《Industrialising Dungeon: The Crimson Forges》


 Arc: 0 - Prologue

    ''''Allen... Hey, Allen...'''' I soflty hear someone speak to me while feeling pressure on my cheek.


    ''''Pssst... Allen...'''' I hear once again as the poking turns into pinching.


    As i open my eyes, I see that it was my Sister who was the culprit of waking me from my sleep


    ''''What do you need sis?'''' I ask while slowly focussing on her image as my eyes grew accustomed to the bright light filling my room


    Wait, Bright light?


    ''''Alice, do your brother a favour and tell him the time'''' I ask my sister while trying to form a akward smile on my face.


    ''''Its 10:12 brother'''' she returns the favor with a smile which could melt ice.


    Ah yes, the Ice-melting smile of my sister which went the complete opposite considering her looks, her long pale-blond hair, ice-blue eyes and bordering white-skin were a strange match for such a heart-warming smile...


    Well, I keep calling her my sister, but upon looking at my Dark-blond hair and steel colored eyes one can pretty easily figure out that she isnt my sister by blood.


    Not that it matters, as knowing her from my childhood on made sure I developed a deep family relation with her.


    while I do love teasing her in any way possible, she and I can count on eachother when needed, which was quite necessary since my mother and her father are on a continueous travel across the world leaving us to take care of herself.


    One could even say that she is the only reason why I finished my studies. Otherwise, I would have probably become one of those shut-ins and played RTS''s the whole day.


    MMORPG''s are overrated anyway, I prefer most kinds of Strategy games.


    Hold on... Why am I recalling all of this now? Im late!


    ''''Sh*t!'''' I yell as i come across the sudden realisation and jump out of my bed


    ''''Alice, where is my suit?'''' I ask while poking my head around the corner of the kitchen


    ''''Hallway, left Closet, folded in the lower-right drawer'''' she simply says while continueing frying something in the pan


    ''''Thanks sis!'''' I quickly exclaim before sprinting towards the closet


    As I grab my suit and sprint back to my room, another realisation dawns upon me


    ''''Hold on sis, why are you still here? arent you suppose to be at school'''' I ask her while stopping in front of the kitchen


    Alice takes a deep breath before letting out a deep sigh ''''Brother, if you werent such a scatter-brain, you would remember that the summer-vacation just started''''


    ''''Right...'''' I quickly note before continueing my sprint


    A few minutes later, I actually look acceptable with my suit, watch and tie properly fixed in place as I walk into the kitchen


    ''''Here brother, have some eggs'''' Alice quickly notes while placing a plate with 2 pieces of toast and a omelet on top


    ''''Truly nothing is more delicious then the Chicken-spiced cheese filled omelet made by my little sister'''' I exclaim after a whiff of the omelet reaches my nose


    My comment did the job I wanted it to do as i saw Alice blush and quickly face towards the sink as our eyes met, muttering something before turning on the crane and starting to clean the dishes


    I quickly finish the Spiced-Omelet and return to my house-sprinting as I sprint towards the bathroom.


    After a grand session of toothbrushing and trying to fix my hair I return to the hallway, pop a quick chewing-gum, grabbed my suitcase, stepped in my shoes and exited our apartment.


    ''''Rather Stra?e 51, D-40476 D¨¹sseldorf, this should be it'''' I say to myself as i look at the industrial complex before me


    As I walk towards the entrance, or so i assume I am greeted by someone who I can only assume is a member of the staff working here


    ''''You must be one of the people who replied to the job advertisement, arent you a bit late? we started at 10:25'''' he asks me with a raised eyebrow


    ''''Ah yes, I am quite sorry, I got lost on the way here'''' I quickly reply a quick lie to him, as simply telling that I overslept doesnt leave a good first-impression after all.


    ''''Mhm, anyway, the last person is currently being interviewed, so if you hurry up you might be able to fool them'''' he notes while pointing his thumb over his shoulder.


    ''''Thank you sir'''' I reply before i continue my walk towards the massive building


    ''''Perhaps I should have asked him for directions...'''' i quickly realise while i enter through the automatic doors


    Luckly, there was a small sign which read:


    ''''All job-applicants are to wait in the hallway untill their turn has arrived''''


    After i read the message I dumped myself into one of the chairs, placed my suitcase in front of me and simply waited


    ''''Next'''' I heard someone say from the other side of the door.


    I quickly stood up and entered the room.


    ''''How strange, i thought Miss Camrell said she was the last one?'''' a man dressed in a navy-blue suit said while adusting his glasses as i entered the room


    ''''Good morning'''' I note as I enter the room and straighten my back while standing infront of his office


    The suited man simply shrugs and says ''''Have a seat" upon saying, I immediatly follow his order and sit myself on the chair while placing my suitcase on his desk


    ''''Now then, let me see the goods'''' the man tries to joke however, he is met with my straight face.


    As i place my folder on his desk, he starts to scan the contents


    ''''Allen Black, 23, 1,89 meters tall, 90 kilograms, Bloodtype AB Minus... Isnt that pretty rare?'''' He asks me


    ''''If I remember correctly, it is one of the rarest bloodtypes one can get, yes'''' i reply to him while keeping a stern face


    ''''Relatives... mother alive, 50 remarried, 16 years, father died of cancer at age 7, no siblings, Carl Romanta, 53, daughter Alice Romanta, 18 '''' the man continued his mumbling as i simply sat there


    Suddely, the man raises his head with a quick motion which startled me a bit


    ''''I completely forgot to introduce myself, quite sorry about that'''' he suddely apologised


    ''''Please do not be sorry, I forgot as well'''' i quickly re-assure him


    ''''He, anyway, Im Grossman, Walter Grossman'''' he exclaims after he let out a small inward chuckle before returning to the folder


    ''''So Mister Black, how is the situation at home? are you getting along with your new Father?'''' Mister Grossman asked me


    ''''Its just me and Alice as my mother and Carl are always traveling the globe.'''' I explain while my head starts to dip


    ''''The only good side of this is that we havent recieved any massive bills or had any problems with loansharks I suppose'''' I continue as a grim smile covers my face.


    ¡®¡¯Alright¡­ Anyway Mister Black, can you tell me a bit more about yourself?¡¯¡¯ Mister Grossman asked, trying to diffuse the uneasing mood.


    ¡®¡¯Where should I start?¡¯¡¯ I quickly reply to him with eagerness.


    ''''You can start by telling me something about yourself, no need to be shy.''''


    I briefly glanced around the office Mister Grossman was located in while trying to think of something to say


    ''''Well'''' I started ''''According to the locations where my internships were held, I am quite the hard worker once I focus on something''''


    Mister Grossman nodded in thought, seemingly focussed on my reply. ''''Alright, what do you think you could add to this company?'''' he questioned after breaking out of his ''spell''


    My back straightened slightly as I begun my reasoning ''''Mister Grossman, I believe my personality traits of hardworking, extensive knowledge about both mettalurgy and construction together with my young age would make me the perfect addition to your company''''


    ''''The only issue one might have is that I like to experiment with cooking, so some personell might complain about weird smells during the break'''' I added shortly after.


    If my eyes hadnt betrayed me, I could have sworn I saw the smallest of grins appear on his face, before turning back into the standard buisness-pokerface.


    Grossman''s eyes briefly flickered between my folder, laying on his desk and myself before the next question came ''''If I were to call your boss, at one of the places where you held a internship, what do you think he would tell me, if I were to ask about you?''''


    ''''As I had already explained, I believe he would surely note my capability for hardworking, as well as extensive knowledge and eagerness of course'''' I replied, trying to persuade him more.


    ¡®¡¯Tell me about your hobbies, what is your favorite genre of both movies and books, ect¡¯¡¯ Mister Grossman explained


    ¡®¡¯My hobbies huh¡­ I suppose playing strategy games on my PC is one. I also quite like reading.'''' I replied


    ''''Anything else?'''' Mister Grossman quickly followed


    I took a deep breath while in thought, quickly scanning through my numerous intrests Ive held over the years


    ''''Blacksmithing is another, as is generally anything to do with metals really'''' I wondered, my thoughts appearing from my mouth


    A faint smile appeared once more on Grossman''s face for a brief second before being hidden once again by his well trained buisness-face.


    ¡®¡¯Now then Mister Black, that was all for now, both myself and my company thank you for this conversation and you will hear from us within a week¡¯¡¯ Mister Grossman said as he placed down the folder


    Hold on, has he been reading this the whole time while talking to me?


    Eh¡­. Really¡­.?


    ¡®¡¯Yes, the pleasure was mine¡¯¡¯ I reply as I pack up my suitcase and leave the room, while giving a short greeting to Mister Grossman before I leave


    As I step back in my car, I drive home without and trouble and am greeted by Alice as I step through the door.


    ¡®¡¯Brother, how did it go? Did you get the job?¡¯¡¯ she asked while poking her head around the door to the living room


    ¡®¡¯I will receive a reply within a week¡¯¡¯ I simply reply as I place my suitcase down and take of my shoes.


    ¡®¡¯Can you atleast tell me how it went?¡¯¡¯ Alice exclaims with irritation bleeding through her voice


    ¡®¡¯I suppose it was one of the better ones I had?¡¯¡¯ I mumble confused which leaves me with Alice pouting before removing her head from the doorway.


    As I enter my room I remove my suit and slip into something more comfortable while powering up my PC.


    ¡®¡¯Now, which one of you two should I play?¡¯¡¯ I ask myself as I held up two games, one in each hand.


    ¡®¡¯Im feeling... You!¡¯¡¯ I say as I awnser my own question with a grin while holding up the game in my right hand.


    As the hours start to bleed away, I succesfully brought glory to the Byzantium empire using my favorite Turtle-Roller technique.


    ¡®¡¯Ah yes, nothing better than to build a massive fortress, research every available tech and stomp the enemy with a maximum population army¡¯¡¯ I said as a smile filled with glee covered my face


    Just as I finished the game I heard Alice call me from the kitchen


    ¡®¡¯Brother, dinner is served¡¯¡¯ she yelled


    I begrudgingly got up from my chair and made my way to the kitchen table


    ¡®¡¯Unlike the magnificent omelet I got this morning, spinach with cooked potatoes and a Bratwurst is not something I looked forward to¡¯¡¯ I mumbled while taking a seat


    ¡®¡¯Allen, Spinach is good for your blood!¡¯¡¯ Alice replied with a stern voice as she takes her seat as well.


    After dinner, we both hang out in the Livingroom watching some TV until we go to bed.


    As I awoke I looked over to my alarmclock on my desk and notice that for once, I didn¡¯t oversleep!


    With a almost disturbing smile that could startle even the most veteran of soldiers I lay another few seconds in my bed before I left the warm comfortness.


    With a yawn I enter the livingroom and notice that Alice is already awake, does she even sleep?


    ¡®¡¯Ah, good morning brother!¡¯¡¯ she says upon noticing me entering the room.


    ¡®¡¯Wait, what?¡¯¡¯ she suddenly continues before jerking her head towards the clock hanging above our TV.


    ¡®¡¯Brother, its 9:00AM!¡¯¡¯ she says with a face filled to the brim with surprise


    ¡®¡¯Ouch, that one hurt¡­¡¯¡¯ I reply noticing her face while walking towards the front door


    ¡®¡¯No letter yet huh¡¯¡¯ I think to myself while shifting through the mail, although they did say it could take up to a week, so I shouldn¡¯t complain.


    ¡®¡¯Hey Alice, since Im already awake, mind if I take care of breakfast?¡¯¡¯ I ask her upon returning to the livingroom


    Her reaction was less then preferable, as her face switched between disgust, surprise and dissapointment.


    ¡®¡¯If you really wish, I don¡¯t mind.¡¯¡¯ She says


    ¡®¡¯Just try and keep it¡­ normal¡­ will you?¡¯¡¯ she continued


    ¡®¡¯Im not sure which one pained me the most¡¯¡¯ I reply holding my heart with a frown on my face.


    With a quick spin I walk to the kitchen and start preparing breakfast.


    ¡®¡¯First off, ingredients¡­¡¯¡¯ I think to myself while searching through the kitchen


    ¡®¡¯Should i prepare a salad? I hope Alice wont mind if i turn the breakfast into a brunch¡¯¡¯ I continue while grabbing a lemon, a bit of oil and yoghurt dressing, a lettuce and last but not least; a canned fruit coctail.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.¡®¡¯There that should be it¡¯¡¯ i say to myself while grabbing the lettuce and walking over to the sink


    As i started washing the lettuce, i grabbed a knife and it to trim the roots away from the lettuce while Separating out the leaves and throwing the onces I didn¡¯t like away.


    After I cleaned and seperated the leaves, I wrapped them in a clean tea towel and shook them dry, I then piled the leaves into a large salad bowl.


    When that was done, I grabbed the yoghurt dressing and oil. Using a fork, I mixed the 2 together while adding in a bit of freshly-squeezed lemon juice.


    Once that was done, I slowly poured the dressing over the lettuce and opened the fruit coctail with a can-opener and combined that into the mix as well using 2 London lettuce spoons and placed the salad on the table.


    ¡®¡¯Next, we need something with a temperature difference¡¯¡¯ i mumble to myself


    ¡®¡¯Oh, what about Cheese-Toast? its simple but nice¡¯¡¯ i suddenly realise


    I quickly grab the cheese from the fridge and activate the oven.


    ¡®¡¯And place the cheese on the bread, a bit of Italian spice¡­¡¯¡¯ I mumble while recalling the recipe


    ¡®¡¯There, that should be it¡¯¡¯ I say with a smile on my face as i watch the oven melting the cheese and toasting the bread. After a few minutes, the by now brunch is completed.


    ¡®¡¯Alice, brunch is done!¡¯¡¯ I call out from the kitchen while taking a seat at the table


    ¡®¡¯Im coming brother!¡¯¡¯ I hear her saying while turning off the TV


    However, as she enters the kitchen her face is hit with a realisation


    ¡®¡¯Allen, how bad is it¡­?¡¯¡¯ she says with a face showing grim expectations


    ¡®¡¯I simply made a sweet salad and some cheese-toast!¡¯¡¯ I exclaim


    Upon hearing this, her face returns to the usual ice-melting smile and she takes a seat


    ¡®¡¯May I have the salad brother?¡¯¡¯ Alice asks me while I was cutting of a piece of the Cheese-toast.


    ¡®¡¯Mmh? Oh ofcourse Alice, here you go¡¯¡¯ I say with a smile while passing her the bowl with the salad.


    ¡®¡¯Brother, before I start, what kind of salad is this?¡¯¡¯ Alice asks me while inspecting the bowl


    ¡®¡¯it¡¯s a simple sweet-tasting salad, nothing strange in it¡¯¡¯ I reply to her with a smile


    As she notices my smile, Alice lets out a sigh ¡®¡¯you would find it normal if there was uncooked beef in a salad¡­¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Well, I suppose nothing ventured, nothing gained¡¯¡¯ Alice continues while slightly shrugging her shoulders.


    Alice brought the spoon up to her mouth and took the bite.


    ¡®¡¯Its¡­ suprisingly norm¡­¡¯¡¯ Alice thought to herself before feeling a slippery substance in her mouth which made her swallow in surprise. (the salad of course)


    ¡®¡¯Brother, what did I just feel?¡¯¡¯ she asked me


    ¡®¡¯Fruit coctail, what? Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t like it?¡¯¡¯ I replied


    ¡®¡¯Oh thank god it wasn¡¯t something strange, sorry brother I simply got startled by the sudden slippery substance in my mouth¡¯¡¯ Alice said while visibly relaxing.


    ¡®¡¯That sounded suprisingly erotic¡¯¡¯ I say with a cheeky grin on my face, which makes alice turn completely red


    ¡®¡¯NNNGGGHH¡¯¡¯ I heard coming from Alice her direction while she was pouting


    ¡®¡¯My sister really was adorable when she tried to be mad¡¯¡¯ I think to myself.


    After we had our brunch, the rest of the day went by fairly quick.


    I played a game of Rule and Subdue Blue Alarm 3 while Alice was watching TV and after I finished my game, I joined her on the couch and we sat together untill it was bedtime.


    ¡®¡¯Hey Brother!¡¯¡¯ I heard Alice yell at me from the living room


    ¡®¡¯Allen!¡¯¡¯ she yelled again while coming into my room


    ¡®¡¯Ngh¡­. Wake up you lazy!¡¯¡¯ she yelled once more while pulling the blanket of my bed


    ¡®¡¯What¡­ happened to the¡­ cute little sister wakeup¡­ I received 2 days ago¡­¡¯¡¯ I reply, still half asleep


    ¡®¡¯I just tried something else this time¡¯¡¯ she said with a smile


    ¡®¡¯Anyway, do you want to go shopping? I need to go get some stuff for today¡¯s dinner¡¯¡¯ She continued


    ¡®¡¯Sure, give me a second to wa¡­¡¯¡¯ I tried to reply, only to be interrupted by a massive yawn


    And I suppose, people saying that yawns are contagious had it right this time, because upon seeing my yawn, Alice followed my lead and yawned herself


    ¡®¡¯Cute¡¯¡¯ I simply said with one of my cheeky grins covered on my face.


    ¡®¡¯BROTHER, NOT AGAIN¡¯¡¯ she screamed at me, while once again her face turned red. After which, she stormed out of my room, leaving me to get ready for the trip.


    After doing my usual morning routine, Alice and I go outside, step in my car and drive off to the stores. I couldn¡¯t park my car near the store, so I had to settle for a alley around 5-10 minutes away.


    As we were walking to the store, I thought that I felt someone watching us, but quickly dismissed it and entered the store.


    ¡®¡¯Hey brother, what do you want for dinner tonight?


    Shall i make pasta?¡¯¡¯ Alice asks me while checking multiple different types of pasta


    ¡®¡¯Spaghetti would be nice¡¯¡¯ i nod in confirmation


    ¡®¡¯Pesto or tomato based?¡¯¡¯ she replies


    ¡®¡¯I dont mind, pick which ever you like¡¯¡¯ i exclaim while shrugging


    ¡®¡¯Pesto it is then, we need to get some chicken as well, should we buy it in the supermarket or at the butcher?¡¯¡¯ she asks while grabbing a jar of pesto


    ¡®¡¯Although i prefer the butcher, we should simply pick the supermarket version for economic reasons¡¯¡¯ i reply with a sigh


    ¡®¡¯I hope you get the job brother¡¯¡¯ Alice suddenly says out of the blue while we were walking tot the meat-part of the supermarket


    ¡®¡¯I hope so too Alice, i hope so too¡¯¡¯ i simply reply while grabbing a box of chicken


    ¡®¡¯Anything else we need¡¯¡¯ i continue


    ¡®¡¯Nope, this should be it, we have the rest of the ingredients at home¡¯¡¯ Alice replies while checking her groceries list


    After we grab a few more stray items we go to the cash desk which drains some of my green life-energy¡­


    As both Alice and I enter the alley, we suddenly hear multiple people approaching from a nearby passage in the alley past my car, followed bya voice with a thick accent.


    ¡®¡¯Yo kid, is that your car? Don¡¯t cha you know whorunsthis block, eh? You tryin to mess with us or something?¡¯¡¯


    Both me and Alice were suprised by hearing the unknown voice, as it was quite early.


    As the both of us looked towards the passage we saw 4 men appearing out of it.


    The men were of average build, wielding both clubs and pipes. The one who called out a bit earlier stumbled to my car,


    and with a flail of his bat smashed one of my car¡¯s headlights.


    ¡°Mhm!¡­ Don¡¯t just stand there, Answer me!?¡± the man said shortly after.


    "Look, i dont want any trouble, im sorry for parking my car here, i didnt see the sign stating that you owned this alley'''' i replied adding a snarky comment


    The thug gave me a icy glance before turning his focus to Alice, ¡°And, who is this nice little girl over here¡± he said as the man drew closer with his companions following closely after him.


    After he raised his hand to touch her, I quickly grabbed his arm to prevent him from doing so.


    ¡°You got some nerve touching me kid¡± he replied to my action


    ''''You have a deathwhish or something huh?'''' he continued after i increased my grip on his arm


    ''''You sure we cant borrow her for a night? ill be sure to ''compensate'' for it if you know what i mean'''' the man continued with slight discomfort showing on his face while there was a clear smell of alcohol in the air, while he said that, he patted the pocket of his pants, clearly showing a rectangular shape.


    Upon hearing his offer, my normally calm demeanor slowly changed and my face contorted into anger.


    ''''If you dare to think for a single second that i would sell my SISTER to scum like you, then i will make sure you never even dare think of doing so again''''


    ''''You got some nerve saying that to me.'''' The thug replied with a surprised look on his face


    ''''Kid, you got any idea who you¡¯re dealing with?¡± The thug continued as the suprised look was replaced by irritation


    ''''No, and i dont care'''' I said while his anger was replaced by a eerie smile.


    ''''You little bra..!'''' the Thug yelled before being cut off and fainting from the pain which was caused by my knee, which struck him right in the groin.


    ''''Tsh, i said i didnt want trouble...'''' I mumbled to myself


    ''''Hey F*cker! what the hell do you think youre doing!'''' one of the other thugs still standing near my car screamed.


    Both he and the other remaining thugs started to walk towards both me and Alice.


    ''''Allen, S... shouldnt we... run?'''' I heard Alice whisper from behind me, fear clearly covering every word which she said.


    ''''Dont worry, i dont go to the gym for show'''' i replied with a smile while looking over my shoulder


    ''''However, just to be sure, go ahead and walk back to the store, okay?'''' i asked, the reply came with a soft ''''Mhm'''' followed by the tapping of shoes hitting the stone bricks beneath


    ''''To be honest, the only thing i have going for me is my size...'''' i thought to myself, seeing all 3 of the armed thugs drawing closer


    ''''Well that, and the fact that these idiots are quite drunk...'''' my thought continued as i tried to reassure myself


    As one of the Thugs came within a few meters of me, I switched my stance to a more comfortable one, lowering my posture.


    As soon as he entered within 2 meters of myself, I took a step forward and my arm flashed out as the tug raised his weapon for a overhead strike, and with a slight arc, hit the target, a fist, right into his lower jaw.


    I didnt grant him time to counter, and followed my left arm with my right as I jammed my fist under his ribs aiming for his liver.


    When my second punch connected, i felt a sharp pain errupt from the left side of my ribcage, taking a quick look enabled me to see the baseball bat buried slightly in my body.


    I twisted myself to the left after I pushed my first opponent away to face the new threat.


    With adrenaline coursing through my body, i faced the thug on my right.


    I suddenly felt the force of a object approace me from behind, I quickly yerked my body to the left which was followed by another deep sharp pain, this time coming from my right shoulder.


    Trying to numb the pain by biting my lip, i lashed out to the thug in front of me and struck his face with my fist.


    I quickly raised my right leg and planted my foot in his stomach, only to kick him away with full force.


    However, this left me vulnerable, which the Last Thug took full advantage of as he pushed me towards the wall with full force, with my face taking the full hit as the brick wall smashed into it.


    Slowly sliding to the ground i struggled to twist my body around, when i manage to do so i slowly look both to the left and right as my eyes refocus.


    On my left i see one of the thugs in a similar position as me, only knocked out.


    On my right is the end of the street, i hope Alince managed to get away safely... and in front of me... well... im greeted by a angry looking thug with his iron pipe looming over the right side of his body, ready to strike down and deal the final blow.


    I respond to his figure looming over me by bringing out a smile and saying:


    ''''Do your worst'''' before returning my face to normal, closing my eyes and waiting for the inevitable.


    Yet, the following what happened was not pain, but fear, followed by relief as i heard a certain voice scream my name through the alley followed by what must have been the footsteps of atleast 5 people.


    I reopen my eyes and slowly turn my head to the origin of my voice.


    My sister, Alice, tears running down her face.


    Standing behind her, 3 men and 2 Police Officers, both a man and a woman.


    With a slight smile once again appearing on my face, i turn my head back and look up at the thug, who was slowly lowering his pipe


    ''''I would be runing already if i was in your shoes, you know?'''' i whispers to the thug.


    As he heard my whisper, he yerked his head toward me before slowly nodding, dropping his pipe and sprinting off in the direction which he and his ''Friends'' came from, leaving them behind.

 Arc 0: - Interlude

    I awake slowly, looking at my surroundings I seem to be laying on...


    ''''What the hell is this?'''' I yell, taken aback by the massive darkness surrounding me.


    Taking a look at myself, My anxienty only increased as I noticed that I was not in my own body, but some sort of grey-colored humanoid shape instead.


    Seemingly out of nowhere, a voice suddenly sounded through my head.


    ''''Oh? You were not on the agenda for today? it said as a massive sphere of light slowly materialised.


    Before I could even react, it started shuddering andit slowlymolded into ahumanoid shape which approaced me.


    Unlike my gray-colored shape, the light sphere was a stunning white.


    ''''Homo Sapien, Male'''' The now female-voice said, as the formerly humanoid shape turned into what could only be described as a goddess.


    With the only pieces of clothing being silver-colored silk-like looking footwraps with a himation to match, combining that with long waving platinum blond hair, and the ancient-greek like look was finished. I could only stare in awe and confusion at the same time.


    I tried to speak, yet no sound escaped my throat.


    ''''Good day! as you may or may not have guessed it by now, I am god! yes, the god!'''' She said as a friendly smile appeared on her face.


    ''''Now if you were wondering about my appearance, this is only temporary, I could take any form I wanted.'''' she quickly follows after.


    She may be stunning to look at, but I wasnt really wondering anything, I would ask her why she had tometion that, but sadly I couldnt speak...


    Shortly after wondering it however, the answer appeared in my head. Although unsure if it was myself or the self-claimed goddess, I realised that with all the different religions on earth she must have recieved that question alot.


    ''''As each mortal dies, they will be re...'''' the Goddess continued talking in a sudden profecional way, but suddenly stopped mid-sentence.


    ''''Hold on, what is that on your back?'''' she said as she moved closer to me


    Upon checking whatever was on my back, her face was suddenly filled with confusion.


    A shiver went down my spine, how could a god possibly be confused after all?


    ''''Mortal, it seems it is not yet time for you to die.'''' she exclaims while increasing the distance between us.


    Just as she finished that sentence, I could hear a multitude of unknown voices in my head. one of them more clearer then the other, yet still filled with static.


    ''????''??H?e???? ??w??i??l???l??? ?????b????e??? ??f?i????n????e????,??? ???d????o?????n????t????? ??w??o????r??r???y?? ?????M???s???.??? ?????R?????o?m???a?n?????t???a??''??''??


    ''??????????''?????????????????N?????????????o?????????????t??????????????? ????????y??????????????????e?????????????t?????????? ???????????????a??????t?????????????????l?????????e????????????a?????????????s????????????t?????''????????''??????????? I heard the goddess mumble, unable to clearly hear her as more static filled my head.


    ''''Im sorry, could you say that again?'''' I tried to say, but with a wave of her hand I felt my consiousness slip away into the darkness.


    After being forced out of whatever that place was, I open my eyes slowly and see a clear white roof together with TL-lights shining on me.


    ''''What was that?'''' I slowly mumble to myself.


    As i just finished my internal monologue,I heard a door open to the left of me.


    ''''Brother! Your finally awake!'''' I heard Alice say .


    As she flew into my chest,I felt a numb pain from both the left side of my ribcage and my right shoulder.


    ''''Miss Romanta, you shouldnt do that, cant you seeMister Blackis in pain?'''' a man behind her spoke.


    As if coming to a realisation, Alice quickly removed herself from me and turned slightly red .


    I gave her a soft smile and the red dissapeared as quickly as it came, as she smiled back.


    ''''Good Afternoon Mister Black'''' the man behind Alice spoke again.


    ''''My name is Ulrich Sydow and I am your attendant, you are currently in the St.-Johannes-Hospital'''' he continued.


    ''''Yeah, I figured as much''''I say with a slow nod.


    ''''Do you have any memory of what happened last night Mister Black?'''' Ulrich asked while grabbing some sort of notebook.


    ''''I think so, I got in a fight with a few thugs, and just as the police arrived I blacked out'''' I tell him.


    ''''Good, good'''' Ulrich simply says while writing something down in the notebook.


    ''''Memory intant... no damage...'''' he mumbles.


    ''''So, Doctor Sydow, whats the damage?'''' I ask him.


    ''''Nothing major, you might suffer from a numb pain coming both from your shoulder and ribs.'''' Ulrich said.


    ''''As such, my advise would be to take a week off from work to let your body rest and heal'''' he continued.


    ''''Oh, Allen! about that!'''' Alice suddenly said.


    ''''You''ve recieved a message back from the company!'''' she says with a smile on her face as she hands me an envelope.


    ''''Ive got the job!'''' I yell while fistpumping my right arm


    As Alice reaches her palm out to me,I quickly ablige and give her a high five as the both of us have a massive smile on our faces.


    Even Ulrich cant resist but smile as well ashe seesthe scene in front of him.


    After a day of remaining in the hospital for further check-ups, Allen was discharged with a receipt for painkillers should he require them.


    Doctor Sydow did tell him to keep using his muscles as to prevent muscle cramps.


    As we arrive in my car at the front of our house i ask Alice a question.


    ''''So, since we have one week left untill my body recovers, and since my job is secured, how about we do something fun?'''' I ask Alice


    However, what I recieved wasnt a happy smile and a ''''really!?", it was her face with tears running down her face.


    ''''Hey hey hey, whats wrong!?'''' I say shocked.


    ''''Never... do that again... please...'''' Alice managed to stutter out


    ''''Wasnt I awsome though? beating all of those mean people by myself?'''' I say, trying to turn the situation around.


    ''''NO YOU IDIOT'''' Alice screams


    ''''You werent awesome, nor cool, you were a idiot..'''' she says while sobbing.


    Finally noticing the reason for her pain I grab her head and slowly bring it to my chest and letting it rest against it.


    ''''It must have been scary huh...''''I softly spoke


    As a confirmation,I feel Alice nod her head


    We remained in the same position for around 5 minutes before Alice calmed down and we went inside the house.


    ''''So, like I asked before, anywhere you want to go?'''' I ask her again.


    ''''Mhm... perhaps a restaurant?'''' she replies slowly, her red, puffy Eyes eyes still visible.


    ''''Right, what about Pfefferkorn then?'''' I say while grabbing my phone.


    ''''Sounds fine to me'''' Alice says with a small smile.


    ''''It will have to be tomorrow though, its a bit late, I dont think they have any place left'''' I say while searching for their telephone number.


    ''''Then, what should we do for dinner today?'''' Alice asks me.


    ''''Dont we still have the pesto spaghetti?'''' I reply slightly confused


    As she hears my reply, a small smile once again appears on her face


    ''''I completely forgot about that, how unlike me'''' she says as her normal smile returns to her face.


    ''''Come on then, Ill call Pfefferkorn and thenI will help you'''' I tell her while dialing their number.


    ''''Do try to behave yourself and dont do anything strange, just let me make it, alright?'''' Alice replies while letting out a small chuckle


    ''''Rude''''I simply tell her while letting a frown cover my face.


    After calling Pfefferkorn and reserving a place for tomorrow, I join Alice in the Kitchen to make the spaghetti.


    ''''Allen, could you prepare the meat?'''' Alice asks me as she grabs a bowl for me to use.


    ''''Alright, hold on''''I reply, while grabbing the bowl, eggs, spices and the meat.


    I can spot Alice glancing at me from the corner of my eye as I grab the spices.


    ''''Dont worry, its just a instant meat-spice bag...''''I tell her


    ''''YeahI saw, just making sure'''' Alice replies


    I put the eggs, meat and spices into a bowl and slowly knead the mix.


    After finishing kneading the meat, I place a pan on the stove and fill it with baking oil.


    ''''Right, ill let that slowly turn golden brown while I turn the mix into balls'''' I say to myself with a nod.


    Right after making a plan of action in my head, i gain a mischievous idea...


    Pretending to be busy, I take a quick glance at Alice to see what she''s up to.


    Seeing that she''s working hard herself, I take my chance and silently walk over to one of the dressers and grab a red jar out of it.


    ''''Hot & Spicy Sambal, hehehe...'''' I whisper as i look at the container.


    If there is one thing Alice dislikes it would be spicy food, she absolutely cant stand the stuff.


    I start working on turning the mix into balls, while every few meatballs I put a teaspoon of sambal in the middle.


    With glee covering my face I finish the last meatball and manage to return the sambal to its original position without being noticed.


    Looking in the pan, I see that the oil has turned a goldenbrown, and so I place the meatballs into it.


    ''''I see you''ve finished the meat, can you come and help me with the vegetables?'''' Alice asks me as she walks over to look in the pan.


    ''''Of course sister, just tell me where you need my help'''' I say trying to contain my laughter.


    ''''I just need you to help me cut some of them, it will save a bit of time'''' Alice replies with her eyebrow slightly raised.


    ''''Before that, how about some music?'''' I say, trying to liven up the mood.


    ''''Mhm, sure'''' Alice replies with a nod while she continues to cut the remaining vegetables.


    ''''Tsh, Alice, you''re not helping...'''' I say slightly irritated.


    ''''I dont really mind what we listen to, we have the same taste in music anyway brother'''' She says while looking over her shoulder.


    With a shrug I turn on the radio and return to Alice her side.


    With the two of us working together, we swiftly finish the rest of the preparations for the spaghetti.


    ''''There!'''' Alice says as she places the finished product on the stove


    I raise the lid and sure enough, a pan full of pesto spaghetti goodness...


    ''''With of course my Russian roulette meatballs'''' I think to myself as a grin appears on my face


    While the spaghetti stands ready on the stove, Alice and I start dressing the table for dinner.


    Once that is done, I grab the pan and we sit down to eat.


    ''''So... uh... how are your injuries doing?'''' Alice suddenly asks me.


    ''''Mhm? oh, they are fine, nothing to worry about'''' I reassure her with a slight smile after swallowing the food i had in my mouth.


    ''''Good...'''' She replies, as silence overtakes the table.


    After a few seconds of deadly silence, I notice that Alice her face is slowly turning red


    ''''Are you okay?'''' i ask her, trying to contain my laughter once again


    ''''I really hate you, you know that'''' Alice replies as water forms for her eyes.


    ''''I love you to'''' i say with a smile as Alice stands up and walks to the kitchen.


    ''''I take it that you liked my meatballs? I call them ''Allens Roulette''!'''' I say as I hear her slam the fridgedoor open, followed by a cup slammed on the sinktable and drinking noises.


    ''''Dont forget to leave some milk for tomorrow!'''' I call out once again


    ''''Screw you!'''' Alice replies.


    One or two minutes and alot of drinking later, Alice exists the kitchen and takes her seat back on the table.


    ''''You have 5 seconds to explain what you did to them'''' She says, glaring in my direction.


    ''''Nothing much, just a teaspoon of sambal'''' I say with a cheeky grin


    Alice replies with a sigh, as she carefully removes all of the meatballs from her plate, and places them onto mine.


    ''''Eat'''' She says, while continuing her glare.


    ''''Your wish is my command'''' I say, trying to tease her as I slowly eat the meatballs one at a time.


    And for some reason, every single meatball that i ate were normal onces, which only fueled the irritation of Alice more.


    ''''You and your damned devils luck'''' Alice said while pouting.


    With a grin, I reach over to the pan with my fork, and grab another meatball from it.


    However, just as I chew on it, my tounge tastes a familiar taste.


    I try not to let it show, but as I glance at Alice, I see a smile appearing on her face.


    Seeing the smile on her face, I try to form one of my own as well, but fail horribly which leads to some sort of akward smile plastering my face.


    This transforms Alice''s smile into a grin and after that into a giggle.


    Within a few seconds, the both of us are laughing untill i stand up to get a glass of milk myself.


    The rest of the dinner was farely uneventfull, and after cleaning the table and dishes we both sat together on the couch to watch the news.


    ''''...Ther news, the AfD has once again had a increase of votes as problems caused by re...'''' The Newsman said before I grabbed the remote and switched channels


    ''''Not watching that'''' I said while placing my hand on Alice her head.


    Switching over to the next few newschannels, we find nothing of intrest.


    That is, untill we came upon our local newschannel...


    ''''We have just recieved a message from our local police station that the gangmembers who were recently arrested have indeed been released, the police did not make any statement on this''''


    Slowly, both Alice and I turned our heads and looked eachother in the eyes.


    ''''You dont think... that they hold any grudges?'''' Alice asks me.


    ''''I hope not...'''' i reply with a akward smile


    After turning off the TV, both Alice and I go to bed, yet sleep was something I was unable to catch, as my mind kept drifiting towards what happened today.


    Next day was quite uneventful, not that I minded of course.


    I woke up late as usual, this time not because of my habit, but because of yesterday.


    Upon entering the livingroom I can see Alice cleaning it.


    Normally we would greet each other, but instead a quick glance was all we gave.


    I Tried to give her a reassuring smile as well, but failed.


    After a bit of a social struggle in the morning, the both of us realised that simply sulking the whole day wasnt going to help.


    So over the course of the mid-day we managed to increase our moods.


    As the evening approached, both me and Alice had a small sibling skirmish over who could use the bathroom first, as we both wanted to take a shower before going to the restaurant.


    It ended in her eventually wining, but the both of us didnt have to take a shower anymore as we were completely drenched from fighting eachother with towels and water.


    ''''This isnt over General Romanta!'''' I yelled while slamming my fist on the locked bathroom door, faking my anger.


    ''''You may have won this battle, but I shall win the war!'''' I yelled again while containing my laughter.


    Unbeknowing to me, the same situation was present on the other side of the door with Alice trying to contain hers as well.


    After the both of us were finished, we went to the restaurant.


    Seeing as there wasnt really any parkingspots near the restaurant, we had to walk a while again.


    Neither I nor Alice were happy about this fact, two recent events clearly lingering in our heads.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ''''The evening was nice and nothing happened of intrest.'''' Is what I would have liked to happen, but there was one incident which was when I went to the bathroom that I could have sworn I heard the same static as in that dream.


    Still, It was only for a second or so, I didnt pay it any mind and continued having a great evening.


    After the both of us were done, we walked over to my car.


    Even if it didnt show, both Alice and I were quite tense, as we were clearly both on guard.


    Although I did have the feeling that we were being followed for a while, nobody came.


    With a Sigh, I sat down in the drivers seat with Alice next to me, we quickly glanced at eachother with a smile before I drove out of the parking lot.


    Not even a minute after we left, the same feeling rose up in me, as I checked my mirrors multiple times, and while I did see the same car multiple times, he left our trail right before we drove into our street.


    Dismissing it as nothing, I park my car and the both of us enter the building.


    What I did not notice however, was that same car backing out of the street it previously entered and the driver taking a glance at our car, parked in front of our house before leaving again...


    The rest of the week passed within a blink, as it was already sunday night.


    I activated my alarm to go off at 6 AM and went to sleep, the next day would be my first at the job.


    Within the few days days of work I mostly got introduced to the rest of the staff working there.


    They all seemed like nice people which was quite a relief for me.


    Grossman had some more questions for me as well, they mostly included things about metallurgy, welding and other information related to the job.


    Of course, with my education this didnt even cost me a second to answer.


    It was now the forth day of the job and I had just finished my break when suddenly my phone rang.


    I quickly signalled to one of my co-workers and he gave me a thumbs-up.


    I pick up the phone with out looking at the screen first and answer it with my usual start


    ''''Good day, You are currently speaking with Allen Black, how can I help you?'''' I asked.


    ''''I... Im scared... please...'''' I heard someone sob from the other side of the phone. Having a bad reception in the factory rendered me unable to hear the persons voice correctly, although it sounded female.


    As if being head with a pan on the back of my skull, Static rushed into my head once again.


    ''???????????''?????????????I?????f?????????? ??????????o??????????????n??????l????????????????y?????? ??????????h??????e???????????????? ?????????k?????????????n???????????e?????????????????w??????????.??????????????.??????????????.???????????''?????????''?????????????????? It echoed through my head.


    Confused on why the static returned, I checked the screen on my phone to identify the caller while walking trough the complex trying to find a better signal


    As if not registering the name, I had to read it out loud


    ''''Alice'''' I said slowly.


    Within a second the phone was back on my ear


    ''''Alice if this is a prank you are going to wish you didnt even think of the idea when I get home!'''' I yelled through the phone.


    The reply was simply more sobbing which slowed down untill I heard her voice again, Clearly this time as I found a good signal spot


    ''''Someone is trying to break in the house... Im scared... please... help...'''' She spoke through her sobbing.


    Something sparked within my being as I screamed through the phone


    ''''Grab a knife and lock yourself in the bathroom, I will be coming shortly!'''' as I threw my phone on the table


    As if being possessed by a demon, I ripped of my overalls.


    Checking on me, one of my co-workers poked his head around the corner


    ''''Allen, where are you going?'''' he asked me.


    ''''No time to talk Tim, my sister is at home and someone is breaking in'''' I replied, not bothering with grabbing any of my stuff exept my phone, ID and the knife I used to cut open my bread with.


    ''''Lad, tell her to call the police and hide in the bathroom, no need to go over there yourself'''' Tim said scratching his head


    ''''I have to, if I know the reason who they are and why they are there, I HAVE to go'''' I yell at him before sprinting out of the complex and to my car, leaving behind a confused Tim


    Driving in the car, I atleast follow his advice and call the police.


    Once that was done I gave Alice another call.


    My phone ringed once... twice... three times... and yet no answer was given...


    Arriving at my house, I dont even bother to park my car and simply let it stand on the street.


    I approach the now open door as my lungs were fueled by adrenaline, Anyone in there exept my sister will have wished they didnt come.


    Kicking open the door I find one of them looking around in the living room, whom upon hearing the door slam against the wall twisted around and grabbed something out of his jacket.


    It was too late for him, I had alreadly closed the distance in a sprint, crimson liquid flowed down his chest as my knife buried itself in his neck.


    Now while some may call this reaction too much, I recognised the bastard, it was one of the thugs who was involved in the fight I had around 2 weeks ago


    It wasnt a one-sided battle however as I heard a loud bang come from beneath me, followed by what could only be described as pain jolting through my torso.


    Looking down, I clearly saw a metallic object in his hand, pointing at me. A gun, he just shot me.


    I wanted to take out my knife and stab him again, but taking a look at his face showed he was already off to the next place.


    Behind me, I heard one of them enter the living room, coming from Alice her room.


    ''''Ey man what was tha...'''' he started talking


    Without even giving it a second thought, I grabbed the gun from the lifeless hands of the thug beneath me, twisted around and placed a bullet right through his chest followed right by another one.


    I lifted myself up slowly as I felt blood running down my legs and struggled over to the kitchen.


    ''''Need something better then a breadknife...'''' I said to myself as I felt my energy slowly slipping away


    Ripping open multiple drawers, I found what I was looking for, Alice her most prized knife, a forged petty knife.


    I quickly snag it from its holder and made my way over to Alice her room, from which I heard atleast 2 more people not including Alice herself.


    As I was shambling over to the room holding the knife in my left hand and the gun in my right, I looked over to the bathroom and much to my anger saw it open with the lock busted.


    My mind started rambling about the situations I could find when entering her room ranging from horrible to bad.


    Sadly, once again god chose to smite me as what I saw.


    My sister, my pale-blond haired sister with her ice-blue eyes laying on bed with 2 almost naked men standing over her, tied down with multiple ropes, half-exposed with some of her clothes being ripped off.


    Her eyes blank, seemingly not housing a soul anymore as dried-up tears were clearly visible in her blood-shot eyes.


    I stood in the door opening for what seemed like a eternity, gazing upon the picture in front of my eyes.


    I felt my weakened body being filled with a metric tonne of emotions as something snapped deep within the very core of my body, one of which was the most prominent: Hate


    Slowly, the picture started moving as both thugs turned around, one of them reaching for his jacked tossed in the corner of the room while the other tried to grab his pants, currently hanging around his ankles.


    I clearly saw that the one on the right who had his pants hanging on 6 o''clock had another gun in it, so I aimed my own at him and without even a scred of mercy placed 4 more bullets in him, his body shuddering with each hit


    Pointing my gaze at the last one, I immediately recognized him.


    He was the bastard who asked me to sell Alice to him. It seems that when he couldnt buy her, he tried to take her by force.


    I fired a warning shot at his jacket, which startled him so bad that he made a sound no man should make.


    Turning his face towards me, he said something which I never expected.


    ''''Wh... Why are you... laughing?'''' he stuttered out


    Without even realising when and why it happened, I dropped my gun and placed the free hand on my face.


    Much to my confusion, I could indeed feel a clear smile plastered on my face.


    Lost in confusion, I failed to notice the thug reaching for his jacket again and grabbing a knife out of it.


    I tried to block, but the knife found my stomach anyway.


    Just like mine slashed across his neck, as I saw his eyes which were but 30cm away from me losing their light as his body went limp.


    letting his body drop to the floor, I stumbled way over to Alice and started to cut her ropes loose.


    With every step I took, I could feel my muscles cramping and refusing to go further.


    Yet, I had been running on adrenaline and rage since I was shot, so my body just had to accept my unresonable demands for now.


    Observing the room with a hazy gaze, I noticed the needle and a bottle of clear fluid resting on the nightstand next to Alice her bed.


    ''''They drugged her...'''' I said, feeling a tear run down my face as I cut down the last of her ropes.


    Without thinking, I laid down next to her and took her shuddering body in my arms as we laid face to face.


    I saw a trickle of red flow down her mouth, and I placed her forehead against mine.


    With my last breath, I thought of my last words to her from the bottom of my heart


    ''''Im sorry... Goodnight...'''' I said before closing my eyes and to never open them again.


    My last view was that of the person I held dearest, and although It may have been my mind playing tricks on me, I could have sworn I saw her give her usual reassuring smile...


    Once more I opened my eyes to be greeted by a familiar darkness with in front of me, a familiar face which I recognised as the Goddess.


    Yet unlike before, where most of her features were blinded by the white light still radiating from her were now visible for me to see.


    Her eyes were a deep crystallic blue which made me look away in fear of being drowned in them and her lips which unlike the drowning feeling of her eyes spat out from her face with color, yet a clear distinction could be made between their natural beauty and the make-up version women used back on earth.


    Her Golden-blond hair which waved from the top of her well-formed head down till the lower part of her torso and the well-proportoned torso itself, which combined with the toga left little to the imagination.


    Her whole being screamed ''Perfection'', is what I thought.


    ''''Homo Sapien, Male'''' She spoke, even in the same tone as the last time I was here.


    ''''Welcome! I...'''' she continued, yet her face turned to confusion as she took a good glance at me


    ''''Havent we met before?'''' she asked me ''''Oh, how silly of me you cannot anwser my question anywa...''''


    And yet, I interrupted her sentence as I asked ''''Where is this?''''


    If before her face was covered with confusion, now that same feeling came back, yet two times more.


    ''''Mortal, not only do I have the feeling we have ''talked'' before, but not one of your kind should be able to utter a single word in this plane'''' she spoke, slowly tilting her head while looking over my body.


    ''''If I may inquire, you dont look that well...'''' she slowly spoke after she had finished her observasion.


    She did have a point, my knees felt weak and my arms heavy. I couldnt help myself any longer and slowly collapsed.


    At least, thats what I thought would happen, but with a bright golden flash, the goddess appeared behind me and caught me, slowly letting me down and placing my head on her lap.


    As I layed on her strangely comfortable lap, I felt her soft hand slowly caressing through my hair.


    In all honesty, this was the last thing I expected upon arriving here after...


    After...


    Af?t?er.?.?.


    A?f?t?e??r??.?.??.??


    After... what?


    I felt myself drifting away as the corners of my sight turned dark at a snails pace.


    Out of the corner of my eye I saw the face of the goddess saying something to me as she shook my body.


    I gave her a smile, I was too tired... My sight turned completely black.


    And yet, with a flash, all came back. 2 massive transparent golden wings sprouted from the back of the goddess.


    I felt myself gasping for air, but as I looked down I saw a hole leaking a small trail of black goop in my chest, perfectly sitting in the middle of my torso.


    I''d be freaking normally, but the aura those 2 massive golden wings gave out calmed me down, atleast till I heard a massive crash coming from the right.


    Ive never felt so many feelings before, the fear emanating from the hole in my chest, the warmth emanating from the golden wings and now, Dread, coming from whatever just made a hole in darkness.


    My mind felt like It could explode, simply looking at a hole in nothing.


    And yet out of that hole came a distinct figure, Black hair combed back with quite alot of hairgel, a tight black suit and two crimson eyes piercing everything they gaze at.


    The normally friendly and warm voice of the goddess changed into one of hatred, something which nobody could ever imagine coming out of someone of her being as she spoke.


    ''''What are you doing here Lucifer, I already have my hands full stabilising this mortal his condition with whatever it is, I dont have time for you.''''


    The being, apperantly called Lucifer replied as a smirk appeared on his face.


    ''''Im exactly here for him, can''t you see the hole in his chest? only sinners recieve those, he should have ended up with me, instead you choose to accept him even after what he did.''''


    ''''Now mortal, come with me'''' Lucifer continued as I felt a strange power envelop me just before being magically pulled away from the grasp of the goddess.


    ''''Lucifer! return him this instance'''' I heard the goddess yell.


    ''''Or else what old man, you going to fight me for it?'''' Lucifer replied while shrugging


    ''''Child, it seems I must once again dicipline you, I need the Mortals help to fight ''them'', our powers cannot harm ''them'' and you know it'''' The now God said, as he transformed from the angel-looking woman to a quite muscular old man.


    The toga stayed but the slender appendages gave way to albeit old, strong arms and legs, similar to one of a blacksmith or soldier, arms and legs who belonged to a hard working father, one who would pick up his child at the end of the day, raise them up high and laugh with a boulder echo.


    ''''A father-like figure... which I never had...'''' I thought to myself as I felt tears slowly forming in my eyes.


    Still being in the grasp of Lucifer, I couldnt do anything but lower my head and wallow in my sadness.


    ''''Instead of granting the mortals power, why not use my tactic and fuel yourself with them just like I do'''' Lucifer replied while forming a massive black scimitar-like sword seemingly out of nowhere


    With God on the other side creating some sort of warhammer from the same aura as the golden wings before, it seems that at any moment a battle between the two forces of good and evil was going to errupt, and yet, it was stopped by a single object.


    A massive blue screen appeared in the middle of both gods.


    STARTING ASSIMILATION


    <table>


    <tbody>


    <tr>


    <td colspan="4">SOUL FOR REINCARNATIOND DETECTED</td>


    </tr>


    </tbody>


    </table>


    Seeing the blue screen, even Lucifer lost his cool and started leaking the same black goo from seemingly every hole of his rage-filled face.


    ''''Impossible, how are they able to enter this plane'''' God called out as he vanished once more, only to appear at Lucifers side.


    ''''Child, let us leave our quarrel for another day, we must make sure the mortal is not assimilated, else his soul be lost forever in the system'''' God said to Lucifer.


    Once more, the Golden wings appeared from behind god and started to envelop the three of them, yet it was too late.


    A beam of blue light errupted from from the screen and impacted right on me right below the hole.


    Every second that passed by I could feel my strenght fading as small blue cubes left my body to travel up the stream of light errupting from the Blue Screen.


    As I was slowly turned into blue cubes I could hear both God and Luficer argueing, I could hear what they were saying, but it was in a language I had never heard before.


    Within a few precious seconds they had reached some sort of conclusion as God spoke;


    ''''Mortal, we must ask you to go with our selfish plans, you may have no idea what is going on right now and I''d wish I had the time to explain it, but time is of the essence''''.


    ''''What the Old man is trying to say, you will become our agent in the system, normally I''d never accept working with a mortal, but since you somehow belong in both my plane and his we shall grant you both our powers to destroy the system from the inside'''' Lucifer said as he pointed at his Old man.


    The last thing I felt and saw was both Luficer and God placing their hands right above the hole, both their hands on one half of my chest, before two massive lights, one black and one gold shone as from the light two small balls appeared and entered my body, I could have sworn both the golden wings and the black shadow dimmed down a bit, but I could never make sure as the rest of my body exploded into blue cubes.

 Arc: 1 - The Power of the Soul I

    ''''How long has it been?'''' a voice called out, looking over what seemed to be a sprawling city.


    He could see every inch of it, all the underground layers specialised in production, the massive skyscrapers reaching into the heavens, the millions of people doing their usual routine, and most importantly, the massive white fog-like barrier, forming a perfect circle in the distance.


    Not a fly could land on a leaf in the city without him knowing, one would feel any change on their body after all, so why not in here?


    The voice came from nothingness, not a strange figure on a high building, nor someone in a toga on a cloud. The voice simply excisted, like it had done since the birth of this place.


    Had the voice a name? of course, the voice''s name was Allen, he, in his omni-present view was looking down upon the sprawling city of Drakia. Not Tokyo, nor Paris or Berlin could compare to the size this place.


    ''''I still dont understand why you wanted me to do this, old man'''' Allen sighed once more before thinking back on a memory from only the Old man knew how long ago.


    A multitude of blue cubes appeared out of the everywhere-present black void, a humanoid shape was formed and regained his features from before.


    Allen stood up. ''''And once again I appear in where-ever this is, I see a trend appearing'''' He said, although nobody was present to listen.


    And yet, one key difference was found between his earlier experiences with this dimension and the previous ones. A completely white cube stood before him, around 15 steps away.


    Allen continued glancing around for any other anomalies, but finding none, he approached the cube.


    ''''There doesnt seem to be a door anywhere'''' he mumbled while walking around the cube, his first steps were with care out of fear of simply falling through the ''''floor'''' of this place.


    Having completely circled the cube, Allen took a step forward, the next step after circling the cube was to approach it.


    lo and behold, a rectangular hole opened up, revealing a door behind it.


    ''''Huh, reminds me of those Sci-fi doors that open up like one of those rollerblinders'''' Allen remarked as he moved towards it and grabbed the handle of the door.


    Although without a actual normal door behind it'''' he continued shortly after before opening the door and stepping inside.


    Allen''s mouth slightly openened as he looked around, this was his room, his Pc on his desk over to his left, his king-sized bed standing next to the window in front of him, and his massive bookcase filled with all sort of random books.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.''''Well this is disturbing'''' he said, returning from his shocked state.


    At first, he looked around for any differences, Allen stepped over towards his PC and activated it, expecting silence, he couldnt lie to be slightly startled at the sudden sound of the water-cooling activating.


    Letting the PC boot up, Allen turned around and headed to the bookcase, placing his finger on the top-leftest book he started to trail their backs with his fingers, noting any important onces.


    ''''Art of War, Vom Kriege, Metallurgy Fundamentals, New Edge of the Anvil, A Brief History of Time'''' Allen listed as he frowned. ''''Its all here...''''


    Allen looked back towards his PC, it had finished booting up and now stood on his desktop.


    Allen grabbed his chair and rolled it backwards, just enough for him to squeeze through and sit down.


    ''''So... what now? is this how im suppose to please myself untill eternity? playing the same games all over again?'''' Allen said as he stared at the desktop, glancing at every Icon on it before coming across something he had yet to see before.


    His mouse hovered over it as Allen was in conflict on if he should press it or not. In the end, a click was heard two times in rapid succession as the program was launched.


    Instead of some sort of launched, a Pixelated-figure appeared on Allen''s screen behind the Icons, taking up around a eighth of his screen.


    The figure was dressed in a familiar toga, together with the bear-like bodyshape.


    God coughed as he waved his hand around on the screen, making the Icon''s in front of him float away into the corners of the screen.


    ''''There, that should do it'''' God said while his figure on-screen nodded. Allen frowned as he stared at his screen.


    ''''Welcome Mortal, to a dimension normally inaccesable to your kind!'''' God exclaims while spreading his arms.


    ''''Since we are able to meet, I am going on ahead and assume you have succesfully been transported, no?''''


    ''''I... I guess?'''' Allen replied, looking around his room.


    God''s Figure chuckled slightly.


    ''''Do not worry, This room is a easy manifestation of your consiousness. However, today we are not here for that, instead...'''' God said, as he pulled up a completely grey Icon from behind his back.


    ''''We are here for this!'''' he continued, placing the Icon on Allen''s screen as it resized itself to fit the normal size.


    Allen read the name of the program. ''''Soul Development V2? what happened to the first version?'''' He asked.


    God chuckled once more as he explained ''''We Immortals use the first version, normally one has to be either a Hero or a Demi-god to use Version 2, but I made a exception for you Mortal.''''


    With a shrug, Allen clicked the icon, ''''Initialising Soul Development program... Adjusting spec''s to required standard... God''s Key found... Starting up...'''' A mechanical voice called out from his speakers


    After the voice had gone silent, his screen went black, and a soft golden glow formed around both around his monitor, as well as his PC.

 Arc: 1 - The Power of the Soul II

    The golden glow kept surrounding his PC and monitor, Allen was unmoving waiting for something to happen.


    After what felt like a eternity of nothing happening, he began feeling bored and stood up from his chair, the PC still sounding like it was overheating at the temperature of the sun.


    Having not much to do, Allen spent his time re-reading most of the books on his shelf. his clock on the wall, though the room was apperantly in his own consiousness, still worked. Multiple hours had passed as Allen had been reading his books.


    In the end, he simply moved over to his bed and layed down, closing his eyes.


    The moment his eyes closed, Allen found himself hovering high in the sky over what seemed to be a meadow.


    ''''What the?'''' he exclaimed, looking around to gaze at the new landscape.


    In the distance Allen could see a great mountain range with a massive forest located before it.


    Turning left, a area of hills, connecting with the forest and mountain range.


    Turning right, complete flatlands with grass and some bushes scattered around it.


    Behind him, a massive river would run from the left to the right, dissapearing from sight in both ways without reaching an end.


    Though the landscape was not what unnerved Allen, the fact that he was without a body was the most suprising.


    He could look up, down, left, right, any direction he wanted, but not a trace of his body could be found.


    Then, without any sudden announcement, God poofed into existence right beside him.


    Even though Allen wasnt looking in his direction, he could still feel it somehow, just like everything in the area. his view turned around.


    ''''Well, this is intresting'''' God suddenly spoke ''''Normally the program would simply boot up and force you into this simulation within a few seconds. Instead, for some reason it waited till you fell asleep before placing you here''''


    Allen responded with suprise, and a slight hint of fear. ''''Is it broken? Is something wrong?''''.


    ''''No, seems like everything is alright'''' God said after looking around. ''''Enough worrying, its time to start!'''' he suddenly said, clapping his hands together as both he and Allen suddenly appeared on the ground below.


    ''''This here, is your soul'''' God said, pointing down to what seemed to be a straw longhouse.


    Allen frowned, or atleast he would have if he actually had a body. ''''How come I didnt notice this before?'''' he thought, before asking God a question ''''Isnt everything here part of my soul?''''.


    God smiled before starting his explanation


    ''''The soul is by far the most intresting object that has ever been created, and to answer your question; no, the landscape merely represents the size your soul is able to expand too.


    God briefly stopped as if to catch a breath before continuing with his explanation''''the actual population of the landscape is what decides both the power of your soul which you use to both fight against foreign influences and excert your own influence, and everything that uses said power, things like your affinity mana or Qi from the novels frequently appearing on earth for example''''.


    ''''Wait, that has been ever created? did you not create them?'''' Allen asked, curious that if God hadnt, who had?


    Normally he would have been suprised by the fact that worlds with mana and qi excisted as well, but after the rollercoaster of events that had been happening lately, something like that didnt bother him anymore.


    ''''No, something else did, dont ask me who or what, not even I know'''' god replied with a sigh ''''I simply copy the blueprint and sometimes change certain aspects before sending them off into earth'''' he would continue.


    Allen was shocked. ''''Then that means you created people like Stalin and Hitler as well!?'''' he would yell.


    God shaked his head ''''Foolish boy, I would never create such people, I simply created their souls, they and they alone used their differences from the standard humans for evil''''


    ''''Then, what about the story of the Ark of Noah? where you flooded the whole earth?'''' Allen asked, his shock lessened.


    God shrugged and spoke ''''Once again, I would never do such a thing, that was wholely on my son, Lucifer, something about you mortals getting too ''cocky''?''''


    ''''Now, while I dont mind talking about earth''s history with you, there are more present matters that need to be handeled'''' god said, turning around, his back now facing the longhouse.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ''''This is where the Soul developement program V2, or just SD-2, comes into play'''' God would speak while raising his arm and pointing at the Longhouse.


    ''''To begin, simply call out your workers by using your mind or voice, everyone uses a different methode, so just try and get a feel for it'''' he would continue while lowering his arm back down.


    Allen simply stared at the house and wondered about which approach he should use.


    In the end, he found a way he was both experienced and comfortable with, and thus he called out. ''''Train Worker times five''''


    The whole landscape shook as a massive tremor suddenly appeared and dissapeared within a second


    God frantically looked around ''''Did something just get changed in the files?''''


    Allen was simply staring at the longhouse, a white hollow beam was hovering above the longhouse, slowly being filled from the left to the right with blue.


    ten seconds passed, and the door of the longhouse opened, the inside revealed nothing but darkness when suddenly five humans stepped out and formed a perfect line in front of the building, both their appearance and gender completely random.


    Allen gleefully smiled inside his head as this time he instead of speaking, simply thought the next command ''''Open techtree''''


    in his view, a massive beam of black appeared with smaller beams, currently grey of color being randomly placed across the black one, only connected by small yellow lines.


    Only the left-most smaller beam was not grey, instead it was a blue-ish green and simply listed ''Language'' with a small picture of two stickmans and a speechbubble.


    While Allen was occupied with his newly discovered function, god continued to explain, unknowingly that Allen was paying zero attention.


    ''''And thus, you should be able to view the techtree by saying ''''Open Fantasy Techtree'''' which will enable you to...'''' God said, before coming to a halt.


    ''''Are you paying attention?'''' he asked Allen, seeing as in the whole explanation, not a single question was asked.


    Allen, being caught, removed his techtree from view after wondering what it could contain


    ''''Uh... yeah, totally, something about ''Open Fantasy Techtree'', right?'''' he replied, though at speaking the same words, another beam came into view.


    Instead of being black with greyed out boxes however, this one was a deep shade of purple, with blue beams signifying techs that hadnt been discovered yet and green lines to connect the smaller beams.


    Allen remained silent and this time called out his previous command.


    ''''Open Techtree'''' he spoke and remained silent.


    The top half of his view, black. the bottom half, purple.


    ''''Say god, is it possible to have multiple techtrees?'''' Allen asked, continuously switching his view between the two.


    ''''I have never encountered such a thing, but let me take a look'''' God replied as he spoke a command as well ''''Admin access''''.


    God''s eyes turned a bright gold as both the two techtrees and the gray colored ball-shaped hue came into view.


    Squinting his eyes, he walked over to Allen ''''Let me take a look'''' before placing his hand below both beams and with the both of them covered in a golden layer, turned around to him.


    Suddenly, God bursted into a laugh. Allen was stupified


    ''''Whats the matter?'''' he asked God


    ''''My boy, it seems that somehow you have access to not only the techtree that was meant for you, but also the one that belongs back on earth'''' God replied, wiping a small tear of his face


    ''''And whats so funny about that?'''' Allen asked curiously


    God would exhale loudly, trying to get rid of his giddyness. ''''Ignoring the fact that not even I have two, it means that your soul will probably become one of the most powerfull entities on the Planet where the system has sent you''''


    Allen remained silent. God sighed.


    ''''You will see eventually'''' he said before continuing


    ''''It seems that you fully understand the basics now. which is good, because my time is once again running short'''' god said, as his body turned transparent.


    ''''Ah, to exit the dimension, should you wish to do so, simply think about waking up, I look forward to seeing your process Allen, I hope you will not dissapoint me when I return'''' God said with a smile before he dissapeared once more.


    ''''Oh, he finally said my name...'''' Allen remarked before turning to his five workers


    ''''From what ive gathered, this seems alot like any old strategy game...'''' he spoke, before correcting himself


    ''''No, I guess RTS is better? Hmm....''''


    After a slight conflict over which genre would be better applyable on this, Allen ordered his workers to start all sort of miscellaneous tasks.

 Arc: 1 - The Power of the Soul III

    X---___Report__001___---X


    Report authorised by: Overseer Teluga


    Subject: Core 00


    Reason for reports: Dormant state of Core 00


    Unlike its broth... others of its kind who have already begun their firsts tasks, Core 00 still seems to be in some form of dormant state.


    Though normally this wouldnt be much of a issue, as every core has different times of awakenings, but for the first core to be installed in this world to act in such a way is slightly disturbing.


    Reading my instruments granted by our System, it is clear from the fluxuations of mana that everything should, in theory, be operating correctly.


    Normally one would assume that there might be a malfunction within the innerworkings of the core itself, however since said core was formed personally by our exhaled one, and as such this cannot be the case.


    The only assumption left is that the conciousness we transported to be absorbed and form the base intelligence for the Dungeon-AI was somehow either flawed or corrupted.


    Further observation is required to find the cause for this phenomenon and to see if the core should be terminated


    X---_Report_001_END_---X


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Allen''s gaze went up into the sky. ''''How many times has the sun come up already? '''' he wondered to himself.


    Looking back down, he glanced around the now small village.


    He hadnt done much to them yet beside sometimes implementing certain technologies to speed up their process, and was mostly exploring the limits of this strange system the Old man left him with.


    Exploring said system had let him to quite a few usefull techniques and exploits.


    One of those would be the fact that, should he spend much of his energy he could actually directly control one of his ''villagers'' he could simply show them advanced techniques that would normally require years to develope.


    ''''Though the question still remains where I gather the energy from to form all of this, that and the fact that after doing my ''transfer technique'' I pretty much black out and return to my little square pocket...'''' Allen mumbled to himself


    In any case, both on their own accord and with some small help here and there from Allen, the village numbered around thirty houses, each holding atleast five to six people in them.


    The style of well, everything, seemed to be taken from medieval european times, mostly from the area that would be the Holy Roman Empire in those times.


    The only building that had not yet been touched was the massive viking-longhouse, which both stood out because of its size, and of the different architectural style that was used.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.Beside the village were fields of grains and other plants being cultivated using bronze tools and flattened dirt-roads occupied by large, human-towed wooden barrows snaking through them.


    All in all, besides the Longhouse located in the middle of the village and the massive obelisk-like stone standing a few meters in front of it with a few people on their knees beside this, Allen''s small community could be considered a normal village.


    ''''Ah, they''re still doing that whole praying thing huh, I hope the Old man doesnt mind. I dont have any plans to become a god anyway...'''' Allen said while staring at the praying villagers


    ''''No wait, isnt this more like some form of narcicism? since everything here is my soul?'''' Allen continued before sighing and returning to his observing duties as the sun lowered and night fell once more.


    The sun rises in the east, and sets in the west.


    Fields of golden yellow blooming, harvested and replanted.


    The River always flowing, the fish travling up and down.


    In the distance, the forest in harmony, never being overhunted, though never having outbreaks of overpopulation as well.


    The Village... nay, City below, ever busy, ever expanding, buildings rising from nothing, sprawling lines from the center of it, every single person working not for greed but for the community itself.


    And, hovering over said village, the grey light shone without anyone seeing.


    Its influence ever expanding as Bronze turned into Iron by the power of casting and Iron together with metallurgy into steel.


    Though weapons had never been needed, weaponry itself had advanced at a disturbing rate.


    The obelisk now replaced by a massive cathedral dedicated to the might of the Light,


    rivalled only in size by the Palace guarded by the humongous Citadel filled with rows of gaping steel maws commonly known as cannons decorated with beasts and other mythical creatures, as if anyone who dared face the massive walls would be destroyed by their wrath, around it.


    Deep underground, light-blue lights could be seen shining a pleasant light around as massive furnaces could be seen, working all day-round.


    Massive stone and wooden halls, filled with children of all ages, their focus on the white sheets below, their ears keenly listning to the person in front of them.


    Only a translucent white barrier stood between them and the great beyond.


    And so the City ever expanded, the Grey light still shining above them as both the arts of Magic and Technology expanded, hand in hand towards a greater future


    ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    X---___Report__509___---X


    Report authorised by: Overseer Teluga


    Subject: Core 00


    Core 00 still lays dormant after fivehundred years, multiple attempts at forming a connection to check on its subconsious state have been authorised and attempted, but with no results.


    As such, requests for termination with the reason of malfunction have been sended out and should be arriving within the next fifty to onehundred years.


    The only question remains is how something the exhalted one himself has created was able to malfunction in the first place still exists,


    I Teluga have tried to destroyed all rumors among the overseers of other dimensions that the soul was simply flawed, sadly, some have escaped my grasph


    Though its mana intake has risen beyond even my levels, I can only presume that this is merely because of its malfunction


    I can only hope Core 00 somehow will awaken soon, with its massive mana intake it would be able to easily catch up to the others of its kind with ease.


    For both the Exalted one''s and my own reputations sake...


    X---_Report_509_END_---X

 Arc: 1 - The Power of the Soul IV

    X---___Report__510___---X


    Report authorised by: Overseer Teluga


    Subject: Core-00


    The request for termination of Core-00 have been approved, this will be the last report I will authorise under said subject.


    Within several months Overseer Thymos will arrive to begin the process, I have failed both myself and the Exhalted one.


    To prevent his name from being tarnished, I will take all fault upon myself and hope that with my execution, nobody will go after the Exhalted one.


    As such, this is the last report that I, Overseer Teluga, First rank Administrator of the planet...


    Core-00... has just sent out a signal! Further investigation is requiered before I am able to call off Overseer Thymos, praise the Exhalted one!


    X---___Report__510_END__---X


    Time had passed for ages, both outside and inside.


    The city had expanded into a true metropolis; the skies were adorned with large, metal-constructed buildings as far as the eye could see, each one higher then the next.


    Tunnels ran underground into large areas, bright floodlights shining down on pastures filled with now-domesticated animals and seemingly infinite oremines that fuelled the cities factories.


    Both Techtrees, shading in purple and blue-green, would have been completed at 100%


    The grey light, ever present, whisking backwards and forwards to give a helping hand, would hover back upon the spot he had arrived in so-long ago.


    Floating through the city, would he glance inside the buildings, seeing what he''d dubbed the NPC''s go about their daily life, smiling at eachother as they worked, slept, loved and married.


    Every time he got bored, or didn''t want to continue, he''d spent a while just... staring, content with their way of life. peaceful, without crime, without war, without hunger...


    And yet. it pained him to know this was all but inside his own soul. all these faces were probably the ones he''d seen in his life, if only a glimpse.


    All these stories, based upon the ones he''d read about, or heard from someone else.


    ''''Well... even if I''m a completionist... this is getting kinda boring... maybe I should try that waking-up thing God said?'''' -he''d mutter to himself, though, quite useless considering nothing could hear him.


    A crackle of light would spark through the skies as the light left.


    Darkness covered his vision, though he''d give no reply about the, atleast for him, frequently-occuring event.


    ''''I thought the Old-man said I''d go back to my room... why am I in some hole?''''


    Turning his head, would he glance about, his vision slowly returning, in color.


    Seemingly present in some form of a massive, mossed-stone chaimber, decorated only by large and sturdy pillars, would he give a confused expression.


    . . .


    Head...?


    Glancing down, would he notice a distinct lack of body, or grey light. instead, finding a Iron-colored Dipyramid.


    Though, before he could speak, would a strange figure teleport itself into the room, right infront of the gemstone.


    If, said person was not a dwarf, or giant, he''d estimate the dipyramid to be about 3/4th''s of a person, floating in mid-air.


    Though this was a distinctly female-member of what seemed to be a atleast somewhat humanoid-species...


    Dressed in a tight-fitting robe with purple-hair and silver-irises, would she hold a regal, relieved, yet somewhat arrogant expression.


    ''''Core 00, took you long enough. now. obey your master, the exhalted one. as I, Overseer Teluga will bind you.'''' As much as he wanted to ''float'' backwards, Allen had no way to move as her hand touched the surface of the gemstone.


    Which... as tradition, would make him black-out. again.


    Atleast the familiar feeling of being a floating grey-light was welcoming... he could move in this form, after all.


    The light would give a brief jerk as a loud warhorn sounded through the area, making him glance about in fright.


    Well, that, and the fact the old-man popped up behind him again, giving a greeting ''''Greetings Allen! seems like someone''s trying to invade your soul, hm? I hope you''ve got a few swords and mages ready to f...-''''


    ''''...'''' Would the Light say, a tralucent questionmark almost appearing over his head.


    ''''...'''' Would the old-man reply.


    ''''Allen, my dear boy. What is this?''''


    ''''My... soul? is this a trick-question?''''


    God would remain silent for a while, before slowly shaking his head, mumbling something about ''having to had expected this''


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.Giving a short cough, would the father-like figure turn towards the light, before extending a arm, and finger, towards the horison.


    ''''My boy. the enemies are at your gate. fend them off and conquer them, take their soul for your own and grow stronger. you''re our only hope in this.'''' His earlier carefree voice gone, would it have been replaced by one with a authorative and stern tone.


    Allen would have probably saluted if he could. instead, with the instructions given to him by the Old-man, would he sound the signal for war, blinking between crimson and grey for several second.


    On a large plain would an army march. Werewolves, elves, dwarves, skeletons, wyverns. Anything remotely considered to be in the genre of ''fantasy''.


    Their numbers atleast reaching over a million, their marching making the earth tremble and their shadows casting a black-shade on the ground.


    Sitting on a moving throne, would a figure sit quite leasurely, her long, purple hair gently waving in the wind, silver irises glancing over her army with a bored expression.


    ''''Goodness. if it wasn''t for wasting as much of my time as it had, I wouldnt have to resort to such ''overwhelming'' methods. this''ll be quite the boring campaign...''''


    her soft voice would whisper, carried along the wind towards a certain grey-light. this was his soul, nothing could, or would, escape his grasph.


    He flickered to crimson once more, the ground before the army breaking outwards to reveal square-shapes with several rods sticking out, their metal surfaces glinstering in the sunlight.


    ''''Fire all weapons...'''' He would have smirked if he could.


    The opening serenade would begin with the whipcrack of machinegun-fire, tearing through nearly anything that came in range.


    While the Wyvern''s scales were somewhat resistant to the rifle-caliberd weaponry, the 4x bigger guns situated inside hatches ontop the bunkers, not so much.


    The orcs were flattened under the threads of large, angular tanks, blasting away with the main cannon and smaller turrets situated on- and around the vehicle.


    Golems went toe-to-toe with metal mechs, flamethrowers turning their rock and ground into fragile glass.


    Magic would fly across the battlefield, the Overseer briefly smirking before they''d harmlessly bounce-off flickering shielding, striking only their already dwindeling allies..


    The plains turned into a landscape Lucifer himself would be quite pleased with,


    A litteral, figurative hell.


    Amongst the black smoke and cnispering flames would the titans of war walk, the lightning chariots rolling their threads forwards, metal bodies clearing away any opposition, elven arrows bouncing off the plating, magic being sprayed with by chainguns and artillery.


    She thought she was going to ''overwhelm'' him.


    Allen gave a soft chuckle, gazing upon the stomping like only a RTS-player would, a fully-tech''d army against someone who didn''t know how to upgrade.


    A distance away, God would watch with what would only be described as a conflicted look.


    He was glad that someone had arrived who could stand against the ''system''


    But... on the other hand, it seemed that Lucifer did have somewhat of a point...


    While he himself could not see his own expression, he, God, could.


    The smile was something God would rather pretend not having seen.


    The mixture of mechs and tanks would approach the now greatly-flustered ''Overseer, still sitting upon her now-damaged throne.


    She''d both sneer at what for her were unnatural monsters and gaze at them with fear before vanishing with a wave of her arm, the grey light being forced outwards together with her.


    A crimson-liquid would now cover the otherwise flawless gemstone as the light returned to Taluga''s silver-eyes, her hand lifting off the stone.


    ''''Y-you... monster...'''' she''d spit out, inbetween the blood seeping from her mouth


    ''''Says the one who attacked me without reason, spouting things about trying to ''bind'' me...'''' Allen thought, only to find himself actually ''saying'', or more like transmitting the words.


    Though, it seemed the overseer was too busy staring at her bleeding and coughing form, gazing up at him in confusion, before glancing around


    ''''No... this damage is not from the Soul-Battle... this whole place is concentrated with pure... mana?''''


    She''d raise her arm, a sparkling of magic created inside a nearly-closed fist. ''''You.. Atleast... I''ll take you with me... if not... you''d mess up the Exhalted one''s plans...''''


    But, before she could even do whatever she''d planned, the light left her eyes once more, never to return.


    The earth shook briefly, before a blue screen would try and form infront of his face, only to be rejected by a mixture of black and gold light, and vanishing


    Silence... spread through the halls, as now, a pathway would snake outside, sunlight barely making it inside the grand, dilapidated hall.


    With proper light now reaching inside, would he notice the thick-blue mist covering every inch inside the room.


    Though, strangely enough, it would refuse to even float outside into the doorway towards the outside, as if perfectly content with remaining around the core.


    Glancing around the hall, would Allen give a soft, non-existent sigh. having little-to-no control over... well, anything, besides his gaze and speech, apperantly, would he settle down.


    Exhaustion taking over, would his eyes begin to close as it seemed that battle had taken more energy then the thought it would have.


    Opening them again, he''d lay on his ''bed'', staring at a familiar roof... part of him... expecting his sister to call him for breakfast...


    Yet. he knew, that wouldn''t happen. not now, not ever.


    This was his life now. and God knows what it would entail.


    ''''So, better ask him then, no?''''

 Arc: 1 - The Power of the Soul V

    Allen would find himself back in his room. Well, besides his room, a small table and two chairs being the only thing present, himself taking one seat as the other would be occupied by a certain white-robed old-man.


    ''''So...'''' Would the both of them begin, before giving eachother a slight smile, the Old man taking the lead.


    ''''I... suppose you must have alot of questions, hm?''''


    Allen would cross his arms, giving a slight nod. ''''What... exactly has happened? Since I came here, of course.''''


    Making a set of 2 glasses appear, would God first pour them a set of drinks, plain water before taking a slow sip.


    ''''In short, Both myself and Lucifer have used you as a infiltrator into the system. we broke the bounds it was planning to set on you using our own energies, and changed your fate from becoming a mindless monster-spawner to what you are now.''''


    The 2 men would stare at eachother for a while, before the Older one would shrug.


    ''''The soul program, as it''s name suggests was suppose to strenghten your soul enough as to where you could boot out the Overseer before vanishing, not push her into near-death and absorbing her soul into your own.''''


    Leaning forward, would God''s expression take a turn darker.


    ''''You''ve been in hibernation for decades, 51 years to be exact. All dungeons were suppose to be activated right after the system managed to destroy the old-gods of this planet. Unlike ours, where there''s only Lucifer and Myself, this one has, or had, multiple.''''


    Taking another sip of the drink, would the old man pause for a moment in his speech


    ''''A dungeon, in this world, consists of a Core, which is your position, a labyrinth which functions as the dungeons infrastructure and housing of many facilities, a ever-expanding ecology of minor monsters and metals, and lastly, guards which can be recruited or summoned. The function of the Core itself is to generate Men, Material and Magic to defend itself or assault enemies like a never-ending tide. Normally, you''d have the ''tutorial'' to explain this to you, but you don''t. so I''ll give you a brief rundown.''''


    ''''Mana is used to evolve creatures, the lowest of insects can achieve the godly status when they''re fed enough mana. it can also be used to transform the labyrinth around you. while you''ll have more... liberty in the way you actually want to transform it, I don''t think you can cheat your way by simply squashing opponents with 10 meters of ground.''''


    God would suddenly scratch his head a bit, having forgotten a piece of information


    ''''Oh, and about the creation of mana, it is in direct link with the power of one''s soul. the stronger the soul, the more mana one will and can produce over time. Consider the link to be like a energy plant. if you improve your facility, be it through quality or quantity, more power is produced.''''


    ''''So, let me get this straight, The whole... Soul-world, my room, ''this'' dimension, all of them will just dissapear after this talk?'''' Allen would still give a confused look, having trouble understanding it all though he hoped this would be cleared as the talk continued


    God would simply nod. ''''Yes, Allen. All that dimension was meant to do, was give you a powerboost. Now, with this much Mana, no shackles to the system, and the knowledge of the world gotten by a, albeit low-ranked, Overseer, the only thing standing in your way are the corrupted inhabitants of this world...''''


    ''''Those who have been enthralled by the system, the false-deities, Heroes and Adventurers who want to sell your core for mountains of gold and the rest of the Overseers on this planet. While it will be difficult at the start, as there''s no ''tutorial'' to help you, I firmly believe you will succeed and capture this world and many others, eventually becoming the virus that destroys this awful system.


    And, of course, you''re not alone. Allies may be found in all corners of the planet, tribes resisting the System, Gods locked away under curses and forced into slavery and with enough charisma you may even be able to sway the population back into the light.''''


    They''d both smile softly, cracks forming along the walls of the room as the ground would give a slight shake.


    As the white-robed old man would begin to fade, his voice would rang out in a whisper ''''Seems like my time''s up, the system will delete the last of my energies if I don''t hurry. Allen, With the remainder of it, I will protect the knowledge stored in your mind. May you never fall under illusions and your path be straight, wherever it may lead.''''


    ''''I was just about to ask, old man, my book collection is valuable in a fantasy-setting you know'''' Allen would chuckle softly, before a red-tinged spirit would form besides the white one.


    ''''Mortal, for you, I will grant you the power of the divergent and survivor. No path will be untraveled nor blocked for someone as yourself. Lie, betray, cheat, do whatever you need to survive. If not for the danger of the system, I would have never considered to give you my blessing, but I''m kind of pressured by the system myself, as my Father said, You might be our only hope..'''' The red spirit, Lucifer, would sigh after giving his own sentence, before the both of them would vanish.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Allen was left alone. the dimension and everything he knew for this short time crumbling around him.


    From now on, he was going to have to try and figure out by himself.


    No tutorial, no friends, no companions and not a clue in the world.


    In theory, he could become the strongest.


    In... theory...


    What could go wrong?


    Besides the off-chance of being found by more Overseers, Dragons, False Deities or the system itself...


    Allen didn''t worry as his mind returned to the Core inside the cave


    God forgot one thing, as a Strategy-gamer, he was quite experienced in building from nothing, he had said so himself. the program was ''suppose'' to give him a small powerboost.


    It didn''t, It... really didn''t.


    That, and the Overseer had shouted something about a large amount of mana into the air which had eventually killed her.


    Once again, In theory, all he needed to do was find out how to actually... well... find the Mana, before throwing it against the nearest insect and create a monster.


    Now... how to find it...


    Twisting his field of vision, would his eyes lock onto a tiny spider, having crawled inside the cave and onto the body of the overseer, beginning to turn it into a massive free meal.


    The spider, upon closer inspection, would be something like a hybrid of species. It''s abdomen was too small to be a orb weaver, yet too big to be a jumping spider. It did not have any hair on the legs like a tarantula, but it did have them stuck onto the top and sides of the abdomen.


    It''s eyes were equally large enough to be that of a Jumping-species, but generally too small in size. If anything, it resembled a wolfspider most.


    ''''Guess I''ll call you Neith, my first little buddy.'''' Allen would silently think to himself, giving a slight snort at his awful naming sense while kind of hoping the Spider was a Female.


    A minor shock would pass through his core, reminding the fledgling dungeon core of the time he had been taken away by the system.


    Yet... nothing would show up. No tables, no pop-ups, no blue screens of gamey-ness.


    Scratching his non-existing head, would Allen continue watching the spider slowly suck itself full on the blood of the Overseer before it would finish up and crawl into one of the many cracks littering the room.


    Most of Allens time went up with trying out how exactly he''d interact with mana. The spider, on the other hand, casually crawled out of its ''house'', feeding upon the suprisingly long-lasting corpse of the overseer before returning back into the crack again.


    This boring cycle that had lasted for atleast 2 days now, was finally broken when what seemed to be a massive centipede-like creature, about the size of the now-extinct ''Arthropleura'' crawled into the labyrinth Allen called home.


    Honestly, multiple creatures at this point in time had come into and left his little ''home'' by now. This thing however, made a straight line towards the core.


    Allen knew something was ''off'' at the very least from the start. nothing had been this aggressive into going after his core. He could only watch as the centipede creeped closer, no defences or monsters to protect the new-born core.


    Atleast... he thought. Not that it mattered, but as the centipede loomed over the iron-colored Dipyramid, a small black spot flew out from its home, nestled inside the cracked bricks.


    That tiny little spider lunged without care towards the arthopod, uncaring of its own life as not even a soft ''thud'' or ''squish'' sounded while her body impacted the carapace of the centipede.


    Both its fangs broke trying to penetrate it... the centipede using one of its antennae to flick off the now broken-body of the small, valliant fighter.


    He didn''t understand why the spider had gone berserk, but Allen knew one thing.


    It was now, or never. Do, Or die. Again.


    And in the name of the Old Man, he was sick of dying, thankyou.


    His mana sparked, the insignificant body of that tiny spider nearly glowing with pure energy


    As a recap, Allen needed something stronger, larger, which required little food AND could pierce through the enemies armor.


    He had ''some'' biology in school, but didn''t know of any spider-species which could prey upon a man-sized centipede...


    So, what was the next best-thing?


    Put the ''wolf'' in ''Wolfspider'' and give it metal plating?


    Why stop with armored plating and how even are you suppose to give a spider armor?


    Neith''s organs lay broken, blood flowing from the cracks in her own feeble carapace, the life leaving her body with every millisecond that passed.


    Neither did the centipede seem too keen on not trying to eat his core...


    More mana gathered, shaping itself into metal-particles as the spider''s outsides would begin taking on a Steel-like shine.


    It''s blood turning a richer-red in color, the overseer''s body vanishing as the mana devoured it for building materials.


    While soft hissing and clicking noises began emminating from it''s new steel-body, fueled by half-deity blood, making the centipede turn, would crimson lenses whir to focus upon that which dared to threaten it''s home, it''s life.


    From the broken body of the old spider which had left its husk on the ground to fade into ashes,


    Its figure a symbolism to the Dungeoncore it served,


    To cast away the weak flesh, to protect oneself and those it cared about with the minerals of the earth itself.


    If not for divine intervention, Allen would have been able to read the small pop-up which had formed.


    ''''-New Race unlocked, Arachnida Machina-''''

 Arc: 1 - The Power of the Soul VI (END)

    The mechanical- and biological beings sized eachother up, one standing in between a core of energy and its single, raged protector.


    As the man-sized centipede raised its head, both in confusion and to try and scare off the new opponent, would the now equally-large Neith rear up onto her 4 hind legs, the hydraulics shifting without a single creak as the spiders blood-fuel would coarse through them.


    Within seconds would the 2 beings crash into eachother, carapace crashing against steel as both tried sinking their fangs into the other. Although the centipede managed to be the first to allign them, would the creature soon find its sharpened weapons unable to create a wound, leaving a dent in the Spiders shining armor.


    The 2 would untangle themselves, having switched positions as 2 small protrusion on Neith¡¯s abdomen started producing a clear, wire like substance. In the dark, mana-filled room, alight only by the soft glow of the dungeoncore would said wire look like a blue-silver silk, being carried underneath the mech by one of its legs towards the 2 pincer-like mandibles, being formed into a small ball.


    The arthropleura would begin circling around the spider, once more trying to reach for the core.


    Allen could do little but stare, trying to capture the feeling he had achieved what seemed like moment sago to give his single creation another powerboost.


    Neith would toss out the small ball, unfurling itself in mid air to reveal a large net, which would warp itself around the segmented body of the centipede.


    Though the creature was strong, evident by the wires quickly becoming taut, there was one issue.


    One was biological, the other was metal. There¡¯s only one of the 2 that can grow ¡®tired¡¯.


    Though it could be said Metal can grow ¡®tired¡¯ as well¡­ These are not the same meaning.


    Try as the Centipede might, its fangs were unsuited for breaking through the mesh-like net. Even so, the materials are as, if not stronger then Neith¡¯s own body.


    Allen himself would have counted the time it took for the monster to stop moving, but he had been too busy with trying to figure out how exactly he used, well, ¡®magic¡¯.


    As one of the 2 monsters stuck in the deathbattle stopped moving, would the other calmly reel in the prey larger then itself, a soft whirring noise filling the room as a small engine-like apparatus inside Neith¡¯s jaws would drag the centipede towards the spider. For the first time in this fight would Neith finally have the chance to sink her own fangs into the blasted creature, and she did so with a almost human-like expression of glee. Though in the case of her, considering she was a mechanical spider, it was more of a tilt backwards and a dialation of her lenses.


    Her venom had been replaced by some form of highly-corrosive acid, a sickly green liquid melting through the hard carapace, turning it into mush. From her estophagus, would several tiny arm-like appendages appear, folding outwards from the walls to scoop and tear into the centipedes soft flesh.


    The resident dungeoncore merely stared in odd facination at his creation. The small mana-soaked spider which he had expected not much off besides a companion, and perhaps amusement, had now turned into what could only be described as a proper bossmonster.


    And he didnt even have a single floor yet.


    Allen sighed at the stupidity of this weird series of events.


    A single, square room at the end of a hallway with a large, glowing gem (himself) and a angry mechspider.


    An¡­ Intresting start for a Dungeon, he thought.


    This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    And so, the next day passed, Neith had finished up the centipede corpse. Unlike normal spiders, would the mechanical being leave not a drop to waste. Whatever it did with all of the biomass, nobody knew. Allen guessed it was as a source of fuel, though going by the dim blue lines showing inbetween its metallic plating, its source of energy would most-likely be mana-based instead.


    Allen halted.


    Blue lines?


    In his hurry to beat the centipede, besides throwing ideas and concepts at the evolving creature, had Allen not taken the time to truely Look at his new creature.


    Shifting his gaze over from within the core, would he narrow his non-existend eyes. While it seemed his sight had definitely improved, even noticing the specks of dust on the walls, it was still uncomfortable to observe from such a distance.


    ¡®¡¯Perhaps I just need more time to adapt¡­¡¯¡¯ He thought to himself, wishing silently he could have gotten a bloody tutorial on how to observe his creatures, or entire dungeon from a point away of his core for that matter.


    Lo and behold, Neith suddenly perked up from its seemingly hybernating state, the previously dim lines coming alive to produce a glinstering blue lighting effect. Said spider would calmly move its way over to his core, staring up at it while tilting its entire body as if asking a question, much like a tiny jumpingspider.


    The dungeoncore would ¡®stare¡¯ back, both remaining silent.


    Did spiders even make noises? Though Neith did have her metallic parts which would now produce a steady, soft hum.


    Losing track of his original discovery, would Allen smack his metaphorical cheeks.


    ¡®¡¯C¡¯mon, focus, Neith literally just reacted to¡­ what was it, a question? Command?¡¯¡¯


    The fledgeling sentient core would calm down as a slightly more intense light would be produced from its crystal.


    Allen ¡®told¡¯ the spider to turn around.


    Neith turned around.


    A command for climbing up the wall


    Neith climbed the wall.


    A command for¡­ making a small, round tunnel in the wall.


    Nothing happened.


    Allen paused¡­


    ¡®Okay¡­ that¡­ didnt work. Maybe I need to think of it as some sort of 3D drawing program? Neith herself has a own conciousness, though I don¡¯t know how smart she is, or how she understands me in the first place. I do remember some studies saying Jumpingspiders were quite smart for their size¡­ So if I need vague commands for creatures, I need detailed explanations and thoughts for editing the terrain?¡¯


    The dungeoncore tried again, its surface becoming alight as the mana in the area would begin to weave, forming a tralucent round shape on the wall. The bottom of the tunnel would be in touch with the floor, diameter would span a single meter across, enough for Neith to fold herself up in.


    The position of the tunnel itself would be calculated by measuring both the distance to the top of the wall, placing it exactly in the middle horisontal wise.


    Glancing over at the spider, would Allen push the mana inside, the sound of rock being grinded into nothing briefly echoing through the room. As per his specifications, would his now perfectly round tunnel be 2 meters deep.


    ¡®¡¯Neat. Okay, now to get the Spider to actually move in¡­¡¯¡¯


    Said¡­ Spider¡­ would have already found itself inside, Neith¡¯s lenses and blue tatoo¡¯s dimming once more.


    ¡®¡¯And¡­ I forgot to take a look at her¡­ bugger¡­¡¯¡¯ Allen sighed softly, deciding to let his champion have her rest. In the meantime, he could start messing around with the designing of his little room, trying different options to see if he couldn¡¯t get more¡­ creative instead of only using certain highly-specified yet simple shapes.


    Several days had passed.


    Neith had appeared from, and went back to her tunnel multiple times, wrapping it in her steel mesh-like webbing, as well as making a flat disk for a door. After a long period of studying, would Allen have figured out quite a bit over the designing of his room. Everytime he made a edit, some of the blue aura, Mana, would be whisked away from the rest. Then again, he only found this out a few hours ago after noticing the surrounding area had lowered in quantity. Lowered might have been a harsh word, as it was more of taking a drop out of a industrial storagetank.


    While he didn¡¯t figure out on how to completely remove the specifications when carving out something, he did manage to ease the process quite a bit, now needing to only sketch a idea out into his mind for the mana to follow and replicate.


    The cave had been transformed into a neat, square room¡­ the only parts not being in the same dimension being the altar on which his core rested, having now been turned into a scaled down Aztec-like pyramid.


    ¡®¡¯Maybe I should have tried making some pillars¡­¡¯¡¯ Allen would stare at the blank, perfectly flat wall..


    Before he could continue sighing about his lost chance of detailing the room and perhaps try figuring out how to create matter instead of making it vanish, (which he pretty sure added more mana, lessening the cost), a sound would capture his attention. Unlike the wriggling hissing sounds of the centipede, would this sound alot more intelligent, albeit he had no idea on what it actually was.


    In all honesty, it sounded, descripted with the best of his ability, ¡®Fantasy-like¡¯.


    A creature appeared at the end of his tunnel leading outside, followed by multiple others, all dressed in simple barbarian-like clothing and using a rusty old tools as weapons. At first, Allen thought it to be a banditgroup of some kind, untill he noticed its small stature¡­ and¡­ green skin.


    What he didn¡¯t know, was that this was just the start to a series of events which would lead to his mastery of magic and language. Neither did he know that the little spider had actually been a Mana-spider, a creature with great adaptation of both its own terrain, and lingering magical energies and boy, was there alot of lingering mana here, blessed with a form of strange, yet somewhat familiar energy.

 Arc: 2 - Of Greenskins and Goblins I

    Just shy of a month had our Greenskin clan been walking, ousted from our homes by some¡­ bastardised versions of ourselves. Not even the humans, whom we used to trade with in times of peace, would extend their hands. ¡®Goblins¡¯ they called us, a term which should only be reserved for those mindless creatures of horror, twisted by the system and the new gods.


    Our clan had not yet given up on the Gods of old, sealed away they may be, according tot he Shaman. We¡¯ve seen what happened to the others, proud warriors turning into barbarians and wize doctors turned into patchworkers.


    The Shaman of the clan had felt it long ago, the curse that they brought upon us. Most, if not all newborn greenskins had started come out like the disgusting monsters, human-like features twisting to have wicked teeth, bulging torso¡¯s and long noses, ¡®Goblins¡¯. The entire clan took care of those not yet struck by it, though even those had begun growing up. There was no new generation for us to continue our ways.


    Our tribe had grown tired, every day it seemed that there were less of us left. Some going into the forest to find food and never returning, some saying they ¡®¡¯Needed a rest and would catch up shortly¡¯¡¯. They never did¡­


    The adults, atleast those who had chosen the path of the warrior, tried their best to defend us with the little numbers they had. Even with their priority in recieving food and rest would their numbers dwindle till only a handful were left by the combined effort of these ¡®Goblins¡¯ and ¡®Ogres¡¯, the latter being what we assumed to be happend if a Goblin grew strong enough.


    The Chieftain had died several days ago, we all remembered his unscarred back as he faced off against a Ogre and several goblins, mortally wounding the beast to let his clan escape.


    I often wondered why I myself survived this, I¡¯m but a simple tinkerer, my body tall as a warrior, but more lean. My brain was my strongest weapon, I was an artist in mechanisms.


    Yet, I¡¯ve grown old, my hands shaking more then I remember them to, even during the most stressful of times. The good days are still in the back of my fading memories, how the Chieftain would tell each generation stories, how our tribes are that of adaptation, even in our species itself, our bodies adapting to the roles we fill in society.


    I can see some of our smaller, younger kin running backward towards the group as if they¡¯ve seen a demon, or worse, Goblin. The Shaman speaks to them, hussing their worries. I can see his eyes coming alight after such a long period of time, the message inside them clear. Hope.


    Whatever it was the younglings had found we never found out. As behind us began the alarm. More creatures of horror had found our clan. I suppose it is now my time to protect the next generations.


    The Shaman stands with us after sending the younger generations away, drawing a large circle to grand us a boon of our gods. Our clubs, rusted swords and broken armor won¡¯t do much against Ogre¡¯s, being only mildly effective against the smaller Goblins.


    Let it be known that we Greenskins, we Orcs, have payed for the survival of our clan with blood. May the next generation that comes hold dear memories of us. May the gods who we shall not abandon bring our souls into their arms.


    My name is Urum. Let my story be known to whoever finds this diary. I who have lost my son to these foul beings will fight untill the end.


    Our Clan of Greenskins, those untainted by the curse, will live on. I have faith they will.


    Allen watched as the three figures at the entrance of the cave bolted away without taking a single step inside, turning his gazet o his only companion.


    ¡®¡¯Hey Neith¡­ Why does this feel like a failed encounter or something? Was I suppose to act all smug and evil while calling them inside¡­?¡¯¡¯


    The spider didn¡¯t answer, crawling halfway out of its tunnel before tilting its body sideways, as if silently asking why her creator was even worried about things not trying to murder him for once.


    Several minutes passed, both the spider and core remaining silent like always. Right as the mechanical structure of the two was going back towards the tunnel, and the magical rock towards its studies of the new designing features, footsteps sounded in the distance, outside the square cave.


    ...


    ¡®¡¯Hey¡­ Ozram¡­ This is where you 3 found the weird place, right?¡¯¡¯ One of the larger greenskins of the group would peer inside the tunnel, right away noticing its perfectly square shaped entry.


    Another, smaller one would nod, standing besides 2 similar sized Orcs, distinguishing them as being from the same generation. ¡®¡¯I think it may be a old Dwarf mine Boss, we can take shelter inside.¡¯¡¯Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    The older Orc would nod, leaving the 3 at the entrance to go and collect the rest of his clan. His steps would hurry upon hearing a distant scream.


    With the final stand being made, their ¡®clan¡¯, if one could call it that, was little but 30 strong.


    No warriors remained, the chieftain and shaman had died, neither had a successor. Ozram called him boss because he was the strongest of his generation only.


    One of the younger Orcs, one with a defined sense for Magic was a promising pick for the new Shaman, while it seemed Ozram would be a fine leader someday, even now leading his Generation on missions.


    He shook his head, collecting the remaining women, elderly and children. Together with himself and 4 others of his generation and the one above, all of which would be considered Adolescences, they had about 7 healthy males left, one being injured from a previous fight. Raising a hand, he¡¯d count the remaining members of the clan as they passed. 8 males, 8 children, 7 women, 3 newborns and 4 elderly. A depressing sight.


    Arriving back at the tunnel, would he see Ozram and his 2 companions with their weapons raised, slight tears forming into their eyes as they faced off against a well-sized, strange construct bearing similarities to some form of spider.


    Running towards the trio, would he quickly pull back the one in the line of sight of the construct. He briefly heard Ozram yell his name. ¡®¡¯Boss Tukor!¡¯¡¯ before feeling something hard crash against his own weapon, snapping it in half. Call it the luck of the gods, but the constructs fangs managed to deflect off his arm, destroying what little leather he had in the form of armor in the process.


    As the spider pulled back, one leg being placed near its abdomen, Tukor would notice the massive, softly glowing gem at the end of the tunnel. Right after, would he hear Jigi, the next Shaman, suddenly yell out. ¡®¡¯Tukor, this isn¡¯t a mine, it¡¯s a Dungeoncore, and a old one at that, even at the entrance the mana is thick enough to notice it if you look for it!¡¯¡¯ Shifting his gaze away from the spider, would he notice the silk-like blue trails and tinges in the surrounding air. Feeling the mana fuel his lungs to greater breaths, his muscles for more power and his head to increase his train of thought. He remembered one of the stories the Shaman had told when he was still a youngling, how Greenskins unlike humans, dwarves or elves had trouble utilising magic, but instead having a closer connection with the land and mana itself, muchlike monsters.


    However, The spider merely saw its pray stop paying attention to herself, as she tensed the suspension of her legs to lunge forward, would the smaller prey suddenly move itself infront of the larger, the shine of water present in its eyes. ¡®¡¯P-please¡­ Construct¡­ spider thing¡­ have mercy on our people. W-we do not wish to harm whatever it is you¡¯re protecting¡­ We¡¯re merely trying to rest our weary bodies¡­¡¯¡¯


    Allen¡­ had no idea whatever it was the green-skinned creature was saying. It wasn¡¯t english¡­ Or German¡­ or any language he¡¯d ever heard of, for that matter. What he did see, was the child¡¯s act of sacrifice. He ordered Neith to pause, having it take a step back.


    Once again he found his lack of communication a issue, both parties staring at eachother. Though he doubted any of the group knew he was actually here.


    What broke the stalemate, was a shout from the back of the lines, near the entrance of the tunnel. From what Allen could see, said tunnel was atleast several meters wide and tall, enough to fit their group of 30 without entering the chamber of his core.


    Shifting his gaze back, would he notice the smaller greenskin reaching out a arm to touch his spider, Neith still being under the orders to ¡®stop¡¯ and unsure what to do next.


    The group of greenskins would stare outside with a weary gaze, several heads continously turning from outside to inside the tunnel. Allen, through the mumbling of the group, would hear the same word continously, though he was unsure of what it meant.


    Even without knowing the meaning, the Dungeoncore and its only inhabitant knew something was up, the tones of the greenskins sounding as if they were speaking about a monster.


    It was then, when another scream was heard, the entire group struggling to get further inside. Neither Neith nor Allen reacted to this fact, the latter gambling and hoping that they wouldn¡¯t touch his core. At the entrance of the tunnel would a large beast appear, atleast 4 meters in height, if Allen had to guess.


    It was clad in little but a loincloth and using a large tree-like club as a weapon. Blood still covered the end of the weapon as well as parts of the creatures body. While it seemed to have suffered a few shallow wounds, it seemed to not worry about it much, a expression of glee on its downright ugly face.


    ¡®¡¯Neith¡­ Food¡¯s here, got git em Girl.¡¯¡¯ Allen said, and his spider listened, lunging forwards, And¡­


    Getting smacked right ontop of the head, the creatures size giving it enough force to create a dent in the metal, though shattering its club¡­


    A brief silence echoed through the tunnel¡­


    Before a collective cursing replaced it, both the Greenskins, creature, dungeon core and probably even the Spider itself all cursing in their own respective languages.


    Neith shrug off the blow, flashing her large fangs at the massive creature. As the giant raised a arm to flatten the spider once more, she bolted towards his flank, abdomen leaving a wire-like cable behind.


    The monster turned, Neith bolted.


    The monster turned again, Neith bolted, again.


    The monster turned once more, Neith bolted, once more.


    By now, a distinctly visible cable had begun to form around the creatures legs. The spider would then grab ahold of the wire, tugging on it with two of her eight limbs. The giant crashed against the wall as his balance was robbed, Neith lunging to scramble up ontop of it, covering it with more cable-silk and finally sinking her fangs into the being before it could rise again, injecting the acid-like venom she held stored within her fangs.


    A large, bubbling cloud steamed from the corpse, the monster screaming as its fluids were being removed untill it was no more, going limp in the constructs grasp. The dent in her armor would slowly pop itself outwards as the spider drew in the surrounding Mana, its ¡®tatoos¡¯ glowing brightly as she did.


    The Greenskins stared in awe and confusion, nobody noticing a single individual slowly moving over to the large core inside the room they found themselves in, and placing a hand ontop of its surface.

 Arc: 2 - Of Greenskins and Goblins II

    Allen¡¯s mind froze, the magic inside the chamber fluctuating and twisting as a massive ball of information was forcing its way into his conciousness. To put it simply, the feeling was anything but comfortable, enough discomfort and even pain being caused to put Neith on edge, rushing through the crowd to find the offender of whoever had done this to her creator. While she couldnt feel his discomfort, she instinctively knew something was wrong.


    At his core, a single greenskin stood, small in stature. Upon trailing where the construct had rushed towards, would several orcs notice who had been the cause of this strange behaviour. Ozram stood at the core, his hand still touching the surface which he¡¯d quickly retract upon seeing the entire group and one very angry Spider-construct staring at him. ¡®¡¯W-what? I only wanted to thank it¡­ Jigi told me this glowing stone is controlling the construct¡­?¡¯¡¯


    From voice alone, anyone could know that the child had meant no harm.


    Anyone besides a automated construct with questionable conciousness.


    Ozram crashed into the ground, Neith ontop of him, fangs quickly closing in and puncturing the youngling¡¯s skin. Though before the highly-potent corrosive liquid could set in, the construct halted, a weak, etherial-sounding voice echoing through the room.


    ¡®¡¯Neith¡­ Stop¡­ I¡¯m fin-¡­¡¯¡¯


    The voice halted, before continuing again.


    ¡®¡¯Test¡­ test¡­? I can speak now?¡¯¡¯


    The Group suddenly released the breath they had failed to notice had been stuck.


    After both Turok and Jigi calmed down the group, sending into a different tunnel after Allen had created a square hole further underground as well as the orcs having bandaged Ozram as best they could, the 3 stood besides one another, a ¡®Warrior¡¯, ¡®Shaman¡¯ and ¡®Chieftain¡¯. Though it would be a while till they recieved these titles.


    ¡®¡¯I¡¯m¡­ sorry for touching you so suddenly¡­ I really didn¡¯t know anything would happen¡­¡¯¡¯ The youngest of the 3 would start, scratching the back of his head with his good arm.


    Allen inspected the 3, noting how they looked more like green humans with sharper, more blunt features and small tusks appearing from the bottom jaw, albeit the last only counted for the largest of the 3, then disformed goblins or the more common disfigured kind of Orcs.


    ¡®¡¯It all worked out in the end, you gave me the ability tos peak. Atleast in your language anyway. It is a strange feeling of being only able to communicate with a language you¡¯ve never spoken before.¡¯¡¯


    A strange feeling indeed. Allen¡¯s thoughts were still in his native language, that he knew, and yet every word he spoke would be effortlessly translated into ¡®Orcish¡¯. He¡¯d found out fairly quickly on what that earlier creature was as well, an Ogre. Followed by being told the Clan¡¯s story.


    If anything, he was glad on finally meeting something he could talk with, that wasnt a mindless (Or in the case of Neith, maybe mindless) creature or something that was actively trying to kill him.


    ¡®¡¯Noble being of magic, will you allow our stay inside your grand cavern?¡¯¡¯ The largest of the 3, Turok, would kneel infront of his pyramid-like pedestal, making him quite uncomfortable¡­


    Allen gave a soft cough-like sound. ¡®¡¯I don¡¯t know whats so grand about this cave¡­ it¡¯s a flat square. No need to act so polite. I haven¡¯t been living for long¡¯¡¯


    Jigi, the middle of the 3 in both size and age, (his translation of Orcish placing him around 15 of age in terms of human years, Turok and Ozram being 2 years above and below him respectively as it seemed a ¡®Generation¡¯ spanned about 2 years) would speak before the warrior could.


    ¡®¡¯Dungeon core-¡®¡¯


    Much like how Jigi had interrupted Turok, Allen would now step infront of his own sentence.


    ¡®¡¯Allen. My name is not Dungeon core¡­¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Master Allen-¡®¡¯ Jigi corrected himself, still using a honorific which, in all honesty, Allen still felt uncomfortable with. ¡®¡¯We are willing to earn our keep. From what folktales have us believe, it is possible for monsters of the outside to be ¡®recruited¡¯ by a dungeon such as yourself. We Orcs are not considered monsters, though we are the closest when viewing all humanoid races. We¡¯re willing to defect and submit to the system if it means our surviva-¡®¡¯This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Turok would grab Jigi¡¯s arm, his face turning red with anger as droplets of spit flew out with his speech.


    ¡®¡¯YOU DARE!? Everyone of the clan has died and you¡¯d just submit this easily?¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Turok, it does not matter whether we submit or not if we¡¯re DEAD. I¡¯d rather continue living then see the rest of our clan suffer away, even it means being under the control of a dungeon, we have nowhere to go!¡¯¡¯


    While Ozram would try and calm the two members of the clan who had gotten into a debate on who was right, one choosing honor and the other logic, Allen would raise a awkward, soft voice, the words held within the sentence silencing all three.


    ¡®¡¯If¡­ it¡¯s the same system we¡¯re talking about, I¡¯m¡­ kinda against that as well?¡¯¡¯


    All three orcs looked at the glowing stone with a confused, funny expression. ¡®¡¯What.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Long story, just know that I have no idea on how to recruit any of you, because I¡¯m not part of the system. I¡¯ve been here for probably a few months now¡­ dunno. And all I managed to figure out was how to create holes in my wall, and turn a tiny spider into a guardian mech the size of a wolf. Yes, I''m still trying to figure that one out..¡¯¡¯


    Allen knew, and tried, that simply throwing his mana at it (considering it was the only way of testing something he had) didn¡¯t work, completely atleast. Turok had mentioned that the greenskin clan did feel stronger then normal inside his cave of square-ness, and as such the Dungeoncore filed ¡®¡¯throwing mana at it¡¯ under the tab of ¡®buffs¡¯ instead of ¡®recruiting¡¯.


    All four members grew silent, each of them keeping their thoughts for themselves until the youngest of the party would suddenly give a soft ghasp. ¡®¡¯Master Allen, you said you managed to communicate after I touched you, right? Maybe we need to be in direct contact with your Crystal before it works?¡¯¡¯


    Allen gave a mental chuckle at the child¡¯s innocence, Mana wasn¡¯t that simple to work out, was it¡­? Ozram had already placed his hand back on the surface of the Crystal, and Allen himself did¡­ not¡­ totally send out a trail of his energy, just for testing. Obviously he knew the theory would be wrong¡­


    ¡®¡¯Oh Old man why did it actually work I feel like a idiot¡¯¡¯


    Much like with Neith, a strange connection would form between the small Orc and the Dungeoncore.


    An almost instinctive feeling overcame Allen, knowing that no matter how far Ozram would be away from his Crystal, they would still be able to ¡®communicate¡¯ with one another, albeit in feelings rather then words.


    The same feeling overcame the youngling, a satisfied expression together with a grin firmly plastered onto his face, considering his idea had worked out just fine.


    As Turok and Jigi followed, something else managed to convey itself through all 3 of them.


    A feeling of comfort, and most importantly, safety. They had all seen how easily the guardian, their new name for Neith, had dispatched that Ogre. Their clan had not yet been lost, and the flame of hope was being kept alive inside their hearts.


    Allen meanwhile, wanted to test how far their ¡®connection¡¯ could go, and after giving every single member of the Orc clan a patch of his mana, asked if a few could go out of the dungeon.


    Everything managed to go smoothly, untill the first stepped outside of the tunnel with a single foot, their connection vanishing. Allen, hoping it hadn¡¯t been destroyed, called them back, finding out that upon re-entry, would it reestablish, making him give a mental sigh of relief.


    In the back of his mind, knowledge only he knew was stored safely. While he had been establishing friendly relations with the newcomers, his mind had never stopped practicing with mana. He¡¯d continue to grind his non-existent teeth together, glaring at the 5-Phase plan he had made.


    Project: Dungeon


    Phase 1: -Remove materials


    Phase 2: -Create materials


    Phase 3: -Make something better then a flat square


    Phase 4: -Create new / improve monsters (?)


    Phase 5: -Improve capabilities of phase 1>4


    Phase 4 was a debate on whether or not it had already been finished, as he counted the Orcs as his new ¡®monsters¡¯, guardians to protect his vunerable core. Then again, he doubted these 30 members could even begin to deal with the giant centipede which had threatened his existence not long ago.


    They needed arms, and armor.


    Yes, he could start forging pig-iron plating as thick as a thumb.


    Well no, he couldnt, he had no iron, but theoretically¡­


    He knew how to forge proper steel, if Dungeons could also create materials, and not just remove them (which he desperately hoped was true, otherwise he¡¯d be forever stuck with a flat, square room¡­), he could spawn in both veins of iron and coal, hopping directly over to sharpened steel.


    And use Sulfur together with charcoal and Saltpeter to create a even more deadly weapon¡­


    The Orcs could mine the ore and do the labor, while he¡¯d create the proper facilities to produce the weaponry. Allen gave a wishful sigh at the thought, knowing that such a army was probably a long while away, he lacked quite literally everything.


    A stray thought made its way into his head, wondering if the Dwarfs were those that created machinery and the like, or those that spend their entire days mining away under a mountain.


    Then again, both kinds did, one just used explosives and the like, while the other used raw manpower¡­


    With a sigh, he stored away the question for a later date, finding himself back in his mindscape to once more begin molding the mana to his will.

 Arc: 2 - Of Greenskins and Goblins III

    A shout would echo through the small underground chamber, several orcs who had been passing by jolting up in surprise as they glanced towards the owner of the voice, a large, floating crystal which would be sparkling with blue light. In front of it, facing the cavern, was a small wall, barely reaching up to hide the guardian behind it.


    It had been several days since the two parties had met, the members of the Greenskin clan walking back and forth inside Allen¡¯s small dungeon every day. He had burrowed further into the hill, mountain? He was under, giving them more space to live in the room besides his own. Said room would be filled with crude, wooden structures with a communal fireplace in the rough middle of the square.


    ¡®¡¯Note to self, ask the Orcs where we are.¡¯¡¯ Allen scribbled down the new note in his mind, together with the ever expanding list of things to do. At least he could now scrap away the first step of Phase 2.


    During the process, he found out that there was no possibility of him spawning in ore veins, much to his dismay. Instead, he could create only what he had removed once before, for now anyway.


    He could smack ground onto stone, yes, or allow stone to form onto ground, but that was about the limit of his current capabilities. Perhaps later once he had found some form of different material, it would allow him to create more.


    Even considering this liability, it was still a broken cheat, of course. Still, this did push away his plans for black powder into the near-future. He did manage to consume a rusty sword, testing if through that, he could create an iron vein. No success came from that, once he guided his mana out with the intent on changing the stone, it instead removed the stone and replaced it with a near-exact copy of the sword, rust and all. (though, this could be considered a success in and of itself¡­)


    Rusty swords and destruction of the laws of physics aside, Allen finally was able to deal with the most important issue of them all.


    The removal of that fucking square block of a room, or so help me god.


    Sending the orcs outside for a moment, Allen let his mana flow freely through the two rooms and their tunnels, the blank walls now decorated with simple pillars and engravings.


    The Entrance towards the ¡®core room¡¯ (the name could use some more work, he later noted), coming from the outside, had been turned into a classical-era temple style doorway, triangle roof with sharp points at each corner and 2 large pillars on either side. The tunnel itself, while still being a bit bland, now looked more natural instead of a perfectly square-shaped hole. His own chamber held the same theme, though he left the pyramid-like pedestal alone, as well as keeping a perfectly-flat path in each of the four cardinal directions.


    To the east, was the Orcs chambers, which he left as it was, leaving them to design it by themselves.


    The west held the guardian, the path leading towards a sphere-like room was created, the opening of tunnels barely fitting the spider itself all over the surface of the sphere, allowing the mechanical spider to pop up from any direction.


    Towards the north, he moved his core.


    Yeah, that was a new one. He could make the mana ¡®push¡¯ himself towards a different place, though it had to be a empty room with no other signs of life, Neith, surprisingly, counting as one as well.


    In the north-wing, he copied over the now ¡®entry room¡¯, and¡­ moved it over one spot.


    In all honesty, Allen didn¡¯t really know what he wanted to do with the design of his dungeon yet¡­ Neiths room came from his limited knowledge about spiders, knowing that some species liked to create tunnels to strike out from. The Orcs did their own thing, and he found little interest in forcing them to live in a place where they didn¡¯t feel comfortable. The entrance and first room just got cleaned up a bit and were probably going to be subject to change once he had figured out the style he wanted.


    He gave Neith a mental poke, sending her to go get the clan. While they had seen the mana condense together to form the entrance outside, which had quite honestly scared most of them at first, upon entry would Allen hear a few soft gasps of surprise and awe, making him wonder if they were just trying to flatter their homeowner, or his tunnel-making skills were that good.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    He didn¡¯t feel in the mood to ask, both options sounding quite frankly, depressing.


    One the clan had return to their normal routine, he gathered the three de-facto leaders by sending out a mental note. It seemed that while he could send out feeling towards any members of the clan, Allen could spell out the most details with four individuals; Neith, Turok, Jigi and Ozram. Part of him wanted to bomb the latter three with a mass of mana to see what it would do, but decided against it, outweighing the risks as too heavy, for now anyway.


    All three members of the clan held stark differences in their behavior, upon meeting at the new core room, Turok would take a brief kneel at the pedestal, Jigi gave a brief bow and Ozram just¡­ stood there, looking like the idiot he sometimes was while scratching the back of his head. Yup, Allen found out one thing during the days when the Clan had moved in, Ozram was clumsy. Multiple times had the yells and screams of the Orcish men and women sounded throughout the dungeon as the youngling in question had dropped an item, or tripped right into someone else.


    ¡®¡¯Jigi, Turok, Ozram.¡¯¡¯ Allen¡¯s voice sounded throughout the room, coming from no direction in particular which only added to their opinion of the dungeon core being a ¡®mystical object¡¯.


    ¡®¡¯I¡¯ve gathered you here to answer a few questions I have¡­ do you have the time?¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Of course, Master Allen¡¯¡¯ All three answered in sync. It seemed that both Turok and Jigi held great honor in their knowledge being required by the being that had saved their clan.


    ¡®¡¯Where¡­ exactly are we?¡¯¡¯


    Silence was the answer to the question, all three orcs looking at one another with a questioning look before Jigi would speak. ¡®¡¯Master¡­ could you¡­ be a bit more specific? There are multiple answers to that question¡­¡¯¡¯.


    Allen would give a mental sigh, before responding with a short ¡®¡¯All of them¡¯¡¯.


    The orcs looked at one another, before Jigi would crouch down ¡®¡¯Master, a field of dirt, if I may?¡¯¡¯


    The dungeon core accepted the request, a thin sheet of dirt forming over the flat path leading up to the pedestal. Using a staff-like object, he¡¯d begin sketching a few simple shapes into the dirt. The ones standing out the most were a few triangles next to one another, a large amount of squiggly lines interjecting with one another, a small circle infront of the largest triangle of the group, and two arcs being in between the group of squiggly lines and the triangles, littered with small squares in no specific shape or order. A few orcish letters, or atleast what Allen assumed they were, would be written besides the different shapes.


    ¡®¡¯While it is a simple map, this is the collective knowledge our clan has gathered.¡¯¡¯ Jigi would begin.


    ¡®¡¯The triangles signify the ¡®Blacksmoke mountains¡¯, with the largest being the ¡®Heart¡¯s exhaust¡¯. They are named as such because of several peaks within the range spewing out smoke, according to legends they do this every few years. We¡¯re currently at the base of the largest, which is said to be connected straight towards the heart of the planet.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®Those are not mountains, they¡¯re volcanoes. That should mean the deeper I go, I might encounter basalt¡­ and lava, for that matter.¡¯ Allen thought to himself, thinking of the possibilities he could do in the case of his ¡®replication ability¡¯ expanding to liquids as well.


    ¡®¡¯In-between the Blacksmoke mountains and the realms of men is the ¡®frontier¡¯. Here live the Orc clans, Dwarves, Elves, monsters and the remainder of the beastmen herds. Our clan of itself was situated right about¡­ here¡¯¡¯ Jigi would draw a small cross around 2/3rds of the distance away from where they were now, being closer to the realms of man then the mountain range.


    ¡®¡¯While the frontier itself is filled with nations and cities of all races, their constant state of war makes it near impossible to accurately map it. Nobody there cares for borders or race, and the area between cities is filled with bandits, monsters and migrating clans or herds. It is often called the end of civilization.¡¯¡¯


    Considering their situation, Allen found it both relieving and worrying that they were in the absolute middle of nowhere. At one point, the chance of being found or worse, destroyed, by the system had shrunken with a magnitude of Old man knows how much. Yet there was that mention of the ¡®Goblins¡¯ and the like which had chased the Greenskin clan all the way over here in the first place. On the downside, there was no easy access to all sorts of exotic materials for his core to absorb, and replicate.


    The fact his home was built on top of a volcano was a similar issue, granting both boons and worries. Anyone with knowledge about the things could guess what the worry was. The whole¡­ exploding thing these forces of nature were known for.


    The boon came in the shape of the different minerals found in the vicinity. The chances of finding Diamonds, gold, aluminum, obsidian. All useful in their own way. Maybe not right now, but useful none the less.


    Allen sighed, wishing he still had his body only to rub his forehead while nursing a nice, cold beer. Or some nice cooking from Ali-. He cut of that thought, the bubbling undercurrent of depression and sadness rising with every chance it got. He had suppressed it for this long, and would continue to do so by focusing on his work, not thinking about the past.


    Though¡­ It seemed with every victory gained, 5 problems popped up¡­

 Arc: 2 - Of Greenskins and Goblins IV

    ¡®¡®One¡¯s despair may only be uttered in the manner of how badly said person wishes to smash their Non-existing face into a hard surface. A quote from a wise scholar, namely me, Whatever age this is.¡¯¡¯ Allen sighed to himself, his vision flickering between the 3 parts of his¡­ absolutely boring home¡­


    ¡®¡¯A blacksmith, A blacksmith! I¡¯d give my mana supply for a blacksmith¡­! Definitely, also quoted by me, Still don¡¯t know what age this is!¡¯¡¯


    A group of Orcs wandered outside, not hearing a single thing of the crisis overcoming their host. Only a near unnoticeable and pulsing static present in the more magically-gifted of the bunch¡­ Which¡­ meant only Jigi, really. And, if you count the magical-feels bond, also Turok and Ozram to a lesser extent.


    While Allen knew he was acting like a unruly child, he couldn¡¯t help but feel¡­ Well, Frustrated. From the several other discussions that had followed during the past week after he had received the dirt map which now decorated the wall of his core room, Allen knew the amount of mana at his disposal was, to put it bluntly, Immense. As in, being able to suffocate god-like entities with mana-poisoning should it ever be contained in a small enough area. Heh, How Fortunate.


    Taking a moment to thank both the Old- and Devil man for their parting gifts, would he refocus on a rusted iron sword, laying as still as a sword should, in front of his core. Something that had vexed Allen was this stupid weapon, on how he could replicate it perfectly, but not enhance it in any way, shape, or form. Then again, he had only used the same technique of throwing a bit of his mana at it, see what it did, and go from there.


    As such, he came upon the brilliant idea. Gathering his 3 musket-¡­ Companions¡­ and clearing his non-existent throat, would Allen explain his brilliant plan. ¡®¡¯I¡¯m going to throw all of my mana at it, see what it does and pray it doesn¡¯t explode. You¡¯re here to throw it away in the case it does.¡¯¡¯


    The orcs, well, any bystander could see how even the notoriously-clumsy Ozram would think this was a bad idea¡­ However, before any of them could voice a complaint, or even react for that matter, Allen had already begun brute-forcing his way into getting something in, or out of it, whether it be a reaction, explosion, or something else entirely.


    The latter, was what he got. Jigi could feel the mana-levels of Allen¡¯s core room draining, even with his sub-par skill, making the Orc ghasp softly. He was tempted to touch the weapon, wait, scratch that, he was tempted to touch the now-glowing weapon. Which¡­ did¡­ nothing besides glowing, the mana-level of the room shooting back upwards to the level it was before.


    Finally taking the chance to speak, would the smallest orc of the 3 bolt forward, lunging to grab the glowing object while yelling ¡®¡¯Glow thing mine!¡¯¡¯ , grabbing ahold of it before Jigi, Allen or Turok could stop him, All 3 expecting an explosion to occur.


    The silence lasted for a precise 4,16029 seconds before a chorus of voices would call out in sync. ¡®¡¯You idiot what if it exploded!¡¯¡¯ followed by a softer ¡®¡¯Wait why did I measure how many seconds that took? And in decimals no less¡­¡¯¡¯ from the Dungeon core.


    ¡®¡¯Hey¡­ Master Allen¡­ Does this do anything besides glowing¡­?¡¯¡¯ A both uncaring and impatient Ozram would question, swinging around the weapon a bit. Allen, in answer, would form another sword, gifting it to Turok for holding. ¡®¡¯Lets run some tests shall we-¡­¡¯¡¯ The normal sword would seemingly pull itself from the bigger orc¡¯s hand after a brief struggle, flying towards the glowing one as the two would fuse together, forming a roughly sword-shaped oval object, covered in rust and glowing a soft-blue color.


    ¡®¡¯Ooookay¡­ Ozram¡­ put the thing down¡­¡¯¡¯ Jigi would place his hand upon the younger orc¡¯s shoulder, gently coaxing him and his arm to put the object on the dungeon floor. Allen meanwhile, was having yet another internal crisis at his blatant disrespect of universal laws.


    But, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. So while Jigi and Turok were calming down a sweating Ozram, the latter having been scared out of his mind by a sword flying towards him, would the resident dungeoncore merely¡­ summon a few more swords, all of which would quickly lunge towards the continuously-rounding shape of rusting and glowing iron. Not only that, but after a few normal ones, would he send a batch of his mana with every sword, turning them into more glowing ones. ¡¯Whether this is gonna turn the thing into a black hole or not, it¡¯s quite fun to experiment!¡¯Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    Whereas the normal weapons had only rounded out the ball of metal more in sacrifice of the blue glow dimming, would the glowing ones have the opposite effect. The rust ball schrunk, and the glow would deepen in color, cracks forming on the surface into which the glow would begin seeping. Atleast this was less struggling on the eyes, which made the 3 orcs drift their gazes over, as the bright light had disappeared. While at its maximum, the object would have grown in size to equal the youngest and smallest orc, it was now ¡®barely¡¯ the size of a human head.


    The 5 beings in the room stared at the roundish-ball¡­


    ¡®¡¯So uh¡­ anyone have any ideas, Jigi, Turok?¡¯¡¯ Allen would mumble softly now that the Orc¡¯s attention had gone back to the mysterious object.


    ¡®¡¯It uh¡­ seems like a Mana-crystal, almost¡­ from those deep-blue lines anyway but you usually find those in high-ranking monsters, not in balls of metal? And as the name suggests, they look more crystalline. I don¡¯t really know a whole lot on how they form, but such beasts usually hold a lot of mana in them¡­¡¯¡¯ Forgetting to use the honorific because of the bizarre situation, even Jigi¡¯s previously useful knowledge had begun drying up.


    Allen reabsorbed the sphere, noting how expensive it was to copy, for anyone else really. He could spit out the things like¡­ uh¡­ just, his massive mana pool gave him no issues. From theory, the more complex the item he was trying to copy, the more mana it would cost. Made sense, considering he had bombarded the swords with quite a extensive amount. He guessed that whatever magic had been done, had streamlined the infusing, which resulted in the process of making one from scratch be more expensive then ¡®pasting¡¯ one after copying it.


    ¡®¡¯Well, thank you for the assistance, and thankfully we didn¡¯t explode¡­¡¯¡¯ At yet another mysterious yet useless object, would the dungeon core give a mental sigh, the 3 orcs receiving a brief flicker of emotion through their connection, Ozram and Turok nodding softly before taking their leave. Jigi staring at the core for several more seconds, a brief silence remaining between the two, before even he would glance away and leave the room, leaving the floating crystal of mana by itself.


    ¡®¡¯Seems like someone almost caught on¡­ Heh, I didn¡¯t actually expect it to work, seems like I¡¯ll have to advance my schedule¡­¡¯¡¯ Allen held onto the emotion of sadness, hoping it would allow his little ¡®entourage¡¯ to remain clueless, well, the rest anyway. The wall behind his core would open further, upon closer inspection having used to hold a small, horizontal slit in between the stone, as a certain mechanical spider would crawl out. ¡®¡¯Sorry I had to stuff you into the lower-levels, Neith, I¡¯ll be sure to fix you up a tunnel or two leading from your room to down there.¡¯¡¯ The mech-spider merely tilted its head sideways, seemingly not quite as bothered as Allen had previously thought. ¡®¡¯I really wish you could speak¡­ Atleast you I know I can trust¡­ you¡¯re my own creation, not some hired thugs like those Orcs.¡¯¡¯


    Shifting his gaze towards the lower levels, would a several figures of different sizes be present, the only noticeable feature was that instead of flesh and bones, would every inch of the thing be from rusted metal instead, seemingly squished and molded to create the barest of shapes resembling a humanoid.


    ¡®¡¯Hold your friends close, but your enemy even closer¡­¡¯¡¯ The dungeon core would muse softly. He knew the Orcs were using him as much as he used them, their fragile relation with one another would probably vanish once they were strong enough to beat his only guardian, and the mysterious threat outside. How much of their words were truth, he didn¡¯t know. But for now, playing innocent would suit his objective best. It still irritated him that, for the ruse to work, he would have to continuously show a increase in abilities, balancing himself between the lines of ¡®lucky streaks¡¯ and time-consuming ¡®hard work¡¯. In truth, anything Allen was able to form with his ¡®Copy-paste¡¯ skill, had a free editing feature. Though within limits. As brittle as the rusted-iron was, he couldn¡¯t create fine parts with it and as such was stuck with creating something that looked like a simple golem. No fingers, no toes, nothing overly complex, merely the rough shape of a humanoid. Everything balanced on his supercharged magic-core. Allen had pushed his knowledge of magic to the limit with the last few glowing swords he had offered his project. Neith had evolved into a mechanical being with AI, but she had a soul, all be it a spider. A metal sphere filled with mana, had none.


    Any respectable engineer would try as many solutions as possible, so yes, he had done plenty of trials. No, a core as it was now didn¡¯t work, no he couldn¡¯t create complex shapes, but that had to do with the state of the materials used. No, he couldn¡¯t control it himself, while a normal-core did ¡®connect¡¯ the loose parts together, almost like mana-tethers and tendons, he had no influence over it, as if what he had created was a monster without brain. It was ¡®alive¡¯, yes, as much as a non-thinking Golem could be, its basic functions of cycling ambient mana throughout its body working just fine on its own. What Allen needed was something to wander into his dungeon that he could kill without rousing suspicion¡­


    Well¡­ Going by the chaos that had suddenly erupted upstairs after the return of the empty-handed hunting party, it seemed that said time had already come¡­

 Arc: 2 - Of Greenskins and Goblins V

    Flickering his gaze back to the ¡®upper¡¯ floor, Allen would be greeted by a number of Orcs brandishing the rusted swords he had formed a while ago, rudimentary weapons, not even enough to scratch his guardian, but it at least gave them a somewhat safer state of mind. Glancing outside into the wild from the entrance of his dungeon, would he see what had gotten the Orcs in such a panic. 5 Ogres holding crude clubs of wood lumbered about, joined into a simplistic war party by several goblins armed with both bows and daggers, their horrid features giving them an almost permanent twisted smile. Unlike the previous stray, would all 8 members have some form of armor, albeit in the shape of boiled leather and thick furs with rusted metal sticking out like spikes, barely glinstering in the sun of the rolling hills dotted with forests.


    He¡¯d merely give a mental snort, watching the smaller uglies try and steer about the big uglies, receiving a glancing blow of the club which was still enough to make the ¡®Goblin¡¯ fall on its rear, as it seemed in their ¡®culture¡¯, brawn went above brains. Eventually however, after spotting the grouping of Orcs all cluttered about a fancy structure carved into a mountain, would the goblins manage to steer their bigger brethren towards it by pointing, a lot. Like, really, A LOT of pointing and yelping, screaming and other noises Allen couldn¡¯t make out. They basically sounded like ugly monkey¡¯s.


    Glancing back at the Orcs, who¡¯s cover was now well and truly blown, would he notice a pair of 3 walking towards his core room, still under the assumption that he had no capability to glance outside of ¡®their¡¯ home. Sadly, it did mean he had to stop his spying on the hostiles. Returning his view to the room where his core was located, would he pretend to be busy, which wasn¡¯t all that difficult, as Allen Pasted another ¡®Soulsphere MK1¡¯, whose name was still a work in progress¡­ and threw some mana at it while the 3 Orcs stepped into the room.


    ¡®¡¯Friends, hello, anything I can help you with?¡¯¡¯ Allen spoke first, holding a chipper voice, trusting in his non-existent pokerface to hold up the lies within.


    Jigi, the ever-watchful, would narrow his eyes with a fraction, unnoticeable if not for the near omnipotent view of the Dungeon core before speaking ¡®¡¯Master Allen, we have trouble outside, scouts have spotted a war party of Ogres and Goblins advancing to our dungeon, they have found out our location, we require your help in dealing with them.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Alright, I¡¯ll call over Neith from her chamber, I suggest we use the crossroad in the dungeon to set up a 3-pronged attack.¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯A what?¡¯¡¯ the other 2 Orcs would respond in a confused manner.


    Jigi, sighing softly, would turn towards Turok and Ozram.


    ¡®¡¯Master Allen is suggesting that we split our forces, one half to guard the entry into his coreroom, the other to guard the entrance towards our living quarters, that way the Spider can charge in from behind, isn¡¯t that right?¡¯¡¯


    Allen would give a mental scoff, having planned for Neith to guard his core instead of the Orcs. No matter, He¡¯d have to make sure to create a tunnel connecting the two rooms.


    ¡®¡¯Yes, Jigi, I feel like this would be the best idea. I hope you 3 could be in the entrance to my core however.¡¯¡¯


    Turok would give a teeth-showing grin, a fist hitting his chest.


    ¡®¡¯Leave it to us, Master, we¡¯ll make sure nothing happens to your core!¡¯¡¯


    ¡®It¡¯s truly a shame¡­ They¡¯re quite useful, I wish I could at least keep these 3, while Jigi is a bit too perceptive for my taste, he¡¯d make a wonderful companion. Perhaps I need to find a way to increase their connection to me¡­¡¯


    Leaving his internal monologuing aside, the 3 Orcs would have left the chamber already, having traveled under the invisible gaze of their host towards the large grouping of orcs at the entrance, discussions quickly  ending as the plan was set in motion.


    Allen meanwhile, would begin creating tunnels in between the rooms, using Neith¡¯s metallic-silk as a form of wiring. The steel-like cable was strong enough to lift sizable stones, and braiding it resulted in a even higher tensile strength. Using this, he could cheat the ¡®drowning¡¯ feeling of locking off his dungeon, by forming a portcullis, hidden in the roof of the cave, for two entrances, namely the one to the Orc¡¯s chamber, and the one to his core room, controlled from inside Neith¡¯s tunnel-system. He had been pleasantly surprised by being able to cheat the system like this. Since technically¡­ aaaanyone could go into Neith¡¯s home, find the cable, and pull it. Nevermind they¡¯d need the strength of a Wolf-sized mechanical spider, or to find the thing in the first place. It was accessible, and that¡¯s all that was needed. It did mean he could not build one in the entrance of the Spider room. He tried, of course, but it resulted in the drowning feeling returning, something which irked him like few things could.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    If everything went to plan, He¡¯d sacrifice the leftover orcs to hopefully kill the hostiles, leaving Neith as clean-up crew after imprisoning the three leaders.


    Then again, no plan survived the first trial, so for the duration of the time, would Allen be free to stew in his own thoughts, coming up with different scenarios.


    There was of course also the issue that, if the Soulspheres he had placed in the walls failed, Allen was pretty much dead.


    Goblins and Ogre¡¯s didn¡¯t seem like they¡¯d leave such a ¡®shiney¡¯ like him behind after combing the place for anything loot-related. That, and if the Orcs won, he¡¯d probably be killed as well for betraying them. The win conditions as of now, were simple: Survive.


    Almost was he tempted to give Turok a set of armor, but it couldn¡¯t be justified without revealing his true capabilities. Instead, calling over Jigi, would he summon a pair of large metal shapes, using the excuse of them being previous production stages of the Soulsphere, which after adding a handle and a pair of orcs behind it, could be used as mobile walls against the goblins arrows. Needles to say, Turok lifted one up on his own, and carried it around like some sort of oversized battering ram.


    Now, of course Allen could have revealed everything at this point, but  something inside him would twist at the opportunity, as if a soft voice would ring in the back of his mind, exclaiming that nobody could be trusted until enough power was gathered.


    Normally, he truly detested gambling. But in these circumstances, it was required. Every scenario, every plan resulted in some form of loss. Well, except a few, but what are the chances that the Goblins and Ogres would suddenly kneel and ask to join him? Yeah¡­ not high.


    All preparations had been completed and barely in time as Allen¡¯s mana sense would pick up the approaching figures.


    And then, the fight begun.


    To call it anything but a brawl was a overstatement. Atleast the shields were put to good use. Then again, that could have just been because Goblins, well, Goblins aren¡¯t the best shooters. Allen having even noted one stray arrow impacting into the shoulder of a Ogre, which made it bellow with rage, freezing the Orcs in front as one of them would be smashed into paste by a overhead swing of the club.


    While the Goblins were a terrible shot, they were quite agile and together with their daggers, managed to nick a few wounds here and there, the small stature of the creatures, being the size of a pre-teen, helped with dodging as well. Of course, in the defense of the Orcs, these were non-combatants. Turok being the only ¡®warrior¡¯ class. These were not able-bodied men, these were the old, the women and the young, their only combat experience coming from hunting whatever animals roamed outside. While the Orcs managed to atleast somewhat hold the line against the Goblins whenever they slipped through, the worst damage was caused by the group of Ogres, which managed to fill the entire entrance, and slowly but surely grinded away at the Orcs defensive line, a Rust-shield breaking upon impact after having been battered for too long, leaving the flank open for the goblins to abuse with their ranged weaponry.


    And then, the first Ogre fell.


    One of the soulspheres which Allen had embedded into the walls, gave a flicker of light, letting a small line of blue shine through the hall, unnoticed by anyone except the most keen.


    Allen left the battle, ordering Neith to activate the Portcullis triggers as the Orcs were trapped between a rock and a hard place.


    Whisking away the previously mentioned sphere, would the Dungeon core be pleasantly surprised, as the magic had in fact recognized it as a different item. Later testing, if Allen managed to survive, would have to show if he could paste the blueprint with the hopefully trapped soul of a Ogre. Or, considering these things were in league with the system, whatever counted as a Soul for them.


    For now, he copied over the Soulsphere into one of the large golems, watching as lines of mana, much like on his guardian, began forming across its rusting body. It seemed for now, everything was going alright, as the same had happened when he placed a charged one inside. The next step would decide whether his project had been a failure or not.


    As the ¡®eyes¡¯, which were little more then rough indents in the golems head began glowing a soft blue, it seemed that something had succeeded after all¡­

 Arc: 2 - Of Greenskins and Goblins VI (END)

    There was¡­ one little thing Allen had forgotten about.


    See, everything had been accounted for, except one tiny issue. What if¡­ for some bizarre reason, the identity of the Ogre would copy over into the suit and turn hostile?


    Well¡­ Lets just say that such a event would be fatal.


    Thankfully, it didn¡¯t happen! Flag successfully avoided.


    Allen gave a amused chuckle, watching the glowing lights of the rusted suit flicker about, a steady thrum of mana and the creaking of rusted metal echoing throughout the near-featureless chamber.


    As the Greenskins gave their life on the first floor, so was ¡®life¡¯ created on the second.


    ¡®¡¯If only my first visitors would have been dwarves¡­¡¯¡¯ The Dungeon core gave a mental sigh. Atleast the plan had worked, to a extend. Now he could safekeep the souls of the 3 Orc-leaders, should they fall in battle.


    Onto the next phase, as Allen pasted several more cores into the other 2 large suits lined against the wall. Between the first, one major difference was found. Instead of 2 roundish-spheres as ¡®hands¡¯, the latter two had a massive shield, and club-like extension for hands, coming equipped with crude, rusted weaponry. Allen dubbed these two ¡®Shield-Guardians¡¯, the first receiving a mere ¡®Prototype-1¡¯ as its name.


    And, with that moment, would all 3 of the automatons give a shudder, parts settling into place as they stepped out of their chambers In the wall onto the floor.


    ¡®¡¯I wonder if I can fill the smaller ones as well¡­ by now they should have killed atleast 1 goblin, right?¡¯¡¯


    The core¡¯s statement was somewhat correct. One of the goblins lay bleeding infront of the big-lad himself, Turok. Though it seemed that the two had done equal damage to one another. Not wanting to lose either 3, would Allen reinforce the connection between himself and the Orc-warrior, finding it a lot easier and actually doable now that his body had reached such a state. His plan was well on track, less then a third of the original orc-group remaining. He did feel somewhat uncomfortable with the massive loss of life, but at the same time disappointed at the weakness of his supposed ¡®guardians¡¯. So much for their original agreement.


    In any case, as a measure to make sure his prized possession managed to reach his core-room safely, would he dump a metaphorical-equivalent of a bathtub filled with mana over the orc, watching his body quiver and swell.


    One note Allen had forgotten during their first meeting¡­ Orcs grew in strength with mana.


    So, instead of getting the energy to retreat¡­ Turok swelled, the broken-half of his shield evaporating into a blue light, which would form a now-familiar set of tatoos across his body, wounds welding themselves together as rusted fragements of metal would bridge inbetween parted skin and muscle.


    When the light of magic settled down, Turok stood between his earlier size of just shy from 2 meters and a Orge¡¯s four meters, having grown with atleast a meter to settle at roughly 3 meters and atleast a whole meter wide. Now that, was one big Orc. A system would have given a newly-evolved creature like this some fancy or intimidating name like ¡®Quarter-Cyborg Orc¡¯. Instead, nothing happened. Neither powers involved with it, after all, had any form of connection to the cursed software.


    The latter part, of course, held no interest for either Turok or Allen at his moment, the Dungeon core quickly creating a mental note, something which had begun being much easier the more time went one, that Evolution was only possible, or at least had a higher chance of occurring by overloading the body of a monster with a high-enough quantity of magic. A theoretical idea followed, to which the surroundings of said monster influenced whatever they would evolve into. Per example, a Lizard-like monster living near a volcano might develop into something that could spew burning acid. Or a fish in a swamp would become more akin to a amphibian.


    That last part gave way to a lot of speculation to Allen. Would such a swamp-evolved fish try to fill the ecological niche of a frog, or would it go an entirely-separate route. Were monster evolutions a mirror to the evolutions on our own planet, merely taking generations-time because of a lack of mana, or was the opposite true, that mana caused sporadic evolutions whereas the normal-state of affairs before the system was similar to our own world? The only way to answer this question is to find our whether Mana was something already present on this planet, or created by the system.


    Allen could feel his non-existing brain already frying at the long train of thoughts, almost forgetting to send up his three new soldiers, only being reminded by yet another Orc dying.


    Right now, it was 3 Ogres and 2 Goblins. Considering there had been over 20 Orcs that had to lay down their lives to shave away a fourth of the hostiles, there was no way for our brave companions to win. Turok as he was now could maybe take on a single Ogre, which he was currently busy having a slug-match with, the two striking each other with a berserker-like glee. This still left 2 big and 2 small uglies.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Pure luck made it so that Ozram and Jigi were closer to the back of the group, little more than two steps separating them from the portcullis. This would allow Allen to finally start the last phase of his plan. Giving a mental-signal to his now-no-longer lone guardian, would a certain Mech-spider come bolting out of her own room, uncaring if she ran over any unfortunate greenskin still lingering near the crossroad, which she did, albeit only being two. Hydraulic-pumps tensed, would the spider lift itself off the stone floor, into the air, and straight against one of the large ogres, making it fall on yet another unfortunate orc, squashed beneath the combined weight of a large metal-construct and a 4 meter-tall ogre.


    Allowing her fangs to sink into the neck of the monster, would the acid begin eating away at its skin. Compared to the last time she faced one of these beings had there been one crucial advantage compared to the previous. Stealth. This Ogre only realized what had- and was about to- happen when the corrosive acid had melted away half of its neck. With a dying splutter, would it use the last of his strength to fling the construct into the wall.


    Turok continued to battle with one of two Ogres, though it seemed that with every moment passed, the balance of power continued to creep in his direction. His attacks were getting faster, stronger and more accurate, his mind adapting to its new body. This was not without sacrifice, as the Orcs body was covered in more wounds, the mana of the dungeon filling it to create more small patches of rusted metal. At one point the Ogre had managed to critically strike his left eyesocket, the eye of the Orc-warrior for now being put in a state of disrepair. While still working, it was at best a slight blur, at worst, whenever he tried focusing on something else, colors and blurs would begin to overlap. Turok quickly learned to not do that.


    ¡®¡¯Master Allen, what took you so long?¡¯¡¯ Jigi turned to glance over his shoulder, through the portcullis and into the core room, where the crystal floated in silence for a brief moment. Berating himself for having to reveal his knowledge, would the smartest orc of the three try to bargain. It was all they had left. Only they remained, the three brothers that had been chosen as a leader of their people. Bah, leaders they were anything but. Their people lay dead or dying because of the small group of invaders. Jigi had allowed their survival once by striking a deal with the mysterious entity that controlled the core. Now, he¡¯d have to do it again, this time offering more then anyone would like to give. Whether the core knew or not at the moment of their deal was of little use. It probably knew now, considering its guardian had no remorse in using the last handful of his people to distract its prey. However, even it was in a tough spot. There was still one Ogre left, and those two goblins were eyeing both himself, Ozram and its core that layed beyond. ¡®¡¯I know you can hear me, Core, We both know that I know of what you can really do. And we offer the last remains of our freedom if it means we can live!¡¯¡¯.


    Ozram glanced at the wiser orc, quickly nodding. Unlike the shaman-student, would he have little idea of what was going on. Master Allen wouldn¡¯t have willingly sacrificed his people, right? The friendly voice still echoed through his head like the last time they had spoken. The core seemed so¡­ innocent and naive, just like him.


    ¡®¡¯The thing is, Jigi, what you know is¡­ well, lets just say ¡®outdated¡¯ would be the best.


    A set of Golems would appear from behind the pedestal, both Orcs remaining silent as the Portcullis raised itself. How had they missed these two massive statues when they were in the room earlier? And who had pulled up the gates?


    ¡®¡¯Guardians, clear up the rest.¡¯¡¯ The Dungeon core¡¯s voice sounded less then pleasant like earlier, now it was annoyed.


    The goblins attention would quickly be distracted from the two weaklings, making a rush for the big shiney that layed beyond. Allen almost chuckled as they ignored the two Golems, too distracted with potential wealth to see the incoming clubs.


    Two ripe watermelons exploded in sync.


    The golems were uncaring, unmoving, as one stepped onto a goblin body and squashed it into paste. Standing bigger then a Ogre at 4,5 meters in height, would the moving wall send echos throughout the near-silent dungeon. The last ogre would take a hesitant step back, having passed the two orcs shivering against the wall. As they tried to turn around and leave, would they find another golem blocking its path. This one without shield or club, instead having crude spheres as hands. One could argue that these spheres were more like flat morning-stars then hands however.


    Allen briefly mused over the current situation, sending a mental command towards the two Guardians to pass the Ogre and go help out the Orc-warrior.


    Within its limited intelligence, would the Ogre receive plenty of warning signals. It knew that as the two armed ¡®things¡¯ would pass it, that either they believed the last member could defeat him without issue, or this was some form of crude ¡®adulthood-ritual¡¯, much like what they practiced.


    He roared in rage, charging the strange thing with fist and arm held back to prepare a mighty swing.


    The golem would mirror his movements, albeit merely standing there, its arm creaking and humming.


    The two met eachother with a mighty blow, the Ogre screaming in pain as its fist would give way to the metal, breaking bones even in its arm. However, the same was true for the ¡®thing¡¯, as the Ogre could clearly see cracks in the rusted plating, hissing with blue-tinged air.


    There was one issue, however. As the Ogre clutched its broken arm, would the construct stand there, unfeeling, uncaring, the cracks across its arm being patched over as the mana would ¡®weld¡¯ the metal shut, leaving a dis-colored line almost reminiscent of a scar.


    The last the ogre saw was its spherical fist, approaching its face with the same speed of their earlier clash¡­


    Two Orcs, one Half-Orcborg (He would probably have to change the name later, Allen noted) two Guardians, one Prototype and a Giant mech-spider sat in formation, the first three surrounded by the latter, in front of a Giant Crystal¡­

 Arc: 3 - Mind, Magic and Managing I

    Temperature in the core room dropped and yet sweat rolled over the orc¡¯s back. The situation was tense, so much so that a sound could be produced upon it being touched. Whoever blinked first would surely be the defea-¡­


    ¡®¡¯Oi, Neith, drop that!¡¯¡¯


    The spider in question would hold the arm from one of the larger invaders in its claw-like ¡®arms¡¯, body tilted sideways in confusion as its mandibles nibbled on and corroded the flesh.


    ¡®¡¯No, don¡¯t give me that look. I already told you twice now, drop. It.¡¯¡¯


    Neith would, in turn, merely clutch the arm closer, lowering her body closer to the ground as if trying to make herself as small as possible.


    ¡®¡¯So much for the ¡®tense¡¯ situation¡­¡¯¡¯ Allen mused, view rotating back towards the three Orcs. They weren¡¯t so much sweating from fear as much as awkwardness. Especially Ozram, who didn¡¯t understand, or did not wish to do so, how exactly it was possible for something so¡­ carefree at times to essentially having sacrificed his entire tribe.


    ¡®¡¯So¡­ Allen¡­ Core.. whatever you prefer, what will you do with us now? We¡¯ve overstayed our welcome, considering you willingly gave up the lives of our people.¡¯¡¯ A strong yet low voice came from the largest of the three, the Half-Orcborg had been busy inspecting his own enlarged body. He felt stronger, yes, mightier then ever before. But at what cost had it come? Even if his two brothers would leave, he could not. A part of him was latched onto this place, a part of his very soul. He could yet barely manage to ignore the orders of the core, much to its both mild amusement and irritation. However Turok knew, he could hold no hostility in his heart towards it. Even know, ancestors forgive, he knew why Allen had done what he did. It was survival of the fittest, and they had demanded more then they could give. The Orc tribe had essentially leeched off the housing and protection the Core had ¡®willingly¡¯ offered.


    ¡®¡¯Turok, Only Ozram has yet to realise you cannot leave. And I think that, for the both of you, it would be severely unwise to leave. Of course, I won¡¯t stop you.


    Ozram wanted to leave. He really wanted to leave. However it would mean abandoning one of his two remaining brothers. And he did not wi-.


    He suddenly noticed the way Turok was staring at the core, muscles twitching and eyes narrowing, before the Orgborg (A name Ozram found quite amusing, much to the dismay of its owner) let a sigh pass his chest.


    ¡®¡¯Jigi, Ozram. You two must leave.¡¯¡¯


    Both smaller Orcs would open their mouth in protest as Turok would raise a open hand.


    ¡®¡¯We, both Allen and Myself, need your ability to still leave this place. I can no longer, in return of my life have I been bound in servitude. The Core has told me of the mineral deposits. We will be stuck in this place if nothing is done. Find the Dwarves or even humans in the border-region and get them here. Allen has allowed me to view glimpses of the power he can wield. We never stood a chance.¡¯¡¯


    The core in question would scoff softly, tugging on the bond between himself and the Orgborg to reign in that train of thought and finish trying to convince the two, finding that Turok did not wish to speak any further.


    ¡®¡¯I need materials and partners. We¡¯re going to need some form of non-hostiles in the area to bargain with. As such, I require you two to set out the wild to find people willing to settle near a dungeon.


    Unlike with you Orcs, I will not provide any form of home, merely a opportunity to trade. While I cannot fabricate anything other then things I have already ¡®received¡¯, I have the capability to produce countless numbers. If you find anyone in power that does not see the benefits in such a partnership, well, I don¡¯t count on such a thing happening¡­¡¯¡¯


    The two orcs looked at one another, Jigi slowly swallowing before asking a question all three of them had on their mind ¡®¡¯What if we¡­ perish?¡¯¡¯


    Allen would have loved to smirk if he could, producing four ¡®Soulspheres¡¯. Though unlike their more simple brethren, would these come- in pairs, a smaller size, and hold a different pattern on the surface. ¡®¡¯Activate these with your mana, and your death will be prevented¡­¡¯¡¯You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Well, Death was a¡­ objective to its viewer¡­ Allen did not see the perishing of ones body as death anymore. It was merely a¡­ temporary setback. He would have simple golems waiting for their cores to fit into, should anything happen to them, or any future partners he might ¡®acquire¡¯.


    Then again these were just prototypes, the only way he could guess they would work was considering none of the previous prototypes had malfunctioned, even something with arguably more difficulty then the ¡®Soulsphere MK1¡¯, which used a Mana-vortex to acquire the soul before it could leave the body... The Mark 2 used the owners mana signature to transport one¡¯s soul from one sphere to the other. Of course, the Mark 2 was not a permanent container, it used all available ¡®space¡¯ inside the mana-concentrated rust-crystal to produce a similar effect used by the Dungeon core, transporting Items in what could only be called a ¡®inventory¡¯ of some sort. He really needed some test subjects¡­ if only a few goblins would wander into here.


    Both Orcs would touch the spheres in front of them, Jigi having to take a moment with helping Ozram activate his own. Of course, neither knew of the internal dilemma which had struck Allen mere moments ago, not even Turok, as the Core had, with the ruse now over, blocked its connection between the Orcs and itself, leaving only their ¡®brotherly bond¡¯ with one another which had been reinforced by their conscription into the dungeon¡¯s service.


    So, Two orcs left, leaving with equipment, food, clothing and eachother.


    One Orc remained, taking up housing in the abandoned shack-camp that made up the left wing.


    And for a moment, having paused since the Orcs first arrived, the dungeon was quiet.


    Well.


    If one ignored the constant shifting and grinding of stone in the background.


    Allen was quite busy, unlike the lazy guardians he had. He¡¯d shake his head if he could, working on the chamber of his favorite (and only) Mechspider. Said chamber needed a overhaul for one specific reason.


    Neith, for something that did physically not require to eat, had cleaned up all the bodies. All the bodies. Even the blood had vanished, the spider using its corrosive acid to scrub away the filth off the floor, as if the liquids and grime were a offense to her in and of itself. This however, meant that all he mass had to go somewhere, and that somewhere being in the spider itself. Said bear-sized spider was currently huddled up into a hole in the wall, mandibles and claws covering its face in what could almost be called shame.


    Allen supposed that, no matter the species, women did not like being viewed as gluttons.


    Now that the spider had ¡®grown¡¯ (He really didn¡¯t understand how exactly a metal-construct had increased in size, but a theory would suggest somehow using the miniscule amount of iron present in blood, as even thought they were monsters, both species did have crimson-colored blood.) too large for its previous enclosure, meant that Allen had been forced to begin renovations a bit earlier then expected. So he turned her previous home into a simple square room filled with stone furniture, namely a chair, desk, bookcase and, well, that was it really. He did realise that there was a distinct lack of lighting in most of his dungeon because of Turok walking by to inspect the room and only getting a ¡®¡¯Whats this dark part for?¡¯¡¯


    Said issue was solved by creating a rough, rusting chandelier filled with unfilled soulspheres. They would produce a infinite source of (albeit blue tinted) light, making Turok question once more what the room was for.


    Simply said, Allen really didn¡¯t enjoy having people near his core room, and as such this little office would have to be used as a meeting-ground for any visitors.


    Using the now bear-sized Neith, which gave a bit of extra trouble on the already crude and simplified construction work, would the dungeoncore re-attach the operating system of the portcullis from Neith¡¯s chamber behind the stone bookcase.


    How did that work? Well, something Allen found out was that, even if it was created or removed by dungeon shenanig-¡­ magic, dungeon magic, it was still for all intents and purposes, stone.


    So when he made a bookcase grow from the ground with extra-long ¡®feet¡¯, and cut them off right after, it meant that the bookcase dropped down onto the floor and could be moved.


    The only one that could do this, of course, was Turok. Well, Neith could technically also shove the thing aside, but for repeated use, only the dexterity of the Orcborg (Or Cyborc? Turok didn¡¯t like either, a question showed.) allowed for the mechanism to remain intact. However, in the end, it could be moved and accessed by ¡®technically¡¯ everyone, so Allen¡¯s in-built warning systems did not go off.


    In any case, finally, a law of physics that had to be-¡­


    Nope. Whether it be because of Allen¡¯s immense quantity of magic, or every dungeon functioned in a similar manner, a tiny strand of ¡®dungeon stone¡¯, could hold up a infinite amount of itself, unless Allen either ¡®inscribed¡¯ it to behave differently, or if he cut off the mana supply.


    Yay, more testing¡­


    The life of a Engineer is spent with two fases.


    Theorising and prototyping.


    In this case, instead of a new household item, or construction site, Allen was tasked to overhaul his entire ¡®house¡¯. Or, technically, was it body?


    The ride never ends¡­

 Arc: 3 - Mind, Magic and Managing II

    Given the fact most of his building materials were either¡­ broken and simplistic at best¡­ meant that Allen had to improvise. So, how does one design a intimidating entrance besides building a magnificent temple of gold and gemstones?


    The dungeon core pondered, ¡®staring¡¯ at the entrance into the largest volcano in the area.


    Thinking back to the media of his previous life, would he find only one answer, magic fizzing in the air as stone began to extrude.


    Turok was once more lifting his weights. A pleasant surprise of being conscripted into the Dungeon was that apparently, he required no more food to be active. He felt rejuvenated with every breath as the concentrated mana in the dungeon passed through every cell (the ones that remained, anyway).


    Every few hours that passed would he prod and poke the metal covers that littered his skin, while rusted, it seemed that they had yet to cause any form of disease or infection. He tested the strength of the material by requesting a sword from his patron, finding it a slight bit more flexible then the normal material, which probably explained how it had yet to break. Even if it did, which Turok had caused by repeatedly hammering on a specific part, the Iron parts of his body would heal at a accelerated rate, white lines which the Dungeon Core had called ¡®Welds¡¯ replacing the usual scar tissue.


    Turok had heard his Master mutter something about the tensile strength and flexibility, but after that Allen had blocked off the connection between them, and as such only raised more questions on what part he played in all this. The Half-Orcborg knew he wasn¡¯t the smartest, but when Jigi had still been here, even he hadn¡¯t known over half of the terms their host used.


    His thoughts were roused from the sound of stone shifting, passing the set of golems guarding the entrance. He would have probably mistaken them for statues if not for the dungeon¡¯s connection between all of the inhabitants. Since having upgraded (or downgraded, depending on whom one asked) his own ¡®contract¡¯, he even felt the multiple signatures in the floor below, debating on whether or not to tell Allen. Chances are, they already knew he knew.


    Taking his first step outside, would Turok feel the now familiar strain on his body, with every step he took outside being more and more draining. As of now, he could use his legs for ten steps, give or take, before beginning to faint.


    Still, being holed up in the mountain for the rest of his life was not a prospect he was looking forward to, as such, Turok always took the time to step outside for a while, even if his body felt as heavy as it did.


    Something he had noticed, was that only after exiting the structure in front of the Dungeon, would the feeling begin even though he had been ¡®outside¡¯ previously.


    It also seemed that his Patron had begun renovating the outside, as the strange temple-like structure had increased in size, even if he did not recognize the build-style of it, Turok was still astonished by the designs.


    Allen watched as concentrated mana leaked out of his home, into the air and dissipating. First things first, he needed to put a stop to that. Maybe then he could at least begin expanding outwards, instead of further into the volcano and accidentally running into a pool of lava¡­ He wasn¡¯t going to count on his crystal being heat-proof anytime soon.


    For now, he willed the mana to stop moving, creating a constant gravity-like pull towards his crystal, finetuning the amount of force created by his ¡®magic¡¯. While technically costing him more upkeep compared to when he let the steady amount trickle away into the atmosphere, it wasn¡¯t about efficiency. What Allen was trying to do, was create a invisible ¡®structure¡¯ of some sort, where the mana would remain trapped and allow his constructs to exit the dungeon. That way he wouldn¡¯t be required to depend on entities with a loose-contract for scouting. Coming from a more modern age, he knew information was the key to success. It¡¯s why he had send the two Orcs out in the first place, instead of keeping them here for protection.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    One could argue that with a theoretically-infinite army of golems, he didn¡¯t need two orcs, but the Engineer in Allen did not in fact, appreciate having to work with such crude constructs. He wanted proper steel, damnit.


    Rising from his grumbling state of mind, would he confirm that, yes, the ¡®spell¡¯ had worked. Now all he needed was to imbue a structure with it, and the Mana would stay within that area.


    Now. To pick a specific structure designed to increase one¡¯s area of control...


    ¡®¡¯Hey, Turok.¡¯¡¯ Allen¡¯s voice had always sounded as if he was standing in front of whoever he spoke to, which had caused quite a few ¡®jump scares¡¯, as the Dungeon had called them, to the Orcs, when they had still been using it as their home. At least nowadays, Turok had grown used to them.


    ¡®¡¯Yes, Master Allen, what is it you require..?¡¯¡¯ Turok held a slight, confused frown on his face. His master sounded in a awfully amused mood, which¡­ well, he was unsure if that meant something actually good or not.


    ¡®D-did¡­¡¯ Turok paused his train of thoughts as he could have sworn he had heard his patreon¡­ snort?


    ¡®¡¯We must c-construct additional pylons, Turok.¡¯¡¯


    The Orcborg merely looked a definite confused at this point. The entity that had watched without care as his people died was currently¡­ trying its best not to laugh. At a joke he didn¡¯t even understand. The structural integrity of the dungeon was fine, wasn¡¯t it? And even so, why would it be something to laugh about?


    Watching the Half-cyborg orc look the way he did was the last drop for Allen, cutting off the connection as he tried his best to remain serious, one half complaining about the fact Turok hadn¡¯t understood his joke while the other was double-amused at the confused and disturbed face the Orc had made.


    Still standing outside, would the Orc in question watch as massively square pillar-like structures would rise on the edges of his rougly ¡®ten-step¡¯ radius, familiar tatoo-like ingravings present upon the surface of the stone, glowing softly with the magic-blue color. Using his connection with the Dungeon itself, would Turok see the saturation of mana present inside the two structures, seeing the magical energies slipping away into the atmosphere suddenly stop in mid-air and be drawn towards them. Walking up to one, would he let out a soft exhale in reflex, realizing that no fatigue had settled in yet. Even passing beyond said structures, would he walk another few before turning around.


    Glancing back, would he see how the ¡®pylons¡¯ blended in with the structure, as if forming a gate without roof, standing in front and on both sides of the main building. If he had to describe the scene, would one thing come to mind, An ancient temple, long forgotten that had stood the test of time. Most of this description came from the fact nearly everything had been made of stone mixed with the mana-saturated kind, creating cracks and different textures from time to time.


    There was one more thing that stood out, however. Above the entrance into the mountain, hung a massive skull, its opened mouth big enough for him to walk through. This was no normal skull however, as several cracks and openings littered its surface. With the light setting, would he see the insides being carved into stranges round shapes in a whole lot of different sizes, said circles having square-like protrusions coming out of them at regular intervals all along the sides. The skulls entire right eye would have fallen away, replaced by a singular massive ¡®circle¡¯.


    A part of Turok was almost reminded of himself, as he now realized all these circles had been shaped using the rusted iron that was a part of his skin.


    ¡®¡¯How did you-¡­¡¯¡¯ Turok found that nobody was listening. The connection between himself and the Dungeon still lay broken. Considering it had yet to be re-established, it meant that his patron was nowhere nearby.


    Speaking off the Dungeon, Allen had been forced to retract his consciousness back into the crystal, allowing himself to be taken by the comforting darkness it provided, suffering from a splitting headache, his ¡®sight¡¯ burning as a vague outline of a red-screen would keep popping in and out of view, blocked by something yet trying its best to break through¡­

 Arc: 3 - Mind, Magic and Managing III

    ¡®¡¯I hope this doesn¡¯t become a reoccurring theme¡­¡¯¡¯


    The voice echoed throughout darkness, watching a lightshow, akin to fireworks on a pitch-black night, take its place in the distance. Gold and Crimson flashes would explode against a cyan-blue tide. While reminding him of the specter of magic emanated from his golems, it felt¡­ ¡®wrong¡¯. Too dark almost.


    Of course, said sphere of light was a certain Dungeon core, finding himself back in his mindscape. The gold and crimson energies, most likely, were the parting gifts the Old man and his fallen¡­


    Darn, he had forgotten to ask what exactly their relation had been. Uncle Lucifer it is.


    Giving himself a brief mental shake, would Allen focus upon the clashes of energy once more. Considering what had happened moments before he found himself in this place, Allen guessed that Dungeons were not suppose to go ¡®up¡¯, or ¡®out¡¯, for that matter, which had caused the system to throw a hissy-fit because of it.


    Knowing that unlike the systems energy, the two remnants of his benefactors- energies would have a point of exhaustion, and that solving this issue now would probably help him (including not dying or turning into a mindless monster-generator¡­) Allen did what any self-respecting member of some branch from the ¡®Engineer¡¯ head-term would do, R&D.


    Good thing was, he had plenty examples, unlike with his Dungeon work.


    Better thing, Apparently he himself produced a similar substance to the blue tide, it was just that for every non-existing bucket of steel-grey colored energy he made, the cyan-tide came with 100


    ¡®¡¯I guess the old man¡¯s warnings weren¡¯t for nothing. I managed to beat that ¡®envoy¡¯ of the system, but itself is waaaay scarier¡­¡¯¡¯


    Probabilities aside, the only reason that the energies from both Uncle and the Old man were even managing to pull-off a delay action was because of some home-field advantage.


    As previously stated, time was a finite resource and thus began the testing.


    This showed that his earlier comment on a ¡®home-field advantage¡¯ had some truth to it.


    After ¡®feeding¡¯ some of his own steel-colored energy to both the Crimson and Golden energy-spheres, Allen also managed to find out that this particular battle had been going on since his first awakening on this strange world. Considering he could barely produce enough energy to keep both spheres tipped-off full, it showed how much energy Uncle and the Old man had to spend, battling this tide of cyan, keeping it from invading Earth and doing to it what it had done to a unknown amount of worlds before. Not a pleasant thought.


    If anything, this served as a reminder for how low Allen actually sat on the totempole of¡­ the universe? Whatever one wanted to call it. Even as a unliving core he began to feel a very human-like headache coming up again, the one that would surface whenever one started thinking too hard, on how the human brain named itself to name one example.


    Atleast as a Dungeon core, he could simply do a little ¡®end-program¡¯ to stop any train of thought from spiraling out of control. Especially when Allen had spend quite a bit of time theorizing about how he could argue that a Dungeon Core was merely a hyper-advanced computer program, working with Mana instead of electricity.


    Good times.


    One of the next notable tests was where Allen would bundle up his energy in a compact sphere, before chucking it towards the blue tide, much like how the Crimson and Gold energies would fire projectiles of their own.


    Lets just say that it ended in a flash of blinding (even though he couldn¡¯t really ¡®see¡¯ right now) light and several seconds of silence before the tidal wave of blue came rushing back in.


    ¡®¡¯So, bundling up energy works like a tactical nuke, nice.¡¯¡¯


    From what Allen could gather about this particular battlefield, compared to the ¡®Soul¡¯ ones, was that this functioned more akin to a Influence war. If ones soul was the ¡®castle¡¯, the energies were the borders of the nation. Without controlling a point of surface on any particularly-colored sphere, one could not instigate the ¡®siege battle¡¯ that the System-envoy had tried doing to him.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    Then again, Allen mused that only god-like entities knew about this particular form of combat. Sure beats beating each other up for eons in some form of Anime-fashion.


    To combat the current situation, what was required?


    <ol>


    <li>More energy; Calculations showed that even while continuously firing energy-nukes that at one point reserves will dry, the timing in between shots is not enough for the energy to replenish itself</li>


    <li>Automated defense; One can hardly stay here for time eternal. The Dungeon was unsupervised, he had to focus his attention elsewhere</li>


    </ol>


    The answers to both, lay in the explanation of 2.


    Expanding the dungeon would mean expanding (strangely enough it seemed that instead of drawing from the energy to build, it seemed that any left-over energy not being used would empower his soul) his reserves, expanding his reserves meant more ¡®influence¡¯ (For a lack of better term and considering it ¡®fit¡¯ quite well with the whole godly-theme, the strange energies were now dubbed ¡®influence¡¯.) which could combat the systems own. With his home-field advantage and the two automated-cannons donated by Uncle and the Old man should give him enough of a breathing room to atleast fight this battle to a stand-still.


    With this solution came two new problems though.


    Only ¡®living¡¯ creatures counted in increasing his dungeon. His golems, atleast these simple ones, did not. ¡®knowing¡¯ this information was quite weird, but Allen merely chucked it onto the heap of ¡®Old-man influence¡¯, imagining that for a normal-core, if they¡¯d ever find out about all this at some point, a nifty and easy-to-read pop-up screen would tell them all this information.


    Well, that and the two massive-glowing pillars linked towards his two ¡®boss-monsters¡¯ helped as well. As a matter of fact, they also seemed to give off influence, albeit he couldn¡¯t quite see how much.


    In any case, Turok counted, Neith counted but Jigi and Ozram did not.


    So, to partially solve the issue, he just needed new members. One slight issue, Allen had a bit of trouble finding out how much energy was produced by his larger-then-average soul, and how much each member of his dungeon provided. Worst-case- and yet most likely-scenario, his soul powered almost all, and every member of the dungeon hardly did anything.


    Then again, going by the snail-pace encroachment of the System-influence, he didn¡¯t need that much more to at least halt it to a point where it¡¯d take decades for it to reach him. Of course, it could take even longer for him to find enough creatures to serve¡­


    Allen would give a mental sigh, allowing himself to sink out of the darkness and back into his ¡®core¡¯.


    Upon which he would find a surprisingly very-worried Orcborg and Mechspider staring at his crystal.


    Both (albeit in the latter¡¯s case it was more of a downward-tilting motion) would sigh in relief, the spider scuttling off back towards her lair-¡­ No, wait.


    Allen had forgotten to give Neith a new part of his home¡­ her old one having been turned into a office. Bugger.


    Watching the Bear-sized spider tilt its entire body to glance at the golems patrolling inside the dungeon was somewhat amusing, almost like looking at a jumping-spider observing its surroundings.


    ¡¯Eh, I suppose she can stay in the Core room for the time being¡¯ Upon which would Allen watch his first companion calming walk up the wall, finding a corner and folding herself up.


    A bear-sized spider trying to make itself as small as possible¡­ don¡¯t see that every day.


    Turok, on the other hand, would visibly relax upon seeing the only other mentally-capable being in the dungeon return to its normal duties. No matter what his Patron might think, that spider had a weird gleam in its eyes¡­ and nothing was going to convince him otherwise.


    Putting the matters of potentially-evil giant spiders aside, would the former-orc drop onto a knee, bowing his head towards the core. ¡®¡¯It is good to see your return, Master Allen.¡¯¡¯


    The Cyborc could feel a tinge of satisfaction through their reestablished bond as his Patron would take a moment to speak. ¡®¡¯How long have I been¡­ ¡®out¡¯¡­?¡¯¡¯


    Allowing the memories of the past to flow back into his mind, would Turok silently count the amount of times he¡¯d done his ¡®ritual¡¯ of going outside.


    ¡®¡¯Fourteen day-cycles, Master.¡¯¡¯


    A brief moment of silence, though Turok could detect a faint sliver of unhappiness.


    ¡®¡¯Have the other two returned?¡¯¡¯


    Ouch. Yeah¡­ his master was anything but happy¡­ the Orc hoped that he wouldn¡¯t be the victim of any form of punishment created by this sudden spit of anger.


    ¡®¡¯Not yet. Though it could take another set of fourteen cycles before they manage to even find a settlement. We orcs had been on the run for quite a while.¡¯¡¯


    The only reply Turok received was mumbles laced with irritation and a mention about ¡®¡¯forgetting to install a communication-function¡¯¡¯, whatever that meant. The Cyborc knew that the late-shaman could create a form of long-range magical-message using a spectral-familiar, but he wasn¡¯t a shaman. Turok didn¡¯t even know if Jigi knew such a spell.


    Hearing his master dismissing him, would the Orcborg walk outside, taking some time now that his master had returned to follow his recently-adapted patrol route, sticking to the spherical-influence of the two ¡®Pylons¡¯ as he¡¯d let the last of the suns rays shine on his skin.

 Arc: 3 - Mind, Magic and Managing IV

    A loud crack, followed by a squelch, echoed through the dungeon, the rest having fallen silent.


    just shy of 2 cycles had passed since Allen had reawakened after his pylon-stunt.


    ¡®¡¯You know¡­ this could have been solved differently¡­¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Mhm¡­¡¯¡¯A group of figures stared down at a broken and bloodied one.


    Turok glanced at one of the golems, its pillar-like club covered in the crimson color of blood as the constructs would march back to their positions.


    ¡®¡¯Master, perhaps you should make sure the guardians are less¡­ ¡®smash happy¡­¡¯


    Allen gave a musing sound, as Turok could almost feel the mental shrug passing over the link.


    ¡®¡¯Well, the, what was it, Direwolf or something? Is still mostly intact. Besides, I just need a small patch of fur, maybe finally dress you up instead of being a Cyborc tarzan-wannabe.¡¯¡¯


    The Orcborg in question didn¡¯t even bother questioning who, or what a ¡®Tarzan¡¯ was, somewhat annoyed on having a prospective new companion literally smashed to the ground.


    However¡­ the idea of wearing a nice chieftain coat did appeal to him¡­


    Turok lifted up the body, taking it over to his personal quarters and set to work in skinning the animal. Allen had requested him to try and separate as many intact parts as he could.


    The attention of his master however, had been taken by a particular Golem.


    While at first, Allen had planned to continue expanding the areas below even his R&D room and hopefully find some raw materials to work with, would he instead notice a faulty in the golems patrol-routes. Prototype-1 was not at the place he was suppose to be at this time of day.


    Prototype-1, the construct with 2 giant spheres instead of hands, stood at the entrance of the dungeon, staring out at the area beyond, the blue-colored lines on its body fading and reappearing in a strange pattern. Following it¡¯s¡­ sight? At least it was the direction the head-sphere and eye-indents were vaguely pointing in, would the Dungeon core see yet another sunset.


    Allen paused briefly, taking in the sight he had now seen quite a few times before, yet it never seemed to be less satisfying, before glancing back into the blue-tinted dungeon, caused by a few chandelier additions.


    It seemed that the same went for the construct, as it suddenly, without a change in orders, which reminded Allen that he hadn¡¯t even given one for it to stand there in the first place, marched off, straight to one of the Guardian-constructs, raising the sphere-shaped fists on the ends of the constructs arms.


    Guardian-1 barely managed to raise its shield in time, magical programming recognizing the danger posed to it, even if from a supposed-ally.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    Metal crashed into metal with a loud bang, the Orcborg flinching inside his own room, half a mind set on checking out whatever the sound was as the other relaxed on the fact Allen had yet to call him.


    Allen knew he could make Prototype-1 stop, yet did not wish so.


    Besides the obvious fact that for whatever reason, Prototype-1 had created its own orders, earlier experiences had shown that for a creature to ¡®evolve¡¯, stress and certain conditions had to be met.


    Because the constructs were unliving, perhaps all they needed to do was absorb enough mana, or materials before such a requirement was met?


    It was that, or because the core of Prototype-1 actually used a soul instead of a copy.


    Guardian-1 raised its shield, pushing it forwards, slightly to the side, to deflect one of the incoming spheres, allowing its ¡®blunt¡¯ weapon free range, swinging it down in a overhead strike.


    The prototype-golem gave a soft grunt, which sounded more like pieces of metal being dragged over one another¡­ which if one thought about it, was somewhat accurate, as the club dragged across its body after the strike.


    The next blow was from the challenger, the sphere clipping the edge of the shield, bashing through the thinner edge and striking straight in the middle of Guardian-1¡¯s chest.


    With the gong of metal striking one another, came inspiration to the Dungeon, stopping both constructs. For a moment could Allen almost feel the mental-huff of Prototype one. Trying his best to squiggle and squirm through the mana, would Allen try and send a muddled idea towards his construct, deciding that it would probably be best to treat it semi-sentient for now.


    The construct relented, programming reestablishing itself as both the Guardian- and Prototype-1 would return to their points, ¡®limbs¡¯ resting as they slowly returned to being ominous-looking statues.


    Inside a separated room, yet right next to the previous Orc-refuge would a strange, several square contraption began to form, complete with pipes exiting and entering inbetween them.


    The dungeon core looked at his newest creation, recognizing it as a miscarriage of a traditional and modern blast furnace.


    ¡®¡¯This¡­!¡¯¡¯


    ¡®¡¯Is not going to work¡­¡¯¡¯


    The miscarriage was scrapped, vanished into wherever it had come from.


    With a sigh, would Allen clear his mind of nearly all ideas, most of which based upon his own knowledge and with less gambles. ¡®¡¯I swear once I find some dwarves¡­¡¯¡¯


    So in its place, came a simple, albeit large rectangle, funneled into a circle-shaped end on top.


    Both at the bottom and top lay a set of pipes respectively, yet not connected to anything except one pipe on top that would disappear inside the wall.


    In the front, slightly raised from the floor and adapted from the portcullis design, was a smooth door, sculpted with detail to perfectly fit and seal of whatever was inside, the steel-like wire created by the resident spider being attached to a simple crank, design mixed with stone and rusted iron.


    ¡®¡¯Better.¡¯¡¯


    The inside of the rectangle held two raised platform, designed to look more like a stone-mesh then solid and held up by 4 pillars on top each other in a pyramid-like shape.


    Perfect for storing both fuel and whatever it was that had to get into this thing in the first place.


    As Turok finished cleaning the last intact pieces of the wolf-like creature, would he feel his master ¡®coming into the room¡¯, the wall opening up to reveal a ¡®small¡¯, atleast compared to the rest of the room, hallway.


    ¡®¡¯I need you to make me a fire.¡¯¡¯


    The Cyborc raised a eyebrow in response