《Ruthless: Path of Conquest [Vols. 1-3 stubbed]》


 1-Derailed

    The Florida sun was hot and bright in the sky, and James Robard suddenly felt every bead of sweat dripping down the back of his neck as the light fell on him through the shattered driver¡¯s side window.


    ¡°Just put the gun down, man,¡± James said. His hands were up from sheer instinct. The man standing next to him, grasping him by his necktie, seemed far from stable.


    ¡°Keys, asshole!¡± the other man pronounced. ¡°Outta the car, and gimme your goddamn keys!¡±


    What the carjacker lacked in eloquence, his pistol more than made up for in bleak intimidation. The black barrel stared James in the eye, daring him to make a move.


    Off to the side of it in his field of vision, the timer continued counting down as if mocking him. [01:11:32]


    ¡°Damn it!¡± James cursed under his breath. He could think of no way out of this situation that didn¡¯t risk imminent death.


    To think, just fifteen minutes ago, he¡¯d been sitting in a dull meeting!


    ¡ª


    For the associates at Barry, Pesca & MacDougal, it had seemed to be a morning like any other.


    The subject of the morning''s meeting: integrating the latest developments in artificial intelligence into firm workflow. Computer geeks were labeling this latest stage as ¡°true artificial intelligence,¡± annoying everyone else who didn¡¯t understand the difference between this and the last six stages of artificial intelligence that had been trumpeted so loudly over the previous twenty years.


    However, the firm¡¯s founder, Brendan Barry, had insisted that every member of the firm participate in presentations on the new technology. So it seemed that everyone was about to learn those fine distinctions.


    James, the only Black associate at the firm, had seated himself as far from the projector screen as possible. He was perhaps the least interested in the presentation of all the participants. Every face in the room was a gray blur. The voice of the presenter was a dull Charlie Brown-style ¡°Wah wah wah wah wah wah.¡±


    James wondered for the thousandth time if there was another profession he could have chosen where he wouldn¡¯t feel this way every day. An unanswerable question, but one he was prepared to ruminate on rather than pay attention to this meeting. But before his mind could wander away fully, the monotony was interrupted.


    There was a sound at the door, a shuffling scratching noise as someone pushed weakly on the other side.


    Already keen to be out of there, James darted out of his seat before anyone else and maneuvered around the table to open it for Alan. The oldest partner in the firm, Alan Roget was rail-thin and pale-skinned. A wreath of ivory hair crowned the sides of his head, a thin layer growing ever-thinner.


    ¡°Thanks, James,¡± he said, slowly moseying in with his briefcase in one hand and coffee in the other.


    ¡°My pleasure, sir,¡± James said softly.


    Alan was his favorite person in the office. Not just because he knew that the old man wanted to be at this meeting as little as James¨Cthough he did know that¨Cor even because Alan was the nicest partner on a personal level¨Cthough he was that¨Cbut more importantly because the skinny old guy felt to James like something of an outsider too.


    Alan was the only partner who focused on an area other than torts, and it was a mystery to James how the old man had ended up there in the first place. Alan¡¯s laid-back style and background in trusts and estates seemed inapposite to the aggressive, competitive, efficient culture the firm fostered in all its associates.


    James was grateful for the interruption Alan presented, knocking Sadie Bigelow off her presentation game. Distraction worth more than the old man¡¯s weight in gold. It was a pity that Alan couldn¡¯t more thoroughly derail the proceedings, maybe start throwing things at the screen and raving like the old newscaster from the film ¡°Network¡±: ¡°I¡¯m as mad as hell, and I¡¯m not going to take it anymore!¡±


    But of course, as soon as the old man was seated, the presenter launched back into her presentation. Efficiency triumphing over all once again! James died a little more inside as he heard the words, ¡°¡°Where the real potential of AI lies, is in¡­¡±


    What James wouldn¡¯t give for a more lasting disruption. A fire drill. A power outage. An emergency alert that a giant asteroid was falling from the heavens, about to smash into their building first¡ªright now, even that would be prefera¡ª[Greetings, heroes!]


    What the fuck?!


    [Greetings to my dear villains as well! Greetings also to everyone in between! Greetings to all those lucky souls who will soon be initiated!]


    The voice was silent for a moment, and the presenter issued an awkward chuckle.


    ¡°Heh. Well, I don¡¯t know what that was¡ª¡± she seemed to be preparing to resume.


    [This announcement is to give everyone hearing it time to prepare. Your world is being processed into the System. Think of it as sort of like a software upgrade for reality. Upgrading from boring old Reality 1.0 all the way to Reality 5G, a multi-generation leap!]


    Was that some kind of a joke? Do mass hallucinations have a sense of humor?


    [For those of you wondering, this is a completely serious matter. Deadly serious, as in, by the time it¡¯s finished, a sizable portion of your planet¡¯s population will be dead. A sadly necessary sacrifice for the Orientation.]


    Well, you¡¯re able to speak into all of our heads and alter what we see. Even if this is a hallucination, I have to take it seriously.


    [You have one of your hours and twenty-three minutes until Orientation begins.]


    A timer appeared in the corner of James¡¯s vision with the corresponding amount of time. Great, he thought, now my hallucination has a sense of urgency!


    [Please pardon the mess as you prepare for Orientation. Your new world is still under construction.]


    What the hell does that mean? What mess?! And what sort of construction?!


    [Take the remaining time to make your careful preparations for Orientation. The task we set before you is not easy, but whether you believe it or not now, it is necessary. In time, those of you who live may come to agree with us. We hope for the best of you to succeed. We¡¯re rooting for you, James. You were meant for bigger things.]


    He swiveled his head around the room wildly at that, looking to see whether other people were getting the same kind of personalized message as he was, but it was no use. They were all looking at their screens in varying degrees of confusion or alarm, but there was no expression on anyone¡¯s face that would give away whether they had been personally singled out, as he just had. And he couldn¡¯t see anyone¡¯s screen but his own.


    As the words sat in front of his eyes, a strange excitement came over him.


    All his life, James had been singled out by teachers, aptitude tests, and peers as someone special, smart, a possible leader, someone whose future was written in the stars¡ªand then nothing big or important had ever happened to him.


    It was the disappointment of his life. He had not dared greatly; he had pursued natural next steps for whatever situation he was in. If anything, he had underperformed people who were similarly competent and intelligent to himself.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    James had been his high school¡¯s valedictorian! Some of his peers had gone on to military or business success far beyond what he¡¯d achieved, while he had allowed himself to grow dull, complacent, a drone fueled only by caffeine.


    It was as if he had been saving himself up for something, reserving his powers and strength for some critical moment all his life, but that moment had never come.


    Until now.


    Far from needing more caffeine, he was now filled with all the energy and tension of a coiled spring.


    What to do with that energy? The announcement appeared to be over now. James wondered when the opaque screen would disappear, and as if in response to his thought, it did. I have a bad feeling about this. He experimentally tried thinking that he wanted to read the announcement again, and it reappeared in its entirety, taking up almost his entire field of vision, this time sans the voice of the announcer.


    He rushed through it one more time just to take in any details he might have been too stunned to absorb before. It was unchanged. Am I hallucinating? Is this real? Is it a dream?


    It felt more like a video game than anything else. Then he remembered what video games were like, and a silly idea occurred to him. Well, this would confirm whether or not it¡¯s real, maybe¡­


    Extremely self-conscious, he whispered the word: ¡°Status.¡±


    Miraculously, a new screen appeared in front of his face!


    [Status


    Name: James Robard


    Race: Base Human


    Class: Blocked


    Job: Blocked


    Health: Blocked


    Mana: Blocked


    Stats


    Blocked


    Skills


    Blocked


    Talents


    Blocked


    Titles


    Blocked]


    A popup appeared above his head just after the very unclear status menu had popped up.


    Great, there¡¯s enhanced spam in Reality 5.0, James thought. Now I can¡¯t even escape by leaving my devices behind. Then he started to read it, and his mouth dropped open.


    [Conditions met! New Title obtained: System Pioneer!]


    System Pioneer? I wonder what that title does.


    An explanation immediately populated.


    [System Pioneer: As one of the first fifty humans in your universe to interact with the System beyond receiving announcements, your nature is like that of a pioneer, to rush forward into the unknown and embrace unquantifiable challenges. As such, enjoy a 10% bonus to all stats when entering a setting no other human from your universe has explored before or an engagement with a type of opponent no other human from your universe has defeated before. Don¡¯t do anything too reckless, now!]


    That sounds quite good, James thought. Besides that warning at the end. Since it¡¯s a percentage increase, it¡¯ll scale with my base stats and¡ªJames realized he was thinking about the real world like it was a game and forced himself to stop. Back to reality!


    Now that he had semi-reluctantly accepted that this was real, James immediately felt a strong impulse to rush home to his wife, Mina. A burst of panic. He¡¯d hesitated too long already. If people might really die during this ¡°Orientation,¡± he needed to be there to protect her.


    With a thought, he whisked the screens away. Other people were starting to murmur among themselves by this point. No one had disturbed him as he seemingly stared silently off into space. They could probably tell he must be doing something with the universe¡¯s new interface, and anyway, he wasn¡¯t that close to anyone here.


    He wouldn¡¯t have wanted to join any of the clustered whispering groups anyway. He didn¡¯t like any of these people that much except maybe Alan, the only person besides James who was still on his own. Typical.


    He rose sharply from his seat. If what he was thinking was right, this job didn¡¯t matter anymore. These people, whose opinions he had spent hours worrying over and trying to shape in his own favor, were now of no particular account. Thank goodness. Now I can finally be myself again, and do what I want.


    All eyes turned to him, as he was the only person standing.


    James ignored them, apart from taking a dark satisfaction in ignoring them, and he marched out of the conference room.


    As the door slowly closed behind him, he heard a scraping of chair against floor as someone¡ªtwo someones?¡ªgot up in a hurry. James turned his head to see who was following him.


    ¡°Just where the hell do you think you¡¯re going?!¡± Cliff Rogers demanded. ¡°A little light show, and you think you can just waltz out without a word¡ª¡±


    ¡°I have to see about my family, Cliff.¡± James found himself unable to just completely walk away. Cliff was moving as if to cut him off.


    ¡°What, you think this is real?¡± Cliff said. ¡°Just hackers, man. Probably fuckin¡¯ Russian hackers! They got into the projection system, and they got into the loudspeaker system, and that¡¯s all it is!¡±


    ¡°And they somehow projected individualized messages in front of all our faces?! What¡¯s wrong with you?!¡± James voice rose unintentionally to a near shout, and he controlled himself. ¡°Just¡ªI have to leave.¡±


    He brushed off Cliff¡¯s efforts to grab him and pushed through the double doors.


    Cliff shouted after him: ¡°You leave here, you¡¯re done!¡±


    James didn¡¯t even turn his head. As far as he was concerned, he was done at Barry, Pesca & MacDougal.


    But another person darted through the doors after him.


    ¡°James!¡± This other voice was more reasonable, and James felt compelled to at least respond to it.


    He turned and said: ¡°Dean, I can¡¯t stop to talk right now! I have to get to my family!


    ¡°Okay, I get it, man,¡± Dean Crocetti said. ¡°I¡¯m not trying to stop you. Just wanted to encourage you to come back, with the family, if you can. If the worst is happening, the office is as good a place as any to make a stand. The walls are good material, there¡¯s plenty of space, and there are people you know here.¡±


    That last was certainly true. Whether James really wanted to know these people anymore was another question. If the System was real, and not merely mass hallucination, it was a very open-ended question.


    But James trusted Dean¡¯s survival instincts, at the very least. The forty-something partner was something of a prepper, and he and James had occasionally kicked around ideas about how to survive possible apocalypses. James thought Dean was a survivor type.


    ¡°Thanks for the invite, Dean. I¡¯ll keep it in mind. Really.¡± Both men turned away from each other, and James rushed toward his Honda Civic, keys in hand.


    He unlocked the old car. Got in. Started the engine. Began driving.


    His mind moved a mile a minute as he sped away from the office, trying to process all the implications of the world being ¡°processed into the System.¡± Do people have levels now? Special powers? It was weirdly energizing to think about.


    We¡¯re rooting for you, James. You were meant for bigger things.


    He felt goosebumps rise on his skin. Then he shivered slightly and smiled to himself.


    James turned right at the gas station nearest the office, but then he met traffic and had to slow down to avoid hitting the driver in front of him. He leaned his head out of his window to see how many cars were ahead of him, and it was quite a line. The further he leaned out, the more he could see, stretching off into the distance on what was normally a quiet road. But this was anything but a normal day.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± he swore loudly, punching the dashboard.


    He checked the timer that still hovered at the corner of his vision, absurdly video game-like. [01:16:21]


    Stuck in traffic, he thought. What a mundane thing to keep me away from Mina and Yulia on the last day of the world. He shook his head.


    Whatever. He wouldn¡¯t let the traffic get him down. He took his phone out, opened his favorited contacts, and tapped the top slot.


    He could at least dial Mina and see if she was okay.


    Or maybe he couldn¡¯t.


    A popup appeared¨Con the phone screen, rather than simply in his field of vision this time¨Cindicating that he had no service. James looked at the phone more carefully for the first time since unlocking it and saw that he had no bars.


    There went any plans to call Mina, Yulia, or his mother. He sighed, shoved the phone back into his pocket, and began to turn to look back at the road.


    And then there was a smashing sound at the corner of his awareness. Shards of glass entangled themselves in James¡¯s hair and clothes, and as he turned toward the noise, he was lucky that none of them struck him in the eyes.


    ¡°I want the car!¡± a wild voice declared.


    James turned to see a Caucasian figure with darting eyes and long brown hair, but he found it difficult to focus in on any of the details with the black handgun shoved directly into his face.

 2-Pay It Forward

    ¡°I want the car!¡± the man demanded.


    ¡°Come on, man, you don¡¯t wanna do this¡ª¡± James began.


    The carjacker drew back and pistol-whipped him, slamming James¡¯s head forward into the horn. His vision swam for a moment. Suddenly the stranger was much closer to him, reaching into the car and grabbing him by the necktie.


    ¡°Jus¡¯ put the gun dow¡¯, man,¡± James said, slurring some of the words slightly.


    ¡°You thought I was kidding, I know! I know it!¡± the man yelled. ¡°But I¡¯m fucking serious, asshole!¡±


    The sight of the barrel of the gun right in his face brought James back to full reality, even as his head felt like it was going to split down the middle.


    ¡°Just put the gun down, man,¡± James said, much more coherently now.


    ¡°Keys, asshole!¡± the other man pronounced. ¡°Outta the car, and gimme your goddamn keys!¡±


    The timer continued grimly counting down in the corner of James¡¯s vision, mocking him. [01:11:32] There was no way he could walk home from here in an hour, even if he had limitless endurance.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± James cursed under his breath. He could think of no way out of this situation that didn¡¯t risk imminent death. And he couldn¡¯t die here.


    ¡°I¡¯m doing what you asked!¡± James said loudly. He lowered his right hand and put the car in park. Then he turned the keys in the ignition and shut the engine off.


    ¡°Great work!¡± the man said. ¡°Now get out, and give ¡®em here!¡±


    ¡°You got it, boss,¡± James said, forcing a smile. He pulled the handle to open the door, and then he took a step out of the car.


    ¡°The voice said they was gonna get me,¡± the man was saying excitedly, ¡°but I know they ain¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°The voice spoke to you, too, then?¡± James asked, curious despite himself.


    ¡°What¡¯s it to you, dickhead?!¡± the man screeched.


    ¡°Only that the voice said something to me, too,¡± James said carefully. ¡°The voice with the screens, right? What did it say to you?¡±


    The man suddenly looked very afraid. ¡°S-spoke to you too? The voice told me, ¡®Jerry, don¡¯t let them put you back in that cage!¡¯ I ain¡¯t never going back, you understand?!¡± At the end, his voice had climbed almost to a yell.


    James nodded eagerly. ¡°Yeah, I understand!¡± So it really is personalized, he thought. And oddly specific for this guy. Maybe I¡¯m not so special after all.


    ¡°You understand?! Then hand over the keys! I gotta get away from here!¡±


    ¡°I can give you a ride to wherever¡ª¡±


    ¡°No, no ride! I need the car. Gimme the goddamn keys!¡±


    The carjacker¡¯s voice had become heated again, and James tried to inject a soothing note into his own voice, to calm the situation.


    ¡°Jerry,¡± James said, ¡°why are you trying to take my car? You trying to get away from this?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Jerry said. He nodded frantically. ¡°If I can get far enough away, clear my head¡ª¡±


    ¡°Jerry, you can¡¯t drive away from the voice,¡± James said. ¡°It¡¯ll find you. You need to let me help you¡ª¡±


    ¡°No, I¡ªI can get away!¡± Jerry was gesticulating wildly with his gun now, and James chose to back away.


    ¡°Alright, Jerry,¡± he said. ¡°Take my keys, and drive as far as you can!¡± James threw the keys overhand at Jerry¡¯s head, but off to the side slightly and far too hard for Jerry to catch them in his agitated state. The keys flew past Jerry, landing somewhere in the long grass that grew alongside the road. As Jerry turned to look at where they had gone, James began sprinting away.


    He heard a loud sound that might have been a gunshot and might have been a car backfiring, but he didn¡¯t look back, and he didn¡¯t slow down.


    He ignored the noises, as well as the dizziness and slight nausea that he traced to the pistol-whipping. He felt his gorge rising, but he held back vomit and kept moving, running past the other stopped cars and back up the road toward the firm. They started honking, probably at James¡¯s stopped Civic ahead of them, but he didn¡¯t stop to look around and find out. He stayed low and continued moving at a brisk jog until the terrain changed a bit, and he felt he was far enough away.


    Finally, James turned around and made sure no one was behind him. Seeing no sign of Jerry, he slowed down, collected himself, and assessed his situation.


    He felt he¡¯d scored a small victory against the carjacker, at least. Jerry wasn¡¯t pursuing him and was now out of sight. If this apparently apocalyptic situation they were in was real, he¡¯d made it unlikely that the other man would escape whatever was coming in this area, assuming that the System was geographically bound as Jerry imagined.


    Even if the System was some kind of mass hallucination, James had still made it a lot harder on Jerry to steal his car. And once James got cell signal again, he could call the police.


    But James couldn¡¯t fool himself into thinking his situation was good. How would he get home before the timer ran out? If he failed, what would happen to him and his family? He felt that death was a realistic risk, because the voice from out of the sky had said as much. He wasn¡¯t willing to let Mina and Yulia face that alone.


    The timer said [01:04:11]


    James set his jaw and resolved that he would get home, come hell or high water. He started walking back to the gas station he¡¯d passed driving away from the office, a vague idea in mind that he would find some way from there. He was technically getting further away from home and walking back toward the office, but at least at the gas station, there would definitely be cars.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    He would find some way to get a ride there, whatever it took.


    After several minutes of marching, the gas station loomed into view across a field of long grass.


    James broke into a sprint, cutting across the grass toward the station. He was moving fast, landing forceful footfalls with every step, which explained how he didn¡¯t notice any resistance when he put his foot down in a certain spot, just an alert.


    [You killed one Partially Mutated Frog Lv. 0. Blocked experience gained.]


    Partially mutated frog, huh? James felt only a modicum of surprise at this, he realized. By tomorrow, he would probably be taking everything in stride. But today was beginning to feel like it would be a very long day.


    His mind raced as he ran the rest of the distance. I guess I get experience by killing animals of any kind. Or maybe only System-altered ones. That might be all animals now, though. Do modern weapons still work? Would I get experience for shooting an animal, or is that against a rule of some kind? There were always rules in game-like worlds, both in video games and in fiction, and breaking those rules was either a way to get incredibly unfair power-ups, or it was a fast-track to oblivion. Usually, it would be the latter in any setting with a half-decent story.


    As he reached the station, he couldn¡¯t resist bending to look at the bottom of his shoe. Sure enough, there was a smushed bit of amphibian stuck there. It looked weirdly blue for a local frog, but he supposed that must be related to the ¡°Partially Mutated¡± description.


    I don¡¯t have time to unravel the mysteries of this frog, he decided after staring for a long moment. He scraped off what was left where the grass met the parking lot pavement, and he moved forward. His mind was still slightly muddled, but as he moved, his eyes took in everything.


    There were more than a dozen pumps at the station, but most of them were unoccupied. He could see two of the people who were using them moving frantically between pump and car, rushing to get their tanks filled and get back on the road. Even as James looked on, a big Ram truck pulled out of the station. The driver, a beefy, red-faced man, looked like he was in a big hurry as his truck veered screeching out of the gas station lot.


    But James didn¡¯t concern himself with that man.


    Five cars left, he thought. Five chances to either convince someone to take me home or¡­


    He began walking toward the pumps.


    There was a part of James that was prepared for death beside his family. Apocalypse situations tended to have high death tolls by nature, and he wasn¡¯t na?ve enough to assume that he was destined to survive. But he was not ready to die, or to let his family die, because he hadn¡¯t taken the situation seriously enough.


    He peered through the glass storefront of the gas station building. There were only one or two figures inside. Everyone was moving quickly, every motorist in a hurry to get back into their car and get away from here. They were unlikely, James guessed, to consider bringing on extra passengers who would only slow them down and provide no corresponding benefit beyond possibly gas money.


    He checked the timer. [00:59:22]


    Fuck. Less than an hour now!


    It was time to consider drastic measures.


    James untied his tie and unbuttoned his collar, and he wrapped his tie around his right hand. Then he started looking around for someone who would be easy to carjack.


    He saw a little old lady wearing a black hat and limping toward her driver¡¯s side door. She had a black cane in hand, and she seemed to lean heavily on it with each step.


    Without really thinking about it, James started to move closer to her. He paused, ten feet away from the old woman and her car.


    Am I really thinking about doing this? he questioned. Jesus, she looks a little like my grandmother. Surely I¡¯m better than that, right? I just got carjacked and now I¡¯m doing it to this innocent old woman?


    He took a deep breath and let it out. He resolved that he would find someone else to carjack, if carjacking was really going to be necessary. Someone who can put up a fairer fight, an inner voice commented darkly.


    James ignored that voice, turned around, and began looking for someone else he could deal with, though whether through force or persuasion, he hadn¡¯t decided yet. The timer read [00:52:45]


    But he hadn¡¯t gotten more than five steps when he heard a cry from behind him.


    ¡°Ahh!¡±


    James turned and saw a large man with a tire iron in hand standing in front of the old woman. The big fellow had a grease stain on his cheek, as if he¡¯d just come from trying to work on a car. He probably has just been working on a car, James realized. His own.


    James was not too alarmed by the situation to note that this old woman had terrible luck.


    ¡°I need a ride, lady,¡± the big guy was saying. ¡°You can come with your car, or I can leave you here, up to you.¡±


    Not my business, not my business, not my business. This is a distraction I can¡¯t afford. James¡¯s thoughts were a flood of inconsistent emotions and contradictory impulses. I need to worry about me!


    Yet he ignored the sensible words, and his feet carried him forward instead. He found himself closing in on the old woman and the man with the tire iron, very much against his better judgment.


    When he was within five feet, he stopped. Both of them had already taken notice of James, half turning to face him.


    ¡°Is this guy with the tire iron bothering you, ma¡¯am?¡± James asked loudly, almost shouting.


    I need to attract spectators, people who might intervene if this guy gets violent.


    ¡°Hey, it¡¯s not like that,¡± tire-iron-guy said a little uneasily, taking a half step back. He was looking around as if there was some movement behind James, and James just silently prayed that there were other people moving to help.


    James took a few more steps closer.


    ¡°Do you need help, ma¡¯am?¡± he asked, voice still elevated, striding up to stand halfway in between her and the man with the tire iron.


    Tire-iron-guy¡¯s weapon hand moved unsteadily back and forth, as if he was conflicted about whether to raise the tire iron and strike or not. James thought this was probably the man¡¯s first attempt at crime. If James was in his shoes, he¡¯d be on the fence about whether to resort to violence or to turn and run away.


    James liked to think he would be more resolute than the other man seemed, though of course, he had also just barely decided he would not rob this woman himself.


    As tire-iron-guy stood, indecisively sliding back and forth between violence and peace, James tried to calculate how quickly he could lunge and grab the tire iron from the other man¡¯s hand, but realistically, he knew it wouldn¡¯t be possible. The other fellow was bigger than him and looked stronger too.


    And he seemed to know his way around the tire iron, from the way he was gripping it. All he would need to do was raise it in the air, and a swift downward motion would break either James¡¯s wrist or his skull. Either way, James would be out of the fight for good.


    Then tire-iron-guy could do what he¡¯d planned to do before James stuck his neck out.


    This is so dumb. Is this how I¡¯m going to die? James wondered. Trying to stop someone from doing something I was considering myself? This is such a stupid fucking way to go. Me and my big, fat mouth!

 3-Lucky

    As James thought the situation might be hopeless, a voice sounded from behind him.


    ¡°It¡¯s alright, sonny,¡± the old woman said, her voice loud and reassuring. ¡°I was just telling this nice young man that I would drop him off at his house on my way home.¡±


    Tire-iron-guy visibly relaxed.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said, eyes at his feet.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± James asked, turning to face her. The words were completely pro forma. He was still sweating, and it wasn¡¯t just the heat. He couldn¡¯t help thinking he¡¯d dodged another metaphorical bullet.


    The old woman made eye contact with James, and there was no fear in her expression, just quiet acceptance.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure.¡±


    She turned and stepped into the driver¡¯s seat of her car, and then James heard the doors to her car unlock.


    The man with the tire iron walked around and got into the front passenger seat, and they pulled away. James stood there, half-dazed, for almost a full minute before he realized he¡¯d probably just missed his best chance at a ride home.


    No, don¡¯t worry about it, he thought. They just headed in the opposite direction from where I live, and who knows if it¡¯s possible for all three of us to get to our homes before time runs out.


    He checked the timer again. [00:49:56]


    How the hell am I going to get home, though?! His head pounded as he had the thought, and he wondered if it was possible the pistol-whipping had given him a concussion. He didn¡¯t know what the symptoms were.


    He turned and looked back at the other cars that were still there, and he noticed that someone he didn¡¯t recognize was watching him.


    The stranger, a slim woman with soft features and mousy brown hair, stood staring at him as if he was a zoo animal.


    He turned and waved awkwardly.


    ¡°Hi there,¡± he said.


    ¡°Hello! I saw what you did just now,¡± the woman said.


    ¡°Oh,¡± James said. He didn¡¯t dare to hope, but was karma about to pay him an instant dividend?


    ¡°Are you a prosecutor?¡± she asked. ¡°I feel like I recognize you.¡±


    ¡°I was,¡± he acknowledged. Where is this going?


    ¡°I knew it!¡± she said. ¡°I recognized your voice.¡±


    Oh god, who is this woman? James wondered. Does she have a grudge? How do I know her? Is she a defendant or a victim? He couldn¡¯t place her face.


    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t remember me,¡± she said. ¡°I guess you used to see a lot of people in court.¡±


    James felt for a moment as if he ought to be worried.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said. He chuckled awkwardly. ¡°You have me at a bit of a disadvantage.¡±


    ¡°Well, thank you for helping me. When I was in court, I might have looked a little different. I was using at the time. I think you saw me on a retail theft charge. Maybe you¡¯d remember my name. Avery Daniels?¡±


    James face-palmed. ¡°Yes, I remember you. And yes, you looked completely different. I don¡¯t want to be rude, but it¡¯s really night and day. Wow! I guess rehab really worked out for you?¡±


    She¡¯s skinny now, but she looked half-starved when I saw her before. I was never entirely sure if I was helping the people who agreed to do rehab, James thought. The only way I knew if they were doing well was whether they showed up in court again.


    ¡°Yes,¡± she said, smiling. ¡°Yes, it really did. Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you. You and the Public Defender really helped me out. It¡¯s nice to see you¡¯re still, uh, fighting the good fight.¡± She gestured in the direction the old woman had driven off in.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± James said, sighing. ¡°Well, you can¡¯t win ¡®em all, I guess. I hope that lady will be alright.¡±


    ¡°It sounded like she felt she could handle herself,¡± Avery said. ¡°Where¡¯s your car?¡± She looked around as if suddenly realizing James was near the edge of the gas station lot, with no vehicle nearby. ¡°Do you need a ride?¡±


    ¡°Yes, please,¡± James said, nodding eagerly.


    A few minutes later, they were moving down the same route James had driven earlier.


    ¡°So he pistol-whipped you?¡± Avery asked. Her voice drilled into the pain in James¡¯s head, bringing the point home that he had indeed been struck with a small but heavy piece of metal.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s a crazy day for everyone, I guess,¡± James said. He¡¯d only mentioned the previous incident to put her on her guard. He wasn¡¯t looking for sympathy. He just wanted to prevent any further carjacking incidents from derailing his second ride home.


    Lightning wasn¡¯t going to strike twice and give him another friendly stranger, he was fairly certain.


    As they drove, they passed a wreck on the side of the road. Fortunately, the car was completely in a ditch, so it didn¡¯t block traffic, but James got a decent look at it as they passed.


    Is that my car? Probably not. Surely he hadn¡¯t been the only Honda Civic on the road that afternoon. But the color was the same. I wish I¡¯d checked the license plate. He hadn¡¯t seen the driver¡¯s face, either, although there was definitely someone still in the car, hidden behind the driver¡¯s side airbag.


    It would be ironic if it was Jerry, James thought. Maybe I avoided an accident by getting delayed.


    ¡ª


    Avery¡¯s old Beetle arrived in James¡¯s apartment complex without further incident.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    James thanked Avery for the ride, and she smiled and waved him off.


    ¡°Give your family my love,¡± she said.


    James said that he would, but he had resolved that he wasn¡¯t going to say anything to his family about what had happened. He didn¡¯t want to worry Mina, not in this emergency situation when every minute counted.


    He tried the door knob on the apartment, and to his surprise, it was unlocked. He went in, taking the stairs three at a time, ignoring the pounding in his head, wary of what he might find.


    Mina was not at her usual daytime spot in her home office but was instead sitting on the sofa in the living room, wearing a light jacket over a maternity dress, a single pale hand resting on her very round stomach.


    ¡°I hope you don¡¯t blame me for not standing,¡± she said gently in her lightly accented English. ¡°I really am very happy to see you.¡±


    Wordlessly, he rushed into her space and pulled her into his tight embrace. He let out a long breath, and a shaky smile overtook his face.


    ¡°Mm,¡± she sighed. ¡°I love your strong arms holding me.¡±


    Immediately he pulled away against her resistance and became serious again. There simply wasn¡¯t enough time.


    ¡°How are you?¡± he asked. ¡°How¡¯s the baby? Is Yulia here or still at school?¡± He rested a hand on her pregnant belly as he spoke, his tone urgent.


    ¡°I am doing fine, skapi. Please don¡¯t worry about me and the baby right now, we¡¯re okay. As for Yulia, she just got home, and she¡¯s in her room changing. The school had the decency to put the kids on their buses before they dismissed early for the day.¡±


    ¡°Thank goodness,¡± James said. The school wasn¡¯t far, but he wasn¡¯t eager to try making that distance on foot in the time remaining. He dropped onto the sofa beside her, tension draining from his body.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Me?¡± James said.


    She arched an eyebrow, and James realized he probably looked like a mess.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, I just¡ª¡± He shook his head and smiled again. ¡°Just finished moving heaven and Earth to make sure I got here in time. Maybe I¡¯ll tell you about it some other day.¡±


    ¡°What do you think all this means?¡± Mina asked. She had said she was fine too, but James could hear worry in her voice.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he said frankly. ¡°I just have theories.¡±


    ¡°What kinds of theories?¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re really dumb and basic. It¡¯s not like I know anything you don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Try me. I want to see if your dumb theories are as silly as the ones I came up with.¡±


    ¡°I guess that disclaimer gives me some cover.¡± He smiled. ¡°It has to be either mass hallucination, a delusion for just me that has my imagination of other people in it, or there¡¯s a real world of magic or science out there so advanced that we can¡¯t understand it. So advanced that it makes no difference if it¡¯s magic or science. I mean, if alchemy had been a real, effective thing back in the Middle Ages, that would be the science now¡ª¡±


    ¡°I think your second theory is a bit insulting, though,¡± Mina interrupted, cutting him off before he could spiral down a rabbit hole.


    ¡°Insulting how?¡±


    She touched the tip of one long, dark red fingernail to his lips.


    ¡°Do you really think you could imagine out everything I would be doing and saying in this situation? Let alone everyone else? Because that would have to be true for this all to just be a delusion¡ªjust your delusion.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know¡ªI guess not.¡±


    ¡°Well, don¡¯t guess. I know. I¡¯m too complex for you!¡± Her voice had a teasing edge now. Any hint of annoyance, he knew, had just been her playing. That was a bad habit of hers, so he never knew for sure if she was serious the first time she said something.


    The first time she¡¯d suggested they try for a baby, he had taken it as a joke. After a couple of more hints with no reaction, she had taken more initiative, to mutually satisfying results.


    ¡°Then I guess we¡¯re both crazy, or this is totally real,¡± he murmured. He leaned back on the sofa and rested his head. This was already turning out to be a long day.


    After a minute or two of quiet, there was a sound of movement in a corner of the apartment, and James opened his eyes. He would have to find his second wind sooner rather than later. The three of them needed a plan now, before they were yanked into Orientation.


    The door to Yulia¡¯s room creaked open, and as he looked over, James saw she was joining them. Sometimes she seemed reluctant to bother them when James and Mina were in the middle of talking, but this time, she had only waited for a lull in the conversation before she stepped out. A sign that she understood the situation was urgent.


    ¡°It¡¯s good that you¡¯re here,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s time for a family meeting.¡±


    Yulia was Mina¡¯s fifteen-year-old youngest sister, and James and Mina had adopted her after Mina and Yulia¡¯s mother died, so technically she was James¡¯s oldest child¨Cand would be the new baby¡¯s big sister as well as its aunt once the child came in two months or so. Yulia was similar to her older sister in appearance, almost a smaller version of the pale, long-haired brunette.


    Yulia looked a little nervous at the prospect of a sudden meeting¨Cthe last one had been about setting down ground rules for hanging out with boys¨Cbut she quietly settled into a chair across from James and Mina.


    As he thought about what to say, James felt anxious himself. Yulia was all of five foot two inches and ninety pounds soaking wet, and while Mina would ordinarily be somewhat more imposing at five foot six inches, she was now heavily pregnant. The advent of the System had not found them at a good place in terms of readiness to face physical danger.


    ¡°Has either of you done anything to prepare for the Orientation that the System mentioned in its messages?¡± he began.


    ¡°The System is the voice that talks in our minds, sis?¡± Yulia asked. Her English was imperfect, as both she and Mina were Bulgarian by birth. Mina had spent much longer learning English and had always been the smartest of the four sisters that made up their family, as well as the firstborn. Mina spoke English like a native already, while Yulia was much less secure in her proficiency.


    Mina nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right, Yulia.¡± Turning to her husband: ¡°We haven¡¯t done much, James. I didn¡¯t know if there was much to do. I grabbed our emergency bags¨C¡± she pointed to three backpacks sitting in the corner of the room¨C¡°and I¡¯m packing heat.¡± She patted her left shoulder, indicating that there, under her jacket, was where her gun was holstered.


    ¡°Well, I guess that¡¯s just about the best we can do,¡± he said. ¡°We have no idea what to expect, except that it¡¯s dangerous. Where¡¯s my gun, by the way?¡±


    ¡°Packed it in your bag, don¡¯t worry.¡± Mina smiled. This was a role she knew well and enjoyed¨Cmaking sure the family was prepared. She had always been more of a planner than James, and it had been her idea for James to buy, and the family to practice with, the two firearms. The pleasure of being well prepared almost managed to wash out the fact that it wasn¡¯t a picnic they were getting ready for, but a delve into the great unknown of the universe.


    James dove into his bag, retrieved his gun, and handed it to Yulia.


    Mina frowned. ¡°Are you sure about that, James? Yulia hasn¡¯t practiced with them nearly as much as we have. You¡¯ll be defenseless, and she might not be able to use it under pressure.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just for now,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m giving it to her in case something happens when the countdown finishes, and we get separated. We should put more food in the bags than we typically have, too. And some of our silver coins. We have no way of knowing if whatever is happening will take away what we have on us, and we¡¯ll show up somewhere naked, but we might as well be as prepared as possible for as many different possibilities as possible.¡±


    ¡°Well, the silver is packed,¡± Mina said. ¡°I figured that should be in the emergency bags months ago, so it¡¯s been there.¡±


    After she said this, James grabbed a folding knife for himself and put it in his pocket, then gave his other folding knife to Mina. He also distributed three sharp kitchen knives to keep in their bags as backup weapons in case something disarmed them.


    ¡°How about food?¡± Mina asked.


    James first grabbed a half dozen cans of tuna from the pantry, then looked inside the refrigerator and noticed it wasn¡¯t cool. He turned to look at the stovetop clock, which was blank. The power¡¯s out. He wondered how long the electricity had been gone.


    When he asked, Yulia confirmed that by the time her bus left school, around fifteen minutes before he got home, the power had been out there too. The power is probably out at the firm now, too. Not that it mattered at this point. James¡¯s coworkers were on their own.


    As he had that thought, the ground began to shake.


    [Ten of your minutes remain!]

 4-Big Sea

    [Ten of your minutes remain!]


    ¡°Alright, already!¡± James shouted nervously, as if the voice of the System was really listening to him. Then again, maybe it was. The quaking stopped eerily quickly after he raised his voice.


    We¡¯re rooting for you, James, he remembered the announcement saying.


    There was no other answer besides the quaking stopping. James didn¡¯t waste time waiting for anything else from the disembodied voice that had just produced a small earthquake in a part of the country that didn¡¯t get earthquakes, as if shifting tectonic plates was as easy as setting a phone alarm. Maybe it was, for the System.


    He pushed into high gear, hustling to complete any preparations he had yet to make. He rushed around, looking in closets and under the bed and behind the sofa. He double checked the bags and made sure that everyone was physically touching their go-bags.


    Finally, after triple-checking that everyone had adequate rations, assorted supplies, and armaments, and seeing that Mina and Yulia were growing nervous from how on-edge he seemed, James sat down next to his wife and her sister and tried to relax. He put an arm around Mina, and she leaned in close and laid her head on his shoulder. He could feel her shivering slightly, so he leaned to the side and grabbed a blanket that was lying next to them on the sofa.


    Once Mina was adequately covered, he resumed thinking about what was likely going to happen next. If the world was going to go through some dramatic change into a magical version of itself, there would probably be a choice of what kinds of abilities each person would specialize in.


    Unless it was based on some innate traits. Status.


    The Status screen toggled with the thought.


    [Status


    Name: James Robard


    Race: Base Human


    Class: Blocked


    Job: Blocked


    Health: Blocked


    Mana: Blocked


    Stats


    Blocked


    Skills


    Blocked


    Talents


    Blocked


    Titles


    Blocked]


    Still blocked, with less than ten minutes left to go. No clues there. I¡¯ll assume we have a choice.


    ¡°You should both go to the bathroom,¡± he said. ¡°Then we should have a quick strategy session.¡±


    ¡°Leaving it to the last minute, I see,¡± Mina said, looking into the air where her timer must be. Then she went.


    Yulia went next.


    Then the three huddled around the kitchen table, wearing their backpacks at James¡¯ insistence.


    ¡°I think the situation we find ourselves in is a bit like a video game or a table top role playing game,¡± James began.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to the bathroom too, my love?¡± Mina interjected.


    ¡°We only have six minutes. I can wait until we see what the Orientation looks like. Anyway, if I¡¯m right, we¡¯re all going to be assigned classes and have the opportunity to learn some sort of magic or fighting skills. I¡¯ve been thinking about this, and I want the three of us to be able to form a fighting party together. Yulia, you¡¯ve played video games, right?¡±


    ¡°I like video games, yeah.¡±


    ¡°You know what a team usually looks like in a fantasy game where players form parties to fight together?¡±


    ¡°Umm.¡± She shook her head. James suspected it was the language barrier at work.


    ¡°We need a front line fighter, a magic user with long range attacks, and a healer to patch us up when we get hurt.¡± Now he¡¯d put it in the simplest terms he could, and he saw very quick comprehension on Yulia¡¯s face.


    ¡°I volunteer to be the fighter,¡± James added. ¡°That means you two split the other two roles.¡±


    ¡°But I always wanted to be a warrior woman, like Valkyries,¡± Mina said, pouting.


    [00:04:32] remained, and James was not amused by the last minute joke. His facial expression must have conveyed it.


    ¡°I volunteer to be the healer,¡± Yulia jumped in. ¡°That way, Mina gets to cast lightning bolts and fireballs or whatever.¡± She had a reflex to try to diffuse conflict whenever she thought it was brewing, James had noticed before.


    ¡°Thank you, Yulia,¡± he said.


    ¡°Well, since the two of you have so generously taken on the boring roles, I suppose I will agree to be the magic user in a hypothetical party, in the event that the System is magical and offers us a choice between different magical paths as James imagines.¡±


    The faintly ironic tone of Mina¡¯s response put the cap on the absurdity of the situation, and James again seriously considered the possibility of the System and all its messages being a mass hallucination. But he couldn¡¯t quite buy it.


    The three of them quieted down a little now, with all James¡¯ outstanding questions settled, knowing something was about to happen that might change their lives forever.


    ¡°I love you,¡± James said quietly, looking at Mina.


    ¡°I love you both very much,¡± Mina said back, taking both of their hands and smiling.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    They sat like that for the last few minutes, holding hands in a semicircle around the kitchen table. James resolved not to let go, because he thought somehow, irrationally, that they would get separated if they let go, but if they kept hold of each other, they would stay together, despite the fact that this was a System that had the capability to speak into their minds and shake the earth beneath their feet.


    He was looking into Mina¡¯s eyes when the world faded to white.


    It wasn¡¯t like passing out. He could still feel his body, and he knew he was wide awake, but he couldn¡¯t feel Mina¡¯s hand or the chair beneath him.


    He didn¡¯t think he could move. There were no geographic features to the white space he now occupied. It was like being in the middle of a blank page.


    Then a material space emerged around him. It was still white, an all white room, but now there were walls, a ceiling, a floor, a bed. It was like a hospital room from another dimension, so clean it was almost antiseptic. There was complete silence.


    James realized he had regained his ability to move, if it had ever been lost, and he took an experimental step forward.


    ¡°Hello,¡± a gravelly voice came from his side.


    James jumped six inches into the air and twisted in mid-jump to face the voice. It looked like a moving clay sculpture, clumps of gray flesh and few other distinguishing features. The thing didn¡¯t have a real face, only a mouth attached to the general shape of a head, which was perched atop a vaguely humanoid figure.


    ¡°Who or what are you?¡± James asked once he¡¯d landed. He kept his voice steady. The thing didn¡¯t seem hostile, and he wasn¡¯t intuitively scared of it. He finally had someone to answer his questions.


    ¡°I am a homunculus created by the System,¡± the clay man said.


    ¡°Homunculus? An artificial life form, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s correct.¡±


    ¡°Can you tell me why I¡¯m here, why the System is doing this?¡± James asked, cutting to the chase. He figured pleasantries would be wasted on what was effectively a robot.


    ¡°As for why you¡¯re in this place right now, you are to receive a tutorial from me prior to Orientation, so you will not be lost when it starts. As for why the System does what it does, the answer is complicated, and my explanation might be more misleading than enlightening. Knowledge of the deep functioning of the universe is outside my parameters.¡±


    ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll save that question for someone whose answer will hopefully be enlightening rather than misleading. What are your parameters, to save us some time?¡±


    ¡°I can explain your interface with the System and what happens next. I can also offer you your choice of starter classes.¡±


    I knew it! Hopefully Mina and Yulia stick to what we discussed, and we¡¯ll be able to function as a party.


    ¡°That¡¯s great! Could you explain why my Status screen shows everything as blocked, to start with?¡±


    The System Homunculus seemed to frown. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t show everything like that anymore. It was only because you tried to access it before you got here, while the System wasn¡¯t properly up and running yet.¡±


    ¡°Eh, up and running enough,¡± James said. ¡°It influenced one of the people I met into attacking me and stealing my car before this tutorial started.¡±


    There was a slight pause. ¡°Influenced how?¡±


    ¡°He claimed that the System voice was telling him he needed to escape the region or that he might be caged again.


    ¡°That seems unlikely. It¡¯s not supposed to happen. The System does not send individualized messages. My information indicates that your Earth was a dangerous world before the System arrived. Are you sure of what you¡¯re saying?¡±


    ¡°Positive! I had a full conversation with him, while he aimed a weapon at my face! Then he pistol-whipped me. For reference, that isn¡¯t a common occurrence for me! Or it wasn''t, before the System. Since this apparently wasn¡¯t supposed to happen, I don¡¯t suppose you could do anything to heal my injuries?¡± James didn¡¯t really hope for much, but he thought he might as well ask. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. His head was still killing him.


    ¡°You are to receive a starter kit of supplies when you enter Orientation. I could give you the potion from your kit right now.¡±


    ¡°Well, then I¡¯d be at a disadvantage compared with everyone who didn¡¯t use up their potion before the big event starts,¡± James complained. ¡°What about you just giving me an extra? I promise I won¡¯t tell anyone!¡±


    ¡°I am not authorized¨C¡±


    ¡°I get it,¡± James cut him off. ¡°It¡¯s not within your parameters.¡±


    The System Homunculus nodded. ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°Homunculus,¡± James said, channeling his best Karen energy, ¡°could I please speak with your manager?¡± Well, if it was willing to give me a potion early, there might be some leeway if I can talk to the right person.


    ¡°You mean the proctor for the Orientation,¡± the Homunculus said.


    ¡°Sure, whoever,¡± James said. Fingers crossed that whoever the proctor is doesn¡¯t turn me into a frog or something for the impertinence.


    ¡°Now dialing the proctor,¡± the Homunculus uttered. A ringing sound began to emanate from its head. This is like something out of a cartoon, James thought. I wonder if there¡¯s a handset that detaches from its head! He snorted to himself.


    The ringing stopped abruptly, and James somehow felt that another presence was in the room, inside the Homunculus¡¯s body. Accompanying it came a great sense of pressure, as if James was an ant, and there was a large child standing above him, holding him in place with a single massive finger pressed down across his whole body. It was almost paralyzing.


    Then a very accented voice came out of the System Homunculus¡¯s head, and it took a part of the psychological tension in the room with it, although James¡¯s body still felt as if he could be forced to his knees at any moment. The voice reminded James a bit of a young Joe Pesci.


    ¡°Hey, Sisco, what¡¯s the deal?! I¡¯m trying to sleep here, the Orientation isn¡¯t set to start yet!¡±


    ¡°Oh, hi, Mr. Proctor sir,¡± James said in his best earnest schoolboy voice. ¡°I was just explaining to, er, Sisco here that I was injured by someone who was influenced by a unique System message that only he received, before I was pulled into the Orientation. We were talking about him healing me, so that the System wouldn¡¯t have put me at a disadvantage relative to everyone else before Orientation starts. He said we needed your approval.¡±


    ¡°Kid, I think you¡¯ve got a lotta moxie, lying right in front of Sisco¡¯s face like that. I admire that. For future reference, even if a proctor played dumb or wasn¡¯t already watching you before you called, I could just go through the Homunculus¡¯s recently recorded memories and know that you were full of crap.¡±


    ¡°I may have slightly exaggerated. I¡¯m just extrapolating where the conversation was going before you joined in.¡±


    ¡°Were you going to mention the part where he offered you access to your starter kit early, so you could heal yourself?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you and I would¡¯ve gotten there eventually.¡± James comfortably lied through his teeth. It had always been a skill he was proud of.


    ¡°A world-class bullshitter!¡± the proctor exclaimed. ¡°Kid, I think your nose is growing!¡±


    James pretended to check his nose, and the proctor chortled.


    ¡°Alright, kid, I¡¯ll do you a solid this once. Like we said, pardon our mess. Errors in the functioning of the announcement machinery are on us. We¡¯ve been a little busy, and you know, even the best of processes can be interrupted or interfered with by one thing or another. The transformation of Earth took us a little by surprise with how quick it was. Like you was all eager for it or somethin¡¯! A lot of our attention was diverted there. A couple friendly words of advice, though. First, once you arrive at Orientation, it¡¯s free game! Whatever happens to you from there, it¡¯s on you. Asking to talk to the manager won¡¯t do you a lick of good there!


    ¡°Second, for future reference, sharp negotiating with a representative for an omnipotent, omniscient System would usually not be a good idea. Maybe even suicidal, which would be a shame, you being a family man and all.¡± James felt a chill run down his spine. ¡°You¡¯re floating in a big sea, and you don¡¯t have a paddle yet. Hell, you don¡¯t even have a boat! But that¡¯s why I like you, though! You¡¯ve got big brass ones! I think you¡¯ll go far, kid. Now hold still. First heal¡¯s on me!¡±


    A pale green light appeared all around James, and he swallowed and waited to see what effect it would have.

 5-Tabula Rasa

    James needn¡¯t have worried about the effects of the light. It was exactly as benevolent as the proctor had indicated. He felt his body mend itself completely from head to toe. He felt as good as he had when he woke up that morning. Perhaps better.


    ¡°Now that¡¯s done,¡± the proctor¡¯s voice came, ¡°I should really get back to preparing for the Orientation. Good luck! I¡¯m pulling for you, personally. Say hi to the wife and kiddies for me!¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait,¡± James raised a hand as if he could stop this seemingly non-physical being from leaving by grabbing him. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡±


    ¡°Vincent,¡± the voice came after a pause. ¡°Vinny to my friends.¡±


    ¡°Well, I won¡¯t presume to declare myself your friend when we¡¯ve just met. But thank you, Vincent. I feel better than I¡¯ve felt in months.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I may have actually cleared up a nascent case of diabetes as well as a concussion. Later, James!¡±


    I was getting diabetes, huh? James thought.


    ¡°Shall we resume the tutorial?¡± the System Homunculus asked.


    ¡°Sure thing,¡± James replied instantly. He wondered if Vinny was still listening, then decided it was all but a certainty that the proctor was. It seemed as if maybe the System did have some kind of a special interest in him, or at least some of its appendages did.


    ¡°It is customary that we begin by selecting your class and then take a look at your Status menu.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what? Why wouldn¡¯t we look at the Status menu before we make a permanent decision about what kind of fighter I¡¯m going to be? We should at least find out what I¡¯m good at first.¡±


    ¡°Erm, it is customary. The class decision is not a permanent one, anyway. It will evolve as you grow.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t think I want to abide by this custom, Sisco. Status.¡±


    [Status


    Name: James Robard


    Race: Base Human, Lv. 0


    Class: None


    Job: Attorney (Pre-System)


    Health: 25/25


    Mana: 40/40


    Stamina: 25/25


    Stats


    Strength: 7


    Agility: 8


    Stamina: 5


    Fortitude: 5


    Dexterity: 4


    Perception: 6


    Will: 4


    Intelligence: 10


    Free Points: 0


    Skills


    Anthropophagy Lv. 0


    Emotional Control Lv. 0


    Empathy Control Lv. 1


    Empathic Projection Lv. 0


    False Impression Lv. 1


    Identify Lv. 0


    Persuasion Lv. 1


    Pillage Lv. 0


    Situational Intelligence Lv. 1


    System Interface


    Universal Language Comprehension


    Talents


    Cannibalism Lv. 0


    Cool-headed Lv. 0


    Manipulation Lv. 1


    Selective Empathy Lv. 0


    Titles


    System Pioneer]


    These are interesting, James thought, a little stunned. I need to moderate my reaction. Vinny¡¯s probably still watching, waiting to see how I respond to these wonderful Talents.


    ¡°Where exactly do these Talents come from?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Your initial Talents are based on who you were leading up to the beginning of the System upgrade of your world. Rarely, the System even generates unique talents for particularly unique individuals.¡±


    Externally, James nodded and put a finger to his lips as if thoughtfully considering the explanation.


    Internally: What is wrong with you people?! It¡¯s been ten years! Ten years I¡¯ve been trying to do the right thing! Why can¡¯t you recognize that?! Why do you see only the worst in me? James felt a seething rage boiling up within him at the System¡¯s interpretation of who he was, effectively a judgment of his entire life based on the Homunculus¡¯s description, but he knew he had to restrain it. The only external expression of this train of thought was a clenching of the hand that he held down at his side into a fist.


    Just to be sure, he asked: ¡°What exactly does the System look at when it makes these determinations?¡±


    The System Homunculus spoke, a vaguely perceptible trace of something like confusion in its voice: ¡°The Talents generation process is objective, based on the inclinations you¡¯ve demonstrated over a lifetime. It does not see only the worst in people. It looks at everything.¡±


    This is who you are, it seemed to be saying, and in such a way that it almost seemed to be responding to his underlying thoughts rather than what he actually asked. But James couldn¡¯t just accept that at face value. He decided to abandon beating around the bush.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°How the hell is cannibalism one of the inclinations I¡¯ve demonstrated over the course of a lifetime? Give me one example of a person I¡¯ve taken a bite out of, please. Take your time, I¡¯ll wait!¡± He tried to keep his voice calm. This situation was already a little embarrassing, and he didn¡¯t want to lose hold of himself and wind up looking like a complete fool.


    He¡¯d had a bad day. Now he learned that what he had thought could be a fresh start was already polluted. The Talents that were supposed to mark him as special would instead single him out as a person who had been defective, a liar and possibly even a killer before the System¡ªthe latter of which he¡¯d never been.


    It¡¯s marking me as a villain, he had time to think. Permanently. Like Jean Valjean.


    Then the System, whether via the Homunculus or the proctor acting through him, responded, after its fashion. The status screen in front of James¡¯ face suddenly zoomed in, something he hadn¡¯t realized until now that it could do at all. A description of the Talent appeared.


    [Cannibalism: You¡¯ve lived your life taking advantage of others by taking more from them than you gave in return. Your long-standing life pattern marks this as a fundamental aspect of your character. In the changed world of the System, you can take this to the logical extreme by taking everything from those you feed on, at no cost to you. Generates skills ¡°Pillage¡± and ¡°Anthropophagy¡±.]


    The System was judging me, James thought. It was judging him with breathtaking harshness, in a way no human ever had, at least not to his face. Was it wrong about him? If he was being honest with himself, he couldn¡¯t say. And that probably said it all right there.


    ¡°You do have an alternative option, if your Talents displease you.¡± The screen zoomed back out to normal as the Homunculus spoke.


    ¡°The System can look to other parts of my life and come up with another slate of Talents? Why didn¡¯t you say so before? Show me what we¡¯re working with.¡±


    ¡°Not quite. The option is a Talent called Tabula Rasa, which would replace all existing Talents and Titles. Most of your skills would go with them. It¡¯s a Talent virtually all babies born into a System-inducted world start with. It means you have nothing. No Talents or Titles except those you earn with your conduct going forward. Not even System Pioneer, which our records indicate you acquired this morning.¡±


    James thought it over. He looked through his other Talents first, and he realized that by focusing a little harder on one in particular, he could manually produce the zooming in effect that the System had demonstrated with his Cannibalism Title.


    [Manipulation: You spent years honing your skills at directing the thoughts and actions of others. You have shown a deep ability to influence and deceive, especially when others don¡¯t realize what you¡¯re trying to do. In the changed world of the System, the greatest manipulators have a heightened chance to change the structure of the social hierarchy using the power of their words alone. Generates skills ¡°False Impression¡± and ¡°Persuasion¡±.]


    I met a good woman and turned over a new leaf, he weakly protested in his own mind. Mina knew what he was behind the mask that he wore for everyone else, but after he had come close to getting jail time nine and a half years ago, he had promised her he would change his ways. And he credited the magic of love for the fact that he hadn¡¯t conned or stolen from anyone in these last nine and a half years.


    Instead, he did some research, studied for the LSAT, and attended law school. It turned out that law firms valued employees skilled at manipulation and possessed of a cool-headed demeanor and selective empathy.


    So he¡¯d remained on the straight and narrow for years, and now he was almost ready to be a real family man, when this happened.


    Be honest with yourself, a voice deep inside him said. You want these Talents. You want to be bad. And the System is giving you permission. It¡¯s a new world. No one to punish you. If they do, you just kill them. Then keep killing until you¡¯re on top. And then you make the rules.


    James listened to his dark side for long enough to make his decision. As a purely practical matter, even if he knew what that little voice was saying was wrong, he couldn¡¯t ignore how useful the Talents, Titles, and accompanying Skills seemed. I need these to increase my chances of survival, he told himself. I¡¯m my own man, not the System¡¯s creature. I¡¯ll take the decisions about right and wrong as they come.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m keeping my Talents. Show me the class options.¡±


    Another new screen appeared before he could even finish the sentence.


    Available Classes


    <ul>


    <li>Light Warrior</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Medium Warrior</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Heavy Warrior</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Rogue</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Healer</li>


    </ul>


    <ul>


    <li>Mage</li>


    </ul>


    Well, those names at least speak for themselves. He started zooming in on each in turn.


    Light Warrior: A basic, unevolved class. Lightly armed and armored warriors who emphasize agility over strength. Quicker with better reflexes than medium or heavy warriors at the cost of lesser attack strength and durability. Typically uses subtle weapons such as rapiers, daggers or small swords. With each level, gain +3 Agility, +1 Strength, +1 Stamina, +3 free points.


    Medium Warrior: A basic, unevolved class. Moderately armed and armored warriors who place equal emphasis on agility and strength. Quicker but weaker than heavy warriors but slower and stronger than light warriors, a balanced class. Uses the widest variety of weapons of the basic classes, albeit with less proficiency in heavy or light weapons than the classes more specialized in those. With each level, gain +2 Agility, +2 Strength, +1 Stamina, +3 free points.


    Heavy Warrior: A basic, unevolved class. Heavily armed and armored warriors who emphasize strength over agility. Stronger and hardier than medium or light warriors at the cost of lesser agility and slower reflexes. Typically uses heavy weapons such as greatswords, two-handed axes or halberds. With each level, gain +1 Agility, +3 Strength, +1 Stamina, +3 free points.


    Rogue: A basic, unevolved class. Lightly armed and armored fighters who place emphasis on stealth, precision, and evasion. Specialized in ranged weapons, smaller melee weapons, and sneak attacks. With each level, gain +2 Dexterity, +2 Agility, +1 Perception, +3 free points.


    James stopped there. He wasn¡¯t interested in the Healer class, and he didn¡¯t want to tempt himself with the Mage class, considering what he¡¯d discussed with Mina and Yulia. Once that was eliminated, the decision was mostly pretty easy.


    He didn¡¯t want to take the Heavy Warrior option, because he didn¡¯t want to be a walking brick. They could find someone else to be a tank for the party if needed, but it wasn¡¯t going to be him. Light Warrior was out, too, because based on descriptions alone, it struck him as an inferior version of the Rogue, overly specialized in agility. Fragile without any enhanced powers of perception or skill. Perhaps it would evolve into a class he¡¯d envy, but James needed to be able to either see danger coming every time or to be able to take at least a few hits, or he¡¯d die before getting a class evolution, whenever that was.


    That left Rogue and Medium Warrior as the classes that most suited him. Although something in his nature pulled him towards the Rogue, he decided on the Medium Warrior. It was a moderate approach that should let him adapt and adjust as situations unfolded. The medium armor would protect him from attacks better than whatever covering the Rogue class came with, without turning him into a slow-moving target. All around, the best of all possible worlds!


    James felt himself growing excited about the prospect of adventure again, a feeling he had quickly quashed the previous times it rose in him. This time, he allowed a smile to touch his lips.


    Select Medium Warrior? Y/N


    He selected Y, and a few popups appeared immediately.


    [Congratulations! You have become a Medium Warrior!]


    [You acquired the skill Basic Proficiency¨CCommon Weapons]


    [You acquired the skill Quick Strike Lv. 0]


    [You acquired the skill Stubborn Defense Lv. 0]


    [You acquired the skill Loot Lv. 0]


    [Superior skill, Pillage, detected! Inferior skill Loot merged into skill Pillage.]


    [Sufficient experience accrued. Pillage leveled up!]


    [You acquired the ¡®Medium Warrior¡¯s Starter Kit¡¯!]


    Alongside the quick barrage of messages, a few pieces of dull gray armor that looked straight out of a medieval castle materialized in front of James and then clattered to the floor. A sack that looked empty dropped right next to it.


    ¡°Well chosen,¡± the System Homunculus said after a brief pause. ¡°Now that¡¯s done, I¡¯ll transport you to the Orientation grounds.¡±


    ¡°Wait, I¡¯m not read¡ª¡±


    The world faded to white again, but only for a moment. James reappeared instantly in what appeared to be a large clearing in a forest.


    ¡°Jesus, Sisco,¡± James muttered to himself. I think maybe he took me going to his manager personally. Do homunculi feel emotions?


    The armor and sack of gear again dropped to the ground next to him, and he bent to pick them up. He still didn¡¯t even know what was inside the sack, and he couldn¡¯t afford to lose any gear so quickly. He also reached to his shoulder and checked that his backpack was still there. It was.


    With his items in hand, James slowly rose from his crouching position and looked around. At a cursory glance, he appeared to be surrounded by hundreds of people, most of whom looked to be as confused and disoriented as he felt. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t recognize any of them.

 V4-Prologue: Sunrise in Taiwan

    Zhang Ch¨¡o rose from an uneasy sleep.


    He had been a light sleeper even in earlier days. Now, with the weight of all responsibility for his homeland squarely on his shoulders, his body carried more tension than it ever had before.


    He slid a pair of slippers onto his feet and padded lightly over to the balcony. A stranger observing his steps would have seen that he moved with an effortless grace, like a ballroom dancer. For Zhang Ch¨¡o, who had been naturally elegant and eloquent since early childhood, it was only natural.


    As he stepped out over the balcony, the wind swept his long, straight hair away from his flawless face.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o did not need to look out at his city to know the reconstruction of the damaged areas was proceeding well. His aura covered roughly half of the island now. But he liked to see it.


    Despite how the world had changed, the beautiful Kaohsiung skyline that he had grown up with remained mostly intact. As the sunrise began to slowly illuminate it, a smile tugged at the corners of his lips.


    Then an idea struck him, and the smile vanished.


    I should probably thank Sh¨¤ngdi for the state of the city, he thought a little uneasily. His reflex had been to credit the hard-working architects who had rebuilt Taiwan following earthquake after earthquake.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o had never been a religious man before the System. Even now, when he carried the supreme deity¡¯s Chosen One blessing, he felt uncertain about the cosmology of the System universe. There were inconsistencies to it.


    While he himself held a blessing from the deity that his ancestors had believed to be the most powerful in the universe, for instance, he had heard from sailors about men and women who carried blessings from beings that claimed to represent the Christian or Muslim God¡ªwhich was also supposed to be the supreme being of the universe.


    He shook his head. Enough of the religious questions. It¡¯s too early for this. For him, there was really no right time for religious ideas. He had to pay lip service to them, but he found them inherently suspicious.


    He felt awake enough to work, so Zhang Ch¨¡o walked back inside and sat down at his desk.


    A day¡¯s planning is done at dawn, he thought.


    He began to review reports that his second in command, Han Jianguo, had compiled for him. The information was mostly positive.


    The island is still producing enough food to sustain our population, even after the chaos of Orientation and the changes to Earth. Construction of housing for those whose buildings toppled in the transition is almost completed. Even the power grid is finally back online, although we still do not have Internet.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o did not expect they would regain access to the Internet in the next year, because his experts had informed him that the world¡¯s Internet infrastructure had likely been thoroughly destroyed amid the general devastation wrought by the System¡¯s transformation of Earth. Cables deep underground had been torn apart, towers toppled, satellites grounded, and more.


    That is what happens when the Earth doubles in size. I should be grateful to the Industrial Guild for what they have accomplished.


    The Internet was far from a priority for him anyway. In Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s experience, the Internet was largely a source of decadence. A medium of social decline.


    Good riddance. He would de-prioritize trying to restore it until his people were above their previous standard of living in all other respects.


    The only item in the reports that frustrated him was the document on shipping. That was proceeding slowly. Far too slowly.


    He knew why. It was the least urgent of the tasks he had set his followers.


    Though Taiwan had prospered as a trading hub, even more following the defeat of the People¡¯s Republic of China in the Sino-American War¡ªoften referred to in Taiwan as the War of Taiwanese Independence¡ªthe island did not strictly speaking need ships. It could sustain itself with agriculture.


    But it ate away at him.


    They required ships to achieve his most cherished long term goal.


    We will never achieve our true potential as a nation until we retake the mainland¡­


    The almost obsessive thought returned to taunt Zhang Ch¨¡o again. Even before the System, he had felt that it was his destiny to free mainland China from Communist Party rule. When he was around nine years old, before he learned shame and self-control, he had gone around telling anyone who would listen. Only his grandfather had believed in him and seemed to take it seriously. He remembered the era of Chiang Kai-Shek, so for him, the dream did not seem as unreal as it did to others.


    When the old man passed, Zhang Ch¨¡o was alone.


    He had always been bright, but he had missed his window to attend college. He stayed at home, working and caring for his dying grandfather. When his grandfather died, he drifted from day to day without purpose.


    Then the System had come, with all its blessings and its curses. The upheaval had reinvigorated Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s will to live.


    The arrival of the System felt like a sign from the universe that his ambition was not insane. Zhang Ch¨¡o could indeed overthrow the tyrannical government of mainland China¡ªa task even the much-vaunted United States had failed to achieve in the war that took his parents from him.


    He would have felt that way even if the last week had not brought some ugly reports. Some of the few ships his band of survivors had managed to send out, looking for trading partners, had been sunk by pirates in the Taiwan Strait.


    It was the considered opinion of Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s advisors that these pirates were actually agents of the surviving authorities of the People¡¯s Republic of China. Without the United States Navy to keep them in line, they were working up their courage to attempt another invasion of Taiwan. Thinking of it made his blood boil.


    Even if they aren¡¯t coming, even if all they want to do is sink our boats and keep us on this island, I¡¯ll still punish them, he thought. There were good men on those ships. Two of the captains had been acquaintances of his from Orientation. Their presumed deaths made this personal.


    I will pass word to Han Jianguo that we must address our most pressing naval problems today. I will not wait another day to begin putting a solution into practice¡­


    As the sunlight streamed more forcefully into his room, there was a respectful knock at the door.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o sighed. It was time for his day to officially begin. Time to put on the mask of the dutiful monarch.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    He opened the door, received his breakfast, and expressed his thanks.


    After he had eaten and dressed in his ceremonial silks, he took the elevator down to his throne room.


    As the doors to the elevator that only he and his household staff used opened, the words of his herald greeted him.


    ¡°All bow for His Imperial Majesty, the Heavenly King, Ruler of the Lofty Heights!¡±


    The room full of people dipped their heads and looked at their feet.


    To Zhang Ch¨¡o, all this felt unnecessary and slightly embarrassing, but it was the level of pageantry that his advisors had settled on. He was willing to accept whatever would strengthen his authority.


    He had learned to conceal his emotions perfectly before this crowd.


    He walked from the elevator to the throne, which was in the completely redecorated lobby of a high-rise building. What had once been a place of business was now the seat of government. When he sat down, everyone rose to their normal postures.


    There were many unfamiliar faces, but court protocols had been explained to everyone before the Heavenly King descended from his penthouse. None of these people, who had been waiting since before dawn to have their voices heard by the Ruler, made a mistake.


    ¡°Your Majesty, with your permission, the petitioners will now present their requests.¡±


    Zhang Ch¨¡o gave the slightest nod, keeping his face impassive.


    The first of the petitioners, a man dressed in a business suit, stepped forward and bowed low.


    ¡°Your Majesty, please accept my most earnest wishes for your continued health and the health of the new Chinese state¡­¡±


    Zhang Ch¨¡o heard all of the petitioners¡¯ requests before lunch. Some of them, he granted immediately. Some of them, he declined as graciously as he could. But in most cases, he suspended judgment, which really meant he allowed his trusted bureaucrats to work through the implications of granting requests.


    At lunch, he discussed his big idea of the day with members of his inner circle and members of the Blacksmiths¡¯ Guild.


    ¡°What do my advisors think of possibly removing all of the remaining automobiles from the streets of Kaohsiung?¡± he asked.


    His close advisors were already nodding, including Han Jianguo, whose role in these meetings was generally to be the one to tell Zhang Ch¨¡o ¡°no¡± if he was wrong.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o looked over at the other man.


    Han Jianguo picked up on the body language and gave him a terse response, ¡°We don¡¯t have oil anyway.¡±


    Zhang Ch¨¡o could hear Han Jianguo¡¯s unspoken words. Fucking System.


    The two men had fought in Orientation, and though Zhang Ch¨¡o had won and established their respective positions in the hierarchy, Han Jianguo was the one man who he could count on to speak with him frankly when they were out from the view of others.


    So Zhang Ch¨¡o turned to the Blacksmiths¡¯ Guild and moved on to the next, related question.


    ¡°So, what can I expect your people to do with the metal from those cars?¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o asked bluntly.


    ¡°What would Your Majesty like to see made?¡± asked Yuan Lim, one of the representatives, cautiously.


    ¡°Ships,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o replied instantly. ¡°As soon as possible. I need them to end this vexatious piracy. It is an affront to the nation. How long will it take you?¡±


    ¡°We¡ªor, I sh-should say I¡ªthought that you might want weapons made from the metal instead,¡± the same man said, his voice trembling slightly. ¡°That would boost our defense against invasion, and we have the ability to enchant them with¡ª¡±


    His voice broke off as Zhang Ch¨¡o stared coldly into his eyes.


    None of the rest of them are speaking up, he thought. They want this man to represent their view, then. Trying to avoid presenting a disunited front in dealing with my government. In a way, he admired it¡ªthe guilds had been created, because members of the same System-granted Job or pre-System profession had wanted to band together and avoid too much competition in the wake of the collapse of society¡ªand they were just doing what Zhang Ch¨¡o expected.


    But I can¡¯t have them all speaking with one voice now. I need them to try to outdo each other. Compete! An idea struck him.


    ¡°I understand what you are saying,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o said stiffly. ¡°It is difficult to be told ¡®no, something is too difficult or impossible¡¯ when you are a head of state. And I recognize that everything is difficult in the beginning. It is too demanding to ask you to turn automobile parts into ship components when the System-granted Skills are specialized in other areas.¡±


    A look of relief passed over Yuan Lim¡¯s face.


    ¡°Which is why I will not burden you with this task,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o added.


    The look of relief changed to one of horror.


    ¡°What do you mean, Your Majesty?¡± asked one of the other guild representatives.


    Yuan Lim shot him a look, as if trying to tell him to shut his mouth, but the damage was done.


    They want the work¡ªand access to the material¡ªbadly, then.


    ¡°I mean, the Industrial Guild has been champing at the bit for me to assign them some responsibilities,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o said slowly, relishing each word. ¡°I think it would be good for them to be assigned a new task. They performed so well in getting the power back on, after all¡ª¡± He gestured at the electric lights in the dining room, which were now functioning. ¡°In the present national crisis, I cannot allow my loyal subjects to go without work.¡±


    The Industrial Guild was composed of the capitalists, plant managers, and engineers who had created and maintained Taiwan¡¯s industrial capacity before the System. They were still around, and they still had all the same competencies they had trained in before. Some of those who had previously specialized in computer work had even begun learning to weld and perform other, more physical tasks.


    Where magical blacksmithing was apparently not specialized in the area Zhang Ch¨¡o needed, old-fashioned human engineering and manufacturing might fill in the gap.


    I don¡¯t care how the task gets done, or who does it. Only that it is accomplished quickly and well.


    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± Yuan Lim said, his voice pleading. ¡°You can¡¯t give the metal to them. I mean, of course, Your Majesty can do whatever it strikes your fancy to do, but¡­¡±


    ¡°Is it truly so impossible for you to do what I ask?¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o asked.


    Last chance for you to get in on this work.


    ¡°Impossible¡­ well, perhaps not,¡± Yuan Lim said.


    ¡°There you have it,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o said, finally allowing himself to smile at the other man. ¡°If you work hard enough at it, you can grind even an iron rod down to a needle.¡±


    ¡°You will give the work to us, then,¡± Yuan Lim said cautiously.


    ¡°I will allow the Blacksmiths¡¯ Guild and the Industrial Guild fifty percent of the materials each, to start with. Then I will judge you both by the quality of your product in making future allocations.¡±


    There were pained expressions on the representatives¡¯ faces as they heard this. Zhang Ch¨¡o returned his expression to a careful impassivity. He wanted to smile even more broadly, but this moment seemed inappropriate.


    The guild members who had hoped to avoid competition by organizing together wound up forced into a new rivalry despite their best efforts.


    Cheer up, he thought. By enduring deep pain, people can ascend.


    As the Blacksmiths¡¯ Guild members rose to leave the lunch table, their expressions twisted as if they had eaten something bitter, Zhang Ch¨¡o pulled Han Jianguo aside.


    ¡°Gather my ten thousand for this evening,¡± he said quietly. ¡°It is time that we deal with the threat in the harbor. Permanently.¡±


    Han Jianguo nodded. The shadow of a smile played at the edges of his lips.


    Yes, my friend, Zhang Ch¨¡o thought. Today will end with real combat. Like back in Orientation. I know you¡¯ve missed it too.


    The two men shouldered the burden of governing a nation between them.


    Sadly, they could not go out to fight, train, and defeat monsters nearly as often as they would have liked.


    But if they took the ten thousand men and women of the Imperial Army with them, and they solved a genuine problem of national importance, no one could have the misapprehension that Zhang Ch¨¡o was in any way shirking his responsibility as Heavenly King.


    He touched the Mandate of Heaven where the sword hung at his side, then looked discreetly at the clock on the wall.


    It read two in the afternoon.


    Very well. I will have to make my afternoon appointments first¡­ But it¡¯s nice to have something to look forward to, waiting at the end of the day.

 V4Ch1-Do You Really Want to Live Forever?

    James looked down on the aftermath of battle.


    He could see it all from up there, his cloak fluttering in the breeze.


    I could get used to flying like this¡­ But he couldn¡¯t make himself smile at the thought.


    The light around him was fading now.


    What a disaster, he thought. But he knew it could have been much worse. If I had arrived just five minutes later, how many would there be left to save?


    All around James, armored men and women fell to their knees, exhausted and relieved¡ªor writhing and screaming as the creatures possessing their bodies were expelled and destroyed. The number of conscious, healthy humans who were simply exhausted was almost evenly matched with the number of the possessed.


    James had the terrible sense that he had narrowly averted a massacre.


    Some of those who remained conscious and free of Wraith control directed looks of gratitude up at him, but James barely took notice of that. He kept his gaze moving around the battlefield, trying to tally up the losses and see where his power was needed next.


    Almost all the Wraiths had been destroyed, and those few that had survived were already fleeing into the darkness of the night. Even though he had wanted to purge this land of the creatures completely, he was grateful for this result. The solar energy his body had stored up from the day was utterly exhausted. He could not fire another Solar Ray if his life depended on it.


    I need to level that Skill more, he thought. I was half naked for a while earlier today, so I absorbed extra solar energy, but my body¡¯s usage still wasn¡¯t efficient enough to destroy all these creatures. I¡¯ll have to chase the rest down later¡­


    Three figures floated up out of James¡¯s peripheral vision to his left.


    ¡°Thank God you guys are here,¡± James said quietly. ¡°I was starting to wonder how your mission went, considering what happened to our volunteers.¡±


    ¡°It was a success,¡± Mina said quietly, her tone grim. He could tell she was looking down at the end result of the battle with the same feeling of disquiet that James felt.


    ¡°Alice destroyed the Wraiths¡¯ Reliquaries,¡± Zora said. Her tone was subdued as well, but James could hear the unmistakable note of pride in her daughter.


    He turned his head to look at them and opened his mouth to thank Alice, but his wife, sister, and mother all jerked back slightly as if taken aback at his appearance.


    ¡°What?¡± he asked. ¡°Is there something wrong with me?¡±


    ¡°James, your¡ª¡± Alice began to speak and raised her hand to gesture at her own face, but stopped when Zora grabbed her shoulder.


    ¡°It¡¯s nothing important right now,¡± Zora said coolly. ¡°Now where do you need us?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not, um, hurt, are you, skapi?¡± Mina asked gingerly.


    James shook his head. ¡°No, I¡¯m fine¡ªor at least I thought I was until you guys looked at me that way¡­¡±


    He turned to look back down at the battlefield. Then he pointed.


    ¡°I think there are still a few possessed down there. Alice, could you shine some of your light magic, please? Mina and I will give first aid to the wounded. And Mom¡ª¡± He looked his mother in the eyes, a slightly uncomfortable expression spreading on his face. ¡°I think we have about two dozen dead. It¡¯s not so many, relative to the hundreds I threw into this forest. But is there anything you can do for them?¡±


    ¡°You mean¡ª¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t do anything that would make the rest of the population hate us,¡± James said firmly, ¡°but I assume I can trust you to make the distinction. Death is permanent as far as we know¡ªbesides your new powers. We¡¯ll worry about getting permission from next of kin later. If there¡¯s a way you can save them that will leave their human dignity intact¡­¡± He allowed his voice to trail off. He believed his mother understood him well enough to know what he was asking for.


    ¡°The recently dead,¡± Zora said thoughtfully. ¡°Some of their souls are still lingering, I can sense them¡­ Okay, son. I¡¯ll get to work right away. Keeping in mind what you said.¡± She floated down in a hurry, and Alice began her own much slower descent, chanting quietly to herself.


    James considered next steps.


    I need Healers for the ones who are still alive. The wounded and the recently possessed far outnumber those who Mina and I might be able to help. James had used up most of his Mana already, having fought in the bats¡¯ territory earlier that day, then tangled with Sister Strange, and finally used Dominion to take control of the battlefield and dispel the aura of fear and death that still hung over it following Sister Strange¡¯s destruction.


    If we¡¯re proactive, there¡¯s no reason why any others should have to die, when we have plenty of Healers right next door.


    He sent an announcement throughout the Fisher Kingdom.


    [Attention, all Healers! After expelling the evil spirits, we have many wounded and some formerly possessed fighters. Please enter the forest as quickly as you can to provide first aid. Any non-Healers who wish to volunteer, we need physical labor as well. We will be moving those who do not recover immediately into the community center. We will need spare beds, cots, anything soft that an injured person might rest on. Jeremiah Rotter is to direct the effort to prepare the community center for habitation. Please see him for instructions.]


    He was pleased to note that he kept his voice completely calm throughout the bulletin.


    That ought to stop the bleeding, James thought. And I¡¯m starting to really like this delegating thing. He could imagine a scenario where he would have been running around like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to perform triage while also giving orders to people directly to get the logistics of the makeshift hospital in order.


    He shook his head and looked down to see where he should fly to begin applying first aid.


    Then Alice¡¯s Light Magic blinded him as he made the mistake of looking directly down at it in the moment of casting.


    I guess that¡¯s a new weakness of mine, he thought, slightly amused. If you have superhuman eyesight or hearing, it can get overwhelmed.


    While he was blinking the darkness out of his eyes, Mina spoke up.


    ¡°I hope you know that I wouldn¡¯t want that,¡± she said quietly.


    ¡°What?¡± James asked, turning toward her. Her face slowly swam into view as the darkness passed from his vision.


    ¡°What your mother is doing,¡± Mina said, pointing toward the ground with a somber expression.


    James heard the subtext, What you asked your mother to do.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    He followed Mina¡¯s finger with his gaze. He saw that his mother had produced a handful of skeletons from somewhere and was using them to carry off the bodies of the dead. Like James, Zora seemed to have an unerring ability to tell the living from the dead with just a glance.


    He could not help noticing that a few people¡ªnot more than a handful¡ªwere watching Zora work. Their expressions varied from apparent fascination to what appeared to be distrust.


    I¡¯ll have to speak with them. I need them to understand that she¡¯s not taking our dead away for some sinister purpose. It¡¯s just, if I can save someone, or if Mom can, why shouldn¡¯t we do that?


    ¡°I get it,¡± James said quietly. ¡°You want to die like anyone else and stay dead. It¡¯s only natural.¡±


    He looked at Mina and found that she was nodding.


    ¡°And I wonder how many of the dead she¡¯s working on will feel that way,¡± she added.


    James sighed. I know you have a point, but I¡¯m not like you. I think most people aren¡¯t like you. They would rather live as Vampires or Ghouls or something than accept death. I think that was why people believed in gods in the pre-System world. They wanted something beyond death. Some happily ever after that nature didn¡¯t offer them. In a magical world, why should anyone have to accept the limitations of nature? At the same time, he knew from the visions that Sister Strange had shown him that Mina might not have a choice. She seemed to be destined for a violent death.


    Unless Strange was lying to me¡ªor I can prevent it.


    ¡°I hope you¡¯ll change your mind one day,¡± he said in a tone of quiet melancholy. ¡°After you see what Mom actually does. This is a very new world. There¡¯s a lot we both still have to get used to. If the results of her efforts are just horrifying, I¡¯ll be the first to tell her to stop. But I already know I plan on living forever. It could get lonely if you don¡¯t want to join me. Maybe just keep an open mind?¡±


    ¡°That does sound very lonely,¡± she said softly. ¡°Then again, so does the possibility that I might outlive our children. Or our grandchildren. Even if they¡¯re immortals, they could die by some accident, or an enemy attack. This world is much more violent than the one we grew up in. It¡¯s a lot to think about, skapi. I love you, you know I do, but¡ªeternity? That sounds a lot longer than ¡®until death do us part.¡¯ If you¡¯re willing to live forever, I guess I can understand that. I never imagined that for myself. Never wanted it. I just¡ªI don¡¯t know. I¡¯ll try to keep an open mind. And I¡¯ll let you know how I feel after I see whatever Zora does with those people.¡±


    James felt dejected. It feels like the universe is plotting to kill you, Mina, and you don¡¯t even want to come back to life if you have the option? He forced himself to remain grounded in the present moment. That¡¯s far away, he told himself. Those people down there are in trouble now.


    ¡°Let¡¯s descend,¡± he said, trying to keep a neutral tone. ¡°Most of our soldiers are still alive. They just need healing.¡±


    He felt his wife¡¯s head snap towards him, trying to read his expression, but James was already descending, so he was quickly beyond her line of sight, only giving her the back of his head to look at.


    He had narrowed down the area where healing was most needed, and he began using Laying on Hands as soon as he was close enough to reach the wounded, even before his feet had touched the ground.


    Mina busied herself working alongside him¡ªthankfully she had Laying on Hands too¡ªand they performed their task in silence, each simultaneously focused on the task at hand and deep in their own inner worlds.


    It felt a bit futile to James, though he did not allow that emotion to slow him. There were many wounded, and the worst injured had been bleeding for so long that they looked incredibly pale.


    Still, his mind almost automatically ran through ways he might mitigate these problems for the future. I need to start giving my creatures the healing Skills I have. If I had a couple dozen monsters with a fraction of my Mana pool each, all equipped with Laying on Hands, they would mop this situation up in twenty minutes¡­


    As it was, he began to think that they would lose more soldiers. He and Mina could not move quickly enough.


    Worst of all, he saw people he knew among the injured. His hands mended injuries on Ramon Rodriguez, Alan, and Mitzi, but there were many more people he recognized among the wounded. James could only heal one or two at a time, at most, and his Mana was still limited.


    He forced himself not to think about it much. There was too much to do for him to allow his emotions free rein. He healed the injured one by one, with preference for those whose names he remembered, and his hands kept moving on to the next victim of the Wraiths.


    Then the Healers from the Fisher Kingdom began appearing. They arrived in small groups, moving cautiously, heads turning from side to side as if they worried they might be attacked by creatures at any moment.


    ¡°Hurry up, please!¡± James called. ¡°We have people near death here, and there are no more monsters in the area!¡±


    The first batch of Healers sprinted forward in response to James¡¯s voice. And the salvation of the Fisher Army began in earnest.


    Once one group of Healers found the courage to rush in, more followed. Perhaps they had been waffling at the edge of the forest, outside James¡¯s field of vision, but his words spurred them into motion. In any case, soon, there were two dozen Healers at work.


    The anemic-looking soldiers who James had only been slowly working his way through began to look better immediately.


    Yulia appeared as James was starting to run low on Mana.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re here,¡± he said.


    She nodded and gave him a small smile, but he could tell the sight of the piled up unconscious soldiers and the feel of the bloody ground squelching underneath her sneakers was having an effect on her.


    ¡°Of course,¡± she said. ¡°I had to leave Abhi in charge, but I hope that¡¯s okay given the circumstances.¡±


    ¡°Absolutely,¡± James said, remembering the circumstances under which they had first met Abhi and his siblings¡ªwhen they were in their old apartment alone. ¡°That little guy is responsible enough to babysit for half an hour or so.¡±


    He sent a telepathic message to Abhi¡¯s Clay Spider, Peter, to give to Abhi: Thanks for being the man of the house, Abhi! See you in a few hours.


    It was only then that James found a moment to speak quietly with those who had been watching his mother remove the bodies of the dead. The few people who had been watching Zora were all relatively new to James¡ªhe didn¡¯t know their names¡ªbut they were all standing close together still, too exhausted to go anywhere in James¡¯s assessment. He pulled them into a huddle and began using Identify to get their names in case he needed to remember them later.


    ¡°Hey, you guys,¡± James said.


    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± said a man who was apparently called Inigo Sandoval. He dipped his head in a small quasi-bow.


    Another, who Identify named as Henry Burke, grinned wearily at that.


    ¡°Did we do good?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± James said, returning the grin. ¡°You all did a great job. You¡¯re the ones who held the line with such courage. You kept the Wraiths from possessing more of your comrades. You saved a lot of lives tonight.¡±


    ¡°Thank you!¡± said Burke, his smile growing more energetic.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± said Sandoval in a jocular tone. ¡°He meant me!¡±


    The air rang with laughter for almost a minute at that. James joined in too.


    I think I might like these guys.


    ¡°Did you want to talk to us about something in particular?¡± asked Sandoval.


    ¡°It¡¯s about what you guys saw the lady with the skeletons doing earlier,¡± James said.


    ¡°That¡¯s your mother, right, Fisher King?¡± asked Derek Sievers.


    ¡°Right,¡± James said.


    ¡°Then we don¡¯t need any explanation,¡± said Sievers. ¡°Right, guys?¡±


    The other four men nodded at that. James didn¡¯t detect any reluctance. It didn¡¯t feel forced.


    Am I missing something?


    ¡°You looked a bit bothered by it earlier,¡± James said.


    ¡°We talked among ourselves,¡± Sievers said. ¡°We all followed Dave into the forest because we trust you. We trust Dave, too, but this whole place¡ª¡± He gestured at the air, the ground, and the surroundings generally¡ª¡°it runs on trust of you. This seemed like a dumb place to question it.¡± He looked James in the eyes, and Sievers¡¯s eyes smiled along with the rest of his face. ¡°I don¡¯t think many of us have had the experience of having a real leader before. None of us believe you¡¯d steer us wrong. So we figured your mother and her, uh, skeleton crew was probably doing something good¡­ And we decided to trust you, without asking for any explanations.¡± Sievers looked sort of proud, as if he felt he had found the right answer to a challenging question.


    James nodded slowly. Right. This is a very new world. Being a king isn¡¯t like being some other kind of politician. It¡¯s not always about explaining yourself to the public. There¡¯s something mystical to it. An element of faith.


    ¡°I will strive to always be worthy of your trust,¡± he said simply.


    James shook each man firmly by the hand, and they found the strength to join him as he began leading the next phase of his post-battle plan: the transportation of the wounded to the community center.

 V4Ch2-The Visitors

    The procession of volunteer medics marched almost silently through the night.


    The mood that had settled over the group was solemn. Despite the best efforts of the Healers, hundreds of the unconscious soldiers had yet to wake up. The number of those who remained in a serious condition¡ªthough exactly what remained wrong with them, James could not yet tell¡ªwas far more than he had expected when he ordered Jeremiah Rotter to prepare the community center for occupants.


    James walked through the doors of the community center and handed the two fighters he was carrying off to a pair of volunteers.


    Then he made a beeline for Jeremiah Rotter.


    ¡°Your Majesty, I have tried my best to organize things according to your will,¡± he said as soon as James was close to him. James examined Rotter¡¯s appearance with a single brief glance. He was visibly perspiring and looked sleepy. Almost dead on his feet. This work seemed to be the most strenuous situation James had ever observed Rotter in; he could not remember ever having seen him sweat before.


    He¡¯s tired, but clearly not at all bad at this, James assessed.


    The community had donated a large number of beds, and Rotter had gotten them placed within the building in ten orderly rows. They were somewhat tightly fitted into the space so that the maximum possible number of beds could be placed, but the organizational method also included aisles between the rows of beds that were wide enough for Healers to quickly and easily maneuver.


    ¡°You¡¯ve done well,¡± James said, smiling as he clapped Rotter on the back.


    The man looked like he was almost ready to collapse at James¡¯s touch, but he recovered quickly.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Rotter said, beaming despite his obvious exhaustion. ¡°Please let me know if there¡¯s anything else I can do for you.¡±


    I actually have lots of things for you to do. I can¡¯t let these organizational abilities go to waste.


    ¡°I would like to collect data on our military engagements,¡± James said. ¡°It should help me figure out the relative strength of our army compared with external threats generally and look for areas of improvement. So please gather as much data as you can about the people who went into the Haunted Forest¡ªthat is, the place where we just had this battle. Number of people who went in, how many were wounded, how many dead¡ªyou¡¯ll need to confer with my mother on that last point¡­¡±


    Rotter was nodding with grim determination as James spoke.


    ¡°But before you do any of that, get some sleep, man!¡± James finished. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about your dreams being haunted anymore. And I can¡¯t have you passing out from exhaustion.¡±


    Rotter let loose a burst of nervous laughter, only to quickly cover his mouth as a half dozen Healers looked disapprovingly in his direction.


    ¡°Yes sir,¡± Rotter said, once he had control of himself. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me twice.¡±


    The two men walked back out of the community center.


    Rotter set off in what appeared to be the direction of his apartment.


    James wanted to do the same, but as he stepped through the doors, he received a telepathic message from Luna that stopped him cold.


    Your loyal wolves were out hunting, my king, and we ran into a large pack of humans foreign to the Fisher Kingdom, she sent. One of them attempted to steal one of the hogs we slew. I recalled your rule about harming humans, so initially, we pulled back. Since they appeared to be on their way into your territory, however, we have surrounded them. We have the advantage of fear, but they appear to be in a formation of some sort, as if they know how to fight as a pack. In my limited experience, this is unusual for humans. The leader claims that they are simply migrating and have peaceful intentions. How would you like us to deal with them?


    James frowned. Now is not the best time for me to be receiving guests, he thought. But I also can¡¯t go murdering people just because they wandered into the area around my territory in a large group. It¡¯s possible that they really do come in peace¡­


    In any case, he was glad he had told the wolf pack to patrol and hunt along the outskirts of the ever-expanding borders of the Fisher Kingdom. They were a strong first line of defense.


    You said the leader spoke to you, he sent back. What was your reading of him? Do you think he was lying?


    I cannot tell, Luna replied in a tone of reluctance, as if admitting a failure. He is giving me strong eye contact¡­ I need more interaction with deceitful humans to have a better read on their tells. Wolves and humans show very different body language.


    Of course they do, James thought. It was slightly frustrating, simply because if he were there in person, he would know immediately if the newcomer was lying or not. But Luna did not have his Ring of Lies.


    All right, he sent. Don¡¯t start a fight. Follow them, but keep a safe distance so they won¡¯t have reason to fear attack. Try to count the group, so I get a better idea of what I¡¯m dealing with.


    It shall be done, my king, Luna sent instantly.


    If the invasion of the Haunted Forest wasn¡¯t enough to deal with in one night, now we have some random bunch of humans stealing into the border regions. It¡¯s hard to believe they¡¯re just peacefully migrating. Anyone who knows anything about how the System world works would make the choice to hunker down and stay in one place. Find somewhere you can fortify. Otherwise, you¡¯re just going to keep running into the territories of different species of beasts. The only reason to travel in such a dangerous environment is that you¡¯re actively looking for a fight.


    He returned to his apartment and, because he had returned before Mina and Yulia, he checked on the children. James Junior, Abhi, and his siblings were all asleep. James used Dreamwalk to quickly confirm that they all appeared to be enjoying calm, peaceful dreams.


    Everything is the way it should be, he thought.


    His protective instincts satisfied, James moved to the living room and opened up telepathic channels to Goblin Overlord Duncan, Mole Lord Magnar, former Red Flying Squirrel Queen Ysabel, and former Sewer Alligator Monarch Samuel. There was still no new leader of the bats, as far as he knew, and at any rate, he did not want to interrupt their period of mourning unless he absolutely had to.


    He explained to each of the leaders individually what he needed. It wasn¡¯t much.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Just a hundred or so of your fighters. I want to put together a small show of strength, so that some new arrivals know that we are not undefended. We don¡¯t know their intentions yet¡­


    They each reacted supportively, in their own way.


    You can count on us, Your Majesty, sent Duncan in a grave tone. No one knows how to present an intimidating facade better than a Goblin.


    We will be there, sir, sent Magnar.


    You got it, boss! sent Ysabel in a chipper voice.


    If you want, my kids and I could just go over and eat them all, Samuel sent. He sounded conversational, as if he was not proposing to go and wipe out a bunch of people who had not done anything to deserve violence. I know I lost to you, but we¡¯ve dealt with our fair share of trespassers in the past.


    Thank you, Samuel, but I¡¯m not sure I want them dead quite yet, James sent. If you feel up to it, I wouldn¡¯t mind you personally joining us, though. In case things actually take a violent turn. He liked where the kaiju-sized monster¡¯s head was, though.


    Samuel accepted the invitation.


    ¡°Sir, may I ask, what exactly are you doing?¡± Hester¡¯s tinny voice rang in James¡¯s ear like a little bell that only he could hear.


    James had been walking back and forth in the living room as he telepathically chatted with his middle managers¡ªor, from a more ancient perspective, the feudal lords who made his Kingdom possible, and might one day allow him to become an emperor.


    He stopped now and quickly explained the situation to the little spider. Everything he had said or heard about the intruders up until now had been entirely telepathic, which was why she had not realized what was going on.


    ¡°Very interesting,¡± Hester said quietly. ¡°I think I need to report this to Lord Anansi. It sounds like a significant development in your story. Is that all right?¡±


    James sometimes wondered whether Hester would refuse to report something to the Spider God if he asked her not to. She was a direct descendant of Anansi, so her first loyalty should logically be to him, but her life¡¯s mission now was to serve James and become part of the transcendent narrative that his journey was meant to become. So faithful service to James was the sole way that she could become immortal in the sense that mattered most to her as a follower of Anansi.


    It had not mattered so far, as James¡¯s goals and Anansi¡¯s plans had not deviated. Yet.


    But the higher I rise in the world, the more likely we are to differ in our visions of the future¡­


    ¡°Yes, go ahead and report it,¡± James said. There was no reason to lie to Anansi about this. If there had been, he would have thought long and hard before telling Hester anything.


    The spider went quiet for a while, and James imagined she was in some form of communion with Anansi, although she did not burn hot on his flesh as she did when she was receiving a divine message. So the communication was only one way for now.


    The next hour flew by.


    Luna reported back that the strangers had brought only a little over a hundred people, and James told his subordinates to scale back the size of his welcoming crew accordingly.


    Mina and Yulia returned home, and James explained the situation to them.


    ¡°It sounds like you have this under control,¡± Mina observed. She was tired, James could see. He guessed that she and Yulia had used up close to their entire reserves of Mana healing people, mainly because they had been among the first people on the scene with healing abilities.


    James nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll probably call a council meeting in the morning about this group. They seem to be pretty cohesive. It might be dangerous to accept a large group of new people who have a stronger loyalty to each other than they do to the Fisher Kingdom. We haven¡¯t taken any groups this large into the Fisher Kingdom before, besides monsters. They seem to have fallen in line pretty well, which is not my experience of humans. I want to consider this carefully from more than one angle, so I need the best possible advice.¡± He smiled. ¡°Which means you should get some rest. I¡¯ll want your judgment most of all. I¡¯ll join you when I¡¯ve established some ground rules with the new arrivals.¡±


    He took a step toward the stairs, then thought better of it. He turned around again and looked into his wife¡¯s eyes. ¡°Thank you for all of your hard work this evening,¡± he said. He looked at Yulia. ¡°Both of you.¡±


    Yulia smiled. ¡°All I did was heal people,¡± she said.


    ¡°And babysitting,¡± James replied. ¡°Don¡¯t forget that. It was very important!¡±


    She laughed.


    ¡°Seriously, if you guys hadn¡¯t shown up after the battle, we would have a lot more dead people on our hands,¡± James said. ¡°I was just about tapped out on Mana when I saw you, Yulia.¡±


    ¡°You have enough in case this encounter with the strangers turns violent, skapi?¡± Mina asked, a little wary.


    ¡°I recovered some,¡± James said, ¡°but I was planning on feeding them to Samuel if they become unruly.¡± He gave Mina a slightly twisted smile, and she rolled her eyes but smiled back.


    ¡°Good luck,¡± Yulia said. She stepped in and hugged James. ¡°Remember, violence isn¡¯t always the answer¡­¡±


    She moved back, and as James and Mina looked on, slightly surprised, she quickly withdrew and went to bed.


    ¡°That was a little different,¡± James said.


    That¡¯s the most opinionated Yulia has ever been about anything in the Fisher Kingdom other than rescuing children, he thought. It¡¯s a very mild, reasonable opinion, but it feels like a first.


    ¡°Different in a good way, I think,¡± Mina said. James looked and saw that she was smiling. ¡°I told you how comfortable she was acting as an interspecies diplomat with the pixies. Maybe she feels good about engaging in diplomacy generally now.¡±


    ¡°Well, that would be a useful function for someone to fulfill,¡± James said thoughtfully.


    A nice, friendly face for people from other territories to encounter, so they won¡¯t think the Fisher King is some sort of horrible monster. That could work. Speak softly and carry a big stick. I¡¯m the big stick already.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try not to slaughter them all,¡± James said. ¡°That way, we can do some diplomacy later.¡±


    Mina gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek. ¡°Do your best,¡± she said. ¡°And good night.¡±


    She vanished into the bedroom, and James was alone.


    He descended the stairs. As he reached the bottom, he felt it.


    The visitors had entered his territory. With his aura spread over a wider area than ever now, they were still at some distance from the main buildings of the Fisher Kingdom¡ªbut not as far as he would prefer if they turned out to be hostile. His power had spread unevenly, the shape of it influenced by the powers and territories of the Rulers he conquered.


    His territory had begun as a vaguely circular shape around his body. Two-dimensional and almost perfectly round.


    But Samuel¡¯s swamp, the Bat Queen and former Squirrel Queen¡¯s tropical forest, and now the Haunted Forest had distorted the shape of his holdings until they looked like a gerrymandered political district¡ªand occupied three dimensions of space, extending slightly into the sky and beneath the Earth.


    The visitors had come through one of the border regions where his territory was relatively small. James had yet to fully spread his aura through the region where the hogs lived.


    It was as if they had sensed and avoided entering his aura for as long as they could.


    I wonder what it feels like to enter my territory, James thought. There was no one he could ask except these newcomers and perhaps others who had arrived similarly recently. He knew that aura had a mild oppressive effect on uninvited guests, and he was fairly certain that the effect was growing gradually more powerful, the longer he continued overlaying more and more aura in his territory and defeating other Rulers.


    James reached out with his mind and verified that the land had sent out the usual message to the intruders, urging them to surrender to the Fisher King or his representatives.


    Then he opened the door and went out into the open. The sun was just beginning to rise. A dim yellow halo illuminated James¡¯s allies, who had gathered in front of his apartment.


    A mismatched, ferocious band of monsters. Goblins, giant moles, oversized squirrels, and even more gigantic alligators.


    The Fisher King smiled at the sight of them.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± James said.


    For these allies, no other words needed to be spoken.


    James¡¯s squad of monsters marched after him into the dim early morning light.

 V4Ch3-Goldeneye

    As James led his small army of monsters to confront the newcomers, he saw dozens of faces, and sensed dozens more pairs of eyes, looking down at them curiously from the apartments they passed.


    Even after the violence of the previous day and night, the citizens were interested in watching the Fisher King and his army march to meet the intruders.


    On the faces that were not obscured by apartment shadows, he detected a mixture of emotions. But the predominant one was curiosity.


    The Mole People and Goblins usually stayed underground rather than marching around at ground level as they did now. Samuel and Ysabel¡¯s people had remained living in their original territories for the time being.


    Most of the onlookers had never seen any of his monsters besides the former Rulers and perhaps a few members of the wolf pack¡ªwho were still in the area near the new arrivals.


    A few people looked proud, as if they were enjoying the martial display.


    And there were other faces that displayed some level of fear or apprehension. James was reminded that for most of them, monsters were a nightmare they thought they had left behind in Orientation. Now that they were in a supposedly safe place, it might be unsettling for them to see the creatures that were supposed to be helping to upkeep that security.


    I might have expected this, if I gave more thought toward public opinion.


    He thought about making some sort of public service announcement with his Fisher King powers, then shook his head.


    Now is not the time. I shouldn¡¯t use that power just to give my opinions about things. I should be announcing facts every time. That way, I don¡¯t diminish my own credibility, and people will take every announcement seriously. When there¡¯s an invasion or something, they¡¯ll be able to react more effectively if they know to listen to the voice coming from the sky. I¡¯ll have to fix the problem of them being afraid of their nonhuman fellow citizens later¡ªassuming it¡¯s even amenable to being fixed.


    He made a note to himself to make some gestures toward stronger human-monster solidarity within the Kingdom. He was still a little vague on what those would be, but more intergroup contacts seemed like the most logical first step. Assuming those could be carried out peacefully, that should teach his citizens not to fear each other, at least.


    Then he and the monsters were out of sight range of the apartment dwellers, moving quickly toward the visitors where they remained, per James¡¯s Fisher King senses, in place.


    I wonder what they¡¯re doing over there. He thought he sensed that they were sitting on the ground, but he recognized he might be capable of getting a clearer picture. His powers over his territory were growing every day now, after all. If I just close my eyes, I might be able to see them¡­


    Then James felt the almost scorching heat on the back of his ear from where Hester sat, and he knew that she must have received a divine message. He immediately put away the thought of spying on the new arrivals, for the moment.


    Not for the first time, he wondered how harmful it was to Hester to be in contact with Anansi, given that the heat of her body at the moment of getting a transmission was slightly painful even for him.


    ¡°Hey Hester, you all right up there?¡± he asked in a quiet voice intended only for her.


    ¡°I am¡ª¡± She let out a long breath that seemed to him to convey great pain¡ª¡°fine, thank you, sir.¡±


    You don¡¯t sound fine. He wondered if bringing that up would only mock her resolve. It had been Hester¡¯s decision to live and die to facilitate the relationship between James and Anansi. A way for her to secure a form of immortality for herself, as part of James¡¯s legend.


    ¡°A new message from the Spider God, then,¡± James said, burying his concerns for now.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Her tone brightened instantly. ¡°This is an important one, I think. Lord Anansi informs you that there are a large share of humans with divine blessings of one kind or another in the group we are on our way to meet.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s a normal share of people with divine blessings?¡± James asked curiously.


    ¡°Low level blessings, anywhere from one in fifty to one in a hundred. Higher level blessings, closer to one in a hundred thousand or one in a million, moving out toward one in several billion if we talk about a Chosen One blessing from a high tier god.¡±


    ¡°That is interesting¡­¡±


    Where does Anansi rank, then? By extension, where do I rank?


    ¡°Before you ask, Lord Anansi does not know which gods they received blessings from,¡± Hester continued. ¡°He has less access to information on things going on now that you are out of Orientation. That is the typical way of things for the gods. Only the most powerful of them could possibly intervene in a newly integrated universe beyond blessing some humans and performing some basic scrying like what he¡¯s doing.¡±


    That¡¯s good. I don¡¯t want any more divine intervention on Earth, after everything Moloch did¡ªplus that god that blessed the Wendigos. I have things well enough under control that I have no reason to put my fate into the hands of beings I don¡¯t trust.


    ¡°Well, I appreciate the information,¡± James replied. ¡°How large a share of the visitors have blessings?¡±


    ¡°Expect one in four or one in five to be blessed.¡±


    Sounds like a hell of a lot!


    ¡°No other information?¡± James asked hopefully.


    ¡°The blessings are either low level from a more powerful god, or high level from a less powerful god than Lord Anansi, based on the divine signature he observes.¡±


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s very helpful. Thank you, Hester!¡±


    ¡°Just trying to do my part,¡± she said modestly, clearly trying to conceal the distinct pride she felt.


    James was going to say something more to encourage her¡ªhe knew how much Hester was sacrificing by carrying messages between himself and Anansi, and ¡°Thank you¡± seemed a very inadequate recompense¡ªbut he suddenly sensed a figure in his peripheral vision. He instinctively turned to look¡ªand Goblin Overlord Duncan meekly waved from around five feet away.


    He isn¡¯t as close as I would¡¯ve thought just now. I guess my senses are getting sharper over time. Another thing to get used to.


    He made a note to himself to do something for Hester later. Reward her in some way. Make her more directly a part of his legend somehow beyond simply telling people that she was the spider who connected him to Anansi.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    But for the moment, he focused on Duncan, who looked like he wanted to say something.


    ¡°Hello Duncan,¡± James said, when the Goblin appeared to be taking some time deciding what he wanted to say¡ªor working up the courage to speak.


    ¡°Hello Your Majesty,¡± Duncan said, bowing slightly. He stepped in closer. ¡°On behalf of all of us Goblins, I just wanted to thank you for bringing us along on this¡ª¡± He stopped and stared James in the eyes, then slowly resumed speaking. ¡°Um, I just wanted to thank you for bringing us as part of your welcoming party for this new group¡ªand in case you need to fight them.¡± The small figure puffed out his chest, but he was so short that it looked slightly comical.


    ¡°Of course,¡± James said. ¡°You are an essential part of my kingdom.¡± Which I need to acknowledge more often, I suppose, if this feels like such a big, significant gesture. ¡°Do you mind my asking, why were you staring at me just now? Did you see something on my face?¡±


    James recalled that his family had also looked at him strangely back when he ran into them in the Haunted Forest, only to say that there would be time to discuss whatever it was later.


    ¡°Oh, um, I meant no offense,¡± Duncan said.


    ¡°None was taken,¡± James said.


    ¡°I just love what you have done with your eyes. You still look human, but now you have the air of being something more, even from a purely visual standpoint. Of course, those of us under your rule have long known that you are no ordinary person.¡±


    ¡°Why, thank you,¡± James replied, not missing a beat.


    ¡°They really are striking,¡± Duncan continued, leaning into the flattery now that it seemed to be hitting home. ¡°I can only imagine the intimidation you might inflict on our enemies. And just from eye contact!¡±


    James chuckled and waved his hand dismissively, as if he was too modest to accept the compliment.


    What the hell happened to my eyes? he wondered. They¡¯re more intimidating and striking, and they make me look more than human? How? I haven¡¯t done anything to them.


    He waited until Duncan had finished speaking, thanked him again for coming along, and then quietly took his phone out from his magic satchel. Thanks to the bag¡¯s properties, the phone maintained a charge despite James not having plugged it in since before Orientation.


    In order to preserve the battery life, and because most of its functions were disabled, he was not using it very often, though he sometimes missed being able to listen to music that was saved to the phone¡¯s drive.


    This time, he simply used it as a black screen at first. Yeah, my eyes look a little different, but it¡¯s hard to say how.


    He quickly swiped and turned the camera on. His eyes widened as he saw his own reflection.


    My face is pretty different post-Evolution¡ªand at some point, my eyes changed color!


    They were pretty, he assessed. A striking pair of golden eyes that made him look, as Duncan had said, more than human.


    Is it just me, or are they glowing slightly?


    James could not be certain if it was real, or if the rising sun¡¯s rays just made everything that was caught under them appear a sort of glowing golden orange color.


    He shook his head. Whatever. It doesn¡¯t matter.


    You realize why your eyes changed, right? The voice of Soul Eater Orb Roscuro chimed in from his place in the form of a bracelet currently worn on James¡¯s right wrist.


    No, James replied, but I assume you''re going to tell me.


    Because you consumed Sister Strange, Roscuro replied. Somehow, you absorbed the ethereal form of a bodiless spirit into your physical vessel. You maniac.


    Despite the slightly mocking tone of Roscuro¡¯s reply, James could sense the Soul Eater was somewhat impressed underneath it.


    James could have guessed that his consumption of Sister Strange had caused the change. What he did not know was how his consumption of a spiritual entity had changed his physical body and what the change indicated.


    So, what do the golden eyes mean? he asked. Am I getting indigestion?


    I really could not say, Roscuro replied. I have never heard of someone doing something like this. I honestly did not think it was possible. Congratulations on becoming a sort of pioneer!


    Now James detected an undercurrent of nervousness.


    What are you worried about? James sent bluntly.


    The Soul Eater paused for a moment, then replied, I have no way of knowing if your body can handle having a spiritual creature¡¯s components inside of it. You might destroy yourself, body and soul. Since I am bound to your soul, that would also destroy me. There is nothing to be done for it now, though.


    Jesus, James thought to himself. I had no idea I was doing something so risky. Some instinct had called to him and told him that eating Sister Strange was possible¡ªand would only make him more powerful. I¡¯ve eaten so many monsters that it¡¯s just normal to me now. If I had even conceived that this might be different¡­


    James slipped into a wordless worry, as he imagined worst case scenarios in the event of his death. The murder of his wife was already seemingly prophesied, and who was to say the rest of his family would be safe if James was taken from them too soon? These thoughts pained him as much as a stab in the chest.


    He sent nothing back to Roscuro, nor did the Soul Eater try to follow up on his prediction of danger. The two simply lapsed into a glum silence, each preoccupied with the possibility of their mutual destruction.


    James remained grimly silent as he crossed into the outer parts of his territory, and the new arrivals came into view.


    The first visual impression of them was striking. James¡¯s Fisher King powers had told him they seemed to be sitting down, resting perhaps. That impression was not quite accurate.


    The newcomers were in a similar posture to what James had imagined, but all of the newcomers were on their knees, eyes closed, faces turned toward the sky.


    They appeared to be praying.


    James¡¯s jaw tightened.


    This had better not be another goddamned cult, he thought. If they¡¯re Moloch worshippers, I¡¯ll wipe them out right here without letting them get any further into the Kingdom¡­


    As James and his entourage stepped in closer, the man at the head of the formation¡ªthe newcomers were spread in a triangular shape, with a single person at the front and a larger group in the back¡ªopened his eyes.


    He and James met each other¡¯s gazes, and James read a flurry of emotions as they passed over the man¡¯s face.


    Joy, surprise, fear, resignation.


    Then there was control.


    A closed face, revealing nothing.


    James noticed a cross around the leader¡¯s neck, and he relaxed a bit. It reminded him of Yulia, who he had driven to church once a week in the pre-System days.


    Why did I jump to cult? he asked himself. Am I just turning cynical? A supermajority of Americans were Christians before the System. The most dangerous thing about them was that they might give you a strongly worded pamphlet, or maybe vocally disapprove of your lifestyle.


    James raised an arm and signaled for his monsters to stay in their current position.


    Then he began to walk across the short distance to meet the man who led this apparent religious community.


    While everyone else knelt, the leader rose, dusted off his knees, and prepared to greet the Fisher King.

 V4Ch4-A Conflict of Visions Part 1

    ¡°Welcome to the Fisher Kingdom,¡± James said, keeping his expression and tone of voice friendly. ¡°I am the Fisher King, James Robard.¡±


    The man who stood across from him seemed to relax slightly.


    ¡°Thank you for the welcome,¡± he said, his voice rich and deep. ¡°My name is Cyrus Berberian. My flock and I are relieved to have, um, stumbled upon a friendly human leader. We have walked far, across dangerous lands, to get here.¡± Cyrus¡¯s eyes kept darting to the monsters behind James as he spoke.


    James did not detect any deception coming from the man so far, though the Ring of Truth and the Ring of Lies sat comfortably in their usual positions.


    Maybe he¡¯s not going to turn out so bad, James thought. This could just be a normal pastor and his congregation.


    James extended his hand, and the two men shook.


    I don¡¯t think he cares much for us nonhumans, sent Ysabel as the two were shaking hands.


    Really? James sent back. You sure? You guys are here to intimidate, so I understand being afraid. James thought it was probably true that Cyrus was concerned about the monsters, but he understood that himself. The experience of the average human up until now had been that monsters liked eating human flesh. James still felt a little odd about having instantly judged the group of newcomers based on them having been kneeling when he walked up.


    I¡¯m pretty sure, Ysabel sent back quickly. It¡¯s not just fear. There¡¯s also hostility mixed in. I have highly developed senses. I am a squirrel, and I¡¯ve invested heavily into Perception and Agility, so I can identify threats and get my siblings away from them!


    James was left slightly dumbfounded by how Ysabel had managed to put a good face on her specialization in running away.


    How did she become a Ruler? he wondered to himself


    I appreciate your insights, Ysabel, James sent back. I will investigate.


    ¡°I¡¯m always glad to meet new people with peaceful intentions,¡± James said. ¡°Here our mission is to rebuild civilization and ensure that it can never fall again.¡±


    He observed that some of Cyrus¡¯s followers looked quite relieved to hear him say that, while others tried to remain impassive.


    Interesting. Divisions within the group? Or do some just have much better control over their emotions than others.


    ¡°What exactly are your intentions here, um, Reverend?¡± James continued. ¡°Are you and your flock aiming at settling down in the Fisher Kingdom? Looking for a peaceful place to recover your strength? Or just passing through?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t the two of us take a step away and discuss this privately?¡± Cyrus suggested.


    Interesting that he wants to take a step away from his group. I¡¯m guessing whatever secrets their group has, he doesn¡¯t trust that one of them won¡¯t open their mouth and spill the beans at the first opportune moment. Good. Whatever hold he has over them is pretty weak. Not a cult. Not Rostov.


    James and Cyrus stepped away from the members of the preacher¡¯s flock. They moved parallel to the small army James had brought so that the leaders grew more distant from both with each stride. James felt this was advantageous to him, because he could communicate telepathically. If Cyrus turned out to be hostile, the situation would unfold terribly for him and his people, unless Cyrus had a similar power.


    James finally stopped walking around a hundred feet from Cyrus¡¯s group.


    ¡°So, what couldn¡¯t you say in front of them?¡± James asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s not so much something specific that I couldn¡¯t say in front of them, as that I want us to have a very frank conversation,¡± Cyrus said, smiling thinly.


    The man looked a little too much like a snake when he smiled for James¡¯s liking.


    ¡°Well, go ahead, then,¡± James said.


    ¡°My top priority is to find a safe place for my people to live,¡± Cyrus said.


    James¡¯s Ring of Truth gave him a funny feeling. It wasn¡¯t the hot, uncomfortable sensation he associated with detecting a lie. More of a lukewarm, mildly unpleasant feeling.


    So, what he just said is not exactly true, but not completely opposite to the truth, James interpreted. This ring is very useful. Thanks Anansi!


    ¡°I assume you have, um, those creatures under some kind of control,¡± Cyrus continued. ¡°But¡ª¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± James interrupted.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry?¡± Cyrus said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t actually have any method for controlling them. I defeated each of the leaders of those species in a duel, and as a condition of victory, I agreed to take them into my kingdom, and they agreed to serve me. They aren¡¯t under mind control or something like that.¡±


    And I kind of despise that sort of thing, even though it is technically part of my arsenal.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Cyrus¡¯s eyes darted quickly back and forth between James, the army in the distance behind James, and Cyrus¡¯s own people, as if he was worried that at any moment, the monsters might break loose and go on a rampage. ¡°Well, if they¡¯re not giving you much trouble, that¡¯s very impressive on your end no matter how you achieved it. Hopefully it¡¯s sustainable.¡±


    The Ring of Truth gave James that lukewarm, mildly unpleasant feeling again. Cyrus wasn¡¯t exactly lying here, but more finessing the truth.


    This seems to be a habit with him. Are all religious leaders this way? Is he thinking that we eventually betray the creatures that loyally fought alongside us?


    Having to speculate about Cyrus¡¯s hidden motives and prejudices rubbed James the wrong way. He had to remind himself again that he had wiped out two species of monster completely himself, and he had not fully realized how intelligent and cooperative they could be until near the end of Orientation. Cyrus did not have the benefit of his experience.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to be as direct as I can be, here, Reverend,¡± James said. ¡°I just want us to be honest with each other. Is it a dealbreaker for you and your people to live alongside monsters? It¡¯s okay if it is¡ª¡± Cyrus looked relieved for a moment, until James continued¡ª¡°naturally you don¡¯t have to stay here. You can rest and recuperate from your journey, and you can move on. Though of course, I also don¡¯t have a problem with some people staying and some people going, if some are willing to be part of what I¡¯m trying to do here and some aren¡¯t. I try to live and let live.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Or live and let die, when that doesn¡¯t work.


    Cyrus spoke slowly. ¡°About that label¡ªReverend¡ªI should tell you I am not actually a minister or anything like that.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Now we¡¯re getting somewhere interesting. ¡°But these are your flock, you said?¡±


    ¡°Yes. That is, I am a sort of modern-day religious leader, but without any formal training. I¡¯m a Prophet. It¡¯s a Job I received.¡±


    Alarm bells blared in James¡¯s mind, but he remained externally cool.


    ¡°For which god?¡± James asked.


    Cyrus looked slightly confused. ¡°What do you mean? The one and only God. Muslims say ¡®Allah,¡¯ Jews use ¡®Yahweh,¡¯ but it¡¯s all the same thing.¡±


    Oh shit.


    Hester echoed the curse quietly in James¡¯s ear.


    Cyrus looked around as if wondering where the sound had come from.


    ¡°There¡¯s not just one god,¡± James said. ¡°That¡¯s not to say I have any problem with your religion, per se. Your branch of Christianity¡ªor Islam¡ªor Judaism?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a big tent,¡± Cyrus said, shrugging. ¡°We don¡¯t have a name for it yet. People of all three of those faiths have joined my little group. God doesn¡¯t want us to fight each other. He wants us to work together.¡±


    That¡¯s half the Earth¡¯s population, James thought, carefully keeping the alarm from his face. This group¡ªand connected groups, I¡¯m guessing¡ªcould be the ones who were responsible for Mina¡¯s murder. If Sister Strange¡¯s visions were accurate.


    A part of him was immediately tempted to murder the Prophet. He¡¯d had enough unpleasant experiences with someone else wearing that label that he did not want to chance letting this man live and perhaps perform similar atrocities.


    And his body grew hot and tense at the thought that this man might be one of those involved with his wife¡¯s future murder.


    I could kill him right now, and maybe none of that would happen¡­


    The only thing that stayed his hand was uncertainty. He did not know if Sister Strange¡¯s visions were real. Even assuming the visions were real, he could not be certain which religious leaders were involved in Mina¡¯s killing.


    It is possible to find death on the road you take to avoid it. If I kill him, do I also have to kill his followers? Some of them might hold a grudge if I don¡¯t. At the very least, it would be insane to leave witnesses who would think I killed their Prophet. And even if I murder every last one of them in cold blood, that doesn¡¯t mean there aren¡¯t others like them. Any one of the members of this new fusion religion might reasonably want to murder me¡ªno, to bring me to justice for what would seem to them a completely unprovoked crime.


    James could see death on that path.


    His passion cooled. I have to keep a close eye on these people, whether within my kingdom or outside of it. They¡¯re too dangerous to be left to their own devices.


    ¡°Very interesting,¡± James said. ¡°Well, you can tell me more about your religion another time, perhaps. But I feel the need to come back to my original question. What exactly are your intentions here? Are you and your flock trying to settle in the Fisher Kingdom? Or should I expect that your¡ª¡± James was tempted to say ¡°pilgrims,¡± but he resisted¡ª¡°group members will be moving along?¡±


    ¡°Of course, I cannot speak for anyone but myself,¡± Cyrus said.


    The Ring of Truth gave James the feeling he associated with a half-truth again.


    James simply nodded and waited.


    ¡°But we do need someone to advocate on behalf of the group,¡± Cyrus continued. ¡°I know our worth is considerable. We all survived Orientation and have some degree of fighting ability and coordination. I did envision us settling in a country that would prioritize safety for humans, though. Do you think you¡¯re providing that here?¡±


    Well, no deception detected there. James felt a combination of dark amusement¡ªI¡¯m getting job interview flashbacks from the way this conversation is going, but I¡¯m not sure which one of us is supposed to be in which chair¡ªand guilt.


    Cyrus¡¯s words had reminded James that the bulk of his human army had been hard hit by the battle in the Haunted Forest. Only a relatively small number had been killed, and he hoped that the rest would recover in time.


    Until they did, however¡­


    I need to try and keep as many people around as I can. The half of my human population that went into the forest were the best and most willing fighters. I trust my nonhuman allies, but I¡¯d rather that they¡¯re not the entire population of the Kingdom. If I was the leader of one of the nonhuman factions, I¡¯d see that as an opportunity to make a power play.


    ¡°Do I think I¡¯m providing a safe environment for humans?¡± James repeated.


    Cyrus nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s a fair question. I have to be honest with you. I don¡¯t think that there¡¯s a single safe place on Earth right now. That¡¯s the foremost goal of my kingdom, though. Build a place where all those who put their faith in me can live safely.¡± Cyrus seemed to wince at the use of the word faith, but James ignored it. ¡°We¡¯re slowly advancing toward that. If you¡¯ve been wandering Florida with this group, I¡¯m sure you know what things are like out there. It¡¯s a war of all against all right now.¡±


    Until I become powerful enough to fix that forever.


    ¡°That¡¯s undeniable,¡± Cyrus said. ¡°Some measures are necessary for security.¡± He lowered his voice confidentially. ¡°So this situation is temporary, then?¡±


    James allowed a flicker of his displeasure to show on his face. ¡°No. These nonhumans are my citizens just like the humans who live here. That is not temporary.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Cyrus said awkwardly.


    Silence settled between the two men for a short time, as Cyrus did not seem to know what to say to mollify James, and James chose to allow Cyrus to remain uncomfortable.


    Finally, James asked, ¡°Do you think your people will be staying here? You don¡¯t have to answer now. We can put them in temporary housing. But I am curious as to where you¡¯re leaning, knowing the compromises you might have to make on what you might have envisioned for their living situation.¡±


    A part of James wanted Cyrus to refuse to stay. It was presumptuous for the new arrival to begin making suggestions about which of James¡¯s people ought to leave¡ªought to be driven out or worse.


    But the more rational side of him knew that Cyrus¡¯s people would probably be useful. The Prophet hadn¡¯t been lying when he said that his people knew how to fight.


    James disliked how the Prophet had instantly judged his allies for being monsters, but he didn¡¯t want to make a similar snap judgment of the Prophet¡¯s followers, based on their leader¡¯s impolitic words.


    ¡°It would be hard for me to say,¡± Cyrus admitted. To James¡¯s surprise, this statement registered as true.


    ¡°What makes it difficult?¡± he asked. ¡°The conditions here are pretty straightforward.¡±


    ¡°We still need to establish if certain requirements are met. You know we¡¯re bound together by religious convictions. We need to establish if that is compatible with your governance.¡±


    Does this man ever just say directly what he means? I know a politician is always lying and being lied to. But I¡¯ve never experienced so much difficulty getting the truth out of someone since I acquired the Ring of Truth as I have in talking with Cyrus!


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t hang Christians, Muslims, or Jews for their religious beliefs, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re wondering,¡± James said in a sardonic tone.


    Cyrus gave him a forced smile. ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± he said.


    So he¡¯s humorless, then. Jesus! There¡¯s no way he was actually around anyone who wanted to hang Christians for being Christians. There¡¯s no way that was legitimately offensive to him. We live in the fucking United States of America. Or what used to be America, anyway. He suppressed a sigh. However long this visit lasts, it¡¯s going to feel twice as long. Next thing I know, they¡¯ll want to ban dancing.


    James used his Fisher King powers to send an announcement to the leader of the Construction Commission only, requesting that new housing be built slightly apart from the other complexes, for new arrivals who might only be staying temporarily.


    ¡°We¡¯ll set up housing for you and your flock, Prophet,¡± James said. ¡°I don¡¯t make policy changes in order to get new people to stay, but if you and your people hang around here for a little while, you should be able to make a better informed decision whether you would like to become my people.¡±


    The words came out more harshly than he had intended, but it was hard to feel bad about it.


    I just can¡¯t imagine the two of us ever getting along. I could easily see this so-called Prophet trying to run the Kingdom behind my back, or even attempting to make me into some sort of puppet king. I will have to watch them closely, but especially this man. I wonder how his group would be different if some accident were to befall Cyrus¡­

 V4Ch5-A Return to Order

    Claudius and the rest of Cyrus¡¯s followers marched from the outskirts of the Fisher Kingdom, following behind the Fisher King himself and his army of beasts.


    The King floated above all, wearing a cape that moved with the breeze, almost like a pair of wings, and looked as if it was made of some organic material.


    ¡°Is he really human?¡± Claudius¡¯s father murmured.


    ¡°Why would you believe he was anything else?¡± asked Julia, raising an eyebrow. ¡°He sure looks ha¡ªhuman¡­¡±


    Coriolanus and Claudius exchanged a brief look. Their sister¡¯s judgment on what sort of person this Fisher King was, or even his humanity, was suspect at best. The man was taller than any human either of them had ever seen, including those who had completed Race Evolution, and he appeared to have the physique of a Greek god.


    ¡°Stop drooling, sis,¡± Coriolanus said bluntly.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯s married,¡± Claudius added.


    ¡°I¡¯m not¡ª¡±


    ¡°Hush, all of you!¡± Tiberius barked. The older man pointed at the tree line. ¡°Look at the welcoming party.¡±


    Lined up where the trees met the cleared land, a pack of wolves stood, observing the humans with patient vigilance.


    ¡°Are those the same wolves¡ª¡± Claudius began.


    ¡°That you tried to steal food from earlier?¡± asked Julia. ¡°Yep. Looks like it. I wonder if they¡¯re hungry.¡±


    As she spoke, one of the wolves opened its mouth wide as if trying to show off how large and sharp its teeth were.


    Then several of the beasts around the first one followed suit.


    ¡°Jesus,¡± Coriolanus said. ¡°Are you guys ready if this comes to a fight?¡±


    A fight? Claudius thought. I didn¡¯t exactly do well with that one wolf before. Let alone a whole pack¡­


    ¡°Don¡¯t blaspheme.¡± A mild voice from just behind them made all the Galts turn their heads. It was Christopher Smith, Cyrus¡¯s right hand man. ¡°And relax. Those wolves are just yawning. If they were trying to intimidate you, they would pull back their lips to show their teeth, not open wide so you could count their tonsils. Their ears would stand on end. You can¡¯t mistake an aggressive wolf for anything else.¡±


    Tiberius Galt chuckled quietly. The rest of the family relaxed.


    If Christopher was confident the wolves were not aggressive, they were all prepared to take his word for it. Before the System, he had worked for the National Parks Service out in Colorado. He had ended up stranded in Orlando after the apocalypse struck.


    ¡°On permanent vacation,¡± as he had put it sardonically before.


    They all turned their attention forward, to the buildings of the Fisher Kingdom. Cyrus¡¯s followers were close enough to the center now that they could see not just the buildings, but the humans who were outside already despite how early it was.


    The ground was abuzz with activity, and Claudius¡¯s eyes widened as he saw exactly what the figures coming into view were doing.


    ¡°They¡¯re building housing,¡± Tiberius said, his voice conveying a subtle awe.


    ¡°What is this, the first new construction we¡¯ve seen since the System hit?¡± Coriolanus asked. He sounded excited.


    Claudius nodded wordlessly.


    ¡°After what happened to Orlando, I thought it might be a while before we saw some semblance of pre-System civilization again,¡± Julia said. ¡°But I knew it would happen. This is just a lot sooner than I expected.¡±


    Claudius heard a rustle of cloth above them, and he saw that the Fisher King had turned his head to look down at the Galts.


    Was he listening to our conversation? Claudius wondered. No, he¡¯s too far away for that. Right?


    Then he floated down to hover beside the Galts as they walked forward.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t help but hear you guys mention Orlando,¡± he said. ¡°What happened there? A few folks have been talking about going.¡±


    Tiberius was the first to speak.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t bother, Your Majesty,¡± he said. ¡°I know it¡¯s only about twenty-odd miles from here, but it would be dangerous to try a visit without an army. We and our friends here¡ª¡± He gestured at the other members of Cyrus¡¯s company¡ª¡°we, um, liberated much of what was valuable there anyway. Most of the rest, looters burned.¡±


    ¡°Iron, steel, and copper don¡¯t really burn, though, do they?¡± The Fisher King almost seemed to be talking to himself. ¡°All the materials to set up a modern industrial society are probably gathered in one place. Plus fertilizer, varieties of seeds we don¡¯t already have¡­¡±


    Claudius wanted to speak, but he felt overawed by the presence of the Ruler. There was a weight to each word from his mouth. His faintly glowing golden eyes were intimidating in their own right, but mostly, he simply gave off the feeling of someone who should not be interrupted¡ªeven when he was just talking to himself.


    ¡°As we were leaving, monsters were taking hold of the city,¡± Tiberius said, apparently ignoring or resisting the quality of the King¡¯s presence that had struck Claudius dumb. ¡°If you¡¯re determined to attempt some sort of return to order¡ª¡± His voice betrayed a growing enthusiasm for the idea¡ª¡°then you really will need to go in force. I can¡¯t say whether it would be a worthwhile investment for you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, um¡ª¡± The Fisher King clearly must have used Identify. ¡°Tiberius. I appreciate the information, and I will bear it in mind. The first thing I have to worry about is the territory I have, of course, but I have a certain sentimental attachment to Orlando.¡±


    Claudius saw his father smile. ¡°The feeling is mutual,¡± Tiberius said.


    Then the Fisher King floated back up into the air and flew ahead of them. It felt as if all of the air had been sucked out of the area around them when the King descended, and now it rushed back in to fill the vacuum that he had left.


    ¡°How were you able to talk to him?¡± asked Coriolanus.


    ¡°Okay, it wasn¡¯t just me,¡± Julia muttered.


    They had all felt the strange, weighty power of the Fisher King in the air around him.


    ¡°He is quite something,¡± said Christopher Smith grudgingly. Claudius turned and saw that Christopher had been standing right behind them, silently, for that interaction.


    ¡°I think my Class Evolution gave me an advantage dealing with him,¡± Tiberius said simply. He turned forward and looked at the buildings ahead of them again.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Claudius didn¡¯t know much about the Aura Warrior Class that Tiberius had chosen. Only that his father was the most disciplined person he knew, and Tiberius had claimed the Class was similar to being a monk in a role playing game.


    ¡°Remarkable,¡± Tiberius murmured.


    Claudius turned to look where he was looking, and he saw the construction crew they had seen was putting the roof on the new building.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s meant to be our housing,¡± Christopher said quietly.


    He proved correct.


    As Cyrus¡¯s followers entered the space directly adjacent to the building, the construction crew came out and excitedly introduced themselves.


    ¡°Steve Luck, Construction Commission boss.¡± A large, silver-haired man with piercing gray eyes stepped forward and shook hands vigorously with each of the vanguard of Cyrus¡¯s company.


    He looks as if he hadn¡¯t gotten much sleep, but he still has so much energy, Claudius thought. There were bags under Luck¡¯s eyes, but he still beamed with pride and exuded confidence and a genuine pleasure at meeting new people.


    The next ten minutes were occupied in a brief tour of the property. It was a large, square building that reminded Claudius of a small hotel. There were eight floors, twenty rooms on each floor, two stairways, and roof access.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t know you would be here until a little while ago, so there¡¯s no furniture yet,¡± Luck said apologetically. ¡°We¡¯ll have people in the building today to start getting toilets set up. I know the lack of them will make things rather uncomfortable to start¡­¡±


    ¡°How did they do this in just the time since we showed up?¡± Coriolanus muttered from the middle of the tour group.


    ¡°They were using earth magic when we walked up,¡± Tiberius replied. ¡°That¡¯s not all, though. I could see something strange about the earth they were manipulating.¡±


    ¡°Strange good, or strange bad?¡± asked Julia.


    ¡°Strange like the Fisher King¡¯s aura was imbued into the soil,¡± he said slowly. ¡°Making it easier for his subjects to work the earth than it naturally would be. He has such an overwhelming aura around him, I wonder if he even knows he¡¯s doing that. It could just be a natural overflow or something. Like a river flooding its banks. It might be why all the Construction Commission members we¡¯ve seen look a little more energetic than normal, although they all have bags under their eyes.¡±


    ¡°So the Fisher King¡¯s aura is like a health treatment for his subjects?¡± Coriolanus asked, fascinated.


    ¡°Could be,¡± Tiberius said, shrugging. ¡°We need to see more.¡±


    ¡°What would it do to an enemy?¡± Claudius murmured, almost talking to himself.


    After the tour was completed, the Galts and the others chose rooms. Almost everyone wanted to be near the ground floor, since there were no elevators, and there were plenty of rooms, far more than their group needed, considering the families who would want to room together.


    Claudius and his family ultimately chose to take rooms on the fourth floor, to allow the families with children and the older members of the group to have all the space on the lower floors.


    Claudius and Coriolanus would share one room, Tiberius would take the room across the hall, and Julia occupied the room next to his.


    With the selection complete, Claudius and Coriolanus took their sleeping bags, looted from Orlando, out of their Small Bags of Deceptive Dimensions, but they did not sleep.


    They sat down on the bags for a few minutes, each sitting silently with his thoughts.


    Then they turned and looked at each other.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to sleep?¡± Coriolanus asked.


    ¡°I feel pretty wired,¡± Claudius said. ¡°I was tired before we got here, but it¡¯s weird to just show up in a new place and not see anything. It¡¯s also a little strange to go to sleep right when the sun is out. The last week has gotten me used to rising with the sun and going to sleep when it sets. This feels unnatural. It¡¯s not like we won¡¯t have time to sleep later.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I agree,¡± Coriolanus replied. ¡°Honestly, I mostly want to see this fucking place.¡± He sounded even more amped up than Claudius felt.


    The two got up and knocked on their father¡¯s door, and when he opened it, they saw that Julia was there with him.


    ¡°So, you two couldn¡¯t sleep either?¡± she said.


    After a few minutes of discussion, the four descended the stairs and walked out into the unknown territory of the Fisher Kingdom.


    They saw the buildings of the apartment complex the Fisher King and his subordinates had erected for his permanent residents, which looked better and more solid than their own residence, and were built in a horseshoe shape. They saw a large building that looked as if it was made to fit a crowd of a few hundred.


    But they skirted around those buildings.


    The Galts quietly agreed that they would not feel comfortable intruding into the population¡¯s residential space until they knew some people there.


    And there appeared to be a great deal more to explore.


    Beyond the apartment buildings, there was another building, much smaller¡ªmore like a shed¡ªthat was covered in some form of runes. They seemed to shimmer ominously in the sunlight. Claudius got a bad feeling from them, and he noticed that although his father did not say anything, Tiberius wrinkled his nose at the sight of it.


    They gave that space a wide berth, and they found themselves in a massive, plowed field where some crops were just beginning to sprout. It was too early to even tell what the plants were.


    Claudius strained his eyes, and he realized the field went on as far as the eye could see in two directions, cut off in a third by some distant trees.


    ¡°The Fisher Kingdom is mostly a farm,¡± Julia said, smiling.


    ¡°No ordinary farm, either,¡± Tiberius muttered.


    Claudius was about to ask what he meant, when he was distracted by the sight of the farmers coming out to work the soil.


    There were dozens of humans dressed in work clothes, but the sight of them would not have disrupted his train of thought. Rather, he was surprised to find an almost equally great number of green-skinned shorter humanoids working with the human farmers.


    ¡°Goblins,¡± Coriolanus said. ¡°That¡¯s what Identify says they are. I guess they weren¡¯t born as humans, either. But they¡¯re helping farm the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s territory. I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d ever see monsters working alongside humans in peace. I just kind of thought he used his power to compel those other creatures to follow him.¡±


    As the family watched, though, the Goblins interacted with the humans like they were neighbors. They all pitched in to weed, plow more of the field, and plant more seeds. There appeared to Claudius¡¯s eyes to be some creatures underground helping to manipulate the soil, too. He never saw them directly, but occasionally, he would see something move, or a weed get pulled underground rather than uprooted, when there were no humans or Goblins near it.


    ¡°This is a little weird,¡± Julia said finally, ¡°but I think I could get used to it.¡±


    ¡°I just don¡¯t get how it¡¯s possible,¡± Claudius said. The memory of the monsters from their Orientation was still fresh from him. He vividly remembered how the dinosaurs had almost eaten him. It was hard to accept that he had just been unlucky, and some monsters were apparently benevolent.


    ¡°I think this is the man you were hoping would appear, son,¡± Tiberius said, looking at Coriolanus.


    ¡°What, you mean¡ª¡± Claudius began.


    ¡°You think he has the power to restore order,¡± Coriolanus said, his tone thoughtful.


    ¡°Even the farming is easier here than it would be anywhere else,¡± Tiberius replied. ¡°The Fisher King¡¯s aura is helping them. I can sense it. The soil is probably lighter in their hands and tools than it would be without his energy infusing it. Imagine the difference between working this soil every day and working unaltered soil.¡±


    ¡°What about Cyrus?¡± Julia said, furrowing her brow.


    ¡°What about Cyrus?¡± Coriolanus repeated. ¡°He¡¯ll have to fall in line, won¡¯t he? All the time he was leading us, he was insisting that he didn¡¯t want to be a permanent leader¡ªthat he was just taking us to a promised land. Well, maybe we¡¯re here.¡± He looked to his father for support, but Tiberius just looked apprehensively off into the distance.


    ¡°He was so convinced we needed to wipe out all the monsters in the world to be safe,¡± Julia said.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s all been just a misunderstanding,¡± Claudius said. But the thought mixed uneasily with his faith.


    Hadn¡¯t Cyrus performed minor miracles? Wasn¡¯t he blessed by an angel? Perhaps consistently locating food and leading them in the right direction were not as awe-inspiring as some possible miracles Cyrus might have performed, but they were consistent with Claudius¡¯s recollections of the Bible.


    ¡°Misunderstanding or not, he¡¯ll have to get over it,¡± Coriolanus said, his mouth hardening. Claudius thought that he was the least attached to Cyrus of the four of them. Coriolanus was also, not coincidentally, the least religious. ¡°We¡¯re in the land of the Fisher King now. We¡¯ll have to do as the fisher-people do!¡±


    ¡°He and the Fisher King didn¡¯t exactly seem to be making fast friends out there when they went off to talk by themselves,¡± Claudius observed.


    ¡°We¡¯d better hope the two of them can get along,¡± Tiberius said. ¡°Historically, it never pays for a religious leader to get into a di¡ª¡± He looked at his daughter as if just remembering she was there¡ª¡°er, a power measuring contest with a secular king. And if they do clash, we don¡¯t want to be in the middle of it.¡±


    But that seemed to Claudius exactly where they would inevitably be, if the Fisher King and their Prophet had a falling out.

 V4Ch6-No Rest for the Wicked

    James opened his thoughtfully closed eyes, and a smile unfurled across his lips.


    The Galts might be a weak link, he thought. I need to figure out how best to use them.


    What¡¯s the evil smile about, Master? asked Roscuro.


    That made him discipline his expression in an instant. He was still outside, for the moment, having only briefly stopped to spy on the new arrivals. He didn¡¯t want other people to see a creepy expression on his face and make their own assumptions about the reasons for it.


    Cyrus and his right hand man, Christopher Smith, had given nothing away while James watched them. But some of the ordinary folks following Cyrus were already giving James little hints about what he was dealing with.


    Evil smile? James replied. My good character is the stuff of legends!


    The human and the Soul Eater shared a quiet internal laugh.


    Then James opened his front door and ascended the stairs.


    Mina was waiting in the living room, feeding the baby.


    ¡°How did it go?¡± she asked. ¡°Did we make new friends?¡±


    James shrugged and tilted his head back and forth uncertainly. He recounted his conversation with Cyrus and the interactions he had witnessed between the man¡¯s followers using his Fisher King senses after he separated from them.


    ¡°Wait, so you can see anything that happens in the territory now?¡± Mina asked, raising an eyebrow.


    He nodded. ¡°Seems that way. My powers continue to grow with every Ruler I conquer.¡±


    ¡°Well, don¡¯t you dare use it to look at other women,¡± she said, giving him a scowl.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t even think of that,¡± he replied in an affronted tone.


    They each maintained their pretended emotion for a few seconds before Mina cracked a smile. Then they both started snickering.


    James took the baby from Mina, and they caught each other up on the events of the previous evening. Mina told James all about Zora and Alice¡¯s contributions to the fight with the Wraiths. James told Mina about Sister Strange¡¯s death, omitting the details of the visions the Wraith had shown him. They had both observed how, in the aftermath of the battle, some Wraiths had managed to flee from James¡¯s Solar Ray attacks.


    ¡°So, exterminating the rest of them will probably be my first task of the new day,¡± James said. There was a weariness to his voice. He would have liked to take a nap now, or even simply lay down on the roof of the apartment building. With his Solar Recovery Skill, sunbathing for a few hours might be enough to restore him to full power.


    He had not slept last night at all, unless one counted part of the struggle with Sister Strange as sleeping. This was after fighting and killing the Bat Queen.


    No rest for the wicked¡­


    ¡°Do you have to go?¡± Mina asked.


    ¡°I can sense where they are,¡± James replied. ¡°The Haunted Forest is my territory now, but they¡¯re still lurking. I can¡¯t have people wandering the territory, thinking they¡¯re safe, when these creatures are still on the loose¡­¡±


    He let his voice trail off.


    Do I have to go myself, though?


    ¡°You thought of something?¡± Mina said.


    James nodded quietly. ¡°It might work.¡±


    ¡°Can you watch the baby while you do whatever you¡¯re thinking of doing?¡± Mina asked. ¡°I¡¯ll make breakfast while you do.¡±


    James nodded again. He waited for Mina to walk to the kitchen, out of sight.


    Then he held baby James up to make eye contact with him.


    ¡°Hey Junior, you want to see something cool?¡± James whispered.


    ¡°Oo goo,¡± the baby replied with a serious expression.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a yes,¡± James said.


    He set James Junior down on the floor and began imbuing power into his outermost layer of flesh. Then James started shedding his skin.


    He shed five layers of skin over the course of the next ten minutes, with breaks in between as his body regenerated.


    The baby watched, wide-eyed, as the layers of skin separated themselves from James¡¯s body but remained connected to each other.


    ¡°There we go,¡± James muttered, looking at his handiwork. The remaining skin on his body was a raw reddish color. He knew it would be back to its normal shade in a few minutes, but the baby looked at him as if he was worried his father was going to die.


    ¡°Uh, don¡¯t worry, son,¡± James said quietly. ¡°I swear, it¡¯s on our side!¡±


    As he spoke, both father and child stared at the new creature James had created. He had decided to name it the Solar Glider, based on the fact that the only Skills he had seen fit to pass on to it were Solar Ray and Solar Recovery, and that like his other skin creatures, it could fly. The hulking monstrosity had a head with no teeth and a long tail, but the bulk of its creepy-looking body was in its wings.


    I¡¯m glad it worked, combining multiple layers of my skin like that, he thought.


    The thought had struck him earlier that Solar Ray reliably killed Wraiths on contact. If James had more surface area, he could gather more solar power to charge that attack.


    So, he devised a creature that should be more powerful in terms of that single Skill than James himself was.


    James Junior pointed at the large monster, whose bulk made the living room look small, and he let out a noise that sounded like a giggle.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re not scared,¡± James said, a little surprised. ¡°Do you want to pet it?¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    This is a good place for him to be, emotionally, when he sees a monster. He¡¯ll spend his whole life living alongside them. It¡¯s good that he¡¯s not scared.


    Baby James bobbed up and down, showing body language that felt a lot like a nod.


    Does he actually understand what I¡¯m saying? There¡¯s no way, right? He¡¯s not even a month old¡­


    But the old rules of human life had been left behind somewhere in the past. James could not know for certain what was going on with his son. He would make certain to tell Mina about this behavior and ask if she had noticed anything similar.


    James sent a mental command, and the Solar Glider crouched so that James Junior could pet it. And the baby did. He was surprisingly gentle. James thought his son was treating the giant monster as something like a pet.


    Then he heard the door to the children¡¯s room open.


    Abhi stepped out, and before James could put his finger to his lips, the little boy was screaming.


    ¡°Monster!¡±


    To Abhi¡¯s credit, he rushed in to try to protect James Junior rather than running away.


    James ordered the Solar Glider not to do anything and then watched, slightly stunned, as Abhi beat his skinny fists against the giant wings.


    Then Mina rushed in, and James raised a hand.


    ¡°It¡¯s all right, guys!¡± he said loudly, before she could unleash magical fire on the creature he had just created. ¡°This thing is one of mine.¡±


    After he had explained the purpose for the Solar Glider to everyone and sent the creature out to seek and destroy the remaining Wraiths¡ªand praised Abhi for his courage, which had genuinely impressed James¡ªthey brought the younger children and Yulia into the dining area, and the whole family ate breakfast together.


    The tabletop conversation was anarchic that morning.


    Abhi excitedly relayed the story of what had happened between him and the Solar Glider to Indira and Yulia. James mentioned the new arrivals to Yulia and then shifted to telling her and Mina about a new idea he had, to build large, habitable fortifications around the core of the Fisher Kingdom. He also mentioned how the baby had seemed to understand some of what James said to him.


    Yulia bounced back and forth between participating in Abhi¡¯s conversation¡ªthe little boy wasn¡¯t getting much back from Indira, who thought that Abhi was saying he had fought a dragon¡ªand listening in on James and Mina¡¯s dialogue.


    ¡°James, how did last night go?¡± Yulia asked when the two parallel conversations had hit a rare simultaneous dead spot. ¡°When I arrived, I just saw a lot of people who needed help.¡±


    ¡°Well, we destroyed most of the evil spirits,¡± James said. ¡°The creature that Abhi fought with earlier is taking care of the rest of them now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad the mission was a success,¡± Yulia said, ¡°and that you seem to be all right. Were there um, a lot of casualties?¡± She winced as she spoke, as if she thought she might have said something wrong.


    James gave her a sad look.


    ¡°Most of the people who went into the forest are okay,¡± he replied. ¡°You saw how many people were in bad shape afterward. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening with them at this moment. There were some dead, but not many. A small fraction of the hundreds who went in. But the people you were treating¡ªthe unconscious folks seem to still be unconscious. Or at least they haven¡¯t moved from the community center, where we left them.¡±


    Yulia frowned and nodded. ¡°Should I¡ªwill you be asking for Healers to keep an eye on them, and keep working on it?¡±


    ¡°Rotter¡¯s taking care of that,¡± James said. ¡°You can go volunteer again if you feel like it, but I think we did what we could on the night in question. The rest might be up to them. I¡¯ll go and check on the patients after we finish eating, of course.¡±


    Yulia seemed a little relieved to hear that. And James felt good.


    I¡¯m taking care of the family and the Kingdom. Now, if only there was something I could do to help the fallen out.


    His mind leaped suddenly to what his mother would be doing right now, with the bodies of the truly fallen. Would she be able to save them, after her fashion as a Necromancer? Should he have even asked her to try?


    It was impossible to be certain. James was the King. In the midst of the exigencies of battle and its immediate aftermath, he had acted decisively and unilaterally. But if he was wrong, he would live to regret these decisions.


    Need to check how things are going with Mom after I look in on the patients, he thought.


    Once the meal was finished, Mina and Yulia cleared the table, with Abhi trailing after them, helping. James watched the smaller children for a little while until Abhi came back.


    Then he said goodbye to everyone and went out again, to take another tally of the damage that Sister Strange¡¯s ethereal army had done to his nascent country.


    As he left the apartment, he saw the doors to the community center opening.


    Striding through them, looking almost as weary as he had when James arrived at the aftermath of the battle, Dave Matsumoto instinctively squinted and blinked. His eyes needed time to get accustomed to the sudden exposure to the morning sun.


    The doors started to swing shut behind him, but a pair of hands stopped them from closing. Two men stepped out after Dave.


    ¡°Wait a minute, Captain,¡± protested one of the men loudly.


    James recognized them as two of the Healers he had met the previous night when he called for aid in the forest. Rajesh Gupta and Isaac Zirndorf. Just from looking at the gray-haired men, James had the feeling that they had both been doctors even before the System.


    ¡°Why?¡± Dave Matsumoto¡¯s voice came out somewhere close to a growl, and the two Healers stepped back as if stung.


    ¡°We just want to examine you, make certain you¡¯re all right,¡± began Gupta. ¡°Most of them aren¡¯t waking up¡ª¡±


    ¡°All the more reason for you to get back to them,¡± Dave said. His voice sounded more civilized now. The undercurrent of violence had faded. He was trying to reason with them.


    It was at that moment that James stepped in.


    ¡°Dave, I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re awake,¡± he said.


    ¡°James,¡± Dave said, a little startled.


    ¡°Sir,¡± Gupta said.


    Zirndorf remained silent but stiffened his posture as if he was about to salute or say the Pledge of Allegiance.


    ¡°Do you guys still need Dave for something?¡± James asked. ¡°Seems like he should probably go home and get some rest. Right?¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Gupta said a bit reluctantly.


    ¡°We were hoping to examine him, sir,¡± Zirndorf broke in.


    Gupta let out a small grunt and looked at Zirndorf as if he wanted him to shut up.


    ¡°You¡¯re hoping to figure out what¡¯s special about him?¡± James guessed. ¡°Because the others aren¡¯t waking up?¡±


    Dave¡¯s eyes opened wider. ¡°Was that why?¡± He turned his head and looked back and forth between Gupta and Zirndorf.


    Gupta swallowed and looked down at the ground. ¡°Yes, that was the main reason,¡± he said.


    Dave stepped in closer to them, and James wondered for a moment if he was angry. But no. He could see something else in Dave¡¯s posture.


    Relief?


    Gupta and Zirndorf flinched as if expecting a blow. What was visible to James was not obvious to anyone else.


    ¡°I¡¯ll help in any way I can,¡± Dave said in a low, intense voice. ¡°You should have said something fucking sooner. Come on.¡± He started to walk back through the doors of the community center. ¡°Oh, shit.¡± He turned around, exhaled, and made eye contact with James. ¡°Was there something you needed from me, sir?¡±


    James resisted the urge to give Dave a big grin. He kept it to a small, thin smile instead. Buried in his goatee, one could almost think it was simply the shadow of the beard hairs playing over his lips rather than a change in his expression.


    ¡°There was not,¡± James said. ¡°I came to check if you and everyone else was all right. I¡¯m glad to know you¡¯re in good physical condition.¡±


    Dave nodded, and a flurry of microexpressions passed over his face.


    Slight joy, sadness, and guilt, in that order, were predominant.


    ¡°Yes sir,¡± Dave said simply. ¡°Thanks to you.¡±


    James nodded, and Dave left with the two Healers.


    I need to watch him, James thought. He could not know what was in Dave¡¯s mind, but the man¡¯s reaction to having awakened alive and in one piece was troubling. I hope he¡¯s not too guilty that he survived while others died. I can¡¯t have him killing himself or something. He did so much for his fellow soldiers back there¡ªand for me.


    James shook his head and followed through the doors before they could close behind the other men.


    What he saw made him frown.

 V4Ch7-Coma

    What greeted James¡¯s eyes was worse than he had expected.


    Hundreds of still bodies. Many displayed an unhealthy pallor. Only the slow, shallow rise and fall of their chests showed that they were still alive.


    Jesus.


    Most of those he and the Healers had carried from the woods were not only still here, recovering, but they remained unconscious and in poor condition.


    The number of people who have gotten up and left like Dave has to be in the double digits, at most.


    He looked around to verify what he was seeing. It was just as bad as his initial impression had suggested.


    Hundreds of people lay in beds spread throughout the room, unconscious and unmoving. None so much as twitched at the sound of someone entering the building. Further evidence they were in their own world, where no one could help them.


    Except perhaps the Healers.


    James released a slow breath through tightly clenched teeth. He shifted his focus to the Healers.


    A dozen of them stood or sat in various positions around the room. Some of them noticed that James had come in and waved to him. He waved back. Others had not noticed him and simply continued doing their jobs.


    But none of them were rushing into any kind of action. It seemed they already knew there was nothing more that could be done for the moment. They had made the patients stable, and perhaps that was all that was possible.


    There were a small number of people¡ªa dozen, at most¡ªsitting by bedsides, waiting for friends or loved ones to wake up. None of them waved or appeared to notice James. Their expressions were preoccupied, as if their eyes were watching scenes a thousand miles away.


    Or visualizing their loved ones¡¯ funerals.


    James had envisioned scenes like that with his family members before. Recently he had spent all too much time dwelling on the possibility of Mina¡¯s death.


    He felt a powerful burst of empathy for those who were waiting here, until he controlled it.


    He tried to likewise forcefully bury the idea that the situation here was his fault.


    At least his mind blanked it out for the moment.


    Off to the side, James saw the Healers and Dave talking, in hushed tones.


    James tried not to listen in¡ªif he needed more information about what was going on, he would simply ask them later¡ªand as his eyes continued scanning the room, they settled on a familiar figure.


    Alice.


    He looked around once more, and seeing that there was nothing apparent that he could do, he began walking toward his sister.


    As he drew closer, the picture that Alice presented became clearer. Her eyes were puffy and red, fixed on the ground. She was holding her boyfriend Ben¡¯s hand in one of hers. He was one of the unlucky ones who remained unconscious¡ªor one of the lucky ones, if James considered the fact that around two dozen people had died.


    James stepped to within ten feet of Alice, and his sister finally glanced up.


    Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of her brother. James hoped that meant she was relieved to see him, although he did not think there was anything he could do to help Ben.


    ¡°Hey sis,¡± he said, offering a small smile. ¡°Has he woken up yet?¡±


    Hope I didn¡¯t say exactly the wrong thing. He was instinctively less calculated with family than he otherwise would have been.


    She deflated slightly and shook her head.


    ¡°Any movement?¡± he asked.


    Another head shake.


    ¡°Nothing at all?¡±


    Alice shook her head even harder.


    ¡°Are other people waking up?¡±


    Maybe Ben¡¯s just healing slowly!


    She finally spoke up. Her voice came out like she had eaten a frog, and it might come back up at any moment. ¡°Not many of them. A couple hours ago, a lot did. I mean, a relatively big group. Woke up like they were just napping. But¡­¡±


    ¡°None since then,¡± James finished.


    She nodded.


    I should have asked the Healers these questions after all, not her. Alice looked as if she might start crying again. I hope she at least feels like she¡¯s helping solve the problem by getting me up to date, though.


    He thought about thanking her for her help last night. But the moment was wrong for that. She was in the middle of worrying about Ben right now. Thanking her would just remind her of whose orders Ben had been following that night¡ªtechnically Dave¡¯s, but indirectly James¡¯s.


    No, thinking about all the good she did would be a nice distraction for her. Damn it, stop thinking like a politician. This is your sister!


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry this happened,¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t know if there¡¯s anything I¡¯m going to be able to do. Thank you for your help last night.¡±


    He felt the words were lame, insufficient, but he was glad he had said them.


    Alice nodded. ¡°What¡¯s family for?¡± she said.


    James smiled the same small, sad smile he had given her earlier and then pulled a chair up and sat next to her. He took her other hand, and they sat in silence for a while, each nursing their private thoughts.


    When Alice broke the silence, there were tears in the corners of her eyes.


    ¡°You know, he really wanted to prove himself¡ªto prove something, anyway¡ªto you and Mom.¡±


    His devotion to you and by extension to us, James thought.


    ¡°I know, or I figured,¡± he said. ¡°He proved it to me, anyway.¡±


    Alice looked up and scanned the room for a few seconds. ¡°Where¡¯s Mom, anyway?¡± she asked. Then her expression changed, and she shook her head. ¡°Oh. Right. You gave her a, um, mission.¡± She looked around uneasily, and James saw a queasiness settling over her.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said. ¡°Yeah, I did.¡±


    The silence fell between them again, though it did not last as long this time.


    ¡°So, once he wakes up, what¡¯s the future hold for you two?¡± James asked, nodding at Ben.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that, bro,¡± Alice said. Her tone was slightly exasperated, but a crooked smile was twisting her lips in spite of herself. ¡°Mom has already given me plenty of advice.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll bet.¡±


    They both chuckled.


    ¡°How about you?¡± she asked after a minute.


    ¡°Um, me?¡±


    I know you didn¡¯t forget that I¡¯m married¡­


    ¡°Plans for the future of this place?¡± she asked. Alice made a broad gesture that James understood as referring to the whole Kingdom, rather than simply the community center.


    Mom¡¯s probably going to have a lot of advice for me, too, he thought.


    ¡°Huh. Plans for the future. Mostly hoping it gets one right now.¡±


    ¡°Oh, really.¡± Her tone flattened, and James realized he had actually annoyed her for the first time since they started talking. ¡°Come on, you can give me more than that!¡± She nodded at Ben. ¡°What¡¯s the grand plan? The vision? What was he fighting for? Just to live to tomorrow and keep people safe from bad dreams?¡±


    ¡°No, Alice.¡± He lowered his voice so that only she would be able to hear it. ¡°Truth be told, I want to take over all of Florida, then the continent, and maybe followed by the whole world. But that seemed a little ambitious to say out loud. Plus, we¡¯re still kind of recovering from the last battle.¡±


    She looked taken aback, then chuckled and wiped a tear away.


    ¡°That¡¯s more like it!¡± Alice said. ¡°Your family¡¯s here for you, so you can do anything and everything you want. Once you conquer the world, Ben and I get to run Florida, right?¡± She gave him mock puppy dog eyes, and after a moment, they both laughed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see why not,¡± he said quietly.


    ¡°The first thing I¡¯ll do as Royal Governor of Florida is¡ª¡±


    But James sensed two figures approaching from off to his left side, just outside of his peripheral vision.


    ¡°Shh,¡± he said quietly, putting a finger to his mouth.


    Alice immediately zipped her lips.


    Then the two men came into peripheral view. Without even seeing them completely, James recognized them by their walks. Gupta and Zirndorf.


    He let go of Alice¡¯s hand. He had a feeling that they would have words for him alone. Even if the two Healers were willing to talk about the coma situation in front of his sister, James was not certain he would want her to hear what they had to say.


    As the two men drew closer, James got up.


    ¡°Did you guys want to speak with me about something?¡± he asked in a voice just loud enough for them to hear him.


    They looked a little surprised that he had spoken up, and he realized the two were still only barely in his peripheral vision. If his senses were what they had once been, he would not have noticed them coming at all.


    ¡°That¡¯s correct, sir,¡± said Zirndorf, recovering first.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s go,¡± James replied instantly. He turned to his sister and added, ¡°I¡¯ll be right back, Alice.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, okay,¡± she said, furrowing her brow slightly.


    James walked off with the Healers before he could see whether her expression would ripen into suspicion of why he was going off with them alone, or go back to a more neutral state.


    Once they were on the other side of the room, in an area safely away from any patients¡¯ family members, he spoke.


    ¡°What do you have for me?¡±


    ¡°Sir, the patients are stable,¡± began Gupta.


    ¡°But they¡¯re not waking up,¡± added Zirndorf.


    Gupta gave him a sharp look, and Zirndorf added, ¡°At least not yet.¡±


    ¡°Look, you two,¡± James said. ¡°I want the full and unvarnished truth here. I want to know exactly what¡¯s going on and what to expect. No sugarcoating anything, no hiding anything.¡±


    He spoke in a deep but quiet voice of command that made both men wince slightly.


    ¡°We¡¯re not hiding anything, sir,¡± Gupta said.


    ¡°Why were you looking at him like that, then?¡± James asked, mimicking the Gupta glare that he had now seen twice.


    Zirndorf let out a little, choked off laugh that stopped as both James and Gupta glared at him.


    ¡°We¡¯re telling you everything,¡± Zirndorf said. ¡°We just don¡¯t know what the hell is going on. Gupta and I were both in the medical profession when this System business started¡ª¡±


    ¡°He was an anesthesiologist,¡± Gupta interrupted.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about your professional status,¡± James hissed. ¡°Get to the point while I¡¯m still in a good mood. What¡¯s wrong with them?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know,¡± Zirndorf said. ¡°That¡¯s what I was getting at. We¡¯ve been discussing it, and we¡¯ve never seen anything like this before.¡±


    Gupta was nodding as Zirndorf spoke.


    ¡°I heard some people woke up earlier,¡± James said. ¡°What was special about them?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, sir,¡± Gupta said. ¡°They were just the lucky ones. As far as we know, those people were just suffering from exhaustion. They might have used up all their Mana or Stamina. But just getting them away from the battlefield, getting them some healing and a little food, was enough to bring them out of it. They recovered as if it was just a minor fainting episode, low blood sugar or something.¡±


    ¡°It seems as if the others are the ones who were, um, possessed during the battle, sir,¡± said Zirndorf, accurately anticipating James¡¯s next question. ¡°If that¡¯s the right word. And frankly, we don¡¯t know what to do about them at all.¡±


    ¡°They didn¡¯t cover possession in medical school,¡± said Gupta bitterly.


    James could easily imagine the discomfort with which Gupta had experienced Orientation and the System generally. The doctor had grown up in a world where things made sense. It had been a grand adventure for James when he was sucked into Orientation, defeating monsters and exploring another planet. He imagined Gupta had not experienced things the same way.


    ¡°I see,¡± James said simply.


    ¡°We were hoping that Your Majesty could ask that materials be brought to us here so that we can prepare some makeshift feeding tubes,¡± Gupta said. ¡°We don¡¯t have medical supplies to feed people intravenously. They¡¯re all stable for now, but the patients are still human. If we don¡¯t find a solution to the feeding issue, we¡¯ll see people start to decline in the next few days. We¡¯ll prioritize feeding the elderly and those who don¡¯t¡ªwait, do you care about these details?¡±


    James shook his head. ¡°I only care about the prognosis, which you¡¯re telling me you don¡¯t know anything about, and what I can do to help, which you already told me.¡±


    He began preparing a message to send out to the whole population outside of the community center. Surely some people would know how to manufacture feeding tubes from the raw materials they had lying around. Maybe.


    ¡°We¡¯re sorry we don¡¯t have better news for you, sir,¡± said Zirndorf.


    Gupta nodded gravely. ¡°I understand you have family here.¡± He pointed in the direction of Ben and Alice with his elbow.


    ¡°Yes,¡± James replied. ¡°I do. I¡¯ll give my sister the bad news myself. That we just don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen with her boyfriend.¡± He swallowed. ¡°Thank you gentlemen. I appreciate your efforts here, even if the results so far aren¡¯t what we want. I know you can¡¯t control that.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sir,¡± said Zirndorf.


    ¡°Yes, thank you, sir,¡± said Gupta.


    They both seemed to bow their heads slightly as they spoke. It was slightly surreal, even in this moment, to realize that they were showing his position some deference.


    Can¡¯t inject ¡®royal¡¯ blood to fix this coma, though, he thought. Sister Strange got me after all, in a way. She made this into a bloodbath for us, if they don¡¯t manage to wake up somehow.


    James felt powerless¡ªand even slightly guilty, despite knowing that he had done the right thing by taking the fight to the Wraiths. There could be no coexistence with them.


    There had to have been something he could have done differently, but he could not think of it.


    He walked slowly back to Alice and tried to keep his expression neutral-to-positive.


    ¡°Anything interesting?¡± she asked as he took his seat beside her.


    ¡°No new developments,¡± James replied.


    ¡°No news is good news, I hope,¡± Alice said. ¡°And this guy might wake up anytime now.¡± She squeezed Ben¡¯s hand, and a hopeful smile tugged at the corners of her lips.


    James rose. This is the only thing I can think of.


    Alice looked up at him, surprised. ¡°Are you leaving, or¡ª¡±


    It¡¯s the least I can do, after he risked his life. Hopefully it helps.


    ¡°As the vitality of the Fisher Kingdom grows each day, so must your vitality swell, Benjamin Crane,¡± he said. Blessing of the Fisher King imbued his words with a power and authority that even James did not yet fully understand. ¡°As your bond with my family holds strong, so will you hold strong against any force that threatens your health.¡±


    As the words left him, James felt a surge of weakness. He managed to sit in the chair before his knees buckled. The day and the preceding night had already taken a lot out of him.


    I don¡¯t think I can use that on any more people today. Not if I want to walk out of here upright.


    ¡°James, what are you¡ª¡± Alice stopped mid-sentence and turned to look directly at Ben.


    His eyelids were fluttering.

 V4Ch8-Miracle Cure

    Over the next few minutes, James watched Ben and Alice as the former recovered at amazing speed and began to move again, and the latter moved from disbelief to ecstatic joy.


    Alice let loose a fresh torrent of tears and alternated between hugging and kissing her freshly recovered boyfriend and occasionally throwing a grateful glance at her brother, who sat slumped on the seat next to the happy couple.


    ¡°I¡¯m so glad I woke up to see you,¡± Ben said, his voice slightly hoarse.


    Is that the full consequence he¡¯ll suffer from what happened in the woods? James wondered. Just a little hoarseness that just goes away? He hoped so.


    Alice and Ben exchanged sweet nothings that made James glad that he had awakened Ben first. The two seemed very much in love.


    James did not want to be there, intruding on the tender moment¡ªhe would much rather have walked away somewhere¡ªbut most of the strength seemed to have gone out of his legs after he blessed Ben. He did not trust them to carry his weight as far as the next chair.


    Even a few level ups later, that power still takes a lot out of me.


    It was frustrating. He could imagine himself saving everyone here one by one, if not for the limitations of his body.


    He could feel that if he used this power too many times in one day, something would happen. Whether that was fainting or a thing of greater consequence, he could not be certain. He had only used the Blessing of the Fisher King a handful of times before.


    James sensed two figures rushing towards him. His body tensed, then relaxed. It was just the two Healers again.


    ¡°You woke up,¡± exclaimed Gupta breathlessly, looking down at Ben in amazement.


    ¡°It¡¯s a miracle,¡± said Zirndorf, throwing a curious glance at James.


    ¡°Thank you, James,¡± said Ben. ¡°I was dead to the world. I couldn¡¯t see or hear anything. Then I heard your voice, calling me back¡­¡±


    His voice trailed off, as if Ben was still dazed. James picked up the conversational thread.


    ¡°Well, my sister seems to be pretty fond of you,¡± he said. ¡°So, I decided you couldn¡¯t lie dead to the world any longer, making her worry.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for worrying,¡± Ben said, looking back at Alice and smiling. ¡°If not for that, who knows where I would be now?¡± His smile faded, and his eyes seemed to grow distant. ¡°I wasn¡¯t completely blacked out, you know. I was dead to the world, but not dead to myself, if that makes sense. I remember I was in a dark place. It was cold and getting colder.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t sound like Hell,¡± said Zirndorf.


    Sounds just like the realm of Hel to me, James thought.


    He considered asking some follow up questions, but Ben had clearly been through a lot. And anyway, what would more details about his near death experience really add to James¡¯s own understanding? If he wanted to know more about Hel¡¯s realm, he could pick up a book on Norse mythology. He already had Skin Husks and Skin Balloons out looking for supplies that might be of value to the community, including books.


    ¡°So, you performed a miracle,¡± said Zirndorf, looking at James curiously. ¡°I knew you were something different from the rest of us, but I guess it¡¯s confirmed now.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not a demigod,¡± said Gupta, needled. He looked down at James. ¡°Are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a demigod, and I¡¯m not a miracle worker,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯m the Fisher King, and I don¡¯t like letting people die on my land.¡±


    It¡¯s not a miracle, because I¡¯m about to replicate it. Miracles are usually one-offs, unless you¡¯re Jesus.


    He pushed himself up from the seat. Some of his strength had returned. He started looking around the room for the next target of his mercy.


    ¡°You¡¯re about to do it again, aren¡¯t you?¡± asked Zirndorf.


    ¡°Could I ask that you pick an elderly patient this time?¡± said Gupta.


    Everyone looked at him, slightly aghast at the presumption of telling James whose life ought to be saved next. Gupta ignored them all.


    ¡°It¡¯s just that keeping the elderly alive in these circumstances will be more difficult than doing the same for a younger person,¡± he continued. ¡°If you can take a few of the oldest patients out of harm¡¯s way, that would help us a great deal.¡±


    James nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll do what the doctor advises.¡±


    It¡¯s on your head, then, if some young person here dies because I showed preference for the old.


    His eyes landed on the perfect elderly patients to try his ability on, and James started walking.


    From behind him, he heard his sister speaking quietly to Ben. James¡¯s senses were such that he did not have to try to listen in on a conversation that was meant to be private; the words simply poured into his ears unless he covered them or made an effort not to hear.


    ¡°I¡¯m just going to follow my brother and make sure he¡¯s okay,¡± said Alice.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea,¡± Ben whispered back. ¡°He looks a little unsteady.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to be all right?¡± Alice asked a little anxiously. ¡°Not going to slip back into a coma while I¡¯m up?¡±


    ¡°I feel as fit as a fiddle,¡± Ben replied. ¡°I¡¯ll be up as soon as the Healers get out of this little area.¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    James heard the sound of a kiss, and then he was far enough away that he could more easily ignore the lovebirds.


    I¡¯m glad I blessed Ben first, he thought. I think they really love each other. And, of course, if he ever hurts Alice, he has to know, in the back of his mind, what sort of grisly fate would await him¡­


    James reached the targets of his next blessing. Since the community center was only a makeshift hospital, with the bedding that volunteers had donated or provided, there were some small beds and some large ones.


    Someone who clearly knew they were married had placed these two in a king size bed together.


    Alan and Mitzi.


    James spoke the words over Mitzi first, knowing Alan would be annoyed if James blessed him first. He gave a similar blessing to that which he had used on Ben, but abbreviated.


    It seemed to take a little less out of James than the longer blessing had, but he still felt the need to sit down for a minute afterward.


    A few seconds later, the old woman began to stir.


    ¡°James!¡± She turned her head and saw her husband lying next to her. ¡°Is my Alan okay?¡± Mitzi¡¯s voice was hoarse from disuse, as Ben¡¯s had been.


    ¡°He will be,¡± James replied.


    He updated Mitzi on the situation¡ªJames¡¯s way of stalling for time while he recovered some of his strength¡ªthen got up and used Blessing of the Fisher King on Alan next.


    James almost swooned this time, and he quickly took a seat in the chair next to their bed. He thought he had disguised the sudden onset of weakness well, making it look almost graceful so that Mitzi would not figure out how much using this ability drained him.


    It helped that she was too busy staring at her husband to pay James any attention.


    The old man was soon blinking and rubbing his eyes as if awakening from a dream.


    Which James supposed Alan was, if Ben¡¯s experience was at all representative.


    A dream-like state, at least.


    Mitzi and Alan kissed, and James turned away, both to give them a little privacy and to look for the next person in need of his services.


    I think I¡¯ll be strong enough to get up in a minute.


    Behind him, he heard Mitzi explaining to Alan what had happened. The word ¡°miracle¡± was used again. It did bring a smile to the corners of James¡¯s lips.


    He was no miracle worker, but it was not such a bad thing to have the people whose loyalty he wanted to retain thinking of him as one.


    Let this rumor spread, and I¡¯ll win some of Cyrus¡¯s followers away from him, too, without having to say a word to them. The people who followed a Prophet in a time like this were not necessarily particularly religious. James had seen that with Rostov¡¯s cult.


    Rather, the followers came as a result of what seemed to be an age of miracles. No doubt, Cyrus had some impressive tricks up his sleeve that James had not seen yet.


    With miracles, you could make a believer out of anyone.


    He half-rose from the seat, slightly unsteady, before a voice called him back.


    ¡°James,¡± said Alan before he could walk away.


    ¡°Yes?¡± James turned and sat down again.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± His voice was as hoarse as the other two voices had been, and James saw that Alan was fighting back tears. ¡°Thank you for saving Mitzi and me. I don¡¯t know how¡ªdon¡¯t know what we¡ª¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about that, Alan,¡± James said. ¡°The two of you live here now. You¡¯re under my protection. I should be thanking you for going into that forest. The two of you don¡¯t have to take risks like that now, you know. We have a lot of people to fight for us. And the main thing I need from both of you is your loyalty and your best, most honest advice. Which would be compromised if you were to suddenly die.¡±


    Alan and Mitzi chuckled quietly.


    ¡°Happy to be of service, Your Majesty,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Ditto,¡± said Mitzi.


    ¡°Very good, then,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯m going to try and heal another couple of people¡ªer, bless them¡ªand then I¡¯m going to get out of here and take a nap. It kind of drains me.¡±


    He hoped the understatement would slip under the radar, but he saw the suspicion on their faces as he rose and turned away. They could tell that he was underselling how much giving a blessing weakened him.


    I can do two more blessings, he thought. If I try any more than that, I won¡¯t be able to walk home.


    As he turned away, he saw his sister was waiting for him. Of course she was. She had told Ben she was going to follow James.


    It was thoughtful of her to keep a respectful distance. But I could have introduced her to Alan and Mitzi if she¡¯d come closer.


    She shadowed him more closely as James walked to the next recipient of his blessing¡ªanother old man.


    ¡°What kind of shape are you in after that?¡± Alice asked quietly.


    ¡°Not my best,¡± James admitted without turning his head. ¡°I¡¯m only going to do two more.¡±


    She followed him and used her arm to steady him as he blessed the old man and then a middle-aged woman.


    It¡¯s lucky Alice was always so strong, was all James could think. Despite being a woman, he knew his sister had been strong enough, pre-System, to lift his body weight in a fireman¡¯s carry. James remembered how Mina¡¯s eyes had bugged out when Alice did that during a family vacation years back.


    Now that strength was very necessary. James felt woozy, like he had taken a blow to the head. Even his mental acuity had started to slip after that last blessing. He could barely hold a coherent thought together.


    ¡°You¡¯re really stopping now?¡± Alice asked after they had gotten a certain distance from the woman¡¯s cries of gratitude. ¡°It feels like you could get another one or two, maybe.¡±


    James gave her a silent look that said something like, You do it, then!


    ¡°It¡¯s just that there are so many,¡± she said.


    ¡°Alice, I¡¯m not going to faint in front of these people,¡± James replied in a voice that was almost a hiss. ¡°They got to see me work what they might see as miracles, and that¡¯s great. I helped accelerate the healing process, or maybe kick start it where it wasn¡¯t going to happen, for a few people, and I¡¯m happy about that. But don¡¯t forget that these are our followers. They¡¯re looking to our family for leadership, and they¡¯re looking to me in particular for strength. They have to see that at all times. It¡¯s the whole basis of my political power. I need to leave now, while I can still sort of walk upright.


    She nodded, murmured a quiet ¡°Right,¡± and helped James walk to the door.


    Once he was outside, where there were dozens of people walking around, doing their normal business, the siblings had to put on even more of an act. James put his arm around her shoulder as if he was simply giving her a hug, and Alice supported most of his weight and ¡®hugged¡¯ him back.


    ¡°Where were you hoping to go next?¡± Alice asked. ¡°Bed, or¡ª¡±


    ¡°I was hoping to check on Mom and her mission,¡± James replied. ¡°But I think the next time I sit or lie down somewhere, I¡¯m going to pass out, so maybe that can wait.¡±


    ¡°Oh, gotcha,¡± said Alice.


    They got James¡¯s front door open and closed it behind them. Then James called up. Alice let go of him as Mina and Yulia made it down to help him up the rest of the way.


    Once they had reached the master bedroom, James collapsed into a long, dreamless sleep.

 V4Ch9-Casualties of War

    James slept for a full eight hours, missing most of the day after the battle.


    When he woke, Mina was lying next to him.


    As he stirred, she rose up, left the room, and brought him a tray of food.


    When did we get that? he wondered silently.


    But he ate and quickly forgot about the question of where the tray had come from.


    ¡°I was starting to worry you were the last casualty of the battle,¡± Mina said, trying to sound light and funny. The humor fell flat, because she clearly meant what she was saying more than she had intended to let on.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going anywhere,¡± he said slowly, making eye contact as he spoke. ¡°I just tired myself out¡ª¡±


    ¡°Saving people, yes, I know,¡± Mina said. ¡°I can still worry. You didn¡¯t say anything about this beforehand.¡±


    ¡°It was sort of impulsive,¡± James admitted. ¡°Alice told you about it?¡±


    She shook her head. ¡°No, Rotter. He visited half an hour ago to check how you were. I told him you were napping peacefully.¡±


    ¡°Rotter?¡± James frowned. ¡°How does he even know?¡±


    Mina gave him an amused look. ¡°I think he makes it his business to know things that might be of interest to you, but you should understand, this isn¡¯t a Rotter thing. Everyone knows what you did. They¡¯re all talking about it. The miracle worker.¡± Her lips curled into a playful smile. ¡°Even those religious folks we just welcomed. They¡¯re apparently talking about you like you¡¯re the Second Coming.¡±


    ¡°Is that so?¡± James asked. He smiled and tried to affect modesty ¡°I guess I should have known.¡±


    ¡°People here are always interested in what their leader is up to. Couple that with what happened in the forest last night. A fresh crisis, post-Orientation, after they thought they might be safe. The good thing is that you combined both topics and changed what would have been a tragedy into a story of hope.¡±


    ¡°The way you say it, it¡¯s very nice,¡± James said. ¡°Anything from the people whose friends or family members actually died in the forest?¡±


    Mina¡¯s smile slowly drooped. ¡°No, not yet. Not many people died, though, you remember. Of those who did, not many had family members. According to Rotter, among the people who had family members that we know of, there are only three people to talk to. The other two are in a coma.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± James nodded, then sighed. ¡°Thank you for the update.¡±


    I look forward to having those conversations¡­


    ¡°Guess I¡¯ll go and revive some more people,¡± James continued.


    Mina shook her head. ¡°Wait until tomorrow, skapi. Let your body recover. While you were out, Yulia tried to use healing magic on you. It didn¡¯t do anything. So you have to be careful using your blessing this way.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll go back in the morning. This has to get done, though.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll get no argument from me. The people want their savior. I just don¡¯t want you to die so they can have him.¡±


    She smiled at James, then, but it seemed to him there was little joy in it.


    In the morning, James got up, ate breakfast, slowly revived twenty people, and was helped back to the apartment.


    Several days passed, in which this became the routine.


    His blessing was effective each time he used it. The only flaw was that the process of blessings was slow and energy intensive.


    A few people were intubated by Gupta and Zirndorf, but most of them did not have to be. Regular infusions of healing magic seemed to delay the onset of starvation, and with James ¡®miraculously¡¯ waking a score of sleepers each day, the population in the community center had soon shrunk to a manageable size. While James was sleeping off the effects of his energy expenditure, Mina ran the Kingdom.


    Fortunately, there was little that needed to be decided during those few days. People were licking their wounds, slowly recovering from the battles James had led them into, trying to find ways to contribute to the Kingdom.


    James used some of the little bit of downtime he had where he was not unconscious to visit the handful of family members of those who had died.


    He had decided that the matter of the resurrection of the dead was something that he should seek permission for, if he could. He sent a message to his mother accordingly, instructing her to work on raising those who had no families before she looked at people whose loved ones might object to the desecration of their bodies.


    The conversations were awkward, but on each occasion, he managed to get permission to at least attempt to raise the fallen as an intelligent, independent undead. None of the handful of people consulted were very religious, which helped. James could not imagine how this conversation would have gone if they had been.


    The only other break from the routine of waking, eating, healing, and sleeping again was when James went to see his mother.


    She had erected a small building just after the battle. The exterior was covered in strange runes that made him feel slightly uncomfortable when he looked at them.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    Nevertheless, he needed an update on what had happened since he asked for Zora¡¯s help, so he knocked.


    James had to knock several times, increasingly loudly each time, before his mother finally opened the door.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re all right, Your Majesty,¡± she said, her eyes twinkling with mirth. ¡°I heard you¡¯ve been napping a lot. When I heard that, I was worried at first, but then I remembered, that was how you were as a baby, too. Quiet, sleeping a lot, conserving energy.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised you¡¯ve heard anything, Mom,¡± James replied. ¡°I was under the impression you hadn¡¯t been out of here much since you went in.¡±


    Or since you suddenly built this place.


    ¡°Nice work on the building, by the way,¡± he added.


    ¡°Oh, thank you!¡± Zora said. ¡°My natural affinity was for earth magic, you know, before I adopted my particular specialization.¡± She looked around at the outside for a moment as if scanning for anyone who might be watching them. ¡°You should come in, son.¡±


    James walked inside the dark building. Inside, it was lit only by candle light and by mystic runes dug into the wall that glowed with unwholesome energy.


    He could still tell that the interior was larger than it looked on the outside, because the bulk of the structure was underground.


    Though he did not walk down any steps initially, she led him down a dark hallway with a downward sloping floor. He recognized that they had quickly moved below ground level.


    Finally, they emerged into a vast, dimly lit room that reminded James of the interior of a morgue¡ªor what a morgue looked like on network television, at least. The space was larger and more open than a morgue¡ªperhaps because Zora did not need to put the bodies away anywhere. They lay out in the open, resting on stone slabs, in various states of modification.


    None of the corpses, James noted, had begun to noticeably decompose. None of them gave off any odor. It was obviously unnatural, as if they were in a state of suspended animation.


    ¡°I¡¯m impressed you were able to dig such a large basement in Florida without hitting an underground aquifer or something,¡± he said, avoiding the topic he had come here to discuss.


    ¡°Magic finds a way, son,¡± she replied. ¡°If you¡¯re interested, maybe I can show you one of these days.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a Necromancer,¡± James said.


    ¡°Not yet,¡± his mother said. ¡°You haven¡¯t tried it. Even if you don¡¯t learn any Skills from reading the book that I¡¯ve been using, your wife could pick up my abilities by watching me, and she could trade them to you. That¡¯s how her Quick Study works, right?¡±


    James nodded, his eyes still moving from corpse to corpse. There was a strange quality to the atmosphere around him. It wasn¡¯t just that it was creepy being in the presence of all the dead bodies. He had seen far too many cadavers before to be as bothered as he might have been pre-System.


    Rather, he had the distinct impression that something else was in the room besides himself and his mother. Some presence inside of one of the bodies, or perhaps more than one. His instincts could not tell him for certain. Nothing moved within the room. That, he would have sensed.


    But something made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.


    ¡°Did you come for an update, then?¡± she asked.


    James realized he had stood staring at the bodies for a few seconds now, while his mother stood waiting for him to answer her question. He wondered if he was making her uncomfortable. He guessed she already felt how prone people were to judging her Class.


    ¡°I did,¡± he said. ¡°I wanted to know if you¡¯re able to do anything with the dead, to help them in any way, and if not, I¡¯d like us to get ready to bury the bodies.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been working on them, but I hit a roadblock. To create intelligent undead¡ªundead who have some degree of personal dignity, rather than being mere puppets¡ª¡±


    James nodded. This was exactly what he had asked for.


    ¡°¡ªyou need special items or Skills to bring them to life and keep them alive,¡± she finished.


    ¡°I guess you don¡¯t have those yet,¡± he said.


    She shook her head. ¡°No such luck. I could afford to buy a couple of the items from the System Store, but I was going to ask you if you had some spare credits I could use to increase the number. Otherwise, most of these bodies aren¡¯t going anywhere except the ground.¡±


    ¡°How are you keeping them, um, in such great condition?¡± he asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s this place. The magic runes. Keeping the souls from escaping. Preventing decay. That was my first task, and I¡¯m proud that I accomplished it for most of them. I can¡¯t tell for sure which ones I might have failed with.¡±


    ¡°I see. Well, at least you have your workshop set up for future purposes,¡± James said.


    He could see the disgusting and abhorrent side of what his mother was doing, and the very nature of her Class probably would have creeped him out if it was not someone he loved and trusted implicitly.


    But Zora was one of the people he trusted most in the world.


    ¡°How many System Credits do you need?¡± he asked.


    She told him.


    The amount was more than he had left, and he said so.


    But he agreed to give her as much as he could.


    Money was worthless except to improve people¡¯s lives, after all.


    If he did not use it to keep some of his loyal citizens in the world of the living, a better use of his money was not likely to come around in the future. His wife had already said, quite directly, that she did not want to be raised from the dead if she were to fall.


    He transferred the money to her and left his mother to her own devices once again.


    The pattern of days continued until James¡¯s Blessing of the Fisher King reached level five. At that point, he unlocked Mass Blessing of the Fisher King, a much less energy-intensive way of doing what he had been doing.


    James woke the remaining coma patients in just two days with that Skill.


    There was much rejoicing, much talk of the miracles that James had performed, and great appreciation for his performance as King, though he could not honestly say he was certain that he deserved it.


    James went to see his mother again, and Zora reported that she had succeeded in raising just over half of the fallen from death, creating fourteen new Vampires. They would remain underground with her until James figured out how to reintroduce them to the community¡ªor how to use them outside of the Fisher Kingdom. He knew this was something he would have to play very delicately.


    With the dead either raised as monsters or finally, definitively dead¡ªsome had apparently refused to come back, by Zora¡¯s account, while others had willingly returned to their bodies¡ªand the other survivors all finally awoken from their coma, life could move on.


    There was no longer a reason to wait to hold a military funeral for all those who had permanently died.


    Sadly, the ones who had refused to come back were among those dead whose family members had given permission to resurrect them.


    James had to visit those families and break their hearts with the bad news all over again.

 V4Ch10-Before the Funeral

    The day after the last of the coma patients woke up, they held the funeral.


    There were a couple of hours of preparation beforehand, most of which James was not directly involved in, but he showed up early nonetheless.


    He spent much of his time on-stage, mainly visualizing how his speech would go and preparing mentally for the unpleasant experience. He was set to speak to the sacrifices of the dead.


    Then he and Mina stepped backstage; that was where they would wait prior to the start of the speech.


    He was still unsatisfied with what he had prepared.


    ¡°I wish I¡¯d had a Jefferson, Hamilton, or an Adams to write a proper eulogy for the dead,¡± James said. ¡°I think whatever I say, as the person who sent them to their deaths, is bound to be inadequate and self-serving.¡±


    He said this, and believed it, despite the fact that he had more than his share of public speaking-related Skills¡ªand every reason to believe that the public still approved of his handling of the Haunted Forest invasion.


    ¡°I loved your speech when you rehearsed it for me earlier, skapi,¡± Mina said. ¡°But I think they¡¯ll be able to tell that you¡¯re speaking from the heart no matter what you say. People don¡¯t go to funerals to hear eloquent words, outside of Shakespeare. They go to feel that someone else shares their pain. And you convey that perfectly. You could probably just go out on stage and speak off the cuff, if you wanted to. Not that I¡¯m advising that, when you spent so much time on the speech¡­ Is this really about the eulogy?¡±


    ¡°Something Dave said before the battle has gotten to me a little,¡± he admitted. He walked over and closed the door to the backstage area before he continued. ¡°He sort of suggested I was using him and his forces as a distraction. He said he would understand if I was, but I denied it. Now I¡¯m feeling a little bit guilty. Because maybe it was true.¡±


    And they¡¯re my tools both before and after death, now, too.


    James would be announcing that in the speech¡ªnot in those words, of course, but he had decided there was no reason to try and keep what had happened to the fallen a secret. People should know that there were Vampires around now¡ªand therefore that not all death was permanent.


    The Vampires themselves stood in silence in the darkness at the back of this backstage room, as James and Mina spoke. They would wait here to receive their cue before they came out on stage. Something about the undead that James had observed in the brief time he had been acquainted with them was that they could be extraordinarily patient. They stayed so still and silent that it almost did not feel as if they were in the room with him and Mina.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget why you opened up that front in the fight,¡± Mina said emphatically. ¡°It was so that your mother, your sister, and I could go and invade the Wraiths¡¯ territory somewhat safely and put an end to the enemy once and for all. The plan we worked out together was the best one we could possibly have formulated, given the circumstances. And I still think it was a good plan. Yes, you put your soldiers¡¯ lives at risk. That¡¯s their job. To risk their lives. They knew what they were getting into, and you did everything you could to protect them. You distracted the Ruler and let her¡ªlet her torture you, with those visions you still don¡¯t want to talk about, so that your people would have more of a fighting chance.


    ¡°After you defeated her, you went in and saved them. When the battle was lost, you rushed in and changed the outcome. I¡¯ve heard how they talk about it¡ªand about how you revived all the people possessed by the Wraiths when the Healers couldn¡¯t do anything. The survivors of the battle are calling you everything from a miracle worker to a god on Earth. No one blames you. And every single one of the people who was lying in a hospital bed after the battle owes you their lives. They probably wouldn¡¯t have recovered without you. So don¡¯t you start to doubt yourself now. Right now is when they need your leadership the most. They need to know how to respond to loss in this new world we¡¯re all getting used to¡ªwhere we have every reason to believe it will be much more frequent than it was before. Everyone will look to your example.¡± She finished with a slow, deep breath, and James looked up to see that her face was bright red. She was barely holding it together. Just like him right now.


    Mina is also looking to me for strength, he thought. Stability. I have to be strong for her, more than anyone else. More importantly, she¡¯s right. I can¡¯t give up. This is no time to doubt myself. Wartime leaders don¡¯t resign just because some people died under their command. That¡¯s the nature of my role. People are going to die fighting for me. As long as I don¡¯t throw them away like pawns in a game of chess, I have nothing to be ashamed of. If I decide that I¡¯ve done something wrong, it diminishes the value of their deaths anyway. By suggesting that they died for a mistake, instead of acknowledging the truth. They died to protect their friends and family, their loved ones, who were safe behind the lines of the territory.


    ¡°I love you, too,¡± he said.


    ¡°We also appreciate being saved,¡± interjected Amalia Rosario from the back of the room. Her voice had a different quality to it than it had possessed back when she was alive. It was hard to put a finger on how it had changed, but part of it was definitely that it was richer. ¡°I would not prefer to be buried underground. That was why I returned.¡±


    James nodded and smiled. ¡°I like to hear that,¡± he said. ¡°It makes me feel like I did something right.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty,¡± said another Vampire, a young man.Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Then the other dozen Vampires all approached and thanked James in their own words. It was reassuring that they did not all speak in unison or something similarly creepy. James almost felt like he was speaking to human beings.


    Still, I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t choose the Vampire-adjacent Race Evolution path, he thought. There¡¯s no way Mina would get used to this.


    He could see her reactions as the Vampires approached them. There was a tension in her body, as if she wanted to be striking the undead down with fire and lightning.


    Putting them back in the ground where they belonged.


    James shook his head. Stop pretending you can read minds, he told himself. Just because she doesn¡¯t want to come back if she dies doesn¡¯t mean she won¡¯t accept these people as citizens.


    There was a knock at the door, and James turned his head.


    He¡¯s here, then.


    The Vampires quickly all stepped toward the back of the room again. They had been instructed not to let anyone see them until James was ready for it, and in the deeper darkness of the back of the room, they could have been anything. Living people. Statues. Mannequins. Coat racks burdened with heavy jackets.


    James opened the door, and Dave stepped through.


    ¡°You wanted to see me, sir,¡± Dave said. He saw Mina and nodded to her. ¡°Ma¡¯am.¡±


    ¡°I know that what happened in the forest has hit you harder than most,¡± James said. ¡°While we¡¯re getting ready for the funeral, I wanted to let you in on a secret about what happened after the forest. Could you please close the door behind you?¡±


    Dave nodded and shut the door. The room became almost completely dark, only lit by a thin shaft of light thrown by the two parallel exterior windows.


    ¡°What did you want to tell me?¡± Dave asked.


    ¡°There is no easy way to say this,¡± James said, ¡°so I¡¯ll just say it. Not everyone who died in the forest is dead. I ordered that some of them be resurrected.¡±


    Dave¡¯s mouth gaped at this news. It was obvious, for a moment, that he did not know what to say. Then he shook his head.


    ¡°Resurrecting the dead is possible?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Not perfectly,¡± James admitted. ¡°They¡¯re Vampires now, not humans anymore. But they are the same people who fought alongside you. I¡¯m going to tell everyone in my speech today, but I wanted you to know first.¡±


    Mainly because I was worried about your reaction, he thought. If this troubles you too much, you have the option to go home.


    ¡°Well, where are th¡ª¡± Dave cut himself off as something moved from the back of the room.


    James turned his head and saw that Amalia was waving at Dave and had stepped forward, smiling.


    Well, there are worse ways to reveal yourself.


    ¡°Is it all right if I go and talk to them?¡± Dave asked, eyes locked onto the figures in the far end of the room.


    James nodded. He and Mina made eye contact, and then they stepped through the door onto the stage and closed it behind them, giving Dave some privacy.


    ¡°Is it really you?¡± was the last thing James heard him asking before he deliberately focused his hearing on the other part of the building, where the preparations were being finalized.


    Then James and Mina took a seat in some chairs that had been left at the side of the stage. They made small talk about almost nothing¡ªconversation that James would not be able to remember later¡ªwhile they waited.


    Mostly, James was relieved that Dave hadn¡¯t reacted badly to the news. He was the barometer for how others would see what had happened. No, it might be more accurate to say that James had somehow expected a degree of outrage from Dave that would have been less understandable from other people.


    ¡°I served with these people, and you bring them back as these perversions of who they used to be? How dare you?!¡± James had imagined a reaction like that.


    And instead¡ªthe door closed shut, firmly but gently. James raised his gaze and saw Dave looking at him. There was a thin smile on Dave¡¯s lips, but it quickly disappeared as he returned to his more stoic demeanor.


    He approached James and extended his hand toward the Fisher King.


    James rose and joined hands with Dave, who gripped him firmly and shook his hand vigorously.


    ¡°Thank you for the weight you¡¯ve taken off my shoulders,¡± Dave said quietly but clearly. ¡°It was good to see them again¡ªto know that they¡¯re still here.


    He turned away, climbed down from the stage, and took a seat among the other funeral attendees. They were slowly filing in now.


    ¡°That went better than you expected,¡± murmured Mina in James¡¯s ear.


    ¡°I¡¯m an optimist, and that went better than I had dared to hope,¡± James replied.


    They sat there in silence for another ten minutes while the rest of the funeral attendees filed in. Then he marched up to the center of the community center¡¯s stage, facing the seated mass of people from behind the podium. Mina took her position standing to the side and just behind her husband.


    James evaluated the crowd.


    There was an excited energy in the packed room, almost as if they were not there to mourn twenty-six dead people¡ªthough fourteen were not actually dead, the guests did not know that yet. Most in the crowd had not lost anyone they cared for.


    Some of them had not been touched by the battle, except that they had been haunted by Sister Strange. Some of them had not even experienced the hauntings. Among those who had fought, only a few had lost someone they were close to. They had gained levels or experience, and there was an obvious camaraderie about the crowd.


    James¡¯s eyes fell on Dave, and the two men locked eyes for a moment. Dave gave him the smallest smile and a nod.


    I¡¯ll imagine I¡¯m giving the speech to you in particular, James thought. He remembered the look of relief in Dave¡¯s eyes after he had spoken with the new Vampires. It was the last bit of encouragement that James needed to give this speech.


    James straightened his posture, pressed close to the podium, and began to speak.

 V4Ch11-Funeral Oration

    Dave looked around the packed room.


    He was surrounded by a crowd of people now, all waiting with rapt attention for the Fisher King to begin his speech.


    Only Dave already knew at least something of what James was going to say.


    Memories of the fateful night flashed through his mind again.


    ¡°Are you afraid to kill us, Dave? It¡¯s the only way you¡¯ll escape this place alive¡­¡±


    He heard the words in the voice of the vicious thing that had possessed Amalia¡¯s body¡ªand had to suppress the inappropriate urge to smile. She was back. By the magic of this insane new world, the lively, courageous, perhaps overconfident woman who had eagerly rushed into the forest was alive again¡ªor near enough that Dave could accept the new, Vampire Amalia as a close substitute.


    She¡¯s not your fault, Dave, he had told himself over these last days. You didn¡¯t have a choice.


    But the weight had still felt heavy on his shoulders, if somewhat less so than it had immediately after he had awakened following the battle.


    Now James had cut the feeling of loss almost in half. Amalia was not dead. Thirteen others had survived, too, after a fashion. Death was not necessarily permanent anymore¡ªthough it had been for some of those who served under Dave, even in the Haunted Forest.


    But for them, that had apparently been a choice.


    As the new Amalia had explained it, the dead had a choice presented to them when a Necromancer attempted to raise them as a Vampire. Rise again, or remain in the afterlife¡ªwhich she claimed she did not remember. She only remembered that she had chosen life.


    Focus on the future, he thought. This was almost like a second chance. Next time, he would do whatever it took to prevent any unnecessary loss of life for his side.


    The Fisher Kingdom was a new, small country. It could scarcely afford to lose people.


    The next threat to the people here could destroy this place¡­


    Before he could go anywhere with that thought, Dave saw James had stepped forward and moved to the center of the stage. Mina followed close behind her husband, almost protectively.


    James looked as serious as befitted the occasion, and Dave wondered if he had lost sleep over the outcome of the battle too. Even though James had just given him good news, the loss of the dozen who had remained dead was a serious matter. And the King was the only one who arguably carried more responsibility for the battle¡¯s events than Dave.


    Dave felt James¡¯s eyes meet his, and the officer forced himself to smile¡ªprobably more of a grimace, but he could not see his own face¡ªand nod at the commander in chief.


    I know you¡¯ll do your best to honor them.


    Whether the Fisher King felt any guilt about the battle or not, he certainly gave a damn.


    Maybe that¡¯s why he seemed to work himself half to death reviving people. Dave had heard about that from his friend Sam. The way Sam had described it, James¡¯s blessing started to look like he was giving up some of his life force after he had done a few of them.


    James pressed close to the podium and began to speak.


    ¡°Friends, citizens, we gather here today to mourn the deaths of our brave soldiers. Brothers and sisters, sons and daughters. Valued friends and neighbors.¡±


    His voice boomed out all through the room and beyond. Dave could hear it coming from outside of the room as well as inside. James must be using his powers to broadcast it to the portion of the crowd that had been unable to fit inside the community center. Even the courtyard between the community center and the apartments was full of people today. Despite losses, it seemed the Fisher Kingdom just kept growing.


    The King continued. ¡°They fought to protect our young country from invasion by evil spirits. I won¡¯t talk about the specifics of the battle aside from that today. I know that many of you are still feeling the impact of the fight, or of the presence of those spirits.¡± He seemed to make eye contact with Dave for a moment as he spoke those words, but it was hard to be certain.


    He was distracted, because at the same time that he thought James had looked at him, a murmur had risen from the crowd. The word ¡°miracle,¡± in a dozen or more different voices, was the only thing Dave heard distinctly. These were some of those who had been revived, Dave recognized. One of the side effects of having one¡¯s life saved by the Fisher King seemed to be a new, slightly more fanatical level of loyalty.


    James seemed to ignore the interruption. His voice continued at the same cadence and volume.


    Dave ignored it too, as best he could.


    ¡°I know that some of you will be feeling lost right now,¡± James said. ¡°We¡¯ve lost a group of valuable, irreplaceable people. I know what it is to lose someone important. My father died when I was a kid.¡± He sighed. ¡°Since the world changed, it seems the losses just keep coming. But I can tell you from personal experience that those who have died are still with us, in a sense. I want to share a little about the people we¡¯re saying farewell to.¡±


    James began telling anecdotes about each of the dead.


    Dave was surprised to find that James seemed to have some touching snippet about each person who had died. It seemed unlikely that the Fisher King could have known all those who had lain down their lives.


    As the stories went on, it became clearer that he had not known all of them. In several cases, he was clearly repeating a story that a friend or family member must have relayed to him. There were a couple of stories from Orientation about people with whom James had not shared an Orientation, for instance.


    They were effective nevertheless in restoring some humanity to the humans in the closed caskets.


    ¡°All these different stories,¡± James said. ¡°The one constant we see with all the dead here is their courage. We lost some of our best in this battle. But as I said, they¡¯re still with us in a sense. They will never be completely gone. Not as long as we remember them. Not as long as we¡¯re still here.¡± He pounded his chest with one hand as he spoke. ¡°Those we have lost will always be with us. They have watered the earth with their blood, so that their bodies have become a part of it. And their spirits will live on in our hearts and in the spirit of this place. They died out of love for family, friends, and neighbors. That love lives on.¡±Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    Then he cleared his throat and seemed somehow to make eye contact with everyone in the room at once.


    ¡°They will be far from the last casualties,¡± he said. ¡°We have entered into a world of conflict. The ugly war of all against all that emerges when society collapses. The glory of that is that we are the ones who will restore order and build a new world, a new civilization, a new nation, for our children and their children. The tragedy is that it means these brave individuals will not be the last to die to preserve our peace. Survival and success will require the best and most committed efforts from all of us. The men and women we bury here today¡ª¡± He turned to the coffins, assembled off to his left side, at those last words¡ª¡°gave the last full measure of their devotion for us. To give us the chance to live. It is up to us to continue forward and ensure that those losses mean something. For those who feel touched by these losses, whether you knew the deceased or not, there are therapists who have volunteered to be of counsel.¡±


    Dave sensed rather than saw that a handful of people somewhere behind him were moving as if to indicate that yes, they were the therapists. Before he learned that Amalia was still alive, he probably would have wanted to talk to one of them himself. Now he was not so certain.


    It feels like some life has returned to me, he thought. And he couldn¡¯t help but form his lips into a bittersweet smile. That was exactly what had happened to Amalia. Some life had returned.


    Then he zoned back in to the speech. He realized that James had continued talking.


    ¡°Any dead is too many dead,¡± James was saying. ¡°A dozen of our bravest are lost to us forever.¡±


    There was a quiet murmur from some in the crowd at this, as if people were wondering if James had miscounted.


    In answer to the murmur, James continued, ¡°Fortunately, we were able to save some from the afterlife. With the magic of the new world we have entered into, they were raised from the dead as Vampires.¡±


    The door behind James opened then, and Amalia and the other thirteen Vampires emerged onto the stage behind James, standing very calmly in the afternoon sun.


    That¡¯s one myth busted, Dave thought. Sunlight apparently did not kill Vampires.


    There was further murmuring from the crowd.


    Dave turned his head and he saw that some people in the back row were getting up.


    He thought he recognized them, but at first, he could not remember where he knew the faces from.


    Then it hit him: it was that new arrival, Cyrus, and a few of his religious followers who had arrived immediately following the battle.


    I¡¯m surprised they bothered attending the funeral at all, Dave thought. Incredibly rude to walk out in the middle¡­


    James cleared his throat, and the murmur of the crowd diminished.


    ¡°The option of an attempted resurrection will be made available to anyone who willingly fights for the Fisher Kingdom,¡± he said. ¡°I understand there may be some religious or philosophical objections to this, but where possible, we will always consult family members before we perform this procedure. Anyone who is willing to have their personal preference recorded can see Jeremiah Rotter, the council¡¯s Secretary, to provide that information. If we have your preference, we will not need to ask family members their thoughts first.¡±


    By the time he finished speaking, the chatter had died down. People had realized that James had not done anything outrageous, and some of them seemed to be looking at the Vampires with envy. Dave had noticed it before, but in the light, it was more obvious: the resurrected all looked as good as or better than they had looked in life.


    That might be some kind of red flag, but on a surface level, at least, it was appealing. They still moved like themselves and spoke like themselves, too. Some of them smiled or waved at family members among the crowd. Dave could see the wheels turning as people considered whether they wanted to be brought back to live on as an immortal Vampire.


    A few months ago, this would have been preposterous. The stuff of an Anne Rice novel.


    But now, judging from the looks on people¡¯s faces, it would undoubtedly become commonplace.


    Cyrus and his people left nevertheless, even as the King continued speaking.


    ¡°There is a magical item that is consumed with each vampiric transformation,¡± James said, talking more quickly as if he almost wanted to brush past this detail. ¡°This costs System Credits, and it is not cheap. However, given that it is the difference between life after death and permanent death, we will figure this out. We will raise the money one way or another whenever it is necessary. Returning to the main subject that we¡¯re here for, sadly, not everyone wished to be raised from the dead. We know that they chose not to return, because the magic item was destroyed, but no Vampire was created in exchange.¡± James sounded like he only had a tenuous understanding of the necromancy process. ¡°So we still suffered losses.¡±


    He listed the names of the truly, permanently dead in a low, reverent voice that nevertheless made its way to all parts of the room.


    ¡°We will all mourn them. I hope you will also take comfort in family, friends, and neighbors. The lost live on in all of us.¡± James paused for a moment as if weighing his next words carefully. ¡°But if you have feelings that you cannot share with anyone, or that you believe you can¡¯t overcome in any other way, you can also come and share them with me. I made all of the decisions on the evening of the battle. Every single choice that led to this outcome was mine. I believed, and still believe, that what we did was necessary to stop pure evil from swamping our country.¡± He made definite eye contact with Dave then.


    It would sound hyperbolic, except I was there, Dave thought. I know what those things were like. Pure evil is an understatement.


    ¡°The weight of the responsibility rests squarely on my shoulders¡ªand only on my shoulders,¡± James said.


    Dave felt the words were aimed at him, though he knew it was absurd.


    Whatever the truth of the matter, it did feel as though a weight that had partially lifted from his shoulders earlier became even lighter. He was not burden-free, but then, he had not felt truly light in many years. But he knew instinctively that what was left was something he could carry.


    I can do it. The next time these people need me, I won¡¯t fail.


    ¡°Let us have a moment of silence, and then our pallbearers will begin moving the first of the coffins to their graves.¡±


    The room became so quiet that Dave imagined people might be holding their breath rather than break the sudden stillness.


    Then James made a hand motion of some sort, the pallbearers stepped forward, and the world seemed to start moving again.


    Dave watched as the rest of the funeral played out as expected. The coffins were relocated to their permanent homes in the ground, and loved ones were invited to step forward, say a few words, and shovel soil onto the remains before James buried them the rest of the way. His control over the earth allowed him to smoothly shift the ground to cover over the tops of the coffins with just a wave of his hand.


    There were not many people to step forward as bereaved, and most of them did not say much, but there was a quiet dignity to the process. Like reclaiming some sense of normalcy.


    Dave had no loved ones to bury. He would have gotten up to help bury Amalia, his friend, if she was not standing there on the stage, looking healthier than she had pre-vampirism.


    But the ritual of burying and honoring the dead would always have a certain power to it for Dave, as it undoubtedly did for the hundreds of other people who took part in the ceremony. There was a closure to it.


    It struck him, as the earth moved to cover the first coffin, that these dead would be remembered for at least as long as the founding generation of this new country lived. Probably for as long as James himself was remembered.


    The Fisher Kingdom had its first martyrs.

 V4Ch12-The Unknown

    Mina and James were walking back from the service when they came upon the unknown.


    Others, including Yulia, were still there, eating and talking. When Mina planned the service, she had asked several people with the Cook Job, including Alba, to prepare a dinner to follow the funeral.


    But James had decided to make an early exit, and he expressed the preference to Mina tersely.


    ¡°I think we should go now,¡± he had said quietly.


    Observing that her husband seemed a bit distracted or stressed, Mina agreed immediately. The two made a quiet move back toward the apartments. It helped that with food being served, James was no longer the center of attention.


    Some others had already begun walking off, not in the mood to eat. Mina could not hear anyone commenting on her and James¡¯s decision to leave, although superhuman senses were more in his wheelhouse than hers.


    ¡°I thought you delivered that beautifully, skapi,¡± Mina said in what she intended to be a light, soothing tone. She placed a hand on his bicep.


    His eyes had been staring straight ahead, almost boring a hole in the apartment buildings, but her touch seemed to bring him back to the present.


    ¡°Oh, thank you,¡± James said. ¡°I thought your plans came together extremely well. The funeral was a success. Did you see that guy in the crowd wearing a mask?¡±


    Mina had planned more or less the entire funeral while James was semi-incapacitated from blessing people, only occasionally asking his opinion on some detail she thought might be more important than the average.


    ¡°I¡ªwait, what guy? There was someone in there wearing a mask?¡±


    I was watching you almost the whole time, she thought. Wait, did you try to Identify him?


    ¡°I guessed he probably wasn¡¯t part of the plan,¡± James said. ¡°When I saw him, I was divided on whether to just attack him or ignore him until he made a move. It helped make my decision that he was by himself and not making any threatening moves. But there was something a little unsettling¡ª¡±


    His voice broke off suddenly.


    ¡°What was unsettling?¡± Mina asked.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± James said. He pointed into the distance by the apartments. It was close to dark now, so the long, deep shadows hid much of the front of the buildings from view in the area where he was pointing. Mina couldn¡¯t see what he was gesturing at.


    ¡°What¡¯s over there?¡± she asked.


    ¡°The guy in the mask,¡± he said, his tone still calm but now with an edge to it. ¡°He¡¯s talking to my Mom.¡±


    That¡¯s creepy¡­


    They walked the rest of the way back to the apartments more briskly.


    They were halfway there when Mina¡¯s eyes were finally able to perceive the details in the darkness. Spotting Zora was not hard. But the man next to him, dressed in black hood and cloak, blended almost perfectly into the shadows.


    Mina shivered as she saw the shape of him. The image had the instant feel of the supernatural to her, like she was seeing the glowing rune markings on Hecate¡¯s servant Charon. Except this was just a figure, standing in the distance. No glowing, no apparent magic.


    He turned to look at them, and Mina saw what her husband had been talking about. Beneath the hood, the man wore a featureless mask. A flat, smooth, black oval. No eye holes, even, as far as she could see. She couldn¡¯t see his hands clearly from that distance, but that suggested to her that he was probably wearing gloves, too.


    Investigate.


    A Status screen appeared for the figure, but it was far from illuminating.


    [Status


    Name: Unknown Entity


    Race: ?


    Class: ?


    Job: ?


    Health: ?


    Mana: ?


    Stamina: ?


    Stats


    Yes


    Skills


    Wouldn¡¯t You Like to Know? Lv. 100]


    ¡°What the heck?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I guess you tried to Identify him, too,¡± James said.


    ¡°I used Investigate,¡± she said.


    ¡°But it gave you just about as little useful information as my Identify, right?¡±


    ¡°For Skills, it says, ¡®Wouldn¡¯t You Like to Know?,¡¯ James. I don¡¯t like this.¡±


    The more she thought about this person, the more she felt a pit forming in her stomach.


    ¡°Me neither.¡± But his voice sounded calm. Calculating.


    He¡¯s probably using that Skill he¡¯s mentioned that gives him odds of winning a fight, she thought.


    James shook his head. ¡°Yeah, I have no idea who or what this thing is. Hester?¡±


    Mina did not hear what the spider said in response, if anything.


    Her husband resumed walking toward the figure, though. Perhaps James knew something she did not. Or perhaps he was simply acting on his general predilection toward action.


    As they drew closer to the figure and Zora, the quiet murmuring of the conversation came to a halt before Mina could overhear any of it. All of this heightened her anxiety.


    If James felt the same way, however, she could see no sign of it. He seemed to have recovered completely from his unease about the stranger from earlier.


    They reached within a few feet of the masked man, and James increased the length of his stride and stepped between Mina and the stranger. Without needing an exchange of words, Mina understood that he was trying to signal to her to stay behind him. She obliged and kept her distance from the mysterious man in black.


    ¡°James Robard,¡± pronounced a deep, slightly mirthful voice. ¡°It feels as if I have been waiting a long time to meet you.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll forgive the delay,¡± James replied acidly. ¡°I was dealing with the small matter of presiding over the funeral you crashed. But I¡¯m glad that my mother has been entertaining you.¡±


    You¡¯re not being very diplomatic, Mina thought. What were this guy and James¡¯s mother saying to each other? Does she know who he is?


    ¡°She has,¡± the nameless figure replied. He turned to Zora with an approving gesture. ¡°You are fortunate to have come from such a wise woman, Your Majesty.¡±


    Zora smiled cautiously. ¡°I believe this gentleman is a friend, James,¡± she said.


    ¡°Has he given you his name?¡± James asked, his tone slightly more relaxed. ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering.¡±


    ¡°Ah, pardon my poor manners,¡± the unknown figure said. ¡°A guest should not so test the patience of his host. I walked into a funeral to which I was not invited, and I still have yet to introduce myself.¡±


    He had a slightly old-fashioned style of speaking, Mina noticed.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    A guest should not so test the patience of his host?


    ¡°I would not expect that you would be comfortable calling me the Unknown Entity, or something equivalent to that.¡± He paused as if waiting for them to acknowledge that they had already tried using Identify and Investigate on him. ¡°In any case, you can call me Bear.¡±


    Meaning that is not his real name. Whatever Skill or item he¡¯s using to conceal his identity, it¡¯s entirely intentional.


    ¡°Fine, Bear,¡± James said. ¡°What brings you here?¡±


    ¡°That is complicated. You see, I want your help, James Robard. But I need you to trust me¡ªor perhaps more accurately, you need to trust me¡ªbefore I ask you to do something that has no obvious benefit to yourself. So I intend to help you first.¡±


    It was hard for Mina to imagine that plan working out as the stranger expected. James would never trust Bear until he knew something about him. James also wouldn¡¯t willingly accept help from a stranger who he knew would want some favor in return later.


    ¡°Why not remove the mask and tell us your real name if you want to be trusted?¡± Jame said through clenched teeth. ¡°A face and a name goes a long way.¡±


    ¡°Alas, I cannot,¡± said Bear. ¡°There are rules to this universe, as you know. Think of me as someone on a quest, for whom the System does not permit the removal of my customary attire or admission of my identity. I cannot tell you or show you who I am, even indirectly.¡±


    ¡°There are strict rules to the System,¡± James said slowly, as if chewing on some significant piece of information.


    Mina thought that something had been communicated between the lines that she lacked the background to grasp. Is this person subject to some special rules that we¡¯re not? Maybe he could be a proctor. They wore masks¡­


    ¡°You mentioned that you wanted to help me,¡± James said. ¡°To win my trust. What form is that meant to take? Are you going to fight alongside me in my next battle?¡± The skepticism in his voice was palpable.


    Bear¡¯s voice deepened an octave and switched to an almost scolding tone. ¡°You correctly understand that I will not, James. For reasons I would rather not discuss.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± James said. ¡°Only citizens have to fight for me. You¡¯re a guest, right? Just passing through?¡±


    The masked man nodded. ¡°I will be gone long before you tire of me, I promise,¡± he said.


    ¡°They say that fish and guests start to stink after three days,¡± James replied.


    Mina wanted to smile at that. James had first heard that expression from her, and she had taken it from a book about Benjamin Franklin.


    ¡°I will bear that in mind.¡±


    ¡°So, you won¡¯t fight. How will you help me?¡±


    ¡°I am a wise old man,¡± Bear said in a more jovial tone. ¡°I know you cannot see my face under the mask, but I have a long gray beard trapped under here. This old guy has seen some things.¡±


    Mina wasn¡¯t certain she had heard that last sentence correctly. Was that word ¡°guy¡± or ¡°eye?¡± And does he realize just how many advisors James already has? There are people to tell him when the wheat should be planted and how to organize a military unit. There are fellows who think they can get the electricity back on. James has a god on speed dial. What extra advice could he possibly need?


    ¡°Do you have advice for me now?¡± James asked.


    ¡°Absolutely,¡± Bear said. ¡°The first thing is that you have a serious threat to the stability of your kingdom on your land right now.¡±


    James waited.


    ¡°Monotheists.¡± Bear dropped the last word as if it were something dirty.


    What, like Yulia? Christianity, after all, was a monotheistic religion.


    Mina raised an eyebrow, and James chuckled quietly.


    ¡°Did I say something that you found funny?¡± Bear asked, his tone carefully neutral.


    ¡°Until just now, half of the Earth was monotheistic,¡± James said. ¡°Not you, though, I guess.¡±


    ¡°Oh, as I said, I have seen some things,¡± Bear replied, his tone slightly barbed. ¡°If your young eyes had witnessed the sights that I have seen, you would not dismiss the danger of these monotheists so easily.¡±


    What has he seen? Mina wondered. I feel like everything he says is laden with clues as to who he is. As if he¡¯s inviting us to guess who he is. But then why not just come out and say it outright?


    ¡°I didn''t say I dismiss them,¡± James said. ¡°Just pointing out that if I want to worry about monotheists, I¡¯ll have a lifetime of work cut out for me. It¡¯s half the planet. More than that, depending on how you think about Hinduism. I figure these people will work things out for themselves, anyway.¡± He gestured toward the sky. ¡°It¡¯s a wide open universe, now. We all know there are more than just one god.¡±


    ¡°Do not be so certain that they will ¡®work things out¡¯ in the way you would like,¡± Bear said. ¡°Do you know how intolerant of difference they are? I assume they still teach history in schools these days. Can you imagine what they might do to your precious newborn country when it becomes obvious that you do not subscribe to their view of reality?¡±


    ¡°This is a nice country I have, and it would be a shame if something were to happen to it,¡± James said, his tone slightly heated. ¡°Is that where you¡¯re going with this? If I don¡¯t do something about the people who just showed up¡ª¡±


    I don¡¯t think that was what he intended, skapi, Mina thought. But she understood why her husband was growing angry. Someone had appeared in their land to play mind games with them. He was making vague statements about the future danger of people James had decided to allow in. This person ought to know how he would be perceived.


    ¡°We should table this topic, perhaps,¡± Bear said. ¡°I sense that we are getting onto the wrong track. I did not imagine you would be so hot-headed. I am sincerely trying to help you, not threatening you.¡±


    ¡°Any other advice for the moment?¡± James asked. ¡°If not, the wife and I were going to go and relieve my sister. She¡¯s been watching the kids.¡±


    ¡°You could stand to do some of what the young folks call ¡®min-maxing,¡¯¡± Bear said. ¡°To better prepare for certain violent eventualities.¡±


    ¡°Obviously I¡¯m already doing that,¡± James said.


    ¡°You could stand to improve your magic,¡± Bear replied, ¡°but actually, I meant for your wife. I can tell that you have trained yourself a great deal, but she is still almost as weak as she was when Orientation started. The baby is out of her. There is no reason why she should not be out fighting, the same as you.¡±


    Mina felt unpleasantly surprised to have been suddenly brought into the conversation. Am I really that weak? I kind of saved the day back in my Orientation. I thought that was progress¡­


    ¡°We seem to keep getting off on the wrong foot,¡± James said, stepping in closer to the masked man. ¡°First, you give me advice that sounds a lot like threats. Then you insult my wife.¡±


    That¡¯s right, Mina thought. Kick his butt!


    She knew that she should not be rooting for the situation to escalate to violence, but the man had insulted her. The sight of her husband stepping up to fight for her honor made her heart beat faster. And it made the actual insult sting a little less.


    ¡°Think of the future, James,¡± Bear said. He had not moved at all in response to James inching closer to him¡ªas if James posed as little threat to him as a bee sting. ¡°You cannot always be standing by your wife¡¯s side, ready to offer your protection. You have to allow her to face real dangers and grow, not sit on your property or fight only in your tamed dungeon.¡±


    Mina wanted to raise the fact that she had gone with Zora and Alice to raid Sister Strange¡¯s base, but even that had been while James was distracting Sister Strange herself. But Mina recognized that she had faced very little direct danger, in comparison with the hundreds of soldiers who had needed to be revived by James¡¯s blessing. With Zora and Alice there, none of the Wraiths had even gotten close.


    Maybe he¡¯s right, she thought. I have been relying on James a lot since we got back here. Whether he had good intentions or not, the advice to improve her own power made sense.


    As she considered that, she noticed that her husband¡¯s posture had stiffened in response to something in what Bear had said. She could not be sure what had provoked that reaction.


    ¡°Do you have any other advice?¡± James asked coldly. ¡°If not, we¡¯ll bid you a good evening.¡±


    ¡°No further advice just now,¡± Bear said. ¡°Just a little prediction.¡±


    ¡°We have more than enough people who think they¡¯re fucking prophets here already,¡± James said.


    He stepped past the masked man and opened the door to the apartment, and the sound of the children playing drifted down. Mina instantly felt a little bit better.


    ¡°Ah, but this one will come true very soon,¡± Bear said. He put his hand to his mask theatrically, as if he was receiving a psychic vision or something. ¡°You will meet someone from your Orientation again, James Robard. Someone who you will know you can trust. I think he can corroborate my warning about the monotheists.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great,¡± James said, turning back to face Bear. ¡°When that happens, I¡¯ll look forward to getting more of your sage advice.¡± He looked at Mina and gestured as if to take her hand.


    By that, she understood that he wanted her to go with him quickly up the stairs. She had the feeling that James still thought this man was dangerous¡ªor at least potentially hostile.


    But the situation was too strange for her to believe that now. No, this stranger might be a prophet or some sort of huckster, but he posed no threat of immediate violence. Otherwise, the elaborate ruse would be unnecessary.


    ¡°That is the wise man I expected,¡± Bear said. ¡°Distrust until you verify.¡±


    Mina could hear the smile in his voice.


    James ignored those last remarks completely.


    ¡°Are you coming up, Mom?¡± he asked.


    ¡°No, I might entertain our guest a little longer,¡± Zora said. ¡°He¡¯s more than he seems.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± James said, visibly suppressing a sigh. ¡°Let¡¯s go, then.¡±


    Mina stepped close to him and took her husband¡¯s hand, carefully ignoring the masked man, and she felt James¡¯s mood lighten almost instantly.


    As the door closed behind them, she heard the scraps of a last quiet exchange between Zora and the unknown figure.


    ¡°That didn¡¯t go as well as I might have imagined,¡± she was saying. ¡°I had hoped you would be a bit more diplomatic.¡±


    ¡°They do not need to like me, Zora,¡± the entity who called himself Bear replied. His style of speech seemed to have changed for her, as if he was taking the conversation more seriously perhaps. ¡°Trying for that might even decrease the odds of mutual trust. They only need to understand that I am telling the truth and that they can rely on my information. That should be more than enough to facilitate a mutually beneficial exchange. The time of wolves¡ª¡±


    The words were cut off by the door.


    Their new visitor, with his advice and vague prophecy, had left her with far more questions than it had answers.

 V4Ch13-Basic Training Part 1

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what he meant about that either,¡± James said for the third time. It was just as true this time as it had been the previous two.


    It was after they had put the children to sleep, after Mina had fed James Junior. The husband and wife were rehashing James¡¯s conversation with the ¡°Unknown Entity¡± who called himself Bear.


    Bear¡¯s obvious knowledge of their situation meant that James had to take what the masked figure said seriously, but the advice was vague, especially the stuff about the monotheists and training Mina for certain ¡°violent eventualities.¡±


    A part of James believed that the advice to make Mina stronger was to address the same future prophecy that Sister Strange had shown him. But it didn¡¯t quite make sense. In the vision he had seen, Mina was incredibly powerful, and it did not save her. He still wasn¡¯t certain the Wraith even had the power to present real visions of the future anyway.


    ¡°What did he say that made you so angry?¡± Mina asked.


    ¡°Hm?¡± James was lost in speculation and took a few seconds to realize what his wife had said. ¡°Oh, it was everything. He just kept needling me. The guy was definitely doing it on purpose. And it especially pissed me off, because he kept implying that bad things might happen to you or to the country if I didn¡¯t listen to him. But he wouldn¡¯t come out with anything specific. I also felt¡­¡± He let his voice trail off.


    ¡°You also felt?¡± Mina poked him in the stomach as she spoke. Where he had once had slight love handles, now James was all hard muscle. The attempt to lightly tickle him failed completely.


    He cracked a smile anyway. Mina¡¯s face as she touched him was priceless. Like she couldn¡¯t believe what she felt. He could almost hear the Wow.


    James had gotten very accustomed to his new body, but Mina was much less familiar with it still.


    ¡°I also felt a little helpless,¡± he admitted, lowering his voice.


    ¡°Helpless? You? How?¡± She sounded nearly incredulous.


    ¡°Normally I can sort of calculate the odds of beating someone in a fight, with higher accuracy the longer the fight goes on and the more I know about the enemy. When I looked at him, though, that part of my brain just shut off. Like, ¡®Don¡¯t even bother, man, you don¡¯t have a shot.¡¯ When I got closer to him, I felt it. I could punch him, but it would be pointless. Like hitting a brick wall, back before I could punch down a brick wall. Or maybe more like fighting a ghost.¡± He paused thoughtfully. ¡°I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any human being like that.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? No human being like what?¡±


    ¡°No human being that I shouldn¡¯t be able to beat under some circumstance. Whoever or whatever Bear really is, it might be more appropriate to just think of him as ¡®the entity¡¯ rather than trying to pretend as if he gave us a real name. Like he¡¯s a person who just likes being in disguise. Because that guy isn¡¯t human. I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s a spirit, a demon, or something else. But he is not a human being.¡± With every word he spoke, James¡¯s confidence in what he was saying grew. By the time he pronounced his judgment on the situation, he felt certain.


    Bear is something else. Maybe he¡¯s well intentioned, coming here and speaking to me as directly as he has. Maybe. But it¡¯s hard to trust someone when you don¡¯t know the first thing about him. Only that he isn¡¯t like us.


    ¡°What do you want to do about him?¡± Mina asked. ¡°Even if you don¡¯t think you could beat him in a fistfight, there are other ways, right? I¡¯ve seen how you move the soil. You could use your power over the land and expel him from the Kingdom. Just toss him like the ground is a catapult.¡±


    James grinned at the mental image. It was ridiculous yet also plausible. At least more plausible than him smashing the masked figure¡¯s head in. When he drew close to the man, it felt like a punch might just pass straight through Bear¡¯s body. But whatever he was, the entity still needed ground to stand on.


    ¡°Or we could get a mob of people together,¡± Mina continued, ¡°and see how the unknown thing does against a few hundred people trying to tear him limb from limb. I know those people you just blessed would love to help you solve a problem right now.¡± She smiled and kissed James on the cheek.


    ¡°I¡¯m honestly not even thinking about dealing with him right now,¡± James said. ¡°I gave him a timeline. If he¡¯s still here in three days, then we¡¯ll see what we do about him.¡± He turned and kissed her back, full on the lips.


    ¡°What are you thinking about?¡± she asked, giving him an enticing look.


    ¡°Well, tomorrow, you and I are going to start training together,¡± James said. ¡°That was the one thing he said that I agree with. You have magical Skills that you might be able to teach me. And I have a long list of Skills that you can probably learn just by seeing me use them over and over. Plus, I could give you some basic martial arts training. The System has taught me well. And it should be fun. I¡¯ll show you how to wrassle.¡± He put on a faux southern accent with that last sentence. ¡°But all that¡¯s tomorrow. First, there¡¯s tonight.¡±


    He wrapped an arm around her, pulled her close, and gave her another, much longer kiss.


    The next morning, they performed their usual morning chores. Breakfast and cleanup with the children and Yulia. Then James lined the children and Yulia up, from oldest to youngest.


    ¡°I need you all to stay sort of still for this,¡± he said. He looked at Abhi, and the little boy nodded with understanding. If the little ones tried to run or crawl away, Abhi would fetch them back.


    And James blessed them all, starting with Yulia and finishing with Junior.


    He had intended to do this from the moment he learned he could offer a form of blessings to people. Now that he had seen the beneficial effects on those incapacitated in the forest battle, he had decided there was no point in waiting to extend the same privilege to the children.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Eventually, every one of my citizens will have a blessing from me, he thought. Since it¡¯s clearly not a problem to have both that and a blessing from a god¡ªMina has both¡ªthere¡¯s no reason to forgo this advantage.


    He was still hazy on how his blessing power worked, but he at least now knew from real world results that they could hasten recovery from a debilitating condition.


    He would have to ask Mina later if she noticed other effects.


    James rose from his chair¡ªhe had taken a seat after the last couple of blessings, since they still took a lot out of him¡ªand looked around to see where his wife had gone. He heard her distant movements in the bedroom, where she must be getting ready.


    Then a short person had latched onto his leg. James looked down and made eye contact with Abhi.


    ¡°What are you going to do now?¡± the little boy asked. James could see he was still a little anxious about being left alone.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to go and train with Mina now,¡± he replied.


    But maybe I could take you, if you¡¯re really worried I¡¯m not going to come back, he thought. Abhi had seemed very relieved to have James acting as normal in the apartment that morning. It seemed that the last few days, in which James had been either blessing people or bedridden, had been hard on Abhi. He knows what it looks like when someone¡¯s ill, probably. He thought that was what was happening to me, and he assumed the worst. Poor kid.


    ¡°Can I go with you?¡± Abhi asked.


    Yeah, I thought so.


    ¡°Um, Yulia? What do you think?¡± James asked.


    She had spent more time with Abhi and his siblings than James had, and he wasn¡¯t certain if she needed or wanted Abhi to stick around and help supervise the younger children.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we all go?¡± Yulia suggested. ¡°The kids could go for some fresh air.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, why not?¡± James said. He smiled down at Abhi, who pumped his fist in response.


    If it really makes him that happy, I¡¯m glad. The kids can play outside, I¡¯ll teach Mina, and maybe Yulia will pick up a thing or two from proximity. It would be good if she learned to defend herself, even though she¡¯s a Healer. That was the main thing the entity who called himself Bear was right about. James would not always be around at every moment when danger loomed. He needed to see to his family¡¯s defenses when he wasn¡¯t present.


    ¡°Ready!¡± Mina¡¯s voice came from the doorway of the bedroom.


    She looked radiant as she stepped through the opening. James stood for a moment just looking at her and smiling. His wife was gorgeous.


    Mina looked up at him expectantly, caught the intensity of his gaze, and blushed. James could tell that she wanted to say something but could not with the children there.


    ¡°Are¡ªare we ready to go?¡± she asked after a moment, still slightly red.


    Then James explained the plan, and Mina grabbed a baby carrier that someone had apparently salvaged for them from the old apartments. The family went outside, where Mina and Yulia rigged James up like a pack mule, with babies on his chest and back and Abhi on his shoulders.


    ¡°Giddyup!¡± Abhi said, laughing quietly.


    James felt the little boy¡¯s gaze as he looked down to make sure he hadn¡¯t annoyed the grown-up whose shoulders he was riding.


    And James smiled up with genuine affection. Then he took off, skipping across the landscape, trying to simulate a horse ride for the little boy without shaking the babies up too much.


    It was a challenge worthy of a king.


    Mina and Yulia chased after him, trying to catch up to the loose bronco and laughing all the way. The children shrieked with joy.


    People outside stopped, watched, pointed, and laughed. James pretended that they were not there as he made a loop around the apartment buildings and came out by the community center.


    After one more loop, he finally allowed Mina and Yulia to catch him. They were out of breath and slightly sweaty, though they had not been chasing him especially closely or followed him around the buildings on the second loop. The whole family was breathless from the combination of running and laughing.


    But Mina and Yulia¡¯s breathlessness was sobering rather than amusing for James. It reminded him that they both continued to have essentially human physiology, in an incredibly dangerous world. Some training from him might actually save their lives.


    Hopefully they¡¯ll grow unusually quickly thanks to the blessings at least.


    James led them out from the center of the Fisher Kingdom, toward the woods the new arrivals had come in from. To his surprise, a number of random civilians who had seen what he was doing moved to follow him and his family.


    But he shrugged.


    Fine. If they want to watch, they can watch. If they learn something, all good. These are my people. I was eventually going to make time to teach more than just my own family some fighting skills anyway. I¡¯ll just have to be careful not to show off anything too crazy.


    Most of his Predator in Human Skin Skills were probably abilities that no one could copy even if they spent a thousand years watching him. Predator¡¯s Venomous Armaments, for instance, allowed him to imbue an object with venom that simply seeped from his body when he used the Skill. And Mind of the Predator was a Skill no one else could even see working.


    But it would be extremely beneficial to the country if everyone had some basic martial arts knowledge. James thought the moves of Way of the Predator, which felt completely natural and instinctive when he was in the middle of fighting, could be consciously learned by simply observing him.


    That was probably true for some of his bread and butter attacks, too. Air Strike was just an attack that imbued the air with Mana and threw a blade of wind forcefully at the target.


    So James chose an area large enough for the people following him¡ªnow fifteen citizens, plus his family¡ªto watch. Then he put the kids down where Mina and Yulia could supervise them. James established some breathing room between himself and his audience, clearing a fifty foot space for himself. Then he began demonstrating some of his abilities, narrating as he did so.


    ¡°Some of you might have abilities that let you copy Skills. Others might just learn something from seeing how my Skills work, as you try to discover your own. So I¡¯ll start with some quasi-magical abilities and then move on to martial arts. When I need to attack from a distance, if I don¡¯t have anything in my hands, my immediate recourse is to a Skill called Air Strike¡­¡±


    First, he demonstrated his Air Strike, Lightning Strike, and Meteor Strike. He showed those abilities multiple times, from different angles, using different body parts for the strikes, until Mina nodded at each respective ability, indicating that she had copied it with Quick Study.


    Then he asked for a volunteer so he could perform hands-on martial arts demonstrations.


    ¡°I have to participate in this,¡± declared a boisterous voice in the crowd. Dozens more people had gathered in the short time since James had started showing off his basic attacks. They all stood in a few layers of people between James and the buildings, where they were safe from his demonstration attacks. So it took a few seconds for the man who was raising his hand to cut through to the front of the crowd.


    Mina seemed pleased to see the bald, middle-aged man with the mustache. And James remembered that he had seen him briefly before. The man had accompanied Hilda when she arrived in the Fisher Kingdom.


    What did Mina say his name was again? Leon?

 V4 Interlude-Moloch

    The Spider walked across the gaps between worlds.


    His long, supple limbs strode across the void with practiced ease and self-assurance, finding footholds in places where nothing perceptible existed.


    Along the way, he grabbed useful items and tucked them away in his old bag. A number of stars from a constellation. As many uninhabited planets as he could find without going out of his way. Several black holes, which he had to place in a separate pocket from everything else.


    As the Spider God gathered these improvised weapons, he drew closer to the meeting place that he had set.


    As Anansi moved to within sight of the great, flaming orb, he felt the tension of the situation wash over him in full. It probably would not help much, but he removed one of the black holes from his bag and used it as a sort of shield, blocking himself from direct line of sight.


    Hiding behind it, he advanced closer to Moloch¡¯s position.


    A piercing sound struck him as soon as he got within hearing of Moloch¡¯s orb. The painful noise of tens of thousands of tortured screams. It was not as bad as it once had been¡ªor as bad as Anansi might have feared. Eons ago, when Moloch was young and popular, the Spider had visited the Tyrannical Sun. Back then, the place had echoed with the deafening noise of millions of tortured screams.


    As Moloch¡¯s power dwindled, and he burned through the sacrifices for nourishment, the number of those suffering here had diminished.


    Behind the mask, the Spider God allowed himself a small smile at the relative quiet. Soon the silence would be complete.


    Anansi spent the next hours setting his traps.


    Placing his planets and stars in thoughtful, strategic locations, along with his collected black holes and divinely powerful spider threads.


    Though he moved cautiously, he recognized that he had been correct in his assumptions about Moloch.


    The cruel god was in the midst of a deep slumber, conserving energy through inactivity while he slowly restored his strength. Just a few years ago, if Anansi had gotten this close without an invitation, Moloch would have detected his presence and smote him with great fists of flame before the other gods he had invited even had time to arrive.


    It was Moloch¡¯s bad luck over the course of multiple centuries¡ªand most proximately, the actions of Anansi¡¯s Chosen One¡ªthat had created this opportunity, this massive vulnerability, in the Tyrannical Sun¡¯s defenses.


    As the Spider God completed his preparations, the other gods who he had invited began to appear¡ªor, as was more likely with some of them, began to make themselves known, having waited to see if Anansi set off any alarms from the evil god they were all there to kill.


    It was all right with the Spider that they were cautious. Although he had planned and organized this assault and coordinated the various gods, he knew he would not be doing the heavy lifting in this fight.


    The first to arrive were, unsurprisingly, two Sun Gods. The force Anansi had assembled was mostly these cousins of Moloch. They stood to gain the most from the Tyrannical Sun¡¯s demise in terms of power and worship.


    There was Anpetu Wi, standing tall and proud, armed with a spear, sheathed knives, and a war club¡ªand dressed all in red.


    Kisosen the Sun-Bringer appeared next, in his usual form of a giant eagle.


    Old man Ra arrived, and Anansi began to sweat. The three Sun Gods that were there were looking at each other with thinly veiled hostility, because even though they were all here for the same reason, they were also rivals. Ra¡¯s falcon head and blazing eyes were intimidating even when he was not already actively on a mission of destruction.


    As he was feeling nervous, all three looked silently in his direction, as if demanding answers.


    He knew what they were wondering.


    Finally, Nyame appeared with a flourish.


    Thank you, Anansi thought. Finally.


    None of the others were talking¡ªall were trying to avoid Moloch¡¯s attention until their full force arrived, because here in his realm, he would be at his most powerful.


    But he knew they had been wondering if the Spider had pulled the wool over their eyes again. Now that Nyame was among them, there was a slight release of tension. Anansi was not expecting the other gods to do all the work. He was not only there himself, but so was the head of his pantheon¡ªwhich meant a much greater power than the Spider God himself could bring to bear.


    Nyame looked at Anansi silently, and the Spider knew what Nyame was wondering.


    Is this everyone?


    Anansi shook his head, and the other gods simply stood waiting for a short time.


    Then Apollo and Surya came racing in, both riding their chariots and looking at each other with thinly veiled dislike. Each of the chariot-racing Sun Gods felt a particular ownership of the chariot symbolism, and Anansi had heard them argue in the past over who was most entitled to it.


    Thankfully, today, they were prudently quiet.


    Anansi turned, as he felt a cold chill from behind him¡ªa strange sensation when he was so close to Moloch¡ªand he saw pale-skinned Kalma, clad in her thin dress.


    He suppressed a shiver at the aura of decay that surrounded her.


    He wanted to tell her that it was good to see her¡ªthough that would be a lie, Death Goddesses always made him uncomfortable¡ªbut it was more important to maintain silence.


    Kalma seemed to understand implicitly what Anansi was thinking and why he felt the need to maintain silence, even through his mask. She smiled, revealing yellowed teeth, and then she sauntered past him to join the others, swaying her thin body like a reed in the wind.


    Apollo looked pleased to see her¡ªthen realized that they were only waiting on his pantheon members now. He frowned, and the radiant light that surrounded him at all time dimmed slightly.


    Then, as if in response to his feelings, the three Furies, dressed all in black, appeared out of the darkness between Anansi and the other gods. They had, Anansi was certain, been lying in wait. The three had perhaps been here for longer than Anansi.


    But no one fully understood why the Furies did what they did.


    The Spider God was simply glad that they had come. The snakes on their heads and hatred dripping from their eyes were powerful weapons. The last time Anansi saw a god die, the Furies had been involved.


    Then there was a loud metallic noise, which was swiftly followed by a muffled curse.


    All the gods but Kalma turned to witness the approach of the God of Blacksmiths, who had just hit his foot on a weapon that had dropped from the bag he wore.


    Anansi breathed a quiet sigh of relief.


    Hephaestus was the last¡ªdragging his feet, both literally and figuratively. He was at once the clumsiest and the greatest creator of all Zeus¡¯s pantheon, though Apollo would have disputed the latter claim. Concealed behind the god¡¯s back, Anansi saw something metallic glint.


    ¡°What kept you, brother?¡± hissed Apollo, clearly embarrassed.


    Anansi put his finger to his lips. Silence!


    Apollo looked at him and sneered but stopped talking.


    Hephaestus continued his slow approach, then revealed what he had brought with him. In addition to the weapons in his bag, he had forged thick, gleaming chains that Anansi could see were composed of something far stronger than any metal he had seen before. They trailed far off behind him into the distant void, appearing endless in length.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    The weapons Hephaestus carried were also freshly made from his forge, and the Spider God could tell at a glance that they were better than a few of the gods present could normally have acquired.


    Anansi quickly closed the distance so that he could claim one of the weapons for himself.


    Hephaestus gave Anansi the Spear of Heat Death, with a smile and a wink.


    The others had received the Star Xiphos, the Zero Era Javelin, the Eternal Shadow Kopis, and other mythically powerful weapons, but the Spider had a feeling that the one in his hands was the best of the lot.


    I might actually be able to contribute to this fight beyond organizing it, he thought. It would be a first for the Spider God, to actually be useful in a battle among gods. The feeling of being truly considered by another deity for more than the value of his wits¡ªfor his ability to function as a warrior, of all things!¡ªwas an unfamiliar one.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Anansi said quietly.


    Hephaestus smiled and opened his mouth to reply.


    But it must have been the sound of the Spider God¡¯s voice that alerted Moloch to their presence.


    Before the God of Blacksmithing could say anything in response, there was a great flare of power from Moloch¡¯s orb of fire.


    All eyes shifted to focus on the god they had come to kill.


    Amid a tornado of fire, the form of Moloch appeared. His favorite image, to intimidate and awe all those who groveled before him.


    A titanic, nude humanoid figure with the head and horns of a bull and the wings of an eagle, body wreathed in flame, breathing fire in and out of its nostrils.


    Moloch¡¯s preferred form was massive, heavily muscled, and of course angry.


    It was obvious from the moment that he took physical shape that the god was more wrathful than Anansi had ever seen Moloch¡ªand the Tyrannical Sun was almost an incarnation of wrath.


    The flames raged all around him as he faced the forces gathered against him. Anansi distinctly heard some of the souls being tormented suddenly silenced, as Moloch snuffed them out for a last bit of suffering¡ªa last boost to his power before the big fight.


    ¡°So it is you who were so bold as to wake me up from my nap,¡± Moloch said, eyes looking over the assembled gods. Their slight narrowing was the only sign that he was worried.


    ¡°The time has come for your sun to set,¡± rumbled Ra.


    ¡°Oh, has it, old one?¡± Moloch taunted. ¡°Beware of these allies of yours¡ªour brethren of the sun. They covet my power today. When will it be your turn?¡±


    Ra¡¯s feathers visibly bristled at the implication in Moloch¡¯s words.


    There is no point in arguing with one we are about to kill, Anansi thought. Moloch wants to draw this out and look for some way he might win or escape.


    ¡°I have never seen you so afraid, Moloch,¡± said Anansi. ¡°Is this what you resort to, when you are too weak to fight?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I thought I smelled the stench of cowardice!¡± Moloch roared back. ¡°I knew there had to be a brain somewhere in this group! Anansi, so good to see you¡­¡±


    ¡°Do not try to distract and divide us, weak one,¡± Nyame said. ¡°Whatever our motives, you only need to know that today is the last day you dishonor the sun with your filthy cult.¡± Those last words were spat with contempt.


    Moloch roared defiantly back, and the surface of his sun began erupting with fire aimed at the gods attacking him.


    The time for talk was over.


    The gods each began their own attacks, striking from different angles with different methods. Despite the staggered arrival times, they had planned the entire strategy for the battle in advance. One did not simply improvise an attack on a god in his place of strength.


    Kisosen beat his wings hard and managed to push some of the flames back from the group.


    The rest took advantage of the opening to scatter and begin acting on the plan.


    Surya grabbed hold of Hephaestus¡¯s great chain and began riding his chariot to the side, while his female companions shot arrows at Moloch, both his physical body and the fiery orb that was his true core. Anything that weakened or damaged either body weakened both.


    Apollo likewise let loose a flurry of his golden arrows from his bow, while dancing around the flames that Moloch continued to blast in his direction. He almost made it look like fun.


    Anpetu Wi thrust into the fiery orb with his spear and began pulling away some of Moloch¡¯s power¡ªas a fellow Sun God, the energy was similar to his own¡ªwhile Ra and Nyame, the only ones powerful enough to trade blows with even a weakened Moloch in his place of power, engaged him in close range combat, using the weapons Hephaestus had provided.


    The Furies looked for openings to strike at Moloch¡¯s body with snake fangs and blades wherever Ra and Nyame had adequately diverted his attention.


    Kalma walked slowly around the great flaming orb, pulling away the souls that Moloch was tormenting and using for fuel and sending them along to receive rest in her parents¡¯ underworld.


    Hephaestus mostly watched and made certain that his chain was still functioning as intended.


    And Anansi quickly skittered off behind the black hole he had been using as a shield before and began pulling at the threads he had prepared at the beginning of the battle. Those threads moved the planets, stars, and black holes that Anansi had gathered for the fight. The planets and stars, he threw as projectiles at Moloch¡¯s fiery orb. They could not destroy Moloch, but they could weaken him and draw some of his attention away.


    The black holes, once moved into range, pulled away some of the flaming matter of Moloch¡¯s sun. It could not be entirely pulled into any or all of the black holes¡ªit was a god¡¯s divine realm, not a true star¡ªbut the presence of the heavy gravitational fields made every attack cost more of Moloch¡¯s energy than it should have.


    The battle went on for hours, during which¡ªper the part of the plan that Anansi and Hephaestus had suggested¡ªSurya should have been wrapping Moloch¡¯s sun up further and further in layer after layer of the Olympian¡¯s chains.


    Anansi had to hope that was happening, as he slowly used up all of his projectiles but still heard the noises of the battle continuing. He did not see most of the fight, because he was behind his fortification¡ªaware that he would be almost useless against Moloch¡¯s flames, and extremely vulnerable to them. He simply had to trust in his allies.


    He finally realized they were nearing the end when Hephaestus let out a low whistle.


    Anansi poked his head out and saw that Moloch¡¯s orb had been fully enveloped in the heavy links of Hephaestus¡¯s chain. Ra opened Moloch¡¯s chest with a downward slash of the Eternal Shadow Kopis, then stepped aside as the blood began to flow, clearly offering the killing blow to Nyame.


    And Nyame turned his head, looked and saw Anansi, then gestured for the Spider God to take the honor.


    It was ridiculous, given how old Anansi was, that he felt his heart beat more quickly at the thought. He did not let himself overthink the reaction, though. It was his moment. There was no time for indecision.


    Anansi rushed in and plunged the Spear of Heat Death into Moloch¡¯s heart.


    Moloch bared his teeth in a last defiant snarl, and then his body began to disintegrate.


    The other Sun Gods wasted no time in beginning to pull away what was left of the energy from his orb¡ªthey had each been weakening him through the battle by trying to siphon of chunks of energy from his star, though it was extremely inefficient and would not have worked well if there had not been so many of them.


    A bright, fiery, winged figure suddenly appeared in the corner of Anansi¡¯s vision.


    No¡­


    Anansi turned his head and saw him. The Morning Star himself. Satan.


    His fiery body was at once beautiful and painful to look at, and the Spider God quickly averted his eyes.


    Satan floated closer to the star and, without waiting for anyone¡¯s permission, began pulling away something as well.


    Anansi looked to old Ra, the only one there who he thought would be powerful enough to tell Satan to leave. But Ra looked tired and drained from the battle¡ªand at his age, with his particular attributes, he was probably ready for a nap.


    So the Spider God forced himself to pay attention to Satan instead.


    What was the fallen angel pulling from Moloch¡¯s decaying true form?


    It looked like¡ªthe sacrificial aspect of Moloch.


    Some of the air went out of Anansi. Human sacrifice was what he had hated most about Moloch, and he had deliberately selected gods for this attack who would not want to absorb that into their own divine attributes. If he had wanted anti-human beings to participate, he would have had many more options.


    If we simply left that aspect of Moloch alone, it would die off in the void without the rest. Why do you want it? You truly want to lean into that aspect of your own power?


    ¡°Greetings Anansi.¡± Satan¡¯s voice came from suddenly beside the Spider God. It echoed unnaturally in the void.


    Anansi resisted the urge to check where Nyame was and forced himself to look directly at the Morning Star instead. It might have just been the Spider¡¯s eyes adjusting, but it seemed as if the brightness had dimmed slightly¡ªperhaps out of some consideration for Anansi.


    The possibility that Satan was trying to be nice to him made Anansi uneasy. The only thing worse than drawing the fallen angel¡¯s enmity was drawing his positive attention.


    ¡°Greetings,¡± Anansi replied grudgingly. ¡°I did not realize you would be attending the battle.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I would not have missed it for the world,¡± Satan replied. ¡°I wanted to get my share, yes¡ªbut I also wanted to witness your work. Congratulations are in order, I think.¡±


    Anansi parsed the Morning Star¡¯s tone for any hint of mockery and, finding none, decided it would be wise to be polite in return.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± the Spider said simply.


    ¡°We trickster types have to stick together, I think,¡± Satan said, still pulling power from the dying orb. ¡°It pleases me to see you succeed. This was the first time you successfully killed another god, was it not?¡±


    Anansi nodded and made himself smile behind the mask. He could not be certain, but he thought Satan would know what expression his face wore.


    Inside, he was roiling.


    One day, I will kill you, too, the Spider God thought. You and your father.

 V4Ch14-Basic Training Part 2

    Leo DaSilva stepped forward perhaps a little more eagerly than he should have.


    He had always enjoyed fighting as a boy. In the neighborhood where he grew up, you had to be good at it. And he rumbled with the worst of them.


    He had been in principals¡¯ offices and detention over and over, expelled from the first couple of schools his parents enrolled him in. The same thing happened in his last, subpar school, except that the teachers there had seen boys like Leo a thousand times. They realized it wasn¡¯t going to make any difference to their students¡ªthe hard cases¡ªwhether they stayed late after school or not. Then they turned a blind eye.


    Somehow, he had managed to make it through childhood without killing anyone. Without any arrests, even.


    Leo looked for a place where his particular passions and skillset would be rewarded, and he found the Police Academy.


    There, knocking heads was a required skill. There were formalities around it, but as he gradually learned, it was actually possible to do some good with violence.


    The police force was where he finally found a constructive channel for his youthful energy. People who saw his potential. Mentorship.


    Slowly, he shifted from cracking skulls to asking questions. From asking questions to solving puzzles. From officer to detective.


    From not knowing the first thing about investigations to trying to do the job properly, the way his mentor, Detective Shelby Young, would have wanted it done.


    Leo didn¡¯t mellow immediately. He still had a hell of a temper. He would get into shouting matches with his wife that led to slammed doors or words that couldn¡¯t be un-said or forgotten¡ªand one day, a divorce.


    The second marriage ended in much the same way, only quicker.


    But his temper cooled with age and maturity.


    Without him really knowing it was happening, one day Leo woke to find that he was a little too old to crack skulls. His back hurt more than he remembered.


    Remarkably, he had never lost a fight as an adult man. Despite getting into more scraps than he could count. He had suffered broken bones and a concussion. He had even been shot and cracked a couple of ribs. But even when he wound up in the hospital afterward, he always made sure the other guy couldn¡¯t think of it as a win.


    As a man of forty-six, however, he had finally started de-escalating situations. It wasn¡¯t a conscious shift. But on an unconscious level, he knew his body wasn¡¯t what it had once been. Brute force wasn¡¯t the only way to resolve a conflict.


    When he stood back and looked at himself, Leo liked the middle aged version of the man he had become better than any previous iteration. Some of his past foibles were simply gone¡ªand he knew that he was an improved man.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s all right getting old,¡± he had muttered to himself in the mirror one day as he was plucking white hairs from his mustache.


    And Leo just about believed it.


    Then the System appeared, with its magic and ¡°Medieval Times¡± look.


    Now everything is different, he thought. I have to find a new place in the world.


    It wasn¡¯t all bad. With Stats and levels, Leo had found that some of his youthful vigor had returned.


    ¡°Thank you for volunteering, sir,¡± said James, smiling. He threw a quick look at someone in the audience. Leo didn¡¯t have to look to know it would be Mina.


    Then James stepped toward Leo and extended a hand. They shook.


    ¡°I imagine it will be my pleasure,¡± Leo said. ¡°I don¡¯t need to put on my armor, do I?¡±


    The Fisher King was not wearing armor, but to Leo¡¯s careful detective¡¯s eye, the man didn¡¯t look like he needed armor. He was more thickly muscled than anyone Leo had ever seen who was not a professional athlete.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you do,¡± James said evenly. ¡°We won¡¯t fight for real.¡± He smiled, baring teeth that looked strong enough to bite through rebar. ¡°Unless you decide you want to for some reason.¡±


    ¡°Nah, I think I¡¯m okay,¡± Leo said, grinning back.


    So this is your husband, huh? He looked over at Mina, who was smiling a little nervously.


    Then he and James focused on each other.


    ¡°I¡¯m James,¡± said the Fisher King.


    ¡°I know,¡± said Leo. ¡°Your reputation precedes you. Call me Leo.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure,¡± James said.


    Then he shifted to explaining what he wanted Leo to do. If the policeman had expected something fantastical, he might have been slightly disappointed.


    Instead, what played out was a scene reminiscent of martial arts experiences Leo had participated in back in the pre-System days. James used him as the dummy¡ªor the attacker¡ªto show a series of martial arts moves and counters.


    Leo tried to be useful and move his body the way James needed, and like any skilled martial artist, the Fisher King refrained from accidentally injuring his fake sparring partner.


    The only strange quality about the demonstration, for Leo, was that he could not recognize the martial arts at all. There were punches, kicks, and chops, as he would have expected from any striking focused martial art. There was some demonstration of grappling techniques. But there were also moves that Leo could not put a finger on at all.


    Moments where it was clear the next move was meant to be a bite, a clawing attack, or gouging the opponent¡¯s eyes out. James did not follow through on any of that, of course. But in those moments where James was demonstrating those aspects of the martial art, which he had not named, Leo got the feeling that he was struggling with a wild beast, like a bear or wolf.


    He had to steel himself to continue complying with the exercises, rather than reflexively moving to defend himself from what occasionally felt like it could morph into a real attack.


    At last, James said that they were done. Leo had caught what looked like a signal from Mina to her husband before James spoke up. She nodded, as if to say that she thought everyone had absorbed all they could from the demonstration.


    Leo thought that was probably for the best. They had been at it for almost an hour in the hot sun, and he was covered in sweat. The Fisher King, by contrast, looked like he had been relaxing in air conditioning the whole time.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Leo mouthed to Mina.


    That husband of yours doesn¡¯t know when to stop!


    She smiled and looked like she wanted to laugh. Then she shrugged and pointed at Leo, as if saying, You¡¯re the one who volunteered!


    Which he supposed was fair enough.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    There was a quiet round of applause from the people who had watched through the whole demonstration.


    As the crowd began to disperse with the announcement that they were done, Leo couldn¡¯t resist trying to engage with James¡¯s martial arts a little more.


    ¡°Would you mind telling me what fighting style we were demonstrating?¡± he asked. ¡°I used to mess around with martial arts a little, but I didn¡¯t recognize some of those moves.¡±


    A lot of those moves, he thought.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a traditional martial art,¡± James confided quietly. ¡°The System gave me a Skill for fighting. The name is Way of the Predator.¡±


    ¡°Sounds aggressive,¡± said Leo.


    And although he was sweaty and slightly tired, he couldn¡¯t resist what came next.


    ¡°Would you be willing to demonstrate how it works with me a little more?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯m curious how it would fare against my more traditional training.¡±


    An unmistakable twinkle shone in the Fisher King¡¯s eye as he replied.


    ¡°I would love to.¡±


    ¡ª


    James almost felt bad about agreeing to fight Leo.


    He had heard nothing but positives about him from Mina, and Leo had been a perfect partner for the impromptu martial arts demonstration James ended up giving.


    But he could feel there was the caveman part of both of them.


    They needed to establish who was stronger and tougher, so that a hierarchy could assert itself. Leo probably already knew where he fell, but there was a difference between knowing something and proving it.


    I won¡¯t insult your resolve by saying no to spare your physical well-being, James thought. Just have to hold back enough so that I don¡¯t kill you.


    As the two men squared off¡ªand some of those in the crowd stopped walking away, interested in this new spectacle¡ªYulia rose from where she sat alongside Mina and the young ones.


    Yulia quickly marched into the area for fighting, and James immediately put his hands down and stepped away from Leo, to indicate they should not start just yet.


    Leo turned and saw her approaching, and a big grin appeared on his broad face.


    ¡°What are you two doing?¡± Yulia asked in a quiet but stern voice, looking back and forth between James and Leo.


    She really feels like a teacher right now, James thought. He was pleased to see how her potential for the job she wanted was showing even in an unexpected context.


    ¡°We were just demonstrating some martial arts moves,¡± Leo said in a fake-innocent-not-fooling-anyone tone.


    ¡°We¡¯re doing dumb guy stuff,¡± James said, laughing as he spoke. ¡°Yulia, you need to chill out. Go back to Mina and the kids, and let us shove each other in the mud.¡±


    She opened her mouth to speak, moved the edges of her mouth as if she almost wanted to laugh, then shook her head and looked annoyed.


    ¡°What does that even mean?¡± Yulia snapped, her tone stern again, giving James a look of rebuke.


    ¡°It means boys will be boys,¡± Leo said. ¡°We¡¯re bound to do reckless sh¡ªstuff.¡±


    James snickered quietly at the curse that Leo had disguised at the last second.


    Then Yulia turned to Leo. ¡°You know he kills giant monsters every day, right? With his bare hands? I can¡¯t heal you if you break your neck and die!¡±


    James was surprised to see how much emotion showed on her face at the prospect of something happening to Leo. Were those tears pooling at the corners of her eyes?


    They really did have a pretty big experience with him. I guess I can¡¯t beat him up too badly¡­


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we forget about this?¡± James suggested.


    He put his hand to his mouth as if he was stroking his beard thoughtfully, then used the edge of one razor sharp tooth to bite into his hand and draw a few drops of blood.


    Using Monster Generation, he poured some of his energy into the drops of blood and a few beard hairs he plucked as he moved his hand away.


    Then James walked toward Leo, who looked slightly embarrassed by the outcome of the conversation with James and Yulia.


    As James approached, the beard hairs and blood combined into a tiny Blood Spider. The small cut in his hand was already closed when he reached over to shake Leo¡¯s hand once more.


    The tiny spider leaped from James to Leo, unknown to anyone but the two of them, as they shook hands.


    ¡°Next time I see you, I¡¯ll kick your ass,¡± James said playfully¡ªbut entirely sincerely.


    ¡°Same to you, Fisher King,¡± Leo replied.


    ¡°Boys,¡± Yulia said, shaking her head¡ªbut looking subtly triumphant in James¡¯s eyes.


    She really believed she had stopped them from fighting.


    After the demonstrations, James and Mina took the children back to the apartment, ate, and played some games. A number had been salvaged, both from the apartments that James¡¯s people had scavenged from over the last few weeks, and from more widely scattered sources that James¡¯s various flying monsters were now visiting in source of more supplies.


    There were cards, for games of ¡°Go Fish¡± and ¡°War,¡± board games like ¡°Monopoly¡±¡ªwhich James put away for when the children were a little older¡ªand the big favorite of the evening, ¡°Sorry!,¡± which provided Abhi, James, Yulia, and Mina with hours of amusement long after the younger children had tired and succumbed to sleep.


    ¡°Oh, this is the best!¡± Abhi said giddily.


    ¡°I think you picked the lucky color,¡± James said, pretending to be slightly annoyed about losing.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to be lucky every time,¡± Abhi said.


    ¡°Until your little brother and sister are big enough to play with you,¡± Mina replied. ¡°Maybe they¡¯ll be the lucky ones then.¡±


    Baby James began fussing in the corner, then, and she excused herself from the next round.


    Yulia and James entertained Abhi until the little boy was tuckered out and only wanted a story. And then James read to him from Collected Adventures of King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, which was clearly a favorite of Abhi¡¯s. As with the previous time James had read from the book, he found Abhi nodding off toward the end.


    He¡¯s never going to know what actually happens with the Green Knight, James thought. Or at least not until he¡¯s older. It¡¯s kind of a morbid story for a kids¡¯ book, anyway, honestly. But it''s a lot of fun to read!


    He bid Yulia a good night, went to his room, and found his wife asleep with the baby.


    And he smiled.


    Perfect timing.


    James and Leo met for their sparring match in the most distant corner of the Fisher Kingdom that they could quickly reach, far from prying eyes.


    It was completely unnecessary and perhaps even silly, but they both still wanted to do this.


    Remembering how Yulia had worried that he would break Leo¡¯s neck, James took it relatively easy on the older man. He used mainly Leo¡¯s own body weight against him, nerfing his own supernatural strength so that the punches that would have normally burst Leo¡¯s skull instead merely bruised his cheek.


    Then Leo surprised him.


    Every punch had more weight than James would have expected from a fairly low-level pre-Race Evolution human. The kicks and throws were skillful.


    James was no judge of martial arts skill from a pre-System perspective, but from where he was sitting¡ªor, more accurately, from where he had been thrown¡ªLeo was actually a good fighter.


    Being good wasn¡¯t enough.


    James could dodge any attacks he wanted to, shift his weight from one body part to another with incredible ease and quickness, and use just the right amount of force applied in just the right place to take Leo off balance and put the other man on his ass.


    Fighting a normal martial arts spar with Way of the Predator was a bit like taking a test to which he had all the answers.


    If I didn¡¯t have that, I¡¯d just have to beat the crap out of him with brute force, James thought. But it feels like kind of a shame that I¡¯m not a real martial artist. Leo has something here. He must have cared about martial arts alongside his police job before all this. If he can refine this into a System-recognized fighting Skill, that would be a pretty special achievement.


    Finally, Leo collapsed to the ground in a sweaty heap and didn¡¯t get up again.


    ¡°Uncle,¡± he said breathlessly. ¡°You win.¡±


    ¡°You impressed me, too, Leo,¡± James said.


    ¡°I guess I understand why you¡¯re the King now,¡± Leo replied, smiling and shaking his head.


    ¡°That is my Job,¡± James replied. ¡°I heard you got a police chief Job, or something along those lines.¡±


    ¡°Yeah. My Status says ¡®Chief of Police (Orientation)¡¯ with the word ¡®Orientation¡¯ in parentheses. I think a jurisdiction is supposed to go in that space. But being Chief of Police in Orientation is useless now¡ª¡± He began to laugh quietly¡ª¡°and the Orlando Police Department is gone! So I don¡¯t even know if it means anything.¡±


    ¡°It means the System recognized you had the experience and ability to do the Job,¡± James said evenly. ¡°The question is, is that something you might be interested in doing for me?¡±

 V4Ch15-The Education System

    On the morning after the martial arts demonstration, Mina accompanied James to a big meeting on a subject close to his heart.


    He seems more serious than usual, she thought as they walked in silence to the community center, where the meeting was to take place.


    She knew that as far as James was concerned, this would be the first major new initiative that he had set in motion since he established the basic necessities within the Fisher Kingdom: food, water, shelter, and security.


    The next step was to get an education system going. This would hopefully prepare the children of the Fisher Kingdom to be of use to the state, give them a similar foundation in basic subjects to what they would have received prior to the System¡¯s appearance, and free more of the adults¡¯ time for work and training.


    James had already ordered the construction of a schoolhouse, to be attached to the community center, though this project was down in the priorities list behind constructing additional housing in anticipation of more new arrivals over the next few weeks.


    The meeting convened on time, seated at the same table where James had council meetings. The dozen invitees had identified themselves as former school employees: teachers, school administrators, a principal, and a school board member.


    This was the Education Commission. They represented themselves and two dozen additional people who were not present. Their constituents were current or former teachers, as well as those who had volunteered to become teachers, including Yulia.


    As Mina sat down to James¡¯s right hand, she observed that eight out of the twelve commission members were women, and the head they had chosen was a serious-looking older woman named Griselda Diaz. It was a very different group than the Construction Commission or the Sewer Commission with whom she had attended meetings over the preceding weeks.


    ¡°Your Majesty,¡± said Griselda, inclining her head in a slight bow.


    ¡°Thank you all for coming this morning,¡± James said. He made eye contact first with Griselda and then with each of the commission members in turn. He turned back to Griselda. ¡°Let¡¯s begin?¡±


    Obviously slightly nervous, she cleared her throat, then drew a sheaf of papers out of her Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions.


    ¡°The curriculum we have prepared over the last week is based on the existing Florida education system¡¯s materials, as you ordered, sir¡­¡±


    Griselda began going through the areas where the new curriculum deviated from the old. As suggested by James, there was physical education for all age levels, to be supplemented by fighting instruction and weapons training for the older teens, including training in magic for those with relevant Skills. They had added a course of study for all age groups on comparative religions, since the world they lived in now was full of gods from many different cultures. Instruction in foreign languages was eliminated, because the System had eliminated language barriers for all of humanity.


    It really feels as if we¡¯re a governing authority, Mina thought, slightly stunned.


    James seemed less impressed.


    ¡°That¡¯s all good,¡± he said as the commission chair finished explaining the modifications. ¡°Sounds like good work from all of you. But there was another thing I wanted you to work in, if you remember?¡±


    Griselda winced and nodded. ¡°I understand, sir. There were some objections from a few members. I have included my proposals in the document¡ª¡± She held up the sheaf of papers again¡ª¡°but some points were raised in our commission meeting about academic freedom.¡± Griselda looked as if she did not agree with whatever academic freedom based objections had been made, but she felt bound to present them nonetheless.


    ¡°What was the nature of the objections?¡± James asked, frowning.


    Griselda opened her mouth to speak again, but Mina beat her to it.


    ¡°Is there someone else who agrees with the objections who might be willing to explain them?¡± she asked.


    Another commission member, a school administrator, raised her hand.


    ¡°You can go ahead, Danielle,¡± James said quietly.


    Oh, she was the other one who wanted to be the chair of the commission, wasn¡¯t she? Mina remembered that James had dealt with education on one of the days when he was almost incapacitated from blessing people, and he had mentioned a commission member with an inflated sense of self-importance.


    ¡°We just had some questions about your request for patriotic instruction, I think it was,¡± Danielle Kaine said. She gave a slightly nervous smile. ¡°We thought, surely¡ª¡±


    ¡°We who?¡± James asked. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind telling me. Or at least, how many ¡®we¡¯s¡¯ is this? Are we going to need another meeting to address more people?¡±


    ¡°Um, just a few people, honestly. I¡¯m sure if we had asked teachers about it, some of them would have agreed with us.¡±


    Oh, so this is an objection that Danielle and some other administrators had? Mina was aware that James had asked the commission to inculcate a sense of patriotism in the children. Patriotism as citizens of the Fisher Kingdom meant that they would be raised to get along with the nonhuman citizens of the country and would understand the importance of fighting for the security of their homes. She did not understand why anyone would object.


    Maybe if Yulia was one of the commission members, we would have had a heads up about this disagreement.


    ¡°Go on, then,¡± James said.


    ¡°We wondered if this might not be an imposition on academic freedom. Telling the teachers what to say, in terms of a point of view. If a teacher doesn¡¯t agree with, um, ¡®patriotic instruction¡¯¡ª¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    ¡°Then that teacher shouldn¡¯t be teaching,¡± James interrupted. ¡°We live in a post-apocalyptic landscape. That¡¯s a lack of common sense.¡±


    ¡°You remember that we were attacked in the last week, don¡¯t you?¡± Mina asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± James agreed, warming to this subject. ¡°We got attacked by two different Races, controlling their own territories, in the last two weeks. The threat of invasion is going to be a constant sword hanging over our heads here. If there are any teachers who don¡¯t understand the importance of national defense¡ªand therefore of measures to increase a sense of patriotism and national unity¡ªthey clearly don¡¯t have their priorities straight.¡±


    Danielle¡¯s expression looked as if she had bitten into a lemon. ¡°Of course, sir,¡± she said after a moment, looking at him and glancing for just a fraction of a second at Mina. ¡°And if someone brings up the First Amendment or something, I¡¯ll just say what?¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no First Amendment here,¡± James said bluntly. ¡°Not that I didn¡¯t love it while it was operative. But the United States no longer exists. It¡¯s not ¡®God Bless America,¡¯ it¡¯s ¡®gods-that-we-know-definitely-exist, please bless the Fisher Kingdom,¡¯ now. And even when the State of Florida was in charge of education here, there were always state educational requirements. Teachers never had the privilege to just teach whatever they felt like. I wonder if any teacher in this state would have dared to say they didn¡¯t have to teach evolution just because their religion didn¡¯t agree with it. I¡¯ll bet that they would¡¯ve been assigned to a different subject, or maybe out of a job, unless they were in some religious school.


    ¡°Well, now, I am the state. You must abide by all my requirements if you wish to work in my schools. Otherwise, we still need plenty more hunters and farmers. I don¡¯t ask for these things out of ego. I have a larger purpose in mind, which should be one of your purposes also: the preservation of our country. Our security has to come first, before half-baked conceptions of academic freedom. It¡¯s not like we have a university here. When we have a college set up here, with professors trying to do controversial research or something, then we can talk about academic freedom. This is way too early to worry about that.¡± He glanced at Griselda and offered a small smile. ¡°Respectfully, I hope this is the last I¡¯ll hear of this. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll have plenty of rebellion from the students themselves, but I need all of us to be on the same program. Okay?¡±


    You sound like King Louis the Fourteenth, skapi, Mina thought. They won¡¯t dare to disagree with you, even if they feel differently.


    On the one hand, the way he was taking charge was attractive. Authority looked good on James. On the other hand, she doubted he was changing any minds today.


    She didn¡¯t mind the look on Danielle¡¯s face, though. The school administrator and Griselda both bowed their heads, Danielle with an extremely nervous expression.


    ¡°Of course, Your Majesty,¡± they said almost simultaneously.


    ¡°Very good,¡± James said. He turned to each of the other commission members, made eye contact with them one by one, and told them, ¡°Keep up the good work.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty,¡± they said in a chorus.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take a look at your proposal on patriotic instruction,¡± he said, looking at Griselda.


    The older woman gave a smile that Mina thought was genuine, as if she was proud of her work, and she handed over a few of the papers she had been holding onto. Mina saw that they were written out by hand in a small, neat cursive script.


    James put the documents in his Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions.


    Then James rose and pulled out Mina¡¯s chair for her, and they left.


    ¡°That was something else,¡± Mina said once they were out of earshot. She couldn¡¯t keep from grinning. ¡°My big, scary monarch. What got into you with those poor teachers?¡±


    James snorted and shook his head. ¡°It wasn¡¯t the teachers, that was the thing. It was the school administrators. They think they should be running the schools themselves. It¡¯s only Danielle and two or three of her closest friends. Complete dead weight. I¡¯d sooner put the children in charge. A hundred years ago, that woman¡¯s job did not exist. It¡¯s completely unnecessary to have someone like her looking over the shoulders of the teachers, let alone second-guessing me.¡±


    I knew you weren¡¯t a fan of the public education system, but it¡¯s interesting to see how it affects you in this situation, where you¡¯re in charge of everything, Mina thought.


    ¡°I thought you made good points in there, but you know you didn¡¯t change her mind at all, right?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need her to agree with me,¡± James said. ¡°I only need compliance. If the teachers refuse to teach the material I need them to, I¡¯ll just replace them. The patriotic instruction is the most important element of the whole thing. The fact that she didn¡¯t intuitively grasp that tells me that Danielle will never be very useful to me. Historically, education has always been about preparing people to be good citizens. She obviously has no idea about that. If I told her that, it would probably shock her as much as anything else I said. And once a generation has passed, we¡¯ll have teachers who believe in protecting their country intuitively, without me needing to threaten them with termination. Until then, I just need to keep the educators in line.¡± He shook his head. ¡°You know, I never need to pull rank on the other committees. They understand what we¡¯re here to do.¡±


    ¡°You sounded like an old-fashioned king,¡± Mina said, her tone playful. ¡°¡®I am the state.¡¯ Very absolute. Very Louis the Fourteenth. More Sun King rather than Fisher King.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± James said, chuckling. ¡°Well, I¡¯m afraid I¡¯m going to manage education a little more like I¡¯m in the old Soviet Union, honestly. I¡¯m pretty sure at least one of the leaders of the French Revolution was a teacher. People who talk for a living can wind up getting some pretty dangerous ideas¡ªand an inflated sense of their own importance. Can¡¯t afford to have any of these teachers thinking they can undermine the state in their classrooms. The classroom is not their personal fiefdom.¡±


    Mina thought the teachers she had grown up with had all thought their classrooms were their personal fiefdoms, and she said so.


    ¡°Like I said, we¡¯re going to a different place and time with this,¡± James said, his expression turning more somber. ¡°I need to create a group identity that unifies us all, including a sense of loyalty to this country and to me personally.¡± He stared her in the eyes. ¡°If we want to make this kingdom into a dynasty, rather than a one-off, we need to educate the people on just how much they need us. If we fail at that, the likelihood isn¡¯t that they miraculously recreate a republican form of government after they topple the tyrant. It¡¯s that anarchy breaks out, and they get eaten by a pack of monsters. People think democratic governance is much easier than it actually is.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to sell me on any of this,¡± Mina replied evenly, her lips curling slightly at the edges. ¡°I like empire-building James. I don¡¯t want to go back to democracy, as long as you¡¯re the King. I just want things to go as smoothly for us as they can.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± he said, smiling back at her. ¡°I¡¯m just letting you know why education is the one area besides national defense where I will absolutely be as authoritarian as I need to be. It¡¯s the most important for shaping the will of the people.¡±


    ¡°I think they¡¯ll do what you say,¡± Mina said. ¡°But I would watch them, early on, if you can afford to spare a few monsters to sit in classrooms.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea,¡± James said. ¡°Intimidation is one thing, but it¡¯s better to have surveillance too.¡±


    Mina nodded. ¡°Sounds like a plan. Did we have any other meetings planned for today?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going to kill two birds with one stone,¡± James said. ¡°Let¡¯s go see my Mom.¡±

 V4Ch16-Back to the Lab

    ¡°Welcome back to my laboratory, son,¡± Zora said, smiling brightly. She turned to Mina and added, ¡°Good to see you, too, Mina!¡±


    Mina offered her usual small smile in return. Zora thought she looked a bit nervous, though that wasn¡¯t out of the ordinary in her experience.


    I can have that effect at times. Worse now than it was before all this System stuff. Whoops¡­


    James and Mina followed Zora into her workspace. She led them down the same dark path she had taken James along days previously, when she showed him what she was up to.


    ¡°To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?¡± Zora asked cheerily as they walked.


    ¡°I figured Mina and I could use a private space to practice some new Skills,¡± James said. ¡°And I wanted to take the opportunity to ask you some questions about our new guest. You seemed friendly with him. What can you tell me?¡±


    Zora frowned. ¡°Not much,¡± she replied honestly. ¡°It¡¯s better not to talk about him if we don¡¯t have to. I know it doesn¡¯t make much sense, and I¡¯m being more cryptic than I would prefer. He¡¯s someone we can trust. That¡¯s all I can say. His goals are aligned with ours.¡±


    James sighed, and Zora knew immediately that answer had not been good enough.


    ¡°Mom, I trust you, but my responsibilities are pretty big now,¡± he said. ¡°I need to know if this guy is a threat. My goals are multifaceted and shifting. If they become unaligned with his¡ª¡±


    ¡°They won¡¯t,¡± Zora interrupted. ¡°But don¡¯t take my word for it. Let events play out a little. Time always reveals the truth about people.¡± She turned and made eye contact with James. ¡°I know how you are, because you take after me. You make your judgments quickly, and it¡¯s hard to get you to change your mind. But the one in the mask¡ªum, ¡®Bear¡¯¡ªisn¡¯t like any person you¡¯ve ever met. In time, you will come to agree with me on him. I know that.¡±


    ¡°Is he like someone you¡¯ve met?¡± Mina interjected. ¡°He¡¯s not like anyone James or I have ever met. But is he like anyone else we might think about for comparison?¡±


    Zora offered a half smile. ¡°Your wife is clever, son,¡± she said. ¡°The one in the mask is like someone I have encountered. Perhaps someone each of us has encountered. But I might be saying too much already. It¡¯s better for all concerned if I don¡¯t speak in more direct terms.¡±


    James appeared to be a combination of amused and bemused at the roundabout answer. He shook his head and smiled thinly, looking back and forth between his mother and his wife.


    ¡°All right, Mom,¡± he said. ¡°You win for now. I¡¯ll let things play out for at least another day or two. Next question. Will you be at our council meeting tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Of course, my favorite son,¡± Zora replied. She turned to Mina. ¡°Which side of James will you be sitting on?¡±


    ¡°The right,¡± Mina said.


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll take the left.¡±


    Mina¡¯s expression was hard for Zora to read, but she nodded in agreement. I feel like we¡¯re on the same page. Mina understood my clues right away. Smart cookie. She looked at James.


    We¡¯ll just have to drag him toward the correct understanding of what¡¯s going on. We can¡¯t alienate the masked figure¡ªunless I¡¯m just wrong about who he is. I could be wrong about his identity, technically, but I really don¡¯t know how. He gave me every clue, and I confirmed as best I possibly could¡­


    Zora led them to the wide open space where she had worked on the bodies before. Now none of them were out in the open. In anticipation of possible visitors, and given that her work was done, she had asked the undead to put themselves away in the large earth-magic-constructed drawers that lined the wall.


    ¡°Now you have room to practice,¡± Zora said. ¡°Is there anything else I can get you guys? Maybe a cup of tea?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re okay, Mom,¡± James said, smiling brightly. She noticed for the first time that his teeth were shinier than she had ever remembered seeing them before. The Evolution the System had afforded him seemed to be treating him very well.


    Zora turned away, planning on leaving the kids to their training. Then an idea struck her.


    She turned back. ¡°James, you have the Skill Transfer ability, right?¡±


    He nodded.


    Zora turned to Mina. ¡°And you had a Skill for copying powers that you see used more than once?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Mina said. She sounded nervous. Zora guessed that Mina knew exactly what she was about to suggest.


    ¡°I was actually just about to show her some of my magic Skills, so that she could copy them,¡± James added.


    ¡°That¡¯s a wonderful idea,¡± Zora said. ¡°I was just thinking, I want to add my Death Magic Skill to the pile.¡±


    ¡°I would really never use that Skill,¡± Mina began, a slightly nervous expression creeping over her face.


    ¡°Which is why you could transfer it to James!¡± Zora finished.


    Mina let out a sigh and looked uncomfortable. ¡°All right,¡± she said after a moment. ¡°As long as I don¡¯t have to see too much to get it, I guess that¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll try to keep it to the minimum necessary,¡± Zora said.


    Poor Mina. Sorry, your Skill is too useful not to be applied here.


    ¡°That¡¯s assuming you actually want the Skill, James,¡± Mina added, clearly trying not to infuse any emotion into her voice. ¡°Otherwise, this would just be a waste of time.¡±


    ¡°I do want the Skill, Mina,¡± James replied instantly. ¡°I¡¯d rather that you not have to watch my Mom use it for me to get it, but this is definitely one of the most useful Skills I can imagine acquiring.¡±


    Zora nodded. ¡°Given that you¡¯ve mentioned you have Soul Magic already, you should be able to create some powerful undead. Or any of a thousand other uses.¡±


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s go,¡± Mina said softly. She sounded a bit like she was volunteering to be shot.


    So Zora took pity on her.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you stand at one end of the room, and I¡¯ll stand at the other and cast there, so you at least don¡¯t have to see anything up close?¡± she said. ¡°Or smell anything.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Mina said, her expression slightly less disgusted. ¡°That sounds good. Thanks.¡±


    So Mina moved to one corner, and Zora stood at the other. James stayed beside his wife for the next ten minutes, while Zora brought back dead rats, a skunk, and a cat someone had once buried nearby.


    ¡ª


    Well, that could have been worse, I guess, Mina thought once the magic lesson from Zora was over. I acquired the Skill, and I can tell James actually wants it. He¡¯d better use it.


    ¡°I knew you were tough,¡± said Zora. A part of Mina wanted to hear it as patronizing, but she forced herself to admit it was probably a genuine effort at a compliment.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± Mina said. ¡°I really appreciate you doing it as far away from me as you could. I know James will use the Skill.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll just get out of your way, then, so you guys can practice,¡± Zora said. She came up to Mina and gently squeezed her arm.


    Mina felt the affection in the gesture, but she immediately shook her head.


    ¡°Thank you, but you can stay here. I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll stick in this space. I can¡¯t imagine being able to focus much longer in this setting. I hope you understand.¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    A musty smell of death and decay hung in the air, thick and nauseating. She did not quite get how Zora and James could both stand it. Well, Zora, maybe. Her Class was Necromancer. She might have some kind of resistance to unpleasant aromas.


    But didn¡¯t James have superhuman senses? The pervasive wasting odor in here should be wreaking havoc with his senses, yet somehow he looked his usual self.


    ¡°Of course,¡± said Zora, looking slightly sad.


    Mina almost felt bad about leaving, except that she could barely breathe in this space.


    ¡°Next time, let¡¯s all spend time together in the home you guys were kind enough to build for me,¡± Zora added, visibly brightening. ¡°Bring the children, too! I¡¯ll make sure to wash the smell of death away, and we can have a nice meal together, as a family.¡±


    ¡°That would be nice,¡± James said. He shot a quick glance at Mina, and she spoke up too.


    ¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°We would love that. And James Junior needs to get to know his grandma.¡±


    Zora looked delighted at that idea.


    And on that cheery note, Mina and James departed.


    Once they were outside, they walked toward the woods that James had just incorporated into the territory. With James¡¯s skin creatures having exterminated all the remaining Wraiths, there were no longer inhabitants in that area. It was the perfect place for them to practice new Skills in secret.


    More pressingly, Mina finally felt that she could breathe again.


    She sucked in deep, delicious gulps of air that only became less subtle the further they drew away from Zora¡¯s underground lair¡ªfor that was the only word that came to mind when Mina thought of that creepy place.


    ¡°Was it really that bad?¡± James asked after a couple of minutes of this, pausing in their walk.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how you could stand it,¡± Mina replied, still inhaling deep breaths. ¡°I don¡¯t want to ever go inside that place again. It feels like the sort of chamber where, in an old movie, the villagers would show up with their torches and pitchforks, because they discovered the mad scientist has been conducting experiments on human corpses and raising the dead.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s not inaccurate,¡± James said, shrugging.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t bother you at all?¡± Mina asked.


    James looked around carefully before he responded. There was no one nearby.


    ¡°If it did, I wouldn¡¯t have let her raise the people who died in the Haunted Forest,¡± he said. ¡°Remember, we¡¯re just doing what we need to do. What¡¯s best for the Fisher Kingdom. Mom understands that, too. She¡¯s not digging up random people to experiment on. You saw what she had to demonstrate with in there. Just animals.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, just don¡¯t ever let anyone do something like that to me. If I die, let me stay dead.¡±


    People say ¡°Rest in Peace¡± for a reason, skapi.


    ¡°What¡¯s gotten into you?¡± James asked. ¡°Of course I¡¯m not going to let her turn you into one of the undead. But you know the plan is for neither of us to die¡ª¡±


    ¡°Your plan,¡± Mina interrupted. ¡°That¡¯s your plan. I never agreed to do eternal life. That sounds like way too much life for one person.¡±


    ¡°So you told me,¡± James said, clearly stung by her words.


    Silence reigned for almost thirty seconds.


    ¡°Is there something else on your mind?¡± James asked finally.


    Some reason why you¡¯re acting this way right now, she knew he meant.


    ¡°You seem younger when she¡¯s around,¡± Mina said, not entirely sure why she was saying it. Aware that she might be picking a fight. ¡°Eager to please. Sometimes, when she¡¯s away, I forget about that side of you. Then it comes back when she¡¯s here.¡±


    James gave her an annoyed look with a raised eyebrow, as if to say, Not only do I not like what you¡¯re saying, but I also don¡¯t think you have a point.


    Mina started walking again, then stopped when she realized James wasn¡¯t following her. He was just standing, watching, staring at her, frowning. Waiting.


    She sighed and walked back to him. ¡°You¡¯re not a mama¡¯s boy, James. It¡¯s just¡ªwhen she¡¯s here, I feel like you let her steer the way things go.¡±


    It was hard for her to describe exactly what she meant, but she felt this experience had repeated itself more than once.


    ¡°I think you¡¯d like to be the only woman who influences me,¡± James said quietly, smiling thinly.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± Mina admitted. ¡°I¡¯m happy to follow your lead. I don¡¯t want to wind up following hers.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not following her lead, though,¡± James said, his expression guarded. ¡°The only reason I let her have her way on the masked man was because you and my Mom looked like you were doing some kind of telepathic thing, communicating with subtext that I couldn¡¯t grasp.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not really what I meant, specifically.¡± But examples of James letting his mother push him around seemed to be very thin on the ground right now. Mina wasn¡¯t the type of person who was always putting away grievances to bring up later. ¡°You did let her have her way on the Death Magic lesson, though.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t letting her have her way,¡± James said. ¡°It was me getting my way. She was offering to teach you a Skill that I could take from you. A Skill I think will be very useful in combination with my existing arsenal. You asked me what I wanted at the time. I wanted that Skill.¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine, you¡¯re right,¡± Mina said, quickly tiring of the conversation.


    ¡°I am sorry I put you through having to observe Death Magic being used, though,¡± he said. ¡°And I get what you¡¯re saying. If there¡¯s a power behind the throne, you want it to be you.¡±


    Mina smirked. That was a good way of putting it, honestly.


    ¡°Well, I think she might think it¡¯s her,¡± she said. ¡°I don¡¯t want my husband to listen to any woman ahead of his wife.¡±


    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± James said. ¡°I intend to take care of Mom, but she¡¯s just one of the voices I¡¯m going to consider. You¡¯re always going to be first for me. But¡­¡±


    ¡°But what?¡±


    ¡°But I¡¯m not ready to put her on an ice floe and watch her float away, you know what I mean?¡±


    Mina giggled at the mental image those words conjured.


    ¡°You¡¯re lucky you''re cute,¡± she said finally. She looped her arm with his. ¡°Come on and take me into the woods and train me, before I decide to wander off by myself and get into trouble.¡±


    James shook his head. ¡°I know that training in the woods is literally what we¡¯re about to do, but why does it sound so sexual when you say it?¡±


    ¡°Because you have a dirty mind, skapi,¡± Mina replied, shaking her head solemnly.


    Though that interpretation did occur to me as soon as I said it.


    ¡°I have a dirty mind? You¡¯re the one making suggestive comments.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t help that you interpret my innocent comments that way. Anything I say, you tell me it¡¯s sexual. I was just a sweet, virtuous girl when you found me. If I¡¯ve been corrupted in any way, it¡¯s your fault. You¡¯ve introduced me to this world of sin.¡± She shook her head and made her best put-upon wife face, trying to convey the thought, Poor me, my husband thinks nothing but lustful thoughts.


    He swatted her behind, producing a little yelp.


    ¡°Fine,¡± he said, ¡°I¡¯ll take you into the woods and train you.¡± He added, in a grumbly undertone, ¡°In a completely non-sexual way, since you insist.¡±


    The founding couple of the Fisher Kingdom walked together to an empty, wooded part of the Fisher Kingdom, and they did, in fact, train.


    Some aspects of the training were more successful than others.


    Mina¡¯s Quick Study allowed her to pick up Basic Elemental Magic: Gravity, Basic Non-Elemental Magic, Illusion Magic, and Soul Magic by watching James demonstrate those abilities for an hour. She already had the other magical Skills in James¡¯s arsenal.


    And Mina transferred Death Magic to James with no problem. His Skill Transfer ability did not seem to have noticeable drawbacks. At least James did not appear weakened by using it.


    Mina suggested he might want to try assisting others using the Skill, and James agreed, though he said he was still deciding whether to keep it secret to any degree.


    When she tried to teach him her Quickened Spellcasting Skill, half an hour of effort appeared to yield very little progress. It became clear that he would need to meditate on the method alone for hours, or perhaps days, before he acquired the Skill. So they cut that practice short for the moment.


    The big disappointment was when Mina tried to use James¡¯s basic attacks. His Air Strike, Lightning Strike, and Meteor Strike were almost completely ineffective when she used them.


    Her Air Strikes ended up leaving thin, shallow scars on trees. Her Lightning Strike and Meteor Strike each left a blackened mark on the trunk of the tree she tried them on, and she hurt her hand doing that small amount of damage.


    She was able to use Way of the Predator and spar with James, but it was clearly much less effective than it had been when James demonstrated it the previous day. Though they had some fun grappling, it was ultimately a very unsuccessful experiment.


    ¡°It¡¯s your physical stats,¡± James said finally. He looked slightly annoyed as he spoke, but not at her. His mind was on someone else. ¡°I think that Bear fellow was right. We¡¯re going to have to take you to train against other enemies, so you can level and get points to throw into the physical. Otherwise, none of these more physical attacks will be useful at all. Martial arts will help you in a fight with someone in your own weight and Strength class, but it can¡¯t help a ninety-pound weakling beat a gorilla in a fight.¡±


    Mina nodded, not taking offense at being compared to a ninety-pound weakling. She knew the differential between her Strength and James¡¯s was massive, and she could tell how much he had restrained himself while they were practicing Way of the Predator, so he would not harm her in any way.


    ¡°I¡¯ll look forward to fighting alongside you,¡± she said, smiling and looking him in the eyes affectionately. ¡°Take good care of me!¡±


    ¡°Of course I will.¡± He smiled. ¡°We¡¯ll start after tomorrow¡¯s council meeting, if that works for you.¡±


    ¡°It does, as long as we don¡¯t take too long. Right about now, for instance, I¡¯m pretty sure Junior wants to be fed.¡±


    James nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll keep that time limitation in mind. Let¡¯s get back, then. And tomorrow, we''ll go and invade some hostile territory!¡±


    He sounded so excited that Mina was carried along and became more interested too. She had done almost no monster-slaying in her short time initiated into the System.


    Maybe it would be fun.

 V4Ch17-A Conflict of Visions Part 2

    The third day after the masked man¡¯s arrival began.


    James and Mina fed their children and descended from the royal apartment for a council meeting.


    Today was the day that they were to address the religious group¡¯s continued residence.


    The previous evening, James had requested Cyrus¡¯s presence.


    [Cyrus, I hope you and your group have had enough time to come to a decision on whether you want to stay or go. Tomorrow, we are having a special council meeting to discuss your situation. I would appreciate it if you would bring anyone else from your group who you think ought to participate in the discussion.]


    Cyrus chewed his lip for a moment thoughtfully. James was watching him with his powers, waiting for an answer.


    ¡°You can hear me, can¡¯t you, Fisher King?¡± Cyrus said finally.


    [Yes.]


    There¡¯s no point in denying it, he thought. It would certainly make conversation inconvenient, if I had to pretend not to hear his responses. And if he does end up staying, he¡¯ll remember that I lied when he figures out that I can, in fact, see and hear at a distance. James assumed everyone would know that eventually.


    Cyrus shivered slightly, but his expression looked pleased, as if he was happy to know that James could spy on everyone. James found it creepy. Even he felt ambivalent about this power. It would be good for the security of the state that he was building, but he had read 1984 and had more than his share of skepticism of mass surveillance. He knew he would have to behave with more restraint than anyone would expect of him if he was not to abuse this power.


    Then Cyrus¡¯s lips moved silently. James read the words, ¡°I bet you can see me, too¡± on his lips.


    James didn¡¯t acknowledge that. Cyrus could speculate about the extent of James¡¯s abilities all he wanted. James didn¡¯t intend to lie about them. But he certainly didn¡¯t have any intention of playing ¡°Twenty Questions¡± with this Prophet.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Cyrus said aloud. He smiled thinly. ¡°¡®Render unto Caesar,¡¯ as they say. We will comply with your command.¡±


    It felt ominous to James, the way this man was citing religious authority to explain his decisions. Perhaps James was paranoid, but the rest of that quotation sprang immediately to mind.


    ¡°Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar''s, and unto God the things that are God''s.¡±


    The following morning, as James and Mina walked into the community center hand in hand, James saw that Cyrus had brought more than just a few members of his group to the meeting. Most of the seats in the community center were filled. James was reminded that he intended to enlarge the building at some point.


    What is that, all the men? There were only a few women present, and they were all older ladies, most dressed as if going to church. Wait, no, there are some of the men absent too.


    Only one of the Galts was present, the father. There were probably other males absent, too, but that was the family James was most familiar with out of the visitors.


    He had occasionally used his powers to check in on them over the last few days. He had been pleased to observe that they seemed to be enjoying the Kingdom and had even volunteered to help out in the fields, along with some others from their group.


    ¡°I see you brought a lot of guests,¡± James said as soon as he saw Cyrus.


    ¡°Only the heads of household,¡± Cyrus replied. ¡°Tragically, however, many of our number are the last surviving members of their families.¡±


    That is a tragedy, James thought. Something my citizens are also familiar with, I think. Hopefully there will be a baby boom after everything is more settled here, to restore some of our lost numbers.


    He remembered that according to the System¡¯s first announcement, somewhere around half the world¡¯s human population, or more, had been killed in Orientation.


    ¡°We will be fruitful and multiply, of course,¡± Cyrus added.


    ¡°I take it that everyone who needs to be here from your side is actually here, then,¡± James said.


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Cyrus replied. ¡°We¡¯re ready for you to decide our fate, Your Majesty.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t be just me deciding,¡± James said mildly, looking to seem generous and calm to Cyrus¡¯s followers. ¡°This will be a bilateral process. I didn¡¯t tell you to bring so many, but I¡¯m glad you did. It will make decision making a much quicker and easier process.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty,¡± Cyrus replied, dipping his head slightly. A smile that James read as arrogant crept across the Prophet¡¯s face, and James found himself again having to conceal his distaste for the man.


    James turned to walk the rest of the way to the stage and his place at the center of the great table atop it, but Cyrus spoke again.


    ¡°Is everyone ready on your side?¡± he asked.


    James scanned the table for a moment and frowned. Dave, Leo, Luna, Duncan, Magnar, Samuel, Ysabel, and all the various heads of committees were already there. Damien Rousseau was also seated. James had asked him to attend, with the idea that Damien might be trained to function as another military leader alongside Dave. But there was one person missing.


    [Mom, are you on your way?]


    Even as he sent the message, he could sense that she was just outside the building.


    He took a step toward the doors, and they burst open.


    There stood his mother.


    James raised an eyebrow and exchanged a look with Mina. She looked like she wanted to laugh, but she quickly got control of her expression.


    On the last several occasions James had seen her, Zora had worn her normal clothes. Tasteful and functional. Black or gray turtlenecks and jeans, a slightly frilly blouse, or a simple dress. She had clearly managed to keep most of her pre-System wardrobe.


    Today, she was dressed¡ªthere was no other way to put it¡ªlike Margaret Hamilton¡¯s Wicked Witch of the West. Everything but the green face paint.


    James let go of Mina¡¯s hand and approached his mother, careful to affect calm, as if this was normal. As soon as he was close enough, he leaned over to whisper in her ear.


    ¡°Mom, what the hell are you wearing?¡± James asked.


    ¡°What, you don¡¯t like it?¡± she replied.


    James pulled back slightly and saw that Zora had donned a mischievous grin.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    ¡°As far as pranks go¡ª¡± James began.


    ¡°I¡¯m just testing,¡± his mother interrupted quietly, her expression turning darker, ¡°whether or not they¡¯ll suffer a witch to live.¡± She wrinkled her nose, leaned in, and added, ¡°It was either me or Mina who was going to have to test this, one way or another.¡±


    James deflated slightly. ¡°Yes, well, you could have warned me,¡± he muttered. ¡°I don¡¯t like these kinds of surprises.¡±


    ¡°Now where would be the fun in that?¡± she asked.


    Without another word, Zora stepped forward, where everyone could see her outfit, and with big, ostentatious movements, she crossed the room and seated herself to the left hand of James¡¯s chair.


    James glanced at the faces as the religious folk saw Zora¡¯s outfit. He was pleased to note that most of them were indifferent, but slightly dismayed at the minority who looked disturbed and distrustful at the sight of her.


    So, there¡¯s not nothing to that idea, exactly¡­


    He closed the door behind Zora. Then he returned to Mina, took her hand, and walked with her to their seats. His mind was still on the task at hand, deciding whether the religious group should stay in the Fisher Kingdom, but now there was another concern on that subject tugging at him.


    How well would these people respect his wife¡¯s authority¡ªor if necessary, his mother¡¯s¡ªif he and possibly Mina were away?


    They were both women and could be considered witches¡ªMina¡¯s Class was Witch of Thessaly, while Zora was a Necromancer, but James didn¡¯t think they would make the distinction about who was and was not technically a witch.


    Don¡¯t they have Mages in their group? he wondered. He had sporadically observed the group over the last week, but since he had not seen them fighting, and they were mostly wearing street clothes or armor, he wasn¡¯t sure if they had any magic-wielding members besides Healers¡ªwho he suspected would naturally be looked on as different from witches.


    ¡°Let¡¯s begin the meeting,¡± James said, faking enthusiasm. ¡°I would first like to take in the general view of our guests. Assuming you have the option, who here would like to stay in the Fisher Kingdom? Please raise your hand if you currently want to become a citizen.¡±


    Cyrus got up from his seat and started talking almost immediately after James finished.


    ¡°Your Majesty, there was something I wanted to raise first, on behalf of the group,¡± he said.


    But it was too late. More than half of the hands were already raised, though people slowly dropped them as Cyrus spoke.


    ¡°Go ahead and raise your point, Cyrus,¡± James said. He stroked his beard with one hand, hiding his small smile. He was pleased to know that the majority of Cyrus¡¯s followers were interested in staying. That information reduced Cyrus¡¯s leverage.


    ¡°We need a leader who is not merely strong, but righteous,¡± Cyrus said.


    James raised an eyebrow. Didn¡¯t we kind of go over this when you and I first met?


    ¡°I am not asking for any sort of specific policy change right now,¡± Cyrus continued, speaking as if James had verbalized his internal question. ¡°Rather¡ªChristopher, would you please bring me the crown?¡±


    There was a quiet murmur from among the religious folk at that.


    James heard snatches of phrases like, ¡°So soon?¡± and ¡°Is he sure?¡±


    So soon for what?! he wanted to know. What crown? What¡¯s going on?


    Christopher Smith, who James recalled was Cyrus¡¯s lieutenant, stepped forward with a closed, dark wooden box and handed it to Cyrus. Then Smith sat back down.


    ¡°I am looking for a declaration, not of personal faith, per se, but of principle,¡± Cyrus said. ¡°I request that the country declare officially its allegiance to the God of the Bible, the Torah, and the Koran¡ªwithout whose favor your great success and prosperity would surely be impossible.¡±


    James put a hand to his temple. This damned Prophet¡­


    No, this was not technically a policy change, but it was perhaps more extreme than any policy change that Cyrus and his acolytes could have asked for. Even where the old United States had adopted policies that seemed clearly inspired by religious belief, it had also always stringently maintained a strict separation of church and state, throughout the 20th and the first half of the 21st Century.


    I¡¯m not going to do it, you idiot, he thought. If that¡¯s what you want, you can go straight to Hell.


    There was a hot, burning sensation on the back of his ear, and James realized that Hester was receiving a message from the Spider God.


    ¡°Lord Anansi apologizes for his uncharacteristically long silence on this matter,¡± Hester began. ¡°He has been a bit busy with some matters of cosmic importance¡­¡±


    At the same time, however, Zora had begun to speak from James¡¯s left side. James gently tapped the side of his neck to signal for Hester to wait a moment. He wanted to be careful of how much he let his mother and Cyrus say to each other. She had already tried to provoke the religious folk with her choice of clothing. With so many of them crammed into the community center, there was a chance of things getting out of control with the wrong¡ªor right, depending on her intentions¡ªwords.


    ¡°What does it mean to you, to have a leader who respects this demand of yours?¡± Zora was asking. ¡°You say you are not asking for a policy change, but suddenly declaring a religious state seems like a bigger ask to me. Like saying you¡¯re not asking for a nickel, you only want a dollar. And we¡¯re supposed to take it as less of a request, because a dollar weighs less, or something.¡±


    James had to suppress the urge to laugh. Wise words.


    Cyrus smiled nervously¡ªand, James thought, with thinly disguised dislike.


    ¡°There is a long history of believers in the one God being persecuted,¡± he began. ¡°Christians in Ancient Rome, Jews and Christians under the Ottoman Empire, and Muslims under Communist China. We have learned it is necessary to have a leader who will take our side.¡± He looked up at James and made steady eye contact. ¡°The Caesars killed Christ, you know. Not directly, but it was under their laws that his actions were deemed criminal. And subsequent Caesars persecuted the Romans¡ª¡±


    ¡°Until the Romans were taken over by Christianity,¡± Zora finished.


    ¡°Some people would say that was the beginning of the fall of the Roman Empire,¡± James added.


    ¡°You have only just founded your country!¡± Cyrus exclaimed. ¡°For the Romans, Christianity undermined their traditional religious beliefs. The situations are entirely different. Europe endured for over a thousand years as an array of Christian states.¡±


    Constantly warring with each other over religion, James thought, like the Middle East in modern times.


    ¡°And for taking that small risk, you would receive a critical advantage in your effort to impose order on this fallen world,¡± Cyrus added.


    He opened the wooden box that Smith had handed him with a flourish.


    He drew out a thick, golden and jeweled circlet. A crown that looked to be the perfect size and shape for James¡¯s head.


    Well, if you had shiny objects to bribe me with, why didn¡¯t you say so in the first place?


    ¡°The Second Iron Crown,¡± Cyrus said.


    James raised an eyebrow. ¡°It looks like gold to me.¡±


    ¡°Mostly gold, Your Majesty,¡± Cyrus said. ¡°But like the original Iron Crown of Lombardy, it contains an iron nail from the True Cross.¡± He pointed to an iron band running through the center of the crown.


    ¡°Wow. That is quite something,¡± James said. He wondered what powers the crown came with. And it was easy to picture himself wearing it.


    That would mean an unacceptable level of commitment to one god, though. In a world where I know many gods exist, that¡¯s a bad bet.


    ¡°The item description also states that an eligible wearer can become a Holy King,¡± Cyrus said. ¡°If a Ruler willing to fight for God possesses this, that Ruler could become even more powerful.¡±


    You bastard. You knew just what to say all along, didn¡¯t you? Ugh. You¡¯re actually making this hard. At least a little harder than it was.


    ¡°My council and I will discuss your proposal privately,¡± James said.


    Cyrus smiled. He seemed to think he had won James over.


    ¡°In the meantime, I would ask that the members of your group discuss what they would do in the event that I refuse,¡± James added. ¡°They must be prepared to give me their decisions in the event of either outcome.¡±


    Cyrus¡¯s smile faltered slightly. Then he simply dipped his head.


    ¡°As Your Majesty commands.¡±


    When Cyrus lifted his face again, he seemed firmly back in command of himself.


    What a guy, James thought. Even if I don¡¯t like or agree with him, I have to respect the effort and planning. He and I aren¡¯t so different. It¡¯s just that he¡¯s putting his religion at the front of everything, and I¡¯m putting my family first, followed by my country¡ªand then very distantly by the gods.


    But he supposed that made all the difference.

 V4Ch18-A Conflict of Visions Part 3

    As the religious folk filed out to let the King and his council confer, James smiled to himself and rose from his seat.


    He moved from the central chair to walk around the edge of the table, trying to make it look like he was pacing. When he thought he was far enough away from the council members not to be heard, he whispered to Hester.


    ¡°All right, you can finish that thought,¡± he said.


    ¡°Lord Anansi thinks that you should trust the masked man,¡± Hester said. ¡°¡®At least try to work with him,¡¯ he said. And he fully endorses whatever Bear has to say about the monotheists.¡±


    ¡°Well, that would be a lot more useful if the masked man was in the meeting,¡± James replied quietly. ¡°But I take his point, and I remember what Bear said. Thank you, Hester.¡±


    ¡°There is another thing,¡± Hester said. He caught a hint of nervousness in her voice.


    ¡°What is it?¡± James asked. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry, if you¡¯re thinking I¡¯ll get mad at you for something Anansi said. I know you¡¯re the messenger. If he and I disagree, that¡¯s between me and him.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not something Lord Anansi said. It¡¯s a request from me. I¡¯ve been thinking about how I might be of greater use to you.¡±


    So she can be a more integral part of my story? James thought. Clever spider.


    ¡°What did you have in mind?¡±


    ¡°Could you teach me to Dreamwalk?¡± Hester asked. ¡°I don¡¯t have a lot of Skills, because I¡¯m relatively young. But I¡¯m a direct descendant of a god.¡± There was an obvious note of pride in her tone. ¡°I should be able to learn the Skill, too. Then I could spy on your enemies, or pacify those who resist your authority, or something¡­¡±


    Her voice trailed off as if her confidence was petering out as she spoke.


    ¡°That sounds like a great idea,¡± James said instantly. ¡°Let¡¯s try it out tonight!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Hester sounded excited.


    James guessed she must have had this idea on her mind for a while.


    She probably waited for a time when she knew I would be paying attention to her anyway, because she didn¡¯t want to bother me or something.


    ¡°Yes, really,¡± he said. ¡°And feel free to bring up any other ideas like this if you have them. I¡¯m happy to have your help.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    James¡¯s superhuman senses told him that Hester¡¯s body was performing some strange movements on the back of his ear. He wondered if she was dancing for joy or something, but he didn¡¯t ask. If she was that excited, he would only embarrass her by calling it out.


    He turned to look at the door. The last of the religious folk were clearing out, and James watched the last man close the door behind him. It was Tiberius Galt. The man made eye contact with James as the door closed. James thought he saw Galt¡¯s mouth begin to crinkle into a smile.


    ¡°Hm.¡± James pivoted back to the table. ¡°So, opinions?¡±


    ¡°Would it be so bad to be officially Christian¡ªer, officially aligned with the God of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, that is?¡± asked Harry Luntz of the Agriculture Commission.


    ¡°Absolutely ridiculous,¡± muttered Zora.


    ¡°You were just a little aggressive with them,¡± said Taylor Bunting of the Salvage Commission. She looked at James as if just remembering that she was addressing his mother, and he shrugged.


    ¡°Aggressive?¡± asked Zora. ¡°I could¡¯ve just cursed that windbag. It¡¯s not too late. I could turn him into a stone, or a dog, or a chair!¡±


    A few members of the council looked mildly alarmed, while James, Mina, and a couple of others snickered quietly.


    ¡°Not too many musical theater fans, then,¡± James observed. He turned to Zora. ¡°Mom, please be serious.¡±


    She sighed. ¡°Fine. You¡¯re lucky I didn¡¯t say that stuff to Cyrus¡¯s face, though. I¡¯ve been making light of them, because taking them seriously, they¡¯re a serious problem. They¡¯re trying to make you declare a state religion. What¡¯s next? I anticipate a dangerous armed faction with divided loyalties within your kingdom, Your Majesty. It¡¯s something you can¡¯t afford.¡±


    Mina nodded. ¡°I tend to agree. America got along fine without a national religion for centuries. Why do we need one now, when we finally know that there isn¡¯t a right one? It¡¯s just a way to keep the people he brought loyal to him and try to divide others from you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you both,¡± James said. ¡°I take what you¡¯re saying seriously. I do want to hear other opinions, from outside my family, though.¡± He made eye contact with Dave, who obliged James with an immediate answer.


    ¡°Outsiders can¡¯t dictate policy to the King,¡± Dave said bluntly. ¡°Cyrus essentially made a demand. You should throw him out. We don¡¯t need special interest groups here. This country is besieged enough from the outside without adding problems within.¡±


    Damien spoke up. ¡°James, I don¡¯t speak for anyone but myself here¡ªhell, I¡¯m only here because you invited me today¡ªbut I should tell you I have a blessing from Lycaon. Since that¡¯s not actually another name for the God of the Bible and the Torah and the Koran, I can¡¯t say I¡¯m in favor of you declaring the country in the service of that deity. I¡¯m guessing I¡¯m not the only one who feels that way, because I don¡¯t think I¡¯m the only one who has a non-biblical god¡¯s blessing. Theocracy isn¡¯t what any of us signed up for.¡±


    James nodded slowly. ¡°Who else has a non-biblical god¡¯s blessing?¡±


    Around half the hands around the table went up. This was no surprise to James. Those who had been elected or selected onto his council tended to be among his more extraordinary followers, and several were former Rulers who had submitted to him.


    ¡°I have a question, Your Majesty,¡± said Goblin Overlord Duncan.


    ¡°Go ahead,¡± James said.


    ¡°What is ¡®theocracy,¡¯ sir? We don¡¯t use that word.¡±


    ¡°It means rule by the religious class,¡± answered Jeremiah Rotter. ¡°The priests, in other words.¡± He looked at James seriously. ¡°But in this land, only the King can rule.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°I guess that answers my question,¡± said Harry Luntz sheepishly. ¡°Of course there have to be negative consequences. No one offers something for nothing, right? Probably a bad deal for us anyway.¡±


    Taylor Bunting nodded seriously as well, though her eyes were on Dave as if it was his words that had persuaded her.


    ¡°I agree with the wise council¡¯s consensus,¡± said a very recently familiar voice. James began twisting his head back and forth as subtly as he could, looking for where it was coming from. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t give in to their ridiculous demand, especially not when the members of this group are so weak. But neither do I think you can afford to just let them go on their merry way. The question is what to do about them.¡±


    Several council members jumped at the sudden and unexpected voice from somewhere in their midst. The eyes of most looked in James¡¯s direction as if he might have some explanation.


    James did not meet their eyes at first. He was looking for the speaker amidst the other figures. He quickly found where Bear was. The masked figure had materialized, out of nowhere somehow, standing right behind where James had been sitting.


    I have a plan for how I might deal with Cyrus already, James thought. But what the hell am I going to do with you? I know my Mom and Anansi said to trust you, but¡­


    ¡°What would you propose we do, stranger?¡± asked Dave, looking mistrustfully at the masked man. His tone was cold.


    ¡°I don¡¯t propose anything,¡± Bear said. ¡°I¡¯ll just observe again that this group is weak. There are a few members with decent power, but their collective strength is nothing significant. And it would be a shame if something were to happen to these good, God-fearing, weak people as they travel to their next destination. If they were to be beset by a pack of wolves, for instance.¡±


    ¡°These are innocent people!¡± exclaimed Bunting.


    ¡°They are,¡± Mina agreed, though she looked conflicted¡ªas if she was thinking about the possible threat Cyrus¡¯s group might pose in the future and weighing it against their present ¡°innocent¡± status.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s going a little far,¡± Zora said quietly, giving the masked figure a sharp look. ¡°Even for you. You should understand what people can bear.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what we¡¯re willing to bear,¡± said Dave. ¡°Your Majesty, you¡¯re in charge. If you tell me and the soldiers to go and kill these people while they¡¯re on their way through the woods out of here, we¡¯ll do it without a second thought. They pose a real future danger.¡±


    ¡°Of course you can count on me,¡± said Luna, wagging her tail from her position between Duncan and Samuel. ¡°I never liked the smell of that Cyrus fellow in the first place.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate all of your thoughts,¡± James said. ¡°I will peacefully and politely reject their request to establish an official state religion. I¡¯m happy to let them build their own church, temple, or mosque, but I¡¯m not interested in declaring my allegiance to one god right now.¡±


    Hopefully we¡¯ll never descend into such savagery that a command like the one Dave suggests would be considered normal or acceptable. We¡¯re not cavemen. We had electricity just a few months ago!


    He was surprised that Dave was willing to take such violent preemptive action against the non-violent Cyrus and his followers, although not exactly displeased. It was good to have someone so committed leading his troops. The Battle of the Haunted Forest seemed to have had a profound effect on the veteran.


    ¡°You know that Cyrus fellow is not going to be grateful for that,¡± Bear said. ¡°For him and his ilk, more is never enough. For an offering that small, he won¡¯t even give you that crown. But if you eliminate him, you could always take it by force.¡±


    ¡°That is not how I am doing things right now,¡± James said forcefully. ¡°I don¡¯t rule out the use of force, even preemptively. But I don¡¯t need to steal from the man, and I sure as hell don¡¯t intend to kill him and his followers over a peaceful religious difference. Thank you again for your advice, Bear. I take what you have to say seriously. But watch yourself. This is my country. If I say there¡¯s not going to be any killing, then there will be no killing.¡±


    ¡°I tried to warn you,¡± Bear replied, shrugging.


    ¡°How did this masked guy even get in here?¡± muttered Bunting under her breath.


    James shared the sentiment but had little interest in the question. The masked man calling himself Bear was clearly a demon, ghost, spirit, or some other such supernatural being. He did not much care which one for now. The answers would reveal themselves in time. All he needed to know was that Bear was someone to take seriously, but clearly also someone whose advice he had to weigh carefully before taking it.


    Premeditated murder of innocent people who had not threatened violence, as Bear proposed, was so far outside the Overton window of the Fisher Kingdom that James knew he had to reject it openly and immediately, even if it had been the right choice practically.


    He looked at Rotter. ¡°Would you go and tell them to come back inside, please?¡±


    Rotter nodded, rose from his seat, and walked to the doors.


    When he opened them, Cyrus¡¯s group began streaming in without further instructions. They must have known immediately that their fate had already been decided.


    James felt a strong stirring of sympathy for them. Their plight, if they had to leave his kingdom because of his unwillingness to adopt their faith as the state¡¯s religion, would be biblical. Like the Israelites fleeing Egypt, they would wander through the wilderness and experience danger, privation, and hardship.


    But that¡¯s not my choice, he reminded himself. I¡¯m not forcing them to go back out there. If they leave, it¡¯s because they can¡¯t stand not getting their way, not because of anything I did or said.


    The monotheists filed into the rows of seats, seemingly looking for the same places where they had been seated before the recess. James waited for everyone to return to their places so that he could speak to the whole group at once.


    Last came Cyrus, holding the crown he had offered James with the tips of his fingers, as if worried that he might break it if he clutched it too tightly.


    Cyrus was the only one who did not sit down. Instead, he strode into the central aisle and locked eyes with James.


    ¡°Well, Your Majesty?¡± he asked. ¡°What is your verdict?¡±


    ¡°The Fisher Kingdom will not be adopting an official state religion at this time,¡± James replied. ¡°I understand that is probably a disappointment to you, but I consider that it would be unfairly exclusionary to all the followers of gods other than yours who reside here.¡± He shifted to the plural pronoun, pulled by some impulse to sound more official. ¡°We are happy to assist you, or any of your group members who intend to stay here, with establishing a house of worship within the Fisher Kingdom. We bear you no ill will, and we would willingly extend the protection of the Kingdom to any member of your group who is willing to take the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s loyalty oath.¡±


    There was a long, pregnant pause before Cyrus spoke. He had looked disappointed as James spoke, then amused, and then something else that was hard for James to name. The followers had murmured in disappointed tones, but most looked as if they had expected and already accepted this outcome.


    ¡°Ah, yes, your oath,¡± said Cyrus. He wore a nasty expression on his face now. Clearly, he wasn¡¯t used to being told ¡°no.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± James said. ¡°It¡¯s a requirement for every citizen.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard it spoken,¡± Cyrus replied. ¡°I haven¡¯t been hanging around here doing nothing at all, you know. I¡¯ve been paying attention. Seen your followers lurking about. Heard the way they talk about you. They¡¯re fanatics. Who take an oath to you personally. One that asks that all the gods bless the Fisher Kingdom.¡±


    Really. My followers are fanatics? If that isn¡¯t the pot calling the kettle black¡­


    But James just shrugged. It was an eloquent shrug. He didn¡¯t need to say anything.


    ¡°This is a take it or leave it thing, then,¡± Cyrus said. ¡°We take your blasphemous oath and agree to our faith in the one true God being equal with all other cults, or we leave.¡±


    ¡°If you choose to see matters that way, then yes,¡± James said. ¡°The oath is mandatory.¡±


    ¡°Would you say that we have a disagreement on how best to run a country, Your Majesty?¡± Cyrus asked. His tone was weirdly calmer now. His eyes, locked onto James¡¯s own, looked almost serene. It should have worried James, but he felt calm. Confident. In control.


    ¡°Based on your insistence on putting religious faith above governance, I would have to say we do, Cyrus,¡± James said.


    A great weight suddenly pressed upon the air all around James. Cyrus¡¯s expression turned to a cold smile.


    And the whole world turned black.

 V4Ch19-Hear No Evil

    James found himself suddenly in an unfamiliar ecosystem.


    The first thing that struck his eyes was that it was a vast, open space, and brightly lit, as if there was no cloud cover¡ªand little distance¡ªbetween himself and the sun.


    Then he blinked, and he realized the reason why there was no cloud cover.


    All around him was an open blue sky¡ªhe had noticed that at first glance. And he stood atop a cloud.


    Somehow, what should have been only a loose gathering of water vapor supported James¡¯s weight.


    Like a cartoon, he thought. I¡¯m above the clouds. On top of one. Impossible. Literally impossible, unless the laws of physics have been overhauled far more than I¡¯d realized.


    Just as when he used Compulsion, he was in a different environment with no explanation¡ªand no apparent need for logical consistency to the environment.


    James blinked and looked around. He saw that there was so much cloud cover beneath him that if it was all as walkable as where he now stood, he could move as far as he liked. The sun looked as close as it had before he blinked, although he knew that the real distance to the sun must not be very different from what it had been back at ground level, assuming that he was still in Earth¡¯s atmosphere. The clouds were only a handful of miles or so from Earth¡¯s surface at most¡ªperhaps a little further up with the changes to Earth post-System¡ªwhile the sun was tens of millions of miles away.


    Still, James felt a meaningfully greater proximity to the sun. He shaded his eyes with his hand as he continued to look around the landscape, searching for landmarks.


    Almost all was flat and white.


    It felt like no place he had ever been¡ªno place that could be. Yet here he was, apparently alone¡ªor at least he had not seen anyone thus far.


    James ran a quick, systematic review of his own body and confirmed that at least that felt like its normal self. He even still wore the clothing he¡¯d had on in the community center, including the Royal Exoarmor, plus the Soul Eater Orb on his wrist in the form of a bracelet.


    There you are!


    He had spotted Cyrus, sitting with legs criss-crossed, smiling serenely, on a cloud some forty feet away from James. The Prophet had been positioned almost directly behind where James was initially facing.


    Now that he knew Cyrus was actually there with him, James'' best guess as to the nature of this place was that it was a sort of battle-of-Wills setting. Perhaps this was like the locations that Compulsion had generated when James struggled with Sister Strange¡ªor the other people he had used the Skill on. Except this was generated by Cyrus¡¯s Skill.


    How dare you? The nerve of trying to break my Will in front of so many witnesses¡­ I¡¯m going to kick your ass.


    That would naturally be the way out of here. And even if it wasn¡¯t¡ªwell, then James would have a good time finding that out.


    He took a step forward and was pleased to find that the next cloud over supported his weight.


    Then his instincts blared out a warning. There was suddenly a large presence just behind him and slightly to the side.


    James whirled¡ªbut there was nothing there.


    I know I sensed something, he thought. There¡¯s another presence here. Something that moves faster than me. He turned back to look at Cyrus scornfully. So you¡¯re not fighting me alone, eh? Coward.


    There was a whisper directly in James¡¯s ear. ¡°Submit to the will of the Holy One.¡±


    The voice reminded him somehow of a crackling flame, like a fireplace from an old movie. In the back of his mind, James noticed that he did not feel the air from someone breathing in his ear, even though the whisper seemed extremely close.


    But there was a certain heat from the proximity of whatever had spoken to him.


    James spun again, but the figure had moved once more¡ªagain, faster than James¡¯s body could follow. It had not moved completely away, though. Now it stood on the edge of his peripheral vision, as if waiting for him to turn again before it would move once more.


    Toying with him.


    He remained still for a moment and took in what he could see with just his peripheral vision.


    The sight that greeted his eyes was strange. It looked like the being was made of bright orange and white light.


    James sent an order to Roscuro, and he was gratified to feel the bracelet on his wrist shift as the Soul Eater began transforming into a long, thin sword. Hopefully that weapon would allow him to more easily strike at this enemy that James could barely keep up with.


    He started conjuring Soul Magic, concentrating the Mana in the arm that was not holding the Soul Eater. All was fair in these battles of Will, after all.


    Attacking this summoned life form would not kill Cyrus. Probably. Even if it did, who cared? Everyone who mattered would understand that it was self-defense.


    ¡°Why do you struggle?¡± The voice was somehow in his ear again, and he realized belatedly that the figure of light had disappeared from his peripheral vision even while he was looking right at it. ¡°Submit to the Holy One who loves and watches over you.¡±


    ¡°Why does he need my submission?¡± James demanded. ¡°And why don¡¯t you hold still and fight like a man?¡±


    He whirled to face the figure, and he finally saw the being he was apparently meant to fight.


    Its body was more or less what it had appeared to be in his peripheral vision, only more impossible. A pillar of white light twice James¡¯s height that was wreathed in constantly moving and shifting fire. James saw fiery limbs that appeared and disappeared with a flicker. Faces in the flames that alternated between one and several images, shifted between human, animal, and unrecognizable features¡ªand also flickered in and out of existence.


    This is so much creepier than I was expecting, was his first reaction.


    Compared with Rostov, who had become a Flame Elemental in his dying moments, this thing was far less human-looking. Almost completely alien, with no apparent biological foundation or shape.


    Then the setting and the image before his eyes came together, and he thought he understood what he was seeing.


    It has to be an angel or something. He remembered that some angels looked like humans, but many did not. James also remembered that the God of the Bible had taken the form of a pillar of fire at some point. He didn¡¯t think this being was a god¡ªit didn¡¯t have that degree of presence, although there was a certain intimidating weight to the pillar that its physical form did not fully account for.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    And Cyrus had claimed to have a connection to the God of the Christians, Jews, and Muslims.


    James felt a dense pit form in his stomach. An involuntary awe swept over him. Years of Christian upbringing flooded his mind with verses and images.


    ¡°He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully.¡±


    ¡°Behold, I send an angel before you to guard you on the way and to bring you to the place that I have prepared.¡±


    ¡°My God sent his angel and shut the lions'' mouths, and they have not harmed me, because I was found blameless before him¡­¡±


    James did his best to suppress the sense of awe that threatened to paralyze him.


    Can I kill it? Is this even the sort of being that can be killed?


    A part of him wanted to know what kind of experience he would get for killing an actual angel, but in his heart, it was hard to take that idea seriously.


    ¡°Give glory to He who formed the world, and He will show you his loving mercy.¡±


    The voice was almost hypnotic, he realized belatedly. He could feel it lulling him. Perhaps it had begun already.


    He realized that his sword arm was at his side¡ªWasn¡¯t I holding that up, to attack this thing?


    James raised his sword¡ªand a tongue of flame suddenly leaped out from the angel and licked his cheek. James felt its touch, and he thought he could smell the harsh odor of his own flesh burning. But somehow it was painless, like he had been injected with heavy painkillers beforehand. It only felt like a light touch. Almost a caress.


    Was it meant as a warning?


    Don¡¯t strike at me, or I¡¯ll incinerate you? Something like that?


    ¡°Submit, and you will receive His favor,¡± the angel said. ¡°Take your rightful place¡ª¡±


    ¡°That is quite enough of that,¡± said a familiar voice. The heavy sunlight that had remained constant and oppressive dimmed noticeably as a giant figure suddenly rose above both James and the angel, peeking up through the clouds and rising until the whole area around James and the angel lay in shadow. James didn¡¯t need to look to know who it was, but he did.


    The titanic, eight-limbed figure of Anansi towered above him, complete with the mask he had worn at his first meeting with James.


    ¡°You!¡± The calm voice of the angel erupted in anger.


    James felt a little of the hypnotic effect of the angel¡¯s voice fading as the ethereal being lost its cool.


    But he did not seem to be the entity¡¯s concern anymore.


    Although its face remained a flickering blur of flames of different shapes, James distinctly felt the angel¡¯s attention shift toward the new arrival.


    Oh, I¡¯ve never been so happy to see a spider before¡­ Where the hell did you come from?!


    ¡°Good to see you, too, Micah,¡± boomed Anansi with a low chuckle.


    The mesmeric effect eroded slightly more at the sound of Anansi laughing.


    The flames that surrounded the angel¡¯s body in a flickering orange light burst forth suddenly in a torrent that reminded James of a flamethrower, lashing the great figure of the Spider God.


    ¡°Die, foul one!¡± the angel shrieked, its voice painful to hear.


    A little more of the hypnotic effect faded with the complete collapse of the angel¡¯s serenity. James¡¯s cheek began to throb with the burn the angel had left earlier¡ªapparently not so painless after all.


    James realized he still had Soul Magic wrapped around his left arm, and he thought this moment, while the angel was distracted, was the perfect chance to strike and help Anansi. Perhaps the only opportunity that he would get. He pointed and aimed, but then he heard a voice in his ear.


    ¡°Soul Magic is useless here.¡±


    ¡°Anansi?¡± James croaked, trying to keep his voice relatively quiet.


    ¡°The very same, James.¡± The voice sounded jovial, almost relaxed.


    James felt a small, eight-legged figure standing on his shoulder now, leaning against his neck. It was like having a much larger and more powerful version of Hester with him.


    But James did not feel assured of victory, even with his patron beside him.


    Even as they spoke, the giant Anansi that stood in front of them was burning.


    It was a fake, James thought. That probably means Anansi isn¡¯t certain that we could win a direct fight. But he fooled it. For long enough¡­ long enough for what? What¡¯s the plan? Can we win? Do we have to run? How?


    ¡°They do not have souls,¡± Anansi continued. ¡°Those things are mere tools of their master. Go for the human. He will be the weak link.¡±


    Ah.


    ¡°Right,¡± James breathed. He turned toward Cyrus, and Anansi hopped down off of James¡¯s shoulder.


    The last thing James saw, out of the corner of his eye, was what appeared to be Anansi throwing a silk net at the figure of the angel.


    There was a sizzling sound, which James guessed was the angel beginning to burn through the silken cords.


    Then James was off and running toward the seated figure of Cyrus, who quickly rose from his position on the cloud and moved to flee.


    Now you have to fight your own battle, James thought. I might not be able to fight a divine being yet, but I¡¯ll beat the crap out of you!


    James reached Cyrus quickly. The other man was limited by the physical stats he had in the real world.


    ¡°I was just trying to show you the wonder¡ª¡±


    James hit Cyrus with a backhanded slap so hard that he knocked him off his feet. Blood trickled from the corner of the Prophet¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°Did I ask to see it?¡± James growled, kneeling to attack Cyrus where he lay.


    Cyrus half-heartedly tried to rise, but James slapped him open-handed this time, and he dropped back down. Then James grabbed him by his shirt front with his left hand, and with his right, he punched Cyrus in the nose.


    He heard a satisfying crunch as the nose broke and saw a light gusher of blood spurt from the crumpled cartilage.


    ¡°Satisfied?¡± spluttered Cyrus through a small river of red.


    ¡°Shut the fuck up!¡±


    James punched Cyrus on the side of the head, then the stomach, then the arm¡ªthe elbow snapped backward under James¡¯s brutal fist.


    The Prophet lay there and took it without meaningfully attempting to fight back. The only signs that he was still alive were the cries of pain with each impact, and a low moan whenever James broke a bone.


    ¡°Okay, fine, get it all out,¡± Cyrus wheezed. His tone was unsettlingly serene, despite the undertone of pain and difficulty breathing. His voice sounded as if James had ruptured one of his lungs. ¡°This isn¡¯t my real body anyway. I get it. You¡¯re not going to be the Holy King we want. I¡¯ll leave. I¡¯ll keep looking.¡±


    ¡°Not good enough,¡± James growled.


    Now that he was in the heat of beating the tar out of Cyrus, every reason he felt for savaging him felt powerful. But one reason, above all else, made him wish Cyrus dead.


    He tried to turn me into a puppet, James thought. I¡¯ll never be anyone¡¯s tool, goddamnit!


    He gathered aura around himself, no particular Skill in mind, just a goal.


    You will never do this again, he thought. Not to anyone. You¡¯ll never come back for revenge. I¡¯ll destroy you here and now.


    He locked eyes with Cyrus.


    Then James heard words of power being spoken, and he only dimly realized that he was the speaker.


    ¡°You will never make contact with a spiritual being again, whether it be god, angel, demon, or other ethereal creature. From now on, your world is restricted to your body. You will see no sights, hear no sounds, speak no words, for as long as you live.¡±


    The world seemed to hum all around them.


    Then Cyrus screamed, and the air around them cracked and shattered like glass.


    James blinked and found himself back in the community center, his vision swimming. He was exhausted.


    [Required conditions met. Hidden Skill unlocked: Curse of the Fisher King!]

 V4Ch20-See No Evil

    Mina felt a harsh tension impose itself on the air in the community center.


    She saw how Cyrus locked eyes with James, and she realized suddenly that Cyrus was using an ability of some sort. In the fraction of a second before some unknown disaster befell them, she opened her mouth¡ªand it was too late.


    Cyrus¡¯s eyes closed, and his body seemed to go limp even as he remained on his feet.


    James¡¯s eyes glowed a bright golden color, as it had in the forest on the night they killed the Wraiths¡ªhis eyes seemed to have a permanent golden hue now, which Mina was still getting used to, but they did not always glow. His body simply sat, as still as a statue, in place.


    Mina did not shake him or try to get James¡¯s attention at all. She had no idea how this Skill worked, or whether she would make things better or worse if she attempted to interfere. She could only hope that James would be able to power through whatever it was.


    She felt helpless.


    She looked fiercely around the room, her eyes scanning for traitors or collaborators¡ªanyone who she could take her sudden anger out on. How could these people come into their land and do this to her husband? He was trying to take them in!


    Her visual search was unsatisfying.


    There were no obvious guilty faces, and no one was looking back at Mina in response to her hawk-like stare. Cyrus¡¯s followers instead stared back and forth between their leader and James as if confused about what was going on.


    Perhaps they did not even know that this was an ability of their Prophet¡¯s rather than something that James had done.


    If the monotheists were confused, the council was mildly panicked.


    ¡°Is the King being assaulted?¡± asked Rotter in a harsh whisper.


    Mina nodded and hissed, ¡°Yes!¡±


    Of course he¡¯s being assaulted! I thought you were smart.


    She tried to force herself to calm down as discussion took place around her.


    ¡°Cyrus was doing something funny with his eyes, I think,¡± Leo said.


    ¡°I think maybe you¡¯d better arrest him, then,¡± Dave replied.


    Mina reflexively wanted to agree with that, but she forced herself to think carefully about it.


    ¡°No,¡± she said quietly. ¡°We don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on yet. The room is full of Cyrus¡¯s coreligionists, though. This situation could get¡ª¡±


    She wanted to say, It could get out of hand, but James had already been attacked directly. The situation seemed out of control already.


    ¡°We should wait to see what happens to him and James,¡± Zora suggested, looking at Mina carefully.


    Mina nodded. Thank you.


    It was a relief, this time, that Zora was here and had remained in command of her feelings.


    The light in the room dimmed for a moment¡ªby what cause, Mina was at a loss to say¡ªand a sound like a thunderclap resounded through the space.


    Then James sprang back to life. He twisted his neck back and forth, cracking it as if he had been still for a long time, though it had been only a minute. Then he rose to his feet.


    His movements seemed almost manic. Too energetic, even for someone who had always been so full of vigor.


    ¡°James, are you okay?¡± Mina asked, her voice shaking slightly.


    ¡°Fine, I¡¯m fine.¡± He sounded slightly confused, as if tired or mildly intoxicated. A light sheen of sweat coated his forehead, and his breathing sounded as if he had been swimming deep underwater for too long. He looked around wildly as if reacclimating himself to the room.


    Then his gaze turned back to Cyrus, and James¡¯s eyes and lips changed. His handsome features twisted into a snarl. Then he bent his knees and leaped suddenly through the air¡ªthe movement was so quick that Mina could barely follow it with her eyes¡ªand landed on the ground level, a few feet in front of Cyrus.


    At almost the same moment, Cyrus fell to his knees. He was bleeding from his eyes, ears, and mouth and clutching at his throat.


    Despite the gruesome scene, Cyrus made almost no noise¡ªas if his fall took place in a supernatural cone of silence.


    James had taken a step forward, but he stopped as Cyrus collapsed.


    In the intervening moment, Cyrus¡¯s right-hand man, Christopher Smith, rushed forward to stand between his leader and James.


    Mina could not see James¡¯s face, but she could tell from the way his posture stiffened that he was still angry, despite Cyrus already being in terrible shape.


    James spoke up loudly, so that everyone in the room could hear him. ¡°I offered you hospitality, and your leader repaid me by trying to control my mind. You¡ª¡± He tilted his head at Smith¡ª¡°take him and get out. Anyone else who wants to follow them, you can also get out of the Kingdom. Be gone by sundown. Those who wish to stay, gather your families and prepare to take the citizenship oath, word for word, this evening.¡± He pointed at Cyrus, who was clearly suffering in his position on the floor, clawing at his own eyes by the time James gestured to him. ¡°Don¡¯t take this decision lightly. I will hold you to your promises, if you decide to stay. And this is what happens to traitors.¡±


    He turned his back contemptuously on Cyrus¡ªand, by extension, on his followers¡ªand strode confidently back up the aisle toward the platform he had just jumped down from.


    To everyone else, Mina imagined James probably looked indignant. But she saw the clear fatigue on his face. Even as he tried to keep his expression disciplined and his posture ramrod straight, there was something hollow in the way he moved, something exhausted in his expression.Stolen novel; please report.


    Is he going to be all right? she wondered. What did that bastard do to him?


    Cyrus¡¯s followers¡ªor, in some cases, Mina realized, former followers¡ªwere muttering to themselves from all corners of the room besides the area with the stage. But their eyes weren¡¯t on James anymore. They were talking amongst themselves or looking at Cyrus with varying shades of horror on their faces.


    Mina¡¯s read of the room might not have been perfect, but she sensed a shift in their loyalties. Even if some of them were attached to the idea of a state that embodied their religious preferences, did they really support Cyrus¡¯s effort at mind control to achieve that goal?


    And even if some of them did support trying to control the Ruler from behind the scenes, Cyrus had failed. Perhaps they needed to be more pragmatic. Their Prophet was still bleeding from his eyes, ears, and mouth, though the flow was slowing. It was a powerful sign of what happened when a plot like this failed.


    They were lucky that James had not ordered the lot of them summarily executed.


    She guessed that few of these people would stand by Cyrus now that his power¡ªand even physical health¡ªseemed to be on the wane. He might even be dying, Mina realized, though it was hard for her to care. Whatever Cyrus had done had clearly had a big effect on James. That was her only concern right now.


    A few of the followers were already getting up and leaving. Those who left did not stop and check how Cyrus was doing before they passed through the double doors.


    That¡¯s the thing about leaders, she thought as James stepped onto the stage. You can¡¯t see them become weak. Even if they were chosen as leaders for their wisdom or something non-physical like that. People like strong leaders. If they get badly weakened, something primitive about our brains keeps us from seeing them the same way again.


    James walked back over to his place at the table and managed to take his seat in a dignified way. He even remained sitting upright, rather than slumping forward or leaning on the table for support. But as Mina took his hand, she could feel that his pulse was erratic.


    I need to get these people out of here¡­


    Then James could rest, and she could try to heal him.


    Is that a burn on his face? Now that he was beside her again, she saw a small burn mark on his cheek. It was already probably smaller than it had been, given James¡¯s healing abilities, but it was strange that she had not noticed it earlier.


    Did he get it from fighting Cyrus somehow?


    ¡°I did warn you.¡± Bear rumbled from the space on stage behind the council members. Everyone in the room could hear his words, though he had not raised his voice.


    Mina¡¯s emotions were still running high, but she thought quickly of how she could use that remark to her advantage.


    ¡°You, shut up!¡± she yelled at Bear. The masked man jumped. ¡°Everyone else, please just get out of here. I¡ªI need a few minutes alone with my husband. He was just attacked!¡±


    Members of Cyrus¡¯s group who had not already risen quickly got to their feet, lowered their heads, and in some cases muttered what sounded like quiet apologies for their leader¡¯s behavior under their breath.


    Those who had been on their feet moved out more quickly than they had been.


    And council members rose from their seats, too. Some of them left without a word.


    Nearly all looked in James¡¯s direction with curiosity or concern before they left. Mina tried to ignore them or dissuade them with body language.


    Others tried approaching Mina, offering help if she and James needed it


    She shut them down with the most brusque, ¡°I¡¯m fine¡± she could muster each time, though in her heart, she was grateful.


    Thank you, Leo. Thank you, Dave. Thank you, Jeremiah, even though I¡¯m still iffy on whether I trust you at all or not.


    She just wanted people to leave as quickly as possible, so that James could pass out.


    She could see from the way that his eyes were blinking that he might fall asleep in his seat at any moment, and she knew he would not want anyone to see that.


    The masked man looked in her and James¡¯s direction and nodded slowly, as if he had just figured -out what was happening. Then he withdrew from the stage.


    Zora rose from her place uncertainly, but Mina grabbed her by the sleeve.


    ¡°No, not you,¡± she whispered.


    Zora was the only other person there who would understand the situation and be on James¡¯s side. The two women exchanged small smiles as Zora nodded and sat back down.


    The rest of the room cleared out quickly. The last ones to go were a few of the religious folks who had stayed to help Cyrus walk out of the room. The Prophet was clearly still disoriented, but his legs worked.


    So he still has some loyalists after all, Mina thought. Or at least people who feel sorry for him.


    It was hard to resent that too much. The former leader cut a pitiful figure, moving like a puppet with its strings cut¡ªand with blood all over his shirt, as if James had not just beaten his mind control gambit but also delivered a violent beating.


    What exactly did James do to him? she wondered. This was no ability she had ever seen or heard her husband describe. It was as if James had just reached out and gouged out Cyrus¡¯s eyes¡ªand maybe stabbed him in the ears and plucked out his tongue?¡ªbut that was like no Skill Mina had ever seen. Then again, perhaps she was overthinking this. It could simply be a sort of psychic backlash from Cyrus¡¯s own Skill failing to work on James. Powerful abilities were probably more costly than more commonplace Skills.


    As the doors closed behind them, Zora quickly moved down to the ground level and went to lock them.


    James slumped backward in his seat.


    ¡°Everyone¡¯s gone now, right?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Mina said, nodding. ¡°What happened, skapi? Are you hurt anywhere that I can heal?¡±


    His weary eyes finally closed, and Mina felt his pulse almost immediately slow down.


    James had passed out.


    ¡°I hope he wakes up soon,¡± Mina muttered, thinking out loud.


    She had asked for a few minutes alone with her husband. If people returned now, or in a few minutes, they would see exactly what she had hoped to conceal.


    ¡°Let¡¯s put him in your bag,¡± Zora said.


    ¡°What?¡± Mina asked, startled.


    ¡°James put a Dungeon Core in his bag and brought her here, right?¡± Zora asked.


    Mina nodded.


    ¡°And it didn¡¯t do any harm to her?¡±


    ¡°No, it didn¡¯t,¡± Mina said. ¡°Now that you mention it, I¡¯ve seen that work for other living things too¡­¡± Her mind went to the Pixies from her Orientation. ¡°So that¡¯s how we¡¯ll sneak him away!¡±


    Zora smiled. ¡°I think it¡¯s our best bet. Our James¡ª¡± She shook her head¡ª¡°always getting himself into trouble.¡±


    Mina felt like she should probably defend him from that comment somehow, but she just laughed instead. It was true. As much as James tended to rescue others from danger, he also had a way of finding trouble for himself.


    They attempted to lift James together, but his dense, muscular body was too heavy. Finally, Mina just opened her Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions as wide as she could and shoved the mouth over James¡¯s head, and the bag seemed to take the hint.


    It sucked James inside it like a cartoon or video game item.


    Then they were able to sneak him out and back to the apartment.


    Once they were back inside, Mina took the bag to the bedroom and removed James from the bag¡ªthere was a funny moment, after she reached in to pull him out, when he floated in the air an inch or two above the bed after he came out of the bag, and then crashed down with all his weight.


    Somehow that did not wake him.


    Mina tucked him in and gave him a kiss on the cheek.


    And James slept for the next two hours.

 V4Ch21-What Happened to Moishe Part 1

    Moishe Rose reached out and touched the Skin Balloon.


    It was the last minute of Orientation, and he knew that it was there for him, one of James¡¯s creatures. He didn¡¯t know to what purpose, yet. Wrapped around his other arm, Moishe¡¯s tamed viper hissed at the strange monster¡ªwhich the Skin Ballon thankfully ignored.


    ¡°It¡¯s all right, Cecilia,¡± Moishe murmured in the low, soothing voice she liked.


    His hand took a firm grip on the Skin Balloon, to ensure that they could not be separated.


    Then he found himself in the white room with the System Homunculus, which ran down the list of Moishe¡¯s rewards.


    After that brief visit, he was teleported back to Earth.


    Moishe¡¯s body fell to the pavement from several feet in the air, but in the second he was falling, he managed to quickly reposition his body so as to land on one foot and one knee, somewhat poised. The Skin Balloon had appeared alongside him, touching his hand where it had been before the end of Orientation.


    That¡¯s convenient, he thought as he landed.


    At the same time that he had dropped, however, several other people hit the ground nearby.


    ¡°Need you to get away from me for a bit,¡± Moishe whispered harshly in the Skin Balloon¡¯s direction. ¡°I¡¯ll follow you, but I don¡¯t want strangers to see me hanging out with a monster.¡±


    He hoped the creature understood language. Moishe knew this was one of James¡¯s creatures, but the strangers around him would have no way of knowing that¡ªand he didn¡¯t want to be in the position of having to explain associating with a strange magical creature, right after everyone would have spent the last couple of months dealing with monsters. It sounded like a good way to get murdered.


    Cecilia was still wrapped around his body, but he decided that he would order her into his bag, too. Just as soon as he tested it to make certain it could contain living things without killing them.


    The Skin Balloon bobbed up and down, almost like it was nodding, and then it floated quickly up and away.


    ¡°Hey, man, what the fuck¡¯s that?¡±


    Moishe turned and saw one of the people who had landed near him. Fortunately, the man wasn¡¯t looking or pointing at him or the Skin Balloon, but at a giant black rat¡ªroughly the size of a man¡ªwith gleaming, glossy eyes that stood on the street corner.


    I wonder whose Orientation you came from¡­


    ¡°Shit¡­¡± murmured one of the other people who had landed near Moishe.


    The rat took a step toward the humans, and everyone but Moishe scattered, running without looking back. That was apparently what they had learned from their Orientations. Moishe stood his ground and stared the rat in its beady little eyes.


    I¡¯m not moving. You need to get lost.


    The rat took another step forward. Its movements were the furtive, uncertain motions of a creature that had matured on Earth, before the System changed it. Moishe instinctively realized that it was not one of those monsters that knew humans primarily as prey. This rat had first experienced them as predators. Moishe drew his daggers without breaking eye contact.


    If you want to die, I¡¯m perfectly happy to get some more experience¡­


    The rat stopped moving and simply watched him for a moment. For the first time, Moishe had the inkling of some form of intelligence in the creature¡¯s unwavering eyes. It was trying to decide whether it could win.


    Moishe took a step forward, and the rat took that as its cue. It leaped away from him, then crawled through a chunk of shattered pavement¡ªdown into the sewers, or the space where the sewers had once been.


    Oh, I don¡¯t like that, Moishe thought. Orlando was going to turn into quite a dangerous city if the sewers turned into a breeding ground for rodents of unusual size¡ªand whatever other manner of creatures chose to take up residence.


    He finally had a chance to look around, with no pressing danger weighing on him, and he wanted to get the lay of the land¡ªsee what else had changed along with the arrival of monsters from out of some fantasy¡ªor nightmare.


    He turned his head to look toward the city center, and his mouth fell open at what he saw.


    Never mind, then. I guess the city¡¯s fucked anyway. He managed to pick his jaw up off the ground, but pulling his eyes away was another matter. Orlando looked like it had been the victim of a horrendous natural disaster.


    In the distance, he could see that all of Orlando¡¯s tallest buildings had toppled. Broken glass littered the streets. There were great fissures where the pavement had been. People appeared to be panicking, running around directionless, as if a disaster was ongoing.


    But afraid. They knew to be desperately afraid.


    Without a strong leader, this place is going to descend into the ugliest kind of anarchy, Moishe thought.


    He didn¡¯t see any sign of James anywhere, though. As Cecilia shifted on his body to wrap around his bicep more tightly, Moishe turned to look up at the Skin Balloon.


    The creature had almost camouflaged itself, hiding partially obscured behind a cloud. Fortunately, Moishe had good vision, so he could still see the Skin Balloon. It appeared to be waiting patiently for him. The direction it had moved in suggested that it wanted to lead Moishe out of the city.


    Great. At least I won¡¯t be in the middle of the collapse.


    He put away his daggers, then turned again, to where he remembered a convenience store had been. There was some thought of getting supplies in the back of his mind, but as he saw the wrecked building, memories from before the onset of Orientation came rushing back. He had been visiting his sister Isabelle at her place in Orlando.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    When word of the end of the world as they knew it came, Isabelle had had a hard time taking it as seriously as Moishe thought it required. He had always been the more practical one, even though she was older. So he had gone down to the Quick Mart convenience store at the last minute. He¡¯d had a hard time cutting through the crowds to get in.


    He shook his head at the memory.


    I didn¡¯t end up getting much in the way of supplies. It didn¡¯t really help us at all. The others trying to make their last minute apocalypse preparations had almost cleaned the store out.


    A memory of his sister¡¯s face suddenly flashed before his eyes.


    She had looked so happy when she video called Moishe to invite him there for her baby shower. She and her partner, Eugene, were expecting their firstborn child, a little girl. They were engaged to be married in the Fall.


    When Moishe saw her in person, she had looked almost ready to burst. It had really brought home for him how their lives were about to change. She was going to be a mother, which would make him an uncle.


    Now that¡¯s never going to happen¡­


    Moishe tried to resist for a moment, then gave up and let the tears roll down his cheeks.


    He sat down on a chunk of curb and just bawled his eyes out for a few minutes.


    ¡°It¡¯s not fair,¡± he muttered to himself. ¡°Out of all the people Rostov could have picked to fucking sacrifice¡­¡±


    The anger still boiled somewhere inside him, but now the grief was stronger.


    I¡¯ll never see her again, he thought. And her baby, too¡­ Goddamned sick rat bastards. I¡¯ll never meet my niece. Poor Isabelle¡­


    He buried his face in his hands and allowed himself to sit with his grief until he heard the sound of movement from the convenience store, now at his back.


    Moishe hurriedly rose from the curb and used the back of his arm to wipe the tears from his face. The arm came away dirty as well as wet, and Moishe grimaced.


    He hadn¡¯t showered in weeks, so he could only imagine how he would look to whoever was moving around inside the wreckage of the convenience store. The reason he had sat with his back to it was that he had assumed it was empty¡ªbut now, through the half-collapsed ceiling, he could see two people walking toward him.


    The two men were in conversation, focused on each other and not looking straight ahead, so they hadn¡¯t noticed Moishe yet. He had the chance to get away without being seen, if he wanted.


    What am I fucking thinking? Moishe asked himself angrily. I¡¯m all alone here, in a world where monsters absolutely exist. Until I reach James and his people, I¡¯m pretty vulnerable. Assassin equals glass cannon. If I can acquire some allies, I should be grateful for the opportunity¡ªnot running away. Get it together, man.


    Moishe bent down, looked around for a minute, and quickly grabbed an earthworm that was wriggling around on the ground.


    He stuffed the creature into his Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions, closed the bag, counted out thirty seconds in his mind while occasionally popping his head up to make sure the men in the Quick Mart hadn¡¯t seen him¡ªand then he opened the bag back up and drew the earthworm out again.


    It still moved, though its activity in his hand when he first brought it out seemed sluggish.


    As if I just took it out of suspended animation, maybe?


    In any case, the worm quickly resumed its normal wriggling movement¡ªthe same sort of motion Moishe remembered he had seen before in earthworms.


    That would have to be good enough.


    Moishe whispered to his snake, ¡°Cecilia, would you do me a favor and please get into my bag for a little while? I promise it¡¯s bigger than it looks on the inside.¡±


    The viper slithered slowly down his arm and into the opening of Moishe¡¯s bag.


    Did he detect the slightest reluctance? It was hard to be certain. But his little friend did allow herself to be stored inside the bag.


    Once her head was in, it almost seemed to suck the rest of her body inside.


    Sort of weird how that works. It seemed like something to perform experiments with, later.


    Moishe rose from his crouched position and saw the men were closer to him now. He stood still and simply looked at the man walking in the lead until he and the other man made eye contact.


    The man smiled nervously at Moishe, and the Assassin gave him a nod and a firm smile back.


    As the two men approached, Moishe evaluated them visually. The man in the lead had a vaguely Mediterranean look to him¡ªor maybe Middle Eastern. It was hard to be certain. The other fellow was Caucasian of some stripe, with a neat, clean cut look.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, young man,¡± said the man in the lead as he reached Moishe, extending his hand to shake.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to meet anyone in this wrecked world who isn¡¯t trying to kill me,¡± Moishe replied, looking over the other men¡¯s shoulders and ignoring the offered hand for the moment. He thought he saw movement in the rubble behind the two men. ¡°I think we probably need to move away from this area, though. Maybe save the introductions until after that.¡±


    The man who had just tried to shake his hand turned to look behind himself, and a chunk of rubble moved.


    ¡°Something was following us through there,¡± the man said, shuddering slightly¡ªalthough there was a slight smile tugging at the edge of his lips, as if he liked the proximity to danger a bit.


    Maybe he¡¯s a little like James, Moishe thought. Some guys really like proving they¡¯re the most dangerous thing in the room.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± Moishe said, speaking quickly, eager to move the conversation to a new location. ¡°This city is looking kind of unsafe, generally. I have some friends who I¡¯m planning to meet up with outside the city. There are a few strong people, and I¡¯ve seen that they¡¯re capable of protecting a group. I¡¯m not sure if you have plans that would keep you in the city, but if you¡¯re interested in leaving, I think it might be safer to travel together rather than individually. Either way, we should really move away from here.¡±


    ¡°Can I lead the way?¡± the man asked, still turned to face the Quick Mart wreckage. ¡°I also have some friends from Orientation who are supposed to meet me. If you want to travel in numbers, that ought to make our trip even safer.¡±


    Moishe nodded. He just wanted to get out of there. And with other people beside him sounded better than without.


    ¡°Perfect,¡± the man said.


    Moishe followed the man¡ªand his thus far silent companion¡ªas they made their way from the front of the Quick Mart, in the direction of the city center.


    This is really probably moving us toward danger, Moishe thought, his heart beating more quickly as they moved into what he imagined would be a soldier¡¯s worst nightmare. The city was in terrible shape, with some buildings barely standing and others having collapsed, while still others were on fire¡ªsome form of human action, or something the monsters had done? He couldn¡¯t be sure.


    It would be easy for a group of creatures to ambush them from any of these abandoned buildings.


    Moishe had just opened his mouth to ask how much farther it was, and if they could perhaps take a different route to meet his new companion¡¯s friends, when the trio turned a corner, and Moishe saw a crowd of people in the distance. They were standing near the lake.


    ¡°We made it,¡± said the man, satisfied. He turned to Moishe. ¡°We¡¯ll meet up with my people, and then you can lead us to your friends, if you think that¡¯s the safest choice. Otherwise, we¡¯ll see if anyone else in the group has any bright ideas.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good,¡± Moishe said. ¡°I guess we¡¯re out of the woods for now. I¡¯m Moishe, by the way. Moishe Rose.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you,¡± said the other man. ¡°My name is Cyrus.¡±

 V4Ch22-What Happened to Moishe Part 2

    As Moishe walked around the park, speaking to the gathered people there, he realized that many of them were not from Cyrus¡¯s Orientation.


    It shouldn¡¯t have surprised him; once he, Cyrus, and Christopher Smith had made their way through the buildings and gotten a better look at the crowd, Moishe could see there were hundreds of people milling about.


    What united these people, instead of a shared Orientation experience, was the fact that they had all been in town for an international interfaith conference.


    When the System had appeared, it had shocked these people to their core. Some of them were clergy, some theologians, some authors, and some self-taught scholars of religion like Cyrus.


    They all took their religions seriously. And they had agreed, thanks to the guidance of the man running the meeting, Cardinal Milos, to meet back up in this place.


    Aside from that, there was little that bound them together. Moishe found that, besides two dozen people who had been in Cyrus¡¯s Orientation and were committed to following where he led, and another ten who were similarly committed to Christopher and had been in his Orientation, people did not seem to share a common vision on future plans.


    A part of Moishe wanted to try and sway these people toward joining James¡¯s camp, but the more sensible part of his brain¡ªwhich remained aware that he was a relative outsider to this group, and that it would be a massive thing to suddenly drop hundreds of random people into James¡¯s lap¡ªprevailed.


    Moishe stayed out of the way while people in their various groups decided which way they would go. Most of the people here knew each other, and none of them knew him, and Moishe kept moving, hovering around the periphery of different groups without inserting himself into them, all artfully done so that no one approached him.


    The discussion probably only lasted twenty minutes or so, but it felt like forever, as the Assassin couldn¡¯t help but keep looking back to the city and wondering when some disaster might befall the group. Monsters of all stripes could be seen in the distance, from giant lizards to cockroaches longer than seven feet. They were all claiming bits and pieces of the city, and they seemed to have arrived at the same time as the humans.


    Fortunately, none of the creatures dared to approach the large group of humans that had taken over part of the park just yet.


    But Moishe knew that this safety would be temporary.


    He occasionally saw small groups of humans sneaking around the city, most of them fleeing the ruins, but some scavenging or looking for a place to hole up and hide. He considered trying to insert himself into one of those groups¡ªhe wasn¡¯t particularly fond of the fact that Cyrus and Christopher¡¯s group was all religious¡ªbut the fact that the other bunches of people were small and did not look especially strong was a major preventive factor.


    Moishe had also observed that the people here were representations of many different religious denominations, which made his personal lack of strong religious convictions less uncomfortable.


    Finally, Cyrus tapped him on the shoulder and told him that their group was ready to depart and would follow Moishe¡¯s lead to the next destination.


    In the end, Cyrus and Christopher had gathered a total of around eighty people who were willing to follow them, from both those they had gotten to know in their Orientations and those who were persuaded during the intense series of parallel discussions that Moishe had chosen not to participate in.


    This is quite a lot of strength in numbers, Moishe thought. It was to the point that he wondered why they would bother following him. Yes, he could lead them to another group where they might be safer¡ªand Moishe assumed that Cyrus had conveyed that opportunity.


    But with this many people, they could probably take care of themselves. Right?


    Moishe was distracted from this train of thought, as he saw that three other groups had formed and were moving off in their own directions.


    I guess there was nothing to keep all these people together, but I wonder what these different groups are going to do¡­


    He looked at Cyrus and thought about asking some of the questions on his mind, but Moishe quickly decided against it. He didn¡¯t want to give the impression that he was unsure of his direction or thinking about shifting to follow one of the other groups.


    Moishe already found it slightly strange that all these people he didn¡¯t know had decided to follow him somewhere.


    It made sense if they trusted Cyrus, but Moishe still didn¡¯t know why Cyrus trusted him, when he clearly had the respect of all these other people. The whole arrangement felt like a Jenga tower that might collapse if he pulled out the wrong piece, leaving him to navigate the wilderness between Orlando and James¡¯s location on his own.


    It was also conceivable that Moishe had walked into some sort of a trap¡ªthat despite their apparent religious background, these people had unkind intentions toward him, or they were hoping that they could take control of the group he was leading them towards¡ªbut that felt like paranoia. They would have to have made such a plan before they even met Moishe, or they would have to have risked coordinating it within hearing distance of him.


    He shook his head and tried to dismiss the strange, bad feeling he suddenly had.


    If they had some bad intentions¡ªor if the members of this group were trusting in Moishe, and by extension Cyrus, foolishly¡ªthen he was already screwed. There were more people here than he could fight or outrun, and it was too late for him to slip away unnoticed.


    In any case, bringing up his bad feelings wasn¡¯t going to help him.


    Far better to remain silent.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± Moishe said, giving Cyrus a nod.


    Moishe took the lead with unfeigned confidence¡ªhe had his eyes on a creature that could lead him to where he wanted to go, after all¡ªand began mentally preparing to explain to James exactly where these close to a hundred people had come from.Stolen story; please report.


    He followed the Skin Balloon¡¯s lead, without telling anyone explicitly that was what he was doing, and it quickly led him out of the city.


    He and the crowd that accompanied him managed to leave the ruined buildings in the background without incident.


    They walked for a few hours in relative silence¡ªthere were some murmurs from those behind Moishe as the group talked amongst themselves, but since they were not talking to him, he ignored them¡ªbefore Cyrus called a halt.


    The group was in a rundown suburban area, near an old church that had somehow, miraculously, survived the cataclysm that had wrecked half of Orlando. Since they were far from the city, Moishe didn¡¯t mind stopping. As he looked around behind him, he could see that some of the older people needed to catch their breath and have a drink or a snack. As for him, he could keep going all day and all night if necessary. Based on its performance so far, Moishe was fairly certain that his body would endure the trip well.


    All the levels he had gained had changed him.


    I wonder if there are some people who have experienced this transition as a purely good thing, Moishe thought. People who had nothing to lose or who didn¡¯t lose anything. If Isabelle hadn¡¯t died, how would I feel about this?


    He was pulled out of his train of thought by Cyrus¡¯s voice. The older man was leading the group in a vague, nondenominational prayer to God. Giving thanks that they had made it so far and asking for his favor as they continued their great journey forward.


    Some people had put their hands together and bowed their heads, while the handful of Muslim members of the group were off to the side, praying in their own fashion.


    Moishe thought it might make him stand out, to refrain from observing the same rituals as the members of the group. It was hard to make himself care, but then again, it was better not to be perceived as any more of an outsider than necessary.


    He forced himself to bow his head and close his eyes along with the majority of the group. When they said ¡°Amen,¡± he mouthed the word too.


    Moishe opened his eyes after a moment, and then he almost jumped out of his skin at the sudden sensation of a hand gently grabbing his shoulder.


    ¡°Oh, sorry!¡± Cyrus¡¯s voice sounded chagrined from Moishe¡¯s side.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a problem,¡± Moishe said. ¡°Just that after all the monsters I saw crawling around the city, I¡¯m still a bit jumpy.¡±


    And I don¡¯t really trust you, he added in his mind. Don¡¯t take that too personally. I don¡¯t trust anyone here. The person I trusted most in the world is dead¡­


    ¡°I thought I might get you to tell me a little about yourself, Moishe,¡± Cyrus said. ¡°We¡¯re all following you, and I realized as we were walking that I was kind of just going off my intuition about you. You could be an axe murderer or something, and I¡¯m just standing here thinking, ¡®Well, he seems trustworthy.¡¯ You know?¡±


    Moishe nodded. I hoped you wouldn¡¯t bring it up, but I have had that general thought.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you can tell most of the group here are a bit religious,¡± Cyrus added. ¡°I noticed you bowing your head, too. Are you a religious man?¡±


    Moishe instantly felt that a crossroads in the relations between himself and Cyrus had arrived. Should I lie or tell the truth?


    After a moment, he shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m afraid not.¡±


    Cyrus looked disappointed and tried unsuccessfully to hide it.


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d be interested in exploring this old place with us, then, would you?¡± He gestured at the old church.


    ¡°Exploring?¡± Moishe raised an eyebrow.


    I¡¯m not a child. I don¡¯t really explore anymore, unless it¡¯s to gather information. Why would I give a damn about some old church?


    ¡°It¡¯s a brave new world,¡± Cyrus said. ¡°You never know where you might find something of value. Some extra food, a source of running water that hasn¡¯t been destroyed. Anything we find could be valuable. Christopher and I got some rations back in Orlando, from that ruined building, and other members of the group did their own, um, liberating of unowned goods, but it won¡¯t last forever.¡±


    Moishe found himself nodding. That made sense.


    ¡°Who¡¯s going with us?¡± he asked.


    ¡°The people I met in Orientation¡ªwe formed quite a close knit group¡ªnow that they have reunited with me, I trust them to have my back. That way, we can explore a bit more safely.¡±


    Safety in numbers, I like it, Moishe thought.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll be ready when you are,¡± he said.


    I guess he didn¡¯t actually care about knowing anything about me except my religious affiliation. Maybe it¡¯s better if I keep the amount we get to know each other to a minimum.


    Cyrus took a minute walking around and explaining the situation to the others. Then two dozen people slowly gathered from where they were standing around or sitting in the grass or asphalt and walked over to where Moishe stood, in front of the church.


    ¡°Here goes nothing,¡± Cyrus said, grinning now.


    Moishe had that sense of an intrepid leader again, and he thought again of James. He wondered how James and the Rodriguezes were doing.


    Then Cyrus¡¯s group packed themselves into a tight formation around Moishe and Cyrus, and Moishe just focused on keeping pace with them as they marched forward. One of the people in front, though Moishe would never afterward be able to identify who, opened the church double doors.


    Moishe got a look between the profiles of those ahead of him in the formation, and he saw what looked like an ordinary church interior. Pews, a pulpit, a very large crucified Christ. It was all very typical.


    The whole mass of people began moving across the threshold, and then¡ªthen something impossible happened.


    The image before Moishe¡¯s eyes flickered and changed. Instead of finding himself inside a plain old church, he and the other members of the formation stood in a valley. Their relative physical positions were also changed. Whatever had teleported them had also organized the group into a straight line.


    Moishe ignored the audible gasps from a few around him and focused on scoping out the environment.


    It reminded Moishe a bit of a smaller scale version of the Grand Canyon.


    There were tall cliff faces on either side of him, he saw immediately.


    The dry, sandy ground before him was marred with what appeared to be deep, round pits randomly crisscrossing the ground, leaving the safe part of the path before them narrow and difficult.


    Now that he saw restricted the walkway was, the fact that the space had moved them into a straight line felt like a deliberate gesture, in recognition of the fact that they could not all fit if they were placed next to each other. Moishe was somewhere in the middle, as he could see the people in front of him from the formation, and he could feel there were people behind him, as the weight of multiple bodies pressed the nearest one uncomfortably close to Moishe¡¯s back.


    But his first concern was not the tight line of humans that he found himself in, nor even the narrow path they would presumably have to continue walking on.


    It was the words that had appeared in front of him. A System alert.


    [Dungeon entered! You have arrived in Dungeon: Valley of the Shadow of Death!]


    [First humans of Earth-73 to enter Dungeon: Valley of the Shadow of Death!]


    Moishe groaned quietly to himself.


    A religious-themed Dungeon? Shit¡­

 V4Ch23-Lore

    When James awakened, he felt a strange combination of sensations.


    Fatigue. A combination of fatigue and muscle soreness that he had not experienced since Orientation, except in the immediate aftermath of combat.


    An unpleasant cotton-like taste filled his mouth.


    And the quality of the light falling across his skin told him immediately that it was mid-afternoon now. That meant he had slept for at least an hour or two. Pre-System, on the occasion that he napped, he would only rest for twenty or thirty minutes at a stretch.


    Am I sick?


    That was his first thought, but he immediately dismissed the idea that he had some ordinary illness.


    James recalled the image of Cyrus and thought, Is it possible that scrawny bastard really did this to me? He would have to be careful not to underestimate the threat of his ilk in future.


    He slowly stretched his limbs, not yet trying to rise from the bed. He had the unfortunate feeling that he would be unsteady if he tried to get to his feet too quickly. He could sense that he was alone in the room except for his one constant companion.


    ¡°You¡¯re awake, sir?¡± Hester asked quietly from behind his ear.


    ¡°Sort of,¡± James said. ¡°I have to admit, I¡¯d rather be back asleep.¡±


    ¡°Given what you went through before you lost consciousness, I¡¯m not surprised,¡± she said.


    ¡°Thankfully, Anansi was there,¡± James said. He paused for a moment. ¡°You know about what I went through, then?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Lord Anansi told me about it while you were sleeping, when he was passing along the rest of his message.¡±


    I must have been really knocked out to not notice how the spider on the back of my ear was burning up.


    ¡°Well, next time you report to him, please convey my thanks for his intervention,¡± James replied.


    Without Anansi¡¯s protection, I wonder how that would have gone¡­ The thought was sickening. I might have become a puppet of Cyrus and his god¡ªor angel?¡ªdemon? What was that creature Anansi distracted? I thought it might be an angel, but what would that mean?


    ¡°It was only standard, according to what he said, sir, given that Cyrus invoked the power of the being that blessed him,¡± Hester said.


    ¡°Well, I appreciate it anyway,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯ve never been happier that I went with Anansi when he asked me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to pass that on, boss,¡± Hester said. He could hear the smile in her voice.


    ¡°Hester, if you know, what was that being?¡± James asked. ¡°The thing that Anansi distracted so that I could survive?¡±


    ¡°Lord Anansi said you two encountered a lesser seraph,¡± she replied darkly. ¡°One that he¡¯s personally familiar with. Basically a mid-level angel.¡±


    ¡°Mid-level?¡± James asked.


    What would a higher level angel look like?


    ¡°Yes,¡± Hester said. ¡°Stronger angels can be on the same level as gods. They¡¯re even more powerful in a setting that emulates their home territory. Lord Anansi mentioned that on a fairer playing field, he could have killed this one with little trouble. A high enough level mortal could even do it. But apparently weaker angels usually travel in groups, outside of settings like that place Cyrus brought you, where permanent harm is usually impossible to inflict.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I inflicted some harm on Cyrus,¡± James said, choosing not to follow up on the power hierarchy questions that Hester doubtless would not be able to answer anyway. She knew him well enough by now to know what information he would want to know, anyway. If there was something she could tell him about angels versus gods and other entities, she would tell him.


    ¡°Yes, Lord Anansi said congratulations on unlocking the ability to curse enemies. It¡¯s the opposite power implied by the ability to apply blessings. All gods have it, though they rarely use it. He recommended being careful about applying it in future, though. He made a joke about not driving or operating any heavy machinery right now¡­ I gather that it¡¯s typically an order of magnitude more energy intensive than blessings.¡±


    ¡°Now he tells me,¡± James said, chuckling.


    At least I have a better explanation for feeling like I lost a fight.


    ¡°There was something that Lord Anansi wanted to pass along, by way of advice, sir,¡± Hester said hesitantly.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready to hear it,¡± James said.


    ¡°He just¡ªum, he doesn¡¯t want to tell you what to do, he was very clear about that, but¡ªwell, he knows you were inclined to let Cyrus¡¯s followers go before, but, um¡­¡±


    ¡°He agreed with Bear before about them. And he thinks that turning the other cheek now would be a bad move,¡± James said, his smile growing thinner.


    The truth is, I feel the same way. I felt that way by the end of my confrontation with Cyrus earlier, but I wasn¡¯t in any condition to do anything about it. This situation is dangerous. I permanently disabled their Prophet. The only choice that didn¡¯t involve letting people see Cyrus get away with what he did was to kill him. I probably should have just done that. There¡¯s no reason to assume the people who choose to keep following him will appreciate my mercy¡ªor even see it as mercy. They probably need to be dealt with, whether I like it or not. There¡¯s every chance that they¡¯ll come back stronger, looking for revenge, someday.


    His Wraith-induced visions of the future flashed through his mind¡ªin particular the one in which Mina was murdered by humans wearing an unfamiliar religious symbol that seemed to combine elements from Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.


    ¡°Not only would Lord Anansi consider it a bad move, but even out of character, sir,¡± Hester said. ¡°He gently reminds you of the way you handled the centipedes, the coyotes, the Moloch cultists, and even the Wraiths.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know, Hester,¡± James said gently.


    I can¡¯t let the fact that they¡¯re human beings compromise my decision making. Humans are just as big of a threat as anything else in this world. Don¡¯t treat them differently just because they remind me of plenty of people I¡¯ve met in the past. Decent people who just had more intense religious beliefs than me or Mina.


    ¡°Let me think about what to do a little bit,¡± he added.


    His mind was moving quickly through options and their various pros and cons.


    ¡°Neither Lord Anansi nor I would ever presume to give you orders, boss,¡± she replied in a soft voice. ¡°It¡¯s your journey, and your story¡ªyou¡¯re the one who has to live with your choices.¡±This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Oh, don¡¯t I know it. The System insisted on reminding me of choices I made a decade ago when it initiated me¡­


    ¡°Hester, I have one big question. It¡¯s about the angel.¡±


    The spider simply waited silently.


    ¡°Does the existence of angels imply the existence of the, uh, big guy? The boss of the angels?¡±


    ¡°The short answer is, ¡®it¡¯s complicated,¡¯¡± Hester said. ¡°But Lord Anansi spent most of the transmission to me explaining. He knew you would want to know, and he felt you were entitled.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s complicated, the answer must be yes,¡± James said, tilting his head.


    ¡°Yes and no,¡± Hester said. ¡°You know that some gods are fueled by faith, while others run on sacrifices or are closely affiliated with something in the human¡ªand nonhuman¡ªexperience.¡±


    James nodded.


    ¡°Well, the specific being you¡¯re asking about is a uniquely large concept. That particular deity¡¯s faiths insist that He is not only a god, but the only god¡ªresponsible for everything. That¡¯s more than a little unusual. The way Lord Anansi explains it, that¡¯s such a heavy burden that this particular entity only exists in universes where he obtains the faith of a vast supermajority of all intelligent life forms. In the handful of universes where He holds sway, He is the only deity. The other gods are completely shut out, and they don¡¯t even know what goes on in those places. Conversely, there are also some universes that He is shut out of, and then there are a vast number of more recently integrated universes where the entity in question lives a sort of half-life¡ªinsufficient faith to truly make His presence felt to the degree it probably is in those places where He is the only deity.¡±


    ¡°So, in my world, all He can do is send angels?¡± James asked.


    ¡°Pretty much,¡± Hester said. But James noted she did not sound completely certain.


    He waited for her to volunteer clarification, but she did not. And he decided to let the matter go for now. He knew there were some things that the Spider God could not tell him, which necessarily meant some things that Hester couldn¡¯t tell him either¡ªand might not know.


    ¡°Thank you for the explanation, Hester,¡± James said finally.


    ¡°My pleasure,¡± she replied. ¡°I didn¡¯t know most of this stuff myself before this transmission from Lord Anansi. There was one more thing. He wanted you to know that you won¡¯t have to worry about the Moloch cult anymore.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s great news!¡± James said. ¡°I would have figured they might come back for some kind of revenge, but I guess that¡¯s been taken care of¡­?¡±


    ¡°Lord Anansi has your back, James,¡± Hester said in a warm, confident voice.


    James smiled, but his expression soured slightly as another thought occurred to him.


    Wait, what happens to the dead? I know there are death gods, and I know there¡¯s Yahweh¡ªor a kind of Shrodinger¡¯s God who simultaneously exists and doesn¡¯t exist¡ªbut where is my father¡¯s soul? He died before the System, as a Christian. Does that mean his soul is in the biblical God¡¯s hands, or one of the myriad death gods? How had I not thought about this yet?


    James still remembered his father¡¯s face, though it had been almost two-thirds of James¡¯s lifetime since they saw each other. His firm but gentle, lightly accented voice. His kind eyes. The stubble on his chin.


    The question of what had happened to his father¡¯s soul was almost painful to think about, and it was too much to deal with at this moment when he had pressing problems. He forced himself to push it aside for the moment along with his other questions.


    I promise, I haven¡¯t forgotten you, he thought. I¡¯ll never forget you.


    It was time to get up and deal with the problems at hand. Cyrus was the first thing he needed to deal with. These revelations only made him and those aligned with him into more threatening future enemies.


    James pulled himself to a seated position, and the bedroom door suddenly swung open.


    ¡°I knew it!¡± Mina exclaimed, standing in the doorway with James Junior in her arms. ¡°I was sure I heard your voice in here. We were all so worried. I¡¯m so happy you woke up.¡±


    She rushed forward, pushing the door closed behind her, and enfolded James and the baby in her soft, warm embrace.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you, too,¡± he said, hugging her back weakly. His arms seemed to have lost most of their strength. He sensed that if he desperately needed to, he could muster a minute¡¯s worth of furious fighting power, but there would be a cost to it. He could not safely exert himself right now, beyond sitting up and gently holding his wife. There was going to be a real, significant hangover from using Curse of the Fisher King on Cyrus.


    And just when I needed to be at a hundred percent, James thought.


    ¡°Are you all right, skapi?¡± Mina asked softly, her voice right next to his ear. She settled her body onto the bed, sitting beside him rather than letting him hold her up. James figured she could tell from his weak embrace that he was not quite himself.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty weak right now,¡± James admitted. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it will be hours, days, or longer before I recover. I¡¯m pretty sure I could defend myself if I had to, for around a minute, but after that I would pass out. I think I¡¯m going to be doing mostly administrative tasks for a while.¡±


    ¡°As long as you don¡¯t think you¡¯re dying, or something, I¡¯m happy,¡± Mina said brightly. ¡°If you need to pass out again, go ahead and rest. I¡¯ll take care of everything out here.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Mina,¡± James said. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m anywhere near dying. I need to take care of some business, though. Can you get some of our people for me?¡±


    She hesitated. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re up for seeing people? I know you don¡¯t want anyone to know that you¡¯re in sort of a weak state.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± James said. ¡°The people I¡¯m thinking of are capable of keeping a secret.¡±


    ¡°Actually, there were already some people waiting to see you,¡± Mina said. ¡°I closed the door when I came in, because I wanted to make sure you were ready to receive company before I let them get a look at you.¡±


    ¡°Who are they?¡± James asked.


    ¡°Jeremiah Rotter, Damien Rousseau, and Dave Matsumoto,¡± she replied.


    James¡¯s eyes widened slightly. Interesting. Two of them are people I already wanted to see.


    ¡°There¡¯s another piece of news,¡± Mina added. ¡°One of your friends from Orientation arrived. Someone who Rotter said was a close ally of yours. A man named Moishe Rose.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great news,¡± James said, a smile slowly spreading across his face.


    Wait. Is that the person Bear said would arrive? Didn¡¯t he predict something about a friend of mine showing up and corroborating his advice? James¡¯s memory was slightly fuzzy from physical weakness and from having just woken up, but he was almost certain that this fit with Bear¡¯s prediction.


    ¡°It¡¯s not such great news, skapi,¡± Mina said quietly, her expression turning sad. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that he lost consciousness just after he made it over the border. He was apparently pretty badly hurt. The wolves recognized his scent and dragged him to within the settlement, and Camila Rodriguez has been taking care of him. But I understand he hasn¡¯t woken up yet.¡±


    James nodded. Hopefully I can help with that if Camila¡¯s healing isn¡¯t enough. If not, I doubt Bear would want the guy who can provide his testimonial to languish in a coma for too long. Maybe he can do something.


    ¡°Thank you for giving me both the good and the bad news,¡± he said. ¡°Is there anything else I should know before I talk to our guests? What are they here for, anyway?¡±


    Mina shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. They didn¡¯t seem entirely comfortable with telling me, and I decided not to press.¡±


    James raised an eyebrow. Do they think they have a higher security clearance than my wife or something? What can¡¯t they discuss in front of her?


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re definitely staying in the room for the meeting, then,¡± he said.


    ¡°That suits me fine,¡± Mina replied quietly. ¡°Do you want to do it here or go into the living room?¡±


    ¡°Where are the kids and Yulia?¡± James asked. ¡°Not in the living room?¡±


    ¡°No, they¡¯re playing in the children¡¯s room,¡± Mina said. ¡°We had a late lunch, so I think they¡¯ll probably be too tired to interrupt a meeting in the living room even if they wanted to go in there and play. I can also ask Yulia to make sure they stay where they are.¡±


    ¡°Still probably better to do it here,¡± James said after a moment. ¡°I know you don¡¯t like having people in our private space¡ª¡± He saw Mina¡¯s eyes already darting to the few bits of mess around the room, and he smiled involuntarily¡ª¡°so you can tidy up a little if you want to, but yeah. I think this conversation is going to be quite adult. I don¡¯t want any chance of the kids overhearing it. I like using the living room as a buffer space for that.¡±


    ¡°I understand,¡± Mina said quietly. ¡°Well, we don¡¯t have much in this room anyway. We¡¯ve owned hardly any possessions ever since we came back to Earth. Not so much to move around.¡±


    She nevertheless proceeded to spend the next several minutes cleaning the room while James played with the baby in the bed.


    Finally, Mina conjured James a cup of water before she opened the door and invited Dave, Damien, and Rotter inside.


    The three men entered the room nervously¡ªperhaps guiltily, James thought.


    Then again, maybe he was reading too much on their faces.

 V4Ch24-Speak No Evil

    ¡°It¡¯s so good to see you¡¯re all right, Your Majesty,¡± Rotter began.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± James said, smiling. ¡°I assume that isn¡¯t why you¡¯ve been sitting in the living room waiting for me to wake up, though. To what do I owe this pleasure?¡±


    ¡°Some of us discussed what happened earlier,¡± Rotter said, ¡°and we agreed¡ª¡±


    ¡°Who¡¯s some of us?¡± James interrupted.


    ¡°The three of us standing here, sir,¡± said Dave firmly. ¡°It seemed like an important security issue, and Damien and I are your only military officers right now. With you incapacitated, it was only natural that Jeremiah came to us.¡±


    James sensed some defensiveness there, as if Dave was concerned that James might be angry with Rotter for taking this initiative.


    He¡¯ll understand me better than that in time, he thought. It was slightly silly to him to imagine himself being angry at Rotter for taking this initiative. But Dave had only known him for a little over a week.


    ¡°Okay,¡± James said. ¡°So the three of you have kept a tight circle about this, then?¡±


    ¡°That masked man suddenly appeared for a moment as we were talking,¡± Dave said, looking slightly peevish. ¡°I politely told him to get out.¡±


    ¡°We also thought about talking to your new Chief of Police,¡± Damien said. ¡°But he¡¯s, well, new.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how much you trust him,¡± Rotter said.


    ¡°He is extremely trustworthy,¡± Mina said firmly.


    ¡°Would you trust him to cooperate in a conspiracy to commit cold-blooded murder?¡± Rotter asked bluntly.


    Oh. The plot thickens.


    Mina paused, and in that silence, James could already hear her answer.


    ¡°No, I probably wouldn¡¯t,¡± she said finally. ¡°I think he might be too moral for that. In our Orientation, we were trying to solve a series of murders. He was great in that specific situation, and he¡¯s the right choice for the Chief of Police role, but not what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    ¡°Ma¡¯am¡ªum, Your Majesty¡ªdo you mind if I ask a rather impertinent question?¡± Dave asked gently.


    ¡°All right,¡± Mina said, brows furrowed.


    ¡°Do you want to be a part of this conversation? I only ask because you seem like a moral person, too, and if you¡¯ll forgive my saying it, this is an ugly business.¡±


    Mina looked slightly taken aback for a moment. In her silence and the rapid movement of her facial expressions, James read that she was wondering whether to be offended or not¡ªwhether this question was being raised because she was a woman.


    ¡°Dave, Mina is a part of everything I do,¡± James said, speaking before anyone else could break the silence, looking Dave in the eye. ¡°She has to be. It¡¯s necessary. She¡¯s next in line to lead in the event that I¡¯m incapacitated, anytime that happens. I love her, I trust her, and I know her better than anyone, so trust me when I say, she¡¯s not made of glass. She¡¯s not an angel. She¡¯s perfectly capable of getting her hands dirty in defense of our interests. Next time, if there¡¯s a decision that needs to be made or a discussion to be had while I¡¯m out of commission, I expect you all to simply present what you have to say to her. If it¡¯s time sensitive, she¡¯ll decide what¡¯s to be done. I trust her judgment¡ªand her willingness to do what¡¯s necessary.¡±


    From the corner of his eye, James saw that Mina was clearly pleased at his response but trying to hide it from the others present.


    After a moment, she simply straightened her posture and said, ¡°I don¡¯t need to leave.¡±


    ¡°All right, great,¡± said Dave in a professional, unemotional tone. He looked at Mina, and his voice softened slightly. ¡°My apologies for doubting you.¡± He turned to face both of them and continued in the same intonation as before, ¡°Continuing from where Jeremiah left off earlier, we were discussing what happened with Cyrus at the meeting. We ultimately agreed on a proposal that we wanted to bring to you. We would like to pursue him and those following him after they leave this evening. When we have them on unfavorable ground, we¡¯ll surround, trap, and slaughter them all. We want your permission to do this, for the future security of the Kingdom.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re willing to do that?¡± James asked, slightly surprised that Dave would propose something that seemed so underhanded and ruthless.


    ¡°There is no honor to it,¡± Dave said. ¡°But there is no honor in any war. We¡¯re not breaking a promise we¡¯ve made. You never guaranteed them safe passage or anything of the kind. What tips the scales for me is that this prevents a possible future battle that would be more evenly matched. One of the things you learn in the military is that we don¡¯t want fair fights. That¡¯s how we lose friends.¡± He sounded slightly drained as he finished.


    James nodded, ordered his facial muscles to convey satisfaction, and then looked at Damien. ¡°And you agreed with this too?¡±


    Damien looked uncomfortable and swallowed a lump in his throat. ¡°I did,¡± he said. ¡°I do. It¡¯s necessary. Jeremiah and Dave are right. The way they expressed it, Cyrus and the loyalists who are sticking with him are bound to hold a grudge. You permanently blinded, deafened, and silenced their Prophet. What happens when they find their way to other people who think like them? When they tell their version of how the Fisher Kingdom treated them? We¡¯ve made enemies here, entirely because of their choices, not ours.¡± He grimaced and sighed. ¡°Sometimes unpleasant work has to be done, right?¡±


    James nodded slowly, trying to keep his expression carefully neutral.


    His eyes moved quickly back and forth, examining every face in the room. It looked like Damien, Jeremiah, and Dave were all in the same boat¡ªnot exactly enthusiastic, but in clear agreement on the path forward. Mina¡¯s expression was carefully composed and neutral.


    Excellent. I thought I¡¯d have to plan this attack myself and carefully choose and persuade people that it was necessary or send Duncan¡¯s army of Goblins or something. Instead, two of the people who I thought would be most useful chose to come to me. And Rotter too. Though he¡¯s the only one who I would have actually expected this from. Sly bastard. This is working out better than if I had planned it myself.


    He had considered many different ways of resolving the situation, both immediately after the conflict with Cyrus and shortly after waking up.


    Killing only Cyrus and Christopher Smith and letting the rest of them go, even secretly, would just make the survivors suspicious and sow the seeds of future enmity. He had imagined scenarios where he tried to plant spies in Cyrus¡¯s camp, perhaps was infiltrated in turn by spies who would occasionally report to Cyrus, and ended up spending a great deal of energy on espionage and counterespionage. He had wished this was something he could discuss with Alan and Mitzi, who he considered suitably wise for their years.


    But ultimately, this was a decision where he had always known which way he was leaning. Someone who tried to bend his mind with a Skill had to be treated as if they had tried to kill him. And there were no true innocents on the same side as Cyrus, as far as James was concerned.


    Just like Leo, Alan and Mitzi were good and moral people. Given that he was already committed to repaying Cyrus¡¯s treachery with murder, James didn¡¯t want them to know about this.


    He turned to Rotter and asked, ¡°Do we know how many will be following Cyrus?¡±


    ¡°It looks like it will be around forty-five,¡± Rotter said, smiling smugly. ¡°Less than half the group he came with. I guess people would rather follow a leader who isn¡¯t permanently damaged.¡±


    James frowned slightly. That was an unnecessary thing to say. I guess this is just him trying to curry favor by demonizing the enemy. James still did not particularly enjoy Rotter¡¯s brownnosing ways. But the man was good at planning and organization, and James could not force Mina to be responsible for everything.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    ¡°Or they would rather stay in a safe place than wander the wilderness,¡± James replied. ¡°Not everyone wants to reenact the Book of Exodus. Good job keeping track of the numbers. Will there be any children in the group leaving?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Rotter shook his head sharply. ¡°The families were wise enough to stay here where it¡¯s safe.¡±


    James nodded. ¡°Good. That¡¯s right at the top of the list of things I¡¯d rather not have to deal with.¡±


    The sentiment was especially prominent with Mina sitting there holding their baby.


    ¡°So, then, we have your permission to mobilize the military and prepare to proceed, sir? Or will you want to lead the attack personally?¡±


    ¡°No, I appreciate the thought, but I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll actually need the military,¡± James said. ¡°At least not the other human members.¡±


    Dave looked surprised. ¡°What? Why?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s bad for morale to force humans into killing other humans more than necessary. If it¡¯s only forty-five people, the wolf pack should be more than capable of taking care of them. I was worried it would be a lot more. And I¡¯ll ask Samuel to join the attack with a couple dozen of his alligators, too. The idea is to overwhelm with such force and numbers that only Cyrus and his followers die. The same as in the battle with the bats.¡±


    ¡°Do you think that¡¯s realistic?¡± Dave asked bluntly.


    James looked steadily back into Dave¡¯s eyes. ¡°Both of the battles you and I have already been in together were more difficult than this one on paper. One of them resulted in zero casualties. The other resulted in a very small number of casualties. Yes, it¡¯s possible. It¡¯s not necessarily easy to do this without losing people, but it¡¯s possible. We have to have goals, right? As the commander of my forces, I know that¡¯s yours. Zero casualties. If you can assess the terrain Cyrus and his people are likely to migrate through and find a place for the alligators to wait, I think the best plan is to have the wolves chase the targets into the alligators. You, Damien, and Jeremiah stand in whatever little path of retreat remains open to them.


    ¡°Hopefully, you don¡¯t have to get your hands dirty at all, but if there are any that get away from the slaughter, the three of you mop them up or stop them from escaping until the wolves bring them down. I might also be able to contribute more assets to the fight. Given how fast-moving the wolves are, though, I think the Goblins and Mole People might just get in the way. If there¡¯s someone else you trust to maintain complete silence about this, who you think won¡¯t slow you down, it¡¯s okay to bring them. Otherwise, this is top secret. It can never be discussed publicly. That¡¯s why I¡¯m not getting the flying squirrels and bats involved. I don¡¯t trust them to keep their mouths shut yet.¡± He looked from person to person. ¡°You all understand, of course? If the former members of Cyrus¡¯s group were to ever hear about what happened to him and his remaining followers, we would have a bigger problem on our hands than what Cyrus represents.¡±


    ¡°We understand, sir,¡± said Dave. He was not quite smiling, but he looked satisfied with the wisdom of James¡¯s plan.


    I think my skin creatures might be able to participate in the fight. And maybe some of Mom¡¯s undead. Possibly including the new Vampires.


    ¡°Thank you for making this difficult decision for us, Your Majesty,¡± Rotter said.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s a good plan,¡± Damien agreed quietly.


    James could tell this would bother Damien, but he chose not to disrespect the Werewolf by asking him if he was certain he wanted to participate. Damien had agreed that he would be one of the leaders of James¡¯s military. He knew that would mean getting his hands dirty.


    James nodded to Rotter and Damien, then looked at Dave.


    ¡°What do you think about including the resurrected soldiers?¡± James asked. ¡°You fought alongside them before. They¡¯re the same people as before, in all respects we¡¯re aware of, except that they will now want to occasionally feed on blood. Can we trust them to keep the secret?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about all of them,¡± Dave said uncertainly. ¡°I trust Amalia to participate. Maybe she can, um, collect the blood for the rest of them.¡± He sounded slightly disgusted.


    ¡°I know you¡¯ll all do what¡¯s necessary,¡± James said, nodding. ¡°Bring Amalia in if you feel comfortable. Thank you guys for coming to me with this. Even if it has to be secret, this is what needs to happen to keep the Fisher Kingdom secure.


    There were nods from all three men, as well as from Mina.


    ¡°Now that those unpleasant matters are dealt with,¡± Rotter said, ¡°do you mind if I ask whether you will be able to attend the loyalty oath ceremony for the new citizens? I understand you have been a little¡ª¡± His eyes darted to Mina, then back to James¡ª¡°under the weather since the enemy¡¯s psychic attack earlier. If you are able to attend, however, I feel certain it would mean something to your new citizens.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be there,¡± James said softly. ¡°As long as you don¡¯t expect me to walk around and socialize. I¡¯d be far from the picture of strength and vigor that we want to project. And there¡¯s one other matter I want to address. I understand that a friend of mine from Orientation has arrived here. Moishe Rose.¡±


    Rotter nodded. ¡°He is comatose at the moment, like those who fell in the battle.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± I can¡¯t bless him yet, James thought. I¡¯m much too weak. Damn¡­


    ¡°Make sure that he receives the best of care,¡± James said finally. ¡°When my strength has returned, I will go and see him myself.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Rotter said. ¡°I know how essential he was to you in dealing with the Moloch cultists.¡± He looked as though he wanted to say something more, but refrained.


    Rotter could only know secondhand pieces of information about Moishe, James knew. Perhaps Rotter would have heard something about Moishe from the Rodriguezes¡ªthat was really the only possible source for whatever information Rotter thought he knew.


    But it was good enough that Rotter knew that the Assassin was someone James considered important¡ªand that the Fisher King would be highly displeased if something were to happen to him.


    So James simply nodded.


    ¡°We¡¯ll make the preparations for tonight, then,¡± Dave said. ¡°Out of hearing distance of the Kingdom.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± James said. ¡°I appreciate all of your courage and willingness to do what needs to be done.¡± He searched for more words but found there was nothing else to say.


    The three men each left the room with solemn expressions on their faces.


    Mina remained after they had gone, and when the apartment front door had closed behind them, she looked at James.


    He closed his eyes for a moment and reached out with his senses.


    ¡°They¡¯re all outside,¡± he said.


    ¡°What were you going to do if they said there would be children in this group?¡± she asked softly.


    ¡°Things were going to get messy,¡± James said, sighing. ¡°We would have come up with a more elaborate plan. I think one or two of my abilities would allow me to brainwash someone¡ªand possibly alter their appearance to people who used to know them. This new power I used on Cyrus, in particular, is potent. It can permanently change someone¡¯s fate. Like the opposite of a blessing. Using it on a bunch of people would be incredibly draining, even if they were children¡ªmaybe especially if they were children. It could take weeks, during which time we¡¯d have to hide their existence from the world. But now we don¡¯t have to figure out the logistics of that.¡±


    The plan amounted to trying to alter the memories of the children and then pretending that they were rescued by James¡¯s monsters rather than being survivors of a deliberate massacre by the Fisher Kingdom.


    I still don¡¯t want to kill children, James thought. I don¡¯t want to brainwash them, either. I¡¯m glad I won¡¯t have to¡ªthis time.


    Mina nodded and kissed her husband tenderly on the cheek.


    ¡°Rest up,¡± she said. ¡°Try to sleep. I¡¯ll wake you when it¡¯s close to time for the citizenship ceremony.¡±


    James nodded and laid back down.


    He sent a quick series of messages, through telepathy and his Fisher King abilities, to his skin creatures, Luna, Samuel, and Zora, requesting all of their help that evening in destroying the enemy who had attempted to mind control him.


    Then James closed his eyes and let darkness take him. He fell into a fitful sleep, in which he dreamt of the angel that he and Anansi had faced in the mental space created by Cyrus¡¯s Skill.


    Fortunately, Mina was better than her word. She interrupted his dream and woke him with enough time to brush his teeth, change clothes, and shave before the ceremony.


    While he groomed himself, he reached out with his Fisher King powers and felt where Moishe was. Instead of the community center, he had been moved to an apartment. James was pleasantly surprised to realize that Alan was caring for him¡ªand disturbed to see the terrible condition Moishe was in.


    His flesh was covered in raw, pink and red skin. Third degree burns. It reminded James of ¡°A Nightmare on Elm Street.¡±


    Alan was pouring magic in, but James was impressed that Moishe had even managed to make his way to the Fisher Kingdom with those injuries somehow.


    After James was done preparing for the citizenship ceremony, Mina and Yulia helped him to get down the stairs. His continuing physical weakness remained concerning. He did his best to pretend that he was strong enough to walk unsupported, but it was clear to him that he was in some danger of falling down the stairs if he had no help.


    From the bottom of the stairs, James was able to make the walk to the community center and take his seat on stage without help, using only willpower. He found it remarkable that he could do it. Every nerve and muscle in his body was exhausted by the time he sat down. He imagined that he now knew what being a zombie felt like.


    But as his new citizens filed in, he forced his face into a serene smile.


    A regal mask.


    They all took the citizenship oath in unison, those formerly devoted followers of Cyrus. Not a word was altered, and James watched and listened carefully to make sure that none of them merely mouthed the words.


    ¡°I pledge allegiance to the Fisher King and to the ideals for which he stands: protection of the innocent, justice for all, and the promise to reconquer the Earth for humanity and our allied species. Only our sacrifices honor the fallen. Only victory can bring peace. Only we can win back the world. May all the gods bless the Fisher King!¡±

 V4Ch25-Prelude to a Massacre Part 1

    The citizenship ceremony concluded uneventfully.


    James sat and soaked in the sound of dozens of voices pledging their personal loyalty to him. The experience was as flattering as ever, and he gained another level in Fisher King¡ªand a corresponding level in Evolver Human¡ªwhich made him feel slightly stronger.


    It still didn¡¯t come close to eliminating the hangover from using Curse of the Fisher King, though.


    James was almost ready to dismiss the gathering and let the freshly minted citizens go on their way when he remembered a tradition he had intended to establish: ending every meeting in the community center, regardless of purpose, with a story.


    He asked for a volunteer, and one of the Galt family raised her hand.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said. ¡°You can step right up onto the stage, introduce yourself, and tell your story.¡±


    The woman did as instructed.


    ¡°Julia Galt,¡± she said from the center of the stage.


    Then she began her story.


    Parts of it were familiar to James from his own experiences or events that he had heard others discuss. Julia¡¯s references to the destruction of Orlando by apparent earthquake, fire, and monsters were unsurprising.


    She is telling the story well, though, he thought. Emotion in all the right places. He had to remind himself that this wasn¡¯t a cynical ploy to gain people¡¯s sympathies; it was just her account of what had happened. Then he was able to enjoy Julia¡¯s account properly.


    It was when she reached the part where she and her family first met Cyrus and his followers that James heard something he found novel.


    Julia mentioned that she, her brothers, and their father had passed through ¡°the fiery crucible¡± to reach this place. James saw nods and looks of recognition from the other monotheists in the crowd.


    For the first time, James noticed how captivated the crowd was with her story. So many of them were enjoying hearing their own experience echoed that it had created quite a pleasant atmosphere in the room. They also seemed to be pleased, now that he took the measure of the room, at how attentive James was to her story¡ªtheir story.


    Of course, people love knowing that their leaders care about their experiences¡­


    Perhaps more importantly, his mind returned to Moishe¡ªwho, when James saw him, had been covered in what appeared to be severe burns.


    These two things can¡¯t be unrelated, can they?


    He passively absorbed the rest of Julia¡¯s story; it covered the rest of the Galts¡¯ odyssey to reach the Fisher Kingdom, but there was little more of interest there. Apparently, they had been briefly ¡®attacked¡¯ by James¡¯s wolves, though he suspected that was an exaggeration, since he had not been made aware of any deaths among Cyrus¡¯s party.


    She seemed to be aware that the wolves were James¡¯s allies, as she followed up that part of her story with a slightly nervous smile in his direction.


    James simply thanked her for her tale, and she nodded and quickly returned to her family in the audience.


    Then the Fisher King adjourned the meeting.


    As the new citizens began exiting the community center, James sat and waited for the place to empty out. He wanted as few people as possible to see it if he stumbled.


    And James wanted to use the time to think through his next move.


    He had already sent a telepathic order to all the combat-capable creatures he had created that were still alive, summoning them to his and Mina¡¯s bedroom. A few of the weakest creatures were excluded¡ªAbhi¡¯s spider was not going to be of any use in a fight.


    James wanted to see if there was some way he could enhance the rest of them with his existing powers to make them useful in a fight with Cyrus¡¯s remaining followers.


    It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t think Dave and the others could handle this fight on their own. James knew that they could. If they couldn¡¯t, his monster wouldn¡¯t make the difference.


    But when it came to fighting, he was uncomfortable with being completely uninvolved in a battle he sent his people to wage.


    Even where, as in this case, it was meant to be nothing more than an inglorious massacre.


    What Skills do I have that I can afford to transfer to the monsters? he wondered. Having conducted few experiments in transferring away Skills¡ªhe tended to prefer stealing other people¡¯s¡ªhe was not completely certain of the mechanics.


    But he suspected that he would lose the levels he had gained in any Skills he transferred away. That was what happened when a fused Skill defused, after all¡ªthe experience gained during Skill Fusion disappeared¡ªand he had gained Skill Fusion at the same time that he gained Skill Transfer, with his Race Evolution.


    He decided to open his Status and take an inventory of what he had.


    [Status


    Name: James Robard


    Race: Evolver Human, Lv. 24


    Class: Predator in Human Skin, Lv. 26


    Job: Fisher King, Lv. 22


    Health: 27,225/27,225


    Mana: 25,056/25,056


    Stamina: 25,281/25,281


    Wrath Meter: 0%


    Stats


    Strength: 131


    Agility: 141


    Stamina: 159


    Fortitude: 165


    Dexterity: 116


    Perception: 169


    Will: 174


    Intelligence: 144


    Charisma: 170


    Stealth: 150


    Free Points: 0


    Skills


    Affinity of the Fisher King, Lv. 4


    Air Strike, Lv. 5


    Aura of the Fisher King, Lv. 6


    Basic Elemental Magic: Earth, Lv. 4


    Basic Elemental Magic: Gravity, Lv. 3


    Basic Elemental Magic: Water, Lv. 4


    Basic Non-Elemental Magic, Lv. 2


    Berserk Mode, Lv. 0


    Blame Avoidance, Lv. 5


    Blessing of the Fisher King, Lv. 5


    Command Presence, Lv. 1


    Command Structure


    Compulsion, Lv. 5Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Curse of the Fisher King, Lv. 1


    Dominion


    Dreamwalk, Lv. 7


    Echolocation, Lv. 0


    Empathic Projection, Lv. 12


    Enhanced Stem Cell Production, Lv. 9


    False Reality, Lv. 6


    Fate Resistance


    Full Body Control, Lv. 5


    Goodwill of the Fisher King, Lv. 5


    Hand of Glory, Lv. 2


    Identify, Lv. 9


    Illusion Magic, Lv. 5


    Indeterminate Past, Lv. 0


    Intelligence of the Fisher King, Lv. 2


    Laying on Hands, Lv. 7


    Lightning Strike, Lv. 3


    Loyal Following, Lv. 5


    Mass Blessing of the Fisher King, Lv. 2


    Mass Pillage, Lv. 2


    Meteor Strike, Lv. 3


    Mind of the Predator, Lv. 7


    Monster Control, Lv. 9


    Monster Generation, Lv. 9


    Natural Camouflage, Lv. 3


    Omnivore, Lv. 5


    Organization, Lv. 6


    Otherworldly Shriek, Lv. 0


    Pain Resistance, Lv. 9


    Perfect Choice of Words, Lv. 7


    Pillage, Lv. 12


    Predator¡¯s Missile, Lv. 3


    Predator¡¯s Sacred Armor, Lv. 2


    Predator¡¯s Strike, Lv. 5


    Predator¡¯s Venomous Armaments, Lv. 1


    Rapid Recovery, Lv. 7


    Self-Control, Lv. 4


    Shed Skin, Lv. 9


    Silent Spellcasting


    Silk Production, Lv. 9


    Skill Fusion


    Skill Transfer


    Solar Ray, Lv. 2


    Solar Recovery, Lv. 4


    Soul Bind, Lv. 1


    Soul Magic, Lv. 2


    Spellbinding Words, Lv. 2


    System Interface


    System Store Access


    Territorial Control, Lv. 5


    Threads of Fate, Lv. 1


    Universal Language Comprehension


    Way of the Predator, Lv. 6


    Will of the Fisher King, Lv. 2


    Zone of Influence, Lv. 1


    Talents


    Alpha Presence, Lv. 1


    Basic Spellcraft, Lv. 6


    Cannibalism, Lv. 6


    Cool-Headed, Lv. 8


    Earth Affinity


    Efficient Magic, Lv. 5


    Fisher Land Management, Lv. 5


    Fisher Sentient Resources, Lv. 4


    Flame Affinity


    Genius Loci, Lv. 2


    Leadership, Lv. 5


    Manipulation, Lv. 9


    Marksmanship, Lv. 4


    Mass Manipulation, Lv. 3


    Monster Patriarch, Lv. 9


    Pain Resistance, Lv. 3


    Selective Empathy, Lv. 6


    Solar Power, Lv. 3


    Soul Eater, Lv. 1


    Ultrasonic Pitch, Lv. 0


    Water Affinity


    Titles


    A Stitch in Time


    Aeromaster


    Chosen One of Anansi


    Citizen of the Dead Marsh


    Deceiver


    Devout Beacon


    Dreamweaver


    Figure of Destiny


    Friend of All Spiders


    Living Legend


    Pack Leader


    Ruler of the Dark Waters


    Savior


    Spider-King


    Storyteller


    Sublime Creator


    Swiss Army Mage


    System Pioneer


    Trickster


    Usurper


    Xenocide II]


    For a moment, James¡¯s Status sheet brought back memories.


    Oh, I remember when I used to hide from enemies all the time, he thought, looking at Natural Camouflage, which he had not used at all since he returned to Earth.


    There was Berserk Mode, a Skill he gained from a monstrous reindeer that savaged him after James killed one of its young. Alas, poor Rudolph.


    Then his eyes drifted to the Compulsion Skill, and James remembered the few times he had used that one. But there were no fond recollections there.


    His mind swiftly returned to business.


    Right, I need to figure out which Skills I could do without if I transferred them permanently to a monster. I probably won¡¯t actually transfer anything permanently unless I really don¡¯t want it, but I need to assume I won¡¯t get it back, in case the monster gets destroyed. My skin creatures are all much weaker than me.


    I still use Illusion Magic all the time, and False Reality complements it perfectly¡­ Dreamwalking isn¡¯t combat-compatible as I¡¯ve used it, and my monsters probably couldn¡¯t use it anyway. It requires a human level of insight into the minds of others to use. All the elemental magics I still have are pretty much indispensable, and honestly, I don¡¯t want to do without any of the ¡°Strike¡± line of Skills in a fight. Plus, the power of all those Skills is heavily connected to my own innate physical Stats. I saw just how useful they are to anyone who doesn¡¯t have superhuman Strength when Mina copied them¡­


    There were the Skills that came from the Solar Power Talent, but James had a handful of monsters that had inherited those Skills already. He had used them to purge the Haunted Forest of Wraiths. Plus, if he gave another monster the sun-related Skills, it would have hardly any time to charge with solar energy. The sun was almost ready to set.


    Which also means I¡¯m running out of time, he reminded himself.


    James wished he had the physical vigor to simply create a powerful new monster with multiple Skills right now. But if he tried it, he¡¯d probably collapse before he could even give the creature orders.


    This is what I get for failing to plan ahead for a situation in which I¡¯m incapacitated, he thought. My family should not be in the situation where, if Mina and I are physically unfit, we¡¯re simply defenseless. That¡¯s like a pre-System level of home defense. This is the Wild West. I should have guns and backup guns, metaphorically speaking, not just a single pistol I keep in a table drawer by the front door. I need to fix this shit as soon as I¡¯m physically well enough.


    His mind flashed to the vision of the future where Mina and the Fisher Kingdom were attacked, but this time, a legion of monsters made of his own flesh crawled up from the sewers underground and overwhelmed the attackers.


    Yes, that will do¡­


    And he suddenly knew which Skills he wanted to pass on to his chosen monsters. They would hopefully only be temporarily lost to him, but at least they were things he had not leveled much anyway.


    Berserk Mode was the obvious one, so that the monster would fight furiously. It was an easy choice, since James never used that Skill.


    Echolocation, because this was meant to be a night attack¡ªCyrus and his followers had waited until now to begin leaving, and the sun would set quite shortly. Plus, that Skill was almost redundant with Hand of Glory in James¡¯s repertoire.


    Otherworldly Shriek, because James had not leveled it at all, and it would hopefully have some compatibility with Echolocation.


    Predator¡¯s Venomous Armaments, because James had likewise rarely used it and had barely accrued any experience with it.


    Mass Pillage, so the lucky monster that received it could acquire some new Skills of its own¡ªJames had the original Pillage Skill, and if he lost Mass Pillage, he could live with that.


    There was a part of James that wanted to include Soul Magic, since he hoped and assumed that he would be able to transfer most of these Skills back to his own body¡ªbut he resisted the temptation. Yes, the Skill was incredibly powerful and would all but guarantee that the monster that received it would kill some enemies.


    But it was too important for him to risk losing it.


    James could already imagine Roscuro screaming if he transferred away the Soul Eater¡¯s most powerful combat Skill.


    All right, I think that should do it, he told himself. That will make my monsters as powerful as I can get them.


    Then James heard a quiet rumbling noise and blinked. He realized Mina was standing in front of him. She had just cleared her throat¡ªactually rather loudly, although it had felt quiet to him. He looked up at her.


    ¡°I¡¯ve just been trying to get your attention, skapi,¡± she said, looking relieved. ¡°Everyone is gone. They¡¯ve been gone for a few minutes now, actually. I assumed you were waiting for them to leave, but then you were just sitting there, staring off into space. For a moment, I thought you might have passed out with your eyes open. I was starting to think about getting you back to the apartment.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Sorry to make you worry. No, I¡¯m okay,¡± James said, smiling.


    ¡°That¡¯s good. Don¡¯t make me worry,¡± she said with faux sternness. ¡°You need to take it easy the next few days¡ªor weeks. I don¡¯t know how long you have until the backlash from your fight with Cyrus goes away.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, me neither,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯m ready to go back to the apartment now, if you think the coast is basically clear. I think I can walk without stumbling, too. We just need to stay clear of anyone who will want a long, in-depth conversation.¡±


    ¡°Did you want to go straight home¡ªor, um, I know your friend from Orientation is here, confined to a bed¡ªdid you want to pay him a visit first?¡±


    James reached out and felt where Moishe was. He had not moved from his previous position, and James could tell that Moishe remained unconscious.


    He shook his head.


    ¡°He¡¯s not awake, and there¡¯s nothing I can do to help heal him faster until I recover some more power.¡±


    I can¡¯t even muster a blessing right now, James thought. I bet that would wake him up.


    Mina nodded. ¡°Then we¡¯ll go back and have dinner.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± James said. ¡°I appreciate you remembering what was happening with Moishe. I do care about helping him. I just can¡¯t make a difference right now.¡±


    But maybe I can at least do something to communicate with him, James thought. Assuming that he¡¯s not brain-damaged or something. After Cyrus and his people are dealt with, I can probably visit him in his dreams.

 V4Ch26-Prelude to a Massacre Part 2

    James sat in the bed, staring at the menagerie of creatures all around him.


    There were dozens of the things, all subjugated to his Will, but he had never seen them all in one place before.


    Creatures that were like balloons made of skin. Other creatures that resembled pterodactyls made of skin. And Thing from ¡°The Addams Family.¡±


    There was so much more he could do, he realized as he looked at his little zoo of homemade monsters. So many creative ideas popped into his head for new monsters he could shape from his flesh. It was shocking how far behind he had fallen in using one of his most powerful Skills. Probably the most powerful Skill.


    Once his energy returned, he would pursue these avenues.


    And I have an idea for all of you right now, he thought suddenly, staring at the monsters with a new intensity¡ªa zeal in his eyes that would have frightened them if they were made to be capable of feeling fear.


    It was an idea to hopefully make the best use he could of all of them.


    He opened up his Status sheet again. Then he used Skill Fusion to temporarily combine Skill Fusion itself with Monster Generation. He set a time limit for the combination of ten minutes. Otherwise, he would lose both Skill Fusion and Monster Generation permanently, which would be an unacceptable loss almost no matter the potential gain. James thought he knew what he would get.


    He looked at the Skills section where the old Skills had been.


    Sure enough, he found the new Skill he had been expecting.


    Monster Fusion, Lv. 0.


    He felt like a mad scientist.


    James looked around at the creatures that surrounded him, and a smile slowly overtook his face.


    You guys are going to be more useful than I could have ever imagined.


    He quickly grabbed two of the creatures, one balloon-like and another glider-shaped.


    Monster Fusion!


    His hands glowed, and he pushed the two creatures together. There was just the smallest flicker of resistance from them¡ªas if they did have some emotions in them, and they did not like having their individualities snuffed out forever.


    Then the two monsters were gone, and in their place was a single, larger creature. With the balloon-shaped monster and the winged monster fused, the result looked a bit like how James imagined a plucked vulture would look.


    But despite its ungainly appearance, he could feel the ferocity of the monster in his hands. He smiled.


    The new creature was stronger than the sum of its parts. Of that he was almost certain.


    He closed his eyes and inhabited the creature¡¯s mind for a moment. There was something slightly wilder about the fused monster than there had been about the original creatures¡ªa bit alien, a little more removed from humanity. He observed that it perceived every other creature in the room besides James himself as potential prey. He noted that the monster had the same Skills as the creatures that he had formed them from. The physical Stats were the same as the creatures¡¯ Stats added together too.


    It was still weak relative to James, but would that remain true?


    There were still more fusions he could perform.


    He left the monster¡¯s body and opened his own eyes again.


    James grabbed another pair of monsters, this time the severed hand creature and another of the winged skin monsters.


    Monster Fusion!


    He continued the process of making fused creatures excitedly and quickly. He didn¡¯t want to let Skill Fusion and Monster Generation defuse before he was done with this. He scarcely noticed the beads of sweat beginning to dot his forehead.


    After James had combined each of the original monsters with another one, cutting their number in half, he continued fusing the newly created creatures.


    There was just a little more resistance there¡ªa little less willingness from the combined creatures to feel their individuality snuffed out.


    But it was easy for him to suppress, even with his body in its weakened state.


    He wanted to push these creatures to their limit and see how large and powerful a monster he could shape.


    As the number of monsters dropped to a quarter of what it had been, James felt the sweat break out over every inch of his body.


    I¡¯m sure if I was at a hundred percent, this would be easier, he thought. It was frustrating to be held back by his temporary physical condition, though he was already pleased with the results he had achieved.


    The monsters were much bigger now than they had been¡ªand far more powerful.


    The forms they had taken were all fairly bird-like now¡ªlarger than ostriches, but still capable of flight, he was fairly certain. Their wings were bat-like, of course¡ªJames¡¯s body did not grow feathers, so neither could these creatures. They had beaks and claws made of bits of concentrated keratin, except one of the creatures that had bony claws¡ªa heritage of the severed hand monster.


    It was impossible not to notice that they became more unruly as they grew stronger.


    The larger and stronger creatures made stalking movements, like avian predators, as if they wanted to leap on the smaller ones. James had already ordered them not to see each other as enemies to be preyed upon. But now he had to give them strict orders to keep them from testing their strength against each other.


    The beasts had inherited James¡¯s own stubbornness and love of a fight¡ªespecially a challenging fight in which they could not be certain of victory.


    Besides their master, who they still did not dare to challenge, the only creatures present that they could challenge were their brethren.


    James was too tired to worry about it. His body was soaked in sweat, yet still he wanted to press on.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    One more round, he told himself. I don¡¯t even have eight Skills I want to hand out to these things. The number of combat Skills is just three: Berserk Mode, Predator¡¯s Venomous Armaments, and Otherworldly Shriek¡ªthe last of which will be accompanied by Echolocation. A couple of these creatures already have Solar Ray and Solar Recovery, and they¡¯ve been outside absorbing solar energy all day, so that makes a total of four decent combat Skills my personal monster force will have. If I could cut it in half one more time, just narrow it down to four monsters, the power will be as concentrated as I can get it for now.


    He took a break, breathing heavily¡ªalmost wheezing¡ªfrom the physical exertion of the process.


    So goddamned frustrating¡­ If I was at full power, I would be able to make them all into one monster¡­


    The idea was appealing¡ªand perhaps slightly crazy. The creatures were already almost too large for the room. Once they had been combined a final time, they would scarcely be able to fit out through the window they had entered by.


    But James was not one to be dissuaded by such practical problems. If he had to, he could always make the window larger.


    He grabbed two of the remaining creatures, the ones that had the solar Skills¡ªone that looked like a great buzzard, while the other was more like an ostrich¡ªand he pushed their heads together.


    Monster Fusion!


    James felt the creatures resisting him. They fought with their weak Wills against their master¡¯s domination, trying to remain independent life forms.


    Obey me, he sent sternly. This is the way to make you stronger.


    After a last gasp of resistance that he felt in both their bodies and their minds, the two monsters combined into a monster that had lost much of its avian qualities¡ªa heavier, more muscular creature with the thickness of snout that James mentally imagined ascribing to a dragon. Its wingspan was long enough that if it had tried to, it could have touched both walls of the bedroom from the center of the room.


    That is what I¡¯m talking about¡­


    James immediately named it the Great Solar Wyvern.


    The combined creature looked at James with a testy expression¡ªand then it leaped toward the window, clearly trying to make an escape.


    Be still, James ordered.


    The monster froze in midair and dropped to the floor. There it made small, jittery motions¡ªtoward the window, toward James¡ªindecisively before it stopped moving and bowed its head toward its master.


    Good. Just three more times to go¡­


    James¡¯s body was drenched in sweat now, to the point that it felt like he was melting. If he had touched his forehead, he would have realized he was burning up as if with fever.


    Still, he continued.


    The other monsters resisted fusion just as much as the Great Solar Wyvern¡¯s component creatures had, but he overcame them each in turn, creating the Great Berserk Wyvern, Great Sound Wyvern, and Great Venom Wyvern, once he had used Skill Transfer to give them the Skills that he had planned to share. The Great Venom Wyvern was also fortunate enough to receive the Mass Pillage Skill, under the logic that it would probably do more up-close killing than the others and therefore have the opportunity for more pillaging¡ªleaving out the Great Berserk Wyvern, which would undoubtedly lack the self-control to use Mass Pillage in the heat of battle.


    None of the other creatures resisted James in the same way that the Great Solar Wyvern had attempted to, although a few looked at the windows of the room as if they had some desire to try an escape.


    There were a few cries of outrage from the creatures as James forced them to combine, but that was as far as their willingness to go against their master went.


    They were all similarly large and fierce-looking, although the Great Berserk Wyvern stood out, because it foamed at the mouth slightly as if it wanted to kill something right away.


    James sat back, looked upon all that he had made, and saw that it was good.


    Just in time. Monster Fusion defused as he was staring at the monsters he had made. There was a feeling of sweaty accomplishment, of the kind that one only gets from doing something difficult that requires all of one¡¯s effort. James¡¯s vision was slightly blurred now, he was so tired, but he smiled deliriously.


    I did it. I win. I made the best monsters. Now we¡¯ll go get Cyrus¡­


    He somehow knew that these beasts would accomplish all that he had wanted from them¡ªand more. They were probably capable of killing Cyrus and his followers without needing help from the others James was sending.


    Those euphoric feelings lasted for just a few seconds, and the door to the bedroom opened.


    It was Mina. She had a kitchen knife clutched in one hand, and James had a split second to think how woefully unarmed that was in a place with giant monsters and magic weapons. Then she spoke.


    ¡°James, are you all right?¡± Mina asked, staring into the room, her eyes clearly not yet adjusted to the relative darkness of the bedroom. ¡°I heard noises¡ª¡± Her voice choked off as her eyes settled on the Great Berserk Wyvern, which stood closest to the door.


    He had told her that he was going to work on his monsters in the bedroom while she made dinner, but he had not given Mina the level of detail that would prepare her for what she now saw. After all, James had only come up with the idea of combining the monsters once he was already in the room by himself.


    Mina took what seemed to be an involuntary step back, and the Great Berserk Wyvern took that as a sign of weakness.


    It lunged forward toward the apparent prey.


    ¡°Be still or die.¡±


    The monster stopped in its tracks, as immediately as if James had affixed a chain to its neck. It let out a little groan and then lay down on the ground and curled up into a circular shape.


    James realized the ring on his finger was glowing, and then he suddenly slumped backward on the bed, too tired to hold himself up.


    He heard Mina moving toward the door again, and he sent another message to the creatures, this one telepathic and directed at all of them.


    She is your other master. If you hurt her, or if you hurt any human without my permission, you will die.


    Then a pounding headache hit him, and he lay still with his eyes closed.


    A few seconds later, he felt a small, cool hand touching his forehead. He kept his eyes closed.


    ¡°I guess I know how you tired yourself out,¡± Mina said.


    ¡°Yeah, you know,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯ve been in here forcing these things to behave.¡± He was trying to sound cool, but his voice sounded weak even to him.


    ¡°I was just coming to tell you dinner was ready, when I, um, heard them.¡±


    ¡°Are you okay?¡± he asked. He couldn¡¯t see her. His eyelids seemed too heavy to lift at the moment.


    But he thought it had to have affected her, the encounter with a big wyvern-like creature trying to jump on her.


    ¡°I¡ªI¡¯ve been attacked by monsters before, skapi,¡± she said, clearly trying to effect a nonchalance that would not have felt true to her character even if she had not just had a possible near-death experience.


    James reached out and took the hand that wasn¡¯t on his forehead in both of his.


    ¡°Sorry about that,¡± he said. ¡°They¡¯ll behave themselves with you from now on.¡± He raised his voice slightly. ¡°They just got a little big for their britches. They think they¡¯re powerful and independent now that I combined them.¡±


    There was no reaction from the creatures at this implied rebuke. James wasn¡¯t sure if they failed to understand what he was saying or were simply not capable of being offended by the words of their creator¡ªor if they simply understood that reacting badly to anything he said might shorten their lives.


    ¡°The whole world is a dangerous place now,¡± Mina said, paraphrasing something James had said repeatedly in recent weeks. ¡°It¡¯s bound to include your creatures, too, to some extent. That¡¯s why we¡¯re going to go and do some training together, right? So I can roll with those punches. Deal with the unexpected.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, not everything will be as cuddly as my monsters,¡± he said, smiling.


    Mina laughed. ¡°James, they¡¯re seriously terrifying.¡± She sounded simultaneously nervous at the thought of the creatures that took up the bulk of the space in the room now and genuinely admiring of James¡¯s achievement in creating them.


    ¡°Hopefully our enemies will think so,¡± he replied.


    ¡°I assume you will want dinner in bed?¡± she said.


    ¡°Yes, please. And I¡¯d appreciate it if you¡¯d close the door to make sure the children don¡¯t wander in here. I¡¯m going to send the monsters out, but I don¡¯t really want anyone to see me like this.¡±


    ¡°Will there be anything else, Your Majesty?¡± Mina asked. There was an obvious smile in her voice.


    ¡°Well, I would just about kill for a Gatorade, if that¡¯s available. I¡¯m pretty sure I don¡¯t have any electrolytes left.¡±

 V4Ch27-Reacquaintance

    Dave and Amalia sat at their posts quietly in the slowly advancing darkness.


    Luna and her wolf pack were tracking the monotheists¡¯ movements and would let everyone else know if the group deviated too much from the expected route. It seemed unlikely, since the other ways out of the Fisher Kingdom would force them to move through either Samuel¡¯s swamp or Ysabel¡¯s tropical forest.


    The humans¡ªbesides Damien, who had transformed into his Werewolf form¡ªand Vampire were left behind to conceal themselves in the planned killing field, since they would only slow the wolf pack down.


    Rotter had positioned himself on the other side of the clearing, and he was very slowly chanting as he prepared the largest magical attack of which he was capable, to unleash on the monotheists once they arrived.


    That left Dave and Amalia essentially by themselves.


    The two had spoken a bit when Dave first learned that Amalia was alive¡ªthough that was hardly the word for it, of course¡ªbut since then, he¡¯d had time to calm down and accept the reality a bit.


    Is she really still her? Even James didn¡¯t really seem to know what it means to be raised as a Vampire.


    Dave had seen movies and television with every different interpretation of what a Vampire might be. He had never given the question a close analysis, but he knew that there were more possibilities than simply, This is completely the same person. There was the possibility of Amalia actually being a demon possessing a human body, a corrupted version of herself, or some combination of those options.


    It felt like her, but was that just wishful thinking?


    ¡°Penny for your thoughts?¡± Amalia spoke up, giving her usual friendly smile. It looked particularly dazzling in the dying light.


    Actually, doesn¡¯t she just generally look better now that it¡¯s getting dark? He had thought her pallor looked unhealthy back in the community center. Of course, she was a Vampire. It would not be strange to him if night versus day had some effect on her overall look.


    ¡°I was just trying to think of what to say,¡± Dave said. ¡°Um, how does it feel to be back out here? Fighting the Kingdom¡¯s battles again?¡±


    Walking around again, he thought. Like you were never dead¡­


    ¡°Feels like I¡¯m home,¡± Amalia said simply. ¡°Honestly, I know what you¡¯re probably wondering. How I¡¯ve changed¡­¡± She let her voice trail off and waited.


    Dave finally nodded. Amalia saw it despite the fact that he was shrouded in near total darkness¡ªbecause of course she did.


    ¡°The biggest change is that I¡¯m just less afraid,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m not a different person or something. At least I don¡¯t think I am. But my fear threshold is different now. I used to try and pretend I was sure of myself, that I knew what I was doing¡ª¡± She chuckled a little, as if slightly embarrassed¡ª¡°I guess you could say that¡¯s how I died¡­¡±


    ¡°Sorry about that,¡± Dave said. ¡°I felt terrible. It¡¯s so absurd that I get to apologize to you, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± she said. ¡°Don¡¯t apologize. I¡¯m happier this way. I¡¯m lucky this is how things went down. Like I said before, I¡¯m way less afraid, of the, uh, new world we live in than I was pre-death. It¡¯s like I¡¯m permanently on Xanax or something. And you really had no choice. I remember everything that happened leading up to me dying, man. You had a hard night.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m still getting used to being at war again¡ªand having a hard time with the idea that we¡¯ll probably always be that way. Before, I kept wondering if there was something I could have done differently in the battle to avoid what happened¡ª¡± He looked away from her guiltily.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to think about that now,¡± Amalia said. ¡°I was just telling you I¡¯m probably going to be happier overall after my, um, lifestyle change.¡±


    ¡°Right. I was just saying, that¡¯s why I felt like this ambush¡ªwhat we¡¯re doing tonight¡ªhad to happen. The only thing I can do to prevent losses is to keep us from getting into fights where we¡¯re at a disadvantage. Nip threats in the bud.¡±


    Amalia nodded. ¡°I support that.¡±


    Dave opened his mouth to say something else, but Amalia pointed at the air behind him. So he turned to look.


    His jaw dropped. Soaring through the sky on bat-like wings came what appeared to be four small, brown, western-style dragons. As the closest one passed under the moonlight, Dave realized that instead of scales, these creatures were armored with what looked like tough, thick skin. Where a dragon might normally be spiky or sharp, with pointed horns or blade-like scales, these creatures were smooth.


    Identify.


    Great Venom Wyvern, Lv. 1.


    That¡¯s a level one monster? Dave had time to question what the System was telling him. He considered running away, decided he could not outpace the creatures given their flight speed, and drew his pistol instead.


    ¡°Wait.¡± Amalia¡¯s hand gently grabbed Dave¡¯s wrist. ¡°I think they¡¯re friendly.¡±


    Dave turned his head to tell her to let go of him, but then, with a great gust of wind, the creatures landed, standing in a cluster a few feet away from Dave and Amalia.


    ¡°These creatures are here to join the fight,¡± said the Great Venom Wyvern.


    But the voice it spoke in was James¡¯s.


    ¡°What the fuck?¡± Dave swore under his breath.


    Amalia bowed her head slightly. ¡°Thank you for joining us, Your Majesty,¡± she said.


    You have less of a capacity for surprise as well as fear, I guess, Amalia? Dave thought.


    ¡°I would have warned you in advance that I was coming,¡± James said through the Great Venom Wyvern, ¡°but I wasn¡¯t certain how well this would work. I didn¡¯t want to promise something and then not deliver. And once you were outside the borders of the Fisher Kingdom, I couldn¡¯t use my powers to communicate directly to you anymore. Luna and the wolves already know about these guys.¡±


    ¡°You certainly made some fearsome looking monsters,¡± Dave said, looking admiringly up at the creatures.


    The Great Venom Wyvern smiled and showed a mouthful of jagged teeth coated in a dark-colored liquid.


    It was surreal, knowing that the monstrous form was a shell for James¡¯s intelligence.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Wyvern-James said. ¡°It looks like they¡¯re almost here, by the way.¡±


    ¡°So everything went according to plan,¡± Amalia said softly. ¡°That¡¯s a nice change.¡±


    Wyvern-James dipped his head slightly and gazed down at the ground, as if he thought that remark had been intended as a personal rebuke. There was silence for a moment.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¡°Well, we will be on our way,¡± Wyvern-James said. ¡°It would be nice if the three of you didn¡¯t have to dirty your hands much with this.¡±


    The monsters took to the sky once more, and the only sound that filled the night air was Rotter¡¯s quiet, continuous chanting, which he had not interrupted even to acknowledge the creatures¡¯ presence.


    I really thought he was just a pencil pusher, Dave thought of Rotter. Impressive that he kept his focus on the magic while those creatures were down here, looking like they might try and take a bite of us.


    There was more to the council¡¯s Secretary than met the eye.


    Dave heard the snapping of twigs and jerked his head back in the direction the monotheists should be approaching from.


    ¡°They¡¯re here,¡± Amalia whispered, her voice coming from right next to his ear. ¡°Don¡¯t shoot me this time, ¡®kay?¡± He heard a hint of amusement in her voice, and a little tension left his body.


    It¡¯s an inside joke now. That¡¯s what it¡¯s going to be from now on. He hadn¡¯t killed her. Not really. When you were killed, you stayed dead.


    The first heads appeared around the trunk of a tree. Some members of Cyrus¡¯s group that Dave only barely recognized. Neither of the leaders was up front. He imagined that Cyrus was somewhere in the middle of the band of people, for his safety, and Christopher Smith was probably helping him walk.


    But they would all die tonight. There was no need to wait for a preferred target to appear.


    Dave took careful aim and fired a Mana bullet into the nearest person¡¯s chest.


    Immediately, the target dropped clutching at his center of mass.


    There were cries of shock and pain from the front of the group. Those in the front cried out conflicting reports of what was happening.


    ¡°Gerard fainted!¡±


    ¡°No, he¡¯s been shot!¡±


    The whole group ground to a halt as those in front tried to provide medical care to the fallen man.


    Before the monotheists could properly get their bearings, wolves materialized from the trees around the front rank of humans. They leaped on the people crouching around Gerard first, giving the next two ranks of people an excellent view of the carnage.


    The night air rang out with screams.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening?¡± someone shouted from a bit further back.


    ¡°Wolves! We¡¯re under attack!¡±


    Christopher Smith¡¯s voice yelled over all the others, ¡°Square formation! Minimize the vulnerable part of our¡ª¡±


    A horrible, piercing shriek cut through the air and prevented Smith from finishing his sentence. Dave was forced to plug his ears, though he noticed that Amalia, right beside him, resisted the urge to do so. She grimaced but endured.


    And the two of them had not been in the center of the area of effect.


    Among the shapes of the monotheist group that Dave could see through the dark, around a third dropped to the ground, clutching their heads. Some were visibly bleeding from the ears.


    More wolves appeared from the tree line to leap on those at the edges of the group, and the four winged monsters swooped down out of the sky to join in the attack, diving toward the center of the monotheists¡¯ loose formation.


    Another loud, piercing shriek cut the air in front of the wyverns as they dove¡ªDave found himself desperately wishing he had ear plugs¡ªand then a blinding ray of light tore through the center of the enemy group.


    That¡¯s James¡¯s ability from the forest fight, he recognized.


    In this battle, it was especially helpful, because in addition to doing physical damage, it also appeared to partially blind some of those who had seen it straight-on.


    Then Rotter let loose a torrent of lightning from his hiding place. The entire group of the enemy seemed to be caught in the area of effect as far as Dave could see, though he could only see the first five rows of people. There were screams and people clutching at their bodies. Some of them were clearly burned to a crisp, while others escaped with lighter injuries due to being merely grazed by the lightning.


    By Dave¡¯s reckoning, more than half of those who had still been standing after the previous attacks dropped on contact with Rotter¡¯s lightning.


    Definitely more than just a pencil pusher.


    In the immediate aftermath of the lightning, the wyverns landed in the center of the group and began ripping into people. Dave saw Christopher Smith lose an arm to one of the wyverns that seemed to foam at the mouth savagely, eager to tear into more human flesh.


    A few of the monotheists nearest to Smith managed to stab the wyverns with swords and knives, but the attacks did not seem to have any meaningful effect. Most of their fellows were too disoriented to engage.


    Those at the edges of where the area of effect attacks had hit alternately rubbed their eyes, covered their ears, or clutched wounded body parts that had been grazed by the lightning or the Solar Ray.


    Almost no one had the chance to so much as raise a weapon before being set upon by wolves or wyverns. With the wyverns ripping into people from the center of the group and the wolves attacking the outskirts, there was no safe place to go and no central position to coalesce around. Amalia darted into close range and began working alongside the beasts with her knives.


    The would-be leader, Christopher Smith, moaned incoherently while bleeding from the stump of his arm until the same wyvern that had wounded him initially bent down and tore his throat out.


    The loud shrieks from the wyvern with the sound ability continued periodically as various others attempted to communicate directions and requests.


    With piercing sounds repeatedly breaking any attempt to communicate¡ªand clearly partially physically disabling some of the enemy¡ªthe monotheists were unable to communicate a plan for their own defense. They stumbled, tripped over each other, and pushed their allies into the path of enemy attacks to save themselves. It was as bad as if they had never fought beside one another before¡ªas bad as if they¡¯d never fought at all before.


    Very little energy was given to any kind of offensive action. It seemed to be beyond the group¡¯s capacity even to defend themselves beyond clumsy short term measures like using other people as shields and trying to run away. The ones who¡¯d had the focus and capability to wield knives against the wyverns during initial contact were the first to be killed.


    Throughout the engagement, Dave kept firing Mana bullets whenever he had a clear shot that did not have the potential to hit a wolf or wyvern¡ªand whenever he wasn¡¯t clutching his own ears to try and block out some of those horrendous shrieks.


    He had no way of knowing when those at the very back fled, because his range of sight was limited by the darkness. He only saw when the fifth row of people away from him began to turn and run.


    Then it was clear that more than half of Cyrus¡¯s group was beating a hasty retreat, fleeing in the direction of a nearby river, where Samuel and his children were stationed.


    Just as planned.


    The wolves followed those who ran, not pursuing them too closely but shepherding them toward the river and picking off those to the sides and rear of the group.


    The screams of their victims filled the air, allowing Dave to track how far away the group was.


    Aware he couldn¡¯t keep up with the wolves, Dave simply shot at those monotheists who had remained behind¡ªmost of whom were either on the ground or barely still standing. He gradually closed the distance between himself and the first rank of the enemy, slowly and carefully moving closer to give himself an easier time aiming his rounds.


    Amalia continued working on the wounded with her daggers, now not merely killing people but also draining blood into a large plastic jug that she pulled from her Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions¡ªand occasionally drinking from the wounds she created.


    Dave frowned and did his best to ignore it. This was just a fact of her life now, and it was because of him. He could hardly judge her.


    Three of James¡¯s monsters flew off in pursuit of the majority of Cyrus¡¯s group that were fleeing. The remaining one, the Great Venom Wyvern, bit and tore hunks out of the monotheists who had stayed behind. Each bite left massive wounds that Dave guessed were also contaminated by its venom-coated fangs and claws.


    Dave shot a few monotheists who were producing the green healing glow he had become familiar with. Then he lowered his weapon. He realized that it was all over. The main body of the enemy were in retreat¡ªCyrus among them¡ªbut there were almost twenty lying dead or dying here.


    None of those left remained capable of defending themselves. There was no work for him to do.


    It had been an ugly business, but efficient. The part of the fight that had involved Dave, Amalia, and Rotter, had taken two minutes.


    The ease of it almost made him feel a little bad, but wasn¡¯t that the point? This ambush was a lot easier than the fight that he anticipated if¡ªor rather when, as he reminded himself¡ªCyrus and his followers ever returned to the Fisher Kingdom.


    Dave was still convinced the ambush was absolutely necessary to his new country¡¯s security, and as far as he was aware, there were no casualties on their side this time.


    He told himself that as the sound of screams¡ªand splashing¡ªin the distant night continued¡ªand eventually gave way to a long, heavy silence.


    Shortly after the last remaining bodies in the area around Dave stopped moving, a gentle light emanated from all of them, and they began disappearing. He looked around and realized the remaining wyvern was responsible. Even the evidence of the ambush was being wiped clean.


    The plan had succeeded thoroughly.

 V4Ch28-The Mark of Cain

    Luna burst forward, her body cutting through the brisk night air.


    She could see the end of the massacre in sight¡ªand with it, the accomplishment of her King¡¯s wish.


    Another useless prey human moved in between her and her objective, and Luna leaned in with both heads, grabbed hold of the human by the shoulders, and ripped his arms off.


    The man fell to the ground, screaming and gushing blood. Luna kept running, trampling his body and leaving him for one of the younger wolves to finish. She ignored the blood that splashed all over her coat. It was already soaked in semi-dried red and brown from the numerous others she had killed in the last five minutes.


    These humans are so weak, she thought. It is strange to think they began as the same species as the King.


    Hopefully the leader, at least, would give some decent experience. She was so close to her Evolution now, she could feel it. Both Luna and Romulus, her mate, were on the verge of assuming the incredibly powerful form that the former Wolf King had developed¡ªor perhaps something else that they could not even imagine yet.


    Luna got within sight of the human pack¡¯s boss once more. This time, the only humans obstructing her were a handful helping the leader walk; he seemed to have lost his sight.


    At the same time that Luna achieved line of sight, she heard the first splashes.


    The humans at the vanguard of their pack had hit the water.


    The tension in Luna¡¯s face relaxed.


    Mission accomplished, she thought.


    There would be no possible escape for the humans now.


    A few seconds after the first splashes, in addition to further splashes, Luna heard pained screams. Samuel and his alligators had reached the fallen humans. From the sounds of it, they were enjoying themselves.


    Luna saw one of her pack leap on a human near the leader and begin tearing into him. Then two of the wyverns that were controlled by the King¡¯s consciousness grabbed onto a pair of the humans guarding the leader and raised the men into the air, carrying them away from the fight kicking and screaming. Another pair of obstacles out of the way.


    Thank you, my King.


    The wyverns had been in the thick of the fighting, and she knew that it was because James did not want to lose a single one of his wolves to these enemies.


    She looked to her mate, who ran near the front of one group from their pack, directly parallel to Luna. They made eye contact, and then she pointed her snout at the last two humans protecting the lead human.


    Go get them, please, so I can kill the boss, she sent in a slightly pleading tone.


    All right¡­ Romulus replied in his gruff voice.


    She knew that he wanted to kill the leader, too. They both wanted to impress the King however they could, and undoubtedly, the leader would be worth more experience than most of the lackeys.


    But Romulus was a very generous mate.


    He launched himself forward, breaking away from the pack. The humans beside Cyrus barely had time to scream before Romulus¡¯s two pairs of jaws ripped into their bodies. Then they were shrieking and flailing wildly, but to little effect. One of them maintained the presence of mind to stab Romulus with his knives, Luna saw, but his arms were already weak from blood loss. Her mate received a couple of shallow wounds, the blades barely capable of penetrating his tough hide.


    Like the rest of the wolf pack, Romulus was in relatively little danger from the undisciplined, surprised group of prey.


    The lead human himself, released from the grip of his helpers, turned wildly back and forth, raising his hands in the air defensively, though he held no weapons.


    Luna was a little surprised that he did not run away¡ªbut then, he had no way of knowing which way to run. It was dark now, and even if he could see and hear, the sounds and images of carnage came now from all sides of him.


    She lunged at Cyrus and closed the distance.


    This is the price of fighting our King, she thought.


    Her flashing white fangs closed around the human pack leader¡¯s neck, and she felt the hot blood gush into her mouth. This time, she allowed herself to stop and eat.


    The body beneath her wiggled and writhed, but she held the human pinned down firmly with her claws as she chowed down on his tender meat.


    Luna became aware that one of the wyverns loomed in the air directly above her.


    Good. The King is watching.


    Without her being aware of it, Luna¡¯s tail stood straight up and then began to wag.


    At some point, the human stopped moving, but Luna didn¡¯t really notice. She was busy eating, and a couple of her pack members, including her mate, had joined in to share in the spoils. Monsters gained more from killing and eating higher level prey, so it was unsurprising that they would want to share in the bounty of the leader¡¯s corpse before they started eating the bodies of the lesser humans.


    And Luna certainly didn¡¯t mind sharing.


    The alert appeared while she was gnawing a particularly juicy hunk of meat around the thigh bone.


    [You killed Cyrus Berberian, Lv. 12! You gained 480 exp!]


    [Command Forest Wolf leveled up!]


    [A Race Evolution is available. Review? Y/N]


    The tail wagging intensified.


    Yes! Yes! I¡¯m ready, I¡¯m going to Evolve! I¡¯ll do it as soon as I get back. This is amazing!


    She glanced to the side at Romulus and saw that his eyes had lit up as well.


    Luna let out a little whine and nuzzled against her mate¡¯s neck.


    We are Evolving together, then, she sent. There was a little hint of nervousness to her tone. Perhaps she had misread his signals.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Yes, my love, Romulus replied, the tone of his voice deep.


    They had agreed that when they Evolved, it would be time to mate. The King had already blessed their choice and expressed his wish that their union would be fruitful¡ªand their children, the foundation of a dynasty that would always protect his Kingdom.


    It was in Luna¡¯s moment of greatest joy that it happened.


    A great, white and orange light enveloped the body of the dead human leader. The sudden glare blinded Luna, and she did not know exactly what happened next.


    She only felt a burning sensation in both of her heads, as if someone was holding the tip of a hot poker to her forehead and cheek respectively.


    It was far from the worst pain she had ever felt in her life, but it was so unexpected that she let out an involuntary yelp.


    And so did the wolves around her.


    Not the whole pack, which would have been deafening, but the wolves that were eating Cyrus¡¯s body with her.


    The ones who participated in killing him, she realized. Some sort of magical attack?


    But it did not seem particularly powerful if it was an attack.


    After just a moment of the burning sensation, both the pain and the light subsided.


    Luna looked down and saw the corpse of Cyrus still lightly glowing. Its hands smacked against the ground in front of her.


    Impossibly, the dead man had launched some sort of attack.


    The wolf leaned down, gripped the human¡¯s skull and body in her two sets of jaws, and with a single mighty effort, she ripped the head away. The neck was already weakened from the repeated bites to that vulnerable region, so it was easier than she had imagined.


    Luna, what¡¯s happening? The voice of the King filled her mind. She heard concern in his tone.


    I am fine, my King, she sent, turning to face the wyvern that was now floating down to touch ground beside her.


    The creature that James had possessed looked at Luna with inscrutable eyes.


    ¡ª


    ¡°Is it over?¡± Mina asked as James opened his eyes.


    Just as he had been when she came into the room, he was dripping sweat. He sucked in a deep breath and slowly let it out. Mina dabbed his forehead with a cool, wet towel again.


    Why do you always push yourself so hard? she thought.


    He shook his head as if getting his bearings.


    ¡°You¡¯re sweating like you have a terrible fever, skapi,¡± she said. ¡°Can you stop this now? Your creatures can fight on their own, right?¡±


    James nodded. ¡°Yeah, they can. And anyway, it¡¯s over. For tonight, anyway.¡±


    Mina frowned. ¡°For tonight? You need bed rest for at least a week!¡±


    ¡°Yes, I know. I¡¯ll relax, as long as no other threats appear.¡±


    ¡°If other threats appear, you should let other people handle them,¡± Mina said sternly. ¡°You have a whole military now. You don¡¯t need to be a one man army anymore!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I need to let go a little bit. Let me just send a last command¡ª¡± He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. ¡°There, now everyone will withdraw.¡±


    ¡°What happened out there, anyway?¡± Mina asked, her curiosity finally overtaking her concern at the forefront of her mind.


    She began silently gathering fire Mana to reheat the bowl of soup she had brought James to eat. Magic was filling in the gaps for technology in many aspects of their lives now.


    ¡°Well, Cyrus died.¡±


    Mina nodded and waited.


    ¡°Then his corpse seemed to be possessed by the angel I saw before, or something. It glowed with a bright, fiery light, moved like it was being puppeteered by some unseen force, reached out, and left these strange marks on the wolves that killed him.¡±


    ¡°Are they okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it wasn¡¯t a meaningful injury, honestly,¡± James said. ¡°Just a little burn. Looks sort of like a backwards ¡®E¡¯ and ¡®F¡¯ mashed together.¡± His hands ran over his cheek where the angel had burned him in the vision when he had struggled with it. The wound had closed over completely very quickly after he came out of that trance-like state, but he still had a small, pale burn scar on his cheek. It looked like a white-hot finger of fire had burned him, not like a letter or symbol.


    ¡°That¡¯s¡ª¡± She hesitated a moment. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know what that is. It sounds strange. Like some sort of ancient lettering. I can try and look it up in whatever old books I can find and see if I can piece together a meaning.¡±


    ¡°Maybe the angel cursed my wolves,¡± James said. ¡°Goddamned angels.¡±


    Mina almost laughed. Then she shook her head.


    His sense of humor is catching, she thought. This is no laughing matter¡­


    ¡°How did the wolves feel afterward?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Um, frisky.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    James shrugged. ¡°Just like I said. They¡¯re ready to get frisky.¡±


    ¡°All right. Remember, skapi, English is not my first language. That sounds weird. Not sure I know what that word really means. Pretend I don¡¯t know the word ¡®frisky¡¯ at all. What are you trying to say?¡±


    ¡°Luna wanted to go and mate with Romulus afterward¡ªtheir mating cycle and her Evolution are linked in her mind, or maybe in her biology¡ªI don¡¯t really understand how monsters work that well. Anyway, she¡¯s still planning to do that, after the two of them go through their Evolution. So, I guess what happened can¡¯t have been that bad. And we¡¯re probably going to get some wolf pups in a couple of months.¡±


    ¡°Right¡­¡± Mina said. So the word did mean what I thought it meant. Those wolves are definitely not out of place in this crazy System world. Right after you were in a battle and got a mark burned into you. I can¡¯t even imagine¡­


    Enough Mana accumulated around her hand that the fire ignited, and she began slowly caressing the soup and the bowl with it, heating up all sides as evenly could.


    She and James sat in silence for a minute.


    Then he spoke again, and his tone was heavier. ¡°I told you about what happened with me and the angel and what Hester passed on from Anansi. What do you think all of this means? I¡¯m just¡ªI wonder if something else, or someone else, is coming after us now. I really thought we were heading off the future threat. I wonder if I just accelerated it instead.¡±


    Mina thought back to what she knew from the Bible. The old legends and myths were all coming true now, in modified forms. The mark that James had described actually reminded her of something from the Book of Genesis.


    Is it something like the Mark of Cain?


    But she was no biblical scholar. She did not even know what the Mark of Cain meant in the context of the story of Cain and Abel. It was just an idea that had stuck with her¡ªthe idea of being branded forever in some way. The sort of concept that made The Scarlet Letter interesting. Only now it was appearing in real life, not just in literature.


    ¡°Um, I think the food is warm enough, Mina,¡± James said, his tone slightly alarmed.


    Mina looked down and saw that the soup she had been reheating was bubbling. Boiling hot. And it was just inches away from the bare skin of James¡¯s arm. Even if it probably could not hurt him much now, it made sense that the sight had him a little nervous.


    She turned to James and saw he was giving her a quizzical look, obviously wondering what she was thinking. But he didn¡¯t say anything.


    Maybe he was too tired to be very curious right now.


    Whatever the reason, she was glad he didn¡¯t question her. She didn¡¯t really know any more about what had happened than he did¡ªshe probably knew less, because James had at least witnessed what happened directly.


    There¡¯s no sense in speculating now, she thought.


    ¡°We¡¯ll figure out what the mark is,¡± Mina said finally. ¡°I was just thinking about that¡­¡±


    Then she began to spoon soup into his mouth, alternated with sips of Gatorade¡ªboth canned soup and Gatorade supplied by their friendly neighborhood Dungeon!¡ªand that brought the conversation to an end.


    Mina did not leave until the soup was all eaten, and James seemed to be drifting off to sleep. Only once he was tucked into bed did she get up to check on the rest of the family.


    They would talk about this more tomorrow. Tonight, it was time to rest.

 V4Ch29-Reversal

    As Mina closed the door, James opened his eyes again.


    Time to sleep, he thought.


    But there was a Skill he could use in his sleep.


    ¡°Hester, are you still ready to Dreamwalk with me?¡± James asked in a near whisper.


    ¡°I am, sir, but are you sure you¡¯re up for this?¡± she said.


    ¡°Yes, why wouldn¡¯t I be?¡± he replied.


    Because your body is death warmed over, master, sent Roscuro in a snarky voice.


    James realized he had not heard from the Soul Eater in a while.


    Good to know you¡¯re still around, there, he sent telepathically.


    ¡°You¡¯re burning up, sir,¡± Hester said. ¡°I¡¯m no expert in human anatomy, but I know the heat coming off of you now isn¡¯t normal for you, at least.¡±


    You won¡¯t get rid of me, James, Roscuro sent. I¡¯m bound to your soul, remember.


    Fair enough, James replied. And do you think me using an ability that involves going to sleep is going to mess me up more, Roscuro?


    ¡°It¡¯s just sleeping, Hester. It¡¯s exactly what I¡¯m supposed to be doing,¡± he said aloud.


    Probably not, Roscuro admitted. Remember that I do not truly understand how your Dreamwalk works, though. It is alien to me, since it has little overlap with the forms of magic I used, Soul Magic and Necromancy. From my perspective, you are taking a risk for no reason.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± Hester asked.


    James had to focus a little harder for a moment to keep the two separate conversation threads clear in his mind.


    Maybe I am a little too out of it for this, he thought.


    He lay very still for a few seconds, breathing in and out slowly and carefully, waiting for his head to clear.


    It didn¡¯t.


    He knew what he was saying to whom¡ªor he was pretty sure he did, at least¡ªbut his mind was still a mess at the moment by his usual standards.


    Fuck me. I guess they might be right.


    ¡°No, Hester, I¡¯m not sure,¡± he said.


    ¡°Sounds like a compelling reason to wait, then,¡± Hester said. ¡°I can¡¯t remember the last time you hesitated about doing something.¡±


    ¡°Gosh!¡± James said, shaking his head with a slightly twisted grin. ¡°You and Roscuro don¡¯t want me to do anything¡­¡±


    ¡°The Soul Eater agrees with me?¡± Hester sounded shocked and appalled.


    Master, please tell the spider that I agree with her, even though I was nearly fearless in my life as a warrior, Roscuro sent. We must work together to keep you from throwing your life awa¡ª


    ¡°He says yes,¡± James replied, barely restraining a smile.


    Some thoughts were lost in translation there, he sent to Roscuro.


    Go to sleep, master, Roscuro replied wearily.


    I am a lot goofier and more forgetful when I¡¯m tired, James sent back. Yeah, it seems like I actually need the rest¡­


    ¡°So, are you just going to sleep, then?¡± Hester asked.


    ¡°Yes, I am,¡± James said.


    I¡¯m not going to forget about you, Moishe, he thought. I¡¯ll go see you in person in the morning. I probably wouldn¡¯t be much good to you tonight anyway.


    He just hoped the Assassin would not take a turn for the worse during the night.


    Even if Moishe did experience a sudden, sharp decline in his condition that night, though, James knew he probably couldn¡¯t have done anything about it by being present.


    He could feel in his bones that he lacked the power to issue even a single blessing in his present condition. He had worn himself down to a nub, trying to involve himself in everything and make certain that Cyrus and his followers died and that the Fisher Kingdom didn¡¯t lose anyone in the process.


    Perhaps tomorrow he would actually be powerful enough to do something for Moishe.


    James allowed himself to slip into sleep. Once he lost consciousness, he slept like the dead, a dreamless slumber that felt like it could go on forever.


    When he finally opened his eyes, he felt much stronger than he had been¡ªand ravenously hungry.


    I¡¯m still not a hundred percent. I don¡¯t want to pick any fights. But sleeping was a good call.


    He rose to a sitting position in the bed, and Mina shifted beside him. Her eyes blinked lazily open and shut.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re awake,¡± she said, sounding sleepily surprised.


    James found her drowsy expression endearing, and he gave her a quick kiss on the lips.


    ¡°I have morning breath,¡± she warned him as they separated.


    ¡°When has that ever bothered me before?¡± he asked, and kissed her again.


    ¡°I guess you¡¯re feeling better,¡± Mina said, waking up a little more.


    The baby gurgled from nearby.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    James rose and picked Junior up, rocking him back and forth in his arms.


    ¡°I am feeling a lot better,¡± James said. ¡°I wonder what they put in that soup.¡±


    ¡°I think it was the three days of sleep,¡± Mina said wryly.


    James¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°What? I really slept for three days.¡±


    She nodded seriously. ¡°The world did not end, either. You can rest more. As much as you need. You and I were planning on going on an adventure together, I know, but your recovery is much more important.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I could bench press a killer whale right now,¡± James said, flexing a bicep muscle the size of a grapefruit.


    Is Moishe still alive? He could imagine a number of other disasters that could have occurred with him asleep for the last three days.


    ¡°Leave the poor whales alone, skapi. What did they ever do to you?¡± Mina smiled as she made the joke, but James could see she was watching him carefully for any sign of weakness.


    ¡°All right, I¡¯ll leave the whales alone,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m just going to go and see Moishe¡ªunless he¡¯s woken up already.¡±


    Mina shook her head. ¡°No word of that,¡± she said.


    ¡°Do I need to make an announcement to the whole country that I recovered?¡± James asked.


    She pulled a face. ¡°Of course not! I made sure that no one found out that you were indisposed except for Rotter, Dave, and Damien,¡± she said. ¡°Oh, plus your family. Rotter has been handling the administrative stuff that is too boring for me to be interested in it. Everyone else just assumes that they don¡¯t see you because you¡¯re dealing with someone else. They know the King cannot actually be everywhere at once.¡±


    ¡°Not until I create a whole lot more monsters,¡± James said slowly, stroking his beard.


    Mina¡¯s choice of words and his recent experience with the wyverns were giving him some ideas for future experiments.


    ¡°Which you will not do until you have fully recovered, right?¡± she asked in a quietly beseeching tone.


    ¡°Absolutely,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯ll give it another week before I try Monster Generation or Dominion again. I can¡¯t promise I won¡¯t bless Moishe when I see him, though. The guy deserves it.¡±


    Mina nodded. ¡°I would never tell you to abandon a friend in need. It¡¯s the unnecessary risks that make me lose sleep.¡± She gave James what seemed to him a feeble smile, and he thought he understood what she was feeling.


    I¡¯ve been making you worry, haven¡¯t I?


    ¡°They¡¯re not big risks when I have you to take care of me,¡± he said, pulling her into a group hug with him and the baby.


    After some grooming, a heavy breakfast with the whole family to reassure them all that he was just fine, and a change of clothes, James set off for Alan and Mitzi¡¯s place. His Fisher King powers told him that Moishe was still lying unconscious on their spare bed.


    Even if Moishe had not still been there, it had been too long since James spoke with the old couple and got their advice.


    I have a feeling I¡¯m going to need some good counsel, he thought, recalling the strange events that had occurred when his forces slaughtered the monotheists.


    There was definitely a shoe waiting to drop at some point.


    As James walked to Alan and Mitzi¡¯s place, he felt eyes on him. He turned his head and caught a dozen people from multiple sides looking in his direction. As he was scanning the environment, most of them turned surreptitiously away, embarrassed at being caught.


    The surprising thing for him was that these were people whose names and faces were not familiar to him. They were not outsiders to the Fisher Kingdom¡ªhis powers would have detected any intruders¡ªbut they were not friends or confidantes of his either. They were ordinary citizens.


    Were regular people worried about me? Or just curious what I¡¯ve been up to¡­?


    James imagined that the impression ordinary residents of his land would have of their leader might be that James himself was always the center of exciting events. It certainly felt that way to him at times.


    It was harder to imagine that he had become someone whose health and safety was of interest to these practical strangers.


    Then again, the Royal Family used to be the concern of everyone in Britain¡­ like their tabloids didn¡¯t have anything real to report on.


    A little smile crossed his lips as James remembered something from his childhood.


    He turned his eyes on his observers again, raised his hand, and gave them what he thought of as the ¡°Queen Elizabeth II wave.¡± He had only seen the Queen¡¯s signature move a few times, since she had died only a couple of years before his father. But he remembered that ordinary people had loved that woman¡ªand that wave had always looked very low effort to him, so it was a good gesture to emulate, one that he would be able to perform even if his body was wrecked.


    Sure enough, it brought a smile to a few faces¡ªthe people who had not been trying as hard to pretend they weren¡¯t looking at him.


    James smiled back and continued on his way until he came to Alan and Mitzi¡¯s door.


    They had a two-bedroom apartment unit much like most of the others here. In the haste to throw up buildings for all the people who now lived in James¡¯s territory, he had not yet introduced much variety into the pattern of construction in the Kingdom. The residential buildings were all pretty much carbon copies of the housing that had existed in this place before the end of the world.


    Which was a shame, upon reflection. James had often thought that many of the buildings around him were ugly and that he would redesign them if given the chance.


    But the end of the world had not yet left room for creativity. It sometimes seemed that every day brought some exigent circumstance that made it harder to reshape the world that he now ruled.


    He shook his head. That very thought was an indulgence, a distraction from the present vital task.


    As he stepped up to the door, James looked around to make sure there weren¡¯t a bunch of people watching him again¡ªin case there was, he would do the wave once more. But there weren¡¯t. He was back to being his pre-System, invisible self for the moment.


    He didn¡¯t bother thinking about whether he would prefer to be invisible or royalty. It was a moot point now.


    He knocked.


    A moment later, he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.


    The door opened, and Mitzi stood in front of him.


    ¡°It feels like I haven¡¯t seen you in years,¡± he said, truthfully.


    Then Mitzi pulled him into a hug.


    ¡°There is a saying that there are years when nothing happens and weeks where decades happen,¡± she said. ¡°The weeks since you and I met have been the second kind. I¡¯m glad Alan and I were able to live the bulk of our lives in the first sort of time, though. Sometimes I wonder how you¡¯re going to manage a world that seems to be stuck in the second mode.¡± She shook her head. ¡°But I¡¯m just accentuating your problems. I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t walk over here for that. Why don¡¯t you come in?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m happy to,¡± James said.


    As they walked up the stairs, the conversation continued.


    ¡°How have you been the last couple of weeks?¡± Mitzi asked. ¡°Since you woke us up, we¡¯ve had no idea what¡¯s going on.¡± There was no rebuke in her tone, James noticed, as there once would have been if he kept her out of the loop on decisions he was making.


    ¡°The truth is, I¡¯ve been kind of all over the place,¡± James said. ¡°Just putting out fires. I¡¯m trying to get ahead of things, so I can plan for the future and make preparations instead of reacting. How have you guys been?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re in great shape, James,¡± she said, turning and grinning at him. ¡°It¡¯s the most marvelous thing, actually.¡±


    As she had been standing in the stairwell before, Mitzi had been in relative darkness. But with her body turned toward him, silhouetted against the light that came in through the windows behind her, he saw something peculiar.


    Mitzi¡¯s hair had been a straight, gray mop since James met her, usually tied up in a ponytail. Now she wore her hair down, and there seemed to be darker strands intermixed with the gray mass.


    Is that possible? There¡¯s no way I missed her hair having so much black in it¡ªis there?


    His eyes went to her face¡ªand was it just him, or were the laugh lines around her mouth just a little bit softer? He wouldn¡¯t have noticed it at all before, and the lighting still wasn¡¯t very good, but with the hair change, it seemed undeniable that something was going on.


    James opened his mouth to make some comment on the change¡ªnot something as direct as a question, just a quip of some sort that would imply he¡¯d noticed. Then the ball would be in her court to either explain what he had seen or express ignorance.


    He doubted that she had failed to notice what his eyes had picked up on so quickly¡ªand what she had perhaps been hinting at?¡ªbut he would know in a few seconds.


    It was at that moment, with James¡¯s mouth already slightly agape, that Alan popped his head around the corner¡ªand James¡¯s jaw dropped further. The sight of him confirmed the strange observation that James had been having trouble believing.


    Alan¡¯s thin, ivory wreath of hair had grown visibly thicker since James last saw him¡ªand strands of brown intermingled with the white closer to the top.


    Alan and Mitzi are aging in reverse¡­

 V4Ch30-Good Advice

    James looked back and forth between Alan and Mitzi until he confirmed that they each looked around ten years younger.


    ¡°Congratulations on your excellent health,¡± he said as he reached the top of the stairs.


    ¡°Well, thank you for noticing,¡± Mitzi said, smiling broadly.


    She looked very happy with her partially browned tresses.


    James used Identify on both of them to confirm as best he could that they were the same people he knew, rather than some sort of sophisticated monster emulating Alan and Mitzi¡¯s appearances.


    So, it seems like it¡¯s really them. Is the reverse aging a result of my blessing, or some sort of magic that they discovered?


    ¡°Thank you for the blessing, James,¡± Alan said. He pointed to a wooden dinner table that James guessed had been salvaged from one of the apartments. ¡°Would you like to sit down?¡±


    I guess that answers my question. Maybe.


    James simply nodded, and the three of them moved over toward the table. It sat in a section of the room that was once again in relative shadow, making the changes to the old couple less noticeable than they had been a minute before.


    I guess I need to start thinking about how we get electricity back, James thought. The idea of trying to build a power plant had been daunting back when he was still trying to figure out how to feed his people, but now that they had agriculture back, trying to rebuild industry was the logical next step. Even if James might have enjoyed cosplaying as a medieval king for a little while, he wouldn¡¯t let his country fall behind the other powers that would doubtless be arising around the world.


    He had those thoughts in the moment or two of silence before he took his seat at the table.


    ¡°So, you guys are aging backwards,¡± James said aloud, finally.


    ¡°Can I get you anything to drink?¡± Mitzi asked. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want you to think we don¡¯t know hospitality here.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m all right, thank you,¡± James replied, smiling. ¡°I just had breakfast and ate and drank a lot.¡±


    Alan and Mitzi took the seats opposite James.


    ¡°Then what can we do for you today?¡± Alan asked.


    James noticed for the first time that the two of them looked a bit nervous. He felt certain they had not been upset at seeing him earlier. It was as if Alan had just vocalized something they had been worrying about.


    ¡°I was mainly here to ask how Moishe is doing,¡± James said slowly, ¡°but I also wanted to invite you both to be on my council. I¡¯m sure I can find something for each of you to be in charge of that will justify your positions there. Alan could lead the other Healers in combat situations. He¡¯s a veteran, and we don¡¯t have someone else in charge of that yet. Mitzi could lead our magical artillery unit.¡±


    Yeah, Mina won¡¯t mind that. She¡¯s busy anyway. She can¡¯t do half my job and also be in charge of magical artillery.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Mitzi let out a long breath.


    ¡°Were you guys worried about something?¡± James asked, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°It was my fault,¡± Alan said. ¡°My instinct was to think that something like this¡ª¡± He gestured at his hair¡ª¡°doesn¡¯t come without some sort of horrible penalty. That is, I figured that no one would reverse the aging process for someone else, even in a fantasy story, without asking some sort of terrible price in return. We both know who you are by now, but still¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not asking you guys anything more than what I ask from everyone else who lives here,¡± James said. ¡°Loyalty to me personally and to the country in general. It¡¯s my hope that eventually, I can bless everyone in the Kingdom. For now, it will probably be a reward for meritorious service, or a form of emergency medical care. But I¡¯m glad you guys are enjoying the results.¡±


    Alan and Mitzi looked at each other very lovingly, and James decided immediately that he did not want to ask any further questions about how much they were enjoying being effectively younger.


    ¡°I think we can say that we stand by the citizenship oath,¡± Alan said, smiling. ¡°I certainly intend to stand by you. Hopefully, you won¡¯t be a tyrant¡ª¡± He lowered his voice¡ª¡°but speaking purely selfishly, I think we would probably stick by you now even if you were a bit rougher around the edges than we thought.¡± He sounded slightly guilty as he spoke the words.


    Mitzi nodded, but there was a slight expression of guilt on her face, too.


    James felt like a Mafia boss who had just pulled two ordinary civilians into his orbit¡ªit was a feeling at once slightly unclean and also exhilarating.


    ¡°I don¡¯t intend to make the two of you violate your consciences anytime soon,¡± he said.


    I¡¯m very glad I didn¡¯t bring you into the conversation about Cyrus, he thought.


    ¡°Is there anything specific we can do to say thank you?¡± Mitzi asked.


    ¡°Well, like I said, I could use some advice¡ªand a situation report on Moishe, though that can wait.¡±


    ¡°What did you want to talk to us about?¡± Mitzi said.


    Have to play this carefully, James thought. These were decent people who had yet to truly get their hands dirty in the post-System world in the way that James, Dave, and Rotter had.


    ¡°Are you guys aware that I exiled Cyrus from the Fisher Kingdom?¡± he asked.


    ¡°People have been talking about little else the last few days,¡± Alan replied.


    ¡°So you know the details?¡± He looked back and forth between them as he asked this.


    ¡°We heard that he was bleeding from the eyes, ears, and mouth, and we heard that you weren¡¯t in great shape either,¡± Mitzi summarized quickly.


    ¡°We were praying for you,¡± Alan added.


    Damn, I hoped that people hadn¡¯t figured out that it had a backlash for me too. Well, I¡¯ll make sure people see me walking around so they know I¡¯m healthy again¡­


    ¡°Good,¡± James said. ¡°Um, thank you. Okay, so let¡¯s say, hypothetically, that although I sent Cyrus away from here, alive but crippled for life, I am fairly certain that my conflict with the monotheists isn¡¯t over,¡± James said.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°Why would it not be over?¡± Alan asked, raising an eyebrow. ¡°And how? Are they planning to go after everyone in the world who doesn¡¯t follow one of their religions? Their leader already lost to you and was crippled for life, you said¡­¡±


    ¡°Assume that I have a good reason to think that there¡¯s more to it than that. Maybe a more personal reason for them to target us in future. For example, if I told you that the ability I used on Cyrus is something called Curse of the Fisher King¡ªand that Skill functions in exactly the opposite way of Blessing of the Fisher King¡ªmeaning that while your condition has continued to improve as a result of my blessing, Cyrus¡¯s condition will continue to deteriorate. Being blind, deaf, and dumb is just the tip of the iceberg.¡±


    Alan stroked his chin thoughtfully, thinking in silence for a few seconds.


    ¡°Cyrus is a lot weaker than you,¡± Mitzi said bluntly. ¡°Do you think your curse will kill him?¡±


    James nodded. There we go. Now I¡¯ll barely be lying to them. They¡¯ll know that I killed Cyrus. Or at least that will be their understanding of the situation. It¡¯s close enough that if some aspects of the truth are revealed later, they¡¯ll assume the best.


    This was the best way James could think of to keep Alan and Mitzi aligned with him regardless of what James might have done to the monotheists. No bodies would ever be discovered anyway. Alligators, wolves, wyverns, and magic had taken care of all the leftovers.


    Still, the Ring of Lies began to warm his finger with its gentle heat as he continued speaking.


    ¡°I think Cyrus is a dead man,¡± James said. ¡°And I know that he was in touch with a higher power of some sort. Not God, exactly. Let¡¯s say an angel for now, although it¡¯s impossible to be sure it¡¯s not a demon or something pretending to be on the side of righteousness.¡±


    He added this idea in as a way of poisoning the well in case any angel should ever try to steal Alan and Mitzi away from him.


    Alan ran his hands over his scalp¡ªand through his hair, with an expression of mild surprise as his hand touched hair where there used to be only pale white skin.


    ¡°That sounds like a pretty big problem,¡± he said finally.


    ¡°What is it exactly that you¡¯re worried about?¡± asked Mitzi. ¡°That Cyrus and his group will come back for revenge? Or that this higher¡ªor lower¡ªpower will do something?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± James replied simply.


    Mitzi snorted. Alan frowned.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think Cyrus and his group coming back is a serious threat, if you¡¯re worried that your curse will probably kill him,¡± Alan said. ¡°If the group followed him, it probably means they were looking to him for strength as well as wisdom. You proved that you were stronger. And we have the numbers on our side. So I can¡¯t imagine they¡¯d be stupid enough to come back here on their own.¡±


    ¡°But you think this higher power might give you some trouble,¡± Mitzi said.


    ¡°That, and it¡¯s possible that these people will turn out to have allies or sympathizers,¡± James said. ¡°There are people all over the world who belong to one of the three Abrahamic religions.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not planning to round up the Abrahamic religion worshipers, are you, James?¡± Alan asked with a wry smile. ¡°If you are, I have to warn you that we¡¯re Christians. You¡¯d better lock us up.¡± He spoke those last words in a humorous tone that suggested he did not take the possibility entirely seriously, but James sensed a hint of uncertainty in the way Alan held his eyes.


    ¡°I would have to split my own family up,¡± James said after a moment, thinking of Yulia. ¡°No, I¡¯m not thinking of doing something like that. I¡¯m not an F.D.R.¡±


    The Japanese-Americans didn¡¯t even do anything to justify what F.D.R. did, either. I¡¯m better off just trying to keep my own monotheists loyal instead of punishing people for things they don¡¯t really control. Just like what I¡¯m doing with Alan and Mitzi right now.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s a relief,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°Not that we imagined you would do something like that,¡± Mitzi added. James could hear her lightly kick her husband under the table.


    ¡°Hopefully I continue to live up to your expectations,¡± James said, smiling lightly and keeping any trace of guilt from his voice.


    They¡¯re not particularly high expectations, but then again, they also don¡¯t know that I killed Cyrus and his remaining followers¡­


    ¡°My question is, what would you do to head off this threat and prevent it from becoming a serious problem?¡± James asked.


    He was both gauging their capacity to give practical advice for the present situation and actually looking for good advice to deal with anyone who might want to avenge Cyrus.


    ¡°I might kill Cyrus,¡± Mitzi said softly after only a moment. ¡°If he¡¯s the one with the tie to this higher power, maybe you¡¯ll make the problem go away permanently.¡±


    Alan¡¯s eyes darted to her, slightly surprised. But he recovered quickly.


    ¡°I¡¯m not opposed to the idea of killing Cyrus, per se, but you should understand, that makes a backlash more likely rather than less, given the likelihood of intervention by this other power,¡± Alan said. ¡°Considering that your curse might kill him already, it seems like a waste of time and energy.¡±


    It was a bit amusing to hear them debating what James had already done, without knowing that he had done it, but James was beginning to feel the limitations of advice given by people who did not know the full situation.


    ¡°Let¡¯s assume that Cyrus dies for now,¡± James said. ¡°We¡¯ll forget about how it happens. Just assume I can easily do it without causing any casualties for our side. What then?¡±


    ¡°Then you would need to counter the narrative the survivors are going to spread about the evil Fisher King,¡± Alan said. ¡°Otherwise, you could end up with a lot of Christians, Jews, and Muslims who have every reason to want to see you dead. They¡¯ll frame it as religious persecution, and people don¡¯t much appreciate that.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t leave any witnesses if you kill Cyrus,¡± Mitzi said, looking off into the distance. ¡°If you do it, try to make it look like a monster attack. If you say it¡¯s something you can easily do¡ª¡± She looked at James carefully¡ª¡°then I imagine you also have the ability to make it look like something that it isn¡¯t, with a little more effort.¡± She swallowed. ¡°False flag operations are a time-honored tradition of governments trying to control what people think about what they¡¯re doing.¡±


    James looked at Alan, who seemed distinctly uncomfortable with this idea but was saying nothing.


    ¡°You¡¯re forgetting about the higher power,¡± Alan said. ¡°If there¡¯s something watching over this person, then they¡¯ll immediately tell everyone who was responsible for the murder.¡± He turned to face James. ¡°It¡¯s probably not possible to fool this angel or demon, right?¡±


    ¡°Probably not,¡± James admitted.


    Now we¡¯ve come to what my whole actual problem is.


    ¡°The people who live in the Kingdom already know that you¡¯re the good guy,¡± Mitzi said. ¡°You need to make sure that other people within reach of us know, as best you can. And spread the idea that this higher power is a demon or a fallen angel or something rather than something with a direct line to God.¡±


    Alan was nodding. ¡°Information warfare might be the key here. You¡¯ll probably need to bring more of Florida under your control to achieve that. Information spreads faster than your territory-acquiring power, so you¡¯re in a race against that.¡±


    James sighed. ¡°You¡¯re making it sound impossible. The Skill is called Dominion, by the way.¡± What Alan had said was where James¡¯s head was at right now, too. That was why he had wanted some advice.


    ¡°Not necessarily,¡± Alan said. ¡°You¡¯re forgetting that there¡¯s more than one way to hold territory. You can use your Dominion thing on it, but there¡¯s also the old-fashioned way. Boots on the ground. If you can establish a perimeter of control that¡¯s beyond where Cyrus and his followers have gone, you can cage them in if you want to. Maybe detain them. Or if they''re outside the perimeter, you can at least influence the people inside your perimeter. You¡¯re restoring law and order, giving out blessings, providing all kinds of services for them. Just like the government did before the System.¡± Alan made direct eye contact with James and smiled. ¡°You know the loyalty that can inspire already. You can¡¯t necessarily control how far information spreads, but if you take over a larger area and govern it well, you can create a large population of people who have every reason to give you the benefit of the doubt¡ªjust like we would.¡±


    James wondered for a moment if Alan and Mitzi knew that he had already killed off Cyrus and the members of his group¡ªbut no. They would have been up-front about it.


    The two of them were just trying to give him their best advice.


    I was planning on stepping back a little bit on taking more territory, he thought. Not totally stopping, just slowing down¡­ But they¡¯re right. This situation with Cyrus and the angel is the best reason possible for speeding up and doing more. Expanding my borders until I have a defensible area is the best way to minimize the damage that anyone can do to me in the future. The only way to survive is to grow.


    It reminded James a little of the Roman Empire, unfortunately. Hopefully, he would not fall into the same trap of feeling that he needed to control the whole world to be secure.

 V4Ch31-Moishe鈥檚 Dream Part 1

    ¡°Thank you both,¡± James said. ¡°I think that helps. I¡¯ll start thinking about how to expand more quickly than Dominion can travel. On a slightly different subject, how¡¯s Moishe doing?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s much simpler to answer,¡± Alan said, his expression grim. ¡°No big changes. That is, his condition seems to be stable. That¡¯s how the real doctors described it.¡±


    ¡°Gupta and Zirndorf?¡± James asked.


    Alan nodded. ¡°Rotter assigned them to help Moishe. He¡¯s only staying here, because we volunteered¡ªbecause we know him. A very brave young man.¡±


    ¡°You said stable,¡± James said. ¡°Does that mean what it sounds like? Is he improving at all¡ªor just hanging there, unconscious?¡±


    ¡°I think he might need your attention, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re asking,¡± said Mitzi quietly. ¡°This is probably one of those things that only you can do¡ªor, if there are others who could help, they¡¯re simply not here, so they¡¯re as good as useless.¡±


    ¡°The burns are healing a little, but it¡¯s only marginal,¡± Alan said. He shook his head, a sad expression overtaking his face. ¡°Even if he woke up today, the poor kid is probably scarred for life. They said he needs skin grafts.¡± He let out a short, bitter laugh. ¡°Obviously, we don¡¯t have access to fucking skin grafts. If he recovers, he could end up looking like Freddy Krueger. I can¡¯t imagine going through something like that when he¡¯s so young. He had his whole life ahead of him¡­¡± Alan covered his face with a palm.


    Mitzi also looked sad. The mood around the table had changed drastically.


    James nodded and exhaled heavily. ¡°Okay. That¡¯s probably the most I can get from hearing about his condition. Again, thank you both.¡± He made eye contact with Mitzi and then Alan as he spoke. ¡°Now I¡¯m ready to see him.¡±


    Alan led him into a bedroom that was sparsely furnished. In the bed, wrapped in bandages like a mummy, lay Moishe. Every inch of skin that peeked out from alongside the bandages looked pink and irritated.


    James¡¯s eyes were drawn away from the patient, however, to the floor. Despite the room being lit by sunlight streaming through the window, there were a dozen candles near the bed, slowly burning down¡ªand a supply of additional candles in the corner of the room, waiting to be lit.


    James raised an eyebrow and turned to Alan wordlessly.


    ¡°The doctors said that burns this severe need a warm, humid environment,¡± Alan explained. ¡°We don¡¯t have climate control, but Florida¡¯s always humid. And the candles provide heat. It¡¯s also useful to have light at night when we change the bandages.¡± He swallowed, and James could see again how difficult it was for Alan to see Moishe suffering this way.


    James didn¡¯t know all the details of the experiences that Moishe, Alan, Mitzi, and the rest of the group had had while James was gone, but he had gathered that Moishe had acted the role of defender of the group. James had personally experienced how Moishe took the fight to the Moloch cultists.


    I can¡¯t let this end here for you, he thought. Your story isn¡¯t over yet.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to try and enter his dream first,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯ll hopefully be able to gather some information on what happened to him. If that works, then I¡¯ll have an idea of what to do next.¡±


    ¡°If not?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°That, I¡¯m not sure about yet,¡± James said wearily. His body was still not at its peak strength. He could handle giving out a blessing, he assessed, without an embarrassing collapse. But he wanted to know for certain that nothing else would work to cure Moishe¡¯s present condition.


    ¡°All right, then,¡± Alan said. He stood awkwardly for a moment, as if looking for something to do. Finding nothing, he finally said, ¡°I guess I¡¯ll just leave you to it.¡±


    Then he turned and left the room, closing the door behind him.


    ¡°It¡¯s just us now, Hester,¡± James said quietly. ¡°Ready to join me on a Dreamwalk?¡±


    ¡°Ready as ever, sir,¡± she said in a subdued tone. ¡°I remember Moishe¡ªI mean, how he was before this, whatever happened to him. I remember how he looked at you¡­¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    He looked at me like I was a hero, James thought.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what happened to him,¡± Hester said gently.


    James nodded and slipped into a seated position, back against the wall opposite Moishe¡ªfar from the candles, so that in case his body tumbled forward, he would not light himself on fire in his sleep.


    Then he touched a hand to the back of his ear, a single fingertip on Hester, and focused on his intention to take her with him. As far as he knew, Anansi had not done anything more than this when he first initiated James into Dreamwalking.


    Dreamwalk!


    James¡¯s body instantly went limp.


    He found himself in the Dreamspace void again, and he felt another presence with him. James turned his head and saw a human-sized spider. The spider appeared to be a dark brown with lightly striped legs. It was almost as tall as James.


    Whoa!


    Despite the surprising size of his guest, James kept his composure. He already knew who this must be.


    ¡°Hello Hester,¡± he said a little uncertainly. ¡°You are looking, um, large and in charge.¡±


    ¡°Oh, thank you, sir¡ªI, um, I think.¡± It was the same old Hester voice, though a bit louder¡ªbut still an inside voice, apparently based on her natural temperament.


    So, it is her.


    ¡°It¡¯s a compliment, Hester. At least I think it is. I remember Anansi changed his size freely up and down when he was showing me the world of dreams.¡±


    ¡°Then I will make sure to continue using the fact that we are in dreams to my advantage!¡±


    James could hear the joy in her voice. He had correctly guessed that Hester would find almost any comparison to Anansi flattering. Perhaps she was even more excited to be an active participant in his adventures for a change, not just an advisor or the connection between James and the Spider God.


    He decided he would observe how she performed in this place carefully. If Hester was good at Dreamwalking, he could make it a regular job for her. There would always be enemies who needed to be harassed or spied upon, and he was sure he could think of a thousand other tasks that could be better done in dreams than in real life.


    In this place, a small person could cast a very long shadow.


    James quickly found Moishe¡¯s dozing consciousness. Besides a few people napping in a couple of other apartments, Moishe was the only landmark visible right now. The landscape felt peaceful. Pristine.


    It was nice to see that the residue of Sister Strange¡¯s incursion into James¡¯s territory had faded away. She was only a bad memory now¡ªand whatever remained of her inside of James himself.


    He reached out to take Hester¡¯s limb, and she reshaped the end into a hand.


    And the two of them stepped into Moishe¡¯s dream.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    As they materialized, James found himself in a place that resembled the Grand Canyon.


    He saw no signs of life in any direction around him. Just a narrow path through dry, sandy ground, cliff faces on both sides of him¡ªand strangely pitted soil on both sides of the narrow path. It was as if this place had been struck as many times by space objects as the surface of the moon¡ªand therefore become just as pockmarked.


    Does that mean this is someplace on Earth? he wondered. Where the hell is Moishe?


    ¡°This is interesting,¡± James muttered quietly.


    ¡°It certainly is, sir,¡± said Hester.


    James turned his head and saw the spider had returned to just slightly larger than her real life size. She rested on his shoulder now.


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s a good call, Hester,¡± he said. ¡°You were worried about falling into the pits?¡±


    ¡°I figured there wasn¡¯t room enough on this path for the two of us, sir,¡± she replied.


    ¡°Well, there¡¯s not,¡± James said, ¡°but remember that this is a dream. Reality is what we make it.¡± He stepped into the air and simply imagined himself walking on invisible stairs, and the reality around him complied. His body slowly rose into the sky until he was level with the top of the canyon.


    ¡°Right,¡± she said. ¡°I''ll have to remember how overpowered imagination is here. Leave it to you to figure out how to exploit that!¡± Her tone was slightly teasing.


    ¡°I am pretty good at optimizing how I use my Skills,¡± James said, trying to sound modest. ¡°It helps that I could control my own dreams prior to getting this Skill. The idea occurred to me naturally. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be doing it soon, too. Now, how do we find Moishe¡­?¡±


    Hester stepped off of James¡¯s shoulder and then began to grow dramatically in size, until she was towering far above James¡ªtaller than any monster he had ever seen, including the Spider Queen and Samuel.


    And she just kept growing, until she was the height of a skyscraper.


    James stared at her and simply watched as she continued increasing in size. He was fairly certain that he knew what she was doing.


    I get it, he thought. That¡¯s using your head.


    Hester began looking back and forth across the desert, as James had guessed she would. She had given herself the highest vantage point she reasonably could, to better search for Moishe.


    James decided to simply remain at ground level for the moment and wait for Hester to tell him what she saw. He looked around the cliff surface where he had found himself, but there was little of interest up there. Perhaps Moishe¡¯s imagination had not populated this part of the dream with content just yet, or maybe, if it was a real place, it was an area Moishe had never visited.


    There has to be a reason we spawned in the valley and not up here, James thought. We were probably closer to Moishe before I decided to walk on air.


    Hester began shrinking back down, and James watched. He enjoyed seeing how Hester adapted to this new environment. He wanted to know how resourceful she could be as a dream explorer. He decided to wait for her to report what she had seen before he suggested anything. This trip was about Moishe, but there was no reason not to try and let Hester take the initiative here.


    ¡°Did you find anything interesting?¡± he asked once she had reached his height. ¡°Any sign of Moishe?¡±


    Hester stopped shrinking and shook her head.


    ¡°No sign of Moishe,¡± she said, ¡°but I did see something that might be worth investigating.¡± She pointed at a ridge, and James saw that somewhere in the distance, there was a light source, flickering like a campfire. Whatever the source was, it must have been a mile away.


    Even with his superhuman senses, he would never have noticed it unless he was looking right at it. The light did not stand out much in the bright atmosphere, and the ridge blocked the actual source completely from view.


    ¡°What did it look like when you saw it?¡± James asked.


    ¡°A pillar of light,¡± she said a little doubtfully. ¡°It looked kind of like it was on fire.¡±


    ¡°An angel,¡± James said, his heart sinking.


    What do the angels have to do with this?


    ¡°It did look sort of familiar to descriptions I¡¯ve heard,¡± Hester said. ¡°Although my understanding is that angels can look very different depending on the type¡­¡±


    She continued talking nervously for a few more seconds, not saying much of substance, until James opened his mouth to ask another question.


    ¡°Did it see you?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± she said.


    ¡°Okay. That could be important,¡± James said. ¡°I was wondering if the angel is part of Moishe¡¯s memories, or if it¡¯s actually a real thing visiting this dream, like us. If it¡¯s visiting the dream, it could cause a lot of trouble for all I know. But if it didn¡¯t notice a giant spider staring at it, then this probably isn¡¯t the real deal.¡±


    There was some amount of wishful thinking to this on James¡¯s part. He knew he wasn¡¯t equipped to win a fight with an angel, and he doubted that being in a dream would give him enough of an advantage to change that. It was one thing to fight magical creatures like the Wraiths in a dream. It was another to fight creatures that were powerful enough to give out blessings like they were gods.


    ¡°I could have been wrong, sir,¡± Hester said nervously. ¡°I¡ªyou know, these things don¡¯t really have faces. It could have looked at me¡ª¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going to trust your initial judgment on this, Hester,¡± James said. ¡°It¡¯s better to be optimistic, anyway. We¡¯ll just try to avoid going near where the angel is for right now. If we thought the angel noticed us, we might have to make a strategic retreat, when we haven¡¯t seen Moishe at all yet. I¡¯d rather keep going. Why don¡¯t we go back down to ground level?¡±


    He explained his theory that the dream had probably popped them into a place that was relatively close to Moishe¡¯s location, based on his previous experience.


    ¡°That makes sense to me,¡± Hester said, sounding very relieved.


    ¡°There¡¯s one more thing,¡± James said. ¡°It might make it harder to find Moishe, but it should make it easier for us to avoid being spotted by the angel. I think, if we focus, we can make ourselves completely invisible here.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah, dream,¡± Hester said. She instantly popped out of sight.


    ¡°Wow,¡± James said. ¡°I thought that would take you a minute.¡± He looked around for a moment, wondering where she had gone, or if she had shrunk as well as turning invisible.


    A hand reached out and grabbed his. A chitinous, exoskeleton hand.


    ¡°I¡¯m still here, sir.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± James said, chuckling. ¡°Well done.¡±


    He thought for a moment and then willed himself invisible, too.


    The two of them stepped off the cliff, hand in hand, and they floated gently down to ground level again.


    They began walking along the path, Hester following James¡¯s lead, looking for any sign of Moishe.


    As James rounded a corner, Hester gave his hand a sharp yank.


    ¡°There!¡± she breathed.


    James turned and saw a piece of the cliff face opposite them moving. It was a man-sized chunk of rock. As the hunk of stone dropped from the valley wall, though, James recognized that it was not stone at all. It was a cloth that had changed color and texture to blend in with the wall. There was a person under there, and the person was now running.


    He followed the trajectory of the running figure¡¯s movements with his eyes, and James realized he was dashing toward a rabbit with antlers that had its back turned to them.


    James willed himself visible just as the rabbit turned to face its predator¡ªand the running man stuck a dagger into its shoulder.


    ¡°Moishe?¡± James called out. He couldn¡¯t imagine who else this could be.


    The figure in the camouflage outfit, still holding the dagger with the wriggling rabbit on the end of it, turned his head toward the voice and pulled the fabric away from his face.


    It was Moishe. Bearded, sunburnt, sweaty, and hollow-cheeked, with blistered lips. He looked badly dehydrated.


    But it was definitely Moishe.


    ¡°It¡¯s you?¡± Moishe asked, his voice cracked and weak. Then his face turned wary. He assumed a fighting stance, pulling the rabbit from the dagger and snapping the creature¡¯s neck in one smooth motion so that he could brandish the blade at James. ¡°Or are you another illusion?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m real,¡± James said simply, looking Moishe steadily in the eyes with a calm expression. James kept his arms at his sides but opened his fingers and pointed them away from his body to emphasize that he wasn¡¯t holding anything.


    He waited for Moishe to put the knife down, but the Assassin had a slightly crazy glint in his eye as James looked at him.


    Okay, I guess there was no way this was going to be simple, he thought.


    James threw an Air Strike at the cliff wall beside Moishe.


    ¡°Could an illusion do that?¡± James asked.


    ¡°That could have been any attack,¡± Moishe said. ¡°Show me something that only James could do.¡±


    ¡°How about I tell you something only I would know,¡± James replied. ¡°Since you could assume that anything I show you is an illusion?¡±


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± Moishe replied after a brief pause. ¡°Go for it.¡± There was an undercurrent of suspicion still in his voice.


    ¡°I know that Officer Ross¡¯s wife died to save her husband¡¯s life back in Orientation, and I know that you were the only witness to that,¡± James said. ¡°I assume you didn¡¯t tell a lot of people besides me.¡±


    Moishe nodded reluctantly. ¡°So it is you.¡± His body slumped as if disappointed. ¡°Then we¡¯re both trapped here.¡±

 V4Ch32-Moishes Dream Part 2

    ¡°I¡¯m not trapped anywhere,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯m just here to get you.¡±


    ¡°How do you expect to get me and get out?¡± Moishe said.


    James could not think what to say for a moment. He felt slightly confused. Did Moishe mean that he thought they were trapped in this dream? Or was this environment based on a real place Moishe had felt trapped? That seemed more likely. But what exactly was going on? And, if Moishe was unaware this was a dream, would it be too cruel to tell him?


    Moishe might still be stuck in this place, even after he knew it was a dream, if James couldn¡¯t find a way to get him out. James imagined that might be more difficult than merely thinking he was in a survival situation.


    Unfortunately, Moishe seemed to take James¡¯s silence as a sort of mute declaration of guilt.


    ¡°Man, don¡¯t tell me, after everything, that you¡¯re one of Cyrus¡¯s people now,¡± Moishe said. He sounded disgusted by the idea, like it was something he fervently did not want to believe.


    James didn¡¯t blame Moishe for being paranoid. James guessed Cyrus had betrayed him in some way, Moishe was clearly dehydrated, and now James had appeared out of nowhere, fresh and healthy.


    ¡°Far from it,¡± James said. ¡°I killed Cyrus.¡±


    Moishe looked shocked and confused.


    ¡°No, Cyrus is¡ªhe was just¡ªhow? Why did you kill him? Did you know about, um, this?¡± Moishe sounded confused and disoriented, and he looked around at the cliffs to either side of them as if he was starting to remember that this was a place he had left already.


    James imagined himself using water magic to create water, and he also imagined that he had a large glass with him. Then he held up the glass and allowed the water to drop into it.


    ¡°Here, drink this,¡± James said. ¡°It¡¯ll help clear your head.¡±


    He hoped he was right.


    Moishe walked toward James cautiously, looking to the sides as if expecting a trap¡ªbut unable to resist the lure of fresh water. Since his Class and Job were both essentially non-magical, Moishe would have had no way of securing fresh water for himself unless there were some supplies nearby¡ªwhich James had seen no sign of.


    ¡°It¡¯s amazing you survived this place for so long,¡± James said as Moishe took the glass from him. He had only the vaguest idea of how long Moishe had been in this space, but he guessed from the dehydration and the fact that Moishe had not managed to come to the Fisher Kingdom until just now that he had been trapped for several weeks. Maybe ever since the return to Earth.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t easy,¡± Moishe said, shaking his head and taking a sip from the glass.


    ¡°Sir.¡± Hester¡¯s voice whispered in James¡¯s ear. She was still invisible, so James had lost track of her exact position. ¡°I think you need to tell him this is a dream, or you¡¯re not going to get anywhere.¡±


    It could really mess him up if he recognizes this is a dream, and I can¡¯t get him out of it, though.


    But Hester was probably right. James was just wasting time, delaying peeling this bandaid off.


    ¡°Moishe, I want to explain why I¡¯m able to visit you here,¡± James said.


    The Assassin nodded with a serious expression and waited for the explanation.


    ¡°This is a dream,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯m gathering from our conversation that you were trapped in this place in reality at some point, but you actually escaped. That¡¯s why I¡¯m able to visit you, even though I¡¯ve never been to this place in real life.¡±


    Moishe¡¯s body slumped as tension visibly flooded out of him, and a look of realization hit his face. It reminded James strangely of a person waking up from a dream.


    ¡°Thank goodness,¡± he said. ¡°I thought I was going to be trapped in this place until I died.¡±


    ¡°What is this place?¡± James asked. ¡°It left you pretty messed up. I want to understand why.¡±


    ¡°If this is a dream, it¡¯s my memories, right?¡± asked Moishe.


    James nodded. ¡°That¡¯s more or less my understanding, though obviously deviations are possible.¡±


    ¡°Like you being here,¡± Moishe said.


    ¡°Right,¡± James said. ¡°And Hester is here too.¡±


    The spider popped into existence, human-sized, next to James, and Moishe startled at the sight of her before quickly calming and then laughing out loud.


    ¡°Right, this is definitely a fucking dream. Great! So I did manage to escape. It¡¯s starting to come back to me.¡± He looked down and gritted his teeth as if at a painful memory, then met James¡¯s eyes. ¡°Let me try and take you back.¡±


    The world around James, Moishe, and Hester vibrated, and the air seemed to develop a distortion to it as if it were under extreme, sudden heat.


    But James recognized something that felt like the beginnings of a cinematic flashback.


    He restrained his natural inclination to try to stay grounded in the present moment and allowed himself to be carried back.


    James and Hester found themselves floating above the canyon, looking down on a group of people lined up within the narrow path they had dropped into when they first appeared here. James recognized that most of the people he saw had been members of Cyrus¡¯s group of loyalists, which meant they were now dead.


    On a fast forward loop, he and Hester watched the next few days as the group fought their way through a Dungeon. This place was apparently called the Valley of the Shadow of Death¡ªthe memory slowed near the beginning and allowed them to see the alerts Moishe received¡ªbut its monsters were not as dangerous as the name of the location implied.


    A single Camouflage Iguana¡ªa creature that could turn itself invisible by blending into the canyon walls¡ªwas bold enough to attack the group, but after Moishe killed it, any other specimens refused to make themselves known. That was how Moishe had acquired the color-changing cloak¡ªsimilar to an item James had¡ªthat he¡¯d been using when they met him.


    The other threat came out at night. The Deathly Bark Scorpions, monsters the size of humans, killed a couple of the people James had not recognized before one of the other members of the group raised the alarm. From then on, the group slept all clustered together, so that no one would be in the shadow of the fire. The monsters returned each night that they were there, but no one else fell to their venom.


    The antlered rabbits¡ªofficially called the Common Jackalope¡ªwere more of a food source than a real threat, although they were unfortunately much scarcer than the Deathly Bark Scorpions. Only Moishe had any success in hunting them, using his unusual Stealth, magic daggers, and Assassin Skills.


    The group sent a couple of people to scout the clifftops, including Moishe, to see if that was the way out of the Dungeon. That expedition ended in failure, as the elevated area above the valley was a barren wasteland, flat for miles in some directions, with no exit in sight.


    The scouts returned to ground level with the rest of the explorers.


    After several days of travel in the valley, the group finally made their way to what appeared to be an exit to the area¡ªthat distant place where Hester had seen the angel waiting.


    Up close, it appeared to James to be the same angel that he and Anansi had faced when they struggled with Cyrus¡ªor at least an angel created to the same design specifications. Without a real face to look at, it was impossible to be certain.


    ¡°Come forth and be tested,¡± commanded the angel.


    Most of the members of Cyrus¡¯s group were intimidated, including Moishe. All took a step back, except Cyrus and Christopher Smith beside him.


    Cyrus advanced, alone, until he drew close enough to the angel to speak to it.


    Though the creature hovered in the air ten feet above Cyrus, he was able to speak to it quietly, and the angel seemed to hear him.


    James and Hester¡ªand presumably Moishe, since this was his memory¡ªcould not hear what Cyrus said.


    They only heard the angel respond, ¡°Your understanding is correct.¡±


    Then Cyrus turned back and yelled to everyone else, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid of the Dungeon¡¯s guardian. It¡¯s an angel! It only wants to test our character. If you are a righteous person, you will be fine.¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Saying this, he passed directly underneath the angel. A curtain of flame came down from the fiery entity above, but Cyrus kept walking through it. The fire seemed to have no effect on him.


    After a minute of walking, he passed all the way through to the other side of the field of fire, and the flames disappeared as if they had never been real.


    ¡°Come on!¡± Cyrus shouted. He had to yell at the top of his lungs just to be heard from the distance he had created between himself and the others. He stood near what appeared to be the end of the valley now.


    ¡°What¡¯s over there?¡± Moishe yelled back.


    Cyrus looked taken aback by the question. Then he walked further away, as if to investigate. He stepped out of view of Moishe and the others, but James saw where he wound up¡ªperhaps indicating that this was a place Moishe would see eventually.


    In one direction, set against a valley wall, there was an opening in space that James was fairly certain was the exit to the dungeon.


    Cyrus walked past that.


    Just beyond the dungeon¡¯s exit, there was a grove of trees. Somehow, they grew out of the dry and dead earth that the Valley of the Shadow of Death had presented so far. Despite the fact that James was fairly certain that they needed different climates and types of soil, he saw dozens of different varieties of fruit-bearing trees. At the edge of the grove was a ring of bushes that grew heavy with berries of many kinds.


    Cyrus looked very pleased with what he saw, and he filled his pockets and then his arms with fruits.


    When he walked back to the exit of the valley, everyone could see what Cyrus had in his arms.


    ¡°This is what¡¯s over there!¡± Cyrus shouted, waving an apple at the group.


    Christopher Smith was the first to follow him through the curtain of fire.


    Then others came, rushing toward the apparent bounty of food.


    Still, Moishe hung back.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never thought of myself as a righteous or religious man, and there was something about Cyrus and the way he handled the situation that felt a little too familiar, by this point, if you know what I mean,¡± Moishe said by way of explanation.


    James heard the Assassin¡¯s voice in his ear, though he did not see Moishe, except for the version that existed in the memory, standing far below James¡¯s vantage point, keeping his distance from the angel and its test.


    ¡°Yeah, I get what you mean by familiar,¡± James said. As he spoke, he was watching events down below. They had taken a drastic turn for the worse.


    About half of the group had made it through the curtain of flame when the first person caught on fire.


    ¡°What the hell?¡±


    The man looked down at his burning flesh, horrified. He began tearing his clothes off, trying to get the burning garments away from him, but that only allowed the flames around him easier access to his skin. In a few seconds, he was reduced to crawling, screaming, begging for help.


    ¡°God! Someone! Heal me! Please, Jesus!¡±


    A few of those who the flames had not harmed looked back and seemed to be on the verge of helping the man, when Cyrus spoke up again.


    ¡°Don¡¯t help him!¡± Cyrus shouted. ¡°The angel is testing our righteousness. This man failed. Don¡¯t you understand what that means?¡±


    The others standing in the flames hesitated a moment, then looked at each other. Then they turned back to Cyrus. They allowed the man to finish burning to death. In a few seconds, he was reduced to a blackened husk. Over the next few minutes, his body was completely cremated by the flames. By then, everyone who had gone through the flames was safely on the other side now, either staring back at the burning man or advancing into the grove to eat fruit.


    With no one alive within its field of activity, the curtain of flames vanished again.


    The other half of the group, still on the wrong side of the angel¡¯s barrier, looked on hesitantly, eyes drifting back and forth between the people who they could see and hear eating in the distance and the ashes of their former companion, quickly scattering in the wind.


    ¡°Could you bring us some food?¡± one of them yelled.


    ¡°Come through the fiery test, if you are a righteous man,¡± Cyrus shouted back immediately. ¡°Otherwise, we have nothing more to do with you!¡±


    The next several minutes¡ªthey must have been hours in real time, but the memory fast-forwarded again¡ªwere difficult to watch.


    Almost all of those around Moishe ultimately continued through the flaming curtain despite the fact that a man had burned to death in it. That seemed to be the only way to escape this Dungeon and survive the inhospitable environment.


    They worked up their courage and went together.


    This time, almost half of those who proceeded through the flames burned to death. The rest were completely unaffected by the fire and continued walking toward Cyrus¡ªand food. There was no longer any talk of helping those who burst into flame from the others.


    From the way the survivors behaved once they had reached Cyrus and his companions, James had the sense that this experience had bonded the group together far more closely.


    No one was angry that Cyrus had chosen not to march back through the flames and take them food. Rather, they were happy to allow Cyrus, Christopher, and the others who had stepped through the fire earlier to tease them about their hesitation.


    The latecomers became just as smug about their survival as Cyrus had been.


    ¡°Come on,¡± they shouted at those who were still left behind, a handful of people by then. ¡°What are you afraid of? If you¡¯re a good person¡­¡±


    There were, mingled into these taunts, some slanders of the dead, which made the Moishe in the memory wince.


    One more person tried to cross through the fire. She burst into flames almost as soon as she stepped in, and Moishe quickly reached in and pulled her toward him.


    His clothes caught fire as he did, but then the two of them were rolling on the sandy ground until they had put the flames out.


    Both had managed to escape with only light burns, but the lucky ones on the other side were not happy about it.


    Some of those who had crossed started picking up rocks and throwing them at Moishe and the girl. None of them, James observed, were willing to cross back through the flames and try to get at them at closer range, though.


    Moishe barked an order at the others who had remained on the unlucky side of the angel¡¯s barrier, and two of them helped him and the woman walk away from the stone throwers.


    The flashback fast forwarded again.


    The group spent the next several days trying to survive in the Valley of the Shadow of Death. The natural hazards picked them off slowly, one by one. Hunger, thirst, and the quick-acting venom of the Deathly Bark Scorpions killed all but Moishe himself and one other man, named Ahmed.


    The woman Moishe had saved from the flames was sadly the first to die. Slowed down by her burns, she was easy prey for a scorpion on the first night.


    After their comrades had died, Moishe and his fellow survivor Looted the bodies for usable equipment.


    It was on the day after the last of their allies had died that they ran into another group of Dungeon participants.


    Moishe and the other survivor were shocked to meet with people who were stuck in the same place as them, although the people they ran into looked much fresher than them. The interactions were fast forwarded through, though, so James had little idea what happened except that Moishe and his ally separated from this large group rather than going with them.


    ¡°What¡¯s up with that, Moishe?¡± James asked out loud.


    ¡°This is a group that I had actually run into before,¡± Moishe said. ¡°This is when I realized Cyrus was not to be trusted at all. Before, I thought he was just sanctimonious. When I ran into this group, though¡ªthey were led by a guy Cyrus knew¡ªit became obvious to me that Cyrus and his allies were deliberately leading people into this horrible Dungeon.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± James asked. ¡°Why?!¡±


    ¡°They were recruiting followers,¡± Moishe replied bitterly.


    ¡°This was their way of testing people for righteousness,¡± Hester added quietly so that only James could hear her.


    James shuddered. Out of all the tyrannies that had existed in all of history, none had ever managed to infiltrate the last stronghold of human freedom: the mind.


    The mind was its own place. One¡¯s secret thoughts and feelings were a secret from the world. Certainly, some monarchs and dictators in history had forced people to take loyalty oaths¡ªas James himself did.


    But wise rulers, like Queen Elizabeth I, made it a motto to ¡°not open windows into men¡¯s souls.¡± There was no productive value in trying to persecute people for what they believed, as opposed to what they did.


    Any sane leader knew that people might be thinking anything on the inside, and there wasn¡¯t a damn thing they could do about it except punish wrongthink if it was expressed.


    Until now.


    ¡°This is a perfect way to recruit followers,¡± James muttered. ¡°If you¡¯re willing to turn completely evil as a way to get there.¡±


    But from Cyrus¡¯s point of view, it was probably righteous.


    It was interesting to him that the angel had helped Cyrus in this way, by ensuring that he included only the ¡°righteous¡± among his flock. He wondered what the ¡°righteous¡± criterion really meant.


    Was it the genuinely morally good? Somehow, given the stone-throwing at the end, that seemed unlikely.


    Was it only those who tested as sincere followers of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam? James had seen from the religious pendants that some wore that there were members of all three groups among Cyrus¡¯s survivors.


    Or, perhaps the worst possibility of all, was it random? Giving the survivors a sense of unearned virtue, while killing people who had not done anything to fail the angel¡¯s test except have bad luck.


    ¡°Yeah, you can¡¯t make an omelet without scorching a few eggs and mocking them as they burn,¡± Moishe replied bitterly.


    The vision continued on fast-forward again, with Moishe and his companion, Ahmed, continuing to hunt the Valley of the Shadow of Death, looking for food and any sign of water or plants that could be eaten. But they had little luck.


    James noticed they were trailing the group they had run into, and he asked why.


    ¡°Honestly, it was mainly so that we could Loot if any of them died,¡± Moishe admitted. He fast-forwarded to a scene where a Deathly Bark Scorpion had killed a member of the new group, and Ahmed Looted the corpse.


    He and Moishe rushed away with the items the dead person had been holding, and when they were a safe distance away, they rejoiced. The dead man had been carrying a half full plastic bottle of water. Judging by the look of Moishe and Ahmed, this find saved them from dying of dehydration.


    Wow. You guys got pretty desperate.


    ¡°Did you ever try warning any of them?¡± James asked, trying to keep his tone non-judgmental. It was marvelous that Moishe had somehow survived this place himself, but James was beginning to suspect that aside from the people aligned with Cyrus, no one had survived this place.


    ¡°Just keep watching,¡± Moishe said, his voice hollow. ¡°I¡¯ve remembered everything now. I know what happens, and I know how this ends¡­ but you need to see it.¡±

 V4Ch33-Moishes Escape

    As the memory went on, James saw that Moishe infiltrated the camp at night and managed to talk one person who was skeptical of the group¡¯s leader¡ªa man named Harris¡ªinto joining them.


    Others preferred not to listen to the man who looked and sounded a bit like a sort of desperate desert bandit, spreading paranoia about their leader and their religion.


    But Moishe came back the next night and the one after that.


    He eventually peeled another member off of the group.


    After a few nights of this, the group¡¯s leader started posting guards who would chase Moishe or Ahmed away if they drew near.


    That was fine. They had little ability to feed the mouths they had, and the new additions to Moishe and Ahmed¡¯s party still had to be fully won over.


    They hunted with Moishe and Ahmed, then eventually watched as the previous events repeated themselves¡ªthe group passed through the veil of fire. Again, most passed the angel¡¯s test. Some died horribly, screaming and clawing at the earth as they burned to death.


    The pattern repeated itself with other groups, including many people who Moishe told James he did not remember being present at the gathering of religious people he had seen when he met Cyrus.


    This underscored the purpose of the strange test.


    Cyrus and his followers, along with the other groups of religious people and their respective leaders, had continued to camp out on the other side of the flame curtain. They ate their fill of fruit each day and swelled the ranks of their groups with those who had passed the test.


    Eventually, after what James estimated at around a month, Cyrus and Christopher Smith left with around a hundred people¡ªalmost the full roster they had arrived at the Fisher Kingdom with. The other religious leaders who had been leading groups through the valley stayed and continued the process of recruitment.


    ¡°Now I think I understand why you wanted me to see,¡± James murmured.


    Moishe nodded. ¡°You said you got Cyrus, but there are other people following the same playbook as him. Even if I¡¯m, um, stuck in a dream or something¡ªit doesn¡¯t matter what happens to me, I¡¯m just one guy¡ªyou have to do something about this. These guys are recruiting like this for a reason. It¡¯s just like Rostov, but I don¡¯t know what they¡¯re planning to do¡ª¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, man,¡± James said. Moishe was getting worked up, and that was of no help to either of them. ¡°I¡¯m working on it. You trust me, right?¡±


    There was silence for a moment. Then Moishe said, ¡°Yes. I was trying to nod, but I didn¡¯t give myself a physical body in the flashback, besides the one down there trying his best to survive.¡±


    ¡°I get what you¡¯ve been trying to show me now,¡± James said. ¡°Unless there¡¯s something more, besides the character of the enemy we¡¯re facing, I¡¯m ready to see what you did to get out. I want to figure out if I can help you, and that¡¯s the big clue I¡¯m missing.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t guess already?¡± Moishe asked. ¡°How would you have escaped?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I could handle being lit on fire for a few minutes,¡± James replied. ¡°No offense. I¡¯m just built differently from other humans at this point.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Moishe said. ¡°I forget how different you are sometimes.¡±


    ¡°But really, I wouldn¡¯t want to try that as my first option,¡± James said. ¡°My power set is totally different from yours, so I would have used my long range attacks and tried to kill the angel. If I can¡¯t kill it, I could at least distract it, assuming it¡¯s vulnerable to some form of physical harm. In that time, my allies would escape the Dungeon, and if I couldn¡¯t hurt the angel, I would try to get away to follow them. Just like you have an invisibility item that you were using back when I met you, I have something like that too. I would use that when I wanted to sneak away from the angel and try to get through the exit myself.¡±


    ¡°So, you think it¡¯s really an angel, then?¡± Moishe asked.


    ¡°What else would it be?¡± James replied.


    ¡°I just didn¡¯t assume that Cyrus was right about it being something that¡¯s supposed to be good. I don¡¯t know. Could be anything. I just thought of it as the main monster of this place that I needed to escape.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s probably a better way of thinking about it,¡± James said. He wondered if Moishe had some religious leanings. ¡°I would add that the devil was supposedly an angel, so just because something is supposed to be one, wouldn¡¯t mean that it¡¯s good, even if the, um, holy books are turning out to be true.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fair,¡± Moishe said. ¡°Anyway, you¡¯re probably wondering if your proposed ideas for escape occurred to us, and if they worked.¡±


    James nodded.


    The vision stopped fast-forwarding, and James saw Moishe and a group of five others gathered around a small campfire. It was sunset in the Dungeon. The party was in a heated discussion about what to do next.


    ¡°We can¡¯t just stay here!¡± exclaimed Ahmed. ¡°There are people waiting for us outside.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to burn to death,¡± said another man.


    ¡°We might have to take our lives in our hands,¡± said a woman.


    ¡°I did have a thought about how we might get out,¡± said Moishe.


    Everyone got quiet and looked at him.


    ¡°I have two of these,¡± he said. ¡°They came from killing those invisible iguanas. I found one when I first got here and another during one of the days I¡¯ve been trapped. It¡¯s really the only lucky thing that¡¯s happened to me besides running into you guys since I got here.¡± He pulled out the camouflage item that James had seen him use before, and he demonstrated how it worked.


    ¡°So that allows you to blend in with the environment and turn basically invisible?¡± the woman asked.


    Moishe pulled the cloak away from his face again before he replied.


    ¡°That¡¯s about it,¡± he said. ¡°I figured that if the creature doesn¡¯t detect us, it won¡¯t turn on the wall of fire. The first person can get through, and a second person can go in, get the backup skin from the first guy who made it, and cross back to give it to the next in line. This way, we might be able to all get across.¡±


    ¡°You think you can fool an angel?¡± asked a man who had not spoken before.


    ¡°Who says this damn thing is an angel?¡± Moishe asked. ¡°Just because this Dungeon is pretending to be modeled after a religious idea, it doesn¡¯t mean the creature that¡¯s guarding the exit is a real angel. Anyway, if this is anything like a video game, Dungeons are made to be beaten. The fact that this monster appeared in this place is not a coincidence. The item it dropped is probably the indispensable thing that we need to escape this place.¡±


    ¡°I agree with Moishe,¡± said Ahmed. ¡°Of course, I¡¯d be willing to try almost anything to get out of here by this point.¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°So, who goes?¡± asked the woman.


    There was further discussion, which the flashback fast-forwarded through. The group agreed to the drawing of lots.


    Moishe prepared strips of paper, and each member of the group took one.


    Ahmed drew the short strip.


    The group snuck as close to the Dungeon exit as they could without triggering the angel¡¯s attention or being seen by the religious group still camping at the edge of the canyon. By now, they knew the ins and outs of the Valley of the Shadow of Death, which was not particularly complex once one had spent enough time there.


    This was not like the Dungeon James had experienced with Anansi, in which the occupants were trying to deceive him even as he tried to deceive them. It was even less like Carol¡¯s Dungeon, which James had speed-run through easily. The Valley of the Shadow of Death simply required unyielding endurance, vigilance, and hardiness and slowly ground down anyone who stayed too long.


    At the point where they stopped, Moishe, Ahmed, and the rest could just barely see the shape of the angel in the distance. But it was clear from their internal discussion that they were afraid that if they drew any nearer, they would trigger the angel¡¯s wrath or some retaliation from the religious zealots.


    ¡°Now is the time,¡± Ahmed said restlessly. ¡°Now I¡¯ve got to go.¡± He sounded nervous as he donned the cloak.


    ¡°Wait,¡± Moishe said, laying a hand on Ahmed¡¯s shoulder. ¡°What¡¯s your last name, man? I realized I never asked you. And is there something you¡¯d like us to tell your family, in case we make it out and you don¡¯t?¡±


    ¡°Qadir,¡± Ahmed said. ¡°It starts with a ¡®Q,¡¯ and there¡¯s no ¡®U¡¯ after it. Just ¡®Q-A-D-I-R¡¯. Not exactly a common name in Florida, so if you meet anyone with it, they¡¯re probably my family.¡± Ahmed laughed nervously. Then he fell silent, and his face became grave. ¡°If you meet them, and I didn¡¯t make it, just tell them¡ªtell them that I tried. I wanted to make it back to them. But it was impossible. I was misled by evil men¡ªwell, you know the whole story, Moishe. You can give them all the details, if you want. Maybe don¡¯t tell them how I died, if it¡¯s like what happened to the others. Use your best judgment. I just want them to know, I¡¯m not one of those deadbeats who abandons his family. That¡¯s it. I lived and I died the best way I knew how.¡± He nodded to himself. ¡°I was an honorable man.¡± Ahmed looked at Moishe and laughed nervously again. ¡°I just rambled there, eh? Will you remember all that?¡±


    ¡°Sure, man,¡± Moishe said, trying and failing to smile at his ally. He shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll never forget it as long as I live. Unless you survive¡ª¡± He finally managed to smile¡ª¡°in which case I¡¯ll do my best to forget we ever had this conversation.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s one more thing,¡± Ahmed said. ¡°In case I don¡¯t survive, you should have this.¡±


    He handed Moishe his bag, with all his items in it.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want the angel to destroy it¡ªor for all my stuff to go to waste, if it could help you last a little bit longer,¡± Ahmed added.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± said Moishe, visibly touched.


    ¡°Salam, Moishe.¡± Ahmed¡¯s face had taken on a fatalistic smile. He was ready to face whatever fate awaited him.


    ¡°Salam, Ahmed.¡±


    The two men clasped hands and embraced, and then Ahmed pulled the cloak over his head so that nothing of him was visible.


    He stepped away from the group, toward the bounds of the angel¡¯s territory.


    Moishe stood, looking like he was holding his breath for a moment. Then the curtain of flame ignited. Moishe saw a burst of flame that appeared to catch a bit of the rocky ground on fire.


    Of course, Moishe and everyone with him knew what they were actually watching.


    Ahmed was burning. He blended into the ground at that moment, but there was no mistaking what was happening.


    Moishe covered his face, then shook his head and forced himself to keep his eyes on what was happening to his ally.


    James and Hester looked on, and Moishe stared, as the burning went on for several minutes. During that time, Ahmed continued moving forward, forcing himself to advance through the curtain of fire, through the pain. He collapsed only a few feet away from the edge of the religious camp.


    The religious folk looked on with mild curiosity, and the leader nearest to Ahmed¡¯s burning body gave a quick lecture on how they could not deceive or hide from the Almighty. It was sort of muted, because Moishe had apparently not been paying attention to what the man said.


    He still stared at Ahmed as the slumped figure burned.


    Moishe kept staring until Ahmed¡¯s body and all his clothing had burned to ashes. Within a few minutes, there was no sign that he had ever existed.


    The Moishe that was remembering this, immaterial in the air alongside James and Hester, let out a choked cry.


    ¡°It¡¯s so painful to remember,¡± he said after a moment. ¡°He was a good man. He was very brave. He endured all that pain without crying out. He knew the religious folks weren¡¯t going to help him, and more than anything else, he didn¡¯t want to give us away. He was incredibly strong inside. It¡¯s rare to meet someone that strong. And seeing how he handled it helped me figure out my method for escape.¡±


    ¡°Jesus Christ,¡± James said, shaking his head. He knew immediately what Moishe meant.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Hester.


    ¡°Show us how you got out of here, Moishe,¡± James said quietly.


    So this is how you got burnt so badly.


    Moishe fast-forwarded the flashback several days in the future. There were more scenes of him and his little group Looting the bodies of those who fell in the Valley of the Shadow of Death. It was obvious from the methodical way that the group did everything, taking inventory of supplies and dividing them up among themselves, that they had discussed a plan after Ahmed died.


    But the mood was somber.


    James could tell that none of these people believed they would make it out of the Dungeon. Except perhaps Moishe.


    It was impossible to tell if the look in the young man¡¯s eyes was belief or simply gritty determination. He would get out of here, whether that angel thought he was righteous or not. He would find Ahmed¡¯s family. He would reunite with his friends. He would live.


    Another member of the group fell to a Deathly Bark Scorpion attack. The rest of them did not visibly mourn as they had the earlier deaths. They were growing hardened to these events. They simply Looted the body and moved on.


    An evening came, after most of the religious people had already moved on and left the Dungeon, when Moishe and the rest were ready.


    They approached the angel and the religious camp again, and they stopped where they had before when Ahmed crossed.


    ¡°Everyone has their Health Potions?¡± the Moishe on the ground asked.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t¡­¡± James said. This was going to be hard to watch.


    ¡°You¡¯re goddamn right I did,¡± said the Moishe who watched along with James and Hester. ¡°No regrets, either.¡±


    ¡°What the¡­¡± Hester was confused, until she saw what the people on the ground did.


    Moishe had put away almost all his gear. He wore only a thin layer of clothing now, with his System-provided bag hidden in his underwear.


    The only other items he and the others kept out were Health Potions.


    ¡°You¡¯re insane!¡± Hester exclaimed as she realized what was going on.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± cried the Moishe in the Valley of the Shadow of Death. He chugged one of the Health Potions, and he started running at the angel¡¯s territory.


    The flames ignited all over his body at once, and he powered through with sheer determination. The rest of the party had chugged a potion each and continued after him. As they walked through the fire, each party member opened and began drinking another potion.


    As Moishe staggered forward, the others behind him tried to keep pace¡ªbut most of them did not have what Moishe and Ahmed had within them.


    Some intangible factor that kept them going despite everything.


    Two of the group fell almost immediately. Moishe refused to look back as he heard them fall. He just started sucking on another potion as he continued moving forward with his burning legs.


    He ignored the jeering words of the religious folk who were standing at the edges of the Valley of the Shadow of Death. And Moishe managed to continue on beyond the limits of the curtain of flames.


    His entire body was on fire by that point. He tried to take another potion, but the bottle cracked in his hand and then exploded from the heat.


    He rolled around on the ground and put some of the fire out, but he was still burning, his body smoking and hissing. The only good side was that the religious folks were wary of approaching him while he was on fire.


    Only one other man had made it through beside Moishe.


    The two tried as best they could to put their flames out by rolling on the ground, then helped each other as they walked toward the exit portal.


    James could see the angel was moving, as if it was saying something as they left, but Moishe and the other man were incapable of taking notice. It was as if the sound was muted. Looking carefully, James saw that Moishe¡¯s ears had melted.


    But no one got in their way as they made their way out.


    Both men managed to step through the exit.


    The Dungeon of the Valley of the Shadow of Death had been cleared.

 V4Ch34-The Journey Home

    The words appeared to confirm that Moishe and his remaining companion¡¯s ordeal was over.


    [Congratulations! You have cleared Dungeon: Valley of the Shadow of Death!]


    [Assassin leveled up!]


    It kind of sucks that he didn¡¯t even get to be the first one to clear it, James thought. All he got was a lousy level¡­


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry you had to go through that, man,¡± James said.


    ¡°Thanks, James,¡± Moishe said. His voice was hollow.


    ¡°And I¡¯ll make sure no one else does,¡± James murmured.


    Below them, James saw the past Moishe and his companion, both covered in horrendous burns, chug a Health Potion each and continue running away from the church that had apparently been the entrance to the Dungeon.


    James marked the church¡¯s appearance in his mind. He wasn¡¯t certain if Dungeons could be destroyed¡ªat least, he wasn¡¯t sure about destroying Dungeons that did not seem to have a Dungeon Core¡ªbut James badly wanted to see this place destroyed.


    After he felt certain he had memorized the location, he watched past Moishe as the setting changed. Moishe¡¯s companion was barely still walking, and Moishe himself clearly lacked the strength to carry his ally. The two figures leaned on each other, but it was obvious to James¡¯s eyes that the other man was fading rapidly.


    The two men were still following James¡¯s Skin Balloon, which had waited for them to emerge from the church Dungeon, with no thought of doing something else or going anywhere else. This was the main problem with James¡¯s self-created monsters, he noted. Most of them had no real capacity to do anything other than perform a single task that James had given them¡ªthey exercised no judgment. It took extra time and energy to create a monster with more powers.


    If the Skin Balloon had been capable of thinking critically about its mission¡ªif it had conveyed to James that the person it was supposed to guide had been stuck in a Dungeon¡ªhe thought he might have done something about it.


    James didn¡¯t know if there was anything he could have done, but he was still angry at everyone and everything that had conspired to trap one of his people and burn him to near death.


    The dream followed past Moishe for a long way. It was still guided by present Moishe¡¯s intentions, James guessed, but the Assassin was not exactly focused at the moment. Lost in his memories, he was simply watching them play out rather than guiding the vision to the most useful moments.


    James didn¡¯t feel any pressing need to interrupt. In the world of the mind, he knew that events could move much more quickly than they did in real life. He was willing to wait for Moishe¡¯s vision to catch up to the present.


    After what felt like around five miles from the Dungeon, Moishe¡¯s companion collapsed. James could tell it would happen in advance. The other man had been leaning increasingly heavily on Moishe over the last stretch of distance.


    And he was aware Moishe had arrived at the Fisher Kingdom alone.


    So he had known the ending of the other¡¯s story well in advance.


    ¡°I¡¯ll come back for you,¡± past Moishe promised the dying man, kneeling and clutching his hand tightly. ¡°I¡¯ll¡ªI¡¯ll send someone, I¡ª¡±


    ¡°Go,¡± said the man on the ground. The words came out in a pained whisper, but the man tried to twist his horribly burnt mouth into a semblance of a smile.


    The two men squeezed each other¡¯s hands, and then Moishe moved on with renewed energy.


    James saw night fall, but the crescent moon found Moishe still scrambling toward the Fisher Kingdom, following the monster in the sky that still guided him.


    The sun rose again, and he was still moving forward, albeit visibly weakened.


    At no point did Moishe stop.


    He showed endurance and grit befitting a soldier.


    Finally, standing in a tangled wood, past Moishe clearly sensed monsters all around him, surrounding his position from behind some trees.


    ¡°Fuck! Shit¡­¡±


    The Assassin drew his daggers from within his bag and looked from side to side. His strength was clearly completely gone by this point, but his eyes remained defiant. He was ready to make his last stand against this sick, brutal, new world.


    Then a familiar, two-headed wolf poked both her heads through the trees.


    ¡°Human, you were from James¡¯s Orientation,¡± she murmured, a question in her tone.


    ¡°Oh, thank God¡­¡± past Moishe muttered.


    He slumped to his knees and then fell forward, and the world turned dark.


    James, Hester, and Moishe were left floating in darkness together.


    Moishe seemed to return to life with the end of the show.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    ¡°Thank you for coming to visit,¡± he said. ¡°I hope you took something useful from that.¡±


    James nodded. ¡°And I¡¯ll try to wake you up, too.¡±


    ¡°Try to¡ªI know it¡¯s probably not reasonable to think he¡¯s still alive, but could you please try to recover the guy I left behind?¡± Moishe asked. ¡°Even if he¡¯s dead¡ªI mean, I guess I assume he¡¯s dead.¡± He swallowed. ¡°But if he is dead, he deserves a proper burial, not to be picked over by fucking wild animals. His name is¡ªwas Hercule. Tough bastard. If anyone besides me or you could keep on clinging to life out of sheer spite¡ª¡± He just shook his head and gave a bittersweet smile.


    ¡°I will,¡± James said. ¡°As soon as I leave your bedside.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s one more thing, James,¡± Moishe said. ¡°One more interaction I witnessed involving the religious leader Cyrus.¡± His voice was full of scorn. ¡°I want to show you.¡±


    A part of James wanted to tell Moishe not to spend any more mental energy on the Valley of the Shadow of Death. James felt confident he could restore Moishe to full strength with his Blessing, and he doubted that any additional memories of the dead Cyrus would add value to the extended flashback vision that James had witnessed.


    But he held his tongue and simply nodded.


    I can¡¯t afford to turn my nose up at any intelligence from a trustworthy source, he thought.


    James still had the feeling that he wasn¡¯t quite done dealing with Cyrus and the problems that he represented.


    The void around the dreamers dissolved into a visual of the interior of the Valley of the Shadow of Death once again.


    It was the sunset hour there, that magical time when the warmth of the day begins to subside as the landscape is bathed in a golden-orange light.


    Past Moishe was nowhere to be seen, until present Moishe pointed out where he lay, camouflaged, on the ground.


    He was just outside the perimeter within which the angel would have noticed him and begun to ¡°test¡± him.


    On the other side of that perimeter, Cyrus sat around a fire with a group of other men, most of whom James did not recognize. He did note that one of the men around Cyrus had been the leader of another group that had walked into the Dungeon while Moishe was there. Christopher Smith was also part of the group.


    ¡°So, where are you going?¡± one man was asking Cyrus.


    ¡°The angel wanted me to march East,¡± Cyrus said. ¡°I¡¯m to seek out a powerful leader. The angel gave me a crown to present to a possible Holy King.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s interesting,¡± said a third man. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to take my group straight to the Holy Land.¡±


    ¡°Same here,¡± said a fourth man, clearly excited. ¡°It feels like a great new chapter is being written¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going West,¡± said the first man, frowning. He sounded slightly aggravated by that direction. ¡°A part of me was tempted to ask if that was a mistake. Back toward Orlando? The same way we came?¡±


    ¡°The Lord doesn¡¯t make mistakes,¡± snapped Smith.


    ¡°What my friend means to say,¡± added Cyrus before the exchange could become heated, ¡°is that we should trust the angel. It is an instrument of God. We must not forget what we have all already experienced. Fire that only burned the wicked and not the righteous. A true angel floating unsupported above the earth for all the time we¡¯ve been here.¡± He gestured toward the fiery angel that still stood above the canyon. ¡°We¡¯ve entered into a new age of miracles. It isn¡¯t a time to question divine guidance.¡±


    Cyrus¡¯s voice rang with pious patience, but there was also a zealous certainty to it that James still found creepy. The Prophet pretended to be more tolerant and mild-mannered than his henchman, but he was no less fanatical for the pretense.


    The vision faded to black once more.


    ¡°I see,¡± James muttered, immediately grasping what Moishe had wanted to show him. ¡°So they¡¯ll be all over, now.¡±


    Moishe nodded. ¡°It could be a big problem for you, I¡¯m guessing.¡±


    ¡°We already know what it¡¯s like dealing with a Prophet,¡± James said darkly.


    ¡°Yeah. Good luck, man.¡± Moishe¡¯s voice was soft and sad. It sounded like a farewell.


    ¡°Don¡¯t say that like I¡¯m not going to see you,¡± James said firmly. ¡°You¡¯re going to wake up. You won¡¯t be stuck here.¡±


    ¡°Since you¡¯re saying it, I believe it,¡± Moishe replied in a sincere tone. ¡°Don¡¯t leave it too long, if you can help it, please. Or I might forget about this whole conversation and go back to how things were¡­¡±


    James took Hester and left Moishe¡¯s dream without another word or any hesitation. He wanted to be back in the real world, where his powers worked properly and predictably.


    That was how he would revive Moishe.


    When his eyes opened, the first thing he did was push himself up from his slumped position to his feet. Then he moved toward the bed where Moishe lay.


    The angle of the candlelight had changed slightly, the only apparent sign of the time that had passed. James guessed it had been around an hour, though in the dream world, it had felt like days.


    He looked down at his ally, who remained unconscious and hideously burned¡ªbut changed just slightly from how he had been before the dream, unless James remembered incorrectly.


    In the time that James had Dreamwalked with him and Hester, Moishe had shifted his expression to a slight smile. He looked almost carefree, as if he had somehow forgotten everything he had been through over the last few months.


    A part of James almost wanted to just let him sleep. Almost.


    ¡°Are you sure you¡¯ll be able to wake him, sir?¡± Hester asked, her voice trembling slightly.


    It struck James that for nearly every interaction James had experienced with Moishe¡ªevery single one except for when James freed the prisoners of the Moloch cult, when he and Moishe first met¡ªHester had been present.


    For all James knew, Moishe might be one of her favorite people¡ªor at the least one of her favorite characters in his story.


    ¡°Not completely certain,¡± James said, ¡°but as sure as I can ever be about something like this before I actually do it. The situation is very similar to what happened after the Haunted Forest battle. Just like those people, Moishe¡¯s condition is stable, but he¡¯s somehow stuck in a coma. It¡¯s as close to apples to apples as I can imagine. Otherwise I wouldn¡¯t have spoken so confidently about seeing him in the real world soon.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but¡­ that was a Wraith¡¯s work. It was a semi-divine entity that did this.¡±


    James didn¡¯t want to express his private view, very disrespectful even in his own eyes, that gods and angels were basically just overgrown monsters on a power trip anyway. So he remained diplomatically silent.


    Instead of verbalizing a response to Hester, he considered the wording to use in blessing Moishe.


    After a few seconds of contemplation, he knew what he wanted to say to try to fix Moishe¡¯s condition. He placed his hands on Moishe¡¯s chest, and he began to speak the Blessing of the Fisher King into reality.


    ¡°Moishe Rose, you were one of the earliest allies of the Fisher King. As his vitality flows strongly, may similar vitality flow through you. As he heals, may you likewise heal. As he resists the power of enemy gods and their servants, may you resist¡­¡±

 V4Ch35-Communications

    James stared intently at the unconscious Moishe as he finished giving him the Blessing of the Fisher King.


    He felt a wave of weakness flow through him at the moment that the power shifted from James¡¯s body into Moishe¡¯s. The Fisher King almost swooned. He was still not recovered from the events of recent days, and he felt his own failure to take his foot off the gas.


    I¡¯ll be feeling that in the morning, too, he thought.


    He allowed himself to drop onto his backside so that he would not fall more painfully and hit his head¡ªor perhaps even land on Moishe.


    As James landed, he saw Moishe¡¯s hand grip the sheets tightly.


    Yes¡­ Take that, gods!


    A moment later, the Assassin shot to an upright position, breathing heavily as if he¡¯d just been running.


    ¡°I¡¯m alive!¡± he exclaimed loudly.


    Moishe¡¯s eyes focused on James at the corner of his vision.


    ¡°So it wasn¡¯t just a dream,¡± Moishe murmured.


    ¡°Glad to have you back, man,¡± James said.


    Then the door to the room swung forcefully open.


    ¡°Oh my God,¡± muttered Alan, standing in the doorway. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be surprised, but¡ªgoodness.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you, too,¡± said Moishe, grinning feebly. Then his smile turned to a grimace as he looked down at his body, still in poor condition, suffering from horrendous burns across almost his entire frame.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get out of you guys¡¯ way,¡± James said. ¡°Moishe and I were just spending some quality time together anyway.¡±


    ¡°See you soon,¡± Moishe said quietly. He allowed his body to slump back down into a supine position. Almost as soon as his back touched the bed again, Alan was on him, hands glowing green with power, trying to repair the damage that had remained so stubbornly insistent thus far.


    James rose and stepped through the door and out of the room, where he almost bumped into Mitzi, standing outside and anxiously watching the effort to heal Moishe.


    ¡°Well done, waking him up,¡± she said, smiling.


    ¡°All in a day¡¯s work,¡± James said, returning the smile weakly. His body felt incredibly heavy as he moved. ¡°Do you mind if I take a seat at your table? I have to think about the things he told me and figure out what I¡¯m going to do next.¡± He tapped his temple with one finger. ¡°I¡¯m going to send a few messages.¡±


    His mind was already quickly working through what he and his followers might need to do to stay ahead of the threat presented by Cyrus¡¯s coreligionists¡ªa threat that only loomed larger after James experienced Moishe¡¯s memories. He was wary of what the rest of the monotheists, informed by the angel that had supported Cyrus of what had happened to him, would do.


    ¡°Sure, of course,¡± Mitzi said. ¡°And you know we¡¯re here if you want our advice.¡±


    ¡°I think I¡¯m going to assemble all my advisors,¡± James replied. He looked out of the window and saw that it was around midday now. ¡°Let¡¯s have a meeting after everyone¡¯s had lunch.¡±


    He took a seat at Mitzi and Alan¡¯s dining room table.


    The first thing he did there was order his wyverns to go and find Moishe¡¯s probably dead fellow Dungeon escapee.


    Then he began sending out messages through what he thought of as his PA system, partially explaining the situation to the members of his council.


    [Council members, I have communicated with a new arrival to our territory and obtained some new, troubling, and reliable, intelligence on Cyrus and the group he led¡ªand the larger movement with which they are affiliated. The short summary is that people affiliated with Cyrus and his movement are likely spreading across the state¡ªand probably across a much wider area, perhaps globally¡ªand they seem to be hostile to all non-members of their creed. I believe aggressive action on our part will be required, to prevent the area surrounding our current territory from being conquered by religious zealots. I would like to discuss the information and its implications in more detail at a meeting this afternoon. In an hour and a half, once everyone has had time to eat lunch, let¡¯s gather in the community center.]


    James tried to think if there was anything else he wanted to reveal in this initial message, but quickly decided that leaving some mystery to be revealed later would serve his purposes.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to be a part of the inner circle,¡± Mitzi said as the message finished transmitting. ¡°Still don¡¯t want anything to drink?¡±


    She must have noticed that James looked a bit out of it. That was mostly from blessing Moishe, but he supposed some water couldn¡¯t hurt. So, this time he took Mitzi up on the offer, and he was pleasantly surprised to see her conjure water out of thin air.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you only able to use fire and lightning before?¡± he asked.


    ¡°The more you practice, the more Skills you unlock as a magic user,¡± she said. ¡°Alan and I both practice our Skills every day. I wouldn¡¯t want you to think you¡¯re alone in trying to grow.¡±


    James smiled. ¡°I didn¡¯t think I was, but that¡¯s always nice to hear. Very reassuring.¡±


    He sent another message out, this one just to Dave, Damien, Rotter, Samuel, Luna, and his mother.


    [This is a message just for those of you who helped me deal with our exile a few days ago. Everything I sent in the general chat with the other council members was true, but I wanted to give you all some extra information to prepare you for the meeting¡­]


    He filled them in on his thinking in more detail. He was anticipating there might be a contentious discussion, and it would be helpful if some members knew where the meeting was supposed to lead.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    As James was concluding his second, secret communication, Alan emerged from the sickroom. He looked tired but excited.


    ¡°How is Moishe doing?¡± James asked immediately.


    ¡°Thanks to you, he¡¯s better than stable now,¡± Alan said. ¡°Skin is starting to grow back in places where we had assumed he was going to be permanently scarred. He went back to sleep¡ªhe¡¯s pretty tired from the healing, I think¡ªbut he thanked you again before that.¡±


    James nodded. ¡°I¡¯m just glad he¡¯ll be all right.¡±


    Alan looked at him carefully. ¡°And you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be all right, too,¡± James said. Sometimes it felt silly to him to have people asking whether he was okay. When people who actually cared about him did it, though, it was more charming than anything else. ¡°It takes some energy out of me to bless someone. But I have plenty of time to get it back.¡±


    ¡°Want to give us any more details on what this meeting is about?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m surprised Moishe didn¡¯t tell you,¡± James said.


    ¡°He was trying his best just to avoid crying out in pain while his skin regrew,¡± Alan replied sadly. ¡°You probably didn¡¯t hear it, because he was biting into a pillow, but I think the process was quite uncomfortable. I¡¯ll try to do more healing periodically while he¡¯s sleeping, and hopefully the other Healers can do the same.¡±


    James nodded.


    ¡°So, are we getting any more info?¡± Mitzi asked.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll have to repeat it at the meeting,¡± James said. ¡°But maybe I could show you some of what I¡¯m thinking. Does either of you have a map of Florida?¡±


    He knew it was a longshot. Pre-System, he himself hadn¡¯t seen a physical map in years. He had used his smartphone for navigation. Now it was barely more useful than a brick, and even with a full charge, he assumed that neither of the map apps he had installed would be working at this point. The Internet was gone.


    ¡°Of course!¡± Alan replied instantly. ¡°Never leave home without it.¡±


    ¡°We knew we wouldn¡¯t get lost on the way here, but Alan always tries to be prepared,¡± Mitzi said, smiling pleasantly at her husband.


    I guess I shouldn¡¯t be surprised. When they were young, smartphones didn¡¯t exist. A few months ago, I might have laughed to myself at the old folks for owning a map. Joke¡¯s on me!


    Alan went off to retrieve his map, and James composed a third announcement, this one intended only for Mina¡ªto summarize all his thoughts on what had happened with Moishe so that the two of them would be on the same page.


    No sooner had James sent this last message out than Alan emerged holding a large folding paper map that looked rarely used.


    ¡°This is just Central Florida, unfortunately,¡± Alan said.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s perfect,¡± James said. ¡°As long as it has the ocean on it. I¡¯m interested in figuring out the distance from here to there.¡±


    Alan nodded. ¡°I think it should.¡±


    ¡°Are you considering a beach trip?¡± Mitzi asked, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°Something like that.¡±


    An hour and a half after making his announcements, James walked with Alan and Mitzi to the community center. Alan and Mitzi had agreed that he could borrow the map of Central Florida indefinitely, so he carried it tucked into his magic satchel.


    Mina met up with them in the middle of the courtyard between the community center and the apartment buildings. James wondered if she would have anything to say about his plan for the meeting, but she just smiled and wordlessly took his hand.


    When James and his entourage arrived, a little more than half of the council was already seated¡ªincluding every single nonhuman member of the council. Luna had completed her Evolution, and she looked formidable and almost as large as Samuel with her increased size and newly grown third head.


    Undercutting that impression, the giant wolf wagged her tail as she saw James. He couldn¡¯t help but smile at that.


    And for the first time, James saw the female that he assumed the bats must have selected as their council member. He hadn¡¯t realized that they had done that in the time that he had been unconscious, so for a moment, he was at a loss as to how this new council member even knew about the meeting.


    Then he noticed that she was sitting next to the former Squirrel Queen, who was chattering away quietly to the bat¡ªwho listened to Ysabel with a somewhat uncomfortable posture, as if she wanted to escape the conversation. Well, that answered the question of how the bat leader knew about the meeting.


    The council members rose for the Fisher King as a body and did not resume their seats until James had taken his. He almost laughed when he saw former Queen Ysabel rise a moment after everyone else, only belatedly realizing that they were doing this to formally greet the Ruler.


    As James sat down, he smiled beneficently while secretly taking a far from wholesome joy in the moment.


    He had not sought out any particular perks in taking the role of King, but in moments like this, he felt the status of royalty as its own reward.


    That¡¯s right, I¡¯m the King¡­ Acknowledged and respected by all. He basked in the glory for a moment before he turned to Rotter.


    ¡°Is this everyone who will be able to make it?¡± James asked quietly. He had expected his mother to be absent¡ªher attendance wouldn¡¯t add much to this particular meeting, in both her and James¡¯s opinion¡ªbut there were several others still missing.


    ¡°No, sir,¡± Rotter replied, eager as ever to please. ¡°I believe Chief DaSilva and a few others are running late. I understand that DaSilva is training his first officers today.¡±


    That¡¯s honestly probably just as important as this meeting, James thought.


    He nodded. ¡°I¡¯m glad that he¡¯s making progress. I hate to interrupt his work, even for something fairly important.¡±


    The doors opened, and a half-dozen of the slightly late council members walked in.


    They looked embarrassed as they saw James sitting at center stage.


    ¡°Sorry we¡¯re late, Your Majesty,¡± said Steve Luck of the Construction Committee. ¡°We were¡ª¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about explaining yourself, unless it¡¯s something I really need to know,¡± James interrupted. ¡°I know we¡¯re all busy, and you¡¯re not even the last ones to arrive.¡±


    The man nodded quickly and rushed to find his seat at the table, the others quickly following after him.


    ¡°Right, let¡¯s call this meeting of the Fisher Kingdom Governance Council into session,¡± James said once they were seated. ¡°If anyone else comes in, we¡¯ll loop them into the conversation, but almost everyone is here now.¡±


    The door opened once more, and Leo DaSilva quietly stepped in. Seeing that James was speaking, he threw a quick salute and then silently walked around the edge of the room until he made his way up to his seat on stage.


    Good, James thought. I¡¯m glad he made it. I would¡¯ve had to explain myself twice if DaSilva wasn¡¯t here. And I liked the way he came in. I should establish that¡¯s what you do when you arrive late. Just quietly take your seat.


    ¡°All right, everyone is here, so I can get us started without any further formalities or delay,¡± James said. Then he interrupted himself. ¡°Well, there is one thing. We have a few new council members here today. I request that they introduce themselves first, and then we can get down to business. It¡¯s a lot easier for us to all know each other¡¯s names than to say ¡®Hey you¡¯ all through the meeting.¡±


    There were a couple of polite chuckles at that.


    DaSilva raised his hand.


    ¡°You can go ahead and go first,¡± James said.


    ¡°I¡¯m Leon DaSilva,¡± he said. ¡°You all can just call me Leo. And I am the new Chief of Police, per His Majesty¡¯s decision.¡±


    You¡¯re going to be responsible for a lot more than law and order by the time this meeting is done, James thought. Sorry, big guy!

 V4Ch36-Hawks and Doves

    ¡°I am called Evangeline,¡± volunteered the bat representative quietly. ¡°I won the right to be senior to my sisters by triumphing in the melee we held the day before yesterday.¡± She looked at James with an inscrutable expression. ¡°By our customs, I am the strongest of our kind and therefore the leader, though of course subordinate to His Majesty.¡±


    ¡°Welcome, Evangeline,¡± James said. The bat had a subtle intensity to her that made him rethink any idea he might have had about joking around with her to establish rapport.


    ¡°My name is Alan Roget,¡± said Alan. ¡°I¡¯m also new. I have experience in the military from the War on Terror. I¡¯m a Healer.¡±


    ¡°Um, what¡¯s your role on the council?¡± asked Angela Zuccarini of the Sewer Committee slowly, as if trying and failing to think of more diplomatic phrasing as she was speaking.


    ¡°I¡¯ve asked Alan to be the Head of Combat Healers,¡± James said quickly, ¡°and Mitzi to become Head of Magical Artillery. I¡¯m beefing up the military¡¯s leadership structure. I only had two officers until just now, neither of whom was really a magic-user. I¡¯m anticipating more conflicts, so additional leaders will be an absolute necessity.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s accurate,¡± Mitzi said. ¡°My name is Mitzi Roget. Alan is my husband. I am a Mage, on the cusp of Class Evolution based on my level and what I¡¯ve heard others say.¡±


    James smiled. Good introduction.


    ¡°You two are looking very well since you came out of the forest,¡± Dave remarked, throwing a quick glance at James.


    ¡°The King¡¯s Blessing is powerful,¡± Alan said simply.


    A handful of other faces turned and looked at Alan and Mitzi at that remark, but all except two turned away after a moment, uncertain what they were supposed to be noticing. The only ones here who had known Alan and Mitzi before they received the Blessing of the Fisher King were those from James¡¯s Orientation and Mina. It was Damien and Mina who couldn¡¯t help but stare a little longer at the older couple.


    Mina broke off the stare after a few seconds to give James a questioning look.


    James leaned over and whispered in her ear, ¡°I¡¯ll tell you what I know about it later, but it¡¯s exactly what it looks like.¡±


    Her eyes widened, and she mouthed the word, Jesus. Then she seemed to refocus, with an effort, on her surroundings.


    ¡°Now that the introductions are out of the way, I can tell you why I brought you all here this afternoon,¡± James said. ¡°Some of you are already familiar with a brave young man named Moishe Rose.¡±


    A few people nodded, including Damien and Rotter.


    ¡°What about this Mr. Rose?¡± asked Taylor Bunting of the Salvage Commission. ¡°Is he also joining the council?¡± She looked around as if searching for unfamiliar faces.


    ¡°No,¡± James said. ¡°At least not at the moment. Moishe is in Alan¡¯s care right now. He was badly injured in a Dungeon before he managed to make his way here. Until just over an hour ago, in fact, he was in a coma. I learned from him that he was placed into that coma by the same being that blessed Cyrus, the man we recently exiled from the Fisher Kingdom.¡±


    ¡°The angel?¡± asked Harry Luntz of the Agricultural Commission glumly.


    ¡°Alleged angel,¡± corrected Rotter.


    ¡°Alleged angel,¡± said Luntz. ¡°Okay. How do we know it¡¯s the same being?¡± He looked at James. ¡°You said this guy just woke from a coma. Is it possible he was confused? And how did he convey that it was the being that blessed Cyrus? There might be a lot of, um, fake angels out in this magical world of ours, right?¡±


    ¡°Those are good questions,¡± James said. ¡°I can answer very simply. You all know I can visit people¡¯s dreams. That¡¯s what I did. Before Moishe woke from his coma, he showed me an extended sequence of his memories. The long and short of it is, Cyrus and his people were using a Dungeon operated by this so-called angel as a testing ground for people they wanted to recruit. Those who they tricked into entering the Dungeon were forced to walk through a supposed holy fire, and anyone who did not share their beliefs would be scorched to death by the angel. It seems to have been a way of finding guaranteed-to-be-loyal people and reinforcing a sense of community through a forced bonding experience. Of course, they also demonized everyone who failed the challenge. They claimed that everyone who burned in the holy fire was evil and prevented members of their groups from providing any aid¡ªeven as people were burning to death.¡±


    ¡°How did Mr. Rose escape?¡± asked Goblin Overlord Duncan.


    ¡°He went through the fire and got burned almost to death,¡± James said grimly. ¡°He used a bunch of potions to keep himself alive despite being on fire. He barely made it here.¡±


    ¡°What is it you want to do about this, Your Majesty?¡± asked Steve Luck in a respectful tone.


    ¡°I think this calls for a major change in our defense policy,¡± James replied.


    ¡°You mentioned wanting to beef up the military¡¯s command structure,¡± said Harry Luntz slowly. ¡°Should we take it that you want the country to embrace some military adventurism?¡±


    ¡°Well, I think this situation reveals how little regard this group of people have for those who are not their coreligionists,¡± James said. ¡°We always knew we were surrounded by hostile forces, but¡ªwith all possible respect to all our nonhuman friends¡ª¡± He added a smile and a gentle panning look at each of the nonhuman species representatives present¡ª¡°it was possible until recently to think that the hostile forces around us were all nonhuman. Easily recognized threats.¡± He shook his head. ¡°At first, I believed we could bring in Cyrus and his group to live alongside us, and I imagined there might eventually be many other human-controlled territories that would live peacefully alongside us. Then Cyrus tried to mind control me, and he couldn¡¯t stay after that. Now things have gone even further. We¡¯ve learned that Cyrus, and a very large group of people who think like him¡ªmuch larger than just the group that we encountered¡ªhave essentially engaged in premeditated murder as a sort of ritual in order to sort out their faithful from people who don¡¯t share their beliefs. That cannot go unanswered. Every member of these groups must be brought to justice or forced to denounce Cyrus and those like him, as well as any supposed angel that murders people for following a different deity or no deity at all.¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    ¡°That sounds like a ¡®yes¡¯ to my question,¡± Luntz replied very softly.


    ¡°Goddamnit, man,¡± said Dave quietly. ¡°Can you call it ¡®military adventurism¡¯ to go after people who are effectively engaging in human sacrifice right in our own backyard?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, this is pretty fucked up,¡± Damien agreed. ¡°We can¡¯t let something like this continue.¡±


    ¡°Do we know whether this is an ongoing issue?¡± asked Bunting. She hurried to add, ¡°I mean, of course, I support whatever you need to do to bring human sacrificers¡ªor quasi-human sacrificers to justice. We have to maintain some standards of civilization here. I¡¯m just wondering about the scope of the problem.¡±


    James nodded. ¡°I don¡¯t think we can be sure of whether they stopped what they¡¯re doing or continued it. At the time Moishe escaped them, they had a specific Dungeon they were using, in which the monster was this angel creature, so if that Dungeon still exists, I would assume there are still activities going on there that we wouldn¡¯t like. It¡¯s around a day¡¯s walk from here.¡±


    ¡°Should we send some people to investigate, then?¡± Luntz asked. He sounded a bit more comfortable with the ¡°adventurism¡± when it was couched as investigation instead.


    ¡°I have a two-pronged plan in mind,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking about this since I called the meeting. The plan is part exploration and part conquest.¡± He paused for a moment in case someone wanted to object, but everyone waited silently for him to continue. ¡°First, I want to gather a group of volunteers to explore the area to the West of us, from here to Orlando and possibly beyond, depending on how difficult they find the journey. In their path, they¡¯ll discover this Dungeon. I don¡¯t want people to enter it, because they might not be able to get out again. But we can at least try to destroy the building that serves as the entrance. In my head, I¡¯ve been calling the group of volunteers the Fisher Expeditionary Force.¡±


    ¡°Love that name,¡± said Rotter.


    Damien snorted quietly.


    ¡°And the second prong?¡± asked DaSilva.


    ¡°So, I¡¯ve always pursued a policy of slowly expanding the territory we control through my Skill ¡®Dominion,¡¯¡± James said. ¡°It imbues my aura into territory around me, and I¡¯ve been expanding in all directions for weeks. That Skill has a lot of advantages, like giving me an awareness of who enters my territory and what¡¯s happening inside it. Unfortunately, for the last week or so, I haven¡¯t been able to use it at all. I¡¯ve been too busy doing other things.¡±


    People around James were nodding and muttering, ¡°Thank you¡± quietly.


    He just smiled, nodded, and continued talking. ¡°If I¡¯m blessing people, that uses up a lot of power, and after so many blessings, my body needs recovery time before I¡¯ll be able to use the Blessing of the Fisher King and Dominion in one day again. I think the fact that this is going on just means we need to expand our territorial control faster than I previously thought. To achieve that, I want to take territory the old-fashioned way: with soldiers. While the Fisher Expeditionary Force explores to the West, the Fisher Army can advance East.¡±


    James drew out and unfolded the map he had borrowed from Alan and Mitzi.


    ¡°We¡¯re around here,¡± James said, pointing to a spot to the East of Orlando. ¡°The distance from us to the ocean on the East side is around twenty to thirty miles. If we can take that territory, that¡¯s one side that we control.¡± He made a chopping motion over the map, indicating the North-South divide. ¡°We don¡¯t have to take over all of Florida, but if we can take the twenty-five miles East of us, and a little less than three hundred miles to the South, we¡¯ll be essentially an island. We can build a wall to the North or something if we want. Attack will only be possible from one direction. Given the sheer number of threats that keep cropping up, I think aggressive expansion is our best defensive strategy right now.¡±


    ¡°So, instead of waiting to get attacked, we¡¯ll start all the fights ourselves,¡± said Luntz, crinkling his forehead. He looked at James ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Your Majesty, I¡¯m trying to be respectful of your priorities. I know your first priority is keeping people safe. I don¡¯t mean to play Devil¡¯s Advocate here or something. I think I get what you¡¯re trying to do. It just reminds me a lot of American foreign policy before the System. Starting fights in the present to avoid hypothetical fights in the future, and we ended up getting into a lot of unnecessary wars.¡±


    James couldn¡¯t help silently agreeing with Luntz¡¯s last point. The United States had only two neighbors, after all, and it had invaded both of them at various points over the course of its early history¡ªbefore the American military had the capacity to reach perceived enemies on the other side of the world. Since World War II, his former country had only become more aggressive.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think the comparison holds well,¡± said Dave. ¡°The United States started fights sometimes, but not all fights are created equal. Some wars have to be fought. We know we live in a world with rapidly growing and competing foreign powers now. We just got through fighting one that was targeting people inside our borders. I know we¡¯ve all had experiences with aggressive enemies in our Orientations. All those creatures¡ªand humans¡ªare still out there. And I would say that if we have to choose between invading potential enemies and waiting to see if they attack us here, all the civilians who live here would certainly prefer it if we took the fight out of our own backyard.¡±


    ¡°Those are the stakes,¡± DaSilva agreed, nodding slowly. ¡°We¡¯re in a very aggressive period of history. I don¡¯t think we have the option to sit back and hope no one comes our way. You¡¯d hope that would mean we¡¯d be left alone, but from what I¡¯ve seen, that posture just makes us sitting ducks.¡±


    ¡°That has been my experience with war,¡± Alan said, finally breaking his long silence. ¡°Even if the United States had never wanted to fight with anyone, I don¡¯t think you can be a successful country without drawing challengers.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone really wants to fight, but it seems like this situation will lead to that regardless of what we do,¡± Zuccarini said quietly. ¡°I think starting a fight is better than letting someone else do that to you. It¡¯s better to sucker punch someone than to get sucker punched, right? I mean, not morally better, but¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you all might be right,¡± Luntz said, sighing.


    Seeing no other objections, James weighed in again.


    ¡°Honestly, even if we had the option to sit back and watch things shake out however they will outside our borders, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be satisfied with that,¡± James said. ¡°If we had strong neighbors all around us, I¡¯d be constantly worried that anytime I let my guard down or left the territory, they¡¯d invade. If we had weaker neighbors, I would be wondering what was developing on the other side of them. And I think that the Fisher Kingdom is an inherently somewhat imperialistic enterprise. We have a promise at the root of our country, stated in our citizenship oath twice. The promise to reconquer the Earth for humanity and our allied species. I don¡¯t want us to break that promise and give the world up to a bunch of religious zealots, life forms that eat humans, or hostile forces of whatever stripe. This is a time that¡¯s going to give rise to extremes. The people who land in positions of power aren¡¯t going to be nice, reasonable folks. It¡¯s better if it¡¯s us. Better if we don¡¯t have too many neighbors who aren¡¯t under our direct control. Even if we could sit here neutral, like Switzerland, I wouldn¡¯t be comfortable being Switzerland while the Nazis are marching around the European continent. Eventually, you end up on the menu. I think we have to acquire some territory so we can watch the rest of the world burn safely, with some buffer space.¡±

 V4Ch37-End of the Meeting

    ¡°So, how do you want to do this, Your Majesty?¡± asked Rotter.


    ¡°For the Fisher Expeditionary Force, I¡¯ll want volunteers,¡± James said. ¡°A force large enough to defend itself, but the goal isn¡¯t for them to fight. The goal is to explore and survive to report back. I already have a few people in mind. I¡¯ll also send some creatures I control with them to be my eyes and ears¡ªto help defend them, or so that I at least know if anything happens to them. As for the Fisher Army advancing East, I think we have several leaders for that here¡ª¡±


    ¡°Your Majesty, may I request the honor of leading the Goblins alongside whatever other forces you assemble?¡± Duncan asked. He thumped his small fist against the table.


    James grinned widely at Duncan. He hadn¡¯t told the Goblin Overlord about his plans in advance. Duncan was just that eager to lead his people into combat¡ªand James enjoyed seeing it.


    ¡°Permission to kick ass granted,¡± James replied.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Duncan said. ¡°Sitting in their tunnels with nothing to do but tinker and gamble, they¡¯re getting soft. I know they want to see some action.¡±


    James nodded. ¡°I assume that Luna and the wolf pack will also want to go,¡± he said.


    ¡°If it is your will, my King,¡± Luna said deferentially through one of her three heads. Her voice was slightly deeper now, and the words rolled through the air with power.


    ¡°I assume I¡¯ll be leading the human portion of your forces, Your Majesty,¡± Dave said.


    ¡°That¡¯s correct,¡± James said with a nod.


    ¡°You won¡¯t be leaving us out, will you?¡± asked Samuel.


    ¡°If you can keep up, you and as many of your people as would like to get some levels are welcome to go,¡± James said. He looked at Dave. ¡°I would recommend planning a route East that runs along a river or two.¡±


    Dave simply nodded.


    ¡°I think it would be appropriate for a squadron of bats to join you as well,¡± said Evangeline quietly. ¡°We would like to remove any question that might linger as to our loyalty.¡±


    ¡°Um, I¡¯ll take some of my squirrels and join in, too!¡± said Ysabel hastily, clearly worried about being the odd one out.


    ¡°I am afraid my people may be of little use in a fast march across a long distance,¡± said Mole Lord Magnar in a soft, subdued voice.


    ¡°That¡¯s all right,¡± James reassured him. ¡°You¡¯re still building out the sewers anyway, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Magnar nodded.


    ¡°You¡¯re contributing in your own way,¡± James said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡±


    ¡°This sounds like a mighty force,¡± said Luntz. He sighed. ¡°I think they¡¯ll sweep away any obstacles in their path. Again, I hate to be the skeptic¡ªbut with a force like that sent out, who¡¯s here defending the heart of the King¡¯s territory?¡±


    ¡°All the rest of us will be here,¡± James replied. ¡°Including me. I know you haven¡¯t seen me fight personally, Harry, but I¡¯m strong enough to hold my own. Strong enough to make up for a bit of a disparity in numbers. Stronger when I¡¯m fully recovered. And I figure that since our new Chief of Police is training his first officers, perhaps they can also serve as a secondary defense force if we need them¡ªsort of like how the Coast Guard used to become an arm of the Navy in times of war.¡±


    Luntz looked relieved. ¡°So we¡¯ll have an organized defense,¡± he murmured.


    ¡°As if there was ever any doubt,¡± said Rotter in a reproachful tone.


    James just raised an eyebrow at him. We don¡¯t need to go that far, he thought. I still want people to be able to disagree with me in these meetings, or they¡¯ll end up expressing their disagreement where they think I can¡¯t hear them instead.


    Of course, James could see and hear anything he wanted within his borders. But he preferred to avoid the necessity of using that dystopian power if he could encourage people to express themselves openly with him.


    Rotter seemed to get the hint. ¡°I am glad that the Agriculture Chair raised these possible issues, of course,¡± he added. ¡°It¡¯s just that every citizen of this new country is a hardened veteran of some Orientation or other. We¡¯ve continued to have new arrivals every day. The idea that we could be left defenseless just rubbed me slightly the wrong way as an administrator.¡± The last words came out almost apologetically.


    He¡¯s really a chameleon, isn¡¯t he? James thought. I almost would have believed he really meant what he was saying, if I hadn¡¯t just glared at him to get him to express that sentiment.


    ¡°Thanks, Jeremiah,¡± Luntz said. ¡°And Your Majesty.¡± He nodded at James.


    ¡°Well, I would hate to proceed without assuaging your doubts,¡± James said in a sincere tone. When it came to starting wars, the Fisher King found that he was very interested in getting as close to unanimity as possible. The United States had lost several wars because of dissension from within the United States. The North Vietnamese and the Taliban were much weaker than the American military¡ªand the conflict with the latter had not cost a large number of American lives. Yet the United States had still ended up losing both of those wars, even if it had declared victory at the time.


    The key to winning wars, he thought, was to maintain the public will to fight. Starting out by getting genuine assent from key stakeholders rather than sleepwalking them into a war was an important part of that.


    ¡°When do you want us to leave by?¡± asked Dave.


    ¡°Just as soon as people can be ready,¡± James said, deliberately leaving it open-ended. There was no rush to go out and conquer the world; it was a priority, but the only reason to do it quickly rather than taking their time was simply to reduce the number of Rulers James would encounter at the World Leaders¡¯ Summit. He had the feeling that Rulers still on their thrones after that event would be far more difficult to displace than those James had taken out so far.


    ¡°I understand,¡± Dave said. ¡°I¡¯ll consult with Harry on the subject of food for the army.¡±


    Luntz nodded.


    ¡°Did you need anything else from us, Your Majesty?¡± asked Rotter.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    James shook his head. ¡°That was all. I¡¯ll speak to council members individually about their tasks and progress over the next few days. Um, also, I would ask that council members not tell others about the story of what happened to Moishe Rose just yet. I want to address that in my own way, and I think it¡¯s an incredibly delicate subject. I don¡¯t think there¡¯s anything else we need to discuss as a group right now. Unless someone else has something?¡±


    A number of heads shook from all around the table.


    Good.


    ¡°Then this meeting is adjourned,¡± he said.


    DaSilva rose from his seat at the end of the table, and James quickly got up to speak with him.


    ¡°I hope things in your new role are getting started on the right foot, Chief DaSilva,¡± James said.


    ¡°They are,¡± DaSilva said. ¡°Recruitment has been going well. And Your Majesty is welcome to use my nickname. Leo is fine.¡±


    ¡°All right. Leo, I don¡¯t know who you¡¯ve recruited so far, but I was hoping that we might get beings of various species resident in the Fisher Kingdom into the police force.¡±


    Leo gave him a look, almost as if the Police Chief wanted to laugh.


    ¡°Your Majesty, are you about to initiate an affirmative action policy for nonhumans?¡± he finally asked in a lowered voice.


    ¡°Oh no,¡± James said, laughing. ¡°I just want to make sure that you let all the nonhumans know they can be part of the police force, too. I¡¯m not asking you to set quotas or lower requirements for them, except to the extent that certain requirements might be physically impossible for Goblins or some other species to meet. I think the advantage of having some police who behave differently than humans would will be to our advantage, especially because I assume we¡¯ll eventually have criminals, and not all of them will be human. The squirrels and bats can fly, and I can only assume that would make it difficult for you to catch squirrel or bat criminals without squirrel or bat police.¡±


    Leo snorted quietly. ¡°Fair enough. I was half joking anyway. I actually had a few Goblins volunteer themselves already. They seem like good guys. Former King Duncan has been very eagerly looking for work to give his people, you know. He really meant what he said earlier. Idle hands being the Devil¡¯s playthings, I sort of get it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I can imagine,¡± James said slowly. He really didn¡¯t quite get it. For him, all his idle moments when he wasn¡¯t taking care of his family or the Kingdom would naturally be devoted to fighting and training. The concept of ¡°idle hands¡± was one that had lost most of its salience for him.


    ¡°How much do you know about Goblin society?¡± Leo asked.


    ¡°Really just what my weapon told me,¡± James said, holding up the wrist where the Soul Eater Orb was currently sitting in the form of a small bangle.


    ¡°Uh, is that a riddle¡ªor do you just mean you know about killing them?¡± Leo asked.


    ¡°Oh, no, it¡¯s weirder than that,¡± James said. ¡°Believe it or not, this object is actually a living, thinking organism from another universe. In his world, Goblins also existed, so he gave me some pointers on how to secure their loyalty to the Fisher Kingdom.¡±


    Leo stared at him for a moment. Just long enough for James to hear how much crazier his explanation sounded than what he¡¯d initially said. He thought about clarifying further, but recognized that might only make things worse.


    ¡°I guess I lived to see the time when I no longer have the first clue what¡¯s going on,¡± Leo said. ¡°But I¡¯ve actually seen and heard of things that are just about as strange as what you just described, now that I think about it.¡± He shrugged. ¡°The more you live alongside the absurd, the more you adjust. I hope.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s been my experience,¡± James agreed.


    ¡°So, what did the weapon tell you, anyway?¡± Leo asked.


    James leaned in close and whispered. ¡°To dominate them with fear.¡±


    Leo gave a low whistle. ¡°Well, I think it worked, if that¡¯s what you did,¡± he said slowly. ¡°Duncan seems very loyal to you. I really just wanted to know if Goblin society is nepotistic¡ªor how their hierarchies work in general. The Overlord wanted me to give his brother a job, too¡ªand he specifically wanted to try and make sure his brother outranked the other Goblins.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± James said. He was quiet for a moment, then added, ¡°So, did you?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Leo said. ¡°I never wanted to be high brass in the Orlando Police Department¡ªI was happy as a Detective¡ªbut it seems to me that there¡¯s always some politics in upper level administrative positions. Duncan has a thousand Goblins under our feet. He seems like a good person to have owing me a favor or two.¡±


    James nodded and smiled. He liked this. Despite being a brass tacks kind of guy, the Chief of Police seemed exactly the right amount of flexible for James to work with.


    I¡¯m glad Mina spoke so highly of him. I would never have offered him a job just based on fighting him, but he seems very well suited to do this work.


    ¡°Did you have any specific criteria for people when you were recruiting?¡± James asked. ¡°How does that work?¡±


    ¡°A basic physical fitness test, which everyone easily passed,¡± Leo said. ¡°Then some general questions about character and life history. I told everyone that I wasn¡¯t going to hold a criminal past against them if they admitted it up front¡ªand I meant it. Only one guy had a history, and I¡¯m not holding it against him¡ª¡± He looked at James cautiously¡ª¡°unless you object, of course.¡±


    ¡°Is it a crime of moral turpitude?¡± James asked.


    ¡°Did you get that out of a statute book, counselor?¡± Leo replied, chuckling.


    ¡°Guilty. Sometimes I forget that I¡¯m not a lawyer anymore.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that,¡± Leo said. ¡°Lawyers ruled the world before the System. It seems to me that your legal skills are still serving you just fine. You were just lawyering the whole room, after all.¡±


    James gave Leo a small, knowing smile.


    ¡°We have to perpetuate the logocracy,¡± he said.


    ¡°I know you¡¯re waiting for me to ask what that means,¡± Leo said, ¡°and you¡¯re correct that I don¡¯t know.¡±


    ¡°Rule by words,¡± James said. ¡°That¡¯s the only way lawyers can hold power. The only thing we¡¯re good at is stringing together words.¡±


    ¡°Some people would say that a country should be run based on ideals,¡± Leo said. ¡°In that sense, rule based on words isn¡¯t such a bad idea. It sounds a lot like the rule of law that we¡¯re trying to restore.¡±


    James thought about shaking his head. That was not what he¡¯d meant by rule of words. It had been said before that totalitarianism was rule by words, because under such a system, ideas no longer mattered¡ªonly how they were expressed. Whether or not the framing of the idea was to be punished.


    But he didn¡¯t.


    ¡°I don¡¯t disagree with you,¡± James said. ¡°Anyway, you can take the lawyer out of the law firm, but maybe not the law firm out of the lawyer. If I¡¯m long-winded sometimes, you can just shoot me a look and yawn.¡± James pantomimed covering his mouth to stifle a yawn.


    ¡°You¡¯re a pretty different kind of leader than most in the world before the System,¡± Leo observed. ¡°Um, did you actually want to know more about the one ex-con who I am provisionally allowing to join the police force?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll trust your judgment until I¡¯m given a reason to doubt it,¡± James replied. ¡°We need officers, and given that you guys are basically a backup branch of the military as well, you might also want to get some part time or reserve members, too. So I¡¯ll try not to put too many restrictions on hiring for right now. My hope is that you can police your own. The law enforcement in our little society has to be trustworthy and respected. If that aspect is dysfunctional, my throne might start to look a little less secure. So, I hope you¡¯ll be careful in how you use your authority.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± said Leo, looking like he wished he was just a Detective again¡ªwhich, of course, only made him seem more qualified to be Chief to James. ¡°How is Yulia doing, by the way?¡±


    James successfully kept himself from laughing at the sudden change of subjects and instead gave Leo the full update on the Robard household, from how excited Yulia was to become a teacher to how much she had been helping with the children to the power of the bonding experience that Yulia and Mina had shared in their Orientation.


    ¡°She has been a bit lonely, though,¡± James finished. ¡°She hasn¡¯t been spending a lot of time with people her own age¡ª¡±


    He cut himself off.


    He recognized that Leo was looking, rather insistently, at something or someone behind James. After a few seconds of this, the Fisher King turned around.


    Alan stood there wearing a pleasant smile.


    ¡°James, do you have a minute for me?¡± he asked.

 V4Ch38-Expeditionary Force Recruitment

    Alan waited a moment, trying to convey confidence through the silence between himself and James.


    ¡°We can talk more later, Your Majesty?¡± Chief DaSilva said from behind James.


    I wonder if there¡¯s been a lot of crime since James started the Fisher Kingdom, Alan thought. I hope I¡¯m not interrupting something urgent.


    But James just turned his head to look at DaSilva for a moment and then nodded.


    ¡°Absolutely,¡± James said. ¡°We¡¯ll be working closely together, since you¡¯re going to be the military here while virtually everyone else is gone.


    So that was what they were talking about.


    The new Chief of Police stepped away and began to move toward the exit, leaving Alan and James alone.


    ¡°What did you want to say?¡± James asked, smiling.


    ¡°You were saying you want to put together an Expeditionary Force,¡± Alan said.


    James nodded.


    ¡°Mitzi and I were discussing it, and we both want to join it.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± James sounded surprised, though he kept a tight rein on his facial expression.


    ¡°What do you think?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Well, I think¡ªuh, you guys are getting bored hanging around here, aren¡¯t you?¡± James said jokingly.


    ¡°Oh, is that what you think of us? The old folks just need some excitement?¡± Alan tried to match James¡¯s tone with mock outrage.


    ¡°I was actually thinking I needed some competent people to conduct this operation,¡± James said. ¡°I already have people I want to send exploring, but the people I have in mind right now¡ª¡± He frowned¡ª¡°well, they¡¯re basically baggage. I hate to put it so rudely, but you¡¯ll see what I mean when you meet them. Intelligent, well meaning people, but they need someone who can lead them and help them survive in the wilderness. You said you were basically Rambo in the army, right?¡±


    Alan chuckled. ¡°Sure, something like that. I can at least pick my way through the environment well enough compared with people who never served.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s plenty,¡± James said, shaking his head. ¡°Believe me, you have a big advantage compared to most members of my generation.¡± He lowered his voice. ¡°Especially now that you¡¯ve begun to age differently than most of your peers.¡±


    Alan nodded. ¡°That was a consideration for us.¡± He looked at James a little uncertainly, still unsure of how much the Blessing of the Fisher King had actually been intended to do. ¡°You know I¡¯ve flirted with the idea of retirement in the past, but after what¡¯s happened, that seems absurd. Now that we¡¯ve been given this gift, it would be a shame to waste it.¡±


    ¡°I agree with you,¡± James said. ¡°Give me just a minute, and then I¡¯ll take you to meet the geek squad.¡±


    ¡°The who?¡± Alan asked, slightly confused.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m just calling them that in my head.¡± James had the decency to look a little embarrassed. ¡°Just some of the people you volunteered to escort.¡± The Fisher King¡¯s smile took on a slightly mischievous quality before he darted away.


    I¡¯m starting to think we volunteered for something beyond what we imagined¡­


    But he had no way of knowing the scope of the actual challenge that would be involved in working with the Fisher Expeditionary Force, so Alan refused to drive himself crazy speculating.


    He watched James from a distance as the Fisher King spoke to the giant squirrel, the giant bat, the giant wolf, and the Goblin Overlord. And out of the corner of his eye, Mitzi approached.


    ¡°What did he say?¡± she asked quietly. ¡°Are we going?¡±


    Alan turned to look at her. ¡°He said we¡¯re going to be babysitting, essentially. I hope you won¡¯t regret it.¡±


    Joining the Fisher Expeditionary Force had been her idea. Alan had embraced it, because he knew his army experience would probably come in handy for the smaller, more ragtag group that James was sending off. Besides, there was no place or reason for a sedentary lifestyle in this new world, especially not for a couple who were slowly moving back to the prime of their youth.


    ¡°An adventure with you? Regret?¡± Mitzi laughed gently. ¡°Never.¡± She stroked his hair with her fingers.


    ¡°Hm. Well, I suppose at worst, it¡¯s a story we have to tell later.¡±


    ¡°At worst, we won¡¯t have any more stories to tell,¡± Mitzi said, speaking the words lightly despite their meaning. ¡°But in this new world, in this new country, I think what¡¯s needed are people who aren¡¯t so afraid of death.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re on our second wind of life anyway,¡± Alan agreed. This, in a nutshell, was the whispered conversation they had been having ever since James mentioned that he wanted to send out a group of scouts to explore the new world.


    Now that they had survived Orientation and the Battle of the Haunted Forest, maybe they were on their third life in some sense.


    People who kept surviving situations that killed other people ought to do something special with their lives. Perhaps it was that simple.


    The Fisher Expeditionary Force, with a mission to scout the new world, was something special.


    Maybe this was their place in the post-System world.


    Pioneers. Explorers.


    If they served the new country as scouts, they would give a new meaning to the idea of a vigorous old age.


    They could continue to act as advisors also. Their decades of life experience wouldn¡¯t go to waste.


    The idea that the world was much larger than it had been¡ªand populated with a variety of monsters¡ªhad been frightening. Yet it was also tantalizing.


    James turned away from the squirrel and bat, stopped to whisper a few words in his wife¡¯s ear, and finally made his way back toward Alan and Mitzi. They shifted their attention to him.


    ¡°So, I got you guys a few additional scouts from the squirrels, bats, wolves and Goblins,¡± James said. ¡°You guys haven¡¯t reconsidered going on this mission, right?¡±


    ¡°Of course not,¡± Mitzi said slightly indignantly.


    ¡°Just checking,¡± James replied, chuckling. ¡°Now I¡¯ll take you to meet the members of the Electricity Commission.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s an Electricity Commission?¡± Alan asked.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Well, they haven¡¯t done much yet,¡± James replied. ¡°With your help, this is their moment.¡±


    They followed him out of the community center.


    Two dozen people, all humans and mostly men, stood in a circle, gathered at the center of the courtyard.


    ¡°You had already arranged to meet with them?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°No, I just used my newfound communication abilities,¡± James said, touching his temple with his index finger.


    ¡°Right, your territorial telepathy,¡± Mitzi said.


    ¡°I keep losing track of your superpowers,¡± Alan said, the hint of a smile twitching at the edge of his lips.


    James closed the distance with the people gathered to meet him and spoke in a raised voice.


    ¡°Hello members of the Electricity Commission!¡±


    ¡°Good to see you, sir!¡± replied a Hispanic man from near the front of the group.


    ¡°This is everybody you¡¯ve gathered for the expedition, Mateo?¡± James asked.


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Mateo replied. Alan noticed the man stood a little straighter as he spoke. There was an obvious undertone of pride in his voice.


    ¡°Congratulations on your willingness to venture into unexplored territories, ladies and gentlemen,¡± James said. ¡°You¡¯re going to lay the groundwork for our future expansion¡ªand perhaps most importantly, the restoration of our lost technology! If your mission succeeds, your names will go down in history.¡±


    A little cheer went up from the group. Even Alan felt a little bit carried along by the charisma James emanated.


    He had heard James speak publicly before, several times at this point, but it was these brief, impromptu remarks that really brought home to Alan the power in the Fisher King¡¯s voice. If James asked this group to go and follow him toward Orlando right now, with no additional preparation, Alan was fairly certain they would simply go with him.


    Does he even know he¡¯s doing it?


    Alan knew how Skills worked, at least on a basic level. He knew that some functioned passively. A Ruler would undoubtedly have so many leadership-related Skills that some would manipulate people into following him without any conscious effort on his part.


    It was a thought to follow up on another time, though. For now, Alan carefully followed the conversation.


    ¡°Do you guys have a good accounting of the materials you¡¯ll be hoping to get from Orlando once you make it there?¡± James asked.


    Another man from the group stepped forward, pimply and pale with glasses and a slightly hunched posture. Identify said his name was Christian Zito.


    He began to explain what the Commission had determined the Kingdom needed.


    Alan watched as James listened politely for a few minutes, then with a slightly impatient expression, as Zito explained, in dizzying depth, the materials they hoped to secure and reasons why.


    ¡°Okay, I trust your expertise on this, guys,¡± James said finally, cutting the explanation off gently but firmly. ¡°I can tell there¡¯s a lot in this explanation that I¡¯m not going to understand, and that¡¯s all right. I know I¡¯m not the one rebuilding our power grid.¡± He clapped Zito on the shoulder and gave him a warm look as he spoke.


    The bespectacled man smiled at the apparent compliment.


    ¡°Unless someone has a strong objection, I¡¯m going to place you all under the command of Alan and Mitzi Roget for the duration of this trip,¡± James continued. ¡°You¡¯ll be in charge of figuring out what you need to forage for in Orlando, of course, but the Rogets have a lot of survival experience from my Orientation, and Alan here is a military veteran. I believe they¡¯ll be able to keep you guys safe and organized, so we hopefully see everyone come home.¡±


    Zito nodded, though Alan saw a trace of reluctance on his face as he did so.


    I hope we¡¯re not getting started on the wrong foot here, Alan thought. James, you know everyone in the Kingdom will follow you anywhere, but that doesn¡¯t mean you can put a stranger in charge of them and the group will just accept it, right?


    Then the Hispanic man¡ªwho Alan now Identified as Mateo Rivera¡ªstepped forward and had a quick word with James and Zito.


    Alan couldn¡¯t hear any of the rapid-fire, whispered dialogue between the men, but as it came to a close, James smiled and nodded and placed a hand on Rivera¡¯s shoulder as he had done with Zito.


    Then he turned back to Alan and Mitzi.


    ¡°Guys, why don¡¯t you come meet the group?¡± he said.


    Well, at least we¡¯ll get to know them before we expect them to follow us. Was this Rivera¡¯s idea? Or was that whispered dialogue about something else?


    Either way, Alan and Mitzi spent the next quarter of an hour socializing with the members of the Electricity Commission¡ªthe men and women James had briefly dubbed the geek squad earlier. They were good people, Alan was relieved to observe. Decent, ordinary people.


    None of them had been especially successful in Orientation, but they had all been scientifically inclined before the System descended. Some of them were former engineers or electricians. There were a few programmers, a couple of artificial intelligence technicians, and a variety of other information technology professionals. Alan frankly didn¡¯t understand the details of the work that many of them had done before the System, and he didn¡¯t try to pretend to. He imagined that they would have been similarly lost if he had been forced to explain the work of an attorney to them.


    The important thing was that Alan, Mitzi, and the band of so-called geeks seemed to get along.


    The conversation seemed to convince the future explorers that the old couple had the survival skills¡ªand leadership skills¡ªto get them to where they wanted to go.


    And Alan felt convinced that volunteering to join¡ªor, ultimately lead¡ªthis journey had been the right thing for him and Mitzi.


    These people wanted to restore the standard of living that humanity had enjoyed before the System¡ªa similar, compatible goal to James¡¯s, from what Alan had seen thus far¡ªbut they placed their emphasis on technology specifically, while James had been most focused on putting roofs over people¡¯s heads and food in their stomachs.


    If Alan had to describe them, they were the people who had the most in the old world that they missed, out of those citizens he had met so far. Nostalgic for the past, they met in their unofficial commission regularly to discuss how they might rectify what had gone wrong when the System appeared.


    A few of them had met James before, to discuss how they might begin restoring technology, and he had given them a reality check.


    His order of priorities could not place electricity and the Internet before basic necessities.


    Now, though¡ªnow, they were elated that they would be able to start putting some of their wild ideas into action. They would at least try.


    ¡°The old Internet is gone,¡± Zito said soberly as he finished part of his explanation for their future plans. ¡°Gone for the foreseeable future, maybe gone forever¡ªdepending on the overall success of His Majesty¡¯s civilizing mission.¡±


    One thing Alan had noticed was that every member of this group was unusually enthusiastic about the Fisher Kingdom. It was the closest thing to normal any of them had experienced since the System showed up.


    James had acquired a semi-divine status with these people for restoring some semblance of order, even if his reality check had been a bit disheartening for a while.


    Alan found it a little odd, though, how obsessed they were with getting the Internet back specifically¡ªnot electricity in general, even though with the Florida heat, that would be an obvious concern when Summer came.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way you can get it back up?¡± Alan asked despite himself, finding that he had become reluctantly invested in their plight.


    He had never been a big Internet buff himself, though it had become popular when he was a relatively young man. He was naturally skeptical of fads. As time went on, and society recognized the variety of neuroses and mental illnesses the Internet seemed to nurture in the young, he had felt gradually vindicated¡ªthough the political will to regulate the Internet had never materialized, despite increasing evidence that social media was increasing rates of depression and suicidality.


    ¡°It¡¯s the infrastructure,¡± Rivera said.


    ¡°Uh, I thought it was wireless,¡± Alan said.


    Mitzi looked like she wanted to say something, but Zito started talking.


    ¡°The old Internet required a lot of wires and cables that were in fixed locations,¡± Zito explained. ¡°There were undersea cables connecting nations across the sea, allowing them all to access the World Wide Web. The world increased in size, though, and those materials didn¡¯t.¡± His voice turned bitter. ¡°So, they were undoubtedly destroyed when the System fucked the Earth.¡±


    ¡°What about satellites?¡± Mitzi asked. ¡°Space Co. has thousands of them floating around the Earth, right? Can you get Internet from those?¡±


    ¡°When the world doubled in size, they probably crashed,¡± Rivera said. ¡°Like the way you¡¯re thinking, though, ma¡¯am. Christian here and Darryl already tried to build a mini terminal to see if we could access the Internet through the satellites, and it didn¡¯t work. The actual solution will end up being something more rudimentary¡ªand also, unfortunately, more complicated to implement.¡±


    ¡°So, what¡¯s the plan, then?¡± Alan asked.


    Mitzi¡¯s eyes widened, and she gave Alan a slightly frustrated look before quickly shifting her face to careful neutrality.


    Alan didn¡¯t realize his mistake until Christian began to explain the plan in minute detail.

 V4Ch39-A Confrontational Style

    After a mildly exhausting conversation with Christian Zito and an apologetic Mateo Rivera, Mitzi and Alan were accepted as guides¡ªleaders of the Fisher Expeditionary Force¡ªby the whole of the Electricity Commission.


    Mitz had the distinct feeling that they¡¯d just been hazed, with the level of detail the Commission members had given them into their plans. Then again, she also suspected that, as with hazing, the in-depth discussion of future plans had won them a level of acceptance to the group that they could not easily have come by in any other way.


    During the conversation, she had noticed that Mina had emerged from the community center and peeled James away from the Electricity Commission.


    James was standing, talking to her, while Mitzi and Alan continued getting to know their future travel companions. Mina didn¡¯t seem to like what she was hearing. She had a nervous look on her face, as if James had proposed a plan to do something dangerous.


    That feels a little ominous.


    As Mitzi and Alan separated from the Commission and walked back over to where James and Mina stood, the conversation between the King and Queen seemed to stop¡ªwhich only gave more evidence to support Mitzi¡¯s feeling that something was wrong. James¡¯s expression was unreadable, while Mina still looked a bit worried, though she had brought her face under control. Mitzi could only see what Mina was feeling because she was looking for it.


    Mitzi looked up at Alan¡¯s face. He seemed pleased, basking in the afterglow of the conversation with the Commission members and confident that things were going well. They had formed a connection with their fellow future explorers. But that meant he hadn¡¯t noticed anything.


    Assuming there is anything to notice, Mitzi told herself.


    ¡°Everything all right?¡± she asked as they got close to James and Mina.


    ¡°I was just going to ask you how things went with them,¡± James said. ¡°I guess I don¡¯t need to, though. I can see from your faces that you¡¯re going to do just fine with the other members of the Fisher Expeditionary Force. I¡¯m not surprised.¡±


    Alan nodded and smiled, but Mitzi sensed an alertness in his eyes. Now that Mitzi had spoken up, he was looking for signs of anything wrong.


    ¡°Things went well,¡± Mitzi agreed. ¡°They¡¯re nice people, once you get to know them. Maybe a little long-winded. You could have warned us.¡±


    ¡°I probably should have,¡± James said, ¡°but now you¡¯ve had the chance to really get to know them.¡±


    Mitzi gave him a hard look. ¡°That is good. What else are you planning right now?¡±


    James let out a short laugh. ¡°Well, I think we need a little more recruitment,¡± he said.


    Mina cut in. ¡°James has summoned the monotheists for a meeting like this,¡± she added in a flat tone. ¡°Though I think he plans to do most of the talking this time.¡±


    Mitzi frowned. Why is she so worried if that¡¯s all that¡¯s happening?


    ¡°What¡¯s the purpose of this meeting, James?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°I want to tell them a story,¡± James said. His face flashed with a surprising anger for a moment, then was calm again.


    Things began to fall into place for Mitzi. Oh, he wants to tell them that story, she thought.


    ¡°Is it the same story you told us?¡± Mitzi asked.


    James nodded.


    ¡°Are you certain that¡¯s wise?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°This conversation has to happen eventually,¡± James replied. ¡°Would you guys be willing to come with me?¡±


    Mitzi nodded immediately, and Alan joined in a moment later.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be a fiery speech,¡± Mina said. ¡°Are you sure you want to be there?¡± She spoke in an unmistakable cautionary tone.


    ¡°That sounds like a reason we should show our support,¡± Mitzi said gently.


    Mina gave her a small smile. ¡°I¡¯m glad the two of you are part of this Kingdom,¡± she said quietly.


    The four of them walked off through the courtyard and past the community center.


    After a couple of minutes of walking, Police Chief DaSilva joined them. The large man stepped in so casually, without a word, that Mitzi knew immediately that James had summoned him there with his communication powers.


    As they walked, Mitzi had time to wonder how far they were going from the center of the Kingdom¡ªwhether this conversation would be near the swamp or the woods that she knew bordered Samuel¡¯s swamp. They were going away from the former Haunted Forest, which was on the opposite side from the swamp, and away from the bat-squirrel jungle that was on the opposite side from the woods.


    Mitzi had forgotten how much open space there was in the Fisher Kingdom, though.


    Between the ever-growing apartment complex and the swamp and woods that were the least navigable parts of the Fisher Kingdom, there was a large open field. There, the monotheists waited. Dozens of people gathered in a large crowd.


    From twenty yards away, Mitzi could hear them nervously chattering among themselves. The sounds were indistinct, a low rolling buzz.


    As the group drew closer to the monotheists, the words began to grow clearer.


    ¡°What do you think¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡ªknow why we were called here¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡ªwhat does the King want¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡ªsomething happen with Cyrus?¡±


    ¡°¡ªare we in trouble for something or¡ª¡±


    ¡°¡ªKingdom under attack?¡±


    The fragments Mitzi caught were almost all speculation about why the King had called them there.


    Since Mitzi knew, more or less, what this gathering was about, she was confident that they weren¡¯t going to like it when they found out the answer. She did not regret going, though. Mitzi was also curious how James would handle this. Why had he decided to discuss his problems with the monotheists directly to their faces? Did he just prefer a confrontational style in dealing with challenges like this?


    James stepped to the forefront of the group, and people from among the monotheists immediately stepped toward him, formulating questions, trying to be the first to talk to him.


    He offered a smile but raised a hand, palm out, signaling everyone to wait.


    ¡°Could everyone please step back a bit?¡± he asked in a raised voice. ¡°I have something to say, and I want to make sure everyone can hear me.¡±Stolen story; please report.


    After a moment, everyone moved back a bit to give him room.


    He turned his head to look at Mina, Alan, Mitzi, and the Chief.


    ¡°Not you guys, you guys get closer,¡± James said.


    They stepped in alongside him.


    Then he bent down and touched his palm to the ground. A large platform of earth rose from the ground, large enough for a dozen people to stand comfortably¡ªbut they wouldn¡¯t need to, because the platform also had four stone seats formed on it, behind and off to the right of where James stood.


    James¡¯s four guests obligingly sat down.


    He stepped forward and cleared his throat. It was the only sign of any kind of nervousness that Mitzi saw from him during the short speech.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯re all wondering why I asked you to come out here this afternoon,¡± he said. He spoke loudly, firmly, but gently at the start.


    Then James began to tell the story of what had happened to Moishe Rose, and his voice became sterner, more impassioned, as he went on. Mitzi¡¯s eyes scanned the faces in the crowd. She saw looks of fear and understanding dawning on the listeners¡¯ faces.


    It was the classic expression, universal across cultures, of humans who recognize that they have done something wrong.


    Mitzi heard quiet whispers, though the words were less comprehensible now than they had been when she was far away¡ªand there were far fewer people willing to whisper during a speech from the King.


    Despite her inability to make out any words, she could feel the expectation of punishment begin to take hold in the air. It wasn¡¯t pure guilt that gave rise to that. As James discussed the innocents who had burned to death, there was fire in his voice. His personal anger was palpable.


    ¡°In effect, Cyrus and his ilk used this Dungeon as a trap to lure in innocent people, test their religious faith, and recruit followers for their religious movement,¡± James said after he had gone through all the facts of the story. ¡°The Dungeon¡¯s trial was a test of religious affiliation, not one of character. I know for a fact that the so-called angel was not only burning evil people. My friend, who was horrifically burned in the Dungeon, is not an evil man. In fact, he is phenomenally selfless, kind, and brave. Yet he is lucky he survived that experience. Most troubling of all, none of Cyrus¡¯s followers helped him. None of them helped any of the people who burned to death in that Dungeon.¡±


    The audience shifted nervously at this.


    ¡°I don¡¯t bring this up because I want to blame anyone here for wrongdoing, exactly. I believe that many of the people here were lied to by the leaders of the religious sect whose representatives recently fled the Fisher Kingdom. I want to state unequivocally that those men and all their ilk are now criminals and enemies of the state. As far as I am concerned, they should be killed on sight, though I will not force others to adopt that policy if they¡¯re seen outside the Kingdom, given that combat is always risky¡ªand especially risky outside of my territory. The important point is that anyone who burns others to death for being unbelievers of their faith could not possibly be good. I know that, deep down, those of you here today know this. Your moral centers have not been so corrupted by the fall of our society that you¡¯re incapable of recognizing this evil extremism for what it is. I¡¯m asking you to think about that.


    ¡°Reflect on it. Remember, we have thousands of years of human history behind us. We have seen fanaticism and theocracy and religious tyranny in the past. In this country and in countries throughout the world, innocent people were burned as witches or heretics¡ªor because they were just a bit different. This is a backward, superstitious ideology. We must never return to that worldview, especially not when we have had reason to learn that the world is more magical and contains more deities and supernatural powers in it than we ever could have imagined in centuries past.


    ¡°I¡¯m speaking to you today not to assign blame, but to warn you. We must stand together against religious tyranny. I am preparing an Expeditionary Force to scout the land to the West and an army to conquer the land to the East. This is a plan I made today, in consultation with my council, and I am still accepting volunteers for both of these endeavors. We will secure Florida against theocracy and religious oppression. We will bring peace, justice, and order to the land around us. You may join if you like, but no one is required. As stated previously, as long as you make yourself useful to my country, you are welcome here.


    ¡°But my warning to you is this: one day, and the day may be soon, you may be forced to choose. If that day comes, you will be forced to choose between someone who shares your beliefs about religion and the nature of the universe¡ªand wishes to impose that ideology on anyone and everyone around them¡ªand someone who wants people to be free and to worship freely or not at all. Do you want to live in a time of Crusades? Or another Thirty Years War? That¡¯s a real choice you might have to make. That¡¯s what happens when we decide to make religious identity the most important part of our identity, above our common humanity and other common causes. If that moment comes, remember our history. Think about it. Think about which side you¡¯re on.¡±


    James paused to take a breath, and a voice in the crowd piped up suddenly in that opening. Mitzi had to admire the courage that person had, to interrupt James¡¯s sermon at the moment when he was shifting from anger toward a gentler style. It was foolish, but courageous nevertheless.


    ¡°Why us?!¡± the voice seemed to cry out in an aggrieved tone.


    James paused mid-sentence, processed, and then replied to the voice in the middle of the crowd. His eyes seemed to search for the person, but Mitzi doubted he could find them. The speaker had really taken refuge in anonymity and was either short or ducking down to avoid being seen.


    ¡°Could you please clarify what you¡¯re trying to ask me?¡± James said, slightly quieter.


    ¡°Why are you giving this speech to just us, if you don¡¯t want to blame us?¡± the voice asked. ¡°It seems to me¡ª¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s easy,¡± James said, easily cutting the speaker off. ¡°Because, although I did not come here to blame anyone, I know that some people here must be complicit in what happened in the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Arguably, many of you are probably complicit. If you watched what happened and did nothing in that Dungeon, you were part of the problem there. If you stood alongside Cyrus and those with him and did not lift a finger to help those his so-called angel was incinerating, you are an accomplice. Since I know many of you were recruited in that location, it follows that those people are complicit in some sense. I wanted to give the speech to just the monotheists in the Kingdom, because I know you need to hear things presented as they are, starkly, and because I wanted to preserve your personal safety.¡± He dropped each of these increasingly shocking sentences with a breathtaking nonchalance, simply, as if the truth of what he was saying was almost self-evident.


    ¡°Our safety?¡± asked the same voice, surprised.


    ¡°Yes,¡± James said. His voice was gentle now, but he raised the volume to project as much sound and authority as he had through the earlier parts of the speech. ¡°There are many people here who know my friend Moishe as a hero from Orientation, and there are many others who have seen friends or loved ones killed by religious extremists or sacrificed to supposed divine entities. Frankly, I was afraid that if I gave this rather emotionally charged speech in front of the entire Kingdom, some of you might be killed. As I said, some of you are arguably complicit in what happened. Even though I am willing to assume that those people were misled, others might not be so understanding.


    ¡°The passions of our thousands of citizens could be aroused by a story of the sort of barbaric behavior that is unacceptable in our civilized country. Since Cyrus and his closest allies fled the country, they can¡¯t take out their anger on the people most responsible for what happened. And their emotions might be sufficiently kindled for them to murder some of you. Given the sheer number of my citizens, it could be difficult for me to protect you. Mob violence is as dangerous as anything. I will have to announce a summary of what happened to other citizens of the Fisher Kingdom soon, so they are aware of the threat of violence from people like Cyrus, but using more careful language. That way, I hope to avoid any religiously¡ªor anti-religiously¡ªmotivated violence.¡±


    The murmurs of the crowd had turned quite emotional as James spoke. Mitzi heard a mix of emotions, ranging from fear to regret for sins of the past to gratitude.


    Detached from the crowd, Mitzi was able to assess the speech at a slight emotional remove.


    James is much scarier than I ever realized, she thought. She looked around behind her, checking to make certain that no other Fisher Kingdom citizens had come out from the complex to observe his speech. Because James was right. If the word of what had happened got around, and it wasn¡¯t managed carefully, she could imagine other citizens wanting to take matters into their own hands. Mob justice would be an ugly probability.


    He gave an angry sermon in which he convinced them¡ªand even me¡ªthat his primary goal was to prevent violence. For any of them who might have still sympathized with Cyrus, it¡¯s a warning. For the rest, it¡¯s a promise of protection. And perhaps more¡­


    ¡°Now I have fully explained the situation to you, my dear citizens,¡± James said. ¡°I hope you will help me. If you see any sign of danger, either from the religious zealots or from the mob, please say something.¡± He gestured at Chief DaSilva. ¡°The Chief of Police is right here.¡± DaSilva raised his hand awkwardly, as if he wasn¡¯t sure if he was the right person. ¡°If you are interested in working with the Army, I believe most of the people here know what Dave Matsumoto looks like by now.¡± There were nods from a lot of people in the crowd. ¡°If you are interested in joining the Fisher Expeditionary Force, that will be led by Alan and Mitzi Roget.¡± He gestured at Alan and Mitzi, and they both waved awkwardly, joining DaSilva in feeling like they weren¡¯t certain they really belonged on this stage.


    ¡°For everyone else, please continue contributing as best you can to your community,¡± James finished.


    Mitzi didn¡¯t know who started it, but someone in the crowd began to applaud, and the gesture quickly caught fire and spread to everyone else, fueled by the strange and powerful brew of emotions that had taken hold over the group as a whole. James bent and touched the earth beneath his feet, and the stage descended back into the ground again.


    Then, smiling and waving, he turned from the crowd and began to walk back toward the apartment complex.


    Mina rose quickly and put her arm around him before he had made it three steps. She hung off her husband¡¯s shoulder lovingly as they walked away from the place where the stage had been. Mitzi heard a tiny snippet of what Mina was saying to him as the two passed


    ¡°That was amazing, skapi,¡± Mina whispered. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I expected, but¡­¡±

 V4Ch40-Service Guarantees Citizenship

    As the King walked away, the people who had gathered to hear him erupted in turmoil.


    Though people talking over each other made it difficult for anyone to make themselves heard clearly, Claudius Galt heard a few voices rise above the clamor of the crowd.


    ¡°We¡¯re screwed as soon as more people hear about this,¡± said one voice in the crowd.


    ¡°We just have to be prepared to argue our case,¡± said another with a little more grit.


    ¡°We weren¡¯t responsible,¡± insisted another desperately.


    The group members were in such a heightened emotional state that their voices were hard for Claudius to identify. Not that he had ever been close to most of these people. He had only been traveling with them for a matter of days before they came to the Fisher Kingdom. He did not know them well.


    The panic in the air was palpable. Not a single person doubted that what the King had told them was true. All of their minds, including Claudius¡¯s, had skipped to wondering what they should or could do next.


    People began giving their interpretations of what he¡¯d said, even though he was barely out of earshot.


    ¡°Maybe he¡¯s trying to give us time to flee the country,¡± said a voice Claudius recognized as Rachel Monroe. He could tell she was trying to calm the situation.


    ¡°Or he¡¯s trying to say hold out, because he¡¯s got our backs,¡± suggested a man. It took Claudius a few long moments to recall his name: Brian Forsyth.


    ¡°I think he wants some sort of demonstration of our loyalty,¡± said an older woman named Caprecia Gray both loudly and thoughtfully.


    ¡°We need to get out of here before a lynch mob forms!¡± exclaimed a shrill male voice whose owner Claudius couldn¡¯t find in the crowd.


    There was a deafening crash of sound for the next thirty seconds that prevented him from making out any individual words in the noise.


    ¡°Order! Damn it, let¡¯s talk in some kind of order!¡± Tiberius, Claudius¡¯s father, shouted over the emotional incontinence of the men and women around him.


    The roar quieted to a non-debilitating level, and Tiberius continued, ¡°Whoever has the stone can talk. Everyone else, shut up!¡± He held up a large rock he had pulled from his Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions. It was a familiar prop. The group had used it for the purpose he suggested during contentious discussions before¡ªsuch as when they were arguing whether to stay in the Fisher Kingdom or leave it if James declined to become a Holy King.


    Compared to this situation, that conversation had been relatively calm.


    Still, the group shared a high level of collective respect for Tiberius, who had always been a stabilizing influence in moments of tension between different group members and factions within the group. Wordlessly¡ªalmost as if afraid to speak¡ªthey nodded.


    Claudius¡¯s sister Julia reached out for the stone first, and Tiberius gave it to her with a slight air of reluctance. Claudius guessed that their father was worried he might be perceived as showing favoritism by giving his daughter rather than a non-family member the first chance to speak.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we need to go anywhere,¡± Julia said in a clear and loud but restrained voice¡ªnot yelling, just ensuring everyone could hear her. ¡°The King doesn¡¯t blame us. He said as much outright. He just¡­¡± Her voice trailed off. Everyone was looking at her skeptically, and she wilted under so many hostile eyes.


    A deep brown hand silently extended, and Julia handed over the stone to Caprecia Gray.


    ¡°I agree that he doesn¡¯t blame us,¡± said Gray calmly. ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean we¡¯re out of the woods. The King¡¯s personal opinion isn¡¯t everything, as he pointed out. Franklin Roosevelt never said the Japanese-Americans were at fault for Pearl Harbor, but he still locked them up for the duration of the war.¡±


    Julia reached for the stone again, and Gray kindly gave it back.


    ¡°Yes, Roosevelt did that, but would the Fisher King?¡± she asked.


    Tiberius held his hand out for the stone, then, and his daughter gave it up eagerly, as if it was hot. ¡°We can hope that he wouldn¡¯t, and he¡¯s talking tolerance and protection, but there aren¡¯t any institutional barriers to stop him from doing this,¡± he said simply. ¡°We have to be realistic about this situation. He already mentioned the passions of other citizens could be aroused. That was a warning. We have to be proactive.¡±


    Another hand was already extending for the stone, and Tiberius gave it up to the next man easily.


    ¡°Um, I had something I was going to say,¡± said Andrew Monroe, Rachel¡¯s husband, ¡°but you kind of articulated what I was thinking. The speech was some kind of call to action. A warning. Not just an announcement. The question is what we need to do¡ª¡± He looked at Tiberius¡ª¡°but I have a feeling you had more of an idea than me.¡± Andrew held the stone back out to Tiberius.


    Tiberius took the rock back at the man¡¯s physical prompting, but he didn¡¯t look happy to be holding it. ¡°I have an idea of what I think we should do, but I¡¯d rather hear from more voices first.¡±


    He passed the stone to his left, and Gary Chestnut spoke up. As soon as he opened his mouth, Claudius recognized he was one of the speakers whose voice had carried over the crowd at the very beginning¡ªthe one who had said they needed to ¡°argue their case.¡±


    ¡°I think we need to prepare a public statement on behalf of our small community and ask the King to issue it alongside his announcement about what happened,¡± Gary said. ¡°I would leave the drafting up to someone more eloquent than me¡ª¡± There were a few subdued chuckles at that¡ª¡°and maybe ask the King if he thinks there are other changes to be made. This is his place. These are his people. They¡¯ll probably listen to what he says and enjoy his style of communication more than whatever we come up with.¡±


    He passed the stone to Rachel¡¯s outstretched hand.


    She said, ¡°I don¡¯t think a public statement is a bad idea, but I don¡¯t think it will satisfy people who are legitimately angry either. Imagine if we were in their position, and one of their leaders permanently mutilated one of our guys. If they issued a statement saying something like, ¡®Yes, the Fisher King horrifically burned a believer in your God, and he did it in the name of his creed, but we disavow his actions even though we share the same basic belief system as him. Even though we¡¯re still part of the Fisher Kingdom.¡¯ I know the analogy doesn¡¯t work that well, because he¡¯s a political leader, and we¡¯re a religious group¡ªbut hey, think about the War on Terror. After the Twin Towers came down, a lot of Americans hated Muslims for years. It didn¡¯t matter that the President repeatedly said that Islam wasn¡¯t the enemy and called them a religion of peace. None of that mattered. People saw that their country was attacked by Muslims, and they didn¡¯t trust Muslims.¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    Another woman, Maribel Cruz, reached out, and Rachel handed her the rock.


    ¡°So, is what you¡¯re coming back to that we have to leave? We¡¯re not going to live this down anytime soon, so we need to go back into the wild and take our chances?¡± Maribel asked.


    Another hand reached out for the stone, a very pale and hairy hand, and Maribel quickly gave it up.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t what we already do enough?¡± asked Aiden Parker. He sounded emotionally wrung out by the conversation. ¡°We¡¯ve been contributing to the Kingdom since we got here. Every day, we work to justify our existence here, just like everyone else. We have carpenters and professionals and scientists. All of us took the citizenship oath. We¡¯re not slacking in any way. Why would we have to do something else?¡±


    A dark-skinned male hand took the stone from Aiden¡¯s grasp, almost before he¡¯d gotten through what he had to say.


    ¡°Listen, I agree with your sentiment,¡± said Isaiah Johns. ¡°That¡¯s not how real life works, though. People don¡¯t give you credit for working hard every day if you get accused of something horrible. They judge you. It¡¯s not very Christian¡ªor consistent with the ethics of Islam or Judaism either¡ªbut most people aren¡¯t very good at keeping their principles in mind in situations like this.¡±


    Caprecia Gray reached her hand out, and Isaiah gave her the rock.


    ¡°What I think we need to do is go back to my analogy from earlier,¡± she said gravely. ¡°In the Second World War, the Japanese-Americans didn¡¯t have a way of escaping being held responsible by authority for something they hadn¡¯t done. But they worked to prove their loyalty to the country anyway. Huge numbers of them served in the military, fighting against the Axis.¡±


    Another hand reached out for the stone¡ªJacob Kauffman¡¯s¡ªand Gray gave it up gracefully, though Claudius thought she had more to say.


    ¡°How well did that work out for them?¡± Jacob asked critically. ¡°I seem to remember learning in my history book about ¡®No Japs Allowed¡¯ signs all over the place after World War Two. Seems like they risked their necks to correct public opinion, and it didn¡¯t really work.¡±


    He gave the stone back to Gray, whose fingers opened and closed impatiently while he was finishing his thought.


    ¡°It¡¯s not mainly public opinion we need to worry about,¡± said Gray. ¡°Strange as it is to say, this place is a monarchy. If we show that we¡¯re loyal, we win over some of the public¡ªand we make ourselves look more useful to the only person who gets a vote on public decisions. The Japanese-Americans eventually won the public relations battle. Congress and President Reagan apologized to them. Imagine if they had all sat out the war. There¡¯s no way the leaders of this country would have ever changed their minds about them. Unless we want to actually leave the Fisher Kingdom, some of us have to join the Army or the Expeditionary Force. We have to be conspicuously engaged. That¡¯s the best way that we keep people from thinking we¡¯re a disloyal group.¡±


    She held the stone out for anyone near her to take, but for a few seconds, it seemed no one had anything to say. Gray had stumped most of the people in the crowd.


    Finally, Tiberius reached out and took the rock back from her.


    ¡°I think you¡¯ve given us all a lot to think about,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s undeniable service in the positions the King cares the most about makes our status here more secure. Maybe it¡¯s time for us all to consider what we¡¯re willing to do. If anyone else wants the stone, I don¡¯t have much else to say, but now might be a good time for us to talk among ourselves or just sit silently.¡±


    Tiberius held the rock up halfheartedly, but as he had clearly hoped, there were no takers. The argument for some form of military service had won the day.


    Finally, he set the stone on the ground for anyone who wanted it to be able to take it, and he turned back to his family.


    ¡°Dad, you¡¯re not thinking about going off to join one of those groups, are you?¡± Coriolanus, Claudius¡¯s brother, asked immediately.


    This kicked off a fair amount of quiet chatter in the groups around them, but Claudius could not hear much of it. He was too focused on his family¡¯s discussion.


    ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t I?¡± Tiberius was saying. ¡°Better that this old man should go than for you kids to be risking your lives. I really hope you¡¯ll all stay here. We don¡¯t all need to go.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I will stay,¡± said Coriolanus immediately. ¡°I have alchemy to do.¡±


    Julia had gained the Botanist Job from trying to Identify and gather edible and medicinal plants during Orientation, while Coriolanus had gained the Alchemist Job from attempting to brew the medicinal plants into a usable form. Claudius had attempted what both of his siblings had done, but he failed to gain a Job. It seemed the System only rewarded some people for doing certain things; it judged everyone differently. Perhaps Claudius just lacked the aptitude for either of those fields.


    Coriolanus and Julia had already contributed to the Fisher Kingdom. Julia had worked with the Agricultural Commission to find new plants that they might cultivate or gather for human or nonhuman consumption. Coriolanus had begun developing low-level potions, though they were currently of inferior quality relative to the potions the System distributed.


    This discussion reminded Claudius of how little he had done since he had arrived in the Fisher Kingdom. Even Tiberius had contributed more than him, though he had been a white collar worker¡ªa lawyer¡ªpre-System. Claudius¡¯s father went out fishing regularly since they had settled in the Kingdom, and he usually brought something back. Tiberius had claimed he did it because it was ¡°relaxing,¡± but he was also careful to be seen giving out a share of his catch to fellow citizens.


    I¡¯m the only one who¡¯s useless, just living here eating food, Claudius thought. I don¡¯t know how I had the idea that I could live like this for more than a week¡­


    He knew no one gave anything for free. He should have been thinking harder about how he could contribute.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t want to go, and I don¡¯t want any of you to go,¡± Julia was saying as Claudius returned to the present moment. ¡°We finally made it to a safe place. Do we really have to go?¡±


    ¡°You absolutely don¡¯t,¡± Coriolanus said. Claudius couldn¡¯t fail to notice his brother giving him a sideways look. ¡°You have something important to do here with your Botanist Job.¡±


    ¡°We all have something to offer here,¡± said Tiberius, his words coming out almost in a groan. The old man was clearly tired of this conversation already. ¡°That¡¯s not what this is about.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± said Claudius, surprising himself.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Julia.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have anything to offer,¡± Claudius said, swallowing hard. ¡°I should go.¡±


    It was a marker of how useless he had been since he arrived here, Claudius dimly recognized, that it took almost a full minute before his family members found some objection to what he¡¯d said.


    ¡°You have great potential, son,¡± said Tiberius in a gruff voice, as if holding back some emotion. ¡°I¡¯ve always told you that.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you want to go?¡± Julia asked softly. ¡°I¡¯m afraid¡ªafraid I¡¯ll never see you again.¡± She sounded slightly choked up as she spoke that second sentence.


    Claudius smiled sadly.


    ¡°If I die, it¡¯s nice to know you guys will miss me,¡± he said sentimentally. ¡°I¡¯m definitely going.¡± Claudius made up his mind as he spoke.


    Coriolanus suddenly¡ªalmost violently¡ªpulled his brother in for a hug.


    ¡°If you die, I¡¯m going to take it personally, Claud,¡± Coriolanus whispered angrily.


    I love you, too, Claudius thought.


    But he simply returned his brother¡¯s embrace in silence.


    Anything Claudius could say would only ruin the moment.

 V4Ch41-What Politicians Do

    James curled his arm around Mina as they stepped away from the crowd.


    ¡°That was amazing, skapi,¡± she said. ¡°I don¡¯t know what I expected, but every time I hear you speak in public, I think you were made for this.¡±


    James smiled and wordlessly kissed his wife on the cheek. Her praise meant more than anyone else¡¯s ever could.


    But his mind was already onto the next task.


    As they walked away from the monotheists, he reached out with his mind to the wyverns he had created.


    Before the meeting with the council, he had ordered his wyverns to go and recover the body of Moishe¡¯s companion who had fallen during their journey back to the Fisher Kingdom.


    Now, assuming the mission had succeeded, he wanted all of the wyverns to return to the Fisher Kingdom so that he could decide which ones would go with the Fisher Expeditionary Force, reshuffle their Skills, and perform any other minor preparations he thought of before the monsters left to accompany Alan and Mitzi¡¯s group.


    As he made mental contact with the Great Venom Wyvern, the swiftest of his wyverns thanks to the stats it had gained from Mass Pillage, the creature reported that it had recovered the target. But James was startled to realize that Moishe¡¯s companion was actually still somehow alive. Despite having collapsed before Moishe made it to the Kingdom¡ªdespite lying near death for days¡ªhe had survived long enough to be rescued.


    Moishe will be thrilled, James thought. What the hell are these two made of?


    James knew that he would survive something like being engulfed in flames for a few minutes, but as far as he knew, the man who had accompanied Moishe out of the Valley of the Shadow of Death was a more or less ordinary human. And Moishe, while deadly, was an Assassin¡ªa Class that screamed ¡°glass cannon¡± to James.


    But they both had grit. Perhaps that was the key to surviving these experiences.


    As he sought further details, he heard a voice and had to divide his attention to focus on both interactions.


    ¡°That was a brave speech,¡± Mitzi was saying from just behind James and Mina. ¡°There were moments when I wondered if the crowd might get angry and try to rush the stage.¡±


    ¡°If they did, I could¡¯ve killed every one of them even if I am in an imperfect condition right now,¡± James replied quietly, turning his head to better project his voice backward. ¡°They¡¯re all weaker than the leaders of the group were, and the leaders weren¡¯t that strong anyway. Most of the value they bring is in their future potential if the Kingdom nurtures them, as I intend to try to nurture everyone in my territory.¡± The possibility of a violent reaction was one that he had considered when he was deciding to give such an emotionally fraught speech.


    ¡°I think you¡¯ve frightened some of those people,¡± Alan said carefully, stepping up next to James. ¡°Just based on the sounds of the crowd that I can still hear.¡± They had walked around twenty yards away in relative silence. ¡°It was an excellent speech, but did you intend that result?¡±


    ¡°I did,¡± James said bluntly, giving Alan a thin smile. ¡°I don¡¯t have time to coddle feelings too much. After what we learned from Moishe, I have to push these people. I want to know how they behave under a little pressure. There are a few different ways they could react to what I said¡ªrebellion, immigration, and loyalty¡ªbut only one of those is actually dangerous. If they leave, fine¡ªwhatever, that¡¯s their choice. If they try to rebel, their numbers are puny, and they¡¯re still pretty weak. I can crush them like ants without needing to call on the military. On the other hand, there is a circumstance where the speech I gave binds them more closely to the Kingdom. And I think some of them will end up wanting to show that they¡¯re not like the leaders who demanded that people be left to burn to death.¡±


    Plus, I¡¯ll know if they intend to betray me before they can ever act on it, he thought. Since I don¡¯t intend to leave the Kingdom until my body has recovered from all its recent exertions, I¡¯ll definitely pay attention to what people are saying and doing here. I can see and hear anything I want if it¡¯s happening within the Kingdom¡¯s borders. If some people are plotting against me, maybe the Earth will just swallow them up.


    ¡°Some people understand the threat of violence better than any high moral argument, Alan,¡± said Leo, who now stood off to James¡¯s other side. ¡°Even if they really ought to know it from their own religious principles, it¡¯s better if they understand that their self-interest is really on the side of obeying the authorities in the land where they¡¯ve settled, too. I think James just made sure that none of them will ever stand by watching religious leaders lead people to their deaths again. If he succeeds, it¡¯s more than worth whatever emotional turmoil they experience in the short term.¡±


    Alan thought over what James and Leo had said for a few seconds silently.


    ¡°Well, I think you do have to test them,¡± he murmured finally. ¡°Some of them were involved in what happened to young Moishe. It¡¯s not easy to forget that.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t intend to,¡± James said. ¡°And I¡¯m optimistic you¡¯ll have a few more volunteers for your expedition after this.¡±


    ¡°Hopefully people we can trust,¡± Mitzi said from just behind them. ¡°Considering what you were just saying about rebellion, it doesn¡¯t sound like you have complete confidence.¡±


    ¡°If they try to betray you, my creatures will kill them,¡± James said, half-turning his head to better project his voice in her direction. ¡°I do think you might end up being glad you have some of the monotheists with you, though. I¡¯m optimistic that they can smooth any interactions you might have with their coreligionists. Since your mission is a non-violent one¡ªexploration and ideally acquisition of some resources¡ªI think having some people with a foot in both worlds could end up adding some value.¡±


    He thought of Yulia and her quiet religiosity, as well as her peacemaker personality¡ªthough he hoped he was never in the position of needing her to act as mediator between himself and some religious group.


    ¡°You intended to get them volunteering specifically to join us, then,¡± Alan said. The sentence was structured like it should have been a question, but there was no doubt in the old man¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Correct,¡± James said. ¡°I felt that you should have some additional help.¡±


    Alan nodded. ¡°You manipulated their emotions,¡± he said quietly.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°That is what politicians do,¡± James replied.


    It¡¯s literally my Job.


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Alan said. ¡°Some of your decisions would be too difficult for me to make. I can¡¯t say you¡¯re wrong, though.¡± He shrugged and looked as if he had decided not to worry about it.


    James thought that was a little strange. He recalled a time when he imagined Alan would have criticized him for behaving ruthlessly with the monotheists. But maybe the old man had just been through so much since the world turned upside down that the decency at his core was giving way to pragmatism.


    If so, all the better. He¡¯ll give more actionable advice if those pesky morals are less of a consideration.


    As they continued moving back toward the center of the Kingdom, James went over the information the Great Venom Wyvern had transmitted to him. It did not have any clear grasp over how the human it carried had survived the flames. James didn¡¯t even know the man¡¯s name, because Moishe had skipped over their introduction in the abbreviated flashback of the dream, and the wyverns all lacked the Identify Skill. All the creature could give James were the shallowest details of the man¡¯s condition: he was covered in obvious, severe burns, and both his breathing and heartbeat were incredibly weak.


    ¡°Alan, we¡¯re getting an injured person coming,¡± James said. ¡°The other guy who was with Moishe. It turned out he was still alive.¡±


    ¡°Right, I¡¯ve got plenty of Mana if he needs healing,¡± Alan said immediately.


    James summoned Gupta and Zirndorf through his communication power, too. From the sensory information he was getting from the wyvern, he suspected the new guy would need all the help he could get¡ªespecially because James did not intend to offer further blessings until he was in better condition. He didn¡¯t want to risk prolonging his diminished condition.


    If he just recovered for a bit longer, he knew he would be strong enough to use Blessing of the Fisher King and Dominion without ruining his strength for the remainder of the day. The value of his own power to the Kingdom¡¯s security was greater to him than the value of a slightly speedier recovery for the stranger. It was a harsh calculation, but the growth of the Kingdom through Dominion was obviously much more important than the survival of one man.


    As James and his companions stepped into the courtyard, Gupta and Zirndorf rushed out of their apartments to meet them, breathless, immediately responsive to the King¡¯s command. Although James had requested their presence for a completely legitimate¡ªindeed, potentially a very important¡ªreason, there was something pleasantly exhilarating about knowing that they had come in such a hurry at his beckoning.


    ¡°Thank you for getting down here so quickly,¡± he said. ¡°You have a few minutes before my creature gets here carrying the patient¡ª¡± An idea struck James mid-sentence that he should create a permanent, flying ambulance system using creatures from his skin, but he did not allow it to slow him¡ª¡°so now would be a good time to figure out where to take him and how best to treat him. Whatever you guys did for Moishe should help. This fellow went through the same thing.¡±


    ¡°Another burn victim?¡± Gupta asked. ¡°Was there a second fire, or¡ª?¡±


    ¡°He is burned, yes,¡± James said. ¡°He¡¯s been laying out there, clinging to life all this time.¡±


    James heard Gupta mutter something that sounded suspiciously like ¡°Impossible!¡± and resisted the urge to tell the man of science that the impossible was completely possible in the times that they were living through.


    Instead, James simply stood in silence while Gupta and Zirndorf conferred with each other, gave Alan instructions, and waited for James¡¯s creature to arrive. Mina and James stood nearby, since they both had Laying on Hands and therefore might make themselves useful if the injuries could be partially ameliorated with that Skill.


    And then the Great Venom Wyvern appeared, shooting through the sky like a missile shaped by a demon. As it spotted James and his party on the ground, the King sent a last command to the creature, ordering it to land in a specific spot, set the human down gently, and refrain from harming anyone.


    Its descent was both swift and majestic, reminding James of the dragons of mythology that he thought he had semi-consciously referenced in his mind when shaping the creature.


    Zirndorf and Gupta both visibly stepped back from the monstrous behemoth as it drew close to the ground. They did not narrow the distance until, responsive to a new order, the wyvern took flight once more, leaving the human on the ground.


    Identify.


    Wolfgang Mannheim, Lv. 8.


    At least now James knew a name for the man.


    As he watched Gupta, Zirndorf, and Alan begin their work¡ªa healthy mixture of healing magic and traditional medical practice including the use of bandages and disinfectant¡ªhe saw the man¡¯s eyes fluttering.


    James took a step forward. If Mannheim woke up, he wanted the chance to ask the man how he had survived for so long¡ªif he knew. If James could bottle that sort of resilience and distribute it, his Kingdom would be invincible.


    As the Fisher King took another step toward the stirring man, no one around him reacted. They were all as transfixed by the scene as James, if not more so.


    Mannheim¡¯s eyes finally opened, moved in a frantic fashion up and down, side to side, as if struggling with some painful form of compulsion¡ªand then locked onto James¡¯s own eyes. James now stood directly ahead of Mannheim, just a few feet in front of him¡ªas close as he could get without getting in the actual Healers¡¯ way¡ªand he suddenly had the absurd sense of being in a staring contest with a sick, perhaps dying, man.


    James could feel the man forming the intention to say something¡ªcould see the hands that had laid limp at Mannheim¡¯s side rising and clenching as he tried to focus and get the words out. James saw Mannheim¡¯s lips move¡ªthere was an ¡°F¡± sound in the first word he wanted to say. But then Mannheim¡¯s eyes closed, and his body shuddered.


    ¡°Whoa,¡± James muttered. Then, louder, he said, ¡°Hey, is our guest still alive?¡±


    ¡°Heart still beating,¡± Zirndorf barked, not looking up from his healing work. ¡°If you¡¯re not helping, please back away, sir.¡±


    James listened to him. He stepped back. The hands currently healing Mannheim¡¯s battered body seemed more than enough to him. If someone started to run low on Mana, he would step in.


    Failing that, he would simply watch.


    The emergency application of Laying on Hands lasted for several minutes. It was easy to tell that two of these men had been medical professionals prior to the System¡¯s arrival. They found the places on Mannheim¡¯s body that needed the most attention and were most vital and focused their efforts there, then expanded them to other places, then returned and went over the vital regions again.


    As James observed, he took mental notes¡ªhe never knew when he would be in the position of having to heal other people again. Mina watched, transfixed, too.


    Finally, the process was done. Mannheim was stable enough to be moved, as Gupta briefly explained.


    James and Mina withdrew to their apartment, while Gupta and Zirndorf carried the wounded man away, Alan following close behind them.


    The wyverns entered the master bedroom through the same window they had left through before, though with greater difficulty this time. They seemed to have grown larger.


    The Fisher King quickly read through some of their memories and realized that in addition to Mass Pillaging the bodies of the dead, the Great Venom Wyvern had also eaten the meat from Cyrus and his allies and shared it with its fellows.


    That showed more independent agency than James had been conscious of assigning them, but he took it as a good thing. He was no Doctor Frankenstein to reject his monsters when his experiment had, in fact, succeeded far beyond his expectations.


    James petted each of the creatures appreciatively¡ªit would be good to create positive emotional associations for them with their master, in case he ever lost his complete control over them for any reason¡ªand he began his modifications.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see what you got, beastie,¡± he murmured to the Great Venom Wyvern.


    It had used Mass Pillage to take Stats from most of the monotheists¡ªand Talents from Cyrus Berberian and Christopher Smith.

 V4Ch42-Holy Emissary

    James read the descriptions of the Talent¡ªand consequent Skills¡ªthe Great Venom Wyvern had acquired from Cyrus Berberian, and then he read them again.


    [Holy Emissary: You¡¯ve secured the blessing of a holy entity through your piety and competence. As a result, you have acquired the presence and privileges of a representative of the sacred in the material world. Generates Skills ¡°Summon Divine Helper¡± and ¡°Conflict of Visions.¡±]


    [Summon Divine Helper: Summon a being that possesses divine or semi-divine aura. Requires that the user and summoned entity each use a compatible form of divine or semi-divine power. Consumes Mana.]


    [Conflict of Visions: By the power of a divine entity, bend the mind of another into obedience to the divine mandate. Initiation requires direct eye contact. Only one target at a time. Effectiveness depends on the power of the divine entity whose blessing you possess relative to the target.]


    He chuckled. He already knew what ¡°Conflict of Visions¡± did. It appeared to be a more powerful version of James¡¯s hated ¡°Compulsion¡± Skill. But ¡°Summon Divine Helper¡± could wind up being an interesting Skill.


    While the Talent acquired from Christopher Smith was the fairly commonplace Fire Affinity, the Talent from Cyrus could be valuable indeed, depending on just how this Skill worked.


    ¡°All right, then,¡± he said quietly. ¡°Hester, could you ask Anansi a question for me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡± Hester replied instantly. ¡°What can I do?¡±


    ¡°My monster acquired a Talent and two related Skills from the leader of the monotheists that we killed. ¡®Holy Emissary¡¯ is the Talent, and the Skills are ¡®Summon Divine Helper¡¯ and ¡®Conflict of Visions.¡¯ What I want to know is what I might be able to use ¡®Summon Divine Helper¡¯ for. ¡®Conflict of Visions,¡¯ I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯ve already seen in action.¡±


    ¡°I will let him know what you need, boss!¡± Hester said eagerly. She seemed to be in a good mood. James guessed it was still elevated after having helped him with Moishe earlier.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said. James waited a few seconds, but then he recalled that Hester frequently took longer than he would like to hear back from Anansi. James had been spoiled lately by very quick responses from the Spider God, but that had been related to dealing with his monotheist problem.


    He shouldn¡¯t hold his breath waiting to hear back from the Trickster about the stolen Talent.


    So, James set about doing the other tasks he wanted to do that afternoon.


    He spent time with the children, gave Mina a break from cooking¡ªwhich she had been doing a lot more often lately thanks to James¡¯s incapacity¡ªand after dinner, he followed up on the priorities he had set at his meeting earlier.


    James first visited Harry Luntz to confirm that the Kingdom had enough food to give both the Royal Fisher Army and the Fisher Expeditionary Force provisions.


    He and the leader of the Agricultural Commission spoke in the midst of the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s fields, now more extensive than ever, occupying almost the entire space between the apartment buildings, the alligators¡¯ swamp, and the squirrels¡¯ and bats¡¯ jungle.


    There were densely packed rows of many different plants that James did not recognize immediately, plus corn that blocked some plants from sight and orange tree saplings in the distance¡ªperhaps a marker of the border between the territory of the farm and the swamp.


    The area seemed to grow more plants per square foot than any farm James had ever seen in the pre-System world.


    As Luntz explained, it was this space where most of the manual laborers in the Kingdom spent their days. So many people had been concerned with the food supply when they first arrived in the Fisher Kingdom that the Agricultural Commission still had an excess of workers, more than any other Commission.


    But the actual pace of work seemed very relaxed to James¡¯s eye. He saw people wandering casually up and down rows of plants, weeding and watering¡ªand spraying something from a can that smelled funky to James. Homemade insecticide?


    This did not feel similar to the way farming had been conducted before machinery, at least not as James understood the history. More like these people had taken up gardening as a hobby.


    ¡°Frankly, sir, we have more than sufficient resources to supply your forces and get the Kingdom through the winter,¡± Luntz said, smiling. ¡°The land has been remarkably productive since the System with¡ª¡± He lowered his voice¡ª¡°relatively little effort. I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s because you blessed the soil. The members of the Commission are going to meet and adjust our calculations based on changing crop yield and consumer behavior next week. We¡¯re definitely on track to have sufficient food over the next few months, and a lot of people aren¡¯t taking their full portion of daily rations anyway, since many of them visit Carol¡¯s Dungeon once a week and stock up on food there.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s interesting,¡± James said. He tried to think whether he knew of any negative consequences that could result from the status quo as Luntz described it. But there was no downside he could imagine to having too much food other than people gaining weight¡ªwhich seemed like a quaint concern when many of them were acquiring their groceries by battling a Dungeon.


    It¡¯s impressive how professional the Commission is, honestly. I guess I lucked out getting actual farmers and other experts from before the System who know how to figure out what people need to live on.


    ¡°I like to imagine that people think of it as a slice of normalcy, having a grocery store they can buy their food from,¡± Luntz said. ¡°The ones who don¡¯t have some other occupation to fill their time are competing to climb the ranks of Carol¡¯s leaderboard. A pretty healthy way to fill the time, if you ask me.¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah, that sounds¡ªwait, Carol has a leaderboard?¡±


    ¡°You haven¡¯t been in there lately, then, Your Majesty?¡± Luntz asked.


    ¡°No,¡± James said. ¡°Not since I, um, brought her here.¡±


    ¡°Well, she has a leaderboard set up now,¡± Luntz said. ¡°I understand she acquires more System funding and new features with more people visiting her and fighting their way through the Dungeon. So, she still has the groceries as prizes, but she also has rarer items now than she did even a couple of weeks ago. And she started operating a leaderboard with scores for everyone who visits.¡±


    ¡°Wow. It sounds like fun.¡±


    Am I in the leaderboard? James wondered. He had completed Carol¡¯s Dungeon once, back when it was small and in a different location, so he doubted that he would be included in her ranking. But if he was, he needed to be at the very top¡ªto reinforce that he was the best. For entirely practical and logical reasons, of course.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    ¡°If not for being stuck inside of the Dungeon all the time, I think a lot of the younger folks would be interested in a Dungeon Evolution themselves,¡± Luntz said.


    ¡°Well, it does make you a lot safer,¡± James replied.


    ¡°Yeah, that could be a consideration, too,¡± Luntz said, though he raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°So, you¡¯ve been spending time in the Dungeon yourself, I imagine?¡± James said. It was the only thing that made sense of how much Luntz seemed to know about it.


    ¡°I have to remain in good condition in case we¡¯re needed to fight,¡± Luntz replied. ¡°We live in a world at war, as you yourself have pointed out, sir. And we¡¯re sending the military and a bunch of other able-bodied people and monsters on missions to acquire more territory and explore parts unknown.¡± He gave James a pointed look.


    The Fisher King couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    ¡°I admire the fact that you¡¯re willing to disagree with me so openly,¡± James said. ¡°I need that from people sometimes. But I am confident this is the right path.¡±


    ¡°I understand, sir,¡± Luntz said. ¡°I just wanted to let you know once more where my mind was. Pardon the presumption. It¡¯s just that I know people feel like they¡¯re safe here. That¡¯s why hardly anyone is seriously considering the idea of actually looking to become a Dungeon¡ªthough I think there are one or two who want to follow in Carol¡¯s footsteps. Gamer types from before the System who are just bored now.¡± He shook his head as if he couldn¡¯t understand it. ¡°I think some of them were into the Dragon and Dungeons game?¡±


    ¡°I get it,¡± James said. ¡°I will make sure to let people know the military is away, so they should be on guard. And I intend to create my own early warning system, so we¡¯ll know if something approaches the Kingdom. I think that¡¯s all I can reasonably do, though. If we aren¡¯t securing our borders to the ocean on each side, though, I think we¡¯re asking to be surrounded by enemies again.¡±


    Luntz looked pleased. ¡°I appreciate the reassurance. Letting people know is a big thing. And I don¡¯t want to give the impression that we¡¯re further apart in our views than we actually are. I¡¯ve been thinking about what people were saying¡ªwhy they were kind of piling onto me in the meeting¡ªand I know you¡¯re doing what you have to, for the sake of growth, which in this new world, might mean security. I guess I don¡¯t expect you to actually curtail your ambitions by limiting yourself to expanding until you hit the ocean.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re probably right,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯m thinking the southern half of Florida would be a good stronghold.¡±


    ¡°Or the whole of Florida,¡± Luntz suggested. ¡°Why not?¡± There was a note in Luntz¡¯s voice that suggested that he expected this Kingdom to expand like the Roman Empire¡ªconquering every neighbor in the name of security¡ªand the head of agriculture still felt ambivalent about it.


    James just shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not thinking about that right now,¡± he said. The Ring of Lies burned hot against his fingers, almost painful.


    But its power seemed to work.


    Luntz looked surprised, then nodded slowly.


    ¡°Even though you get power through levels, which require fighting?¡± Luntz asked. ¡°I have to admit, I suspected you would be plotting how to get the most power possible. It might even be a good idea, given the game-like world we live in now. It¡¯s something I¡¯m apprehensive about, but¡ª¡± He shrugged and threw up his hands, expressing as best he could how little either of them could do about the new structure of reality.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s something I will think about,¡± James replied, ¡°but I¡¯m really mainly focused on the Kingdom¡¯s security right now. Getting levels for me is important, but primarily because it helps keep the Kingdom and my family safe.¡±


    This time, the Ring of Lies barely did anything at all, which James found reassuring. He thought he was telling the truth. Almost completely.


    There was a part of him that wanted to play ¡°Risk¡± with the whole world.


    And there was a separate but related part that wanted to pick fights with the strongest beings on the new Earth. Mostly, though, he was just concerned about his people¡¯s safety¡ªand his family¡¯s first and foremost.


    ¡°I appreciate the honesty,¡± Luntz said, smiling earnestly. ¡°Thank you for coming out here to talk, Your Majesty.¡±


    James felt a small twinge of guilt at Luntz¡¯s appreciation. But he just smiled back and shook the other man¡¯s hand.


    He wanted to go and see Alan next, but as he turned to walk away from the fertile fields, he felt the distinctive heat of Hester¡¯s body receiving a message from the Spider God on the back of his ear.


    James quickly returned home to the privacy of his and Mina¡¯s bedroom to hear the message.


    ¡°So, Hester, any news?¡± he asked quietly.


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± she said. Despite the wait between her receipt of the message and her arrival in the apartment, she still sounded drained. James made a note to not use her as a go-between for trivial tasks like this any more than necessary.


    ¡°All right,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m excited to hear it.¡±


    ¡°Well, Lord Anansi said you were asking something slightly vague, but he thought he knew what you were trying to ask. He says you¡¯re a thousand years too early to think of summoning him to help you, sir. More powerful entities require more energy to summon.


    ¡°He figured out that I¡¯d want to try that, huh?¡± James asked sheepishly.


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    ¡°Well, he was right,¡± James admitted. ¡°I was also curious why I didn¡¯t get this summoning Skill when Anansi made me his Chosen One.¡±


    ¡°It seems to be a special power that the tools of the monotheists¡¯ deity receive,¡± Hester said. ¡°Lord Anansi doesn¡¯t know for sure, but he has seen it in action before. In a battle with some other high-ranking angels, eons ago, Satan summoned most of the Kings of Hell. It seemed to take a lot out of him, but they were only a tier below their master in terms of power, and they turned the tide. The Morning Star lived to fight another day.¡±


    ¡°Anansi was just, um, watching that battle, then?¡± James asked. He was having trouble wrapping his head around the concept.


    ¡°Sir, I don¡¯t know if this is going to bother you, but among the gods, Lord Anansi is known to not typically take sides in good versus evil struggles like that,¡± Hester said. She sounded slightly nervous¡ªeven defensive. ¡°I should point out that most of the pantheons don¡¯t fight Satan or the angels either unless they have a good reason to. It¡¯s not that he¡¯s content with evil beings just hanging around, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°Hester, I really don¡¯t care that Anansi doesn¡¯t take sides,¡± James interrupted. ¡°What I was surprised by was that he was that close to a battle that destructive. It sounds a lot like the fall of Satan from Heaven that a lot of people believe happened, and you were talking about it kind of casually, like ¡®Oh, this one time, Anansi saw the angels fighting a battle where Satan was pushed to his limits.¡¯ To me, that just sounded crazy. You know?¡±


    ¡°Oh. Oh, all right. Yes, it is pretty crazy.¡± Hester chuckled. ¡°I sometimes forget how amazing Lord Anansi¡¯s achievements are. Even when he¡¯s avoiding danger and just watching his enemies to see what their weaknesses are, he puts himself in some situations I couldn¡¯t imagine.¡±


    ¡°Watching his enemies?¡± James asked. ¡°Is he enemies with Satan?¡±


    ¡°Oof.¡± Hester made a little sound as if she had shoved her feet into her mouth.


    ¡°Uh, is that something you¡¯re not supposed to talk about?¡± James guessed.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, sir,¡± Hester said.


    ¡°I¡¯ll say no more about it, then,¡± James said. ¡°All right, so I can¡¯t summon Anansi, but I can use the Skill? Is that right?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. You can use it. You have semi-divine power.¡±


    ¡°Because of my Chosen One blessing from Anansi?¡± James asked.


    ¡°Yes, but also because you¡¯re a Ruler,¡± Hester said. ¡°All Rulers possess semi-divine power. That¡¯s why you can give out blessings and curses. And you should be able to summon anyone you¡¯ve blessed. They all have some of your semi-divine energy from the blessing.¡±


    ¡°All right, that sounds pretty good,¡± James said, smiling.


    It was time to try some experiments.

 V4Ch43-Summoning Experiments and Plans

    James first transferred the Skill ¡°Summon Divine Helper¡± from the Great Venom Wyvern to himself.


    The creature did not resist at all, which James found encouraging. Now that he was closer to full power, the wyvern seemed much easier to control, even though the monster had also grown more powerful, acquiring levels and boosting its Stats as a result of the attack on Cyrus and his group.


    It looks like I¡¯ll be able to control them into the indefinite future, he thought.


    Then he called Mina.


    They spent a half hour testing the Skill.


    James first explained what he was doing to Mina, then ordered the Great Venom Wyvern to fly away.


    Then he activated ¡°Summon Divine Helper.¡±


    He figured the Great Venom Wyvern, formerly a part of his own body, would have his semi-divine energy just as much as anyone he¡¯d blessed.


    James got a vision of a specific motion his body needed to make as soon as he activated the Skill¡ªclasping his hands as if in prayer. He moved accordingly, then stood in place for a few silent minutes, waiting for something to happen.


    ¡°I don¡¯t feel anything,¡± he said finally. ¡°Maybe I don¡¯t know how¡ª¡±


    With a sudden whooshing sound, the Great Venom Wyvern suddenly appeared in the air in front of James, still flapping its wings as if it was in the middle of the sky. It barely registered its surroundings in time to avoid colliding with a wall.


    At the same time, James felt a large hunk of his Mana disappear.


    What was that, ten percent just to summon this thing? he thought.


    It was slightly disappointing, but James reasoned that the Skill would become more efficient with levels. All that was needed was repeated use, which also fit with the other goal he had in mind: using Mina¡¯s ¡°Quick Study,¡± he hoped she would learn the Skill by observation.


    James ordered the wyvern to fly away again, and this experiment repeated multiple times. James let the monster get further away each time, but the Skill leveled up with repeated use. There was a slight drop in Mana required with levels, though it was far from what James would have found ideal. By the end, even when he had allowed the wyvern to fly for twenty minutes, it took roughly the same amount of Mana to summon back that he had expended on the first effort.


    At that point, Mina started pumping her fist.


    ¡°Yes! I got it!¡± she exclaimed.


    The couple hugged, and James lifted her into the air and twirled her.


    Then they proceeded with another experiment.


    This time, James ordered the wyvern to fly away, and Mina attempted to summon it. The summoning took as long as it had taken James the first time he tried it, and this time, he was able to see what it really looked like.


    Mina¡¯s body did not show any outward sign that she was using Mana during the summoning process¡ªit just looked like she was praying with a determined expression¡ªuntil the end. At that point, a bunch of gently golden energy poured off of her.


    ¡°Fu¡ªugh¡ªoh, fudge¡­¡± Mina groaned and panted, clutching the side of her head, as the surge of Mana deserted her.


    A little part of James wanted to laugh at his wife¡¯s pseudo-cursing¡ªhe was pretty certain she had actually wanted to say ¡°fuck¡± there. Her willpower had kept her from it, and there was always something disarming, cute, and funny about that. She was so ladylike.


    But his mild instinctive amusement at that was heavily outweighed by immediate concern for her well-being.


    ¡°Are you okay, Mina?¡± he asked, stepping in closer.


    She raised a hand. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± she said, still breathing heavily. She looked paler than usual.


    ¡°You don¡¯t seem fine,¡± he said.


    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t have your Mana reserves,¡± she said. ¡°But I¡¯m still standing.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯ll be able to use the summoning,¡± he said. ¡°It makes me feel safer letting you train outside of our territory, even if I¡¯m not around.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still thinking about what Bear said, then, aren¡¯t you?¡± she asked.


    ¡°That part of it was definitely good advice,¡± James replied.


    He remembered Bear¡¯s words vividly, perhaps because James had been preoccupied with Mina¡¯s safety even before the strange, all too knowing masked figure appeared in their lives.


    ¡°You cannot always be standing by your wife¡¯s side, ready to offer your protection. You have to allow her to face real dangers and grow, not sit on your property or fight only in your tamed dungeon.¡±


    There was still a vision of the future hanging over their heads¡ªa vision of Mina¡¯s death.


    ¡°Yes, he made some good points¡­¡± The tone of Mina¡¯s voice reminded James of how stung she had been by Bear¡¯s assessment.


    It wasn¡¯t exactly fair to her, the way Bear had dismissed her as weak¡ªbut fair or not, it was somewhat true. She was very weak compared with James or anyone who could be considered his peer. She had a Skill that could allow her to grow exponentially, but she had not been in any situation that demanded that kind of improvement since Orientation.


    Most likely, she was not even the most powerful human besides himself in the Fisher Kingdom. Damien had been continuously growing stronger, fighting alongside Luna and her wolf pack. Zora¡¯s powers were clearly incredibly potent for combat, too, though it was hard to compare the ability to create undead with more directly destructive Skills. There were probably others who were improving by leaps and bounds, too.


    He broached the subject carefully. He didn¡¯t want to call her weak when she already felt bad about it.


    ¡°I think you and I should leave the Kingdom and go fight some monsters together once we make sure everything with the Army and the Expeditionary Force is taken care of,¡± James said. ¡°Strange as it sounds, it could be a version of quality time¡ªin this weird, messed up world the System built.¡±The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Mina smiled but then frowned. ¡°I would love to spend quality time with you, skapi, but I don¡¯t feel quite right leaving Yulia and the children alone while we have fun. She¡¯s been watching them whenever we do anything. Her whole social life revolves around the kids now. She wouldn¡¯t complain about it, but I think she needs a break.¡±


    ¡°Okay, how about we take her with us? We can ask Leo and Hilda to watch Junior, and soon the rest of the kids will be in school.¡± James silently prayed that she would not suggest taking Junior with them. As much as he loved family time, there was no way he could protect Mina, Yulia, and Junior if they were in dangerous territory. He didn¡¯t want to be put in a situation where one of them would be endangered because he had to divide his attention too finely.


    ¡°That sounds great,¡± Mina said. ¡°We already know we can trust Leo¡ªand I guess Hilda is okay, too?¡±


    James shrugged. ¡°I assume they¡¯ll babysit together if they agree to do it. Leo is the one I imagine we would ask, since you know him better than I know Hilda.¡±


    ¡°Wonderful!¡± Mina exclaimed in instantly-translated Bulgarian. ¡°Before I forget, the mention of Bear reminded me of something.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t he predict Moishe would reappear?¡± she asked. ¡°As much as I hate to give the masked man credit, he said someone would show up who would validate what he said about the monotheists¡ªand then Moishe appears.¡±


    James reluctantly nodded. I completely forgot.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right,¡± he said. ¡°I wonder how he knew.¡±


    ¡°He won¡¯t tell us if we ask,¡± Mina said, ¡°or he would have revealed it already. But he does know things that seem impossible. Maybe you should talk to him again.¡± She sounded as though she disliked speaking those words, and she wrinkled her nose at the end of her last sentence.


    James snorted and then kissed the tip of her nose.


    Mina let out a little laugh of her own.


    ¡°What was that for?¡± she asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying the things you don¡¯t want to say, because you think I need to hear them,¡± James said. ¡°That¡¯s why you¡¯re my top advisor.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right. Well, don¡¯t you forget it!¡± she said with mock seriousness.


    They kissed.


    ¡°I will go and see Bear after I see our brave troops off,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯m sure he approves of that move, or he would have already materialized from out of nowhere and given me ninety-nine reasons why I shouldn¡¯t do it. Or, more accurately, a few vague reasons that would feel true.¡±


    ¡°So, what he told you so far all felt true?¡± Mina asked.


    James guessed that she was still nettled about Bear¡¯s remarks toward her.


    ¡°Do you actually want me to answer that question?¡± he asked.


    She thought for a moment, then slowly shook her head.


    ¡°Not if you don¡¯t think I would,¡± she replied carefully.


    James had thought not. Even in marriage, sometimes the art of diplomacy was in what you knew not to say.


    The rest of the evening passed peacefully. There were no more experiments. James and Mina spent the time with their family, telling stories and playing endless rounds of ¡°Sorry!¡± with Abhi and Yulia. Even little Indira tried to join in the game, though she just moved her piece wherever she wanted to without regard for the rules.


    The highlight of the evening was when, after Mina had set Junior down on the floor to take her turn, the baby managed to crawl away¡ªwhich, Mina assured James, was highly premature.


    They only half paid attention through the next hour, as they expected Junior to perform some other minor miracle¡ªbut he just crawling, with surprising energy, until they decided that was probably going to be the only magic trick he performed that evening.


    James tucked the children into bed with a story Abhi had chosen. This was an Arthurian legend¡ªthe boy loved those¡ªthis time about the Holy Grail. James only remembered midway through the story that it was also the story of his namesake, the Fisher King.


    As had happened often before, Abhi fell asleep before the tale could reach its conclusion.


    Such a strange story, James thought.


    Before he and Mina went to sleep, he instructed the wyverns that they could hunt for as much food as they wanted to eat but should remain close to the Kingdom. He knew that they might be wanted at any moment to depart for destinations unknown.


    When dawn broke, James reached out with his senses, just to detect if the Rogets were awake in their apartment. He very carefully avoided actually seeing or hearing anything moving in their space, but he confirmed that they were up already.


    Mitzi was in the kitchen, while Alan was in the living room.


    James walked over. It was time to ask them when the Fisher Expeditionary Force would be ready to depart.


    ¡°Today, this morning,¡± Alan said as soon as the pleasantries had been exchanged and the question was out of James¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°We¡¯re just eating a last meal in the apartment before we go,¡± Mitzi said. ¡°The Electricity Commission members were eager to get started.¡±


    ¡°I think they¡¯re very excited about hopefully getting the Internet back,¡± Alan said, shrugging.


    James felt the same way that Alan apparently did. He didn¡¯t really get the attraction of the Internet when they now lived in a literal magical world.


    ¡°Whatever gets them to march out and survey the territory,¡± James said. ¡°You have all the supplies you need?¡±


    ¡°Mr. Luntz and his partners dropped them off with us last night, after your chat with him,¡± Alan said, patting his bag¡ªwhich showed no signs that he was carrying enough food for a small army.


    ¡°Great,¡± James said. ¡°Do you mind if I announce it? I¡¯ll check with Dave when he¡¯s leaving, too, but I think it would be great if you guys got some fanfare on the way out.¡±


    Alan smiled. ¡°Sure, James. Whatever you¡¯d like.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see you on the other side,¡± Mitzi said. She put an arm around James¡¯s shoulder and squeezed him gently. ¡°We¡¯re looking forward to the adventure. Thank you for trusting us.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± James said. ¡°I appreciate the two of you volunteering. It¡¯s important to me to have people I can trust in charge of a mission this important.¡±


    Next, James reached out with his land-related senses and located Dave.


    He was surprised to find that the Captain was already outside, walking the outskirts of the Kingdom. And Dave wasn¡¯t alone. A dozen of his soldiers were with him.


    James rushed to meet Dave before he and the squad accompanying him could leave the borders of his domain. He sent a quick message to let Dave know he was coming, just so that he would not have to chase him and his people outside of the Kingdom.


    The conversation was a short one.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re not ready to leave quite yet?¡± James verified.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, sir,¡± Dave said. ¡°Since we¡¯re moving quite a large force, a few leading members of the coalition understandably had some last preparations they wanted to do. And I thought that since we had a day or two before the group would be ready, I would take a small group and hunt down some more of those feral hogs. We¡¯ll get some extra meat for the journey.¡±


    ¡°That sounds good,¡± James said, nodding. ¡°I¡¯ll just make the announcement to the Kingdom about the Expeditionary Force leaving, then. Good luck on your hunt.¡±


    Dave smiled. ¡°It should be fun,¡± he said.


    James watched him and the other soldiers until they had vanished into the woods, walking beyond the borders of the Fisher Kingdom and into the gentle shadows cast by the tree canopy in the morning light.


    Then he walked back into the main inhabited area of the Fisher Kingdom.


    Alan, Mitzi, and their motley crew of humans rounded out by a small number of nonhumans of various types were already gathered in the courtyard, ready to leave. The mood in the air was one of excitement.


    James smiled at them, waved, and began his announcement.


    [Citizens of the Fisher Kingdom, on this morning, a party of intrepid explorers gathers to lead a pioneering expedition out of the Kingdom¡­]

 V4Ch44-Intrepid Explorers

    [Citizens of the Fisher Kingdom, on this morning, a party of intrepid explorers gathers to lead a pioneering expedition out of the Kingdom. They stand ready in the courtyard now, giving the Kingdom one last look before they set out to scout the western frontier. If you come down, or simply look to a window that faces the courtyard, you can see them: these brave men and women, humans and nonhumans alike, all citizens of the Fisher Kingdom off to risk their lives to discover what has become of the rest of the land we once called Florida. Now is your chance to say your goodbyes and wish them well!]


    James¡¯s words felt rather stirring to Alan.


    When the old man had noticed his hairline beginning to return to its more youthful state after he had received James¡¯s blessing, he¡¯d had several reactions. He brushed it off at first, then wondered if he was going mad, and finally accepted it once he realized the same thing was happening to Mitzi. Soon, he allowed himself to enjoy the effects.


    It was nice to experience his bodily functions working the way they were supposed to work. To exercise without quickly becoming breathless. To wait and not be tired by waiting. To trust himself¡ªto feel capable of defending himself and Mitzi¡ªthough he knew that feeling was more of an illusion than a reality. Alan estimated he was as strong as he had been ten years ago, which would be a miracle if he got into a fight with a pre-System human. But now it simply meant he was slightly harder for the world¡¯s monsters to kill.


    There had been a bit of a crisis of faith¡ªit felt, absurdly, like a refutation of the simple religion Alan had taken for granted his whole life. James, totally disconnected from the God of the Bible, had performed what was obviously a miracle. There had never been any comparable reverse-aging miracle performed in the Scripture as Alan recalled it.


    But he had forced himself to stop worrying and accept it.


    The tantalizing gift of a second youth was too exciting a prize for him to reject it or even to sincerely bemoan receiving it. Unknown to Alan, this was the birth of a second faith within himself, a sort of pagan belief. An alternative source of miracles from that espoused by his old religion had been identified¡ªand willingly accepted.


    For all the strange, conflicting, and wonderful feelings he had experienced since James had reversed his aging, however, this morning was the first time Alan truly felt like a young man again.


    It was what he had anticipated feeling. A major part of why he had agreed to Mitzi¡¯s idea of leading this expedition.


    Intrepid explorers, he thought. His hand tightened around Mitzi¡¯s. She smiled at him, and her thumb caressed the back of his hand. Yes, we are.


    This was what it meant to be young. He had almost forgotten it. To gamble everything, to be capable of daring everything and physically following through with the dare. To try to achieve greatly, even where it might mean taking a foolish risk¡ªand potentially throwing one¡¯s life away in the process.


    Yes, this was youth. It was real, Alan had a taste of it back again, and he would eagerly take what more he could get.


    His second summer was here.


    No, that wasn¡¯t quite right.


    He pulled his wife close, and she returned the gesture with an arm wrapped tightly around his waist.


    Their second summer was here.


    Then a small torrent of Fisher Kingdom citizens came out to celebrate them. There was no other way to put it. These people were there to admire them and ask them questions¡ªto bask in the glory of the adventure that Alan and the others were setting out on.


    They weren¡¯t even there to see James. The Fisher King stood at a distance and gave the Expeditionary Force plenty of room to engage with the crowd. He looked very pleased with the turnout.


    Around fifty people had quickly exited the buildings, while dozens more could be seen looking down from windows. They waved and smiled if one made eye contact with them.


    The observers significantly outnumbered the Expeditionary force, which had only thirty-odd members.


    The outside group was overwhelmingly young people, children and teenagers accompanied by parents and a smaller number of adults in whom the spirit of adventure was clearly alive and well.


    Alan felt again how potentially foolhardy the venture was¡ªand how romantic, in a sense.


    I suppose I¡¯m Don Quixote. If this youth deserts us at a key moment¡ªbut why was he thinking of that? Perhaps it was because James was the Fisher King. A Ruler whose legend established that his Kingdom¡¯s health was directly connected to his own.


    But James¡¯s personal health seemed quite stable.


    Alan shook his head. What am I worrying about?


    The Fisher King was much stronger than any life form Alan and Mitzi had ever encountered, and he was surrounded by allies in his own territory. Even if his continued well-being was connected to Alan and Mitzi¡¯s improved physical condition, James was far from being in danger.


    Alan felt a tug at his pants leg, and he looked down, pulled suddenly back to the present moment. A redheaded boy, around eight or nine years old¡ªthough Alan was less good at guessing children¡¯s ages since it had been so long since he and Mitzi had raised theirs¡ªstared up at him.


    ¡°Mister, um, they said that you¡¯re leading the expe¡ªuh, expedition!¡± He sounded proud of saying the word correctly. ¡°Is that right?¡± the child asked.


    Alan nodded and furrowed his brow, curious what the child would want.


    ¡°I was out there when one of the flying monsters found me and brought me back,¡± the boy explained. ¡°It was scary. But he kept me safe!¡±


    The child held out a little G.I. Joe figure from behind his back. He extended his arm in the universal sign of offering something up.


    Alan smiled. It was a moving gesture. For a moment, he wondered what words he could use to politely refuse the boy¡¯s offer.


    Then he decided to accept the toy.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said quietly, reaching down.


    As he grabbed the arm of the action figure, the little boy continued to hold tightly to its body for a moment.


    ¡°There¡¯s just one thing,¡± the kid said. ¡°You have to bring him back, okay? He¡¯ll keep you safe, but I need him after that.¡±


    The old man suppressed a laugh. ¡°Of course. What¡¯s your name, young man?¡±


    ¡°Olly,¡± the boy said, blinking as if he had somehow expected Alan to just know who he was.


    [Quest unlocked: A Boy¡¯s Hopes!]


    An alert appeared and startled Alan slightly, but he kept his reaction controlled.


    ¡°That¡¯s an excellent name,¡± Alan said. ¡°I¡¯m Alan.¡± He squeezed the boy¡¯s shoulder gently. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure I get this back to you.¡±


    The boy smiled and then rushed back away from Alan toward an older couple who stood at the periphery of the crowd, surrounded by little ones. They didn¡¯t resemble any of the children, and Alan guessed they were among those who had volunteered to adopt some of James¡¯s found orphans.


    He made eye contact with the father and mother in turn and gave them a respectful nod and a smile. They smiled back, and the father gave Alan a crisp salute. He was probably a veteran.


    Though I guess everyone here is a veteran now, Alan thought.


    He looked down at the G.I. Joe in his hand and smiled bittersweetly.


    Somehow, all of this reminded him of Afghanistan.


    Well, it was no mystery. He had gone off to that war, and the people¡¯s reactions to him and his friends leaving had been similar.


    He shook his head. This wouldn¡¯t end the way that had. This was a journey of exploration, and James was a conqueror. He had the clarity that the War on Terror had lacked for most of its duration¡ªalthough it had felt simple and clear enough at the time.


    ¡°Ready to go?¡± Mitzi asked, laying a gentle hand on his arm.


    Alan realized he had been staring at his new G.I. Joe for a while now, and he tucked it into the waistband of his belt.


    Let the little boy see that I¡¯m keeping it close. He could put it away when they were well out of sight.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± he said. The rest of the crowd had calmed down and now stood at a respectful distance from the Expeditionary Force, waiting for them to leave.


    ¡°Fisher Expeditionary Force, face toward the jungle!¡± Alan commanded.


    That represented the western border of the Kingdom and the explorers¡¯ route out. Dave had asked Amalia to scout the road that Alan and his companions had arrived by weeks earlier, but she had found that in a few miles, it intersected another Ruler¡¯s aura, so Alan, Mitzi, and the Electricity Commission leadership had planned another route.


    Everyone turned as Alan had ordered. The moves didn¡¯t have military precision, but they did not need to. The group was listening. The journey was off on the right start.


    ¡°Forward, march!¡± Alan barked.


    They marched, and they maintained a loose formation: Alan and Mitzi in the lead, the main leaders of the Electricity Commission directly behind them, and the rest of the group in a trapezoidal shape. The few proficient physical combat fighters were positioned on the outside edges of the group with their shields and armor at the ready, while the squishier magic-users remained within the safety of the trapezoid.


    This lasted at least until they were out of sight of the children of the Fisher Kingdom who had been so excited to see them march out.


    As they entered the jungle, the thick copses of trees made it harder to keep formation, but they remained in small groups that were in close proximity, always at least within sight of each other and the heads of the formation.


    Alan decided he had to be satisfied with that until they made their way onto more open ground.


    He was slightly more bothered by the fact that he could not see the wyverns through the thick canopy overhead, but he assumed they were there. They had left the courtyard at the same time as the Expeditionary Force, and they were a major part of the group¡¯s defenses. James would not allow the Fisher Expeditionary Force to be lost or even endangered while they were still close to home.


    As the Expeditionary Force moved deeper into the jungle, shapes dropped from the trees.


    Little bats and squirrels, the offspring of the adults Alan and Mitzi had seen in meetings¡ªsome of whom were even in the Fisher Expeditionary Force¡ªhopped down to greet the unfamiliar life forms. Humans and Goblins were more or less new to them, and Alan made sure to set the example by being friendly.


    ¡°Nice to meet you little fellows,¡± he said, crouching to make eye contact with a tiny reddish squirrel person that had eyes that seemed to take up half of its head.


    The two-foot tall squirrel person¡ªnot counting its tail¡ªheld up a fruit Alan had never seen before. The red fruit looked juicy and ripe.


    ¡°Is that for me?¡± he asked.


    The squirrel person nodded eagerly, apparently not trusting its voice to speak.


    Alan accepted it gently from the squirrel¡¯s hands¡ªpaws?¡ªand took a big bite, ready to make a show of enjoying it. But to his surprise, he didn¡¯t have to. The strange fruit was unexpectedly juicy and delicious.


    Did the squirrels discover a new fruit? he wondered.


    ¡°Mm, thank you so much,¡± he said, rubbing his small stomach. ¡°That¡¯s delicious!¡±


    All around him, the other members of the group¡ªincluding some humans who had probably never seen a monster in a non-threatening context before¡ªaccepted a rainbow of fruits from the young squirrels and bats that stood at the periphery of the group.


    The other Expeditionary Force members, both human and nonhuman, had similar reactions to Alan¡¯s. The jungle residents seemed to have decided to share some of their best snacks.


    Alan was reminded by the youthful presences that he had a quest to review. He hadn¡¯t gotten an alert like that from the System since it told him to survive Orientation¡ªand that he had successfully survived Orientation.


    He resolved to take a look at it as soon as they reached an appropriate resting place.


    For the next several minutes, he and the other pioneers thanked the squirrels and bats and showed them physical displays of affection. One Expeditionary Force member started petting a little bat, and the rest couldn¡¯t resist doing the same with the other young creatures.


    Alan had a moment of doubt¡ªof wondering if this would be inappropriate or condescending in some way, as it would if some stranger had approached his young children. But then he gave up on the idea of possibly opposing something everyone around him seemed to be enjoying, and he started stroking the red squirrel person¡¯s fur.


    After a brief period of this, he got the group to move on.


    It was when they had reached the edge of the jungle¡ªand therefore the border of the Fisher Kingdom¡ªthat Alan called a halt so that people could rest before they began their true journey. He finally read the quest.


    [A Boy¡¯s Hopes: You accepted an emotionally significant gift from a child, with the promise of returning it to him at the conclusion of a journey. Complete the journey and fulfill your promise. Reward for Quest Success: Acquisition of a new Job; inspiring a child in a way that may last a lifetime. Penalty for Failure: Send the child down a darker path.]


    The System thinks it can define the whole course of a human¡¯s destiny now? Alan thought. If I fail, I send the child ¡°down a darker path.¡± Really? He was disturbed at first, though his mind immediately began to reframe it.


    The System had just been stating a fact when it told Alan that he needed to survive Orientation. Maybe that was what it was doing here.


    Perhaps the System was simply recognizing that an opportunity existed¡ªthat this child, at this particular moment in his life, was unusually susceptible to Alan¡¯s influence for good or ill. It did observe them all the time, considering that it awarded humans experience for anything it considered important and never seemed to miss an opportunity to do so.


    If that was correct, he had to accomplish the quest. Olly was counting on him.

 V4Ch45-Beyond the Fisher Kingdom

    Mitzi and Alan called an end to the break, and the group began to move forward.


    As the Fisher Expeditionary Force finally advanced beyond the borders of the Fisher Kingdom, they could sense as the aura of the Fisher King himself faded away with a sudden sensation that reminded Mitzi of a change in air pressure.


    I can almost feel my ears pop, she thought. It¡¯s like we¡¯ve been in James¡¯s territory forever. Somehow, the air outside has turned a little strange. Hasn¡¯t it?


    But ¡°strange¡± didn¡¯t quite cover it.


    Mitzi searched her mind for the right word. Was it scary? It certainly felt less secure out here. The world outside is unsettled, she decided. Unpredictable.


    The only trace of James¡¯s presence remaining was in the floating shadows of the wyverns that moved along with the crowd now that they had stepped out of the jungle¡¯s thick canopy cover.


    Those monsters would hopefully provide some protection, but it was not the same as walking around in the Fisher Kingdom. Mitzi determined that she would need to pay more attention to her surroundings now. She looked around and took careful appraisal of the environment. They had stepped out of the jungle, but the new territory they found themselves in was far from bereft of trees.


    Rather, the Expeditionary Force had simply shifted from a tropical setting to a pine forest.


    The soil was slightly sandy and somewhat dry. It grew scattered but thick tufts of grass. There were crunchy bits of pine needle scattered randomly about.


    But the dominant feature of the new environment was the pine trees. The pines towered over everything, extending to around two hundred feet tall, topped with dense crowns of needles that cast large chunks of their surroundings into thick shadow. The trees looked thicker and taller than Mitzi remembered any local trees having been before the System, though the sight of the thick, scaly, reddish-brown bark felt familiar.


    The System probably super-sized the trees, just like the animals.


    There was a distant sound floating through the air, but Mitzi¡¯s conscious mind barely noted it. She was more focused on the titanic trees.


    Mitzi wondered for a moment if the plants were intelligent, as many of the animals seemed to be now¡ªbut she quickly dismissed the thought as silly. She had seen talking wolves, a talking bat, an incessantly talking squirrel, a talking alligator, and a talking mole, but never a talking tree.


    ¡°Everyone try to stay together in the well-lighted places!¡± Alan yelled, breaking Mitzi¡¯s focus on the pines. ¡°We don¡¯t know what sort of creatures live in this place. Use the buddy system.¡±


    Mitzi self-consciously pulled closer to her husband. He put his arm around her shoulders, and for a few minutes, the whole group simply advanced into the pine forest in near silence. Mitzi had enough time simply quietly observing her surroundings to note that one of the Electricity Commission members appeared to be drawing a map¡ªor something that would later be composited into a map.


    The world has changed so much that we need new maps, she thought. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if this area specifically has shifted again by the time we return¡ªperhaps so drastically that his notes on this place will be useless.


    Mitzi said nothing, however. It was a good way for the young man to keep busy, whether it would ultimately be useful to the group or not.


    As they stepped further into the pine forest, Mitzi began to hear a sound of drumming. It had been too distant and indistinct for her to really notice it before, but now it grew more defined. She and Alan exchanged a look as soon as the noise became clear.


    ¡°What do you suppose that is?¡± he asked quietly.


    ¡°It sounds like drumming,¡± she said uncertainly. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine it¡¯s the ¡®Little Drummer Boy,¡¯ though.¡±


    Alan chuckled. ¡°No, I think not. Maybe¡ª¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± Mitzi squeezed his arm and stood stock-still for a moment, mouth slightly agape. ¡°No, I think I know what it is now. I¡¯ve just never heard so many at once before.¡± Even in their current circumstances, she felt a sense of wonder at this new world they were mapping.


    The tapping sound was more than one drummer; that was clear by this point.


    ¡°Well?¡± Alan asked.


    ¡°Woodpeckers,¡± she said, swallowing.


    Probably monstrous woodpeckers that eat human flesh. She didn¡¯t need to vocalize that thought. She saw it on Alan¡¯s face.


    ¡°Maybe I should take a few of the Expeditionary Force members and see what¡¯s ahead,¡± he said slowly. ¡°If we can spot where the monsters are¡ª¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare, Alan,¡± Mitzi said in a low voice. ¡°You are not leaving me behind if you go anywhere, certainly not to go and take a look at some feral woodpeckers. There¡¯s no point in scouting, anyway.¡±


    ¡°No point in scouting?¡± Alan asked, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t feel something like James when we entered this area,¡± Mitzi said. ¡°The territory owner¡¯s aura. If there was something terribly monstrous here, it would have a presence like James, right?¡±


    Alan rubbed his chin. ¡°Right, maybe we should just keep walking straight through,¡± he said. ¡°They might not be aggressive, and if there¡¯s no Ruler, we might be okay even if they are.¡±


    ¡°I think so,¡± Mitzi said optimistically.


    Her husband raised his voice and called out another command to the group. ¡°It sounds like it¡¯s woodpeckers in the trees out there, so keep your eyes peeled for birds on the sides. We have no reason to think they¡¯re aggressive yet, so don¡¯t be the first to start a fight. We don¡¯t know if we¡¯re outnumbered, and we¡¯re in their territory. We¡¯re the trespassers.¡±


    There were murmurs of understanding from those around them, and the group packed a bit closer together.


    As they marched further into the pine forest, the sound of the drumbeat intensified until it felt like the drummers were right on top of them. Then Mitzi saw the first woodpecker.


    It was around two feet tall¡ªlarger than any woodpecker she had ever seen in her life. Almost as large as an eagle, cloaked in black and brown plumage mottled with white spots. Its head featured black and white racing stripes. The creature was tapping a slow, gentle beat onto one of the titanic pine trees.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Mitzi saw its head turn slightly toward the group, and the woodpecker then altered the tempo of its drumbeat. The tapping stepped up, moving just a little faster, and Mitzi heard what sounded like answering taps from deeper in the forest. It made her slightly nervous. The creature wasn¡¯t moving in their direction, but it was communicating. How many of these monsters would there be?


    Did woodpeckers always come with such deadly equipment? That beak looked like it could easily be used to peck out someone¡¯s eyes or throat, not just drill a hole in a tree.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s warning the rest of them,¡± she whispered in Alan¡¯s direction.


    ¡°That¡¯s just fine,¡± Alan replied in a calming tone. ¡°We come in peace. I don¡¯t think the fact that we¡¯re crossing needs to be a secret. With these things floating in the sky, we were never going to be able to hide our presence anyway.¡±


    Despite his reassuring words, he also tightened his grip around her shoulders slightly. Whatever Alan said, he was at least a little nervous too.


    As they crossed the forest, it was impossible to miss the sound of drumming slowly intensifying. The number of woodpeckers banging away at the trees around them gradually increased, too.


    Was this a mistake? Mitzi wondered. If we can¡¯t even make it through someplace that doesn¡¯t have a Ruler to defend it, how will we ever get anywhere?


    By this point, the slight edge of anxiety had infected everyone around Alan and Mitzi. The Warrior and Rogue types had begun loosening their weapons in their sheaths. The Mages were quietly chanting to themselves, keeping their Mana at the ready in case the group were to suddenly come under attack.


    It wasn¡¯t until the group stepped into a small clearing that Mitzi felt certain they were in trouble, though.


    The trees at the edges of the clearing appeared almost to be growing feathers, they were so thickly covered in woodpeckers. There had to have been hundreds of them, perhaps thousands, all pecking away. The sound as the group stepped into the open space was almost deafening, and after a moment¡¯s hesitation, Mitzi gave in to her instinct and covered her ears.


    As more and more of the group members covered their ears, the Fisher Expeditionary Force gradually came to a stop. Everyone looked at everyone else. No one could hear what anyone was saying, and the sense of cohesion that had held the group since Alan began issuing his orders seemed to have been broken.


    Then the cacophony came to a sudden stop.


    Mitzi turned from looking at the group to face the woodpeckers again. She noticed more details now. Some of them had a small, red stripe on their head, while others did not have that small marking as far as she could see.


    The birds all opened their wings in unison, and Mitzi had to wonder if they had telepathic powers. Then the woodpeckers took flight in a massive, collective movement that removed all doubt. The species had some non-verbal means of communication.


    She focused on a random bird and used Identify.


    Red-Cockaded Woodpecker, Lv. 7 (Female)


    As she got the species name and the individual¡¯s level, the specimen she had focused on was swept away from her field of view in a massive flood of flapping wings and black, white, and brown feathers. The birds were moving as one, so close that they looked like a single organism¡ªif that organism was large and supple enough to make a wave out of its own body.


    With the relative quiet of the flight¡ªit sounded like a number of large, industrial fans running at once, but it was practically silent compared to the birds¡¯ pecking¡ªit was possible to speak again, and Alan began clearing his throat beside Mitzi. She could not imagine what he would say to the mass of feathers and muscle that floated through the air before them, but anything would be better than just standing back and watching the woodpeckers continue to writhe in the air. Inaction would lead to violence here.


    The other members of their party were clearly growing antsy. At any moment, Mages might start flinging magical attacks. They were all looking to Alan, but his eyes were focused on the threat in front of them.


    He opened his mouth to speak, but another voice beat him to it.


    ¡°Humans.¡± The sound seemed to emanate from everywhere and nowhere, as if rather than speaking from their mouths or vocal chords, the woodpeckers spoke with a single collective voice¡ªa voice that emerged from an immaterial place. ¡°Destroyers of the pine forests, ravagers of our natural home. What do you want here that you have not already taken?¡±


    Eco-warrior birds, huh? Mitzi thought, slightly amused despite herself. The natural world had taken back the whole of Florida, from what she had seen. If they still had a grievance against humanity, it could only be about wrongs that were now long in the past.


    ¡°We are only passing through,¡± Alan called back immediately in a loud, firm voice. ¡°We wish to cross your forest peacefully. We have no desire to take anything from here. We have not harmed a single living creature since we entered this place.¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± the disembodied voice growled. ¡°The descension must deliberate. Please wait.¡±


    They sound surprisingly cordial.


    Despite the relative calm of the descension¡¯s collective voice, the woodpeckers¡¯ movements remained ominous¡ªalmost violent by virtue of the sheer mass of weight in each shift of their bodies, though the bird collective had not made any threatening movements.


    As the descension deliberated, its members continued to fly through the air as a unified whole, flowing in a circle around the clearing the Expeditionary Force had stepped into¡ªkeeping them trapped there.


    Christian Zito stepped up alongside Alan and leaned over to whisper in his ear.


    ¡°Should we keep our spells ready? What do we do when these things stop moving?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t lower your guard,¡± Alan replied, ¡°but don¡¯t start anything either. Same instructions I gave earlier. Nothing has changed.¡±


    Zito just nodded and stepped back among his group, where he started muttering quietly to the other Electricity Commission members.


    Alan turned very deliberately away from Zito and his group and, out of their sight, scowled.


    Mitzi could almost hear her husband thinking, Do they really think we can do anything against these numbers? They¡¯d better not start something that the rest of us aren¡¯t equipped to finish.


    At last, and sooner than Mitzi had expected, the giant wheel of feathery bodies stopped in its rotation and held in place, still surrounding the clearing.


    ¡°What is the intention of those creatures?¡± the collective voice asked.


    ¡°Creatures?¡± Alan echoed.


    A shadow fell over him and Mitzi at that moment, and other shadows moved over the ground occupied by the other Expeditionary Force members, before sliding off and circling around. The wyverns had reappeared¡ªhidden for some time by the tree canopy of the jungle and then by the tree cover of the pine forest. They could make their presence felt much more easily in the wide open space of the clearing.


    ¡°Those creatures,¡± the woodpeckers¡¯ voice said impatiently. Dozens of their bodies moved together to make an arrow shape, pointing at the wyverns.


    ¡°Oh, those,¡± Alan said, puffing out his chest. ¡°They are here to assist our group in its defense. If we are attacked, they will fight for us.¡±


    ¡°We see,¡± said the descension. The voice sounded disappointed. ¡°Leave our forest, then, and take your mongrel creatures with you. If you return, be prepared to present us with an offering for safe passage. Food for all of us would be in order.¡±


    Mitzi raised an eyebrow and looked at Alan. Her husband wisely waited a moment before responding.


    ¡°Thank you for your promise of safe passage,¡± he said. ¡°We will bear your words in mind and try not to trouble you again unless we can find no other route back to our place of origin.¡±


    ¡°Best of luck on your journey, then,¡± said the voice with considerably more warmth.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Alan repeated, bowing his head slightly. He stepped forward, toward the wall of woodpecker bodies that blocked the exit to the clearing.


    The rest of the group followed after him, and as they reached the woodpeckers, the birds parted for the Expeditionary Force, splitting into two walls of feathered bodies that hovered in the air, watching the Fisher Kingdom citizens as they walked.


    Mitzi thought that she was the only one who saw Alan sweating. He found a good moment to wipe it away as unobtrusively as possible, so that no one else would see. And the two of them were at the front of the group.


    She took his hand in hers, so that no one else would see that it was shaking slightly. His mind was probably thinking along the same track as hers.


    Those were just a flock¡ªor a descension, as they called themselves¡ªof woodpeckers, and they seemed to only decide to let us go because they saw James¡¯s monsters. What else are we going to run into on this journey? How will we survive?

 V4Ch46-Dungeon Time Part 1

    The morning passed relatively quietly for James after the excitement of Alan and Mitzi¡¯s departure.


    Dave and his squad were on their hunting trip. The other citizens of the Fisher Kingdom were about their usual business. Alan and the Fisher Expeditionary Force made it outside the borders of the Kingdom, but James continued to follow them through the consciousness of the wyverns that he had sent with them.


    James felt that he was close to recovering the rest of his strength, so he and Mina made the decision to spend the day in the Dungeon, preparing as best they could for the larger adventure to come.


    When he went into the bedroom to change clothes, Hester asked to stay behind in the apartment. She said that she had a task she needed to complete that she could only perform in a safe place. James had the feeling that she didn¡¯t want him to ask what it was, so all he said was, ¡°Good luck, I hope you accomplish the mission.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± she replied. ¡°We all have our part to play in the great narrative, and I feel privileged to weave a little more in my section of the tapestry.¡±


    James felt something a little ominous in her voice, but Hester sounded more upbeat than he would have imagined if she was prophesying her impending doom or something. He decided that she would tell him about her task when she was ready.


    He reached up a hand to his ear, signaling with his body language for her to get on.


    After a moment, she stepped onto his hand, and James pulled her in front of his face so that he could see her eye to eye.


    The little spider looked slightly larger than she had when they first met, but James realized after a moment that it was actually just that her abdomen was swollen. Then he knew why she wanted to stay behind. He smiled.


    ¡°I look forward to your success,¡± James said. He tried to convey in the tone of his voice the full range of emotions he felt as he looked down at her, but he doubted if it was possible even with all his verbal Skills.


    ¡°I¡¯m not dying yet, boss,¡± Hester said softly. ¡°If you were worried. Um, if I misread you¡ª¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t,¡± James admitted. ¡°You¡¯re part of the family, too, Hester. When and if something happens to you, we¡¯ll all be sad. But especially me.¡±


    ¡°Well, nothing is happening yet,¡± Hester said. ¡°When you get back, maybe you can help me learn to Dreamwalk? I think by going with you a few more times, I might acquire the Skill.¡±


    James nodded, put the spider down on the wall, and finally donned his Royal Exoarmor. Mina had not bothered leaving the common area, since she could simply throw her Orientation robes on over her normal civilian clothing¡ªbut when James saw it, the getup seemed to him like inadequate protection.


    Just a few layers of fabric between her soft body and monstrous claws and clubs¡­


    ¡°Do you want to wear my armor?¡± he asked. ¡°My body is pretty tough at this point, and the armor usually breaks more easily than my bones would anyway.¡±


    ¡°It looks heavy,¡± she said. ¡°Maybe I can try it after I get some levels and boost my Strength?¡±


    James reluctantly agreed, and they advanced to the Dungeon.


    There was no line outside that day, which James found curious at first. Then he considered that most of the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s more ambitious Goblins and soldiers were preparing for their own journey outside the Kingdom. Doubtless, they would be forging and sharpening last pieces of equipment in preparation for the trip.


    He and Mina entered the Dungeon, and he immediately realized that some upgrades had been made since his last visit¡ªeven since Mina¡¯s last visit, as she had described it to him.


    [Dungeon entered! You have arrived in Dungeon: Carol¡¯s Place!]


    Besides the slightly changed name¡ªit had gone from ¡°Carol¡¯s Storage¡± to ¡°Carol¡¯s Place¡±¡ªthe geography was wildly different from what James had expected.


    The space was no longer a simple warehouse or grocery store style location, a single large room with a door or two. Rather, they found themselves inside a cavern, standing before four tunnels that bored into the Earth in different directions.


    ¡°This wasn¡¯t here when you last visited, right?¡± James asked.


    Mina shook her head wordlessly.


    ¡°Hi there¡ªoh, hey, wait, I think it¡¯s my two favorite people!¡± Carol¡¯s cheerful voice wafted down from the ceiling.


    ¡°Good to, um, see you again,¡± Mina said, chuckling a little. James was fairly certain she had never seen Carol, but he shared the sentiment. It was nice to be back here.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been doing some home improvements,¡± James said.


    ¡°Well, now I have a rotating cast of guests here at all hours of the day and night,¡± Carol said. ¡°We¡¯re like a big city restaurant or something! Or, I guess, I¡¯m like a big city restaurant. Still a little funny to refer to myself like I¡¯m a business or a building.¡±


    ¡°Well, if you are a business, you should consider yourself quite successful,¡± Mina said.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got a few people interested in following in your footsteps already, you know?¡± James added.


    ¡°I have heard about that. No one¡¯s actually done it yet, though, right?¡± Carol said. She sounded slightly nervous.


    ¡°Not as far as I¡¯ve heard,¡± he said.


    ¡°Well, you two will let me know if there¡¯s some, um, competition out there, won¡¯t you?¡± she asked. ¡°I¡¯ve been learning more about being a Dungeon, and it turns out that the natural predator of a Dungeon is other Dungeons. Who knew?¡±


    ¡°Oh, really?¡± James asked. He wondered suddenly if he could somehow use Carol to destroy the monotheists¡¯ Dungeon, but he just as quickly dismissed the idea. A Dungeon run by a mid-level angel was surely far beyond her level. It was probably beyond his level.


    ¡°Not that I¡¯m scared of them,¡± Carol hastened to add. ¡°Just that if someone¡¯s actually going to do the Dungeon Evolution path, I¡¯d like to try and make friends with them first, to reduce the chances we actually collide. Even if I¡¯m way ahead of anyone else who might want to become a Dungeon, I really hate conflict.¡±


    James smiled.


    ¡°We¡¯ll make sure we pass on anything we learn,¡± Mina said, smiling.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Carol said. ¡°Now, what brings you two here today?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re here to train,¡± James said. He wanted to say, I¡¯m here to set the new high score on your leaderboard, but it sounded a little immature in his head. He was here for serious training, not to have fun defeating whatever monsters Carol could set up for him. That was at least true in theory.


    ¡°You¡¯ve made some changes,¡± Mina said. ¡°They look fantastic. Where do the tunnels go? Is it four different levels now?¡±


    ¡°Oh, more than that!¡± Carol said. Her voice dripped with pride. ¡°The four tunnels correspond to difficulty modes, each of which has more than one level to it. The easy and medium difficulty are to the left, but they¡¯re occupied right now. And anyway, knowing you two, I¡¯m guessing you¡¯d only be interested in the hard and expert modes.¡±


    ¡°You know us well,¡± James said. ¡°Out of curiosity, who else has been doing hard mode and expert mode?¡±


    ¡°The hard mode levels, only a few people,¡± Carol said. ¡°Damien Rousseau. Several, um, Vampires¡ªbecause apparently you have Vampires here now, and they don¡¯t have much to do around the Kingdom yet¡­ And Dave Matsumoto went in a couple of times. He was quite determined, but he hasn¡¯t beaten it yet.¡±


    ¡°Has anyone beaten the hard level?¡± Mina asked.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°The new bat leader, Evangeline, was the first one to do it. I think she¡¯s the bat leader, anyway. The other bats she brought in were talking to her like she was an authority, and¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± James said. ¡°Evangeline is the new leader of the bats.¡±


    ¡°Well, she seems to have a little bit of a chip on her shoulder,¡± Carol said. ¡°I don¡¯t mean to speak ill of anyone. I think she¡¯s the most determined out of all the people I¡¯ve seen come into the Dungeon¡ªand that¡¯s a lot of people. It¡¯s just that sometimes I worry about her. After she beat the third hard mode level, I thought she might take a break. Instead, she¡¯s been grinding away at the first expert mode level. She¡¯s the only one who goes in there, and you know I can¡¯t stop the monsters on any given level from attacking once the Dungeon is active. The other bats are still stuck on medium difficulty. She¡¯s really all alone every time she challenges the Dungeon. So I¡¯ve just been a little worried. She pushes herself really hard, and since she¡¯s inside by herself, I keep imagining something terrible could happen¡­¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s at the top of your leaderboard, I¡¯m guessing?¡± James said.


    Carol was silent for a moment, then said, ¡°Yes.¡±


    James guessed she was still getting used to being unable to nod.


    ¡°We all push ourselves harder than we did before the System, but maybe you ought to talk to her,¡± Mina suggested.


    ¡°All right,¡± James said. ¡°It¡¯s time I actually got to know her, anyway. But for now let¡¯s try out the Dungeon, unless Evangeline is in here right now.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re ready to accommodate,¡± said Carol in her best customer service voice. ¡°Please go ahead to your preferred difficulty.¡±


    James and Mina immediately advanced¡ªto the hard and expert modes respectively.


    ¡°Oh,¡± James said, turning to gaze at Mina in mild surprise.


    ¡°Oh,¡± Mina said, looking back at him.


    ¡°You don¡¯t think, um¡ª¡± He tilted his head at the expert mode tunnel.


    I¡¯ll protect you if it gets really dangerous, he thought. This is the fastest way to improve.


    Mina looked a little annoyed. He could almost read her mind. Be patient. If hard mode isn¡¯t a suitable challenge, we¡¯ll beat it quickly.


    But it was clear that there was more than one level in each mode, and James remembered that it had taken a little time to clear one level back when Carol¡¯s Dungeon was much weaker than it was now. Assuming it took them the day to complete hard mode, he wasn¡¯t sure if they would be able to come back the next day. Things always seemed to come up for the Fisher King.


    ¡°Maybe the two of you should go separately,¡± Carol said, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen.


    Mina¡¯s expression relaxed. ¡°That sounds good,¡± she said.


    How is that safer for you than going with me into hard mode? James thought. Now he was annoyed. It felt a little like his protective abilities were being thrown into question. He had to detach for a moment and consider another reason why Mina might want to do hard mode by herself: she was still insecure about her personal strength.


    He thought about that and decided that was probably the reason. Mina had seen how good he was at defending someone before, though perhaps only in the Battle of the Haunted Forest. He shouldn¡¯t take her decision as reflecting on him.


    James nodded. ¡°Fine,¡± he said, smiling thinly.


    Mina walked over and gave him a long kiss that made James feel much better. They separated, and then she leaned over to say something to him only.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you on the other side,¡± Mina whispered, her voice tickling his ear. ¡°Have fun setting the new high score!¡±


    Her way of whispering left him almost speechless. She could still make him weak in the knees after years of marriage and the birth of one infant.


    ¡°I hope you have fun, too,¡± he managed as she stepped back.


    Then his head cleared a bit, and he could think properly about what she had said.


    So, it was something that reflected on me, he thought. She thought I would want to smash through whichever difficulty mode we went into, and she wouldn¡¯t get to do anything anyway. Yeah, she may have had a point there. I do want to set a new high score. Whatever¡¯s driving Evangeline¡ªshe probably wants to prove herself to the other bats¡ªI¡¯m no less driven.


    Mina turned and stepped into her tunnel without looking back, and James moved toward his.


    ¡°You two are such a cute couple now that I see you together in person,¡± Carol said.


    James felt faintly embarrassed but simply smiled and nodded.


    ¡°Thank you. We really like each other.¡±


    His verbal Skills seemed to be deserting him today. Maybe it was because he wasn¡¯t lying to anyone, speaking to a crowd, or trying to manipulate people. Maybe it was because he was just a little too comfortable, and he wasn¡¯t trying to use any verbal cleverness.


    In any case, he stepped into the expert mode tunnel before he could be drawn into any further conversation.


    It was a steeply downward-sloping hole in the ground, barely better than a pit¡ªclearly designed for someone with high level physical abilities who had already cleared the previous levels. If James had not already dealt with the Mole People and Goblins in what was effectively a giant underground labyrinth, this place would have probably bothered him.


    As things stood, his first thought was that he wondered if the tunnel Mina was passing through was less steep. This tunnel seemed unreasonable for her to walk into, unless she had James¡¯s arm safely around her waist.


    ¡°Was there anything in particular you wanted to work on today?¡± Carol¡¯s voice came from the sides of the tunnel as he moved down the slowly descending shaft.


    I really thought I kind of got away from conversation by entering the tunnel, James thought. But this whole place is yours. Silly me.


    ¡°I have a standard level set up at the end of this pathway, but I can make small modifications if you tell me you need something special,¡± Carol continued.


    ¡°I¡¯m not looking for anything in particular, Carol,¡± James said. He smiled, but his eyes were flinty and ruthless. ¡°I just want to kill some things and see about beating the high score on the leaderboard.¡±


    There went the idea of pretending to be more mature.


    ¡°Understood,¡± Carol replied. ¡°Honestly, I thought it might be something like that. That was why I suggested you might want to be separate from Mina. I¡¯ll leave the settings the way they were for Evangeline, then. She was really interested in testing her physical power, so this is probably going to be perfect for the, um, mood you¡¯re in? I¡¯m guessing you want to smash some heads.¡±


    James nodded with enthusiasm. ¡°Oh, yes.¡±


    ¡°Should I keep talking as you move down? Would you like any information on the level, or¡ª¡±


    ¡°No,¡± James said. ¡°Thank you, but I¡¯m ready for whatever surprises you have in store. Excited to be surprised, if that makes sense. Unless there¡¯s something that can kill me in one hit down there. Then you could give me a warning.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so!¡± Carol chirped. ¡°Um, I mean, I certainly hope not. I can see you¡¯re even stronger than last time we met, and I don¡¯t think I could easily craft a monster that could kill the past version of you that fast¡ªif at all. If you die, it¡¯ll be because the numbers were overwhelming.¡±


    ¡°Okay, then,¡± James said. ¡°Numbers I can deal with.¡±


    The only thing he didn¡¯t want to face in this place was something like the Soul Eater that could destroy his soul on contact with its magic. But it sounded like that wouldn¡¯t be a problem.


    Carol went silent, and James continued his descent.


    As he came near to the end of the tunnel, he saw a small, flickering light that marked the beginning of the new space. A few more steps forward revealed that it was a torch.


    A sizable humanoid figure stood just within the space illuminated by the flame.


    James estimated that it weighed in at around five hundred pounds or more. It stood at least eight feet tall, and its brawny bulk looked to be coated in thick gray rock-like skin.


    Identify.


    Gray-Skin Ogre, Lv. 25


    Interesting. This place actually has some decently leveled monsters, assuming the ogre is representative. Not as strong as me, but I¡¯ll have the chance to experiment and have some fun.


    James decided that the expert mode Dungeon would be the perfect place to test out new attacks and ability combinations that he had not used in some time¡ªor in some cases, ever.


    Just a reminder, Roscuro¡¯s voice pronounced in his head. The creatures in this place do not behave like the real versions of whatever monsters they are. As I mentioned about the Zombies last time. So, if you have encountered another ogre in your time, do not bring whatever assumptions you have about them into this fight.


    My only assumptions about ogres are from old movies, Roscuro, James replied instantly. And I think Carol might take some inspiration from the same movies I¡¯ve seen when she¡¯s crafting monsters. Thanks for the tip, though.


    James watched the monster from within the tunnel, and he noticed it remained unmoving, waiting for him to exit the hole and move into its space.


    That gave him a little time to prepare his first attack.


    He looked his environment up and down and saw there were some stalactites above him. He grabbed a particularly sharp one. Then he used Silk Production¡ªa Skill he hadn¡¯t employed since Orientation¡ªto produce a long, strong, sticky thread from the spinnerets on his wrists.


    It was long enough that James anticipated he would be able to use it to pull the stalactite back if he missed his throw. He wound the thread around the stalactite.


    Then he took the stalactite by the shaft and held it like a javelin.


    Predator¡¯s Missile!


    James let fly. He could sense some of his own aura suffusing the projectile as it soared. He knew the stone was deadly. For a moment, the Fisher King felt like David slinging his stone at Goliath.


    Then the stalactite landed.


    ¡°Urkkkk!¡±

 V4Ch47-Dungeon Time Part 2

    The ogre screeched horrendously as the stalactite struck at an impossible speed.


    Just as suddenly as it had screamed, the monster went silent.


    [You killed Gray-Skin Ogre Lv. 25. You gained 1300 exp!]


    Really? Just like that?


    Though the System¡¯s alerts had never lied to him yet, it was a little hard to believe.


    For one thing, the creature was still standing.


    James had been prepared to wait a few seconds to be certain that the blow had impacted at all. The point had definitely struck its target, but the monster was so far away that he wasn¡¯t certain how deeply the stone weapon had penetrated the body.


    Well, its posture definitely changed with that hit. The creature had slumped forward a bit, clearly damaged by the blow to the center of its chest. I see some liquid seeping from a wound in the chest, there, though it¡¯s not the color of human blood. There was a gray stream oozing from around the entry wound.


    It occurred to James that not only the System, but his basic understanding of biology was inconsistent with the idea that the ogre remained alive. If it was, it would try to get out of the way of further blows or tend to its wounds¡ªor even rush into the tunnel where James still stood.


    So, it¡¯s really dead. Why is it still standing? Maybe it has some sort of last stand ability, so it hits you once after death. That would be a good Skill for a Dungeon monster to have. It would keep someone like me from just speed-running the whole thing. If that¡¯s the case, I need to be careful once I get near the body.


    Another couple of alerts popped up on a slight delay.


    [Sufficient experience accrued. Silk Production leveled up!]


    [Required conditions met. Skill evolved: Silk Production became Proficient Silk Fabrication!]


    Neat, but is the monster going to do anything else? James wondered. He wasn¡¯t going to pay attention to the new Skill until he had confirmed the area was safe.


    Master, you are aware the creature is dead, correct? Roscuro asked.


    I am, thank you, Roscuro, James replied. How did you know?


    I felt the soul leave the body, he replied.


    ¡°Well, how the hell is it still standing up?¡± James muttered.


    He advanced toward the ogre, no longer as concerned about caution. Even Roscuro was clearly wondering why he was holding off advancing into the Dungeon proper.


    As James moved a bit closer to the creature, he saw the telltale signs that the ogre was truly dead. It made no reaction to his approach, its whole body appeared to have gone limp, and its feet were not even firmly touching the ground.


    He finally stepped into the expert level of the Dungeon.


    After staring at the body for a moment, he realized what had happened.


    The ogre¡¯s corpse had slumped forward but not fallen, because James¡¯s thrown stalactite had stabbed straight through the monster¡¯s spine and now held it pinned to the rock wall of the Dungeon.


    Simple. Why didn¡¯t I see it sooner?


    It was probably the dim lighting in the area. That single torch was guttering now, and James saw it was almost to the very bottom of the wood.


    I guess Evangeline was here before me, and Carol left the torch burning when she left.


    As James looked at the flickering flame more carefully, he heard a sound of rock crunching, and he turned to see a half-dozen ogres moving toward him from across a rather large cavern. He could barely make their shapes out in the bad lighting. They were almost naked, wearing only loin cloths. The creatures did not appear to have weapons. Their eyes gleamed yellow, reflecting the torch light¡ªalmost glowing in the dark.


    Maybe the darkness is the point of this level, he realized.


    As the torch approached going out completely, the ogres hung back.


    They were waiting for the light to go out, he recognized. Those yellow eyes were cat-like or owl-like. James guessed the monsters could see in the dark.


    This really would have been a dangerous place to take Mina. Carol¡¯s done a damn good job with this Dungeon.


    James rushed forward, charging the nearest ogre before the light could go out.


    As he neared to within lunging distance, the target ogre took on a defensive stance, a bit like a boxer.


    It was then that James let loose an Otherworldly Shriek¡ªthe Skill he¡¯d taken from the Bat Queen.


    In the instant the ogre reflexively raised its hands to protect its ears, James struck. The ogre¡¯s gray snub nose snapped with a loud crack as his fist made contact with the hideous face.


    Then the ogre was stumbling backward, off balance, arms wheeling in front of its body, trying to defend itself and regain its footing at the same time.


    James hit it with another Otherworldly Shriek and felt that this attack was more powerful than the first had been. He saw the ogre¡¯s ears begin to leak gray blood before one of its fellows blocked James from following up on the opening the shriek had made.


    The big ogre stepped in front of James and threw a heavy haymaker blow. It looked powerful, but compared with James¡¯s moves, it was oh so slow.


    Bad move, he thought. Then, Wait, where did the other one that was by this guy go?


    That was when the torch light was snuffed out completely.


    James¡¯s instincts told him where the blow was coming from, and he sidestepped without needing to see it. As the breeze from the blow gusted past his face, he heard feet crunching around him again¡ªmuch closer than before. Something was sneaking up behind him.


    He let loose another Otherworldly Shriek, but a blow struck him in the side, knocking the wind out of him and cutting the shriek short. It was a direct, full force hit, and it smashed a hole in the armor James wore. James felt more of a sting than he¡¯d expected, given the gap in levels.


    Wow, I think that might have cracked a rib.


    He could tell his body was already recovering, reallocating calcium to reconstruct the bone¡ªbut then, there were also already more crunching footsteps, to his left.


    James dropped onto his back, let loose another Otherworldly Shriek aimed straight up, and then opened his right fist.


    Hand of Glory.


    Little particles of light that only James could see appeared in the palm of his hand and then scattered to all corners of the room.


    The ogres¡¯ forms that had been only very faintly visible in the near complete darkness suddenly sprang into sharp relief.


    He saw one of the creatures leaning in to grab him, squinting to see in the gloom.


    Air Strike.


    A blade of air slashed right through the leaner¡¯s eyes, and it let out a surprised cry of pain, then stumbled backward.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    James launched another Air Strike, and the ogre clutched at its throat, a gushing fountain of gray erupting beneath its hands. Then its fellows had shoved it out of the way and were pushing their ways forward, competing to reach James first.


    He let loose another Otherworldly Shriek, and it brought them to a stop for just a moment. That was enough for him to throw himself back to an upright, standing position.


    Meteor Strike! He struck the closest ogre in the face with a flaming fist. The big brute went down like a boxer with a glass jaw.


    The next nearest monster had drawn back its fist for another haymaker, but instead of throwing the blow, it covered its eyes with one hand, apparently blinded by the firelight. James raised a fist to hit the creature while it was off guard, but a hand grabbed around his waist¡ªone of the ogres slipping in at the edge of his range of vision.


    James reached down to grab hold of the creature¡¯s wrist, but it was already throwing him bodily across the room.


    He struck the wall of the cavern lightly, barely fazed by the impact.


    What was the point of tha¡ª


    Five hundred pounds of ogre instantly tackled him into the wall. There was a horrible sound like a thousand spiders being crushed at once as the entire chest portion of his armor shattered, and James counted three broken ribs.


    Motherfucker!


    He could resist the effects of pain, but it still hurt. The creature didn¡¯t move, apparently satisfied to try to keep him pinned down with its bulk while its allies recovered and tried to surround him.


    Lightning Strike.


    An electric current ran through James¡¯s body, and the ogre writhed as it took the full force of the lightning Mana. James was able to free one of his hands, and he used it to deliver a punch of his own.


    Predator¡¯s Strike!


    James¡¯s fist moved faster than it ever had before and burst the ogre¡¯s head like an overripe watermelon. He found himself coated in brains and gray blood.


    The body tumbled away from James, and the three surviving ogres stared at the fallen one with open mouths. James could have counted their ugly, jagged teeth.


    His nostrils twitched slightly as he inhaled the odor of fear. There was an impulse in his mind to make the fight last longer, but he crushed that ruthlessly. There would be worthier opponents deeper in the Dungeon.


    He lunged at the nearest ogre, hand extended in a claw-like shape. Predator¡¯s Strike turned his nails blade-like, and he opened the ogre¡¯s neck and half decapitated it before it could raise a hand to defend itself.


    One of the monsters grabbed him from behind before James could land on his feet again, and he butted the creature in the nose with the back of his head.


    It dropped him.


    James fell, landed, spun, and threw himself onto the only uninjured ogre, which had stepped in to support the grabber.


    The creature seized James¡¯s wrists, but that left James¡¯s mouth within striking range of the ogre¡¯s neck. He sank his teeth into the neck and tore a huge hunk of thick, rubbery skin out. A fountain of rancid gray blood came pouring down onto James¡¯s face.


    He threw himself off of the stumbling, dying ogre and rolled into a crouch, bracing himself for the next blow from the ogre whose nose he had broken.


    It didn¡¯t come.


    James raised his head and saw that the monster was running away.


    He swallowed the hunk of chewy gray ogre meat and chased after the last one.


    The ogre reached a downward-sloping staircase and took the first step.


    That was when the Air Strike hit it in the back. James saw it flinch with pain as the attack cut a long gash into the thick flesh of its back. Then it took another step, not looking back, determined to escape James or die trying.


    He almost felt bad for it as his flame-encircled hand ripped through its back and tore out its heart.


    Almost.


    ¡°At least you got a quick death,¡± James muttered as the ogre crumpled onto its back in front of him.


    He glanced back at the room. Nothing moved. The monsters all lay in varying amounts of blood and gore from the grievous wounds James had inflicted when he¡¯d killed them.


    The whole cavern was visible to him now, with no monsters to obstruct his sight and the sparks from Hand of Glory still clinging to every surface.


    It was a very stark place. All stone and flesh. No furniture, no cave paintings, nothing signified it had ever been deemed fit for a living thing¡¯s habitation but the burned out torch. A little tragic to think of any semi-intelligent life form living out its whole existence in the bounds of this cave.


    James looked down at the whole heart that smoldered in his still-burning hand. The organ was roughly twice the size of his fist¡ªand an ugly gray-green color that reminded him of their strangely pigmented blood. It was obvious the heart had not belonged to a human.


    He took a bite of the freshly cooked meat.


    This had become something of a habit in Orientation, back when he first gained the ability to grow stronger by eating the flesh of a defeated enemy. Omnivore continued to pay dividends.


    The meat was tough, gamey¡ªbut the flavor was not bad.


    This is pretty good compared with those giant centipedes, at least.


    And it seemed especially nutritious. James felt as if the creature¡¯s life energy had been concentrated in this particular hunk of meat. His body seemed to be healing more quickly in response to the nutrition.


    Naturally, he wolfed down the heart and began harvesting the hearts from the other bodies and cooking them with Meteor Strike. Consuming the ogres¡¯ hearts replenished his Mana faster than using Meteor Strike consumed it, and James found he was regaining not just the power he had consumed in the Dungeon but what he had still needed to regain after using Curse of the Fisher King too.


    After he had finished the hearts, he drew one of his Wolfbone Daggers from his magic satchel and began hacking open bodies, experimentally cooking and eating additional organs.


    It was time for James to return to his perfect condition.


    The livers seemed to be just as energy-dense as the hearts, he found. The lungs were not quite as good in terms of either taste or nutritional content. The small intestines were chewy and stringy, but he thought perhaps if they were breaded and fried, they might be decent. They would need some strong spices, though, and sadly he lacked equipment for any fancy cooking methods.


    It was as he was experimentally frying up some ogre skin¡ªnaturally using Roscuro as a frying pan¡ªthat Carol¡¯s voice came in through the ceiling.


    ¡°Oh my gosh! Um, I mean, aren¡¯t you going to just Pillage the corpses¡ªI-I mean, I¡¯m just saying, that¡¯s another way that you could get the meat from the ogres if you¡¯re, uh, hungry. Instead of dissecting and flaying the bodies. Just¡ªjust a thought.¡± She sounded queasy. James wondered if it was possible for a Dungeon Core to be physically ill.


    ¡°Sorry about that, Carol,¡± he said, slightly embarrassed.


    I¡¯m definitely glad Mina can¡¯t see this.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s not your fault,¡± Carol replied immediately. ¡°Once I decided to check in on you, I couldn¡¯t look away. You know, I create those guys, and in between challengers, sometimes I try to improve them, but I don¡¯t think of them as like, my kids or anything. But, like, how do you improve them to survive something like all that stuff you did to them?¡±


    James shrugged. ¡°I thought they performed very well. I¡¯m eating in part because their bodies are pretty strong, and it helps me recover my energy to eat strong enemies. I wanted to be tip-top shape for the next floor.¡±


    He was in perfect condition now. His body was significantly stronger than it had been when he entered the Dungeon. Everything but his armor was in the best shape it had been in for weeks. Even the Royal Exoarmor had mostly healed itself, though there was still a large hole in the center of the abdomen where James¡¯s stomach was now unprotected.


    ¡°Implying that you weren¡¯t in tip-tip shape for this floor?¡± Carol asked, flabbergasted.


    He shrugged again.


    ¡°How many floors are there in expert mode?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Three, including this one,¡± Carol said. ¡°Each one will have more enemies, and they get stronger.¡± She sounded very proud. ¡°But you¡¯ll be the first one to make it past this floor. Evangeline has just come in here, barely survived, and left. That¡¯s what happened each time she visited expert mode. The first time, she got a broken wing, and I thought it would put her off coming back. Two days later, though, and she was at it again!¡±


    ¡°Sounds like I need to get to know Evangeline better,¡± James said.


    I think I¡¯d like her.


    ¡°So, are you going on to another level, or calling it a day?¡± Carol asked.


    ¡°What¡¯s Mina doing?¡± he asked.


    ¡°She just cleared her first level on hard mode,¡± Carol said. ¡°While you were, um, eating.¡± She paused a few seconds, then continued, ¡°She says she¡¯s going down the stairs to level two in just a minute. And she sends her love.¡± Those last words were spoken in a soft, sweet voice. James guessed that whatever emotion was in Mina¡¯s tone when she spoke, it had slipped into Carol for a moment.


    He smiled. If he¡¯d had a blushing skin tone, he would have blushed.


    I miss you, too, he thought.


    ¡°Sounds like I keep going, then,¡± James said. ¡°I just need a minute to figure out all my gains from the fighting.¡±


    He went around and quickly Pillaged the bodies.


    He took a Talent from one ogre and got ¡°Ogre Constitution,¡± which came with the Skills ¡°Thick Skin¡± and ¡°Dense Bones.¡± James felt his body changing in response to those new abilities as soon as he had Pillaged them. Mainly he noticed that he was heavier.


    He Pillaged Stats from the other bodies, assuming that these ogres would have essentially identical Skills considering that he had not seen them demonstrate any impressive traits.


    And he finally took a look at the Skill he had acquired as he entered the level.


    [Proficient Silk Fabrication: Enhances the organs that naturally produce silk, permitting the production of more powerful and magical silk substances. Permits the creation of silk outside the body, using Mana as a substitute for the silk-producing organs. All crafted silk can be manipulated via Mana. Silk quality can be improved by the infusion of mana or other energies. Silk can be infused with Skill effects. Consumes caloric energy. Consumes additional forms of energy if the user attempts to produce silk beyond a certain threshold without a break. Silk can be infused with life energy for additional effects.]


    Very interesting.


    He could easily think of many ways that could be useful. Rather than taking a long time to reflect on his new gains, however, James turned and descended the stairs to the second level.


    He didn¡¯t want to keep his wife waiting.


    I wonder how Mina is finding the Dungeon.

 V4Ch48-Dungeon Time for Mina Part 1

    Mina entered the third tunnel from the left, and she immediately felt the air shift as she stepped inside.


    It became instantly more humid and warmer, and for a moment, she questioned her decision to wear her Mages¡¯ robes.


    She shook her head. She was glad she was not burdened with heavy armor like James, but she felt certain she would be glad of whatever minimal protection the robe offered. Unlike her husband, she did not have nine lives.


    Mina drew her Alder Wood Wand and held it firmly at her side, ready to cast more forcefully and more quickly than she ever had in a combat situation before.


    ¡°So, any type of monster in particular you were hoping to fight, Mina?¡± Carol¡¯s voice asked through the walls.


    ¡°Oh, no, I guess I¡¯m just looking to get stronger in general,¡± Mina said a little nervously. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you have ideas based on my performance on previous visits?¡±


    ¡°Well, I have a couple of options you can face,¡± Carol said. ¡°You did well against ethereal enemies before. Do you want to try more physical enemies this time?¡±


    Mina nodded at once. That was her problem. Physical weakness. She needed to be able to beat physically stronger enemies. That was what she had to train for. She had yet to meet anyone who was definitely magically stronger than her. It was possible that some of the spellcasters she¡¯d met¡ªAlice, Zora, Mitzi, or more than one of them¡ªmight be more powerful, but somehow, she doubted she would lose a face to face struggle with sheer magical power to any of them.


    Alice¡¯s powers were very specific and seemed like they would provide her little protection against offensive magical attacks. Zora¡¯s powers created minions more than helping her defend herself directly. And Mitzi did not seem to have gone through Class Evolution yet, so Mina should theoretically have the advantage there too.


    But none of that would mean anything if whoever she was fighting simply got in close and punched her in the face.


    ¡°All right,¡± Carol continued. ¡°More physical enemies, check. Are you afraid of bugs?¡±


    ¡°Um, no,¡± Mina lied. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Bugs sound great!¡±


    Face your fears, she told herself. You¡¯ll get stronger and braver. Kill two birds with one stone.


    She pictured giant cockroaches and shuddered slightly despite herself.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got it, then. I have just the thing. I don¡¯t know if you like old scary movies, but if you do, you¡¯re in for a treat!¡± Carol sounded excited.


    ¡°Um, all right,¡± Mina said, swallowing. It would be all right. She would make certain of that. She could face whatever was waiting at the end of these stairs.


    ¡°Do you want to know more about the challenge ahead?¡± Carol asked.


    Mina sighed. ¡°Yes, please.¡±


    Carol began to explain, with many references to the plot of some old science fiction movies that Mina had never seen. The explanation was not exactly helpful, though. Carol was far more interested in discussing theories about the origins of the movie monsters and different installments in the franchise than she was in explaining strengths, weaknesses, and general attributes of the creatures.


    Mina just got a vague idea that the monsters were scary bugs that could rip humans apart but should also be vulnerable to almost any attack that could injure a human. They were not vulnerable to cold or acid, but bullets and explosives should do as much harm as they would to anything else.


    I guess Carol was very well suited to becoming a Dungeon Core, Mina thought. The world of pop culture has given her a lot of ideas for monsters¡­


    She barely noticed as the climate in the tunnel changed again with her continued descent, growing cooler and drier this time.


    Mina reached the bottom of the tunnel and found herself looking into a strange space. She scoped out the room before she entered. The walls were all a sterile pure white color, and they appeared to be made out of a space-age material.


    ¡°Where did you get¡­¡±


    She had started to ask how Carol acquired what appeared to be either very strong and fancy plastic or painted white metal, but the question was pointless. This was a fantastical setting pulled straight from science fiction. Carol apparently had all the resources she needed running the Dungeon with so many and such frequent guests.


    Mina instead studied the details of the setting, looking for any clues that would help her survive. There was a ladder in the middle of the room, a hard white material like almost everything else. There were seats, arranged in a ring around the ladder. The room itself seemed to be circular, and it faced out into a long, slightly darker hallway that shifted the setting¡¯s aesthetic from pure white and lifeless to mechanical, a bit like a boiler room.


    The scene did remind Mina of something from science fiction.


    A long time ago, she and James had seen a showing of ¡°2001: A Space Odyssey¡± in their local independent theater. This room showed a similar aesthetic. She couldn¡¯t remember if there had been anything like the boiler room hallway in that movie, but it would make sense if there had been.


    Carol did say that the setting was theoretically space¡­


    She had made sure to add that Mina did not need to worry about the vacuum of space, though.


    The Witch paused a moment, then shook her head. It was time to stop worrying and learn to love these life or death situations as her husband did.


    She pasted a smile on her face and stepped through the portal.


    Instantly, something moved at the corner of her vision.


    Mina turned, and she saw something tiny on the ground quickly scuttle out of her field of vision. The thing was so fast and stood so low to the ground that she did not get a very good look at it. She only had an idea that it was an invertebrate of some sort¡ªsomething she would have thrown a shoe at in the pre-System days.


    That probably would not suffice now.


    It hid behind the circle of chairs, she thought. It¡¯s smaller than I would have imagined from Carol¡¯s description¡­Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    She stepped further into the room and made a long loop around the circular space, keeping her back to a wall at all times, so the creepy crawly thing could not sneak up on her even if it managed to move across her field of vision somehow without her noticing.


    As she rounded a corner, she saw a human lying on the ground. The strange invertebrate thing was there, too.


    It lay on the man¡¯s face, its legs seemingly clasped tightly around his head.


    Either this was a really creepy movie, or Carol has a very messed up imagination¡­


    Mina¡¯s first instinct was to kneel down and try to rescue the man, but she hesitated to do that for several obvious reasons.


    First, this was probably not a real human being. If it were a fellow Dungeon-goer, Carol would have noted that there was someone already in the Dungeon. She had mentioned that the easy and medium mode Dungeon levels were occupied, but not this one. So, ninety percent or higher chance, this was not a real person.


    Second, the monster was clearly not dead. It was alive and dangerous.


    Third, the creature was sitting perched in front of her, calmly waiting, not skittering in the other direction. Ergo, it did not perceive her as a threat. Most things in nature were more afraid of you than you were of them. But not this thing. There was likely a reason for that.


    Fourth, she could see the man¡¯s chest still rising and falling gently. He was breathing. For whatever reason, this thing did not appear to be attacking him directly. If she put herself within the bug¡¯s striking distance, it might not be so gentle with her¡ªor it might turn more aggressive to the human whose face it perched on, though Mina did not believe it was a real person.


    What would James do? Mina thought.


    Of course, she knew the answer immediately. He would solve the problem in the simplest way possible and not waste too much time deliberating.


    Mina quickly poured Mana into the wand, charged a fireball, and launched it straight at the invertebrate thing.


    The fireball struck and exploded, blowing the monster and most of the human¡¯s head apart.


    Chunks of bug landed as far as a few feet away from the explosion site, but happily nowhere near Mina, who had remained standing back against the furthest wall that she could see the creature from. She winced at the sight and smell of the chunks of insect¡ªthe body was filled with an ugly yellow mucus, and the chunks gave off an acrid smell like the aftermath of pepper spray. She was glad she had remained distant from the zone of impact¡ªespecially as the floor began to dissolve where the bug¡¯s mucus had touched it.


    Mina took an involuntary step back before the alerts struck her.


    Did Carol mention the acid blood? Mina wondered. I would think I would have remembered that. I feel like she just told me I would want to keep the enemies at a distance¡ªfor reasons that seem obvious now.


    [You killed Perfect Parasite Lv. 10! You gained 120 exp!]


    [You killed Fake Human Lv. 1! You gained 10 exp!]


    Well, I¡¯m glad he wasn¡¯t real, she thought. And glad the thing is dead. Now where¡¯s the rest of the level?


    It was strange to think of this bug hunt as a physical challenge, but she supposed that if the bugs could move fairly quickly, it was at least a good test of her Agility. In the confined space, she would need to be fast to kill them and evade the acid blood.


    Seeing how the floor had partially dissolved, and she could see the next floor beneath it¡ªthe next level?¡ªshe circled back the way she had come to make her way toward the more industrial-looking part of the setting.


    Mina kept her eyes peeled for more of the little bugs or any signs of movement as she went, and she raised the hand that was not holding the wand to cover her mouth. Clearly, the first room had shown her how this Dungeon¡¯s monsters attacked, and it was an ambush aimed at the face, probably using that acidic blood substance.


    She would rather take acid to her hand than to her face, since the former could always be healed, and the latter would almost surely be fatal in a combat situation.


    She stepped to the threshold that separated the initial room from the boiler room-like hallway and then advanced into that second space, lined with pipes, lights, and valves that she could not guess the purpose of.


    Mina gingerly moved her hand close to the pipes on one side of the wall to make certain that she could walk with her back to it safely, without burning herself. The pipes all felt cold, so she turned her back and pressed herself up against them. She had just begun inching her way slowly down the hallway when she heard a strange noise from behind her.


    She turned to the room she had entered from, and she saw the corpse of the Fake Human whose head she had blown up.


    The body was dead, if it had ever been alive in any sense, but somehow, it was still moving.


    It took her a moment to pin down exactly what it was that was in motion.


    When she saw it, her heart skipped a beat.


    The dead man¡¯s chest was still rising and falling¡ªonly now it was moving far more violently than it had when the Fake Human was alive.


    What the¡­?


    The ribs rose up and down repeatedly, frantically, as if something was trying to tear its way through their center¡ªand then something did!


    A small shape burst through the rib cage, and Mina let loose a small scream.


    ¡°What the hell?!¡±


    She fired a burst of flame from the wand, but it missed. She fired another blast, but the little creature hopped out of the way. It was nimbler than the first one had been. Before she could fire another shot, it scurried away and escaped into one of the holes that the first monster¡¯s blood had made.


    Mina rushed in to look down the hole after it.


    Crap! What the heck are these things?


    Carol¡¯s explanation had been scattered and had focused far too much on the plot of these old science fiction movies, which was hard to follow for someone who had never seen them.


    Mina did not even feel that she adequately understood how to kill these things.


    No, that¡¯s not right, she reminded herself. I already killed one. She smiled grimly. I know that fire will do the trick, whereas cold temperatures will not. And I know that these creatures are predators.


    Mina considered the problem she faced. Finding the monster that had fled from her. Blowing it away with fire. A simple problem in a sense. The hard parts were finding the creature or allowing it to find her and not being surprised by it.


    She began immediately working on her plan.


    When she had thought it through, she returned to near the entrance of the level and sat down with her back to the tunnel she had come in by. She began casting water magic, and she conjured a larger amount of water than anything she had created before.


    Seeing how sneaky and small the creatures were, she intended to make it impossible for her to be surprise attacked.


    Mina finished casting, and a giant pool of water that half filled the room appeared¡ªand moved according to her Will.


    She used almost half of it to seal up the only doorway that led further into the Dungeon, spread another large chunk over the area of the floor that had dissolved because of the first creature¡¯s corrosive blood, and then distributed the rest of the water to cover every exposed inch of wall and ceiling in the room.


    Then Mina closed her fist, and the water turned solid. In an instant, every surface of the room was covered in ice¡ªexcept one area. She had left one small opening in the part of the floor that had been spattered with acid blood. A little hole, just barely large enough for the creature she had seen, that she could watch.


    If these bugs were predators, the monster would come for the one living organism that remained in its habitat sooner or later. She could wait a while.


    It would think the hole in her defenses was an accident.


    Mina shifted her position so that she had a direct line of sight on the hole, she sat, and she waited.

 V4Ch49-Dungeon Time for Mina Part 2

    Mina sat, watching the small hole she had left open in the floor, and waiting. She kept her wand clenched tightly in both hands, fingers slightly tensed in her lap.


    The minutes passed slowly, but she wasn¡¯t keeping track of time. This was the method she had decided on, and she wasn¡¯t going to second guess it when she had already encased the whole room in ice.


    The only attention she paid to the environment besides looking at the hole was occasionally bolstering the ice with a small infusion of Mana if she noticed any dripping.


    Otherwise, her gaze remained steady, and she allowed her mind to wander freely. Mina¡¯s patience and focus had been legendary at her office and in school. The problem would unfold itself for her, no matter how stubborn it seemed at first. She had eliminated any possibility that the creature could sneak up on her, which seemed to be the natural modus operandi for a monster as small as this one.


    She could wait forever for it to come through that hole if that was what it took.


    The predator would have no way of knowing that the hole was there as a trap, unless it was an unusually smart monster. Even then, that was the only way in.


    There was a loud thud, and Mina¡¯s head whipped up to look in the direction of the noise.


    The sound had come from the portal she had iced over. Another thud struck it, and though Mina could not see clearly through the thick ice, she saw a dark-colored object had hit and then pulled back.


    It felt like a victory that the creature was finally attacking her on her terms, in the setting she had selected for their battle.


    But something was wrong.


    Why is it trying to come through the strongest ice barrier I erected? Why not just crawl through the hole in the floor?


    There was another sound of blunt force, and Mina heard something else¡ªa noise of cracking.


    How is it strong enough to damage the ice?


    The noise of each blow also seemed too loud for the body size of the creature she had seen before.


    It must have grown larger rapidly. Carol hadn¡¯t said anything about that.


    Mina started pouring lightning Mana into the Alder Wood Wand¡ªreverse-engineering how to use Basic Elemental Magic: Lightning after James showed her his Lightning Strike Skill had been child¡¯s play for her, and she knew that lightning was hotter than the surface of the sun¡ªand this thing seemed like it needed more than a little fireball to take care of it.


    A giant, black, glossy, phallic-shaped head burst through the thin wall of ice Mina had erected to cover the door into the room. The head alone was half Mina¡¯s height in length. It looked like an improbable body part to belong to any organism that wasn¡¯t at least twice her size.


    ¡°What the hell?¡± she exclaimed. She had only barely gotten a look at the creature before, and she could only see the top part of it now, but it had to be a completely different size, color, and build than before. The change in color and shape was one thing, but the sheer increase in size was totally impossible, a mockery of physics and biology.


    Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous.


    The creature jabbed two claw-like limbs through the ice, widening the hole, and Mina poured more Mana into her wand.


    The monster let loose a roar, and she noticed her hand was beginning to shake.


    Focus, she told herself. This thing is just barking because it knows it can¡¯t bite yet.


    Another sharp limb stabbed through the ice¡ªit looked almost like a spear, but Mina was barely paying attention to the anatomy of the creature now. She was taking aim, pointing her wand, adding more Mana, and visualizing the outcome she intended.


    The creature seemed to realize the urgency of the situation, and it smashed more ice out of the way, then began pulling itself through the hole.


    Mina launched her attack.


    A lightning bolt roughly the width of Mina¡¯s hand shot forward and struck the black exoskeletal head at dead center.


    [You killed Perfect Predator Lv. 20! You gained 900 exp!]


    [Sufficient experience accrued. Witch of Thessaly leveled up!]


    [Sufficient experience accrued. Witch of Thessaly leveled up!]


    Mina inhaled deeply as she felt the surge of power through her body with the two levels hitting at once. Getting two in a row was surprisingly exhilarating.


    She realized her heart was pounding, though whether it was from the levels or the leftover fear of being attacked by this monstrous creature, she didn¡¯t know.


    It was dead now, and she couldn¡¯t help but smile.


    As she moved her mouth into the position, she felt a bit of pain from her mouth. She touched her thumb to her lower lip and pulled it away slightly bloody.


    She ran her finger across her lip and realized she had bitten a small hole in it during the moments of tension when the monster was breaking through the ice.


    It was still one of the most thrilling experiences she¡¯d ever had.


    No wonder James loves this so much, she thought. The way he felt about fighting was obvious from the way he had told his stories about Orientation¡ªthough she had only really seen him fight in person once, against the Wraiths, and that time, he had been moved more by urgency than the desire to enjoy a fight.


    ¡°Mina, are you okay?¡± Carol¡¯s voice echoed through the walls. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to speak up and distract you while the Dungeon was active, but I was a little worried there for a minute.¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± Mina said, gritting her teeth slightly. She was a little annoyed that Carol¡¯s prologue to the Dungeon level had been less than helpful, but she didn¡¯t want to show it. The Dungeon Core was just doing her best, and she was clearly serving the Fisher Kingdom well by providing an excellent training ground for fighters. ¡°I do wish I had known the creatures had acid for blood, though.¡±


    As she spoke, the monster was on the other side of the room, bleeding through the floor there.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Carol said. ¡°Shit, um, I¡¯ll fix the hole in the floor if you decide to go on. I thought I mentioned about the acid, but I did talk a lot¡­ I¡¯d be the first to admit I¡¯m not always the most focused, and I don¡¯t talk much to most of the people in here. I was trying to give you and James better treatment, because you¡¯re like my patrons. I guess I got a little over-excited. Maybe I skipped it when I was explaining the whole storyline I was copying.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t feel too bad about it, Carol,¡± Mina said. ¡°I just didn¡¯t like being so surprised. Maybe we could go over the next floor in more specific detail.¡±


    She approached the dead monster as she spoke, not getting too close¡ªit was still slowly leaking acid, after all. She pointed her palm at the body.


    Loot.


    She figured something named ¡°Perfect Predator¡± would drop a good item or two. And unlike the ¡°Perfect Parasite,¡± which she had blown to smithereens, this monster was in pretty good condition aside from a smoking hole the size of her hand right through its skull.


    The monster corpse glowed, and it seemed as if the skin and tail¡ªthat was the spear-like body part she had noticed before¡ªcame loose, while the rest began to fade like an illusion.


    [Perfect Predator¡¯s body processed.]


    [You obtained Predator Skinsuit and Black Bone Whip!]


    The skin and tail floated over to Mina, and she realized the System had reshaped the skin into a clothing item. An armor piece. The tail¡¯s function as a weapon was self-evident.


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty cool,¡± Mina said to herself.


    ¡°I agree!¡± exclaimed Carol. ¡°I hadn¡¯t seen anyone try Looting one of those things before. The new bat leader is the only one who¡¯s been into this part of the Dungeon, and she didn¡¯t do any Looting. She just killed them with her ranged attacks.¡±


    Mina nodded. That probably explains why the bat leader is still alive.


    ¡°You created something pretty dangerous here, you know?¡± Mina said. ¡°Can these things leave the Dungeon at all?¡±


    ¡°Oh, no!¡± Carol replied instantly. ¡°That¡¯s not possible. They¡¯re locked into the Dungeon permanently. They would die instantly; I¡¯m not that kind of Dungeon. I know I messed up your experience on this level, but I don¡¯t actually want to make trouble for you guys. I¡¯m very happy with my life here. It feels like that¡¯s the kind of thing that would get me exterminated pretty quickly.¡± She let out an awkward laugh. ¡°Especially since I do not control the monsters once I create them. I only shape their basic instincts and bodies.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± Mina said slowly. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind my asking, how is James doing?¡±


    ¡°James? Oh, let me check on him¡ªoh my gosh!¡±


    ¡°What, is James all right?¡± Mina exclaimed. She would exterminate the Dungeon Core herself if Carol had accidentally led James to his death, and she would feel justified in doing so.


    ¡°Oh, yeah, James is fine,¡± Carol replied. She sounded slightly queasy. ¡°He is eating, um, just eating, yep, having a nice snack, taking a break.¡± The Dungeon Core¡¯s voice had an unnatural note in it. Mina wondered what horrors Carol had seen when she checked on James.


    Considering that it was James, I¡¯m betting the monsters from expert mode are lying in pieces everywhere. That didn¡¯t seem like quite enough to explain the reaction from Carol, but Mina had no way of guessing anything more specific than that.


    ¡°Actually, James asked about you, too,¡± Carol said. ¡°I told him you¡¯re all right. Are you going on to the next level? I think he¡¯s waiting to see what you do before he decides if he continues.¡±


    That would be just like James. He hates keeping me waiting.


    ¡°Um, you¡¯ll give me information on the next level, right? More actionable information? No offense intended about your previous level of explanation.¡±


    Although it could have gotten me killed.


    ¡°Yep, yep!¡± Carol said quickly. ¡°I¡¯ll give you a full floorplan and numbers of enemies if you like!¡±


    ¡°All right. Then, yes, I¡¯m going on,¡± Mina said. ¡°Tell him that¡ªand that I love him.¡± Her last few words came out in an energetic rush. Maybe it was just the feeling of excitement at still being alive, but she suddenly missed James, even though they had been apart for probably less than half an hour. A part of her wished that they had entered the same Dungeon mode together now. She suspected that this level would have bored him, though.


    I have to catch up, she thought. So I can stand beside him when he faces things scarier than whatever is in expert mode of this Dungeon!


    ¡°I told him,¡± Carol said. ¡°He¡¯s going to go on, since you¡¯re going on. Now I¡¯ll tell you what comes next¡­¡±


    The Dungeon Core gave Mina what seemed like a much more useful explanation of the next level. With the context of her experience on the first level, Mina thought she had a complete grasp of the threat presented.


    ¡°Thanks, Carol,¡± Mina said.


    If you left anything that could kill me out this time, I might just kill you. This place is supposed to be training, not fatal. If I actually die here, James will definitely kill you. And he¡¯d make it slow. Mina thought these things, but she was too much of a lady to say them out loud.


    ¡°There¡¯s one more thing I should mention,¡± Carol said.


    ¡°Please go ahead,¡± Mina replied, smiling brightly.


    ¡°Your ¡®Predator Skinsuit¡¯ is armor, as I¡¯m sure you guessed. It should provide you complete protection against the acid if and when you splatter the rest of the creatures.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay.¡± Mina¡¯s smile turned much more genuine. There would be more of a margin of safety now.


    She put the Black Bone Whip into her bag and tried to put the Skinsuit on over her robes. Unfortunately, she found that she could not wear it on top of her clothing.


    ¡°Is it the wrong size?¡± Mina muttered. ¡°I know I haven¡¯t lost all the baby weight yet¡­¡±


    ¡°I think equipment generated by the Loot Skill adapts to the person,¡± Carol said. ¡°Maybe it might need to be closer to the skin?¡±


    Mina reddened slightly at the suggestion. ¡°I¡¯m a little shy. Could you go back to watching James and not me for a minute?¡±


    ¡°Oh, of course.¡± Carol sounded a little embarrassed herself.


    Mina stripped out of her robe and quickly pulled the skinsuit on, grateful that she did not have to remove her underwear. The inhuman skin substance felt cool and clammy against her skin, though it seemed to gradually take on the temperature of her body.


    It¡¯s a lot like wearing a scuba suit, she told herself. She and James had gone scuba diving once, and it was a pleasant memory. Unlike the scuba suit, this one covered every single inch of skin in its black leathery skin-like substance.


    There was a head component that closed up behind her hair. She could see through it easily from the inside even though it had been opaque from the outside.


    There were external rib bone-like structures encasing her chest and abdomen in their protective structure. There was slight padding over every surface of her body.


    And there were claws on the hands and feet, though the gloves felt like they would not meaningfully limit her ability to maneuver her fingers.


    She took a few experimental steps back and forth, and she found that she was slightly quicker, if anything, than she had been without the Predator Skinsuit¡ªimpossible though that seemed.


    ¡°You know, that¡¯s not bad,¡± Mina said, smiling again. ¡°I feel much safer, and it didn¡¯t slow me down.¡±

 V4Ch50-Level Two Part 1

    James descended the stairs toward the second level, whistling to himself as he walked.


    The sun will come out tomorrow. Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there¡¯ll be sun¡­


    Despite the darkness all around him, only partially lightened by Hand of Glory, he had never been more relaxed walking into a fight.


    As he moved, he secreted strong and thick spider silk from his wrists and applied it as a patch over the section of his armor that had covered his stomach. That area was still broken, but with his newest Skill, James¡¯s silk was potentially much stronger than the armor that had originally protected that space. He infused significant energy to realize that potential.


    And this time, he did not slow down when he reached the end of the tunnel.


    James was back at full power now. There was no need to hesitate.


    Two ogres with green complexions fell upon James as he entered the massive cavern of the second level, but his hands whipped out and intercepted them. With one uppercut, he smashed the right hand ogre¡¯s chin up into its brain case. His other hand grabbed the left ogre by the throat and squeezed. James ignored the ogre¡¯s brief but violent flailing until the quiet sounds of cracking bone and crunching cartilage gave way to a wet, fleshy noise as his fingers popped all the way through the protective structures and into the esophagus.


    Then he released the ogre¡¯s throat, and the monster instantly slumped to the ground, its life¡¯s blood gushing out all around the body.


    James didn¡¯t watch it die. Three more green-skinned ogres were rushing toward him from out of the distant darkness now, and unlike the first two and the first floor¡¯s gray ogres, these were armed with short stone clubs.


    Progressively more dangerous enemies, he thought, smiling faintly. Sometimes his world was really game-like.


    His hand whipped out and threw a long Air Strike. Thin lines gouged themselves across the three ogres¡¯ chests, and the gray blood flowed freely out of them, but none of them slowed. As more Mana gathered around James¡¯s body, they accelerated as if hoping to reach him before he could launch another attack.


    All right, then.


    James pushed Mana out of his body, focusing on his new Skill. His power pulsed, radiated outward, adhered to solid surfaces¡ªand finally took physical form.


    The ogres got to within a few feet of James, and then they each struck the solid but invisible object James had conjured in front of them at full running speed. There was a slight elasticity to the threads he had burned through a tenth of his Mana to quickly construct.


    But the ogres were fleshy creatures striking a hard, thin web of fibers anchored to solid rock and made with material denser than their bones.


    The bodies hit with the combined momentum from their five or six hundred pounds of weight and the velocity of their charge.


    Pieces of ogre flew everywhere as the creatures instantly tore themselves apart on the threads. Two of the ogres lost limbs and sagged forward, dropping their whole weight onto the web as their lives gushed out of severed arms, legs, and torn arteries. The other ogre had been running with its head outstretched, so the lower body was only lightly injured, but the forehead was shredded down to the gray matter. The wounds to all three were instantly fatal.


    James managed to turn his face slightly away from the splatter as they collided with the silk barrier, to avoid any gore landing directly in his eyes, but he couldn¡¯t avoid looking for long.


    Already, more of the green-skinned ogres approached behind the ones that had shredded themselves on the silk wire.


    It looked to be a half-dozen or more¡ªJames could not see all of them clearly with the ogre cadavers blocking his view.


    The nearest one reached out to the area that was not covered by dead bodies and tentatively touched tried to push forward. James could sense its wariness¡ªit knew something was wrong with the space, but it did not know what.


    He began quietly chanting, charging gravity magic. Multiple ideas ran through his mind for how he could use it to immobilize or destroy the ogres in front of him.


    The ogre that had reached out into what must have seemed like empty space felt its hand collide with the web, and it began trying to push through, then trying to pull away¡ªbut it wasn¡¯t strong enough to push through, and the silk was sticky. To the ogre¡¯s alarm, and to James¡¯s amusement, it found that it could not pull its hand away¡ªand as it continued trying to free itself, its other hand became entangled too.


    We¡¯ve got ourselves a tar baby situation, he thought, still quietly chanting, trying not to laugh.


    Less humorously, James could tell some of the other monsters had begun trying to pull the dead ogres out of the way of their advance. The thread held up under their combined weight thus far, but he wasn¡¯t confident in how long that would continue. He had created it in only a moment or two, and the work wasn¡¯t meant to last.


    Already he could see they were forcing the silk to stretch slightly by concentrating all their weight in one spot, using the partially decapitated middle ogre¡¯s body like a sort of battering ram.


    That¡¯s the weakness, he thought. Once something is stuck in the web, you can use it as a device to push against the whole structure.


    James backed up slowly, still chanting, the dark, dense gravity Mana gathering around his body like a storm cloud.


    Around thirty seconds passed like this¡ªone ogre growing increasingly more entangled with the web, while the other five or so pushed against the corpse of another ogre stuck in the web, trying to push through the silken surface with brute force.


    Though the silk had been stretched to what James had imagined might be its breaking point, it was the rock wall to which James had anchored it that gave first. The points that secured the web began ripping from the stone one by one. As the web finally collapsed to the floor, the ogres that had been pushing in unison from behind their dead fellow stumbled forward too.


    James darted in as soon as the web began to fall.


    As he got into close range, he used his power on every ogre within reach. Their bodies suddenly doubled or tripled in weight¡ªthose closest to James getting the worst of it¡ªand he had to throw himself back to avoid being trapped under falling bodies as they collapsed.


    James stumbled as he jumped backward, the toe of one armor-clad foot caught in his own web, but he still moved in the correct direction, and he struck a wall, giving him something to grab onto so he did not fall into the web. The ogres were less fortunate.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    They slammed into the ground as if a giant fist had appeared and ground them down, and three of them landed sprawled in the web¡ªnot counting the one who was already tangled up in it.


    The monsters began elbowing each other and trying to shift position, making what moves they could to break free.


    But the ogres behind them¡ªthere had been more than the half dozen James had thought he detected, he now saw¡ªstepped forward and used the entrapped ogres¡¯ bodies like cloth draped over a puddle. Treading on the stuck ogres was clearly very painful for the ogres, especially after James had increased the weight of everything near him. He heard the sounds of bones snapping as the last five ogres standing slowly, carefully advanced.


    James yanked his foot free and stepped back, taking up a fighting stance.


    The lead ogre stepped onto the head of the ogre corpse that had become a battering ram earlier, and James darted forward, left hand extended, fingernails pointing directly at the enemy throat.


    Predator¡¯s Strike!


    The nails sharpened into claws in an instant¡ªbut just as James was about to rip into the ogre¡¯s neck, its club came down and slammed into his arm. The creature had been at the periphery of James¡¯s increased gravity and had adjusted to the change in its weight more quickly than he had counted on.


    The club struck James¡¯s arm just below the elbow, sending the deadly claws ripping into the ogre¡¯s chest instead of its neck. He felt his nails gouge out skin and fat and flesh, digging deep trenches in the ogre¡¯s skin¡ªbut not deep enough. It bled, but the wound was far from fatal.


    And James¡¯s arm felt funny. The bone the ogre had struck was not broken¡ªhe¡¯d had that before¡ªbut badly bruised. It was possible there was a hairline fracture somewhere.


    I don¡¯t think that was even a full-force hit. These guys are pretty strong.


    Of course they were. The ogres on the previous level had been strong, too.


    The creature looked down at its chest and winced, then took another step forward¡ªand its feet became entangled in a bit more of the invisible web.


    James lunged up, throwing a right handed uppercut this time. The ogre reacted, raised its arms, but far too slowly. As its hands grabbed for James, it caught only his waist. His fist landed, and the ogre¡¯s chin disintegrated under his punch.


    ¡°Grahhhh!¡± The creature let out a wild, pained yowl, and James twisted free of its suddenly weakened grip.


    With his slightly injured arm, he aimed a chop using Predator¡¯s Strike.


    His hand swept through the ogre¡¯s neck, and the head flopped backward, held on only by the spine.


    The monsters behind the ogre stepped back, fear in their yellow eyes, and James leaped in closer.


    He launched his full body into a punch at the right hand ogre¡¯s midsection, just as the creature was hesitantly beginning to step back. The fist embedded itself in the ogre¡¯s middle, and the creature doubled over, blood beginning to trickle from its lips.


    The left hand ogre¡¯s eyes went wide, and it turned to run. The other two ogres that remained uninjured took that as their cue and fled as well, running toward the back of the large cavern.


    The scenario struck James as similar to a game of tag for just a moment, and he smiled savagely, displaying all his teeth.


    Well, I guess I¡¯m it!


    ¡ª


    In the hard mode Dungeon, Mina entered the second level ready for action.


    The Alder Wood Wand practically crackled with the intensity of the lightning Mana she had poured into it.


    She was prepared for everything Carol had warned her about.


    The second level was shaped like a stone tunnel itself, full of irregular rock formations on the walls and ceiling. The main difference between it and the shaft Mina descended to reach it was that the one inside the level was horizontal instead of diagonally descending¡ªand of course that Mina had to be ready to fight as soon as she entered the level.


    She took a few deep breaths and, before she could have second thoughts, she stepped into the room.


    As she passed through the portal into the second floor, one of the giant black bug-like creatures leaped out from the corner of the room just above her head and to the left. Mina shot it with a bolt of lightning, then turned aside. She knew it was dead without needing to check.


    Another one of the monsters charged at her from further away, ground level, and she blasted it straight through the forehead. The creatures¡¯ acidic yellow blood spurted out of the wound and onto the shoulder of the Perfect Skinsuit as the monster slumped forward, but Mina deliberately ignored it and waited a moment, confirming what Carol had told her. As promised, the armor did not take any damage from the acid¡¯s touch.


    She breathed a sigh of relief.


    Then the rest of the enemies, another twenty black bug monsters¡ªall gathered at the very end of the long tunnel¡ªtook notice of her.


    They all rushed toward her at once, stepping over each other, running on the floor, the walls, and the ceiling as they charged across the distance. It felt like Mina had thrown herself into some terribly stressful video game.


    The one bright side of being attacked by so many at once was that for the next ten seconds, she did not need to aim. Every shot, no matter where she launched it, landed on target.


    Her Mana slowly dwindled with every blast from the wand, but every bolt counted.


    It was only when the enemies were down to a handful, hiding behind stone outcroppings, that Mina had to be careful, conserve energy¡ªand aim.


    A large head poked out from behind a rock, and Mina resisted the urge to fire. She saw one of the other creatures that had managed to sneak closer was moving, and she wanted to save her next shot for that one. It was only seven feet away from her, while the other one was camped out closer to twelve feet away.


    It¡¯s almost like they get smarter and more careful when there are fewer of them, she thought.


    The monster closest to her gave up waiting patiently, broke cover¡ªand she hurled a lightning bolt at it. The creature leaped to the side and dodged the lighting, and Mina immediately pushed more lightning Mana into the wand.


    The other four monsters all rushed toward her as the closest black bug monster lunged in her direction. A bolt of lightning tore through the center of its mass, but it still landed on her, its weight pinning her down as it bled on the chest of her armor. Mina felt very grateful for the suit.


    She started to push herself up, reaching a sitting position just as the next creature poked its head into her field of vision. She fired another lightning bolt almost by pure instinct, striking the monster through its oversized head.


    The next monster threw itself at her, and she managed to shoot another bolt of lightning at it, penetrating the left side of the chest. Like the last one, it collapsed on top of her, gushing a torrent of yellow blood and spasming as it died. The cumulative weight of the two creatures, one on her upper half and one on her lower half, pinned her back down.


    Mina swallowed, trying to control her rising panic as she sensed the remaining two creatures had entered the area around her. Her field of vision was limited by being underneath the two monster corpses, but that was also her advantage, right? The monsters could not directly attack her until they removed their dead comrades from on top of her.


    A sharp spear-like object suddenly stabbed through one of the monster bodies and deep into Mina¡¯s stomach. She could only see it slightly, but she felt it.


    Adrenaline suppressed most of the pain so that it was more like a hard punch to the gut than the agony she knew would come later, but her heart raced out of control. She felt like she might die.


    Then she felt the spear-like object push further in and exit by stabbing out through the back of her ribs.


    She let out a choking gasp. That hurt so much. There was a part of her mind that wanted to quantify if this was more or less painful than giving birth with no painkillers, but she recognized that might be her going into shock.


    Focus. Focus in this goddamn moment, she told herself angrily. It might be the last thing you ever do.


    The bladed thing that had impaled her through the stomach had continued to move, somehow, and the shaft of the weapon seemed to be flexible and jagged.


    Right, of course, it¡¯s one of their tails.


    The tails were jagged whip-like appendages with a sharp blade at their tip.


    It curled around Mina¡¯s back and began to lift her from beneath the bodies.


    The monsters wanted to kill her face to face.

 V4Ch51-Level Two Part 2

    Perfect, Mina thought, smiling through gritted teeth as the Perfect Predator began to lift her from beneath the other two dead creatures with its tail. This is, ow, just what I need. I have to see them to aim properly.


    It was hard to think straight with an object stabbing her through the gut.


    She blinked back tears and tried her best to ignore the pain of her entire body¡¯s weight being lifted via the object that had impaled her through the stomach.


    Don¡¯t cry, Mina. Don¡¯t you cry. You won¡¯t be able to see them. Pain is just weakness leaving the¡ªoh, it hurts so darned much¡­


    The two dead monsters that lay on top of her tumbled to the side as the black bug creature raised Mina up on its tail. As the chitinous black shapes fell away, she found herself finally able to see the creature that had stabbed her.


    Mina felt very weak and a bit faint, but she exercised her willpower in this moment to carefully control all the movements of her body. She kept her head slightly lowered and her eyes narrowed, trying to give the impression that she had already passed out. She forced herself to keep her wand hand at her side, still holding the Alder Wood Wand firmly but letting her arm hang almost limp. She wanted to look as helpless as possible to the creatures.


    She would only get one chance at this.


    As the creature slowly elevated Mina, she saw that the other surviving monster had positioned itself behind the one that was killing her. It paced back and forth restlessly, looking as if it wanted to be the one doing the slaughtering but had lost a coin toss.


    Good. That positioning works¡­


    The monster lifted her up to its head height and pulled her closer to its face. Mina saw the gigantic black head up in much tighter proximity than she would have ever wanted to. She got an excellent look at the strange, almost humanoid jaws and teeth¡ªexcept that these teeth were silver and held in hard, jet-black jaws. She saw the beast¡¯s hungry maw begin to drip with saliva. She could not see a nose or even nostrils anywhere on the head, but she could have sworn the creature sniffed her.


    Somehow, Mina had the distinct feeling that it could smell her fear and her pain¡ªand they gave this creature pleasure.


    She did not allow herself to be overcome by those feelings. Even as the monster pulled her closer to its face, she kept one eye on the area behind it, tracking where the other Perfect Predator was pacing, waiting for her ideal moment to strike.


    Then the mouth just in front of her face opened.


    Inches away from the open maw, Mina saw a strange, hard, tongue-like appendage within the mouth. It was leveled at her head. Instinct, or a dimly recalled chunk of Carol¡¯s exposition, told her that this was the creature¡¯s preferred killing implement.


    The pacing monster behind the one holding her turned its body and began to move back toward the space just behind the one holding her.


    Mina seized her moment.


    Tilting her fist slightly to point her wand, she fired a last magic lightning bolt.


    At such close range, there was no chance of dodging it for the creature that had been preparing to kill her.


    The monster that held her on its tail gushed blood and looked unsteady, ready to topple over on top of her. The tail that lifted her suddenly spasmed, and then she found herself thrown violently backward in the monster¡¯s apparent death throes. She tried to keep her presence of mind even as she was thrust helplessly backward through the air.


    Did I hit the other one?


    Her vision was slightly blurry as she raised her head to look, but she saw it. The second and final monster seemed to be dying. It twitched and writhed in its position directly behind the first one, in what she hoped were its last gasp movements.


    That was the last look she got at the creature while they were both still alive.


    Mina¡¯s body slammed into a wall, and she groaned with pain as the impact agitated her injuries. As she landed in a seated position against the wall, she pulled the end of the long tail out of her wound. Most of it had been ejected by the dying predator¡¯s spasm, which made her task slightly easier. Still, immediately after, blood and another mucus-like substance that she guessed was stomach acid gushed from the opening in her abdomen.


    Mina¡¯s fingers relaxed, and the wand dropped from her fist to her side. She felt like passing out. She wanted to vomit, and she felt an impulse to cover her mouth with her left hand. She could have cried.


    Instead of doing any of those things, she immediately pivoted from offense to using Laying on Hands. She couldn¡¯t rest until she made sure that she would actually wake up again. There was no one else here to heal her.


    I may have bit off a little more than I could chew, she thought. I need much better defenses¡­


    Adrenaline kept her body functional and her mind racing despite the big hole in her stomach. But she could feel it beginning to fade. At the same time, sensation that had been suppressed while she was facing imminent death was coming back throughout her body.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    ¡°So glad I can heal,¡± she muttered to herself as she worked, her teeth chattering. She felt suddenly very cold. Part of that was undoubtedly the hole the stab wound had left in the Perfect Skinsuit. The air in the room was cool against her exposed skin.


    But she knew most of it was the blood loss. She felt her legs soaked in her own bodily fluids as they flowed toward the bottom of the suit. Human bodies, she knew, had a limit to how much blood they could lose and live.


    ¡°Stomach wounds kill people slowly,¡± she said aloud, again talking to no one. ¡°You won¡¯t die as long as you don¡¯t lose focus.¡±


    Her hands maintained their green glow. She still had enough Mana to do this. Probably.


    ¡°Come on, come on, come on¡­¡±


    The glow flickered for a moment¡ªalmost looked like it might go out¡ªbut she focused her mind, and it steadied again.


    After a minute of this, the wound from her stomach began to feel just a bit less painful.


    Then Mina felt her vision starting to go blurry in the middle and dark at the edges. She blinked it away, but it came back a few seconds later.


    ¡°Fine, I don¡¯t need to see to heal¡­¡± Her words came out in a mumble that trailed off to nothing. She realized a little bit of drool was leaking from the edges of her lips. Her eyes couldn¡¯t see it, but she felt it on her chin.


    ¡°That¡¯s embarrassing, can¡¯t let James see that¡­¡± Her voice was very quiet now.


    Stay focused, she admonished herself.


    Mina thought the flesh around the hole in her stomach was starting to close up. She felt a sensation of extreme weakness, and she heard a female voice shouting. ¡°Mina! Mina! Wake up!¡±


    I can barely hear you. You sound so far away.


    Then she knew no more.


    ¡ª


    James jammed his flaming hand into the green ogre¡¯s chest and pulled out its beating heart.


    The monster crumpled to its knees and let out a low groan.


    ¡°Urgh¡­¡± The ogre reached toward him, as if it could take the heart back and place it inside the chest cavity again to fix the damage. Maybe it could. James did not yet know the limits of healing in this world. He suspected that it was almost limitless¡ªexcept death. Once the soul had left this plane of existence, that could not be overcome.


    But he held the heart just out of the dying creature¡¯s reach anyway, his fiery hand slowly cooking the meat.


    As the ogre¡¯s eyes went completely, James took his first bite of its heart.


    He really needed to start carrying salt and pepper in his magic satchel.


    As he was munching on his snack, his alerts from the fighting started to hit.


    [You killed Green-Skin Ogre Lv. 29! You gained 1700 exp!]


    [...]


    [Sufficient experience accrued. Proficient Silk Fabrication leveled up!]


    [Sufficient experience accrued. Basic Elemental Magic: Gravity leveled up!]


    [Sufficient experience accrued. Predator¡¯s Strike leveled up!]


    [Predator in Human Skin leveled up!]


    ¡°Oh, hey, I got a Class level and a bunch of Skill levels this time!¡± James muttered happily around a mouthful of semi-cooked muscle. He raised his voice slightly. ¡°You noble ogres did not die in vain!¡± He chuckled and shook his head.


    [Evolver Human leveled up!]


    I¡¯m a really sick person, huh? Yelling at corpses. I¡¯ve been missing this me time.


    As he bit into another hunk of ogre flesh, he got a final alert.


    [Sufficient experience accrued. Omnivore leveled up!]


    I guess I should get ready to go down to the final level.


    James looked down the stairway that his last victim had been rushing toward when he found it. Two ogres had actually managed to escape down that darkened tunnel, running toward the final level. James did not know whether the final creatures down there would welcome their new visitors or tear them limb from limb, but he thought it was likely that whatever lived in the lowest level of the Dungeon would now have some idea that he was coming.


    Not ideal.


    ¡°At least it wasn¡¯t because I played with my food too much,¡± he said quietly.


    James had tried to run after the ogres as soon as they started to flee from him, but he had been slowed by the ogre he had almost forgotten about¡ªthe one that had gotten itself tangled up in his web most thoroughly when the ogres were trying to push through it.


    That ogre, despite being weighed down by gravity magic and bound tightly in silken webbing, had managed to reach out and grab hold of James¡¯s foot, apparently deciding to selflessly draw the enemy¡¯s attention so that its brethren could escape.


    James quickly gave it the heroic death that it wished for, but by the time he turned back, the ogres were almost in the stairwell. He had only caught the slowest one, and that was thanks to the tunnel only having room for single-file movement by the ogres.


    The remaining two ogres managed to get out of James¡¯s line of sight before he dispatched the unlucky one, so James spent the next twenty minutes Pillaging the bodies and eating ogre meat. There was no sense in rushing after the ogres. They already knew he was probably coming after them, so it was better if he let them wait a while and begin to wonder if he might have left instead. Keep them guessing.


    I wonder if Mina is going on to the last level, or if she¡¯s quitting, James thought.


    If Mina decided to call it quits, he would probably be ready to go, too. This level had featured slightly higher level monsters, and more of them, than the previous level. If the final level represented a similar escalation, it could take James some time to clear it. He wouldn¡¯t want to keep Mina waiting while he played around down here.


    ¡°Hey, Carol, how¡¯s Mina doing?¡± James asked loudly.


    There was silence.


    ¡°Carol, are you there?¡± James said. ¡°Can you hear me?¡±


    He was almost ready to try his Otherworldly Shriek and see if that got the Dungeon Core¡¯s attention, though he doubted it would work¡ªor simply rush back out of the Dungeon the way he had come in. If something was wrong with Carol, he would definitely want to check on Mina to make sure she wasn¡¯t affected by whatever was up with the Dungeon Core.


    But Carol finally answered him.


    ¡°Sorry for the delay, James,¡± she said. ¡°I was just checking in on Mina. She¡¯s, um, successfully beaten the second level. She¡¯s alive and in one piece.¡± She chuckled nervously.


    James didn¡¯t need magic rings to tell that the Dungeon Core was trying, rather poorly, to hide something from him.


    ¡°Carol, what aren¡¯t you telling me?¡± he asked.

 V4Ch52-The Hard Mode Final Boss

    ¡°Mina! Mina, please wake up! Oh my God, Mina, please tell me you¡¯re okay! Oh my gosh, you have a baby, what the fuck is wrong with me letting you walk into this crazy fucking hard Dungeon mode without getting you to at least clear the first two modes first? Why the fuck did I even think xenomorphs were a good idea for Dungeon monsters? Who does that? I¡¯m such a fucking asshole. What the fuck is wrong with me?¡±


    Mina woke to the sound of Carol moaning, crying, and cursing herself out in obvious distress. The caterwauling emanated from the walls all around her.


    ¡°Wha¡ªoh, my gosh¡­¡± Mina shook her head lightly.


    ¡°Mina! You¡¯re okay!¡±


    Carol¡¯s voice felt shrill and piercing, and Mina covered her ears for a moment until Carol quieted.


    ¡°I think I have a little headache,¡± Mina said quietly. ¡°Could you, um, lower the volume a little, please?¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± Carol said. It sounded like a whisper from right beside Mina¡¯s ear, which was much less unpleasant but had an unexpectedly creepy effect.


    ¡°How long was I out?¡± Mina asked. She looked down at her body carefully. There was a big hole in the Perfect Skinsuit, baring her midriff. She could see her belly button and, just below it, a tiny red hole.


    I guess I healed it pretty darn perfectly, she thought. I¡¯m not dead. That¡¯s nice.


    She wanted to go to sleep and rest for twelve hours.


    ¡°A few minutes,¡± Carol said. ¡°Just long enough for me to freak out and start wondering what my afterlife would be like.¡±


    Mina nodded and shook her head with a small smile. She and Carol both knew exactly what the Dungeon Core was talking about.


    ¡°It feels like I was out longer,¡± Mina said. ¡°I¡¯m still very tired, but I would think I¡¯d be feeling worse. I should check how much Mana I have left, since I¡¯m not completely healed yet¡­¡± She gestured at the little hole in her stomach.


    ¡°Oh, Mina, I hid a potion on this level!¡± Carol said excitedly, her voice rising to an irritating level again.


    Mina pulled her armor away from her head and shook out her long, dark hair.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the potion?¡± she asked.


    ¡ª


    ¡°So, that¡¯s what happened,¡± Carol finished.


    ¡°I see,¡± said James, teeth clenched. ¡°Well, I¡¯m glad she survived. Sounds like it was a pretty close call.¡±


    ¡°Um, yeah. I¡¯m not going to lie, it was scary.¡±


    ¡°So, is Mina back outside yet?¡± James asked.


    ¡°She took a potion that was hidden in her Dungeon,¡± Carol said. There was a long pause. ¡°And she said she wanted to fight the final boss on the last level of hard mode.¡±


    James bit his lower lip so hard that he drew a little trickle of blood that rolled slowly from his mouth down into his goatee.


    ¡°She¡¯s already decided that, has she?¡± he finally asked, once the urge to curse had faded.


    ¡°Not exactly,¡± Carol said. ¡°She was about to go right around the time you asked about her, but I think she felt bad, knowing that you might not want her to go. I don¡¯t quite get it, but maybe that¡¯s why I never had any long term partners when I was human. I told her all about the final level, so she could have all the information she needed to fight and win¡ªor to decide she didn¡¯t want to continue. She told me she wanted to go. Then I told her that you were asking about her. And after that, she said that she wanted to know what your feelings were. She says she¡¯s determined to go and get stronger. It¡¯s really only one more monster for her to fight. But it almost felt like she wanted to get your permission¡ªor your blessing?¡±


    ¡°My wife is a very stubborn woman,¡± James said with a bittersweet smile. ¡°She is trying to get me on board before she does what she wants to do. If I tell her no, there¡¯s about a ninety-five percent chance she¡¯ll do what I want, but she probably won¡¯t be happy about it. But she wanted me to know that she thinks she can do this. Maybe the main reason Mina phrased it the way she did is that she wants to know if I think she can do it.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t sure if he was happy or angry that she would jump into risking her life in this way, after she had been so severely injured on the previous level.


    On the one hand, it made him feel that she was like him¡ªand he found this particular similarity attractive. He had always known he married a fighter, someone who would never turn her back and run if someone threatened the two of them.


    It was an essential quality in a wife, in his mind. She had to be strong-willed and sort of tough. Brave. Without courage, a person could not have any other virtues.


    On the other hand¡­


    I really wish she would be willing to turn and run sometimes. One of us has to survive and take care of James Junior¡­


    ¡°So, what should I tell her?¡± Carol asked.


    ¡ª


    ¡°All right, I¡¯ll continue on, then,¡± Mina said. ¡°Thanks for letting me know what he thought.¡± She lowered her face, trying to hide a blush from Carol¡¯s view, which Mina imagined came from a vantage point above her.


    It¡¯s sweet that he¡¯s worried about me. But he still understood what I wanted and supported it. She wanted to kiss her husband.


    ¡°Okay, I guess,¡± Carol said. She sounded worried, like she still thought that she ought to do something more to boost Mina¡¯s chances of survival.


    Mina couldn¡¯t imagine what else Carol might try. She had already told Mina everything she could possibly want to know about the final level.


    ¡°Thank you for your help,¡± Mina said.


    ¡°Of course,¡± Carol said, still clearly nervous. ¡°Happy to be of service.¡±


    Mina started taking the Perfect Skinsuit off. She would replace it with another that she had Looted from one of the nearly two dozen dead creatures in this level.


    On the last level, she probably would not need the protection, per Carol¡¯s explanation of the challenge that awaited her, but it never hurt to be prepared.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just go back to observing James while you change,¡± said Carol as Mina¡¯s suit peeled away from around her shoulders.


    Mina almost felt as if she could sense Carol¡¯s presence dissipate, as if Mina had been talking to a ghost rather than the creator of the entire structure that Mina occupied.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    She was left alone to think through her game plan, though she already knew it would be a simple one, thanks to Carol¡¯s detailed description of the final level.


    As she peeled the nearly skin-tight armor off, Mina wrinkled her nose. The material clung to her thighs and underwear, stuck on the semi-congealed blood she had shed on this level. She had to apply some elbow grease to begin getting the legs unstuck.


    Despite her advance knowledge of the upcoming challenge, the slowly unfolding sight of her lower body encrusted with her own blood made her question whether what she was doing next was really sane.


    Who would choose to go into the third level after having the experience I just had? she thought.


    But she already knew the answer.


    Someone who wanted to prove to herself that she could have been a help rather than a hindrance to James if she had gone with him into the expert mode levels.


    Mina still wasn¡¯t sure about that, given how the second level on hard mode had nearly killed her.


    She pulled the suit down her calves to her feet¡ªstill struggling against the syrupy, semi-congealed blood that seemed to have seeped all the way to the bottom of the suit and turned her whole lower body sticky¡ªand finally managed to yank it off. The material separated from her feet and ankles in one last quick tug, with a little sucking sound as it peeled away from the adhesive blood.


    Mina looked down at her bare legs and shook her head. She looked like she had just come from wading in a pool of blood and had forgotten to towel off.


    Yep, I¡¯m crazy. I just conducted a practical, hands-on experiment to find out how much blood there was in my body, and now I¡¯m ready for a repeat.


    She conjured a small amount of water¡ªfortunately, the potion Carol had hidden in the level was a pretty powerful one, which restored her to full Health and Mana¡ªand manipulated it into a little river that rotated around her pelvis, legs, and feet, to rinse her lower body off.


    Then she dressed in one of the non-damaged Perfect Skinsuits she had obtained from Looting the other dead monsters, and she walked down the stairs.


    Mina did not allow herself to hesitate now that she was ready for the final battle. James wouldn¡¯t have hesitated.


    I have every possible advantage, she reminded herself as her feet mechanically found the next step and the step after that. I know everything about the final boss that there is to know.


    And as she walked, she poured Mana into her wand, preparing the most powerful attack she had ever launched¡ªthe move that should guarantee her immediate victory.


    Still, when she reached the bottom and set eyes on the final level and its resident monster, the sight made her shudder. She couldn¡¯t help seeing the image of the beast that had almost killed her, superimposed on this much larger version of the creatures.


    Everything the other creatures had been, this monster was almost the same, but larger. The same bug-like black body, exoskeletal form covered in what looked like an external rib cage and ending in a long tail that Mina could not see from the entrance.


    Differentiating it were two extra limbs that looked clumsily slapped on, and the fact that the giant black head was not quite as phallic-shaped as the previous monsters¡¯ heads had been. The top of this one¡¯s head was molded to look more like a crown rather than a blimp.


    And, of course, as Carol had mentioned, this creature was female.


    The proof of it lay on the floor between Mina and the monster.


    Hundreds of eggs, which Carol had explained contained the Perfect Parasite creature Mina had killed on the first level. They would attack anything that entered the final boss¡¯s territory.


    ¡°How did the bat manage to defeat the boss?¡± Mina had asked, exasperated.


    ¡°I actually hadn¡¯t made all the adjustments to hard mode that I¡¯ve made now by that point,¡± Carol admitted, sounding slightly embarrassed. ¡°I thought that since she cleared all the levels, I should make the monsters more dangerous¡ªmore like the movies. I figured that someone like Evangeline had managed to mostly keep her distance while she killed them, so I increased the number of monsters on the second level, and I gave them the acid blood¡­¡±


    Mina sighed and shook her head at the memory. She supposed she understood what Carol was doing. She was fine-tuning. The hard mode Dungeon had only had one other challenger before Mina, and it had seemed too easy. Now, hopefully Carol understood that she had deviated too far in the deadly direction.


    She tore her eyes away from the imposing sight before her¡ªthe hundreds of eggs that began only a few feet away from the final level¡¯s entrance, and the giant insect that took up almost the entirety of the room besides the floor space devoted to the eggs.


    Mina looked down at her wand. She judged that she had charged it with enough Mana.


    She hoped it would be enough. It was almost all she had. The wand gave off an intense orange glow that almost hurt her eyes when she looked directly at it.


    Mina stepped into the Dungeon, just setting one foot into the space.


    The boss stirred, tossing its giant head with a hiss. Some of the eggs nearest to Mina began opening, surfaces peeling back like flowers opening their petals.


    Mina launched her attack. The largest single burst of fire that she had ever seen exploded out of her wand, and it was all she could do to control the direction of the enormous blast.


    Blow up everything in the room in front of me, she thought. Kill it all.


    The flames moved faster than her brain could process the movement, incinerating the nearest eggs in a fraction of a second and briskly moving on. Mina only got a good look at the aftermath, the ashes and dust that littered the bottom of the cave.


    The explosion made it all the way to the back of the cave, and Mina felt resistance. Physical resistance from the only strong entity in the room, the boss monster.


    It felt like the thing was trying to shove the fire back¡ªtrying to push Mina back, as she was the one controlling the flames, pushing the explosion forward with her mind.


    The boss¡¯s skin was much tougher than the eggs had been. It burned anyway. As the creature¡¯s limbs began to char, and the flesh below was singed, the physical resistance gradually evaporated.


    Mina pushed the explosion onward until it struck the far wall and pressed it down and out, leaving nothing to chance¡ªpurging the whole room. It was the closest thing to a nuclear blast that humans could achieve in this post-technological world.


    She felt it when the flames could find nothing more to burn. The feeling of emptiness, hunger that could not be sated. She sagged slightly, her Will relaxed for just a moment, and the flames disappeared.


    The notifications began to stream in.


    [You killed Perfect Parasite Lv. 10! You gained 120 exp!]


    [You killed Perfect Parasite Lv. 10! You gained 120 exp!]


    [...]


    [You killed Perfect Predator Matriarch Lv. 30! You gained 2200 exp!]


    [Witch of Thessaly leveled up!]


    [System-Boosted Human leveled up!]


    [You killed Perfect Parasite Lv. 10! You gained 120 exp!]


    [You killed Perfect Parasite Lv. 10! You gained 120 exp!]


    [...]


    The Perfect Parasite notification repeated a hundred more times, interspersed with levels for Witch of Thessaly and System-Boosted Human, and Mina felt repeated surges of power hit her as she leveled multiple times.


    [A Race Evolution is available. Review? Y/N]


    [Congratulations! You have cleared Hard Mode of Dungeon: Carol¡¯s Place!]


    [Your score was 18,079. See Leaderboard? Y/N]


    [Sufficient experience accrued. Witch of Thessaly leveled up!]


    ¡°Yes!¡± she exclaimed. She pumped her fist, but both the movement and her voice were a bit lifeless.


    Mina felt strangely tired and exhilarated at the same time. Just like when she had come near the brink of death earlier, she had used up nearly all of her Mana with this last attack. But with all the kills powering her up, her reserves had bounced back. Now she felt like she had more energy than she knew what to do with¡ªand also like she could fall asleep if she laid her head on a pillow.


    She ignored the offer to look at the Leaderboard. She did not want to see that she was in second or third place after all that effort.


    I have so many Free Points to distribute, she thought. She had acquired so many levels at once. And Race Evolution. She remembered that had come at a pivotal moment in James¡¯s journey. When he killed the Spider Queen, the first leader of a species he had slaughtered.


    Mina had replicated the experience a little artificially, using every bit of assistance available to her to ambush the leader of a species Carol had generated, but maybe she was starting to catch up.


    I need to check my Status out. Have to distribute the Free  Points. I¡¯ll talk to James about this Race Evolution thing before I do anything about it. And then¡­


    Mina yawned.


    Well, before all that, I wonder if I have time for a nap¡­

 V4Ch53-The Expert Mode Final Boss

    James walked down into the darkness, tracing his hand along the wall. He did not need to do this for balance, but he enjoyed the feel of the cool stone on his fingertips. It helped keep him grounded in the present moment, in the physical space he occupied, when his mind would rather have skipped back upstairs and across to the tunnel where Mina was fighting her struggle.


    Fortunately, he soon reached the bottom, and his attention focused squarely on his own situation.


    His eyes scoped out the final floor to the extent that he could from the entrance without actually going in. Unlike the previous two floors, this one did not lie in darkness.


    Rather, James saw that torches lined the wall in front of the entrance. The downward sloping tunnel he had descended seemed to lead into a winding path. He could only see the wall in front of him and, when he pressed himself up against the right side of the entrance, a dead end to his left.


    You¡¯re being paranoid, he thought. Just walk out. This is the final floor. It would be cheap for there to be an ambush waiting.


    But he remembered the two Green-Skinned Ogres that had escaped him.


    James began generating silk and shedding his skin, combining the skin and silk to make a dummy, imbuing Mana into the creation and shaping it with Monster Generation and his Will. The combined creature quickly crawled out from under his armor and slithered onto the floor before it began unfolding itself, standing almost upright.


    Body Double Dummy, go on in and see if the coast is clear, James silently ordered. Try your best to look like me while you do it.


    The creature twisted from side to side as if stretching, pulled itself to its full height¡ªwhich was slightly more than James¡¯s full height, since it was made of his skin and silk and did not need to conform to his skeletal structure¡ªand then hastened to obey.


    As it stepped into the tunnel, two axes immediately descended, one from each side of the entrance. They were wielded in two pairs of thick, green hands.


    ¡°Grahhh!¡± roared one of the ogres.


    ¡°Yarg!¡± yelled the other back, as their axes fell on the Body Double Dummy and hacked through its skin, chopping through the external layer but failing to penetrate the strong silk underneath. The creatures did not seem to realize what was off about this creature at first; they kept trying to cleave it apart with the axes they had apparently acquired.


    Their movements were slower than James remembered. He wondered if the weapons they held were too heavy for them. They hadn¡¯t had axes on the previous floor, only clubs.


    James thrust his upper body out as the axe on the left descended, grabbing hold of the down-swinging arm and yanking the Green-Skinned Ogre sideways and backward, into the tunnel.


    The creature cried out for help, but there was nothing its comrade could do. Their bodies were too thick to fit two abreast into the entrance. The monster that remained on the final floor could only look on helplessly as James ripped the throat out of its last fellow Green-Skinned Ogre with his bare hands.


    James shoved the dead creature out into the final level, and he saw the other ogre¡¯s shadow dance along the wall as it repeated its trick from the previous floor and ran away.


    What, you don¡¯t want to avenge your brother? he thought. I don¡¯t mind chasing you, but running away is an embarrassing thing to do as you die.


    James stepped into the final level, picked up the axe the dead ogre had dropped, and looked down the tunnel to see if he could hurl the weapon and kill the last of the Green-Skinned Ogres. Unfortunately, it had disappeared around a bend.


    The Body Double Dummy got up from the ground, shook itself off, and stood ready to obey James¡¯s next command.


    I need to use more of this special silk in future monsters. He silently ordered the creature to follow along behind him.


    This last level seemed to be snake-like in shape. James¡¯s back was to a dead end when he started, but as he walked after the ogre, he saw that the tunnel he found himself in was one of twists and turns.


    I could start knocking down walls and probably catch up to it faster, he thought. Or I could use earth magic to cut off its retreat. He could still hear the ogre frantically panting as it tried to keep ahead of him while continuing to clutch onto its heavy axe. It was only a few twists of the path ahead of James, but in practice, that meant three walls or more that James would need to knock down. If he used earth magic, he could simply cut off the retreat and walk the rest of the way.


    Nah. The ogre will die whenever I get to it. Better to save my energy. Whatever actually lives on this floor has weapons. It¡¯s probably an upgrade on the ogres in other respects, too. James had half-expected the monsters would have killed off the Green-Skinned Ogres for invading their territory. If the creatures of the final challenge had given the green ogres axes instead, it meant that they were confident enough to arm potential invaders and intelligent enough to try using the other monsters as pawns to kill off their challenger.


    Worthy opponents.


    He examined the axe in his hand for any clue as to the original owner¡¯s personality or other attributes, but there was little to notice about it. A short, hard steel axe head fixed to what appeared to be a black iron hilt. Heavier than it should be for its size, though still not too heavy for James.


    There were no distinguishing marks. All he could think was that whoever wielded this was definitely physically stronger than the ogres, or the wielder would swing too slowly to hit its target.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    James rounded another corner and began to hear the trickle of water. As he advanced further, it grew louder. The sound of running water.


    Is there a waterfall at the end? he wondered.


    As he drew near what James felt confident would be the final bend in the tunnel, he braced himself for whatever he might see. He clutched the found axe tightly in both hands and breathed in deep, mind running through various plans of action in case of ambush.


    James stepped around the bend, and he finally got a clear view¡ªof sunlight and blue skies. The underground tunnel he had marched through, seemingly deep within the bowels of the Earth, led into an open air area. Before him, James saw what appeared to be a largely open field, with a building he recognized as a Shinto shrine dropped into the middle of it¡ªa beautiful wooden structure of lanterns, columns, translucent paper sheet doors over wooden lattices, and gently sloping roofs, intricately decorated with designs inlaid in jade and gold.


    In the distance, James saw mountains that ringed the area and appeared to grow thick with vegetation. He saw a waterfall pouring off the side of one of the mountains¡ªthe source of the noise of rushing water. He heard the chirping of songbirds.


    ¡°What the fuck is this place?¡± he murmured.


    I was just in a bunch of dark caves. The final boss lives in a Shinto shrine? We just went all the way from something that felt vaguely Lord of the Rings straight to the East? There¡¯s no thematic unity!


    ¡°That¡¯s a fine way to talk about our home,¡± said a quiet voice, but one that nonetheless carried. One of the paper doors slid to the side, and a massive creature lowered its head to slide under the lintel and step outside.


    James could only stare.


    Big fellow, aren¡¯t you? And you can talk¡­


    He used Identify and confirmed what his eyes told him about what sort of enemy he faced.


    Blue Oni, Lv. 39.


    That might mean roughly similar to Samuel in power.


    The ten-foot-tall blue-skinned figure carried an open, leatherbound book in the palm of its left hand and a huge kanabo in the right, which it casually lifted up and leaned against its shoulder. It wore the white robes and black hat of a Shinto priest. A single long tusk curved up from under the right side of its jaw, while a single long, curved horn adorned the left temple of its head. The figure¡¯s features were androgynous, but James interpreted it as male based on its body structure.


    So, this is the final boss. Not bad at all. Wait, did he say our home?


    On the other side of the building, one of the other paper doors suddenly crumpled and flew outward. A giant red foot could be seen within the shrine.


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget about me, brother,¡± it growled in a much deeper voice.


    The foot lowered, and the Red Oni emerged on the other side, barely bothering to lower his head, smashing apart some of the wood of the shrine. James observed that the Red Oni¡¯s tusk and horn were the photo negatives of the Blue Oni¡¯s, appearing on opposite sides. Unlike the Blue Oni, he wore samurai-style armor over his body¡ªand there was nothing ambiguous about his gender. This one was a big, buff man, bristling with muscle, though the same height as his brother. The Red Oni did not carry any weapons, however.


    ¡°Do you have to be so uncouth?¡± asked the Blue Oni, turning to face the Red Oni. ¡°What if Carol makes us clean up after we kill him? Do you want to go off into the mountains and find wood to patch that hole?¡±


    ¡°Oh, lay off me, Blue,¡± the Red Oni grumbled. ¡°This is our moment to shine. Our first real enemy. Worry about Mom and the cleanup later!¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± said the Blue Oni with a short huff of breath. ¡°We do have bigger problems to deal with.¡±


    James noticed movement from behind the Blue Oni and swallowed. If there were any more Onis than these two, he was going to leave. He didn¡¯t think he was ready to fight a whole Oni family, given the level he¡¯d seen for the Blue Oni.


    But as his eyes focused on the motion, he realized it was just the Green-Skinned Ogre, quivering behind the Blue Oni.


    Oh, I almost forgot about him.


    ¡°Come on out here!¡± the Red Oni called. ¡°I know you¡¯re not afraid of a fight, right?¡± There was a slight, taunting edge to his voice, which James ignored. He had been in far too many fights to be goaded that way.


    ¡°Pardon me,¡± James replied. ¡°I think you two have something I lost on the previous floor.¡± He pointed at the Green-Skinned Ogre. ¡°Do you mind if I finish up with him before we fight? I don¡¯t want us being interrupted.¡±


    ¡°Uh, sure thing, right, bro?¡± the Red Oni said, looking at the Blue Oni¡ªclearly the brains of the operation.


    The Blue Oni looked at James for a moment with narrowed, searching eyes. Then he nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s no skin off our noses, human. He smells, anyway. Like they don¡¯t have baths up there on the other levels or something.¡±


    James guessed that the Blue Oni had never left the rather lush and beautiful environment that Carol had created for him. Upstairs, there wasn¡¯t a water source or even a place for the ogres to relieve themselves. It was possible that they didn¡¯t have those biological functions.


    Clearly, Carol had lavished most of her attention on the Onis.


    James ordered the Body Double Dummy to trail along after him as he walked out, and keep close to the opening that led backward into the tunnel and cave structure. One thing that was clear to James was that the Onis were too large to fit into the tunnel that he had just emerged from. The Body Double Dummy was not powerful enough to keep the path of retreat clear, but if James did have to run away, it could perhaps distract one of the Onis for a few seconds while James darted into the hole.


    Back me up if you have a good opportunity, though, he added.


    Then he stepped into the open field area, all senses on edge, wary of any possible trap.


    But the only thing that struck him as he walked into the field was how bright and clear the sunlight was.


    The Green-Skinned Ogre seemed to panic as James strode toward him and the Blue Oni. It turned and tried to run further back into the shrine, but the Blue Oni turned back and grabbed it by the scruff of the neck, lifting it into the air.


    ¡°Oh, no, you don¡¯t!¡± the Blue Oni declared. ¡°You are not going back into our place. If he makes a mess of you, it happens out here.¡±


    Turning, the Blue Oni hurled the Green-Skinned Ogre toward James. Despite the fact that the ogre was hundreds of pounds and still carried the heavy axe, the Blue Oni did not seem breathless from throwing him.


    James raised an eyebrow. How strong were these things?


    Surely the Red Oni is stronger, too. The blue one is definitely the bookworm of the pair, and the red one is cut like a bodybuilder.


    James cracked his neck. Soon he would find out.


    But first¡­


    James¡¯s eyes focused on the Green-Skinned Ogre, which had begun pushing itself upright just a few feet in front of him.


    It was time to finish up level two.

 V4Ch54-Final Bosses

    James and the Green-Skinned Ogre made eye contact as the monster rose to its feet.


    The creature seemed to sense there was no point in trying to run away anymore, so it directed all its attention to the human who had killed all its companions.


    It still clutched the axe that it had used to attack James¡¯s Body Double Dummy, holding onto the hefty weapon like a desperate lifeline¡ªor like an anchor. Now that they squared off in the open field in front of the Onis¡¯ house, it was even easier for James to see how heavy the axe was for the ogre.


    The creature held it clenched in both fists, breathing heavily.


    James stood with the other axe carefully gripped in just his right hand. It was a little hefty for him, too, but his Strength was out of all proportion to his size.


    The ogre inched closer to James. It moved literally only an inch or two, just setting a toe a little bit forward¡ªbut he took that moment as his opportunity to attack. James leaped across the distance between them, ducked under the axe swing the ogre slowly threw at his head, and embedded the other axe into the ogre¡¯s guts.


    Can I please have the ogre¡¯s soul? Roscuro¡¯s voice insinuated itself quietly in the back of James¡¯s mind. I didn¡¯t ask for any of the others, and this one was a coward anyway¡­


    All right, James replied.


    The Green-Skinned Ogre collapsed to its knees, eyes watering, and dropped the other axe, fingers moving to clutch at the one embedded in its guts.


    The Soul Eater shapeshifted into a short spear, and James stabbed the Green-Skinned Ogre unceremoniously through the eye socket.


    As the black spear pierced its brain, the creature let loose a horrendous, piercing shriek. Then its body disintegrated, the scream echoing through the air unnaturally long after it had disappeared. The axe that had been lodged in its abdomen dropped onto the ground, the gray and green blood and guts the only indicators that the ogre had ever existed.


    There you go, now you¡¯ve eaten. The others are getting Pillaged when they die, James sent. He was not going to miss out on whatever cool Skills the Onis had.


    Yes, master, Roscuro agreed.


    James glanced up at his audience and was pleased to see that the two Onis looked taken aback.


    ¡°What was that?¡± the Red Oni asked.


    ¡°Soul Eater Roscuro,¡± James said, holding up the Roscuro spear and willing it to transform into a short sword. He didn¡¯t intend to strike a finishing blow with Roscuro, but he would probably need some kind of weapon to deal with the Red Oni and its armor. ¡°He was a powerful monster¡ªand he became a shapeshifting weapon.¡±


    ¡°Ooh,¡± said the Blue Oni. ¡°Neat. Can I have him if we win?¡±


    James couldn¡¯t help but smile at that. ¡°Unfortunately, he¡¯s soulbound. That means he and I are stuck with each other, probably forever.¡±


    Not that I don¡¯t like having you, Roscuro, he added telepathically.


    Hmph, Roscuro replied. In my time, I was a great warrior. Now I am baggage for a human who says he¡¯s ¡°stuck¡± with me. The whims of fate, I suppose.


    ¡°That¡¯s all right,¡± said the Red Oni. ¡°I¡¯m the one who¡¯s going to kill him anyway.¡± The giant red figure cracked his knuckles, opened up both hands, and extended them as if reaching for something that James could not see. Then the axes that James and the ogre had been fighting with flew into his open palms.


    Magic axes, then, James thought. Maybe those will be part of my loot.


    ¡°Are those soulbound?¡± he asked.


    ¡°No,¡± said the Red Oni. ¡°They¡¯re a part of me.¡± He tapped the handle that James had taken for iron. ¡°This came from my bones.¡±


    ¡°Uh huh,¡± James said, having trouble picturing it. ¡°So, are you two going to fight me, then? I¡¯m ready whenever you are.¡±


    ¡°Which one of us would you like to fight first?¡± asked the Blue Oni.


    ¡°It¡¯s not up to him, I¡¯m going first,¡± roared the Red Oni, taking a step toward its brother. ¡°I won at ro-sham-bo before the fight, so I¡¯m going!¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right,¡± said the Blue Oni. ¡°Very well, I will watch from here.¡± He took a seat and glanced down at his book.


    James found the whole situation a bit hard to swallow.


    ¡°I think the two of you are taking me a bit lightly, don¡¯t you?¡± James said, looking the Blue Oni right in its yellow eyes.


    ¡°Well, if my brother really needed my help, I could jump in,¡± said the Blue Oni, ¡°but we¡¯re really designed to be final bosses for this Dungeon. The situation would be easier for you if you had a whole team behind you, but I guess they died on the upper floors¡ªor you somehow got lucky and made it through on your own?¡± The Oni tilted its head to the side thoughtfully, as if trying to figure out which possibility was more likely.


    Okay, so you guys are taking me very fucking lightly¡­If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see if your bite¡¯s as tough as your bark,¡± said the Red Oni, pointing at James with the head of his right hand axe. ¡°You and me, right now!¡±


    James smiled. ¡°It¡¯s your funeral.¡±


    He turned his back on the Blue Oni and charged across the distance that separated him from the Red Oni, Roscuro clutched in James¡¯s right hand in short sword form.


    In the space just in front of the central door to the shrine, the two figures clashed. A heavy metal¡ªOni bone?¡ªaxe swung down and collided with Roscuro¡¯s black material.


    James heard the ring of the collision ripple through the air with deafening volume and felt it vibrate through his bones. The Oni¡¯s hit knocked him backward slightly. He didn¡¯t lose his footing, but the superior weight behind the Red Oni caused his feet to slide through the grass, crushing the field greenery beneath him and exposing the soil underneath.


    Not bad at all.


    James lunged forward, and both axes swung toward him. He dodged one and parried the other, though the force behind the blow made him grit his teeth. James thrust the short sword at the Red Oni¡¯s neck¡ªthe only places it wore no armor were its head, neck, hands, and feet¡ªbut it blocked with the armor on its arm.


    As the Red Oni knocked the blow aside, James stepped back, thinking about his next step. Probably magic.


    ¡°You¡¯re pretty strong,¡± the Red Oni said, sounding surprised. ¡°I didn¡¯t think there were many strong people out there. I remembered that even after all the time Mom invested in creating me and my brother, she was a little disappointed that no one made it here to challenge us.¡±


    ¡°We were expecting a bat that Carol mentioned to be the first to make it here,¡± said the Blue Oni from behind James. ¡°From the looks of it, though, you¡¯re a better beta tester than she was going to be.¡± There was the sound of a page turning, and James recognized that the Blue Oni was reading the book James had seen it carrying.


    Absolutely ridiculous. Reading, while your brother is fighting for his life?


    ¡°Beta tester?¡± James asked, eyes locked on the Red Oni for any sign of movement. But the big monster seemed content to let the conversation proceed undisturbed.


    ¡°Yeah, Carol is very interested in making her Dungeon better,¡± said the Blue Oni. ¡°Her view is that iterative testing can lead to dramatic improvements. Small improvements compounded over time add up to become major improvements in the long run. So, she needs beta testers for the parts of the Dungeon that haven¡¯t had a lot of traffic yet. Some monsters will naturally be too easy for the levels she¡¯s setting up in her head, and some monsters¡ª¡± The Oni smirked as if it was obvious that he meant himself and his brother¡ª¡°will naturally be too tough for the challengers to have any reasonable chance of victory.¡±


    This is so fucking creepy, James thought. It¡¯s just disturbing to talk to monsters that know they¡¯re enemies in a Dungeon. It¡¯s like if ¡°Toy Story¡± was real, and you were talking to the toys who know their only purpose is to be played with.


    ¡°Does it bother you two that you¡¯re monsters in a Dungeon?¡± James asked.


    That seemed to set the Red Oni off. It raised its two axes in the air and swung straight down at James with both hands.


    He quickly raised the flat of Roscuro¡¯s blade and blocked both weapons, but now he felt the full, crushing force of the Red Oni¡¯s combined Strength and weight pressing down on him through the physical material of the sword. The Red Oni did not seem to weigh much more than the ogres had, despite being much taller and covered in musculature, but its Strength was another matter. The intense force pushed James¡¯s feet into the soil, slowly depressing the ground as the creature tried to break its opponent¡¯s resistance.


    ¡°Thought we were talking,¡± James muttered quietly, struggling to keep his sword held upright. He felt his arms shaking underneath the Red Oni¡¯s power.


    ¡°Too much talking,¡± the Red Oni grunted. ¡°¡®Does it bother you two that you¡¯re monsters in a Dungeon?¡¯ Do you think we¡¯re made to feel angst, human? Nonsense. Ridiculous! We¡¯re made to take pleasure in being¡ªand beating¡ªthe strongest.¡± It smiled viciously. ¡°I¡¯ll take a lot of that pleasure from defeating you.¡±


    An armored knee suddenly swept up from beneath James, and the Red Oni¡¯s foot planted itself in his stomach. He felt it even through the strong spider silk he had used to patch the Royal Exoarmor, and his body flew back under the impact, instantly airborne.


    Ouch.


    He had definitely broken a rib again.


    The Red Oni chased after its target, and James used an Air Strike to maintain his distance and direction of travel. It did nothing to the Red Oni through its armor, but it blew James slightly further away. He didn¡¯t want to let the Red Oni get into close quarters again. Not without a clear plan to deal with its superior Strength.


    Jump on his back and cover his face! James ordered the Body Double Dummy. The creature started edging from the side of the field toward the Red Oni, which had its back turned to the monster, all its attention focused on James.


    The Oni continued to chase James, and he threw another Air Strike at it as his body started to drop toward the ground again. This Air Strike managed to draw a thin line of red blood from the Red Oni¡¯s neck, but it seemed little real harm had been done.


    James began charging his Mana for a magical attack before his feet touched down on the grass.


    As he landed, the Red Oni swept in with both axes, and James fell into dodging.


    Over the next minute, he got into a rhythm with the creature. He repeatedly dodged, occasionally parried, and constantly gave ground as his magic got closer to being fully charged. Despite the Red Oni¡¯s superior Strength, it wasn¡¯t as agile as James. It could not catch him in one of its heavy attacks. James did not run away from the Oni and open up more distance, because by staying close, he could control much of its movements.


    And he needed to be close to use his next Skill.


    As the Red Oni slashed diagonally downward with its right hand axe once more, James released the Mana he had been charging and touched the Red Oni¡¯s right arm with his own right hand. The Oni instantly stumbled, falling almost directly on top of James as its right arm suddenly quadrupled in weight.


    ¡°What sorcery is this?¡± the Red Oni exclaimed.


    ¡°Mine,¡± James replied.


    He stabbed at the Red Oni¡¯s neck with his short sword again, but it just barely reacted in time to intercept it, catching the point in the palm of its left hand.


    ¡°Damn you,¡± the Red Oni grumbled, its face turning a deeper shade of red. ¡°You bloody trickster!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s me,¡± James replied, grinning. He pulled Roscuro out of the Red Oni¡¯s hand and prepared for another strike at its face.


    At the same time, the Body Double Dummy had moved to within leaping distance of the monster¡¯s back. James held off on another stab for a second to let the Red Oni¡¯s face be covered.


    The Body Double Dummy leaped through the air¡ªand a bolt of lightning suddenly struck it down. At the same time, a pale blue glow surrounded the Red Oni, and it hovered slightly off the ground as if weightless.


    James could see a smile blossoming on the Red Oni¡¯s face. It started adjusting the position of its body in the air, straightening up to a standing position¡ªthough still not touching the ground¡ªand waving its arms as if James had not multiplied the weight of its right arm.


    What the hell is going on?


    Then James¡¯s eyes spied movement behind the Red Oni, and he understood what was happening.


    The Blue Oni had risen to its feet. This wasn¡¯t a one on one fight anymore.

 V4Ch55-Red vs Blue

    James instantly shifted into a defensive stance, hands and short sword raised defensively, stepping to place the Red Oni between most of James¡¯s body and the Blue Oni¡¯s.


    ¡°I guess you understood that your brother couldn¡¯t win,¡± James taunted, raising his voice to make sure the Blue Oni caught what he was saying.


    ¡°Oh, I just noticed that your monster was creeping up on my brother, and I realized that you didn¡¯t intend to allow the fight to continue as a one on one duel,¡± the Blue Oni said smoothly.


    The Red Oni turned its head and looked back at the smoking ruin of James¡¯s Body Double Dummy.


    ¡°Well done,¡± it murmured quietly, turning back to face James. ¡°You almost surprised m¡ª¡±


    The still-steaming, slightly charred Body Double Dummy leaped onto the back of the Red Oni¡¯s head. Suddenly, the Red Oni was wrestling with the not-quite-dead monster, and the creature was covering the Red Oni¡¯s eyes. James took advantage of the brief moment that this lasted to stab at the Red Oni.


    His sword sank into the Red Oni¡¯s neck just as the Red Oni bit into the Body Double Dummy neck and ripped its head clean off. That was when James¡¯s monster stopped moving¡ªbut the damage was already done. The Red Oni¡¯s eyes went wild, his body dropped backward, losing control of his flight, and his hands released the axes to clasp at his neck wound. James pulled Roscuro out of the neck, and he smelled the coppery tang as blood began to gush out of the hole.


    ¡°Brother, no!¡±


    James heard the Blue Oni¡¯s voice, and he was suddenly struck by a heavy, hot force. As his body writhed, momentarily out of his control, he recognized that the power that had hit him was a bolt of lightning.


    His eyes stopped working for a moment, and then he saw the Blue Oni standing in front of him, pouring green energy onto the Red Oni. James knew what that was¡ªhealing power. The hole in the Red Oni¡¯s neck closed, and the Blue Oni quickly yanked the Red Oni backward, pulling his apparently weightless body away from James.


    James regained his ability to move. He felt sore all over.


    Good job, Dummy, he thought, looking down at the pieces of his fried and now dismembered monster.


    His eyes darted back up to quickly focus on the two Onis again. The Red Oni was shaking its head as if trying to regain its presence of mind. James wondered if it had lost consciousness for a moment.


    ¡°Let¡¯s fight together,¡± said the Blue Oni, glaring at James as he spoke. ¡°We gave him enough of a chance to win one on one. Now it¡¯s time we bring this home.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, brother,¡± the Red Oni said with a mixture of warmth and gruffness. ¡°I appreciate the healing, but I can handle this. He just surprised me, that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t try to fight alone,¡± the Blue Oni replied sternly. ¡°You almost died just now. All it takes is lowering your guard for one moment. Think what would happen to me if I didn¡¯t have you to act as a meat shield. Our best chance is together.¡±


    James blinked. That¡¯s quite an argument there.


    ¡°Well, after you saved my life, I can¡¯t very well turn you down, can I?¡± the Red Oni said hotly, punching the air. ¡°Don¡¯t regret it if you die, all right?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be silly,¡± the Blue Oni said. ¡°You¡¯re the emotional one. I¡¯m not the type to have regrets.¡±


    James thought the Blue Oni was actually emotional, too. It was just a little more subtle; it took something like James almost killing the Red Oni to upset it.


    But more importantly, as the brothers were bickering, he developed his strategy for fighting both of them at once, having assumed that they would ultimately fall on the side of fighting him together¡ªthe sane option.


    I need to keep the Red Oni between me and the Blue Oni as much as possible to try to avoid being struck by lightning. Maybe if I can catch the Red Oni in my spider silk, I can break away and deal with the Blue Oni. Always kill the Healer first.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, then,¡± the Red Oni said, pulling James¡¯s attention back to the brothers.


    They charged him, then, the Red Oni flying in like Peter Pan, on the right, while the Blue Oni charged in from the left.


    James began silently charging Illusion Magic¡ªdeception was the best way he could think of to get himself out of this disadvantageous position.


    As he kept his eyes carefully on the Onis, James noticed the Blue Oni¡¯s kanabo flying through the air toward it¡ªreturning to its hand, just like the Red Oni¡¯s axes had earlier.


    That reminded him that the Red Oni had actually dropped its weapons. James looked down and saw the axes beginning to move, and he grabbed hold of them before they could return to the Red Oni.


    Then the weapons started to carry James through the air, toward the Red Oni, just as the two Onis closed the distance to either side of him. The Red Oni tried to reach out and take its axes, and James responded by leaping up to the Red Oni¡¯s head height and kicking its hands away. Then he twisted his body in midair to block the Blue Oni¡¯s kanabo with one of the axes. The other one, he swung at the Blue Oni¡¯s torso. The monster nimbly sidestepped, evading it.


    The Red Oni¡¯s grasping hands latched onto James¡¯s ankles at that point, and he swung the axes at the Red Oni¡¯s head from opposite sides.


    The monster did nothing to block the attack, but the axes themselves simply stopped inches from its face as if hitting an invisible wall. The Oni grinned, as if to say, Did you really think those axes could hurt me?


    From behind James, he sensed swift movement from the Blue Oni. James instinctively dropped his body backward, making himself as flat as a wooden board, and the kanabo hissed just overhead as the Blue Oni swung it with great force.


    James hurled the axes as far away as he could, then bent his body even further down and threw his back against the Red Oni¡¯s armor as the kanabo swung downward. This time, one of the spikes on the club grazed the top of his head and tore a deep gouge in his scalp. Hot blood immediately poured from the wound, though it fell straight down to the ground rather than dripping into his face, since he was upside down.


    Can¡¯t let that hit me directly, James thought.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    He activated the Illusion Magic he had been charging. Then he used Lightning Strike, running electricity through his ankles.


    The Red Oni writhed and released him, and James tucked his head and rolled sideways away from the two.


    The Blue Oni fired a bolt of lightning at James, and he threw himself to the side, barely avoiding the blast. The odor of burnt grass and scorched earth filled his nostrils.


    But he couldn¡¯t stop and smell the charred sod. Another bolt of lightning shot through the air at James¡¯s head, and he launched himself out of the way once again.


    ¡°I can see through your deception, human!¡± the Blue Oni yelled angrily. James looked at the Blue Oni and noticed its yellow eyes glowing. It must be using one of its magical abilities to counter the Illusion Magic.


    The glow of lightning appeared around the Blue Oni¡¯s arm again, but then the Red Oni slashed at it with one of the axes, which the Red Oni had apparently reclaimed while James was running away from the lightning bolts.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± the Blue Oni screeched, dodging and weaving away from axe blows.


    ¡°Hold still and fight like a man, human! You don¡¯t think you can fool me with that pale imitation of my brother¡¯s voice?¡± the Red Oni said.


    ¡°You damned idiot, you need to see through the illusions! Here, let me help you¡ª¡±


    The Blue Oni reached for his brother, and an axe cleaved his arm off. The white robes were instantly stained with blood.


    ¡°Ah, what the hell?!¡± the Blue Oni screamed, his arm gushing improbable-seeming amounts of red.


    ¡°Die, human!¡± the Red Oni yelled, cackling and swinging his axe like a maniac.


    I saved this for the ogres but didn¡¯t end up needing it. And now, with the open sky above, I have sunlight to recharge.


    James prepared to fire his Solar Ray at the Blue Oni. He would kill the enemy¡¯s magic user. Then the Red Oni, still under his spell, would be easy pickings.


    The solar energy already in James¡¯s body and the solar energy pulled in across every part of his body under the sun began moving along his body, coalescing just in front of his mouth.


    ¡°Damn it, listen to me!¡± The Blue Oni was screaming as he ran from the Red Oni at this point, while the bloodthirsty Red Oni raced behind him, wielding his axe with even more impressive fervor now that his target was wounded. They moved ever further from James, as the Blue Oni tried to escape its brother. ¡°He¡¯s going to kill us if we fight each other. We have to work together!¡±


    James chuckled quietly from his distant vantage point but otherwise simply remained standing still. As he stayed there, not doing anything but letting his attack charge, his body was healing itself from the minor injuries he had suffered. Already, the wound to his scalp had stopped bleeding, and he thought his cracked rib was trying to restore itself too.


    The Blue Oni finally snapped and shot a bolt of lightning at his brother, seemingly almost as a last resort. The Red Oni stood paralyzed in a moment, its body writhing.


    Then it shook its head.


    ¡°Wait, what¡¯s happened? Why are you bleeding, brother?¡±


    Shit.


    James¡¯s concentrated solar energy had been focused into a ball that sat just outside his mouth at this point. Now he let go and unleashed it as a beam of light.


    He aimed it at the Red Oni¡¯s center of mass¡ªthe Blue Oni¡¯s body was too obscured by the Red Oni¡¯s larger figure at this point¡ªand he concentrated the blast as much as he could into a small, intense beam.


    The Solar Ray scorched the air between James and the monsters, moving at a speed James still found incredible.


    The Red Oni seemed to hear or feel the attack coming. It managed to turn slightly¡ªto make the beginnings of a motion to evade it¡ªbut still, the attack tore straight through the area where a human¡¯s right kidney would be. The Red Oni dropped instantly to the ground, instantly disabled, and the beam tore through the abdomen all the way up to the shoulder.


    As the Red Oni landed, James saw the meat of that wound land, mostly separated from the Red Oni¡¯s body, beside him. It was as if someone had taken a hot knife and cut from the right shoulder down almost to the right pelvis and cauterized the wound.


    The Red Oni made no sound, and it made no motion. James saw the Blue Oni up and moving¡ªrunning away from the attack¡ªso he next focused on the Blue Oni. Changing the direction of the beam was as simple as turning his head, so James simply followed the movement of the Blue Oni with his neck.


    The monster ran with the desperation that accompanied certain death, however. It moved faster than James had seen either of the creatures run before, and it managed to reach the Shinto shrine without suffering more than a scorched sleeve at James¡¯s hands.


    James simultaneously began walking closer to get line of sight on the Blue Oni again and pivoted to aim the beam into the shrine. It chopped through the thick columns first, then cut the thin paper and wooden doors much more easily.


    But James was unable to get much closer before the beam ran low on power and finally petered out.


    Damn, I almost had him, James thought.


    He turned his head and looked back at the Red Oni. The more physical of the two brothers was still alive, he saw, and its body twitched with pain as it looked up at him.


    ¡°That was a great attack, human,¡± the Red Oni mumbled. ¡°You deserve the win. It was a pleasure dueling with you.¡±


    James opened his mouth to reply, then felt a jolt of pain through his whole body. Every inch of flesh shook with the impact of the most powerful lightning bolt that had struck him yet. As James felt that his movement was about to return, another lightning bolt struck him. And then another.


    He has to have limits to his Mana, James thought. These attacks aren¡¯t injuring me very badly. He¡¯s just delaying the inevitable.


    He couldn¡¯t move in a coordinated way while the electricity was disrupting his nervous system, but his brain still worked somehow. Perhaps it was his superhuman powers of endurance.


    James¡¯s body relaxed for a moment. He started to turn his head, to tense his body, to open his mouth. Then the Blue Oni was right beside him, administering a blast of lightning directly to the side of James¡¯s head.


    The whole world went fuzzy, and James found himself on the ground, his body as uncoordinated as it had been a moment ago, and now even his brain fuzzy.


    The Blue Oni was leaning over his brother, speaking urgently.


    ¡°We have to fuse,¡± the Blue Oni said.


    ¡°Against our very first opponent,¡± the Red Oni said. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s better to accept defeat with dignity.¡±


    ¡°Will dignity put food in your belly?¡± the Blue Oni asked. ¡°Will dignity take walks around the shrine with me when my brother is no more? Think of this as real death, brother. Death for us both, perhaps, if Carol sees us as failures.¡±


    ¡°I was dead before I was born, and it was fine,¡± the Red Oni said. It had the air of parroting a quote that the Red Oni had heard¡ªperhaps something the Blue Oni often said.


    ¡°Enough of that. Put your pride aside, or we¡¯ll both die, idiot!¡± the Blue Oni cried.


    ¡°Sorry, brother,¡± the Red Oni replied. ¡°I know you¡¯re trying to do what¡¯s best for us.¡± He reached his left hand out to his brother, palm open.


    James¡¯s fingers twitched. He thought he was starting to get a little mobility back. His eyes blinked. His brain processed.


    What are they doing? Did the blue one say fuse?


    The Blue Oni took his brother¡¯s hand with his right hand, palm open. Both their bodies began to glow.


    James overcame his physical issues. He had a bad feeling about this. He launched himself to his feet and threw a quick Air Strike at the glowing brothers.


    Then the light grew too blinding for him to see.


    He raised a hand to cover his eyes, and then he lowered it as the light faded.


    ¡°Hello human,¡± said a voice that sounded like the intonations of the two brothers¡ªtwisted and merged and made more sinister by the combination.


    James stood and stared at the new monster.


    What the hell am I dealing with now?

 V4Ch56-The Purple Oni

    James looked the monster in the eye with difficulty.


    Though the creature had the same yellow eyes as the Red Oni and the Blue Oni, much else about it was different. Its skin was a sickening purple of uneven shade, like the whole body was one giant bruise. Its stature was greater than the brothers¡¯ had been, at somewhere between twelve and thirteen feet high. It had both the horns and both the tusks that the brothers had possessed, so that the combined creature had two of each, one on each side of its head.


    The creature carried a staff as long as it was tall, topped with metal rings, in place of the axes and the kanabo. Its physique was a middle ground between the over the top musculature of the Red Oni and the relatively more modest body type of the Blue Oni.


    The two opposites had balanced each other out, and he knew that meant disaster.


    They were always meant to fuse, he thought. It¡¯s like Carol¡¯s stealing my ideas.


    He used Identify.


    Purple Oni, Lv. 45


    It¡¯s higher level than any creature I¡¯ve ever fought. It was hard to make sense of how Carol had created such a powerful creature, when he was fairly certain that she herself was still lower level than him. What are the rules for Dungeons?


    His mind drifted to these idle thoughts, because the idea of attacking the purple behemoth was difficult to contemplate. The creature carried a sinister presence about it. James felt a heavy aura in the air, as if another Ruler was present.


    ¡°Well, how do you find me, human?¡± the Purple Oni asked, looking down at James with pitiless eyes. ¡°A worthy challenge for you?¡±


    James found it in himself somewhere to smile.


    ¡°If I¡¯m lucky,¡± he replied.


    The Purple Oni bared all its teeth in a grotesque snarl, and then it swung its staff at James. He dodged and ran. The battle had begun. If he had one advantage now, it would be speed.


    But it seemed he did not have as much of an Agility advantage as he had before the monsters had fused.


    James turned to run around the side of the shrine, and the Purple Oni suddenly hovered in front of him, feet floating several feet in the air.


    ¡°Going somewhere?¡± it asked in a taunting voice.


    ¡°I liked you better when you were two brothers who loved each other,¡± James said. He stuck out his tongue at the creature.


    Then lightning struck, and James barely managed to hurl himself to the side.


    How? I didn¡¯t even see him charging Mana!


    James looked up and saw two things: the Purple Oni¡¯s eyes were glowing yellow, and the sky had shifted from sunny blue to a thunderstorm.


    There¡¯s nothing natural about that¡­


    The staff swung down at James, and as he dodged, another bolt of lightning almost struck him. It thundered loudly by his head.


    Then James darted closer to the side of the shrine. He suspected the creature would not allow its lightning bolts to strike its own home. The staff swung down, and this time, the butt of it caught James, slamming him through the shrine wall. The blow sent him careening into the interior of the building.


    ¡°You¡¯re wrecking my house, human.¡± The irritated voice of the Purple Oni carried through the gap in the wall that it had created. Then its body floated in, the creature carefully lowering its head and bending its body to better fit. The building was already barely large enough for the Red Oni and Blue Oni, James could see now. It had been built¡ªor imagined into existence¡ªwith humans in mind.


    James looked around at the building and had an idea. He activated Meteor Strike and threw himself at the Purple Oni, fists blazing red with fire. The Purple Oni was able to quickly twist and maneuver its body to dodge out of the way, as James had expected.


    But he chased after it.


    As he did, he touched his flames to every surface that he passed. The whole structure was made of wood, and as the Purple Oni repeatedly dodged, more and more of the surface around it was embroiled in the inferno.


    ¡°You¡¯re burning my house down!¡± the creature yelled, enraged, finally stopping and staring at the flames all around it.


    That was when James managed to leap in close and finally land a clean hit¡ªstacking two abilities at once. Predator¡¯s Strike and Predator¡¯s Venomous Armaments.


    The short sword that the Soul Eater had transformed into plunged into the Purple Oni¡¯s center of mass. It was a lucky hit, reliant on a moment¡¯s distraction, but it should be enough. The wound would be fatal given the location, even without venom.


    ¡°You son of a bitch!¡± Every vein on the Purple Oni¡¯s head stood out, and a massive fist buried itself in James¡¯s stomach. He felt most of his ribs break along with the entire chest portion of his armor once again. Only the spider silk provided some protection, but even that only partially blunted the blow.


    James¡¯s body was expelled through another paper door, but even as it flew, he began gathering earth Mana around himself. He was working through new plans as the Purple Oni floated out after him, a hand clutched to the center of its chest.


    The Purple Oni¡¯s expression looked pained. Then its arm began to glow green with the familiar healing energy James had seen used hundreds of times by now.


    James¡¯s body touched down on the ground, and he released his earth magic quickly, before he had gathered as much Mana as he would have liked. A small column of soil quickly rose from just beneath the Purple Oni and slammed into its wrist at super-speed.


    The Purple Oni gritted its teeth but continued healing, and James threw himself at the creature. It floated up higher into the sky, just out of range of his leap, but even as James¡¯s body missed the Purple Oni, he was able to touch the little column of soil with his feet. The extra step delivered him into close range with the monster again.


    Suffering from the effects of the poison and trying desperately to heal its wound, it was too slow to avoid him.


    James activated Predator¡¯s Venomous Armaments again as Roscuro transformed into a hatchet in his hands. He used Predator¡¯s Strike again, and carried by the force of his final forward leap, James delivered perhaps the most violent blow with a blade he had ever inflicted.


    There was a terrible sound of blade cleaving through unwilling flesh, and then James was falling backward, along with the Purple Oni¡¯s left arm¡ªthe one it had been using to heal, since the right hand still clutched the staff the Purple Oni had been wielding in their fight.


    ¡°Damn you,¡± the creature grunted.


    It threw the staff like a javelin toward James, and it began applying its healing to its chest with the other hand. James also sensed a lightning bolt hurtling down from the dark clouds toward him, along the same trajectory as the staff. He activated Lightning Strike¡ªhe hadn¡¯t had time to use it before, but he remembered it could help him defend against lightning¡ªand he ordered Roscuro to transform into an actual javelin.


    As the butt of the Purple Oni¡¯s staff plummeted toward him, James twisted through the air, moving to the side as best he could. A moment later, the staff passed just beside his body, barely missing him. James grabbed hold of the haft with his left hand, he pulled his body so that his feet rested on the solid material, and he pushed off, leaping toward the Purple Oni again.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Predator¡¯s Venomous Armaments, Predator¡¯s Missile¡­


    He hurled the Soul Eater javelin just a moment before the bolt of lightning struck him. It was much weaker with Lightning Strike activated. James only felt a tingle.


    He didn¡¯t even look to see whether the javelin had struck.


    Still falling, he shed his skin, activating Monster Generation and pouring in Mana. The newly generated Skin Glider quickly flitted out from underneath the broken remains of James¡¯s armor, glued itself onto James¡¯s back, and stopped his descent.


    The only two attributes he had wanted to give the creature were the Strength to carry him¡ªand the most Agility he could possibly provide. The creature flapped two enormous, impossibly strong wings, and James was suddenly flying through the air, moving back toward the Purple Oni that was still working on healing its chest wound¡ªnow with a javelin sticking out of its thigh.


    I need something to do this job permanently, he thought. The feeling of the breeze rushing over his scalp was exhilarating. The sky began to lightly drizzle¡ªand a bolt of lightning zoomed toward him, which James¡¯s monster spun to dodge away from.


    He turned his head to keep an eye on the monster that had hurled the lightning bolt at him, and James saw that it was flying away, further and further up, trying to get above the clouds. With a single silent command, James¡¯s Skin Glider rushed after it.


    James charged Mana as his Skin Glider soared toward the Purple Oni, cutting into the boss monster¡¯s lead as it continued struggling to heal itself despite the proliferating wounds and their contamination with venom.


    The Purple Oni broke through the cloud cover above them, and James smiled.


    If they fought above the clouds, he would be able to charge Solar Ray more quickly.


    After around thirty seconds, James burst through the clouds. He looked around but did not see the monster. Then he sensed it¡ªdirectly behind him.


    James and the Skin Glider spun, and the Purple Oni breathed out onto him, unleashing a torrent of flames from its jaws. James crossed his arms in front of his face to protect himself from the worst of it, but he did not allow being set on fire to stop him from charging Mana.


    Need to be closer, he ordered the Skin Glider.


    The creature obliged him. It quickly caught fire despite only being grazed by the flamethrower, but it kept flapping its wings. The Skin Glider managed to launch James into arm¡¯s reach of the Purple Oni before it fell away, releasing its hold on him to douse itself within the clouds below.


    The Purple Oni stopped breathing fire for a moment so it could strike a blow with its remaining fist, but James released his Mana at that moment, and the Purple Oni was suddenly covered in spider silk. It wrapped around the Oni¡¯s head, legs, arm stump, and the hand that was extending to punch James, as well as connecting to James by a silk loop wrapped around his waist.


    The Oni¡¯s fist was yanked back by the silk restraints, and it barely delivered a glancing blow to James¡¯s head.


    He grinned, and the Purple Oni opened its mouth again.


    James saw flames emerging from the back of its throat, and he quickly threw a punch of his own, shoving his entire left fist into the wide open mouth. He ignored the pain of his hand being set on fire and the sound of the Purple Oni¡¯s incoherent complaints. He summoned Roscuro back to his hand, and he raised the javelin to aim it at the Purple Oni¡¯s heart.


    The one-handed monster feebly reached up to stop him, but James angled so that his right arm moved in from James¡¯s right side, out of the Purple Oni¡¯s reach, and he completed his stab. There was a squelching sound as he stabbed into the chest and through the heart.


    But the creature kept moving, flailing wildly, struggling to grab firm hold of James through the silk. His left fist and wrist fully incinerated, the Purple Oni¡¯s flamethrower began to burn their way up his arm.


    James allowed the javelin to return to its normal form as a wristband, and he reached his right arm into the hole he¡¯d made. He felt around, looking for a core or some other vital organ that he needed to destroy.


    His fingers found it.


    Predator¡¯s Strike.


    His nails instantly turned to short claws, and there was a second squelching sound, as James crushed the second heart.


    The Purple Oni¡¯s face contorted in silent agony.


    Then its eyes rolled back in its head, the flames from its mouth suddenly ceased, and it began falling from the sky, James still stuck on by the silk.


    He pulled the javelin out of the monster¡¯s chest, and he turned it into a hatchet. He grabbed hold of one of the Purple Oni¡¯s horns, using it as a handle, and he pulled the silk out of the way. Then he began swinging the hatchet, hacking through the monster¡¯s neck, like he was a lumberjack and it was a tree. The creature¡¯s body was still incredibly tough, even after the fatal wounds were inflicted.


    James ignored how quickly he and the monster were plummeting toward the soil. He thought he could survive a fall. He did not want to find out if he could survive going a few more rounds with the Purple Oni.


    He chopped into the spine and put his back into cutting the rest of the way through.


    A decapitation was the only thing he would trust would make this win truly final. The monster had already shown it had healing powers and incredible vitality, as well as a second heart. James was not taking any further risks. He had already avoided using Soul Magic during the fight, both because he wanted to be able to Pillage the bodies, and because he felt a strange sympathy for the Onis. They seemed almost like real people; they were weirdly self-aware about their situation as monsters trapped in a Dungeon.


    As James moved to within thirty feet of the ground, the Purple Oni¡¯s head finally hung from its body by nothing but a thin strip of flesh. Having severed the spinal cord and most of the neck, he let go of the body. Then he ordered Roscuro to turn into a razor blade, which he quickly used to chop through the silk connecting him to the Purple Oni.


    The Skin Glider appeared from behind James and embraced him, flapping its wings hard to try and break his fall.


    He still crashed into the ground beside the Purple Oni, curled into a ball, and rolled for several feet, but instead of possibly breaking both legs, James assessed that he had only sprained an ankle and bruised his torso wherever it struck the ground.


    He got to his feet, dusted himself off, and grabbed a hunk of meat from the ground nearby. It was the Blue Oni¡¯s arm that the Red Oni had severed earlier. James used Meteor Strike to cover his hand in fire and began cooking it.


    He¡¯d worked up an appetite.


    As he laid eyes on the piece of ground where he¡¯d expected the Purple Oni to be, James saw the Red Oni and Blue Oni had separated again.


    A part of him wanted to rush in and try to kill them again before the Blue Oni tried to heal them, but the Onis were hardly moving at all.


    James stepped closer and saw that the Onis had their same injuries from before their fusion, plus the wounds he had inflicted on the Purple Oni. Rather than doing anything to try and live, they were talking quietly to each other.


    ¡°We fought well, didn¡¯t we, Red?¡± the Blue Oni asked.


    ¡°You were great, Blue,¡± the Red Oni said. ¡°We couldn¡¯t have won. He beat the Purple Oni. That¡¯s proof.¡±


    As James stood over them, he found it a little hard to take too much pleasure in the victory.


    ¡°Sorry I had to kill you guys,¡± he said quietly. ¡°You seem like you¡¯d be fun to keep around, outside the Dungeon.¡± He gave an awkward grimace.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be sad, human,¡± said the blue head with serenity in its eyes. ¡°We were only ever creations of the Dungeon. It means that we can never leave this place without the Core¡¯s permission, but also that we never truly die. As long as we remain here, Carol will find our souls and put them back into fresh bodies, probably stronger than before.¡± It smiled.


    ¡°Yeah, that means you can come and fight us again!¡± the red head declared hotly. ¡°Don¡¯t expect we¡¯ll go easy on you next time!¡±


    James chuckled. ¡°All right, then,¡± he said. ¡°Rest in peace.¡±


    Their bodies stilled, and the alerts started flowing in.


    [You killed Purple Oni, Lv. 45!]


    [Predator in Human Skin leveled up!]


    [...]


    James gained multiple levels from the fight with the Purple Oni, and the System credited him for killing the Red and the Blue Oni as well, as if they had been separate beings.


    James thought back to how the Purple Oni had behaved and spoken and how the preceding fight with the Red Oni and the Blue Oni had gone, and he supposed they did all feel like separate beings.


    [Congratulations! You have cleared Expert Mode of Dungeon: Carol¡¯s Place!]


    [Your score was 108,000. See Leaderboard? Y/N]


    James selected ¡°Y¡± and waited a moment while the display populated before his eyes. He was still processing the fight. A surge of power flowed through him, but it mingled with psychic fatigue in almost equal measure. It had been a grueling fight, and he didn¡¯t even feel entirely pleased that it had ended as it had.


    Carol can create souls, he thought. Or she pulls them from the ether to populate her monsters. Somehow, this felt more like a game before I knew that.


    That wouldn¡¯t stop him from going into a Dungeon in the future, he knew.


    But it occurred to him that what had happened wasn¡¯t so different from him killing Carol¡¯s children, though she had explicitly denied that comparison applied. She was luckier than that idea implied, of course. If something happened to one of her creations, she could restore them to life, according to what the Onis had said.


    James had no reason to doubt them.


    He opened his mouth again as the leaderboard appeared.


    ¡°Carol?¡± James called out. ¡°Is Mina still all right?¡±

 V4Ch57-After the Bosses

    ¡°Oh, Mina¡¯s fine,¡± Carol said, her voice coming from the air around James. ¡°She finished her fights and made it back to the entrance. She¡¯s just resting now. Um, well done in clearing the final level of expert mode of the Dungeon!¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± James said. His eyes scanned the Leaderboard as he spoke.


    His name was at the very top, of course.


    James Robard¡­ 108,000


    Below it, the Leaderboard grew more interesting.


    Mina Robard¡­ 18,079


    Black-Furred Bloodsucker Bat Evangeline¡­ 17,842


    Somehow, Mina had come out ahead of Evangeline in score despite the fact that Mina had only completed the hard mode of the Dungeon, while Evangeline had begun delving into expert mode. James supposed that was probably because Mina had performed particularly impressively in hard mode, while Evangeline had likely barely cleared it¡ªand failed to make it past the first level of expert mode.


    He shrugged and ran his eyes down the rest of the list. There were many names on the Leaderboard, but few that James recognized. None of the council members aside from Evangeline had come to the Dungeon, apparently. He should probably praise her for taking the initiative to engage in solitary training.


    ¡°No one else is even close to Mina and Evangeline¡­¡±


    The next highest score was 3,208, which James guessed meant the other participants in the Dungeon had never even made it to hard mode.


    Oh, hey, the landlord has been in here, neat¡­


    ¡°Are you going to go back up, James?¡± Carol asked.


    ¡°Oh, um, in just a minute, yeah,¡± he said. ¡°Just need to assess my gains here.¡±


    James turned to face the ruined bodies of the Red Oni and the Blue Oni. Almost in unison, his stomach growled. A moment ago, they had been talking, sentient beings. Now they were food.


    He took a step back and began to look around. After a moment, he found the Blue Oni¡¯s arm that the Red Oni had chopped off earlier. Then he returned to the two dead monsters and cut into their chests. He extracted what was left of their hearts¡ªthey still had some degree of damage from what he had done to the Purple Oni¡ªand he gathered all the meat in his palms.


    Then James used Meteor Strike to cook the meat.


    There was a pleasant smoky aroma reminiscent of roasting pork, until the flesh, charred on all sides, was ready to eat.


    With the meat cooked, he transferred it all to his left hand and used his right to take a plate and some salt out of his magic satchel. He seasoned and ate the severed Blue Oni arm and both monsters¡¯ hearts, smiling thoughtfully as he reflected on the strength and diversity of abilities the two creatures had demonstrated. James was happy to add some of their power to his own and was already looking forward to trading blows again sometime in the future, after Carol brought the two monsters back from the dead and presumably made them even stronger.


    Finally, he pointed his hand at the body of the Red Oni.


    Pillage.


    James selected Talent as his theft target.


    [Red Oni¡¯s body processed.]


    [You obtained Bonded Oni Axe x2!]


    The two axes floated over to James¡¯s hands, and he took hold of them almost instinctively. They looked and felt the same as the Red Oni¡¯s axes, except fitted more to James¡¯s somewhat smaller body.


    [Talent Obtained: Brutal Strength!]


    ¡°No meat,¡± James observed.


    ¡°Sorry about that,¡± Carol said. ¡°I honestly did not anticipate that people would see the Onis as a food source. I should¡¯ve known you would, though¡­¡± She sounded resigned.


    ¡°Oh, um, no worries,¡± he said. ¡°I ate my fill.¡± He patted his stomach awkwardly.


    I¡¯ll make sure to cut off as much meat as I want every time I kill monsters in your Dungeon in future, he thought. Since Pillage doesn¡¯t work quite the same. Let¡¯s see about that Talent, though.


    [Brutal Strength: A true warrior¡¯s full potential only shows when he has a worthy opponent before him. When locked in combat, your Strength increases from its base to match the worthiness of the opponent. Causes the Talent holder to burn Stamina more quickly.]


    Holy shit. That¡¯s one of the most useful Talents I¡¯ve ever seen.


    James immediately turned and Pillaged the other body. He again selected Talent.


    [Blue Oni¡¯s body processed.]


    This time, both a weapon and a book floated toward him. He let go of the axes he¡¯d been holding, and they held still in midair, waiting for him to do something with them.


    Down, he thought.


    The weapons descended toward the ground, following his mental command.


    James smiled. I¡¯m definitely going to use those things.


    [You obtained Power Rod and Tome of Elemental Magic!]


    He grabbed the pole and the book.


    [Talent Obtained: Elementalist!]


    Hmm.


    [Elementalist: The elements are the stuff the universe is made of. Your power is to use these forces with greater natural finesse and efficiency than others. Use your Skills that harness the elements without charging time and at reduced Mana cost.]


    Another Talent that makes me significantly more powerful, he thought. Carol, I¡¯m going to have to come back to your Dungeon¡­


    James sat down in the grass, read the descriptions for all of his new items, and then smiled.


    I didn¡¯t realize the rod could do that. The Blue Oni didn¡¯t use its full power. I guess it didn¡¯t fit his fighting style to use some of that. But it¡¯s a perfect gift for Mina. Sorry I complained, Carol!


    After he had examined his loot and put it all away in his magic satchel, James rose from where he¡¯d been sitting and began to walk back the way he had come in.


    ¡°Wait, James!¡± Carol¡¯s voice sounded from all around him.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Oh, um, I was just going to tell you that there¡¯s a shortcut back to the surface now that you beat the final opponents. If you go into their home¡ªwell, the ruins of what used to be their home¡ªyou¡¯ll find a teleportation circle. I can guide you to where it is.¡±


    James turned back toward the temple that the Onis had made their home. The building was still on fire, as he had left it. Every part of the structure was burning. There wasn¡¯t a single safe place to enter that he could see.


    He looked up at the sky and raised a single eyebrow.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just put that out,¡± Carol said. ¡°Now that the fighting is over, I can manipulate the environment again. One moment¡­¡±


    Before James¡¯s eyes, dark clouds formed in the sky above, and after a few seconds of this, a heavy downpour began to fall specifically on the temple. Not a drop fell on James¡¯s head. It was all contained within a very small area.


    Right. In here, Carol¡¯s sort of like the Ruler. No, her power over this environment probably exceeds my power outside. It¡¯s possible she could make the Dungeon so difficult to survive that even I could die here, without successfully reaching her body and killing her. She seemed so weak when we first met, but maybe the circumstance that led me to bring her here in the first place was just luck¡­


    As he was musing about the nature of Carol¡¯s power and his own in comparison, the rain sounds began to die down. James turned in time to see the last drops of water falling onto the still-smoking ruin of the temple. The Dungeon Core had indeed put it out.


    ¡°Sorry about that building,¡± James said after a moment. ¡°It was really pretty before we started fighting inside.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s no big deal,¡± Carol said. James imagined her shrugging, though he knew she did not have a physical body anymore. ¡°I can fix that as soon as I get you out of here. I rebuild most of the Dungeon periodically even when I don¡¯t get challengers into certain parts. How did you like it?¡±


    ¡°This place was great!¡± he said enthusiastically. ¡°The Onis were a good challenge, and the reward for winning was excellent, too.¡±


    ¡°Reward?¡± Carol asked. ¡°You haven¡¯t even cashed in your points yet. Oh, I was going to explain about that¡­¡±


    As she told James, she still had groceries and other resources available as prizes¡ªsome of which was now supplied by other countries in the post-System world¡ªbut now she had created a points system that allowed people to pay for whatever items they wanted, including magical items and other things produced by the System. There was also an option to convert points into System Credits.


    James nodded slowly. ¡°I¡¯ll have to come back soon, then,¡± he said.


    ¡°Right. Now I can guide you to the exit¡­¡±


    Over the next few minutes, Carol talked James through a side door¡ªthe front of the temple was still smokier than the edges and the back¡ªdown a hallway, into the Blue Oni¡¯s bedroom, and then under the Blue Oni¡¯s bed.


    James took a moment to look around the room before he continued following Carol¡¯s directions. This part of the house was untouched by the fire, other than some slight staining from smoke on the ceiling. The Blue Oni¡¯s room was very blue themed. The walls were painted in dark blue with a star pattern, the bed had sky blue covers, and there was a blue lava lamp sitting on the Oni¡¯s wooden dresser.


    ¡°This is a charming room,¡± James murmured. ¡°It feels kind of like a kid¡¯s space somehow.¡±


    ¡°I let them decorate the temple themselves,¡± Carol said. ¡°And, you know, they are pretty young. Even though monsters age differently than humans, sort of like animals come out more mature than human babies, they¡¯re still basically kids.¡± She sounded slightly uncomfortable, and James decided not to linger longer.


    ¡°So, under the bed, you said?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yeah, you can flip it. I¡¯m going to rebuild this whole level after you¡¯re gone, probably, so don¡¯t worry about breaking things.¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± he said.


    James flipped the bed immediately. It was just fun to throw furniture around. If he didn¡¯t have things to do, he probably would have destroyed the whole building.


    He looked at the star pattern on the walls once more.


    Then again, maybe not.


    There was something sad about this place.


    James found the door in the floor under the Blue Oni¡¯s bed instantly. It wasn¡¯t hidden aside from being beneath the bed itself.


    He lifted it, and he saw a small corner of a brightly lit space. James put his legs through the hole and then dropped straight down. He found himself in the break room that he had found Carol in when they first met. Even the Dungeon Core was still in its old place.


    It seemed that the more things changed, the more they stayed the same.


    ¡°You were that attached to your original environment, huh?¡± he muttered.


    Then James sensed movement. He instantly assumed a fighting stance¡ªand relaxed almost as quickly.


    A female figure had stepped into the corner of his field of view.


    ¡°Hi, Carol,¡± James said. He turned to face her.


    ¡°Hello, James.¡± The figure¡¯s mouth moved, but the sound still came from all around them.


    ¡°It¡¯s good to see you, um, in the flesh?¡± The sentence unintentionally turned into a question as it slipped out. As he observed Carol in a humanoid form for the first time, he took in every detail. She wore glasses over dark eyes and had dyed her naturally brunette hair purple. There were bags under her eyes. She was dressed in a lavender cardigan, a red blouse, and a cornflower blue skirt. The main thing that drew his attention, however, was that there was something insubstantial in her presence.


    It was hard to put his finger on it. Then she took a step toward him, and he recognized it. Her foot did not make a sound as it touched the floor.


    ¡°Not quite in the flesh,¡± she acknowledged. ¡°Just another step toward it. I can make a visual illusion of myself. I unlocked it a couple of days ago. I can¡¯t travel far from the Dungeon Core¡ªfrom my body¡ªbut it feels good to have hands and feet again. Being able to control the Dungeon is great and all, but you know, I do kind of miss existing in the world. A little bit.¡±


    He smiled. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re doing well. Soon you¡¯ll be able to touch objects with your hands again.¡±


    Carol nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right. I wanted to tell you in person. Mainly I wanted to thank you.¡±


    James raised an eyebrow. ¡°To thank me? I kidnapped you and put you to work. Or at least that¡¯s how I remember it.¡±


    They both chuckled.


    ¡°Well, if you hadn¡¯t kidnapped me, I wouldn¡¯t have had this stable situation, allowing me to grow,¡± she said. ¡°You and Mina¡ªI won¡¯t forget what I owe you and your family, James. I hear things about how dangerous the world is outside¡ªI hear everything people say in the Dungeon.¡± She lowered her voice. ¡°I just want you to know that if you¡¯re ever worried about your family, you can send them here. I¡¯ll keep them in my hiding place, where you are now. I¡¯ll keep them safe. I can¡¯t do that for the whole population or something, but I owe you this much at least.¡±


    James felt a surge of emotion, and it must have shown on his face.


    ¡°Well, don¡¯t look at me like that, big guy!¡± Carol said. ¡°You¡¯re going to make me feel weird.¡± She moved as if to push James lightly on the shoulder, but her hand passed through, insubstantial for a moment, and re-formed on the other side.


    ¡°Thank you, Carol,¡± James said quietly. ¡°The world is only getting more dangerous¡ªuntil I bring some kind of order. We¡¯re sending out the army to make a start on it. Probably tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Well, I have faith in you,¡± she replied. ¡°I¡¯m living proof that you can create the environment that at least some people need to thrive.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you were able to do well here,¡± he said.


    ¡°More than that! I mean, if I was still on my own, I¡¯d probably be a serial killer by now, and I still wouldn¡¯t have a body¡ªwhereas next time you see me, we can have a thumb war¡ªbut what I meant is all the other people who come in here. Hundreds of people have been in the Dungeon. All of those people felt comfortable enough with the safety you¡¯ve established to leave their family members back in the Fisher Kingdom and come down to a place where they couldn¡¯t easily exit. This is despite how traumatizing Orientation was for so many of us. There were even people like me, back then, who were happy to give up having a physical body out of fear of being killed and eaten. Somehow, all of those people have put most of that fear behind them. They feel safe. If I hadn¡¯t seen it, I would have thought it was impossible. The one common factor between them is you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Carol,¡± James said again. He puffed his chest out slightly as he spoke.


    ¡°Keep on keeping on, Fisher King,¡± Carol said, smiling a little sadly. ¡°I¡¯ll look forward to hearing more about your exploits¡ªand seeing you and Mina in person again.¡±


    ¡°Next time, I¡¯ll shake your hand,¡± he said.


    Carol¡¯s smile perked up a little. Then she jerked her thumb to gesture behind her, at a circle made of runes carved into the floor.


    ¡°There¡¯s the teleportation circle,¡± she said. ¡°Just walk inside and think about going back to the entrance. That¡¯s where Mina is waiting for you.¡±


    James nodded. ¡°Oh, um, I look forward to seeing the Red Oni and the Blue Oni again, too, by the way.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be looking forward to your next fight too,¡± Carol said. ¡°I¡¯ll ensure they keep their memories intact, so they recognize you next time. They¡¯ll be even better at fighting, too.¡±


    ¡°Excellent.¡± James was mostly happy to think the Onis would still exist. They¡¯d had a certain charm to them.


    Then James stepped forward, until he stood in the middle of the circle. He thought about the entrance to the Dungeon¡ªand suddenly he found himself in another place.

 V4Ch58-Roll Out

    James blinked, and then his eyes and nose were full of Mina¡¯s long, dark hair.


    She had thrown herself into his arms. He instinctively bent and clutched her to him. She smelled like home.


    ¡°I was starting to worry about you,¡± she whispered into his ear. ¡°I stopped asking Carol about how you were doing¡ªreminded myself that you¡¯ll always be okay. But I still worry.¡± She sounded slightly embarrassed.


    ¡°I was worried, too,¡± James whispered, burying his face deeper into the curtain of her hair.


    ¡°You missed me?¡± she asked.


    ¡°A moment¡¯s break from your gaze is an eternity passed,¡± he replied instantly.


    ¡°I was almost ready to fall asleep, you know?¡± she said. ¡°I only stayed awake because Carol told me you were coming up.¡±


    ¡°Sleep?¡± James asked. He pulled away from Mina, and he saw that behind her, there was a loveseat in the corner of the Dungeon entrance, where he was fairly certain there had just been a solid wall before. ¡°Well, that was nice of Carol.¡± He gestured at the seat.


    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s¡ªshe likes us.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to tell me everything that happened in your Dungeon adventure,¡± he said. ¡°For now¡ªit feels like we¡¯ve been away for a long time. Let¡¯s go home.¡±


    Mina nodded, and the two walked out the way they had come in.


    James shielded his eyes as they stepped back into the bright light outside. When he blinked the blurred vision away, he saw there were already a dozen more people outside, moving forward as if they had been ready to enter the Dungeon just before the Robards stepped out.


    ¡°Oh, you were using the Dungeon today?¡± asked a young Hispanic woman he didn¡¯t recognize, stepping forward.


    James took Mina¡¯s hand.


    ¡°We were,¡± he said, immediately on. ¡°It was a great experience. I highly recommend it¡­¡±


    After a few minutes of schmoozing with the citizens, James and Mina extracted themselves and made their way home.


    When they reached the top of the stairs, they split up. Mina went to check on the children, and James went to see how Hester was doing.


    ¡°Hester, I¡¯m ho¡ªoh¡­¡±


    The spider stood in the furthest back corner of the ceiling. She had woven a web, for the first time as far as he could recall. The spider stood in the corner of the web, and in the center, there was a tiny clump of silk. It looked almost as if the spider had accidentally made a big knot in the middle.


    James was tempted to call out to Hester again, but the spider was silent and unmoving¡ªand his eyes were drawn back to the clump of silk again.


    He took a step closer. That clump looked familiar to James somehow.


    His mind flashed back to Orientation, and his eyes widened. He quickly strode across the room until he stood directly beneath Hester¡¯s web and confirmed what he had suspected. That was no mere clump of silk; it was a bundle of eggs.


    ¡°We all have our part to play in the great narrative,¡± he recalled Hester saying. And she had added that she felt ¡°privileged to weave a little more in my section of the tapestry.¡±


    James inhaled sharply, then quickly placed his palm under Hester, plucked her from the web, and looked at her more closely. He almost immediately breathed a sigh of relief. The spider looked much-diminished from the last time he had seen her, but that was not surprising. She had apparently been carrying a bunch of eggs before.


    But he detected life signs as soon as he touched her.


    So the spider was not dead.


    Even though Hester had reassured him that she was not dying quite yet, back when he left her here, he couldn¡¯t help worrying a little.


    ¡°Hester?¡± he asked quietly. ¡°Hester¡­¡±


    The spider did not stir, and James decided to let her rest. He placed her back in the web, gave the egg sac another quick look without touching it, and then told Mina what had happened.


    The rest of the day was uneventful.


    James and Mina spent time with the children and Yulia, and when they were alone again, James gave her the Power Rod and Tome of Elemental Magic that he had acquired from the Blue Oni¡¯s body.


    They went to bed early.


    Early the next morning, James woke as he felt the return of Dave and his hunting party to the Fisher Kingdom. James¡¯s senses were sharper, and his sleep was much lighter, than they had ever been before.


    He kept his eyelids closed and watched passively, from a bird¡¯s eye perspective, as Dave and his colleagues gathered the rest of the Army. James listened in on some of the conversations and confirmed: this was the moment.


    They were finally preparing to depart on the mission James had set them.


    The Fisher King continued reaching out with his mind, watching the broad pattern of the Army take shape across the morning as people were gradually summoned from their homes or even roused from deep slumber to serve his will. It reminded him of moving toy soldiers around on his mother¡¯s living room rug¡ªof playing at war.


    Now his people would really be marching off to wage aggressive warfare. For the first time, he would not be responding to others¡¯ attacks. He would be acting as a conqueror.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    James had doubts about his course of action. He felt slightly guilty for putting his soldiers¡¯ lives at risk in this way.


    But he knew he shouldn¡¯t. This was how kings had conducted themselves for thousands of years before the brief, bright flame of the age of democracy kindled and then died. It was how they expanded and secured their domains. Yes, the Roman Empire had grown that way too, in all directions, until they failed and collapsed.


    That was just the way of things in a state closer to nature¡ªin an anarchic system. And the time had come to bring the old ways back.


    At the same time that hundreds of pairs of feet were moving across the Kingdom, bodies preparing to go forth and take territory, James also felt people stirring in the apartment with him. First, he sensed Mina. She woke up and turned to look at James¡ªhe continued to lay still, to see what she would do next¡ªand, seeing that he appeared to be asleep, she rolled back to her sleeping position and tried to fall back asleep. The change in her breathing told him when she had succeeded.


    James¡¯s next in-apartment observation was when Abhi stepped out of the children¡¯s room into the living room. The little boy moved on tiptoe, apparently cognizant of the fact that the whole apartment was asleep. James watched Abhi curiously with the disembodied point of view that his powers gave him.


    After gently closing the bedroom door behind him, moving to the far corner of the living room, and looking around to make sure he was alone, Abhi started doing exercises. Push-ups and sit-ups, in sets of ten. He kept going until he had done a hundred of each.


    Then the little boy threw a hundred punches and a hundred kicks.


    He¡¯s working out, James thought. Is he preparing for some threat he imagines in the near future? Or has he just decided he needs to be strong from now on, so no one can take anyone he loves away again?


    Either way, James sympathized with Abhi¡¯s wish.


    Today, he decided. I¡¯m fully recovered. Today I¡¯m going to bless every member of my family who hasn¡¯t received my blessing already. Abhi¡¯s little workout routine would probably go further if he received the Blessing of the Fisher King.


    James¡¯s consciousness left the apartment again and drifted through the air toward the hazy mists that had rolled over the jungle.


    Dozens of giant bats and squirrels were mobilizing into small squads. They were armed with nothing but their natural weapons¡ªwings and claws and thick fur as armor¡ªand they seemed quite excited, almost hyperactive.


    ¡°We¡¯re finally going to fight!¡±


    ¡°Glory to the red squirrels!¡±


    ¡°Conquest for the Fisher King!¡±


    After they had psyched themselves up sufficiently, they opened their wings and began fluttering through the air toward the center of the Fisher Kingdom.


    James allowed his consciousness to shoot across the air, to the sky just above the swamp. He saw Samuel and thirty of his fellow alligators already marching out of the swamp. Perhaps because they knew they were a bit slower moving than some of James¡¯s other citizens, they had apparently chosen to rise early and get a head start on the day.


    He was about to send his consciousness into the underground, below the central part of the Fisher Kingdom, to where the Goblins and the Mole People lived, when his mind was pulled back to his physical location. Someone was shaking him gently.


    ¡°Skapi, I think it¡¯s time for you to wake up,¡± Mina whispered directly into his ear. ¡°I can hear people marching outside. I think the Army is gathering. They will be waiting for you to send them on their way.¡±


    James smiled, turned, and kissed her on the lips.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll get dressed and see them off.¡±


    He put on his usual battle gear, the Royal Exoarmor, and he ordered Roscuro to turn into a short sword, which James hung at his side.


    He said good morning to the other members of the Robard household¡ªeveryone was awake now, from Yulia to the babies¡ªand then, accompanied by Mina, he descended the stairs. He was already composing a message to the Kingdom as a whole.


    As he stepped down into the entryway, Mina rushed ahead of him and opened the door, so that the first face the waiting masses saw would be their King¡¯s.


    James and over a thousand soldiers of various Races saw each other all in the same moment, and a little cheer rolled through the crowd.


    ¡°Yeaaaahhh!¡±


    James thought he recognized Damien¡¯s voice leading the cheer but couldn¡¯t be sure. If Damien was there, he was somewhere near the back of the crowd, alongside the wolf pack. James could just barely make out the three-headed figures of Luna and Romulus in the distance.


    But he didn¡¯t try to focus on individuals just then. He let the sheer size and strength of the force wash over him


    The Army looked incredibly formidable in the morning light. The courtyard between the apartment buildings and the community center was packed to bursting, and James saw there were even some people trying unsuccessfully to get more space for themselves without stepping on each other¡¯s toes.


    There were hundreds of men and women in armor that almost glowed in the sunlight and robes of various types, many of the figures holding gleaming weapons; hundreds of Goblins armed with weapons they had made themselves, filling in the sides and gaps where larger species could not stand; Samuel and dozens of his fellow alligators looking ready to rip into the nearest enemy with their claws; the bats and squirrels with wings furled around their bodies, eager to take to the skies; and of course, the wolves, quiet at the edges of the crowd but as deadly as they ever had been.


    ¡°Sir.¡± Dave stepped forward from the front of the Army and saluted James crisply.


    James returned the gesture instinctively.


    ¡°The Army is ready to accomplish your will,¡± Dave said emotionlessly, his eyes steady and cool.


    ¡°Is that right?¡± James asked quietly. Then, much louder, he shouted, ¡°Are you ready to conquer?¡±


    A roar ripped through the crowd, as if they were lions rather than the motley assortment of different species that made up James¡¯s military.


    ¡°Raaaaahahhhhhh!¡±


    The more human-like creatures threw fists or claws up as they cheered, and even the wolves leaped into the air to show their enthusiasm.


    ¡°I take that as a y¡ªyes!¡± James yelled.


    He stumbled over the last word, but saved the sentence, as his eyes lit on the masked man called Bear. The mysterious figure stood far in the distance, outside the courtyard, between a couple of the apartment buildings.


    Bear still wore his mask, but he felt as if he could sense the man behind it smiling.


    James kept stern control over his facial expressions, maintaining the pleasant smile he had been displaying for the Army rather than the annoyed look he wanted to give the masked man.


    Now he pops up again, huh? Well, it doesn¡¯t matter. Even if I¡¯m doing what he wants¡ªeven if that¡¯s why I have the feeling he¡¯s smiling¡ªmaybe that means he¡¯ll finally just leave. It¡¯s not as if he¡¯s trying to get me to lower my guard. Mom and Anansi both vouched for him to some extent. Focus!


    James began his announcement to the Kingdom as a whole, simultaneously speaking it and transmitting it through his Fisher King powers.


    [Citizens of the Fisher Kingdom, I have an exciting announcement to make. As you know, just recently, our brave explorers left us to map the region to the West of the Kingdom. Well, today, we take the next logical step toward securing the world for our friends and loved ones! Today, the Army will embark on a mission to liberate Central Florida to the East Coast. It is a shorter trip than the Expeditionary Force¡¯s journey West, but the Army is eminently prepared to fight for every inch of ground if necessary. If you would like to say your goodbyes and wish good fortune to the brave fighters going forth to secure our region, now is your opportunity. Today, their path of conquest begins¡­]

 V4 Interlude: Duel in Taiwan

    Zhang Ch¨¡o stalked back toward the throne room, his footsteps restless, his bodyguards sensing his inner tension and giving him breathing room.


    The last half hour had been a frustrating one. The meeting with his public relations advisors had turned out to be more or less an ambush, as they presented him with their top candidates for an arranged marriage.


    ¡°The throne will never be truly secure until the people know that you have a successor,¡± the argument went.


    ¡°I have Han Jianguo,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o replied with a deadpan expression, pointing a thumb at his comrade. ¡°If I fall in battle, he is to take up my sword.¡±


    Zhang Ch¨¡o had never tested whether the Mandate of Heaven would accept Han Jianguo as a wielder. The blade could only have one master at a time, and ownership could only transfer if the owner was defeated and the sword claimed by the one who bested him. But Zhang Ch¨¡o knew in his bones that Han Jianguo was the man most worthy to succeed him.


    ¡°That is, um¡ª¡±


    ¡°Han Jianguo, he could perhaps¡ª¡±


    ¡°Please, Your Majesty, consider¡ª¡±


    The advisors began stumbling over each other in their reactions to Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s suggestion.


    ¡°Your Majesty, Han Jianguo is a great warrior and an able administrator, but he is not you,¡± said Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n firmly, cutting the other advisors off. He looked into Han Jianguo¡¯s eyes after he had spoken and added, with an apologetic expression, ¡°You would lead us to many great triumphs, of that I have no doubt.¡±


    ¡°I take no offense,¡± Han Jianguo replied. The tone of his voice seemed to imply, You are incapable of giving offense to one as steady and strong-willed as I, Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n.


    But Zhang Ch¨¡o doubted that anyone noticed it besides himself¡ªand perhaps Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n himself, though the scholar was wisely not giving it away if he did.


    Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n was a subtle man. Not quite as deadly in combat as Han Jianguo, perhaps¡ªbut then, humans did not spend their lives in combat. It was perhaps more powerful to be deadly with words and stratagems than with clubs and axes, even in the post-System world.


    That was why Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n was almost as important, as a cornerstone of Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s power, as a formidable fighter and competent leader like Han Jianguo.


    ¡°Even if I have children, they will not be me either,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o pointed out.


    ¡°But there would be a clear line of succession for all those who believe in you personally,¡± Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n shot back instantly. ¡°The System had restored monarchy, and that form of government is well suited for these chaotic times. Even if it requires personal sacrifice, I beg that Your Majesty think of his people before so easily brushing off the importance of this decision.¡±


    Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n then bowed deeply.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o waited a moment, resisted the urge to shake his head, and then returned the bow, though his was not nearly as deep as Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n¡¯s.


    Sometimes I think you would be more comfortable in the days of Imperial China, he thought. Then again, imperialism was far from the rear view mirror at this point.


    As Zhang Ch¨¡o made his way back to his throne, he shook his head and rubbed his right temple.


    ¡°I suppose we know whose idea that meeting was,¡± Han Jianguo said. Then he gave a low chuckle.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o just grunted back.


    Disaster comes from careless talk, my friend, he thought silently.


    All of the bodyguards that surrounded them had been approved by Han Jianguo¡ªfor their combat strength and versatility as well as courage under fire¡ªbut that did not mean they were free from other ties and influences.


    It would be foolish to assume that words spoken about Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n had no avenues to make their way back to the head of public relations.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o thought he had his advisors¡ªhis team of rivals¡ªunder some semblance of control. Their ambitions were tamed while his power was unchallenged¡ªand unlikely to be challenged by anyone else within Taiwan. But there was no profit to be had in deepening existing fault lines.


    When people work with one heart, they can even move Mount Tai. But a bad beginning makes a bad ending. We have to keep our end in mind and stay united.


    Han Jianguo seemed to take Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s hidden meaning, and he fell silent.


    The Heavenly King and his entourage arrived in the throne room, and the bodyguards took up their usual posts, half encircling the throne.


    The ten prisoners, nine men and one woman, who had been in the room waiting for Zhang Ch¨¡o fell to their knees as he entered. One of the men, Zhang Ch¨¡o could not help but notice, had to be forced to his knees by one of the police who had accompanied the condemned men.


    Today¡¯s activity with the condemned was a periodic ritual for Zhang Ch¨¡o.


    Those who had been found guilty of capital offenses¡ªmurder, treason, espionage, drug trafficking, piracy, terrorism, desertion during battle, severe cases of rape or assault, and until recently stealing food from the hungry¡ªwere brought before Zhang Ch¨¡o and his bodyguards.


    They were given one opportunity to receive a pardon or commutation of their sentence.


    ¡°Show me your most unique Skills,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o said, reciting his usual spiel for today¡¯s batch of offenders. ¡°If I can verify that you possess a Skill that I have never encountered before, then your sentence will be commuted from death to ten years¡¯ imprisonment. If you demonstrate a unique Skill and would prefer a full pardon over commutation, you can choose to challenge any of those beside me to single combat.¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o gestured in a circular motion at the bodyguards who surrounded him, as well as at Han Jianguo. ¡°If you manage to win, I will not only pardon you, but you will be awarded a high rank within the military and ten thousand System Credits. Make no attempt to escape or attack any of my officials, or your life will be immediately forfeit.¡±


    The prisoners murmured among themselves, reacting to the Heavenly King¡¯s words with a mixture of emotions. Determination. Suspicion. Anger. Hope.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s eyes focused on the suspicious one. The prisoner¡¯s wary eyes played over Zhang Ch¨¡o and his entourage for a few seconds, as if calculating his chances at fighting them. Then the man noticed Zhang Ch¨¡o looking his way, and he averted his gaze.


    Darn, he looked away before I could use my Skill. What is this fellow¡¯s story? Not everyone who found himself in these prisoners¡¯ position considered the situation with a critical eye. That alone made this particular prisoner somewhat interesting.


    Then again, perhaps Zhang Ch¨¡o was simply eager to observe something, anything, of interest in today¡¯s clemency proceeding. He had initially instituted it as a way to discreetly observe and copy abilities with Quick Study¡ªthe Skill was his strongest cheat code for increasing his personal combat power¡ªwith the fringe benefit of allowing his bodyguards to get a little practice fighting. However, each time the police brought in the condemned men¡ªalmost all men¡ªthe practice showed very clear diminishing returns.


    Now it felt more like farce than a clever strategy¡ªlike Zhang Ch¨¡o was lying to these men, dangling the possibility of clemency before their eyes, so he could steal the main useful resource that these condemned men still had¡ªtheir Skills. Even though they probably didn¡¯t have anything he lacked, or at least not powers that he would want, anyway.


    ¡°Who would like to go first?¡± Han Jianguo asked in a loud, clear voice.


    Several hands rose.


    The prisoner Zhang Ch¨¡o had taken notice of was not one of these volunteers.


    Those who had volunteered to go first held a quick huddle among themselves, and then two men stepped forward and bowed in Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s direction.


    ¡°Could we please have our weapons back, Your Majesty?¡± one of them asked. ¡°Then we could spar and show our Skills off to best advantage.¡±


    Zhang Ch¨¡o simply nodded at the policemen behind the volunteers¡ªthe Ruler had received such requests more than once, and he now routinely granted them. He was confident that the two could not simply cut their way out of this place, no matter how strong they were. A couple of officers stepped forward and produced weapons from their Small Bags of Deceptive Dimensions and handed them to the two volunteers.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    The men bowed to Zhang Ch¨¡o and each other and then began sparring.


    The other prisoners and police formed a circle around the combatants, making escape even less likely.


    The figures looked promising to the Heavenly King¡¯s eyes from the beginning. Both were in good physical condition, though one fought with what appeared to be a long iron rod, which would seem to indicate that he was a Mage subtype. The other man used a pair of short swords, which suggested he might be an Assassin or some other Rogue Class Evolution.


    The Rogue type went on the offensive immediately, arms blurring slightly in a flurry of bladed movement. The Mage blocked deftly with his staff, and sparks flew with each contact.


    He¡¯s doing something with Mana, Zhang Ch¨¡o observed. Each blow to the staff scattered not just sparks but also some particles of Mana, which looked like little fragments of white light. Those seemed to remain present around the combatants¡¯ feet rather than dissipating like the sparks did.


    The Rogue stepped cautiously around the particles of Mana but did not become less aggressive. He simply tried to aim around the iron staff and strike the Mage¡¯s body, which was almost unprotected, clothed only in the robes Mages typically wore.


    As Zhang Ch¨¡o would have expected if someone had told him on paper that these two types of combatants were physically sparring, the bout slowly but clearly began to turn in the Rogue¡¯s favor. He began landing superficial cuts on the Mage¡¯s arms and legs. The Mage was able to fend off any more serious blows with the iron rod, and the Rogue was still trying to avoid further collisions between the rod and the blades. As with most Rogues, he seemed to have good instincts for a possible trap.


    The entire room had focused on the fight. Everyone but Zhang Ch¨¡o seemed to have become very invested. The Heavenly King himself was focused on trying to analyze the Skills being employed and determining if there was something there that he could use. He was slightly annoyed that the fighters had chosen to have an actual fight to demonstrate their Skills, rather than simply allowing each other to practice their respective abilities.


    Wait, no, he realized. This is no fight. His eyes, looking for a pattern in how the Skills being used functioned, had picked up on another pattern instead. The pair were in a choreographed dance.


    They are pretending to try to beat each other. Why?


    The hairs on the back of Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s neck stood up.


    He turned toward Han Jianguo and made quick eye contact. Han Jianguo¡¯s expression changed in an instant, and a honey-colored glow surrounded his body.


    Almost at the same time, the two prisoners danced closer to each other. The man with the iron rod lowered his weapon, and a shroud of dark-colored Mana with a star-like pattern to it surrounded his body. The Rogue threw one of his swords into the hand that held the other and reached out to take the Mage¡¯s hand.


    The two prisoners exchanged devilish grins, and then the whole room burst into motion. Everyone whose job it was to protect Zhang Ch¨¡o or to enforce the law in his burgeoning country understood that something unplanned was happening, and they all moved toward the two prisoners. Everyone but Zhang Ch¨¡o and Han Jianguo.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o had observed hundreds of Mages using magic over the course of the last few months. He had seen a thing or two, and now he could tell by sight alone that the Mage was ready to unleash his spell. Even the closest police officers would reach the two prisoners too late.


    Then the dark-colored Mana around the Mage fizzled and disappeared like a fog.


    ¡°Wait, what?¡± the Rogue cried.


    The Mage looked too shocked to speak.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o turned to Han Jianguo and smiled darkly. Well done.


    Han Jianguo returned the slightly twisted grin.


    There was no escape from this place.


    Han Jianguo had used the only ability of his that made Zhang Ch¨¡o jealous: Nullification, a Skill that came with Han Jianguo¡¯s unique evolved Class. It completely negated almost all Skills used within a certain space around Han Jianguo¡¯s body. The distance affected had expanded with practice, according to Han Jianguo, but even at the time that Zhang Ch¨¡o met him, the range of effect had been too far away for Zhang Ch¨¡o to ever try to copy the ability with Quick Study. The field of Nullification stretched further than the distance that Zhang Ch¨¡o could see across¡ªassuming this Skill could be copied at all.


    The first police officers reached the two stunned prisoners and subdued them quickly¡ªbut violently, using clubs to bludgeon them rather than to disarm. Blood streamed from wounds opened with blunt force as the rebellious prisoners stopped moving. Zhang Ch¨¡o noted that the police were acting a little more roughly than they needed to, perhaps because the prisoners had just shamed them in front of their King; it took the officers an extra few seconds to stop beating them after the men had ceased moving.


    I will have a quiet word with them later, Zhang Ch¨¡o thought. He would not embarrass these officers with a public rebuke right after they rushed into close proximity with armed criminals to quash their attempted escape.


    ¡°Your Majesty, what would you like us to do with these traitors?¡± asked one of the police officers, beads of sweat streaking down his face.


    ¡°They broke the rules,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o said without hesitation. ¡°Take them away and execute them immediately.¡± The police officer bowed, and four of them began hauling the two semi-conscious offenders away, Han Jianguo trailing behind to ensure that the Mage did not wake up and attempt whatever trick he had been about to use.


    The rest of the prisoners stood in stunned, still silence as the first two volunteers were dragged away.


    ¡°Well, who wants to go next?¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o asked after a moment.


    The next forty-five minutes were much more orderly than the first ten had been.


    Only three prisoners had Skills that Zhang Ch¨¡o was completely unfamiliar with, which he analyzed with Quick Study. The other prisoners were quietly led from the room. None of them struggled or cried out. This had been their last chance, and given what had happened to the two prisoners who had attempted to escape earlier, these others accepted their fates comparatively meekly.


    Of the three remaining criminals, one was the prisoner Zhang Ch¨¡o had taken notice of. He had a Skill that allowed him to transmute parts of his own body into metal. Quick Study was unable to copy it, unfortunately, but Zhang Ch¨¡o thought it was certainly unique. A deal was a deal.


    ¡°The three of you have earned your clemency,¡± he said. ¡°As promised, your sentences are officially commuted from death to ten years¡¯ imprisonment. You will spend your ten years performing labor for the state based on your unique abilities. Do not look at this as a sentence of ten years but as an opportunity to further demonstrate your value to this country. Time reveals a person¡¯s character. Even those who have once been judged as traitors¡ª¡±


    ¡°This is bullshit,¡± interrupted one of the three prisoners. Zhang Ch¨¡o noticed immediately that he spoke with a mainland accent. The criminal plainly was not native to Taiwan, yet relations with the mainland Chinese had been nonexistent since the Sino-American War.


    What was he doing in Taiwan before the System¡¯s descent? Is this man a spy?


    Han Jianguo, who had returned to Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s side, stepped forward, ready to rebuke the prisoner. But Zhang Ch¨¡o raised a hand to signal his right hand man to hold off.


    This fellow is bold, at least. What exactly is he thinking right now?


    ¡°How is it bullshit?¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o asked quietly.


    ¡°We gave you what you wanted,¡± the man replied. ¡°You should just let us go. None of this ten years of labor bull¡ª¡±


    ¡°You have given us nothing we could not have secured elsewhere,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o shot back, cutting him off. ¡°But even if you had provided something incredibly valuable, you still require punishment. Good medicine often tastes bitter. You stand before me for a capital offense. Virtue must be rewarded, and vice punished, or we make a mockery of justice. You do have another option to secure a full pardon, should you choose to take it.¡± His fingers beat a drumbeat on the hilt of the Mandate of Heaven as he spoke.


    The criminal slowly nodded. ¡°I will take that option, then, Your Majesty.¡± He spat those last two words. Zhang Ch¨¡o felt the contempt in them. He wondered for a moment what the source of it was, but then decided that it did not matter.


    ¡°Who do you want to take your life, scum?¡± asked Han Jianguo, stepping forward and cracking his knuckles eagerly.


    ¡°Not you,¡± the prisoner replied immediately. His eyes scanned over the faces of the bodyguards who surrounded Zhang Ch¨¡o¡ªthen snapped back to Zhang Ch¨¡o himself. ¡°You!¡± He pointed straight at the Heavenly King, as if there had been any doubt about who he meant.


    ¡°You have some nerve,¡± Han Jianguo began, but Zhang Ch¨¡o shook his head, a thin smile playing across his lips.


    Somehow, I thought you were smarter than this¡­ The man was clearly judging Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s strength based on his size or something similarly immaterial. Zhang Ch¨¡o was smaller in stature than every single one of his bodyguards and Han Jianguo.


    ¡°I will happily grant your request,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o said. ¡°Are you ready for a fight at this moment? Perhaps you could use some rest before we start, or spiritual counsel?¡±


    The prisoner smiled nastily. ¡°I¡¯m going to be the last face you ever see. The only thing I¡¯m worried about is: are these flunkies going to honor your pardon after you''re gone?¡±


    Zhang Ch¨¡o turned his head back to Han Jianguo and waited expectantly.


    His second in command snorted and rolled his eyes, then looked at the criminal. ¡°Fine. In the unlikely event that you survive your encounter with Zhang Ch¨¡o, we will honor your pardon as his last command.¡±


    ¡°Then I have nothing to hold me back,¡± the prisoner said.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o turned to face him and watched as the prisoner¡¯s entire body changed. Metal oozed out of his pores and covered every exposed inch of skin. Zhang Ch¨¡o could only assume the same was happening beneath his clothes.


    Such an interesting and useful Skill, he thought. A pity it¡¯s wasted on this buffoon.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o drew the Mandate of Heaven from its scabbard.


    ¡°You said you were ready, correct?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I was born read¡ª¡±


    Zhang Ch¨¡o lunged forward, and in a move too fast for most of the room to fully track, he slashed his sword through the prisoner¡¯s neck. The head tumbled away from the body, and the steel-coated corpse collapsed a fraction of a second later.


    Then Zhang Ch¨¡o sheathed his sword once again. Only after he had replaced it in its scabbard did the blood begin to gush out from the dead man¡¯s stump neck.


    Neither of the other surviving prisoners chose to pursue the possibility of a full pardon.

 V4 Interlude: Sunset in Taiwan

    After completing their business in the throne room, Zhang Ch¨¡o and Han Jianguo left the hub of Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s authority and walked out toward the street entrance of the building.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s bodyguards kept a respectful distance from their leader as he moved. Fresh from his kill in the throne room, they seemed to recognize by their slight physical separation from the Heavenly King that he did not truly need protection. It had not been Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s intention to make his guards feel superfluous, but that was what happened whenever he took up his sword.


    He hoped they would not take it personally.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s eyelids blinked rapidly open and shut as he stepped out into the sunlight. His eyes took a couple of seconds to adjust to the change in the environment.


    Well, it is the first time I¡¯ve ventured outdoors today since I walked out onto my balcony this morning¡­


    There was a part of him that felt slightly frustrated by that. On some level, he missed the days of Orientation, when he had been fighting for his life every day and sleeping under the stars every night. Those had been good times.


    Now it felt as if ninety percent of his day was taken up with meetings.


    As his vision cleared, the outlines of his soldiers came into view. Thousands of them lined the streets outside of Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s headquarters as far as the eye could see. Armored and robed, carrying swords, rifles, staffs, and assorted alternative weapons, they stood ready.


    The Heavenly King¡¯s body semi-consciously relaxed. More than any of his other citizens, his soldiers were his people. Together, he and this ragtag military had mounted six expeditions into the Taiwanese mountains¡ªZhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s country was one of the most mountainous regions in the world¡ªand retaliated for monster attacks on the human-occupied areas of the island, until they taught the nonhuman occupants of the high places a lesson in respect for human spaces.


    Paradoxically, despite the seriousness of that task, those had been some of the most relaxing days for the Heavenly King since he returned from Orientation. And they were extremely productive too.


    As word of his success in this endeavor spread, both his army and his popular approval had grown until almost the whole population of the island had fallen under his command¡ªand his personal army swelled to well over ten thousand.


    ¡°Attention!¡± yelled Han Jianguo.


    The soldiers moved as one, postures straightening, bodies crackling with obvious tension as they awaited Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s command.


    The Heavenly King stepped forward and began to speak.


    ¡°Today, we take our first strides towards making the sea safe for our people to travel across,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s voice boomed. ¡°We march on the harbor, and we will challenge the Reef King!¡±


    The Reef King and his monsters were one of the main threats to Taiwanese shipping, along with the roving pirates in the Taiwan Strait. Unlike the pirates, the Reef King and his ilk were relatively easy to find. They had arrogantly made themselves at home in Tsoying Harbor¡ªright at the edges of Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s aura.


    It was an obvious, deliberate provocation directed at a fellow Ruler.


    Today was the day that Zhang Ch¨¡o would end the challenge the Reef King presented to the revitalization of the Taiwanese economy¡ªand Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s other long-cherished ambitions.


    The soldiers roared their approval. Thousands of weapons stabbed at the sky, as the armed men and women imagined that their enemies stood directly before them.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o marched down the center of the main street leading away from his headquarters, and the soldiers followed after him, falling into step as he passed their respective positions.


    The Heavenly King did not lead them directly to the harbor. Instead, he followed a ritual that he had established when he led his second expedition into the mountains to kill raiding monsters. He marched down to Lotus Pond.


    Every time he led troops into battle, Zhang Ch¨¡o went to one of the many temples built around the artificial lake, to try to show reverence for the heavenly beings that Orientation had confirmed existed.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o was not faithful to one temple or religion in particular; he had never been religious before the System, so that would have felt very artificial.


    But he thought the gesture was harmless at worst¡ªand at best, it both honored the gods and heartened his troops, some of whom did still observe traditional religious practices.


    Today, he entered the Dragon Pagoda through the dragon statue¡¯s mouth, spent some time appreciating the artwork¡ªthe seven story Dragon and Tiger Pagodas were full of moralistic illustrations, though Zhang Ch¨¡o had little personal love for art¡ªand then he crossed into the Tiger Pagoda. He spent a briefer period there before finally exiting through the tiger¡¯s mouth.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o tried to put on a contemplative expression, as if he had been enlightened by the historical, religious, and philosophical decor of the two towers, but in his heart, he felt more impatience than illumination from this side trip.


    Because as he emerged, the sun was almost setting.


    More time passed when I was inside than I realized, he thought. We must move quickly to the harbor if we want to accomplish this today.


    If he and his men waited until tomorrow, the Reef King and his forces might have moved on to some other part of the coast that would be less easily accessible, or even temporarily returned to the sea. Conversely, if he and his men had to fight in the dark, they might be at a disadvantage, because some of the Reef King¡¯s minions had better night vision than the average human, even post-System.


    ¡°We march onward!¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o shouted. ¡°To Tsoying Harbor!¡±


    The soldiers pumped their weapons in the air eagerly, cheered, and rushed to follow after Zhang Ch¨¡o as he moved briskly toward the coast. Fortunately, it was not a long walk.


    As the army neared the coastline, Zhang Ch¨¡o spotted the Reef King. He was almost impossible to miss.


    A monster formed of hard coral that stood an imposing fifty feet tall, most of its body was bleached an eerie white color. That first look made it obvious that the Reef King had been on Earth prior to the System¡¯s descent. The ugly figure, composed of many different species of coral that had amalgamated into one single, monstrous form, had some parts that reminded Zhang Ch¨¡o of a garden in full bloom. They practically glowed in bright yellows, oranges, fuschias, and pinks.


    But the overwhelming presence of the color white showed that the Reef King¡¯s body was mainly composed of coral that had been discolored in the temperature-stressed waters of the Pacific Ocean.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o wondered how intelligent it was. He had slain many monsters, including three Rulers, in the past, but how self-aware they were seemed to be a matter of pure chance. The more powerful ones were more likely to be capable of reason, but even that was not a fixed rule. He had tried to reason with the Qilin Monarch, only for the creature to gore him while roaring like a lion.


    After that, Zhang Ch¨¡o was generally less interested in ascertaining how rational the nonhuman Rulers were.


    The Reef King turned its body, though, and Zhang Ch¨¡o saw the answer to the question he had been pondering. From somewhere around what appeared to be the center of its vast mass of non-uniform parts, the monster had two pairs of glowing eyes that stared out at Zhang Ch¨¡o.


    It was impossible to say for certain how he knew, but as the eyes locked onto Zhang Ch¨¡o, he sensed that the Reef King was a creature moved by intelligence, not mere instinct.


    Somehow, somewhere in the grotesque amalgamation process that had shaped its form from out of hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of different specimens of coral, the Reef King had acquired a mind.


    Window of the Soul!


    It was a Skill Zhang Ch¨¡o had acquired by fusing several ocular abilities and an empathy-related Skill.


    The Heavenly King¡¯s and the Reef King¡¯s eyes were locked in the key moment when Zhang Ch¨¡o activated the Skill. Then a series of sensations and images flooded through Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s mind. All was confusion for a moment.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o had to exert his Will to keep from being overwhelmed by these core memories. There were feelings from before the Reef King became intelligent. Not pain, exactly. Almost none of the sensations that humans would understand well.


    But there was stress. Intense stress. That was when its body was bleached white, Zhang Ch¨¡o recognized.


    Then the System descended. The coral was still not conscious, but like most of the nonhumans Zhang Ch¨¡o had encountered, it interacted and entered default instructions through the System¡¯s interface nevertheless, its movements toward each option slow and unconscious.


    There was a long period of slow growth. For almost the whole of Orientation, the component creatures that made up the Reef King had lain nearly inactive, as if magic had not come into the world. Then one of them reached a certain level and gained a Skill. All of the individual coral specimens had been slowly leveling simply by surviving and consuming their normal food sources. Each had gained Skills, mostly extremely common and ineffective ones.


    But by chance, this single special coral gained the Skill ¡°Merger.¡±The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    It used the Skill immediately on its neighbor. That neighbor rejected the Merger attempt, but it seemed that the coral that initially acquired the Skill now had a default setting of continuously attempting Merger.


    The efforts succeeded.


    At first, some microorganisms fused with the first coral. Next, one of its neighbors joined with it. After that, the neighbor that had initially refused Merger accepted a renewed attempt. Apparently, either the decision had been random¡ªnone of these coral had more than a simple nerve net to make decisions with¡ªor the fact of the prior successful Merger made the initial coral look like a more attractive partner.


    The central coral began to grow stronger at a prodigious rate.


    In the last days of Orientation, it continued slowly expanding beneath the surface of the water¡ªbeneath anyone¡¯s notice¡ªuntil the number of linked corals and other vaguely connected life forms gave the resultant creature a greater complexity.


    It slowly evolved a level of sapience, and there were accompanying System achievements.


    There was a sudden shift in the coral creature¡¯s universe, and it found itself suddenly transported into a Dungeon. There it encountered a god with a strange, metal humanoid head, red hair, and a serpentine tail.


    The coral passively accepted a blessing.


    The god smiled and sent the coral back to Earth.


    And it grew wise.


    It grew wise, and at the same time, sublimely hateful of mankind.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o saw a vision of its goal. The ocean overtaking the land. Coral covering the entire surface of the Earth.


    The Heavenly King shook his head, frowned, and focused fully on the present.


    ¡°Be on your guard, everyone!¡± he barked loudly, turning his head to look back at his eager army. ¡°This will not be a simple beast hunt. These creatures are intelligent.¡±


    Han Jianguo repeated the instructions, as did the squad commanders to their subordinates.


    ¡°Despite how they look,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o added under his breath.


    Only now that he had finished trying to understand the Reef King¡¯s mentality did he fully take in the Reef King¡¯s army. It was a motley crew of ugly mutant creatures. A hammerhead shark with humanoid eyes and limbs, a misshapen giant starfish, a big crab monster, more of the walking coral creatures like the Reef King itself, a squid with a hundred tentacles, several bloated drowned men whose bodies had eyes missing¡ªand Zhang Ch¨¡o thought he saw a flicker of strange life behind those empty eye sockets.


    There were only a thousand of them that Zhang Ch¨¡o could see, a much smaller force than his own, but they made an ominous picture.


    All of the enemy were crusted with sea salt. Most of them stood upright in the shallow water close to shore, though Zhang Ch¨¡o guessed that there were other enemies in the dark depths just out of his view. The visible members of the Reef King¡¯s force averaged roughly the same height and size as typical adult human beings.


    We will have to exterminate every one of them, Zhang Ch¨¡o thought uneasily. That god that blessed the Reef King sparked the development of a deeper malevolence than I would have guessed possible in such a simple creature. If I had imagined there might be some way of reasoning with it, that notion seems foolish now¡­


    His eyes played over the bloated bodies of the drowned men that stood, ready to fight alongside the rest of the Reef King¡¯s small army. Zhang Ch¨¡o guessed that the Reef King might be piloting the bodies of the drowned men directly.


    At least none of them are people I recognize.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o had his forces line up on the water¡¯s edge¡ªthe space that also marked the border of his aura, since it now bumped up against that of the Reef King¡ªand they began preparing their ranged attacks and weapons for firing.


    After a minute of aiming and preparing, Zhang Ch¨¡o ordered his army to loose their attacks. Bullets, arrows, javelins, fireballs, bolts of lightning, and a myriad of other projectiles flew from the shore into the massed bodies of the enemy.


    As the attacks launched, the Reef King¡¯s force sprang into motion. They dodged to the extent that they could¡ªsome of them, including the drowned men, were too slow to dodge effectively¡ªand just as importantly, they counter attacked.


    They threw old rusty tools dredged up from the sea floor, heavy rocks, streams of highly pressurized water, and in the case of the starfish creatures and squid monsters, their own severed limbs, which struck human targets and tried to choke them to death as if the tentacles were still attached to the owners¡¯ bodies.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o leaped into the harbor itself as the battle commenced. His most effective attacks were close range ones. He did not order the main body of his army to advance alongside him. He did not have to. Most of the soldiers he led were also much more effective at close combat than using ranged weaponry. Though the Heavenly King was only barely conscious of it, they took the plunge alongside him and took some of the heat off of him as most of the Reef King¡¯s army headed straight for Zhang Ch¨¡o, the leader of their opposition.


    ¡°Damn it!¡± Han Jianguo swore loudly.


    Then Zhang Ch¨¡o heard the splash of him leaping into the water too.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o was not even sure the big man could swim, but then Han Jianguo was there fighting alongside Zhang Ch¨¡o again, taking all the same blows as him, as usual.


    The two men cut their way forward, advancing through the ranks of the Reef King¡¯s army. While the rest of Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s force struggled to move forward against the opponents arrayed against them, Han Jianguo and Zhang Ch¨¡o left a path of dismembered sea creatures in their wake. Everywhere Zhang Ch¨¡o slashed with the Mandate of Heaven, he sliced and diced whatever it touched so quickly and smoothly that the monsters hardly had a moment to realize they were dead. Each creature struck with Han Jianguo¡¯s hatchet fell instantly, never to rise again.


    Then the two men stepped forward into what looked, as Zhang Ch¨¡o set his foot down, like a suspiciously thick patch of kelp. Then thousands of volts of electricity flooded their bodies. Zhang Ch¨¡o was stunned as the unseen monsters shocked him and his second in command again and again. He had no room to even activate a Skill. His brain did not seem to work properly.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o was dimly aware that armored men swept in from his sides. He wanted to call out a warning.


    Stay away, you idiots! This was a trap¡­


    But his body was paralyzed for the moment, and the soldiers advanced despite his unspoken reservations.


    Fortunately, the soldiers seemed to recognize that there was a trap in the area where Zhang Ch¨¡o and Han Jianguo stood writhing with the electricity. They stood just barely close enough to grab their leaders and began dragging them away.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o felt his body yanked back, and gratitude surged through him as the electricity flowed out. Movement immediately began to return to his limbs. His fingers twitched. His eyes rolled.


    Then he heard a bellow, and he saw a great white creature moving from the corner of his eyes.


    It was the Reef King. The great monster rushed toward Zhang Ch¨¡o and his soldiers on makeshift limbs that had probably never been forced to walk in such shallow water. It had apparently decided that this was its best opportunity to finish off its primary threat.


    Remote Detonation!


    Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s Skill threw a glob of Mana at the Reef King and then exploded it point blank on the creature¡¯s body. It did not even slow down in its headlong rush toward the humans.


    Remote Detonation. Zhang Ch¨¡o tried again, this time aiming carefully at the Reef King¡¯s visible, glowing yellow eyes.


    The Reef King took the blow and lurched forward, ignoring whatever pain it might be experiencing. And Zhang Ch¨¡o saw that the injuries from the first explosion were rapidly healing.


    He flexed his right bicep.


    I think I have recovered enough.


    ¡°Put me down,¡± he ordered.


    ¡°Sir,¡± one of the soldiers began.


    ¡°Let me go!¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o said. ¡°Release me, or we will all die.¡±


    ¡°Do as he says,¡± Han Jianguo said, groaning.


    The men obeyed.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o drew the Mandate of Heaven from his side. Not recognizing the threat that Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s ultimate weapon posed, the Reef King continued to lunge toward him, long tentacles and hard claws extending toward what must have seemed the Heavenly King¡¯s vulnerable body.


    The sword flashed, and the Reef King¡¯s extended limbs tumbled into the sea.


    The creature did not hesitate but simply reached out with more of its parts. Zhang Ch¨¡o continued slicing and dicing for several minutes, the Reef King relentless and patient, until the monster started to recognize that it was running out of limbs.


    One of the Mandate of Heaven¡¯s properties was hampering regenerative abilities.


    The Reef King started to pull back. Everywhere around Zhang Ch¨¡o, the battle raged on, but the tide seemed to turn for the others at the same time that it did so for their Ruler.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o pursued the Reef King into the slightly deeper water that its slowed, wounded body had managed to reach.


    He used his Remote Detonation Skill again, this time throwing his exploding Mana behind the Reef King. Although Zhang Ch¨¡o used a large chunk of what remained in his Mana reserves, the massive size of the monster meant that the explosion only hurled it a foot in Zhang Ch¨¡o¡¯s direction.


    But with Zhang Ch¨¡o also closing the distance on foot, that was enough.


    I¡¯m guessing that your most important organs are somewhere near these eyes, he thought. If not, I will keep cutting until I find what makes you tick and destroy it.


    Zhang Ch¨¡o raised the Mandate of Heaven over his head, he prepared to swing down¡ªand a massive sound shook the air around them. The Heavenly King automatically shifted from an offensive to a defensive stance and took a step back.


    What was that? he wondered. That could not be a Skill of the Reef King¡¯s, could it?


    Then the ground shook beneath his feet.


    Earthquake¡­ but what was that noise?


    As Zhang Ch¨¡o struggled to maintain his footing, he saw the Reef King take its opportunity. Moving with a fluidity that he could only guess was because of its nature as a sea creature, it slipped into deeper water and quickly submerged itself, then rushed away, moving even faster than it had when it pursued Zhang Ch¨¡o toward the shore.


    No, damn it!


    In the difficult visibility of the twilight, Zhang Ch¨¡o lost sight of the creature almost immediately.


    As his footing steadied, he and the rest of his army trudged back to shore and assessed the aftermath. They had taken few casualties, far fewer than the enemy. The bodies of the sea monsters littered the beach. More pieces would wash up on shore over the next several days.


    But the question would plague him.


    What happened? What was that sound? That force that shook the Earth?


    When he returned to his headquarters, one of his advisors had the answer.


    ¡°A massive earthquake,¡± said Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n. ¡°It set off all the seismometers. I assumed you would want to know about this, so I gathered all available data.¡±


    What caused the earthquake? the Ruler wanted to ask. He had heard a tremendous noise before he felt anything. That was not normal.


    ¡°Are we safe?¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o asked instead.


    ¡°We should alert the public to the possibility of a tsunami,¡± Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n replied immediately.


    ¡°We weren¡¯t the epicenter,¡± Zhang Ch¨¡o said, a question implied in his tone.


    Lin Y¨¬ch¨¦n shook his head.


    ¡°No, sire,¡± he said carefully. ¡°It is hard to be certain, so please do not take this as a definite statement. But from the readings, it seems as if the world may have lost Japan.¡±

 V4-Epilogue: The Scout

    A pair of claws parted a thin layer of branches, and a gleaming set of yellow-green eyes stared out of the jungle foliage.


    A different, forest biome unfolded before Wind Whisper¡¯s eyes, but the scout knew he could not safely step into it. He felt an intense pressure just ahead of him, harsh enough to make his fur stand on end.


    Truly, I can get no closer than this?


    The scout knew instinctively just where to stop moving to fall short of entering the aura he sensed before him. That sensitivity was part of why he was a scout. His mate and fellow scout, Forest Shadow, had been slightly less sensitive, and it had resulted in her death during the journey here.


    The two had attempted to navigate around the edges of a Storm Elemental¡¯s territory, hoping the monster would be less attentive to its borders than more intelligent neighboring Rulers. When the Elemental turned its attention to the two Pantherfolk, Wind Whisper noticed its incoming attack a fraction of a second before Forest Shadow did. He managed to throw himself to the ground and avoid the spear of lightning the monster threw.


    Forest Shadow was not so lucky. From Wind Whisper¡¯s vantage point, his mate tried to duck, but she moved a fraction of a second too late. The bolt struck, and then there was a blackened stump where her head had been.


    Wind Whisper had stayed tight against the ground for a few minutes afterward. By the time he rose from his semi-crouched position, his mate¡¯s body was already growing cool¡ªeverywhere below the neck, which remained scorching hot. The rain came down hard around them in the aftermath of the attack, falling around Wind Whisper¡¯s snout like tears.  He cradled her body for a moment, briefly heedless of the danger from the Elemental, but no further blow came.


    Despite his lapse in caution Wind Whisper survived the encounter nearly unscathed. The easily distracted Storm Elemental had moved onto some other target after hurling its deadly bolts, and he heard its violence miles away as he held Forest Shadow.


    A part of him wished, only for a moment, that the Storm Elemental had killed him too.


    The remainder of Wind Whisper¡¯s journey was uneventful.


    The scars on his heart were still raw, but he did not stop to mourn his loss. He could not afford to lose the time. He only slowed down long enough to bury Forest Shadow before he continued on his critical mission.


    Now he was here.


    This damned aura covers such a wide area! Has no one tried to stop this arrogant human from expanding yet?


    The Florida Panther Queen had fought battle after battle in her path of domination. No one had given her anything except those who followed her¡ªwhose loyalty she had earned with proof of violent, exceptional power sufficient to establish her supremacy.


    All Races were in eternal competition in this new world, so only the strong could be allowed to lead.


    By the same logic, all rivals to the Florida Panther Queen must be carefully monitored as best the Pantherfolk could manage, with the eventual goal of elimination. This monitoring was the purpose of Wind Whisper¡¯s mission.


    Of all the rivals to his Ruler that the Pantherfolk had heard of since their Race awakened, the Fisher King seemed like one of the most dangerous. The fact that this human¡¯s reputation had spread to a place where the Pantherfolk could hear about him from one of their subjugated humans was already a warning sign. The unchecked spread of his aura¡ªand its violent, intense quality¡ªwas a confirmation.


    Wind Whisper steadied his position and tightened his grip around the branches in front of him. His paw pads were sweating from being so close to the hostile aura, uninvited and unwelcome.


    He reassured himself that where he presently stood, the human who owned the territory ahead could not possibly detect him, even if this human¡¯s aura was particularly sensitive to intrusions.


    The scout had an additional Stealth Skill that meant the only way the scout could be detected by someone with normal senses was if someone stared at him for several seconds directly.


    So he was safe here.


    Though the watcher¡¯s position was relatively far away from the place he was meant to be spying on, he was confident that he could gather useful intelligence from there. His vision was extremely sharp. Gradually, as his eyes adjusted to the light, the scout got a clear picture of what was happening inside the Fisher King¡¯s turf.


    First, he observed that a crowd had gathered in the depth of the territory.


    Then he recognized that the crowd was actually a large army. Hundreds or perhaps thousands of figures clearly ready for battle, and they all appeared to turn to face in the same direction as Wind Whisper observed them.


    Is the Ruler there?


    There was silence for a few seconds, and Wind Whisper took careful account of the moving silhouettes. He saw a surprisingly diverse body of forces.


    Humans, of course, but varied other Races as well. Short, green-skinned humanoid figures who bristled with shiny makeshift armor and carried long spears or short swords. Squirrel people, bat people, massive alligators, and wolves rounded out the force.


    The scout swallowed. His throat was suddenly uncomfortably dry.


    That is quite a few enemies to subdue. He has faced challengers after all, and he subjugated them¡­


    This was not unlike how the Queen preferred to deal with her enemies. This Fisher King would present a challenge.


    Then he heard the sound of a single voice talking. It took Wind Whisper only a fraction of a second to recognize what was going on.


    The Ruler was broadcasting a speech throughout his territory¡ªaddressing his troops, mainly. Even at the very edge of the Fisher King¡¯s realm, the scout could hear everything as if he stood right beside the speaker.


    So, he is sending the bulk of his army out to invade neighboring territories, and they are going all the way to the coastline¡­


    The speech continued for a short time, and then things within the territory began to move. Wind Whisper worked to roughly count the enemy, then quickly gave up. There were too many of them, and he was too far away for accuracy.


    The scout began transmitting a message to his Queen instead.


    The Ruler that Your Majesty wished me to observe is lowering his guard, he sent. He is ordering his strongest forces to depart on an aggressive campaign and leaving only a light force to defend the core of his territory. If Your Majesty wishes to invade, there will never be a better moment¡­


    As the words left his mind, Wind Whisper sensed movement in the corner of his vision.


    I looked over there before, he thought. There were no signs of life. Just some old, ruined human dwelling¡­


    But there was someone leaving that old building now.


    He turned his head to get a better look at the figure, and he saw an old, brown-skinned woman moving away from the old house and back toward the center of the territory. She wore robes that identified her as a Mage or Mage variant to his mind.


    How did I miss her? he wondered. Why wasn¡¯t she outside, watching the King¡¯s speech with the other residents of his territory?


    These little questions set his hair on end and made Wind Whisper nervous.


    As he watched the old woman, she stopped walking and stood stock-still for a moment.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Go on back by your Ruler¡¯s side, lady¡­


    As he thought that, the woman turned and looked right in his direction.


    His paw pads broke out in a sweat again, and he resisted the urge to wipe them on his coat. He wanted to keep movement to a minimum just then.


    No, no, she cannot possibly see me, he tried to tell himself.


    As if to confirm that thought, the woman squinted and wrinkled her nose, then scratched the back of her head, as if she was trying to see something that was just out of view.


    Wind Whisper held his breath, focused harder on his Skill, and silently prayed.


    He also turned his head very slightly, to ensure that he was not staring at the woman. It was possible that she had a Skill that allowed her to detect when someone was looking directly at her. It was harder to track her with just peripheral vision, but his peripheral sight was still better than a human¡¯s. He had a good general idea of where the old woman was as she started moving again.


    And then he lost track of her completely.


    Oh shit!


    He turned his head, Stealth forgotten for a moment, and tried to reestablish an awareness of the woman¡¯s position.


    But it was as if she had simply stepped behind a tree and vanished. There was no trace of her left.


    Did she use some form of magic to disappear? Wind Whisper was under the impression that Spatial Magic was extremely rare. None of the Pantherfolk had that Skill or any Skills adjacent to it, or they would not be sending scouts through dangerous occupied territories en route to enemy strongholds; they would be transporting them instantly.


    But given the diversity of the Fisher King¡¯s following, it was entirely plausible that he would have access to rarer forms of magic than were the norm.


    If she felt the need to use magic to get further away from here, when she was walking before, it¡¯s probably because she noticed an enemy presence and went to warn the Ruler. Damn it! Did I fail the mission already? Forest Shadow died for nothing, then!


    Reluctantly, Wind Whisper composed another message to the Florida Panther Queen.


    Your Majesty, if I stop responding, please assume that I have been compromised and killed. I will not allow myself to be taken alive if I am capable of resistance, but it is possible that my cover has already been broken.


    He sent it, then continued sweeping his eyes across the forest, looking for the old woman.


    Recommendation, Whisper? The Queen replied instantly. She wanted to know what her scout thought the Pantherfolk should do based on what he had seen thus far.


    The Fisher King is extremely dangerous, he began. Given that he is sending his army away, I recommend¡ª


    The soil beneath and all around Wind Whisper exploded with violent force as something burst out of the ground, sending bits of soil and plant life flying. He felt a sharp pain in his intestines as something stabbed directly through his stomach muscles and ripped his insides apart.


    ¡°Urk!¡± Wind Whisper let out a pained groan as he temporarily lost the focus required for both communication and the Skill keeping him hidden.


    The dust began to settle around him, and he tried to contain his agony and re-focus on hiding himself. His eyes took in that a dozen skeletons had lunged out of the soil. One had stabbed a bony spear shaft through him, while the others had stabbed at random spots around him.


    ¡°So that¡¯s where you were?¡± A female voice with a hint of amusement in its tone carried from within the forest, around the place where Wind Whisper had lost track of the old woman. Despite being impaled and in severe pain, he managed to raise his head to look up.


    The female Mage stepped out from behind a tree and began walking towards him.


    Wind Whisper tried to focus on a Skill he knew that would cause his body to explode, but the skeleton that had him on its bony shaft seemed to recognize that the scout was doing something its master would not like. It twisted the spear viciously in his guts so that he lost his focus again. His eyes clenched shut involuntarily as his body writhed in pain.


    It felt like the skeleton¡¯s blade traveled even deeper into his body, perhaps pierced his heart, but that sensation must have been an illusion, because he retained his consciousness.


    After a few seconds, the pain faded.


    With his mind clearer, the scout realized his senses detected movement near him and opened his eyes to see the old woman had reached him. She now stood just outside the Fisher King¡¯s territory, right beside Wind Whisper.


    For a moment, the two just stared at each other.


    A dozen questions swirled through his muddled mind. At the forefront was, Why did you bother closing the distance? Your minions could kill me without you putting yourself in danger. This was puzzling, because from what he knew of Mages, they were even weaker physically than squishy, Stealth-oriented individuals like himself. Perhaps he could survive this if he just managed to tear out the woman¡¯s throat¡­


    ¡°You have a question for me?¡± the woman asked. ¡°If you will answer a question or two of mine, I will gladly answer yours.¡± She spoke softly, with quiet civility, as if Wind Whisper was not slowly bleeding out, impaled on her skeleton¡¯s weapon.


    Their eyes met, and Whisper made an instant decision. He lacked the clarity to ask the questions that would actually help him right now, but he decided he would try to play her game nevertheless. He could always lie, and any information he gathered would help the Queen, if he could only recover his focus enough to send her a last message or two before he died.


    Finally, he opened his muzzle and said, ¡°H-how did you detect me?¡± Every syllable was painful, but the answer would hopefully tell him something about what the old woman could do. She had to be one of the Fisher King¡¯s deadliest soldiers.


    ¡°Someone close to you died recently, did they not?¡± she replied. ¡°You don¡¯t have to answer that, it isn¡¯t my question. Those who work with the dead have the ability to sense death, as a tangible thing. It leaves a residue that practically glows for us. The residue was thin this time, but unmistakable. My guess is that this person who died recently was close to you, so even though they should have moved on to the afterlife, a part of them stuck with you. Some portion of their soul either loved or hated you so much that they did not fully move on. How tragic. This friend or family member or lover probably would have died to protect you, but instead¡­¡± Her voice trailed off.


    Whisper coughed up a thin trickle of blood before he could speak again.


    ¡°So my Stealth was not broken¡­¡± He could not tell why he fixated on this, why he was not doing his job and informing the Florida Panther Queen immediately of this interaction. But he took some comfort in the old woman¡¯s words, and in these moments before death, that seemed more important.


    ¡°My turn,¡± she said. ¡°Why are you here, Panther Scout?¡±


    She must have Identified me.


    ¡°I am here to deliver a message to the Fisher King,¡± he lied, suddenly inspired. ¡°Will you take me to him? He will want to hear¡ª¡±


    ¡°Do you really think I would let you get anywhere near my son?¡± the old woman snarled. All civility had suddenly vanished. ¡°I can tell that you are lying to me. Attempt to deceive me again, and this conversation will become much less polite. I have ways of making you talk. I had hoped not to resort to them, but I have to protect my family above all else.¡±


    ¡°Fuck you,¡± Wind Whisper said, fully prepared for those to be his last words.


    He focused on preparing his final message to the Panther Queen.


    They have a Necromancer. She has me prisoner. Assume that everything is compromised.


    As he tried to send the message, he did not feel the familiar sensation of the telepathic connection. The surprise must have shown on his face, because the Necromancer smiled slightly¡ªalmost sadly.


    ¡°What did you do?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Did you think I would allow you to continue assisting your leader against us?¡± the old woman asked.


    ¡°How did you stop me from sending a message?¡± Whisper asked.


    ¡°The truth is, you are already dead,¡± she replied. As she spoke, her eyes glowed slightly. Then the world around them seemed to glow and turn translucent, and the pain in his body vanished entirely. ¡°Your soul is mine. You serve us now.¡±


    ¡°No,¡± he growled.


    ¡°Yes,¡± she said, her voice factual rather than insistent, as though she was reporting on the weather. ¡°You will assist me willingly or unwillingly. The choice of whether to be a willing servant is up to you.¡±


    ¡°You monster,¡± Whisper said. That was why his pain had faded into the background despite how the skeleton had seemed to brutalize him further.


    If only I was not so weak¡­ Why did I become a scout¡­?


    ¡°If you say so,¡± the old woman replied indifferently. ¡°I will do what I have to do.¡±


    Whisper felt a force tugging at his being, and he recognized it as the old woman¡¯s power. It was irresistibly strong, but he tried to fight it nonetheless.


    ¡°I will never help you,¡± he said defiantly.


    She simply shook her head. ¡°We¡¯ll see. Out of respect for your courage, I will do you one favor.¡± Her eyes glowed again, and then Wind Whisper felt a warm presence.


    ¡°You died,¡± he heard Forest Shadow¡¯s mournful voice pronounce.


    ¡°You are here,¡± he replied, surprised.


    ¡°The old woman pulled me back from the other side. She said I was still attached to you,¡± said Forest Shadow.


    ¡°Now we are both trapped,¡± said Wind Whisper. ¡°I did not want this.¡±


    ¡°Is it so terrible?¡± asked Forest Shadow.


    Wind Whisper allowed himself to bask in the warmth of his lover¡¯s soul before he answered.


    ¡°No,¡± he replied. ¡°Not so terrible after all.¡±


    The scout barely noticed as the Necromancer tugged at his soul again, and the intangible part of himself floated away with her.

 V5-Prologue: The Collared Men

    ¡°Fuck!¡±


    Dean Crocetti swore quietly and resisted the urge to throw something, anything, from his desk.


    In the moment before he contained himself, he saw the others in the room visibly draw back.


    Control yourself, man, Dean thought. Even if everyone else loses their heads, you have to keep yours.


    ¡°Yes, sir, it¡¯s a, um, significant loss,¡± agreed Trey Zelig.


    That¡¯s an understatement. Two more scouts missing. It¡¯s a very fucking significant loss!


    Dean nodded. Just to have something to do with his hands, he picked up a black stapler off his desk and started fiddling with it. He and his allies were using the old law firm office building, along with the add-on structures they¡¯d managed to erect, as their base, so he was still using his old office.


    I miss being a law partner, Dean thought. Fuck me, things were actually simpler then¡­


    ¡°Here¡¯s the plan,¡± he said tersely. ¡°No more patrols. We keep everyone else close.¡±


    Viktor Cremieux grunted his agreement.


    ¡°We¡¯ll spread the word, chief,¡± said Gina Fergis.


    ¡°Anyone have any objections?¡± Dean asked, fingers still playing over the stapler.


    Silence rang through the room.


    ¡°Dismissed, then.¡±


    All of the members of Dean¡¯s inner circle rose and slowly left the room. Except one. She waited until the door had closed on the last of Dean¡¯s allies before she said her piece.


    ¡°What about foraging for food?¡± asked Sophia Crocetti, not looking at her husband directly.


    Dean allowed himself to fixate not on the words themselves, but on his wife¡¯s body language, for a moment. Even as she waited for his answer, Sophia still held her eyes slightly away from a head-on look at him.


    That was the worst thing about Dean¡¯s Race Evolution. He looked like his pre-System human self, but heavily abusing steroids and trying out for Mister Universe¡ªand he thought his face had acquired a cruel twist to it, too. Sophia had tried not to say anything negative¡ªshe knew he was making the choices he had to make for their family¡ªbut he could tell she was disturbed by the transformation.


    Intimacy between the two had completely dried up.


    And he couldn¡¯t blame her. More than his appearance had changed. It was like his body was swimming with testosterone. He felt a very difficult to restrain anger at the slightest provocation now. Evolution had not changed his intellect or basic temperament. In time, he felt certain, he would learn to control the rage that pumped through him. For now, though, he was glad that Sophia was giving him more distance than she ever had in their marriage before.


    At least he was stronger¡ªfor the moment.


    Unbidden, the description of the Race Evolution came to mind once more.


    Evolved Human: You have struggled, and you have overcome. You have built your Stats one body at a time, until you reached this position. You have achieved the peak of what is possible for a System-Boosted Human, and you have become a peak lifeform of that type. Now the time has come to accept your peak progress and convert your remaining potential into hard power, with all that exchange implies. Your final form is that of the Evolved Human, a life form that dominates all System-Boosted Humans and sits atop the Orientation food chain, capable of besting even the hardiest foes from the Orientation setting in single combat. Gain 10 Free Stat Points for every level in your Race that you have attained to this point. Enjoy your position at the pinnacle for as long as you can maintain it!


    At the time he had chosen his Race Evolution, this had seemed the best option. He needed strength to protect his family and to more effectively lead the small but growing community of survivors that had gathered here. He now had almost two hundred people sheltering with him and his loved ones.


    It was a limiting choice, in its way, but if he could sacrifice his own potential to secure his family¡¯s future, that would be worth it. Let his children pursue the more exotic Race Evolution options.


    If only¡­


    ¡°Dear?¡± Sophia¡¯s voice cut into his thought process. It was surprisingly soft. She placed a hand on his wrist, gentle but firm. ¡°What about foraging for food?¡±


    Right, we¡¯re still talking about this.


    ¡°We have some reserves at this point,¡± he said. ¡°Hunting and gathering has been good the last two weeks. If these people are going to make an attack, they¡¯re not going to wait to starve us out. We have more to lose if they get more of our scouts than we do by eating a little light for a week or so.¡±


    ¡°Mm hm.¡± She nodded, and he knew she was accepting his decision. At least she still trusted his judgment, even if it was hard for her to look at him now¡ªeven if he was fairly certain that he scared her a little.


    She turned to go, and he grabbed at her arm¡ªshe was leaving too soon. The movement was almost a reflex on his part.


    ¡°Wait.¡± He half-choked on the word, but at least it went some small way to explaining his sudden, uninvited grab.


    She started with his touch, and he could tell she was fighting the impulse to recoil.


    ¡°What is it?¡± she said in a slightly higher pitch than usual.


    ¡°I just, um¡ªcould you send Juan in?¡± he said lamely.


    He did need Juan. The Mage would help him with announcing this decision about tightening the ranks.


    She nodded, the movement herky-jerky, nervous. Dean felt like a gorilla that had taken some poor girl hostage en route to climbing the Empire State Building. He released his grip, and Sophia visibly relaxed before she concealed her emotions once more.


    ¡°I¡ª¡±


    I love you, he wanted to say.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get Juan,¡± she said. ¡°Is there anything else I can do for you, dear?¡±


    The term of endearment at the end sounded rote, mechanical¡ªforced.


    I feel like such a monster in this body, he thought.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°No, thank you, dear,¡± Dean replied, his voice hollow.


    She nodded crisply and left the room. As the door swung shut behind her, Dean tightened his grip around the stapler he still held in his other hand until he heard it crumple. If he wasn¡¯t careful with his strength, he could crush it into a ball.


    Damn it¡­


    Dean forced himself to drop the stapler on his desk, in case he needed it to staple anything in the future.


    He had regained his composure by the time Juan entered the office.


    ¡°You needed me, Mr. Crocetti?¡± he asked.


    Dean nodded. ¡°Could you use some of your Lightning Mana and get the announcement system working again?¡±


    This was the solution that his group had devised for communication within the office building, and Dean was rather proud of it.


    A few minutes later, Juan was running a current of electricity from his hand, through the phone, and into the building¡¯s electrical system.


    ¡°I can only keep it going for fifteen minutes or so,¡± he said, sweating and panting slightly as he spoke. ¡°You should make your announcement soon if you know what you¡¯re going to say.¡±


    Dean had already chosen his words carefully. He hoped they would not further dishearten his besieged group.


    He pushed the button to transmit and began to speak.


    ¡°Good afternoon, everyone. As you know, there are enemies in our vicinity. The collared men who visited us this past week have initiated hostilities for reasons unknown. We have no choice but to take them seriously. The last scouts we sent out to secure our perimeter have not returned. We now expect that they will not return. The attackers have chosen aggression and violence.¡±


    Dean did not actually know what had happened to any of the members of his faction who went missing, but since they had all disappeared while out on their regular errands, and none of them had taken their possessions with them, he was sure enough that these disappearances had been involuntary.


    ¡°Therefore, until our opponents show themselves, the plan is to hunker down inside of our fortifications. We are defended here, and we have enough food to shelter in place for some time. Think of it like staying home from work during a hurricane.¡± He couldn¡¯t resist injecting some optimism. ¡°I have faith that we will endure this together and eliminate these men who have breached our peace. Brave and freedom-loving people will never give in to intimidation and violence. Not while we still have the strength to fight.¡±


    His voice began to waver slightly, and Dean realized his own doubts were coming through.


    ¡°God bless all of you, and bless the remnant United States of America!¡± he finished.


    Dean pushed the button again and nodded for Juan to cut off power.


    That ought to at least staunch the bleeding. We can¡¯t lose people to these bastards if no one goes outside.


    ¡°Uh, very inspiring, sir,¡± said Juan.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to say that, Juan,¡± Dean replied. ¡°I don¡¯t need people to pretend I¡¯m doing a good job.¡± He forced a smile¡ªand forced himself to push James Robard from his mind.


    A part of him wished that he had taken his family and followed James to his new country, more so now than ever before.


    If only I¡¯d had a little more time before we came under attack, though¡­


    Dean¡¯s current Job was Developer, to his annoyance¡ªit assisted him in improving real estate and buildings¡ªbut he thought that if he continued leveling it up, it might become a more powerful Job that would allow him to defend those who had chosen to follow him more effectively. It might even make him a Ruler. There was just no time.


    ¡°I¡¯m not just saying it,¡± Juan insisted. ¡°People need to hear from someone who believes in what we¡¯re doing here¡ªwho believes we can survive and maintain our independence, remain free men and women. Even if you¡¯re afraid. You¡¯re sharing that with us too. We can handle the truth. We can handle knowing that our situation is scary.¡±


    Well, at least someone appreciates me. Maybe some of that stuff he said can go on my tombstone if this doesn¡¯t work out.


    ¡°Thanks, man,¡± Dean said. ¡°I really do appreciate it.¡±


    ¡°What else can I do?¡± Juan asked. ¡°How can I help in our defense?¡±


    ¡°I think you¡¯ve already done a lot,¡± Dean replied. ¡°Why don¡¯t you just go spread some of this positive energy you¡¯re giving me around to the others? I¡¯m sure they could use it.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Juan said, grinning.


    Dean returned the smile until the door closed behind Juan. Then he shook his head and tried to bring to mind anything that he could do to improve their security.


    He recalled how five men wearing black leather collars had appeared one afternoon, seeking to join Dean¡¯s community like the various others had before them. Dean and the other leaders had not asked any questions about why the men wore collars or what bound their group together. They had already seen a group of men with matching tattoos appear, as well as a band of women wearing clothing that appeared to be made of tree bark. These were all groups that had formed in various Orientations and stuck together, bound through common experiences.


    Those groups had come and gone, but the lesson of those interactions had been that it was insensitive and impolite to ask questions about superficial matters of appearance like those. Orientation had changed everyone in strange ways.


    There were no rules in Dean¡¯s group about when people could come and go, besides informal norms about how much each person should contribute while residing with the group.


    The collared men had integrated themselves by participating in the community¡¯s hunts and bringing back meat, which was more important than any odd fashion choice.


    The first sign of trouble was the disappearance of two members of Dean¡¯s group who had gone out hunting with the men in collars.


    It was a couple of days before Dean even became aware that the two were gone. He had almost two hundred people relying on him now, and he did not take attendance. These were not children he was supposed to be babysitting; they were contributing adults who were free to come and go as they pleased.


    When another group went out hunting with the collared men, however, the collaboration ended in violent betrayal. Viktor and his companions returned, minus one member, but Viktor still carried scars from the encounter. The hunters recounted an almost perfectly identical narrative. The collared men had led them into a monster ambush, transformed into monstrous cat-human hybrids with glowing yellow-green eyes, and attempted to wipe them out. Viktor only managed to keep himself and his teammates alive using his strongest, double edged Skill, which damaged the nearest enemy severely in exchange for making his own body more fragile.


    The visible result was that one of the collared men burst like a fur-covered bag of blood, and the surviving hunters bluffed their way out of the encounter, threatening to repeat the attack. The survivors were among Dean¡¯s most powerful community members, which made him suspect this was a sort of decapitation strike, meant to remove the strongest elements of his line of defense.


    After the hunters had returned and shared their ominous news, Dean had quickly organized a posse to chase down the traitors, including a tracker who could follow their scent, but the trail quickly went cold. It was as if the collared men had vanished.


    Still, the threat had not come to an end on that day.


    Members of Dean¡¯s community continued to hunt and gather as usual in the following days, as they stockpiled food and built up their shelter. But gradually, they began to go missing.


    It was just individuals the first two times. It could have been bad luck, weaker members of the group falling to action with random monsters.


    But Dean didn¡¯t think so.


    He initially warned everyone to be on their guard and instructed them to only leave their base in groups of at least two. Then the reports started coming in¡ªglowing eyes in the woods, watching the foraging parties; wild game populations disappearing from areas where they had been plentiful; predators¡¯ tracks on the ground around the group¡¯s territory, though the monsters leaving the tracks remained unseen.


    Soon people began going missing again, despite traveling in pairs.


    Today¡¯s instance was only the third case of this happening, but the trend was obvious.


    Dean rose from his desk and began to pace.


    How the fuck are we supposed to deal with these people¡ªno, these things¡ªwhen we can¡¯t track them down, and no one¡¯s seen them and lived to tell about it besides Viktor and the hunters?


    He had no answers other than hunkering down and preparing to defend.


    But even as Dean had issued the orders to batten down the hatches, it felt inadequate¡ªand more than that, it felt somehow like the wrong decision. Like he was ordering his own premature burial.


    Could they still run? His mind wrestled with the possibility.


    Where would we even run to?


    The answer was obvious. Although pride made it unpleasant to contemplate, he knew one place¡ªone person, rather¡ªwhose vicinity he thought was likely to be much safer than here.

 V5Ch1-A Larger World Than You Have Known

    James watched his army move out.


    There were the Goblins, armed and armored like dimestore hoplites in slightly too shiny equipment that a keen observer could tell was homemade and had never seen real action. James felt slightly nervous about them. They were the most numerous component of his army besides humans. His sense was that this group had great potential to grow and develop, but he also knew all too well how easily under-leveled Goblins could be killed.


    The humans were still the most overall powerful and Skills-diverse part of his army by James¡¯s reckoning. As they proceeded past James, he simply smiled. He was much less worried about how they would perform in combat without his direct leadership. The majority of this group was already hardened from the Battle of the Haunted Forest, and many of them now carried the Blessing of the Fisher King as a result.


    Next the flying squirrels and bats marched past. They were lightly armed and armored, with slings, daggers, other small weapons, or nothing at all besides what nature had gifted them. Only a small contingent of them were moving out with the army. Besides scouting, James expected that their role would be largely symbolic¡ªhe imagined that they were just there to show that their Races were happy, contributing members of the Fisher Kingdom.


    The alligators followed behind them, and they made a clear contrast. Where the flying creatures were marching dutifully, the reptiles looked downright eager for battle. Their tails moved back and forth¡ªwagging, was how it looked¡ªand their jaws snapped open and shut as if they were imagining rending enemies to pieces. Samuel, in the lead, gave James a wink as he passed. The Fisher King didn¡¯t need telepathy to know what the former Sewer Alligator Monarch was thinking. He was eager to tear into the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s unsuspecting victims.


    And the wolf pack brought up the rear on all sides. They formed a sort of protective ring around the rest of the body of troops, a little reminiscent of sheepdogs herding cattle in James¡¯s mind. These monsters were some of his most reliable followers, and their leader, Luna, gave him a silent reassurance as she passed. She turned her right-side head, looked James in the eye, and sent a quiet telepathic message for him only: Do not worry, my king. I will keep them safe.


    James simply smiled and nodded back at her.


    I know you will, he thought.


    But it did make him feel better. He had never truly embarked into aggressive warfare before, only responded to requests for aid or threats appearing at his borders. He knew he would feel the losses from this expansion, perhaps a bit more keenly than he usually felt the deaths of his citizens.


    Mina appeared at his back and looped her arm around his elbow. Her head leaned against his bicep, and despite the height difference¡ªhe was over a foot taller than her as a result of Race Evolution¡ªthe smell of her hair wafted up to him.


    ¡°You found your old shampoo?¡± he murmured as the army got further away..


    She shook her head. ¡°Carol.¡±


    Right. Carol found it, of course. The Dungeon had solved a number of material problems for his young country. As if summoned by this thought, several streams of children emerged from the apartments that encircled the central courtyard. Today was the first day of school, and the children wore backpacks that held their papers and pencils contained within. Those supplies were provided courtesy of the friendly neighborhood Dungeon.


    James smiled down at the kids. A few of the little ones looked at him with a modicum of curiosity, then just kept walking. When older ones who actually recognized who he was looked at the Fisher King and his Queen, James could tell they knew who he was based on the slightly intimidated expressions on their faces, before they quickly averted their eyes.


    Undoubtedly the rumors, myths, and frankly even the factual stories about the Fisher King would only grow in the future and make James more and more unapproachable.


    He didn¡¯t let the prospect bother him. He sensed intuitively that this was what being a king meant¡ªprobably what it had always meant historically.


    The apartment door opened behind James and Mina, and a small shape rushed out. Without needing to look, James knew who it was.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m late!¡± Abhi exclaimed as he burst through the door.


    ¡°Slow down, no one cares if you¡¯re late on the first day!¡± James said almost without needing to think.


    You¡¯ll be very late if I have to heal your sprained ankle, he thought.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Abhi said. ¡°Thanks, bye!¡±


    He rushed past James and Mina without looking back at them, but he had slowed his pace below a run now.


    James imagined the little boy rolling his eyes, then realized that Abhi¡¯s voice had been completely sincere. He must be at that age where he took authority figure¡¯s words as Gospel truth, wise and inviolable.


    The Fisher King¡¯s eyes shifted to follow Abhi as he ran to class. For a moment, he smiled. Then he noticed another object of interest in motion.


    The masked man. ¡®Bear.¡¯


    He was still far off, but now that the army was gone, the man in black was slowly but surely working his way towards James.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go and get the little ones,¡± Mina said just below James¡¯s ear.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°So they can go to daycare, skapi?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right.¡± He had forgotten for a moment that the daycare had opened right next to the school. This was where Yulia was working, and it would hopefully help further unlock the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s productive potential. James and Mina would also be free to train, with the children safely stashed in daycare. Though it felt odd to send James, Junior and the other young ones to be cared for by strangers all day, James felt a bit better about it knowing that Yulia would be there. ¡°Sure, go ahead. I¡¯m going to just take a walk.¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Mina looked at him curiously for a moment. She must have caught something in his tone. Then she simply nodded, choosing not to question it. James felt her pull away and heard the door open and close as she went inside their apartment.


    He looked to where Bear stood again. The masked man had maneuvered himself closer once more. James locked his gaze on where he imagined the man¡¯s eyes must be under his featureless mask, and he tilted his chin toward the area that had once been the Haunted Forest. Bear nodded.


    They both began walking toward that still-forested space, taking parallel paths rather than meeting so that no one would realize they intended to speak with each other.


    The two figures finally almost converged and entered the former Haunted Forest in a place where it was densely packed with tall trees. The day¡¯s full brightness had not set in yet, so that the light and shadows played themselves across the environment and the two men¡¯s bodies kaleidoscopically, ever shifting in strange patterns.


    It feels a little like a dream, James thought as he looked at Bear. It struck the Fisher King that he could, if he wished, convince himself that the man¡ªor really the unknown entity¡ªwho stood across from him did not truly exist. That he was a figment of James¡¯s imagination, or an illusion, perhaps the last of Sister Strange¡¯s visions, as she played some trick on James from within him.


    What a strange thought. You¡¯re not usually given to such flights of fancy. You already have your theories about who or what he is. Those are crazy enough, without trying to convince yourself that you¡¯re hallucinating or something.


    Yet the short distance that separated the Fisher King from Bear felt like the gap between dream and reality.


    Then the masked man stepped closer, and the sensation was broken.


    ¡°The time has come for me to take my leave of you, Fisher King,¡± said Bear in a formal tone. There was a slight hint of regret in his voice, James thought. Gone was the mockery that had occasionally characterized Bear¡¯s interactions with James and Mina. This felt strangely somber.


    ¡°I hope that you enjoyed your stay, and that you have accomplished all that you wished to,¡± James said, speaking just to have something to say. He had Skills for talking and exuding charisma and leadership, but somehow they seemed ineffective right now, in these woods with this odd figure.


    ¡°I have sat in on your council meetings, given you counsel of my own, and seen how you operate. It was¡ª¡± he waved a hand noncommittally¡ª¡°satisfactory. My father will be satisfied that his assessment of you was correct. I would have done and seen more, but my time is not my own.¡±


    So, he¡¯s a demigod? James¡¯s running theory, based on what Anansi and his mother had said, was that Bear was a messenger for a god. James had no idea which one, but that was the only explanation he could think of for why his patron would urge him to listen to the masked man.


    ¡°Who is your father?¡± James asked immediately. ¡°Why the vague answers? Why all the mystery? Why are you wearing a mask?¡±


    ¡°The mask is a device that disguises what I am,¡± Bear said immediately. ¡°Beings above the mortal tier are not meant to occupy physical space in recently initiated universes. Were I even to speak my father''s name under normal circumstances, I would catch the attention of the System that I have so effortfully avoided thus far.¡± He paused. ¡°But I am already departing this place and this flesh soon. I am expending what power remains in this vessel to freeze time in the small space around where you wanted to have our meeting. Otherwise we would have had several interruptions by now.¡± He pointed. ¡°Your mother is there, walking back towards the center of the Kingdom to meet with you, for instance.¡±


    James turned and dimly saw, around twenty-five feet away, that his mother stood frozen in place. She had been walking forward and now stood there, stopped in mid-stride. There was something else odd about the image, and he realized after a moment what it was. The light that played over her face was frozen, too, in an odd pattern that highlighted one eye and left half her face in shadow.


    He literally stopped time, which would seem to support my theory about who and what he is¡­ Though even if he is the emissary of a god, perhaps a demigod or even the avatar of a god himself, it sounds like he can only do this within certain limits. I¡¯d better get right to the point.


    ¡°All right, son of a god,¡± James said affably. ¡°What can I do for you?¡±


    ¡°We want you to stop a terrible cataclysm¡ªor at least delay it. Ragnarok is coming.¡±


    ¡°Ragnarok,¡± James said quietly. He had not spoken the word in many years, since he had not read much Norse mythology after he had finished high school. Most of his mythology knowledge was old and grainy, with details missing. Most of his mythology knowledge had been either Greek mythology or old slave folktales in the first place, nothing to do with the Norse gods. He tried to recall what he knew about the Ragnarok concept while the masked man stood there waiting in silence.


    ¡°Ragnarok is the Twilight of the Gods,¡± James said finally. That almost summed up his knowledge.


    The masked man dipped his head slightly and then simply stood silently, letting James process a little more.


    A number of the Norse gods die in this thing. If I can prevent or delay that somehow, they¡¯d be pretty desperate for that help¡­


    ¡°I guess I know why so many Norse gods have taken an interest in me now,¡± James said. ¡°There was Hel interfering with events in my Orientation, Loki wanted to give me a blessing, and he actually blessed the Goblin King who immediately fell into my hands. Then Baldur sent Hilda to me expressly to help me out. What I didn¡¯t know was why.¡±


    ¡°The movements of Hel and Loki are their own affair,¡± the masked man replied immediately. ¡°But yes, you may have an important role to play in the events to come.¡±


    Why me? James wanted to ask. But he skipped to the more important question for now.


    ¡°What¡¯s in it for me?¡± James asked, smiling shamelessly.


    He looked into the space where the man¡¯s eyes would have been if his visage were not a featureless mask. The question bore asking.


    If I stop your apocalypse, does it really help me? Or mankind? What¡¯s in it for us?


    The masked man looked slightly taken aback at the question. It was a small shift in his posture that seemed to hint at the surprised reaction.


    Then he chuckled quietly.


    ¡°Human, you are amusing,¡± Bear said in a cold, unamused voice. ¡°Are you truly asking what is in it for you if you save the Earth?¡±


    ¡°I know Ragnarok is the Twilight of the Gods,¡± James said, waving a hand dismissively. ¡°Does it have to necessarily be the twilight for humans, too? I question that. I question how closely our fates are linked. I question whether the Earth will necessarily be destroyed, and even if it is, I can¡¯t help but imagine that there are ways that humanity would survive, given the power that now rests in our hands. So, yes, I am asking what¡¯s in it for me if I help you.¡±


    The masked being¡¯s body crackled with energy as James responded. He seemed to loom larger than he had before, and James recognized in the posture of the figure a distinct current of anger.

 V5Ch2-The Unknown Revealed

    Bear¡¯s fists clenched and unclenched for a moment, then stilled.


    ¡°You have¡ª¡± He spoke a word that was not in English, which the System surprisingly did not translate. Bear seemed to realize that after a moment. He snorted, still angry but slightly amused despite himself. ¡°You have guts, I mean to say,¡± he continued. ¡°Did your¡ªdid the Spider not tell you to cooperate with me? I was under the impression that was why you had not taken a more hostile attitude to a stranger of unknown allegiances in your land.¡±


    ¡°Anansi and I aren¡¯t like that,¡± James said. He resisted the urge to give a smug smile, but his tone was acid as he continued, ¡°He doesn¡¯t give me orders, just occasional advice. I don¡¯t think he would want to ruin the beautiful relationship we have.¡±


    The masked man shook his head, and the anger seemed to drain out of his frame. ¡°I suppose that explains it. No one has taught you respect yet. You have yet to learn your proper place in the world the gods have given you. There was a time when humans understood the workings of the universe on a different level¡ªa wisdom that came from your simplicity¡ª¡±


    ¡°You preferred us subservient,¡± James said flatly, cutting him off.


    We aren¡¯t going back to kowtowing to gods, no matter what they call themselves, he thought. Humanity will gain the ability to stand on our own two feet. Our independence. It was an almost thoughtless, instinctive reaction, but it was a strong one nevertheless.


    ¡°Hm.¡± Bear paused a moment, then continued, not taken aback at all by James¡¯s directness, ¡°You might very well interpret it that way. And I lack the time to educate you properly. I could tell you many things. I could tell you that Ragnarok is a time of wolves, when the monstrous wolf Fenrir breaks free and kills my father, and sets the world aflame, when two other great wolves eat the sun and moon, when an army of the dishonored dead marches on your world¡­ an event that I would think you would want to delay or prevent if possible. But I have always preferred not to speak unnecessarily. Even if I enjoyed idle conversation, I do not have the time to argue now, and the truth is, you do have the leverage to demand some form of reward. You are a fairly important human.¡± Those words were grudging. ¡°So, let us cut to the chase. What do you want? Knowledge or power for your reward?¡±


    James tried to imagine what questions he might ask, but he cut himself off before he could get too imaginative with it. There was only one piece of knowledge that he urgently wanted.


    ¡°If I chose knowledge, would you be able to tell me how to change fate? How to avert something that is destined to happen?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean? How is it that you believe you know what the future holds?¡±


    ¡°I was shown bad visions of my future by a Wraith, and one of them featured my wife¡¯s death.¡±


    ¡°If something is meant to happen, then you generally cannot prevent it,¡± Bear said. ¡°Fate is not so easily unwound as that. You personally are something of an exception. The Chosen Ones of deities often have some degree of ability to warp fate for their own lives, but that does not necessarily mean you can do something even as modest as preventing the death of your own family members.¡± The masked man¡¯s voice sounded sympathetic. ¡°Even most gods do not know the future. The balance of powers in the cosmos is such that¡ª¡± He shook his head as if recognizing that the explanation would take too long if he continued. ¡°Tell me, James, were you present in the vision where your wife was dying?¡±


    James shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t see myself anywhere at least.¡±


    ¡°Then it becomes even less likely that you can affect the outcome. If this were your fate specifically, as I said, you might have some ability to resist it¡­ Otherwise¡ªhm, perhaps if the Allfather was here, he might be able to help you. But my father is preoccupied elsewhere now. Do not expect him to turn his eye on you. He is responsible for more than any other god can bear. All I can advise you is what I have advised in the past, to crush your enemies before they can destroy what you love. Those of us whose fates are written already cannot always do that, but when you can¡­¡±


    So, he¡¯s Odin¡¯s son. The Allfather was one of the most distinctive epithets in all of mythology.


    ¡°Since I cannot provide the information you desire,¡± the masked man continued, ¡°will you choose power? My time runs short, and I have yet to even outline the scope of your task.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s fine, I choose power,¡± James said flatly, deflated.


    Damn it! How am I going to save Mina when even the gods don¡¯t know how it can be done?


    ¡°Very well. I will give you¡ª¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait,¡± James interjected. ¡°Just, um, I want some assurance that you will never take back the power you¡¯ve given once you grant it. Even if I later do something that you disapprove of.¡±


    The words came out almost automatically¡ªJames was too careful, too much the lawyer still, to take on any task for the promise of compensation, with no apparent method of collecting. He did not expect he would be able to count on good will from this divine being to secure this grant of power in the future, and he was aware that blessings could be revoked. James imagined that was the form this power up would take.


    This time Bear snorted and shook his head. James couldn¡¯t tell what the masked figure actually thought until he spoke. With a certain grudging respect in his tone, Bear said, ¡°I swear on my divinity that I will not revoke this power once granted, as long as you fulfill the task I set for you.¡± His voice rang, and the air around the two men shuddered with power as he spoke.


    James no longer doubted whether he stood in the presence of a demigod, a divine emissary, or a god. The figure before him was certainly a deity, though one trapped in a humanoid shell. He could speak with the voice of a god when he chose¡ªand he was certainly no angel.


    He¡¯s definitely only able to access a tiny fraction of the normal power that a god wields in that form, though, James thought. He had Anansi as a frame of reference¡ªa deity who James had stared directly in the face, in as close to a true form as James¡¯s mind could comprehend. This god seemed far weaker, though James knew the Spider God was not known as a physical or magical powerhouse among the gods. I wonder if I could actually take him on in this body¡­


    There followed a silent speculation as to how much experience a god would give if James defeated him.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Your task is as follows,¡± Bear continued, oblivious to James¡¯s wild thoughts. His voice sounded tired and ragged as he spoke now, as if making the promise not to revoke his grant of power had taken a lot out of him. ¡°Fjalar, the clever rooster, is set to be born into this world¡ªinto the territory that was your former nation¡ªsoon. The red rooster heralds the end of the world with his crowing. You must prevent this.¡± The god raised a hand to the side of his head, nodded to himself, and continued, ¡°In one week the cock will hatch from his egg. Four months hence, or five at the most, he will be capable of crowing. If he crows and welcomes the onset of Ragnarok, the end of your world will be set into motion. The fate of all mankind rests on your shoulders. Do you accept the task of preventing this disaster?¡±


    Four or five months? James thought. That sounds like plenty of time! That will be well after I get back from the World Leaders¡¯ Summit and the Victors¡¯ Tournament¡­ I can search before, during, and after those events.


    Bear stood silently, masked face pointed in James¡¯s direction. The masked god¡¯s gaze reminded James that Bear had just asked him a question.


    ¡°Oh, I accept,¡± James said immediately.


    Of course I accept. I probably would have had to do this anyway, even if you didn¡¯t reward me.


    ¡°Swear it.¡± The god¡¯s voice rung with power again, but it felt almost like a fire about to die, weak and brittle even as it exerted itself.


    ¡°I¡ªI swear that I will find Fjalar and prevent him from crowing.¡± The task sounded slightly absurd to James as he spoke the words, but he forced himself not to smile. The moment felt deadly serious, and as his eyes found the place on the mask where Bear¡¯s eyes should have been, it hit James that for the first time, he was not fumbling his way toward more power, fighting for his own life or that of his family, or trying to become a leader among his small community of survivors.


    No, now he was actively taking on a task¡ªadmittedly in part for promised compensation¡ªthat was meant to change the fate of the whole human race.


    I¡¯m supposed to save humanity.


    All the amusement and all the irony in James¡¯s soul dried up for a moment, along with the inside of his mouth, as this thought occurred to him.


    ¡°Then I grant you my blessing, on the condition that you earnestly pursue this task, understanding that if you fail, it will be revoked. Receive the blessing of Vidarr, the Silent Aesir, God of Vengeance and Strength, and Slayer of Fenrir.¡±


    Every word seemed to carry its own weight.


    Fenrir is the same wolf he mentioned kills Odin. If this ¡®Vidarr¡¯ guy slays Fenrir, does that mean he¡¯s stronger than Odin?!


    The air around James seemed to move and fluctuate. James noticed the light that had been holding absolutely still under the influence of Vidarr¡¯s power shudder once, like there was an interruption in the supply of Vidarr¡¯s energy. Then time began to move again. The chirping of birds that James had not noticed before resumed. A slight breeze touched his skin. He heard a crackling of twigs as his mother, in the distance, took a step forward.


    And a System message suddenly flickered into place before James¡¯s eyes.


    It blinked hazily in and out of view for a moment before solidifying, as if the System was wrestling with whether the message itself was a mistake.


    [You have been offered the Title of Blessed One of Vidarr. Accept? Y/N]


    James didn¡¯t need to guess what the cause of the strange behavior by the System might be. Vidarr was not supposed to be on Earth. He had said as much. He had spent all his remaining power to offer this blessing to compensate James for taking on his dirty work. The god would not be able to remain here much longer, as he had already acknowledged. The fact that the time stop that Vidarr had put in place vanished so quickly suggested that things had already become quite unstable.


    James quickly selected ¡®Y.¡¯


    There was a sound of strange music playing¡ªof words that James did not understand, because the System did not translate them, and of drums and a stringed instrument unfamiliar to him. James felt a surge of power, not unlike what he had felt when Anansi blessed him¡ªand almost as large as the power that he had felt flow into him from the Spider God.


    Please don¡¯t take this as an insult, Anansi, James thought. He had not had the chance to consult his patron about him taking on a second patron deity. But he doubted the Spider God would have any objection. Anansi understood the necessity of James accumulating a great deal of power to himself, and it was Anansi himself who had suggested that James should trust in ¡®Bear.¡¯


    [Required conditions met. Title obtained: Blessed One of Vidarr!]


    [Patron deity Vidarr has granted additional Titles: Pillar of Creation, Avenger, and Silencer.]


    James felt more substantial than he ever had before. Like he could fight Fenrir himself, bare-handed, and win.


    It was pure adrenaline, he knew.


    Then again, maybe¡­


    Vidarr suddenly began talking again, the god¡¯s voice coming out in a rush.


    ¡°Do not think to betray us, human. It would be calamitous for both my family and your species.¡± There was a desperate quality to his voice, and a weakness, that James had never observed in Vidarr before. The words were less carefully chosen; the divine grace that James had not fully understood before was almost abandoned.


    James attributed it to the fact that the god¡¯s presence was fading. The Fisher King, observing the Silent Aesir¡¯s body language, could easily see that he was on the verge of collapse. His body seemed thinner in his all black attire, as if the outfit might fall away, and there would only be bones and dust underneath.


    The god went on, now punctuating his speech by gesticulating, jabbing his index finger forward with each word. ¡°If you fail us, there is another, younger and stronger than you, who we will empower in your stead.¡±


    For a split second, James almost wanted to ask, Well, why didn¡¯t you approach him, then?


    But then reality shifted just a little more.


    [Unauthorized presence detected! All mortals hearing this message, please take cover! Expelling all involved unauthorized presences!]


    A loud System message practically screamed inside of his mind and appeared before his eyes. For the first time, the text was all angry red, and every sentence ended with an exclamation point.


    ¡°What in the¡ª¡± James¡¯s mother¡¯s voice broke in, indicating that she had seen and heard the System message too.


    But James did not even turn to look in her direction. He was transfixed by the sight in front of him, more ominous than any System message he could imagine.


    Vidarr¡¯s body had frozen in place as the System¡¯s message rang out, finger still pointing at James as if in mute accusation. It seemed like the god was literally paralyzed. Perhaps he was.


    It felt strange to imagine an impersonal force strong enough to stop a deity in his tracks, but Vidarr had spoken as if the System had power over where he could and could not go. Looking back, even Anansi had never spoken derisively of the System¡¯s influence over the universe. The way he talked about it, the System was a sort of mediating force within the divine community¡ªalmost the same sort of regulatory role it now had for humans.


    More importantly, even as those thoughts ran through the back of his mind, James¡¯s survival instincts blared a loud warning at the language of the System¡¯s message. It seemed to herald incoming violence.


    The little hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, and his eyes darted around for a moment, looking for visual indicators of a threat. And finally, James threw himself to the ground, just conscious enough of his mother¡¯s presence nearby to hurl himself in her general direction.


    There was a deafeningly loud sound as if the sky was falling.


    Then the whole world seemed to explode around them.

 V5Ch3-The Violence of the System

    Mina was coming down the stairs with James, Junior in one hand and little Deepam in the other. Indira trailed behind her, taking the steps slowly and carefully at Mina¡¯s insistence.


    Then it happened. There was a colossal, explosive sound from outside.


    Mina¡¯s breathing quickened. Her grip tightened on the babies, until Junior made a small noise and drew her attention to it.


    ¡°Sorry, baby,¡± she said quietly, relaxing a bit.


    Mina forced herself to descend the stairs at the same rate as before, even as her heart pounded. She didn¡¯t want to get too far ahead of Indira, lest the little girl trip and fall without anything in front of her to stop her descent.


    When the group finally reached the bottom of the stairs, Mina shifted the babies into one arm while she opened the door.


    She almost dropped them when she saw the scene outside.


    Mina reminded herself to breathe, and then she stood very still and tried to understand the scene.


    From the part of the Fisher Kingdom that bordered the former Haunted Forest, to an area of the forest itself stretching to perhaps forty feet away from the border with the Fisher Kingdom, there was a terrible radius of destruction.


    There was no better word to describe what had happened to the landscape other than ¡°flattened.¡±


    The trees within the circle of debris had been smashed. Not cut down but crushed to bits, as if stepped on by a giant boot.


    A handful of people near the border space staggered around, plucking thick clumps of splinters from their exposed flesh. A few dead bodies littered the ground closer to the crushed space. One had a thick hunk of wood protruding from his or her head, completely obliterating the face. The two closest bodies were practically pulped, reduced to puddles of blood and dark substances, bits of broken bone sticking out of the nearby ground like strange crops.


    And just to the side of the forest, on the edge of what appeared to be a circular zone of destruction, there was a newly erected apartment building. One of the walls had been sheared away by whatever force had destroyed that hunk of forest and killed those people. The interior of the building now stood exposed to the open air, half a staircase intact jutting into nowhere.


    There was an open living room and an open kitchen on the two floors.


    Were there people in those rooms too?


    Some catastrophe that Mina did not understand, that she had no words for, had struck, seemingly at random, right in the middle of the Fisher Kingdom.


    Wait. Something like this happened without James stopping it? James¡­


    ¡°Oh my gosh¡­¡± Mina murmured.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    Mina spun around and grabbed the little girl who was peeking out from behind her dress. She covered Indira¡¯s eyes and began whispering to her.


    ¡°That¡¯s nothing for you to see, little one. You have to keep your eyes covered for me, all right? I¡¯m going to figure out what¡¯s happened.¡±


    ¡°Uh, okay,¡± the little girl said.


    Mina saw Indira¡¯s fingers immediately begin to part as the child tried to get a better look at the carnage. She spun Indira around and whispered again.


    ¡°No, really, Indira, you can¡¯t look, okay. I¡¯m going to walk you out there backwards, so just behave yourself and don¡¯t try.¡±


    The little girl nodded, and Mina began pushing her backward, one hand on the top of Indira¡¯s head, the other gripping the two babies as tightly as she could.


    The awkward foursome made their way across the ground slowly and laboriously. Despite minor stumbles, Mina managed to avoid either her or Indira falling. As they drew closer to the scene of carnage, Mina deviated in their course.


    The school and daycare buildings were undamaged by the event that had flattened the forest, and Mina now approached the front door to the daycare and knocked.


    The door was almost immediately pulled open by a young woman with a worried expression on her face.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on out here?¡± the woman asked in a hushed tone. ¡°We told the children everything is all right, but some of them have tried to run away. We¡¯re barely keeping things under control. The noise spooked everyone.¡±


    Mina looked at her and said, ¡°We don¡¯t know yet. Take these children. I¡¯m going to investigate.¡±


    The woman looked like she wanted to discuss the matter earlier, but Mina gave her a look that said she was not in the mood to have a long conversation. Then the daycare worker nodded, took one child in each arm, and turned back into the building.


    Indira looked up at Mina.


    Mina could tell the child was trying not to let her eyes wander over to the destruction visible just behind Mina, so she placed a gentle hand on Indira¡¯s cheek, guiding the girl¡¯s face away from the grim sight.


    ¡°Follow her,¡± Mina said quietly, pointing after the daycare woman. ¡°You¡¯ll be safe here.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll come back?¡± Indira asked, suddenly intelligent and earnest as a child beyond her years.


    Mina nodded without hesitation. ¡°I will.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Indira nodded back and then turned to pursue the daycare woman. As Indira was stepping away, another female figure appeared.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Yulia asked. ¡°People are¡ª¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± Mina interrupted. ¡°People are freaking out. I don¡¯t know what happened; I¡¯m about to investigate. If you¡¯re free, you can come with me. We might need healing. But whatever¡¯s going on out here, you need to know it¡¯s ugly.¡±The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    Yulia looked into Mina¡¯s eyes for a moment, then nodded. She stepped out and closed the door behind her, and the two women walked out toward the border space that had been destroyed. There were many onlookers now, but none of these people got too close. They instinctively stood back, forming a ring around the place of destruction.


    Mina and Yulia pushed gently through the loosely packed crowd, and they stepped into the edge of the circle. Yulia could now see the same horrific spectacle that had presented itself to Mina a few minutes earlier.


    Maimed people sat, dazed, staring at nothing, bodies still dotted all over with huge splinters of wood. Those less fortunate lay in chunky pieces on the ground. A few of the most grievously wounded who were still living were being healed first by the small number of Healers who had responded first to the grisly scene. Slow progress was being made, but the overall impression was of having stepped into the middle of some sort of open air slaughterhouse.


    The earth was soaked with blood, and more was being added to it as those who had not been healed yet continued bleeding profusely.


    ¡°Oh my God,¡± Yulia said, putting a hand over her mouth.


    ¡°Mina, Yulia, it¡¯s good to see you.¡±


    The two women looked up from the gruesome display to see Chief Leo DaSilva of the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s police.


    It must have been him who told the crowd to stay back and asked for volunteers. Good old Leo.


    ¡°Good to see you, too, Leo,¡± Mina said.


    Yulia just nodded and slowly swallowed a lump in her throat.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to come around and ask how you¡¯ve been doing, Yulia,¡± Leo asked in a friendly tone of voice. ¡°I won¡¯t bother now. I wish we could see each other under better circumstances. Are you two able to help us with this? I know you can both heal.¡±


    Mina nodded, and Yulia nodded after her.


    ¡°Yulia can do some healing, I think,¡± Mina said. ¡°I¡¯m a little worried about what might have gone on further into the forest.¡±


    She had a bad feeling that she could not quite explain.


    Leo nodded thoughtfully. ¡°So you¡¯re going to take a look and see if anyone¡¯s still alive in the middle of that.¡± He gestured at the flattened space behind him. ¡°Do you want an escort? We still don¡¯t know what did this¡ªor at least I don¡¯t.¡±


    Mina shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t think I need one. If it was enemy action, I¡¯ll defend myself. But something like this¡ªit¡¯s hard for me to imagine that any normal kind of magic did it. There¡¯s only one thing I can think of that could have.¡±


    Leo¡¯s expression took on a look of realization. He mouthed the words, ¡°The System?¡±


    Mina nodded. She sensed Yulia¡¯s shocked reaction in her peripheral vision, but Mina did not have time to explain to the two of them what was, at most, a hastily cobbled together conclusion. She only had time for what was urgent.


    ¡°If you have a spare man or two, send one to fetch Zora¡ªJames¡¯s mother,¡± Mina said. She gestured in the direction of Zora¡¯s laboratory.


    Leo looked confused for a moment.


    ¡°She raises the dead,¡± Yulia said in a low voice.


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Leo. ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°I think we might have some need of her,¡± Mina said flatly. ¡°Or at least I think James would want her to be available to those who might wish to make use of her services.¡±


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s your call,¡± said Leo respectfully. He turned his head and barked an order. ¡°Fitzgerald, you¡¯re to go and get the Fisher King¡¯s mother. Zora¡¯s her name! Ask directions if you need to. She has a laboratory in that direction!¡±


    A young man with a head of sleek, slicked back hair that reminded Mina of an otter got up from attending the wounded and then rushed away at Leo¡¯s command.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad we have you here right now, Leo,¡± Mina said.


    ¡°Of course,¡± he replied. He lowered his voice. ¡°Um, is the King somewhere?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m wondering,¡± Mina said, her face contorting with worry.


    Leo looked like he wanted to say something kind, but she didn¡¯t bother with any more discussion. At that point, she felt that she had stayed in place too long already. She sprang forward and rushed past the dead and the wounded, heading into the former Haunted Forest.


    The ground was littered with hunks of broken timber, like someone had unleashed an army of beavers to demolish the forest and they had just left their handiwork strewn all over the ground. She hopped from one piece of log to another, stepping onto whatever branches and bits of trunk looked stable enough to hold her weight.


    More than once, she went down, and the second time, she scraped her hands enough to draw a little blood, but she never let herself slow down, and she never stopped searching.


    Mina¡¯s eyes constantly darted around, looking for any sign of the most important person in her world.


    ¡°James,¡± she said under her breath. ¡°James, where are you?¡±


    Her mind was whirling with fear and doubt.


    She knew that James could normally see and hear anything that was important to him within the Fisher Kingdom. In the case of a crisis like this, if he wasn¡¯t active helping rescue people and reassuring the public, it would be because he was observing the situation with his powers and figuring out the best course of action.


    Unless he¡¯s hurt. Badly hurt. Or worse¡­


    Mina shook her head. She wouldn¡¯t allow herself to even think it.


    ¡°Focus, Danailova,¡± she said to herself. ¡°Wait, no, I¡¯m Robard now!¡± She smiled despite her present sense of desperation. That was one good thing to come out of the System¡¯s descent.


    Then her eyes opened wide. She saw a pop of red, just a body¡¯s length away.


    Her eyes followed the spurt of color along a piece of wood to where it originated, just underneath the rubble of this strange disaster.


    Mina darted over to the wood and began clearing away the debris with her bare hands. She didn¡¯t slow down, or even really notice, as the jagged chunks of tree splintered her hand. She only threw on the brakes when she saw a piece of brown flesh. It was slowly but surely pulsating blood.


    This arm is too thin to be James¡¯s.


    She uncovered the stump and then saw the shape of a larger figure begin to reveal itself. This body, she recognized immediately. She immediately placed a hand on his back, slipping it in between the shattered chunks of armor that covered most of his torso, over where his heart should be.


    Some of the tension went out of Mina¡¯s body as she felt the slow, ragged pulse.


    Still alive. My crazy husband is still alive.


    She smiled again, tears rising at the edges of her vision.


    James had thrown himself over the top of the other, smaller person, so that only the stump arm Mina had seen initially was exposed.


    Mina took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Then she examined James¡¯s condition.


    It wasn¡¯t good. She could tell at a glance that his arms and legs were broken, and everything that hadn¡¯t been covered in armor was heavily bruised. The armor itself was shattered, but it had mostly protected what lay underneath it, although Mina saw a couple of places where the armor itself had been driven shallowly into James¡¯s flesh.


    She began Laying on Hands immediately, starting with James¡¯s head. That had taken some of the worst bruising, and Mina imagined that if it had taken serious damage that went untreated, her husband might never wake up.


    Her hands shook slightly as she gently applied the green aura of healing magic to her husband¡¯s most vital area, but she felt a calm settling in her heart. She knew what she could do to help. James was still alive. Everything would be okay.


    Mina could already guess who would be beneath James¡ªhe would not have thrown himself over just anyone¡¯s body¡ªand she planned to heal Zora too.


    But James had certainly taken the brunt of the damage here. And Mina wasn¡¯t married to Zora.


    ¡°You two are both going to be all right,¡± Mina said softly. ¡°Just fine. Wake up soon, okay, skapi? Wake up very soon¡­¡±

 V5Ch4-The Floating World

    As the world exploded around him, James¡¯s consciousness was forcefully shattered.


    The last sensation he felt was that of being struck from above across every section of his body with a giant hammer.


    Then darkness fell¡ªbut only for a moment. His consciousness splintered into a million little pieces, but something inside him appeared to be resistant to his mind scattering against his will.


    James opened his eyes and found himself floating in the air. The first sensation he felt was the wind. It moved around and through him. As he looked down, he realized he was hovering above the Fisher Kingdom specifically. He recognized the community center immediately.


    What is this? I wasn¡¯t using my powers, was I?


    The last few minutes were sort of a blank. James remembered that he had been talking to Bear¡ªno, Vidarr.


    Vidarr blessed me, and then¡ª


    The memory of the intense pressure and pain from when the world had exploded struck him, and James winced slightly. He stopped trying to recall in detail for the moment.


    Right. I don¡¯t quite feel it here, but my body is probably fucked right now.


    He looked down and tried to focus visually on the area where he had been. It was much easier than it should have been.


    Instead of dense forest, there was now a large, partially flattened space where he and Vidarr had wandered for their conversation.


    From above, a chunk of the Fisher Kingdom had been leveled; it looked like it had been smashed down with a giant cylinder of some sort. Every tree within a certain radius¡ªmaybe thirty or forty feet in each direction¡ªhad been pulverized into chunks. It appeared that one of James¡¯s apartment buildings had been smashed up a little, too.


    And a crowd was gathered outside. They seemed to have formed a perimeter close to the edge of the circle of destruction.


    Goddamned System¡­ Is anyone hurt? He focused on the people on the ground, and his consciousness started to dip toward the surface level.


    Suddenly his immaterial form dropped like a stone.


    Then he could hear the crowd. He could see them from up close. He was among them.


    This is so weird. James felt as if he was in between two people, despite the fact that their bodies were pressed close together, leaving no space for him if he was in a physical body.


    ¡°All right, now that we have a little privacy, tell me what happened.¡± Leo DaSilva was speaking to a male figure with sallow skin, greasy black hair, and a hooked nose. The two men had stepped away from the gathered circle, as if one was about to take the other into his confidence.


    ¡°As I said before, I really don¡¯t understand what happened,¡± the other man began. He sounded slightly annoyed to still be talking to the Chief of Police.


    Leo clapped a heavy hand on the man¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°I don¡¯t need your interpretation,¡± he said in a voice heavy with patience. ¡°I just need you to tell me what you observed. You were one of the only people who was close to the forest when the world exploded. The other people are in bits and pieces or severely injured. I need to know what¡¯s going on. Even if you don¡¯t have a clear idea, that¡¯s what police are for. We investigate. So, what did you hear and see?¡±


    ¡°Very well. I heard a voice, and I saw a message.¡±


    ¡°You¡ªyou saw¡­?¡±


    ¡°There was a pop-up. It was like a System message.¡± The man nodded as if agreeing with himself. ¡°I think the voice was the same one I heard when the System first appeared, on that day a few months ago¡ª¡±


    ¡°It was the System that did this,¡± Leo said in a low voice, almost disbelieving, disregarding the other man¡¯s slight rambling. ¡°Damn it. Why am I so surprised? The System loves fucking with us¡­¡±


    ¡°What are you saying?¡± the man asked. ¡°Is the System attacking the Kingdom?¡±


    There was a murmur from the people gathered, as one or two of them must have overheard a snatch of the conversation.


    ¡°Keep your voice down,¡± Leo hissed. ¡°And don¡¯t tell anyone about this! You could spark a panic. We don¡¯t have any idea what happened here. I¡¯ll meet with the King later. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll know what this was.¡±


    James found himself pleased with Leo¡¯s management of the situation. James hadn¡¯t known much of what to expect from his Chief of Police, but quelling panic was all he could reasonably hope for Leo to do here. And Leo seemed to think along the same lines as James.


    ¡°Right, right,¡± said the other man.


    ¡°Listen, what¡¯s your name?¡± Leo asked. He gestured at the apartments around them. ¡°And where do you stay around here? I may have more questions later, and I can hopefully give you an update when I know more¡ªprovided, of course, that you don¡¯t get any rumors going by yapping about what you¡¯ve just told me¡­¡±


    James regretfully pulled himself away from Leo¡¯s admirable crisis management. The mention of his name had reminded him that his unconscious body was in the wreckage of this disaster, along with his mother¡¯s. It could be problematic if the public were to see him pulled from the thick of the destruction, badly hurt and unconscious. The image might even lead to the panic that Leo was worried about.


    The Fisher King was the symbol of his Kingdom¡¯s strength, after all.


    James focused on returning to where his physical body was, and suddenly his astral form shot across the landscape, hurtling toward the location of his fallen figure. He streaked across the landscape so quickly that he could hardly take in the space he passed through¡ªthough there was not much in that area in any case, the violence of the System having shattered everything that stood.


    In a moment, he floated beside where his body was. But the first thing he saw was Mina. She knelt silently beside his battered, broken body, pouring healing power into it. James¡¯s mother was also there, still alive, although one of her arms had been splattered into complete mush below the elbow, and the rest of her body looked in similarly bad shape to James¡¯s body.Stolen novel; please report.


    Oh, no, you can¡¯t focus on me right now, Mina, James thought. If I survived those injuries, I¡¯ll recover from them eventually. Mom doesn¡¯t have any healing Skills, and she definitely doesn¡¯t have any passive healing Skills like mine. There was a reasonably high chance that his mother could die, just from being slammed into the ground by James¡¯s body when he took the hit from the System¡¯s attack.


    After all, it had been an attack designed to remove the presence of a god¡ªor a god¡¯s avatar, at least.


    I guess I¡¯ll just tell her.


    James focused his mind on trying to re-inhabit his mess of a body. He felt an intangible resistance to his presence there, but he pushed through.


    After a moment, he felt his kinesthesia return. He knew where all his limbs were and felt his positioning on the ground¡ªand he felt intense, overwhelming pain that far surpassed what his Pain Resistance Skill could suppress. Every part of his body seemed to be a wreck.


    He tried to open his mouth to speak¡ª¡°Mina,¡± he mumbled¡ªand then he felt as if he might die. His consciousness shattered into a thousand pieces.


    When James came to, he was in the floating world once again, hovering just above the space where Mina worked on his body.


    Goddammnit. What did I train my Pain Resistance for¡­?


    In his annoyance, he ignored the fact that he had never deliberately trained his Pain Resistance; it was something that had developed because of his propensity for losing limbs and breaking bones. He had never tested its ability to mitigate nearly destroying his entire body.


    James went into problem-solving mode.


    What can I still do while my body isn¡¯t working?


    First, he pulled himself closer to where his body lay again. It was hard to miss the fact that Mina was making little headway with Laying On Hands. His injuries were profound, and his natural healing abilities were probably stronger than her barely-trained, copied healing Skill.


    I wish I could tell her to focus on Mom for now, he thought.


    James looked at his mother¡¯s unconscious form and thought that he noticed her breathing had grown shallower. It was impossible to be certain, because he did not have the same level of superhuman senses without control over his physical body.


    It was absolutely clear, however, that she still bled from the stump of her pulverized limb, albeit slowly. James was not surprised Mina had not addressed this yet. She had no medical training, and his own body looked like it had been crushed in some sort of industrial accident. It was natural for any woman to prioritize her husband¡¯s wellbeing over that of her mother-in-law.


    But if things continued on as they were, he expected that Zora would die here.


    Experimentally, he reached out with his Fisher King powers. He touched the soil that was imbued with his aura, and to his pleasant surprise, the earth responded.


    It wasn¡¯t much. James had not attempted anything dramatic.


    A tiny tendril of dirt rose from just beside his body, and then it flopped down again, like a gently wagging finger.


    Jackpot.


    Mina had not noticed a thing. She had her tunnel vision on, looking for the worst areas of James¡¯s injuries and trying to mitigate where there was likely damage to internal organs, the brain, or the spine.


    But James thought he knew how to penetrate those layers of focus.


    He focused again, and he ordered the soil to move in a much less subtle way.


    A wall of earth suddenly rose out of the ground and separated Mina and the unconscious forms of her patients from the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s line of sight. James¡¯s body was at such a low elevation¡ªMina had not dug it out fully from the tree limbs all around it yet¡ªthat no one would have been able to see it up to now.


    But he did not want to take any chances of someone seeing what was happening.


    As the barrier appeared, Mina instantly switched modes, from healing to combat-ready. The color of her aura changed from green to fiery red, her whole body tensed up, and her head rapidly turned from side to side, looking for whoever had just used magic on the soil. She clearly expected a challenge.


    [I didn¡¯t mean to scare you.]


    James had tried to explain himself, purely reflexively rather than thinking it would actually work. But to his surprise, the sound of the words actually materialized, emanating from the air beside Mina¡¯s ear.


    ¡°Skapi?¡± Her voice came out quiet and unsteady, almost a whimper. For the first time, James noticed that there were tears in the corners of her eyes. Had those been there already, or were they tears of relief?


    She looked down at James¡¯s useless body as if she expected his lips to move.


    [Yes, it¡¯s me. My consciousness is separate from my body at the moment, due to the extent of my injuries. I don¡¯t think any of them are serious anymore, but I will need a bit of recovery time. The combination of your healing and my natural recovery Skills have me in the clear, I¡¯m pretty sure.]


    James was stretching the truth with much of this. From what he could see, Mina¡¯s Laying On Hands was not actually doing much, and he thought his injuries were actually just as horrible and serious as they looked, but he had to choose his words carefully at the moment.


    [My Mom¡¯s going to die if you don¡¯t heal her arm, though.]


    Now he went straight to the point.


    Mina nodded, turned, and immediately switched from offensive magic to healing again. James appreciated the trust that her actions conveyed, and he was also impressed as always by her deft control of her magic¡ªa knack for those Skills that he still sorely lacked.


    Of course, he was particularly relieved to see his mother¡¯s bleeding reduce to a trickle, and her flesh and bone slowly begin to reshape itself where there had been a fully destroyed lower arm a moment before.


    [The last thing I wanted to mention, besides thanking you for healing me and my Mom, is that I was hoping you could avoid me being seen in this condition by the citizens. I was just listening to the gathered crowd over there, and I think Leo has his hands full keeping them from panicking. It would be best if they don¡¯t see how bad my injuries look.]


    She did not pause in her efforts but simply spoke as if talking required no additional focus, without looking up from Zora¡¯s regenerating arm.


    ¡°I have a way to transport you back without being seen, skapi. Both you and your mother. But how did this happen? Is there an enemy still close?¡±


    [Not exactly, but we might want to sell it as the result of an epic battle or something¡­]


    James explained the events that had occurred leading up to the System destroying everything around Vidarr and James.


    That reminds me¡­


    He reached out with his senses, looking for any remnants of Vidarr¡¯s body. Even the avatar of a god would undoubtedly drop some good loot when destroyed, and if James could Pillage something from a literal god, he might become truly unstoppable.


    Unfortunately, what he found was less promising. The body appeared to have completely disintegrated, and the ashes had been scattered or destroyed or mixed with the debris of the forest¡¯s destruction in some way that would likely prevent James from Pillaging them.


    What did remain¡ªwhich he used his power over the soil to maneuver into Mina¡¯s custody¡ªwere Vidarr¡¯s black cloak and featureless mask. Both items appeared curiously undamaged by the cataclysmic force that had destroyed Vidarr¡¯s avatar so thoroughly and almost killed James and his mother.


    Mina appeared uncharacteristically incurious about the items, still focused on her mission. She just stashed them inside her Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions at James¡¯s request and continued healing


    Even in his non-material form, James could not help but smile.


    I picked a really reliable wife.


    As he waited for her to place his body into the bag, he thought about what he would do with his floating consciousness, assuming that it would take some time for his body to recover enough to be usable.


    There was an obvious answer.


    I¡¯ll go and check how Alan and Mitzi are doing, he thought.


    James told Mina his plan, and then he took off.

 V5Ch5-The Hour of the Healers

    ¡°Excuse me,¡± Mina said quietly, keeping her head down and trying to be as inconspicuous as possible as she reentered the central part of the Fisher Kingdom, cutting through the crowd of people who remained gathered to gawk at the edge of the former Haunted Forest.


    She raised her eyes and saw that her surreptitious movements had been of no use.


    Everyone was looking her way. Some averted their eyes as she took them in, while others stared rather brazenly, but nearly every resident of the Fisher Kingdom knew what their Queen looked like, and those who did not know were being quickly educated on the subject by their neighbors.


    ¡°Y-your Majesty,¡± began one voice at the periphery of the crowd.


    Then the air was filled with the sounds of questions.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s the King?¡±


    ¡°Do you know who did this?¡±


    A few people also moved toward her, until a loud voice stopped them in their tracks.


    ¡°Everyone stay back!¡± Leo roared. ¡°Give the woman some breathing room! I already gave orders that you were to keep your distance. Don¡¯t make us start arresting people!¡±


    The ones who had stepped forward pulled back reluctantly, muttering to themselves and looking down at the ground.


    Leo stepped toward Mina and put an arm around her shoulder.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to escort the Queen home,¡± he added loudly, his neck veins bulging out as he raised his voice once more.


    They cut through the crowd together and walked for a couple of minutes, eyes of the crowd still following them, before either of them spoke again.


    ¡°Anything you can tell me about our situation?¡± he asked in a low voice as they cleared the outskirts of the mass of people. ¡°Or where your husband is?¡±


    ¡°Not out here,¡± Mina whispered. ¡°I¡¯m going to need you not to ask about him again in public. At least not until we have a good idea of what to say.¡± She resisted the impulse to look down at her Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions.


    Leo¡¯s eyes widened slightly, but then he took control of his face again. There were still eyes on them after all.


    ¡°Say no more,¡± he murmured.


    He pulled his arm back down to his side as they grew more distant from the crowd of curious onlookers, but he continued walking with her all the way to the royal apartment.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± Mina said. She was still mostly focused on her worry for her husband and, to a lesser extent, Zora, both of whom were safely stashed in her Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions, but she retained enough objectivity to recognize that Leo had done her a big favor by getting her away from the public.


    ¡°It¡¯s what I do,¡± Leo said in a very contented voice. ¡°Frankly, I didn¡¯t think I would get to do police work again after the end of the world came. I owe your husband for that. Keeping his wife from having to deal with a nosy crowd is the least I can do.¡± He gave her a firm look for a moment, then added, ¡°You will issue a statement explaining what happened, won¡¯t you? The public is going to need to know about¡ªum, whatever this situation is.¡±


    Mina nodded. ¡°We will.¡± She stopped walking. They had arrived at her front door now. ¡°Why don¡¯t you come up, and we¡¯ll discuss it a little bit? You can probably help me out.¡±


    Leo smiled and looked relieved. ¡°I¡¯m glad I¡¯ll have something to tell my people about this.¡±


    Even if it¡¯s a lie? Mina wondered. That had been James¡¯s initial plan when she spoke to him. Sell the destruction, and James¡¯s injuries, as the result of an epic battle.


    She put the thought behind her for a moment as they closed the door and began ascending the stairs to the apartment.


    ¡°So, when are you going to tell me where His Majesty is?¡± Leo asked.


    ¡°Oh, he¡¯s with me,¡± Mina replied vaguely. She wondered silently if anyone at the door besides James would be able to overhear the conversation she was about to have with Leo.


    ¡°As in, with you in your heart?¡± Leo asked. ¡°Or is he literally here?¡± He looked around briskly as the interior of the apartment came into view. ¡°Does James have an invisibility Skill, to go with all the other crap he can do?¡± He sounded like he wanted to laugh.


    He has a cloak that can make him invisible, actually, Mina thought. Plus a camouflage Skill. Kind of redundant to have both, actually¡­


    Aloud, she said, ¡°He¡¯s with me in my bag.¡± Stepping out into the living room, she patted her Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions where it hung on her hip. Then she turned to face Leo, who was now standing at the top of the stairs too.


    ¡°Oh. Okay. Perfectly normal.¡± Leo spoke as if he wanted to ask why, but he just looked at Mina and waited.


    ¡°He was in the middle of the impact zone,¡± she explained. ¡°He¡¯s actually badly hurt, and he didn¡¯t want anyone to see him as I transported him here.¡± She almost, but not quite, managed to suppress a catch in her throat. As she spoke, she had remembered how bad James¡¯s condition was¡ªand how upset she had been when she saw him.


    ¡°Is he going to be all right?¡± Leo asked. He stepped closer, as if he was thinking about embracing Mina¡ªbut then he held back. Perhaps he had the idea that it might be inappropriate.


    Mina wasn¡¯t particularly touchy-feely with non-family-members anyway, so she did not close the gap.


    ¡°He will,¡± she told herself as much as him. ¡°James is tougher than anyone knows.¡± The words came out proud, but with a hint of insecurity.


    A smile tugged at the edge of Leo¡¯s lips.


    ¡°Of course he will. I know he¡¯s tough. Could definitely kick my ass at least.¡± Leo rubbed his left shoulder as if there was some sudden pain there.


    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m going to lay him out on the bed and treat him, but first, I wanted to talk to you about what you can say to people.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, what exactly happened?¡± Leo asked.


    She gave him a hard look, then decided to just tell the truth. It had never gone poorly with Leo before.


    ¡°You can¡¯t tell anyone about this,¡± she began.


    Leo simply nodded.


    ¡°The System attacked the Kingdom,¡± Mina said. ¡°We had someone staying here who was a god in disguise. He was watching James, trying to see if James could do some task for the Norse gods. I guess it was pretty important.¡± She waved her hand impatiently to show how important it was to her and continued, ¡°The System doesn¡¯t want gods visiting Earth right now, so once it registered this fellow¡¯s presence, it tried to destroy the whole area around him. He apparently had some method of hiding where he was, but I guess it was on a time limit or something.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Leo said, lips pursed.


    ¡°What, you don¡¯t believe me?¡± Mina asked, evaluating the look on his face. She was ready to tell Leo to leave, if he actually doubted her story. She only needed people who would support her and James around just then.


    ¡°Huh? Oh, sure, I believe you, Mina,¡± Leo said awkwardly. ¡°If that¡¯s how you say things went down¡ªor how James says things happened. I was just thinking that this confirms again, I guess, that my God isn¡¯t the only god out there. It¡¯s easy for me to default back to standard Catholic and just blissfully forget the shi¡ªstuff we¡¯ve learned. Still, um, processing.¡± His brow furrowed, and his eyes became distant.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Is this how Yulia feels when we talk about the gods? Mina wondered. She knew Yulia had remained devout long after the other sisters in the family lost their faith. Well, I suppose we don¡¯t talk about them very much anyway¡­


    ¡°At any rate, I don¡¯t think we can safely tell the public what actually happened,¡± Mina said. ¡°You saw how the crowd was acting out there. They¡¯re already scared. Most people think of the System as a god-like force in the world based on their Orientation experiences¡ªand they¡¯re not wrong. If we told the actual, literal truth, it could give people the idea that the country is disfavored by the System, and people might flee the Kingdom. Which would be bad for us and bad for them. So, James and I were thinking of a different story. We would need the first responders who pick up the wreckage of the scene to corroborate it, though. You in particular.¡±


    Leo tilted his head side to side and grimaced as if rolling the idea around in his head, then nodded.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s a rational approach,¡± he said. ¡°They say that behind every great fortune is a great crime. Well, beneath every nation is a foundation of lies and dead bodies.¡± He shrugged. ¡°This is a good thing to lie about. So, what story are we feeding the people?¡±


    Mina thought that her friend from Orientation was far more comfortable with lying to the public than she had expected¡ªmaybe a little too comfortable¡ªbut decided to chalk it up to him agreeing with her judgment of what the citizens could handle.


    ¡°We keep it vague for the moment,¡± Mina said. ¡°Once James is awake again, he¡¯ll make a full announcement with the complete cover story. But the short version is that a powerful enemy attacked, and James was injured defeating him. Something that fits with the heroic image that my husband has already developed.¡± She couldn¡¯t help puffing herself up with pride a bit as she spoke. Her husband was a hero, after all¡ªa hero and a leader of such stature that even the gods paid attention to him.


    ¡°I can do that,¡± Leo said, seemingly oblivious to the shift in Mina¡¯s mood. ¡°Is there anything else I can do for you? Do you need protection while James is recovering? Or should I send someone up to help heal James? I know you and Yulia have healing, but I figure every helping hand adds something. I can look for people who would be discreet until you make the announcement. Even if you just wanted Hilda to come and be a bodyguard, I¡¯m sure she would do it.¡± He chuckled quietly. ¡°She¡¯s feisty.¡±


    Mina thought for a moment. ¡°No, I don¡¯t think we need protection. We don¡¯t have enemies here¡­¡±


    Her voice trailed off as Leo gave her a very skeptical look.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have enemies that you know about,¡± he said gently. ¡°Would James agree that you don¡¯t have enemies?¡±


    ¡°I think he would,¡± Mina said. She thought of the fact that James could actually observe anything and everything happening inside his territory as he wished, which she could not, of course, say out loud. Then she remembered the monotheists and frowned. ¡°Actually, could you send Hilda? Like you said, she is feisty. Her presence would be pretty inconspicuous. And it would be good if she and I got to know each other a little better, especially if the two of you are, um, seriously involved.¡±


    She¡¯s also blessed by a Norse god, just like James is now, Mina thought. She might have additional information for us, a message, or some other insights.


    Leo nodded and tried to contain his smile. ¡°Okay, then. I¡¯ll send her.¡±


    Mina tried to smile back, but the curve to her lips was faint. Her thoughts had returned to the problem of James¡¯s injuries, and the image of them was like a splinter in her mind¡¯s eye.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go,¡± Leo added, his expression turning sad as he looked toward Mina. ¡°Good luck.¡±


    Mina dipped her head in acknowledgement.


    ¡°Thank you.¡± Her voice was very low. She felt suddenly tired.


    The day hasn¡¯t been that long, has it? She shook her head. No, it was morning not long ago. Still is morning. You¡¯re just dealing with a lot¡­


    ¡°Nothing else I can do?¡± Leo asked. He looked worried.


    Mina shook her head and made herself give a weary smile.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be just fine,¡± she said.


    Leo nodded. ¡°I¡¯ll just send Hilda, then.¡±


    Mina watched him descend the stairs, and then she withdrew to the bedroom. She opened the Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions and pulled James out of it. For a moment, he was weightless, hovering over the bed Mina had positioned the bag in front of. Then the strange magic of the device released him, and he crashed down with a mercifully soft thud.


    She allowed herself to exhale and relax slightly, and she put the bag away.


    I¡¯ll get Zora out of the bag once Yulia comes home from work.


    Her understanding of the Small Bag of Deceptive Dimension¡¯s functioning, from occasional experiments, was that items placed inside were effectively in suspended animation. Leaving Zora inside the bag hopefully made it less likely that her condition would worsen before some healing could be applied. This was especially important, because despite what James had said earlier, Mina wanted to focus on healing him until either he was better or it was necessary for her to focus on Zora.


    You understand, right, skapi? she thought. Your mother is wonderful, really, I admire her very much. Since my mother died, especially, she is a great role model. An intelligent and strong lady. But I do not love her the way I love you. I could never prioritize her life over yours, even if you try to act tough, as if you were not in terrible pain¡­


    Mina cut that train of thought off. She could feel herself about to become emotional, and now was not the time for that.


    She took a hair band out of her bag and quickly placed her hair into a loose ponytail, to keep it from falling in front of her face. Then she set to work with Laying On Hands, healing James of his most serious injuries.


    Mina¡¯s mind locked on and focused so exclusively on James that she missed the sound of her stomach growling and the feeling of fatigue slowly settling over her bones. She managed her Mana so skillfully that she was able to continue the exercise for hours. She would have probably persisted into nightfall if Yulia had not come home.


    As the sound of footsteps ascending the stairs rang through the apartment, Mina shook herself slightly.


    Oh, is it that time already? she thought. She felt the sudden emptiness around her middle and smiled despite herself. Then she glanced down at James, and the smile turned to a slight frown. I¡¯ve made barely any progress in all that time. The worst of the injuries looked slightly better. James¡¯s body no longer looked like it might fail at any moment. But to Mina¡¯s non-medical eyes, it still appeared as if he was a permanently crippled patient¡ªor at least as if he would require years of recovery to move properly again.


    He had dozens of broken bones still, almost every inch of skin was bruised, and there was dried blood from a dozen wounds where his shattered armor had punctured or sliced into his skin¡ªthough the lacerations were closed now. They had not been among James¡¯s most life-threatening injuries, but Mina had treated the shattered armor cuts because she found the blood flow from those wounds distracting.


    The main contribution I made was fixing the spinal damage and some of the head trauma, Mina thought. It was a miracle James was able to talk earlier at all. She suddenly felt his absence keenly, for the first time in hours, and had to hold back tears.


    I know you¡¯re with Alan and Mitzi, but it would be great if you could come back here and just talk to me for a little while.


    ¡°Sis, are you okay?¡±


    Mina looked up. Yulia stood in the doorway.


    For once, Mina had nothing to say. She felt the tears gathering in the corner of her eyes, and she thought anything she might say would cause them to come rolling down her cheeks.


    Fortunately, Yulia saved her from talking. Yulia¡¯s eyes darted away from Mina¡¯s face to the supine form on the bed.


    ¡°Oh my gosh,¡± Yulia said. ¡°James¡­¡±


    The teenager stepped forward as if pulled by invisible strings toward her wounded brother-in-law. She looked upset and afraid.


    Mina turned her head away and made as if to look down at James. But she actually used that movement as a chance to cover her wiping away her tears with the back of her hand¡ªas casually as she could, although she felt Yulia glance up at her just after the gesture.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Yulia asked.


    Mina opened her mouth and then sensed motion in the doorway of the room again.


    Both women turned, and then Mina relaxed again.


    ¡°I was going to mention that I ran into her outside,¡± Yulia said.


    ¡°Leo said you might benefit from someone watching the apartment,¡± Hilda said. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to come in and disturb anything, so I loitered outside for a while.¡± As usual, she spoke with a clarity and directness that seemed to Mina to suggest hidden depths, hidden knowledge. As if she knew exactly what she would have been disturbing¡ªand what the consequences of interrupting the healing process might be.


    Mina nodded. ¡°Thank you. Do you mind giving us a minute?¡±


    ¡°Not at all,¡± Hilda said. ¡°The kids are in there.¡± She tilted her head toward the area of the living room just out of Mina¡¯s view. ¡°I¡¯ll watch them while you guys talk.¡± Hilda gave a small, sympathetic smile and then withdrew somewhere out of sight.


    Mina closed the door behind the woman. She didn¡¯t know if it would do any good, and she was beginning to trust Hilda, but better safe than sorry.


    ¡°James was badly injured by what we¡¯re going to say was an enemy he defeated,¡± Mina said.


    ¡°What we¡¯re going to say¡­¡± Yulia let her voice trail off.


    ¡°Don¡¯t ask unless you want to know the answer and have to lie about it anyway,¡± Mina said.


    Yulia nodded. ¡°All right, sis. Do you want my help?¡±


    Mina took her hands and smiled weakly. Some of the burden was off her shoulders.


    ¡°Of course I do,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯re better at healing than I am.¡±


    Yulia smiled but looked a little worried. She probably knew that if Mina was admitting any kind of weakness, the situation was worse than it seemed.


    ¡°Besides James, there¡¯s someone else we need to heal,¡± Mina said. ¡°That¡¯s part of why I need help¡­¡±


    Then Mina¡¯s stomach growled. The two women giggled awkwardly.


    ¡°All right, first dinner,¡± Mina said in a grudging tone. ¡°Then healing.¡±

 V5Ch6-The Gopher Tortoise

    James felt a strange and unsettling sensation of severance as Mina pushed his physical body into her bag.


    He got the impression that his astral form was somehow less substantial than it had been, and that perception disturbed him for a moment. Would he be able to reunite with his body later? Had the connection been somehow broken permanently? What sort of space was the inside of that bag? But he did not make time to sit still and contemplate the matter.


    James was a man of action now, even if he had been otherwise once.


    He reached out to the wyverns that he had sent to accompany Alan and Mitzi on their journey with the Fisher Expeditionary Force, and he pulled.


    Then James¡¯s weightless spirit form hurtled across space faster than he had ever experienced before.


    Fortunately, this time he didn¡¯t feel the wind passing through him. Perhaps he was moving too quickly for matter to touch him. Or maybe that feeling had been an illusion before.


    And then his astral form was in close proximity with the wyverns, and he did not have to dwell on the sensations of a disembodied spirit.


    James instinctively jumped into the body of the nearest wyvern. The creature¡¯s wings skipped a beat as the brain adapted itself slightly to accommodate the body¡¯s driver, but it took only a moment. James had piloted these beasts before, and his mastery over their bodies was almost as total as his control of his own.


    He hovered in the form of the Great Solar Wyvern, the sun beating down pleasantly on his body. James felt every bit of the solar energy the beast was absorbing through its substantial surface area as if it was immersed in a warm bath.


    He had the chance to catch his breath. He felt more secure now that he was attached to a body again, and the sensations of flight were as exhilarating as they had been the previous times that he occupied the bodies of these creatures.


    This is the life, James thought with slight envy. You¡¯re such simple beasts. Just flying and fighting and eating, wherever I send you¡­ And such graceful, durable bodies too.


    That last thought reminded James of the condition of his own body, which had been wrecked by the System¡¯s purge of the Norse god.


    The Great Solar Wyvern bared its teeth as James became slightly enraged at the System for attacking him, albeit in the process of ridding itself of an unwelcome intruder.


    No, what I¡¯m really angry about is the fact that I was too weak to take the hit, isn¡¯t it?


    For the moment, he was unwilling to dwell on that thought, though James knew that he would need to consider how he might strengthen his own body further at some point. It was intolerable that he should be forced to flee his own flesh like some skulking spirit driven off by an exorcist, and for what?


    Just because he couldn¡¯t take a simple blunt force attack from above. There didn¡¯t appear to be more to it than that.


    At this point, I should really be beyond getting taken out in such a simple way.


    He shook the wyvern¡¯s head¡ªhis head, for now¡ªand then began flying the monster in a slightly downward spiraling loop. The wyverns were so high in the air that the Fisher Expeditionary Force were little more than ants on the ground below. The area was almost entirely clear of tree cover, so James could still see them well enough to tell that they were walking forward rather than in the midst of combat, but he wanted a closer look.


    As the Great Solar Wyvern broke away from the Great Berserk Wyvern, Great Sound Wyvern, and Great Venom Wyvern and began circling downward, James saw that a few heads near the ground had shifted to look up in his direction. There were a few people pointing and talking about the beast he piloted, clearly.


    Fortunately, they didn¡¯t seem to be upset or frightened, which James would have considered an understandable reaction to a winged behemoth descending from above, even though they theoretically knew that these creatures were James¡¯s possessions.


    James¡¯s monster drew closer to the ground, and he saw that there were more than just the humans, Goblins, and humanoid monsters that comprised the Fisher Expeditionary Force down there.


    Walking interspersed among James¡¯s people were dozens of giant tortoises. Each specimen appeared to be roughly the size of a moped. James assessed the overall situation in an instant.


    Interesting¡­


    The creatures were clearly not enemies¡ªor at least not overt enemies¡ªof the Expeditionary Force. The tortoises were walking alongside James¡¯s explorers, and the reptiles moved exactly as slowly as one would expect from the ¡®tortoise and the hare¡¯ stereotype. Alan and Mitzi appeared to be in animated conversation with two of the creatures at the front of the group.


    Could there be enemies concealed? Maybe they¡¯re being led into a trap.


    He scanned the environment again, looking carefully for hidden enemies now, but there seemed nowhere they could conceal themselves. The area was sandy and dry, populated with well spaced southern pine trees and broadleaf grasses that would not provide groups of monsters with good concealment.


    There could still be something underground or camouflaged. I don¡¯t seem to have the same level of Perception in this body as in my real body¡ªwell, of course I don¡¯t. I didn¡¯t give these creatures my eyes¡­


    James shook his head and looked down at one of the tortoises in the lead. It appeared to be bigger than most of its brethren, and James wanted to know if it might pose a threat if he accidentally said something to anger it.


    Identify.


    Keystone Gopher Tortoise, Lv. 14


    Huh. It¡¯s pretty weak, then, right? I mean, it would have been decently leveled back in Orientation, but it¡¯s like, this creature made it out of there and then just stopped trying.


    Then again, maybe it had. That might explain why the tortoises were walking with the Expeditionary Force. They weren¡¯t interested in making the effort to kill them.


    It must be pretty peaceful in this neck of the woods if they¡¯re not that worried about leveling¡­


    James used Identify on a scattering of other tortoises, but they were all lower level than the first one he had tried the Skill on.


    Then he closed the gap, flapping down to where Alan, Mitzi, and the lead turtles were with big, noisy movements. All eyes shifted overhead as the wyvern wheeled above them and James began to speak.


    ¡°How are things going, my dear explorers?¡± James asked. The voice that emerged from the wyvern¡¯s mouth was croaky and a little unnatural but still clearly his own.


    Alan turned back to the tortoise beside him.


    ¡°This is just the man I¡¯ve been telling you about,¡± he said. He looked up at James again and smiled. ¡°Thank you for taking time out of your busy day to visit with us, Your Majesty.¡±


    The tortoise simply stared up at James, the reptilian mouth slightly agape. He found he could not read the creature¡¯s expression at all. Perhaps the difficulty was because it was of an inhuman Race, but James made a note to himself that he also did not have access to the full range of his social Skills while he was inhabiting this body¡ªhe guessed he would need to rely exclusively on the Great Solar Wyvern¡¯s own Skills. He would need to be careful with the diplomacy here; he did not have his usual safety nets.


    James found it slightly odd that Alan was calling him ¡°Your Majesty¡± rather than using his first name, but recognized that it must be because the old man was playing the role of diplomat with another Race.


    In that case, I¡¯ll oblige and act the part of king a little more than I usually do.


    ¡°I have been a bit busy, but I don¡¯t allow anyone under my protection to go overlooked for long,¡± James replied, speaking in more absolute terms than he otherwise would.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    ¡°We have been well protected, sir,¡± Alan said, his eyes sparkling with amusement. ¡°Thanks to your creatures.¡±


    James quickly read through the wyvern¡¯s memories of the last thirty-six hours. They played before his eyes like security camera video that he could pause or fast forward at will. In only a few seconds, he knew all that had transpired of importance to the group¡¯s security since they left his borders. Apparently, the wyverns had intimidated a flock of woodpeckers to secure the Fisher Expeditionary Force safe passage across the birds¡¯ territory. That had been yesterday.


    And this morning, two of the explorers had fallen into a sudden sinkhole. They were clearly not native Florida residents, as all the telltale signs of an emerging sinkhole had been present even before they walked into the zone of danger. There had been a subsidence in the ground, a few scrawny trees were slumped at improbable angles as if they had been partially felled, and the soil happened to be dry enough that there were visible cracks around the circle the men walked into.


    Ignoring all of those indicators, the two explorers walked right into the middle of the emerging sinkhole, their weight caused the sinkhole to finally emerge, and the Earth swallowed them up. Fortunately for them, as they cried out for help, the wyverns were nearby and dove into the ground to save them.


    They¡¯re smarter than I might have given them credit for, James thought. He hadn¡¯t been certain that they were intelligent enough to follow his instructions beyond killing enemies. Good job, guys¡­


    James watched a little beyond that point and saw what had happened next. Shortly after the fall was when the explorers met the tortoises¡ªwho crawled out of the hole the explorers had fallen into, shortly after the wyverns had returned to the sky.


    ¡°I see a couple of my people fell into your sinkhole,¡± he said, gazing down into the lead tortoise¡¯s eyes. James did not intend this, but to his own ears, his voice sounded ominous coming from the wyvern¡¯s mouth.


    The monster visibly swallowed down a lump in its throat.


    Alan looked as if he wanted to say something, but Mitzi placed a gently restraining hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°So, this is what a Ruler looks like,¡± the head tortoise said in an old, creaky, but distinctly male voice. He seemed to be speaking to himself.


    ¡°You have never encountered a Ruler before, then,¡± James said.


    It wasn¡¯t really a question. It made sense of all the facts before him. The lack of any aggressive aura noticeable in this area, the casual ease of the interactions between the tortoises and the Expeditionary Force, and the fact that the tortoises were all relatively weak and yet did not appear to be afraid of predation.


    There was no Ruler here. This was unclaimed territory. Free real estate, should there be someone who wished to take it.


    ¡°W-we have not, Your Majesty,¡± the tortoise replied, lowering its head in what James interpreted as a bow. The tortoise¡¯s tone was respectful and somber. ¡°Your form is magnificent. I can see the power and grace in every inch of flesh. I understand why other life forms would bow to one such as you. And you have my sincere apologies. Please consider it my personal mistake. If I knew your subjects would walk above our home, I would have carefully marked areas of likely subsidence. Someone could have been hurt in that fall, if not for Your Majesty and your, er, brothers.¡± He pointed with his head at the wyverns that remained high in the sky above.


    ¡°The tortoises were kind enough to escort us to the limits of the territory they occupy,¡± Alan said in a gentle but insistent voice. ¡°I think they have more than made up for any temporary inconvenience.¡±


    What, Alan, you don¡¯t trust me to be nice to the poor tortoises? James was slightly amused. It was endearing how Alan had become protective of these creatures after meeting them a matter of hours ago.


    ¡°Consider your apology accepted, noble tortoise,¡± James said.


    ¡°Thank you, Your Majesty,¡± the tortoise said in a tone of genuine gratitude.


    ¡°I should also acknowledge that the shape you see is not my real body. It was formed from portions of my real body, combined and manipulated via a Skill I possess. My true form is human. And I am known by the name, ¡®The Fisher King.¡¯¡±


    The tortoise¡¯s eyes widened slightly at the explanation of James¡¯s true, human nature, but he said nothing to that.


    ¡°You are guiding my explorers to the edge of your territory,¡± James continued. ¡°And I understand you have been with them for hours. How large is the territory you occupy?¡±


    ¡°It stretches in that direction further than the eye can see, Your Majesty,¡± the tortoise said. ¡°We do not reckon distance as humans do, but in the days when I was a young tortoise, before the change came upon us¡ª¡± James guessed that he meant the System¡ª¡°it would be further than we would have walked in a lifetime.¡±


    James stared down at the creature, thinking. This situation seemed very strange to him, and not at all consonant with his experience of the new world so far.


    ¡°How is it that you have remained in control of this territory since Orientation ended?¡± he finally asked bluntly. ¡°No other creatures have come to take it from you? Even without a Ruler to lead them, I think that many enemies might challenge you for rule of this land.¡±


    ¡°I suppose the land is not particularly desirable, Your Majesty,¡± the turtle said in a nervous tone. ¡°I do not know that I would even speak of control of territory. What we have, we share willingly with those who live alongside us. We have heard monstrous beasts pass overhead before, but as we live underground, we have never crossed paths with them directly. And none of them has ever stopped and settled here. There are many who do settle here, and we make room for them in our tunnel systems. There are some frogs, snakes, and burrowing owls, among others. But no strong, predatory species. I believe the land, which has few animals living on its surface, does not produce enough food to interest a strong Race. As a consequence, none of the Races residing with us have Rulers either. We have been a bit nervous about what we might do if some of those passing predators took an interest in what goes on beneath the ground, but so far, so good.¡± The tortoise moved its forelimbs in a sort of shrugging gesture.


    They just share what they have with other creatures who show up, huh? Are these tortoises hippies?


    ¡°You are in need of protection,¡± James said after a moment. He spoke in a more formal tone now. ¡°You have been fortunate thus far, but without a Ruler, you are defenseless if anyone should finally take notice of you.¡±


    The tortoise bowed its head again, then slowly nodded.


    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty. You are probably correct. I appreciate your wise advice. I lived for many years in the world that humans built leading up to the change, and I know that your species are the strongest and most adaptable predators in the world. I recognize that rather than providing your insights, you could simply kill and consume us yourself. I thank you for your mercy.¡±


    James listened for any hidden meaning in the tortoise¡¯s words, but all he heard was sincere gratitude.


    Is this what it means to be a prey animal? he thought. You¡¯re grateful simply to not be eaten? James felt the beginnings of contempt in his wyvern stomach but shoved that emotion down. It was useless now¡ªand perhaps unfair. When I was merely an ordinary human, did I feel this sort of disdain for the weak when they submitted to the strong?


    He had no easy answer for that.


    But as a Ruler, he had committed to protecting many individuals who were weak as individuals. The group was strong together, even if the individuals who comprised it were seemingly powerless.


    This tortoise is wise to curry favor with me anyway. Why do I feel the strange desire to eat him and lay waste to his home?


    James recognized that the origin of that impulse might lie with the body he currently inhabited. All of his wyverns were natural, ruthless predators.


    With a slight effort of Will, he suppressed the Great Solar Wyvern¡¯s instincts and spoke again.


    ¡°I was not simply trying to give advice,¡± James said with as much warmth as he could manage. ¡°As a Ruler, I often expand my territory. I would be willing to place your land under my protection and make you a part of my dominion.¡±


    The tortoise appeared stunned for a moment¡ªits head withdrew backward slightly, almost as if he wanted to go into his shell. Perhaps it sounded too good to be true.


    ¡°Why would Your Majesty wish to do that for us?¡± the tortoise asked slowly. ¡°Is it sheer benevolence? With respect, it has not been my experience that humans are always so generous.¡± He swallowed another lump in his throat down. ¡°Would¡ªwould Your Majesty require that we periodically send members of our colony to be eaten by yourself and your other servants? Is that the price for protection of the rest of us?¡±


    Jesus Christ.


    ¡°No,¡± James said slowly. ¡°You mentioned that you share resources with your neighbors. Well, if you have something that I need, I would ask that you give me some resources too. And if an enemy trespasses into my territory, or if there is another territory nearby that I wish to occupy, some of you would act as my agents. In exchange, if your homes are ever invaded, I would drive the invaders away.¡±


    ¡°That is all?¡± the tortoise asked, tilting his head from side to side skeptically. ¡°Your Majesty probably recognizes that we are not particularly good fighters, but¡ªif you truly wish to have us¡ªI believe that we would be happy to come under your protection.¡±


    ¡°Very well,¡± James said. ¡°I have some matters in the center of the Fisher Kingdom to deal with first, but I will try to extend my aura to cover this region within the next week.¡±


    My recovery couldn¡¯t possibly take longer than a week, right?


    The tortoise closed his eyes for a few seconds, and James wondered if he had somehow fallen asleep. He was clearly a very old tortoise. But then the old reptile opened his eyes again. James thought there was a slight gleam in his glossy black eyes.


    Then, as one, all of the tortoises within view turned in James¡¯s direction and bowed.


    And the Fisher King added what seemed to be a large amount of territory to his domain without drawing a weapon or killing a single enemy.


    I should return to my own body, James thought. I just made these reptiles a promise. Let¡¯s see if I can get back into the condition to actually keep it¡­

 V5Ch7-The Recovery

    After a time watching over the Expeditionary Force, James¡¯s consciousness flew through the air, streaking like a shooting star back toward the Fisher Kingdom.


    The sense of severance he had experienced before was gone, and he felt certain that his body was available again.


    As he landed in his own flesh, it felt markedly better than it had before. The injuries, he sensed, were still crippling enough that he imagined a normal person might never walk again with them. Still, for James, they were not so bad. Merely the worst he had ever experienced.


    He felt a dim green light at the edge of his vision¡ªwith James¡¯s superhuman senses, he could make out light and shapes even with his eyes closed. He inhaled and smelled the scent of her.


    Mina¡­


    The green light faded.


    ¡°Skapi?¡± Mina¡¯s voice shook slightly, with what James read as a mixture of hope and fatigue. It was strange, now that he was back in his own body, to have all his old senses again¡ªincluding his various social Skills. He had been bereft of them inside the shell of the wyvern, but there was a purity to that. Now he instantly felt that he could interpret the sound of his wife¡¯s voice, without even seeing her expression.


    James opened his eyes and smiled at his wife. Even moving the corners of his lips seemed to come at a cost. He could tell his body would not have much energy for a while, even if his Stamina Stat were to suddenly climb into the four digits.


    Still, he forced his lungs to cough up a word.


    ¡°Hey,¡± he said, winking.


    ¡°Glad that you are alive,¡± Mina said, sweeping a hand in front of her face to move a strand of hair that wasn¡¯t there.


    James thought his wife looked like she had just run a marathon.


    She had her long mane pulled into a ponytail, though a few strands of hair had come loose over the time she had been healing her husband. That process had been ongoing for hours, he guessed. Her face was paler than usual, and more sweat clung there than James had ever seen before. The parts of her top immediately in front of her breasts and around her armpits were also drenched with perspiration.


    ¡°Me too,¡± he said.


    There was a movement at the corner of his vision, and James noted Yulia¡¯s presence.


    ¡°Hi there,¡± he added, twitching an eyebrow at her as a way of acknowledging his little sister-in-law.


    ¡°You really can¡¯t move,¡± Yulia said, sounding astonished.


    ¡°Of course he can¡¯t,¡± Mina said, giving a little snort. ¡°He¡¯s got so many broken bones, shattered into so many pieces. We¡¯ve been working on him half the day, I would think you would know that already¡­¡±


    Yulia looked slightly embarrassed, and James thought that both sisters must be exhausted.


    ¡°Thank you both for all your hard work on healing me,¡± James said. ¡°I think my body can take over from here, but I feel like I probably would have died if you hadn¡¯t both worked so hard.¡± Even after all the healing, it took a lot of effort just to speak. He could tell his jaws were too weak to chew anything harder than applesauce right now.


    ¡°Well, Gupta and Zirndorf came over and healed you for an hour, too,¡± Mina said. ¡°Until they pronounced you stable and said that they were running out of Mana.¡± She gave a dismissive wave of her hand as if to say, That¡¯s how much I think their opinions are worth¡­


    ¡°It gave us a nice break, at least,¡± Yulia said. James noticed a breathlessness as she spoke. Then Yulia covered her mouth to stifle a yawn.


    Mina nodded, seeming not to notice her sister¡¯s yawning. ¡°That was good of them. We¡¯ve kept up the pace of your recovery since the medical people left, and without that break, I don¡¯t know if our energy would have lasted.¡±


    Mina sounds so proud, James thought. She probably pushed herself and Yulia very hard to get me recovered to this extent.


    After all, the previous time he had tried to reinhabit his body, the sheer pain and damage had broken through all his Skills to manage it and forced him immediately out.


    ¡°Well, I think all four of you can probably lay off for now,¡± James said gently.


    ¡°Oh?¡± Mina asked, arching an eyebrow. ¡°Are you going to get up now?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± James acknowledged, still smiling.


    Yulia yawned again from behind Mina. She again seemed not to notice.


    ¡°Then we¡ª¡± Mina began.


    ¡°But I think the two of you need to get some sleep,¡± James interrupted. He turned his eyes to Yulia. ¡°Please check on the kids, and then go to sleep.¡± He spoke those last words softly, but with the same firmness of voice he applied whenever he issued a command.


    Yulia nodded and looked relieved.


    ¡°Thanks again,¡± James mouthed.


    She smiled, and she quickly ducked out.


    ¡°The children did not actually need to be checked on, skapi,¡± Mina said in a slightly disapproving tone as the door closed behind Yulia. ¡°They are being watched by, um¡ª¡± She hesitated, clearly forgetting the name of whoever was babysitting.


    James raised an eyebrow. ¡°A mystery protector? A silent, watchful guardian?¡±


    Mina was silent, just looking at him strangely.


    ¡°Are our children being watched by Batman?!¡± James asked with faux excitement.


    ¡°Skapi, I¡¯m tired,¡± Mina said, chuckling in an exhausted tone. ¡°Please no dad jokes. Unless you¡¯re really feeling well. Then I guess I could make myself laugh at something.¡±Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    James frowned. ¡°So, who¡¯s watching the kids?¡±


    ¡°That¡ªthe warrior woman from your Orientation. The woman in white.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Hilda!¡± James said.


    Mina nodded. ¡°Yes, her. I would have remembered her name, but¡ª¡± She yawned and stretched her arms over her head like a cat¡ª¡°I am suddenly so tired.¡± Mina lay down and curled her body next to James¡¯s.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to thank her,¡± James said. His mind was racing with things to do, priorities that needed his attention, projects to check up on around the Kingdom.


    At the same time, his body grew more exhausted with every word exchanged with his wife. He could feel there was a tiny reservoir of energy that had built up while he was not using his body, though James was quickly burning through it now.


    He supposed that proved he had really been away for a while, though it had not felt particularly long to him. He wondered if he was influenced by the sense of time of the wyvern.


    In the rush of mental activity, he returned to an important subject.


    ¡°What happened to my mother?¡± James asked.


    ¡°She¡¯s right over there, skapi,¡± Mina said in a tired, half-yawning voice. ¡°The Healers said she was stable too.¡±


    James reached out with his senses and heard the faint, delicate sound of his mother snoring.


    Is she on the floor? he wondered for a moment. No, of course not. It must be another mattress Mina brought in.


    ¡°Great job, Mina,¡± he said softly.


    ¡°Thank you, James,¡± she cooed directly into his ear.


    James wished he could move his body properly again. He loved the sound of that voice. But all his muscles were truly useless right now, bound as they were to shattered bones and badly bruised flesh. So, instead, he just lay there as Mina wrapped herself around him. Entwined with her warm softness, he fell asleep.


    For once, James¡¯s sleep was not a cover for him to Dreamwalk or otherwise astrally project himself away from his body.


    It was a peaceful, dreamless sleep¡ªlike turning out a light.


    In the morning, James checked his body¡¯s systems and found that they were still barely functioning¡ªenough to keep him alive, not nearly enough for him to move around even in bed.


    Then he knew how he was going to spend his day.


    He asked Mina to take care of his mother and not worry too much about healing him. He would be absent from the disabled body for most of the day, not suffering pain from his injuries¡ªeven if he didn¡¯t have Pain Resistance up to a high level¡ªand unlike Zora, he could recover from being severely injured on his own anyway, given time and food.


    ¡°But my mom needs your full attention,¡± James said. ¡°I don¡¯t like the fact that she hasn¡¯t woken up, even though she didn¡¯t take the brunt of the attack herself¡­¡±


    Mina just nodded and looked as if she would reluctantly accept his wishes.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back around dinner time,¡± he added. ¡°I think I¡¯ll be in good enough condition to eat by then. It¡¯s less tiring to talk now than it was.¡± He did not mention that part of why he wanted to leave his body behind was that he felt if he stayed, he would sleep all day and get nothing done. There was every chance Mina would want him to stay completely idle, on the off-chance that it would promote his swifter recovery. But that went against James¡¯s nature as well as his priorities. He wanted to check on the Expeditionary Force, formulate new plans, and probably float around the Fisher Kingdom itself, checking on the progress of developments there.


    ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Mina said seriously. ¡°I was going to chew your food for you and feed you like a baby bird if all you could do was swallow. I figured you were probably all right now that you can talk.¡±


    He smiled, he tried and failed to shake his head at what Mina had said, and with that image¡ªof his wife feeding him mouth to mouth¡ªstill fixed in his mind, James left his body behind him.


    His astral form shot across the landscape as it had done the previous day, rocketing West as if it fled from the glow of the rising sun.


    He landed within the body of the Great Solar Wyvern, comfortably basking in the sunshine, surrounded by its brother creatures. James saw the Fisher Expeditionary Force had just barely neared the edge of the tortoises¡¯ territory. They were not in any trouble at that moment. They did not need help from the wyverns.


    So, rather than immediately informing Alan of his presence or rushing down to keep the Force company, he simply enjoyed the experience of gliding inside the body of this wyvern for a time.


    James had very little experience of flying around in his own body. What little he did have had come from his use of an item¡ªthe Royal Aeromaster Cloak¡ªthat an enemy had dropped. The experience of using it had been a bit like having a winged animal attached to his back. The cloak was almost alive. It was a different thing to fly under one¡¯s own power.


    Marvelous, James thought. He soared into a high, rough current of air and let it shake and roll and whip him about. The turbulence was so much fun that he did it once more. Just like riding a roller coaster!


    He reluctantly returned to the other wyverns when he thought the people on the ground were starting to notice the one wyvern that had gone off on its own, and he simply enjoyed the sensations of normal flight for a while.


    More importantly, as he flew, he had time to think.


    How can I improve my body and the productive value of my Skill, Talent, and Title stack? he thought. How can I prevent an injury like this from ever crippling me again? How do I bounce back stronger? How can I get stronger and protect my family?


    He of course knew, in the back of his mind, that he wanted additional power for more than merely defensive reasons. But his foremost focus as he considered means of strengthening himself and his Kingdom was home defense, not violent invasion of the territories of others or the desire to destroy strong opponents.


    James had already been chastened recently by the System, in a place where he had assumed himself essentially untouchable: the Fisher Kingdom. He could not afford to ignore the lessons of that experience¡ªnot when mystical visions of his wife¡¯s death and his land under attack were still within recent memory.


    Dozens of inspirations floated through his mind. Perhaps he could obtain¡ªor fuse to obtain¡ªa Skill that would allow him to liquefy his body or turn intangible. That would have nullified the System¡¯s attack that flattened the whole area around him.


    It would completely prevent me from protecting anyone, though, unless I could somehow take them with me. James¡¯s mother would have surely died if he had not been there to place himself between the impact and her. That seemed like a very bad result.


    So, the brainstorming process continued.


    Some of the time, James found himself drifting off into what he considered to be ¡°wyvern thoughts.¡± The brains of the beasts whose bodies he inhabited were complex¡ªthey had become far more complex since he forcibly merged the creatures¡ªbut they were still bestial.


    When not pushed and forced by rigid discipline or a specific purpose, they defaulted back to contemplating questions of their own survival. Food, finding a safe place to roost, and growing stronger¡ªwhich interestingly seemed to be as basic an instinct for them as were food and shelter.


    More than once, James caught himself wishing that he could eat one of the tasty-looking humans on the ground, if only the master had not ordered the wyverns to protect them.


    When that happened, James felt a kind of morbid amusement. He was the master, and judging by the way the wyvern thought about him, it did not seem to even recognize that he was possessing its body. Or perhaps it understood that it was under an outside influence, but the feeling of James directing it was too familiar to be properly examined.


    None of it made James uncomfortable, because he could feel how firmly his command had hold of the monster. It was an iron law, not a suggestion.


    Well, I definitely have to keep Monster Generation and Monster Control¡­


    James spent the rest of his time in the wyvern¡¯s skin, as best he could, thinking about optimization for his body and Skills. Then he flew back to his body for dinner¡ªand to put his theorized changes into practice.

 V5Ch8-Productive Tinkering Part 1

    The Fisher King found himself in a quiet, darkened space.


    From the feel of the surface beneath him, he recognized that he was still lying in bed in he and Mina¡¯s apartment.


    He was not quite alone. He sensed his mother breathing nearby. Her breath and her pulse sounded stronger to his ears now. James guessed that some energy had been devoted to healing her in his absence.


    He smiled slightly and then focused on his mission. Since he was alone here for the moment, there would be no distractions.


    I¡¯m going to read every single Skill and Title description again, James thought. I¡¯ll leave no stone unturned in trying to improve my basic powers this time. Taking things as they come without having detailed plans for how I would win future encounters has taken me as far as it¡¯s going to take me.


    He opened up his Status screen.


    [Status


    Name: James Robard


    Race: Evolver Human, Lv. 27


    Class: Predator in Human Skin, Lv. 32


    Job: Fisher King, Lv. 23


    Health: 225/35,344


    Mana: 33,660/33,660


    Stamina: 33,124/33,124


    Wrath Meter: 0%


    Stats


    Strength: 154


    Agility: 166


    Stamina: 182


    Fortitude: 188


    Dexterity: 140


    Perception: 192


    Will: 198


    Intelligence: 170


    Charisma: 200


    Stealth: 180


    Free Points: 0


    Skills


    Affinity of the Fisher King, Lv. 4


    Air Strike, Lv. 5


    Aura of the Fisher King, Lv. 6


    Basic Elemental Magic: Earth, Lv. 4


    Basic Elemental Magic: Gravity, Lv. 4


    Basic Elemental Magic: Water, Lv. 4


    Basic Non-Elemental Magic, Lv. 2


    Berserk Mode, Lv. 0


    Blame Avoidance, Lv. 5


    Blessing of the Fisher King, Lv. 5


    Command Presence, Lv. 1


    Command Structure


    Compulsion, Lv. 5


    Curse of the Fisher King, Lv. 1


    Dense Bones, Lv. 1


    Dominion


    Dreamwalk, Lv. 7


    Echolocation, Lv. 0


    Empathic Projection, Lv. 12


    Enhanced Stem Cell Production, Lv. 9


    False Reality, Lv. 6


    Fate Resistance


    Full Body Control, Lv. 5


    Goodwill of the Fisher King, Lv. 5


    Hand of Glory, Lv. 2


    Identify, Lv. 9


    Illusion Magic, Lv. 5


    Indeterminate Past, Lv. 0


    Intelligence of the Fisher King, Lv. 2


    Laying on Hands, Lv. 7


    Lightning Strike, Lv. 3


    Loyal Following, Lv. 5


    Mass Blessing of the Fisher King, Lv. 2


    Mass Pillage, Lv. 2


    Meteor Strike, Lv. 3


    Mind of the Predator, Lv. 7


    Monster Control, Lv. 9


    Monster Generation, Lv. 9


    Natural Camouflage, Lv. 3


    Omnivore, Lv. 6


    Organization, Lv. 6


    Otherworldly Shriek, Lv. 1


    Pain Resistance, Lv. 9


    Perfect Choice of Words, Lv. 7


    Pillage, Lv. 12


    Predator¡¯s Missile, Lv. 3


    Predator¡¯s Sacred Armor, Lv. 2


    Predator¡¯s Strike, Lv. 6


    Predator¡¯s Venomous Armaments, Lv. 1


    Proficient Silk Fabrication, Lv. 2


    Rapid Recovery, Lv. 7


    Self-Control, Lv. 4


    Shed Skin, Lv. 9


    Silent Spellcasting


    Skill Fusion


    Skill Transfer


    Solar Ray, Lv. 2


    Solar Recovery, Lv. 4


    Soul Bind, Lv. 1


    Soul Magic, Lv. 2


    Spellbinding Words, Lv. 2


    Summon Divine Helper, Lv. 1


    System Interface


    System Store Access


    Territorial Control, Lv. 5


    Thick Skin, Lv. 1


    Threads of Fate, Lv. 1


    Universal Language Comprehension


    Way of the Predator, Lv. 6


    Will of the Fisher King, Lv. 2


    Zone of Influence, Lv. 1


    Talents


    Alpha Presence, Lv. 1


    Basic Spellcraft, Lv. 6


    Brutal Strength


    Cannibalism, Lv. 6The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Cool-Headed, Lv. 8


    Earth Affinity


    Efficient Magic, Lv. 5


    Elementalist


    Fisher Land Management, Lv. 5


    Fisher Sentient Resources, Lv. 4


    Flame Affinity


    Genius Loci, Lv. 2


    Leadership, Lv. 5


    Manipulation, Lv. 9


    Marksmanship, Lv. 4


    Mass Manipulation, Lv. 3


    Monster Patriarch, Lv. 9


    Ogre Constitution, Lv. 1


    Pain Resistance, Lv. 3


    Selective Empathy, Lv. 6


    Solar Power, Lv. 3


    Soul Eater, Lv. 1


    Ultrasonic Pitch, Lv. 0


    Water Affinity


    Titles


    A Stitch in Time


    Aeromaster


    Avenger


    Blessed One of Vidarr


    Chosen One of Anansi


    Citizen of the Dead Marsh


    Deceiver


    Devout Beacon


    Dreamweaver


    Figure of Destiny


    Friend of All Spiders


    Living Legend


    Pack Leader


    Pillar of Creation


    Ruler of the Dark Waters


    Savior


    Silencer


    Spider-King


    Storyteller


    Sublime Creator


    Swiss Army Mage


    System Pioneer


    Trickster


    Usurper


    Xenocide II]


    The first thing James noticed about his Status was that his Health was still ludicrously low. He apparently had 225/35,344 Health remaining.


    You could kill me with a feather, he thought.


    Then he was delving into his Skills again.


    James was struck by several weaknesses that he thought were holding him back.


    My magic is all still at the basic level, I have only a handful of other attacking options besides just beating people to death with raw Strength, and besides Pillage and my self-healing Skills, almost everything else is under-leveled¡­


    The newer Skills were not particularly impressive either.


    [Thick Skin: Grow thick layers of skin that dampen the force of attacks and make it less likely that cutting and piercing attacks cause bleeding.]


    [Dense Bones: Develop strong, dense bones that endure heavy blows more effectively.]


    The fact that the descriptions were very short suggested to James that the abilities were fairly basic. Most of his stronger Skills had longer descriptions than that. More than one sentence at least.


    So I should try to use Skill Fusion and combine those with something to amplify one of my other Skills¡­


    Fortunately, most of James¡¯s bread and butter Skills were more inspiring.


    [Monster Generation: Create new monsters from parts of yourself. Designate biomass within, or recently connected to, your body, hold the design of your monster and which of your Skills you wish it to inherit firmly in your mind, and inject sufficient Mana to give it life. Effectiveness scales with all aspects of your personal power.]


    [Predator¡¯s Strike: An unusually precise, swift, and deadly movement evocative of the power of a hidden predator suddenly springing from cover. Enhances any form of attack, whether physical, magical, or otherwise aligned. Activation cost of 10% of base Stamina. Effect scales with all physical Stats. Ability may develop with your Class.]


    [Predator¡¯s Venomous Armaments: Imbue your attacks with venom synthesized from your own body. Consumed varying amounts of biomass, Stamina, and Mana based on the user¡¯s nature and intent. Effectiveness varies based on the user''s body composition, Mana, and other Skills. Venom is harmless to the user.]


    Those are all great Skills, James thought, sighing. Powerful¡ªand already pretty much perfect.


    He thought it would be wonderful if he could combine a couple of his more mediocre Skills and get something close to those iconic abilities in effectiveness.


    I think Thick Skin and Dense Bones are pretty worthless on their own. Soul Bind isn¡¯t actually very useful, so maybe fuse that with something. Even Natural Camouflage isn¡¯t really necessary. I still have the Shapechanger¡¯s Cloak in my magic satchel, and I can transfer the Invisibility and Shapechange Skills from that to my body if I want a permanent method for hiding. Not that I need it. Soul Bind isn¡¯t a great Skill either, currently. It might be better if I could combine it with another Skill, so I don¡¯t have to be touching the target to hold it in place. And then there¡¯s the Berserk Mode Skill. Now that I¡¯m with my family, I¡¯m never angry enough to use it, and there¡¯s also a non-zero chance that I could go berserk around them. All of that counsels in favor of combining it with something or just getting rid of it altogether.


    James had already considered different some of this while he was in the wyvern, but it was different now that he was back in his own body. He hadn¡¯t had access to any of his Skill descriptions while he was away, and he had kept being distracted by the pleasure of flying.


    Now that he was lying alone in a darkened room, he had almost nothing to do but mess around with his Status.


    But several of his Titles called out for his attention first. In particular, the Titles James had obtained from Vidarr, besides the Blessed One of Vidarr Title, were completely new to him. He had been knocked unconscious by the System almost immediately after he obtained them. So, now, even though he could not change them as he could change his Skills by fusing them together, he gave each new Title a good hard look.


    [Pillar of Creation: A god of vengeance is an enduring force, scorning danger until the mission is accomplished. The same is true of his faithful servants. As the recipient of Vidarr¡¯s blessing, gain substance and develop a deeper stability. You will not die easily.]


    [Avenger: A god of vengeance is defined by his grudges, as are his faithful servants. When you feel that you have a legitimate grievance against an opponent for past wrongs, enjoy a dramatic power boost, varying in intensity with the depth of the wrong. Gain increased efficacy for abilities that depend on negative emotionality.]


    [Silencer: A god of vengeance does not mince words in the thick of the mission, nor does he allow others the opportunity to spout pointless verbiage. The same is true of his faithful servants. As the recipient of Vidarr¡¯s blessing, gain additional power when you are focused on defeating an opponent or group of opponents and have ceased speaking for at least one minute. Enjoy a high probability of inflicting the ¡°Silenced¡± condition on the opponent(s) by sheer proximity, varying in likelihood with how long you maintain your silence and how focused you are on the battle.]


    Yeah, I¡¯m going to be a powerhouse, James thought. Even more than I was. Ignoring the pompous wording that seems to reflect Vidarr¡¯s slightly eccentric personality, I have to be grateful. That Silencer Title seems like it would make me some kind of Mage-killing machine, since as far as I¡¯ve seen, most of them need to chant to use magic. Avenger would work really well with Berserk Mode, although I still haven¡¯t ever tapped into that Skill. It¡¯s even possible that the Pillar of Creation Title kept me alive when the System tried to kill me before¡­


    He ran his eyes over the Skills once more, considering how he might combine some of them and how well those combinations might fit with his new Titles and existing repertoire of abilities. Then a sound jolted him out of his focus.


    What are you doing, master? Roscuro¡¯s voice murmured into James¡¯s mind.


    Oh, right, James thought. I guess I¡¯m not quite alone even if it feels like it.


    Taking stock of my Skills and Titles, James replied telepathically. I want to optimize myself so that random events like what happened in the forest can¡¯t take me out of commission so easily. And if I can get stronger before I¡¯ve recovered, then being injured is also slightly less of a nuisance.


    Mm, wise thinking, Roscuro replied. For a while, there, I had suspected that you were actually making life difficult for yourself on purpose with the long list of Skills you possess. As you know, I see and hear what you do, generally, so I have seen your Status sheet many times. The Stats themselves were incredibly powerful, but I saw instantly that there was no way that you could actually train all of those Skills. I guessed that by acquiring so many, you must be deliberate handicapping yourself, trying to make each battle slightly more difficult. It seemed consistent with the fearless and bloodthirsty fighter who ripped me apart with his bare hands¡­ Still, I am relieved to know that you are taking your situation more seriously now. After all, no matter how confident you are in your power, and no matter how much honor there is in winning battles in which you deliberately put yourself at a disadvantage, you do have your family to consider¡­


    James swallowed and did not immediately respond.


    He thought I was trying not to optimize myself, on purpose. Really? The Soul Eater is mocking me, right?


    But James suspected that was not the case. Roscuro didn¡¯t seem to care much for banter most of the time, and he was probably too afraid or respectful of James, as the person who had killed the Soul Eater in the first place, to make fun of him. Roscuro had also mentioned that he had been a warrior of some sort in a previous life, so it was plausible that codes of honor were something he had once believed in and took seriously, though Roscuro was certainly more evil than that now.


    Have I really been planning my pursuit of power that poorly? he wondered.


    Thank you for those thoughtful words, he sent to Roscuro in a serious tone. I will consider my modifications carefully¡­


    Then James began finally messing around with Skill Fusion, looking for stronger combinations of Skills.


    Looking over the Skills he had barely trained, Basic Non-Elemental Magic was near the top of the list.


    He tried a temporary combination of Thick Skin, Dense Bones, and Non-Elemental Magic, but that created Invisible Shell, which seemed to be redundant, a less powerful version of Predator¡¯s Sacred Armor. He attempted a couple of other fusions with Thick Skin, but they were generally fairly feeble Skills that he would not use, and he quickly defused them.


    James¡¯s first permanent Skill Fusion of the afternoon involved a Skill he had never thought he would risk giving up: Silent Spellcasting.


    But he replaced it with something he expected would be even more powerful.


    James finalized his initial Skill Fusion selections. Silent Spellcasting fused with Natural Camouflage to make Hidden Magic.


    [Hidden Magic: Employing a subtlety reflective of magical mastery, the user casts magic without giving off any perceptible sign. Magic of average complexity becomes a matter of pure Intelligence and Will, a reflex akin to breathing or thought, requiring minimal focus. The user¡¯s Mana is rendered permanently invisible, silent, and intangible during casting, even to the user. Effectiveness is unreliable against beings above mortal tier.]


    James sucked in a breath as he read the last line of the description. He remembered the phrase, ¡°Effectiveness is unreliable against beings above mortal tier.¡± It had been a part of the descriptions for the Ring of Truth and the Ring of Lies that Anansi gave him.


    This was the first Skill he had ever created that had that modifier.


    A phrase that came up in the descriptions for items given to me by a god¡­


    James thought it had to be significant. Hidden Magic would have mundane utility. It wasn¡¯t game-breaking as far as he could tell. But it might represent the peak of what it was possible for Skill Fusion to create, at least until James himself grew stronger and perhaps rose to a new tier of power.


    That looks like quite a Skill, Roscuro whispered in James¡¯s mind, echoing James¡¯s thoughts.


    It¡¯s definitely one of the most impressive I¡¯ve ever acquired, James acknowledged.


    More than that, this will just be incredibly useful, James thought. In combination with the Elementalist Talent, which allows me to use elemental magic without casting time, I¡¯ll be able to use whatever elemental magic I want suddenly and without any warning. He smiled. I guess I¡¯m going to start leveling up those elemental magic Skills again¡­


    Be careful with it, Roscuro added after a moment. The Skill will give you incredible offensive and defensive leverage in many future engagements, but if it makes your Mana completely imperceptible even to you, you may not recognize when you are overusing it. Suddenly running out of Mana in a fight is¡­ most unpleasant.


    James had the distinct impression that the Soul Eater was speaking from experience.


    I will keep that in mind, he replied.


    That seems like a good reason to practice using my new Skill¡­

 V5Ch9-Productive Tinkering Part 2

    James¡¯s body was drained almost to the last drop in terms of Health, despite Mina and Yulia¡¯s best efforts to heal him, but his Mana pools were completely full.


    He could have tried to heal himself with Laying on Hands, but considering that he had passive healing Skills already, and Mina and Yulia had spent hours using magic to try and patch him up, he guessed that the process would not be rushed by adding mediocre self-healing efforts.


    Instead of wasting Mana trying to repair his broken body, James began testing out his new Skill. First, he used Basic Elemental Magic: Earth to lift the floor and move a mirror that his wife had set up across the room until it was positioned on a raised platform, poised so that James could see his full frame reflected.


    Then he started casting.


    First, it was picking apart the floor with his earth magic, seeing how many rocks he could levitate at once. But the better demonstration of his new abilities was when he started using Basic Elemental Magic: Water.


    That Skill involved him creating water from nothing, in a quantity dependent on the amount of Mana used, so it was easy to play around with it while also gauging the cost of each new orb of water conjured.


    The combination of his Elementalist Talent and the Hidden Magic Skill meant that water simply appeared as soon as James willed it, with no glow of Mana, and then moved according to his whim.


    This really feels magical, he thought, as he ordered the collective ball of water to swirl around in circles over his head. It was almost like psychic power. Magic used at the speed of thought.


    He was very cognizant of the fact that his Silencer Title meant that in an actual fight with an average Mage type, he would likely be the only one able to use magic¡ªsince unlike most Mages, he did not require chanting.


    A slow smile spread across his face as the water spun faster and faster in its arc overhead, while he watched his Mana barely decrease.


    As soon as he allowed the ball of water to move with its own inertia, he noticed, his Mana started to quickly refill itself, as he would have expected from his Rapid Recovery Skill. He observed that when he stopped casting, the rate of recovery seemed to be about 36 points of Mana every ten seconds.


    At that rate, my entire massive pool of Mana could be refilled in three hours, he estimated. If Rapid Recovery is doing something similar with Health and Stamina, then the only reason for my failure to recover must be some form of System-imposed penalty for anyone caught within the radius of the attack that destroyed Vidarr¡¯s avatar.


    As James was patting himself on the back for his deduction and thinking about what this might mean for the next steps in his recovery, he caught a flicker of movement in the corner of the room.


    His eyes darted after it, narrowed, and then spied the source.


    ¡°Is that you, Hester?¡± he asked quietly.


    The little spider stopped crawling around for a moment.


    ¡°It¡¯s me, sir,¡± she said in a tired but pleased voice. ¡°I¡¯m glad to see you¡¯re feeling a bit better.¡±


    ¡°I was going to say the same to you!¡± James replied.


    They shared a quick laugh, and Hester explained that she had actually recovered enough from laying her eggs to regain consciousness around the time that Mina brought his seemingly lifeless body back to the room.


    Seeing the situation, however, the spider had chosen not to distract Mina and Yulia as the sisters began the healing process. Instead, she entered her sleep-like state and continued recovering her own energy until she sensed James moving around on his own.


    James, in turn, explained all that had happened while his chronicler was unconscious.


    ¡°Wow, so you were interacting with a god all this time, huh?¡± Hester said awkwardly. ¡°Crazy stuff. I had no idea¡­¡±


    James was not wearing the Ring of Lies, but his personal bullshit detector started blaring loudly.


    ¡°So, you knew?¡± he asked bluntly.


    ¡°Lord Anansi telling me anything at all about a mysterious visitor who you were unable to Identify gave it away,¡± she replied. ¡°I couldn¡¯t be sure, but I did have an inkling. The System polices this fairly strictly, I think, and if I had voiced my suspicion, it¡¯s possible that he would have been booted sooner.¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡± James was not happy to be the last to know anything, but he decided it would let it slide this time. ¡°How was the egg-laying process?¡±


    ¡°It was magical, sir,¡± Hester said in a deadpan that made James laugh.


    Soon, they were both chuckling quietly, any ill-feeling forgotten.


    ¡°This does shorten my lifespan, though,¡± Hester admitted.


    ¡°How long?¡± James asked sharply.


    ¡°I probably have about a year left with you, maybe a little more or a little less,¡± the spider replied, trying to affect nonchalance. James could hear the slight melancholy in her tone.


    ¡°That¡¯s terrible, Hester,¡± James said quietly.


    ¡°I knew what I was signing up for when I asked for this assignment,¡± she replied. ¡°And you don¡¯t have to worry about my duties going unfulfilled. By the time I pass, I¡¯ll have trained my children to replace me and passed on your whole story to them. I promise¡ª¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I was worried about,¡± James said, cutting her off.


    ¡°Yes, I know, sir.¡± Hester let out a tiny spider sigh. ¡°Believe it or not, I¡¯m not as upset about it as you probably are. Spiders have a different sense of mortality. Every day, there¡¯s a chance to get eaten. Every year is a much more meaningful decrease in our lifespans than it is for you¡ªeven if we have not had the honor of accepting work that is explicitly expected to shorten it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true¡­¡± James said. He allowed his voice to trail off. For once, he felt at a loss for words. Yes, his Skills would probably give him exactly the correct words to say to sound like he gave a damn about Hester¡¯s apparent impending death, but he did not want to signal anything right now. He was actually upset, and he imagined she felt the same way.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°Well, I just wanted to check in on you and see how you were doing,¡± Hester said quietly. ¡°And I¡¯m glad we had this chat, painful though it was. I knew it had to happen eventually.¡±


    James nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go back to resting now,¡± Hester added.


    Get well soon, James thought. But of course he couldn¡¯t say that. The spider was dying, after all. Not getting well.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go back to optimizing myself,¡± he said after a moment. ¡°When you feel well enough, you go back behind my ear, all right? It feels cold without you there. Bring your little ones, too. I might as well get to know them sooner rather than later.¡±


    Hester waited a moment before responding with a simple, ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    James waited for her to go back to her sleep-like state before he finished manipulating the water. It had held still, hovering in the air, through the entire conversation with the spider, and James was now ready to stop fooling around with that and return to further improving his Skills.


    He pulled the water through the air with his mind until it was right above his head, and then he slowly drank it all down.


    Then he opened his Status screen again, and he began considering what to do with some Skills that were borderline useless presently.


    Thick Skin, Soul Bind, Blame Avoidance, Spellbinding Words, and Compulsion were all abilities he wanted to get rid of for one reason or another. He suspected Thick Skin would not make him noticeably safer and more durable than he already was. Soul Bind was too limited by requiring him to touch another being and anchor them in place by holding their soul still. Blame Avoidance simply seemed unnecessary with his other political management Skills. Spellbinding Words was redundant with his other verbal Skills.


    And lastly, Compulsion was just loathsome. James had wanted an excuse to be rid of it for some time. Maybe today would be the day.


    He started experimenting with Skill Fusion again.


    The first temporary combination he made was Compulsion with Spellbinding Words. That resulted in a Skill called Soul-Swaying Speech. It was basically Compulsion, if applied by speaking rather than eye contact and usable on a mass audience.


    Powerful but creepy, he thought. Just like Compulsion¡­


    He could not immediately discount the value of the Skill, but he defused it nevertheless. If he could find something a little less coercive, he would prefer a slightly less transparently evil Skill. Controlling masses of mind-controlled minions through speech was hardly compatible with the hands-off way he wanted to perform most of his leadership, anyway. If anything, James was politically too attached to liberty for his own good, considering that he was currently an absolute monarch.


    He tried fusing Soul Bind and Otherworldly Shriek next, which resulted in Soul-Shattering Shriek. It was exactly the sort of Skill he had expected to generate with that Skill Fusion, though considering that it could destroy the hearers¡¯ souls, there were obvious problems with it.


    James had heard his own voice when he performed the Otherworldly Shriek. It was loud. This meant that he could only use this Skill if he was fighting by himself against large numbers of enemies who had the ability to hear him. If there were any allies nearby, James might well rend their souls to pieces with his voice.


    Nope, next¡­


    The next Skill Fusion felt more promising.


    Compulsion and Soul Bind combined to make Soul-Freezing Gaze, and James knew almost immediately that the Skill was a keeper.


    [Soul-Freezing Gaze: Paralyze an enemy¡¯s body by freezing their very soul. Requires eye contact. Requires that the user¡¯s Will overpower the target¡¯s.]


    That will be a great tool for finishing an opponent off, he thought. Depending on how paralyzing it actually is, I might even be able to kill someone with a glance, if they just stop breathing¡­ Plus, the description doesn¡¯t even mention it consuming any resources!


    The next winning combination in James¡¯s mind was Spellbinding Words with Otherworldly Shriek. The two Skills fused into Hypnotic Shriek.


    [Hypnotic Shriek: Release a powerful shriek that penetrates the hearers¡¯ bodies and minds. The sound has a probability of causing confusion, breaking the enemy¡¯s will to fight, or causing enemies to fight among themselves or fail to defend themselves effectively. Effectiveness varies with the user¡¯s Charisma, Will, and Strength. Consumes Mana and Stamina.]


    While less straightforward and probably less reliable than Soul-Freezing Gaze, this was a straightforward improvement to the Otherworldly Shriek Skill, and it did not come with any notable downsides. James decided he would keep this.


    Next, to replace the Natural Camouflage Skill that he had already disposed of, James used Basic Non-Elemental Magic to form a small invisible hand, he took his magic satchel, and he removed his Shapechanger¡¯s Cloak. He had Pillaged the item from the Alpha Desert Coyote and hardly used it since departing Orientation. Now the invisible hand placed the cloak over James¡¯s lap, and he used Skill Transfer to remove the Skills inside it and add them to his body¡ªrendering the cloak nothing but a bit of cloth.


    Now I have Shapechange and Invisibility. Much better than just sort of blending in with rocks and other environmental objects sometimes.


    Finally, James decided to combine Blame Avoidance, Thick Skin, and Basic Non-Elemental Magic. The Basic Non-Elemental Magic Skill was useful, as James¡¯s use of it just now had shown. However, the uses were fairly niche; it was unlikely that he would spend much of his life paralyzed. Basic Non-Elemental Magic did not seem likely, considering the times he had used it, to be more potent than other magic in combat. And unlike his other magic skills, it was not boosted by his Elementalist Talent, which meant that it would slowly lose efficacy relative to his elemental magic Skills.


    Plus, at this point, James was having a lot of fun playing with Skill Fusion. He wondered why he had been so reluctant to see any Skills disappear permanently before. He could get most of these back with Pillage eventually anyway.


    The result of this Skill Fusion was Passive Improbable Evasion.


    [Passive Improbable Evasion: You have attained an aura of mystical power that surrounds you constantly, like a second skin. Even without you consciously engaging in self-defense, such power makes it difficult to harm you. Deflects nearby movement that registers as aggressive toward the user, even if the user is unconscious or otherwise incapacitated. Consumes Mana when activated.]


    I bet that Skill gains experience whenever someone takes a swing or a shot at me, James, thought, amused. So it¡¯ll be leveling up pretty much as soon as I can get out of bed. And I don¡¯t have to worry so much about not being healed yet. Weak attacks, at least, will be unable to touch me.


    Still enthused after his repeated apparent successes, James decided that he was not done after all.


    He thought he could at least try to look for another Skill or two that he couldn¡¯t use¡ªor that could enhance each other with Skill Fusion.


    He spent a few minutes scouring his Skill sheet before finally making his selections.


    He picked the Dense Bones Skill, which he had seen no real use for. He already had bones strong enough for him to cave in the skulls of the ogres that he acquired the Skill from, after all, and he now had a permanent passive defensive ability.


    And he fused it with Illusion Magic. He hoped that the result would strengthen Illusion Magic somehow, but the actual outcome was far better than he could have imagined.


    [Complete Illusion Magic: Grants the ability to craft illusions that are more real than reality, affecting all senses of the target(s). Illusions have a non-zero probability of physical effect on the world, which increases with levels. Costs mana.]


    Wow. This might be the final form of Illusion Magic, he thought.


    You are going to wreak havoc with that Skill, master, Roscuro whispered in James¡¯s ear. I cannot wait to see how you apply it to masses of enemies¡­


    That¡¯s right, James replied. From now on, reality for my enemies is whatever I want it to be¡­


    A slow smile crept across his face.


    Then the door opened, and a light fell across the Fisher King and the bedspread.


    ¡°James?¡± Mina¡¯s voice rang through the air. ¡°Are you awake? There¡¯s something I wanted to discuss with you¡­¡±

 V5Ch10-Before the Ascent

    ¡°James?¡± Mina called again.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m here,¡± James replied in a loud, clear voice. ¡°Sorry, I was just watching you standing there, framed against the light. Looking like an angel.¡±


    Mina stepped through the doorway, shaking her head, slightly flustered but smiling. James lay there, clearly wide awake, watching her.


    I guess I don¡¯t need to worry about waking him up, at least, she thought.


    Mina stood with a hand on the doorsill, bracing herself against it. Was there a monster in here? Something had changed about the room, and she was slightly worried about walking into some sort of surprise. Perhaps something that James would have forgotten all about already.


    Then it hit her what must have happened, improbable though it seemed.


    ¡°Did you rearrange the room?¡± she asked after a moment.


    ¡°Oh.¡± James chuckled. ¡°I just moved the mirror.¡± He seemed to twitch his chin slightly¡ªhis body was clearly still mostly immobile¡ªand Mina saw a small platform standing in front of the bed sink into the floor. Then the only object out of place was her full length mirror, which had been moved to the platform somehow.


    So, he can at least use magic again. He has recovered a little, at least.


    She had come to heal Zora, rather than James, but she wondered if he might give her permission to try Laying on Hands on him again. If she could help him recover even a little more quickly, the whole Kingdom would be more secure, and he could help heal Zora himself.


    She wondered how to broach that subject.


    ¡°If you needed the room redecorated, you could have asked me, you know?¡± Mina said lightly. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to be resting!¡±


    ¡°I am,¡± James acknowledged. ¡°And I have been. I was just rearranging my Status screen. I also needed to look at myself in the mirror for a bit.¡±


    Mina raised an eyebrow at that and thought about questioning it, then shook her head again. He was just being vain, I guess?


    ¡°It¡¯s easy to forget that before the System, you had almost as much clothing as me,¡± she said at last.


    James shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s nothing to do with¡ªwhat did you want to discuss, exactly?¡±


    ¡°A couple of things,¡± Mina said. ¡°First, something about your son.¡±


    ¡°Oh, my son,¡± James said, grinning. ¡°What sort of trouble is he causing, then?¡±


    Mina couldn¡¯t help but return the smile. Yes, that is what I mean by calling Junior your son¡­


    ¡°It¡¯s not exactly trouble. It¡¯s¡­¡± She searched for words. ¡°Well, he started refusing the breast.¡±


    James¡¯s expression changed in an instant. ¡°Is he sick? I haven¡¯t blessed him yet. Maybe if you bring him over¡­¡±


    ¡°No, no blessings until you¡¯re well!¡± Mina exclaimed. ¡°He¡¯s not sick, so don¡¯t be worried. I should have led with that. At least I don¡¯t think he¡¯s sick. But you can¡¯t be blessing people right now, skapi, you were just on death¡¯s door!¡±


    ¡°Fine, fine,¡± James said, looking a little impatient. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with our son?¡±


    ¡°I thought it was strange that he wasn¡¯t taking the nipple anymore, but I didn¡¯t panic. He seemed okay. He was just holding his mouth shut, not interested in milk today. So, I asked Yulia if she noticed anything odd. She said that when she was watching him outside, she put him down, and Junior was playing in the soil. He¡¯s been gripping things lately, you see, even though he¡¯s just a couple of months old. It¡¯s a little early, I think.¡±


    James just nodded. Mina guessed that the conversation about developmental stages could wait for another day.


    ¡°So, he was digging,¡± she continued, ¡°and he started pulling up earthworms. Yulia showed one to me, and its species was just, ¡®Fisher Kingdom Earthworm.¡¯ And apparently, our baby started eating these earthworms. Yulia saw it after a minute¡ªshe thinks she might have missed a few earthworms before she started to notice it¡ªand she was naturally horrified. She tried to make him spit them out, or throw up but he didn¡¯t¡ª¡±


    ¡°Wait, what, so you¡¯re telling me now he eats earthworms?¡± James asked, smiling.


    Mina wanted to shake him. You¡¯re supposed to be horrified! she thought. This is insane!


    She forced herself to remain calm and restrained. ¡°Skapi, babies do not eat earthworms. Newborns¡ªlike our son arguably still is¡ªdo not eat anything solid. They drink breast milk, or formula if the mother cannot produce enough breast milk¡ªor some kind of substitute, maybe, in the ancient world, I don¡¯t know¡ªor they stave. Their stomachs are not adapted to eating meat or rice or any solid foods, let alone earthworms or bugs or something¡­¡± Mina let out a slow breath. She realized she was allowing herself to get a little worked up about this, as she had when Yulia first gave her the news.


    ¡°But our baby eats earthworms?¡± James said. He was not smiling as broadly before, but his lips were flirting with a smile.


    Mina shook her head and pursed her lips¡ªbut finally smiled.


    ¡°Yes,¡± she acknowledged. ¡°Our baby likes eating solid stuff now and doesn¡¯t want milk anymore for some reason.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not starving, then?¡± James asked.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°No,¡± Mina said. ¡°He¡¯s not starving.¡±


    ¡°Cool. A lot certainly does happen when I¡¯m not around.¡± He gave a very feeble, limp version of a shrug.


    Mina was somewhere between pulling out her hair and bursting out laughing.


    ¡°He takes after his father,¡± she finally said.


    James has eaten much stranger things than worms¡­


    ¡°Was there something else you wanted to talk about?¡± James asked, smiling beatifically now.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Mina said. ¡°Two more things. First, I was interested in revisiting the question of who should be our first priority for healing¡ª¡±


    ¡°My mother,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯ve just been laying here observing the way my body has recovered and how my Health is behaving, and it¡¯s healing very slowly. I think the System did something so that I will heal from my injuries supernaturally slowly in any case, sort of like a penalty for defying it. Whereas I can hear my Mom¡¯s breathing and heartbeat, and she seems like she needs just another little burst of healing, and she¡¯ll wake up. Please prioritize her. I¡¯ll heal in my own time, and I¡¯m in no danger in my present condition. I¡¯ve just been improving my defenses.¡±


    Whatever you say, skapi, she thought. I suppose you know best about this.


    ¡°Okay,¡± Mina said softly. ¡°Sounds like you¡¯ve thought of everything. The last thing was something specifically for me.¡±


    ¡°Go ahead,¡± James said. He looked completely unperturbed by her previous question, which only added a sense of finality to his answer.


    Mina first walked over to the door and closed it, then sat down at the end of the bed by James¡¯s feet, facing away from him, before she began to speak.


    She felt strange about this conversation, and she did not want James to start reading into her facial expressions and forget about what she was asking him.


    ¡°I am at the point of Race Evolution,¡± she said. ¡°Ever since the Dungeon, I¡¯ve been ready. But we went straight from there into you sending the army out, and then the System tried to kill you¡­ Before I evolve, I wanted your tips on what to do. I¡¯ve asked a couple of other people, and I understand that for the Race Evolution, I will be temporarily transported to another plane of existence. I will not be able to return here and consult you about my options, so I wanted to know what you think about this in advance. You have already gone through it, and I picked my initial Class based on a discussion with you, after all. So, what are your thoughts?¡± She finished her question breathlessly and placed her hands on her knees, trying to contain her mixture of excitement and dread. The more she had thought about Race Evolution, the more she had anticipated it, but her feelings were not all positive.


    She had heard disturbing stories from the few people she had asked about it. Hilda had mentioned someone she encountered who had suddenly evolved into an Elemental and tried to kill his former acquaintances. And Alice had visited the apartment to see Zora, during which Mina learned that someone in Alice¡¯s Orientation had chosen to evolve into an Ogre. The change had made the man moodier, more aggressive, and volatile. Mina was less certain now that she would be given options she would find acceptable.


    She had not just been waiting for James to wake up and give her advice; she had been stalling after a fashion, making an excuse to put off the dangerous choice.


    James nodded thoughtfully and lay there thinking for a few seconds before he answered.


    ¡°I would pick something humanoid, please,¡± he said. ¡°Ideally something that is not hideously ugly.¡± He smiled. ¡°It¡¯s hard to imagine you being anything other than cute, but please don¡¯t pick Reptilian if it gets offered.¡±


    ¡°Reptilian?¡±


    ¡°It was a choice I was presented with. Would have made me like a human lizard. The other options I was given were Dhampir¡ªthat¡¯s a half-vampire, half-human¡ªOgre, Wraith¡ª¡±


    ¡°Like Sister Strange and her siblings,¡± Mina murmured.


    What put that in his option set?


    James grimaced. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯m glad I declined that one. You have to consume souls to live. Anyway, the last two options were Evolved Human and Evolver Human. I don¡¯t recommend the former option, because it caps your potential. It¡¯s okay if you pick something that isn¡¯t actually human. Think about your growth before everything else. You¡¯re just starting to catch up with me now.¡± His tone straddled the line between encouraging and teasing. ¡°It would be a shame if you gave up the race.¡±


    Mina chuckled and turned back to look at him. ¡°Skapi, you¡¯re so competitive.¡±


    ¡°Says the person who refuses to play board games because she can¡¯t stand to lose at anything.¡±


    ¡°No, it was because you and your family are too intense! You play like it¡¯s life or death.¡±


    James gave another one of those strange shrugs that looked incredibly weak, almost boneless. ¡°Get good or get out,¡± he said jokingly.


    ¡°Before we get completely distracted, did you have any other actual advice for me? I want to do the Race Evolution today. I haven¡¯t been gaining additional levels, but I¡¯m eager to take more opportunities to level up. I feel like I¡¯ll be safer once my body isn¡¯t as weak.¡±


    ¡°I wish I could actually see your options,¡± James said. ¡°But as for generic advice, I just recommend staying relatively humanoid, and I would suggest thinking about what kinds of Stats you need for the type of fighter you want to be. You¡¯re a Witch of Thessaly now, so even if you¡¯re worried about being physically tough, a Race Evolution that doesn¡¯t boost your Will or Intelligence probably doesn¡¯t make sense.¡±


    ¡°Well, thank you for the advice,¡± Mina said doubtfully.


    ¡°There¡¯s one more thing,¡± James added. ¡°The process is painful. Physically painful. Like your body is being torn apart and rebuilt from the ground up. But it¡¯s also necessary.¡± His voice turned tender. ¡°I might not always be there to stand between you and danger, and if you¡¯re on your own, you have to be able to protect yourself and the baby. If you don¡¯t evolve, you¡¯re just going to fall behind all the people who do.¡±


    Hilda had mentioned the pain, but Mina had already glossed over it in her mind.


    ¡°I pushed a child out of me, you know,¡± she said, repeating her internal thought process on the subject.


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± James replied with a wink. ¡°I wasn¡¯t there, but it¡¯s famously the most painful thing a person can endure, right? I don¡¯t know why I doubted you. You¡¯ve got this.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± Mina said, nodding resolutely, suddenly feeling very confident. ¡°I¡¯ll go and do it.¡±


    She rose from the bed, but James¡¯s voice held her for a moment longer.


    ¡°Wait,¡± he said. ¡°Why not do it here?¡±


    ¡°Oh. I guess I had it in my head that I would get comfortable first, but you¡¯re right. That¡¯s kind of silly. I won¡¯t be here, per se, will I?¡± Mina said.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± James agreed. ¡°Do it in here, please? I¡¯d like to see you¡ªto be the first one to see you¡ªwhen you come back.¡±


    Mina¡¯s mouth stretched in a big smile, and she walked over to the head of the bed, next to James. Then she bent down and kissed him tenderly on the lips.


    ¡°You made me feel a lot better about this, you know?¡± she said.


    ¡°It¡¯s what I do,¡± James said, with a cheeky grin.


    Mina straightened up and shook her head slightly.


    Then she pulled up her last System alert with a thought.


    [A Race Evolution is available. Review? Y/N]


    Mina selected Y before she could think any further about it, and the world around her instantly faded to black.


    But it was not the same sensation as being in a room with the lights turned out. There was a feeling of vast emptiness all around her.


    And Mina realized that she did not know where her body was. She could not feel her hands and feet. Something about the place¡ªmaybe the fact that it was a void-like space, vast and empty¡ªmade her want to shiver, but she did not even know for certain whether she was cold or warm.


    So, this must be the place¡­

 V5Ch11-Ascent with Modification

    Reflexively, without truly knowing what she was doing, Mina reached out to the darkness with her mind.


    There was nothing there, or it seemed as if there should not have been anything.


    But something responded. It was as if she had turned on some vast cosmic machine.


    A few stars kindled in the distance. Closer to her, several glows began to burn brightly in different colors.


    One was red, another purple, one seafoam, one lavender, and one golden.


    How many options did James have? Mina wondered. I never asked him, did I? Is five good or bad? Is more options reflective of greater achievements since the System appeared, or a lack of focus?


    Mina laughed inside her own mind. Now I really am the one being competitive¡­


    Without waiting any further, she reached for the nearest light, the red one. She had no appendages that she could identify in this place, but nevertheless, she felt that by some process, either she or the light was drawn nearer. As the distance shortened, Mina recognized that this light moved like a flame. It even flickered briefly, as if unstable.


    As she focused on it, a term presented itself to her: Evolver Human. She focused more distinctly on this term, and the description materialized in the darkness.


    Evolver Human: You have struggled, and you will go on struggling. You have fought and overcome, and you must go on fighting and winning. You have yet to reach the pinnacle, but every day is a battle with your past self and with those who threaten to overtake you. Your new form is that of an Evolver Human, an unstable state of being that must either continue on to a new stage or collapse. Gain 2 points to each stat you have unlocked up to this point with every new level in Race. If you fail to gain additional levels in your Race for an extended period, you will regress to the form of a System-Boosted Human and lose the stat points you have gained since becoming an Evolver Human. Struggle on, struggler. Struggle, fail, and struggle again. If you ever cease advancing, death will not be far behind.


    James picked this one, Mina recognized. Wait, James picked this? Was he crazy? It sounds terrible! If you¡¯re pathologically competitive, you could live this description out. I guess he qualifies, especially since the System appeared. But if you wanted to be normal, even for a few years while you raised your children, this Race description literally promises that ¡°death will not be far behind.¡± Jesus¡­


    She reflected for a moment on how James must have changed in his Orientation¡ªchanges that, even now, she had not yet fully seen in action¡ªand then she stopped as she realized something.


    I got this option too. The fact that it appeared for me¡ªwhat does that say? Does the System think that I¡¯m like him? She wasn¡¯t certain if she would consider it a good or a bad thing, to be like James in the System¡¯s eyes. Her husband was strong and fierce. She admired and loved him.


    But to admire someone was often the furthest thing from wanting to emulate them. In Mina¡¯s case, she admired James as a man, in part because he was the type of person who would be determined to protect her and their children¡ªallowing her to be more at ease in the supporting role.


    I understand why James mentioned that I should focus on what Stats are offered by each option, Mina thought. The numbers aren¡¯t necessarily going to be that disparate with each option, but the allocation tells me something. This Race grants 2 Stat points to each Stat you¡¯ve unlocked. That means it¡¯s evenly distributing the resources you gain. Rather than focused on magic, this is a Race that¡¯s focused on being able to do almost anything relatively well. But I¡¯m not a generalist. That¡¯s my husband. I¡¯m the Mage standing behind him, throwing fireballs.


    In her mind, she smiled, though Mina had no idea if there was any face to smile physically through the darkness.


    And she quietly rejected the Evolver Human option.


    Mina focused on the lavender light next. It was a pretty shade, and she hoped that if she liked the color, she might like the Race too.


    Succubus was the name that appeared.


    What?! Mina almost cursed to herself. How dare the System suggest something so vile? What do they think I am?


    She immediately moved on to the next Race without reading the description.


    The purple light near the lavender one seemed more promising.


    Dhampir: You have shown a capacity for secrecy, charisma, and an affinity with the mystic arts. You have achieved incredible results as a paranormal investigator and demonstrated promise as a cold-blooded and manipulative leader of humans, as well as the consort of another such leader. Your next stage is the form of the Dhampir, a step on the vampiric evolutionary tree. Part vampire, part human, you can choose between preying upon humanity or living as a daywalker who defends humans from your vampire cousins. Accept a weakness to sunlight in exchange for enhanced attributes across the board at night. Gain Shadow Affinity, Basic Shadow Magic, Basic Soul Magic, and 3 points to each Stat you have unlocked up to this point with every new level in Race.Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.


    Hmm. James mentioned this one. He turned it down, even though on paper, it¡¯s somewhat stronger than the Evolver Human. Maintaining humanity was more important to him, and I imagine he did not want to risk actually being forced into becoming a Vampire later. The upsides for me are even fewer than they were for James. I already acquired Soul Magic from watching James use it, and I could acquire Basic Shadow Magic, or a more advanced form of it, by studying another practitioner. The only upside for me would be the Stats.


    Not completely dismissing it, but increasingly disappointed in her options, Mina moved on to the next choice, the seafoam colored light, which seemed to flash brighter and duller at intervals. It reminded Mina a little of a lighthouse beacon.


    Siren: You have shown the capacity to beguile and manipulate with a combination of charisma, beauty, intelligence, and vulnerability, alongside a deep talent for magic. Your next step will take fullest advantage of your charm, magic, and manipulative powers by manifesting them in your physical form. The Siren is a beautiful, sensual creature, half woman and half bird. Her voice has the power to compel men and enchant the natural world. Gain Beguiling Voice, Water Affinity, Wind Affinity, and Zone of Enchantment, as well as 6 points to Will, Intelligence, and Charisma and 1 point to each other opened Stat with every new level in Race.


    The description makes me sound like some kind of seductress, just like the fact that the System included a ¡°Succubus¡± option. I¡¯ve only ever been with James. What is wrong with these administrators?! Assuming they are the ones who devise these choices¡­ No, try to analyze this Race objectively. You¡¯re running out of options. You can¡¯t shoot this one down just because you don¡¯t like the way it described you. The balance of Stats granted are actually really good¡­


    Mina reluctantly acknowledged to herself that this was the best option she had been given so far. She was a little bit afraid of what being ¡°half woman and half bird¡± might mean. James had only asked her to remain humanoid, if possible, when he was giving his input on the Race Evolution process, but she felt certain he would prefer having to deal with feathers covering her breasts or something along those lines over her becoming a Succubus or becoming a weaker version of herself¡ªwhich she felt convinced would be the eventual outcome if she chose the Evolver Human Race.


    That only leaves Dhampir, Siren, and whatever the last light is¡­


    With slowly diminishing hopes, Mina reluctantly left the description for Siren and focused on the last light, a golden-colored one that emitted a steady, warm glow.


    Fae: You have shown intelligence, beauty, and grace under great pressure, along with the social skills appropriate to a monarch¡¯s consort and a talent for the mystic arts that would be appropriate for an Archmage. You have achieved great things despite difficult circumstances and despite both natural physical weakness and a reluctance to engage in conflict. Your next stage is that of the Fae. The Fae are a mysterious and subtle Race, treading lightly and leaving few signs of their presence. Yet where they choose to be felt, their mark is indelible. Gain Basic Sacred Magic, Invisibility, Mark of the Fae, Sacred Affinity, and Zone of Enchantment, as well as 5 points to Will, Intelligence, and Charisma and 1 point to each other opened Stat with every new level in Race.


    It¡¯s technically a bit weaker than Siren, was Mina¡¯s first thought, but the balance is essentially the same. I like that it keeps my body the same¡­ hopefully? She realized that the description didn¡¯t say anything about the Fae except that they moved by ¡°treading lightly.¡±


    At least it won¡¯t make me fat, I guess. I don¡¯t want to be six inches tall like Tinkerbell, though. Mina recognized that Tinkerbell was a movie character, however. She was optimistic that a random fairy from a Disney movie was not representative of what the Fae as a Race were like.


    She spent a few minutes going back over all of the other descriptions¡ªvery pointedly except for Succubus¡ªbut finally decided to go ahead with Fae. It was the only option with no severe downsides, from her point of view.


    It would not make her as powerful as Siren, nor give her the same all-rounder capabilities as the Evolver Human. In fact, it did not assist with the physical weakness issue that she had hoped Race Evolution would help her with at all. Mina would still be frail compared to almost everything else that walked around in the System-integrated world these days.


    Still, it was almost a no-brainer.


    I¡¯m not interested in the same outcome as James for my Race Evolution choice, she thought. It¡¯s not just about optimizing power and combat potential for me.


    There was something that drew her to the Fae. Perhaps it was partially that Yulia had gotten along so well with the Pixies. The fact that the light this Evolution option gave off was a comforting, warm golden glow also didn¡¯t hurt.


    Mainly, though, Mina wanted to be a complement to James¡ªnot a competitor or a copycat. It was certainly possible for her to follow in his footsteps and try to keep up with him, but that wasn¡¯t her path. She would only ever be an inferior version, slowing him down.


    It was better to choose her own way.


    With that thought, Mina reached out to the golden glow with her mind, and she felt the light pull itself toward and then inside of her, floating into her chest and warming the area beside her heart.


    [Fae Evolution option selected! Initiating Evolution!]


    Then a wall of pain slammed into Mina, as if she was driving on the highway and suddenly struck a brick wall at full speed.


    Ahh! No¡­ James mentioned the pain, but I was thinking so hard about the Evolution that I forgot this part.


    The initial impact was the least of it. The surprise of it was half of its effect.


    But from a sudden flare up, it transformed into an all-consuming agony. The sensation was akin to billions of paper cuts across her entire body, inside and out, as her cells seemingly spontaneously tore themselves apart.


    Yeah, this is worse than giving birth¡­


    It seemed she had been wrong that the Fae Race Evolution would not require changes to her body, too. Whatever the changes might be, Mina could feel them beginning to take hold. She screamed inside of her own mind as she felt her body beginning to come undone.


    Mina flashed in and out of consciousness, memories whirling through her mind, as the System slowly reshaped her into a new woman.

 V5Ch12-Enchanted to Meet You

    Mina reappeared, what seemed moments after her disappearance, in the same place where she had been standing.


    But she was far from the same person she had been at James¡¯s last sight of her.


    Oh my God¡­


    There were no words to express how James felt at seeing his wife again. Or perhaps there were too many words. Impressed was a feeble word for it. Awestruck fit more. And intensely aroused.


    Mina had always been a pretty woman, especially in her husband¡¯s eyes. Now she literally glowed with radiant beauty. She had lost an inch or so in height and some of her weight, including all of her baby weight. Her body type had changed to a slimmer version of itself. She was more beautiful in a way that was difficult for him to immediately define. Her ears seemed to come to slight points at the top.


    And she had acquired a gentle golden aura that cast light all around her.


    ¡°You look like an angel,¡± he said, speaking before he even realized the words were on the tip of his tongue.


    Mina smiled gently, and James felt his pulse race. He controlled it with an effort.


    ¡°I am still the same old me, skapi,¡± she said.


    You sound like an angel, too, he thought. Her voice was still recognizable, but it was


    ¡°I think that¡¯s not quite true,¡± James said slowly, again carefully restraining himself from what he wanted to say. It took a conscious effort of Will. He thought that if his body was not in such terrible shape, he might have literally thrown himself at her.


    Mina stepped closer, and James noticed he could not hear her footsteps anymore. Even though he usually took little note of them, the sudden silence despite his superhuman senses was strange and a little alarming.


    Then she leaned down¡ªshe did not have to lean so far anymore, since she had actually lost a little bit of height with her Evolution¡ªand kissed him delicately on the lips.


    She pulled away. ¡°See? I am the same. Even if I may look a little different now. I hope my Race Evolution was not too terrible?¡± Her lips curled into a more uncertain smile, as if she was worried that James would reject her at any moment.


    ¡°Why are you wondering that?¡± James asked. ¡°Just look at yourself in the mirror. You might be the most beautiful woman in the world now.¡±


    Mina did give herself a glance in the mirror. James was gratified to see she was almost as surprised as him.


    ¡°Well, I guess I haven¡¯t changed too much,¡± she murmured as if reassuring herself.


    James thought that the changes he had noticed were fairly positive¡ªmainly subtly more delicate facial features, shaping her previously pretty face into movie star good looks¡ªbut he had the good sense not to say something that might imply he had been anything less than satisfied with her original beauty.


    ¡°What¡¯s your new Race?¡± he asked. ¡°Obviously not human anymore.¡±


    She turned back to him with a slight sadness in her expression. A sudden vulnerability seemed to overtake her features.


    ¡°No, not human anymore,¡± Mina confirmed in a melancholic whisper.


    Her eyes are bigger, aren¡¯t they? he thought. The difference would have to be slight, because he could barely distinguish it with the naked eye. But those eyes seemed to hold so much more emotion than they ever had before.


    ¡°It¡¯s all right,¡± James said.


    Mina nodded, seemingly half to herself and half to him.


    ¡°I hope Yulia will think so, too,¡± she said.


    ¡°Of course she will,¡± James said. ¡°She¡¯ll be happy for you. And it¡¯s something we¡¯re all going to go through at some point or other.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Mina said doubtfully, her eyes faraway, ¡°but most of the people in the Kingdom remained some form of human. I haven¡¯t seen any other people walking around glowing. The ones who stopped being human are few¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, people will reconsider that once they see you,¡± James promised. His lips broke into a grin. ¡°They¡¯ll want to be whatever you are.¡±


    ¡°Fae,¡± Mina said. ¡°That¡¯s the name of the Race.¡±


    ¡°Like fairies?¡± James asked.


    Mina nodded. ¡°I guess. I should probably know, but¡ª¡± She chuckled awkwardly¡ª¡°there were no search engines in there. Honestly, it was not a very hard decision. The other choices were mostly pretty bad. The only other reasonable choice was your Race, the Evolver Human, but¡ªI didn¡¯t think I could meet the requirements.¡± She lowered her eyes. ¡°The constant growth thing¡ªit¡¯s too much. I don¡¯t expect to keep up with you. And if I dropped back down to System-Boosted Human, after however many months or years, I would be so far behind you that I would be totally useless. So I had no real choice but to become this unrecognizable thing¡­¡±


    ¡°Why are you so sad?¡± he asked quietly. He could hear real anguish in her voice. ¡°You¡¯re beautiful. You¡¯re alive. You¡¯re going to be stronger than ever. I know it¡¯s a lot to get used to, but¡ª¡±


    ¡°Our son probably won¡¯t recognize me, skapi. Our baby boy!¡± A few tears began to flow from the edges of Mina¡¯s eyes as she continued to speak. ¡°It was so painful, and all that so I could turn into something¡ªsomething beautiful, yes, but¡ªsomething our son will not recognize. He will be afraid of his own mother, like I was some monster¡­¡± The floodgates opened, and the trickle of tears became a waterfall.


    James wanted desperately to take his weeping wife in his arms, hold her tightly, and whisper comfort into her ears until she calmed and all was right again. Unfortunately, he still couldn¡¯t move his body.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°Mina, come here,¡± he said softly. ¡°Come over here and lie down next to me.¡±


    He had to repeat himself again before she finally crawled over his body and lay down beside him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and laid her head on his chest. James could not help noting more differences in Mina¡¯s body from before. Her arms were slightly shorter, her fingers longer and more delicate, her skin somehow even softer than it had always been, and her stomach, which was pressed against his arm, felt flat and toned.


    I can understand why she would feel like she¡¯s lost a great deal, he thought. Unlike with me, the System really didn¡¯t just make improvements to her existing appearance. It threw out a lot of what made Mina herself. Her body doesn¡¯t even feel like she was pregnant before¡­ and she¡¯s right that there¡¯s every chance Junior won¡¯t recognize her. He¡¯ll learn to love her again eventually, but there¡¯s no way it wouldn¡¯t freak out a baby if his mother¡¯s appearance changed.


    He turned to Mina and whispered sweet nothings into her ear for the next ten minutes, including denying what she believed about James, Junior being afraid of the sight of her. Even though his verbal Skills were extremely potent, he avoided saying that the baby would recognize her. That seemed a little too much to promise, and he did not want to see his wife have her heart broken.


    At last, Mina seemed to calm down. Her whole body relaxed, and she moved her head up to rest it against the hollow of his neck. He inhaled the scent of her hair, and he noticed that her natural odor had shifted. It was something sweet but indescribable, like no fruit or flower he had ever smelled before.


    ¡°So, tell me about the Fae,¡± he said, finally breaking the silence that had fallen.


    ¡°The System downloaded a lot of information into my brain when I changed,¡± Mina said, seemingly happy to move on now. ¡°This is a Race that actually exists in some universes, though I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s real in our particular one. They are a Race that hides from humans, mostly. In fact, I have Invisibility, now.¡± She blinked, and suddenly she vanished from James¡¯s sight. The strange thing was that he could still feel her and even smell her.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think this is a very useful Stealth Skill,¡± he observed.


    ¡°What?¡± Mina reappeared, her eyes suddenly boring into him. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with it?¡±


    ¡°You hid your appearance, but if you were in a forest or something, the animals would still smell you,¡± James explained.


    ¡°What?¡± She shrunk back from him, lifted her arms, and sniffed underneath. ¡°Do I smell? I don¡¯t really smell anything.¡±


    ¡°No, you¡ªyou smell good,¡± James said, letting out a low chuckle. Quickly changing the subject, he added, ¡°What else can you do?¡±


    ¡°The main Race traits I gained are the abilities Basic Sacred Magic, Invisibility¡ª¡± She shot him a dirty look, and James laughed quietly again¡ª¡°Mark of the Fae, Sacred Affinity, and Zone of Enchantment. Oh, I also gained access to the Charisma Stat.¡±


    ¡°Interesting,¡± James murmured. ¡°We¡¯ll have to test all that out.¡±


    ¡°The first one I want to test is Zone of Enchantment,¡± Mina said, beaming. ¡°I think it might help¡ªwith our current situation.¡± She gestured at James¡¯s immovable body and then toward where Zora lay.


    James raised an eyebrow. ¡°You think you can heal us with this new magic? When the actual dedicated healing magic didn¡¯t work? That would be cool.¡± He added those last words as he realized that he was being negative unnecessarily, when he had spent the last ten minutes trying to cheer his wife up after she started having a near existential crisis over her Evolution.


    ¡°Well, even if it might not work, I¡¯ll at least try,¡± Mina said. She nodded to herself and sat up.


    Then she walked around the room, stopping at each corner and making strange movements with her feet, tracing patterns on the floor that only she could see. James resisted the temptation to ask her what she was doing. Apparently, Fae magic involved some form of dancing.


    Once she had repeated the pattern in the fourth corner of the room, James felt something. He sensed the change both in his physical body and through his Fisher King awareness. It was as if his body had observed a foreign pathogen entering and asked him if the immune system should attack. James dismissed the warning.


    No, please do not kill my wife and purge her energy signature from my territory, he thought mildly. This intruder is friendly.


    The changes he felt in his body were anything but negative. With his Full Body Control, he could sense much of the activity going on inside himself, as a function of his ability to exercise inhuman control over those movements. Now he felt as if large numbers of cells that had been damaged or killed were suddenly being purged and replaced at a much faster rate than they had been before.


    If my feelings are right, Mina might have doubled my healing speed, whatever it was before¡­


    ¡°What did you do?¡± James asked, looking at his wife respectfully.


    ¡°Like I said, the Zone of Enchantment.¡± She shrugged. ¡°You can place a number of different enchantments on it, but I chose healing this time, for obvious reasons.¡±


    James nodded. ¡°Well, it¡¯s working. I can feel it!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Mina asked.


    ¡°Yep. And I think it¡¯s working for my mom, too.¡± James tried to raise an arm to point at his mother, but his shoulders rolled, and his wrist just wiggled limply, and that was it.


    Still nowhere close to fixed, he thought. Big improvements happening, though. I just have to be patient. But there was at least one thing he did not want to be patient about.


    ¡°I can actually hear her breathing and her heartbeat,¡± James explained. ¡°I could hear how they improved after you and Yulia spent time healing her, and now I can hear how they¡¯re improving even more quickly in your Zone of Enchantment.¡±


    Mina smiled broadly under his praise, and her slightly crooked expression just drove home that this woman, no matter how ethereal she seemed, was still the same person, the woman he loved, even if she looked like a completely different sort of being¡ªand technically was an entirely different Race now.


    ¡°That is wonderful, skapi,¡± Mina said. ¡°How long do you think it will take for you and her to recover?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about me,¡± James said, ¡°but if you bring her to me, I think she might recover very quickly.¡±


    ¡°James?¡± Mina¡¯s expression turned a bit worried.


    ¡°Yes, I want to bless her,¡± he confirmed. ¡°I know it takes a lot out of me, but please don¡¯t try to talk me out of it. I¡¯m already going to recover resources twice as fast with your Zone of Enchantment in effect in this room anyway, and in fact, my Stamina and Mana are already full. It¡¯s just my Health that¡¯s artificially low.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to try to talk you out of it, skapi, it¡¯s just that¡ªif you¡¯re not healing normally, why would she?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking a little about that,¡± James said slowly. ¡°The best I can come up with is that I defended her from the brunt of the pressure with my body. She was crushed into the ground, but that was entirely by me crashing into her. The System didn¡¯t smash her at all, only me and Vidarr.¡±


    Mina nodded slowly.


    ¡°My theory makes sense to you?¡± James asked.


    ¡°It makes very little sense to me, but what else is new?¡± she said quietly. ¡°Nothing has made sense to me since the System separated us and threw us into other worlds to fight for our lives. Why should that change now?¡± She shook her head as if trying to dispel the negative thoughts. ¡°Forget what I just said. I¡¯ll bring your mother over to you, skapi. So you can bless her.¡±


    Mina forced a smile, and James thought that he had been very lucky in choosing his wife.


    Then she picked up Zora, cradling her like a child, and she laid her down by James¡¯s side. Mina lifted James¡¯s right hand and placed it on Zora¡¯s forehead.


    James gave his Queen a grateful smile, gathered his power, and he began to speak.


    ¡°As the Fisher King recovers rapidly from infirmity, so must your vitality and strength recuperate¡­¡±

 V5Ch13-Awakenings

    James felt weakened and slightly hollow after he had given the blessing, but it was no worse than that experience had always felt.


    [Sufficient experience accrued. Blessing of the Fisher King leveled up!]


    That¡¯s nice, he thought dimly. His gaze flitted down to his mother¡¯s face, but her eyelids remained stubbornly closed. Well, so much for that¡­


    There might have been a slight improvement in her pulse and her breathing following his blessing. Then again, it might just as well have been his imagination.


    ¡°Do you think it worked?¡± Mina asked quietly.


    James clenched his eyes shut. He could feel a headache coming on. With an annoyingly fatiguing effort, he gave his head the slightest shake.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said. Mina placed her hand on James¡¯s brow, and his oncoming headache instantly felt marginally more distant. He managed a smile.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°How do you feel?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Frustrated,¡± James said. ¡°On the bright side, I did feel a headache coming on, but I think your touch drove it away.¡±


    He sensed her smiling, without opening his eyes. His sensory abilities were at the level where he could recognize the movement of her facial muscles even as transmitted by vibrations down her neck, through her shoulder and arm, and into his head via her hand.


    She leaned in and kissed his forehead just to the side of where her palm touched, and he opened his eyes so that he could try to memorize her new face.


    ¡°Is there anything else I can do for you?¡± she asked. ¡°Before I go back to check on our son?¡± She pursed her lips¡ªan expression she had always been prone to when upset or worried, but one which now inflamed his desire to protect her more than it had before. It was as if the System had reshaped her face to better provoke sympathy, admiration, and affection by its very structure, in a way that James did not understand.


    ¡°Yes, actually,¡± James said after a moment. ¡°Could you open the window? And this evening, it would be great if you could help prop me up, and maybe I can tell stories to the kids after dinner. You guys can get some use of me that way, at least.¡± He grimaced.


    I really am very annoyingly useless right now. But at least I¡¯m probably healing faster thanks to Mina¡¯s Zone of Enchantment.


    ¡°I would be happy to open the window, skapi,¡± Mina said. ¡°Are you hot? I could get you something cold to drink, too.¡±


    ¡°Oh, no, I just have the Solar Recovery Skill, so direct sunlight might help me get stronger faster,¡± James explained.


    ¡°Got it,¡± Mina said.


    She opened the window, asked James again if there was anything else she could do to make him more comfortable, and then left the room.


    Then the all-powerful Fisher King was there on his own, waiting for the sun to come out from behind a cloud, hoping that its rays would help boost his slow recovery.


    Aggravating, but there it was.


    If that didn¡¯t work, James had other ideas for how he might continue to have agency without physically leaving this bed. After all, his Skills all seemed to work, other than the fact that some required him to move, like Lightning Strike.


    I can still fight and rule in other ways besides using my fists, he thought. I will not be defeated by a faceless System. Even now, every day, I grow a little bit closer to being a literal force of nature. That thought reminded him of something that was meant to be a daily chore, which he had not yet completed that day.


    James knew the Skill would take a lot out of him, especially after having already granted a costly blessing. Still, he had nothing much to lose by being weakened for a little while, and he wanted his aura to reach the land of the Keystone Gopher Tortoise as soon as possible. So, he used Dominion.


    As the power surged through him and then out of his body, the Fisher King allowed himself to lose consciousness.


    When he awakened, it was to the sensation of being shaken.


    James¡¯s eyes fluttered open, and the sight that greeted him was slightly surreal. His mother, looking like death warmed over, was standing above him, holding his wrists and jerking his arms up and down like he was a slot machine.


    ¡°I¡¯m awake,¡± James said quietly. ¡°I guess it worked.¡±


    ¡°You guess what worked?¡± his mother asked. ¡°No, wait, never mind that right now. We¡¯re in danger. I was in the forest¡ªdon¡¯t actually know how I got here, but it wasn¡¯t a dream. I know that. I¡ª¡±


    ¡°Mom, slow down,¡± James said. ¡°Whatever you¡¯re worried about, we have time. If there was a disaster about to strike, it would have hit by now. You¡¯ve been unconscious for a couple of days.¡±


    Zora stood still for a moment and processed that.


    ¡°All right,¡± she said quietly. ¡°Okay. So, the attack wasn¡¯t imminent, at least. That¡¯s not surprising. Still, the information I have to give you is certainly time-sensitive. Maybe you can tell me how we wound up in this condition, first¡ªyes, I can tell you¡¯re in bad shape, too, James.¡± She added that last in response to a slight twitch of surprise in James¡¯s eyebrows. ¡°The way your arms moved when I was shaking you wasn¡¯t natural. I guess you suffered broken bones?¡±Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, Mom,¡± James said.


    ¡°It was¡ªwait, you were protecting me, weren¡¯t you?¡± Her eyes had suddenly gone wide and glanced up and to the side in the expression James recognized as her remembering something.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± James repeated, more gently this time. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re feeling better. Mina and I did everything we could think of for you. But please try to slow down and not move too much. The System attacked us directly.¡±


    ¡°It was because of that god, then,¡± his mother said, frowning. ¡°How inconsiderate of him.¡±


    James sighed. ¡°Of course you knew. When were you going to tell me?¡±


    ¡°My patron, Thoth, told me what was happening in a multilayered vision conveyed through a magic mirror,¡± Zora replied. ¡°He did that, both because he considered it essential for me to know, and because direct communication about this was liable to lead to¡ªwell, exactly what you experienced. What we experienced. Bringing down the wrath of the System. Because it doesn¡¯t like when gods break the rules they all set out together. Were there other casualties? Or damage to the Kingdom?¡± Her voice was calm, businesslike. As if she had not just awakened from a coma-like state.


    ¡°Not really,¡± James said after a moment. ¡°A few deaths, but no one we know. Some minor injuries that are no doubt healed already. Mostly, the damage was contained to the area just around Vidarr and myself.¡±


    ¡°I ask, because we might be able to ask the god whose fault this is for some form of indemnity. Whatever deal he proposed to you, him bringing down the System¡¯s hammer wasn¡¯t part of it, was it?¡±


    That was just what it was like, James thought. He had experienced the pressure from above as if a giant hammer slammed down on him. It was not an explosion so much as a massive physical blow.


    ¡°What do you know about the way the System¡¯s attack worked, anyway?¡± James asked slowly.


    ¡°Probably less than you do, after a couple of days of you consulting Anansi about it,¡± his mother replied, shrugging wearily.


    ¡°But assuming I hadn¡¯t been able to do that?¡± James said. ¡°Because maybe my connection has been busy laying eggs at this critical time.¡±


    ¡°Then I would say that as far as I know, it¡¯s literally a kind of metaphysical hammer. It alters reality. Destroys the target completely.¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t destroyed, though,¡± James said, feeling slightly foolish.


    ¡°You weren¡¯t the target,¡± Zora replied.


    Well, duh¡­


    ¡°No, but I figured I was part of the target area¡­¡±


    ¡°The target was the single individual who was violating the System¡¯s rules,¡± Zora said firmly. ¡°Everything else was just collateral damage. The System was actively trying to ensure that Vidarr did not escape, so the attack was over a larger area than just his body, but almost all of the force was aimed at his body specifically.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not exactly filling me with confidence, Mom.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± she said, shaking her head. ¡°What does matter is what I needed to tell you already. Now that I know what happened, there¡¯s no reason to wait any longer.¡±


    James gave the smallest nod of his head¡ªreally, a tremendous victory of mind over matter, since his muscles were barely more powerful than jelly at this point.


    ¡°Go ahead,¡± he said.


    ¡°I caught a spy¡ªan enemy scout¡ªon the outskirts of the Kingdom. I captured him, and I interrogated him.¡±


    ¡°How did he manage to stay hidden from my powers?¡± James asked, immediately curious how that was possible¡ªand whether there was some advanced Stealth Skill he could try to steal.


    ¡°He stood just outside the border. He could feel where your aura began.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s probably a common ability for scouts,¡± James said, thinking aloud.


    ¡°For lots of people,¡± Zora replied immediately. ¡°Some people won¡¯t notice it, but that also depends on the quality of the Ruler¡¯s aura. Yours is extremely aggressive. If you step into it and you¡¯re unwelcome, you¡¯ll feel an intense pressure. Something like that can also be felt, to a lesser degree, from outside the actual radius of your power.¡±


    James nodded.


    ¡°Well, that has its pros and cons, son, that¡¯s all,¡± his mother replied lightly.


    ¡°Right. Well, what did the scout tell you?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s more what he showed me¡ªand what he has attempted to resist showing me. I captured his soul and interrogated him mainly by forcing him to show me memories.¡± She reached into the pocket of the robe she was wearing and pulled out a gemstone.


    But James ignored the shiny rock and just stared at his mother for a moment.


    I think I like this woman, came Roscuro¡¯s voice in James¡¯s ear. You had to get this darkness inside of you from somewhere, after all.


    Well, I guess pulling someone¡¯s soul from their body and interrogating them when they don¡¯t have access to their usual defenses does kind of sound like me, James acknowledged grudgingly. It was still a little creepy to hear about from her, though.


    ¡°What did you see?¡± he finally asked aloud.


    ¡°Better if I show you,¡± Zora replied. ¡°You can judge for yourself what you think the scout¡ªor more likely his mistress, the Panther Queen¡ªis covering up.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± James said.


    His mother placed the gemstone into James¡¯s right hand, she took his left hand in her right, and then she clasped both his right hand and the gemstone in her left.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to pull you into the gem with me and him,¡± she said quietly. ¡°Don¡¯t resist, or I won¡¯t be able to do it. I imagine the sensation will be much like moving through your Dreamspace.¡±


    James had questions, but this seemed like a good moment to learn by doing. Plus, he finally had the chance to accomplish something, albeit a passive activity, despite being confined to this bed.


    He gave the small nod that was all his body could produce at that moment, and then he felt a sudden sense of cold all around him, a feeling of something that was him, being pulled from his body and moved elsewhere. His instinct was to fight it, but of course, he didn¡¯t.


    The world faded away and became a gray, swirling blur. It really was a bit like Dreamspace.


    James only felt the connection to his body very faintly, so much so that he almost could have forgotten it was there and believed himself to be a creature of pure spirit and Will.


    Then he heard his mother¡¯s voice overlaid over the strange environment.


    ¡°Bear in mind, as you observe the memories, that the scout¡¯s last act when he thought he was about to die, was to send a final message warning the Queen about you¡­¡±


    As Zora spoke, the gray background began to dissolve, and another setting began to appear. James was not in the bedroom any longer.


    The environment that unfolded appeared to be a kind of dense tropical forest, which James knew was fairly common in Florida.


    In the distance, James heard drums pounding, a rhythmic beat that grew louder with each passing second.

 V5Ch14-Tortured Recollections

    As James observed from the point of view of the scout, the dense jungle foliage began to part, and the sound of the drumbeat grew fainter.


    It was apparent that the scout was moving out, either leaving behind the army he had come from or getting away from an army he had been spying on.


    Strange that I started in the middle of things like this, James thought.


    But he did not voice anything. He suspected that his mother could hear and answer any questions he might have, but he wanted to see what there was to see before he made any statements that might be proven redundant soon.


    Even if James had not known he was observing the point of view of a follower of someone called the Panther Queen, he would have gradually realized that he was inside the perspective of a semi-humanoid cat-like creature, a beast of prey that walked on two legs. He could tell both from seeing the creature¡¯s paws¡ªit had retractable claws, like all felines¡ªand from the reflections he saw in pools of dew as the scout passed leaves where it had recently rained.


    This guy has excellent senses, James thought. He left implicit the worrying thought: Like me.


    If one of the Panther Queen¡¯s subjects had such superhuman senses¡ªable to scope out a fairly clear view of his own reflection in a few dewdrops in passing¡ªhow well-equipped would her army be in that respect?


    More importantly, are they as strong physically as this noncombatant is good at sensing?


    As James contemplated the possible strength of the Panther Queen¡¯s army, the scout walked on across distance and different biomes. It was apparent that he was moving through different species¡¯ home terrains. When he came near a Ruler, the scout would carefully avoid getting entangled in the Ruler¡¯s aura and move around. There were clearly still open spaces to be found in between the territories controlled by Rulers, which allowed him to move freely without being observed by any of these beings that were much more powerful than himself.


    I need to be much more careful about security, James thought. I used to have a bunch of Skin Balloons flying around, just watching the area around the Fisher Kingdom, before I combined them with all my other random creatures to make my wyverns. Need more of those¡­


    But as James watched the scout spy on various species¡¯ Rulers¡ªor in some cases, non-Ruler leaders of groups of semi-sentient life forms¡ªin multiple different territories, he had to admit to himself that his security system would not have worked to keep the scout out. Whenever the tricky Panther Scout approached a new territory, he would activate a Skill that seemed to make him almost completely imperceptible.


    How would I counter that? Besides the fact that my Fisher King powers would probably sense him if he actually invaded my territory¡ªotherwise he wouldn¡¯t keep trying to avoid directly entering people¡¯s territories¡ªhow would I know if he was nearby? Maybe if I used the Great Sound Wyvern or some other creature that had the power of Echolocation¡­


    James also passively noted the various species that the scout encountered. There were some pink birds that were, surprisingly, not flamingoes. A species of bats that James had not recruited into the Fisher Kingdom. Some armadillo humanoids. Some lizard creatures with a strange marble color pattern on their bodies. A colony of snakes. A couple of different small groups of humans.


    And finally, the scout arrived at what seemed to be another territory without a Ruler.


    As the point of view edged around this specific scrap of territory, James recognized that it was familiar.


    This is pretty close to my old job, actually¡­


    After seemingly reassuring himself that there was no hidden Ruler with an incredibly subtle aura within the territory, the Panther Scout activated its Stealth Skill and advanced¡ªseemingly marching directly toward the building where James¡¯s old firm used to be located.


    No way¡­


    The scout walked briskly for fifteen minutes, until James could actually see the law office through the scout¡¯s eyes. At that point, James could accept that the Pantherfolk were really targeting the people holing up in the firm building.


    But why? I guess they¡¯re too weak to defend the territory¡ªI said as much before I left them¡ªbut what¡¯s the point of scouting out everything in between wherever the army was and here? It¡¯s not like they can cross all that distance in force and be confident in conquering everything in between. If they wanted to try it, they would probably have to both divide their forces to go in more than one direction, and they would also have to leave what they already have basically undefended.


    This sounded uncomfortably similar to what James himself was already doing, however. He had sent the Royal Fisher Army out to seize as much territory as they could, up to the coast, while the Fisher Expeditionary Force moved in the opposite direction to scout everything they could going that way, at least to Orlando. Meanwhile, the Fisher Kingdom itself was only guarded by James himself, plus his police force who were effectively his Army Reserve.


    I think I¡¯m starting to understand why Mom wanted to show me rather than just telling me what she got from the scout.


    The information that the scout had provided was clearly going to be instrumental in understanding the way the Panther Queen fought her wars.


    Next, the presentation style of the memories shifted. James observed as a sort of fast-forwarded recollection of the scout watching the law firm building played itself before his eyes. He tried to slow it down, and he found that all he had to do was will it, and the memory speed returned to roughly normal, but after ten minutes of watching ants walk along a log because nothing was happening, James allowed the scout¡¯s fast-forwarded version of events to play on.


    James witnessed Dean and his people¡ªsome of whom he recognized¡ªcome back and forth from the firm building, make improvements and additional construction, recruit new people, and hunt periodically for food.


    This fast-forwarded view of events went on for several days. Then, on a morning that at first seemed no different from the others, it slowed down to roughly normal time.


    What¡¯s going on? James thought.


    Then he saw the collared men. Five figures walked up, led by one of Dean¡¯s henchmen. The five were wearing black leather collars, which was strange enough. But it wasn¡¯t their appearance that caught James¡¯s attention. The scout¡¯s senses¡ªand therefore James¡¯s senses¡ªbuzzed as a familiar scent entered the scout¡¯s nostrils. He knew these men.


    And James recognized in an instant that they were no men at all. The smell the Panther Scout recognized was of his own kind. These were Pantherfolk, somehow disguised as humans.


    ¡°Did you recognize what happened there?¡± Zora¡¯s voice suddenly boomed from all directions, and the events that had begun to play out before James¡¯s eyes paused.


    ¡°It looks like the Panther Queen sent in some infiltrators,¡± James said. ¡°They seem to have the ability to disguise themselves as humans, but for some reason, they¡¯re wearing collars like animals. I¡¯m guessing that¡¯s a requirement to maintain the disguise.¡±


    Did I get all the answers right, Mom?


    ¡°All correct,¡± his mother agreed, ¡°but I actually meant something else.¡±


    Damn.


    ¡°What did you mean?¡± James asked.


    ¡°Well, you have been experiencing the Panther Scout¡¯s memories, which I had to torture him to get,¡± Zora said. ¡°My methods use my Necromancer abilities, so when I do this, I directly injure his soul rather than doing something gross like ripping off his fingernails or gouging out his eyes.¡±This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Right,¡± James said.


    ¡°I had the option of torturing the soul of his lover and making him watch, but that seemed a little bit much to me. I tried to keep the damage to a minimum.¡±


    ¡°Nice of you.¡± James himself was not certain he would have been particularly careful in torturing an enemy spy. Or even an enemy spy¡¯s loved ones, if he believed the spy had important information.


    How did you even get access to the soul of his lover? James wanted to ask, but he knew it was totally irrelevant, so he refrained.


    ¡°But he nevertheless did not show you anything about the Panther Queen yet,¡± his mother said. ¡°Nor did he give you any insight into when he sent a report back to her, which led to her decision to send these infiltrators. Curious, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°That does seem a little strange,¡± James admitted. ¡°I guess he fast-forwarded through that.¡±


    ¡°He did, I am almost certain,¡± Zora agreed, ¡°even though my instructions to him were to show us all relevant details that would provide insight into the Panther Queen¡¯s operations and the scout¡¯s own modus operandi.¡±


    Well, I didn¡¯t know that, James thought.


    ¡°Of course, you had no way of knowing that,¡± his mother continued, echoing James¡¯s thoughts almost suspiciously closely. ¡°But the bottom line is, I think it¡¯s extremely unlikely that the Panther Queen sent in infiltrators without sending or receiving any communications with her scout. For some reason, the scout resisted showing us that.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your point, Mom?¡± James asked.


    ¡°I think that there are parts of this story our friend left out, son.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I guess he resisted your torture,¡± James said.


    ¡°Doubtful. At least not with Will alone. And most of the Skills a person has seem to be attached to the body. Not all, but most. He¡¯s a disembodied soul, now. His body is in my Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions.¡±


    The magic satchel, James thought.


    ¡°How do you think he did it, then?¡± James asked, since it was obviously what his mother wanted him to ask. She liked to make him think, to turn conversations into lessons.


    ¡°Good question,¡± she said. ¡°It has to be one of two things. Either he has a Skill that¡¯s specifically meant to resist torture and that somehow failed to desert him after death, even when his soul is separated from his body¡ªor it¡¯s actually the Panther Queen blocking him from telling me anything.¡±


    ¡°You think she has a Skill like my Compulsion,¡± James said. ¡°She placed him under some kind of command, and it hasn¡¯t worn off.¡±


    His mother already knew most of his Skills from a strategy session they¡¯d held together weeks ago, when they were dealing with Sister Strange¡¯s nocturnal attacks on the Fisher Kingdom, so he did not need to explain Compulsion.


    ¡°That¡¯s correct. I think she bound him with a Skill that at least functions in a similar way, although I have no clue how exactly it works.¡±


    ¡°So, you¡¯re bringing this up, just so I have a better idea of what our enemy might be capable of?¡± James asked.


    ¡°And to ensure you keep that in mind for the scenes that follow,¡± she replied. ¡°We have no idea to what extent the Panther Queen may have forced the Panther Scout to edit his memories. Don¡¯t put complete faith in anything you see. The important portions of his recollections begin now.¡±


    The memories unpaused.


    There was a fast-forwarded sequence of the collared infiltrators going into the firm building, then going back out occasionally in the company of some of Dean¡¯s people. The collared men had quickly been integrated into Dean¡¯s hunting parties.


    James inwardly groaned.


    Dean, really? You trusted these strangers that quickly? Maybe you didn¡¯t have much choice, but this reflects either bad judgment or a bad situation that you¡¯re in. Probably the former. Then again, maybe Dean has had better experiences trusting people than I have. In my Orientation, I got mind-controlled by a harmless-looking old grandpa, and a seemingly respectable lawyer made a deal with a death god to sacrifice me and all our other companions to secure his own family¡¯s future. In Dean¡¯s Orientation, he wound up finding that he could trust a pair of felons. Our different experiences of this strange apocalypse may have led us to different conclusions¡­


    As James was musing about his former boss¡¯s decision-making abilities, two of Dean¡¯s people had gone off hunting with the collared men. The scout followed from a distance, simply observing¡ªprobably on some instructions from the Panther Queen that had somehow been excluded from the memory.


    When the party reached an arranged spot, the Panther Scout deactivated his Stealth Skill and leaped out from behind some foliage, and a dozen Pantherfolk did the same from other directions. The two men from Dean¡¯s camp were surrounded. The collared men had led them into a perfect ambush.


    One of them spoke to the two humans.


    ¡°You have nothing to worry about if you surrender here. If you obey the Panther Queen, she will treat you well, give you responsibilities, and reward you when you accomplish them. If you refuse to serve her, we will have to help these Pantherfolk here butcher you instead. We would prefer not to do that.¡±


    An extremely civilized murder threat, James thought sarcastically.


    The collared men were still pretending not to be Pantherfolk in disguise themselves, to boost their credibility with their supposed fellow humans¡ªor perhaps they were actually brainwashed humans who had spent a lot of time among the Pantherfolk already? James had no way of knowing for certain. The Panther Scout had not given him those background details.


    The two men meekly surrendered to the Pantherfolk and went off with those who had leaped out from cover, while the Panther Scout returned to his post. James was forced to leave the interesting question of what happened to those who surrendered for later, since the scout had no direct knowledge of it.


    The collared men likewise walked off in the direction of the firm building. They did not speak to or acknowledge the scout, who had already reactivated his Stealth Skill and ran ahead of them.


    The Panther Scout retook his position, and a few minutes later, James watched the collared men enter through the front door. James noticed they had given themselves some superficial injuries, to create the illusion that they had been in a fight and struggled against the other side rather than helping to overwhelm their two companions.


    Presumably, they must have given a good account of what happened, because a few days later, the Panther Scout witnessed them go out hunting with a slightly larger group. Leading the expedition was the ex-convict Viktor, who James recognized from his last encounter with Dean¡¯s group.


    This probably won¡¯t end well, James thought.


    Sure enough, the Panther Scout followed once more, and James watched as the group was led into a second, similar ambush to what had happened to the previous pair of hunters.


    Over a dozen of the Panther Scout¡¯s colleagues jumped out from behind bushes, brandishing weapons, but this time, the numerical disparity was not so great.


    Viktor and his crew engaged the Pantherfolk in combat before the ambushers could even try to propose a surrender. The fighting looked surprisingly even to start with. Blades hacked bloody hunks of flesh off of combatants on both sides, and James thought that this skirmish would end in favor of Dean¡¯s side.


    Then the collared men transformed into Pantherfolk, and they joined their cohorts in attacking Dean¡¯s crew.


    The fight continued back and forth for a few minutes without anyone making any moves that particularly impressed James. The combat was relatively even, which was what allowed it to last so long without one side collapsing.


    The number of Pantherfolk involved was slightly greater, but James judged that without the element of surprise and a couple of early injuries to the human side, the Pantherfolk would have lost.


    So, the average Pantherfolk is not stronger than the average human, or at least not by much, he thought.


    Then the Panther Scout stabbed one of the humans in the back¡ªhe was using his Stealth Skill in combat to make it impossible to see him until he struck the blow¡ªand James felt the tide of the fighting turn in that moment. The scout had chosen his moment perfectly. A gap opened up between the humans. One of them stepped backward and began to trip over the fallen body of the scout¡¯s victim. Another human was distracted by the sight of his comrade falling in his peripheral vision, and he suffered a stab wound to his right bicep in that moment of inattention.


    Shit, the humans here are all going to die now, aren¡¯t they?


    As James had that thought, the Panther Scout darted backward into the brush, and the other Pantherfolk pressed in closer, preventing the squad of humans from trying to give chase.


    But as James could see, the human fighters were in no shape to pursue anyone. He wasn¡¯t even certain how they would survive this encounter.


    Then Viktor¡ªthe ex-con who James had disdained from the moment the two men first laid eyes on each other¡ªdid something that surprised the Fisher King.


    He pointed his sword at the nearest Pantherfolk, he gripped the hilt tightly, and he winced. James thought that if he was in his own body, he would have sensed something move from Viktor¡¯s body, through the sword, and into the Pantherfolk.


    As it was, he only had access to the Panther Scout¡¯s senses, which were powerful but still limited in ways that James¡¯s were not.


    From the Panther Scout¡¯s perspective, what happened was that the Pantherfolk nearest to Viktor suddenly swelled up slightly¡ªand then exploded.

 V5Ch15-Meeting the Panther Queen

    As James and the Panther Scout whose body he inhabited watched in stunned silence, chunks of the Pantherfolk who had been blown apart flew in all directions, spattering everyone in the vicinity with blood and guts.


    The other Pantherfolk froze, looking back and forth between each other and Viktor¡¯s crew, suddenly afraid to advance, waiting for someone else to make the first move.


    They aren¡¯t much braver than humans either, James thought. Intelligence has killed some of their bestial instinct.


    James could see that the strange enemy implosion attack had taken a lot out of Viktor. All the physiological signs of weakness were there. His body swayed slightly. He had turned visibly paler. A vein in his temple pulsed violently with every breath he took.


    But the ex-con at least had the ability to act like everything was all right.


    ¡°Back off, or I¡¯ll blow the next guy up, too!¡± Viktor yelled in a harsh voice, pointing with his sword from one Pantherfolk to the next.


    The stones on that guy¡­ James was fairly certain that this Skill had either some sort of cooldown or too steep a cost for Viktor to use it again immediately. No matter what, no one else was getting blown up. The Pantherfolk just needed to rush him to secure the win.


    They all held back. Only the Panther Scout, still hidden, circled around, looking for a good angle to strike.


    Against his will, James was impressed with Viktor.


    Maybe I judged Dean too harshly for keeping him.


    Viktor and his comrades stepped in closer to each other, and Dean¡¯s group began to back away from the confrontation.


    The Pantherfolk moved to follow them, but Viktor spoke up again.


    ¡°Stay back,¡± he snarled, leaning slightly on one of the other men beside him. ¡°I¡¯ll kill every last one of you if it¡¯s the last thing I do!¡±


    With the other fighters pressed in close all around Viktor, even the Panther Scout could not find a good angle where he might be able to reliably aim for an assassination strike on the apparent threat.


    So the Pantherfolk had to let Viktor and the other members of his crew go, bloodied but very much alive.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll be damned,¡± James said, letting out a low whistle.


    ¡°Yes, that was impressive,¡± his mother said dryly. ¡°Keep watching, though.¡±


    Events fast-forwarded again.


    Day and night slipped by, and suddenly James found the Panther Scout in the midst of an armed camp. There was a large ring of buckskin tents, stacks of wood everywhere, and hundreds of Pantherfolk walking around, performing various camp tasks, from cooking to guard duty to blacksmithing.


    ¡°Wait, what?¡± James said aloud.


    The fast-forwarding shouldn¡¯t have skipped through the entire arrival process, he thought. How much time has passed? When did he blank out that time? It was disorienting, to say the least.


    ¡°Another one of his mental blocks,¡± Zora said. ¡°He avoided showing you what defenses the Panther Queen keeps around her army.¡±


    James growled quietly. The empty places in this Panther Scout¡¯s memories were beginning to frustrate him.


    ¡°You can still get some useful information,¡± his mother added.


    The Panther Scout moved forward, and James¡¯s perspective continued to move with him. They approached a tent that was significantly larger than the others. James immediately understood what that meant.


    Sure enough, as they approached the tent opening, there was a louder buzz of chatter coming from within. As the Panther Scout entered, James saw Pantherfolk, along with a couple of collared humans, a collared raccoon-person, and a collared ape-like creature stood around a table with a map spread over it. They did not glance up at the entry of the Panther Scout.


    Then the scout turned toward a raised dais that overlooked the map and the people standing around it. Atop the dais stood a hefty wooden throne. Sitting on the throne was a Pantherfolk, but one unlike the others James had seen thus far.


    She was a humanoid panther, like the rest, but she was taller, more sinewy, tough-looking to a degree the Pantherfolk that had committed the ambushes near Dean¡¯s place were not. Unlike those Pantherfolk, there was an almost human cast to her features. Her face was cunning and cruel, and her yellow-hued eyes locked gazes with the Panther Scout¡¯s as if she peered into his soul.


    James felt a vice grip around his chest. He quickly reminded himself that it was the Panther Scout¡¯s chest, but it was still uncomfortable.


    ¡°My brave scout returns,¡± the Panther Queen said. Her voice sounded very feline, as if she was purring, but there was an almost mocking undertone to it. ¡°How fared you on your mission?¡±


    The rest of the room had instantly gone silent at the sound of the Queen speaking.


    The scout quickly stepped forward, knelt, and prostrated himself before the throne. James could see his vision cloud slightly as moisture gathered in his eyes. It was not that the scout was upset, he recognized, but that its eyes had suddenly gone dry and required moisture. The mere situation of being so close to the Queen had placed his body under stress.


    Is she doing this to her underling on purpose? Surely she has to realize that if she wants to get real advice from anyone, she can¡¯t create an atmosphere of terror.


    ¡°The mission c-could have gone better, Your Keenness,¡± stammered the scout.


    ¡°Whisper, tell me everything you observed,¡± the Queen said. ¡°Tell me what we face next in our path of conquest, and who it was that dared stand up to our advance force.¡±


    The Panther Scout raised his head with an effort, though James noticed he still avoided eye contact with the Queen. He then spent the next twenty minutes recounting most of what James had observed through his eyes as efficiently as he could. To her credit, the Panther Queen listened quietly and seemingly attentively to all that was said, and James even felt a relaxing of the pressure that the Panther Scout had been under from the beginning.


    ¡°Do you have recommendations for next steps, Wind Whisper?¡± the Queen finally asked as the scout came to the end of his tale.


    ¡°I do not know what the current priorities Your Majesty is pursuing¡ª¡±


    ¡°Forget about that for now,¡± she interrupted. ¡°What would you do about this if you were in my seat?¡±


    The Panther Scout swallowed. ¡°I would not let the death of any of our soldiers go unanswered, even if it was in one of our ambushes, unless there is an enemy we are afraid to fight there. Besides the single human who killed the soldier, I did not sense exceptional power from any of those in the hunting party we ambushed. The territory had no Ruler. It should be a soft target. Your Keenness, you could easily make an example of them¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm.¡± The Panther Queen scratched the space under her chin with one claw. The nail was so razor sharp that it actually cut through fur and skin with a touch, and a droplet of blood dripped down, but she did not seem to notice. ¡°That is an option. Thank you, Whisper. You may leave my presence now.¡±


    The scout bowed low, rose, and exited. As he took his last look at the Queen, James noticed that the place where she had cut herself with her claw had completely healed. There was neither a nick nor even a scab.


    As the scout meandered about the camp, interacting with other Pantherfolk, stopping to eat, and other normal tasks, there was another instance of fast-forwarding, but in this case, James got to see the whole camp spring into lively, super-speed motion.


    With each hour that passed, more Pantherfolk and allies showed up. Their numbers swelled from the hundreds to somewhere over a thousand, including dozens of humans and other non-Pantherfolk Races before James recognized he was not going to get an approximate estimation due to being stuck in the Panther Scout¡¯s perspective. The Pantherfolk were clearly gathering for something.


    Most interestingly, he saw the numerous normal Pantherfolk who were present take some of the wood that was lying around the camp and, under the direction of a Pantherfolk who was thin and had a nerdy-looking physiognomy to James¡ªlarge forehead, smaller jaw and teeth, thin frame¡ªthey began constructing primitive siege engines. Catapults, ballistas, battering rams, extremely robust ladders, and more.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    As the process went on, some of the perhaps less technically competent Pantherfolk began dismantling the tents and assembling the buckskin into something else. James focused on them to the extent that he could, because he wanted to know what was going on, though the scout¡¯s attention kept moving elsewhere. Gradually, James figured out that they were reallocating the buckskin into drums.


    They already had the frames of the drums ready, as if this was something they had done before.


    The overarching conclusion was obvious: the Pantherfolk were preparing to go to war. Despite his previous acrimonious interactions with Dean, James found himself hoping the Pantherfolk would go somewhere else. Unleash their wrath on some humanoid lizards or maybe another group of humans.


    It was just a bit painful to think of them targeting people he sort of knew, even if they were not people he felt particularly attached to at this point. James was aware that Dean had a family, and that fact alone would have given him some sympathy.


    But, of course, this was all in the past. James could not affect the outcome. All he could do was wait and see what had happened.


    While James was trying to observe the Pantherfolk¡¯s behavior, the scout made James¡¯s task more difficult by focusing on something completely different. A female Pantherfolk had returned to the camp, and the scout spent almost the entire period while the others were working talking to her.


    James learned that the female was a fellow scout, that she had been dispatched in another direction and encountered a land of human-like goats, and¡ªthis was the most obvious¡ªthat the two Pantherfolk were mated. This was made obvious by their heady exchange of pheromones, the flirtatiousness of their conversation, as well as the strong vicarious attraction¡ªand a brief period of rutting, which James was thankfully permitted to mostly skip.


    I wonder if I can learn a Skill to forget what I just saw¡­


    After a day of preparation, the Pantherfolk buried the campfires and any other signs that they had camped out in that spot, and moved out.


    The Panther Queen emerged from her tent when it was disassembled, last of all, and she shot the Panther Scout a quick nod and a smile, which suggested to James that the army was moving out toward Dean¡¯s place.


    But even so, James watched the movement of the army carefully to see if he could spot signs of familiar terrain. There would be nothing else for him to do for some time.


    Though the memories began to fast-forward, James resisted the effect to some degree this time. He wanted to get an idea of the scope of the Panther Queen¡¯s territory and a visual idea of what sort of location it existed in. If he could identify landmarks, he might have options for the eventuality of a future war against her.


    He saw some fairly large and distinctive rocks at a certain point, and they passed a small lake¡ªbut then, small lakes like this were a dime a dozen in Florida before the System¡ªand the large rocks would be difficult to spot, unless James and his own scouts were looking for them from the sky.


    The march went on for more than a full day and night, and James began to wonder how much walking the Panther Scout had fast-forwarded through in his recollections earlier.


    At that point, the scout received a telepathic message, and James heard the Panther Queen¡¯s voice as she spoke into the scout¡¯s mind.


    I know that we are getting closer, so now is the time for you to move to the front and provide direction, she sent. I do not want the army to get lost.


    This was the first true acknowledgment from her of what their final destination was.


    Yes, my Queen! the scout sent in a servile voice. Then he strode up to the front of the army and took his place alongside the Queen and what James took to be the officer corps.


    Under the Panther Scout¡¯s direction, the army advanced for another day, apparently skipping attacking several of the territories that he had spied on during his journey, so that they could reach Dean¡¯s camp more quickly.


    James did not quite understand why they would do this. From his perspective, acquiring continuous territory was of critical importance to the land¡¯s defensibility and his own ability to maintain his connection to it with regular infusions of his aura.


    Is it really just revenge for one dead soldier and a handful of injuries? he wondered. That would seem really stupid.


    As he walked with them, however, James began to pick up a better understanding of how the Panther Queen worked. It helped that he was inside the body of the Panther Scout, who had the ability to sense aura.


    James realized that far from only letting out a large burst of aura when she conquered a territory¡ªlike James¡ªthe Panther Queen seemed to be leaking aura all the time. He first noticed that the power was present because he realized it was clinging to the scout himself, then slowly recognized it was also present in traces on every one of the Panther Queen¡¯s subjects. He initially thought that might mean that she had blessed all of them somehow, though the way the aura felt didn¡¯t seem quite right for that.


    Then he started paying more attention to the Panther Queen herself, whenever she was within the scout¡¯s line of sight. That was more revealing.


    She¡¯s periodically releasing aura and marking trees and random objects in her path? Why?! I don¡¯t understand¡­


    The only thing James could come up with, after some thought, was that the Panther Queen conceived of territory differently than he did, and her ability correspondingly worked differently than his.


    Her land is more like a hunting path or something. It didn¡¯t go through other entities¡¯ territories¡ªif James had to guess, she probably couldn¡¯t do that any more than he could, at least not without subjugating the other territory¡¯s owner¡ªbut it did sometimes come between other territories. And since it clung to her subjects, too, James guessed that she could trace where all of them were at any time. I need to make sure Mom knows that. We have to be careful what we do with that corpse¡­


    The journey progressed further, but nothing noteworthy happened that afternoon or night.


    It was the next day when the Panther Queen and her army arrived in what James recognized as the vicinity of the offices of Barry, Pesca & MacDougal.


    James¡¯s focus tightened. The next few hours or days of this vision would be critical.


    As the army approached, dozens of Pantherfolk acted on a silent signal that James guessed came from the Panther Queen. They took out the buckskin drums, and they began to play a loud, incessant beat. James wondered how long it would last, and what the purpose was, until the Panther Scout gave him a sort of half-answer. It reached into a sort of utility belt that it wore and took out a pair of earplugs.


    So, this will keep going for a while, then, James thought.


    It continued for the entire remainder of the walk.


    As the army stepped onto what had once been the road leading up to the firm¡ªit was now a cracked and broken field of rocks with thick tufts of weeds growing up in between the chunks of asphalt¡ªthe offices of Barry, Pesca & MacDougal came into view.


    It¡¯s cool that they constructed additions onto it, James thought. Someone has some kind of construction-related Skill. Looks more useful than just applying earth magic, honestly.


    Of course, he could not see how any of it would stand up to siege weaponry like what the army was hauling with it.


    They stepped closer, the drums still loudly pounding away. James saw movement from behind window blinds within the firm building, but they were small, furtive motions that seemed to him to show fear and an unwillingness to confront the force that met them.


    Of course they can¡¯t, he thought, frustrated and genuinely worried for Dean¡¯s people. They would already have had a hard enough time fighting a Ruler if the Panther Queen approached alone. But she isn¡¯t leaving anything to chance. She preferred to march in overwhelming numbers¡­


    Then the Fisher King reminded himself that the Pantherfolk could march on his own Kingdom next, and he resolved to keep his sympathies for his people. Dean and those with him when James visited had been given their chance. Now they would be the demonstration of what the Panther Queen was capable of. She clearly hadn¡¯t died in this confrontation, or the scout would not have been sent to spy on James afterward.


    As the army reached striking distance with its long range weapons, the Queen sent out a quick telepathic message to all of them.


    Everyone, halt!


    The army stopped moving forward, and everyone stopped moving. The drumming also died down.


    The Queen stepped in front of her troops and began to yell at the top of her lungs.


    ¡°Greetings, soft and weak humans!¡±


    As she shouted, a male Pantherfolk who had been in her tent when the scout arrived hustled forward. He carried a staff with a bunch of panther claws embedded at its tip. Despite the presence of the very sharp and deadly-looking talons, James got the immediate sense that the staff was ceremonial rather than a combat weapon.


    Then the Pantherfolk carrying it stepped up beside it, and the Panther Queen closed her mouth, waiting.


    The staff bearer began chanting quietly, and after a minute of this, a clear aura emanated from his body. It reminded James of non-elemental Mana.


    The Queen began to speak again, and this time, without apparent effort on her part, her voice boomed out as if she had a loudspeaker.


    ¡°As I was saying, greetings, soft and weak humans! My army has arrived to capture your fortification and recruit you to our powerful faction. Resistance would be senseless and self-destructive. I do not recommend it. Behind me, you can see that I have members of Races besides my own in my service.¡± The Panther Scout turned back to look, and for the first time, James noticed that among the human followers the Panther Queen had brought with her were the two members of Dean¡¯s group who had surrendered to her advance squad. He also observed that all of the humans and non-Pantherfolk followers wore leather collars, like those the Pantherfolk who transformed had donned.


    That¡¯s interesting¡­


    ¡°Take this as a display of my magnanimity. You too can join me, and if you serve me well, you will be rewarded like you were one of my own kind! We are a meritocracy. On the other hand, if you resist, things may not go as well for you. And if I lose even a single one of my loyal followers in the process of taking your fortification, I may feel obliged to put every member of the resistance within to the claw.¡± She raised a paw, opened one finger, and extended a long, knife-like claw¡ªit reminded James of a certain yellow-spandex-suited comic book character¡ªto demonstrate what she meant.


    ¡°I should also tell you that while I do not approve of the taking of innocent life, for my Race, it can sometimes be difficult to tell human juveniles and human adults apart.¡± She shrugged. ¡°You understand, I¡¯m sure. If you wish to surrender, you may open the front door at any time and step out! And if you do not wish to be associated with any resistance that may unfortunately occur, ensure that you are not holding a weapon or chanting a spell when we enter! Think well on how much you value your lives!¡±

 V5Ch16-The Siege of Barry Pesca & MacDougal Part 1

    As the Florida Panther Queen finished speaking, James saw what looked to be a hatch on the roof open up, and climbing out of it, he saw what appeared to be an extremely roided out version of Dean.


    I guess he went through Race Evolution, James thought. He looks like he¡¯s ready to be in a 1980s movie or something¡­


    James wondered what the Race was. But he guessed he would never have the chance to find out, since there was a high probability that Dean and all of his comrades would die here.


    It was nice knowing you. I wish you had joined me. We probably could have done great things together. Well, maybe I¡¯ll wind up avenging your death.


    The Hulk-like Dean on the roof stepped forward, almost to the edge of the rooftop, perhaps so that he had a clearer line of sight on the Panther Army. At this range, it was possible with the Panther Scout¡¯s senses to examine Dean¡¯s expression. James could see, because he knew Dean¡¯s face, that the latter was afraid, but he hid it well behind crossed arms and a scowl.


    Rather than doing something sensible like surrendering, Dean yelled back at the Panther Queen, his voice booming despite being unaided by any magic.


    ¡°Do you think we are defenseless?¡± Dean shouted. ¡°We have been preparing for your arrival for weeks! Do your worst here, and when you fail to make a scratch, go and find softer prey.¡±


    With a contemptuous expression, he turned his back and walked back toward the entrance to the interior.


    Way to play your losing hand like you¡¯ve got pocket aces, James thought. I doubt the bluff will make them go away, but at least your family will feel proud of you as the building collapses in on them.


    ¡°Well, some are proud before they fall,¡± the Queen said with a smirk and a shrug. She turned her head to shout at the soldiers behind her. ¡°Let them taste the sting of our catapults!¡±


    The Pantherfolk yowled and roared with excitement, and as the Panther Scout turned to watch, they loosed their catapults and ballista bolts, along with an array of magical missiles of various elemental compositions¡ªapparently the Panther Queen¡¯s army included a substantial contingent of Mages as well as Warrior types and some form of Job that was essentially equivalent to a siege engineer.


    That looks devastating, James thought.


    He watched closely as all of the attacks arced through the air, neared the old firm building, struck¡ªand were deflected.


    Wait, what?


    The Panther Scout seemed to have a similar reaction as the person watching from behind his eyes, as the scout¡¯s mouth gaped open slightly at what he saw.


    ¡°Reload and prepare to fire again!¡± the Queen ordered instantly. ¡°With more force this time.¡±


    The Panther Scout turned back and watched as dozens of Mages began charging elemental magics of various types, while the more mundane members of the army grabbed nearby rocks or long ballista bolts for the catapults and ballistas respectively.


    Can the building do that again? James wondered. How many of these attacks can it shrug off?


    How long the attacks would continue was another key question, but it was such an ominous one that James preferred not to speculate about it. He would probably have an answer very shortly¡ªor he would witness Dean¡¯s shelter reduced to rubble.


    A minute passed with the attacks charging, siege weapons being loaded, and the Panther Queen looking impatient.


    She seemed to have a pretty good gauge for how long magical attacks took to charge, because as James was thinking they might be done, she spoke up.


    ¡°Ready. Aim. Fire!¡±


    At that final word, all of the attacks were unleashed, and this time, the Panther Scout turned and watched even more closely. James thought it had actually activated a Skill of some sort, because the movement of everything it observed seemed to be advancing more slowly. This was very convenient for James as well. He saw the missiles clearly up until the moment when they struck the building.


    For a moment, as the attacks impacted, James saw it¡ªa thin, transparent barrier that rose from around the building in all directions. It was only visible for what must have been a fraction of a second¡ªit felt like an instant in the scout¡¯s slowed down vision¡ªbefore it faded away again.


    This Skill is similar in nature to Basic Non-Elemental Magic. It has to have a limited supply of power or some other similar weakness. If the Queen keeps up these attacks, the barrier will fall. Right?


    The Panther Queen seemed to have the same idea as James.


    ¡°Another round!¡± she ordered immediately.


    As the Queen waited, she paced back and forth, her expression stiff and¡ªto James¡¯s eyes¡ªdark. She looked as if she might strike down anyone who dared to approach her. Perhaps the scout saw the same thing, because he did not approach the Queen to share what he had undoubtedly noticed. She had probably seen the barrier herself, since she had also watched the attack, but it had also been a blink-and-you¡¯ll-miss-it moment. Even James could have missed it. Whichever Mage had prepared the barrier had undoubtedly been more practiced, and certainly more subtle, than James.


    But did they have James¡¯s insane level of Mana reserves?


    The Panther Queen ordered another barrage of attacks launched.


    This repeated a dozen more times, with similarly minimal effects.


    Although James thought he could spot some weakening in the barrier in the last two attacks¡ªthe Mana when it became visible seemed to flicker subtly¡ªhe thought he was probably the only one who noticed, possibly including the Panther Scout itself. That was the difference between simply having extremely good sensory Skills, which the scout possessed, and also having the experience of regularly using Mana, which gave James more of an understanding of how it worked and what it looked like when in use.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    The Panther Queen ordered a halt to the attacks, and she gave further instructions telepathically.


    All non-drummers, we will temporarily withdraw and rest. Drum corps, advance as close as you can safely manage, and play your drums as loudly as you can. Drum corps leader, arrange shifts. I want you to play the drums all night and into tomorrow. Play continuously until you wear them down. Do not let them sleep. An enemy that has not rested will be much weaker than an enemy on a full night of sleep.


    Well, shit, that might actually work, James thought.


    This was worrying. He wasn¡¯t even thinking about Dean¡¯s fate now. He was just concerned that the Panther Queen seemed clever and resourceful enough to pose a real problem for him in the near future, assuming that she came after the Fisher Kingdom as he expected. Using music as an instrument of war was an idea that he vaguely remembered from the Bible, and he had no doubt it would help the besieging force in some situations.


    Of course a Mage would be less effective if his skull was pounding from loud drum music and a night without sleep. It was likely that Mana regeneration was slower without sleep too, if James had to guess. Healing from significant injuries required sleep, so it stood to reason that efficient Mana recovery would too. The System-initiated world was not that different from the pre-System world.


    In compliance with the Panther Queen¡¯s orders, the drummers split off from the rest of the group and, while the rest of the army looked on, they advanced toward the firm building, talking quietly among themselves as they did so, probably working out shifts.


    The scout did not watch the drum corps advance, though. Instead, he walked over to the Panther Queen and simply stood a few feet away, looking at the ground and keeping a respectful silence until she deigned to notice him.


    ¡°Oh, scout Whisper,¡± she said. ¡°Did you have something to tell me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Your Majesty,¡± he said quietly. ¡°If you will forgive my presumption in assuming that I observed something that you may not have noticed.¡±


    The Panther Queen let out a short, sharp laugh. ¡°Tell me what you observed. If it is something that I actually failed to notice, consider yourself forgiven.¡±


    The weight of her words hung in the air between them like a sword above the scout¡¯s head. Whisper Wind swallowed a lump in his throat. James could feel that, despite the absence of any deliberate pressure from the Panther Queen this time, the scout felt tremendous physical symptoms of nervousness. A terrible weight had settled over his body, he had somehow dropped to a cooler temperature, and his paws shook slightly.


    He spoke: ¡°I think I saw the barrier weakening with the strike of that last attack, Your Keenness. Please forgive my impertinence.¡± He dropped to his knees and kowtowed like he was meeting an ancient Chinese emperor.


    The feeling of being in this subservient scout¡¯s body began to grate on James.


    Have some balls, man¡­


    The Florida Panther Queen gave a longer, more mirthful laugh. ¡°I did see that, scout.¡± The Panther Scout¡¯s blood froze for a moment. ¡°I was uncertain if what I saw was real, but it is a relief to have some confirmation. Thank you.¡±


    For the second time that day, the scout¡¯s mouth dropped open in surprise.


    ¡°Come walk with me, scout,¡± the Queen said. ¡°While we lead the group to a distance that makes it harder for us to hear those accursed drums, I will take your thoughts on our next move.¡±


    ¡°Y-yes, Your Majesty!¡±


    The Panther Scout sprang to his feet and followed the leader as she led the group away. There was a distinct sway to the Queen¡¯s hips as she moved now, which James only noticed because it stood out to the scout. James thought it was strange that the scout was basically staring at his boss¡¯s rear, but perhaps it was a panther thing he did not understand.


    Then she sent a telepathic message, clearly for the scout¡¯s hearing only.


    Do well here, and with your next mission, and I may look to you in the next breeding season, she sent quietly. You are not one of our strongest, but I have noticed your intelligence and sensory abilities¡ªand I have brawn enough for the both of us.


    James felt a palpable excitement surge through the Panther Scout¡¯s body, but it was tempered by another feeling that was difficult for James to identify. There was some kind of uncertainty in him.


    As if reading his mind, the Queen added, I assume you have enough vigor to breed with me and your mate.


    Wow, James thought. So that¡¯s how things work in panther society¡­


    For a moment, he wondered if there was a similar dynamic at play in his wolf pack. Then he decided he really didn¡¯t need to know that.


    He listened to the two Pantherfolk converse back and forth. After the scout reassured his Ruler that he had plenty of vigor, the conversation returned to the more professional subject of capturing Dean¡¯s fortification. The Queen seemed to be very interested in strategies that would not require actually destroying it, which James gathered was because she was impressed with how well it held up¡ªalbeit with magical reinforcement¡ªagainst their bombardment.


    The scout¡¯s advice boiled down to the sort of tips a stereotypical Rogue might offer: sneak in, use subterfuge, dig underground, and the like.


    James thought these ideas were thoroughly unimpressive, mainly because they were the sort of things that he would have come up with on his own already, but the Panther Queen nodded and looked thoughtful as she listened to the Panther Scout¡¯s suggestions. Listening to this conversation gave James another layer of understanding of his adversary.


    Even though he found her intelligent and resourceful, she was not the type of person to think of underhanded strategies like these on her own. At least, that seemed to be the best explanation for why she was genuinely¡ªas far as James could tell¡ªinterested in these lame ideas.


    ¡°All right,¡± the Queen said at the end. ¡°I want you to come with me, and at just past sundown, we will make an attempt to sneak in. Just us and a few of those who are the stealthiest among the army. If I can gain entry, I can cut my way through to the front door and just let our Warriors in.¡±


    She makes it sound so simple, James thought. As if Dean and his people won¡¯t have thought of something so basic.


    After the Panther Queen finished conferring with the scout, she sent another order out, instructing the Mages to begin periodic bombardments of the building, aiming at the opposite side from that where the drummers were camp. The idea was that this would also prevent the defenders from resting.


    James continued to believe this attrition strategy was what would ultimately pay dividends for the Panther Army.


    He did not get to see the bombardment resume, because the scout stayed near the Queen while the Mages marched back to the site of the siege and resumed their attack. James wondered for a moment if they got through, but then he guessed from the fact that the army did not all suddenly receive word to rush back and attack that the barrier was still up.


    I wonder how someone has enough Mana to do this, he thought. Is this person high level? Do they have a Skill like Pillage, to bulk up on Stat points? Or a quick Mana regeneration thing? Is it possible to have infinite Mana? Well, probably not for a mortal¡­


    James observed for the hours that remained until nightfall, although nothing that happened gave him any big additional insights.


    Then the Queen approached him¡ªapproached the Panther Scout, that was¡ªand said that it was time.


    ¡°Let us give the humans in their hiding place a surprise they will not soon forget.¡±


    And the Panther Queen¡¯s smile with the words seemed to bare all of her fangs at once.

 V5Ch17-The Siege of Barry Pesca & MacDougal Part 2

    ¡°Well, what¡¯s your impression so far, son?¡± The world of the vision paused, and Zora¡¯s voice rolled from the sky above like a clap of thunder.


    ¡°I think these are interesting people,¡± James said, speaking off the top of his head without much thought. ¡°The Panther Queen is ruthlessly effective and clearly intelligent. I think that if she wasn¡¯t probably targeting us next, I would like her.¡±


    ¡°Can you defeat her, though?¡± she asked. ¡°Forgetting about admiring our enemy for a minute. Can you beat her?¡±


    ¡°Mom, since the System first appeared, I¡¯ve never seen an opponent I couldn¡¯t kill,¡± James said. ¡°If her heart beats, I can stop it. If she has a throat, I can cut it. There is nothing in this vision so far that persuades me that she could beat me in a fight. I haven¡¯t seen much of what she¡¯s capable of, of course. But now that I know who I¡¯m fighting, she¡¯s at a disadvantage. And if she makes the mistake of coming onto my territory to fight me, she¡¯d have to have a death wish.¡±


    He spoke confidently, though he genuinely knew very little about what the Panther Queen could do. What he did know was that she had not single-handedly ended the siege of the law firm building before it had begun. At the very least, she was not a full tier above him in power or the equivalent. So he should be able to figure something out.


    Maybe my thought process here is a little bit influenced by the fact that I¡¯ve never really lost a fight, though. I mean, my first battle with Rostov¡¯s cult hardly counts. That was really more of a practice-match-slash-rescue-mission. I wasn¡¯t the one who wanted things to escalate to violence.


    ¡°What about her army?¡± his mother asked.


    ¡°Without her, they would collapse,¡± James said instantly.


    It was a doubt he¡¯d entertained about his own army before. Would they be able to accomplish a serious mission without him present?


    He now had hope that they could, which was why he had dispatched them as an invasion force. But he did not believe that the Panther Queen fostered the same kind of independence in her subordinates that James took for granted in his own.


    ¡°If you¡¯re that confident,¡± Zora said in a skeptical voice, ¡°I guess you could just run over to wherever she is, snap the boss¡¯s neck, tell the army they¡¯ve been warned, and go about your day. Do make sure to bring back the corpse. I¡¯m sure the Panther Queen would make a tremendous undead.¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m not that confident,¡± James replied. ¡°This is probably mostly projection. I don¡¯t really know what she or her army are capable of. So far, they¡¯re doing mostly the kinds of things my army could definitely do, but that¡¯s because Dean¡¯s choosing not to meet them in the open field. He knows he would get slaughtered. Which is probably what would happen if he and his guys faced my army too. Or even just my wolf pack. Dean¡¯s people are really out of their league facing any organized force, at least as far as I¡¯ve seen so far.¡±


    Unfortunately reminds me of the Patriots in the Revolutionary War¡­ Doomed to failure without some large-scale help from outside.


    ¡°Let¡¯s continue, then,¡± his mother said. ¡°Maybe you¡¯ll see something useful.¡±


    In his mind, James raised an eyebrow. All he imagined he would see was the gradual, grinding destruction of his old law firm¡¯s building, followed by the swift massacre of its occupants. But he supposed his mother had already watched this show before him. She wouldn¡¯t have bothered sharing if there wasn¡¯t anything of value.


    The first-person point of view movie resumed.


    The scout followed the Panther Queen into a thicket of trees, and over the next few minutes, several other fairly stealthy Pantherfolk joined them¡ªincluding the scout¡¯s mate, the female James had witnessed the scout with in previous days.


    I guess these are all scouts? Maybe they¡¯re the only ones capable of sneaking around effectively enough for whatever the Queen has in mind.


    The stealthy squad emerged at the opposite side of the building from which the Panther Army had begun their frontal assault earlier in the day. As they stepped out from behind cover, there was a loud noise of objects colliding that James recognized as projectiles striking the force field from earlier.


    That¡¯s smart.


    The Queen had apparently coordinated her group¡¯s approach so that it coincided with the loud and distracting attacks from the other side.


    As the sound of the collision began to fade, the handful of Pantherfolk sprinted to the side of the building, minimizing the extent to which their bodies could be seen from the windows. James wondered what they planned to do next, but he needn¡¯t have. The plan was obvious¡ªif it could truly be called a plan, rather than some product of bestial instinct.


    The Pantherfolk extended their claws and dug them into the stone wall of the building. The little blades went in like they were sculpting clay. Then the Pantherfolk were wall-crawling.


    I hope they don¡¯t manage to get into the building this easily, James thought. I won¡¯t learn a thing¡ª


    He cut his thought process short as he felt something different about the Panther Scout¡¯s body. The specific change was hard to identify for a moment, but he finally decided that the aura around it¡ªthe aura that marked a piece of the Panther Queen¡¯s territory or property¡ªhad thickened in the last minute or so. She was using some ability, perhaps to strengthen her subjects, maybe to enhance the specific Skills they were employing, or alternatively simply to control them.


    James did not have access to the scout¡¯s inner monologue during this flashback, which was frustrating, because he doubted that Whisper was experiencing this enhancement or control or whatever without some commentary on it in his mind¡ªunless he was now being directly controlled, which would also tell James something useful.


    The Pantherfolk reached the roof of the building in less than a minute of climbing. It was not a particularly tall building, but it was impressive that they had done so quietly as well as quickly.


    The Pantherfolk stepped onto the roof and began padding lightly forward, their steps almost but not quite in unison. That detail suggested to James that the Panther Queen was not, in fact, actually directing everyone¡¯s movements at the moment. She might be enhancing them, but she was probably not controlling them.


    They approached a hatch on the roof, which James had never actually seen back when he worked at the firm¡ªsince he had never gone up to the attic, let alone to the roof.


    The shell of the Panther Queen¡¯s aura around her body visibly intensified, and the talon that was where her index finger would be if she was human suddenly extended until it was a foot long.


    That¡¯s a nice thing to be able to do on command, James thought.


    Without speaking another word, the Panther Queen jammed her long claw into the space between the hatch and the little door¡ªand it bounced off a small force field, a miniature version of the ones that had deflected the larger projectiles at the front of the building.


    She frowned and tried again, but to the same result.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°All right, let¡¯s all go at once,¡± she said aloud.


    The other Pantherfolk extended their claws, and they began attacking various spots on the roof, trying to claw a hole through the stone of the building¡ªor at least break through the force field.


    James guessed that the Queen must have sent a similar message to the visible members of the besieging force, because out in front of the building, both the drumming and the bombardment intensified.


    And James noticed what he had seen earlier in the day.


    There were many claw strikes all over the roof, to the point that it noticeably shook the forcefield, and these were accompanied by a great escalation in the ground level attacks. As the number of forceful blows increased, the stability of the defense seemed to diminish. James would see the invisible forcefield become visible for a fraction of a second with each time it was invoked. That meant he could see the magic protecting Dean¡¯s fortification growing weaker in real time, as it responded to an overwhelming number and intensity of attackers.


    I thought she was going to win this with attrition, but it¡¯s just the brute force approach. Then again, I guess she kept up the bombardment for hours and then opened up another front and also kept up that damned drumming, because she wanted to wear down whatever Mage is responsible for this forcefield. That¡¯s attrition. And it worked. I was just expecting it to take longer.


    After a minute of this, James realized he had actually underestimated both the Panther Queen and Dean. There was something more going on than just randomly stabbing at the forcefield. It was subtle, which was why it had taken a little time for him to notice, but there was a distinct change happening every time a claw strike made contact with the forcefield.


    Each time, as the claw withdrew, it would pull a small chunk of Mana away with it.


    The barrier isn¡¯t just weakening little by little on its own, he thought. It¡¯s being torn to pieces by those claws¡­


    James sensed that this effect all had something to do with the Panther Queen¡¯s enhancement, which ultimately traced back to her Dominion and the power she wielded within the places and living beings that she had marked as her territory. He didn¡¯t believe for a second that all of these scouts and the Queen just happened to share a Mana-draining Skill of some sort.


    No, this was all the Queen¡¯s doing, and the others were basically just acting as her appendages. Which meant that when her army fought in close quarters with a force that was actually willing to stand up to them in a face to face fight¡­


    Hmm. Would they all be able to do this? He could envision his army being attacked and slowly losing energy with every exchange of blows, without understanding why. The thought was scary. But does she have the ability to enhance every soldier under her command this way at the same time, or would that be too much of a strain for her?


    As James contemplated the key question, the forcefield finally died, not with some epic collapse but with the battle equivalent of a whimper.


    The fateful moment came when the Panther Queen¡¯s claw suddenly sheared through the space where the barrier had been, only to collide with empty air. The claw continued forward, unobstructed, and hacked through a corner of the hatch and on into the stone of the roof. The blade left a short gouge where her claw had traced its path.


    The Queen immediately called a halt to the other attacks on random bits of the roof. James thought this was almost certainly because she wanted to keep the building itself as intact as possible for her own future use. Even for someone who liked to be mobile, as the Panther Queen clearly did, a fortification under your control had obvious value.


    As the others in her small squad watched, the Queen raised a paw to swipe down once again at the hatch¡ªshe would force their entry into the building once and for all¡ªonly for the hatch to pop open with her claws still hanging, ready, inches above.


    Dean was holding onto a ladder below the opening. In the hand he was not using to hold the ladder, he held a t-shirt that he had tied to a short, wooden stick.


    A makeshift white flag, James thought, disheartened. This was all you had, then, Dean?


    ¡°We would like to humbly accept your terms, leader of the panthers,¡± Dean said in a serious voice. ¡°Please forgive our recalcitrance from earlier¡ªor, if you cannot, please place the blame squarely on my shoulders. My people¡ª¡±


    ¡°Come on out here and submit properly,¡± the Panther Queen said.


    James heard a note of arrogant triumph in her voice, but there was something more. He was witnessing all of this from the point of view of the Panther Scout, standing several feet back from the opening into the building, so he could not see the expression of the Queen, who had her back to him, or of his former boss.


    But he could see Dean¡¯s frame poking out from the hatch, and the movements were just off. Inexplicably strange.


    As Dean stepped out onto the roof, James had a direct line of sight at his expression. The man¡¯s eyes looked dead. Not in the sense that he had merely given up hope.


    He¡¯s being mind-controlled, James thought. The Panther Queen has some kind of Skill that can bend people to her Will. Probably required eye contact, like Compulsion, or at least close proximity, or she would have used it when he came out of the building earlier.


    ¡°How do I properly submit?¡± Dean asked dully.


    ¡°It¡¯s my preference that men kneel when they surrender to me,¡± the Panther Queen replied. James still could not see her expression, but he could hear a grin in her voice.


    Dean dutifully knelt.


    ¡°We give up,¡± he said tonelessly. ¡°Please spare my people. We would be happy to join your faction.¡±


    ¡°Tell me what you can about the powers to your South,¡± the Queen said. ¡°Give me something I can use, and your people can enjoy the same status as the other non-Pantherfolk who have joined my glorious forces.¡±


    James felt a strong intuition that the status Dean and his people would experience as the Queen¡¯s servants would be roughly the same as the others who served her, but also that the Panther Queen viewed everyone other than herself as essentially her slave, toys for her to amuse herself with.


    Dean looked noticeably reluctant, even through the haze that had taken hold of him.


    ¡°Please, I don¡¯t,¡± he murmured, his words almost slurred. ¡°I don¡¯t, I really don¡¯t want to hurt anyone else.¡±


    ¡°What if you might help them by getting them to surrender to me?¡± the Queen asked sweetly. ¡°Think about that. If there is some force you are familiar with, they would do well to surrender without fighting, so that I can treat them as gently as I will treat you and yours.¡±


    Dean¡¯s eyes watered slightly, his lower lip quivered, and he looked like he was going to break down in some distressing way.


    Then he said, ¡°There is a person who calls himself the Fisher King¡­¡±


    He told the Panther Queen everything he knew about James post-System-initiation. It wasn¡¯t much, but it was enough. He knew that James had the powers of a Ruler, that James at least had thousands of followers, and that James had his base of operations in the direction that the Panther Queen was curious about¡ªbecause James had left Dean¡¯s place, leading thousands of Goblins, Mole People, and humans in that very direction, not thinking he would need to misdirect Dean about where the Fisher Kingdom was.


    ¡°Very good,¡± the Panther Queen said as Dean finished. The man swayed slightly, as if he was exhausted. James wondered if he had been resisting giving more information than he absolutely had to. Considering that there seemed to be mind control at play, he was inclined to say, Yes.


    The Queen turned her head slightly and said, ¡°Whisper, you and Forest will go, set out first thing tomorrow morning to find this Fisher King and his territory. Report back to me once you do. He is likely directly in our path as we seek to reclaim our birthright. It sounds as if he has a large force at his command. Multiple Races, like ours. We might as well know as much as we can before we fight him.¡± She turned to another member of their squad. ¡°Stone, take our new friend back inside. I will join you momentarily.¡±


    Dean¡¯s body suddenly jerked and spasmed, as if he was coming out of a trance or entering a seizure.


    ¡°We¡ªwe are not just your pawns,¡± he said with an obvious effort. ¡°You¡¯d better treat us¡ªtreat me and my people well. If you mistreat us, we have just as much guts as your Panther¡ª¡±


    His eyes rolled back in his head slightly, and he stopped talking, mouth still hanging open, motionless.


    Then his expression returned to the same dull look as before.


    ¡°This one might prove difficult to control, Your Keenness,¡± said one of the squad members who stood near her in a meek tone. ¡°Perhaps we ought to deal with him more permanently, and you can accept the surrender from one of the other¡ª¡±


    The Queen cut him off with a short, barking laugh.


    ¡°A barking dog never bites,¡± she said. ¡°It¡¯s the people who most vehemently argue about their rights and how independent they are who you can count on to be the easiest to control. If he was really so determined to keep his independence, he¡¯d have either run or fought, not holed up inside his little fortress and then surrendered as soon as the barrier was down.¡± She shook her head. ¡°No, mark my words, this one will be easy to control.¡±


    Then the vision was fading, the world all around James dissolving, until he lay back in his own bed once again.

 V5Ch18-The Journey of Unfinished Business

    Zora watched as her son opened his eyes again.


    With his expression peaceful, in his sleep, he had reminded her of her late husband. Now that he awakened and looked as if he intended to go and enact violence, his face was more volatile.


    Who is it that he looks like now? she thought.


    Zora did not realize she was smiling until he spoke.


    ¡°Thank you for sharing that,¡± he said, twisting his lips into a small smile that she recognized he was mirroring from her. ¡°I especially appreciate that you protected the Kingdom from the scout, though. If he shared all our secrets and got away¡­¡± James shook his head. The idea was unthinkable. James could easily envision a future where the combination of the army¡¯s departure and the Pantherfolk having good intel led to mass casualties for the Fisher Kingdom.


    Even if most residents of the Fisher Kingdom were neither family to James, nor even particularly high potential in terms of their proficiency at using the System, he still didn¡¯t want anyone under his protection to die unnecessarily.


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± Zora asked.


    ¡°Well, I have ideas,¡± James said cagily.


    You don¡¯t want to tell me, huh? Her son was naturally secretive, even with people he ostensibly trusted. If she had to guess, it was probably one of the traits that had pushed him towards becoming a Ruler. Not because secretive people naturally made good leaders, but because James would want to always be in ¡°the room where it happens,¡± on the inside of any and all important decisions. Some are born great, others have to adapt to circumstances that make them great, and still others seize greatness by sheer force of Will. James is in that last category.


    ¡°All right, keep your secrets, son,¡± Zora replied with a shrug and a chuckle. ¡°I hope you¡¯ll come up with the right answer. I can¡¯t pretend I know it. Fortunately, leadership isn¡¯t my burden.¡± She winked.


    ¡°But you¡¯re happy to live at the White House, right?¡± James asked.


    It was a reference to an old conversation they¡¯d had when James was just a child, and Zora was convinced that he could be President someday if he wanted. This had been before his father passed. She was a little surprised that he remembered it at all.


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± she said, grinning. ¡°I was planning on just visiting, but it¡¯s so nice here!¡± She looked around, pretending that she was in the Lincoln Bedroom or something for a moment.


    James laughed. ¡°That sounds about right. You¡¯re talking like you¡¯re not expecting to be a part of the decision-making process, though. I definitely want you in the meeting later when my councillors show up to give me their advice on this.¡±


    Zora swallowed. Now came the time for a slightly uncomfortable conversation.


    ¡°Actually, ever since I realized that your country might be under threat, I¡¯ve been thinking about what I could do to better prepare,¡± she said. ¡°And I think I need to get out of here for a while.¡±


    James raised an eyebrow but said nothing.


    ¡°You should give me one of your creatures, so we can talk, and I know what¡¯s going on, but I¡¯m guessing the Panther Queen won¡¯t attack tomorrow, or even within this week. Her army moves more slowly when they¡¯re going to besiege a place than the Queen would on her own, since they carry around a lot of heavy equipment¡ª¡±


    ¡°Siege weaponry,¡± James said.


    ¡°Right. That.¡±


    ¡°What is it you want to do, Mom?¡± James asked.


    ¡°I want to go and improve myself,¡± she said immediately. ¡°I¡¯ve stayed here too long without doing anything. I¡¯m falling further behind you in power¡ªwhich also means I¡¯m falling behind any other Necromancers who might exist or might come to exist. In order for me to live up to my Class¡¯s potential, I have to be out there hunting down powerful monsters and creating terrifying undead. I¡¯ll come back, of course. And if you give me adequate warning, I¡¯ll come back in time to help with any attack by the Florida Panther Queen.¡±


    She had given only half of her reason for wanting to leave, but the other half was deliberately a secret. She only hoped James would not make too many counter arguments and perhaps force her to reveal her other motive.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m not worried about whether you¡¯d be able to come back in time,¡± James said, smiling. ¡°We haven¡¯t spoken about it, I guess, but I recently gained a Skill that allows me to summon anyone I¡¯ve blessed from a distance. It consumes resources based on how powerful the person is, but since I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯re still not more powerful than me¡­¡±


    Zora nodded. ¡°Another reason for me to be confident in leaving, then.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± James said, though he did not look pleased, exactly. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll get your advice through a monster if I need it. Could you do me a favor and chop off my hand?¡±


    She swallowed. ¡°Right. That¡¯s how you create monsters.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯m sort of an invalid right now. Don¡¯t worry, I can stop the blood from flowing out; I have really good control over my body¡¯s functions. I¡¯m just too weak to move.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really understand that, James,¡± Zora said.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Neither do I, but it seems like my blessing fixed the issue for you.¡± He looked annoyed.


    Zora reached into her Small Bag of Deceptive Dimensions and drew out a dagger she had Looted from a monster on the way here. Then she grasped hold of James¡¯s right hand and pressed it flat against the bedspread, looking with her other hand for the right place to cut to sever the joint with the least trouble.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move,¡± she said, smirking a little.


    James saw it and grimaced. ¡°You have a terrible sense of humor.¡±


    Where do you think you got it from, son?


    ¡ª


    Zora left the apartment with the hand-monster perched on her shoulder, dancing gleefully back and forth like something from out of ¡°The Addams Family.¡±


    ¡°You behave, or I¡¯ll feed you to the first bigger monster I see,¡± she murmured.


    It grew still almost immediately, and the Necromancer nodded.


    ¡°We¡¯ll get along after all, then,¡± she said.


    Zora had said goodbye to James, met the new and improved Mina, and given her grandson a kiss goodbye. Now all she had left to do before she departed was the most difficult part.


    Tell her daughter that she was going.


    The Necromancer walked to the building she shared with her daughter¡ªthough it was really Ben who spent more time there with Alice, as Zora was devoted to her Class and spent most of her free hours in her laboratory. She reached out a hand to the door, touched it, and sent out a pulse of pure Mana, gentle but firm, intended to get Alice¡¯s attention.


    It was a signal the two women had agreed on, a more discreet version of knocking. Since they  both possessed Mage-descended Classes, they each had better Mana control than the average person.


    And Zora had no interest in walking in on Alice and Ben canoodling.


    It had almost happened once already, before Orientation, when Zora paid her daughter a surprise visit at her apartment. There had been awkward explanations and reassurances.


    This time, Zora would ensure Alice at least had a minute to button her shirt.


    The Necromancer counted to sixty in her head, and then she began counting again¡ªbut before she could get past ten, the door opened. Alice stood there, looking confident and put together in a nice cashmere sweater and blue jeans.


    ¡°You knocked?¡± she said.


    ¡°I did,¡± Zora said. ¡°Can I come in?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re always welcome,¡± Alice replied.


    The women sat at Alice¡¯s coffee table and sipped coffee for a minute before Zora forced herself to say what she had come to say.


    ¡°I¡¯m leaving the Kingdom for a little while,¡± Zora began.


    Alice furrowed her brow. ¡°To do what?¡±


    ¡°A bit of hunting. I like the Dungeon here, but I can¡¯t get much benefit from it, since I need dead bodies to practice my Class Skills.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± Alice said, frowning. After a moment, she smoothed her expression and asked, ¡°So, where are we going?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t say it like that,¡± Zora said. ¡°It¡¯s not a ¡®we¡¯ thing. It¡¯s a ¡®me¡¯ thing. My patron has already made it clear what I should do. What my best path is. Every time I try Divination, it tells me the same thing.¡±


    ¡°Like I said,¡± Alice said, speaking more slowly and emphatically, ¡°where are we going?¡±


    ¡°You should stay in your brother¡¯s territory, where it¡¯s safe,¡± Zora said sternly.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to be left behind while you go out and get yourself killed,¡± Alice replied in a quiet but firm voice.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that,¡± Zora insisted. ¡°I already know exactly where I want to go and who I want to fight. I¡¯ll be prepared. There¡¯s little chance of me dying.¡± This was not quite true, but she was willing to stretch the truth a little bit here.


    ¡°Who?¡± Alice¡¯s voice came out harsh and demanding, as if she already suspected she knew the answer.


    ¡°You know,¡± Zora said, not bothering to hide what her daughter must already suspect. ¡°That monster that captured you near the end of Orientation and held you captive.¡± Her voice shook slightly with carefully controlled rage. Only she and Alice knew exactly what had happened.


    ¡°And now you¡¯re going to get yourself captured,¡± Alice said. ¡°Then I will come to rescue you, and we¡¯ll both be dead separately instead of together.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll do no such thing,¡± Zora said. ¡°If I fail¡ª¡±


    ¡°Look, Mom,¡± Alice said. ¡°Splitting up during Orientation didn¡¯t really work out for us, did it?¡± The sentence was not really a question.


    Zora looked away guiltily. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± she said. ¡°If I had just stayed by your side¡­¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not looking for another apology, Mom,¡± Alice said. ¡°Treat me like a damned partner, okay? Take me with you. That¡¯s how you fix it. Don¡¯t leave me behind again.¡± She reached down and clasped her mother¡¯s hands in her own. ¡°Together. You and me.¡± Alice flashed a little smile. ¡°Some mother-daughter bonding?¡±


    Zora let out a slow, shaky breath, then shook her head.


    Am I losing my mind? I don¡¯t know how to say ¡®no¡¯ to this¡­ at least not convincingly. And if I fail to convince her, she¡¯ll just follow me anyway.


    And Zora intended on leaving a trail of death as she traveled. She would need to do that, just as she needed this fight, to advance her Class and Race.


    Maybe I can find a way to lose her on the way, she told herself. But Zora knew she wouldn¡¯t do that. Leaving her only daughter alone in the wilderness between the Fisher Kingdom and where Zora was actually going would be no better than taking her along, even if the danger of their destination outstripped what the Necromancer imagined.


    ¡°Fine, but you will have to keep what happens on this journey to yourself,¡± Zora said finally. ¡°More secrets from your brother.¡±


    ¡°Have you heard him say anything about our Orientation?¡± Alice asked rhetorically. ¡°No! I¡¯m fine with keeping secrets if it makes sense¡ªif it¡¯s less bad than telling the truth. I got why you didn¡¯t want me to tell him about how Orientation ended.¡±


    Zora nodded. ¡°James would have gone rushing out to fight that monster, and it¡¯s a bad matchup for him. I have a better shot, even though I¡¯m a lower level than him on paper.¡±


    I have an even better shot with you helping, she admitted to herself silently.


    ¡°I know,¡± Alice said. ¡°That was why I didn¡¯t tell him.¡±


    ¡°The big secret about this trip is¡ªwell, you know I still haven¡¯t accepted my Race Evolution,¡± Zora said. ¡°I¡¯m probably going to do that at some point on this trip.¡±


    Alice looked slightly uncomfortable, then shook her head, not to be dissuaded. ¡°I¡¯m still going.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± Zora said, sighing. ¡°Let¡¯s plan our trip.¡±


    I have a terrible feeling about this¡­

 V5Ch19-Aggressive Negotiations

    Mina knocked on the bedroom door.


    It was a funny thing, bothering to knock on the door to her own bedroom, but considering that Zora had emerged not long before, she thought it was possible that James might have recovered from his condition¡ªmight be changing clothes at the moment that she reached the door.


    ¡°Come in,¡± she heard him say.


    So, he¡¯s not up, then, she thought, slightly disappointed.


    Mina opened the door to find James¡¯s position in the bed unchanged.


    ¡°So, I guess the blessing helped your mother after all,¡± she said.


    It clearly wasn¡¯t my Zone of Enchantment¡­


    ¡°That, plus your Zone of Enchantment,¡± James replied. ¡°I¡¯m feeling a lot better myself. And I guess Junior didn¡¯t mind your Evolution?¡±


    Those last words caused Mina to look down. She held the baby in her arms, and Junior clung to her as tightly as he ever had.


    She smiled.


    ¡°Yes, he still seems to like his Mommy.¡±


    It had been a little strange when she approached Junior. The child didn¡¯t seem to have any issues recognizing Mina as his mother at all, despite what she considered fairly substantial changes to her external appearance.


    ¡°I¡¯m glad,¡± James said.


    But his expression was preoccupied and far away to Mina¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Did anything interesting come up while you were talking to your mother, skapi?¡± she asked after a long pause.


    James¡¯s mouth set itself into a hard line.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid so.¡±


    Then he explained what Zora had shown him. Visions of an enemy who would likely come to attack them sometime in the next few months.


    ¡°We really don¡¯t have a good timeline on that,¡± James finished. ¡°It could be after the World Leaders¡¯ Summit, but I¡¯m not feeling that optimistic.¡±


    Her heart beat a little bit faster.


    ¡°What do we need to do?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to arrange a meeting with my council for this evening,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯ll get some advice from them. But the choices will end up being, call the army back, or find a way to deal with this without them.¡±


    ¡°That hardly seems like a choice at all,¡± Mina said, hardly thinking about it.


    ¡°Oh?¡± James raised an eyebrow.


    ¡°Well, we wouldn¡¯t want to fight an army by ourselves, would we?¡±


    But as the words left her mouth, she was already beginning to doubt them. She knew some of what James was capable of, including driving a couple of species to extinction in the past.


    Maybe he thinks he can fight an army alone. Maybe he¡¯s right.


    James frowned. ¡°I sent the army away, in part to figure out if they could take on a significant enemy force without me present. I¡¯m not really reliant on having a lot of warm bodies to fight for me. But I¡¯ll make sure that I get a clear report from our advisors on how many people the Fisher Kingdom can put in the field right now. Speaking of which, before we meet with them, what do my council members know about my condition?¡±


    ¡°Not much,¡± Mina said. ¡°We¡¯ve been vague so far. Leo said a couple of army guys asked what happened on the day of the incident, and he told them there was an explosion. Then we told the couple of council members who asked that you were recovering from fighting a small incursion. But very light on details. We wanted to ensure you had the opportunity to shape the narrative as you preferred once you were back to yourself.¡±


    James nodded. ¡°Thank you. That was a good decision. Maybe I¡¯ll have the meeting in Dreamspace, so they don¡¯t have to see what kind of condition I¡¯m in.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing all of your abilities are still working,¡± Mina said.


    ¡°As long as they don¡¯t require me to move.¡±


    ¡°Is there anything I can do to help?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re one of the only people I definitely want to have involved,¡± James said quietly. ¡°Regardless of how I end up handling this. So, with that in mind, you should prepare yourself. We¡¯re going to war, one way or another, unless I can completely prevent it somehow. Seems unlikely, though. You should probably study your magic and see if there¡¯s anything you can learn to do that¡¯s going to be useful here. I don¡¯t know if the Tome of Elemental Magic that I gave you will help at all, but at least that¡¯s a starting point. I¡¯m going to leave my body behind for a bit and go check on how the army is doing.¡±


    Mina nodded. ¡°Okay.¡±


    At least that was something.


    As she grasped the doorknob again, James was shutting his eyes.


    Before the door was all the way shut, Mina thought she sensed that her husband was already gone from the room.


    ¡ª


    Luna and the wolf pack hunted for days, periodically reporting back to Dave and the army, before they came upon any worthwhile prey.


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    They easily found large animals to attack and consume wherever they roamed, but the beasts were not particularly organized or able to rally around a single, strong leader that might defend them from the wolf pack¡¯s aggression. None of these creatures were worthy of being subjugated by the Fisher King¡ªat least not in Luna¡¯s reckoning.


    She thought she had a good read on her King¡¯s wishes and future intentions. All of creation was to eventually become his possession, and he needed creatures that would be good fighters to entrench his power further. Creatures that were good as food would naturally be plentiful, too, but there was no need to kill the leaders of those populations and establish dominance as of yet. They could wander the land freely as long as they did not interfere with the movements of his army.


    Despite Luna¡¯s fierce desire to prove her own value, and that of her pack, by their valor, what felt like a long time elapsed before they ran into anything worth reporting.


    It seemed that the Fisher Kingdom¡¯s closest neighbors, once the King had defeated the alligators, bats, and the incomprehensible things that lived in the Haunted Forest, were none too threatening.


    At least not to the East.


    They moved on, ranging further and further from the main army group, until finally, the pack hit something that caused them to stop.


    Luna scented the air, nose pointed straight up into the sky. The smell was not one she was familiar with. Still, the feeling in the air was unmistakable.


    ¡°An enemy aura,¡± she growled quietly.


    The other wolves had already stopped rushing forward and gathered around her. Now she was grateful that her pack was so well coordinated.


    They rushed back to the main army, several miles behind them despite the wolf pack¡¯s rather circuitous style of travel, to report what they had found.


    ¡°Enemy territory,¡± Luna reported to Dave once she stood before the man. ¡°Seven miles East. Scrubby land. Among the pines. We did not witness the exact nature of the enemy. The smell was unfamiliar but felt vaguely reptilian to me. I sensed a certain malevolence in the air. We did not enter, though. I thought it best to wait for you and the rest of the army.¡± She spoke that last sentence with an obvious reluctance. It hurt her pride slightly that she was not the hammer, entering enemy territory with reckless abandon.


    But this was the role she had been given, and she would play it faithfully.


    The army moved on, perhaps a bit more slowly than Luna would have liked, and the wolf pack prepared to play their part as the most vicious part of the Royal Fisher Army.


    As they reached the border area, Luna saw that there was now a sort of guard force posted within.


    Dozens of creatures, lined up and waiting for them.


    She saw several different kinds of lizards, each roughly the size of an alligator before the System; turtles big enough to bite through tree trunks; and there was a massive snake leading them.


    As the army approached, the snake rattled its tail in an unmistakable warning.


    They did not slow, however.


    Dave expressed the group¡¯s reasoning in a statement made under his breath: ¡°We have the numbers.¡±


    No matter how formidable this gaggle of border guards might be on an individual combatant level, they would not be able to stand up to the thousands of soldiers the Fisher Kingdom had brought to throw into the fights this journey was inevitably going to bring.


    The army reached within twenty feet of the border, and the rattlesnake spoke.


    ¡°Stop right there, sssscum!¡± it said in a menacing hiss.


    Dave raised an arm and yelled out, ¡°Battalion, halt!¡±


    The human segment of the army stopped in its tracks almost instantly, along with the wolves, shortly followed by the Goblins. The alligators bumped into each other and halted a bit more clumsily, but overall, Luna thought the army had shown its discipline fairly well with that single gesture.


    I did not realize my human colleagues were so well trained, she thought with some admiration.


    ¡°Damien, Luna, Sam, Duncan, Samuel¡­¡± Dave called out multiple names, gathering several individuals close to him. Luna felt a touch of pride at being selected, considering that all of the individuals chosen were fairly strong.


    Then Dave and this honor guard¡ªonly around a dozen comrades¡ªadvanced the remaining twenty feet toward the border.


    ¡°I ordered you to stop!¡± hissed the snake again, rattling more ferociously than before.


    ¡°Most of us did,¡± Dave said in a loud voice. ¡°I¡¯m advancing with a small group to negotiate with you! If you are not open to negotiation, please feel free to let me know, and my army can rain hell on you instead.¡±


    The snake continued rattling, but the motion grew noticeably more subdued. Luna watched the creature¡¯s head turn from side to side, as if really taking in the sheer scope of the army¡¯s numbers for the first time. Its body seemed to stiffen as it absorbed the sights before it, but Luna could not tell if that was a sign of the snake¡¯s resolve strengthening or weakening.


    Meanwhile, Dave and his guard had continued to move forward. They walked right up, almost to the very edge of the territory. Dave stopped upon getting near the border and frowned.


    He feels it too. The malevolence in the air. I do not know about this contingent of guards, but the Ruler that lives in this place will not submit without a fight¡­


    Dave began to speak in a loud, confident voice.


    ¡°We come from the Fisher Kingdom. We are instructed to destroy all opposition to the Fisher King between his territory and the coastline. In order to do so, we must pass through this land. Are there any who would stand against the Fisher King here?¡±


    Luna felt a hint of trepidation at observing the steady gaze of the rattlesnake. The creature had kept its eyes locked on Dave as he spoke, and she saw no signs of hesitancy in its body language now.


    They will not simply roll over and play dead.


    ¡°And what if we would ssstand against your Fisher King?¡± the rattlesnake asked in a challenging tone. ¡°Is this army all that you bring to enforce his Will? If he is so mighty, why does he not come forth himself? Does he think that normal humans and your ragtag bunch of creatures can defeat our Ruler?¡±


    Luna¡¯s eyes narrowed. The snake was dangerously close to getting her head bitten off.


    But Dave continued the path of civil dialogue.


    ¡°We can, and we will, if that is necessary,¡± he replied smoothly and confidently. ¡°But the Fisher King prefers to accept the submission of Rulers rather than killing them, however. We have two Rulers who fought against him and submitted to him right here. Samuel? Duncan?¡±


    The two former Rulers stepped forward from among Dave¡¯s guard.


    The rattlesnake looked distinctly unimpressed by Duncan, but her head had to tilt back to fully capture the might of Samuel. Luna thought she sensed a wavering in the snake¡¯s body language. There were few creatures in the System-initiated world, as far as Luna knew, who surpassed Samuel for sheer scale and capacity for intimidation.


    ¡°There were other Rulers who fought against him and are sadly no longer here to tell the tale,¡± Dave continued. ¡°Their former followers are a part of the army, however. Our King is merciful. The question that you should take back to your Ruler is: do you want to be a part of the Fisher Kingdom, or just part of the story of its expansion? Do you want to serve the Fisher King, or be Looted and turned into a piece of his equipment?¡±


    The sound of rattling intensified again.


    Dave¡¯s words appeared to have set off the rattlesnake emotionally.


    Time seemed to slow down for a few critical moments.


    Then the snake uttered a final, wordless hiss and threw itself at Dave¡¯s neck.


    After that, the world moved far more quickly.

 V5Ch20-The Presence of the King

    As Luna watched, Dave managed to jerk his arm up quickly enough to keep the rattlesnake from injecting her venom directly into his throat.


    Still, even the thin layer of armor on his arm could not stop the creature¡¯s fangs from plunging into his wrist¡ªand presumably injecting a great quantity of poison there.


    ¡°Aaargh!¡± Dave¡¯s voice broke the stillness that had settled over both sides in the moments before the attack.


    Luna was already in motion. She had hurled herself toward the rattlesnake¡¯s body as soon as she recognized what it was doing, though she would be far too slow.


    Now the rest of the guards sprang into action. Samuel threw himself over the border and into enemy territory, landing his heavy bulk atop two of the gigantic lizards. Duncan began gathering Mana around himself. Damien¡¯s body burst into its Werewolf transformation, though that took place at the very edges of Luna¡¯s perception. Her eyes were focused on the rattlesnake and Dave.


    While the snake injected venom, Dave was not exactly resisting. Though he winced, he was using his free hand¡ªhis left¡ªto draw his pistol from his side. From the way his eyes glanced around, he was more focused on the other enemies that might come to join in the assault than he was on the rattlesnake that had already bared its fangs.


    Luna¡¯s body landed inches away from Dave¡¯s, and three sets of jaws sank their teeth into the rattlesnake¡¯s thick, scaly hide.


    That was far from enough to make the creature let go of Daves¡¯s arm, which was already starting to swell up and turn the color of a bad bruise.


    As Luna tore into the rattlesnake¡¯s lower half, Dave fired shots at the other creatures that now charged him and his small contingent of guards. One of the other humans lunged in from behind him with a pair of long hunting knives and hacked at the arm the rattlesnake had attached itself to, severing it just above the elbow with two quick strokes.


    Dave collapsed to the ground, still firing his magic bullets toward the enemy as blood gushed from his stump limb.


    The rattlesnake flopped down beside him, quickly loosed its fangs from the severed arm, and feebly tried to reattach itself to Dave. The same two long hunting knives from before stabbed viciously into its head as the man who had amputated Dave¡¯s limb¡ªhis name was Sam, Luna now recalled¡ªfinished the creature off.


    Good reflexes, she thought.


    Luna released the section of rattlesnake torso that she had been turning into ground meat and threw herself into the fight across the border, which most of Dave¡¯s guards were participating in now.


    Samuel had decapitated one of the lizards he had initially attacked, and he was crushing the other one¡¯s spine between his jaws. Damien was ripping one of the tortoise¡¯s heads. The other humans hacked and stabbed and shot bolts of lightning and short range at the other creatures.


    Luna lunged onto a green lizard that had extended a red flap from its throat¡ªshe gathered this was a dominance display¡ªand bit into that flap. The creature shrieked with pain and tried to claw at her with its feeble digits, but Luna easily held the size and strength advantages.


    A familiar voice spoke into Luna¡¯s mind as she tore into the hapless monster beneath her paws.


    Hey, Luna, how are things with the army? the King asked. Please let me know if I¡¯ve caught you at a bad time, and we can talk later.


    The leader of the wolves paused, opened all three sets of jaws wide, and ripped into her foe with even greater gusto, tearing flesh and shattering bone until the bloody wreck of its body stopped moving. Her eyes darted around, assessing the battlefield status quo, as one of her heads began devouring the nourishing meat of her enemy.


    It had not been much of a battle anyway¡ªlittle more than a dishonorable sneak attack¡ªand the enemy were all dead or dying at this point. None of them was getting away. That was the important thing.


    My King, your whim is my command, Luna quickly replied, unconsciously wagging her tail as she communicated. She had missed her Ruler¡¯s voice. It could never be a bad time. To what do I owe the honor of your presence in my mind? Some problem to solve? Someone to kill?


    Luna knew the Fisher Kingdom well enough by now that she doubted this was a mere housekeeping call. The King was very busy. And he had placed a commander above the entire army, including Luna, so that if James had merely wanted a status report, he could have communicated with Dave Matsumoto.


    Then again, I do not know if humans have the same telepathic link with each other that His Majesty does with me and the other species leaders, she thought. Perhaps he cannot speak directly with Dave, and we are his only true eyes on the ground.


    First, I want to know how things are going where you are, the King sent, gently reproaching her for steering the conversation away from the simple question he had asked.


    We are just mopping up a small battle, Luna admitted. It was a minor matter. Barely more than a skirmish.


    Do you mind if I look through your eyes? he asked.


    It would be my honor to be your host, she replied instantly. Inhabit me for as long as you wish. She had to resist the urge to bow as she sent the message. It would have looked ridiculous, since there was no one physically there in front of her; the closest presences were dying enemies being ripped apart by blade and tooth.


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    Luna felt a warmth spread throughout her body. There was a feeling inside her brain like a loving hand caressing her, and she knew that the King was with her.


    She heard his voice again, sounding much closer this time.


    I hope it doesn¡¯t feel too crowded, he thought at her. I have figured out how to do this while leaving you in control. I only want to observe.


    Luna felt an impulse to tell James that she had meant to offer him control, but she instinctively understood that he was not taking it because he did not need or want it right now. She thought she might distract him with too much idle chatter.


    So she only thought back, All is well for me, my King. You are with me. The feeling is beatific.


    And what she said was true. She imagined it was probably the same for any of those the Fisher King had blessed. To actually feel his presence inside her was an experience similar in quality to what she imagined a divine visitation might be like, for those who had a patron deity.


    It was warmth and power and security and love, all wrapped around her like a warm blanket.


    I see what you mean about a skirmish, the Fisher King observed. There were very few enemies here, but it was quite bloody nevertheless.


    They launched a sneak attack, Luna replied immediately. Trying to remove Dave and break our command structure.


    It was a good plan, James responded. What would you do next? If it was up to you. Would you retreat from this place or continue to seek retribution?


    Luna swallowed. I sense a malevolence in the air, my King. The Ruler here is not one to be trifled with.


    So, you would withdraw? There was no judgment in the voice, only a question.


    No, Luna replied. I think that the Ruler will only be more on guard if we return later. It is impossible that this skirmish will go unaccounted for as they plan their future moves. We could return in a month¡¯s time and find that the trees here have been cut down and replaced by some of your human-style fortifications. I would invade and see where this Ruler lays his or her head.


    Well, you¡¯re right that this won¡¯t go unnoticed, James sent. It wouldn¡¯t in my territory, at least.


    As Luna stood triumphantly over the corpse of her kill, communing with her leader, her mate rushed to her side.


    Romulus, she sent to him telepathically, I hope all is well.


    He seemed to be moving with a little more urgency than she would have expected, given that the enemy was defeated, the threat all destroyed now. And then Romulus was inches away from Luna, lapping at the fur on the side of her body.


    Oh, she thought. There was a small wound there, where the lizard she was killing had managed to cut her with one of its claws. It was nothing that would take any significant time to heal, but it would heal faster with her mate¡¯s Healing Saliva¡ªone of the Skills the members of the wolf pack had in common¡ªapplied.


    I will just go and check on Dave, James sent.


    Luna had the strangest sense that he felt as if he was intruding on an intimate moment or something, and just like that, the presence was gone.


    ¡°Thank you, my love,¡± she said quietly, nuzzling one of Romulus¡¯s heads with one of hers. ¡°I am really all right¡­¡±


    ¡ª


    James shifted his astral form into the Hair-Clay Spider he had created and given to Dave before the army left the Fisher Kingdom. Then he hopped down from Dave¡¯s belt, where the spider was stored, to the ground, to survey the situation.


    From there, he had a much better view of Dave¡¯s injuries, as well as of the army as a whole. Most of them had not even had the opportunity to enter the territory yet, as they had simply not been close enough¡ªor reacted quickly enough¡ªto attack before Dave and his guards had reduced the enemies to scattered bits of meat and bone.


    There were already two Healers by Dave¡¯s side. One of them had applied Purification and was ensuring no venom remained in Dave¡¯s body, while the other one was working on his severed limb. The arm was rapidly regrowing.


    ¡°I remember when amputation used to be a permanent procedure,¡± James said from the spider¡¯s mouth.


    Dave laughed, a short barking sound on this occasion. ¡°I remember that too. It¡¯s good to hear from you, Your Majesty. I hope you see we¡¯re doing our work, as ordered.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do,¡± James said. ¡°I came to check on you and see what you intended to do next.¡±


    ¡°Next?¡± Dave replied. ¡°The second step is more of the same, but with less diplomacy. They attack when we try to negotiate, so we don¡¯t bother negotiating. We fight our way to the Ruler and don¡¯t stop until he or she is dead. Unless it¡¯s the will of the Fisher King that we do something different.¡±


    He sounded firm and resolute, despite being in great pain¡ªdespite the fact that his forehead shone bright with sweat, as his arm sprouted anew from the place where it had once grown.


    ¡°Very well,¡± James said. ¡°I like that answer. Is this the only enemy force you have had to face since you left me?¡±


    ¡°The only significant enemy, yes,¡± Dave said.


    He detailed the preceding phases of their journey¡ªmostly they had passed through territories that had no Rulers, with wild monsters roaming freely or occasionally a small number of humans eking out a bare existence off the land.


    ¡°I directed them toward the Fisher Kingdom, of course,¡± he added. ¡°The only verified safe place for humans in the world we live in now. If the monsters we had run into were the talking kind, I would have done the same with them.¡±


    ¡°Good call,¡± James replied.


    ¡°The journey has been entirely straightforward and very easy up until now,¡± Dave said. ¡°This is our first hint of a struggle, but we¡¯ll pass through it without too much trouble, I¡¯m confident.¡±


    James could tell there was a bit of bluster in those last words, but he approved of Dave¡¯s attitude.


    ¡°I have the utmost confidence in you, Captain,¡± he said. ¡°Defeat the reptilian creatures that control this territory, and continue on your way to the coast. Contact me if your losses become significant, but otherwise, I trust that you will manage things.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sir.¡±


    Dave used his freshly regrown limb to salute the tiny spider that stood on the ground in front of him. The spider returned Dave¡¯s salute, and then it hopped back onto Dave¡¯s body and returned to the place, tucked into his belt, where he typically stored it.


    With that, James returned to his own body¡ªand the Fisher Kingdom.

 V5Ch21-More Monsters

    ¡°Well, that was interesting,¡± James said to himself.


    He composed a quick announcement, which he then transmitted to the members of his council using his Fisher King powers.


    [Greetings, members of my council. It¡¯s been a while, and I¡¯m sure some of you have been worried about my rather long silence recently. Have no fear, I have been having a rest. Through circumstances I will explain in a meeting this evening, I was injured and am recovering. The injuries are non-life-threatening, and with time, I am entirely confident that I will return to my normal routine of kicking ass and taking names. Do not worry about attending the meeting in our usual location or about making it on time. Just go to bed at your usual bedtimes, and I¡¯ll find you. I¡¯ve made us a reservation in Dreamspace.]


    There, that¡¯s suitably opaque and mysterious.


    Then he was left with the question of what to do next, but that was no question at all as far as he was concerned. He could not hasten his own recovery. He had already asked Mina to do her part. The meeting he intended to have with the council would not take place until the evening, since he intended to hold it in Dreamspace. And what he had seen with the army just steadied his own resolve not to summon them back unless he had to¡ªin which case he could quite literally summon some of them using his Summon Divine Helper Skill.


    There was nothing he could do to improve his situation for now but acquire more fighters to help him defend his country. And James would do that, not by inviting new immigrants¡ªmore continued to come every day, with or without his invitation, and his builders were consistently working to accommodate that¡ªnor by finding more people to bless. Rather, James would spend his time and energy on one of his basic, bread and butter Skills, which he had not employed to its fullest potential recently.


    Monster Generation.


    James used Monster Generation and Shed Skin at the same time. It felt less graceful and more lumbering than usual¡ªhis skin seemed to crawl off of his body rather than effortlessly tumbling free from his flesh as it had previously. Once it was separate, however, the Skin Husk moved as a shed layer of skin normally moved, wispy and surprisingly quick, obedient to James¡¯s silent orders.


    The monster opened James¡¯s bag and drew out his Ego Spidersword. The weapon seemed to recognize that the skin that held it was a part of James¡¯s body, so it should not fight against the Skin Husk¡¯s grip. The Skin Husk grasped it with both of its frail hands and raised it high in the air above James¡¯s legs.


    So, that works. It took a moment for James to adjust his mind and remind himself that what he was seeing¡ªthe creature looking like it was about to lop off one or both of his legs¡ªwas just fine. Part of the plan.


    He sent a quick message to Mina with his Fisher King powers before he began the next phase of the work.


    [Mina, I¡¯m about to do some intense stuff in the bedroom, just experimenting with my powers a bit. If you hear noises, or even screaming, don¡¯t come in. If I need you, I¡¯ll call you like this.]


    He heard her footsteps approach the other side of the door. They were remarkably quiet compared to what they had once been, and James could easily imagine her being able to sneak up on him if she really tried.


    ¡°Even screaming, skapi?¡± she called quietly, in a tone of, Are you sure?


    ¡°Even screaming!¡± James yelled back.


    ¡°All right.¡± His wife¡¯s small feet padded away again.


    James wondered for a moment if she would put in ear plugs. Then he pulled himself back to the present, poured Mana into his legs, and looked up at the monster that stood, motionless, looming over his lower body like an omen of death.


    ¡°Well, go ahead,¡± James said.


    The creature swung the sword down and severed two of the Fisher King¡¯s limbs below the joints.


    Rather than falling away bloodily, the two limbs fell away from his body with a dull sound like two dried husks of meat striking the bed.


    Thank goodness for Full Body Control. He could feel the blood just above his knees, pulsing, trying to make its way down through the arteries that led into the lower legs¡ªor had led into the lower legs until this recent amputation.


    Instantly, the stumps of flesh and bone began slowly repairing themselves. New material grew where once such development would have been impossible. It was nothing new to James, but the Skin Husk used Laying on Hands to hasten the process. That was the Skill James had imbued that particular monster with, along with Rapid Recovery, and those selections were for good reason.


    There was a whole lot more Monster Generation to come.


    Over the next several hours, James allowed his flesh to be chopped into smaller and smaller pieces¡ªthe better to regenerate more quickly from each injury¡ªso that each new hunk of his body could become a new, independently living monster with its own Skills and movement capabilities.


    I¡¯m like some biblical demon, James thought in one of the less painful moments, looking around at the freakish assortment of monsters of many sizes that surrounded him on all sides. I am called Legion, for we are many¡­


    He chuckled quietly, his throat dry from lack of water.


    Then he continued. The monster chopped off one of the ears from James¡¯s head next, and the cartilage immediately bent and twisted itself into limbs that allowed the creature to spring from one spot to another on the bed. It ran around on all fours in circles within James¡¯s peripheral vision for a few seconds before he silently ordered it to move down to the foot of the bed, then sit and stay.


    And the carnage continued.


    As the ear grew back, the Skin Husk was slicing off James¡¯s left foot again¡ªjust the foot, because James had determined that was an ideal piece to be quickly regrown much faster than if the ankle and shin had come with it. Then the right hand, because that came with ready-made legs in the form of James¡¯s fingers, and that was the hand that did not have James¡¯s wedding ring on it. He had already retrieved it from four different monsters made from his left hand, and while that was doable, it was annoying ordering the monsters to give it back to him and then watching them try to coordinate pulling a ring off of one of their number and slipping it back onto his freshly regenerated hand.


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    The remarkable thing is that every single one of these pieces can move on their own, James thought. No matter how small.


    On some level, he had known that since, months ago, he experimented with creating a monster from a single drop of blood.


    Which reminds me¡­


    James finally allowed some of the blood to flow from the many wounds he had made, but he would not allow this sudden multi-pronged geyser of red to make a mess on his wife¡¯s sheets. Not when James had controlled his own body so successfully throughout this process¡ªacquiring three levels in Full Body Control as he did so.


    He allowed the blood to flow out, but he poured Mana and Stamina and Skills into it. He willed the streams to float up into the air, as if gravity was reversed. They pulsed out unnaturally, only to combine into a single organism, a living ball of dark red fluid. The monster that James had already dubbed, in his own mind, the Blood Slime.


    As the monster congealed into a large, liquid, grotesque form, comprised of almost half the blood from James¡¯s unusually large and powerful body, James almost lost control of the rest of his blood. Part of it was that his body took a moment to obey his instructions and stop delivering more of the fluid to the creature¡¯s body. Part of it was the sheer amount of power James had expended to create this final creature, after spending hours pouring energy into lesser monsters. Part of it might have been that the nascent monster semi-consciously wished for more of his blood to further increase itself.


    But the main thing was definitely that the System chose this moment, when James¡¯s focus was weakened from loss of blood, to give him several pop-ups.


    [A new type of life form has been created! Sublime Creator Title provides a boost to initial power in making this and other creations of a similar type. Sublime Creator Title rewards you with bonus experience for your original creation!]


    [Required conditions met. Title acquired: Monster Progenitor!]


    [Sufficient experience accrued. Monster Generation leveled up!]


    [Sufficient experience accrued. Monster Control leveled up!]


    [Sufficient experience accrued. Monster Patriarch leveled up!]


    [Sufficient experience accrued. Predator in Human Skin leveled up!]


    James felt a sudden surge of power all through his body, beyond what he recalled he usually felt when he gained a Class level.


    Really? I got a Class level just from playing around like this? More importantly, I¡¯m guessing the improvements to those Skills and the underlying Talent brought me some additional power. That would probably explain why I feel a little bit stronger. Or maybe it¡¯s the new Title¡­


    As James mentally swiped away the System notifications, planning to open the System interface and read what he assumed would be new and improved Skill descriptions for Monster Generation and Monster Control, his eyes were suddenly distracted by something.


    On the monster that floated above him in the air, now slowly and gently descending toward the bed, James saw attributes that he had never seen on a monster before. Just above and to the side of what he would describe as the creature¡¯s head¡ªthough James had consciously avoided giving the Blood Slime real appendages, since he based it on a video game¡¯s concept of slimes¡ªthere was a colored, gently glowing bar.


    That bar was small, but it was very definitely real. Even as James blinked, and the monster landed gently in his lap, the bar did not waver or disappear. As he looked more carefully, he quickly recognized that there was another bar, slightly smaller, that had been almost hidden behind it. With a slight mental effort, James got the bar to drop below the first one so that he could see both.


    Judging by the green color of the first and the blue color of the second, combined with vague video game awareness, James recognized that the first was probably a Health bar, while the other likely displayed the creature¡¯s remaining Mana.


    I can literally see your amount of resources now. That¡¯s the big change.


    The sudden shift in his visual experience was dizzying.


    Or perhaps it was the sudden and drastic loss of blood and energy that had gone into creating the Blood Slime. James had consciously tried to make it the strongest of his new creations, and he was feeling much weaker than he had after making any of the earlier monsters.


    Either way, James closed his eyes for a few seconds and allowed the several creatures that had the Laying on Hands Skill to administer their care to him. He did not reopen his eyes until he felt that his body had regenerated a fair amount of blood. He didn¡¯t want to faint or feel weak while he was exploring this new connection to his monsters.


    He opened his eyes to the Blood Slime still sitting quietly in his lap, just looking up at him through its¡ªwell, its featureless shape, since it had no eyes, although James felt the creature¡¯s gaze on him.


    I want to know all your secrets, little one, James thought. He stared hard, directly at the Blood Slime for a moment, and a new screen appeared.


    Holy shit¡­


    [Status


    Name: Unnamed


    Race: Blood Slime, Lv. 0


    Health: 225/225


    Mana: 180/180


    Stamina: 324/324


    Stats


    Strength: 10


    Agility: 15


    Stamina: 18


    Fortitude: 20


    Dexterity: 5


    Perception: 20


    Will: 18


    Intelligence: 10


    Stealth: 4


    Free Points: 0


    Skills


    Basic Elemental Magic: Gravity, Lv. 0


    Basic Elemental Magic: Water, Lv. 0


    Full Body Control, Lv. 0


    Invisibility


    Monstrous Instincts, Lv. 1


    Monstrous Senses, Lv. 1


    Pillage, Lv. 0


    Soul-Freezing Gaze, Lv. 0]


    The creature had decent Stats and way more Skills than it should at its level, as James had intended, but what surprised him was how extensive the Status was. He had never seen a Health bar for one of his creatures, but he had also never seen most of this stuff. Not Stats, levels, any of it.


    Those ¡°Monstrous¡± two are Skills I definitely never gave it, James thought. And this thing has a fucking level! My monsters have never had levels before, at least not that I could see. Even the two Skills I¡¯ve never heard of have levels already¡­


    James focused and began examining these new Skills, Monstrous Instincts and Monstrous Senses, in more detail.

 V5Ch22-Doctor Frankenstein, I Presume?

    [Monstrous Instincts: A monster is not like a human. Similar to an animal, it is born knowing how to fight and survive. Grants the owner of the Skill instinctive knowledge in these areas. Non-transferable Skill.]


    [Monstrous Senses: A created monster does not require all of the sensory organs of a naturally born beast. Grants the owner of the Skill the ability to use all senses possessed by the monster¡¯s creator. Non-transferable Skill.]


    Well, those make sense, James thought. He guessed that all his creatures actually had those Skills, but he hadn¡¯t been shown them, because they were implicit or hidden for whatever reason. Maybe I have some implicit Skills too. Well, of course I do. I know the System doesn¡¯t list my ability to drive a car or something. The real question is, why am I getting access to additional information now?


    James opened up his newly leveled up Talent first.


    [Monster Patriarch: You are the first of your kind, but far from the last. Your natural vitality overflows into a natural capacity to create and manipulate life from your own organic matter. Your power extends to strengthening these life forms and fostering their growth. Generates Skills ¡°Monster Generation¡± and ¡°Monster Control.¡±]


    Yeah, I think that description might have changed somewhat¡­ Although James could not be certain, he didn¡¯t think the bit about ¡°strengthening these life forms and fostering their growth¡± had been a part of the description originally. At least neither Monster Generation nor Monster Control had ever hinted that he could do those things.


    I guess I should read the descriptions for the Skills it generates too.


    He opened up Monster Generation and Monster Control.


    [Monster Generation: Create new monsters from parts of yourself or anything that contains traceable amounts of your biomass. Designate biomass within, or recently connected to, your body, hold the design of your monster and which of your Skills you wish it to inherit firmly in your mind, and inject sufficient Mana and Stamina to give it life. Effectiveness scales with all aspects of your personal power.]


    [Monster Control: Dominate the minds of monsters created from your biomass. Freely fuse and separate monsters with each other or temporarily reabsorb them into your own body. No cost. Effectiveness is uniformly high but scales with all aspects of your personal power and inversely scales with power and intelligence of a monster if it surpasses the creator.]


    Well, the Monster Generation Skill seems pretty much the same, as far as I remember¡ªactually, I don¡¯t remember it saying it was possible for me to control a monster more powerful than me before¡ªbut besides that, basically the same. Monster Control has clearly developed some, just like Monster Patriarch. Now I can temporarily reabsorb my creations into my body? That¡¯s massive. And I don¡¯t need a separate Skill to fuse monsters with each other anymore. I can do it ¡°freely,¡± which I¡¯m guessing means they won¡¯t be able to resist at all. Hopefully that will also mean it¡¯s less painful for them?


    James smiled and tried to shake his head in amazement, though that ended up being more of a slight head wiggle, since he was still almost fully crippled.


    All right, let¡¯s see about the new Title I got from upgrading the Skills and the Talent¡ªor I suppose specifically from creating the Blood Slime.


    [Monster Progenitor: Your living creations are many, and you have created such diverse life forms that at least some have never been seen in this universe before. The System has judged that you show the most potential among all humans to become the forebear of new Races of creature and thereby shape the direction of the new world even beyond your death. As a potential progenitor of monstrous creatures, enjoy a faster rate of improvement in your Skills and Talents specifically dealing with creatures that are not members of your own Race. Unique Title.]


    The System believes I¡¯m going to create new Races of creature? James thought. Well, I guess I already have, but I never imagined that would be my legacy in a million years. I prefer to think of my son and any future children as being the future¡­


    He decided not to look the gift horse in the mouth. What was more important than questioning the System¡¯s reasoning was considering how all of his new Skills would synergize.


    He looked toward the foot of the bed. Gathered around his body, and all around the sides of the bed, or clinging to the walls or the ceiling, his monsters had filled the room. They dwelt in stillness, awaiting his command.


    James silently ordered them all to fuse, and it was as if a pair of great invisible hands had come out of the walls and suddenly shoved them together. Monsters were hurled bodily from each side of the room toward the middle, until before James stood a heaving, writhing mass of flesh, every creature wriggling as they were merged into a single body.


    That lasted for only a few seconds before the creature¡¯s form smoothed out and then assumed the shape that James envisioned: his own.


    Standing at James¡¯s full height, boasting a cocky smile and a malevolent glint in its eye¡ªprobably features of James¡¯s usual facial expression that it copied through muscle memory¡ªthe combined creature stood on top of the bedspread, looking down at its master. James could feel the weight of it. Though the creature shared his basic form, it was actually noticeably heavier than him, since it was composed of creatures that weighed a little more than his current body weight.


    James had a moment of nervousness. He knew he had a boosted capacity to control creatures stronger than him with his improved version of Monster Control, but it was one thing to read that and another thing to be faced with the first creation of his that he had ever seen that might one day rival his power. This creature was imposing.


    Ever since James had become the Fisher King and gained the Dominion Skill, he had been able to sense other Rulers¡¯ auras. He also had a boosted capacity to sense presences generally, and his senses within his own territory were impossibly powerful and precise.


    And what he sensed in front of him was a creature that could easily kill him in his current, vulnerable state. The monster had almost entirely the same Skill set as James¡ªonly a few Skills like Dominion had seemed too impracticable to transfer to a monster, since James¡¯s own body was not stable enough to contain that Skill with all his others.


    It had a tangible aura that gave even the Fisher King a slight sense of pressure.


    A single bead of sweat materialized on James¡¯s left temple.


    His mind was pulled away from nervousness and toward anger. Was the creature deliberately leaking aura in an aggressive way at its master?


    Greetings, father. The thought rippled out from the fused creature¡¯s consciousness and into James¡¯s brain. Or should I call you master?


    You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    The creature stared at James, its expression shifting from the arrogant smile that James imagined he personally often wore when dealing with enemies and those he wanted to impress to a more confused look.


    James was a little surprised that the creature was speaking to him. Universal Language Comprehension was among its Skills, because everything but the kitchen sink was among its Skills, but he had not thought about how much Intelligence the aggregated creature would possess¡ªor the fact that such Intelligence would naturally lend itself to the capacity for intelligent thought.


    Where did it even learn the idea to form words? James questioned dully. If it¡¯s like a human, then it should be a newborn baby, not a second me with an underdeveloped version of my personality. There were so many things he could ask, but he was tongue-tied for a moment, just staring at himself.


    There are so many consciousnesses inside of me, the creature added telepathically after a moment of no response from James. There was a hint of suffering in its tone. So much self. I feel as if I know nothing, but I know you. You are my creator. My¡­


    It searched for the proper word in silence.


    I¡¯m your Doctor Frankenstein, James thought darkly. But he did not allow the thought to communicate to his creature through telepathy. Every exchange between them was important to get right in this early stage.


    ¡°Your progenitor,¡± James said, using the System¡¯s word. He projected firmness. His Will and voice were literally all he had just now, and he would use them to good effect as he always did. ¡°I am the progenitor of monstrous Races in this universe. Think of me as sort of like your god.¡±


    ¡°G-god?¡± The creature spoke the word as if it was unfamiliar with either the concept or with the use of its tongue¡ªand James realized this was the very first time this creature had ever spoken aloud in its short existence.


    ¡°So you know how to speak?¡± James asked in a friendly tone. ¡°I am pleased with you, my child. I had little reason to believe you would be capable of this much Intelligence when I decided to temporarily merge my existing monsters into one creation. In retrospect, it makes sense, given how much I invested into your component creatures.¡±


    ¡°Component creatures.¡± The monster nodded thoughtfully, an expression of relief on its face suddenly. ¡°So, I am not one. I am many.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± James said. ¡°Your purpose, when you exist, is to be my gathered strength, concentrated into one form to accomplish my goals.¡±


    ¡°When I exist?¡±


    ¡°Exactly. Your instructions are to use the Invisibility Skill¡ª¡± This was the reason James had fused the creatures at all, to give all of them access to the Blood Slime¡¯s Invisibility and one of the other creature¡¯s Shapeshift¡ª¡°and leave this apartment. You will remain invisible as you exit my territory, and avoid unnecessary contact with any life forms you encounter within my region. Once you leave the Fisher Kingdom¡ªthat¡¯s the area marked by my aura¡ªyou will unmerge into your component creatures and hunt as those separate monsters. At some point, I will probably seek to combine your components again, but I think having many creatures separately gathering experience is more effective than simply training one large creation. At some point, once you are outside of my territory, I will send your components further instructions on where to go next.¡±


    The creature continued to look relieved. It greeted the news that it was ordered to defuse with a nod and a smile.


    ¡°Thank you for the direction, mas¡ªer, progenitor. I will not fail you.¡±


    James returned the smile. There was a tension that had hung in the air for him, which dissipated. The creature walked along the bedspread to the window, opened the window, then turned back to James.


    ¡°Any further instruction before I go, progenitor?¡± he asked, still smiling placidly.


    It¡¯s getting harder to believe this thing is composed of me, James thought. If I woke up in that body, with those Skills, and was told I was the creation of this guy lying in a bed, clearly unable to move and relatively powerless¡ªalthough I guess I could use my Hypnotic Shriek on him¡ªI would just walk over to him and crush his throat under my foot. ¡°Fuck you, progenitor. That¡¯s what I think about your commands.¡±


    James was aware it was still possible that the creature could do exactly what he imagined, but that seemed to be the furthest thing from its mind. He felt not a trace of resistance to his orders. His best guess as to why was that the creature was actually eager to unmerge. Too many consciousnesses dwelling in one body, even if they were inarticulate, was unpleasant.


    So it was looking forward to the pleasure of nonexistence.


    Still, the Fisher King had to force himself to maintain his smile, as he said, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Very well.¡± The monster bowed, activated Invisibility, and disappeared completely from James¡¯s sight. James heard motion pass through the window, saw it close, and then felt that the room around him was finally empty.


    At last, the bead of sweat that had hung on James¡¯s temple, clinging to his skin, trickled down his cheek and onto the bed beside him.


    James felt an enhanced awareness of how dangerous his Monster Patriarch Talent was¡ªand how potent. Anansi had said it would be his bread and butter Talent for a reason.


    Now that all that¡¯s over with¡­


    There were still hours to kill before James imagined he would call the meeting, and he even had some resources left to burn. Not a lot, but he might as well use what he had. Then he could sleep and regain some energy.


    He reached out with his powers to tell Mina that he was done.


    [Mina, I finished my experiments. I¡¯m probably going to do one last thing and then take a nap before the meeting. I won¡¯t have a good sense of time while I¡¯m asleep, and it¡¯s just going to be an ordinary nap at first. Could you wake me up, sometime after most other people will have gone to bed?]


    He heard her soft footsteps approach the door.


    ¡°I will, James,¡± she said quietly. She stood there in silence for a moment, and James wanted to thank her, but he kept having the strange sensation that he knew she was about to speak. Finally, she said a simple, ¡°Don¡¯t overdo it, all right?¡±


    That¡¯s all I do, he wanted to reply. And I definitely crossed a strange line this time¡­ The image of the nameless fused creature floated back prominently to the forefront of his mind. But saying any of what he was actually thinking just now would be the opposite of reassuring.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you help me figure out when I¡¯m overdoing it,¡± he replied gently, in a voice just loud enough to carry through the door.


    He sensed that she was nodding on the other side¡ªand then, of course, realizing that nodding was pointless, she spoke again.


    ¡°That works for me,¡± she said. ¡°Get some rest, and I¡¯ll make sure I wake you up in time to eat something.¡±


    Then she was gone.


    I hadn¡¯t even thought about eating, James realized. The sun shining through the window was surely giving him some energy thanks to Solar Recovery, but he noticed, now that he checked, that he was still hungry. I must be quite empty inside. I fed everything I had in me to that thing that left through the window.


    ¡°Well, one more thing, and I guess I¡¯ll ask Mina for a sandwich before my nap,¡± he whispered to himself.


    Dominion.


    A wave of power rose from within his body, crested, and shot outward. James directed it to move disproportionately in the direction of the turtles and the Fisher Expeditionary Force rather than the army. He wanted to bring the turtles¡¯ land under his control as soon as possible.


    Once the energy had departed his body, he opened his mouth to speak¡ªand the world faded to black.

 V5Ch23-The Meeting of Your Dreams

    ¡°Skapi, skapi¡­¡±


    A distant, gentle voice caressed James¡¯s ears.


    This is nice.


    ¡°Skapi¡­¡± The voice became more insistent and slightly higher pitched, and it was now accompanied by a gentle shaking sensation. Then a pair of lips softly caressed James¡¯s own. Just a quick peck, then back to ¡°Skapi¡± and shaking him.


    This pattern continued for almost a full minute before James blinked and began to come more fully awake.


    ¡°Oh, hey, Mina,¡± he said sleepily.


    James looked up at his wife, sitting beside him on the bed. She leaned over him, watching his face closely.


    ¡°I came to wake you up, my love,¡± she said. ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure if you were already preparing your dream meeting, but it is about that time, I think¡­¡±


    James nodded, fully awake suddenly. ¡°Good decision, Mina. What time is it?¡±


    ¡°Just half past ten,¡± she said.


    He frowned. That¡¯s actually a little earlier than I would have imagined we¡¯d have the meeting. People don¡¯t necessarily go to bed that early, especially since the System appeared. We all need sleep less than we used to. I would have given it another half hour or an hour at least.


    ¡°I also brought you some dinner,¡± Mina added.


    ¡°Oh, I get it, you woke me up a little early,¡± James said. He opened his mouth to say something else, and his stomach let out a loud growl.


    They both froze for a moment, then shared a laugh.


    ¡°So, that¡¯s a ¡®yes¡¯ to dinner, then,¡± Mina said. She slipped off the side of the bed, bent, and picked up a bowl and a plate. James saw a sandwich on the plate, and he could not see the contents of the bowl, but he smelled them.


    ¡°Grilled cheese and tomato soup?¡± he asked.


    ¡°You like that when you¡¯re sick,¡± Mina replied. ¡°That hasn¡¯t changed, right?¡±


    James grinned. ¡°Never.¡±


    The next half hour was spent in Mina feeding James by hand, spoon feeding him soup interspersed with sandwich bites. It was at once slightly infantilizing and intensely sweet.


    Somebody will love me even if I¡¯m a cripple for life, James thought. What did I ever do to deserve that?


    While she fed him, they discussed plans for the meeting, and Mina asked him if there was anything else she could do to help him prepare.


    ¡°Could you grab me that spider on the wall?¡± James asked, looking in Hester¡¯s direction. ¡°She¡¯ll want to be there for this, and I can take her with me. And for that matter, I assume you will want to come too?¡±


    Mina nodded and smiled.


    Over the next few minutes, they finalized preparations. Then James closed his eyes, Hester resting on one of his hands, Mina lying down nestled against his other side, and he used Dreamwalk.


    ¡°Whoa.¡± Hester¡¯s voice rang out next to him. ¡°I was dreaming of catching flies, I think. And now here I am with you, boss.¡±


    James turned to look at Hester, floating in the void of Dreamspace alongside him, one leg in contact with his shoulder. She was in her giant form, which seemed to be a preference of hers when she was in the world of dreams.


    ¡°And you,¡± Hester added, tilting her head at something on James¡¯s other side.


    He felt a hand on his other arm, and he twisted to look at the person he knew would be on his other side¡ªand he was surprised by the face he saw.


    It was Mina, as James had expected, but not Mina as he had seen her a few minutes ago.


    In the void of Dreamspace, she had the same face she had always had before Race Evolution. The subtle changes were more obvious now.


    You really are almost a whole different person, James thought. He tried not to let the sadness show on his face. His wife was more beautiful in the real world now than she had been before Race Evolution, on an objective level. Her eyes were brighter, her skin was smoother and softer, her lips were slightly plumper¡ªshe was more attractive in a number of ways.


    But he would be lying if he said it didn¡¯t feel a little weird, especially now that he could directly contrast the image he had just seen with the image before his eyes now.


    It¡¯s almost like I remarried to a younger trophy wife or something. The thought was slightly uncomfortable, and James saw Mina¡¯s lips twist slightly with recognition.


    ¡°You can tell me what you¡¯re thinking, skapi,¡± Mina said softly.


    ¡°Back in the real world,¡± James replied.


    When we¡¯re alone, he thought.


    Mina looked down at her own hand on James¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Oh, my old self,¡± she said quietly. ¡°I see.¡± She looked up at James. ¡°You know, when you came back from Orientation, you were different too.¡± She smiled weakly, then brightened and winked. ¡°I didn¡¯t end up minding, after a little adjustment period. Just¡ªa thought.¡±


    ¡°Never mind, then,¡± James said.


    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    You¡¯re literally the only person who can read me like this now.


    ¡°What do we do, sir?¡± Hester asked. ¡°I don¡¯t really know why you brought me here, but as I have said before, I am eager to learn from you and become a more useful spider.¡± Her tone was cheery. One would never know that she had told James, not too long ago, that she had a limited time left to live.


    ¡°We¡¯re hosting a meeting,¡± James said. ¡°I¡¯m going to pull in people from various dreams, but I want a space we can all gather together. My own mind will be the setting, so maybe I can leave the two of you to set up?¡±


    ¡°That should be no problem for us,¡± Mina agreed with her usual enthusiasm and obvious sense of self-efficacy.


    ¡°Riiiight,¡± Hester said, much less confidently.


    James created a blank pocket of space with clear boundaries around them¡ªa small, featureless dream for the two females to work within.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll leave you to it, then,¡± he said. Then he began gathering the members of his council.


    He reached out with his mind and found that he could sense their presences. Almost every one of them was asleep. The last two seemed to be drowsy, drifting toward sleep, so James simply decided to leave them toward the end.


    Focusing on the others with his mind, their dreams stood out like little stars forming a very abstract constellation. It was easy for James to reach out and pull on their suggestible consciousnesses, tugging them along with him, pushing their dreams into a tight orbit around the dream setting that Mina and Hester were building.


    When the last two dreamers were properly asleep, James pulled them into the orbit too, and he ducked into the dream Hester and Mina had been working on.


    ¡°Everything ready?¡± he asked¡ªand then gaped. Then he laughed out loud. ¡°Okay, I guess we¡¯re ready.¡±


    The dream setting was a reconstruction of Da Vinci¡¯s ¡°The Last Supper.¡± A long table set with simple fare, mainly bread and wine. The design of the room was distinct, despite not being particularly ornate.


    Well, I know where I¡¯m supposed to sit, at least.


    ¡°How did you guys do this?¡± James asked.


    Mina sat in the chair just to the right of the center of the table¡ªwhere either John or Mary Magdalene sat, depending on what you believed about Da Vinci¡¯s mindset regarding the painting. She was even wearing the garb from the painting. It was surprisingly becoming.


    Hester stood in a corner of the ceiling in a web, having shrunk down to a spider form the size of a tarantula, a little edit to the look of the painting.


    ¡°It¡¯s really more how you did this, skapi,¡± Mina replied, eyes sparkling.


    ¡°We took a memory from your own brain, using Mina¡¯s ability to recall experiences the two of you have had together,¡± Hester explained. ¡°Inside your head, you have a great recall of this painting that the two of you looked at before.¡±


    James nodded slowly. ¡°All right. Well, I¡¯m going to bring everyone else in here now.¡±


    And I need to figure out how I want to look. Now that he had seen Mina dressed up like a biblical character, he was reminded that setting was not the only aspect of the dream one could tweak.


    He thought about it, decided on his mental image¡ªselected for his maximum personal amusement¡ªand then reshaped the air around his body into his new getup.


    Then he closed his eyes and pulled on the dreams that orbited around this one, forcefully connecting them all at once so that the figures from his council suddenly appeared all around the table.


    Of course, some normal staple attendees were absent. Alan, Mitzi, Dave, Luna, Duncan, Zora¡ªevery person who would normally attend a meeting but was now outside the bounds of James¡¯s territory had not been invited, since he sent his message only to those within his territory at the time that he decided to have the meeting.


    This was deliberate. The people undertaking missions outside of his borders had important tasks of their own that needed fewer distractions than those who still remained within the Kingdom. And frankly, James didn¡¯t want them to be half invested in their respective missions and half worried about the Fisher Kingdom.


    He would either ask his people to come home and circle the wagons, or he would not tell the Royal Fisher Army and the Fisher Expeditionary Force about what was going on with the Panther Queen at all until it was over. That was part of what this meeting was meant to decide.


    But the majority of his councillors were present. Angelina Zuccarini from water, Harry Luntz of agriculture, Steve Luck of construction, Magnar of the Mole People, Leo of the police, and all the rest of the people who were basically responsible for the daily running of the Fisher Kingdom. Rotter, naturally, sat at the foot of the table, looking like he wanted a pad and paper to take notes¡ªonly to realize that as they were in a dream, that would be impossible.


    These are mostly not the star players in a combat sense, James recognized, but they¡¯re all really valuable ¡®A¡¯ players in the administrative roles they play, at least. It¡¯s funny, if I didn¡¯t have these occasional meetings, I might forget that there¡¯s more to the Fisher Kingdom than fighting and expanding its borders, one blood-soaked acre at a time.


    Everyone was dressed normally, or in a roughly normal way¡ªeither in civilian clothes or in combat attire or in pajamas or something similar. Not very imaginative, but it did add to the impression James got of them as all being dedicated and professional in their areas of expertise.


    The attendees were varying levels of oriented toward the dream world, James observed. A few of them repeatedly blinked or pinched themselves as if they were waiting for this strange vision to disintegrate and their previously scheduled dream programming to resume. Others saw James¡¯s face and recognized him¡ªand seemed to recall, from the sight of him, why they were meeting up here. Only a few, like Rotter, appeared to adapt to being pulled into the new setting virtually instantaneously. James guessed that being primed by his earlier announcement made it easier for some people to accept that this was different from the ordinary course of dreaming.


    ¡°Well, we should get the meeting started,¡± James said. He put a little extra power into his voice as he spoke. He opened his hand and materialized a cigar into it¡ªbecause why not? He would not get dream cancer from smoking in here, and he thought it would be funny.


    James reached up with the cigar and lit it from the crown of flames that he had decided to don for this event. On his back, he wore a cape composed of spider¡¯s legs. On his front, he wore chest armor of metal plating woven together with golden spider silk.


    None of this was what he possessed in real life, and some of it didn¡¯t even make sense¡ªa magical crown of fire sitting on James¡¯s head could not be stable and remain in place in real life unless James focused a lot of attention, and a fair bit of Mana, into maintaining it.


    But this was a dream world. That was part of the point of these extravagances. To remind everyone of what was possible in this place.


    James put the cigar to his lips, inhaled, and then exhaled in big puffs of smoke that shaped themselves, first into rings and then into various animal shapes. First elephants, then donkeys, then snakes and hedgehogs.


    In the corner of his eye, he saw Mina cover her mouth to keep from laughing at the ridiculous stuff he was doing.


    Now I really do need to get down to business, he thought.


    ¡°I brought you all here,¡± he said in a serious tone, ¡°because it¡¯s possible we might end up pulled into war at some point in the coming weeks. I want to show you exactly what we¡¯re dealing with. Then I want to get your opinions on what we¡¯re capable of doing to defend ourselves, should that prove necessary. For now, just follow along with the show I¡¯m about to unfold. Please save all questions for the end. You¡¯ll know about as much as I do after you see everything I have to present.¡±


    With a slight exertion of Will, James dissolved the setting before them and brought them to his memory of the Panther Scout¡¯s experiences. Since he had seen the memories firsthand earlier that same day, this should be an extremely high fidelity reproduction. He had decided not to hide anything from his council about the threat they might face.


    That way, you can give me your best advice¡­

 V5Ch24-The Time of Contempt

    With a flick of mental effort, James returned the council to ¡°The Last Supper.¡±


    Now that everyone was embodied once again, he took in their facial expressions. Mouths gaped. Brows furrowed. At least two people appeared to be bowing their heads and clasping their hands in prayer. The head of the Education Committee had tears in her eyes.


    There was no question about it, after seeing the Panther Scout¡¯s recollections, the predominant mood in the room was one of worry.


    James found himself less in accord with his council members than usual. He was a bit annoyed by their emotional reactions, actually.


    For fuck¡¯s sake. Really, you guys are this worried? Where¡¯s your faith in me after all the Rulers I¡¯ve defeated? Every single one I¡¯ve fought. I don¡¯t lose. You see one scary-looking cat, and your balls drop off? Or everyone just forgets about how powerful I am? Guess I¡¯m only as good as my most recent victory¡­ but even that was fucking weeks ago!


    He kept his response to their reaction fairly contained. A slight curl of his lip for a fraction of a second. They didn¡¯t deserve to know what he really thought right now¡ªand of course there was no profit to be had in telling them.


    ¡°I want to start by opening the meeting up to questions, comments, and strategic suggestions,¡± James said brightly.


    Originally, he had planned to ask his council about whether they thought he should order the army to come back, but by now he had lost any enthusiasm for that idea, both because he did not believe he would need the army to resolve this situation, and because he had begun to lose confidence in his council members¡¯ nerves.


    ¡°Do we have any more updated intelligence than those memories?¡± Leo asked immediately. ¡°The enemy leader said she wanted to send her scout to head toward the Fisher Kingdom, but I have no way of guessing what happened next, beyond the fact that clearly, you intercepted the scout in some way.¡±


    ¡°Is that how you became injured, sir?¡± asked Angelina Zuccarini. Her mouth quivered slightly at the thought of an enemy powerful enough to injure the Fisher King.


    ¡°No,¡± James said briskly, shutting that line of thought down immediately. He didn¡¯t need fear spreading at this meeting. ¡°I received a penalty from the System, because a god showed up in the Fisher Kingdom to ask for my help. Gods aren¡¯t supposed to be on our planet, at least not right now, so the System smashed a huge chunk of forest to kill his mortal form. I was right in the middle of that, where the blow was most severe, so I have been temporarily weakened. I¡¯m already most of the way recovered. But I wouldn¡¯t want you to think some wimpy scout could have hurt me.¡± He showed them a confident grin. ¡°Actually, my mother took him out by herself.¡±


    James chuckled, and after a moment, most of the council laughed along with him. A mood of relief settled over some of those who had been concerned.


    The Fisher King put his dream cigar to his lips and blew a couple of smoke rings that transformed into cats that scampered around, trying to jump on each other¡¯s backs. It was his way of further lightening the mood.


    Then he got another question.


    ¡°Are you able to fight, Your Majesty?¡± asked Magnar of the Mole People.


    That¡¯s a damn good question, James thought. Damn. I was hoping to avoid directly lying about this¡­


    ¡°I can,¡± James said. ¡°All of my Skills are functioning again. My movement is a bit restricted, still¡ª¡± That was the understatement of the century¡ª¡°but I¡¯m getting stronger every day, and the information I can share about the timeline is that the Panther Queen is not attacking in the next few days. Assuming that she attacks at all.¡±


    Just based on the time that she would take to walk there with her army, James was confident she was at least a week away¡ªand that was if they marched directly there and did not stop for anything else, which was unlikely. More probably, the Panther Queen would be more cautious than that. She could send additional intelligence-gathering units, rather than another easily subdued individual scout. Or she could choose a softer target¡ªwhich, to James¡¯s mind, would be almost any target other than himself.


    ¡°I need to add that anything about my condition is obviously top secret,¡± James said. ¡°What I¡¯ve shared with you does not leave this meeting. When I¡¯m more recovered, I¡¯ll walk around outside as usual to reassure people with my presence. Until then, I absolutely don¡¯t want any public panic. That means keeping a tight lid on this.¡±


    There were nods of agreement from all around the room. On that point, at least, James would get no pushback.


    ¡°Should we call the Royal Fisher Army back?¡± asked Leo quietly.


    James was surprised that he was the one to raise the question, and he turned to look at the Police Chief.


    Does he look happy about this whole situation? James examined the other man¡¯s facial expression for a few seconds before he concluded that yes, Leo was excited at the prospect of fighting the Pantherfolk. So at least he won¡¯t get upset about my answer.


    ¡°Do you feel as if you¡¯re capable of organizing an effective defense without them?¡± James asked.


    Leo nodded instantly. ¡°We have a lot of people and resources here.¡±


    ¡°Well over a thousand humans in your territory, Your Majesty,¡± said Jeremiah Rotter. ¡°People continue flocking to the aura of security that you give off every day.¡±


    ¡°All right,¡± James said. ¡°Excellent. I have to tell you, ladies and gentlemen, the army is doing a lot right now. They are trying to secure one of our flanks all the way to the ocean. I made contact with them earlier today, and they were actually in the midst of combat with an enemy army already. I doubt that it¡¯s over now, although I will keep checking in. But the bottom line is that we are always doing better if we¡¯re on the offensive. If we don¡¯t defeat potential enemies now, while they¡¯re relatively weak, we¡¯ll be talking about how to defend against a snake Ruler or a lizard Ruler or something in a few weeks. We need the largest swathe of territory we can acquire. The more we have, the larger our forces will ultimately be, too.


    ¡°As long as I am here, we can mount a very strong defense against any enemy, if not outright destroy them. Remember that the person who the Panther Queen was dealing with in the vision we just saw was not a Ruler.¡± At least Dean was not a Ruler as far as James knew. ¡°He was just defending a single building, and he couldn¡¯t manage that, so whatever Skills he was relying on clearly weren¡¯t Ruler level.¡±


    No offense, Dean, I don¡¯t mean to diss you, James thought. He had actually recognized, especially with the repeat viewing, that his former boss had done a decent job in many respects. And the most important thing had been the leadership to go and be the face of everything himself. Challenge the Panther Queen himself, then surrender himself, so that if she was going to commit atrocities, he would be the logical first victim. That had been courageous.


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    ¡°So, then, under the assumption that we will not be recalling the army to sit around waiting for the Panther Army that may or may not show up¡ªand that probably would not outnumber our forces currently present in the Kingdom if it did¡ªwhat can the members of my council tell me about our current preparedness?¡± James finished.


    He had tried to be firm and head off possible counter arguments without venting his annoyance at the council for immediately trying to call for backup, before an enemy had even shown it was near.


    The council members seemed to accept his verdict.


    Harry Luntz of agriculture, in a nervous but professional voice, began explaining the food situation. The long and short of it was that they were well equipped to endure a siege, at least in terms of supplies.


    ¡°Although of course the physical defense aspect is far from my area of expertise,¡± he added unnecessarily, dipping his head in James¡¯s direction.


    ¡°Construction has become a lot more efficient, having to continued building housing for new people almost constantly,¡± Steve Luck from construction said excitedly. ¡°I think we could put up a wall around basically the entire Fisher Kingdom if we wanted to, given that we have a little time.¡± He looked to James, and James nodded. ¡°Alternatively, we could create a more powerful central fortification, enclosing the main inhabited buildings. Our monster citizens would need to come in from the outskirts of the Fisher Kingdom to be protected, but the advantage would be that it could be a pretty tough nut to crack. Do we have anyone with a Skill like what we saw in the vision, to reinforce a building?¡±


    There was silence for a few seconds, before James spoke up. ¡°I do. I think everyone here might already know this, but I can enhance the properties of soil, rocks, water, pretty much anything I choose within my territory. At a certain point, my power began to extend into the air to some degree, but I haven¡¯t experimented with that yet. But I¡¯m pretty sure I have a stronger ability than whatever Dean¡¯s guy had.¡±


    May he rest in peace, James thought. He imagined that whoever had been defending the firm building had probably died under the strain, which would explain why the defenses faded away and Dean went to the roof to surrender. Whatever I might say about Dean, he was actually pretty capable. His convict friend was far more dangerous in a fight than I realized¡ªthough still not comparable to me¡ªand Dean was even able to find a special Mage or some other specialty Class-possessing person who was willing to maybe die to defend the firm¡¯s building. Somehow, the people who gathered under Dean had a lot of faith in his vision.


    ¡°So, what do you think we should do?¡± Steve asked. ¡°Build the wall or a more concentrated defense?¡±


    ¡°What do other people think about Steve¡¯s two proposals?¡± James asked, smiling.


    ¡°We could line the perimeter of the Kingdom with underground traps,¡± Magnar suggested.


    There¡¯s an idea, James thought, nodding along. He was particularly glad that Magnar was speaking up, since someone present had to represent the monster point of view and ensure that the humans remembered that they were contributing citizens too. Almost all of the monster council members were with Dave right now.


    ¡°If the matter actually comes to combat, I think that Carol¡ªthat¡¯s the name of the Dungeon Core in the Kingdom¡ªwould be willing to send some monsters out of her Dungeon to help us,¡± Mina said. ¡°I could go talk to her.¡±


    James just smiled and nodded again.


    For the rest of the group conversation, James mostly smoked his dream cigar and shaped the smoke into monkeys and giraffes, only sporadically interjecting with some tip or order, as his council members worked out the plan for the Kingdom¡¯s hypothetical defense. Or, as James couldn¡¯t help but think of it, as they reassured themselves. Since he had not personally felt much fear at all over the prospect of invasion, and he was increasingly determined to prevent it from happening.


    The meeting continued in that vein for some time, until James felt that he had allowed adequate discussion for the meeting to end.


    ¡°Thank you for the many constructive suggestions, everyone,¡± he said. ¡°I assume that people know what they need to do, and that, say, Magnar and Steve can coordinate construction and trap-making plans? People know who they need to talk to?¡±


    There was nodding around the table. People looked satisfied with the meeting, which just made James¡¯s own continued feeling of mild annoyance seem more absurd. He knew it was not entirely rational¡ªperhaps not rational at all¡ªso he kept it well hidden.


    He had a good poker face, made even better by the System and the context of a dream. Just in case anyone somehow had a Skill to penetrate all of that, he further disguised his expression and distracted his audience by blowing more puffs of smoke in the shapes of random animals.


    I¡¯m the fucking caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland or something, he thought.


    ¡°Excellent,¡± James said, giving everyone a broad smile. ¡°Good work, team. No, great work! Everyone, get some real rest.¡±


    By his Will, the dream began to fade from all around them, scattering the sleeping consciousnesses into separate mental spaces once more. After a moment, James was in the void again, alone except for his wife and the spider who chronicled all his adventures.


    ¡°Thank you for bringing me along this time, sir,¡± Hester said. ¡°I learned even more about manipulating dreams this time. I hope I can be of more use to you. If you continue taking me on these trips, I expect I¡¯ll get Dreamwalking or some similar Skill that will allow me to be of more value than I have so far.¡±


    James had felt annoyed at¡ªalmost contemptuous of¡ªhis council¡¯s initial reaction to the news about the Panther Army. He was still thinking about how he might deal with the problem without actually needing to rely on their planned defensive measures. But he retained the self-awareness to refrain from taking that out on Hester. He mustered a genuine smile for her.


    ¡°That¡¯s wonderful, Hester,¡± he said. ¡°I would love to have you helping me. I think you could be a great asset¡ªnot that I don¡¯t already appreciate what you do.¡±


    ¡°There were some things you couldn¡¯t say back there, skapi?¡± Mina asked. Of course, she had sensed that there was something going on unspoken behind James¡¯s peaceful facade.


    He nodded. ¡°Back to the waking world to discuss. I don¡¯t think anyone is eavesdropping on us here, but Dreamspace is an anarchic place, in my opinion. Territorial barriers don¡¯t keep things out the way they¡¯re supposed to.¡± He thought of Sister Strange, who had invaded his dreams and the dreams of his citizens repeatedly. ¡°So, best to talk about sensitive subjects in places where you¡¯re guaranteed security.¡±


    James opened his eyes in the real world. Beside him, his wife stirred. On his other side, Hester moved slightly on his hand.


    ¡°So, what was it you couldn¡¯t say?¡± Mina asked curiously. ¡°And were you angry?¡±


    ¡°Angry?¡± James asked, raising an eyebrow. His wife, turned away from him, could not see the expression.


    ¡°I think I can sort of feel your emotions a little bit, since the Evolution,¡± Mina said. ¡°When you don¡¯t keep them completely reined in. I felt that for a moment. Anger or something like it.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t anger,¡± James said, ¡°but yeah, it was, more like a low-grade contempt.¡±


    To his surprise, he felt her head dip up and down beside him. She was nodding.


    ¡°Because they¡¯re weak,¡± she said. It wasn¡¯t a question.


    James said ¡°Yes¡± in reply nevertheless.


    She nodded once more. ¡°Well, you are allowed to look down on them for that.¡± Her tone was very matter of fact, with the air of a shrug.


    James thought he knew the general tenor of her thoughts at that moment.


    ¡°My husband is a king and can look down on anyone in the world.¡± Something like that.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t just that,¡± James clarified, though he suspected that Mina would actually prefer it if he did not explain just now.


    She twisted to look at him, her hair flipping in front of his face as her body turned. She smelled of a meadow in full bloom¡ªand something more. James felt a sudden stirring of longing as he looked into his wife¡¯s eyes. She just watched him and waited for him to continue speaking.


    ¡°Could you put Hester and her children in the living room for the night?¡± James asked. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind, Hester.¡± He wasn¡¯t looking at the spider as he spoke, still staring at his wife, who glowed with superhuman beauty¡ªand whose eyes smoldered with a silent intensity.


    ¡°No, sir,¡± Hester said quietly, in a tone that suggested she knew exactly why James was asking.


    Mina rose, picked Hester up, then gathered the other spiders and carried them out of the bedroom.


    A minute later, she returned and climbed onto her husband. They began to kiss. James had read his wife correctly.


    The couple would resume their serious conversation in the morning.

 V5Ch25-War for the Land of Rattlesnakes Part 1

    After the presence of the King had dissipated, the war between the Royal Fisher Army and the reptiles began in earnest.


    ¡°All humans into spear formation!¡± Dave ordered. ¡°Goblins and scouts, hang back behind the tip of the spear. Wolf pack, protect the flanks!¡±


    No one argued with him. Despite the fact that they had all seen the freakish reptiles that they would be fighting, there were no naysayers in this large mass of people. The thousands of troops Dave had with him simply moved to obey, forming long columns that gathered into a large spear-like shape.


    Dave would have expected more talk from the humans who had come with him, but they were stone-faced¡ªin some cases, they were smiling through gritted teeth, some combination of nervous and eager, but most were more stoic.


    Right, that¡¯s the upside of having seen action before, Dave thought. The core of this group was baptized in the Haunted Forest. The rest have no doubt seen bloodshed in their Orientations. This group is more potent than I¡¯ve been giving them credit for in my head.


    Men and women carrying spears gathered on the outer fringes of the tip of the spear, and the wolf pack split in two to protect the flanks of the columns that had formed behind the spearmen. The group was ready.


    As all reached their assigned positions, Dave shouted another, simpler command.


    ¡°Forward march!¡±


    Armor and weapons clanking like the army was made entirely of metal, they advanced over the border and into enemy territory.


    The advance was strangely uneventful. While there had been a violent welcoming party at the border when the bulk of the army arrived, there seemed to be no inhabitants of the Florida scrub now that they were actually penetrating into the territory in earnest.


    The people in the lead moved across sand, hacked apart shrubs¡ªand were not ambushed.


    This continued for a few minutes, making their Captain increasingly skeptical that things were as they appeared.


    Was it all some kind of bluff? Dave wondered. There¡¯s definitely a Ruler here¡ªI can sort of sense it, and Luna does too. She seems to have a much better grasp on those sensations¡ªbut maybe the force the Ruler commands is really small? So they¡¯re avoiding a fight right now?


    The explanation did not make complete sense to him, and Dave didn¡¯t like that. He liked to understand what he was walking into.


    Still, there was no cause for a change of plans yet, and Dave felt there was nothing further he could do to prepare his people for further contingencies beyond preparations he had made long before they entered this territory. Ordering them to stop so he could figure things out would only reduce group confidence¡ªsomething he could actually somewhat feel with the Command Presence Skill¡ªand sending scouts ahead would just be throwing those scouts¡¯ lives away, assuming this Ruler was like James¡ªcapable of sensing movements within its territory.


    So the army simply continued on. They walked for five minutes, ten minutes, without seeing anything or sensing any sign of an enemy.


    By fifteen minutes, despite very flat terrain, they were no longer within sight of the place where they had entered. Dave estimated they were at least a mile into the territory, despite a relatively cautious walking pace.


    It was then that the enemy Ruler made its presence known.


    Dave tasted the threat before any of his comrades found the presence of mind to shout a warning. Perhaps the air had changed across the entire territory in a single instant¡ªor maybe everyone else was simply caught off guard in the seconds they had to perceive it before Dave, close to the center of the force, did.


    What is that? Rotten eggs? Sulfur?


    Dave heard a cough from behind him, and then suddenly there was an outbreak of twitching and wheezing from all around. The Captain¡¯s eyes widened in sudden realization¡ªeven as they began to tear up. The air was toxic, and it seemed to have reached him after it had struck most of the other members of the group.


    Every member of his army was breathing in poison.


    He kept his presence of mind. Opened his mouth. Choked out a cough, then managed to raise his voice despite his sudden difficulty getting air.


    ¡°Poisonous gas!¡± he yelled, his voice amplified by his Command Presence Skill. ¡°Healers, to your positions! Haunted Forest drill formation.¡±


    In the time that Dave had spent reflecting on the lessons of the Battle of the Haunted Forest, the biggest regret he had landed on was the lack of pre-planning for a circumstance when the environment itself was hostile. That had been the one thing that he and the Fisher King knew about the forest before the volunteers entered it. That the Wraith who ruled that territory could do strange things to those who simply looked into her space, showing them images of their dead loved ones. It was foolish not to plan some countermeasures to environmental hazards.


    Benefiting from that experience, he had drilled his troops in some simple defensive protocols.


    The strongest Healers in the group moved to the edges of the formation and began using Purification immediately, and to Dave¡¯s relief, the smell of the air changed instantly. He sucked in deep breaths, gulping the newly freshened air greedily. Despite the quick action, in the right hand corner of his vision, he saw a body drop.


    ¡°Assist anyone who falls near you!¡± Dave ordered, uncertain if he really needed to say it. But some things were best not left to chance. ¡°We leave no one behind! Once you have a handle on your neighbors and are certain you are within the area protected by your nearest Healer, begin orderly withdrawal, back roughly the way we came. Maintain roughly the current formation. Members of the wolf pack, lead us by the shortest route to the edge of the Ruler¡¯s aura. Scouts, move around to my position. We¡¯ll guard the retreat.¡±


    The Captain intended to be one of the last men out of enemy territory. That was the best way to ensure that no soldier was left behind. The scouts were, on average, some of his least formidable troops, but they had uniformly high Perception, and he needed that just now, in case this was the moment the enemy chose for an ambush.


    Dave detected the movement of individuals springing into action in compliance with his commands, and he allowed himself a small smile. This isn¡¯t going to be like the Haunted Forest. You won¡¯t get rid of us this easily¡­


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    As the group began moving slowly backward, out of the pine forest, Dave and the scouts with him kept their eyes peeled for enemies¡ªeven as their eyes continued to water from the after effects of the gas that had suddenly replaced the air in the territory.


    Thankfully, nothing reared its head. Perhaps the enemy Ruler hoped that they were running away, never to return. Maybe the Ruler had not been able to send out any soldiers, because they too would have been exposed to the poisonous gas. Or perhaps it was not confident that its adversary was sufficiently debilitated by the poisonous air for an ambush on them to succeed.


    In any case, fifteen minutes later, Dave and his comrades were back just outside the border.


    Dave took a head count. Everyone had been withdrawn successfully, but there were losses. Three of those who had been carried out were dead, two Goblins and one human, none of them individuals Dave knew by name. These seemed to have been killed more or less instantly by the gas, before Dave had even shouted his orders. There were forty-six others injured enough by the poison to require some attention by the Healers.


    The army¡¯s entry into the enemy territory had ended with a minor defeat and a strategic withdrawal. They would need to wait to reenter until the Healers had been allowed enough time to recharge their Mana¡ªand of course until sometime after Dave had developed a plan to deal with the Ruler¡¯s ability to turn the air itself into poisonous gas.


    That¡¯s quite an ability, Dave thought. Maybe even better for area defense than James¡¯s powers. Then again, if you can counter the poisonous gas, maybe the Ruler is weaker than the average. These things usually seem to be sort of balanced. They might not be, of course¡­ No one said defeating a Ruler on their own land was supposed to be easy. And I wonder what the hell that gas was. Mustard gas? No, that stuff blisters the skin on contact, doesn¡¯t it?


    Dave quickly gave up on speculating. He correctly reckoned that his chances of guessing which poisonous gas the enemy used were low, since he had never smelled poison gas before.


    ¡°Leaders of each army group, please meet me for a strategy session once you have seen to your wounded,¡± Dave said, still projecting his voice to be heard by everyone. ¡°All others, now would be a good time to consume rations and rest. We will plan our next offensive for sometime later today or early tomorrow, so bear that in mind.¡± Then he deactivated Command Presence. It was draining his Stamina, and he would need that later.


    Slowly, the rest of the army¡¯s leaders gathered around him. Duncan and Luna were among the first. Their groups had a level of cohesion that Dave envied. Humans never had that sort of unity and obedience to hierarchy.


    Accordingly the human commanders under Dave¡¯s authority all arrived after the monsters had¡ªeven the lumbering giant alligator Samuel, who appeared completely unaffected by the gas, though the humans and even most of the monsters had lingering symptoms, mainly watery eyes.


    Maybe it¡¯s because alligators can hold their breath for a long time.


    ¡°We need to figure out our next angle of attack,¡± Dave said once they were all seated. ¡°But before that¡ª¡± He paused and looked around a little uncomfortably¡ª¡°any additional deaths?¡±


    The other leaders slowly shook their heads.


    ¡°We were lucky, then,¡± Dave said. ¡°Next time, the Ruler will be expecting us. Probably was expecting us this last time, after the slaughter of the border guards. We have a different kind of challenge than I was expecting, with the enemy just sitting tight somewhere and poisoning the air, waiting for us to succumb to that. It¡¯s hard to know how to deal with that.¡± He scratched his chin. ¡°I have a couple of ideas, but before I start going through options, does anyone else have thoughts on this situation?¡±


    There was silence for a moment as the group members looked at each other and considered.


    Samuel spoke first. ¡°Hiding underground, if I had to guess. That is what I would expect this Ruler to do, considering the choice of tactics. Poisonous gas is not exactly the honorable, straightforward approach of someone like the Fisher King. I have dealt with a Ruler or two like this before. Finding its den may be difficult.¡±


    ¡°I can sniff it out,¡± Luna offered. ¡°My wolves and I had a good whiff of the reptiles who were assigned to guard the border, and wherever the Ruler is hiding, we would be able to find it if given time.¡±


    ¡°Assuming that all of the air in the area around you isn¡¯t turned into strong-smelling poisonous gas,¡± said Duncan of the Goblins.


    Luna simply fell silent in response to that, pointing her snout at the ground as if slightly embarrassed.


    ¡°It might work out if a Healer or two were to go with you,¡± offered Rafael, an unofficial officer¡ªbecause James had not made many official officers yet¡ªamong the Healers.


    But another of the human leaders was already shaking her head.


    ¡°That would defeat the purpose of sending the wolves in alone,¡± said the Mage Felicia. ¡°They¡¯re fast-moving and fierce. You Healers are slow-moving and weak.¡±


    There were a few weak chuckles at that, and Rafael threw up his hands as if to say, You¡¯re not wrong¡­


    Then the group grew quiet again for almost a minute, until their leader forcefully changed the mood. He wasn¡¯t going to let the group dwell too long on one member calling another weak, even as a joke.


    ¡°I appreciate the resourcefulness, Luna,¡± Dave said. ¡°I think your wolf pack¡¯s mobility and high Perception are going to be important to this, though I don¡¯t know how yet. Any other interesting ideas?¡± He looked from face to face¡ªor muzzle to muzzle, as the species of his interlocutors varied.


    ¡°Perhaps we could fly over the territory,¡± Evangeline, the leader of the bats, suggested.


    But Ysabel, the leader of the squirrels, shook her head at that. She spoke gently, without condescension in her tone. ¡°You don¡¯t know this, Eva, because you won the position of leader of the bats after both our Races submitted to the Fisher King, but¡ªwell, the way a Ruler¡¯s power works is frequently not dependent on proximity. You can do things from a distance. We already know this Ruler can turn the air into poisonous gas. So, even if you¡¯re flying far above the territory, you¡¯re just as vulnerable to being poisoned by that technique as someone on the ground would be. Maybe more so, since you¡¯re surrounded by nothing but air. We don¡¯t know what else this Ruler can do. The only important thing we know is that he or she transformed the air into poisonous gas, which means that¡¯s one of the Ruler¡¯s more important abilities. Scouting is important, but it¡¯s not going to be any safer from the sky than on the ground.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you hit on something important,¡± Dave said, barely letting Ysabel finish. He didn¡¯t like the negativity that was beginning to take hold of the group. ¡°We definitely need additional information. The best way to gather it is some sort of reconnaissance mission. We at least need to figure out how large the territory is. It would also be good to know if the terrain ever changes and if the enemy base is visually obvious. From there, we¡¯ll be able to determine how long it should take to search and where the best places to look are. We¡¯d be kicking ourselves if we were struggling to come up with a solution for hours, only to figure out that the enemy base is just on the exact opposite side of the Ruler¡¯s territory from where we are, easy to reach if we just attack from another angle. And I assume that there is some weakness to the enemy¡¯s defenses that isn¡¯t obvious yet. It might just be that the Ruler is physically weaker than some others or that the poisonous gas is something its followers are not immune to, which would limit its utility in battle. But everyone has a weakness. Some vulnerability we can exploit. And the more information we have, the better the plan we can make.¡±


    Luna was nodding again. ¡°Allow me and my pack the honor of the search,¡± she said, tail beginning to wag behind her.


    That sounds perfect, actually, Dave thought. With their high Perception, they could hopefully avoid losing any members while actually getting a good idea of the size and layout of the territory.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he said aloud. ¡°In the meantime, I¡¯ll try to get an idea of how large a group we can bring in with the number of Healers we have who can rotate Purification duties. That way, I¡¯ll have an idea of how we strike once you come back.¡±


    The poisonous gas had been a complication, but it was one that the Royal Fisher Army would adapt to and overcome.


    ¡°Just make certain you don¡¯t enter enemy territory if it¡¯s at all avoidable,¡± Dave added as Luna began to rise restlessly from her seated position. ¡°Above all else, we want to avoid any unnecessary casualties.¡±


    The wolf leader nodded.


    ¡°I will be careful.¡±

 V5Ch26-War for the Land of Rattlesnakes Part 2

    Luna raced.


    Her body was flooded with adrenaline, and every nerve vibrated with tension. This was what she was made for. Running through the open ground, her pack at her back, her mate beside her.


    One of Luna¡¯s heads turned to look at Romulus¡ªand caught him doing the same back to her in turn. They exchanged toothy grins, then both turned to face forward once more. Despite running around the perimeter of the enemy¡¯s territory, each knew that the situation they were in was dangerous.


    A large territory, Luna transmitted to Romulus telepathically.


    Rather long, at least, Romulus replied. Perhaps not deep.


    Luna nodded, then recognized he might not be looking at her anymore and sent a short, Yes.


    The territory had been fifteen miles long in total, and they had only now turned, at the corner where the aura ended, to see how deep it was. If the territory¡¯s depth was shallow, it would probably indicate that there was another Ruler on the other side of this place that the rattlesnake Ruler had not yet been willing to challenge.


    A shallow territory would also make it easier to find the Ruler without succumbing to the poisonous atmosphere within the territory or running low on resources. Valuable intel for the Captain.


    Considering how evasive the Ruler has been thus far, choosing to use poisonous gas and hide instead of facing us directly after we killed off her border guards, it seems likely that the Ruler would also simply avoid challenging a neighbor to avoid testing their strength. Not like our King.


    If the Fisher King were here, he would make short work of this Ruler. That was what Luna¡¯s instincts told her. Now it was their job to prove that he wasn¡¯t the only one in the Kingdom who could slay someone at that level of power. And the wolf relished this challenge.


    The wolf pack ran for perhaps ten minutes, and Luna saw a change of environment in the distance. A different biome, one that Luna thought contained a lot more water and long, tall grass.


    The rattlesnake territory was smaller in square mileage than the Fisher Kingdom after all.


    I knew ours was bigger, Luna thought smugly. Then she returned to practical thought, and her tail began wagging uncontrollably. This was very good news.


    It is a shallow territory, she sent to Romulus excitedly. We can return to¡ª


    There was suddenly a slight smell of sulfur in the air.


    That brief hit of foul odor was the only warning, before Luna felt it. A wave of aura hit her and then swept rapidly past, staggering her and almost taking her breath away. Almost.


    Luna resisted the pressure on her body to empty her lungs by sheer Will and simply held her breath instead. Her body responded to the unexpected strain and the sense of being under attack by kicking her adrenaline into high gear.


    The wolf¡¯s heads swiveled from side to side, taking advantage of having three separate sets of eyes to confirm that there were no attackers within sight.


    Nevertheless, Luna¡¯s instincts told her that she and her packmates were in immediate danger, and she began issuing orders.


    We are under attack! Same enemy as before. This creature uses poisonous gas, so hold your breath while we retreat. She sent a quick mental image of the surest path out of the territory. The enemy¡¯s land holdings had just expanded again, and it was impossible to be certain how much it could have gained in the direction it had moved in, but Luna had no doubt that this was aggression aimed at the wolves mapping out the edges of its territory. Therefore, the Ruler would seek to expand its Dominion in a focused way that would surround the pack with its territory as thoroughly as possible. It would expect them to run straight toward the border it had just expanded, so that would be the area it covered with its aura.


    Instead, Luna had mapped out a diagonal path that would lead them back to the long side of the territory.


    She turned and took her first steps running forward, her pack swiveling to gather behind her. Luna made it ten feet. Then the ground behind her¡ªthe space where she had been standing just seconds earlier¡ªexploded, soil flying into the air. Through the scattered particles, Luna saw a mixed group of snakes and what appeared to be some sort of large black worms burst forth, right in the midst of her pack.


    There was panic among the wolf pack, but Luna sent out a wave of calming emotions and a simple message.


    We will be fine. If they were strong, they would not need to bother with a sneak attack. It was not entirely true. She could easily see their own Ruler using sneak attacks, even though he was probably the strongest life form around. But it was what the pack needed just now. Those who were not in the front lines seemed to relax a little.


    Then the monsters lunged at the wolves closest to them, and the battle began.


    Luna invested only a moment to Identify one of the strange black worms before she moved back to assist.


    Terrestrial Bloodthirst Leech, Lv. 12


    That name sounds ominous, she thought.


    Luna lunged forward¡ªand a huge black shape suddenly materialized out of the air before her, cutting off her path. The figure was a snake, but not like the others. It was the only monster Luna had encountered here that was taller than her, and its body was crowned with eleven heads.


    She automatically responded to the sudden intrusion with a low snarl, baring her fangs and lowering her heads, ready to pounce and throw all her body weight at the creature.


    ¡°Hello, She-Wolf,¡± growled a deep yet feminine voice, matching Luna¡¯s own ferocity. ¡°I hope you have enjoyed your tour of my territory. Your stay as a guest ends now.¡±


    Luna¡¯s hackles rose automatically at the unfamiliar, obviously hostile voice, but she did not feel a sense of danger at the presence in front of her. She sensed, oddly, something more akin to an absence of anything before her.


    The Wolf Lady did not bother to respond in words to the enemy in front of her. She did not want to waste her time while her pack was engaged in battle. Instead, she opened all three sets of her jaws and let loose a terrible, piercing, physically forceful sound.


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    Shattering Howl!


    The shape in front of her shook visibly, as if its existence was unstable. Which made sense.


    It only materialized from the air in front of me, Luna thought. The Ruler is too cowardly to appear in person. If it is only a projection, I am guaranteed to win!


    She tore into the image in front of her with fangs and claws, and it responded with bites of its own. To Luna¡¯s slight surprise, though the creature was some sort of mystical apparition, it was no mere illusion. Her attacks hit solid matter, and the bites that landed on her flesh made real wounds¡ªalbeit small ones¡ªand drew actual blood.


    ¡°Your jaws are weak, though you have many of them,¡± Luna taunted.


    Then she returned to biting and clawing at the creature, ripping away heads and large chunks of what should have been flesh. But anything she separated from the body turned to smoke in her grip and vanished.


    The multi-headed snake struck back with more of its relatively feeble bites, but Luna noticed that the presence of the main body seemed to be wavering, too.


    She redoubled her efforts¡ªperhaps she could have left this projection of the Ruler¡¯s alone without it doing much damage, but she suspected it could kill some of the younger wolves with even these fairly feeble bites¡ªand after a few more minutes of mutual biting and one-sided clawing, Luna fell through the monster¡¯s body. It had dematerialized completely.


    ¡°Do not think that this is over,¡± said the voice once more, a last few words before the final head vanished.


    ¡°Oh, I know it is not!¡± Luna growled back at nothingness.


    Then she turned back to the wolf pack. They had been forced to fight for the last several minutes without her direct assistance. She was proud to see the rattlesnakes and leeches were mostly dead and dismembered¡ªand in the midst of what appeared to have been the thickest of the fighting was her mate.


    Romulus, with his three heads and terrible ferocity, was engaged in close combat with two of the remaining rattlesnakes and a leech. Each of the combatants took it in turns trying to bite at the other side, bluffing and drawing back, trying to pull the other side into a fatal overcommitment. Standing at the backs of the three monsters engaging Romulus, two of the largest rattlesnakes hissed and rattled, trying to keep the rest of the pack at bay. There was a similar game at play there, with the rattlesnakes visibly bleeding from a few wounds that smaller pack members had inflicted with bites¡ªbut there were two wolves lying unmoving on the ground in front of them, and Luna did not know on sight whether they were dead or alive.


    When she reached out with her ability to sense the pack, she felt their life signs were still present¡ªbut weak. Far too weak.


    Luna leaped into the fray, eager to break the stalemate. Charging in from the rattlesnakes¡¯ flank, she seized one of the two larger rattlesnakes by the neck, grasping it firmly in her jaws, and then leaped backward, out of the other creature¡¯s striking range.


    That was all the signal the other wolves needed to act boldly. Most of the rest of the pack raced to be the first to attack the snake now standing on its lonesome at the back of the other three combatants. Luna saw the rattlesnake fall under the sheer weight of so many furry bodies, and she heard the sounds of dozens of jaws snapping. The remaining wolf pack rushed up to Romulus¡¯s adversaries, the stalemate there doomed too. Sensing the attack coming from behind them, the three monsters all threw themselves onto Romulus and attacked him with reckless abandon.


    With all three sets of jaws, he grabbed each monster around its neck¡ªor the place just below the jaws, in the case of the leech. There was a loud series of crunching noises as Romulus crushed the life out of all three of them.


    Luna executed the larger rattlesnake in her own jaws as she watched, using two pairs of jaws to hold the snake taught and applying the third set of jaws to chop the snake in two.


    [You killed Eastern Diamondback Rattlelord, Lv. 19!]


    [Master Forest Wolf Luna leveled up!]


    With the notification she received, the battle was truly over. She had other notifications from the successful fight with the Manifestation of the Eastern Diamondback Hydra, as the System labeled the other thing she had fought. But she was focused on other matters.


    Another victory, she thought without joy, looking at the two wolves that lay fallen on the ground.


    Then Romulus collapsed, his enemies, bodies clearly lifeless, still hanging from his flesh, attached by locked jaws.


    No!


    Luna rushed toward her fallen mate, eyes wide. She shoved aside other members of the pack without much thought.


    Go and attend to your fallen siblings, she forced herself to send. Take them out of the territory. She could not be certain, but she suspected the atmosphere around here was still poisonous. It seemed consistent with this Ruler¡¯s underhanded behavior thus far. Do not breathe in the air.


    With that duty fulfilled, she bent to attend to her mate. She saw he was bleeding from a dozen places that had not been visible from a distance. She did not waste time in fretting over it, however.


    Instead, Luna licked at Romulus¡¯s wounds. The wolves¡¯ saliva had some mild healing properties. She knew it was unlikely to be enough to do much for him, but it was all she had for now, and she used that ability with furious energy. There were no wolves specialized in healing, which seemed like a major error at the moment.


    Occasionally, she stopped and spat, wrinkling her nose. The blood from her mate tasted strange. He was probably poisoned or infected with some disease courtesy of these strange monsters. Nevertheless, she continued with only brief pauses until she had covered each of his significant injuries with some of her healing saliva.


    The wounds seemed to partially knit up, but they appeared more inflamed now than they had when she started. Luna did not like the look of them, but she could not think of anything more that could be done for her mate here.


    We have to return to the group¡­


    Finally, she gave up on any further ministrations, grabbed Romulus in two sets of jaws, and dragged her mate¡¯s body up off the ground and onto her back. Fortunately, after their Evolutions, they were of very similar size. He was only a little larger than her.


    The rest of the pack had largely moved on following her instructions, with only a few of the evolved Command Forest Wolves remaining as a guard for their leader.


    Finally, the remaining wolves set out, guards up, ready to be ambushed.


    They walked among the pines, twitching at every crunch of brittle twigs or brush of fur against rough wood. But there were no further ambushes, and they made it out of the territory safely.


    Luna was relieved, not because she did not want to take out her frustrations on the Ruler or any of its minions that might dare to appear, but because she could feel Romulus¡¯s heartbeat slowing down.


    Once they were clear of the scrubby pine land, and could breathe freely again, Luna and her fellows ran straight out the rest of the way. The Wolf Lady sprinted, tireless, until she could unload her mate¡¯s body next to a group of Healers.


    ¡°Please, my mate. Venom. Possibly also contagion. Help.¡±


    The humans, to their credit, sprang into action, and Luna backed away to give them room to work. She knew every second counted. She had already felt the absence¡ªthe loss of the other two wolves that had been rendered unconscious back in the Ruler¡¯s land. But Romulus was stronger. He would recover. He had to.


    Luna stalked off, unable to sit still while her mate¡¯s life hung in the balance. She felt the need to do something, but her desire was frustrated by the level of this Ruler¡¯s defenses. She waved off another Healer offering to see to the small, shallow cuts that were the only remaining sign of the bites from the Ruler¡¯s Manifestation. She did not need help. She needed¡­


    The wolf found Dave Matsumoto and locked eyes with him for a moment to get his attention. He nodded, meeting her gaze. She took that as a sign to approach, so she did. She spoke her mind with blunt candor.


    ¡°Captain. When we encounter the Ruler, I will fight her.¡± Luna pronounced the words in a tone that brooked no dissent. Dave looked back at her, breathed out a heavy sigh, and slowly nodded.


    ¡°As soon as we have Romulus and the others healed, we go in,¡± he said. ¡°For now, tell me what happened. Everything you know.¡±

 V5Ch27-War for the Land of Rattlesnakes Part 3

    The healing process for Romulus took hours.


    The Healers tried healing magic and Purification at first, but his body seemed resistant to healing. They slowed down after half an hour of that seemed to have produced little change in his condition. An examination showed that some of his flesh was simply dead, and his heartbeat remained ragged and weak, his body unable to properly recover with what was effectively rotting meat attached to it. Then they had to cut away the dead flesh before they resumed.


    Fortunately, one of the Healers was a former surgeon, preventing the frightening necessity of some inexperienced person having to play doctor with the wounded wolf. He patiently pruned away the putrefying meat for another half hour. There were more wounds than had been obvious visually, and any rotten flesh that remained on the body would only slow the wolf¡¯s recovery.


    Luna assisted in this part of the process. She had been watching everything, and her nose allowed her to more easily identify parts of the body where the odor was off relative to what her mate ought to smell like.


    Finally, there was another hour of thoroughly blasting the wolf with healing Mana until they had destroyed every trace of corruption and repaired his body. One of the Healers compared it to something called ¡°chemotherapy¡± that Luna gathered had been a form of medical treatment before the System.


    Once that was finished, all that was left for Romulus was to sleep and recover. He had not awakened throughout the process, but Luna felt good about his odds of survival. Not merely because the Healers said encouraging things, but because she listened to his heartbeat, and it sounded stronger and steadier than it had when she brought him back.


    The Master Forest Wolf walked back to the Captain and the other leaders of the gathered Royal Fisher Army. They were gathered around a small fire. The sun was getting lower in the sky now. It would be sunset soon.


    ¡°Thank you for waiting for me,¡± Luna said through her leftmost head, her eyes lowered.


    She was surprised to find Dave¡¯s hand landing on the top of that head, gently caressing her much as James would have. Luna thought she should probably tell him to stop that, as it was beneath her dignity as a member of the King¡¯s council to accept such gestures of affection from any lesser personage than the King himself, but it felt very nice, so she quieted that voice for now.


    ¡°Of course we waited for you,¡± the Captain replied, his voice soothing, hand slowly moving over her fur in time with his voice. ¡°Now let¡¯s talk about some revenge. About taking this land.¡±


    Luna forced herself to nod, breaking the contact between fur and hand¡ªand the accompanying spell.


    ¡°What is the plan?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Based on what you told me earlier, we can bring a significant wedge of people into the territory and keep them there for the duration of the battle¡­¡± He explained his idea for the operation in detail.


    Then the Captain looked to Luna, his expression expectant. Weirdly, Dave almost seemed as if he wanted her feedback.


    ¡°Well, what do you think?¡± he finally asked.


    ¡°It is not my part to question,¡± Luna replied humbly. ¡°I have been placed under your authority, Captain. It is my role to do as ordered or die in the attempt, knowing that the Kingdom and the pack live on.¡± Seeing that he bit his lip as if dissatisfied, she went on, ¡°If you truly want another opinion, after receiving those of our fellow officers¡ª¡± She used the snout of her rightmost head to gesture at the others gathered around¡ª¡°I think it is a good plan, and I hope it will work. I am certainly prepared to do my share.¡±


    Dave nodded. ¡°Go on.¡±


    ¡°Well, even the best plans can fail against a Ruler, especially when you lack one on your side.¡±


    ¡°We humans have a saying that no plan survives first contact with the enemy,¡± he said. ¡°You actually reminded me of a poem. ¡®Forward, the Light Brigade!¡¯ Was there a man dismayed? Not though the soldier knew someone had blundered. Theirs not to make reply, theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die. Into the valley of Death rode the six hundred.¡± His expression turned wistful.


    You must have a more positive outlook than that, Captain, Luna thought. No one but her seemed to be bothered by the impromptu poetry. Duncan had actually taken a small notepad from his side and begun to make notes, as if he was thinking about composing a poem of his own.


    ¡°Well, the King has entrusted this to us, so we must believe it is possible,¡± Luna replied in a fervent tone. ¡°We are valuable assets. He would not throw us away lightly.¡±


    Dave smiled slightly and nodded again. ¡°I agree.¡± He turned to the Goblin Overlord, who lowered his pad. ¡°How quickly can your people perform their part of the pre-operation?¡±


    Duncan thumped his chest. ¡°I have plenty of Goblins here, and they are already working on their part. With our ingenuity, it can be done overnight.¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow, then. First light. So we will have the whole day for the battle, assuming that is needed. Better than fighting in the dark. I understand that rattlesnakes have vision well adapted to the darkness.¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your part, Duncan,¡± Luna said. ¡°The wolf pack appreciates it.¡±


    The Goblin shrugged, suddenly looking slightly uncomfortable. ¡°It is you and your kin who are doing the more difficult work. The dangerous work. We are glad to support however we can.¡±


    ¡°The pack will be more than happy to take the fight to the hydra,¡± Luna growled. ¡°We do not appreciate being ambushed.¡±


    ¡°Duly noted,¡± Samuel said dryly. The alligator¡¯s mouth arranged itself into a toothy grin. ¡°In the event that the residents of the swamp need to challenge the wolf pack to a fight in the future, we will ensure that we do so openly, eye to eye, in broad daylight.¡±


    Luna relaxed her ears slightly, amused despite her generally serious mood.


    ¡°And we promise to slaughter you and your reptiles honorably until you surrender,¡± she replied.


    ¡°How civilized,¡± Dave said, apparently much less perturbed than he had been in earlier meetings in which the monsters said such, frankly monstrous things. ¡°If there is nothing else, you can disperse to work on your respective tasks. We will reconvene at first light, at which point we will pursue and destroy the enemy.¡±


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    Luna rapidly communicated the plan to the rest of the pack, who were excited about their pivotal role in the coming attack.


    Then she returned to her mate¡¯s side. Romulus remained unconscious following the procedure, and he did not awaken for the remainder of the evening. Luna remained with him, keeping him warm with her body.


    For the rest of the Royal Fisher Army camp, the night was spent in preparation for the battle that would begin the next day¡ªthat would decide the fate of this land of rattlesnakes.


    The sound of hammering, in particular, echoed through the night air.


    Somehow, despite her worry for her mate and the constant din of hammers falling, Luna managed to get to sleep sometime after dark had fallen. She was awakened by the feel of a furry snout nosing at her side. Luna lifted one head and turned slightly to meet the young wolf¡¯s eyes.


    Please forgive the presumption, my lady, sent the female wolf telepathically, lowering her gaze. The time is almost at hand, and the Goblins would like to outfit you. We thought that you would wish to be roused.


    Luna looked down at the wolf¡¯s body and saw that she was partly encased in gleaming metal armor. It fit around the wolf¡¯s chest, and there were smaller necklaces of metal around her neck and guards around her leg, along with blades that attached just above her claws, elevated slightly so that they would not touch the ground while running but would still strike the enemy when the claws were swung. The wolf¡¯s head was unprotected, along with a bit of the rear and tail, but Luna was impressed with the overall effect.


    The Goblins did it after all, she thought. In one single night. I should remember not to doubt Duncan when he says his people will accomplish some task¡­


    Luna had not truly doubted the Goblin Overlord, but she had little context to know whether his promises on a matter such as this could be relied upon. He had been asked to prepare armor and equipment for the army overnight. Mainly for the wolves. After the experience Romulus had suffered, and considering how heavily involved the wolves were likely to be in the fighting, it only made sense to attempt to provide them with armor.


    Forgive me, but what was your name, child? Luna replied as gently as she could. Thank you for waking me up.


    Luna normally recognized all of her pack members by scent, as her sense of smell was better than her vision, but right now, the gleaming metal armor was throwing off both senses. And one wolf snout was much like another.


    Flavia, my lady, the other wolf replied. Since James named Luna and Romulus, the other wolves had taken to calling themselves names of a similar heritage. It was my privilege.


    Were the Goblins unable to perform the other bit of engineering? Luna asked.


    No, they prepared them, Flavia sent. But they said that we should not wear the gas masks until we are actually getting ready to enter enemy territory. They will become uncomfortable after some time, and they also contain a filter that only lasts for a limited period.


    Luna nodded. That was impressive¡ªand genuinely surprising. When Dave had spoken with Duncan and the others about his plans before Luna returned, he had mentioned the gas mask concept, and it had apparently been something Duncan was familiar with and confident that his people could manufacture. They carried a lot of materials with them, in Small Bags of Deceptive Dimensions that perhaps ten percent of Goblins owned¡ªLooted from humans killed in Orientation¡ªbut he had not been certain that they had enough to make the appropriate number of masks.


    Are there masks for everyone? Luna asked.


    Only the wolves, Flavia replied.


    That is fine, since it will only be us out of the Healers¡¯ reach in the critical early stages of the battle, Luna sent back. Thank you for the report, Flavia. It was hard to recognize you in that gleaming armor, but I will fix this image of you in my mind. Strong and brave, ready to serve our King and take revenge for the underhanded attack on our pack during our scouting mission.


    The other wolves gave a sharp, fierce nod but still kept her eyes pointed down, avoiding any implication of disrespect or a challenge¡ªwhich direct eye contact could sometimes mean, within wolf society.


    Luna rose from her position next to Romulus, nuzzled him one final time¡ªhe was pleasantly warm and smelled the same as ever, and his heartbeat seemed to be back to normal to her¡ªand then walked over to the Goblins. They were almost done with outfitting her fellow wolves, but the craftsman responsible rushed over to Luna energetically and bumped her to the front of the queue. They seemed to be very excited to work on the largest of the wolves entering the battle.


    The armor they had crafted for her fit so well that Luna had to wonder if they had approached her sleeping body to measure her. Probably they had. She didn¡¯t bother to ask. Her mind was elsewhere, either on Romulus and his recovery or on the Eastern Diamondback Hydra who she was going to rip to pieces and eat.


    At last, Luna was fully outfitted, and the first rays of sunlight began to show. The leaders of the various army groups gathered at the heads of their respective squads, aside from those who were staying behind¡ªthe Mages, the Goblins, a squad of riflemen, and a few close combat types to guard them and the injured.


    As Luna and the wolves took their places, the Goblin craftsmen rushed away from the Goblin group to quickly and efficiently apply gas masks to each of the wolves¡¯ heads. They were little nose covers, rather than true masks that fit over the full snout.


    But Luna refused the mask for her central head, only taking them for the left and right heads. The masks seemed to block out all sense of smell, and she would need some degree of that for her coming task. If necessary, she could stop breathing through one or two heads and just rely on one that still wore a mask.


    Finally, almost as an afterthought, Luna chose her final elemental affinity.


    She had acquired two as she Evolved into a Command Forest Wolf and grew her second head.


    When she completed her latest Evolution and became a Master Forest Wolf, she had been given a choice between several elemental affinities, but she had held off. Perhaps her father had decided that too hastily, and that had been the factor that caused his death in the fight with James.


    Luna did not resent the King for killing her father, but of course she had no wish to share in the same fate. This choice would be with her for a long time.


    She opened her System interface and made her selection, then felt a slight surge of power and knew that her third head finally had its elemental attack.


    At last, all was ready.


    She looked to the Captain, and Dave met her gaze and gave Luna a simple nod. His way of saying, Go ahead, we¡¯ll follow your lead.


    The wolf threw all three of her heads back and let loose a forceful howl that shook the trees around her. Then the pack joined in, building their feeling of collective energy.


    Without hesitation, they charged across the border and into the pine scrubs.


    Luna had gotten a literal and figurative taste of the Ruler¡¯s energy by fighting¡ªand repeatedly biting¡ªthe Manifestation that the hydra had created. The Manifestation was a more concentrated version of the hydra¡¯s aura¡ªthe same aura that pervaded the air all throughout the monster¡¯s territory¡ªand mingled with it, she had bitten off a bit of shadowy flesh. The meat had dissipated almost instantly and drifted out of her mouth like smoke, but in those moments when Luna was biting into the Manifestation¡¯s flesh, she had observed a subtle taste and smell.


    The taste and smell of the actual hydra.


    The wolf found the odor strong and pungent, actually¡ªjust subtle compared with what she imagined the hydra¡¯s in person taste and smell would be like. A bit like a skunk. Fitting for a cowardly Ruler who had repeatedly failed to meet opponents in open battle, instead sending foot soldiers and a Manifestation to attack them.


    But regardless of how she felt about the taste, Luna now had the odor of their adversary, and she followed the scent into the scrubby pine land.

 V5Ch28-War for the Land of Rattlesnakes Part 4

    Part of the plan was that only the wolves would enter the Ruler¡¯s territory at first.


    This would force the Ruler to consider the situation carefully while conserving resources. If the hydra focused too much on trying to kill off the wolfpack, she might deplete too much power that would be needed to defeat the larger army on her border.


    Sure enough, although Luna raced forward with her central nose uncovered by the small gas masks she and her allies had been given, using her sense of smell to narrow down the location of the Ruler, she did not begin to smell the telltale odor of sulfur yet.


    After a few minutes of running, she felt a pulse of power from the direction she was running in. The Ruler had just used Dominion. The hydra¡¯s territory had expanded, almost certainly pushing the border outwards to try to force the army waiting at the edge to retreat backward and buy time and space. But still, the air around the wolfpack did not turn toxic.


    The plan is working so far¡­


    The Captain had anticipated that after the first engagement with the wolfpack, in which the hydra had successfully achieved the death of two young wolves and the serious injury of one of the two Master Forest Wolves, the Ruler would underestimate the wolfpack as a threat on its own and not deploy any significant force to stop them from advancing.


    More worried about conserving energy to fight the larger army, the multi-headed snake would perceive the wolfpack, entering the territory on its own, as a sort of sacrificial pawn in the larger game of chess. There was little point in focusing too much on them¡ªassuming that the hydra still had not realized what the real threat of the wolfpack was.


    Luna turned to lead the wolfpack in a slightly roundabout route, no longer running straight at the Ruler¡¯s apparent location. She did this to conceal the fact that she had a nose full of scent that would allow her to find that exact spot and also to triangulate the location more precisely. This way, even if she had to suddenly stop using scent to track¡ªsuch as if the Ruler turned the air to poisonous gas again¡ªLuna would still have a good idea of where the Ruler was.


    For several minutes, the Wolf Lady led her pack in a wide arc through the Ruler¡¯s territory. Nothing changed during all that time.


    Finally, however, Luna got a whiff of the smell of sulfur. She immediately stopped breathing through the head that had no gas mask. She telepathically informed the rest of the pack of the presence of poisonous gas, so that they would know in case their masks stopped working or were dislodged that they would need to hold their breath.


    And she grinned.


    Too late¡­


    The wolf had already pinpointed a fairly exact location for the Ruler. Now she led the wolfpack in a charge straight toward it.


    It took them only a few minutes to narrow the distance to nothing. Passing through a trio of trees, Luna saw the Ruler¡¯s lair. A wide-mouthed cave that sunk into the Earth. The aura around it was so thick that Luna could actually taste it without needing to draw too close. This was definitely the place.


    She and the wolfpack slowed and ultimately stopped running just outside of the cave. Still, neither the Ruler nor her forces came out to meet them. Perhaps she was waiting for the poisonous gas to do its work¡ªor hoping that the wolfpack would venture into the dark cave so that they could be subject to ambush by her and her army of snakes.


    Very well. They had a plan for that, too. Even with the plates of armor the wolves wore, the first resort was not to enter a dark, secluded, unsecured location that would undoubtedly be full of convenient ambush points.


    Luna began howling and started running again, and the pack followed her in both. For a few minutes, they raced in circles around the cave. It was large, but not such a large and strong base that the next steps of the battle plan would not work.


    The wolf pack stopped running and howling when Luna spied the first projectile flying through the air. The pack was only a mile or so deep into the territory, though they had traveled sideways by more than a mile. It was within the Royal Fisher Army¡¯s effective striking range.


    The pack scattered to avoid impact as huge balls of fire, lightning, and rock flew at the cave. Some struck, some missed, and at least one flew directly inside of the mouth of the cave. The blows were incredibly loud and quickly chipped away at the structural stability of the entrance. After a few minutes of bombardment, the roof of the cave fell in. Several minutes later, the entire above-ground structure had collapsed into a sunken pile of rubble.


    Luna and the wolfpack howled loudly again to signal that the army should stop so as to waste no further energy. This would also tell the army that they should enter the territory now.


    The sound was barely out of their mouths before the pile of rubble exploded outward from the place where it had been, opening the subterranean portion of the cave to the air.


    There goes the idea of waiting for them to run out of oxygen, Luna thought.


    A minute passed. The wolfpack stood at a remove of twenty feet, most of them staring into the darkness of the hole in the ground while a few looked in other directions, keeping watch against any sneak attacks.


    Then Luna saw them.


    Everyone, be ready! she sent telepathically to the entire pack.


    Dozens of rattlesnakes and a much smaller number of leeches and lizards, turtles and iguanas, marched up from out of the depths.


    Behind them, there were more and more of the same, seemingly endless eyes staring up at them from out of the darkness. It was intimidating, even knowing that the rest of the army was on its way.


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    Then, toward the back, a huge shape became visible to Luna¡¯s eyes.


    Eleven heads positioned relatively tightly together. Eyes that burned with hatred. The presence was not comparable to that of the King, of course¡ªbut it was still heavy and monstrous.


    What it might lack in when compared with James¡ªpower¡ªthe hydra seemed to Luna to make up for with pure malice. She suppressed the urge to shudder. They were facing an enemy Ruler. She was in charge of her pack right now. This presence was something basic that she would have to get used to.


    The first lines of reptiles and leeches did not approach closer to the wolfpack once they emerged from the cave into the sunlight. Instead, they moved to the sides of the entrance to make way for the others. Every movement was calm and ordered.


    Everything was slow and quiet until the Ruler began to draw near to the light. As she drew closer to the entrance, the hydra began to sway side to side, so that every forward movement of hers brought rattling noises¡ªimplicit warnings of how dangerous the snakes were, especially to a Race that had no innate resistance to venom.


    Light fell over her more and more, confirming the presence of eleven heads and revealing more features. Brown, silver and gray scales, including some in a diamond pattern on each of the hydra¡¯s backs. The hydra¡¯s size was less impressive to Luna. She was only slightly taller than Luna herself, despite being constantly ¡°reared up¡± from Luna¡¯s perspective¡ªmoving in a posture that exaggerated her size, as Luna¡¯s size would be exaggerated if she stood up and managed to balance on her hind legs.


    As the shape of the Ruler finally became visible in the light, Luna Identified her.


    Eastern Diamondback Hydra Queen Silk, Lv. 32


    Of course she out-levels me, Luna thought. As much as she had sought to catch up to the King and his most powerful servants, she was still not quite at that tier of power yet. Luna had intended the fight between herself and the enemy Ruler to be a one on one duel, but now she had doubts. Perhaps if I waited for Samuel¡­


    The former Sewer Alligator Monarch would undoubtedly be a match for Silk. But an image of Romulus¡¯s unconscious body flashed through Luna¡¯s mind¡¯s eye and stiffened her resolve.


    It is for me to take vengeance for his injury, she reminded herself. No one else.


    Then the hydra began to speak.


    ¡°Since you knocked at my door, I hope you are all prepared to be our guests for what remains of your lives,¡± the hydra said, speaking through all of her heads at once in a tone that somehow rang through the bones of the listeners. ¡°We have no wish to kill you all quickly. You should know that you have entered a land of potent poisons. Death comes when we wish it to, not sooner.¡±


    She emerged fully into the light, and Luna felt the full intimidation of being in the presence of a Ruler.


    Still, she could not allow that weight to fall equally on the other members of her pack. They could not disgrace themselves by running from this fight¡ªeven as she could not help but wonder how long it would take the Royal Fisher Army to arrive. The wolfpack¡¯s job now was to make certain that the Queen did not retreat back into her lair. That mainly meant surviving until the bulk of the army¡¯s other groups could arrive to provide support.


    The situation had been made deliberately tempting for the hydra¡ªthe wolfpack was an enticing enough target to get her to strike now, rather than trying to continue hiding.


    Hopefully it was also strong enough to survive contact.


    We can do this, Luna sent telepathically. We will not lose to some smelly snakes who had to hide in a hole in the ground and wait for the army to blast them out of their hiding place. No one here has to behave heroically. The pack only has to endure for ten minutes before backup gets here. And remember, once the army arrives and we do engage more closely, the hydra herself is mine!


    Luna did not seriously think any of her pack members were eager to tackle the hydra, but the reframing in her message seemed to do what needed to be done. The wolves¡¯ postures became more aggressive, teeth bared, hackles raised, as they stared at the army of reptiles.


    ¡°Nothing to say, then?¡± the hydra asked in a bored tone of voice.


    ¡°I hope you have made peace with your gods,¡± Luna replied in a voice so aggressive and angry that it surprised even her. ¡°You will be with them soon.¡±


    She found herself charging forward, straight at the hydra, against her own wisdom and the strategy she had just been outlining to the pack.


    A shadowy shape appeared in between herself and the hydra, and Luna only managed to slow down slightly before she struck it.


    Eleven shadowy heads leaned in to try and bite at Luna¡¯s flesh, and she lunged forward, ignoring the fangs and jaws and using her own to grab the Manifestation by the necks. With a single chomp from all three jaws, she crushed the Manifestation¡¯s necks and ripped them viciously from the body, dispersing the Manifestation into black smoke in an instant.


    It had taken much longer the first time she confronted one of these things, but Luna¡¯s power and motivation had taken a jump since the last time. She was fighting for revenge, for her pack¡¯s survival, for the King and the Royal Fisher Army¡ªfor everything that was dear to her¡ªand the enemy Ruler was still playing these petty tricks. She had already been angry, but she grew hot with rage in an instant at being intercepted.


    As the smoke dissipated, and Luna found herself facing up to the hydra and her hundreds of snakes, the wolf found the courage in her rage to challenge the multi-headed creature.


    ¡°Can you actually fight?¡± she snarled. ¡°Or is it all just cheap tricks?¡±


    The hydra let loose a cold chuckle that made her body rattle with every sound that escaped.


    ¡°You want a one on one engagement with me?¡± Silk asked. ¡°I suppose you were too impatient to die before. You want to join your friend in the grave.¡±


    Luna had to control herself for a moment. She had an intense urge to throw herself directly at the hydra, but that was obviously the point of the provocation¡ªto try and produce another rash attack like the one Luna had initiated before.


    After a moment, when it had become apparent Luna was not taking the bait, a huge swell of aura rose around the Queen and then just as suddenly dissipated. A dozen more of her Manifestations appeared interspersed with her rattlesnakes and other soldiers.


    ¡°There,¡± the hydra said, her tone almost bored. ¡°Now I can defend my children and play with you.¡± Silk moved away from her troops and off to the side, her long intertwined coils slowly pressing her forward until she was twenty feet from her army.


    Luna looked back and forth between the hydra and her army, trying to gauge how quickly they could¡ªand whether they would¡ªcome to her defense, as well as how much she would be adding or detracting from her pack¡¯s odds of survival by engaging the hydra right now.


    The snakes did not seem to be moving on their own to engage the pack.


    ¡°Unless you are afraid,¡± Silk added.


    That was when Luna made up her mind and charged.

 V5Ch29-War for the Land of Rattlesnakes Conclusion

    Luna closed the gap almost instantaneously, but she had time to send a telepathic message to her pack.


    Do not engage unless attacked by the enemy army, she sent. Remember that we are here for a stalling operation.


    What are you doing, then? questioned one of the young wolves.


    This is different, Luna thought but did not send. This is personal.


    She ignored the chatter of the wolfpack via telepathy from then on, as the distance between herself and the hydra dropped to nothing a moment later.


    Eleven serpentine heads struck at once. Luna did not bother to dodge, focusing instead on landing a strike of her own. Her armor fended off most of the strikes, and at the same time, the fangs of her right and center heads bit into the hydra¡¯s two leftmost necks. The scales were incredibly hard, and the flesh underneath felt thick and tough. Both necks resisted Luna¡¯s bite for a moment, like she was chewing on a hard rock.


    But she persisted in closing her jaws as hard as she could, even as it felt like she was crunching on diamond rather than a diamondback hydra¡ªand even as the other rattlesnake heads began to land bites on uncovered sections of her body, her neck and tail regions.


    Finally, she felt the canines pierce through, and the hydra¡¯s body shook slightly with surprise.


    ¡°You did not think I could do it,¡± Luna breathed. She jerked her heads back and forth in the punctured flesh, widening the wounds and drawing gushing rivulets of blood.


    The hydra growled, and the heads that were not in Luna¡¯s grip began to glow with a greenish tinged aura.


    Poison Affinity Mana? Luna thought she recognized it, since her father had used the same affinity.


    The wolf yanked as hard as she could with the heads that had their grip on the hydra¡¯s necks, and with a great deal of effort, she tore the meat loose. Then she threw herself back, only a moment before the hydra unleashed a wave of a greenish mist.


    That isn¡¯t the poisonous gas she has been using thus far¡­


    Luna quickly spat out the hydra flesh in her mouth and used her third head to produce a great burst of Wind Mana-infused breath. The greenish mist was blown backward, past the hydra, and Luna charged back toward the Ruler.


    As she did so, however, the stumps where Luna had decapitated the hydra¡¯s leftmost heads were twitching. Luna reached within a few feet, and suddenly new shoots of growth sprang forth from the stumps.


    The Wolf Lady reflexively sprang backward several feet, then sprang back again, waiting for the


    They grew back! Wait¡­


    Somehow, the hydra had grown four fresh, fluid-covered heads to replace the two it had lost. Now it possessed a total of thirteen.


    I¡¯ve never fought a creature that could regenerate a severed head before. How do I kill it? Do I have to rip out the heart? I don¡¯t understand why this creature was so reluctant to fight face to face before, either. With a regeneration Skill this potent¡­ Luna refused to finish that thought. She refused to acknowledge that the fight might be unwinnable.


    Luna also declined to scratch, though her flesh itched in the places where the hydra had planted its bites, two on her leftmost neck and one on her tail. She had observed it at the time, as the bites felt like fiery hot needles puncturing her flesh. She had simply chosen to ignore it.


    But now the venom-injected places itched something fierce, and they seemed to be bleeding significantly more than the shallow and small puncture wounds would normally justify. The Wolf Lady had a bad feeling that the duration of this fight might become an issue.


    If she can regenerate critical injuries, and she uses venom that wears you down, plus the poisonous gas she created at first, and whatever that green mist was, how do I win? And also¡­ She ran her tongue over her fangs and confirmed it. Three of them on the right side of her central head were chipped from biting into the Ruler¡¯s flesh. How is her body so tough? If I keep fighting her, I might break all my teeth!


    The Wolf Lady immediately rebuked herself. What do you mean if you keep fighting? You are in this until the end. Just have to find the way to win¡­


    Her mind raced, looking for solutions, even as she also kept an eye on the hydra, waiting to see if the Ruler would strike first. The hydra appeared to just be charging more Poison Mana in all thirteen of her heads, preparing for another green mist attack, perhaps.


    Luna took a step to the side, thinking she would circle and try to attack the hydra¡¯s left flank again, but her foot struck something. It felt like rubber, and she lowered one head to look at it. It was the two heads that she had severed and discarded. As she looked down, she noticed something interesting about the places where she had ripped through the hydra¡¯s necks¡ªand those where her fangs had failed to penetrate.


    Is that what I think it is?


    ¡°Afraid?¡± The voice of the hydra floated over from where she stood, arrogant and taunting. ¡°Having to fight an immortal creature such as myself seems like a terrible burden. You are strong, though. I will give you that much. If you were to come over here and kneel before me, I would be happy to accept you as one of my creatures. All you have to do is fight alongside me and my army against the force you have coming to back you up. A reasonable ask, no? Can you honestly say that anyone in your group has the power to match me?¡±


    Luna threw back her central head and let out a short, barking laugh, though she felt no humor in this situation.


    ¡°You must be afraid to make such proposals,¡± Luna said. ¡°Afraid that I will make you into a pair of snakeskin boots for my King. Your fear is entirely justified.¡±


    She based her bluster off of things that she had heard James say before. It just seemed like the sort of banter one exchanged when squaring off against a dangerous enemy. You needed to both denigrate each other.


    Then Luna darted in again. She had a plan of attack now.


    She rushed toward the hydra, power charging in her leftmost mouth. She opened it, and at the same time that Luna fired her lightning breath, the hydra let loose from its thirteen mouths something that was emphatically not mist.


    A green liquid sprayed out and splashed all over Luna and her armor. As the hydra in front of her writhed under the impact of Luna¡¯s lightning, the wolf stopped, dropped and rolled, as the acid from the hydra¡¯s mouths ate rapidly through her fur and burned her skin.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    Fortunately, the lightning had moved faster than the liquid, so much of the acid attack simply missed. Her armor covered most of her body and deflected most of the rest. But where the acid had struck, Luna bled profusely, and the pain of the wounds staggered her. She felt that patches of flesh on her back and front right leg were gone, and the only positive aspect of the pain was that gradually, the wounds were going numb. She sensed that was probably a bad thing, though.


    I have to finish this quickly.


    Luna forced her body to steady itself and began charging another blast of lightning breath. The hydra, fortunately, was still twitching, not fully in control of her own body again yet. That was the virtue of Lightning Mana.


    The rattlesnake army and the wolves were, she noted, still all passively observing the fight. Through gritted teeth, Luna grinned.


    I will offer them a great show. Show them how a supposedly immortal creature can die¡­


    She leaped off the ground, unleashed her lightning breath once more, and then opened all three sets of jaws wide. The lightning breath struck the hydra, and the Ruler¡¯s body went wild and jerked uncontrollably with the current running through it. Then the wolf¡¯s body struck the hydra in a heavy tackle.


    The two rolled along the ground, the wolf ripping at the hydra¡¯s body with the metal claws mounted above her natural ones and biting into the underside of as many necks as she could reach with her three sets of jaws.


    That was the weakness that Luna had recognized. The diamond pattern on the back of the hydra seemed to be genuinely as hard as diamond¡ªperhaps harder¡ªbut the rest of the flesh was not nearly as tough. It was still like trying to bite through an old rubber tire, but Luna¡¯s fangs were up to that task.


    She ripped through one, two, three necks, and she kept going, each head only connected to the body by the thin flap of armored skin with the diamond pattern on it at the back. It seemed almost too easy.


    Luna ripped into another neck, and the blood smelled different. That was the only warning before the wolf felt the acid burning her mouth.


    Ahh! She replaced her blood with acid, argh!


    The Wolf Lady continued attacking, but she slashed with her metal claw weapons instead of using her teeth now, even as her middle head shuddered with pain, the acid eating through the tongue, the floor of her mouth, and ultimately dripping down through the bottom of her head back onto the writhing snake beneath her.


    The big problem with this was that Luna could not use her middle head for the strategy she¡¯d had in mind, to attempt to keep the heads from regenerating.


    Even as she kept ripping at the creature¡¯s necks, some of the stumps she had torn through at the beginning of this attack wiggled with renewed life.


    No, no¡­


    The hydra shuddered beneath Luna, then pushed off the ground with its tail, exerting great force to throw Luna off. Barely fighting through the pain of her partially dissolved jaw, Luna hardly had the strength to hang on. Her claws scrambled to clutch onto the rattlesnake scales, but she ultimately fell backward and away.


    The Ruler loomed over her, menacing and seemingly unbeatable as two new heads sprouted from each stump. Luna lay stunned, trying to focus Mana toward her mouth to forcefully accelerate her central jaw¡¯s natural healing process. She had never done this before, so she was not good at it.


    Come on, I need fire breath¡­ I need my jaws to work.


    The hydra flicked its tongue in the air, perhaps tasting the smell of Luna¡¯s anxiety.


    ¡°Almost, eh?¡± the snake said simply. ¡°You put me to the test. Farewell, wolf.¡±


    Then she reared back with all twenty of her heads¡ªluckily or unluckily, Luna had actually managed to tear through more than half of them¡ªand Luna saw green venom dripping from her fangs.


    The hydra lunged toward Luna, and one of the heads exploded. Then the hydra appeared to be struck by many other projectiles too small for Luna to see; she only observed the impact, as the Ruler shuddered with each hit.


    Luna¡¯s left head turned, and she saw the army had arrived.


    A dozen gunmen were firing what appeared to be firearms at the Eastern Diamondback Hydra Queen, Dave in the middle of them. Luna had never seen them all fight together this way.


    Those weapons are remarkably effective, she thought.


    Behind Dave and the other gunmen were the Mages, who were raining fire, lightning, and other assorted projectiles at the reptilian army. To the sides were the vast bulk of the army, the physical combat types. As the wave of projectiles struck the reptilian force, the physical combatants rushed in after it. The alligators were particularly intimidating, as they dwarfed the rattlesnakes in size.


    As Luna watched, the reptilian army was already beginning to turn and flee from the Royal Fisher Army¡¯s superior numbers.


    Then she snapped back to the present.


    Now is my chance!


    The hydra was bleeding from dozens of wounds now, and her body had shifted to turn her back on the gunmen and Luna, facing her diamond pattern to them to deflect as many of the magic bullets as possible.


    Luna leaped onto the Ruler once more, and with her greater size and mass, the hydra fell even harder than she had before. Luna ripped into the nearest neck with her metal claw weapons, chopping through the flesh easily this time. Then, disregarding her still-bleeding middle jaw, expelled flames through it onto the hydra¡¯s freshly severed neck.


    The Ruler howled with anger and pain, her whole body rattling beneath Luna.


    The wolf simply held on tight, pressed down with her full body weight, and waited. The magic gunmen had stopped firing or refocused their fire somewhere else, Luna did not know or care which, to avoid striking the wolf. But all that mattered in this moment was whether Luna¡¯s plan had worked.


    She stared down at the hydra, who seemed too shocked even to try and bite the wolf that pinned her down.


    The stump of the wound, cauterized with Luna¡¯s flames, did not grow a new pair of heads.


    Finally, I figured it out. Luna was as much exhausted as relieved. But she had a job to do.


    She raised her right forelimb into the air, preparing to begin tearing through the hydra¡¯s other necks.


    The hydra suddenly disappeared. In its place materialized one of the Manifestations. Luna noticed large-scale movement in the corner of her center head¡¯s vision. She raised her head and looked up to see that the hydra had reappeared somewhere among her army¡¯s ranks.


    She switched places with one of her Manifestations, Luna thought. Damn.


    Without putting much thought or effort into it, Luna tore the Manifestation beneath her to pieces. Then she lay down on the ground. She did not have much energy to pursue the rattlesnake just now. In fact, she was feeling very tired and a bit dizzy. And her heart rate felt strangely unsteady. Luna observed that her leftmost and rightmost jaws, the uninjured ones, felt a little moist. She raised a paw to wipe them clean, and the paw came away red.


    Where did that blood come from? she thought. Is that mine?


    Luna suddenly remembered the snake bites she had received, and how the fight had turned into a battle of attrition.


    I should have expected this. My fault for being too weak. Sorry, Romulus¡­


    As Luna lay at the verge of unconsciousness, it was all she could do to stay awake and observe as the battle turned into a one-sided slaughter. The hydra quickly slithered away as soon as she was able to do so while keeping her minions between herself and the enemy ranged attacks, and the army, following her lead as best as they could¡ªbut far more slowly¡ªeither fled or, more commonly, were killed at the site of the battle.


    Half an hour after the fighting had finished, the enemy were all either scattered or destroyed. Even the air that had been poisonous was now breathable, as evidenced by the soldiers taking off their gas masks and walking around freely.


    Luna did not walk around freely. She lay in place and nodded very gently when the Healers asked her if she would like her gas masks removed. Then she remained still and very passive while they performed Laying On Hands to restore her body to its proper condition.


    There had been no Royal Fisher Army deaths in the battle itself. The fighting had been too one-sided, and there had been too many Healers on the scene. The worst injured was Luna herself.


    Things still felt incomplete to her. The hydra had escaped, and the Healers could not tell her that the Ruler had been captured¡ªthey just insisted that Luna please relax.


    So she did. Luna relaxed, let the healing power wash over her, and reflected on what she had done wrong. There had been many mistakes, but she was proud that she had avoided any further casualties in the wolfpack.


    I performed my duty, my King, Luna thought. You will be proud of me.

 V5Ch30-Go It Alone

    The morning light that fell across James and Mina¡¯s bare skin woke him.


    He could feel his body absorbing solar energy and using that to boost his recovery speed, even if ever so slightly.


    Experimentally, he sent an order to his lower extremities.


    Wiggle, big toe¡­ Come on¡­


    After a second, he perceived a twitch. Then a slightly stronger one. The movements were small and extremely weak, but a key stage of his recovery had clearly begun.


    A slow smile spread across his face.


    The recovery proceeding nicely, he rewarded himself with another hour of sleep.


    When James awakened the next time, it was because he felt Mina stirring beside him.


    ¡°Hello sunshine,¡± he said lightly. He had never had a real nickname for his wife. Not like how she called him ¡°skapi.¡± Maybe that was something she had gotten from her parents. Since James¡¯s parents¡¯ marriage had been ended by death when he was in the middle of puberty, he could not remember his parents using pet names like that. It wasn¡¯t a part of how he naturally viewed relationships. When Mina started calling him ¡°skapi,¡± he had seen it as both a unique foreign thing¡ªclearly something from her home country¡ªand as a precious token of affection.


    Now that she glows like a little indoor sun, I have the perfect nickname for her.


    A little extra glow appeared on Mina¡¯s cheeks as she raised her body so that he could see her face without trying to turn his head.


    ¡°Sunshine?¡± she repeated. She blushed slightly hotter as he waited for her response. ¡°I like it.¡± She placed her hand on top of his unmoving one and softly caressed it. ¡°I could call you my Mister Sunshine, too,¡± she added.


    ¡°No,¡± James said. ¡°Skapi is good. It¡¯s perfect. Plus, sunshine is mine. I had it first.¡±


    They shared soft laughter and soft kisses and further soft words in the pleasant atmosphere of the early day.


    It was Mina who broke the spell, by referring back to the events of the previous evening.


    ¡°So, what did they do to make you feel contempt, skapi?¡± Mina asked.


    ¡°They had a moment of sincere fear and doubt,¡± James replied with a small, rueful smile. He already felt slightly bad about judging his council members for their moment of weakness. Maybe it was because of how relaxed he was now, with Mina.


    ¡°To doubt is human,¡± she replied.


    ¡°Well, then, to believe in me would be just divine,¡± James replied. ¡°Especially for those I have literally blessed. For all I know, they might even weaken themselves by doubting me. It¡¯s very annoying.¡±


    Mina just looked at him for a long moment, and James felt slightly ridiculous.


    ¡°What does it mean to you?¡± she finally asked. ¡°To have them doubt you.¡±


    ¡°L''¨¦tat, c''est moi,¡± James said immediately in clumsy French. The fact that he had never properly learned the French language was just one of the things his father¡¯s early death had robbed him of. ¡°It means they lack true faith in us. In our project. The country that belongs to us is an extension of us, after all.¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t you said that King Louis never actually said that quote?¡± Mina asked, her lips curling, one cheek dimpled.


    ¡°Yeah, probably not,¡± James replied. ¡°But he should have. That¡¯s monarchy. The buck stops here, for real. In my case, it¡¯s even more accurate. I don¡¯t really give anyone else real power¡ªexcept you, when I¡¯m out of commission. The council members are basically just administrators who get to implement my programs and occasionally give me advice. Because it benefits me to make those who put my orders into practice feel important, and yes, because there are many things I do not know.¡±


    The ¡°administrators¡± label was an exaggeration of his real feelings toward his council, but James was still not in a charitable mood toward the body after last night¡¯s meeting. He did not know if the group¡¯s bad emotional reaction to the vision of the Panther Army truly reflected doubts about his capabilities¡ªthe alternative, simple cowardice, was just as bad from his point of view¡ªbut in any case, it certainly did not endear his councillors to him.


    ¡°You can¡¯t change how other people feel,¡± Mina said softly. She took his hand. ¡°What would make you feel better?¡±


    ¡°I want to end their doubts. Not by words or any kind of manipulation. By actions.¡±


    ¡°How would you do that?¡± Mina asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking that the foreign invasions the army is taking on are a chance for them to show they can take out a Ruler or several Rulers by themselves, without needing me. Otherwise, they¡¯re frankly not very useful as an independent force. They would have to stay near where I am at all times.¡±


    Mina simply waited, her expression reflecting that she knew he was going somewhere with this.


    ¡°Similarly, I would like to show my council that even in an imperfect condition, I could take on an entire army by myself,¡± James continued. ¡°I¡¯m definitely stronger than the average Ruler. And I¡¯ve already seen what the Panther Queen and her people were capable of in those memories. I wasn¡¯t that impressed. I can solve our stray cat problem without the council¡¯s or the citizens¡¯ help.¡± His expression turned deadly serious. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I wiped out a Race anyway. No one on the council has seen me do something like that before either. Except Rotter and Damien. Because they were in my Orientation. If the others had been there, they wouldn¡¯t doubt my ability to keep them safe.¡±


    ¡°Skapi, I know you¡¯re strong, but you do remember that you can¡¯t move right now?¡± Mina asked in a playful tone.


    ¡°An obstacle, but one that can be overcome,¡± James replied, trying to match her tone.


    She swallowed, and he felt her slight nervousness peek through from beneath her light demeanor.


    ¡°If you say so,¡± she said after a moment. ¡°Even though this honestly seems to me a bit unnecessary¡­ I will help however I can.¡±


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    I know, he thought. That was one thing he never had to question. It made him feel a bit better already, though he was still interested in attempting his idea.


    ¡°I¡¯m not stuck on this,¡± James said. ¡°If I assess the situation, and I think it¡¯s impossible without help, I¡¯ll get the help. But it would be amazing if you and I could take the Panther Army out without bringing a lot of others into it.¡±


    Normally, James would not be very interested in the idea of his wife accompanying him on what could be a dangerous mission, but he had also been reflecting on the meaning of Sister Strange¡¯s visions. If they were real, then he had a fairly good idea of the circumstances under which his wife would die: an attack on the Fisher Kingdom led by religious fanatics.


    If that was the case, she could not also die while helping James fight the Panther Army. This reasoning was too thin for him to consider it reliable, but James at least thought it was strong enough to justify him taking Mina out of the Kingdom for training more often. And that had been Vidarr¡¯s advice too. James should not shelter her. Mina needed to grow stronger in her own right.


    Mina nodded. Then they heard a gentle sound of crying. Junior was awake.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go and feed him,¡± Mina said quietly. ¡°I will come back with breakfast later. And just tell me if there is anything you need from me today.¡± She kissed James on the cheek and rose. ¡°I know you have the weight of the world on your shoulders, but I am your wife. I can carry at least half¡ªespecially when your arms do not work!¡±


    James smiled as he watched her dress and then go off with Junior. Then he was left alone with his thoughts.


    For the next few hours, interrupted only thrice, he considered and discarded options.


    The first pause was something entirely predictable, considering that he had kept informed about the movements of the army. The monster he had left with Dave had a message for him.


    The Royal Fisher Army has invaded the territory of the enemy, a rattlesnake hydra creature. They will report back soon on how the attack proceeds. Leading the invasion was Luna and the wolfpack.


    James nodded to himself and resisted the urge to astrally project into Luna or one of the other battle participants from his side. They did not need his distracting presence, especially since there was nothing he could actually do to enhance their performance from such a great distance. He sent a simple acknowledgement and wished the army luck in the battle.


    For the next interruption, he ate breakfast, a meal that Mina fed him by hand, which was pleasant if slightly embarrassing¡ªit was still strange to be so helpless, even in front of someone he fully trusted. There was another half an hour of focus, then another interruption.


    Your army has defeated the enemy, and the Ruler has fled following her skirmish with Luna, reported the monstrous spider with Dave. The battle was without fatalities on our side, though Luna was injured. Healers are on the scene with her now. The enemy were either scattered or destroyed.


    At first, James was pleased that the army had done so well. But as the message concluded, he frowned.


    Luna was apparently pretty badly hurt, given that Dave commented on it but not on anyone else¡¯s injuries. And we didn¡¯t even kill the Ruler or destroy the enemy forces completely? Is this really a victory or some kind of feigned retreat? He shook his head slightly. What Ruler would run away from her own territory just to hopefully get the enemy to chase her down?


    He composed a quick message to Dave. Hunt down the rest of the enemies if it is at all possible. Ask Luna to contact me as soon as she wakes up. Beware of the possibility of feigned retreat.


    He sent it and resumed his task. As he imagined various scenarios for a battle between himself and the Panther Queen, he narrowed down his own possibilities for victory to a handful of abilities that might be powerful enough for him to rely on them to defeat an army without his mobility returning fully.


    He assumed that if he was fully mobile again, he could run around like Rambo, picking off squads of enemy soldiers until he had made a massive dent in the enemy army, whittling them down so that he could finally face the remaining force in a straight fight.


    But for now, he tried to plan around the idea that he would still be semi-paralyzed for the duration of this potential conflict.


    As he finished this process, he reached out to his recently created monsters that had left the Fisher Kingdom the previous day, instead. After all his meditation on various battle plans, he finally knew where he wanted to send them.


    He established the connection with all of the monsters but his wyverns at the same time. He still wanted the wyverns to focus on protecting the Fisher Expeditionary Force. It was gratifying to observe that, following his instructions, several of the monsters were in the middle of hunting random wild creatures. The only thing he thought needed adjusting was that too many were going it alone rather than fighting alongside fellow creatures from the same origin.


    His monsters were mostly relatively feeble compared with the naturally occurring kind, most of which had gone through an Orientation at some point or another and come out alive, just like James. It was only when combined into super-monsters or when attacking as a group that his creatures stood much of a chance of winning a fight without their creator present to inflict the lethal blow.


    Only the strong could battle alone and win.


    James ordered the creatures to combine for now.


    He knew they had obeyed when he felt the telepathic presence of the monstrous fusion creature, and he heard the sound of his own voice in his mind, coming from someone else.


    It is my pleasure to serve, progenitor, the monster sent. How may I support you?


    I need you to go to the following location. There, I will enter your mind and deliver a message¡­ James sent his directions to the monster. Afterward, I will direct you to where your next target is.


    It would be my privilege to assist, replied James¡¯s strongest creation.


    They cut the connection, and Roscuro spoke up from James¡¯s side for the first time in what felt like a while.


    Were you talking to someone, master? he asked. You had a certain look on your face that you get when communicating telepathically.


    You are starting to know me too well, Roscuro, James thought.


    But he sent back a simple, Yes. I was communicating with the monster I created yesterday. Remember?


    The one that looked just like you, of course! Roscuro replied. A magnificent specimen. Is it going to be doing some fighting?


    James responded in the affirmative. Why do you ask? he added.


    I would love to have a chance to consume something, Roscuro sent. I have been thinking about this, and I suspect that since your creations are composed of your own body and do not have separate souls of their own, only separate physical forms, any one of them should be able to wield me in battle. Then I could devour some enemies and grow stronger¡ªto better serve you in the Victors¡¯ Tournament coming up.


    James agreed immediately. It was a no-brainer. In the next few minutes, he shed his skin, formed a Skin Balloon, and sent Roscuro off through the window, with instructions sent to the Skin Balloon and the composite monster to rendezvous on the way to the destination James had given his creature.


    Lastly, James used one of his bread and butter Skills: Dominion.


    He already had the beginnings of his plan to deal with the Panther Army in mind. And it was clear to him that in order for him to fight them responsibly, he needed to expand his territory. If the battle was fought within the core of the Fisher Kingdom, he would potentially be putting other people¡¯s lives in danger for the sake of his own ego.


    Better to confront the Panther Queen on ground of his own choosing.


    Just as the pulse of energy had left his body, James received another telepathic message.


    I have awakened, my King, sent a familiar, feminine voice.