, with hundreds of arms with dozens of types of tools.

Above the construct, I formed the new parts out of mana. I decided to go ahead and replace the parts with a new version of Anubis’s metal while I was at it. Mithril, the metal of the Celestials, as the mortals called it, could be alloyed to just about everything. I had the goblins and labs working to find as many different combinations as possible.

One of the permutations they’d found was with Anubis’s metal. The alloy created was much more durable and allowed for a higher level of mana absorption. Its mana cost was lower than the defensive version but still decent enough to warrant a double check before using it to create things. So far, I mainly used it for the Anubis swords I’d sent to Valamar and the one I’d given to Vetur earlier.

My assembly line went to work pulling out the damaged gears. Specially designed gear arms allowed for his internal structure to continue to function without pause while the new gear was inserted. Two thousand four hundred fifty-nine gears were corrupted along with various numbers of circuits and mechanisms that needed to be replaced.

The assembly went into overdrive as corrupted parts were flung from Anubis’s body and the new parts were inserted without pause. I worked quickly, not wanting to take too long and risk the dryad. At one point a flung gear nearly smacked Vetur in the head, but he managed to dodge it.

Fifty seconds give or take went by while I replaced Anubis’s chest plate. All the corrupted parts were absorbed, and I backed away from the table to allow him to stand. This wasn’t the first time I’d tried to raise the power level of one of my creations by replacing the parts. The other times, though, had never managed to yield much of a gain.

Anubis channeled his mana through his body, then stood up. I could sense his body truly incorporating the new parts. Maybe that’s where I went wrong. The automata I tried with never had a true consciousness. Anubis’s power began spiking to a new peak. It stopped just before he hit what would be considered tier three.

“You’re repaired. Quickly, go help the dryad,” I said, grabbing his shoulder.

“Yes, Father!” Anubis exclaimed.

I teleported him outside next to the still-smoldering stump of the dryad’s tree. I would have watched him, but I had my own job to work on, so I moved back to the portal structure and generated a ball of mana between my hands, so powerful that it turned a dark orange color as it quickly moved toward nonvisible levels.

I was creating a portal. Different from a Teleport spell, it would be like a doorway permanently set in this spot. This also meant very high initial mana cost, but once it was created, there was much less upkeep. With my mana generation capabilities, I could easily maintain it for the duration of this campaign or even well into the future if I chose to do so.

The ball of mana grew denser as I poured more mana into it. It was slowly losing its color becoming completely clear. I knew if I dropped it or even used it as an actual weapon, I could easily level a city and the surroundings with ease. Finally, after nearly three hundred million mana, the ball reached maximum density. I felt it was on the boundary of changing into another form, but I didn’t have the leisure nor the safety for continuing to condense it.

I wove a shell of Spell script that would build the pathway to the portal in the dungeon. It had to include every variable so that the bridge would exist separate from this reality but would allow people from it to still move through it. If I wrote the script wrong, people could end up shredded to pieces during the traverse. Luckily, I had plenty of practice with my Teleport spells. This one mainly required the borders of the bridge to be properly defined.

Three hours later the script for the primer spell was done. It was some of the most complicated spellwork I had done to date. Even my creations’ minds were less complex than this spell. I walked up to the opening, where an invisible wall pressed against me. I pressed the ball against it, and the ball sank into nothingness.

I quickly teleported a kilometer to be safe. Gears of all shapes and sizes made from magic formed inside the giant circle that made up the portal. I wasn’t sure why my magic was represented by gears rather than circuitry, but I liked the aesthetic and didn’t try too hard to change it.

The gears started to turn as arcs of mana shot off the portal’s surface. The gears fused into bigger gears as I felt the bridge form. Finally, when there was only a single gear that took up the entire surface of the portal, it acted as if it were pulled back into a single point.

A whirling pool of white light formed after that. I looked at it in appreciation. Back on Earth science fiction and then regular science had tried to create a wormhole. I’d opened up a door to all kinds of possibilities. A doorway to the future if you will. I nodded and walked forward.

When I reached the portal, I stuck my arm into it and could see it in my main dungeon. That was an interesting feeling for me. Nodding to myself, I stepped through. A feeling of hot, then cold and I was at the island created for it. I looked at my arm and saw some ice covering it. Frowning, I reached over to touch the gate.

I added a new sequence that would adjust the surface of the portal so that people didn’t suffer from the effects of thermal dynamics on the fluids that weren’t part of themselves. Technically, their particles were moving faster than the speed of light, then instantly slowing down to re-form their bodies. It wasn’t surprising that the moisture on the surface of their skin would also superheat, then supercool as they crossed through.

“Ignea,” I called through the dungeon.

She appeared a moment later. She was bigger, as she mainly spent her time cultivating mana in the dungeon. Right now, she tended to her treant forest on the sixth floor. They were getting rather large lately, and I was planning on moving them to one of the floating islands. The adventurers left them alone, but only because there were a lot of them now.

“Yes, Father?” Ignea asked, floating around me.

“I was wondering if you would let me move your Treant forest to a nearby island so that you can help watch over this portal. Of the people who remain in the dungeon, you’re the one I trust completely.” I smiled at her.

She spun around my head a few times as if in thought. “Alright. The treants were complaining about hitting their heads lately,” she replied with a giggle.

“Excellent,” I said, clapping my hands. Casting my senses more fully over the floor, I grabbed one of the larger islands. I rearranged the other islands a bit so that it would fit near this one. I loved space magic, as it allowed an island nearly fifty square kilometers to exist underground with other islands of various sizes.

“I see you’re almost tier two,” I said, observing her while I worked.

“Yes. I would be a much higher rank if not for the drawback of the fairy race,” Ignea said sadly.

“Drawback?” This was the first I had heard about this. She was usually very open about her issues after I’d talked to her a while ago. It was her idea to tend to the treant forest, and she enjoyed it from what I saw.

“Fairies can only draw in pure mana. No contamination whatsoever. Father’s dungeon actually has a decent amount that lets me cultivate it to the point that I have. From my memories other dungeons take many years to start producing pure mana,” Ignea explained.

“I thought I was cleansing the mana into its pure form?” I asked, even more surprised.

“You are. Or, more accurately, into the World Spirit’s form. Pure mana is more of a byproduct,” Ignea said. She landed on my shoulder, just barely able to fit. “Pure mana is no aspect. It’s a blank slate. You’ve done it a few times when working on your various projects.”

I held my hand out and formed another ball of mana. From there I created a type of tree that branched off into the various types of mana. Fire, water, terra, and air were the thickest, followed by light and dark, which went in opposite directions. Space and time also branched in opposite directions of each other.

After that were the several dozen lesser branches that some people could use. Lightning and nature for instance. Finally, once the last of the various types of mana was pulled out of the ball, all that remained was a clear transparent shell. It reminded me of roots that held up a tree.

“This?” I asked to be sure.

“Yeah. As you can see it takes a lot to process it, and it doesn’t remain untainted for long,” Ignea said, taking the small clear ball into her hands.

The energy quickly flowed into her palms, and she took a deep breath. She grew maybe a centimeter, then jumped into the air, made a few midair spins, then hovered in front of me, smiling.

“I can create more now that I know you need it,” I offered.

She shook her head. “Later. It will take me almost three days to cultivate that little bit you made just now.”

“If you say so.”

“Don’t you have things to do, Father?” she said, tapping my cheek with her tiny hand.

“Yeah . . . have to love wars,” I said as I sighed.

I looked off the edge of the island the portal resided on to where one of my asteroid harvesters had just finished teleporting. It landed on the edge of the island, and my forces started to pour from inside. High-tier-two automata marched in perfect synchronicity as they moved toward the portal. These were the latest models that I’d recently created. The lower tiers would be moving to the portal next, but they would be using vehicles.

“They’re going to regret messing with you, Father,” Ignea said, watching the first batch of two hundred automata march off the ship.

“Of course,” I said, then grinned sinisterly.

Chapter 4

Izora

“Alright, everyone! Be ready! I’m not sure what to expect on this floor,” I called to my group as we exited the elevator to the sixteenth floor.

I had wanted to wait longer, but everyone assured me that they were ready and raring to get on with the dungeon exploration. I do have to admit that after the fifteenth-floor boss . . . prelude or whatever that was, all the guards who were with me were showing much better control over their mana and magic. Three of the newer guards even managed to break into tier two, while some of the senior members stated being close to a breakthrough to tier three.

I tightened my grip on my new lance. I had tested it a bit and found it was a more controllable version of the ancient device. Some of the engineers had started to drool as they’d examined the weapon back at the embassy. It possessed all the same functions, but I knew there was more to unlock. The image of the other me from the illusion using the ancient devices in unique ways flashed through my mind.

Next was the armor. While it only appeared to cover from my waist up, it had a barrier of some kind that reacted much like a set of plate leggings would. I couldn’t test that feature extensively without risking my legs, but it had withstood Sasori’s barrage and I could tell she wasn’t holding back toward the end.

The wings were a nice addition, letting me cross the valley in minutes, or in seconds if I really pushed the mana. When they were in their clock form, I did attract a lot of attention, but mostly in awe from others. I was ready to face whatever was going to be thrown at us in the next few levels.

The wall slid back as the floor opened up to us. Like the last floors, I thought we were outside at first as a large forest opened up to us. The trees were a kind I had never seen before, with silver leaves that appeared very sharp. The air was damp, making me think that this was how it would feel at some of the southern forests I’d heard about when I was younger.

We didn’t see any threats as we moved deeper into the forest. I was wondering what the challenge of this floor could be when I noticed Morita move toward one of the trees. I trusted her and knew she wouldn’t do anything rash. I called the group to a stop and waited for her.

She placed her hand on the tree, and a moment later I felt a surge of mana from the tree and her as arcs of lightning started jumping between it and her body. One of the guards started to rush forward, but I quickly held him back. I could see she wasn’t in any danger.

“Princess Izora! This place is amazing for lightning users!” she finally called after maybe five minutes.

“I could see you were enjoying yourself.” I chuckled.

“My apologies. The mana was just so pure that I couldn’t resist. As you know, lightning mana is hard to cultivate safely. I didn’t have to worry about my skin burning off when channeling it here,” Morita said flatly.

“That means the voltage is low enough,” I said, thinking about the book on electricity that Vern had made me read.

“I’ll be visiting this place regularly from now on.” Morita smiled, looking back at the tree she was using.

“We still have to be sure there aren’t any threats,” Hatsu warned her.

“I know, but we’ve been in this outer reach for almost twenty minutes and nothing has bothered us. Even if I cultivate mana out here, I’ll still gain a decent boost to my cultivation. Not to mention how deep we are,” Morita replied quickly.

“Let’s move on and actually find out what this floor has to offer,” I said, turning back to the main forest. “But I feel this floor was made with a particular person in mind,” I joked and everyone chuckled and nodded at that.

After another ten minutes of the same thing, we found something new. It looked like a ruined temple that had been here for several centuries. We approached cautiously in case there were traps. One of the guards scouted inside. After a few minutes, he came back out, waving us inside.

I could tell that the temple would have been a grand place back in its heyday. The inside could easily fit a hundred people. In the center was a large statue of a man with a lightning bolt. In his other hand he held a tablet. Morita jumped up the platform to read it out loud.

“Strike my bolt!

Strike and a storm to grant you power will come!

Strike my bolt!

Strike and let your will be known to all!

Strike my bolt!”

“I think it wants us to use lightning on the bolt,” Tsuzuki suggested.

“I agree, I’m beginning to think this really was a floor made for a certain someone. It is probably safe, so let us hurry and move on to the next one,” I said after considering it for a moment. “Morita, you can come back later to test it out,” I called when I saw her looking slightly depressed.

“Yes, Princess,” she answered, quickly jumping down.

The exit to the next floor was on the opposite side of this one. As I’d figured, the floor was completely safe, especially for lightning users. Morita looked like she was having the time of her life while here. I just shook my head and pushed open the door to the next floor.

Another forest greeted us, only this one looked . . . normal, with an abundance of terra and nature mana in the air. In the distance I made out a dome-shaped mountain. There appeared to be a snowstorm raging around the top. I gulped, worried that the entrance to the next floor was up there.

“Princess, there is a path to the left,” Sasori said.

I moved next to her and sure enough there was a path that led along the edge of the room. Looking back over the massive floor, I decided that Lord Regan must have created this floor for people to cultivate mana as a team. I could tell right now that even a Water mage would have trouble surviving that snowstorm for long.

We made our way around the mountain without any trouble. Some of the guards said they would want to return later and cultivate mana if it was allowed. I agreed to it as long as they came in groups. The floor was safe, but halfway through there was a quake that caused cracks to form in the ground that quickly resealed. I wouldn’t want someone to be by themselves and get trapped or, worse, crushed. We reached the entrance to the next floor after only a few minutes.

“I wonder how many floors Lord Regan has to be able to have floors that offer no resistance to adventurers?” Tsuzuki asked when we reached the door.

“His power far exceeds that of a normal dungeon. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was in the triple digits by now. Plus, he has the Heaven floor,” I said, remembering the structure that inhabited the area outside the planet.

“That is indeed true. I would like to see how the Celestials are taking his presence. Even in our records, they had plans that stretched for centuries. I can only imagine that Lord Regan is like a colossal wrench hitting their engine.” Tsuzuki snickered.

“Serves them right,” I scoffed. All our collected history showed the Celestials causing just as much harm as good. The fact that our world was suffering due to Lelune was enough reason for me to want to curse the lot of them.

The group made its way down to the eighteenth floor, where we entered a large cavern that appeared to stretch on for kilometers. I knew of dungeons that made massive almost space-defying structures underground, but Lord Regan really took it to the next level. Just the last floor alone must have been at least four kilometers in height. Adding all the previous floors, if I did my math right, it put us around twenty kilometers beneath the surface.

I was amazed at the level of magic required to keep this place intact. Dungeons had been created when the World Spirit came into being. Everyone knew they cleansed the mana of the world, but no one was sure why the mortal races’ mana was poisonous to the World Spirit to begin with. It was one of the biggest mysteries for the Mages Guild.

This floor looked like an enlarged version of the sixth floor. It was a giant mine with building-size automata that were digging out large sections of the walls and floors. If Lord Regan was able to use all the material that we saw mined in just the few minutes we were standing here, then he must have had an army that could match either the kingdom or empire.

In the center of the room was what looked like a town. It had a dirty look to it, made from metal and covered in dirt and soot. I could just make out smaller automata working around the area. We set out toward it as I reminded everyone: no hostile action. If this was another mining floor, then we would be perfectly safe.

It took us nearly half an hour to make it down the edge of the mine. From the entrance, the ground looked relatively flat, but once we actually started moving down, it turned treacherous. We reached the bottom of the mine and started heading toward the small town with only one guard getting a bruise when the rock he was standing on gave out and he slid nearly twenty meters in a small rockslide.

We were halfway to the town when we saw a sign. It was rather obnoxious with flashing lights and words that changed colors every couple of seconds. We had to get closer to read it since it was hard to focus on from far away.

“Greetings Adventurers! Feel free to mine here much like you did on floor six. DO NOT go near the BWEs. They will attack you based on proximity. This has been your one and only warning. The depot in the center will provide you access to the next floor, but the BWEs do drop their load there once every few hours.”

“Seriously, who would purposely piss off one of those things?” Sasori asked, shaking her head and laughing.

I had to agree. Even from here I could tell they weren’t something to mess with lightly. Not only were they huge, but they had several other smaller automata crawling over them. My guess was it would be like trying to siege a castle if a party attacked one of those. It looked like the depot, as the sign labeled it, was clear for now, so we picked up our pace to reach it before one of the BWEs started heading toward it.

We made it a few minutes later. Not that hard when a party of adventurers actually starts moving at their max speed. The automata in the depot gave us a cursory glance, then went back to what they were doing. I looked around but saw no hint of where the next floor entrance was. Deciding not to waste time, I moved toward the nearest automaton.

It looked like a cross between a miner and a gnome tinkerer. The automaton possessed several dozen tools all over its body and was covered in the dirt and grime that came with mining for many long hours of the day. It was working on a jumble of wires and tubes when it noticed me approaching. It stopped its work and gazed at me as I closed the distance.

“Excuse me. Can I bother you for a moment?” I asked politely.

“What does the Selected want with me?” the automaton asked in a deadpan voice.

“Selected?” I asked, caught off guard.

“Servant of the Creator. Receiver of his Favor,” it replied.

A little confused, I replied, “Ah. He is a great being that I have decided to give my all to. I do not think he has given me much of his favor, however.”

The automaton glanced at my back before he said, “Then you do not respect the gift that has been given to you.”

The memory of Lord Regan’s mana flooding my body flashed to mind, making me both blush and twinge a bit from the echo of the pain. I supposed to the members of Lord Regan’s dungeon, it would appear that he had favored me quite a bit. I’d have to remember that for the future.

“I apologize. My mind slipped a bit. Of course, I’m thankful for the blessing that my lord has given me. That is why I’m trying to prove my people are worthy of it,” I said with a curtsy.

The automaton just stared at me, then pointed toward a building toward the center of the town. “A device that will send you to the next floor is inside.”

“Thank you,” I said, bowing my head.

We rushed over to the building as one of the guards noticed that a BWE was heading toward the depot. I had no desire for my people to try to fight such a thing, so I hurried them into the building. Inside there was a platform much like the elevator. We rushed to the top of the platform, then I hit the only rune I could find. There was a flash of light, and I blinked as spots appeared in my eyes.

Looking around after my vision cleared, I couldn’t see anything different about the room we stood in. Two of the guards moved carefully to the doorway and searched the area. They paused for a few seconds before they turned around.

“Princess, you need to see this,” one of the guards called.

I made my way over to look out of the entrance, gaping at what I saw. There was a city sprawling from the building we were looking out from. A layer of fog coiled through the air that made it hard to see far. I couldn’t even make out the ceiling from where we were, but I knew we must be underground.

A group of figures emerged from the fog a ways down the street. They were hard to make out, so I told everyone to be ready for anything. As the group got closer, I started catching more details. They wore gritty metal armor that covered most of their bodies. I wasn’t sure what it was, but something told me that they weren’t automata. As I watched I realized that it was the way they moved, more random than the way automata normally ran or moved around at all. The group of people stopped in front of us.

“Look here. We finally have some guests! It took them long enough, but given the power of the boss it makes sense.” The foremost figure laughed loudly.

“Where are we?” I asked carefully.

“You’re on the twentieth floor! The goblin City of Gears!” he shouted happily, pulling off his helmet.

I took a step back when I saw green skin. It was smooth like a human’s, and they looked more civilized than any goblin I had ever seen in my life. They wielded armor and weapons that echoed a lesser version of what Lord Regan might create. One of the goblins had a large weapon that looked like seven or eight of our air rifles welded together.

“Alphonso Genkins!” one of the goblins suddenly shouted, and there was a massive explosion of light, blinding everyone in the area, other goblins included.

“Damn it! Alphonso! They’re guests until they attack!” the leader goblin shouted angrily.

Chapter 5

Regan

Watching my forces gathered on the Deadlands side of the portal, I was impressed to say the least at the seemingly unending army marching through the portal to stand at the ready. I hoped it curled the toes of any of my would-be watchers from the necromancer side. They did possess a significant army of their own, but unlike mine, theirs required dead bodies to create.

According to Julie and Wrakras and what we’d learned in the labs, the undead were pretty fragile without a necromancer actively feeding them unholy mana. They could generate it on their own, but it was less pure than a necromancer’s. That was why the undead near the edge of the north were so degraded. They had gone too long without pure unholy mana and were feeding off the ambient unholy mana.

The Treants pulled their mana from the dryad, which acted more like a giant necromancer. Some of my stationed forces already reported that the few Treants that had survived and also somehow avoided the call were rotting even faster than the undead could take them. They were quite large, after all, and required something like a dryad to maintain their form. I wondered if that was due to the dryad’s original formation as a nature mana creature.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and looked back to the field in front of me. Two of the harvester ships had emptied their bays, with the third well on its way. That gave me six thousand units that were ready to march full force on the north, and the number was still increasing. Unlike mortals my forces didn’t get tired, didn’t need food, and thanks to the Anubis filter they used to “breathe” in mana, they wouldn’t get corrupted by the ambient unholy mana.

I really needed to thank the labs for that one. They’d taken Anubis’s metal and hit the ground running with it. They’d created weapons, armor, the filters, and a manner of other devices to counter the unholy mana, mostly all thanks to Jarvis.

When I’d moved Jarvis to the Zeta, I fully intended for him to treat it like a battleship, as that was how it was designed. Shortly after he took command of it, he quickly converted the thing to a very heavily armed research ship. He took some of the bottom turrets and converted them to tractor beams so that he could literally snatch samples up without having to send out his crew. Those would then be sent to the labs on Alpha or his own personal labs, which he’d added to the ship.

The third harvester’s forces started to come through the portal. These were the big toys. Hover tanks, large mechs of all shapes and sizes, and the generator vehicles approached and started lining up along the other forces. When the third harvester was empty and its forces all on our side, I started splitting the forces into battalions.

There was a command automaton assigned to each battalion that would control the units. It was linked back to the command center in Alpha so I could control them at a moment’s notice. You have to love satellite uplinks. They took a little tinkering, but I managed to get the signal through the ambient mana that acted like a barrier for the planet, as well as through the unholy mana that corrupted everything it touched.

There was still a bit of time as the army organized itself, so I decided to check on Ren since her duties as the corrupted beastkin leader were quickly reaching levels I wasn’t sure she was prepared for. There were nearly a thousand down there now, and the group was slowly growing. Every time the fleet moved even a kilometer, we would find some more holed up in caves or rudimentary tree houses.

I teleported to her island after I mentally looked for her and found her in the village leader’s hut or building, whichever you wanted to call it. The other beastkin had built it for her out of . . . respect, I think. She was devoted, though, and used it. The only thing out of place were the large obelisks that lined the mud streets.

These were similar to the ones up on the surface in the town, only without most of the rules. Designed to filter the unholy mana from their bodies ever so slowly, if they were at a hundred, then it pulled a point from them a day. Many would take nearly a year to recover completely, but I wasn’t sure at which point would they regain more control over their mental faculties.

A few were so far gone that it would take them over two years to recover. I had wondered if it might be easier to just put those down, but Ren said that she would take responsibility for them until all were recovered. I couldn’t exactly ignore the girl’s determination.

“Ren! Are you busy?” I called from the entrance to her hut.

The other beastkin had learned last time I visited not to test me. Most were shrinking away in fear when they saw me. I noticed a few of the new ones eyeing me, but they wisely took in the others’ reactions and backed away as well. You had to love pack societies.

“Master Regan. What can I do for you?” Ren asked as she appeared from inside the hut. She was fully armed and armored, and from what I saw she stayed like that almost every hour of the day. She never knew when she was going to get a challenge, after all. When she slept, she activated the sigil I’d installed in her room to create a barrier around her house. Echo also guarded the hut at night.

It looked like leadership suited her. She stood up straighter than when she’d first come to me. There was an energy that permeated the air around her. I wasn’t sure if it was the removal of the unholy mana in the air she breathed or if she was a natural leader, but it was working for her. I wished for a few more like her, but none of the other beastkin from the north had come anywhere near her level of mental facility.

“I wanted to check on you. We’re about to restart the invasion and I wanted to make sure you were ready for some more . . . citizens.” I smiled.

“Oh yes. We can handle quite a few more. The fields created on the island are growing like wildfire, and many of the corrupted are more than content when they have a full belly. From what I have learned so far, they really only live based on instinct. Some of the ones that are young, less than five years, have already started showing signs of recovery since you erected those pillars,” Ren said in a ramble, clearly excited.

“So, you were able to get them to farm?” I asked.

“Yes. It took a day or two, but when I made a small garden that created enough food for five people overnight the rest quickly caught on,” Ren said as she started pulling me toward the fields. “Especially the older ones, I feel like their memory is still there, just clouded.”

I smiled at the teenager, acting like a, well, teenager. I was glad she was able to let go of her time in the north a little and was currently embracing her new life. Not only did she lose her parents at a young age, but she was forced to survive on her own in a monster- and undead-infested land. I had to give her credit.

“That’s good news. Honestly, better news than I was expecting,” I said as we emerged from a tree line into a cleared field.

It was literally growing before my eyes. The dungeon mana was being converted to nature mana as the plants were pulling it in like sunlight. The nutrients in the soil were also being refreshed as they were pulled out. The plants didn’t have their usual restrictions that they usually would have on the surface.

“Echo did a lot of the work. Without him this field would be half its size,” Ren said, turning a sweet girlish smile toward the large robot, which was tilling a stretch of land at the moment.

“This is right up his alley. Easier really,” I said, laughing at the mining robot being used to till a field. But it was just one and they weren’t too busy right now anyway. Most of his brothers were digging what could be called ant trails through the mountain looking for materials or resources, or hell, even ruins. A race like the Arcarins would have had a large presence on the planet before leaving, and mountains are a good place to look since they are more consistent over the years than other types of landmasses.

Ren was looking at me with wide eyes. “I really can’t thank you enough for letting him work with me.”

“Trust me, without you these people would most likely be sitting in large cells. You’re worth your weight in gold,” I said, patting her head. “In fact, I want to reward you. Is there anything you want?”

Her wide eyes grew wider for a moment, then she put her chin in her hand in a thinking pose. I gazed around as she thought. I could tell some of the beastkin were doing better than others. There were those that walked around boldly, while there were also those that looked like frightened animals, jumping at the tiniest of sounds. I really hoped these people would recover in the future.

“I would like Echo to be able to talk,” Ren said finally.

“Echo to talk, huh,” I replied.

It wasn’t outside what I expected but posed one of the harder options. It’s one thing to install something like a voice box, but then his systems had to be able to use it. I would just have to try to see what happened. I sent a command to Echo to come over. He stopped pulling his hand along the ground and walked toward us.

“Echo! Master Regan is going to make it where you can talk,” Ren said quickly when he reached us.

“Is that ok?” I asked him. I got a nod in response.

I nodded back, then had him sit down so I could reach his head and neck area. Being careful not to damage anything, I pulled the plate covering his neck off and went to work. Echo was built to mine and all his parts were bulky and robust so that he could survive a cave-in or other accidents that might happen in a fantasy world with monsters.

I created a voice synthesizer. It would sound weird for a while until his mental magic script adjusted and learned how to use it properly. I would guess that if he broke through soon, he would gain much better control over his voice. Gray had gained speech when he’d broken through thanks to his connection with Anna. So, desire went a long way to controlling what happened when you broke through. I carefully added the Speech magic script to his brain, then reattached the metal plate to his head and neck, then I patted his giant back.

“Alright. Try to say something.”

“REENNNN!!!” A screeching sound emerged from him that had Ren and all the other beastkins holding their ears in pain. I quickly snapped my fingers to kill the sound before it could travel farther.

“You have to take volume into account. You should know how to do this if you concentrate a bit. After that calmly and carefully think about what you want to say,” I explained.

“R . . . E . . . E . . . N . . .” Echo said again, still loudly, but at a shout level rather than an attack level.

“Yes? Echo?” Ren asked, still rubbing her ears.

“I HELP?” Echo asked, the volume going down some more.

“Of course! I couldn’t do this without you,” Ren said. She climbed up his back and moved to sit on his shoulder. “We’re partners!”

“PART-ners,” Echo said, finally reaching conversational levels.

“I’m also happy with you here rather than out in the tunnels,” I added.

Echo looked at me, then just nodded before turning back to Ren. I shook my head. These robots were going to be the death of me. At least the locals were taking to them. It was also fascinating to actively watch rather than sit in a tower all day as you knew the world was going to crap around you.

“Creator said it good I here,” Echo said to Ren.

“I know, I heard him,” Ren said, giggling at his speech.

“Alright. I’m sure you two have some heart-to-heart to do, so the old man will get out of the way. Ren, Echo, keep up the good work. Echo, make sure to keep her safe,” I said with a smile.

“No one touch Ren! No one hurt Ren!” Echo shouted.

“Good.” I moved back to the forces staging area.

The command automata were standing at attention when I finished teleporting. I looked over the arranged forces and nodded. The necromancers were going to regret ever being alive. I switched mental gears and stood tall.

With a grand gesture, I shouted, “MOVE OUT!”

The command automata saluted and teleported to their command mechs, large eight-legged constructions that were armored enough to survive a nuke on Earth, and big enough to house nearly a hundred other automata. The biggest thing was the massive generator inside that would keep their battalion powered.

I grinned evilly as my forces bulldozed a path through the forest. There were four battalions. Only two dryads remained on the path to Alara. The rest surrounded her in a sort of protective barrier. I was already working on how I was going to launch a coordinated attack on them. I would most likely need to do something to drain Alara in case they were able to link her mana reserves to the dryads in a giant network. Well, they could adapt to me, they better be ready for me to adapt to them.

Chapter 6

Izora

After the goblin Alphonso was scolded by his superior, we made our way into the city, led by the goblin squad. The city was amazing. Technology completely different from the gnomes’ but on a level that was equal to or even higher than ours infused the city at every turn. Goblins that reminded me more of humans by the way they carried themselves could be seen everywhere. This was truly a goblin city.

I couldn’t yet tell the size of the floor, but it had to be at least a kilometer if not more. I supposed that Lord Regan could create the food to feed such a city from mana, but I doubted he would allow the boosted properties of dungeon soil to go to waste. In fact, I knew he already made use of it for his restaurant, so a few large fields should have been able to feed a city of this size.

The buildings were all of a material that looked easy to build with but wasn’t just straight terra magic molded into the shape of a building. Magic allowed buildings to be created quickly, but they tended to lack a certain character. These all looked like they were created by someone who took several months working on them. The road we were on could easily allow six or so carriages to pass each other and still have room for pedestrians.

I got a report that a man found blueprints for a large building in the fort town on the ninth floor and wondered if I could acquire anything like that here. Just the large-scale use of glass was amazing. Every building possessed some, and one building that took up part of the view in the distance almost looked to be made completely of glass.

“Is there going to be an escort for every party that reaches this level?” I asked as we walked.

“No. We’re assigned to escort the first few parties so that any adventurers that reach this floor don’t start outright killing the civilian goblins,” the lead goblin explained with a weird accent.

“So, this is a safe zone?” I asked excitedly.

“Hmm, as safe as free-willed beings can be around one another.”

He looked like he was about to say something else when a large metal leg crashed down on the street from around the corner of the building we were passing. Soon three more metal legs joined the first, and a large metal construct moved completely into view. The image of the mechs that Lord Regan used in the north flashed through my mind.

I could tell this one was a bit cruder than his, but it was still formidable. It was a four-legged machine that reminded me of a spider, and at a glance several weapons were visible. I was more surprised that it appeared to have seen combat, as it had jagged scars and places that had been patched roughly. Part of me was excited about learning about the mechs. I really hoped that Lord Regan made it so that people who earned it could learn from the goblins.

“OH! Cruz! We finally get some guests?!” a voice called from the mech as it came to a stop in front of us. I was glad it did, giving me a chance to take in more of its construction. I always regretted that I couldn’t devote more time to tinker, having to study statecraft instead.

“Ah! Trenno! Yeah, they just came through. They aren’t giving us trouble, but want to escort us?” Cruz, the goblin leader, shouted back.

“Sure thing! The people need to know that goblin tech is back and will soon be stronger than ever!” The mech pilot Trenno laughed.

“Lord Regan really managed to fix your race, then?!” I asked excitedly once we got back underway.

Cruz eyed me for a moment, then said, “I can see you’re a Selected. Yes, he was able to fix us partially. The world curse on us still very much affects us, but it can’t reach us here. If you take a moment, you would be able to realize that there is no ambient mana here.”

I took a deep breath while trying to pull mana in, and sure enough there was a completely different . . . taste from usual. I knew this taste though. It was Lord Regan’s. I had channeled it enough to remember it. Some of the others tried as well, and most started to cough like they’d pulled in a mouthful of dry air.

“Tsuzuki, how is it?” I asked when he reacted the least.

“Very . . . interesting to say the least. I felt I could cultivate mana with it, but it would take a while to adjust my body to it. It would be hard to leave and come back often,” he answered.

“I like it! Reminds me of home,” Sasori said, taking another deep breath. “Especially near the generator rooms.”

“Interesting. Now that you mention it.” Tsuzuki pulled in another deep breath.

Cruz interrupted us. “You have plenty of time to worry about that later. You’re about to meet the godfather. I recommend being polite.”

He pointed at a grand building. It looked like a mansion that had been magnified a few hundred times and covered such a large amount of space that I couldn’t take the whole thing in with one glance. Large gates opened for us as we approached, and two goblin . . . butlers bowed as they held the gate for us.

The grounds were amazing as well. For a moment, I completely forgot that we were underground and in the middle of a city. Neatly manicured gardens, trees, gravel paths, and stone sculptures decorated the yards as we walked to the entrance of the grand building. I had to close my mouth several times at the magnificent sight.

As we approached, two lines of goblins met us, a line of butlers and the other of maids. Even as goblins they had a beauty that would be hard to top even on the surface. They reminded me of elves but with green skin. They bowed as we passed, and the two at the end of each line moved to open the giant wooden doors. I had to shake my head when I noticed pulsing green lines that etched out runes. Surely it wasn’t mithril.

We gathered in the entrance hall, not really sure what to do from here. There were two halls and a grand staircase that led to the next floor, but I didn’t want to make anyone mad by exploring on our own. My people were relaxed at least, though I wasn’t sure I liked that, but it wouldn’t do much good for them to be hostile to everything that moved. I just sighed and let it go for now.

“Will the leader please follow me? The godfather would like to meet you,” said a goblin that was quite honestly more handsome than any man I had seen on the surface.

He had long silver hair that reached the small of his back and was tied up in a ponytail. His face was . . . perfect, with a strong but gentle jawline, softly glowing purple eyes, and a nicely shaped nose. He was wearing a suit that accented his body in all the right places.

“Princess?” Tsuzuki asked.

“Huh? Ah! Yes, that would be me,” I stammered quickly. I could feel the others’ gazes on my back as a blush crept over my cheeks. “Is it alright if I bring two along with me?” I asked.

“Of course,” the handsome goblin answered with a smile that showed perfect white teeth and may have burned a few of my nerve endings.

I coughed and waved Tsuzuki and Hatsu forward. I needed both my main mage and guard with me. We were walking into something that I wanted to be sure we walked out of. The goblin gestured with a slight bow up the grand staircase, then turned and walked ahead of us.

Decorating the hallway we walked down were tons of gold statues and other types of artwork that looked like they were created by master hands. Sure enough, many other rooms lined the halls as well that could easily house several hundred people comfortably. It made me want to make Jade Wind much grander in the future when I took over as queen. My foot faltered for a moment at that thought.

“Lady? Are you alright?” the embodiment of beauty asked with a light smile.

“I’m fine. The majesty of this place is just overwhelming,” I said quickly.

I shook my head. I always knew I was going to be queen someday. Sure, some days I looked forward to it more than others, but I never didn’t want to be queen. I just never knew I would meet someone like Lord Regan. I didn’t want to part with him. Maybe I could move the city over the valley, I thought idly. I had some serious thinking to do in the future.

We finally reached a room that lay toward the end of the right wing. The doors weren’t quite as grand as the entrance’s, but they were clearly for showing off the individual named the godfather’s power and influence. Four goblins, each armed with different weapons, stood guard. Three of them had weapons similar to our air rifles in design but with a round drum attached toward the middle. The last one possessed what looked like a sword hilt on his belt, but I couldn’t see an actual sheath.

“One lady and company to see the godfather,” our escort said. His face wasn’t distracting me this time, but that made me realize that his voice was like honey or silver.

One of the guards pressed a button on the wall and said something in a different language. It was like the goblin’s language that was still used on the surface but sounded like it had developed for two thousand years. I heard a click and one of the guards held the door open for us. I nodded to the guards as I moved past them.

The new room was a large office. There were fewer decorations in here, but the few presented were obviously a show of power. Two of the walls were covered in weapons, all kinds of guns and rifles and so many that I wasn’t sure how much firepower was actually represented. The last wall was filled with bookshelves. The language was the same Lord Regan printed his books in.

The one thing in the room that quickly grabbed my eye was the goblin sitting behind a large desk in the center. He was wearing a suit that managed to be nicer than the one our escort was wearing. There was a large cigar in his hand, and he looked pleased to see us.

“Adventurers, I want to welcome you to my humble abode,” the older-looking goblin said with a gesture around him. He pulled a drag from his cigar. “The boss wanted me to greet the first few groups to the floor to spread the word that we won’t attack unless provoked. As you can see, we aren’t like our sick brothers and sisters from the surface. You may call me Tony,” he finished with another pull from the cigar.

“I want to thank you for the amazing welcome we’ve received, Tony,” I said with a deep bow.

“I guess I’m not surprised a Selected made it here first.” He chuckled.

“I’ve been hearing that all day,” I said with a chuckle of my own.

“Again, I’m not surprised. Depending on what floor you’re on, the treatment you receive might change.” His tone was light, not a threat.

“Yay me?”

“Indeed. Now, if you plan to go back to your . . .” Tony started to say when one of the guards walked in. He moved over and whispered something to Tony. “Is that so. Thank you,” he said to the guard, then looked back to me. “It appears I already owe you a debt.”

“Debt? What do you mean?” I asked, truly confused. I couldn’t remember doing anything to earn a debt so soon after entering the city.

“It appears Alphonso attacked you soon after you entered the city. While no harm was done, this could leave a bad mark on future proceedings,” Tony said, taking a drag.

I waved him off. “Please. There’s no reason to be worried about that. Like you said, no harm was done.”

“Are you saying I should overlook a debt?” Tony growled.

“Umm, no,” I said, caught off guard.

“Sir, calm down,” the handsome goblin said. I didn’t realize he had moved next to Tony.

“Ah, sorry, Owen,” he said, then looked back to me. “That’s not how things work here. We’ll do this—you take Alphonso with you as a servant for now. Once he works for you for a . . . let’s say a month for now, then he can come back.”

I had a feeling I was getting the short end of this stick, but I didn’t want to make it worse. “Alright, sounds good,” I agreed with a tight smile.

We talked for a while longer about the rules and laws of the city. Adventurers could buy buildings in the city for mana if the building wasn’t already occupied. There was a no-killing policy, which I was glad about, but Tony did warn me that wouldn’t prevent people who got into a fight from being beat to within an inch of their life. He had a very feral grin when he said it, his fangs poking out partially.

“With that, please enjoy your stay, Princess Izora,” Tony finished with that uncomfortable grin.

Owen led us out after that. Privately I wished that Tony had lent us him instead of Alphonso, but at least it was only a month. I would have to try to get him sent back earlier—I just had a feeling it was going to be trouble.

Chapter 7

Louella

It was the day after I sent my father to jail. That act alone had been very satisfying, until the woman I thought of as the root of evil came to get him free. I straight up told her to leave or I would throw her in with him. She had a sour face but left without pushing her luck. I wanted to find a reason to have her taken away as well, but I tried to remain as civil as possible.

I really wanted to have a day to myself. A day to just lie in bed and stare at the ceiling, but my duties called. A list long enough to keep me busy for the foreseeable future. My staff in the castle grew more competent by the day, which I had the schools being opened around the city to thank for. Regan may have been big on allowing access to knowledge, but that didn’t mean everyone learned as well as others. Some of the more engaging individuals were able to pass on knowledge in easy-to-learn ways, which for some beat trying to learn from a book.

The biggest issue on the agenda was the Winter Welcome Festival. With how booming the town was it would almost be a crime not to hold it. The commoners and adventurers alike all enjoyed the festival, as a town would normally hold a grand feast if it could. Many of the forms on my desk were suggestions for the event.

The festival used to honor the god of kin, but since worship of Lelune had spread so much, many places were changing their target of devotion. It wasn’t unheard of, even before the demon wars, for gods to tend to be loose with their worshipers, caring more about the world itself.

I grabbed the engraved golden parchment from the top of the stack and was honestly not sure whether to laugh or cry when I first read it. The gnome embassy had sent a formal request to have Regan be the patron of the festival. I wasn’t sure I wanted that to go to his head. Izora being straightforward wasn’t new, but I worried this might go just a tad over the line for some people.

As I thought about Izora, I read a report that she had gone back into the dungeon this morning. After the last floor I’d experienced, I wasn’t sure I ever wanted to be a first diver ever again. Regan just threw too many unknowns around. No, next time I dove, I wanted a book written and certified by at least ten other adventurers. My hands were already full with the amount of power I’d amassed in the short time since knowing Regan. Someone else could have fun with it for a while.

I shook my head and pulled the plans for the festival forward. The Mages Guild wanted permission to hold a display and competition. It sounded like a good way for some of the rowdier people to show off while expending their energy. The last thing I wanted to deal with was a drunken mage with access to firestorms and terraquakes. A whole district of a town in Lecazar had been turned to rubble one night thanks to a mage with more power than wits who’d gotten drunk.

There was, of course, the feast that needed to be planned. As the lord I would be footing the bill, but in turn that meant I wanted everyone to bring out their best work. At least thanks to Regan’s library we would have a considerable increase in quality compared to the previous feasts I remembered.

“Little lady, you have a guest,” Wrakras called from the hall.

“Send them in,” I said with a sigh. I was confident I was more powerful than him now, but that didn’t stop him from treating me like a child. It only made it worse that I couldn’t see his face behind the mask he always wore.

A moment later, Lines strode into my office without much hesitation. He was dressed the same as last time, though the black bags under his eyes made him look like he was missing a few nights of sleep. He still radiated a sort of energy that spoke volumes about how seriously he took his position.

“Lady Louella, thank you for seeing me,” Lines said with a bow.

“It’s not a problem. What is it?” I asked curiously.

“Yes . . . We may have a situation. I felt it was a good idea to inform you.” He sat down, looking quite tired. I could only wonder what could cause him to miss so much sleep. I just hoped it didn’t affect my valley.

“Go ahead,” I said, then waved to Wrakras. He pulled the door shut as he came inside.

“A few nights ago, a town was attacked . . . or liberated, it really depends on how you look at it. The lord was slaughtered to the point that only his head remained. The assailant claimed that the lord was a necromancer supporter, but . . . anyway, to support their claim they gave a few parties in the town a weapon that allowed them to not only defend themselves but also detect the necromancers still remaining in the town.” He sighed.

“That sounds like compelling evidence in itself,” I said, resting my chin on my hand as I leaned forward. This had Regan written all over it.

“I also agree. The other nobles, however . . . do not. Thonaca is entering a state of civil defense. I felt I should warn you because you are from Lecazar and may be judged more . . . harshly than is otherwise necessary.” Lines was actually frowning for once. The change in expression did work to make him seem more human.

“At least I have you as a voice. Haven’t you been inspecting the valley from top to bottom this past week?” I smiled lightly at the thought. Even with his investigation, he’d cause less problems than the nobles.

“Indeed. The king will heed my counsel. I haven’t received any news of the second dog that was supposed to be working this case with me, which worries me,” he said, lines forming on his brow.

My eyes widened. “This second dog wouldn’t happen to be named Quin, would she?” I asked quietly.

“Yes, that is the name. Why?” His tone was tense.

“She pissed me off, as well as Regan. He caused her quite a bit of pain while he . . . questioned her,” I answered with a soft growl.

Lines actually slumped in his seat with his head in his hands. I wasn’t sure if he wanted to laugh, cry, or just moan from what I could only assume was a now large amount of stress. I quickly waved to Wrakras, and he smiled with a nod and stepped over to a table to the side of the room. He poured a glass of what Regan called dungeon whiskey. It automatically refilled every night, and I had taken to drinking a few glasses when I was actually able to work in my office.

“Sir,” Wrakras said lightly, handing the glass to Lines.

“Thanks,” Lines mumbled as he took the drink.

Wrakras moved over and handed me a glass as well. I thanked him with a nod and took a sip. It felt cool, then hot as it touched my tongue. As the sweetness drifted through the warmth of the drink, my nerves relaxed. The alcohol always brought a little smile to my face as it took the edge from my more stressful days.

“Where does this leave me, Sir Lines?” I asked once he’d drunk a few sips.

“The situation could go many ways, to be truthful. I personally hope you showed that woman her place, but I doubt she’ll let something like that go. No . . . The more likely response is that she will blame our current case on you and your friend. And unfortunately, she possesses more pull with the king than I do,” Lines answered, leaning forward as he thought it through.

“And what, Sir Lines, would be the king’s response to such information?” I asked with a straight face.

“Destruction,” he replied with a small smile.

I tapped my chin. This was . . . I wanted to say “bad,” but something inside myself just didn’t care. I’d fled to Thonaca because I couldn’t do anything in Lecazar, and my stepmother . . . Father, would have always hounded me if I’d stayed. This wasn’t the case anymore. I possessed a power that was hard to equal for someone my age. If I practiced more, I would become unmatched by all but a few.

Then there was Regan. He was a walking legendary-grade magic weapon that could level cities if he got serious. Who could have an army that could match anything the kingdom could throw at him and didn’t have to feed them or even pay them? I had been lord the entire time he’d been building his dungeon. I honestly worried about the mortal races if some of the other nobles tried to get him to do what they wanted.

The dungeon itself would allow the valley to be self-sufficient even if they cut us off. I didn’t see the two countries working together to deal with us, but it was always a possibility. That would be interesting to see in its own right. Even with that thought I still wasn’t too worried about it coming to a war. The adventurers and citizens who came here wouldn’t fight the war, but my martial forces grew by the day from people looking to make money or relocating here due to the rumors of a better life.

I leaned back in my chair and smiled widely. “Let them come.”

“Are you crazy?” Lines asked skeptically.

“No. Not that I blame you for thinking as much. Let’s just say I know the cards I have to play, and I’m in possession of a very nice hand.” I chuckled. It sounded like something Regan might say.

“Ah, I can’t see this ending well . . .” Lines mumbled as he shook his head.

Darr

The airship quickly gained distance from the fleet. It felt odd to be left in charge over what could be an important mission. I would much rather have been in the mech bay working on Bervin. He was my masterpiece, after all.

He could crush anything in the same tier as him and easily give one tier higher a run for their money. If I used the labs’ chart, then my mech Bervin would be end tier two. That was before I included all the ideas I had about him almost on a daily basis. I felt he would truly be formidable in the future.

“I’ll just call this mission a trial run for Bervin,” I mumbled.

“What was that, ma’am?” the goblin at the controls asked.

“Nothing. How much farther?” I asked, walking to stand next to him.

“According to the maps the boss gave us, it shouldn’t be more than a day away. We may possibly even be there tonight. We are putting out a lot of speed,” the pilot answered, glancing at his charts.

“Good. Try to aim for the morning. From the report I got, it sounds like they are firmly entrenched in the dungeon, and we won’t have to worry about friendly fire. That doesn’t mean I want to send our forces in without the sun on our side,” I said, more to myself than the pilot.

“Understood, ma’am.” The pilot nodded, then focused back on the sky flying by.

“Keep comms up. I’m going to inspect the mechs,” I ordered and left the bridge.

The ship was large for us but small compared to others that Boss had created. It could easily house the crew of forty goblins that Boss had assigned to me. Most of the space was taken by the cargo and mech bays. There were almost enough mechs for the entire crew. We needed them to actually go outside, after all. A few of the other engineers were moving around the mechs as they did precombat checks and prep.

“How’s it going, boys?” I called to the three that were working on one of the mechs.

“Ma’am! All green for the kids! Need to use the material ammo sparingly, only have a few hundred thousand. We can’t have you getting trigger-happy,” Terry, the lead mechanic, called as he leaned over the railing.

“I’ll stick to energy weapons . . . Honestly, I’m a little afraid to use those antimatter rounds the boss gave us,” I said as I climbed the ladder to join him on the scaffold.

“I was reading the notes that came with them. They’re some serious shit. Need to use them on enemies we deem too strong to fight conventionally. Apparently, they can rip a hole through most materials,” Terry agreed.

“Boss is amazing!” I said, thinking about him scolding me earlier.

He was scary, that was for sure, but he was so powerful. The ultimate machine! I got shivers just thinking about those perfectly aligned parts moving in his chest. I wondered if he would allow me to inspect them someday.

“Careful,” I heard Terry say.

“I know, I know. At least let me daydream,” I pouted.

“I don’t care if you daydream, just don’t do it about the one being that we owe everything to. Last thing I need to hear is how you pissed him off enough to take us down with you.”

I nodded and looked at the mech under us. It was humanoid but sized down to fit inside the dungeon. It stood three meters tall and about a meter wide in the shoulders. Made from an orichalcum alloy, it could withstand many levels of magic and physical attacks. While it was designed by goblins, Boss had manufactured them so they were much smoother than what a goblin would make. It was truly quite imposing.

There was an assortment of weapons it could be equipped with depending on what was called for. Blunt, sharp, projectile, and all the way to energy were available thanks to Boss. The mechs came with a limited barrier projector that could last for several minutes under intense fire before its own internal battery drained.

“We reach our destination in the morning. Make sure everything is triple-checked. This is the goblins’ first mission from the boss. I . . . we won’t fail him,” I ordered.

“Yes, ma’am. We’ll get it done!” Terry said with a grin that showed his fangs.

Chapter 8

Regan

The sound of dead and rotting trees being trampled echoed out as my forces moved through the undead forest. Units with teleport matrixes sent the debris back to the dungeon without much issue so that I could quickly absorb it. Of course, some of the dead and rotting stuff simply turned to ash a lot of the time after being crushed by the marching automata.

The number of beastkin had also exploded. This deep in, the corruption was much worse, but there were still large concentrations of them. I found that their survival rate depended on their having a leader with at least end-tier-two-level strength.

This also meant that Ren was receiving a lot of challenges right now. The combat was well taken by the girl, and I could feel her power increasing by the day. It appeared a lesser version of the mana absorption that my minions have on their defeated enemies was at work with her.

I did get some good news from Tony that some adventurers had finally reached the twentieth floor. I would need to expand the number of floors again soon. Unlike a traditional dungeon, I used mine more like a resource for outside ventures. So instead of fighting through forty floors to reach my core, a group would actually only have to fight through around twenty floors total.

My floating island section would be a decent block for many parties, but they could easily hire a mage who knew flight magic to get them across. Maybe I would make some wyverns or something to attack anything that was not supposed to be in the air. At least the island that led to the next set of floors wasn’t marked in any way other than by some ruins.

I shook my head and decided to worry about it later, doubting anyone would get through the goblin city in only a few days. It was still technically a boss floor. There were a few ways to get to the next floor, but all of them required dealing with Godfather Tony. Tony had a very large and encompassing love for coins.

I looked back to the screen. My forces were encircling Alara’s dryads. There was still one more on the path to her location, but the rest were all around her in a circle. I planned to launch a coordinated attack on all the dryads at once. Anubis was already prepped to teleport to each of the dryads once they were . . . incapacitated.

My forces would take a few days to surround the entire area that made up what I decided to call Alara’s “influence.” They were having to fight their way to each location, after all. Each commander unit was equipped with a few transponders to install at suitable locations. I didn’t have full control over them like my dungeon aura, but I could move my forces via teleporting much easier at those locations, mainly due to the unholy mana being weaker in those zones.

For now, I looked toward the one dryad that was still “in the way” of my path to Alara. I wasn’t even playing any games with this one. It was magnified on the screen, being over a hundred kilometers away. I wanted to see the necromancers deal with my attack this time. I looked over to Anubis.

“You ready? You won’t have much time and will most likely be under fire,” I said.

“Yes. With Father fully equipping my squad, I’ll be fine as long as it doesn’t detonate again. That shouldn’t happen with your plan.” Anubis grinned, his fangs shining in the light.

“Very well.” I gripped his shoulder, then turned to the bridge crew. “Begin bombardment!”

A screen came up that showed a zoomed-in view of the dryad from space. An army nearly twice as dense and made up of treants, corrupted beasts, and other monsters surrounded the dryad. I was sure there were some airships using illusions to hide in the area. They were about to receive a very rude awakening.

Ten seconds from my issuing the order, six brilliant beams of energy lanced down from the sky, two hitting the dryad nearly directly, while the others hit within a hundred meters of it. The monsters that were hit by the initial beam were vaporized. The dryad instantly started to char. A midair explosion signaled one of the enemy airships being turned into cinder.

Three seconds passed before they were able to get the barrier up. Unfortunately, it was pointless. It held for a max of five seconds before the ion beams pierced through. There was a moment of stillness before the pulse from the satellites crashed into the dryad and its surroundings. Everything within five kilometers turned into a blazing flame that looked like it was straight out of hell. All the screens turned into the magic version of static from the magical blast wave.

“Mana in the area has reached dangerous levels. Corruptions will spawn if not handled within a few minutes,” one of the bridge automata said.

“Noted,” I said to the automaton, then ordered, “All forces move. Anubis, once temperatures reach levels you can handle, go in!”

The airship fleet moved forward, while the land forces worked to make ground. Through doing controlled tests, we knew how long it took for what the labs were calling “corruptions” to manifest. Another thing I owed to Jarvis with my being too busy to do the testing myself as of late. I wondered how I would be if I had built my dungeon similar to a regular dungeon. Probably significantly more bored, I thought with a chuckle.

“Temperature within tolerable levels!” an automaton called.

Anubis readied his weapon, then a blue light formed around him as the teleport matrix activated, sending him into the dying inferno. Maybe six ion cannons were a little much. A minute later, Alpha was close enough that I could start pulling the excess and raging mana into my aura. With my interference, the inferno died down quickly.

The sensors quickly found Anubis and his squad. They were completely unharmed, maybe a bit of ash on them. I didn’t think anything could survive that attack but wanted to be sure. Needless to say, none of the airships survived. Anubis quickly finished the ritual, and the golden sapling grew from the ashes of the dryad’s former body. I wasn’t surprised, given the fire’s size, that I felt a large amount of fire mana emanating from it.

With this dryad dealt with, we possessed a direct line to Alara. If I pushed the fleet, we could arrive by midday tomorrow even. I wouldn’t do that, however, as the necromancers had already proven to be more inventive when challenged. I would need to make the one responsible one of my new toys. The will required would be high, but I felt I could manage.

Speaking of toys, I needed to find out what Julie had learned. I ordered the bridge to handle this section the same as the others, then moved to the cells. I had set up a torture room for her there that was equipped with everything I thought a torturer could need. Honestly, though, I felt the knife would probably be enough to make most people open up, so to speak.

“Julie!” I called from the entrance.

I could see exactly what and where everything was in the room, but I didn’t want to be rude when entering a lady’s room. An insane and very unstable lady’s room, but a lady’s room nonetheless. In my mind’s eye I saw her peek up from where she was peeling one of the men’s skin back.

“Coming, Master!” Julie shouted and hurried over to me.

She was dripping with so much blood that I was actually surprised the group wasn’t dead. Her monochrome jester outfit I’d made for her was . . . crimson now. It was only made creepier by the large grin she wore when she ran toward me. She came to a full stop in front of me, and I could see her desire to hug me flashing in her eyes.

“Hello, Julie. How goes it?” I smiled.

“Good! I got everything they knew, I think.” She glanced back to four who were in various states of dismemberment. “I might have broken them,” she said, tilting her head to the side like a child that knew they were cute enough to get away with anything.

“Well . . . as long as you’re sure you got all the information from them,” I said, shaking my head.

“Yes! They knew little. They were ‘recruited’ at Jade Wind and were on their way to the citadel when they received orders to intercept the force approaching from the south. Of course, they figured it would be a walk in the park with their new power. They said there is a large plan in motion that would change the current political map. Of course, they didn’t have an accurate time frame,” she said in a rush.

“I don’t know how you guys got anything done before. How did you prevent your own people from walking into a planned culling?” I asked, rubbing my forehead.

“This is the biggest operation that the necromancer following has ever done. Before, or at least while the person who sent me my orders, there was a very loose ‘do stuff for achievements’ mentality. We might seem like we work together, but there was actually quite a bit of infighting between different groups of necromancers.”

“I remember you telling me that before. Alright. Anything else?” I asked.

“The situation is bad in Jade Wind. You might want to send that princess of yours back to help stabilize the city,” she said, actually looking serious.

“Is that so? Can’t say I’m surprised, considering half their air fleet up and left a few weeks ago,” I said, nodding.

“It’s more than that. The king is close to going insane, if what these four said can be trusted.” She shook her head.

I grinned wickedly. “Rats usually tell the truth if you hurt them enough.”

“Master!” Julie cried and wrapped her arms around my arm, latching on. “Only you understand me!”

“Julie! Damn it,” I said with exasperation.

She just gripped harder. I sighed and pulled her off. It took a little more effort than it used to, but living in the dungeon meant that her strength was increasing. I wasn’t sure why she hadn’t broken through yet, but the way necromancers worked was hard to understand. I’d once had Julie cultivate mana for me, but the ambient mana actually worsened her own. From what I could tell, she had to corrupt it and then reabsorb it. Something that I didn’t let her do, of course.

“Master! Let me out to kill things! Please! I haven’t killed anything since that little horde attacked the town,” she pleaded, rubbing her head into my arm.

“Don’t worry! It won’t always be necromancers that I’m fighting. You’ll get a chance to tear apart something sooner or later. For now, you’ll just have to be happy tearing them up.” I pointed back into the room. It might seem cruel, but in my opinion they had brought it upon themselves.

Julie pouted but didn’t say anything else. I walked into the room to inspect her handiwork. While back on Earth I certainly hadn’t been squeamish, and that was only amplified when I arrived on this world, but I was pretty impressed with Julie’s work. I could sense layers of her mana holding back blood from wounds that would normally have cause them to bleed out. If she were to release them, they would die in seconds.

“Are you four enjoying your stay? Can I get you anything to make you more comfortable?” I grinned, tapping one of the men on his forehead.

“Ple . . . ase . . . st . . . op,” the man wheezed out. Each syllable seemed to cause him immense pain.

“Sorry. I’ve classified you as an enemy. If you would like to be reclassified, I’m afraid it will take about a week and you need to submit all the correct paperwork.” I smirked diabolically.

“Pl . . . ea . . . se,” he managed to say.

I frowned, then slammed my clawed hand into his chest, instantly rupturing his heart. “I said no,” I growled, pulling my blood-soaked hand from the man.

The blood vanished as it was absorbed by my aura. The others were smart and didn’t try to plead with me. I sent my mental eye to scan the other prisoners and grabbed the fifth necromancer. I had left him with the other prisoners to see if he would try to organize some form of resistance and to find out who the normal leaders among the traitors were. I would be sending those to Izora for her to punish. Whether she killed them herself or she requested that I do it for her, these people would likely die.

When the necromancer appeared in the room, his first response was to look around wildly. He, of course, immediately saw his cohorts who were in pieces. I was glad he didn’t relieve himself. While my dungeon aura absorbed everything, I still considered it rude.

“What the hell?!” he shouted with a panicked tone.

“Welcome. Please enjoy your stay,” I said, flicking my wrist.

Chains shot out of the wall and wrapped around his limbs. They jerked him back, and his body was literally slammed against the wall. I heard a few cracks as bones shattered or broke. He instantly lost consciousness.

“Master?” Julie asked, confused.

“I left one with the prisoners to find the lead rats. He’s served his purpose, so you can have him,” I explained.

“Do you need information from him?” she asked as she eyed various tools that were lined up neatly on several tables.

“Nope, in fact, you can kill him when you’re done. Unholy mana on the individual scale barely makes a dent anymore. Those too when you’re done with them,” I said, pointing at the others hanging. Panic flashed on the faces of those who were conscious, and still had eyes. I could have added them to my collection, but they weren’t exactly high up on the totem pole.

“As you command, Master,” Julie said with a feral grin.

“I meant to ask you. Do you still worship the Celestial the necromancers follow?” I asked, thinking about why this fanatic didn’t give me faith.

“Yes . . . No . . . Maybe?” Julie said, sounding not sure herself. I thought it was the first time she actually looked normal. I decided to try something. Whether it worked or backfired would remain to be seen.

I reached over and grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up off the floor. “Remember this. I don’t share with my enemies. And . . . I plan to kill this Celestial. You better choose before I really don’t need any more necromancers,” I said, my tone flat.

“Yes . . . Master . . .” Julie managed to gasp out.

I wasn’t sure if it was my crushing her airway or the fact that she was scarlet in the cheeks and was clearly getting off on me hurting her, but I grinned at her answer and dropped her back to the floor. She wobbled for a moment before she righted herself.

“I have grown fond of you, and I don’t want to find another insane person who’s able to do this kind of work for me,” I said, glancing around.

Julie’s blush grew deeper. “I understand! You’re the only one for me!”

“Good,” I said, gripping her shoulder before walking out.

I was back on the bridge before Julie recovered and went to work on her new guest with such vigor that I was sure he would be dead within a day. The whole time, she wore a grin that split her face. I only grinned as I felt a small trickle of faith from her. I made sure to set the mana she could get from me down to nearly zero, just to be safe. I didn’t need a Julie who could destroy an entire town like Izora was now capable of.

Chapter 9

Izora

The goblin city was amazing. That was all I could think while we were there. I saw so many things that didn’t use mana to operate. The buildings were all constructed in ways that mana played no part in. We were allowed to go into the public buildings, and I was amazed by each one.

The other thing was the mechs that were all over the city. I thought they would be rare, considering we’d only seen the one on the way to the godfather’s manor, but I was completely wrong. They were almost like carriages in the countries, being used by anyone that looked to have even a little bit of a position.

“Hey! When can we go to the surface?” Alphonso asked for about the tenth time since we left Tony’s manor.

“Eventually,” I replied with a sigh. “We want to explore down here for a bit.”

“What do you want to see?!” he asked, bouncing on his feet.

“Well, that’s the problem. We don’t know what there is down here to check out,” I answered, shrugging.

“Do the goblins have a library or anything?” Tsuzuki asked.

“Huh? Of course, we do. We need a place to store our knowledge,” Alphonso said as if talking to a child.

“Uh, let’s check that out for now,” I said quickly.

“Yes, Boss.”

Alphonso led us through the city quickly. When the other goblins saw him, they made way for us. I could only grimace at the implications of that. We came to a large building that was made from dark brown material. I wasn’t sure but I felt it was made from wood. Large sections of glass made up parts of the buildings. To top it off there were large, lazily turning gears connected to the neighboring buildings.

This part of the city had a more natural feeling to it. I could see goblins dressed much like scholars would, entering and exiting various buildings down the street. I turned toward the library and made my way up followed by the rest of the group. At the entrance was the same setup as Regan’s library up on the surface. It made sense, as he wouldn’t want to lose control of his knowledge.

I placed my card on the pedestal, and the stone turned green. Upon entering, I found the interior to be much warmer than the library Regan built. Regan’s was largely stone and metal. It looked intimidating and cold. This place was more along the lines of a cozy space that made you want to spend an afternoon wrapped in a blanket while reading a book. A librarian, one of the automata that Regan made for the surface library, approached us.

“Welcome to the library. How may I be of assistance?” she asked.

“Is there any difference between this library and the surface one?” I asked, looking around.

“Yes. There are many interactive sections in this library and access to higher levels of knowledge. You do need approval,” she replied.

“Where do I get approval?”

“From her.” She pointed into the middle of the library.

I followed her finger and saw Saga lounging on a hanging couch. She had a book in her hand and appeared to be greatly enjoying it. There was a small smile on her lips. I nodded to the librarian, and she went off to help a goblin that was calling for her.

We decided to take a small break to check out the library before continuing to explore the city. I was rounding the corner when I saw someone. Someone I knew very well.

“Vern! What are you doing here?!” I demanded when I saw the woman browsing a line of books.

“Your Highness!” Vern said, whipping around to face me. She dropped the books she was holding.

“Well?” I said, frowning.

“I earned it. Thanks to Saga, I have already completed twenty levels of the trials.” She tilted her head to the side. “I guess I’ve been here for almost four days now.”

“Damn it. You need to keep us more up to date with your situation. I know you have free reign over what you do, but it would help just to let us know,” I said, shaking my head.

“My apologies, Your Highness,” she said, bowing deeply.

“Let me guess.” I sighed, rubbing my forehead. “You’ve been held up in the library the whole time”

“Guilty.” Vern rubbed the back of her head.

“She has been very busy,” a voice said from next to my ear.

I spun around to find Saga standing only a few centimeters from me. She stood like a matronly mother overlooking two children. Her hands were behind her back, and she loomed much taller than I’d realized she was, at over two meters. I felt like she towered over me.

“Saga! Can I help you?” I asked, managing to keep the shock from my voice.

“I saw something interesting and wanted to take a closer look,” she said.

“Is that so. Are you enjoying the show?” I asked, not sure how to handle her.

Her smile was warm as she replied, “Indeed, I am. Vern is a fascinating mortal. One worthy of the knowledge that the Creator has seen fit to share with this world.”

“I am glad that a member of my race has proven themselves thusly,” I said, honestly happy for Vern.

“I do hope that more continue to do so,” Saga said, then turned to walk away.

When she was out of earshot, I whispered to Vern, “Why does it sound like she was bragging about you?”

Vern shrugged. “I think I’m the only person to make it past the tenth trial, let alone this far. She is probably bored.”

I left her to take a closer look at the library. On the second floor, I found the titles of the books blurred. As I reached to take one, my hand hit a barrier of some kind. I pushed a little harder but could tell the amount of mana needed to get through it was quite a bit, not worth the effort when I didn’t even know what I was trying to grab. Plus, I didn’t want to make Lord Regan mad.

I heard a laugh behind me and turned around slowly, thinking it was Saga again. When I saw Lord Regan standing there, my heart jumped into my throat. I quickly bowed to him and realized I was completely alone. No one was nearby. They all must have found something interesting to make them drop their guard this much.

“Hello, my princess,” Lord Regan said with a slightly joking tone, but I shivered when he called me his princess.

“Lord Regan! What do I owe this pleasure?” I asked, looking up to him.

“I have a mission for you,” he said while creating a pair of chairs for us to sit in.

“Yes! I’ll do it,” I said immediately.

He rubbed his chin. “I’m pleased with the enthusiasm, but this is a little closer to home for you.”

“Lord?” I asked, not quite understanding.

He sighed, frowning. “I want you to go back to Jade Wind. You’ll be taking one of my cores with you. I have gotten word that not all is as it seems there.”

“Lord? I just spoke with my father the other day. He assured me that the city was recovering and was preparing to take the war to the necromancers,” I said.

It wasn’t that I didn’t believe Lord Regan, but I had always trusted my father. Plus, I couldn’t see a reason for him of all people to lie to me. Sure, tensions were high back in the city, but what else do you expect when such a revolt takes place? People were bound to wonder if they should have gone with the traitors. My father was doing everything he could to calm the masses.

“I don’t believe your father was lying to you. However, I know from experience that at times not all is as it seems. My information comes from a source on the other side of the line. While normally it wouldn’t be trustworthy, its method of . . . extraction is very reliable.” Lord Regan’s eyes flashed a deep red.

“I understand. I will set off at once in that case,” I said, standing to bow to him.

“Good. Here.” He handed me a pendant.

It was a large gear. Etched along it were straight blue lines that sometimes turned perpendicular to each other. At the center was a shard of what looked like crystal. The entire thing pulsed softly. Taking it, I felt my connection with Lord Regan solidly, more than ever before, or at least as strongly as when I wasn’t channeling his mana through my body.

“It’s beautiful,” I murmured as I took it.

“Amazing how far I’ve come in only a few months,” I heard Lord Regan mumble before he spoke up. “Keep it safe. Not much could harm it. In fact, it would be easier to kill you than damage that. When you get to Jade Wind, I’ll know.”

“Yes, Lord!”

Lord Regan tilted his head and looked into the distance. “Work calls. Safe journeys,” he said before fading into mana.

I gazed at the pendant for a few minutes before coming back to myself, then hung it around my neck and dropped it down the collar of my armor. I made my way around the library to quickly gather the others and we left. Once out on the street, I had Alphonso direct us to the elevator.

“Can you come with us?” I asked as we walked into the building.

He nodded and ran over to one of the walls. He did something I couldn’t make out, and a slot popped open. A suit of armor emerged, and he quickly climbed into it. It looked odd, with roundish curves, and it didn’t appear to have any gaps at all. His face was still visible, but when he got closer, I realized there was a pane of glass.

“Ready to go, Boss,” Alphonso said, his voice having a weird fake quality to it.

“Anything less . . . conspicuous?” I asked.

Alphonso shrugged as he replied, “Nope! Only upper management gets the cool suits.”

“Great.” I sighed.

We all gathered on the platform, and Tsuzuki pressed the rune for the surface. I expected the platform to move, but it turned out to be a teleporter. In a blink of an eye we were at the surface. A party that had just gotten off the elevator jumped in surprise at our sudden arrival.

I pulled one of the guards aside. “Run and inform Lady Louella that I would like to see her. As soon as possible.”

“Yes, Your Highness.” He saluted, then took off.

A few hours later I was sitting in front of Louella in her office. I’d had to wait for her to have a free moment, and it made me realize that Louella’s position of power was growing at a tremendous rate. I was glad that she didn’t appear afraid to wield her power against the nobles who were trying to push their way into her valley. Though her father was a considerably high-ranking noble, she was more used to this than one might assume.

“Sorry, Izora. I had already made them wait twice. I couldn’t put them off again,” Louella apologized.

“No problem. I just want to discuss a few things with you,” I said with a smile.

“Regan already let me know that you will be leaving for a bit.”

She got up and moved to a small table to the side of the room and poured two glasses of what looked like liquor, then handed me one as she sat back down at her desk. The whole time her staff floated behind her within easy reach. I also noticed small mana fluctuations from around her that looked to be most likely a barrier of some kind.

“I had hoped he would. I want to take the royal airship and leave the other two here. While I’m gone, I want to leave you in charge of them,” I said, taking a sip of the drink.

At first, the liquor tingled but it smoothed out afterward. I found that I quite enjoyed it and quickly took another sip. In a few moments it was gone. I stared at the bottom of the glass with a pout.

“I have no problems with that. Anything in particular you want them to do?” Louella said, slowly swirling her drink.

“Just to keep heading into the dungeon. Wouldn’t want them to slack off.” I chuckled.

“Understood. So, tell me, what was the twentieth floor like?” she asked, her eyes sparkling.

“It was . . . it was amazing,” I said, not really sure what else to say. I tried my best to describe what I’d experienced but felt I failed to really portray the marvel I’d seen down there.

“I’ll have to check it out when I get the chance.” She smiled. “Though, I probably won’t be able to leave the castle for a few weeks with the amount of work I have piled up.”

“I’m sure we can figure out a way to sneak you out for a few hours. We could just ask Lord Regan to take you there,” I suggested.

Louella shook her head. “That defeats the purpose of dungeons. In my opinion, anyway. When I think about how Regan should be trying to lure us into his depths to cleanse our mana, I almost laugh. So many of the ‘rules’ have been twisted.”

“To be fair, most of those rules were established by us mortals. The dungeons really had no say in the matter. For one, I never understood why a dungeon would lead mortals to itself when we get stronger in its depths. Seems counterintuitive,” I said, considering it.

“Need to ask the creators of the dungeons next time we see them,” Louella said sarcastically.

“Alright. I have a city to check up on. I’ll have to leave you now. Besides, I think you have a line out there.” I stood up.

“How long do you plan to be?” She rose as well.

“The trip should take roughly two weeks, but Lord Regan said he modified the airship in his spare time.”

“Then I’ll see you in a month,” Louella said, giving me a hug.

Chapter 10

Louella

Hearing that Izora would be leaving the valley for a while, I found that I would miss her. Thankfully, it would only be for a month or so—if the situation at her home wasn’t too bad. I was worried about that in and of itself. People were likely to do things they would otherwise regret when driven by anger or grief. So, I could only hope her father was alright.

The next few hours passed quickly. That usually happened when I worked on the mind-numbing amount of paperwork that would gather in only a few days. The documents ranged from land requests to tax forms. Many of the forms were sorted and handled by the staff that had been put together over the last month. The land request forms, however, and those of equal importance I made sure to do myself. I didn’t want some noble pressuring my people into letting them do what they wanted.

Just in this stack alone, there were two dozen nobles requesting land for manors. Some of them even went so far as to include a blueprint of their planned manor. I could only shake my head at their obnoxiousness. One wanted a massive building that spanned for nearly six hundred meters. Those all ended up in the fire. Let us just say I had an excellent fire going.

“Wrakras, any news on the festival preparations?” I asked as I read the next document.

“Some of the nobles are throwing a fit about not being…” He coughed, then finished with a cynical tone. “The guest of honor.”

“How hard would it be for us to kill them all and destroy the evidence?” I asked, not looking up.

“Difficult, but if you asked Master to help . . . wait, what?”

“Huh?” I said back, then realized what I had asked. “Sorry. Never realized how annoying it was for lords before now. Now I know why my father liked to travel to the lesser regions.”

“I can understand the frustration. Just remember that not everyone is as . . . tight lipped as I am.” Wrakras rubbed his hand through his hair.

“Noted. Though, if I really wanted, I could probably ask Regan to make it where I could hear everything said in the valley.” I leaned back in my chair to give my hand a rest.

“That he could, but I should remind you that something said in private should not damn the person. Surely, you have cursed at Master in private. If he took what you said seriously, or as a threat, would he have helped you as much as he has?” Wrakras advised.

“I thought you were a necromancer?” I asked, then I thought of something. “Don’t you crave power?”

“I used to. I had nothing else I wanted. Then Master created Cook, a master of the food. It also helped that he cleared the bindings that unholy mana placed on my mind. I have been able to think clearly ever since,” he explained. “Though I do have one worry.”

He held up his hand, and a ball of green twisting mana formed over it. I wasn’t sure what he was going for at first, but after a few seconds I realized that the energy given off by the ball was weak. I remembered when Wrakras had dealt with Julie. He’d been much more powerful.

“Why is your power waning?” I asked, curious.

“A number of things. Mainly Master is cleansing the mana in this area. To cultivate mana I would need to corrupt the mana, then reabsorb it.” He clasped his hand closed and the ball vanished.

“What was your original mana?”

“Dark. Most necromancers need dark mana, as it is a twisted version of it.”

“Ah, I remember Regan mentioning something like that. Something about a demon being involved,” I remarked with a nod. “Can’t you use your dark mana instead?”

“I wouldn’t know. I was only told that this power came from a great Celestial.” He shrugged. “And to an extent, the unholy mana tends to make things . . . difficult when you don’t use it.”

“What does that mean for your, um, body?” I asked, glancing over his body.

I’d heard that when Regan had captured him, his entire body had been crushed. His unholy mana kept him alive by transforming him into a pseudo undead. Unlike a true undead, only part of his body was undead, while the others were alive. It was what allowed him to keep his mind as well as eat the food he liked so much.

“I don’t know. I might actually die. I might be able to ask Master to fix my body for me.”

“I see. I’ll put a word in for you as well. Regan is pretty rewarding to people who do what he says, and you’ve only ever served willingly in my book. Plus, I haven’t been too gentle with you,” I said, thinking about the times I’d thrown him out the window or he was inadvertently struck by lightning.

Wrakras rubbed his chest as if remembering the pain. “That would be a great kindness,” he said as he bowed.

We lapsed into silence as I continued working on the paperwork. An hour went by before a loud banging sounded at the door. A guard rushed in, panic almost overtaking him. He lurched and knelt in front of my desk.

“My lady! An army is approaching from Thonaca!” the guard shouted.

“Calm down. What do you mean?” I ordered, gesturing for him to stand as well.

The guard took several deep breaths before reporting, “The scouts spotted a large force heading this way through the Thosoa pass. They will reach us within the hour.”

“I assume Ezal has already been informed?” I asked, standing up. While I had scouts monitoring all the passes into the valley, there was a large amount of land to cover. Depending on the speed the army was moving, the reports could be just ahead of the force. I would need to find some way to improve that time. If they were going to be here in an hour, then they were likely on horses and pushing them hard to get here.

I was surprised at how calm I felt. Lines had warned me this might happen. I just didn’t think it would happen so soon. I felt like it was a setup. Even if Quin had left for the capital the moment she was free, it should still have taken her nearly a month to reach it. Of course, I had no idea what magic she had at her disposal.

“Of course, my lady,” the guard said, pulling me from my thoughts. I would have to worry about the how later. For now I would deal with the response.

“Good! Send word to the guilds. I want everyone ready for combat in the next twenty minutes. If they refuse to participate, tell them they will be exiled from the town once this is over.” I held my hand out and Helios flew into my grip. The guilds might not like that order, but I had little choice. It was part of their agreement when setting up shop in the valley. The only one that was exempt was the Adventurers Guild.

“Yes!” he said with a salute, then rushed out the doors.

“Well, time to earn yourself some more points,” I said, throwing a grin at Wrakras.

He put the bottom part of his mask on, the one Regan had made for him when he first joined the dungeon. “It will be a good distraction,” he said with a chuckle.

We hurried outside, where I quickly mounted Lucifer. Wrakras mounted a similar wolf, and we rushed to the Thonaca gate. The town was in a panic as news spread that a force from Thonaca had come. Soldiers and adventurers alike rushed to get geared up for whatever was to come. As we passed the central district gate, Iveta joined up with us. She was a major under Ezal now and had been put on patrol.

“How’s the town?” I asked as we kept up the pace.

“It won’t be good if something doesn’t happen. The adventurers are mainly keeping their distance, though a larger number than I expected have joined with us,” Iveta reported.

“Damn it. If it’s not one thing, it’s another,” I growled, sparks starting to pop off my skin.

I happened to glance toward the sky and saw Ezal fly by. She was riding Feuer like a mount with a trail of flame behind her. I spurred Lucifer on, and we sped up to catch up with her. We couldn’t let the pregnant woman do all the work. A large crowd of people was gathered at the gate, and Ezal was quickly whipping them into formation from the air.

“Everyone, to their stations! Adventurers, get assigned a group, then stick to it like a slime. No one attack until the situation is confirmed!” Ezal shouted from where she floated.

I generated a field of energy around me and floated up next to her. “What is the situation?”

“Still unconfirmed, my lady. We sent a messenger, but they have yet to return.” She shook her head.

I sensed a surge of mana from out beyond the gate. A burst of wind gusted around us, but I didn’t feel any threat from it. I noticed that something was being tossed in the wind. Ezal reached forward and grabbed it before it could hit her. Blood splattered over her as we took in what it was.

“I guess that answers that question,” she said, lifting the head to close its eyes.

“The messenger?” I asked, anger growing in my chest.

She frowned. “Unfortunately, poor kid.”

“I guess we should respond?” I smirked evilly.

“Of course. If someone says something, it’s only proper to reply.”

She floated down and handed the head gently to a messenger, ordering the man to make sure his name was recorded and honored after the battle. She returned to me a moment later. I reduced how much mana the armor Regan made for me was taking so that my senses would increase.

I made out a large force. There had to be at least a thousand soldiers present. From the distance, any flags were unreadable, so I wasn’t sure if it was the king’s doing or some other lord. Needless to say, I didn’t give a fuck. I searched for what I thought would be the commander. Usually, it was the idiot that had the most armor and metals on him. Sure enough, toward the rear I found a middle-aged man with a self-important smile on his face like he had just scored the best deal of his life.

“Toward the back. Like the coward he is,” I told Ezal.

She sighed. “Why can’t the other nobles be honorable like Lord Val was?”

“Bragging about your man?” I snickered—then stopped, remembering he was dead.

“Of course. When my child is born, I will brag about their father until they get sick of it,” she said, looking straight ahead. I still could see the red coloring her cheeks.

“Then, let’s welcome our guests,” I said.

Ezal formed a massive ball of flame. In a blink of an eye it condensed until it was only the size of her hand, then turned a pure white color, giving heat off that affected even those on the ground nearly two dozen meters under us. I pointed Helios at the ball and added my own touch.

I generated an electrical field around it, and it condensed even further until it was only a finger-sized ball. The heat was gone, contained by the field, and it was a purple color. It pulsed gently and would almost have appeared benign to an onlooker. Ezal looked at me and I nodded. She flicked her wrist as if waving off an annoying pest.

“Try not to kill them all,” I said.

“Really, my lady?” she asked, surprised.

“Need people to question, after all,” I answered. It looked like Regan’s mentality was rubbing off on her. Well, myself as well. I don’t mind destroying my enemies, but we still needed to know who and why they were attacking us.

The ball hovered in front of us for only a moment before it flashed and vanished with a streak. A few seconds later the streak reached the enemy lines. It impacted the enemy leader and incinerated him instantly. The ball collided with the ground, and the next moment it turned to day.

~~~

Trido Guill

I couldn’t believe that right after I was hired on as a soldier, the lord decided to go wage a war. Luckily, I was assigned to rear left flank. I was so far from the potential combat that I wondered why they’d even brought so many soldiers in the first place. As it was, I was more of an errand boy.

After two weeks of marching, we finally made it to our target. It was the new dungeon town that I had heard rumors about from the adventurers and other commoners like me. Apparently, the new dungeon gave gold like a river. To be honest, I was tempted to come here, but I had family that I couldn’t afford to leave, and they couldn’t travel easily with me.

“Hey, they sent a messenger,” one of the soldiers whispered in front of me.

“Oh, this will be good. The lord likes to send them back . . . in pieces.” Another soldier laughed gruffly.

“Isn’t that against the law?” I asked.

“Ha! Like that matters to a noble.” He laughed harshly again.

I reluctantly nodded in agreement with the older man. Generally, nobles played by whatever rules they felt like at the current time. Our lord in particular liked to treat himself like a king.

Sure enough a few minutes later, there was a boom as wind magic was used to fling the body back over the walls. The messenger’s body was ripped apart before it even left my line of sight. Laughter rose up from all along the line as the “veterans” found it hilarious. I couldn’t help but wonder what the enemy would do in reply.

Suddenly from the other side of the wall there was a huge fireball. From where I was it had to be at least ten meters in diameter if not bigger. The soldier in front of me gasped and took a step back.

“Fuck! That had to be tier three at least,” the mild one said.

“As if such a frontier town could pull a high-ranker like that,” the crude soldier said gruffly. “See, it’s already shrinking.”

“Oh, you’re right. Must’ve been a show,” the mild one said, shaking his head.

They were right. The fireball quickly shrank until it was a size that I couldn’t see from my spot in the rear. I was called at that moment to help secure a horse that was spooked by the flame. I ran after the horse, which had managed to break its lead, and caught it right at the edge of the forest line. Right when I turned to head back, I saw a streak of purple.

The horse jerked me like it sensed something bad was coming and pulled me even farther into the forest. Before I could calm it, the night became day. I screamed in pain, my entire body feeling like it was burning. The pain was punctuated by a blast that sent me flying into a nearby tree. Another wave of heat flooded around me. The metal parts of my armor felt like they were about to melt. I couldn’t even breathe anymore. The air burned my mouth and lungs as I pulled in desperate gasps.

I thought it was over finally when the heat died down a bit. I could feel everything burning, but certain parts were numb. I tried to open my eyes, but I couldn’t see anything, and laid there in pain, unable to move. In the middle of the pain-filled misery, I wondered if I was going to die.

“I found one!” I heard a voice. It was as if from a long tunnel. Then I felt, as if it were an echo, something touch me.

“Welcome to Robia Valley,” I heard, the words spoken harshly. Something flowed into me and I quickly lost consciousness.

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