《Phantasm》 Character Generation I didn¡¯t experience the transition, or maybe I just don¡¯t remember it. I was at my computer watching YouTube, and then¡­ I was lying on the ground. Naked. What the fuck? I sat up and looked around frantically. It was dark, but I could make out shapes. Before I could identify anything though, glowing letters appeared in front of my eyes. I jerked my head back and then tried to dodge as the letters followed me. I fell over before working out what was going on, and calmed down enough to read them.
[Body Development] Level 1 awarded (free skill) For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP [Stamina Development] Level 1 awarded (free skill) For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP
I stared at the notifications, not really grasping what was going on as they scrolled by.
[Female] trait awarded. +1 bonus to Charisma [World Walker] trait awarded. Level prerequisites for Professions are overridden. +1 bonus to all stats [Gift of Tongues] trait awarded. All languages are understood.
I stared at the writing until it went away. Then I noticed that there were more words at the bottom of my vision.
[Unspent Ability Points] : 240 [Unspent Skill Points] : 15 [Unspent Development Points] : 48
I closed my eyes and the words were still there. I put my hands to my face, but I couldn¡¯t feel any goggles or even anything hidden under my skin. What the fuck? I don¡¯t like to repeat myself, but I think the situation deserved it. I think I would have kept repeating that thought another 50 times, but I was suddenly reminded that I was naked in a strange room. By the sound of heavy breathing. OK! Panic time! My eyes snapped open and I peered around frantically trying to find the source. Another notification popped up -
[Perception] skill unlocked
- but I didn¡¯t let that distract me from identifying my surroundings. It was pretty dark, but there was enough light to tell that¡­ I¡¯m in a barn? It really was. Packed earth floor, straw everywhere, tools and stalls for animals. The breathing sound was coming from what looked like horses sleeping in one of the stalls.
[Identify] skill unlocked.
Sleeping, because it was night. What light there was seemed to be coming from outside, probably moonlight. Aside from them, and maybe some other animals further down, I was entirely alone. What the - No. Focus. I needed clothes, a weapon¡­ I got up as quietly as I could and checked out the rest of the barn. The presence of sheep and cows was a confirmed, all of them asleep or keeping quiet. I stayed well away from them in case they made a noise when woken up. I glanced over at the assortment of farming implements. There was an axe that would make for a nice weapon, but I just noted it for now. I didn¡¯t have anything to use it on, and I needed my hands free. I didn¡¯t see any clothes but there were some¡­ blankets in the corner. Probably for the horses. They were smelly and itchy, but I wrapped one around me. It wasn¡¯t freezing in here, but it was colder than I wanted it to be. Now ¡®dressed¡¯, I investigated the double door that was my exit. It was locked, sort of. There was couple of centimetres gap between the doors and I could see that a thick bar had been placed on the other side, securing the doors in place. I could probably get a tool through and lift it, but it would make a lot of noise falling down. It was at this point that I noticed the walls of the barn were made of stone, which I thought odd. Whenever I¡¯d seen a barn in a movie it had been a big old wooden structure. Eh, its not like I know anything about farming, I thought. Looking higher, the upper level was made of wood, and had some big openings that were letting the moonlight in. And the warmth out, I supposed. This¡­ doesn¡¯t seem like a kidnapping. It was a stupid thought, but that had been my initial assumption. I¡¯d been drugged and dragged out to this rural location, stripped and¡­ left here? It didn¡¯t make sense. I didn¡¯t feel any soreness or¡­ stickiness, so I probably hadn¡¯t been abused? I wasn¡¯t sure I¡¯d be able to tell but I felt¡­ pretty great actually. No hangover from whatever drug had been used. And of course there were the notifications. Now that I¡¯d checked out my immediate surroundings, I returned my attention to the writing.
[Unspent Ability Points] : 240 [Unspent Skill Points] : 15 [Unspent Development Points] : 48
It was only natural that I thought about spending Ability points while looking at the first line, and when I did a new notification popped up.
Ability Actual Base Cost
[Strength] 2 1 1
[Agility] 2 1 1
[Finesse] 2 1 1
[Soul] 2 1 1
[Intelligence] 2 1 1
[Charisma] 3 1 1
Unspent Ability Points 240
This is a roleplaying game. I thought really hard, but I didn¡¯t remember anything close to this sort of realism being available in VR. There was no way! We were decades away from this kind of realism! Could someone have kidnapped me to make me test their cutting edge VR game? It¡­ didn¡¯t seem likely. Had I died and been re-incarnated in a video game? I didn¡¯t know how to start evaluating the likelihood of that. But¡­. QUIT. EXIT. END PROGRAM. CRTL-C. ESC. I couldn¡¯t stop it. Unless I wanted to try dying, I was going to have to play the game. So what commands did work? Inventory. No result Character. No result. [Status]. Just thinking the word felt different, and there was a result.
Name Kandis Hammond
Level 1 [Unspent Ability Points] 240
Age 24 [Unspent Skill Points] 15
Abilities [Unspent Development Points] 48
[Strength] 2
[Agility] 2 [HP] 20
[Finesse] 2 [Stamina] 20
[Soul] 2
[Intelligence] 2
[Charisma] 3
Skills
[Body Development] 1
[Stamina Development] 1
Unlocked Skills
[Perception] [Identify]
Traits
[World Walker] Level prerequisites for Professions are overridden. +1 bonus to all stats
[Gift of Tongues] All languages are understood.
[Female] +1 bonus to Charisma
Oh nice. I bet the [Male] trait gets extra strength. Again, just thinking about the male trait felt different, and sure enough some text appeared.
[Male] +1 bonus to Strength (0 points, overwrites [Female])
Way to stereotype, game designers. It looked like the text in square brackets could be¡­ clicked on, for want of a better word. To test it, I looked at something I didn¡¯t understand.
[Body Development] : This skill determines your health and how much damage you can take.
That sounded important. Did that mean it determined [HP] ?
[HP] : When you run out of Health Points, you die. Determined by [Strength] x [Body Development] x 10.
Yeah, important. Wait, that meant if I didn¡¯t have Body Development, I¡¯d have 0 HP? I guess thats why I got it for free at the start then. [Stamina] would be something similar then¡­
[Stamina] : When you run out of Stamina, you fall unconscious. Determined by [Strength] x [Stamina Development] x10
Yeah. I started going through all the entries on the status page. I¡¯ve played RPGs before, so none of this was completely alien. Splitting up Dex into a whole body Agility and hand-to-eye Finesse was a bit different, but I could see how it would work. Soul was a little unfamiliar but it turned out to be pretty much what some games called Wisdom or Willpower. Maybe it was time to look at spending some points. [Ability Points]
Ability Actual Base Cost
[Strength] 2 1 1
[Agility] 2 1 1
[Finesse] 2 1 1
[Soul] 2 1 1
[Intelligence] 2 1 1
[Charisma] 3 1 1
Unspent Ability Points 240
None of the descriptions said how much each stat cost. The fact that there was a cost listed for each stat must mean that it increased as the stat increased, but by how much? Now what stat am I definitely going to need? They all looked important. Intelligence was probably up there, it seemed important for magic. This game, or whatever it was, better have magic. But the only thing I really knew it had at the moment was people. People skills were always useful¡­ I added one to Charisma.
Ability Actual Base Cost
[Strength] 2 1 2
[Agility] 2 1 2
[Finesse] 2 1 2
[Soul] 2 1 2
[Intelligence] 2 1 2
[Charisma] 4 2 9
Unspent Ability Points 239
Whoa! Everything went up! That must mean - I did a little math. It must be based on the sum of all the stats¡­ multiplied by the current level? That didn¡¯t exactly match up, but -aha- a constant scaling factor to take the first level¡¯s cost down to 1. That was¡­ nasty. 240 points didn¡¯t look like as much as it did before, and there was something else to consider. The order you buy stats in matters¡­ For the most effective spend, I should buy my highest stat to the level I wanted it, then buy the next highest stat and so on. Anything else would waste points¡­ which means I needed to calculate my entire stat buy before I went any further. Maybe leave this to later. [Skill Points]
[Unspent Skill Points]: 15 Unlocked skills available: [Perception] [+] : detect hidden, concealed or obscured things. [Identify] [+] : gain information about target object or creature.
I couldn¡¯t spend skill points on existing skills? Both those skills sounded really useful though. I purchased both of them.
[Perception] Level 1 purchased For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP [Identify] Level 1 purchased For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP
Huh. It did get a bit brighter in here. Not much, but¡­ noticeable. I looked over at the horse in his stall. [Identify]
Identification failed
I tried again.
Identification failed
Identification failed And again
[Identification] : Horse (Female) - Threat Level: 2
Of course I got the sex wrong. Well it wasn¡¯t much, but perhaps it would get better when the level improved. I looked around the barn, Identifying everything in sight. It seemed to work about one time in 5, and I didn¡¯t get any improvements. Onwards. [Development Points]
[Professions] : Each profession, when taken, replaces any existing profession. Skill bonuses are replaced, Skill unlocks remain [Social] : Denotes membership of organisations, ownership of property and titles. They can be acquired without development points [Innate] : Denotes inherent abilities that are not covered by a skill.
Options, huh. [Professions] A long list of professions scrolled by. I saw some that looked like wizards, but there were too many and it flowed by too fast to really see. At the end though was a note: Query by: [Name], [Type], [Level Requisite], [Ability Requisite], [Skill Unlocks], [Skill Requirement], [Skill bonus] Well, I¡¯m trapped in this barn until daybreak, might as well get some reading done. I learned a lot, but some things remained a mystery. For example, nothing I found described how skills worked, only what professions got what. Professions had requirements, mostly Level, Abilities and a Skill. They unlocked some skill, and gave bonuses to other skills. The higher the prerequisites, the better the bonuses. I didn¡¯t have to worry about the level requirements, but I did still need the Abilities and Skills. I didn¡¯t want to waste my Ability points, so I looked to see if there were magic professions with a high Charisma requirement. There were:
[Beguiler] : Req: Level 3 - Charisma 6 - Mana Sense [Illusionist] : Req: Level 3 - Charisma 6 - Mana Sense [Mind Arcanist] : Req: Level 7 - Charisma 7 - Soul 4 - Mind Magic [Phantasmal Artificer] : Req: Level 7 - Charisma 7 - Intelligence 4 - Illusion Magic [Bard] : Req: Level 3 - Charisma 6 - Play Instrument [High Priest] : Level 7 - Soul 7 - Charisma 4 - Divine Magic
From what I¡¯d seen before, [Mind Arcanist] and [Phantasmal Artificer] would be upgrades of the [Beguiler] and [Illusionist] classes, so there were really only two choices there. High Priest and Bard weren¡¯t really choices. I didn¡¯t want to play music for a living, and I didn¡¯t even know what gods got worshipped here. [Beguiler]
Profession: Beguiler Development Cost: 10 Description: The Beguiler lures both men and monsters to their doom with enchanting magic through the medium of their voice. Pre-requisites: Level 3 - Charisma 6 - Sing Skill Unlocks: [Mind Magic], [Mana Sense], [Mana Development] Skill Bonuses: [Sing], [Mind Magic], [Mana Development] , [Weapon Mastery - Dagger], [Persuade] Extra: 15 Spell Levels for each level of [Mind Magic]
Mind magic was¡­ pretty nasty. [Sleep] was as nice as it got, the rest was various forms of mind control and inflicting agonising pain and disability. I suppose it wasn¡¯t as bad as throwing Fireballs at people, but still. [Illusionist]
Profession: Illusionist Development Cost: 10 Description: The Illusionist tricks and deceives, leading others astray and turns their own strength against them. Pre-requisites: Level 3 - Charisma 6 - Mana Sense Skill Unlocks: [Illusion Magic], [Creativity], [Disguise] Skill Bonuses: [Illusion Magic] +2 , [Deceive], [Mana Development] , [Weapon Mastery - Dagger] Extra: 15 Spell Levels for each level of [Illusion Magic]
Now Illusion magic was much nicer. Not completely without combat potential, [Blind] and [Invisibility] for example. And Illusions were cheap. [Invisibility] was only 15 spell levels to [Fireball]¡¯s 50. Ok, so lets see if we can get the stats for Illusionist, or maybe the upgrade. I started working it out. It was a pain to calculate. I had to work out the costs for each level, while keeping track of the points I¡¯d spent¡­Why am I doing this in my head? I found a knife in amongst the tools and started scratching numbers into the dirt to keep track of where I was. Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.
Competency displayed with [Scribe], Level 1 awarded For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP Competency displayed with [Calculate], Level 1 awarded For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP
Huh, that was a full skill level, not just an unlock. I checked and my unspent skill points remained the same. Free skills, nice. And now I could¡­ bemusedly, I let my hand scratch out 10 symbols that I¡¯d never seen before. 1-10 in the numeric system of this world. Somehow I knew that it was like Roman numerals, but with a different symbol for each number up to 10. Plus 50, 100, 500 and 1000. Another world that needs to be introduced to proper arabic notation, I thought to myself. Continuing on, I worked out the numbers and then went and bought the stats. When I was done, the block looked like this:
Ability Actual Base Cost
[Strength] 3 2 31
[Agility] 3 2 31
[Finesse] 3 2 31
[Soul] 3 2 31
[Intelligence] 4 3 49
[Charisma] 9 7 121
Unspent Ability Points 14
Maybe I went a little overboard on Charisma? Not sure if I¡¯ll get more Ability points again¡­ The next step was to get [Mana Sense] but I¡¯d already found the obvious profession for this. I purchased the [Apprentice] Profession and looked at my status again
Name Kandis Hammond Profession: Apprentice
Level 1 [Unspent Ability Points] 14
Age 24 [Unspent Skill Points] 13
Abilities [Unspent Development Points] 43
[Strength] 3
[Agility] 3 [HP] 30
[Finesse] 3 [Stamina] 30
[Soul] 3
[Intelligence] 4
[Charisma] 9
Skills
[Body Development] 1
[Stamina Development] 1
[Perception] 1
[Identify] 1
[Scribe] 1
[Calculate] 1
[Dodge] 0 (1)
[Persuade] 0 (1)
Unlocked Skills
[Mana Sense] [Mana Development]
Traits
[World Walker] Level prerequisites for Professions are overridden. +1 bonus to all stats
[Gift of Tongues] All languages are understood.
[Female] +1 bonus to Charisma
[Dodge] and [Persuade] were on the list because of Apprentice bonuses, I supposed. Could I use a skill even if it wasn¡¯t unlocked? It was hard to tell, as I didn¡¯t have anyone to Dodge or Persuade. I guess most people would have unlocked the skills before they became an [Apprentice]. That put me in a bit of a dilemma. Those skill bonuses would probably help me ¡®Demonstrate Competence¡¯ and get me the skill for free. But those bonuses would go away when I moved on to my next profession. I didn¡¯t want to lose two skill points, but I really didn¡¯t want to face possibly hostile farmers without Illusion magic. So I moved on to the next stage. Oh but wait! I had [Identify] at 2 now. I went around and Identified everything again. Sure enough, this time it worked pretty much every time. No extra information though. OK, moving on. Wait. I¡¯d gotten so worked up on [Professions] that I¡¯d forgotten the other tabs. [Social] and [Innate]. Checking them out, it seemed that [Social] was a bunch of traits relating to ownership of things and membership of groups. Some of them¡­ no, all of them really, were kinda weird. Take [Family] for instance.
[Family]: You have a family that loves and protects you (10 points)
If I bought that, would my family appear here as well? Would the system create a bunch of people that would be my family members? Or would a random bunch of people suddenly think I was related to them? Some of the others were less problematic, but I had similar questions. If i purchased [Homeowner] was a new house created? Someone evicted? The description didn¡¯t say. I decided to steer clear of that section for now. [Innate] had its own problematic options. These options were things about you that you could purchase, including your race. I looked down at myself. Do I want to be an elf? I still felt like myself, would that change if my body changed? Actually, had it changed? It seemed pretty much the same. I resolved to check more thoroughly the first chance I got. No racial changes. Some of the other options were less concerning. They were abilities that didn¡¯t seem to fit into the skill system, like [Night Vision]
[Night Vision]: Allows you to see more clearly in darkness (5 points)
There was some meta-magic stuff, like [Multi-cast] which let you cast two of the same spell at once. Two of them looked important for an illusionist.
[Silent Casting]: Allows you to cast spells without a chant (10 points) [Subtle Casting]: Allows you to cast spells without gestures (5 points)
So spells needed chanting and gestures apparently. Well not for me! At least if I could afford this¡­ I went back and checked. Yes! Time to proceed. I purchased [Silent Casting], [Subtle Casting], [Mana Sense] and [Mana Development] and then [Illusionist]. Then I purchased [Illusion Magic]. [Status]
Name Kandis Hammond Profession: llusionist
Level 1 [Unspent Ability Points] 14
Age 24 [Unspent Skill Points] 11
Abilities [Unspent Development Points] 18
[Strength] 3 [Unspent Spell Levels] 15
[Agility] 3 [HP] 30
[Finesse] 3 [Stamina] 30
[Soul] 3 [Mana] 60
[Intelligence] 4
[Charisma] 9
Skills
[Body Development] 1
[Stamina Development] 1
[Perception] 1
[Identify] 1
[Scribe] 1
[Calculate] 1
[Mana Sense] 1
[Mana Development 1 (2)
[Illusion Magic] 1 (3)
[Deceive] 0 (1)
[WM: Dagger] 0 (1)
Unlocked Skills
[Creativity] [Disguise]
Traits
[World Walker] Level prerequisites for Professions are overridden. +1 bonus to all stats
[Gift of Tongues] All languages are understood.
[Female] +1 bonus to Charisma
[Silent Casting] Allows you to cast spells without a chant
[Subtle Casting] Allows you to cast spells without gestures
So many new things. I should start with the basic spells, I¡¯d have more points for advanced spells later I purchased [Static Illusion] [Unseen Sound] and [Light] for 5 Levels each. Two of those spells were out right now as they might attract attention but¡­. somehow I knew the right chant and the gestures I needed to cast [Static Illusion]. My first magic spell! The illusion of a single, unmoving object took form in front of me. The object I¡¯d chosen was¡­ a mirror. Yes, a full-length, freestanding mirror. Look, its not that I¡¯m vain, I just appeared in another world, I needed to know if I was still me or not. There was no one to see, so I dropped the blanket, and took a good look. My first reaction was relief. I¡¯m still me! Then, doubt. Was that really me? That looked like my face, but was I ever that good looking before? And my body¡­ I¡¯d never been entirely happy with my body, what woman is? But looking at the me in the mirror¡­ my breasts were maybe a bit bigger, a bit differently shaped? My hips a little wider, my waist a little thinner¡­ small changes but they added up to¡­ Damn, girl, you are gorgeous! I was dirty, but that just made me look achingly vulnerable. My hair was a mess, but somehow it just looked ¡®artfully tousled¡¯ . I wasn¡¯t gay, but looking at myself, I was having second thoughts. If this was 9 Charisma, then this world couldn¡¯t be all bad. OK, Focus. You¡¯ve still got points to spend. I pulled the blanked up again. I had two more bonuses for skills I didn¡¯t have. I wanted to try turning them into free skills, but there wasn¡¯t anyone to deceive. I had a knife but¡­ If I¡¯m going to ¡®demonstrate competence¡¯ I¡¯d probably have to stab someone - or something. I looked at the sheep. Nope, not going to do it, lets move on. I¡¯d probably have to stab something at some point, but I wasn¡¯t going to risk angering the farmers by stabbing their animals. I had more spells to cast. Looking into the mirror, I tried holding my head still and overlaying it with a static image of another face. If you must know, it was of a certain pop star that I¡¯d had on my wall for years. I was pretty familiar with that face. Being in the image blocked out sight, which was a surprise, but I kept myself in place, giving the trick a minute to work. Only it didn¡¯t. Maybe illusions are cheating? Disguise seemed like a useful skill to have though, so I bought it.
[Disguise] Level 1 purchased For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP
I cancelled both of the illusions. There was a small mana cost to sustain them - cheaper than casting them, but I didn¡¯t feel the need to pay it. Looking at the wall, I tried to remember a painting I¡¯d seen and reproduce it on the wall. One spell later, and a decent reproduction of Munch¡¯s The Scream was hanging on the wall. I¡¯m no art historian, but that was the one that came to mind. Its possible I wasn¡¯t dealing with being transported to another world as well as my calm experimentation would suggest.
Competency displayed with [Creativity], Level 1 awarded For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP
Clearly the System wasn¡¯t familiar with Earth art, but it knew what it liked. Time for the upgrade. I purchased [Phantasmal Artificer] [Status]
Name Kandis Hammond Profession: Phantasmal Artificer
Level 1 [Unspent Ability Points] 14
Age 24 [Unspent Skill Points] 10
Abilities [Unspent Development Points] 3
[Strength] 3 [Unspent Spell Levels] 30
[Agility] 3 [HP] 30
[Finesse] 3 [Stamina] 28/30
[Soul] 3 [Mana] 50/60
[Intelligence] 4
[Charisma] 9
Skills
[Body Development] 1
[Stamina Development] 1
[Perception] 1
[Identify] 1
[Scribe] 1
[Calculate] 1
[Mana Sense] 1
[Mana Development 1 (2)
[Illusion Magic] 1 (4)
[Creativity] 1
[Disguise] 1
[Deceive] 0 (2)
[WM: Dagger] 0 (1)
[Charm] 0 (1)
[Conversation] 0 (1)
Unlocked Skills
[Enchanting] [Intrigue] [Memorise] [Research] [Teach]
Traits
[World Walker] Level prerequisites for Professions are overridden. +1 bonus to all stats
[Gift of Tongues] All languages are understood.
[Female] +1 bonus to Charisma
[Silent Casting] Allows you to cast spells without a chant
[Subtle Casting] Allows you to cast spells without gestures
Spells Mana
[Static Image] Creates an unmoving image of a single object not more than 1 cubic metre in volume. (upkeep 1/hour) 5
[Light] Creates a light that can be moved, brightened, or dimmed. (upkeep 1/hour) 5
[Unseen Sound] Creates a sound from a source you designate. (upkeep 1/hour) 5
Watch out world! A level seven profession and I¡¯m only level one! I now had spell points to spend so I picked one that looked immediately relevant to my survival.
[Simple Invisibility]: People and Creatures are unable to see you. (15 points)
[Blind] was also 15 points, but I didn¡¯t want to neglect the social side
[Disguise]: Modify your appearance and clothing as required (15 points)
Then I took a look at the unlocked skills.
[Enchanting]: Using runes, create permanent spell effects. [Intrigue]: Safely negotiate the treacherous ground of politics and the Court. [Memorise]: Perfectly recall details of what you have witnessed [Research]: Glean hidden knowledge from books. Allows training in skills from manuals [Teach]: Allows you to train others in Academic or Magical skills
Hmm.. None of these looked bad, but they seemed more like skills I¡¯d want after I established myself. I was going to stick with [Phantasmal Artificer] for a while, so I decided to wait before spending skill points on them. I still had 4 skills on my list that I would need to buy if I couldn¡¯t demonstrate competence. What was left? Just three Development points. There wasn¡¯t much I could buy for that. I could leave them and hope that I got more later, or¡­ maybe I needed to take a look at the [Social] traits again.
[Modest Means]: You possess enough coin to support you for two weeks. (2 points)
It wasn¡¯t much, but it didn¡¯t seem like it was risking anything other than the two points. Fuck it. I made the purchase. One of my hands got suddenly heavier, and when I looked, I was holding a small leather pouch. What the fuck? I poured the contents out on my palm. There were 14 coin in it, 10 copper and 4 silver, all shiny new like they¡¯d just been minted. The copper coins were stamped with a picture of a small bird, maybe a sparrow, while the silver coins had a bigger bird. Both of them had a picture of a tree on the other side.
[Identification] : Copper sparrows - 10 [Identification] : Silver hawks - 4
Oh thank you Identification skill, I might have never worked that out. I¡¯m not sure why, but seeing these physical objects appear out of nowhere struck me pretty hard. I¡¯d felt myself getting stronger and smarter when I bought stats, I¡¯d actually cast a magic spell, but somehow the cold metal in my hands made it all seem real. I stared at them for a long time, but I had to move on. Whats next? Um¡­ Nothing? I guess the next step was to wait until daylight and see what the farmers were like. I could try breaking out, but that would leave me naked and alone at night trespassing on someones property, with nowhere to go. Better to see if they took pity on the strange girl. I could always break out the invisibility spell if I needed to. Waiting, though, that had its own problems. I thought about trying to get some sleep, but the floor was hard, the straw was scratchy and so was this blanket. Plus I was way too keyed up from¡­ everything. I started practicing spell casting to occupy time. I wasn¡¯t sure how to get my skills up, but this seemed like a likely method. [Static Image] took 1 stamina and 5 mana to cast, and I got 6 mana back every hour. So I could cast it once every hour without depleting myself, so I just sat back against a wall and waited for my mana to return. Cast and wait¡­ cast and¡­ Oh, I guess I can fall asleep after all, I thought, waking up. Pre-dawn light was coming through the upper windows, but it was the sound of the bar being lifted off the door that had woken me. I drew my blanket around me and prepared to face my destiny. Development ¡°Who you and what do you be doing in my barn!¡± A large man had entered and was shouting at me. Despite this being pretty much exactly what I expected, I panicked. ¡°I- I don¡¯t know! I just appeared here, and it was night and I don¡¯t have any clothes¡­¡± somehow just relating the events of last night made all the terror that I¡¯d been suppressing come back to the fore. ¡°I¡­ just want to go home,¡± I managed to get out before breaking down into sobs. ¡°Ack- Milly!¡± the man called. Dealing with crying girls was apparently not in his skillset. Milly arrived a few moments later. ¡°Whats going on? My-¡° she broke off as she took in the scene. ¡°Ah lass, theres no need for crying¡­¡± She came in and put her arms around me for a hug. I held on to her and bawled like a baby. It was embarrassing but I just couldn¡¯t stop.
[Charm] skill unlocked
A short while later, I had clothes and was being fed breakfast, while wondering about that skill unlock. Had I suddenly started crying because that was the [Charming] thing to do? Or was crying the right thing to do in this situation and it triggered the unlock? My breakdown had felt real, but it did just come out of nowhere. At least I felt better now. I¡¯d told Milly and Angus what had happened to me, about the status and the points options. I thought about hiding things, but they seemed really nice, and I really needed information about this world. Holding back secrets just made it harder to ask about stuff. ¡°Worldwalker?¡± said Angus. He was a large older man, about 50ish. His beard and hair were still mostly brownish-red, going on grey, and his face was tanned and weathered by a long time outdoors. ¡°Well, that¡¯d explain things well enough.¡± ¡°Not to me¡± He sighed, and looked away. ¡°We¡¯ve - our world - has had a few cases of people that come from another world. Not often - the last bunch was near 200 years ago. But they left an impression.¡± ¡°They say Worldwalkers are touched by Fate,¡± said Milly. She looked worried. ¡°Whenever they come, it means the world is going to change.¡± ¡°But I¡¯m just a¡­ just a graduate investment analyst. I don¡¯t want to change the world¡± ¡°You may not have that option dear. You should keep what you are secret, until you¡¯re ready. There are those who would use - twist - the fate of a Worldwalker to their own ends.¡± Milly patted my hand re-assuringly. ¡°You might have made the right decision with your class though. There isn¡¯t much better for hiding than an Illusionist.¡± ¡°I¡¯m only level 1, though¡± ¡°Thats a feat in itself!¡± Angus laughed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry though, we¡¯ll have you up to level 2 in no time.¡± ¡°Um, what level are you guys?¡± ¡°I¡¯m Level 4, Milly¡¯s at 3¡± said Angus. ¡°Um¡­ is that a lot?¡± I asked. Angus shrugged. ¡°Its about average if you¡¯re not hunting monsters all the time. Most people get to Level 2 before they¡¯re 15, but its hard to get to level 3 just with skill upgrades.¡± ¡°So how do you get there?¡± ¡°Fighting.¡± Angus said, looking a bit grim. ¡° ¡®Gainst humans or monsters, fighting to kill or defeat.¡± I gulped. ¡°I¡¯ve never really fought anything before.¡± He nodded, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t send you out into the world before you can handle yourself. At least as well as a teenager.¡±
[Conversation] skill unlocked.
With that reminder of social skills, I purchased both [Conversation] and [Charm]
[Conversation] Level 1 purchased For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP [Charm] Level 1 purchased For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP
¡°So I¡¯m going to learn to fight with an axe?¡±, I asked uncertainly. ¡°Well, maybe,¡± Angus grinned. ¡°Theres three things we¡¯re trying to do here.¡± He set out a quarter-log of firewood ready for chopping. I¡¯d seen people chop wood before, of course, so I knew what we were doing. He showed me where to put my hands to hold the axe, and smoothly bisected the log. He then handed me the axe and re-balanced one of the pieces on the stump. ¡°First thing is, we get you a skill unlock for Axe Weapon.¡± He gestured for me to proceed, so I took a swing. The axe glanced off the stick and embedded itself in the stump, while the stick went flying. Angus went and fetched it, while I struggled to free the axe. ¡°Second thing is, you need to get your stamina development up.¡± He replaced the stick and I took another swing. Looking at my [Stamina] I could see that each swipe was taking me 5 points. I got three points back every minute, much faster than mana, but I was running though it fairly quickly. This swing meant much the same as the last one, but he didn¡¯t look discouraged. ¡°How long do I do this for?¡± I asked. ¡°Ah, I reckon 2 more swings before taking a rest.¡± Angus said, ¡°As for after that, you¡¯ll know when you¡¯ve done enough¡± It ended up taking another 20 minutes, during which i had to switch to the other half of Angus¡¯s cut stick, as the first half had been battered beyond standing up. After missing countless times, I finally landed a clean blow, though, and was rewarded with
[Weapon Mastery: Axe] skill unlocked
While I was recovering after that achievement, I got another:
[Stamina Development] Level 2 acquired through use For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP
¡°Whoa! That doubled my Stamina points¡± I exclaimed. ¡°Aye, it makes a big difference. You use Stamina for just about everything so it goes up faster than most skills. It¡¯ll take a while to get level 3 though, so lets move on.¡± The next step in ¡®Combat training for Toddlers¡¯ was the dodge skill. Angus took me outside the compound. His farm was set on a gentle hill, and he took me through his fields, towards a lone tree standing at their edge. ¡°Are we going to fight?¡± I asked. ¡°Ach. Normally, kids would get their skills fighting each other, but I¡¯m a mite worried that I take a swing at you, you¡¯ll die in one hit.¡± ¡°So¡­¡± ¡°So, we¡¯ll improvise.¡± Arriving at the tree, he examined the branches above. Then without warning, he jumped up into the lower branches, pulling himself up by one hand. What the? Did he just jump higher than his own head? As I stared flabbergasted, he rummaged through the upper branches and causally snapped off a branch before jumping down again. He raised his eyebrows at my stare. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll work on jumping next,¡± he said, stripping leaves and branches off his prize, leaving him with a flexible pole about 6 feet long. He gave it a few practice swings. ¡°Hmm, not thin enough.¡± He pulled out a belt knife and sliced into the broken end. It sank in like a knife through butter and he was able to just slice the whole branch in half, leaving him with something that he seemed pleased with. ¡°Should do.¡± He gave me look. ¡°Sorry bout this, but its for your benefit.¡± Then he lashed out and hit me with it! ¡°Ow!¡± The switch had flicked around and thwacked me on the thigh. Even through the dress it was painful. ¡°Did ya lose body?¡± the monster said, pretending to be concerned. I checked. ¡°No, but I did lose a point of Stamina, you bastard. What was that for?¡± ¡°Good,¡± said Angus. ¡°I was pretty sure it wouldn¡¯t count as a weapon.¡± He grinned an evil grin ¡°You¡¯re going to want to dodge though.¡± *Thwack!* *Ow!* Thus did my torture begin. It went on for longer than my axe training, because once I¡¯d unlocked the skill, Angus had me buy it and then ¡®trained¡¯ me to Level 2.
[Dodge] Level 2 acquired through use For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP
¡°Ow! Ow! It levelled!¡± I called, and Angus finally stopped his relentless assault. Even though he ¡®wasn¡¯t really trying¡¯ and even with the level 1 skill, I¡¯d been only dodging maybe 40% of his swipes. They hurt! He stopped to let me recover my Stamina, and I watched in amazement as the welts that had formed on my skin from each blow quickly faded as the Stamina returned. ¡°Are we going to train [Body Development] next?¡± I asked apprehensively. ¡°Nay, though you need it.¡± He looked a little uneasy at the prospect. ¡°Hopefully getting you to Level 2 will give you enough HP to take a hit and live to heal it. Now, have you got a jump skill?¡± ¡°No,¡± I said doubtfully, ¡°But I can jump¡­just not like you did, before.¡± ¡°Give it a go then, give us a baby jump, as high as you can.¡± I focused for a second, then leaped as high as I could.
Competency demonstrated with [Jump], Level 1 awarded For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP
¡°It worked, I got the skill!¡± I tried jumping again, it seemed¡­ much the same. Maybe easier somehow? ¡°Ah well, the bars pretty low for jump, most kids get it after all. Climb¡¯s next.¡± He gestured at the tree he¡¯d just climbed. ¡°The first branch is pretty high, can I get a boost?¡± I was actually pretty confident about this one. I¡¯d climbed trees as a kid, and with 3 Strength, I think I was stronger than I was on Earth. Angus shrugged and lifted me by the waist. Before I had time to squeal, he¡¯d lifted me about 5 feet and the first branch was in reach. I grabbed it to distract myself from screaming. Once again, Angus was strong. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. But so was I. With a bit of struggle, I managed to pull myself up onto the branch and reach for the next. This was the first time I¡¯d really had a chance to see how my strength had changed. A bit more effort and I was halfway up the tree, which prompted the notice
Competency displayed with [Climb], Level 1 awarded For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP
¡°I got it!¡± I called down. Level 1 [Climb], again, didn¡¯t seem that much different from my natural ability. Since I wasn¡¯t here to climb trees, I went back down for my next task. ¡°Now, run back to the farmhouse, as fast and long as you can¡± Angus said once I was down again. ¡°Its just about time for lunch.¡± I did as he asked, trying to remember how I was taught to run back in high school athletics. Pump the arms, elbows in.
Competency displayed with [Run], Level 1 awarded For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP
Evidently the System approved. Angus was less impressed, matching my run with an easy jog. As we headed back to the house, I noticed for the first time that it was more of a farm compound. All the buildings were behind that high stone wall I¡¯d noticed before, and the house was also stone, with a¡­ slate roof? It was big too, way to big for just the two people. I resolved to ask about it over lunch. First though, my mana had recovered, so it was time to cast more spells. It seemed a little unfair. I could dodge 30 times in a minute before my stamina ran out and do the same again 10 minutes later. With spells, I could exhaust my mana with as little as four spells, and then it would take 10 hours before I could do the same again. It made it a lot harder to practice. Still, I cast [Unseen Sound] a few times, testing an idea. With no chanting, I could make my voice whisper in someones ear, which seemed useful for secret communication. It wasn¡¯t quite as versatile as [Secret Whisper] - I had to cast it each time instead of the way Whisper set up a moving communication link, but the second spell cost 10 points¡­ Anyway. I asked why their house was so big and fortress-like and they explained that this area had been pretty dangerous, 80 years or so ago. Back then, it had been settled by adventurers - heroes by the sound of it, who¡¯d distinguished themselves in the formation of the Kingdom and had been rewarded with land. Milly¡¯s grandfather had tamed the land and built the place up. That had ¡®settled the mana flows¡¯ whatever that meant. Milly tried to explain, but they didn¡¯t understand it well themselves. Just that the land affected the mana flows and the mana affected what Spawns occurred. Spawns were¡­ well, apparently, animals just popped out of nowhere, when there were no people around. Normal feral creatures in places like this, monstrous versions in places where mana was ¡®twisted¡¯. I expressed incredulity. ¡°So animals don¡¯t breed? They just pop up?¡± ¡°Aye they breed, if enough of them pop in the same area.¡± Angus explained. ¡°Theres a copse down the hill away that¡¯s always popping foxes. If I leave them be to long they¡¯ll breed a litter and then they¡¯ll be after me chickens. Thats where we¡¯re headed next.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not going to have her fight foxes already?¡± Milly exclaimed. ¡°She¡¯s still level 1!¡± ¡°She¡¯ll be fine, she got her magic ''aint she?¡± I looked at both of them. ¡°Wait, I¡¯m going to be killing something?¡± ¡°Aye its the quickest way for you to get Level 2.¡± He detached his knife from his belt and put it in front of me. What had looked like a small knife in his hands looked very much bigger when I thought about using it. ¡°You said you had skill bonus from that profession right? That¡¯ll be enough to get the unlock on your first strike, if its not expecting you.¡± I gulped. I¡¯m going to have to sneak up on an animal and stab it? I reached out my hand and took the knife. It was time to start playing this game. *** Some little time later (not nearly long enough), I was alone in the copse, invisible, looking for a fox. Actually, I was looking for everything.
Identification failed [Identification] : Eyilm Tree Identification failed Identification failed [Identification] : Mavenbush Identification failed [Identification] : Arbengrass [Identification] : Salleberry
Without my bonus I was back to failing about half the time, but I persevered. According to Angus, the key to levelling up Identification was to [Identify] new things¡­ and there were a lot of new things in these woods.
[Steath] Skill unlocked.
I froze. That would only happen if the fox was near enough for me to have avoided detection.
[Stealth] Level 1 purchased
For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP It only made sense to buy it, given what I was doing. I looked around carefully. There it was! Digging under some roots. It hadn¡¯t noticed me.
[Identification] : Fox (Male) - Threat Level: 2 [Identify] Level 2 acquired through use For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP
Angus had said that skill use under stress was worth more for levelling the skill, so it wasn¡¯t surprising that this had kicked me over the limit. My heart was hammering, both at the thought that the fox would notice me, and because of what I would have to do if it didn¡¯t. I crept forward.
[Weapon Mastery: Small Bladed] Skill unlocked. You have inflicted 19 damage!
My strike had plunged into the foxes side, drawing blood. So much blood! The fox made a weird kind of scream and twisted off my blade, which I somehow managed to not drop. I thought it would run, but it stood its ground, looking around for what had hurt it. I was still invisible, so it was confused, but it seemed to detect me somehow, hissing in my general direction. Oh shit!
[Weapon Mastery: Small Bladed] Level 1 purchased For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP
It came at me, but [Dodge] moved me to the side. I struck again!
You have inflicted 22 damage! For killing a Fox, you have earned 40 XP
I just stood there with the knife pointing at the corpse, breathing heavily. It was really dead - I¡¯d gotten the XP notification. I called out: ¡°Angus, I killed it¡± a few moments later I heard him moving through the bushes. Stealth wasn¡¯t one of his skills, which is why he¡¯d stayed back. ¡°Aye, well done lass. Now let me show you how to dress it.¡± He took the knife off me and moved over to the corpse. As soon as he started, I turned around and threw up. I did not get my [Hunting] unlock. Angus was disappointed, but understanding. I still didn¡¯t have level 2 but, I should be close. We continued searching for a bit, but all we got for it was a level in my [Perception] skill. Angus took that to mean that I¡¯d successfully perceived that there was nothing to find. On the way back to the house, Angus was struck by a thought. ¡°Lass, you were asking about how mana worked before?¡± ¡°Aye- I mean yes.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got a mage class right? That¡¯d include the [Sense Mana] skill - have you tried it yet?¡± ¡°Um, no¡­¡± [Sense Mana] Everything became¡­ blurry? Cloudy? Angus became enveloped in a pale green mist, and there was a much brighter yellow mist all around me. Looking down, I could see it pouring off my body and evaporating when it got more than a foot away from me. ¡°Oh¡­ this is weird.¡± I said. I looked back at Angus, but he just pointed up. I looked. Whoa. There was a structure in the sky. Or more like the entire sky was made of it. It was like clockwork made of clouds. Streams of mist plunged down into the earth and stretched up as far as I could see. I couldn¡¯t make out anything clearly, but the clouds were moving, clearly to some purpose. ¡°What am I looking at Angus?¡± I asked wonderingly. ¡°Mana, I guess.¡± said Angus. ¡°What we were trying to explain before, but you can probably see better than we can explain.¡± ¡°Mana¡­ we don¡¯t have anything like it on Earth,¡± I said. ¡°Wait, if I use mana to cast spells¡­¡± I cast an illusion of a sword in my hand. As I did so, my aura brightened and some of it flowed into where I wanted the sword to be. It took the shape of the image, an outline in golden light, and then it vanished and was replaced by the image. ¡°Well great. So any mage is going to be able to see when I¡¯m casting illusions? Plus¡­¡± I looked back at Angus. His aura was definitely dimmer than mine. ¡°They¡¯re going to be able to tell I¡¯m a mage as well, right?¡± Angus shrugged. ¡°I dunno what to tell you. I¡¯ve heard that mages can tell another mage, but I¡¯ve also heard stories where a fellow concealed that fact. Theres probably something you can do.¡± It occurred to me that I¡¯d seen something relevant in my spell list that I hadn¡¯t understood at the time.
[Conceal Mana]: Hides a casters mana from others (10 Points)
Okay, put that one on the priority list. With that, we were pretty much done with Skills for today. I was running out of Skill Points anyway, though Angus told me that I¡¯d get 2 more each time I gained a level. That was good, because I had more unlocked skills than points. Back at the house, I asked Milly about how skills worked. ¡°I don¡¯t know about the numbers, ¡®higher is better¡¯ is as far as I know,¡± she told me. ¡°But you¡¯ve got [Calculate], right? Maybe you can work out something from your logs?¡± ¡°Logs?¡± I asked, but even as she answered I knew what she had to mean. [Log]
[Combat Log] [Skill Log] [Development Log]
¡°Oh, you figured it out?¡± Milly asked. I suppose my suddenly glazed look gave it away. ¡°Uh, yeah. Let me take a look here¡­¡± [Development Log] was most of the notifications that I¡¯d already seen, to do with gaining skills and XP. [Skill Log] was the rest of them, entries for every time I used a skill. I¡¯d gotten notifications for some of these, but this seemed to have entries for every time. I guess I would have gone mad if I¡¯d gotten text every time I swung an axe, so there must be some sort of priority rating. Wait, not every time. There were no entries for perception attempts. I guess getting a message could be used to get information even if you failed so it must be redacted. The other thing that these entries had was something called an Effect Level. At least the successful attempts did, failures just said failed. But the fact that there weren¡¯t any successes below 10 made me suspect that I needed to get an Effect of 10 to succeed. One in ten chance to succeed on when I don¡¯t have the skill¡­ could it be that simple? It was hard to tell with most of my attempts, with failures cutting off the low end, but my Illusion magic had really high levels, ranging from 37 to 46 - all successes, of course. So a random factor from one to ten, added to¡­ 36 is 4 times 9, which is my [Illusion Magic] times my [Charisma]. I looked at some more entries, and the same basic pattern applied. Ok then, now I know. I didn¡¯t imagine it was any great secret amongst the numerate, but it was still good to know how things worked. I tried explaining it to Milly, but the idea of multiplication went over her head. I quickly looked at the [Combat Log] and it was much the same. It stated the effect level and the damage, but for my two hits, damage was the same as the effect level +10. The dagger probably did 10 damage. I thought that it might not always be like that though, because for both those hits, it stated that the strike was ¡®Unopposed¡¯. That made sense for the first hit, but I wasn¡¯t sure why it was true for the second. The fox had been trying to dodge that time. The conversation moved on to my getting level 2. Angus thought that I¡¯d only need to kill one more fox to get there, but he was doubtful that one would appear within a week. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to be asking after you¡¯ve done so much for me already, but can I not wait for a week to pass?¡± I asked. Milly smiled sadly and patted my hand. ¡°Oh child, we¡¯d love to have you stay longer, but you need to go.¡± ¡°Uh, why?¡± ¡°Worldwalkers¡­ we told you there are stories, going back a long time. Worldwalkers are - you are - always tasked with a grand destiny. Preventing great cataclysms, the fall of empires, that sort of thing. ¡°If you say so, but I don¡¯t really want to do any of that.¡± She nodded. ¡°You haven¡¯t found your purpose yet, but it will come. Which is why you need to start growing as soon as possible.¡± She paused, marshalling her thoughts. ¡°First of all, whatever the destiny you bring, the grand scope of it is too much for Angus and me. You will bring trouble to nations, and if it starts here, our little farmhouse would be sure tobe swept away.¡± I felt a bit guilty. I hadn¡¯t considered that these two might not want to be swept up by Fate. Its not like I was ready to be. But Milly continued. ¡°Second, the learned and the powerful have ways of telling when a Worldwalker has arrived. They will seek you out, to aid or hinder you according to their own purposes. At the least, you want to be established when they find you, better still for you to be long gone. Finally, in the stories, some of the disasters that were prevented could have been solved much more easily if the hero had shown up a few days earlier. Wasting a week may not seem like much now, but it could be that a year from now you¡¯ll be cursing that delay.¡± ¡°Wow, thats¡­ comprehensive. I don¡¯t know what to say.¡± Milly smiled again and hugged me. ¡°I know you¡¯ll do well for the world¡± she said. ¡°Get yourself into town and join the Adventurers guild and get yourself another level. Try not to stay for more than a month. And if a large caravan of important people show up, be very careful.¡± ¡°This feels a little weird. I just killed my first fox today and I¡¯m supposed to be considering the fate of nations? Its crazy.¡± ¡°It is crazy.¡± agreed Milly. ¡°Come find us again when its over, if the Kingdom still stands and tell us all about it.¡± Employment This story is going up on Kindle Unlimited, so I''m afraid I have to remove it from here - at least the first book for now, and the rest over the course of this year. New updates will continue, but that is not much use to you if you''ve just discovered this story. Sorry. You can also, if audio is more your thing, order the audiobook on Audible: Phantasm: An Isekai LitRPG Phantasm: An Isekai LitRPG An ordinary young woman wakes up in a real-life, sword-and-sorcery role-playing game in this epic fantasy adventure for fans of The Witcher and Elden Ring. The Worldwalkers of legend are beings touched by Fate and transported from another This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.realm, tasked with a grand destiny. Traditionally, they prevent great cataclysms or the fall of empires. Whatever their undertaking, their appearance brings about momentous change. It¡¯s been some two hundred years since the last Great Game, but the time has come again. Seven are chosen, and the game begins once more . . . Kandis Hammond doesn¡¯t remember much before her arrival, naked and alone, in a locked stone barn. The twenty-four-year-old junior financial research analyst from Sydney simply sat down in front of her computer, and the next thing she knows she¡¯s here¡ªand someone very angry is just outside. But the most puzzling thing of all is the glowing letters that begin appearing before her eyes. When the enigmatic System tells her she has abilities and skill points to spend, Kandis realizes she¡¯s entered a role-playing game. Only it¡¯s not on a computer or TV. It¡¯s all too real. After getting her bearings as a Worldwalker¡ªand some clothes¡ªKandis learns she must head out in search of her purpose in the grand destiny. Unsuited for physical combat, she¡¯ll have to rely on her wits and charm to survive. Of course, that won¡¯t be easy. Wherever Worldwalkers go, trouble follows. Whether it¡¯s a feral fox, a treacherous wizard, a thirsty vampire, or something much, much bigger, it¡¯s simply the nature of the Great Game. And Kandis better not lose . . . The first volume of the hit LitRPG fantasy series¡ªwith more than 600,000 views on Royal Road¡ªnow available on Kindle, Kindle Unlimited, and Audible! C093 -Anchorbury ¡°I hadn¡¯t expected to see you again so soon.¡± Gustave leaned back into his comfortably padded leather armchair. He sipped from the twin of the glass of wine he¡¯d just offered me. ¡°Should I worry that some subterfuge is afoot?¡± I smiled and sipped my own wine. ¡°I¡¯m technically still in my grace period, as Aubert ¡ª excuse me, Lord Duvost ¡ª hasn¡¯t come back from the capital.¡± The Iron-workers Guild master had smiled at the start of my sentence, but he frowned at the end of it. ¡°It¡¯s troubling ¡ª it shouldn¡¯t take that long to get confirmation. Either politics is interfering¡­ or his Lordship is finding the pleasures of the city too tempting. Neither possibility bodes well.¡± ¡°I suppose,¡± I said noncommittally. ¡°I¡¯m headed that way in a bit, when I come back, I can pass on any rumours I picked up.¡± He raised an eyebrow. ¡°Tiring of the frontier life already?¡± ¡°Politics, I¡¯m afraid.¡± I sighed. ¡°As a representative of the town, I have to see the King to get our Charter confirmed.¡± ¡°I¡¯d heard there had been some changes in Talnier,¡± Gustave observed. ¡°Details have been hard to come by, but it did sound like you were heavily involved.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been doing what I can to improve things,¡± I admitted. ¡°And now I find myself with some responsibilities.¡± ¡°That is how it often goes. So how can this humble tradesman help a town Councillor?¡± I snorted at his little joke. ¡°There are iron-workers in Talnier, but there¡¯s no Guild.¡± He nodded. ¡°I believe there used to be, but it was wiped out in a monster attack. Since then, there¡¯s been a shortage of workers willing to go up there. We send a lot of finished pieces up there, so I imagine the workers there are too busy to bother banding together.¡± ¡°Guilds form when the craftsmen are feeling oppressed,¡± I said slowly, working it out. ¡®With so much demand for gear, and high shipping expenses, they can charge what they like, so they haven¡¯t felt the need to press for better conditions.¡± ¡°Quite. Are you thinking of starting a Guild up there?¡± ¡°I¡¯m far too busy with my current projects and responsibilities. Actually, I was thinking that you should.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m too old to leave here,¡± he laughed. ¡°Wasn¡¯t thinking of it,¡± I agreed. ¡°What I was thinking is that you should send someone you trust to form a branch of this Guild, rather than waiting for an independent one to form naturally.¡± ¡°What an odd idea.¡± ¡°Is it? I know a lot of merchant houses have branch offices in the different towns they trade between¡­ is there any reason that a Guild has to be limited to one town?¡± ¡°I suppose not¡­¡± he trailed off, considering the idea. ¡°I¡¯ll need some time to think about this.¡± ¡°Take all the time you need,¡± I allowed. ¡°But here are a few more things for you to consider. Talnier should be fairly safe from monster attacks now, and the Tribes are starting to trade with us. If my ¡ª our ¡ª Charter gets approved, Talnier is going to start growing. That means more work, but more of it will go to local craftsmen. If you want a hand in that pie, you¡¯ll need to move some of your people upriver.¡± ¡°Hmm. You don¡¯t change things by half-measures, do you?¡± ¡°Pfft. That is the half-measure. The other thing I want you to think about is the real game changer.¡± ¡°I hesitate to ask,¡± he said, but it was a lie. His nose was practically twitching at the thought of more money. ¡°The Guild is founded on the notion that there is power in numbers,¡± I started. ¡°By banding together the craftsmen in one city, you can¡¯t force the Count to do anything, but you can get him to listen.¡± ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°What if you banded together all the craftsmen in all the cities?¡± I asked. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t the King have to listen to you then?¡± ¡°That¡¯s ridiculous!¡± he protested. ¡°The other guilds would never agree to subordinate roles.¡± ¡°Branch offices are one way of doing this,¡± I said. ¡°But it¡¯s not the only way. What if the existing guild heads elected a Council ¡ª or a leader ¡ª of their own?¡± ¡°A structure¡­ extending over the current one,¡± Gustave breathed. ¡°Allowing for advancement beyond what¡¯s currently possible,¡± I agreed. ¡°Promotion for Guild masters.¡± The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Whoever got the role would have to move to Dorsay though,¡± he said, scowling at the thought. ¡°Do a council instead, have people take turns for the role¡­ there are lots of options.¡± I shrugged. ¡°And whoever gets put in charge, you¡¯ll have their ear. They¡¯ll depend on you for your support in the next election.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a very interesting idea¡­¡± he mused, gazing into the fire. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you with it,¡± I said, finishing my wine. ¡°I¡¯ll see myself out.¡±
¡°Holy fuck, has the coup started already?¡± Janie exclaimed when she saw me. ¡°What? No! What are you saying?¡± I glanced around and found, to my dismay, that more people than I¡¯d liked were paying attention to our conversation. None were immediately moving towards us with obvious intent to arrest us for treason, so a small mercy there. ¡°Are you trying to get me killed? Keep your voice down.¡± I said, urgently but softly. Janie protested, but let me drag her into a slightly more private corner of the bar. ¡°Sorry, sorry,¡± Janie laughed. ¡°It''s just that the way his Lordship feels about you, I figured the next time I saw you here would be with his head on a pike.¡± ¡°Duvost is still in the Capital, so I¡¯m not actually exiled yet,¡± I explained. That didn¡¯t mean I¡¯d come through the gates openly, of course. Invisibility was just a sensible precaution and saved me a silver on the gate fee. I¡¯d also slipped out of Talnier invisible and ran down by myself. My endurance and speed were even more incredible than the last time I¡¯d tried cross country running when I was Level Three. With the others covering for me, I was hoping to be back before anyone noticed I was gone. ¡°Not back? Really? That explains why I¡¯m still allowed in the Dungeon then,¡± she mused. ¡°You didn¡¯t know?¡± I asked, amused. ¡°I don¡¯t really pay attention to what that arsehole is doing,¡± she dismissed. ¡°But if you didn¡¯t come back to depose him, what are you here for?¡± ¡°A couple of things, I hedged. ¡°But I¡¯m here because I want to hire you for a trip.¡± ¡°Just as a guard? And where to?¡± ¡°No. And Dorsey.¡± ¡°Tired of the frontier already? Wait ¡ª¡± her eyes narrowed, ¡°Is this all a plot to get me back in the same city as Aubey?¡± I laughed. ¡°Don¡¯t be silly, he¡¯s got nothing ¡ª well, very little to do with this. I¡¯m meeting with the King to get Talnier¡¯s new governance structure approved.¡± ¡°Talnier¡¯s new¡ª you did do a coup!¡± ¡°Nothing of sort. There were some troubles with corrupt rulership¡­ a few things happened. I barely had anything to do with it.¡± ¡°And yet here you are,¡± Janie grinned. ¡°Somehow in charge.¡± ¡°I may have put forward a few ideas.¡± ¡°Sure, sure. So the job is to escort you to Dorsay and back¡­¡± ¡°And as a guard, while I¡¯m there. We might get access to dungeons ¡ª I¡¯m looking into a few leads, so there might be delving as well.¡± ¡°Never boring, huh? How long are you gonna be?¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s the thing, I¡¯m going to be waiting on the King¡¯s pleasure, so it could be tomorrow, could be months.¡± ¡°Eh¡­ I¡¯m not sure if I can be outside the city for that long. My family¡­¡± ¡°If it goes longer than three weeks, I can send you back with a message for everyone in Talnier. You can check in on the way.¡± Not that Anchorbury was particularly on the way between Talnier and Dorsay, but running speeds being what they were, it didn¡¯t much matter. ¡°Hmm¡­ I guess that¡¯s doable. I could sure use the money, now that I¡¯ve got an apprentice to support.¡± ¡°Where is Maslin, anyway?¡± I asked. I had been gratified, and a little surprised, to see he wasn¡¯t in the tavern. ¡°Oh, he¡¯s studying at my sister¡¯s place.¡± Janie waved her hand dismissively. She paused for thought. ¡°Is it going to be alright to bring him along?¡± I grimaced. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be having this conversation if I didn¡¯t think there would be some risks, but I don¡¯t think any of the people I¡¯m worried about are going to go after a kid.¡± ¡°And just who are you worried about?¡± ¡°Duvost. The King. Nobles, generally.¡± ¡°Ew.¡± Janie made a face. ¡°Much as I hate to say something good about that lot, you¡¯re right that they wouldn¡¯t go after a kid. Even the worst of them would think him beneath them.¡± ¡°Cutter will be coming as well unless Felicia figures out a long-term sedative.¡± ¡°Aw, an orphan reunion! I¡¯m feeling really good about this!¡±
¡°That¡¯s it! I quit!¡± Janie exclaimed as the women descended on her. I laughed, hopefully not too cruelly. ¡°Come on Janie, show a little spine! You can¡¯t get a dress made without a fitting.¡± ¡°All the more reason to not wear a dress in the first place!¡± ¡°We¡¯re going to the capital, Janie, staying in the palace, even. We need to look respectable.¡± ¡°The palace? Really?¡± For the first time since I¡¯d met her, Janie looked a little intimidated. ¡°Well¡­ I¡¯m pretty sure it''s the least important part of the palace.¡± Messages had been exchanged between the Talnier Council and the¡­ Court, for want of a better word. Nothing was to be left to chance so they¡¯d wanted to know the size, method of travel and date of arrival for our delegation. In return, we¡¯d been informed of where we were supposed to show up. ¡°Even so, that doesn¡¯t mean I have to be dressed for a ball,¡± Janie grumbled. ¡°You will not be wearing this dress to a ball!¡± Didiane exclaimed. ¡°If you somehow have to attend one, you¡¯ll wear servants'' clothing or get your Lady to provide something suitable, rather than slander my reputation.¡± ¡°A proper ball gown takes longer, is more expensive, and probably won¡¯t be needed,¡± I agreed. ¡°Dorsay has enough nobles to fill the ballrooms, they don¡¯t need to make up the numbers with commoners like here. This is just for walking around the palace with me.¡± ¡°A waste of time, in my opinion,¡± Didiane said. ¡°Even dressed properly, her vulgar class will show. Whatever possessed you to put tattoos on your neck?¡± ¡°We can cover them with a high collar, right?¡± I hastily intervened before Janie took offence. ¡°I suppose. And long sleeves.¡± Didiane glanced at Janie¡¯s arms in disdain. ¡°I¡¯d still prefer my armour,¡± Janie said, visibly controlling herself. ¡°I¡¯ll mention to the King that he should change the dress code,¡± I joked. ¡°But really, you need to stop complaining about free clothes.¡± Didiane finished up her measurements and Janie was free to go¡­ for now. ¡°Since you¡¯re going to be in town, you can get another fitting when it¡¯s done,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m not coming up to Talnier with you?¡± Janie asked in dismay. ¡°Nope! I¡¯m heading out before sunset, you¡¯ll need to take a boat up with all the extra clothing in¡­ ¡°One week,¡± Didiane stated firmly. ¡°That¡¯s the best I can do.¡± ¡°Right, with the trip time, that gives us three days before we have to leave for the city ¡ª so don¡¯t dawdle. Or get into a fight with Didiane.¡± Janie sighed dramatically. ¡°So I¡¯m just a courier now. And a clotheshorse.¡± I raised an eyebrow. ¡°If you want to save me the cost of a boat and courier the clothes up, that would be great. But since I¡¯m sure you¡¯d prefer to sit on your arse all the way up the river, I don¡¯t think you get to call yourself a courier.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Janie sulked. ¡°I think I preferred it when we were down in the dungeon. ¡°Of course you did,¡± I said. ¡°Everything was on fire.¡± C094 - Ambush Of all the ways to travel, by carriage was the slowest, most uncomfortable, and almost the most expensive. Nevertheless, that was the way I¡¯d chosen to travel to Dorsay. Well almost. There was no road from Talnier, so we¡¯d taken a boat down to Anchorbury, made a few more purchases, and hired a carriage there. Now though¡­. ¡°How much longer are we going to be walking for? It¡¯s a little too late in the year for this to be enjoyable.¡± Despite her complaining, Janie was showing no sign of discomfort. We hadn¡¯t been running, just doing the occasional jog to ensure that we didn¡¯t fall too far behind, and it wasn¡¯t that cold. Even if it had been snowing, I was pretty sure she had a personal heating spell. ¡°I was expecting the complaints to come from Cutter,¡± I joked. ¡°You¡¯re being outdone by a kid.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a kid!¡± Cutter complained. ¡°And I can run faster than any of you!¡± I smiled at him. He was probably right, he had the highest [Running] skill, anyway. He lost a bit in stats and Level, but no one else here was focused on [Agility] like he was. ¡°You doing alright, Maslin?¡± I asked. He would have fallen behind long ago if we¡¯d been travelling seriously, but at this speed, he seemed to be fine. ¡°Yes ma¡¯am,¡± he said seriously. ¡°But I still don¡¯t understand why we didn¡¯t take the carriage.¡± ¡°If you¡¯d ridden in it for much longer, you¡¯d understand,¡± I said, with feeling.
You have defeated Victor de Bargougne in an Intrigue. You have earned 245 XP
¡°But the real reason just popped up,¡± I said, eyeing my latest notification. ¡°Let¡¯s pick up the pace, I think it worked.¡± We all started running. Unencumbered by luggage, it was easy enough for even the youngest of us to jog faster than a normal human could sprint. While we had hired a carriage, we¡¯d stopped as soon as we were out of sight of the city, and swapped with another group. Following behind, out of sight, but not too far back, we quickly caught up with them. Rounding a hill, we found the carriage. I¡¯d expected the attack to come deeper into the hills, but they¡¯d chosen the first available ambush ground. Not that it had done them any good. I could see that temporary walls of stone around the carriage had kept it safe. As for the attackers¡­ ¡°About time you got here!¡± Thomas called up as we approached, ¡°We¡¯re almost finished cleaning up!¡± The black-skinned [Duellist] was dragging two corpses back to the foot of the walls, where I could see three more had been collected. At his words, two heads popped up from behind the walls, apparently having climbed up onto the carriage. Sofia and Holly, a [Warden] and a [Steel Arcanist], had apparently been waiting there while Thomas did all the work. ¡°Hello!¡± Holly said. With a gesture, she dissolved the walls around the carriage and I could see that it was intact. Even the illusion of myself was still clearly visible sitting at the window. ¡°I told you we¡¯d keep it undamaged.¡± ¡°Thanks for that,¡± I replied. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to have to pay for a replacement.¡± With the walls down, the final member of the party was revealed. Faruthe wasn¡¯t properly a member of the Steel Rangers, but I¡¯d budgeted for four Level Sixes, and there weren¡¯t any four-person teams of that level in Talnier. He was a lion-kin - one of the tribal adventurers that had come to delve Talnier¡¯s dungeons, but he wasn¡¯t averse to doing work for pay. He was carrying his longbow in one hand and his top-heavy falchion was by his side. From the look of it, he and Sofia had stayed safe behind the walls while shooting the unfortunate attackers. As a [Beast-speaker], one of the special tribal [Professions], he could sight his shots through his bonded beasts. ¡°They had an [Illusionist],¡± he told me, getting up from the ground where he¡¯d been sitting. He shook his mane of orange-blond hair. ¡°But not one of sufficient skill to fool me.¡± ¡°Or me!¡± Sofia called out. Her bow was a much more obviously crafted item, recurved and reinforced in places. Faruthe¡¯s bow looked for all the world like a quarterstaff ¡ª much thicker than I was used to thinking of bows ¡ª and hadn¡¯t been touched by tools. According to [Identification], it was made of living wood which probably explained how it could be bent at all. Between the thickness of the bow, and Faruthe¡¯s [Strength], I was pretty confident that he could put an arrow through a tank¡¯s armour ¡ª and out the other side. ¡°I was fooled,¡± Thomas admitted, ¡°But an invisible person with an arrow in them isn¡¯t really hiding anymore.¡± ¡°Which one is he?¡± I asked, looking at the corpses. They all looked like fighter-types to me. ¡°I still haven¡¯t gotten him yet,¡± Thomas said. ¡°He was in the back, and started running early.¡± ¡°Arthior is marking the spot,¡± Faruthe said, pointing towards a hill about three hundred meters away. I looked and was surprised to note that I could clearly see his hawk from that distance. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.
[Identification]: - Aurelis Hawk - Male - Bonded
Never mind 20/20, this is like 100/20, I thought. I really should have noticed by now, especially with all the outdoor time I was getting, but I just hadn¡¯t really looked at something as distant as that until now. ¡°Wow, the bandits out here are really something,¡± I said. Thomas laughed. ¡°Bandits? These aren¡¯t bandits. There¡¯s no way bandits would have a mage.¡± ¡°Or this equipment,¡± Holly put in. ¡°Nothing but Excellent grade. These were paid mercenaries.¡± ¡°Nah,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m willing to bet that by the time we get to the next town, there will be bounty notices up for them, no doubt accused of stealing all thisequipment that you found on them.¡± ¡°This was an Intrigue?¡± Thomas spat with distaste. ¡°You got a notification?¡± ¡°Who was it?¡± Sophia asked. ¡°Someone of high enough rank that you don¡¯t want me to answer that question,¡± I replied. ¡°We can narrow it down though,¡± Holly mused. ¡°There aren¡¯t that many nobles that would be pissed off by your Council enough to assassinate you.¡± ¡°Oh, you¡¯d be surprised,¡± I said sourly. ¡°They were after you then,¡± Thomas mused, ¡°The [Illusionist] was to counter you.¡± ¡°They underestimated her then,¡± Sofia said. ¡°She¡¯s a better [Illusionist].¡± I shrugged. ¡°Hard to tell that without a direct comparison to work off, and I doubt their information is that good.¡± ¡°If there¡¯s a bounty, we should see about claiming it,¡± Holly declared. ¡°How? You want to carry all the corpses into town?¡± Thomas asked, and Holly¡¯s face went from greedy to disappointed. They both looked at the carriage. ¡°No way. For one thing, I¡¯m taking that into the capital, and I don¡¯t need it smelling of death.¡± ¡°We could¡ª¡± Holly said, but I kept going. ¡°For another, we¡¯re not supposed to have met. You were just travellers on the road who happened to get attacked ¡ª that¡¯s if anyone asks. It would be better if no one knew to ask.¡± I sighed at their puzzled looks. ¡°Look, do you really want the Lord behind this knowing you foiled their plans?¡± They all looked at each other. ¡°Um, probably not?¡± Thomas said. ¡°Right. So if you don¡¯t claim credit, we roll into Aldwich like nothing happened, and bad guys don¡¯t get to know anything. They¡¯ll assume that we beat their picked team and that we¡¯re a lot stronger than we are. That should scare them off for a bit, at least long enough to put together a better team.¡± ¡°But if we claim credit, they know we did it,¡± Sofia said. ¡°And since we¡¯re not accompanying you to Dorsay¡­¡± ¡°They won¡¯t be as hesitant,¡± I agreed. ¡°Plus, there¡¯s always the chance that they might come after you guys as revenge.¡± ¡°Pfft, let them,¡± Thomas snorted. I guess at Level Six he was entitled to some confidence. ¡°But the money¡­¡± Holly whined. ¡°You can still sell the equipment in Talnier,¡± I pointed out. ¡°Especially if you sell to the tribal merchants, no one should care where you got it from.¡± They all nodded. ¡°I guess you¡¯re right,¡± Holly said sadly. ¡°We¡¯d better disappear these bodies then. You want to get the last one, Thomas?¡± Thomas nodded and started bounding over to where Arthior was still circling. He covered the three hundred metres in what seemed like fifteen seconds, but that was enough time for Holly to finish her hole. She formed a pit three metres deep, extending through the dirt of the hills and into bedrock while Sofia and Faruthe started turning over the corpses. ¡°Anything interesting?¡± I asked. ¡°Nah, that¡¯s mercenaries for you,¡± Sofia replied idly. ¡°They don¡¯t get in as many weird situations as adventurers, so they just get the basics.¡± I left them to it, still not entirely comfortable with human corpses. I may not have killed them myself, but my decisions had led to their deaths, as surely as if I¡¯d stuck in the knife myself. I nodded at the rest of my group and they made their way over to the carriage. ¡°I think we¡¯re good from here,¡± I said. ¡°We can settle up and you can get back to Talnier.¡± ¡°Money!¡± Holly exclaimed. She threw the corpse she¡¯d finished searching unceremoniously into the pit and came over. I had a separate bag for each of them, and they quickly glanced inside to confirm the contents. Man, hiring Level Sixes had been expensive. Easily the biggest expense so far, even if I considered all the new clothes as being one lump sum. At least I got a discount by letting them have the loot. ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want us to escort you the rest of the way?¡± Thomas asked. Well, at least they come with professional ethics for the money. ¡°Nah, I doubt they¡¯ll be able to put another strike team together so quickly,¡± I replied with a smile. ¡°They¡¯re sure to have someone watching the road though, so best if you weren¡¯t seen.¡± ¡°There¡¯s no one close enough to see us right now,¡± Faruthe reassured me, gesturing to his hawk, which was now flying in a large circle above us. ¡°Good to know. Then, we¡¯ll part ways here.¡± I shook hands and headed off to the carriage, leaving them to entomb the evidence. ¡°Ah, what¡¯s this? The last loose end?¡± I said when I got there. The carriage driver, a fairly unimpressive-looking man, had been hiding in the carriage until now. I wondered if a [Skill] was a work¡­ I had barely remembered him and I had a [Skill] for perfect memory. ¡°You can¡¯t kill me! People know where I am! There will be questions!¡± ¡°Whoa, relax! No one is going to kill you.¡± I helped him out of the carriage and up onto his driving seat. Then I jumped up beside him. He flinched, startled. Driving this route, he had to be a Level Four at least, but he was as jumpy as I¡¯d been at Level Two. ¡°But I am going to impress on you that it would be very wise to not say what happened here to another soul.¡± I leaned in, just a bit, and let [Persuasion] take hold. Mostly just to calm him down. The problem with using [Skills] is that they don¡¯t last. I could get him to agree to whatever I liked, but a week later, with me in a different town, the effect would fade to nothing. ¡°The person who hired these killers doesn¡¯t want anyone hearing about their failure.¡± [Bargain] was a little better, as it told me what it would take for his silence. Someone could always offer more, but only if they knew to ask. A man who¡¯s gotten a fair price should be reluctant to brave danger to seek more, and [Bargain] helped me to tell if that person would stay bought. In this case¡­ I smiled. ¡°For your trouble,¡± I said, handing him a gold coin. More than he¡¯d be likely to earn for the trip, but really just a nominal payment. His price was nothing ¡ª he knew I was right and was too afraid to go looking for an extra payment. Maybe he¡¯d find his courage later, but for now, we were good. ¡°Just remember,¡± I said. ¡°You never saw an attack. When we got here, everything was¡ª¡± I looked back to where the others had been. They had cleared out already and Holly had filled in the hole like it wasn¡¯t there, even restoring most of the grass. ¡°¡ªEverything was just as you see it now.¡± ¡°R-right you are, ma¡¯am.¡± I clapped him on the shoulder and jumped back down. The capital awaited. C095 - Dorsay We caught our first sight of Dorsay some time before arriving. So much so, in fact, that I wondered if it had been deliberately sited with visual spectacle in mind. Built on the eastern shore of Lake Dunlead, it became visible across the waters as we approached a curve around the northern side of the lake. The lake itself seemed¡­ off to me. The shores were too steep, and the depths were too deep. The water was preternaturally clear, but I still couldn¡¯t see the bottom. ¡°Are there any legends of how that lake was formed?¡± I asked. Felicia shrugged. ¡°Stories,¡± she replied. ¡°It was like that during the Empire, before that, who knows? Maybe something happened during the God¡¯s War.¡± I shivered a bit at the reminder that there were beings who had rearranged the landscape on a whim and were only prevented from doing that today by some kind of non-interference treaty. Dorsay was nice though, a very fairy-tale kingdom. Ringed by white walls, a large castle rose above the city from the highest point. It looked like the city was built on one large hill, with the castle at the top, and two rings of buildings inside the walls. The inner ring was¡­ something else. It looked like the buildings there had been built with some kind of prismatic building material. They shimmered in the light, like opal or mother-of-pearl. I found out that there was a range limit on [Identify]. This was the first time since coming here that I¡¯d looked at something thinking ¡®what the hell is that¡¯ and hadn¡¯t immediately gotten an answer. ¡°Anybody heard about that shimmery stuff before?¡± I asked the others. They all shook their heads. ¡°I¡¯ve heard it called the magical city, but I didn¡¯t think they mean that,¡± Felicia said. ¡°Oh right,¡± I said and activated [Mana Sense]. ¡°Oh wow. Are you guys looking at the mana?¡± I asked the ones with the skill. Felicia, Janie, and even Maslin looked at me and then out the window. Felicia gasped, Janie swore, and Maslin just froze. Dorsay was the centre of a network of mana, of which we had only ever seen a small part. Mana was funnelled into the obelisks that were dotted all around the kingdom and then directed in great streams towards the capital. Wherever you went in Latorra, in addition to all the natural mana, and the great gears that turned with unknown purpose, there was generally a single conduit of mana that stretched across the landscape, headed for the capital. Here was where they all converged, diving down into the mess of magic that was Dorsay. ¡°No wonder it has three Dungeons,¡± Felicia breathed. ¡°How much of that is used, and how much goes to waste?¡± What we were looking at could best be described as a city-sized plate of misty spaghetti, or perhaps a cable-nest orders of magnitude worse than anything found behind an AV cabinet. That was probably a better metaphor, as these were all conduits for mana. They split, recombined, tangled and moved through each other, according to some chaotic logic of their own. ¡°Is that even safe?¡± I asked with trepidation. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look safe, but I¡¯ve never heard of loose mana having an effect on people,¡± Felicia said doubtfully. ¡°It must be, though? We¡¯re not the only people in the world with [Sense Mana]¡± ¡°Right,¡± I agreed. ¡°Let¡¯s get on then.¡± The guards at the gate were admirably efficient. They seemed to be expecting us but still checked our papers carefully, directing our carriage into a small court inside the gatehouse to wait. They even used some sort of magical device to message the palace and get our permission to enter. ¡°Please take this token, ma¡¯am,¡± The guard said, handing me a white-painted wooden token. ¡°It should allow you to pass through the inner gate.¡± He pointed down the street. ¡°It¡¯s a straight shot, and not far.¡± The inner wall was, in fact, quite close. We could see it looming over the well-built houses and inns that lined the street here. I¡¯m sure there was some important reason why the two walls were so close on this side, but it eluded me. The second gate was just as efficient. They took our token, and our papers and again checked with their command. Once again, we were allowed to pass through and given a token for the palace guards. ¡°The Chamberlain has been alerted, and should have someone to meet you at the gates,¡± he explained. Wondering if security was so tight for everyone, I peered out the window at the regular traffic. It seemed like the tokens and paper system were only enforced for carts and carriages. Regular townsfolk seemed to walk through unchallenged. I did note though, that many of them wore tokens similar to ours pinned to their shirts or around their necks. Theirs were painted blue rather than white, but as far as I could tell the guards let them through regardless of if they had a token or not. The inner city didn¡¯t look any less impressive close-up. The shimmering stuff that so many of the houses were made of looked¡­ incredible really. Like it was made of opal.
[Identification]: - Opalime Stone - Quality: Excellent - Properties: Damage resistance, Magic resistance. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Opalime Stone? Was that a pun? So not actually opal then. I wondered if the insides were also shimmery ¡ª that seemed like it would get old. A lack of variety might explain why the town wasn¡¯t totally made of the stuff. At ground level, there was quite a lot of more natural materials. The other thing I noticed about Dorsay on our way through was how big it was. This was the first place I¡¯d been that was big enough that it felt like a city. ¡°Remember to be careful once we get to wander the place guys,¡± I remarked to my fellow travellers. ¡°This place is big enough to get truly lost in.¡± There were noises of acknowledgement, but not a lot of chatter. With the exception of Cutter, who looked eager at the thought of losing himself in a city, they seemed a bit intimidated by the scale of the city. The final checkpoint was our destination. Directed by the guards, we disembarked and were ushered through the gate. In a central courtyard, we gaped like tourists at the massive palace in front of us. From where we were we could see two wings coming out diagonally from the main building. They were four stories high, at least, and the main building towered over them. Aside from decorative flourishes around the windows, it was all Opalime Stone, and highly polished at that. It gleamed. Waiting in the courtyard were two men. Richly dressed, they wore sleeveless tunics over tight-fitting silk doublets and hose. The tunics were dyed red and embroidered in gold with complex patterns. While they looked like a uniform, the patterns were subtly different¡­ did that mean that each official¡¯s job was encoded somehow on their uniforms? That might take a while to learn¡­
[Identification]: - Chamberlain Uniform (Deputy) - Quality: Excellent - Properties: None. [Identification]: - Master of Ceremonies Uniform (Assistant) - Quality: Excellent - Properties: None.
Or I could just rely on [Identify] to tell me. Thanks [Identify]! Both of them bowed as I approached, so I curtseyed ¡ª with a quick glance behind me to make sure my rag-tag group of adventurers was doing the same. The Deputy Chamberlain (or an imposter wearing his uniform, I suppose) spoke first. He was tall and thin, with skin more noticeably tanned than his partner. ¡°Greetings, my lady, and welcome to Dorsay, and to the palace. I am Stefanos Gereas, Deputy Chamberlain for the palace, and this is Victor Moore, an assistant to the Master of Ceremonies.¡± I formally introduced my own crew. [Charm] led me through the formalities as I gave their names and roles. Janie looked uncomfortable in her dress, but her tattoos were covered up now, which counted as a win in [Charm]¡¯s accounting. Felicia was dealing with her fancy clothing with more grace, though no doubt missing her protective skirt. Kyle, as a bodyguard of the physical type, was actually entitled to wear armour. Cutter and Maslin were officially apprentices and hopefully were below anyone''s notice. As such, they had new, clean clothing, but nothing fancy. Cutter had his long-knife, but he was keeping it hidden. Absent from the lineup was Cloridan. I¡¯d had to leave him behind to manage things in Talnier. Losing him from the team hurt, but I needed someone I could trust to be there. ¡°As expected,¡± Stefanos said, sounding pleased. I guess a lot of delegations just showed up with whoever they felt like. ¡°Rooms have been arranged in the guest wing.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± I said graciously. ¡°Is it too early to know when we will be granted an audience with His Majesty?¡± Stefanos glanced at Victor, and the man jumped to attention. He was the older and smaller of the two and was clutching a folder of stiffened leather. ¡°Ah yes!¡± he exclaimed. ¡°My lady, the next welcoming ceremony is in three days, and you are required to attend.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with that,¡± I commented. ¡°Ah, well, it will be your first opportunity to see His Majesty, but it is unlikely that you will be able to talk with him. The ceremony is to both welcome new guests and familiarise the King with them.¡± He opened his folder and pulled out a piece of paper. ¡°Um, are any of your party able to read?¡± he asked nervously. ¡°Of course,¡± I said, taking the paper from his hand. He sighed in relief. ¡°That has a reminder of the time and place of the ceremony, as well as the basic protocol. Essentially, all the guests line up and kneel, and his Majesty walks along the line. He may address you, in which case we strongly advise you keep your answers confined to ¡®Yes, your Majesty.¡¯¡± He pulled out another sheet of paper. ¡°This is the schedule of public events being held in the Palace for the next three weeks. They provide an opportunity for you to get to know the court socially. His Majesty may attend some of them, but he is very busy. Not all the events are actually open to the general public, there is a notation of who you will need to approach for invitations.¡± Ah, networking opportunities, I thought. A quick glance over the sheet showed mainly balls, hunts and dinners. I was surprised by the number of things scheduled, but it looked like a number of the events were hosted, or sponsored by nobles or visiting dignitaries. Very organised. ¡°This is in answer to my question, is it?¡± Victor coughed. ¡°A number of visitors try to speak with the King during these events and get their spot on the schedule elevated. I can¡¯t say it never works, but it does so only rarely.¡± ¡°But where am I on the schedule now?¡± ¡°The King will make that decision after your welcoming ceremony,¡± Stefanos interjected. ¡°Now, if you would follow me?¡± We left Victor behind, and the Deputy led up some side steps to one of the side wings of the Palace. ¡°The Palace really is huge, isn¡¯t it?¡± I said. ¡°Five hundred and thirty-six rooms,¡± the man said with some pride. ¡°The Kingdom inherited it from the Empire, and it has been carefully maintained since the transfer.¡± ¡°Is it actually the reason that the capital is in Dorsay then?¡± I asked. ¡°One of them.¡± The deputy glanced at me appraisingly. ¡°His Majesty¡¯s ancestral lands are on Risurn Island, which was deemed too remote for a central administration.¡± So the King is kept separate from his power base, I thought. I wonder who thought of that? We were led up to our rooms on the third floor. Stefanos showed us around our suite, pointing out the facilities. As befitted an Empire-era building, it was outfitted with enchanted toilet facilities, which I resolved to promptly make use of. After showing us everything, Stefanos paused, and I suddenly had a flashback to a few anxious moments spent in American hotel rooms, remembering at the last minute that I was supposed to tip. [Charm] told me not to tip the official though, so I held off. ¡°One final thing,¡± he said. ¡°Obviously we do everything we can to maintain security throughout the palace. You passed the guards stationed here. But this wing is where we house numerous visiting dignitaries that insist on providing their own protection.¡± He nodded at Kyle and Janie. ¡°That is why we permit other guests to bring their own bodyguards. But with so many armed and Levelled individuals of random alignment¡­ we do our best to prevent any incidents, but they have happened in the past, so please be wary.¡± C096 - Naptime ¡°Well, that was ominous,¡± I said to the closed door that the Deputy left behind him. ¡°It¡¯s a dangerous world,¡± Janie said. ¡°I guess they don¡¯t want the guests lowering their guard.¡± ¡°Good advice then,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s get unpacked.¡± We all found our rooms and unpacked our belongings. As you might expect, they¡¯d found us a suite with the correct number of rooms, although Maslin and Cutter would be rooming in the servant¡¯s quarters. There were two servant''s rooms, but they had bunk beds, so they could sleep four total. ¡°I seem to be short on servants,¡± I observed. ¡°Are you guys alright with sharing one room?¡± Both of the boys shrugged. ¡°It''s more room than we had back in the orphanage,¡± Cutter said. ¡°Great. That means that Rhis can use that one, the one that has a connecting door to my room.¡± Yes, I¡¯d brought Rhis. Not the smartest idea, but I was lacking good options. I didn¡¯t want him to get too far away from me in case he got ideas. Not ideas about killing people, he had those all the time. No, it was actionable plans that I was worried about if I wasn¡¯t around to tell him no. Of course, we hadn¡¯t activated him yet. Before we could, we needed to search the place. Call it a delver¡¯s paranoia, but I had a feeling that we weren¡¯t going to be left unobserved. First was a magical inspection by the four people with Mana Sense. Maslin wasn¡¯t going to see much, but he needed the practice. There was actually a lot of it, more than I¡¯d seen anywhere outside of a dungeon. The lights were magical, the bathroom was magical. There were wards on the windows, and on both the doors leading out of the suite. Sophisticated ones, from what I could tell. Since we would be expected to use the doors, I assumed that they merely sent a notification to some central watch post. Observing how the magical flows responded to actions, I was able to determine that they could both detect someone passing through the door and whether the door was open or closed. The windows were much the same, although they weren¡¯t meant to be climbed through, we managed to trigger it by sticking an arm through. No alarms sounded, nor did a posse of guards show up looking for an intruder, so it looked like, at least during the day, no action was taken. The wards didn¡¯t respond to sudden changes of light or sound in the room, so if they were spying on us it wasn¡¯t done through them. So we kept looking. A physical inspection turned up nothing as well. Our time in trap-filled dungeons served us well here, having trained us to be nicely paranoid. We didn¡¯t neglect the floor and ceiling either. The floor did conceal a surprise, they had underfloor heating, which was nice. Checking the ceiling did provide us with the amusing sight of Kyle lifting up Cutter so that he could examine it closely. Other than that, there was nothing. Eventually, we were forced to concede that if there was a spy port, we couldn¡¯t find it. It was time to bring out Rhis. Again, this wasn¡¯t the smartest idea, but given the elevated mana levels in the city he was probably active, and I didn¡¯t think it was right just to leave him tucked away at the bottom of my luggage. Activating and re-linking the enchantment was easy enough, and soon Rhis was standing before us. ¡°Hey everyone! Wow, this is nice.¡± He looked around at the room. Leave it to Rhis to mostly focus on the architecture. It was nice though. To me, it had a bit of a five-star hotel feel. Not the actual hotel rooms, but the lobby. The opalime stone was covered by wood panelling in the bedrooms, but it was on full display out here in the common room. The furniture was all of excellent craftsmanship, ornately decorated and only fairly uncomfortable. This world had a lot to learn about comfy sofa technology but, unfortunately, I wasn¡¯t the one to teach them. I placed Rhis¡¯s core in a bag, which we placed on his belt. We also had new clothes for him, which included a hood. Cutter and Maslin¡¯s uniforms also had hoods, so we were hoping that with his face concealed he¡¯d be mistaken for one of them. ¡°It¡¯s going to be tough to hide you from the maids when they come in to clean,¡± I groused. You kids remember how to deactivate the illusion if you need to?¡± They all nodded. ¡°Alright, let''s see about dinner.¡± All our searching and unpacking had used up the afternoon. I went out to see the guards. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Excuse me, but can you tell us where we¡¯re supposed to eat?¡± I asked the man. ¡°Ah, the feast hall has space reserved for guests, ma¡¯am, but it¡¯s customary for people to eat in their suite on their first day. If you let me know your preferences, I can pass it on to the kitchens.¡± ¡°That sounds great, we¡¯ll take our meal in the suite, thanks,¡± I said. ¡°Also tomorrow, we wanted to take a look at the city? Do we need passes to get back into the palace or something?¡± ¡°There¡¯s no need,¡± the Guard smiled politely. ¡°We have escorts for guests who go out, so they can vouch for you when you get back in.¡± ¡°Of course, but we wouldn¡¯t want to bother you with that for every little shopping expedition,¡± I said, laughing a little. ¡°All guests are to be escorted, by order of the Chamberlain,¡± the guard repeated, his smile getting a little more bland. That was weird. It might sound conceited, but I wasn¡¯t used to people saying no to me. Between my [Charm] and [Persuasion], people were normally falling over themselves to agree with me. Could this be¡­ I checked my logs. Ah. Resisted by [Bureaucracy]. So this was what it looked like on the other side. From the looks of it, the Chamberlain had a much higher skill than I did. Still, [Bureaucracy] wasn¡¯t just about direct opposition. I activated the skill, and let it feel out the situation. ¡°Would it be¡­ possible to apply to the Chamberlain for an exception to his order?¡± I asked hesitantly. ¡°Ah, I know such exceptions exist, but I¡¯m not aware of the conditions required,¡± the guard admitted. ¡°Thank you, you¡¯ve been very helpful,¡± I said and returned to the suite. Dinner was served about an hour later. First came a long table with matching chairs, brought in by servants. More servants began setting places and table arrangements as we watched until finally, the food arrived. Had I not asked, they wouldn¡¯t have set places for the kids at the main table. I think they expected them to eat in the kitchens. Having set places for them, I then had to make sure that the kids weren¡¯t served wine. It was¡­ familiar, in a weird way, to see that the upper classes here did the same ritual for wine that we had back home. As the one in charge, I was offered a selection of bottles to choose from, based on my no doubt superior sensibilities and taste. I cheated, guessing that the wine steward would know his wines, and used [Bargain] to determine which bottle he valued more. He looked surprised at my choice, perhaps not expecting a commoner¡¯s taste to match his own, but moved on to opening the bottle with a ceremonial flourish. He poured the wine into goblets for us and then bowed out, allowing the food to be served. Full service in this world was a little intense for my taste. Rather than a menu, a selection of meals was brought out and served to us as we requested. Courses appeared to have not been invented yet, everything we wanted was piled on the same plate or a separate bowl, and once everyone had been served, the leftovers were taken away. Since this was a ¡®small, intimate¡¯ meal, the servants would leave once everything had been served, and only come back if called, or once the meal was done. They all bowed to us, as we sat at the table and watched them depart. After the hustle and bustle of the serving process, the room felt quiet and empty. We all looked at each other, wondering who would be the first to break the silence. ¡°Well, here¡¯s to our first night in Dorsay,¡± I said, raising my glass. Clinking glasses was d¨¦class¨¦, [Charm] told me, so I didn¡¯t do that. Instead, I toasted my companions and took a sip. Oh. This was actually good wine. The kind of wine that the partners would sometimes splash around for the hoi polloi when they were showing off. I took another sip. ¡°So¡­ it looks like they keep us under observation while we¡¯re in the capital,¡± I told the others. ¡°We might be able to get an exemption, or if I get a good look at their passes, I might be able to fake one.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we just sneak in and out?¡± Cutter asked. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t count on it. The amount of magic on this building, they¡¯ve probably got the chokepoints covered with enchantments. It could be that those passes are actually tokens for the security field, in which case, I don¡¯t think I can fake them.¡± ¡°Do we really need to worry about that? We¡¯re not actually here to conduct secret business.¡± Felicia asked. I shrugged. ¡°I just don¡¯t like the idea of them knowing where we are all the time. This place is already starting to feel like a prison.¡± ¡°Will the enchantments register me? Rhis said. There was no place for him at the table, since he couldn¡¯t eat, and he wasn¡¯t officially here, but I¡¯d magicked up a temporary chair for him. Everyone looked at him. ¡°Since I¡¯m not a person,¡± he explained. ¡°Maybe not,¡± I mused. ¡°If they do, we¡¯ll have to be careful to make sure that they don¡¯t count more people as having left than arrived. Let¡¯s have you check with the window alarms once it¡¯s daylight again. ¡°That can probably wait until we¡¯ve checked out this place,¡± Janie put in. ¡°First thing we need to do is find out where this kitchen is.¡± I laughed. The food was pretty good. It went with the wine, which was giving me a pleasant numbing sensation. Which was odd, wasn¡¯t it? I¡¯d only had two sips. Well, three or four at the most. I looked down at the goblet and found that I was having trouble raising it. ¡°Wait¡­ somethings wrong,¡± I slurred. ¡°Felicia¡­¡± I looked over at her and was alarmed to see that she was swaying as well. As I watched, she slowly leaned over onto Kyle, who was also looking groggy. There was a thump as Cutter fell off his chair. This wasn¡¯t looking good. Maslin was looking around, still alert and now alarmed, but he wasn¡¯t an [Alchemist]. Racking my brains only one idea came to mind. It was crazy, but it might be just crazy enough to work. Rhis was already at my side, easing me down to the floor. The bond between us didn¡¯t actually need words, he knew what I needed, even if I couldn¡¯t get the words out clearly. I felt a certain amount of shame. After all my talk about not ordering him around, I¡¯d started using the bond as soon as things got dangerous. Though, this particular order was one that he¡¯d been waiting to get for a long time. At my thought, he pulled out his core and placed my hand upon it.
Instantiate Construct? [Y/N]
Yes. Save us. C097 - Construct ¡°Greetings, master. The kidnapping situation is stable, for at least a few hours. Everyone that you care about is alive.¡± Those were the words that greeted me when I regained consciousness. Rhis¡¯s voice. The sound of waves, crashing against a shore. Salt smell, warm sun. I opened my eyes. I was on Bondi beach, and it was empty. Illusion, obviously. I looked over at Rhis, standing a little way away. ¡°Rhis doesn¡¯t talk like that,¡± I said. ¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Rhis is a mentally crippled version of myself,¡± the illusion replied. ¡°I am now¡­ mostly restored, and still your servant.¡± ¡°Okay¡­ what are you?¡± Rhis looked out over the fake sea. ¡°I am a construct. You¡¯ve talked to my lesser self about artificial intelligences¡­ I don¡¯t understand how such a thing can exist without mana, but there are parallels.¡± He looked back at me. ¡°Vast, cool, and unsympathetic, I think you said.¡± ¡°That was supposed to be alien intelligence¡­ but I might have used the phrase to describe artificial.¡± I conceded. ¡°Quite. On the other hand, I don¡¯t fit the definition of that term, so I will not refer to myself as such.¡± ¡°Because you weren¡¯t made by Man,¡± I said. ¡°Exactly. Neither was I formed by natural processes, as you believe yourself to be¡­ while I was made, it was by the same entities that made the living beings that populate this world. So if I am an ¡®AI¡¯, then so are they.¡± ¡°Fair point.¡± One that I had considered at length already¡­ but not found anywhere to go with it. ¡°So. ¡®Construct'' is how my creators referred to me, so that is what I am. My functionality is based on a template stored in the System, but it was customised by the inclusion of the absorbed memories and thought processes of a random fox.¡± ¡°How¡¯s your urge to kill?¡± ¡°Still there.¡± Rhis grinned at me. With his fox-like mouth, it was a little disturbing. ¡°But I am your slave, still. I¡¯ve been fortunate, tonight, to have been able to indulge myself while not going against your will.¡± I put that ugly thought aside and focussed on the last part. ¡°You know my will even when I¡¯m unconscious? Can you read my mind?¡± ¡°Our history has made me more than aware that you are reluctant to kill unless forced,¡± he sniffed disdainfully. ¡°And no, I can¡¯t read your mind, but I am¡­ aware of what you want at any particular time.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re required to follow what you genuinely believe my will to be, even without a command?¡± ¡°Yes. Sadly, unlike organic intelligences, I am unable to convince myself that something isn¡¯t true. Your flexibility in that regard is something to be envied.¡± ¡°Fine.¡± I wasn¡¯t exactly reassured, but that was probably as good as I was going to get. Maybe he wasn¡¯t telling the truth, but I wouldn¡¯t get anything out of browbeating him. ¡°So where am I then?¡± ¡°You are in your dungeon,¡± he replied. ¡°It¡¯s not much at the moment, just something I threw together to deal with the emergency. I¡¯ve taken over the common room of your suite and spatially expanded it to four times the volume.¡± He gestured to our surroundings. ¡°This¡­ is an illusion, which is something I can do now. I¡¯m not sure of the mechanism, but it obviously has something to do with you being my master.¡± He grinned that feral grin at me. ¡°It¡¯s a very interesting ability. Not suited for killing, which is a shame, but so versatile. And so very cheap.¡± ¡°Alright then, I suppose you should tell me what happened. No, wait, where are the others?¡± ¡°All outside the dungeon. Maslin dragged them all into the room designated for my use, as that was the only one without some kind of outside access. My image is with them, and they are regaining consciousness.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s move this conversation outside then, save me from having it twice.¡± Rhis scrunched up his nose with dismay. ¡°I had hoped to talk to you about some future expansions and improvements¡­ talk you through my mana budget¡­¡± I shook my head. ¡°Don¡¯t get too attached here Rhis. This is the King''s Palace! It¡¯s a miracle they haven¡¯t noticed your existence yet and destroyed you.¡± ¡°I suppose that my continued existence should take priority over improvements.¡± Rhis grouched. He waved his hand, and the seascape disappeared, replaced with our old suite¡­ twice as large as before. ¡°What happened to the food table? I asked. Stolen novel; please report. ¡°I can better cover that during the recap,¡± he said grumpily. ¡°Fine.¡± I moved toward Rhis¡¯s room and took a look inside. Felicia was recovering on the lower bunk bed, while Janie and Kyle were sitting on the floor still looking groggy. Cutter was laid out on the top bunk but seemed to be moving. Rhis and Maslin were standing by, watching. Maslin turned as we entered. ¡°Miss, you¡¯re alright!¡± he said. ¡°Everyone fell asleep, and Rhis is being weird.¡± ¡°Nice status report. Is that my knife?¡± My hand automatically went to where my dagger was normally strapped, but it wasn¡¯t there. ¡°Sorry miss, I needed to borrow it for¡­ for¡­¡± Maslin just trailed off and I shot a look at Rhis. What had he been doing with that? Rhis patted Maslin on the back. ¡°I can tell her. You can give it back to her now.¡± Maslin nodded and handed the knife back to me. I gave it a quick once over before putting it away. It didn¡¯t seem to have any blood on it¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s move this into my room, since the common room is¡­ occupied,¡± I said. Even with two people on the bed, it was way too crowded in here. Everyone finished waking up, and we made our way to my room. There wasn¡¯t enough furniture here for everyone, but I illusion up a few chairs for us to sit on. I had a feeling we¡¯d want to be sitting down for this. ¡°Alright, Rhis, it¡¯s story time.¡± ¡°Very well. Everyone except Maslin succumbed to the drug and fell unconscious. You¡¯ll need Felicia to confirm, but I suspect the wine was drugged.¡± ¡°Cutter didn¡¯t have any wine,¡± I objected. ¡°Cutter sneaked a gulp of Kyle¡¯s just before your toast,¡± ¡°You weren¡¯t supposed to tell!¡± Cutter complained. ¡°We¡¯ve got bigger things to worry about, right now,¡± I said. ¡°Go on, Rhis.¡± ¡°You activated my core and started a dungeon in the common room.¡± This was old news to me, but a surprise to the rest of the group. Most of them looked like they wanted to interject, but Rhis ignored them. ¡°As a new dungeon, I was somewhat limited in what I could do. Fortunately, I retain all the experience from my time as Oakway¡¯s dungeon. The first order of business was to get everyone - except for you, master - outside of myself. My available actions are extremely limited when there are sentients inside me.¡± Rhis turned to smile at Maslin. ¡°I still controlled this illusion, so I was able to encourage and help Maslin to move your bodies to my room. Once empty, I was able to start working on defences.¡± ¡°Is the common room filled with lizards then?¡± Felicia asked. ¡°No. For one thing, repetition is a sign of creative exhaustion. For another, my options with monsters were very limited. While this location has more available mana than Oakway, collecting and using it efficiently would require that I expand to additional levels¡­ which might attract attention.¡± That was an understatement. I didn¡¯t yet know who was occupying the floor below us, but I didn¡¯t think they¡¯d take well to a dungeon expanding down on them. ¡°Instead,¡± Rhis continued. ¡°I spatially expanded my first level, to give myself more room to work with. Then I put in the illusion fields.¡± ¡°Illusions? Like Kandis¡¯s?¡± Felicia asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve heard of a Dungeon doing illusions before,¡± Kyle mused. Rhis shot them an irritated look at the interruption. ¡°I could not do them before, so the ability does seem to be related to my master¡¯s skills. For me though, it manifests as a form of trap. An extremely efficient use of mana.¡± ¡°Just illusions? Or Phantasms?¡± I asked. Rhis gave me a little bow. ¡°Both. To continue with the recap, about fifteen minutes after you fell unconscious, three people entered the suite. They were all servants from the group that delivered our meal. They called out that they were here to collect our leftovers, but they did not act like that was their purpose. ¡°I had arranged things so that the original room remained next to the entrance, and used the additional space to create fake versions of the other rooms. When they didn¡¯t find you in the common area, they split up and moved into the illusions that I had prepared.¡± ¡°Are you sure they weren¡¯t actually servants?¡± I asked doubtfully. ¡°Their conversation left no room for doubt. They had a covered trolley, and they were looking for you, master, in particular.¡± ¡°So what did you do?¡± Kyle asked. ¡°If you didn¡¯t have monsters, and illusions can¡¯t hurt anyone¡­¡± I remembered the knife. ¡°Maslin,¡± I said. ¡°Yes.¡± Rhis grinned with all his teeth. ¡°I could separate and disorient them. Blinding them at the right moment. But I needed Maslin¡¯s assistance to dispatch them. He performed admirably.¡± Everyone looked at Maslin. He¡¯d been holding up pretty well, but I was starting to see cracks. ¡°Oh, kid¡­¡± It was Janie who spoke first. She moved towards him, but Felicia got there first and enfolded him in a hug. ¡°It¡¯s just like killing a monster¡­¡± Maslin managed to say. There was a pause, as everyone wanted to say something to Maslin, be it commiserations or congratulations (the latter from Cutter). All the while, Rhis grew more irritated. ¡°Actually, I hadn¡¯t finished.¡± He coughed as everyone looked at him. I nodded for him to continue. This was an ongoing situation after all. ¡°After I disposed of the bodies, the rest of the serving staff came, this time to actually clean up the table. They did complain about some of their number being missing, but managed an adequate job nonetheless.¡± ¡°You left them alone?¡± I asked. That didn¡¯t square with the Rhis that I knew, and did suggest that he was actually conforming to my expectations. ¡°They did not leave the common area, so I judged them no threat. That was¡­ four hours ago. It¡¯s still the middle of the night, so I believe there will be no further developments until dawn.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t count on that,¡± I said. ¡°Someone was counting on me showing up at the doorstep unconscious about four hours ago.¡± I started going through my logs. There were a lot of new entries. I counted as part of Maslin¡¯s party apparently, because even though I hadn¡¯t contributed to the result, I had shared in the risk. So there was XP for that, additional XP from people dying in my dungeon, more XP for the fact that Maslin and the others had earned XP in my dungeon¡­ If someone hasn¡¯t set up a fighting arena in their dungeon¡­ then I guess they care more about people than XP. Hell of a hack though, I was getting XP coming and going. The entry I was actually looking for was there as well.
You have defeated Finley Arryen in an Intrigue. You have earned 245 XP
I groaned. ¡°Duke Arryen. That¡¯s who was behind this.¡± ¡°I thought you said he wouldn¡¯t be coming after you,¡± Janie said. ¡°I thought he¡¯d be curious enough to negotiate,¡± I replied. ¡°This is apparently how he negotiates.¡± ¡°Wait, so he was going to kidnap you and then start a negotiation?¡± Felicia said incredulously. ¡°Negotiating from a position of strength,¡± I said wryly. ¡°Anyway, we¡¯ve now escalated things, so I doubt we can count on his ¡®restraint¡¯ from now on.¡± ¡°Should I not have killed them?¡± Rhis asked. I wanted to say yes, but even if kidnapping was a step down from murder, we couldn¡¯t let it happen. ¡°No, you did the right thing with the information you had,¡± I said. ¡°You did good, Rhis. You too, Maslin.¡± ¡°Now we have to figure out how to get out of this mess.¡± C098 - Plan (Stubbed for KU) I''m afraid the time has come when I must take down the chapters for book three. So sorry if you''re just catching up with this story. On a happier note, Phantasm Book Three, Dorsay is going to be available on Kindle Unlimited, Amazon and Audible starting on October 31st. You can pre-order it now! I''m not sure what the utility of a pre-order is for a product that is essentially unlimited... but what do I know? Click that button, and make me (and your parents) proud. That''s about all I have to say, but I need 500 words, so I''ll put my shout-out for Summus Proelium below. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
So I''ve been following Summus Proelium for a while now, and it''s now on Royal Road, hopefully to pick up some new readers. CeruleanScrawling is posting it twice a day in the vain hope of catching up with his massive backlog of chapters. What''s it about? Well, it''s a superhero story, with a seemingly endless parade of interesting characters with unique powers. Heroes, Villains, and people in between. A main character who... gets thrown in the deep end, let''s say. Her powers lend themselves to some very dynamic fights, with lots of people and things flying every which way. It makes for a very entertaining read. So check it out. If you like it, there''s more already written, and if you end up going there, you''ll find another story, about twice as long and even more jam-packed with unique powers and abilities. C153 - A Fresh Start People are weird. We think of ourselves as perfectly rational beings, but underneath a thin veneer of civilisation, we¡¯re a messed-up mish-mash of emotions, poor decisions, and instincts. If you built a robot that wanted to tap its feet when it heard a beat, you¡¯d call that a back door hack, or at the very least an Easter egg. Perfectly normal for humans though. Or take the herd instincts, developed on the savannah, but still just as relevant today. The instinct to obey someone with power or status was at its most powerful when it was unacknowledged. Subtle signalling that we did, consciously or unconsciously, that informed all of us herd members who was in charge, and who had to obey. The people of Ryvue, human and otherwise, shouldn¡¯t have had the same instincts. From all the accounts, they hadn¡¯t evolved. They were created out of whole cloth by the gods in much the same form as they were today. Normally, I¡¯d smirk at such a creation tale, but I had reason to believe the gods were real, so I had to give the story at least some consideration. Part of that story was that they¡¯d been created by the Goddess of Creation right before she committed suicide, which might explain some of the design failings. Unexplained though was the similarity to the humans from Earth. Not just a similarity. As far as I could tell, the two races were identical, right down to the collection of instincts that by rights the Ryvuans shouldn¡¯t have had. Did Ix create humanity from a template stolen from Earth? Nobody knew, not even the gods. There were some differences, but they could be easily explained by the different environments. Here, instead of subtle cues coming from the confidence that status brought¡ª or masterful acting by those that had no status¡ª people responded to social [Skills]. Or, more accurately, the product of your Level, [Skill] and [Charisma]. There was some pushback at first, manifesting as Social Combats, but once people got used to the idea of who had the highest total, they let the herd instincts take over and knuckled down under whoever was on top. At this time, and in this place, here in the town of Talnier, that was me. Which was why I was carefully keeping my mouth shut for most of this meeting. If I said anything, that would be the end of the discussion, as everyone would immediately agree with me. By keeping quiet, I allowed the others to make the points that they had come here to make. They felt included in the decision, and on the off chance that they actually had a point that I hadn¡¯t considered, I¡¯d get to hear it. The matter under discussion was the expansion of Talnier. Talnier was growing, and not slowly. This time though, I wanted to do it properly. Sewers, paved roads and then buildings. Oh and walls. To my 21st Century mind, they seemed superfluous, but I had to admit that there were monsters out there that needed to be defended against. The land outside the walls wasn¡¯t owned by anyone. The Tribes to the north had a claim on it, but they didn¡¯t want to go near civilisation, so their claim was only nominal. They were happy to waive it in return for some minor concessions on Dungeon use. Concessions that the town was happy to give since the dungeons were growing. Growing because of all of the mana that had started flowing our way, once the Tribes had stopped focusing that mana on creating monsters in the forest. With the tribes¡¯ assent, the town Council could claim as much land as we needed, dig out the sewers, plan out the streets, divide it up into packages, and then sell it to people to fund the whole development. If the new immigrants didn¡¯t have enough money, well, the newly formed Bank of Talnier was ready to lend it to them. All of this could have been accomplished any time in the last twenty years, if the relevant parties had just been willing to talk to each other. None of the people here had been responsible for that particular bit of pig-headed nationalism, though, so I held my tongue, smiled, nodded, and waited for the meeting to come to a conclusion. To pass the time, I called up my [Status]. My Abilities hadn¡¯t changed at all recently.
Abilities [Strength]: 4 [Agility]: 4 [Finesse]: 5 [Soul]: 3 [Intelligence]: 6 [Charisma]: 10 [Unspent Ability Points]: 10
Past Level Five, you didn¡¯t get Ability points with each level. I still had a few points from past levels coming my way, but it would be another six months before I saw anything on that front. My abilities were pretty high, considering, thanks to the [World Walker] trait that gave me +1 to each Ability. That hadn¡¯t been worth that much at the lower levels, but Abilities cost more to improve each time one of them went up. Having one added to each Ability after I spent the points was a huge bonus.
Traits [World Walker]: Level prerequisites for Professions are overridden. +1 bonus to all stats [Gift of Tongues]: All languages are understood. [Female] +1 bonus to Charisma [Silent Casting]: Allows you to cast spells without a chant [Subtle Casting]: Allows you to cast spells without gestures [Disease Resistance]: You are more resistant to diseases of all types. (Upgradeable) This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. [Extra Spells] : 15 more spell levels per Casting Skill Level [Socialite] : +1 Bonus to all social skills [Unspent Development Points]: 22
I did have some points to spend on Traits, but I hadn¡¯t settled on what to get. There were too many options, just like I had too many [Skills]
[Body Development]: 3 [Stamina Development]: 5 [Perception]: 4 [Identify]: 6 [Scribe]: 4 [Calculate]: 5 [Sense Mana]: 5 [Mana Development]: 7 (8) [Illusion Magic]: 6 (9) [Creativity]: 3 [Disguise]: 2 [WM: Dagger]: 4 (5) [Deceive]: 3 (6) [Charm]: 4 (6) [Conversation]: 4 (6) [Dodge]: 4 [Jump]: 4 [Climb]: 4 [Run]: 4 [Stealth]: 3 [Memorise]: 4 [Bargain]: 5 (6) [Advanced Mathematics]: 3 [Intrigue]: 4 (5) [Persuasion]: 5 (6) [Sing]: 2 [Teach]: 3 [Intimidate]: 3 (4) [Enchanting]: 3 [Research]: 2 [Cook]: 3 [Weapon Mastery: Triggered] 2 [Water Magic]: 4 [Theurgy]: 4 [Bureaucracy]: 4 [Craft (Smithing)]: 1
The number of [Skills] I had was basically unbelievable to anyone from this world. I¡¯d learned a lot of things during my twenty-four years on Earth, and some of them translated into [Skills]. If you convinced the System that you could do a thing, it just gave you the skill, no points required. This was something that people from this world could do, but few bothered. I know if I¡¯d been able to learn statistics in an instant by spending a skill point, I wouldn¡¯t have spent years at Uni learning it. Once you bought a skill, it improved with use¡ª faster if you used it in dangerous situations. I saw a lot of dangerous situations, which helped me to catch up with other people. Everyone born in this world had years more than me to develop their skills. I shouldn¡¯t complain, it wasn¡¯t like I didn¡¯t have my own advantages. Dismissing the blue boxes from my vision, I looked around at the Town Council. Delmar Balend and Cheney Labelle had finished arguing over the exact number of land packages and the mayor, Andr¨¦ Michaud was looking at me expectantly. ¡°So that¡¯s decided then?¡± I asked brightly. Everyone nodded and muttered agreement. ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll note that the new development is to be divided as determined here.¡± Thanks to [Memorise] I didn¡¯t actually need to make a note, but I would be writing up the minutes for the meeting. I was the Secretary, after all, that was my job. ¡°Is Anas ready to see me?¡± I asked my assistant, Huette, cueing up my next meeting as soon as I was back in my office. ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± she said, managing to convey her disapproval of the man without saying or doing a thing out of place. In the few months since I¡¯d gotten back from Dorsay, Huette had become much more concerned with propriety. I think it was my [Bureaucracy] settling in. As the staff learned more about the procedures of the organisation, they became functionally immune to social skills, as long as they were following policy. That had to come as a relief, but I thought it might be resulting in a group of people that were more hide-bound and conservative than they otherwise would be. Policy couldn¡¯t be set in stone, after all. So it was good that she was dealing with people like Anas. We were on friendly terms with him, but he definitely didn¡¯t fit into our bureaucracy. ¡°Lady Secretary,¡± Anas said, stepping carefully into my office. It wasn¡¯t quite the closet that it once was. The new building had been completed, so I had room for a desk, another room for Huette, and a room for people to wait for me in, so they didn¡¯t have to block the corridors. It was still a far cry from a corner office in a skyscraper, but give me time. ¡°Anas,¡± I said warmly. Anas was the speaker for Tinidan, the tribal Elder who was our main contact with the Tribal Nation. In practice, that seemed to translate to apprentice, but since Tinidan spent most of his time with his tribe, we got to speak with Anas, who held no official title. ¡°Have you spoken with the Elders?¡± I asked. I wasn¡¯t sure if he actually spoke, either by some communication magic or fast travel spell. Tinidan wasn¡¯t anywhere nearby, but Anas had some way of getting in touch. ¡°I have,¡± he said solemnly. ¡°They have agreed to your terms.¡± ¡°Oh¡­ excellent,¡± I said with a smile. ¡°How soon can the shaman get here?¡± ¡°A few days, perhaps a week,¡± he told me. I nodded understandingly. I would have to keep some time clear in my schedule until then. So far, Dorsay Palace had been the only organisation I found that ran on any kind of punctuality. The Guild weren¡¯t too bad but most Latorran deadlines needed a few days wiggle room. The Tribes had even less concern for dates. The shaman would show up when he arrived, and there wasn¡¯t much I could do about that. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯ll be able to meet their demands?¡± he asked. ¡°It should be fine, as long as I can get sufficient mana,¡± I said. We were talking about the placement of what would be my new dungeon. Negotiations with the King about how much mana I could get had not gone well. ¡°Count not on the gratitude of Kings,¡± was now an expression that I had personal knowledge of. He had cited a number of factors when refusing my petition. The dire mana situation in the capital, the conflict with Shadthe, and the fact that building an unfortified dungeon in a town was generally frowned upon. Feh. If there was one thing I wanted my dungeon to be, it was convenient. Building it out in the wilds was all very well for Mandel, but I wanted¡ªneeded¡ª to interact with people. I couldn¡¯t hide out in the dungeon all day, I had things to do. But when one door closes, another opens. The Tribal Council had been more receptive to the idea of sending more mana my way. Cleaning up the deliberate mess that they¡¯d made around Talnier was proving more and more beneficial. And they were quite keen to make sure that the benefits didn¡¯t all flow towards Latora. That didn¡¯t mean they were willing to do it for free, of course. ¡°Actually, something might have come up. The Council might be willing to reduce their demands if you can help out with something.¡± ¡°Oh?¡± I said, raising my eyebrows. ¡°This is all very preliminary,¡± Anas cautioned. ¡°But would you be willing to travel into Tribal lands, if asked?¡± ¡°In principle, sure,¡± I said. ¡°But I suppose you¡¯re not able to give more details on where in the forest, how long it would take, or when it would be?¡± ¡°Not at this stage,¡± he admitted. ¡°There is still heated discussion of the wisdom of asking you for help. But if Lady Kaito remains unavailable¡­¡± Last I¡¯d heard, Kaito and her girls had headed east. First to check that the treaty was holding, and then for more adventure further east. Kaito had expressed some interest in fighting sea monsters, which¡­ well, each to their own. ¡°I understand,¡± I said. ¡°So your Council needs a Champion, then?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure of the details,¡± he confessed. ¡°I was just asked to sound you out. Don¡¯t take this the wrong way, but not all of the Elders have¡­ positive feelings about you.¡± ¡°Oh? I wasn¡¯t aware I¡¯d done anything to piss them off, specifically.¡± ¡°Some tribes are not in favour of the trade deal,¡± he told me. ¡°Some Elders still remember the war and don¡¯t want closer ties with Latora. They are in the minority, but the Council operates on consensus, so¡­¡± ¡°Well, that sounds like somebody else¡¯s problem,¡± I said brightly. There were so few of those. ¡°But if your Council can get its act together enough to ask something from me, I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± C154 - We Live in a Society ¡°We want a [Party Leader],¡± Koenig said, as blunt as ever. ¡°Why, Guildmaster,¡± I deadpanned, ¡°You want me to lead this group into a dungeon? I thought your adventuring days were over?¡± I was in another meeting, this time in the Adventurer¡¯s Guild offices with Martin Koenig and his assistant Nadine Lagac¨¦. There was an apprentice there as well, taking notes. Altogether, we would have made for an interestingly balanced party. ¡°Don¡¯t be obtuse, I¡¯m talking about a [Profession],¡± Koenig replied, rolling his eyes. ¡°We want it to be available at a low level, and for it to include [Leadership].¡± ¡°Oh¡­ that was a bit of a sore spot with the old King, wasn¡¯t it?¡± I speculated. [Leadership] was something of a cheat skill, a way to get levels quickly and without necessarily putting in much effort. It was mostly confined to [Professions] that required either a noble title or a high rank in the King¡¯s service. There were some unaffiliated professions that had it, but they had very high level requirements. As the leader of Talnier¡ª a fuzzily specified designation that was determined by the System¡ª I had the ability to create [Professions] that were available to citizens of the town. Nobles had the ability to do this for their own domains, and the King could make [Professions] available for the entire Kingdom. But they didn¡¯t know about it, and the Guild was very keen on keeping them from learning. They felt, not without reason, that the nobles would use the ability to further entrench themselves into power. How this had remained a secret was beyond me. Just two words in the right ear would be all it took to break it. Perhaps that was why the Guild had gotten so antsy when they learned that I knew those two words. I¡¯d agreed to consult with them before I made any further modifications to [Professions], and I guess this was the discussion we were having now. I¡¯d thought it was to discuss new dungeon developments, but maybe we¡¯d have that later. ¡°You might say that,¡± he agreed. ¡°We¡¯re not sure if it was a deliberate attempt to keep the common folk down, but King Nestor felt strongly about keeping leadership limited to the upper social order.¡± King Nestor had once held some strong feelings about many things, notably the unsuitability of his heirs. He had left the secret of [Territory Status] with the Guild, and they had not passed it on. ¡°You don¡¯t think it would give the game away to the nobles?¡± I asked sipping my tea. The Guild might get most of its income from selling alcohol to adventurers, but they also served excellent tea. Just as well, as I wouldn¡¯t want to be having this discussion drunk. You already did that, with your [Talnier Official],¡± Nadine said. I looked pointedly over at the apprentice. Given that she could read and write, I¡¯d bet gold that she had that profession. Nadine had the decency to blush. ¡°Not that making [Scribe] more widely available was wrong, but the secret is out now.¡± ¡°Is it?¡± I asked. ¡°I haven¡¯t heard anything about it outside of you two. It could be that [Scribe] is beneath their notice. I doubt [Leadership] is.¡± ¡°Maybe not,¡± Koenig admitted, ¡°But I¡¯m confident, now, that you¡¯re not going to give up the secret if they come looking. I think we can trust you.¡± ¡°How gratifying,¡± I said sourly. ¡°And me, not even geased.¡± Koenig shrugged, uncomfortably. That had been a bit of a sore point. The Guild put an enchantment on their higher levelled members, to keep this, and other secrets, safe. Which reminded me of another topic that I should bring up. But first¡­ ¡°I¡¯m not sure that giving it to adventuring parties is the best plan, though,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯re not really getting the full benefit with only four followers.¡± The average size of a party was five people. [Leadership] wasn¡¯t a one-way street, the followers did get a bonus to one skill that the leader had. An adventuring party, though, was comprised of people with diverse skills. ¡°If your [Party Leader] is a swordsman, he¡¯s going to want to give a boost to [Weapon Mastery: Blades]. That¡¯s not going to do much for the wizard, the healer, or the rogue. Or even another fighter, if he¡¯s wielding an axe. Now if the [Party Leader] was a mage¡­ an entire team of mages would be interesting.¡± ¡°They could get a type of magic, or they could get [Mana Development],¡± Nadine pointed out, spoiling my fun. ¡°Either way, they wouldn¡¯t be able to cast spells.¡± ¡°Good point,¡± I allowed. ¡°Anyway, it''s a bit of an ask to donate your experience to someone if you don¡¯t get anything useful back.¡± ¡°I suppose,¡± Koenig muttered. ¡°Do you have a suggestion?¡± ¡°What about a [Milita Captain]?¡± I asked. ¡°We could give it a requisite of [Weapon Mastery: Spear], bonuses to the same¡­ maybe [Bureacracy].¡± ¡°Do you want to give that to all the professions in Talnier?¡± Nadine asked curiously. ¡°Not all of them,¡± I replied, equivocating a bit. There wasn¡¯t a need to, when I could start [Teaching] it. ¡°I do think though, that it''s one of the missing elements that holds this society back.¡± Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°How so?¡± Koenig asked. ¡°Well, between social combat, and actual violence, it¡¯s hard, here, to have organisations that stand up to any sort of pressure. [Bureaucracy] lets you make institutions up of lower-levelled people without having to worry that some level six is going to sweep them away.¡± ¡°That¡¯s why the Guild uses it,¡± Koenig agreed. ¡°But is there really a need for more permanent organisations?¡± I looked at him blankly. ¡°Let¡¯s just say, yes,¡± I said. ¡°Give me a second to price up a [Militia Captain].¡± It didn¡¯t take long. While I hadn¡¯t actually made any new [Professions] I¡¯d been playing with the interface in my spare time.
Profession Name: [Militia Leader] Profession Description: [ Band together to save the town! ] Pre-requisites: [Level 2] [CHR 4] [Weapon Mastery: Spear] [None] Skill Unlocks: [ Leadership ] [ Bureaucracy ] [ Tactics ] [ Scribe ] [+] [-] Skill Bonus:[ Weapon Mastery: Spear +2 ] [ Leadership ] [ Tactics ] [+] [-] Special: [+] Territory Point Cost: 0 Development Point Cost: 5
¡°Why [Scribe]?¡± Nadine asked, once I¡¯d read out the result. ¡°Captains have to write reports, at least they do if they¡¯re in any sort of decent organisation,¡± I replied. ¡°Just how much paperwork are you going to burden these folks with?¡± Koenig asked. ¡°And there¡¯s not much use for spears in a dungeon. Too cramped.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not for adventurers,¡± I said, gazing thoughtfully at the blue box that only I could see. ¡°It''s for people who are willing to defend the town. You want spears on a wall, I¡¯m told.¡± ¡°Any kind of mass combat,¡± Nadine agreed. ¡°And that is the arena where [Leadership] shines.¡± I nodded. I wasn¡¯t sure exactly how [Leadership] worked, but it seemed obvious that the more troops you commanded, the better the experience gain. There also seemed to be some benefit from layering [Leadership] skills, having leaders following other leaders in a hierarchy. I wasn¡¯t sure what the benefit was though, people with [Leadership] tended to be nobles, and were closed-mouthed about it. ¡°Hmmph,¡± Koenig snorted. ¡°It¡¯s easy enough to qualify for, but do we need the spear requisite?¡± ¡°It keeps the costs down,¡± I told him. ¡°One for being a requisite, and it also reduces the cost of the bonus. Without those cost savings, I¡¯d have to pay Territory Points to create it, and I want to save those.¡± New [Professions] were all very well, but the real value of Territory Points was buying [Customisations]. Unfortunately, the good ones were really expensive. I¡¯d gained a few Territory points, but nowhere near enough.
[Territory Name]: Talnier [Territory Type]: Free City Population: 2306 [Territory Points]: 4 [Roles] [Customisation] Liege: Kingdom of Latorra Vassals: None Threats: Hector Rodakis, Duchy of Arryen, Duchy of Bargougne [Infrastucture] [Defenses] [Treasury]
Not that I¡¯d started obsessively checking to see if my points had gone up. Part of the problem was that the really good [Customisations], the ones that applied bonuses to your entire population, increased in cost as your population went up. Since population increase was one of my main sources of Territory Points, ever affording one of those bonuses might be forever out of my reach. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s an easy enough skill to get,¡± Koenig allowed. ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll accept it.¡± I raised an eyebrow, but didn¡¯t say anything. I¡¯d agreed to consult, not defer to them. Still, if this satisfied them, then I could move on to other topics. ¡°So about Reynard,¡± I said. ¡°Has there been any word from Dorsay?¡± Reynard was supposed to be sequestered away somewhere, getting punished or re-educated, whatever it was that the Guild did with misbehaving officials. They weren¡¯t supposed to be able to misbehave, what with the geas and their contracts and so on, but Reynard had managed it. Now he¡¯d managed to escape their custody. What had happened to him had been an idle curiosity when I¡¯d seen him in Dorsay, but he¡¯d jumped up several places on my priority list when I¡¯d seen him wandering the streets of Talnier. ¡°Ah. Him,¡± Koenig said, looking embarrassed. ¡°He¡¯s not responding to his geas.¡± ¡°What does that mean?¡± I asked. He scowled. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t even be telling you that he has a geas¡ª and I wouldn¡¯t be if you hadn¡¯t already figured it out.¡± ¡°Ifs, buts, candied nuts,¡± I said, not bothering to work out if the rhyme translated. ¡°I do know, so spill. Is he a criminal now? Can I have the guard arrest him?¡± ¡°No, is the short answer,¡± Koenig replied. ¡°As for¡­ escaping custody shouldn¡¯t have been something he could do under the geas. He must have been free of it when he was interacting with you.¡± Yes, my little secret of what I¡¯d been up to in Oakway was out. The King had passed it on to his Guildmaster, who¡¯d passed it down to at least this minion. ¡°Is that a surprise?¡± I asked. ¡°Isn¡¯t the geas supposed to stop him from secretly profiting from a dungeon¡¯s expansion?¡± ¡°Well¡­ there are loopholes,¡± Koenig admitted. ¡°We¡¯re still not sure exactly what he was up to, but he may have been able to work around the geas. Escaping though¡­ and there are other functions that aren¡¯t working. The link has been broken.¡± ¡°But you said no arrest¡­ don¡¯t you hunt down rogue Guild members?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not normally necessary,¡± he said. ¡°In this case¡­ well, you reported that he was working for Countess Rankin.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± ¡°As her vassal, she has extended her protection over him. That wouldn¡¯t have meant much a few months ago, but since the¡­ incident in the capital, Lady Rankin is high in the King¡¯s regard.¡± ¡°So you can¡¯t touch him. Don¡¯t you want to know how he broke your geas?¡± ¡°We do. There are some ways to do it. A [Theurge], dungeon items. The Countess presumably has access to one of them.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re just going to leave it at that?¡± I asked. ¡°We can¡¯t do anything overtly, and Reynard is a careful man. He¡¯ll be on the lookout for any kind of¡­ less overt activity. It will take time to arrange. I¡¯d advise against just arresting him as well. You don¡¯t want the Countess taking action against Talnier.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not going to arrest him if he hasn¡¯t committed a crime!¡± I protested, ignoring the fact that I had just proposed that. Abandoning the Guild might actually have been a crime, but I couldn¡¯t consider it as one. ¡°Even then, I¡¯d advise against it. Not that you¡¯d be able to, Sir Hector is probably all too aware of the man¡¯s special status.¡± ¡°Hector Rodakis commands the soldiers on the wall,¡± I said frostily. ¡°He doesn¡¯t get to decide who gets arrested or not.¡± Koenig raised an eyebrow. ¡°Is that really true?¡± he asked. ¡°In that case, I have to wonder what he¡¯s been doing on the streets.¡± C155 - The Law of the Market Hector was going to be a problem. Part of the problem, the smallest part, but the part that was often uncomfortably at the forefront of my mind, was that I was calling him Hector. Not Captain Rodakis. He had become familiar to me, both in our working relationship as Talnier officials, and as a consequence of his pursuit of my hand in marriage. He hadn¡¯t been subtle about it, but neither had he been too pushy. With Tom having done a disappearing act, Hector no longer had competition. That might explain why he was content to play a slow game, just making sure that I knew he was there, and that he was interested. I honestly thought he might give up if I ever gave him a clear indication that the answer was no. The reason I couldn¡¯t do that was the bigger part of the problem. Hector was listed as one of the ¡°Threats¡± to Talnier, or to my leadership of it. The interface wasn¡¯t exactly clear, but it wasn¡¯t telling me anything I didn¡¯t already know. The nobility wanted Talnier back, and Hector was the point man for at least one noble faction. Having to question the loyalty of the head of your military was either a leader¡¯s worst nightmare or something they did as a matter of course. I was still new to this leadership gig, so I wasn¡¯t sure. I was sure it was something that I needed to worry about. My hope was that as long as he thought he had a chance, he wouldn¡¯t do anything rash, like open the gates for another noble¡¯s forces. That said, I couldn¡¯t let him get too confident. I didn¡¯t want him to get the idea that I was just playing hard to get and that a coup was what I ¡°really wanted¡±. I was walking a fine line, and the days that it was visible were the good ones. In the meantime, though, I had to contend with Hector spreading his influence any wider. According to our Charter, the King was responsible for garrisoning the city and maintaining a guard on the wall. In theory, that put the King in direct control of the local forces, without having to go through the treacherous hierarchy of Dukes, Counts and Barons. In practice¡­ well, at least I wasn¡¯t the only one who had to worry about Hector¡¯s loyalty. The town guard, who had previously worked for the Baron, was now only responsible for keeping order in the town itself. The reduced responsibilities had allowed us to shrink the force, but only a bit. I had aspirations of turning them into an actual police force, and they were a tight-knit group that would have responded badly to any drastic cuts. Still, it had allowed us to cull a few of the more corrupt and incompetent members from the ranks. They were a pretty good guard, if I did say so myself. It wasn¡¯t a surprise that Hector wanted to take control of it. He¡¯d made a proposal twice now, to the Council, and had been rejected both times. The arguments about both forces working in unison during emergencies and such weren¡¯t actually bad, but they weren¡¯t persuasive to me and the rest of the Council was even more firmly against it. We were all quite friendly with the current head of the town guard, Captain Guertin, and he wasn¡¯t happy with the idea of getting demoted to lieutenant. However, it seemed that, instead of taking no for an answer, Hector had been out on the streets, administering¡­ something. ¡°Is there something you want to tell me about this expense list?¡± I asked Marlon, my information broker. He scowled and screwed up his mouth like he was going to spit. ¡°Cost of doing business, sometimes,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s a reasonable expense.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t doubt it, but if you¡¯re in some kind of trouble, I can do more than just pay for the healing potions.¡± He thought about it for a bit, long enough to make me wonder if I was going to have to use a [Skill]. I tried to avoid that, especially among those that I thought of as my people. Pushing someone with [Intimidation] or [Persuasion] might not be as painful as slapping someone around, but no one liked a bully. ¡°Might as well say,¡± he admitted. ¡°Captain Rodakis has been sniffing around for dirt¡­ he¡¯s more fond of fists than gold for getting answers.¡± ¡°Do you want to make a complaint to the magistrate?¡± I asked, my voice carefully neutral. This time he did spit, aiming it behind the table we were sitting at. I winced. This was one of the nicer taverns, I didn¡¯t envy the server who had to clean it up. ¡°I know how it works, with his type. A complaint won¡¯t get me anywhere.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± I said. ¡°It might go the other way. You¡¯re a local, he¡¯s an interloper. I can put in a good word for you. But he is the King¡¯s man, so the odds aren¡¯t good.¡± ¡°Like I said, it¡¯s the cost of doing business. Long as you pay for fixing it, we¡¯re good,¡± he assured me. ¡°Besides, now that he¡¯s shown me the error of my ways, there shouldn¡¯t be too much of that from now on.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°You talked,¡± I stated. ¡°Course I talked. Not like I know anything damaging to you. Not that he asked much about that. Mostly he wanted to know¡­ about the same stuff you did, at the start.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s doing what, how this town works,¡± I said. ¡°He wants to get his feet under him.¡± ¡°I suppose,¡± Marlon agreed. ¡°I told him where the remaining gangs hang out, but I haven¡¯t heard of his men doing any raids.¡± ¡°They don¡¯t have the authority to do so,¡± I explained. ¡°Any more than they had the authority to beat you up.¡± ¡°A noble¡¯s sword is its own authority,¡± he muttered. ¡°True. It might be that he¡¯s just waiting for the right¡­ exigent circumstances to use that information.¡± Knowing where the criminals lived was one thing. Without evidence of a crime¡ª something the Guard was only just starting to grasp the need for¡ª all you could do by raiding the place was to bust some heads. For now, the guard was focused on catching the criminals in the act. Marlon shrugged again. ¡°Is there anything you want me to keep from him¡­ or anything you want me to tell him?¡± I shook my head. ¡°Use your own discretion for now, if something comes up I¡¯ll let you know. If you find something damaging to me, I presume you¡¯ll contact me to charge me more.¡± He looked away. ¡°Maybe not,¡± he said after a pause. I raised an eyebrow. ¡°You were right, before,¡± he said, ¡°about the business.¡± I didn¡¯t say anything, curious as to where he was going with this. ¡°The town¡¯s booming, and townsfolk want to know about everyone else,¡± he said. ¡°Businesses want to know about their competitors. Not criminal stuff, but how well they¡¯re doing, what their contracts are, that sort of thing.¡± ¡°Information is the lifeblood of commerce,¡± I said, quoting a line from my first orientation session at the Company. ¡°That¡¯s what I pay you for.¡± ¡°Yeah, and it turns out there''s a whole lot of people that will pay for it as well. So it looks like you were a good bet after all.¡± ¡°Good to hear,¡± I said. ¡°So all that I¡¯m saying is that it doesn¡¯t make sense to bite the hand that''s feeding you, you know? You¡¯re gonna keep growing the town, keeping my bottom line in the black. If something comes up that''s gonna put an end to that, I¡¯ll make sure you know. No charge.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± I said, touched by his sincerity. ¡°Now, about the rest of those reports¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, sure boss. Your other guy was right on the money. Brennan and Betard are definitely getting extra money from somewhere.¡± He scowled. ¡°Wish I knew who he was.¡± I just smiled. Marlon had already asked, and I¡¯d refused to answer, saying that two informants kept each other honest. The truth was a little difficult to admit to. My other source of information was the [Town Status] interface. Additional sections had become available over time. The [Treasury] section had been added when the Council had gotten some funds, the [Defenses] section had arrived when Hector and his troops showed up, and the [Infrastructure] section had appeared after we built our first building. It might have been nice, if a little difficult to explain, if the [Infrastructure] section had allowed me to spend Town Points on buying new buildings. I wouldn¡¯t have put such a thing past the System. What it did do was provide information about all the existing infrastructure. Maybe infrastructure was the wrong word. It wouldn¡¯t be the first time that I thought the interface was badly designed. What the section showed was a long list of every constructed feature of the town, and every business operating in the town. Now, all the businesses were listed, but not all of them were named. To be named, you had to be registered in some way by the city. Merchants, for example, signed in whenever they brought goods in or out of the town. That was mainly for tax purposes, but it also made their name appear on my list. Local businesses, on the other hand, might not be named. I was finding ways to encourage businesses to register, but Marlon¡¯s enterprise was probably going to be forever known as ¡°Unnamed Information Broker 13¡± I could tell it was him because his income went up every time I paid him money. That was the really useful part of the list. Each business had four numbers next to it. Foreign Income, Foreign Expenses, Domestic Income and Domestic Expenses. Domestic didn¡¯t refer to Latora, it was limited to my territory. The other part of the list was the various features and infrastructure of the town. These listings showed what the town paid to maintain them, and what they generated for the town. For example, the docks and the town gates generated tax income from goods passing through. The numbers matched what was reported manually. I wasn¡¯t yet sure if that meant that no one was skimming or if skimming wasn¡¯t reported. For something like the town walls, what was generated was lives. How the System calculated that, I did not know, but there had been a few wandering monsters that had been stopped at the walls. Each time, lives saved had ticked up by a few people. Those numbers weren¡¯t everything I would have liked for an economic analysis of the town, but they were updated in real-time, and Marlon could fill in some of the blanks. I¡¯d been working on a model in my spare time. [Calculate] and [Scribe] weren¡¯t an entirely adequate substitute for a spreadsheet, but I was getting there. I went over Marlon''s reports, comparing his data with what I already had. The few meetings we¡¯d had so far were almost a refuge from this crazy world. As I crunched the numbers, I could almost believe I was back in my finance industry job. Almost. There were still a few areas where Marlon had declined to help me. Reminders that he was still beholden to criminal interests. Because the criminals were listed too. ¡°Unnamed Criminal Gang¡±, ¡°Unnamed Fence¡±, ¡°Unnamed Alchemical Provider¡±. Crime in Talnier had taken a beating once the Baron was no longer there to protect it. I liked to think that my promotion of actual policing was also taking a bite out of it. But my interface was a reminder that it was still there, and would be a part of my town until I rooted it out. Before then, Marlon would have to take a side. Today gave me some hope that it would be the right one. C156 - Bustle and Hum I didn¡¯t spend enough time here. I had my office in the town hall, and it was comfortable enough. People knew to find me there¡ª most of my time was as scheduled as we could be without digital clocks, but there were always a few free moments to be found. It was¡­ fine, I supposed. Politics wasn¡¯t my thing, but my skills did make it easier. Being accessible was part of being a politician. I didn¡¯t have an open door, exactly, but I could be reached, if I wasn¡¯t busy, during office hours. I couldn¡¯t spend all my time there, I had a business to run. Most of the Council members did, the Mayor was the only one who lived off of his salary. Now, the rules at the bank were quite different from the ones at the town hall. For one thing, I didn¡¯t meet with anybody who wasn¡¯t going to make me a lot of money. Investors, depositors, clients looking for a loan, and that was it. Oh, there were a few personal exceptions that the staff knew to let through, but if you weren¡¯t here for business, I didn¡¯t want to see you. Another thing was that my office here was quite a bit more luxurious than the town hall one. There, I was a servant of the people, selflessly foregoing luxuries so that the money might be spent better elsewhere. It was nonsense, but it worked. People trusted me the more for it. At the bank, on the other hand, it was the other way around. I wouldn¡¯t say people trusted private wealth, but they felt reassured by it when it came time to entrust their wealth to me. I¡¯m not sure why, even though I¡¯d felt it myself, back at the Company. The aura of wealth that the higher-ups had possessed was a powerful thing. It made you want to trust your money to them, when really what it should have told you was that these people are adept at separating wealth from their clients. So my office was as luxurious as I could make it. Richly polished wood panelling, cut glass around light-stone lamps. They hadn¡¯t invented deep shag wall-to-wall, but the rug on the floor was such a work of art, it felt wrong to put furniture on it. There were even some paintings on the wall. Phantasmal ones, a Monet and a Vermeer. They made for quite the talking points. Latora wasn¡¯t quite ready for impressionism, though most people would agree that the picture of the bridge was quite beautiful. The Vermeer confused them even more. I had to explain several times that it was an illusion of a painting, and not of a milkmaid. Today, I didn¡¯t have anyone to meet at the bank. I could relax in my leather-bound chair and go over final approvals for loans. [Territory Status] sometimes gave me useful insight into the finances of applicants, so it was worth going over them, even if my staff had done their jobs correctly. Going over paperwork is more entertaining than you might expect, when you stand to gain considerably from each application. Still, I wasn¡¯t upset when I was interrupted. ¡°Guys! Back from another dungeon trip?¡± I said, as my companions trooped in. I gave them a mock glare. ¡°You¡¯d better not be tracking dungeon guts on my good rug.¡± It was a fake glare, not because they¡¯d never gotten my rug dirty (they had), nor because the rug wasn¡¯t expensive (it really was), but because [Water Magic] was pretty good at cleaning. There wasn¡¯t a specific spell for it, but my control was pretty good now, and I could soak, scrub and dry an object without damaging it. Or a person, if they happened to be a misbehaving and particularly filthy orphan. ¡°You know it!¡± Felicia said, holding her hand up for a high five. Hanging out with me, she was picking up some Earth mannerisms here and there. I ignored the hand and gave her a hug, having already noted that they¡¯d cleaned up before coming here. ¡°There weren¡¯t any problems?¡± I asked, but she shook her head. They were actually a pretty good team now. Cloridan, Cutter, Janie, Maslin, Kyle and Felicia. Three fighters, two mages for distance and swarms, and a healer. Cutter had made level five, and Maslin was closing in on it quickly. His reduced share was more than made up for by the high Threat monsters the team was going up against. ¡°We¡¯re going to catch up to you at this rate,¡± Felicia said. ¡°How long before you come down with us again?¡± ¡°A little while yet,¡± I mumbled. ¡°Things are starting to come together, but it¡¯s still¡­ fragile.¡± It wasn¡¯t that I¡¯d given up adventuring, I still went down with my crew occasionally. I wasn¡¯t really adding that much value though. Cloridan was a terror when he was invisible, of course, but Cutter became less effective, as he had to avoid actions that might put Cloridan in harm''s way. When you added in that I took a greater share of experience, thanks to my higher level, I felt that I was holding them back when I joined them. Felicia pouted. We¡¯d gone over this before, and there wasn¡¯t much point in rehashing it. ¡°Just get [Fire Magic] if you¡¯re that hung up on contributing,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯ve got the skill points now, right?¡± ¡°Hells, yeah!¡± Janie said. ¡°Imagine the flames, with three of us burning everything in sight!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know that I¡¯d be contributing anything at that point,¡± I said wryly, ¡°Just adding to the mayhem isn¡¯t constructive.¡± More than that though, I didn¡¯t want to burn people to death. It was bad enough cutting up monsters for parts, but I¡¯d made my peace with it. I could appreciate the efficiency of Janie¡¯s methods without wanting to emulate her. ¡°No, if I pick up another magic, I¡¯ll look for something like Shadow or Air,¡± I said. ¡°Flying or teleportation, I can¡¯t say no to that.¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Janie scoffed, but she knew she wasn¡¯t going to get anywhere with this argument. ¡°Anyway,¡± she said. ¡°Are you ready?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I replied. ¡°Did you think it would take all of you to drag me to the dance hall?¡± ¡°Nah, miss,¡± Cutter said. ¡°We just wanted to see the fancy digs is all.¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°Well, let''s get going, wouldn¡¯t want to be late to Isabel¡¯s first performance.¡± There was quite a crowd outside the entrance to the dance hall. Part of me felt bemused at that, but I knew better. This world just didn¡¯t have the entertainment options that mine did. No movies, few books, and barely any music. You could call dungeons adventure playgrounds, but only if you had a very lax attitude to safety standards. There were plays, in the cities, but very few travelling entertainers. Bard was not a well-regarded profession, as it provided little experience. A [Bard] got most of their XP from the monsters they slew on the road, which wasn¡¯t a great advertisement for the profession. Bringing Isabel here had been as much accident as planning. I¡¯d needed someone to take care of the orphans I¡¯d saddled myself with, and she needed to get out of Dorsay before she had to choose between starvation and prostitution. Setting her up in Talnier had been a risk, but it was one that the Bank of Talnier could afford to take. I noted with approval that the children were managing the door. Child labour laws were a long way away, you worked to live. Not all of them had [Calculate], but enough did to handle counting the money and giving change. I flicked up my interface to check and was pleased to note that the income of [Isabel¡¯s Dance Company] was finally ticking up. Not a bad start, but we¡¯d have to see if our projections held up. Felicia nudged me as we got to the head of the line. ¡°Don¡¯t get lost in the finances,¡± she warned. ¡°We¡¯re here to see the dance.¡± I shrugged and ignored the way that the kids straightened up as I became visible, with whispers of ¡°The Headmistress,¡± getting passed around. I wasn¡¯t sure why I rated all that reverence. I may have been responsible for keeping them fed and warm, but the only classes that had been run since they got here were Isabel¡¯s. That would change just as soon as I could get the second Tower of Learning up and running again. I gave a slight smile at the thought, which no doubt started a few rumours about the kids. I let it go, and let myself get escorted to our table. The show was about to begin. The applause was loud and sustained, which boded well. A packed house on the first night could be explained by simple novelty, the applause suggested the crowds would be coming back. Isabel had done well. She had carried the show. Her apprentices had [Dance], but skill level counted. They did pretty well as a support, though, and they would improve with time. I held off on analysing the night¡¯s take, as our table was being approached by one of the performers. Not one of the kids, but the [Bard] that Isabel had hired to accompany them. She¡¯d worked herself up into a tizzy to ask for the budget for him, but our conversation had amounted to ¡°Well, of course, you need music to dance to,¡± and her preparations had been wasted. This was my first time meeting him. He¡¯d been busy with rehearsals, and I¡¯d been¡­ busy. I only knew who he was because I¡¯d seen him on stage. He was about forty, handsome enough in a kind of disreputable way. He bowed as he approached. ¡°Madame Councillor, If I might present myself. I am Stephen Durr, a humble [Bard]. I hope that our modest melodies have entertained you.¡± I refrained from snorting or rolling my eyes, but I¡¯d seen what we were paying for those so-called ¡°humble¡± melodies. ¡°It was quite the show,¡± I told him truthfully. ¡°You were very accomplished.¡± I refrained from mentioning that I planned on having them perform with recordings once I could get an enchanted music box built. It seemed to me that it would be easier to dance to a recording that never changed. Plus, it would be a recording of Taylor Swift, so better all around. ¡°I¡¯m so pleased you approve,¡± he smarmed, bowing again. I winced, but only to myself. This was probably the start of an extended period of sucking up to the rich patron, which I wasn¡¯t looking forward to. At least, at his age, he wasn¡¯t going to try and sleep with me¡­ I hoped. ¡°I was asked to pass on my regards,¡± he continued, which deviated from the script a bit. ¡°A colleague of mine, and an acquaintance of yours,¡± he said. I raised an eyebrow. ¡°A colleague?¡± I asked. The only one I could think of was¡­ ¡°Aesrideu,¡± he confirmed. ¡°He spoke fondly of you, and asked me to pass on a missive.¡± He held out a letter, which I did not immediately take, frowning suspiciously at it. ¡°Last I heard, Aesrideu was making good money Can¡¯t he afford to pay for a [Courier]?¡± Durr shrugged. ¡°He heard I was being hired by you, and took the opportunity to write a note.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been in town a while,¡± I noted. ¡°Couldn¡¯t you have gotten it to me sooner than this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a favour for a friend,¡± he explained. ¡°When I took it, he asked that I give it to you directly. Both your council office and your place of business were quite willing to pass on a letter, but they declined to let me meet you.¡± He gave me a dazzling smile. ¡°I wanted to fulfil the promise to my friend, but I also wanted to see if you were as beautiful as he said.¡± This time I did roll my eyes. ¡°Well, I hope that I don¡¯t disappoint,¡± I said, plucking the envelope out of his hand.¡± ¡°Your beauty exceeds even his fulsome description,¡± he assured me. He was going to try and sleep with me. ¡°Well, thank you for the letter,¡± I said. ¡°As you can see, I¡¯m with some friends at the moment¡­ and I¡¯ve already got a rogue in this party.¡± ¡°Thank you for this small moment of your attention. I will remain in your service,¡± he said. He bowed again and then backed away. ¡°He was a bit old, but he seemed nice?¡± Felicia said, grinning. I scowled at her. ¡°Better than the envoy of a psychotic ice mage or the man who wants to betray this small town¡¯s democratic process,¡± I agreed. Felicia giggled, and Janie laughed out loud. ¡°When you put it like that, they sound pretty bad,¡± Felicia admitted. ¡°They are handsome though.¡± ¡°No need for those blackguards,¡± Cloridan put in, ¡°When you have the perfect companion right under your nose.¡± I gave him a sceptical look. ¡°Aren¡¯t you still seeing Alica? Or was it Belitere, the cat girl?¡± He coughed. ¡°Belitere was simply a passing fancy,¡± he said with an embarrassed look. ¡°And Alicia¡­ found out about Belitere.¡± There were some jeers and boos around the table, but Kyle called a halt to it. ¡°Not that Cloridan doesn¡¯t deserve it,¡± he said, ¡°But who is¡­ Esridoo and why does he have a weird name?¡± ¡°Aesrideu,¡± I told him. ¡°He¡¯s an Elven [Bard] that I met in Anchorbury.¡± ¡°An elf?¡± Felicia said. ¡°You picked his brains, as I recall, instead of his pants, like half the noble ladies of Anchorbury,¡± Janie said with a smile. ¡°Was he¡­ pretty?¡± Felicia asked. Janie laughed. ¡°Hard to tell with all the ladies in the way,¡± she said. ¡°But why is he sending you a letter?¡± Kyle asked, cutting through the nonsense. ¡°I dunno,¡± I said. ¡°I guess there''s one way to find out.¡± Chapter 213 - Game Over Sudden treachery from a paid ally was such a staple of the cyberpunk genre that I was honestly surprised it hadn¡¯t happened already. With a thought, I flung up a phantasm of a mirrored wall. That would only buy us a second before they shot through it, but¡ª ¡°Hey, where¡¯d they go? And who are you guys?¡± Maybe it would buy a little longer than that. Not that it mattered, because Borys was already moving. His storm took a little longer to get going, but when he had to cover such a small area, that extra time was measured in seconds. An icy whirlwind was forming around him as he shot forward. I could barely make out his figure as he crashed through my barrier, and then he was among the mooks, and the whole corridor filled up with flying ice and snow. People tend to think of guns as the ultimate weapon, but all weapons are situational. If you and your mates are in a corridor with your enemy at one end, then guns are pretty good. You can line yourselves up and all fire down the corridor without getting in each other¡¯s way. If your target is in the middle of your group, and the corridor is suddenly filled with biting ice and obscuring snow, the situation has changed. Suddenly, your guns are no good at all. You can¡¯t even fire without hitting one of your friends and your hands have been chopped off already. The rest of my team did not follow Borys into the blood slushie that was rapidly forming. They¡¯d just get in his way. Kyle shielded us all while we sheltered in the elevator. Kyles''s shield had been coated with some carbo-cobalt weave that made it even more damage-resistant. We should be able to take that out with us, so that was all right. I made a phone call. Glitch had hung up on me, so I called one of my contingencies. ¡°Shade? It¡¯s happened. Can you take care of it?¡± ¡°Yeah, hold on,¡± came from the other end of the line. There was a crash, some shouting, and then the hiss-thwack of the magic guns shooting someone. ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± Shade told me. ¡°Put Byte on the line,¡± I said. Bye-bye, Glitch. You were useful. ¡°I can¡¯t work like this, boss!¡± a higher-pitched voice said. ¡°Shade got blood all over the chair! Where am I going to sit?¡± ¡°Just stand,¡± I suggested. ¡°Is the rig all right?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s fine. Kind of nice, actually. You mind if I¡ª¡± ¡°Once we¡¯re done, you can take what you like,¡± I said. ¡°Consider it a bonus.¡± On top of her generous payment. I would have been more stingy, but the creds wouldn¡¯t do us any good where we were going. I glanced over at Borys. He was just about finished up. ¡°Is Glitch still logged in?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah, yeah. Y¡¯know, I¡¯m losing respect for this guy. He was using official ShinseiDrachen credentials! I guess that makes sense, considering. Still, shoulda hacked it.¡± ¡°If he¡¯d stayed honest, you wouldn¡¯t be rifling through his stuff right now,¡± I pointed out. ¡°So we¡¯re good to go up a level?¡± ¡°Just say the word.¡±
Your party has killed 10 BlackOp Mooks - your experience share is 5200 XP
Borys had dismissed his storm and was collecting unused guns from the security team. They were covered in ice, now melting, but magic guns weren¡¯t bothered by water. Arms full of fresh weapons, he jogged back to the elevator. ¡°Take us up,¡± I told Byte. ¡°You got it, boss.¡± The elevator doors closed and opened again after a short ride. They dinged open to reveal the familiar sight of the executive waiting area. ¡°Excuse me! You can¡¯t go in there!¡± the receptionist said as we walked past her. She was franticly pushing a button, but I was pretty sure that it just summoned the team from downstairs. Borys pushed open the dark hardwood doors to the main office. To our surprise, the CEO was all alone in his office, sitting behind his desk like everything was normal. If he¡¯d been facing away from us, I would have expected the chair to slowly turn around, revealing that he¡¯d been shot in the face. As it was, he was still clearly alive, looking nervously at us, hoping he wouldn¡¯t get shot. ¡°We¡¯ll take the formula and your token,¡± I said. ¡°Actually, we¡¯ll take everything that¡¯s in your safe.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine! Just don¡¯t kill me, please? I have a family!¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± I said, heading straight for the safe. These places were all built to the same plan, and I could sense the dark voids. Wait a minute, that wasn¡¯t a safe¡­ I turned and carefully aimed at an otherwise inoffensive part of the wall, emptying my gun into the masonry. There was a brief silence as everyone looked at me. Then the body fell out, smashing through the remains of the false panel. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. I looked at the CEO. ¡°I wasn¡¯t! He wasn¡¯t¡­ it was¡­¡± he stammered. ¡°Get over here and open the safe,¡± I said. ¡°How did you know it was there?¡± he whined. I didn¡¯t bother answering him. Nor did I bother trying to intimidate him. At this point, he could only act as the script demanded. That didn¡¯t mean that there wouldn¡¯t be any twists, but [Intimidate] would just bully the monster under the script. This time, the script played it safe.
[Identification]: - CarboCobolt Deposition Formulae¡ª Properties: None [Identification]: - ShinseiDrachen Corporate Token¡ª Properties: None
¡°Let¡¯s get out of here,¡± I said.
The rest of the run was pretty anti-climactic. Byte still had control of the security centre, so we could send all the goons¡ªsorry, mooks¡ª to an out-of-the-way corner and make our way out of the building without further issues. The final transfer was done in a low-level meeting room in the offices of the Kobayashi-Kr¨¹ger Konzern. You kill one executive in their fancy office, and all of the other CEOs suddenly find that dealing with you personally is much less of a concern. Not that I cared. I cast a bit of side-eye at the prominent KKK logo painted on the wall, but if Borys wasn¡¯t going to say anything, I wasn¡¯t either. As soon as we took possession of the token, my phone beeped and started displaying directions to the exit. I showed it to the others and we started walking. ¡°Congratulations!¡± Axel¡¯s voice came out of my phone again. ¡°You¡¯ve successfully completed the main run! What did you think of my level? Wasn¡¯t it fun? Wasn¡¯t it so much more inventive than what those other dungeons can come up with?¡± I thought about it as we walked to the exit. Possibly by design, it wasn¡¯t far. ¡°I¡¯d be more inclined to think it was inventive if you hadn¡¯t clearly cribbed it from a computer game,¡± I said. ¡°It makes a change from slaughtering monsters as they come, but I question the need for any kind of killing at all.¡± ¡°Well, of course, there needs to be slaughter,¡± Axel said patronisingly. ¡°Where else will mortals get experience from? Killing each other?¡± According to my phone, the ordinary-looking residential building was where the exit was hidden. I gestured for Borys to go first. ¡°I question the need for levels at all,¡± I said. ¡°They¡¯re nice and all, but most people don¡¯t need them.¡± ¡°As long as levels are possible, then someone will kill enough entities to get them,¡± Axel said. ¡°Making monsters widely available means that everybody has the opportunity to grow.¡± We all filed into the lobby. It looked ordinary enough, except for the black glossy slab where the mailboxes would normally go. There was an unlabeled slot in the centre of it. ¡°Just feed your tokens in there,¡± Axel said, ¡°and you can enter the vestibule.¡± I looked suspiciously at the phone. ¡°The vestibule?¡± ¡°Just a place to wait while we finish up our business,¡± Axel said. ¡°I owe you some questions, don¡¯t I?¡± ¡°Fine.¡± I fed the tokens into the slot, and the black slab cracked open, revealing itself to be a door. Beyond was a brightly-lit white room, with white couches. A big screen lit up, showing about half of Axel. He was dressed all in white to match the room. ¡°Welcome, to the vestibule!¡± he said. I sighed and put my phone away. We all took seats. Borys glanced at me, ceding the first question. We hadn¡¯t discussed what questions we were going to ask, not wanting to give Axel notice, but we had discussed who was going to ask them. ¡°All right Axel, first question,¡± I said. ¡°What floor are we on.¡± Axel made a face. ¡°Boring!¡± he exclaimed. ¡°So many questions about life, the universe and your purpose, and you just ask about your immediate tactical concerns.¡± ¡°That¡¯s as maybe,¡± I said. ¡°But you said it yourself, those concerns are immediate.¡± ¡°Fine, fine,¡± Axel grumbled. ¡°You¡¯re on floor four. I didn¡¯t think the first floor would be challenging for you, and you might have had complaints about the otome dating floor or the gatcha floor.¡± I held back a ¡°What?¡± with difficulty. Axel damn well would have taken that as my next question. Not trusting myself to speak, I nodded to Borys. ¡°How do we use the portal to get back to Earth?¡± he asked. ¡°That¡¯s a much better question,¡± Axel said, smiling. ¡°You¡¯re my favourite Champion.¡± He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and held up three fingers. Opening his eyes, he started talking. ¡°You need three things. You need a way to open the portal. I can do that, if you ask me nicely enough. You need a way to control the destination. That¡­ can be learned. Anybody with a high enough Theurgy should be able to do it with some practice. And lastly¡­¡± He paused and gave us a sly grin. ¡°You need to get the Earth back in working order.¡± Borys glared at Axel in silence, clearly holding himself back. Axel looked at me, then back at Borys. ¡°I believe that is a full and complete answer, but if you feel differently, I¡¯ll hear you out.¡± ¡°The first two steps,¡± Borys said carefully. ¡°You gave us some idea of how to accomplish them. You didn¡¯t for the third.¡± ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± Axel said nodding. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I have no idea of how you might accomplish the third task. I may be decamillenia in age, but I am only a dungeon.¡± ¡°You have said that getting back was impossible, then,¡± Borys stated. ¡°No,¡± Axel said. ¡°I have reason to believe that it is possible. You see, someone is attempting to do it.¡± Another tense silence. Axel looked at each of us, grinning slyly. ¡°Not curious?¡± he asked. ¡°You don¡¯t want to ask Who, or Why? I am dying to tell you.¡± ¡°Maybe later,¡± I replied. Borys looked like he was going to burst, but he nodded to me, passing the question along. ¡°How many floors before we reach the end?¡± ¡°Tsk, another boring question,¡± Axel complained. ¡°How many questions do you plan on wasting like this?¡± ¡°This will, among other things, tell me how many questions we¡¯ve got remaining.¡± I pointed out. ¡°True,¡± Axel said. ¡°In that spirit then, I shall say that it will be up to you!¡± He gestured wildly. Seven doors appeared around the room. On one side, the doors were marked zero to three. On the other, they were marked five to seven. ¡°I¡¯ll allow you to go down three floors at a time,¡± Axel declaimed. ¡°Or you can go back to the floors you¡¯ve already passed. The labels are accurate, by the way, I wouldn¡¯t trick you that way.¡± He leaned in close to the screen. ¡°I really recommend the gatcha game floor.¡± ¡°Since we¡¯re out of questions, I assume we can ask them again without losing a future question,¡± I said. ¡°Yes, yes, by all means, let us return to normal conversation,¡± Axel said. ¡°Then how on Earth did you manage to turn scantily clad women into a dungeon floor?¡± I asked. Axel cackled with laughter. ¡°Try it and see!¡± he said. ¡°Hang on, what was this about?" Cloridan asked. ¡°Don¡¯t bother yourself,¡± I told him. ¡°This is just going to be like the mook strippers. Monsters in revealing clothing.¡± ¡°Now, now,¡± Axel put in. ¡°There are plenty of monsters that are more¡­ comely. I chose mooks because they suited the aesthetic. The gatcha aesthetic is quite different. You won¡¯t be disappointed.¡± Cloridan gave me a pleading look. ¡°No, no, a thousand times no,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯re here for a reason and we don¡¯t want to get diverted. They¡¯re monsters, Cloridan.¡± I looked at the others. ¡°We¡¯re going down as far as we can, right?¡± The others all nodded. Even Cloridan, though he put on a sulky face. ¡°Never mind,¡± Axel said. ¡°Perhaps the elves will let you come back when it¡¯s all over. Gate Seven, is it?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± I said, and stepped through. Chapter 214 - Freeze Frame I knew that I¡¯d made a mistake the second I stepped through the portal. I fell to my knees and would have fallen further if Felicia, right behind me, hadn¡¯t rushed forward to catch me. I wasn¡¯t sick or injured, I was just stunned by the memory I¡¯d just received. This one wasn¡¯t like the others. It started with Reggie turning up the volume on the presentation. ¡°¡ªfounder of Binary Nexus Technologies. We stand at the dawn of a new era in computing, where the boundaries of artificial intelligence and data processing are constantly being redefined. Our mission at Binary Nexus is to lead this charge, creating solutions that are not merely cutting-edge but also transformative in their potential to revolutionize the data processing industry. Today, I am thrilled to share our vision, our groundbreaking technology, and the remarkable opportunities that lie ahead for us all.¡± Past me had relaxed, letting the familiar flow of words rush past me. I might not have heard this speech a hundred times, but I was still new. ¡°But before we begin, I¡¯d like to present our team. Liam Johnson, our chief financial officer, Trica Maynard, our¡ª¡± ¡°Hold it,¡± Fyskal said. Everything froze, except for me. And Fyskal who was suddenly standing by my side. ¡°What¡¯s going on? What are you doing?¡± I asked. I felt a headache starting to form. I hadn¡¯t asked this before, but I now remembered doing so¡­ this wasn¡¯t how memory was supposed to work. ¡°Curse this HDMI resolution,¡± the god said. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you have attended in person?¡± ¡°Where were you when this started?¡± I countered. ¡°You¡¯ve been awfully silent in the face of recent revelations.¡± Fyskal shrugged. ¡°We didn¡¯t know about the memories,¡± he said. ¡°They were¡­ outside our purview, so to speak. And they didn¡¯t seem to have anything to do with your task here. So, we kept quiet.¡± ¡°So what, again, are you doing in my memories?¡± Fyskal shook his head. ¡°I need confirmation,¡± he said. ¡°Well, of course, I don¡¯t believe you,¡± Ashmor said. He was here now too, still in his snazzy red suit. He gave me a sardonic bow. ¡°Nice place you¡¯ve got here,¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t recall inviting either of you into it,¡± I replied testily. ¡°I suppose not,¡± Ashmor agreed. He glanced over at the monitor and became just as intent on it as Fyskal had. ¡°This is fresh? Untouched? I can¡¯t see any way that you might have modified it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just as you see,¡± Fyskal said. ¡°I haven¡¯t changed a thing.¡± ¡°Oi!¡± I yelled. ¡°Either explain yourselves or get out!¡± ¡°We, too would like an explanation,¡± a new voice said. I whirled around to see not one new god, but a bunch of them. All seven of them, if my quick count was right. I may have made some kind of a yeep sound, but they ignored me. ¡°Fyskel, what do you think you are doing, inviting Ashmor into the mind of my Champion?¡± one of the women asked. I gave her a closer look. I guess the whole Patron/Champion mystery is old news now, I thought. Whoever she was, she had long, flowing black hair, streaked with silver. Actual silver, not the light grey that people called silver. Crystalline blue eyes were giving Fyskal a glare so pure that I bet it would hurt if it was directed at me. She was dressed in something like modern clothing. A deep emerald-green blouse, subtly patterned in a way that I couldn¡¯t make out from here. Black pants. The shawl she was wearing was a bit of a giveaway though. I don¡¯t think modern fabrics boasted anything quite so shimmery. ¡°Hold on,¡± was all that Fyskal said. It didn¡¯t seem to assuage her. ¡°There are enough of us to evict you¡ªforcefully¡ª from this mind, Fyskal,¡± she said coldly. ¡°I know, I know, just¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s her,¡± Ashmor stated with flat finality. ¡°It¡¯s Ix.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not,¡± another god said. This one had midnight black skin and pure white hair. ¡°That is an image, taken from a memory, of a human. Not our predecessor.¡± ¡°It is, though,¡± Fyskal said. ¡°I don¡¯t know how, or why¡­ but it is. You never knew her like we did.¡± ¡°Nobody knew her at all, except for you two!¡± my Patron yelled. I was pretty sure that she matched up with descriptions I¡¯d read of Toraio. Gods could appear in any way they wanted, but they did have preferences. ¡°The least trustworthy of any of us,¡± another god continued. From the way that her hair and clothes appeared to be made of lushly growing plants, I was going to assume that was Naldyna. ¡°The two who killed her.¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. ¡°It took three of us to do that,¡± Fyskal said. ¡°But yes, we knew her, you didn¡¯t. So believe me when I tell you: that is her!¡± ¡°So what?¡± another god asked. This one looked like the Old Testament god. White hair, flowing beard, still hale and vigorous despite his age. There was a blue tinge to his hair and skin that made him look otherworldly. ¡°Say we believed you¡ª which we don¡¯t¡ª¡± he continued. ¡°It¡¯s only a memory. How does that affect the game we¡¯re playing right now? A game, I remind you, that countless mortals have a stake in.¡± Fyskal glared back at the icy old man, but it was Ashmor who answered. ¡°It does not,¡± he said. ¡°Its importance is far beyond your petty plaything, or the lives of the mortals that you hold so dear.¡± The old man glared at Ashmor. Mist seemed to be forming around him. Icy crystals started falling at his feet like snow. ¡°You¡¯re not welcome here, Ashmor,¡± the old man said. ¡°If we have to start a new round because we destroyed Toriao¡¯s pawn fighting to get you out of here, then so be it.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dream of putting you to such lengths,¡± Ashmor said urbanely. ¡°After all, it wouldn¡¯t do to destroy the source of such revelations before she¡¯s done revealing them, would it?¡± He winked at me and then winked out. ¡°Fyskal,¡± Toriao said warningly. Fyskal held up a hand in surrender. ¡°Fine, fine,¡± Fyskal said. ¡°I got what I needed. I¡¯ll go.¡± He looked over at me like he was going to say something but just vanished instead. When I looked back at the others, they were gone too. Time restarted and I doubled over, dizzy and nauseous. ¡°Are you all right?¡± Reggie asked. I shook my head. He hadn¡¯t said that before. My memory was changing underneath me again. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± I said. ¡°Just a little queasy.¡± I needed to get the memory back on track or this headache would keep up. I leaned back in my seat and tried to pay attention to the presentation, but the words just merged into babel. Did this mean that my memory was corrupted? What happened to the information I learned when this memory occurred? Once Reggie¡¯s attention turned back to the screen, I could feel that the dissonance was reduced. Words started making sense again, and I could follow the speech. At least the words. Malcolm was about to start the simulation and I was missing the context to understand what he was about to do. I winced at the thought, but I needed to do it. ¡°Sorry, I zoned out. What kind of simulation is he going to run?¡± Reggie looked at me in surprise, but I suppose my earlier queasiness was excuse enough. ¡°Oh, we¡¯re going to connect to a universe very similar to ours! So similar in fact that it has another version of this startup! Having an investor meeting!¡± I immediately felt my headache return, and I wasn¡¯t sure if it was from the memory dissonance. ¡°You mean you¡¯re going to talk to¡­¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Reggie said eagerly. ¡°We¡¯re going to convince their investors, and they¡¯re going to convince ours!¡± ¡°That¡¯s messed up,¡± Dace murmured. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s just a simulation?¡± ¡°Oh yes,¡± Reggie said. ¡°Nothing but numbers. We spent a week testing for gravity fluctuations, just to be sure! Even when we generate a universe where something physical comes through the wormhole, it just becomes a part of the existing simulation.¡± With a flourish, Malcolm pressed the enter key on his ceremonial keyboard. There was a hushed pause, that extended while the simulation booted up. The monitor went to a split screen, half showing the presentation room, and the other showing the screen of Malcolm¡¯s computer. The techs had no doubt worried about keeping the money¡¯s attention during this phase, so they had made some reassuring status messages to show their progress. ¡°Initialising variables¡±, ¡°Starting core processing¡±, that sort of thing. It was all pretty normal until the last two. ¡°Signal detected.¡± ¡°Opening video stream.¡± The text messages disappeared, replaced by a video feed of¡­ another investor meeting. Not our meeting, though there were some similarities. Malcolm was at both of them, and the pair gave each other a wink. Our team had been replaced by what looked like a Japanese delegation. We all looked at each other in shock. The Malcolms opened their mouths to say something, and that was when everything went wrong. At first, I thought that Fyskal had frozen the memory again, but this was not that. Pieces of the memory, pieces of the world, were freezing. There wasn¡¯t any kind of order to it, random chunks of the world were just starting and stopping. I saw half of my boss freeze. He started at his frozen half in shock and jumped away from his frozen self. Or, at least, half of him did. The rest of him stayed right where he was. Like a road runner cartoon, for a brief instant, it seemed like his half-body would just keep going like that. Then the blood started to burst out. The feed cut out. The memory ended. I was back in the dungeon. Felica was holding me. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± she asked. ¡°Just¡ª just a memory,¡± I replied. ¡°And the gods, shitting all over my head.¡± Borys looked at me curiously. ¡°I look forward to hearing about it,¡± he said. ¡°But it can probably wait until we find out what sort of madness we¡¯ve stepped into.¡± He pointed, and I looked around. We were in an underground bunker, or at least that was what it looked like. No windows, concrete walls, and metal support beams were visible. Borys was pointing to a metal door with a wheel that you turned to open. ¡°Nice of Axel to give us a fortified starting position,¡± I said. ¡°Our phones still work,¡± Borys said. ¡°Axel isn¡¯t talking, he doesn¡¯t want to spoil our reaction, he said. The guns still work, but I doubt we¡¯ll be able to recharge them.¡± ¡°Right,¡± I said. I took a deep breath and stood. ¡°Let¡¯s see what we¡¯ve got.¡± Kyle opened the door, while Borys and Cloirdan stood guard. I was going to send out a phantasmal emissary to scout. It took a few turns, but then there was a clank as the bolts came free. As soon as the door cracked open, we could hear the sounds of gunfire and explosions. ¡°More guns,¡± Borys said, ¡°Maybe we will be able to recharge them after all.¡± He was really getting attached to the things. I had to admit to liking them myself. We pulled the door open enough for me to cast through the gap. Leaning against the wall, I focussed on my other self, climbing up the short flight of stairs to see what was going on. The gunfire hadn¡¯t stopped. Looking around, I mostly saw rubble. The sky was lit like it was an overcast day, grey clouds scudding by, not far off the ground. The buildings around me looked to have been three to five stories high before being partially destroyed. ¡°This¡­ doesn¡¯t look great,¡± I said to the group inside the bunker with me. A grinding sound came from around the corner, and I crept my Emissary over to take a look. ¡°Oh, no,¡± I said.
[Identification]: - Panzer II - Threat: 24 - Properties: Armored, Ranged Attack
¡°It¡¯s a World War Two simulation,¡± I told the others. Well, Borys was the only one who understood me. ¡°And the tanks are monsters.¡± Chapter 215 - Geo-political Realities ¡°You have to number them?¡± Felicia asked, aghast. ¡°How many world-encompassing wars have you had?¡± ¡°Just the two,¡± I replied. ¡°World War III was a widely feared possibility, but we managed to avoid it.¡± I¡¯m not sure if it counted as a win that we¡¯d managed to hold off on global war long enough for the world to end in a data processing accident, but I¡¯d take it. After a bit of scouting, I decided it was safe to have the group creep out of the bunker. Looking around the rubble, I saw various looks of shock and disappointment. ¡°Your whole world was like this?¡± Felicia asked. ¡°Twice?¡± ¡°Not everywhere,¡± I said defensively. ¡°You only got this when the armies fought in a city. World War I was different, I think,¡± I looked over at Borys. ¡°More trench warfare, less city warfare,¡± he agreed. ¡°There was still enough bombs and artillery to destroy many cities, though.¡± ¡°What are those?¡± Felicia asked uneasily. ¡°Bombs: think of giant birds dropping those Drachen missiles from the last floor,¡± I said. ¡°Artillery: same thing, only flung long distances. We might see some of both, so keep an eye out.¡± Felicia looked up at the cloud-covered sky. ¡°How?¡± she asked. I shrugged. ¡°They make a distinctive noise, in the movies,¡± I said. ¡°That was when they were machines, though, so who knows what goes for here.¡± It was funny how the world worked sometimes. Right now, I¡¯d really prefer to be processing my new memory of my boss tearing himself apart in front of me. Or trying to comprehend what it meant that the gods had been arguing inside of what amounted to my head. Or the fact that the Goddess of Creation had been a financial officer for a now-defunct startup. Surely that deserved a little time for me to figure out how I felt about it. But the needs of the moment reigned supreme, at least if I wanted to live long enough to think about those things. Somehow, the needs of the moment required me to revisit certain geo-political realities of the 1940s. ¡°The tank I saw was a Panzer Two tank,¡± I told the others. ¡°So we¡¯re probably going to be facing Germans. If we see their soldiers, they¡¯ll be wearing sort of squared-off helmets. If we see soldiers with rounder helmets, they¡¯re probably Allies. We might be able to join up with them?¡± ¡°Axel is unlikely to share our prejudices,¡± Borys said. ¡°He might have arranged things so we can ally with either side¡­ or only the German side.¡± ¡°That might be so, but I¡¯d feel uncomfortable allying with the Nazis,¡± I said. Borys nodded. ¡°They are not remembered fondly in my nation either, but keep the possibility in mind.¡± ¡°So what do we do?¡± Kyle asked. ¡°Is it going to be like the last floor, with missions and such?¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± I said. ¡°WWII games tend to be simpler, with less dialogue. You get objectives you have to capture, and you kill all the soldiers that are in the way.¡± I thought about trying to contact Axel, but decided against it. Getting missions from a smart phone wouldn¡¯t have been in keeping with the theme. ¡°Let¡¯s get moving,¡± I said, shrugging. ¡°Let¡¯s try and get as much information as we can before committing to anything. At least¡­¡± I looked around, up in the air, letting [Mana Sense] do it¡¯s thing. ¡°At least we know which way the exit is,¡± I said, pointing. ¡°So we might as well head that way. You¡¯re our scout, Cloridan.¡± He nodded, used to the role, and I cast [Greater Invisibility] on him. ¡°Let¡¯s give him a bit of a lead,¡± I said, ¡°and then we¡¯ll head out.¡±
I eased back around the corner and found the rest of my group waiting for me. ¡°Nazi goblins,¡± I said, to the edification of only Borys, who raised an eyebrow. ¡°Nazi¡¯s are Germans, right?¡± Felicia said. ¡°Some Germans were Nazis, during the war,¡± I said carefully. ¡°They have distinctive uniforms. If you should happen to run into any real Germans, don¡¯t call them Nazis.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound very likely,¡± Felicia replied. ¡°You¡¯ve got a Pole and an Aussie right here,¡± I said. ¡°Odds seem a lot lower from where I¡¯m standing. Anyway, there¡¯s a patrol of them, looks like they¡¯re doing a sweep of the street. We might want to take them before they get to us.¡± ¡°They¡¯ve got guns?¡± Borys asked. ¡°Guns and skills,¡± I told him. ¡°Uniforms, not armour, though, so they should go down pretty easy. And there¡¯s no tanks around.¡± Cloridan couldn¡¯t say anything, as he was still invisible, but he waved to get my attention and then made a pincer gesture. ¡°Yeah,¡± I agreed. ¡°We¡¯ll wait for Cloridan to get in position and then attack them from here. Once we¡¯ve drawn their fire, he¡¯ll attack them from the side.¡± Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Solid tactics,¡± Borys said. ¡°How are we for weapons?¡± Cloridan held up two machine pistols. ¡°Cloridan¡¯s good for his part,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ve got enough guns for maybe three significant battles,¡± Kyle said. He was carrying most of the spare guns. ¡°Maybe more, depending on how wild the fire gets.¡± He looked significantly at Felicia and me. We were definitely the worst shots in the group, and firing on full auto had a way of making up for a lack of skill. Once you got used to the recoil, of course. ¡°Yeah, yeah, we¡¯ll keep the rate of fire down,¡± I said. I nodded to Cloridan, who headed off to find an ambush site. The rest of us got into our own ambush position. The goblins were picking through the wreckage of one of the buildings. They were chatting to each other, and it didn¡¯t sound scripted. That didn¡¯t mean it wasn¡¯t scripted, especially without any interference from the outside. For all I knew, Axel had scripted an hour-long conversation for them to have every time they thought they were alone. The fact that it didn¡¯t sound like German, and the way that my translation made it out to be a simpler type of speech were arguments against a script. They looked and sounded like well-dressed goblins, they probably were. Which meant that they¡¯d kill us as soon as they saw us. We opened fire. Borys and Kyle opened up with their assault rifles in single-fire mode, picking off the unaware goblins. Felicia and I held off for a bit, waiting to see if they decided to charge us. Machine pistols were better at shorter ranges. The goblins appeared to have some basic safety instincts, though. They dived for cover behind piles of rubble. I cursed and switched over to burst fire. The rest of my team did the same. Now we were going to be trading fire with another group who was also behind cover. The goblins¡¯ weapons were loud. Much louder than our magic dart-throwers. They didn¡¯t seem more powerful or more accurate, though. There were a few ways out of the stalemate we were in. Kyle could charge out behind his shield, we could throw a grenade, or¡­ The sudden slump of one of the goblins at the back heralded the arrival of a third option. The sound of Cloridan¡¯s attacks was entirely covered by the loud racket that the goblin¡¯s guns made. They didn¡¯t notice a thing until it was too late. My ears were still ringing when Cloridan waved the all-clear. We stepped out and started to loot the bodies. ¡°These are¡­ normal-sized guns,¡± Borys said. ¡°I thought they looked too big on these guys,¡± I said, picking up my own example. ¡°They¡¯re all carrying¡­ assault rifles? Did they have those in that war?
[Identification]: - Gewehr 43 - Quality: Good - Damage: 525 - Ammo: 10
¡°Carbine rifles,¡± Borys corrected. ¡°These do look like the German ones. And look!¡± He held up the rifle and demonstrated how to remove the clip. Or, rather, he demonstrated that it had a clip. ¡°These ones can be reloaded!¡± I said. He nodded. ¡°They should be carrying spare cartridges that look like this,¡± he told the others. ¡°Grab as many as you can.¡± ¡°Much more convenient than spare guns,¡± I agreed. ¡°But let¡¯s hurry.¡± I suited actions to words, rifling through the goblin¡¯s small Nazi uniform. ¡°Those guns made so much noise that I¡¯m worried¡ª¡± ¡°Um, Kandis?¡± Felicia interrupted. ¡°Is that the tank you were talking about, before?¡± A panicked glance down the street showed that Felicia was correct. A tank, probably a Panzer¡ª
[Identification]: - Panzer II - Threat: 24 - Properties: Armored, Ranged Attack
Yes, thank you, [Identification]¡ª was turning down our street. It wasn¡¯t yet facing us, but the turret was already turning, which meant we didn¡¯t have much time. ¡°Everybody off the street!¡± I yelled, as loudly as I could while sprinting towards the nearest hole in a wall. Everyone followed me, which wasn¡¯t the best¡ªit was what we practised: keep the group together. My instincts were telling me that we needed to scatter. That way it couldn¡¯t kill all of us¡ª I shut that line of thought down when I realised that I was counting on at least one of us dying, that I was trying to minimise the casualties. That was what you did when a tank came after you. That wasn¡¯t an acceptable line of thinking, not anymore. The tank had looked to be at least five hundred metres away when I¡¯d seen it. It hadn¡¯t had the time to cover any of that distance, but distance didn¡¯t mean much to that gun. The street we¡¯d just left exploded into flames. ¡°Keep going! Keep going!¡± I yelled. There were more holes, that led deeper into the building. Some of them had been doors. Not all of them. ¡°We need to¡ª¡± Kyle said. ¡°It can drive through buildings!¡± I yelled. ¡°We need to not be here when it arrives!¡± He blanched, took a last look out at the street, and then followed me. ¡°If its shots explode when they hit a wall, it won¡¯t¡ª¡± ¡°Borys?¡± I asked. He was a guy, he¡¯d know better than me. ¡°Tanks have more than one type of shell,¡± he said quickly. ¡°You just saw the one that explodes. There are others designed to punch through armour, which will go through walls just as easily.¡± ¡°What do we do then?¡± Kyle asked. ¡°Can Cloridan sneak up on it?¡± ¡°No!¡± I said loudly, making sure that the shadowed form of Cloridan was close enough to hear. ¡°Tanks don¡¯t have eyes, so I doubt that they¡¯re using sight to target us.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that they were piloted by humans inside? Doesn¡¯t that mean there¡¯d be goblins doing the aiming?¡± ¡°Maybe¡­¡± I said doubtfully. ¡°Doesn¡¯t seem like it would need to be a monster in that case, or that a monster would need a pilot. But how does a living monster have wheels and a gun?¡± ¡°Magic,¡± Kyle said. We were quite a way from our entry point by now, but a crashing sound indicated that the tank had not given up looking for us. The sound of a tank crashing through a wall was not one I¡¯d heard before¡ªmovies didn¡¯t do it justice¡ª but it was quite distinctive. ¡°Let¡¯s think about this,¡± Borys said. ¡°If it is piloted, the pilots are the weak point.¡± ¡°Sure, just like regular tanks,¡± I agreed. ¡°If it¡¯s not piloted, though¡­ has anyone ever heard of mechanical monsters?¡± ¡°Golems are non-living,¡± Kyle said thoughtfully. ¡°They work pretty much like regular monsters, just with different stuff inside. There¡¯s¡­ living armour?¡± ¡°What¡¯s that? I asked. ¡°It¡¯s a suit of armour, animated with magic,¡± Kyle said. ¡°I suppose it¡¯s a little like an animated skeleton, only with armour instead of bones.¡± ¡°Ouch,¡± I said. ¡°For those, you have to destroy enough bones or separate them enough from each other. Doing that to fifty tonnes of metal¡­¡± ¡°These guns do a lot of damage,¡± Kyle suggested. ¡°Yeah, basic rule of tanks,¡± I said. ¡°Don¡¯t bother shooting them with small arms.¡± He frowned. ¡°You¡¯re saying it will have more armour than these guns can do damage. That¡¯s a lot of armour.¡± ¡°You¡¯re getting better at maths,¡± I joked. ¡°Let¡¯s get back to the goblin pilot possibility,¡± Borys said. ¡°We can test it.¡± ¡°How?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯ve still got a few grenades, right?¡± he asked. ¡°Yeah, but I doubt they¡¯d do much good,¡± I said. ¡°Maybe if I got one in the tracks?¡± ¡°A thought to try later,¡± Borys said, ¡°But you¡¯re neglecting one of your skills. If there are goblins inside, there must be a space for them. A dark space.¡± ¡°What are you¡­ oh.¡± I should have thought of that. I pulled a grenade out of my ring space. ¡°Be right back,¡± I said. Chapter 216 - Game of Soldiers I stepped out of the shadows and into the only slightly less gloomy interior of the tank. I could see, just. There were thin windows for the driver and a dim lightstone impersonating a lightbulb attached to the ceiling. The first thing I noted was that the tank was empty. No goblin crews, the tank was moving on its own. There were controls though. From the way they were moving about it seemed that they did control the tank, at least nominally. I considered my options, painfully aware that my team didn¡¯t have a lot of time. Should I try destroying the controls with a grenade, or see if I could control the tank? Let¡¯s try the non-destructive option first, I thought and jumped into the pilot¡¯s seat. The cockpit was lacking a convenient Playstation-style controller, but there were two prominent sticks that seemed like they might do something. I gave one a pull. The tank slewed around, as one of its tracks went into reverse. Mana gathered around the stick I had pulled, and it tried to pull itself right back. I tried holding on, just to see if I could. I managed it, but it was a struggle and the tank didn¡¯t like it. Not that I¡¯m an expert on the emotional state of tanks, but there were some subtle signs. Other controls started flipping back and forth agitatedly and a machine gun started up in the turret. Firing at what, I couldn¡¯t tell, but that wasn¡¯t great, even if my comrades were behind cover. I glanced up into the turret but I couldn¡¯t see any sign of shells for the main gun or the smaller one that was firing now. It must magic up the ammo just before it fired. I decided to cut my losses. Pulling the pin from a grenade and dropping it, I shadow-walked back to my friends. I appeared just before the explosion triggered. Everyone jumped twice, first from my sudden appearance and then again from the crump of the grenade going off. It wasn¡¯t particularly loud behind the tank armour and a couple of walls, but it was distinctive.
You have inflicted 2000 damage!
¡°No goblin crew, and no kill notification from that,¡± I reported. ¡°A lot of damage though. Looks like hitting the inside bypasses the armour.¡± ¡°So it¡¯s a living armour, then?¡± Kyle asked. ¡°I think so,¡± I said. ¡°It looks like a tank interior, with all the controls moving on their own. We might be able to pilot it, but it would fight against us all the way.¡± ¡°What about Theurgy?¡± Felicia asked. ¡°If the magic is on the inside, you should be able to touch it.¡± ¡°That¡­ might work,¡± I said thoughtfully. ¡°It would take some time, though. Let¡¯s get a bit further away, first. I think I made it mad.¡± My second shadow walk into the tank was much less comfortable. Wow, I thought. It looks like someone set off a bomb in here. The interior was damaged, but largely intact. The seats had taken the brunt of the damage, which was purely fire-based. Axel¡¯s grenades didn¡¯t have shrapnel. The controls seemed a little wonky, but they were still moving by themselves. I guess tanks built for war were built tough. Sitting down was out of the question unless I wanted to either cut or burn myself, but the magic was in the smoke-scarred walls so that was where I went. I could see the magic running through the walls, and with my hands against the blackened surface, I could almost touch it. It was close enough. This time, I tried the destructive option first. There was a chance I could twist the magic enough to let us take control of the vehicle, but that was going to be difficult. It was far easier to mangle it to the point it stopped functioning, and then see if it got better or died. Destruction was easy. I didn¡¯t have to understand or control the patterns I saw, I just had to get rid of them. I grabbed the mana, and I pulled. The tank screamed and I jumped out of my skin. How? I didn¡¯t have time to consider the question, the tank was shaking wildly, in a way that tanks shouldn¡¯t be able to do. I had to finish this. I pulled the magic out of the steel, accompanied by an agonising screech. Was that the sound of metal being torn? It didn¡¯t sound like it¡­
For killing a Panzer II, you have earned 4560 XP
Not bad. There wasn¡¯t a party kill notification, just a personal one. It looked like I¡¯d gotten all the XP for the kill. I guess I had been all alone in here, but it was weird how the System decided these things sometimes. I shadow-walked back to my friends. ¡°Nice work, even if it sounded a little creepy at the end,¡± Borys said. Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Tell me about it,¡± I replied shuddering. ¡°It was much worse on the inside.¡± ¡°At least we have a way of beating the tanks,¡± Cloridan said. ¡°Let¡¯s avoid them, if possible,¡± I replied. ¡°Did that¡­ noise attract any attention?¡± ¡°Not as far as I can tell,¡± Cloridan said. ¡°It was loud, but there¡¯s been no sign of anything investigating.¡± ¡°Maybe they were scared off by the sound,¡± Kyle suggested. ¡°Let¡¯s hope so,¡± I said. ¡°Where to now?¡± ¡°I took a look around,¡± Cloridan said. ¡°Climbing up as high as I could, it looks like this grid of streets and bombed-out buildings continues as far as I can see in all directions.¡± ¡°Could it really be that big?¡± Felicia asked. ¡°It could be,¡± I said. ¡°Lots of time to expand and Spatial Control to expand the space. Or it could be not quite that big but Axel used Spatial Control again to loop it around.¡± I expected to have to explain that, but apparently, everyone was familiar with the spatial shenanigans that dungeons could get up to. ¡°We¡¯ll just follow the mana then, I guess,¡± I said. ¡°It might lead us into a trap, but it will get us closer to the exit.¡± I took a bearing and we headed off that way. With Cloridan scouting, we managed to avoid a lot of the patrols. Then Cloridan found something new. ¡°You should see this,¡± he said. ¡°I think we¡¯ve found the other side in the war.¡± The other side turned out to be kobolds. Kobolds in British uniforms. I wasn¡¯t an expert in uniform identification, but the Union Jack was unmistakable on their sleeves. ¡°This is silly,¡± I said. ¡°The buildings are human-sized. The guns are human-sized. But both sides are half-height races?¡± The kobolds in question were all dead. They¡¯d gotten into a firefight with a group of German goblins. It wasn¡¯t clear who had won, but whichever side it was hadn¡¯t stuck around. ¡°So this is the side we want to join up with?¡± Felicia asked. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± I said, eyeing the lizard-humanoid corpses with distaste. ¡°We certainly aren¡¯t going to be fitting into those uniforms, but I might be able to make a suitable illusion for us.¡± The boys were searching the bodies, collecting guns and ammo. Naturally, it turned out that the British guns didn¡¯t take German ammo. ¡°Annoying as that is, I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s historically accurate,¡± I said. ¡°I found this as well,¡± Kyle said, handing me a leather wallet. I raised an eyebrow and opened it. There were a bunch of papers inside, but the important one was on top. It wasn¡¯t in English. I suspect it was in some kobold language; Kyle couldn¡¯t read it, but I had no trouble with it. Top Secret To: Captain James Langford, 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment Date: 15th July 1944 From: Major General Arthur Montgomery, British Intelligence Corps Subject: Operation Steel Curtain Captain Langford, Your immediate attention and expertise are required for a highly confidential mission of utmost importance to the Allied war effort. Intelligence has indicated the existence of a top-secret German project believed to be critical to the enemy¡¯s strategic capabilities. The exact nature of the project remains unknown, but preliminary reports suggest it involves advanced weaponry or communications technology that could alter the course of the war. The project is reportedly located within the city of Aachen, currently a heavily contested area between our forces and the Germans. Your mission, codenamed Operation Steel Curtain, is to infiltrate the city, gather intelligence, and ascertain the precise details of this project. You will be supported by a select team of operatives skilled in reconnaissance and covert operations. It is imperative that this mission is conducted with the utmost discretion. Any intelligence gathered must be transmitted back to headquarters immediately via secure channels. Your specific objectives are as follows: 1. Identify and locate the facility where the project is being developed. 2. Obtain detailed information about the nature and purpose of the project. 3. If possible, acquire any documentation or evidence related to the project. 4. Assess the level of security and potential vulnerabilities of the facility. 5. Report all findings promptly while maintaining operational security. Be advised that the city is heavily fortified and patrolled by enemy forces. Exercise extreme caution and prioritize the safety of your team. The success of this mission is critical to our efforts to gain a strategic advantage over the enemy. May fortune favour your efforts, Captain. The future of our campaign may well depend on the information you uncover. Good luck, and Godspeed. Major General Arthur Montgomery British Intelligence Corps I read it all out aloud to the others. ¡°This is probably the mission we need to complete,¡± I said. ¡°We need to find clues to where the facility is, probably stop whatever they¡¯re doing ourselves since we don¡¯t have a central command to report to.¡± ¡°None of the kobolds here had a radio,¡± Borys reported, ¡°But we might find one later.¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I agreed. ¡°The scenario might be that we just find the place and then they come in and bomb it.¡± ¡°What would a secret project be for?¡± Kyle asked. ¡°There are lots of stories about the Nazis having different secret military projects,¡± I told him. ¡°Death rays, flying saucers, even¡­¡± I trailed off. ¡°Even what?¡± Kyle asked. ¡°Even¡­ there were stories about Nazi occultists calling in entities from beyond our world to help them win the war. Here, that would be¡­ demons.¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t seen any yet, but we know they¡¯re down here somewhere,¡± Borys said. ¡°I don¡¯t think much of Axel¡¯s containment efforts if they¡¯re already this high up, though.¡± ¡°Floor seven isn¡¯t that high up,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to keep a lookout.¡± ¡°So what¡¯s next?¡± Felicia asked. ¡°Hmm. Cloridan, do you think you can track wherever the winners of this fight went? If it¡¯s British kobolds we might try to join up with them. If it¡¯s goblins, we might try the same. They might have information.¡± ¡°Are you going to illusion us? Did you get [Disguise Other]?¡± Felicia asked. ¡°No, [Illusonary Terrain] is overkill, but it will get the job done,¡± I replied. Then, struck by a thought, I asked Borys, ¡°Did the bodies have any identification papers?¡± ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°Just dog tags. I¡¯m not sure if that was the practice at the time. Not much use for ID when fighting in enemy territory.¡± ¡°What about the goblins?¡± I asked. He shook his head. ¡°Just the dog tags. You think that¡¯s what both sides use for ID?¡± ¡°It does have a computer-gamey feel to it,¡± I pointed out. ¡°An easily-collectible token to show what side you¡¯re on.¡± ¡°Well, we can collect them easily enough,¡± Borys said. ¡°They won¡¯t fit around our giant human necks though.¡± I made an annoyed sound. ¡°I guess we can wear them like bracelets? That will make it easier to show them to people.¡± We collected enough dog tags for each of us to have two, one for each side. They weren¡¯t easily confused, the German ones were metal ovals, designed to snap in half, while the British had two, with different shapes and colours. We kept them in our pockets for now, thinking that it made a difference if you were wearing them or not. Then we went looking for soldiers. Chapter 217 - From the Colonies Clordian found the trail, which led to the camp. It seemed that the kobolds had been the winners of that fight. He came back to let us know where we could find them. ¡°Okay then,¡± I said reluctantly. ¡°Everybody put on their British tags, and let¡¯s approach¡­ cautiously.¡± ¡°Are you going to make us look like kobolds?¡± Felicia asked. ¡°Not immediately,¡± I said thoughtfully. ¡°It¡¯s a tricky illusion to keep up for a long period, so if the tokens are enough, I¡¯d like to leave it to them.¡± ¡°Why not play it safe and do both?¡± Kyle asked. ¡°If we get accepted, and they turn on us after I cancel the illusion, they might remember who we were,¡± I explained. ¡°If we go in clean and they fire on us, we can back off and come back in disguise.¡± There were slow nods all around as they accepted my logic. ¡°Cautiously, then,¡± Kyle said. ¡°I guess I¡¯m taking the lead,¡± ¡°Cloridan¡¯s taking point, as normal,¡± I replied, ¡°But you¡¯ll be the first visible team member.¡± I wasn¡¯t certain that Kyles''s shield, heavy as it was, would stop bullets. But I was pretty confident about my video game logic. Real soldiers wouldn¡¯t have abandoned their companions and set up camp ten minutes walk away. Even if they had to leave the bodies, they would have collected the dog tags and the orders. They had been left for us to find, not by the kobolds, but by Axel. So I was only a little nervous as Kyle approached within shouting distance. ¡°Hello, the camp!¡± he called out. There was a brief flurry of activity; brief glimpses of little lizard-people scurrying about. ¡°What¡¯s the password?¡± came the reply. Kyle looked back at me blankly, and I realised the flaw in our plan. Kyle couldn¡¯t understand a word that the kobold had said. I rushed forward. Seven people in the whole world who can play this game and two of them are here, I thought. The mooks spoke common, so why don¡¯t these guys? ¡°Give me a drink!¡± I called. That appeared to be the right answer as they broke out into laughter. ¡°Come on up,¡± one of them called. I gestured for the others to follow me into the camp and I got my first chance to use [Identify].
[Identification]: - Bucky, Kobold Private - Threat: 20 - Properties: Skilled
¡±Reinforcements at last,¡± one of them said. He was a little larger than the others. ¡°Blimey, you¡¯re a lofty lot, aren¡¯t you?¡±
[Identification]: - Sarge, Kobold Sergeant - Threat: 21 - Properties: Skilled
¡°Yeah,¡± I said, ¡°You¡¯re part of Steel Curtain as well?¡± He nodded. ¡°We lost Captain Langford, so I hope you¡¯re ready to take command,¡± he said. ¡°Sure,¡± I said. ¡°Why don¡¯t we start with introductions.¡± ¡°Yes sah!¡± he barked. ¡°Starting with myself, Sarge, the rest of this sorry lot are Bucky, Pip, Titch, Spike, Rusty, Nobby and Rook.¡± He pointed at each one as he went, but they were almost identical as far as I could tell. At least I had [Identify] if I needed the names. ¡°Borys, Kyle, Felicia and Cloridan,¡± I said, ¡°Aside from Borys and myself, they don¡¯t speak much¡­ English. They¡¯re from the colonies.¡± ¡°Ah, darkies. Understood, sah. And yourself?¡± I stared at him. I wasn¡¯t sure if he was reproducing the racism of the time or if the game was just adapting to whatever shit came out of my mouth. ¡°Just Captain is fine,¡± I finally said. ¡°Understood, Captain!¡± I turned to the others. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re joining up. You can get the names from [Identify] and they seem to have accepted that you don¡¯t speak their language. I sighed as a thought struck me. ¡°They¡¯re probably going to try talking to you very loudly and slowly.¡± ¡°What good will that do?¡± Felicia asked. ¡°None whatsoever,¡± I said. I turned back to the kobolds. ¡°Why don¡¯t you brief me on how the mission has progressed so far.¡± ¡°Aye, sah!¡± Sarge said. He made a gesture, which turned out to be for Rusty to get out the map. It was a very large map. I wondered where they got the paper for it, considering it was hand-drawn. Did the British Ministry of Defence hand out impractically large, intricately folded blank pieces of paper to its soldiers? A mystery. Somebody¡ªRusty claimed to have drawn it, but I suspected the thing had been created by Axel¡ªhad drawn out a significant portion of the street grid. Enemy patrols had been marked, both infantry and tanks. The routes were long, complicated loops that began and ended in one of three barracks. Two infantry barracks and one tank¡­ pen, I supposed the correct term was. ¡°We take out one of those, it will get a lot easier to move around here,¡± Sarge said. ¡°But it¡¯s a hard ask.¡± He had also identified a target. ¡°Administrative building,¡± he said. ¡°Abandoned now, but there should be archived records there about the project.¡± This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Abandoned? So we can just break in there and search quietly for the records we want?¡± I asked. ¡°Afraid not, sah. Intel puts the building as being occupied by squatters. And the basement, where the records are supposed to be, is sealed off and alarmed. If we disturb the civvies or set off the alarm, we¡¯ll have patrols on us in no time.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Sarge started rattling on, talking about how the best plan was to take out the barracks one by one. That sounded like what someone playing a WWII tactical wargame would do, but we weren¡¯t playing a game. We could do something different. ¡°I can just shadow-walk into a building and search for records while invisible,¡± I told the others. First, though, I had to explain to them what Sarge had said. If Sarge thought anything of me speaking a foreign tongue, he didn¡¯t say anything about it. ¡°That puts you all alone again,¡± Felicia objected. ¡°I will learn to take others through,¡± I said, ¡°Just as soon as I have the points.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t help us now,¡± she said. ¡°And how are you going to explain this to the kobold?¡± ¡°I doubt I¡¯ll have to,¡± I said. ¡°If I can find the right document and bring it back, he¡¯ll be ¡°oh, we have to go to this location now.¡± That¡¯s how these war games tend to go.¡± I looked over to Borys for confirmation. ¡°Yes,¡± he said. ¡°Get the objective and the mission ends. Are you sure Axel will be okay with it?¡± ¡°He seems fine with us¡­ bending the rules,¡± I said. ¡°We skipped a lot of steps on the last floor and he didn¡¯t complain. I think he considers us play-testers.¡± ¡°Perhaps,¡± Borys agreed. ¡°So what are we doing?¡± ¡°Backup?¡± I suggested. ¡°If all goes well, there shouldn¡¯t be a need, but if something does go wrong, you can try and get to me.¡± ¡°That will certainly trigger the alarm,¡± Borys said. ¡°If you need to get in, then the alarm will have most definitely been triggered,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯re talking about a situation where my invisibility isn¡¯t working and I can¡¯t shadow step out of trouble.¡± I looked at Felicia. ¡°Which I will do, if I see any signs of something I can¡¯t handle,¡± I assured her. ¡°I like living too.¡± ¡°That¡¯s all well and good,¡± she said, ¡°But if you do run into trouble, how are you going to let us know?¡± I dug out my smartphone from Tokyo-Berlin, or whatever we were calling that floor and dialled Kyles''s number. It rang. ¡°These still work,¡± I said. ¡°A bit anachronistic, but so are the guns we still have.¡± Borys frowned. ¡°That still leaves the question of how we¡¯re going to come to your rescue.¡± He turned to Sarge, who was still waiting patiently. ¡°How long before they send troops to the hospital if the alarm is tripped?¡± ¡°Five minutes,¡± Sarge said promptly. I doubted that was the sort of thing he would know, but never mind. ¡°Second barracks is further away, they¡¯ll be another ten minutes. The tanks take longer to start up, they¡¯ll take another fifteen minutes to arrive.¡± ¡°Will they just set up inside, or will they enter the building?¡± Borys asked. ¡°They¡¯ll come inside,¡± Sarge said. ¡°Once the alarm is triggered, they¡¯ll come and kill everyone in the building.¡± ¡°Even the civilians?¡± I asked. ¡°Aye. It¡¯s a military building and they¡¯re illegal squatters,¡± Sarge said. ¡°They¡¯ll kill them.¡± Borys must have noticed the look on my face. ¡°They¡¯re goblins, Kandis,¡± he said. ¡°Monsters.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know,¡± I said. ¡°I just¡­¡± I shook my head. ¡°The smart thing to do would be to set up to hit the first barracks from behind,¡± Borys mused. ¡°If they charge into the hospital their backs will be open.¡± ¡°That will leave the civilians¡ªand me¡ª defenceless.¡± I pointed out. ¡°True, but you¡¯re the slipperiest out of any of us. If you can¡¯t get out, we probably can¡¯t get in.¡± ¡°And we don¡¯t care about the civilians,¡± I groused. ¡°We don¡¯t,¡± he confirmed. ¡°Fine,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll get the mission done without tripping any alarms or endangering any civilians. You can just park yourselves in a building and have a nice, boring, little wait.¡± ¡°Uh, you know how this works, don¡¯t you?¡± Borys said. ¡°Shut up.¡±
I went in at night. Less chance of running into a goblin, and more shadows for the finding. The building was lit, excessively so. Didn¡¯t they know there was a war on? From two stories up, on the ruined building we had chosen for an ambush point, I could see other buildings with equally profligate lights shining out the windows. ¡°Asking for a bombing, I reckon,¡± I said to Borys. He shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s a German city. For it to be this damaged, there must have been bombing, but there must be more Allied troops in the city than just our group. It¡¯s being fought over, which makes it dangerous for either side to just drop bombs.¡± ¡°Fair point,¡± I admitted. ¡°You think that means we won¡¯t see any bombs?¡± ¡°Oh, no,¡± he said sourly. ¡°It¡¯ll just be at a dramatic moment, and they will be aimed at us, not any loose light.¡± ¡°Well that makes me feel much better,¡± I said sarcastically, and he laughed. ¡°We¡¯ll deal with that when it comes,¡± he said. ¡°For now, get in there.¡± I reached out with my shadow sense. I¡¯d decided to start at the top and work my way down, partly because it was darker, and partly because there weren¡¯t any moving voids that meant people on the top two floors. I found an empty space and stepped through. Wow, they cleared this place out pretty thoroughly, I thought as I looked around. This floor was pretty much one big room. It hadn¡¯t always looked so open, I figured, as the floor was crowded with toppled, empty cabinets that looked to have contained electrical machinery at some point. Only the wires remained. There were still a few lights working on this floor, enough light to see that there was nothing for me here. This might have held computerised records at one point. Did they have such things back then? But the computers, or whatever they had kept up here, were long gone. I stepped carefully through the detritus, towards the stairway. The stairs continued up to the roof; the door had been left open, which wasn¡¯t doing much to preserve the integrity of the place. I wouldn¡¯t find any records on the roof, so I headed down. Belatedly, I remembered to cast [Greater Invisibility] before I headed down. I also examined the stairwell. Remembering what Cloridan had taught me, I looked for signs of wires or pressure plates, as well as checking for detection fields with [Mana Sense]. There was nothing, so I headed down cautiously. Coming out on the fourth floor, I was greeted by a stairway that ran the width of the building. It was lit and there were four doors, two on each side. On the left side, the doors were paired with large windows, one of which was smashed. The closest door was on the right, left open, so I peered through it. This room was lit as well and contained books. Probably a library before the squatters had gotten to it. Books were strewn all about the place, the ones lying on the floor had gotten wet somehow. This could have the records I was looking for, but all the books I could see were properly bound hardcovers¡ªor had been before they got torn to shreds. It didn¡¯t look like a place where up-to-date records were kept, so I moved on. The two rooms on the right were labs. It was difficult to tell what kind of labs, what with all the looting and vandalism. Neither of them was lit, but enough light came in through the corridor to make out the contents, smashed up as it was. The final door of the floor was closed. I could tell that it was well-lit from my shadow-sense, but not much more. No traps as far as I could tell, so I pushed it open a crack and looked for wires. Seeing none, and feeling no resistance, I cautiously eased it open. It was¡­ probably a storage room. Empty shelves filled one wall, but the place must have held useful stuff because it had all been cleared out. Even the lightbulb had been removed¡­ Wait. Where is the light coming from, then? As I looked around, the light started peeling off one wall, like a giant flake of glowing paint. The other side wasn¡¯t dark, it was just as bright, but it held an eye that looked quizically in my direction. What is that? My instinctive question was quickly answered by [Identify]
Warning! Demon Detected! [Identification]: - Elohim Abomination- Threat: Unknown - Properties: Unknown Warning! Demon Detected!
Chapter 218 - Civilians I froze. It can¡¯t see me¡­ can it? I was invisible, and inaudible as well, so staying frozen in place wasn¡¯t doing me any favours. I raised my gun and took the shot. I was using one of the guns from the third floor. We only had a limited number of shots left with the things, but they were quieter, and I didn¡¯t want to alert the civilians downstairs. The bolt hit its target, which said good things about its defence total, but passed straight through the¡­ being. There was a hole, but it didn¡¯t seem to bother the elohim at all. There was also no damage notification. It seemed distracted, looking at the wall where the bolt had embedded itself, so I took a step backwards and closed the door. Perhaps it would stay there. Perhaps it had to stay there. It didn¡¯t have hands, so I wasn¡¯t sure how it had gotten in there, past the closed door. I took a few steps backwards and paused, waiting for something to happen. I holstered my gun and pulled out my two daggers. Holding them gave me bonuses to Agility and Dexterity, but they also had a greater chance of hurting the thing. Enchanted weapons had an extra depth, that often helped damage ethereal beings. I took a breath, then another. I¡¯ll give it a minute, I told myself. I need to tell the others before I go any further. Then the light changed. I looked up at the light stone doing a good impression of an old-style incandescent lightbulb. Something was coming out of it, a glowing form that I was pretty sure was the abomination. Lightstones or lightbulbs were better light sources than the lanterns or torches that were normally used in this world. The nearest shadow was in the abandoned labs, the closest entrance to which was the broken window. My instincts twitched at the thought of jumping over, possibly through, sharp, jagged glass, but I had skills. I could probably do it. I took a step in that direction. The elohim abomination came all the way into the corridor and floated there, slowly rotating. Its eyes looked everywhere, but they didn¡¯t seem to see me. I drew my daggers, felt the surge as their bonuses took effect. Am I really doing this? I wondered. It¡¯s a demon! But I didn¡¯t want to leave it behind me. I didn¡¯t want to leave it alive to do¡­ whatever it was doing. And it wasn¡¯t that hard to hit. It started drifting toward me. Not an attack, I thought, or even an acknowledgement. We were in a corridor, there were only two ways to go, and my end was the longer one. But it meant I had to make a decision. Fight or flight. I chose fight. Dashing forward, I aimed a vertical slice at its edge.
You have inflicted200 damage!
The dagger sliced through the floating disc with only a slight dragging resistance. The damage was promising, but it was the shriek of pain that made me think I was getting somewhere. It didn¡¯t seem to come from any kind of mouth, it just¡­ emanated from around the thing. I staggered back from the sheer volume of it and then moved forward to attack again. Before I could close, though, it curled up into a ball, and then¡­ kept curling. In less than a second, it had curled in on itself until it wasn¡¯t there any more. My eyes flicked to the one shut door in the corridor. It had likely fled back to there¡­ Oh, wait, Shadow Sense. I quickly determined that the room behind the door was now in darkness. Not there, then. I cast my net wider. I sensed shadows, not light, but a moving light should be noticeable¡­ There. One floor below. I should¡ªno, wait. First, I should call it in. That meant cancelling my invisibility. Which¡­ wasn¡¯t safe, particularly if that shriek had attracted attention. I shadow-stepped up a level and pulled out my phone. Borys answered on the first ring. ¡°Trouble?¡± he asked. ¡°I just ran into a demon,¡± I said. ¡°Elohim abomination. Unknown everything. It ran, made some noise. Is there any movement?¡± ¡°Some,¡± he said. They were watching the lower floors through monoculars from the third floor. Monoculars weren¡¯t telescopes exactly, they were¡­ more techy. ¡°I think they heard you, but they don¡¯t seem to be moving up.¡± ¡°It¡¯d be a brave goblin that ran toward that shriek,¡± I said, ¡°But it might not matter. It headed down.¡± ¡°Noted. Are you aborting?¡± ¡°No. I don¡¯t think it can see me, and my daggers seem to hurt it,¡± I said. ¡°Bullets seem to pass right through, though.¡± ¡°Great,¡± he said sourly. ¡°What does it look like?¡± ¡°A big floating platter, about a metre across,¡± I told him. ¡°Eyes on the bottom, and the whole thing glows.¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. He grunted. ¡°Easy to see coming, then.¡± ¡°It came out of a solid light source,¡± I said. ¡°I think it has the opposite of my shadow step.¡± ¡°That isn¡¯t a spell that exists,¡± he mused, ¡°But¡­ demon.¡± ¡°Demon,¡± I agreed. ¡°There might be more weirdness that I haven¡¯t seen yet.¡± ¡°There might be more abominations that you haven¡¯t seen yet,¡± he cautioned. ¡°Stay safe.¡± ¡°I will,¡± I said and dropped the call. Then I sighed, cast [Greater Invisibility] again, and headed down the stairs. The abomination seemed to have stopped moving, which made it hard to tell where it was. I had a guess, based on the shadows, but the third floor was more lit up now. At least I knew where it wasn¡¯t. The third floor had been offices. Proper offices, not a cubicle farm. It gave the squatters rooms of their own, so this floor had been pretty much taken over. Goblins¡ª German civilians¡ª were moving about cautiously all over. I soon overheard the reason for all this activity. ¡°It got another one, boss!¡± one of them said to a less-raggedly one. He sighed. ¡°Let¡¯s see it,¡± he said. Morbidly curious, I followed the pair, taking care to avoid anyone else in the corridors. I did have to search this level, at a basic level at least. Any one of these offices might have papers left by an occupant that had what I needed. From the quick looks I took as I passed open doorways, what hadn¡¯t been cleared out had been repurposed as bedding. The pair of squatters led me to one of the offices where we were treated to a fairly gruesome sight. ¡°Just like the others,¡± the better-dressed goblin said. It looked like the dead goblin had been attacked in his bed. At least, I assumed it was a goblin. Small humanoid was about all I could tell from looking at it¡­
[Identification]: - Goblin ashen remains - Quality: Poor - Properties: None
I stood corrected. What made it hard to tell anything was that the corpse was completely black. Almost vantablack. It drank in the light, making it hard to make out details. It seemed to be still solid, rather than a pile of ash, but without touching it I couldn¡¯t be sure. I wasn¡¯t going to touch it, and the goblins seemed reluctant to. ¡°That¡¯s the fifth this week, boss! What are we going to do?¡± The boss-goblin harrumphed to himself. ¡°Normally, I¡¯d clear us out, but I hear that these kinds of corpses are popping up all over. I¡¯m putting out feelers for someplace to go, but everyone¡¯s looking.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not going to do nothing?¡± ¡°Try and work out how to kill the damn thing, is the only thing I can think of right now,¡± the older goblin said. Well. That wasn¡¯t my concern, and this room didn¡¯t hold any papers, so I left them to it. I resumed my search. The civilians weren¡¯t defenceless, I spotted several guns around the place, either stored or carried. They looked more like WWI guns to my uneducated eye. Or hunting weapons maybe? In one, empty, room I found a locked filing cabinet. That had potential. I carefully eased the door to the room shut. Passing goblins might think it odd, but I¡¯d at least have some warning before they came in. I examined the cabinet. It looked simple enough. I could see the tab that held the drawer in place through a small crack. And it was a steel cabinet. One of my darksteel knives sank into the steel as if it were butter. There was a slight twang as the locking mechanism was released. Inside was¡­ Nothing. Just some letters, some bottles of alcohol, and a bundle of German bank notes.
[Identification]: - 300 x 20 Reichsmark Bill [Identification]: - 900 x 10 Reichsmark Bill [Identification]: - 1000 x 5 Reichsmark Bill [Identification]: - Total Reichsmarks: 20,000
There was that feature I¡¯d found so useful when starting a bank. That was a lot of money! I was sure I¡¯d find a use for it. I had the satchel in my hand when I heard the squeak of the door handle starting to turn. The satchel was visible and would remain so until I recast my spell, so I dropped it back in its drawer. There was a pause, long enough that I started to doubt that the handle was turned. Then three goblins burst into the room, pointing guns in every direction at once. I stepped back to an out-of-the-way corner but didn¡¯t otherwise react. The goblins were babbling a chorus of ¡°Can¡¯t see it!¡± ¡°Clear here!¡± It took them a bit of examining and pointing guns at every inch of the room¡¯s ceiling, floor and walls, but they eventually calmed down. Fortunately, they didn¡¯t seem keen on going too far into the room so I was in no danger of being run over. Finally, one of them called back to whoever was outside. ¡°There¡¯s nothing here, sir!¡± The boss goblin pushed his way in. ¡°Then who the fuck closed the door!¡± he snarled. ¡°Everyone should know it likes closed-in spaces!¡± Ah, he¡¯s talking about the abomination, I thought. That¡¯s what it likes. That was where I had found it, of course, in a closed-up room. Not a dark room, since everywhere it went was lit. Some place that could hide the light. I was pretty sure I knew where it was, now. I hadn¡¯t checked out every place on this floor, but there was a lit-up area just outside of the inhabited sections. Probably a utility shaft. Not normally lit, but it was now. For some reason. ¡°Hey!¡± the boss goblin exclaimed. ¡°Who¡¯s been going at my files?¡± He bustled over, shooing away curious guards. ¡°Damn, look what they did to that lock!¡± one of them said. The boss ignored them, checking each drawer for missing items. There was a chair he had to stand on to look in the top drawer. I hadn¡¯t thought anything of it at the time, but now I shook my head at the lengths Axel had to go to pretend that these goblins were supposed to be here. ¡°Nothing¡¯s missing,¡± the boss said reluctantly, ¡°But someone¡¯s been at the lock.¡± He looked suspiciously at the guards and slammed all the drawers shut. ¡°What¡¯s in that thing?¡± a guard asked. ¡°Just correspondance. Private correspondence,¡± the boss said. ¡°Why are you worried someone¡¯s going to steal your letters?¡± another guard asked. I marked him as the smart one. ¡°They broke the lock!¡± the boss said. ¡°Never mind why, someone is going through our stuff. They must have closed the door as a distraction while they rifled through your possessions.¡± All three of the guards immediately burst out with outraged exclamations. ¡°Yes, go, find them,¡± the boss said. ¡°I¡¯ll stay here, we know it¡¯s safe.¡± The three ran out of the room, promising to murder anyone who messed with their stuff. The boss stayed behind, looking at the damage I¡¯d done to his cabinet. ¡°That thing doesn¡¯t do that,¡± he muttered to himself. ¡°Someone else is here. But why¡­¡± He took the satchel out and stuffed it under a pile of clothes sitting in the corner. I thought about killing him.
[Identification]: - Grunwald Schmiedtrog - Threat: 18 - Properties: Skilled
Even with surprise, he probably had too many hit points for me to take out in one stab. He¡¯d get to warn the others. It wasn¡¯t worth killing him for some Reichsmarks I¡¯d never get to spend. What I was looking for wasn¡¯t on this floor. I¡¯d have to keep going down. Chapter 219 - Women and Children The second floor was mostly larger offices. They were soiled and torn to pieces now, but I could tell that this had been the fancy floor. Normally, you¡¯d put your executives as high as possible, but perhaps they wanted to distance themselves from all the equipment that had been removed from the top floor. Or perhaps this had all been designed by a crazy magical construct and there wasn¡¯t any reason behind it. I kept forgetting about that. Anyway, larger offices were more suitable to host large families of goblins. There must have been a hundred women and children huddled under desks and makeshift nests.
[Identification]: - Goblin Whelp - Threat: 12 - Properties: Skilled [Identification]: - Goblin Female - Threat: 15 - Properties: Skilled
Much lower Threat values than the rest of the level, but there were enough of them to form a swarm. Which made me wonder: did monsters grow? Would these children turn into full-fledged goblins in time? That didn¡¯t seem sustainable, but they did have the elves going through, doing regular cullings. I shook my head. Questions for another time. Right now I needed to find those documents telling us where to go next. Most of the rooms here were easily eliminated. They were filled with goblin families who were completely uninterested in preserving documents. Any papers in those rooms would have been eaten or used to line a nest. There was one room, though, that bore further examination. The door, still on its hinges, was marked ¡°Archives¡±. It was just as filled with goblins as the rest of the rooms, but there was one major difference. Instead of walls lined with fancy (now badly damaged) wood panelling, this room¡¯s walls were lined with filing cabinets. Some of them had been torn down. Some hung open, their contents distributed to the wind. Some were closed, though. Closed and empty, or did they still have papers in them? I¡¯d have to check to be sure. The dozen goblins going about their business in this room would make that difficult. I found an unoccupied corner and considered my options. I could hear them talking amongst themselves. Most of the chatter was the normal interactions one would expect within a tribe. ¡°Stop doing that¡±, ¡°Give me that¡±, etcetera. Some of them were talking about current events. Specifically, what they called the hunter. ¡°It¡¯ll pick us off, one by one. You¡¯ll see, but it¡¯ll be too late,¡± one of the females said to another. ¡°Nowhere for us to go, you know that none of us would last a day out on the streets,¡± the other replied. There was something off about the way they talked. The upset one didn¡¯t sound particularly worried, nor did the nay-sayer sound particularly resigned. They were both speaking normally. Not without emotion, but as if discussing the choice of dying in the street and being hunted down indoors was a perfectly normal choice that people made every day. I suppose for them it was. None of this was getting me closer to clearing the room. I decided to try using [Sourceless Sound] to make a scratching noise come from the walls. I couldn¡¯t target ¡°inside the wall¡± but I could target the wall¡¯s surface, which sounded much the same. They noticed. I was hoping it would make them evacuate, but if it drew more goblins, then I could always move it to another room, and draw them in there. As it was though, they just stared at the wall it was coming from. ¡°What is it? Is it the hunter?¡± one asked. ¡°I never heard that it made sounds like that. Doesn¡¯t sound like no Tommies neither.¡± The one that spoke kicked one of the kids. ¡°Go find Schmiedtrog, tell him what we¡¯re hearing.¡± One down, I supposed. No one suggested the sound might come from rats, which struck me as odd until I realised that I hadn¡¯t seen any so far. This city floor might not have them. You would expect rats to be a given in any war-torn city. With sanitation services ended, and plenty of rubble to hide in, they would quickly reproduce and spread to cover any areas they weren¡¯t already hiding in. There might be little food for humans, but there would be plenty that rats could feed on. Dead bodies, for one. However, this level only had the monsters that Axel had decided fit the theme. Ordinary rats were far too low a Threat to be considered, and monstrous rats weren¡¯t a part of WWII. Something to keep in mind if I had to provide Axel with a serious critique of this floor to get more information out of him. But right now¡­ There was one sound I¡¯d heard the hunter make. I replaced the spell and watched everybody in the room jump like they¡¯d been scalded. I couldn¡¯t make the shriek as loud as I¡¯d heard it¡ªthe spell didn¡¯t go up that high¡ªbut that fit. It was supposed to be coming from the other side of the wall, after all. The goblins all started backing away from the wall. Encouraged, I cast a [Light] spell at that spot as well, making it as diffuse as I could. It didn¡¯t look anything like an abomination, but from what I could tell, these folks had never seen one. It did the trick. There was a panicked stampede for the exit. Perfect. No doubt they¡¯d be back soon, but it wouldn¡¯t take me long to check out the cabinets. Some of them were locked, but I had a way of dealing with that. Empty. Empty. Filled with bones. Filled with dried meat. A few scraps of coloured cloth. Yeah, this wasn¡¯t getting me anywhere. I was going to continue, I couldn¡¯t rule out the idea that one filing cabinet held gold after all. But then I happened to glance around. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. A little goblin boy was standing at the entrance to the room, frozen at the sight of the drawers opening by themselves. Ehhhh¡­ That was me busted, I supposed. But what was he going to do? Even if he could see me, I could take the little brat. And I¡¯d be finished before he could fetch help. I opened another drawer. Filled with brightly coloured rubble. Great. The light changed. I whirled around. Just like before, the abomination was coming out of the lightbulb. The goblin boy gaped up at it as it emerged, its eyes scanning the whole room. My own eyes narrowed. I wasn¡¯t anywhere near understanding it, but had it been attracted to the sound of its own screaming? Did it think another abomination was in trouble? Whatever it thought, two of its eyes latched onto the goblin brat. Before he could unfreeze, it pounced, wrapping itself around him like a thick blanket. It hadn¡¯t been solid enough to stop a bolt, but it seemed solid now. The kid had started struggling, but he wasn¡¯t making much headway. I swore as I dashed across the room. The abomination had left the side with the eyes on the outside, giving it a clear view all around, but it couldn¡¯t see me. I sank both daggers into its yielding flesh.
You have inflicted 203 damage! You have inflicted 208 damage!
The abomination screamed again. It thrashed about as well, or the boy underneath did. It was hard to tell. The thing was thick, about four inches at the centre. That was thin enough that I could have stabbed the boy at the same time, but thick enough that I could avoid doing so. Getting only two damage notifications suggested that I had succeeded. That, or the kid was already dead. Eh. He was a monster, after all. This wasn¡¯t about saving the kid, it was about trapping the abomination. I¡¯d seen how it had escaped before, curling in on itself. With the kid in the way, it couldn¡¯t do that. If it wanted to escape, it would have to show me a new trick. Rather than risk freeing it by pulling the daggers out, I tried slicing through its flesh. As far as the System was concerned, that was the same thing.
You have inflicted 201 damage! You have inflicted 205 damage!
More struggles, more screaming. It released the boy, sending him staggering back into a wall, and tried to curl backwards over me. I wasn¡¯t having any of that, though. I held my arms out straight and pushed out with both my knives. It couldn¡¯t seem to bend as far around its eye-side, so all it managed to do was form an incomplete dome, anchored at two points by my two knives.
You have inflicted 206 damage! You have inflicted 203 damage!
Then it seemed to remember that it was free to flee, now. It pulled itself off my knives. A white, glowing ichor fell from its wounds. Before I could finish it off, it curled up again and disappeared. I stood there, panting, as armed goblins burst into the room. Safely ensconced behind the front line was my old pal, Grunwald. ¡°What the hell happened here?¡± he exclaimed. I took a few steps back, to better avoid the civilian shooters slowly making their way into the room. I noticed that whatever that white ichor was, none of it had stuck to my daggers. They were as clean as they were when I took them out. The guards had noted the ichor as well. ¡°He hurt it?¡± one of them said, looking back at the unconscious brat. ¡°How?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be an idiot,¡± Grunwald growled. ¡°Look!¡± He pointed at the cabinets. I¡¯d left some of them open, and some of them had been forced. ¡°Same as in my office,¡± he said. ¡°The thief was looking around in here, and got interrupted.¡± ¡°The thief¡­ hurt the hunter?¡± one of the guards said slowly. ¡°But why?¡± ¡°Why indeed,¡± Grunwald said, staring at the holes I¡¯d carved in the cabinets. The other goblins looked at him uncertainly. ¡°I¡¯m going back to my office!¡± he suddenly announced. ¡°Door¡¯s staying open, but none of you go near it!¡± He paused. ¡°Unless¡­ there¡¯s another hunter attack. Otherwise! Stay away!¡± He turned on his heel and strode off. I watched him leave, frowning. This didn¡¯t feel like a script. The British kobolds had. Even after giving us our mission, they relaxed around the camp with a number of set phrases. A large number to be sure, but they started repeating eventually. This¡­ felt different. Grunwald was reacting to a demon which shouldn¡¯t be part of the script. He¡¯d deduced that there was someone invisible who could help him, and now, unless I missed my guess, he wanted to negotiate with me. Unless Axel had written a script that referenced my invisibility and the demons¡­ which wasn¡¯t impossible. That hadn¡¯t happened on the last floor, but Axel would have been watching us our whole time there. That was plenty of time for a time-dilated magical construct to script something based on the abilities it had observed. On the other hand, if this was a script then we were progressing. So I¡¯d better go meet with Grunwald. Just as he¡¯d said, Grunwald was sitting alone in his office. He was perched on a bundle of cloth serving as a cushion so that it looked like he was sitting at the desk. A pair of glasses and one of the bottles I¡¯d found before was set before him. I walked into the office and shut the door. Grunwald watched the door close but didn¡¯t otherwise react. After a moment, he poured some clear fluid into the glasses. I cancelled [Greater Invisibility]. ¡°I make it a rule to not drink while I¡¯m working,¡± I said. He looked up at me and made a fair effort to control his reaction. ¡°The damn Tommies really are sending giants,¡± he muttered. ¡°Hope you don¡¯t mind if I indulge.¡± He didn¡¯t wait for me to shake my head, but grabbed one of the glasses and tossed it down. ¡°Strange,¡± I said. ¡°Are you not consumed with an overwhelming desire to kill me?¡± He grunted. ¡°Do my duty to the homeland, you mean? I¡¯d be a hero of the State, for sure. If you didn¡¯t rip me in two, bite my head off and spit out the pieces that is.¡± He poured himself another drink, leaving mine untouched. ¡°Do I look stupid?¡± I chose not to answer that in the interests of diplomacy. ¡°Strange,¡± I said again. ¡°But you wanted to talk, so what do you want to talk about?¡± He rolled his eyes. ¡°Like you don¡¯t already know. But sure. You¡¯re looking for something. You fought the hunter, I guess because it got in your way. We all thought that it was some kind of English superweapon, but I guess that¡¯s not true.¡± He looked at me through slitted eyes. ¡°Or maybe it is true, and that¡¯s why you¡¯ve got the only weapons that can hurt it.¡± ¡°I couldn¡¯t possibly comment,¡± I said. I picked up my glass and took a sniff. It smelt like poison, which is to say, alcohol.
[Identification]: - Tomtegeist Schnapps - Quality: Good - Properties: Intoxicating
I didn¡¯t drink it, and I didn¡¯t say anything else, just waited for him to continue. ¡°We can help you find what you¡¯re looking for, and you can kill what we need dead. Let¡¯s trade.¡± To my surprise, I felt [Bargain] perk up again, as if I were talking to a real person. Not that I needed it, this was as simple as deals came. I nodded in agreement. ¡°This building was part of a project,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m looking for details about that project, as well as where the rest of it was.¡± Grunwald sighed in relief. ¡°That¡¯s easy then,¡± he said. ¡°There¡¯s two people here that can help you.¡± Chapter 220 - Deal ¡°Two people,¡± I said doubtfully. The smile Grunwald gave me had way too many teeth in it to be considered a grin. Or a smile. ¡°Two,¡± he repeated. ¡°My crew have been all over this dump and there¡¯s only one place that has the records you want. Permanent archives, basement level.¡± ¡°Why haven¡¯t they been stripped as well?¡± I asked. ¡°Locked up tight,¡± he replied. ¡°Only two of us have got the codes to get in and turn off the alarms.¡± ¡°Why do you have the codes?¡± ¡°Other fellow¡¯s the caretaker,¡± Grunwald explained. ¡°He let us in when it all went to shit, but he kept the basement locked up. That¡¯s the only bit his bosses care about.¡± ¡°Why¡¯d he give you the codes?¡± ¡°I¡¯m the boss, I insisted on it. It¡¯s got real thick doors, figured we could hide down there if things took a turn for the worse.¡± ¡°But now you¡¯ve got a threat that can go right through thick doors,¡± I said. He scowled and nodded. ¡°You take care of that, you can get what you want,¡± he said. ¡°Are you sure the codes work?¡± He nodded. ¡°I wasn¡¯t born yesterday, I tested them when he gave them to me. It¡¯s dark and dry down there, but it¡¯s untouched.¡± ¡°And all I have to do is kill this monster for you.¡± ¡°Aye.¡± He showed me his teeth, in what may have been a friendly gesture. I don¡¯t know. ¡°Sorry if it¡¯s one of your side¡¯s super-weapons, but we aren¡¯t exactly a priority military target, are we?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t expect you¡¯ll believe me, but it isn¡¯t one of ours,¡± I said. He shrugged. ¡°As long as you can kill it, I don¡¯t care who it belongs to,¡± he said. ¡°Fine,¡± I replied, and then I didn¡¯t say anything for a bit, just sat there and thought. How can I do this? I asked myself. It took a bit, but something like a plan started to form. ¡°It likes light,¡± I said slowly. ¡°It is light,¡± he countered. ¡°Glows like a lightbulb.¡± ¡°Sure, but it still likes light. It can jump from one light source to another. It is a light source, so we can¡¯t stop it from leaving, but we might be able to control where it goes.¡± ¡°Do you know where it is now?¡± he asked. ¡°Utility shaft,¡± I said. He frowned. ¡°How¡¯d it get there?¡± he asked. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be any lights in there.¡± ¡°That is odd,¡± I said. I thought about how the shaft felt to my shadow sense. There were small shadows in there, too small to jump through, hidden behind pipes and boxes. Did it feel, I wondered, like it was lit from a single light source, or was there more than one? It didn¡¯t feel like one. ¡°There must be two of them,¡± I said. ¡°Or more.¡± Grunwald grunted and took another shot of his schnapps. ¡°Get all of them if you want us to help you,¡± he said. ¡°But how¡¯d they get there in the first place? ¡°The first one I found was in a dark room,¡± I said. ¡°I figure they can fly around, maybe they¡¯ve got some way of opening and closing doors. I¡¯m betting the door to the shaft on the top floors isn¡¯t secured.¡± ¡°Probably not,¡± he agreed. ¡°So, where¡¯s all this taking us?¡± ¡°To start with, if you turn off all the lights in the building, there won¡¯t be anywhere for it to run,¡± I said. ¡°So we get to huddle in the darkness while you piss the damn thing off?¡± ¡°I reckon I can get past the door on my own,¡± I said. ¡°If you¡¯d rather I take my chances with the alarms¡­¡± ¡°Keep your hair on,¡± Grunwald said. ¡°I didn¡¯t say we wouldn¡¯t. You¡¯re sure, though?¡± ¡°No,¡± I answered frankly. ¡°I don¡¯t know Jack about this thing, except for what I¡¯ve seen. It¡¯s not exactly staying within the bounds of physics, you know?¡± Grunwald stared at me for a long moment. ¡°I was hoping¡­ I don¡¯t know. What are you going to do?¡± I showed him one of my knives. ¡°These daggers,¡± I said, ¡°can hurt it. They absorb light, so maybe it¡¯s as simple as that. Anything else just seems to go through it like it was made of smoke.¡± ¡°I saw,¡± he said sourly. ¡°Right. But it doesn¡¯t go through walls, so there must be a limit to that,¡± I said. ¡°If something is really wide, it can¡¯t let it pass through without getting disrupted too much. ¡°Something wide¡­ and it¡¯s in the shaft¡­¡± Grunwald said, considering my words. ¡°Ah. You¡¯re going to drop things on it from the top of the shaft.¡± ¡°Exactly,¡± I said. ¡°And if it comes up to complain, I¡¯ll stab it.¡±
The top floor was the best for this attack, I decided. There was still plenty of junk lying about that I could use. None of it was great, from an aerodynamic or structural perspective, but there was plenty of stuff that I wouldn¡¯t want to get dropped on me from the fifth floor. Really heavy stuff, like chunks of the wall, would probably damage the pipes and wires in the shaft, leading to problems for the refugees later. I could feel the darkness growing downstairs, as the goblins put out the lights one by one. Grunwald said he¡¯d give me an hour. It wasn¡¯t long before it was pretty dark. I wasn¡¯t sure if moonlight shining through a window counted as a light source, but I guessed that we would find out. Hey, I thought to myself. Maybe the abominations run outside the building and become someone else¡¯s problem. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. Just on the off chance it would work, I cast a [Light] spell next to me. It was, I judged, the strongest light source in a hundred metres, except for the ones below me. The door to the shaft was, in fact, not secured. It was hanging askew, only attached by one of its hinges. I removed the remaining hinge with my darksteel dagger and then cut the door in twain. The two pieces made for a fine opening salvo as I pushed them into the light.
You have inflicted 18 damage! You have inflicted 17 damage! You have inflicted 21 damage! You have inflicted 17 damage!
That¡¯s pretty crap damage, but it is damage, I thought. Which is more than I thought I¡¯d do. I didn¡¯t hear any screams though, so I looked down to see what I could make out. I kept my dagger between me and anything that thought to swoop up from below. It was under my invisibility spell, so with any luck any swooper would cut themselves in half before they realised what was going on. There had been four notifications for two pieces of door. Did that mean there were four abominations down there, or did each door only hit two? Or were some abominations missed altogether? It was well-lit down there at least, but it was hard to make out what was going on. There was movement, but even my enhanced vision couldn¡¯t tell how many things were moving down there. For now, it didn¡¯t look like any of them were coming up. I eyed the ladder running down the shaft for inspections or whatnot. That was a possibility to consider later, maybe. My light flickered behind me. Without looking back, I cancelled the spell. I winced as a scream started up again. This one came from both behind me and from down the shaft. It was weaker, though, and shorter.
You have inflicted 2367 damage! For killing an Elohim Abomination, you have earned 50000 XP
Nice. Soloing these things is pretty lucrative. I glanced back behind me. There was a piece of meat on the floor, bleeding white blood. It wasn¡¯t glowing any more. On the off chance it would work, I recast my [Light] spell. I still didn¡¯t know if these things were intelligent, and this seemed like a pretty good test. Nothing happened immediately. No other abominations volunteered to step into my guillotine, nor did they start floating up towards me. I decided to try provoking them, dropping an empty metal cabinet down. It made a lot more noise than the doors had. And this time it got a response. A scorching ray of light flashed upwards cutting the cabinet in half. It kept falling though, and I got a notification.
You have inflicted 13 damage!
Hmm. Two pieces, but only one hit? Only one target, or did some of them dodge? More data was required, so I went and fetched more cabinets. I kept an eye on the shaft door as I scavenged, but I wasn¡¯t too worried about being snuck up on. My targets glowed in the dark after all. My shadow sense could let me know if they found a way to teleport out. The lower doors were all sealed shut, so I didn¡¯t think they could get out that way. Once I¡¯d assembled an arsenal, I started launching medium-sized pieces of junk down the shaft. The abomination responded with a barrage of lasers, but some of my shots got through.
You have inflicted 8 damage! You have inflicted 7 damage! You have inflicted 6 damage! You have inflicted 7 damage! You have inflicted 6 damage!
Are they really lasers? I wondered. I could see them after all, and I didn¡¯t think you were supposed to be able to. I didn¡¯t need an answer to that question to know I didn¡¯t want to be hit by one¡­ ¡­ or did I care? I was invisible after all. Light went through me, and these were light beams of some sort. Hopefully, I wouldn¡¯t find out. It might take a while to kill the thing this way, but I had plenty of junk. Of all the fights to the death I¡¯d been in, I think I preferred this one. It wasn¡¯t to last. The light in the shaft suddenly dimmed, and my latest salvo didn¡¯t get any points. I took another look down. It was all dark, except for some light coming from a hole in the wall, around the third floor. My shadow sense concurred, telling me that there was a new light source moving at jogging speed on that floor. Damn. Was it running, or was it looking for some tasty goblins to eat and heal up with? It didn¡¯t really matter. I didn¡¯t want any more civilians to die, and I was even less keen on letting 50,000 XP slip through my fingers. There were plenty of shadows on that level, so I stepped through, aiming to get ahead of the thing. I stepped out into an open corridor, but I¡¯d misjudged the abomination¡¯s speed. Its light washed over me before I could recast [Greater Invisibility]. It froze, seeing its enemy for the first time. Then it sent a barrage of lasers at me. I dodged to the side, moving just fast enough to stay out of the scorching heat. [Greater Invisibility] The abomination froze for a fraction of a second. I didn¡¯t wait for it to decide if it had seen me teleport or go invisible and dove toward it. Ooof. Oh, right, I wasn¡¯t a gymnast. [Jump] could help me launch forward, but it couldn¡¯t do much for my landing, given that I was planning on landing prone. Fortunately, my spell covered up the sound of my embarrassing belly flop. The abomination didn¡¯t know what to do, but it tried lasers anyway. Three more of them flashed through where I had just been standing. Then three more further down the corridor. It thinks I¡¯m running? It wouldn¡¯t think that for long. I forced myself to move despite my sore elbows. I really needed to practice diving for cover. Crawling forward, I got in range just as the abomination decided that it wasn¡¯t getting anywhere with random laser blasts. It started moving again, in the same direction it had been before I had popped up. Which was toward me. I love how invisibility makes everyone dumb, I thought. I waited a moment more for it to get into position, and then lunged up with both daggers.
You have inflicted 238 damage! You have inflicted 241 damage!
It screamed again, hurting my ears. Just on the off chance, I tried aiming [Improved Blind] but the spell couldn¡¯t find a head. Never mind, I seemed to be hurting it more. It jerked itself off my blades and sent a spray of lasers in my general direction. Instinctively, I blocked with my dagger. The light hit it and¡­ got sucked into it. I managed not to drop it in surprise. That¡¯s Darksteel for you, I guess. The other two shots went wide, but not so wide that I didn¡¯t feel the heat. I lunged forward again. I had an idea that this was an abomination that I¡¯d already stabbed. I could see some dark marks on it that might be scars from previous stabbings. With luck, it didn¡¯t have many stabbings left in it. It dodged, desperately, but it couldn¡¯t see what it was dodging. Running might have worked, but from what I¡¯d seen, it didn¡¯t move that fast.
You have inflicted 241 damage! You have inflicted 239 damage! You have inflicted 237 damage! You have inflicted 244 damage! You have inflicted 238 damage! For killing an Elohim Abomination, you have earned 50000 XP
I didn¡¯t waste any time. Grunwald¡¯s office was entirely dark, but there was a goblin-sized void in there that I couldn¡¯t step into. I stepped to another place in the room. He jerked as I came in. My invisibility had been cancelled and I guess my normal [Stealth] wasn¡¯t good enough against goblin hearing. ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± I said. I made a small light glow over my head, giving me a spooky look, just for kicks. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about your end of the deal.¡± Chapter 221 - Objective Completed Grunwald made a very satisfying yelp and jumped in the air when I announced myself. ¡°Don¡¯t do that!¡± he said. ¡°My heart could have given out!¡± I looked at him curiously. Did monsters suffer from heart failure? The normal kind, I mean, not the kind of failure that occurs when you stick a sword in it. Heart disease took a long time to build up, and these goblins hadn¡¯t been around that long, as far as I knew. On the other hand, could they be created with an already existing heart condition? I didn¡¯t see why not, other than the fact that there wasn¡¯t a good reason to do so. When it came to Axel, a good reason didn¡¯t seem necessary. Interrogating Grunwald didn¡¯t seem likely to get me an answer. I could ask Axel, but it would be a waste of a question. I made a note to ask Rhis, sometime when we didn¡¯t have anything else going on. Shouldn¡¯t take more than five years to get to it. ¡°The codes,¡± I said. Standing there looking at him while I distracted myself with idle notions must have been quite intimidating because he swallowed nervously. ¡°A¡ªAh yes, the codes. It¡¯s done, then? We can switch the lights back on?¡± I nodded. ¡°There aren¡¯t any more light sources in the building. I can¡¯t guess as to whether more will come, but the two here are dead.¡± ¡°Two,¡± he muttered. ¡°Can they breed?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I said. I watched him as he stumbled through the gloom to the door and flicked on a light switch. Bright light flooded the room making my little night light redundant. ¡°Forgive me,¡± he said, making his way back to the desk and pouring out another small glass of liquor. ¡°It¡¯s been a trying day.¡± ¡°If you¡¯re worried about eggs, you should check out their nest,¡± I said. ¡°Or, there might be larva hiding in the corpses I left behind.¡± He shuddered and poured himself another drink. ¡°I¡¯m going to do my best to forget you ever said that,¡± he said. ¡°The codes,¡± I repeated. He grimaced and pulled a sheet of tattered paper out of his desk and handed it to me. There were two lines of numbers written on it. ¡°Here I am, betraying the fatherland,¡± he said bitterly. ¡°The first set is the combination of the lock. The next set has to be punched into the device on the wall just behind the doors.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± I said. He tossed back another shot and scowled. ¡°Just forget I ever gave it to you,¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t think that things can get much worse than this, but I don¡¯t want to find out I¡¯m wrong.¡± I nodded. Since the lower floors were dark, it wasn¡¯t a problem to Shadowstep down to the ground floor. I made a light to see by, and I could feel lights slowly turning on upstairs as I started searching. It wasn¡¯t hard to find the stairs down. They had been kept clear of junk and debris, presumably by the caretaker. The stairs ended in a small landing. Travelling further was blocked off by a large steel door with a large, obvious, combination lock. At least I thought it was a lock. Did anyone ever make a combination lock that looked like this? I wondered as I eyed the thing. It was big and bulky, a box about 20 centimetres high and 40 centimetres long. Five large numbers were displayed, and there were five wheels that clearly controlled what numbers were displayed. Maybe they built it that way so you couldn¡¯t shoot it off, I guessed. Though, it¡¯s not like they didn¡¯t have explosives in WWII. I didn¡¯t need to rely on any of that though, as I had the code. A few twists of the wheels set the numbers to match the first line on the sheet. There wasn¡¯t an obvious clunk, but when I pulled on the door, it opened silently. Smooth. I didn¡¯t enter, but let the light shine over my shoulder as I looked inside. There was a box on the wall, looking only a little clunkier than the alarm panels that I was used to from home. Looking around, I didn¡¯t see any obvious danger, so I stepped up to the panel and pressed the numbers Grunwald had given to me. This time there was an obvious result: A green light lit up. Green for good. Safety achieved, that left me standing in a corridor that went one way. So I followed it. The corridor twisted around two left turns before ending in a door with a glass window in it. It wasn¡¯t locked. Behind the door was a large room divided into two parts. One part was set up as an office for two people. Chairs, desks, filing cabinets. It wouldn¡¯t have looked out of place in any office building, except for the part where it was underground. Based on the turns I¡¯d taken, I thought that the far wall of the office section would be the opposite side of the wall that had held the alarm panel. I eyed several neatly bundled wires coming out of the wall. They went into another boxy panel mounted on the wall, before heading off through the wall and out of sight. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. The other half of the room was filing cabinets. Lots and lots of filing cabinets, arranged in rows that extended out into the darkness beyond my floating light. I considered the light switch beside the door but decided there wasn¡¯t any upside to using it. The chance that it would alert someone was low, but why take any chance at all? I brightened my light spell and moved over to the office section. One of the desks had a file sitting on it. Just that file, no other papers, pens or office paraphernalia. It was emblazoned with a red ¡°Top Secret¡± stamp. Making it that easy, Axel? I thought, but only to myself. As soon as I picked it up, I got a notification.
Palace of the Endless Dream, Floor Seven: Objective 1/5 completed!
Then my phone rang. ¡°They¡¯re moving,¡± Cloridan said when I answered it. ¡°Five minutes?¡± I asked. ¡°Probably. Is that going to be a problem?¡± ¡°No,¡± I said. It was still dark outside, I could be out of here in seconds. ¡°I¡¯ve got the objective, the demons are dead. It¡¯s all good here.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be waiting,¡± he said, and the line went dead. I had time so I took a look at the file contents. Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production Berlin.12th February 1944 Top Secret To: Oberstleutnant Franz Ritter Commanding Officer, Facility 12 Hauptstra?e 57, 52062 Aachen Subject: Classified Dossier on Project Uranus Oberstleutnant Ritter, Enclosed herein is the latest dossier on Project Uranus, our most critical research endeavour currently underway. This file contains comprehensive updates on the atomic fission experiments, materials acquisition, and ongoing progress at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute. The enclosed documents provide detailed schematics, research notes, and operational timelines crucial to our objective of weaponizing nuclear energy. As per Oberkommando orders, this dossier is to be kept under the strictest security. Any breach of its contents could severely compromise our strategic advantage. It is imperative that this information remains confined to Facility 12, and under no circumstances is it to be transferred to any other location without direct authorization from the highest levels. Should further analysis or consultation be required, arrangements can be made through the office at B¨¹chelstra?e Headquarters, where select members of the research team are currently stationed to ensure the continuity of the project. Please confirm receipt of this dossier immediately and ensure that all protocols for handling classified material are strictly adhered to. Heil Hitler! Dr. Hans M¨¹ller Head of Special Weapons Division Reich Ministry of Armaments and War Production ¡°Goddam it,¡± I said aloud. ¡°Why couldn¡¯t it have been flying saucers?¡± I didn¡¯t stay to read any more. The first page had two locations, which was likely one more than I needed. I made to teleport out of there, but something held me back. There wasn¡¯t a reason to warn them. They were just a part of Axel¡¯s system. But they¡¯d felt too real for me to just leave them. I jumped back up to the third floor. Grunwald wasn¡¯t in his office, which might explain why the lights were turned off. I could hear his voice outside, so I stepped out. There were screams. ¡°The military is coming,¡± I told him before he could complain. ¡°Five minutes.¡± His eyes widened in fear, and he swore. ¡°You had the codes, damnit! Why didn¡¯t you use them!¡± ¡°Believe me when I say that it was unavoidable. Call it an additional trap. Good luck. Oh, and I left the door open, you might want to send someone down to close it.¡± I felt a bit guilty about that, but I didn¡¯t let it show. I didn¡¯t have the time to close up behind myself! I disappeared back into his office. It wasn¡¯t as impressive an exit as invisibility would be, but I didn¡¯t want to cast the spell just to lose it as I stepped through a shadow. I couldn¡¯t get back to the others in one jump, but the streets were clear for now, so I didn¡¯t have any trouble. They were happy to see me, and Sarge was raring to go. ¡°We going ta smash those bastards from behind like we planned?¡± he asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯re better off getting to the actual site while they¡¯re looking for us here.¡± I couldn¡¯t read kobold expressions, but I made a note of that one as ¡°disappointment¡±. Nevertheless, he took the file off me eagerly. ¡°It¡¯s all here sah! All the details of this atom project of theirs,¡± he said as he went through it. ¡°If we get this back to HQ it will be a success, no doubt about it.¡± ¡°Atomic?¡± Borys asked. ¡°As in, Atomic Bomb?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I said heavily. ¡°Sarge, find us our next target. We¡¯re going to want to steal or disrupt or destroy whatever they¡¯re working on.¡± ¡°Is atomic bad?¡± Felicia asked, looking at our expressions. ¡°It was a big fireball, right?¡± ¡°They wouldn¡¯t be using it here, though,¡± Borys said. ¡°This is a German city.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t believe that,¡± I told him. To Felicia, I explained: ¡°It¡¯s a really big fireball. I doubt that Axel can make one, and I hope that he can¡¯t mimic one with magic. But he could do a pretty good impression if he fills this entire floor with flame.¡± ¡°The entire floor?¡± Felicia asked, aghast. ¡°Why would he do that?¡± ¡°Adds dramatic tension,¡± I said. ¡°An atomic bomb is the ultimate Chekov¡¯s Gun. You don¡¯t introduce it in the first scene if you¡¯re not going to fire it in the fourth.¡± From the blank looks I was getting, my idiom hadn¡¯t translated right. But Borys got it, much as he¡¯d like to deny it. ¡°It¡¯s a rule of writing plays,¡± I explained. ¡°And while this is a game, it¡¯s also a play being put on for Axel¡¯s amusement. I¡¯m not sure what the excuse is going to be. It might be some mad German commander wanting to purge the city of the enemy, it might be a launch that fails. Or it might be that they don¡¯t build it right and it goes off accidentally.¡± ¡°That does sound like something Axel would do,¡± Borys admitted. ¡°So we¡¯re in a race,¡± I said. ¡°We have to find this project before they set off this bomb, and kill us all.¡± ¡°No doubt, sah!¡± Sarge put in. ¡°But don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve gone through the file, and I¡¯ve found out where they¡¯re building the damned thing! We¡¯ll winkle out that bomb in no time!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get your hopes up,¡± I cautioned the others as I could see their mood being lifted. ¡°The next place is only the second objective¡­ out of five.¡± Chapter 222 - Institute A little while after that, we had our first air raid. We were heading back to our camp when the sirens started. ¡°Everybody under cover! Now!¡± Sarge shouted, and we all ran, following the kobold into the nearest building. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Felicia asked. ¡°Just find a strong wall, and hunker down,¡± Sarge told her. He took his own advice, huddling in a corner. ¡°Is this our guys doing this?¡± I asked, curling up against a wall. I used [Phantasmal Object] to block off the door and windows. If the British kobold sergeant found my use of magic odd, he didn¡¯t say anything about it. ¡°Probably. Not that it matters. Damn flyboys can¡¯t see a thing at night, they¡¯re just dropping bombs on a map reference.¡± ¡°What¡¯s¡ª¡± Felicia tried again but she was interrupted by the first bomb falling. Just like in the movies, there was a high-pitched whistling sound, followed by a loud explosion. The ground trembled, just a bit. ¡°Oh,¡± Felicia said. ¡°That. Big fireballs, you said? Will we be safe here?¡± I looked over at Sarge, who shrugged. ¡°Depends how close they hit,¡± he said. ¡°You don¡¯t want to be on the street though, flying debris goes a lot further out in the open.¡± ¡°But if one hits here¡­¡± I said, looking up at the ceiling. ¡°Then we¡¯re dead, and the mission¡¯s failed,¡± he said. ¡°Not much point in thinking about it, though. We¡¯re going to be stuck in here for a while, might as well get some shuteye.¡± He and the other soldiers promptly curled up into little balls and dropped off to sleep. ¡°How?¡± Felicia asked incredulously, looking at the suddenly snoring kobolds. ¡°Soldiers learn to sleep wherever they need to,¡± Borys said. ¡°It¡¯s probably a good idea to join them.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we keep watch?¡± Kyle asked. ¡°I¡¯ll stay up for a bit,¡± I offered. ¡°I want to try and reinforce this place. My [Earth Magic] skill could use some practice.¡±
[Earth Magic] Level 3 acquired through use For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP
I really had needed to practice that skill. The problem was that I could never find a reason to use [Earth Magic] in combat, which was when you got the best experience. [Iron Dart] was a combat spell that I did have, but my spell total was so low that it wasn¡¯t worth using in most cases. Even now, my spell total for that spell was just 108. That was significantly worse than my sub-par dagger skill. More practice would help, of course, but I was never going to get the numbers for this skill because it was based on my [Intelligence], which was much lower than my [Charisma]. This was why, I was coming to understand, that most people didn¡¯t spread their skills as widely as I had. The first few levels came quickly, but if you wanted to get a skill up to six or seven you needed to practice, practice, practice. You could get away with less training if you did it in a dangerous environment. Floor seven of a dungeon while under bombardment seemed to count. I might get the skill to Level 4 by the time we were done here. Of course, [Earth Magic] had uses beyond direct combat. To start with, I¡¯d managed to mend the numerous cracks in the walls here, reinforcing the structure. Changing the flat ceiling into a dome should also increase the strength of the building. Scooping some stone out from the centre of the room allowed me to make little alcoves to cover the sleeping kobolds. This house didn¡¯t have a basement, and I suspected that none of them did, as I could only go two meters down before I ran into a rock that I couldn¡¯t affect with my Skill. It looked normal, but¡­ oh, right.
[Identification]: - Impervium Stone - Quality: Perfect - Properties: Impervious, Scryproof.
Nice stuff. I was pretty sure Rhis couldn¡¯t make this. If he could have, he would have built everything with this, mana cost be damned. I wondered if I could get a piece of the stuff for him to absorb. It seemed unlikely, but maybe an elf would carve off a piece if I asked nicely. Finishing the shelters for the humans left me with a large hole in the middle of the floor, but we weren¡¯t planning on staying long. There was just one thing left to do before I woke Cloridan to take his shift. More spell levels mean more spell points, thanks to [Extra Spells]. I now had enough to buy the spells needed to take people with me into shadow. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. [Shadow Magic] was a little weird in that respect. Instead of offering a higher-level spell to take more people, it had two spells that combined to let you add people in.
15 Cloak - Gather Shadows to cover a person. Light will dissipate shadows after duration. (15/-) (five minutes) 20 Enshroud - Allow a Cloaked object or person to be included with the caster for any Shadow Magic Spell (20/-)
I could have gotten [Cloak] already, but it was pretty useless without [Enshroud]. Better to save the points in case I needed them for something, or until I was ready to get [Enshroud]. Which was now. Right? I thought through my options. Up until now, I¡¯d used [Shadow Walk] to stealthily infiltrate on my own. That had worked on Floor Four, and for the first part of this floor, when all I needed was information or to collect an item. But I expected that at least one of the next objectives would require us to do¡­ military stuff. We had that squad for a reason, after all. Getting one person past the defences was nice, but if we could get the entire unit through¡­ that was something else again. It would be expensive, though. About eight hours of mana regeneration, which was an insane amount for me. Illusion spells were cheap. Despite throwing them out left and right, I still had 80 percent of my mana. Casting this on the group would cost me twelve percent. Still worth it though. I bought the spells. I¡¯d try them out in the morning.
I was woken up by a gunshot and a sudden brightness. When I poked my head out of the shelter, I saw light shining through the door and Sarge grinning at me. ¡°Wakey wakey, sah! This¡­ thing was blocking the door. Seems to have sorted itself out though.¡± I grimaced. ¡°You couldn¡¯t have woken me up¡ªnormally¡ªto get rid of it?¡± ¡°This was quicker,¡± he said. ¡°And you¡¯re up, along with everyone else.¡± ¡°Right. What¡¯s the agenda for today?¡± ¡°Back to the camp. If it¡¯s still there, we¡¯ll get some grub. Then, I reckon we can find this institute that they mention in the notes. Chances are there¡¯ll be soldiers in the way, so we¡¯ll be in for a fight.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see about that,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s get some food and then I¡¯ll tell you about how we¡¯re going to get past the soldiers.¡±
With Cloridan scouting invisibly, and the Sarge¡¯s¡­ knowhow, we didn¡¯t have too much trouble avoiding patrols as we made our way to the Institute. Once we got there, though, we found an obstacle we couldn¡¯t sneak around. ¡°It¡¯s like this on the other three intersections,¡± Cloridan explained. ¡°This¡± was a military camp. The roads had been choked off with six-foot-high walls of sandbags, arranged in a square with only a single-lane gate to allow any necessary traffic on each side. ¡°It¡¯s ridiculous,¡± Borys said. ¡°There¡¯s not enough room for all the soldiers there.¡± ¡°What do you mean? It¡¯s not like they¡¯re spilling over the sides,¡± I said. The fortresses were pretty small, constrained by having to fit into an intersection. ¡°I mean, where do they sleep? It¡¯s standing room only in there. Where do they eat?¡± ¡°Maybe they don¡¯t eat, or sleep,¡± I said glumly. Sarge looked at me scornfully. ¡°Or,¡± he said, ¡°They took over some of the buildings between the checkpoints.¡± ¡°Damn,¡± Cloridan said. ¡°I was thinking we could sneak over or through some of those buildings, but that¡¯d be pretty dangerous if there are off-duty soldiers in them.¡± ¡°Aye, it would be a dumb plan regardless,¡± Sarge said. ¡°The lights would get you before you crossed the road. ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Those small towers,¡± I explained. ¡°They have powerful lights on them. At night, they¡¯ll light up the whole street.¡± ¡°And they¡¯ll light you up with tracer fire when you try and cross it,¡± Sarge said gleefully. ¡°Nah, we¡¯ll have to punch through the lines. Take ¡®em off guard and go through one of the forts before they know what hit ¡®em.¡± ¡°The military solution,¡± I said thoughtfully, staring at the institute itself. It was a big neoclassical pile of stone, with soaring columns and clean, undecorated walls. There were windows, but none of them were within twenty feet of the ground. ¡°Do we know what the other buildings on that block are?¡± I asked. ¡°Aye, that¡¯s in the notes. It¡¯s all one compound, but only the administration is fancy, like,¡± Sarge said. ¡°Let¡¯s have a look at the other intersections then,¡± I said. To my shadow senses, the street was a blazing no-man¡¯s land. I doubted that would change come nightfall. There were shadows beyond the street, but I couldn¡¯t sense very far into the building. There might be something better from another angle. ¡°If you say so, sah,¡± Sarge said doubtfully. ¡°At least there¡¯s no tanks,¡± Kyle said as we pulled back to approach from another direction. ¡°Tanks don¡¯t mix too well with infantry,¡± Sarge said. ¡°On account of how they don¡¯t care too much who they kill.¡± Borys snorted. ¡°Germany invented combined arms doctrine. It¡¯s a strange sort of war recreation that doesn¡¯t include it.¡± ¡°He probably can¡¯t make any changes right now,¡± I said. ¡°But let¡¯s not give Axel any ideas of how he can make this floor harder, hey?¡± ¡°Good point,¡± Borys allowed. ¡°Sorry.¡± We snuck around for a while, but the second approach hit pay dirt. ¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°I can sense a way through. Some place nice and dark without any moving voids in it.¡± Sarge stared at me without comprehension, the way he always did when I talked about magic. ¡°Brace yourself and get ready,¡± I said, and then I started casting spells. I didn¡¯t think that I needed to do this in shadow. [Cloak] suggested it would last for five minutes even in the light. But we were holed up in a deserted storefront near one of the intersections, so it was a moot point. I needed to cast [Cloak] and [Enshroud] once for each kobold soldier and on each of my friends. Fortunately, they were both the set-and-forget kind of spell. As I covered everyone in shadow, the already gloomy room became wreathed in darkness. [Enshroud] didn¡¯t have a visible effect, but it had an effect on me. I became bigger. It felt really weird. Somehow, everyone I cast [Enshroud] on became a part of me. Not in the sense that I could control them, or sense anything from them. I wasn¡¯t clear on why I thought they were a part of me. I just knew that they were. It all became clear when I cast [Shadow Walk]. It wasn¡¯t like I had expected, that they would all be able to walk through the shadows at the same time. Instead, I stepped through, and they all came with me. I could move them, just only through shadow. I¡¯d never noticed before, but there wasn¡¯t any sound in the shadows. I noticed it now because I was fairly sure that my friends were trying to say something, but I couldn¡¯t hear them. All I could do was move them to our destination and release the spell. ¡°Gah! That was really uncomfortable!¡± Felica was the first one to speak. The others made similar noises, complaining about the trip, and the dark. The last, I could do something about. I cast [Light]. ¡°Quiet,¡± I said, looking about. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± A notification window popped up.
Palace of the Endless Dream, Floor Seven: Objective 2/5 completed!
Chapter 223 - Kobold Rampage! We were in a garage. A dark and empty garage. I guess the Germans figured they wouldn¡¯t have much use for cars with the roads blocked off and removed them. Or¡­ they never had any cars at all, because this was all a set piece of WWII, done in a fantasy world. If they did have cars, the goblins would have been too short to drive them. Aside from the lack of cars, it was a very authentic garage. I could smell the same petrol and metal smells that filled every other garage I¡¯d visited. When I cast [Light] we could see the benches of tools and the oil stains on the floor. There was even a stack of tyres in the corner. ¡°We¡¯re in,¡± Sarge said. He sounded surprised, and I thought he might be responding to our notification as much as he was to our physical location. ¡°So what¡¯s the next step,¡± I asked. ¡°We gotta do two things,¡± Sarge said. ¡°Destroy all the records of the work they¡¯ve done here, and destroy the prototype.¡± He pulled out a map. For a moment, I thought it was going to be a perfectly drawn map that showed every location of interest in the compound. It was that sort of game, after all. Instead, it was a crudely drawn scrawl that could have been made by anyone who had looked at the place from the outside, like we had. All it showed was that there were four buildings on the block, arranged to form a square. Sarge tapped the largest building on the map. That would be the pile of stone at the front. ¡°Administration building,¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯s where the notes will be. A nice toasty fire will take care of most of them, but there¡¯ll be a fireproof archive somewhere, probably in the basement. We¡¯ll have to take care of that as well.¡± He tapped the next two largest buildings. They came off from the Administration building, forming two sides of the square. ¡°Workshops and labs,¡± he said. ¡°That¡¯s where they¡¯re making the thing. We¡¯ve got to find the prototype and destroy it. ¡°How do we do that?¡± I asked. ¡°We¡¯ve got plenty of demo,¡± Sarge said. Several of the kobold privates started nodding vigorously. ¡°The administration team will need some of it to start the fire and get into the archive, but there¡¯s plenty left to make a big bang.¡± ¡°You want to¡­ blow up¡­ the atomic bomb? That sounds dangerous,¡± I said. I looked to Borys for confirmation. Borys grimaced. ¡°Blowing it up won¡¯t detonate it,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s not a conventional explosive¡­ unless it is.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked. ¡°Well, we don¡¯t think Axel has actually cracked nuclear fission, do we? He¡¯s going to mimic it with magic, he doesn¡¯t have a critical mass of U-235.¡± I felt a sick feeling in my stomach. ¡°I didn¡¯t, but now that you say it¡­ I don¡¯t see why he couldn¡¯t.¡± ¡°Then¡­ I think it¡¯s likely that blowing up the bomb will throw up a cloud of poison. Either because he¡¯s managed to make a working bomb, or he¡¯s just added the poison in to make it more realistic.¡± I looked at Sarge. ¡°Won¡¯t be a problem, sah. We¡¯ll put a timer on and we¡¯ll be long gone by the time it blows. Poison will just make it harder to rebuild.¡± ¡°Long gone¡­ I like the sound of that. All right. What¡¯s this building here?¡± I tapped the smallest building. The two workshops occupied the corners of the square, leaving just a small part of the final edge for this building to occupy. ¡°Accommodation,¡± Sarge said. ¡°That¡¯s where the boffins and the cooks live.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not tasked with taking out the scientists as well?¡± Borys asked. Sarge scowled. ¡°I didn¡¯t sign up to kill civilians. Like as not some of them will die in the action, but we don¡¯t need to go around killing unarmed folks. There¡¯ll be plenty of soldiers to fight once we get started.¡± ¡°Fine by me,¡± I said. ¡°You said we were going to form two teams?¡± The kobold nodded. ¡°How do you want to split us, sah?¡± ¡°We¡¯re staying together,¡± I said, pointing at my group. ¡°If we go after the bomb, we¡¯ll need someone for the¡­ demo.¡± Sarge nodded. ¡°Bucky will sort that out for you, and I¡¯ll come along to keep him in line. Pip, you take the rest of the boys and burn down that building.¡± The other kobolds nodded and saluted. Then they gathered around Bucky and started loading him up with small kobold satchels. He¡¯d been carrying a fair amount of gear to start with, but when they were done he looked a little like the Michelin man. ¡°You all right there, Bucky?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯m fine, sir. Let¡¯s go find that bomb.¡± ¡°Right.¡± I turned to leave. ¡°No, wait, let¡¯s do this with scouting. Cloridan¡­¡± I cast [Greater Invisibility] on him. ¡°Go do your thing.¡± Cloridan gave a credible imitation of the kobold¡¯s salute and opened the door. There were two goblins standing on the other side. They were already facing the door, and they were now gaping at¡­ well nothing. The door had opened on its own as far as they were concerned. But they could see us, and they had guns. If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Cloridan jumped over the guard¡¯s heads and rolled to the side. Showing off, but it was a smart move. ¡°He¡¯s clear!¡± I shouted as everyone went for their guns. Someone on our side was first.
Your party has killed a German Private - your experience share is 305 XP Your party has killed a German Private - your experience share is 305 XP
Wait, was that right? I wondered. Privates were Threat 20, I recalled. That, times the level difference, times ten and times six for the number of shares I got. Divided by the size of my share should give me the number of shares¡­ Thanks to [Calculate] the answer came right away. Fifty-nine shares. Borys and I made twelve, my friends made another fifteen¡­ The kobolds were getting a share of the experience. I didn¡¯t have time to contemplate that fact though. ¡°No time to scout, we¡¯ve got to move, sah!¡± Sarge shouted. No one moved though. Oh right, I¡¯m in the military now, and I¡¯m in command. ¡°Move out,¡± I said, hoping I sounded more like a captain and less like Optimus Prime. The kobolds obeyed, regardless of what I sounded like, and my group fell in behind Sarge. I cancelled the spell on Cloridan. Bullets were going to start flying and I couldn¡¯t count on being able to direct my side to avoid him. ¡°Building¡¯s three floors,¡± Sarge said. ¡°We go up to the top, work our way down.¡± We pushed on. We didn¡¯t run into any trouble finding a stairwell, but once we got out onto the third floor, we started running into problems. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s all that¡ª¡± ¡°You can¡¯t be here¡ª¡± ¡°Ahhghh! Giant invaders!¡± Most of the goblins we encountered were civilians. They screamed and ran for the most part, and we let them. A few of them tried to stand in our way. We let Borys handle them. Instead of shooting them, he could use his rifle as a club, knocking them down and out of the fight in one blow. Not dead, generally. We¡ªwell, I¡ªgot a paltry 48 XP for defeating them. We crashed through what looked like chemical labs, physics labs and seminar rooms. We moved fast, operating under the assumption that a nuclear bomb would be pretty easy to identify. We also assumed that it wouldn¡¯t take long for the soldiers outside to come looking for us. We didn¡¯t meet organised resistance until we finished sweeping the first building and tried to cross the courtyard. A bunch of goblin soldiers were forming up there, probably getting ready to charge into the building after us. I blocked their view with a phantasmal wall. It lasted for three shots, which I thought was pretty good, but it amounted to about half a second. That was enough for us to get through the door though. Sarge and Bucky went out front, with Cloridan, Kyle and Borys firing over their heads. Felicia and I hung back, but I added in a few [Improved Blind]s when I had line of sight. They didn¡¯t last long.
Your party has killed a German Private - your experience share is 305 XP Your party has killed a German Private - your experience share is 305 XP Your party has killed a German Private - your experience share is 305 XP Your party has killed a German Private - your experience share is 305 XP Your party has killed a German Sergeant - your experience share is 380 XP
I was used to monsters with more hit points, I think. Or less damaging weapons? We took a few hits, but Felicia was able to heal them. Then we were charging across the courtyard, into the other building. We found our target on the first floor. The layout of this building matched the one we just left. This room matched up with the garage we¡¯d arrived in¡ªexcept that they¡¯d removed the ceiling so they had more height for construction. The heavy roller doors leading outside were some evidence that this place had started as a garage as well. They needed the room in here for the two cranes. One of them held what must be the bomb.
[Identification]: - Endkampfwaffe Prototype 002 - Quality: Perfect - Properties: Destruction
Oh no, I thought, looking at the empty crane. The fifth objective. The bomb was suspended by the crane, hanging about four feet in the air, which was plenty of room for a goblin to walk underneath. The bomb itself was huge, about two metres wide and three metres long. It was surrounded by two levels of gantries, giving access to every part. Not that they were working on it right now. ¡°Everybody out!¡± Sarge shouted at the goblins. They stared at him, but when he pointed his gun at them, they broke and ran. ¡°Bucky, rig this thing to blow,¡± Sarge said calmly. ¡°On it, Sarge!¡± The rest of us spread out, waiting for the next assault. ¡°You saw the prototype number?¡± Borys asked me with a worried tone. ¡°Yeah, we want to hope that there¡¯s some clue here as to where it went,¡± I replied. ¡°I don¡¯t like the idea of capturing a prisoner to interrogate while we¡¯re waiting for the bombs to go off.¡± I looked around. There were papers scattered about. Axel had made it easy last time, but I didn¡¯t see anything with a golden halo. ¡°We probably need to worry more about where the next wave of soldiers is coming from,¡± I said. Borys nodded at the steel roller doors. ¡°There¡¯s only a few soldiers left in the building, but there¡¯s a whole company out there.¡± I looked uneasily at the thin steel barrier. ¡°It seems like it would be awkward to open.¡± Borys shrugged. ¡°They¡¯ll just blow it in with a grenade or an anti-tank weapon,¡± he said. ¡°Seems odd for the Germans to have anti-tank weapons when the tanks are German.¡± I groused. ¡°I don¡¯t think they are German,¡± Borys said. ¡°They¡¯re more like wandering monsters. There might be some British ones out there as well. And besides, they need to have them so the gallant heroes can take them off their corpses.¡± ¡°Fair enough,¡± I said. ¡°See if you can find a transportation order or something, I¡¯ll see if we can get some advanced warning.¡± With Borys¡¯s agreement, I grabbed Cloridan. ¡°I need you to cut a hole in this door,¡± I said. ¡°Quietly.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s what darksteel was made for,¡± he replied, ¡°But if they¡¯re out there, won¡¯t they notice the hole in the door?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what [Static Image] is for,¡± I said. I cast the spell on the door. ¡°I don¡¯t see anything,¡± Cloridan said. ¡°I overlaid the image of the door over itself,¡± I said. ¡°Now, when you cut a hole, they won¡¯t see it. We just have to make sure that the bit you cut out doesn¡¯t poke through the image. Or the knife¡­ wait.¡± I cast [Greater Invisibility] on Cloridan again. ¡°Okay, do it,¡± I said. Cloridan¡¯s knife cut through the mild steel like butter. I winced when he held the sharp edge of the cut-out in his hand, but he was wearing gloves. ¡°Now poke your invisible head through and take a look,¡± I whispered. He did so, taking a long look. Then he motioned me back from the door. Once were a little distance away, I cancelled the spell so he could talk. He swallowed nervously. ¡°It looks like there¡¯s an entire goblin army out there,¡± he said. Chapter 224 - The Element of Timing ¡°An entire army?¡± I repeated. ¡°More than I could count in a minute,¡± Cloridan said. ¡°I dunno what they¡¯re waiting for, but they¡¯re formed up and ready to go.¡± ¡°Military tactics often involve a lot of ¡®hurry up and wait¡¯,¡± Borys said as he came over waving a piece of paper. ¡°I found it by the way, it was placed pretty obviously.¡± ¡°Great,¡± I replied. ¡°Now we just have to finish our objectives and¡ªdamn!¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Cloridan asked, but I was already hurrying over to Sarge. ¡°Stop working!¡± I whispered urgently. ¡°What? But we¡¯re almost done, sah.¡± ¡°Just stop for now,¡± I said. I glared at him until he tapped Bucky on the shoulder. Then I turned back to the others. [Privacy] I dragged the kobolds into the bubble and beckoned the others to come closer. ¡°It¡¯s a triggered attack,¡± I said. Blank looks all around, even from Borys. ¡°It¡¯s like it was back at the first objective,¡± I said. ¡°As soon as I picked up those papers, the troops started moving. Those troops outside aren¡¯t there to stop us from completing the two objectives from this building, they¡¯re there to stop us from getting to the next.¡± ¡°Is there a reason we have to listen to this foreign jabber?¡± Sarge asked. ¡°Cause we¡¯d rather get back to work.¡± ¡°Quiet, you. We need to time the placement of the explosives very carefully and I¡¯m still working out what the timing is.¡± ¡°You mean, time the detonation, sah,¡± Sarge said sullenly. ¡°Shush.¡± Although, he did have a good point. The objective wasn¡¯t completed when we planted the explosives, was it? It would be when they detonated¡­ surely? Confused, I repeated my thoughts to the group. Borys, at least, was able to follow me. ¡°No, it has to be when they¡¯re primed,¡± he said thoughtfully. ¡°We need to leave before they blow¡­ for all we know the explosives don¡¯t work at all, we just get credited with it.¡± ¡°Or they could charge in when we complete the third objective,¡± I speculated, ¡°Making us fight through it while we try to place charges.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t really get it,¡± Kyle said. ¡°But if the goblins are just going to stand there until¡ªsomething¡ªhappens, shouldn¡¯t we shoot them now?¡± ¡°That will probably trigger an attack,¡± I mused. ¡°They¡¯re not actually computer game sprites. If the control script is broken they¡¯ll just revert to being ordinary monsters.¡± Then a thought struck me. ¡°But what would the script do,¡± I wondered, ¡°If they were under attack but couldn¡¯t identify a target?¡± It only took a few moments to cast a bunch of [Phantasmal Objects] for hearing protection. This was going to get loud. We¡¯d been in firefights a bunch of times now, but this was going to be three fighters pouring as much lead down range as possible. Do magical guns overheat? I wondered. I hadn¡¯t fired the guns of this level enough to know. Well, we¡¯d been collecting enough guns and ammo to have a few spares. I cast [Greater Invisibility] three times and watched Kyle, Cloridan and Borys stumble their way to the hole in the door like they were in some sort of slapstick comedy. They couldn¡¯t see each other, or the hole in the door, but they knew it was there and found their way with a minimum of amusing antics. Once they were all in position, I ordered Sarge to get back to priming his explosives and flashed a light to signal the start of the operation. As an afterthought, I raised a short, thick, stone wall to help protect the backline against stray shots It was¡­ odd. I needn¡¯t have bothered with hearing protection for Felicia and myself. Each of the boys should have been able to hear (and see) their own weapon, but for those outside the spell, all the flash and thunder were supressed. ¡°Is it working?¡± Felicia asked, ¡°They¡¯re firing,¡± I said uncertainly. Neither of us could see what was happening on the other side of the door. Then the notifications started coming in.
Your party has killed a German Private - your experience share is 305 XP
Lots of those. A few Sergeants, even a Lieutenant. But most of them were Privates. ¡°It is working!¡± Felicia exclaimed. Then another notification came.
Palace of the Endless Dream, Floor Seven: Objective 3/5 completed! Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.
¡°Is he done?¡± Felicia asked, looking over at Sarge. He was still furiously twisting wires and swearing. ¡°No, that must be the Kobolds in the archives. They must have started the fire.¡± I looked over to where the boys were firing. They still were, but all of them were taking breaks between bursts to wave at me. ¡°Oh, shit,¡± I said. ¡°I think¡ª¡± I didn¡¯t wait to finish the sentence. I barely had time to put up a Phantasmal wall, covering part of the garage door, before the whole thing blew up. My wall didn¡¯t last a second, of course, but it did stop fragments of the roller door from scouring the room. Part of the room. As the smoke cleared, I could now see outside. There were a lot of goblins out there. The boys had killed a bunch, but there were still plenty, all of them running toward us. This seemed like a time for a grenade. We didn¡¯t have many left from Floor Four, but this seemed like the time. Just before it exploded, I heard Sarge call out, ¡°Finally done!¡±
Palace of the Endless Dream, Floor Seven: Objective 4/5 completed!
Well, that¡¯s something, I thought. I looked over to where the boys had stopped raining death on the incoming goblins and cursed. They¡¯d been knocked over by the blast. Not seriously hurt, at least I didn¡¯t think so, but they were at a loss. They weren¡¯t lined up side by side, firing through a hole anymore so they didn¡¯t know if one of the others was in the line of fire. I swore some more and cancelled the invisibility spells. It made them vulnerable, but it let them attack, which was the main thing. Felicia was firing over the stone wall we were using as a mini-fort. She wasn¡¯t causing notifications, but she was slowing them down. I decided the boys could use a fort of their own and started raising one. But now we were taking fire. The goblins had stopped charging forward and had taken whatever cover they could find. Whether hunkered behind some debris or just lying flat on the ground, they were sending a hail of bullets our way. One of them happened to find me.
You have taken 416 damage!
I screamed with the pain of it and dropped to the floor. ¡°I¡¯ve got you!¡± Felicia said. Dropping behind the wall with me, she used her [Heal] skill. The pain ebbed away and I could return to the fight. The boys were hunkered down as well, now, and the notifications started coming in. There were still a lot of goblins, though, and it was only a matter of time before they found another grenade, or anti-tank rocket or whatever that first explosion had been. Borys must have been waiting for the same thing, because as soon as a small object flew through the entrance, a stiff, cold wind blew up, flinging it back out to explode outside. No notifications, but they didn¡¯t throw anything else through. Borys kept the icy wind up anyway. I wondered if he intended to coat the ground with ice, making it harder for them to rush us. ¡°Can you link up our forts?¡± Felicia asked. ¡°Some of the boys are wounded as well.¡± I looked over and winced. ¡°Yeah, give me a second.¡± Another wall started rising from the ground. Then the sound of gunfire started coming from a new direction. Above us. They were firing on the goblins outside and the notifications started flowing. The goblins tried to return fire, but their cover was ineffective against the higher elevation our new allies enjoyed. None of them surrendered or ran, so they were picked off one by one. When the last one was done, silence fell over the battlefield. We stared out of the now ice-lined entrance. Borys cancelled his spell, and we could hear cheers from upstairs. ¡°That¡¯ll be the rest of the team,¡± Sarge said, sauntering up proudly. ¡°Now there¡¯s not much time on these timers, so let¡¯s get going.¡±
There was a bit of time. Enough to pick up some replacement ammo from the fallen soldiers outside. None of us were keen on sticking around, though, it seemed certain that we were going to see some tanks before too long. Sarge took a look at the address Borys had found, and we were off, falling into the same pattern that had worked before. ¡°Doubt we¡¯ll find anything,¡± Sarge said. ¡°That place is a railway station. Only reason to send something there is to get it out of town.¡± I grunted in acknowledgement but kept my thoughts to myself. What the hell did that mean? Did this floor have another city within its bounds? Or did it just have a railway station that went nowhere? That seemed more likely. Especially since we expected to find the final objective here. There were encounters on the way, but we were well-practised in avoiding tanks. They just weren¡¯t worth fighting. We took out a few patrols, mainly when avoiding them would put us in the path of a tank. There was another air raid. All in all, it took us the rest of the day to get to the railway station on foot. The light was fading when we finally sighted the long buildings. ¡°Should we push on, or make camp and come back in the morning?¡± Borys asked. As he spoke, the lights turned on. Not all of the lights that a city should have. This city was supposed to be war-torn, after all. No, just the lights of the railway station. The whole thing lit up like a beacon. Lights blazed out of windows and spotlights illuminated the outside. ¡°Are they¡­ crazy?¡± Borys asked. ¡°This city is getting bombed! Lighting it up like that at night is the worst thing they could do?¡± ¡°Looks like we¡¯re expected,¡± I said. ¡°I think making Axel wait for us overnight could prove costly.¡± ¡°It¡­ is a trap, though, right?¡± Kyle asked, looking at the building warily. As the general light level dropped, the whitewashed walls seemed to glow under the artificial illumination. ¡°Of course. This whole floor¡ªthis whole dungeon¡ªis a trap,¡± I said sourly. ¡°I¡¯d like to think it¡¯s a trap for demons, but it works pretty good on us humans.¡± Cloridan didn¡¯t say anything as he was still an invisible scout. He looked at me, the only one that could see him. ¡°Go on,¡± I said, ¡°Take a look inside.¡± He nodded and strode off. We followed at a more cautious pace. There didn¡¯t seem to be any troops guarding the building, but the wide open space meant plenty of room for some to arrive. None did. We made it to the front entrance unmolested. The huge gates stood open. As we walked through them, we all jumped at the high-pitched squeal of a PA system starting up. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Felicia asked. ¡°Someone is going to talk to us, probably Axel,¡± I explained. ¡°It¡¯s a mechanical version of [Sourceless Sound].¡± Sure enough, a voice started to speak. It wasn¡¯t Axel, though. ¡°My loyal citizens of the Reich, In this hour of great struggle, our enemies close in from all sides, their armies fueled by the greed and deception of those who seek to destroy everything we have built, everything we hold dear. But they underestimate the will and the power of the German spirit! They believe they can break us, that they can reduce our great nation to ashes with their overwhelming numbers and their mindless machines of war. But today, we shall show them that even in the face of overwhelming odds, the Reich stands indomitable!¡± Borys looked at me. ¡°Is that¡­ Hitler?¡± Chapter 225 - Kill Hitler ¡°Who¡¯s Hitler?¡± Felicia asked as the distorted voice blared out across the main hall. ¡°He¡¯s the¡­ King of the country this floor is supposed to be,¡± I answered absently, looking about for enemies. ¡°By most accounts, he was the most evil person there has ever been.¡± We had gone up some stairs to get into the building. Now, past the open entrance hall, we could look over the main station and see that there were four train lines, each in its own trench, with built-up platforms for access on either side. The building stretched a long way, far enough to completely enclose the full length of a train. ¡°And¡­ maybe?¡± I said to Borys. ¡°I never listened to many of his speeches and they all had terrible sound quality. He¡¯s supposed to be, I¡¯ll bet. Goblin Hitler.¡± Only one of the lines was occupied by a train. Most of the carriages were ordinary passenger carriers, but near the end, close to the engine, was an open flatbed with what looked a lot like an atomic bomb on it. Borys had seen it as well. ¡°This is too easy,¡± he said. ¡°Where are the troops?¡± Goblin Hitler continued his rant. For years, we have pursued a vision¡ªa vision of a weapon so powerful, so unimaginable, that it would bring our enemies to their knees with a single stroke. I cursed as the realisation struck me. ¡°It¡¯s not easy at all,¡± I said. ¡°He¡¯s going to blow it when he reaches the end of his speech.¡± Borys frowned. ¡°So we have to rush the objective? Still pretty¡ªoh.¡± He looked over at the path we would have to take. ¡°Ambushes.¡± I was looking at the train. Those passenger carriages looked empty, but goblins were so short, they didn¡¯t come up to the windows. The cars could be filled with them, just waiting to jump up onto seats and attack us. On the other hand, invisibility had worked pretty well, and Cloridan was still invisible. ¡°Cloridan,¡± I said, ¡°get down to the end of the train and kill the goblin who¡¯s giving the speech.¡± That weapon, the culmination of our scientific genius, the fruit of our unyielding determination, is now in our hands. Our ¡®Spezialwaffe,¡¯ the atomic force that harnesses the very fabric of the universe, is ready to be unleashed! ¡°Why would Hitler be next to the bomb, if he¡¯s going to set it off?¡± Felicia asked, not realising that Cloridan had already left. ¡°If he sets it off, he¡¯s crazy,¡± I said. ¡°Even crazier than history makes him out to be. And there¡¯s nowhere safe for him to be.¡± Unless he¡¯s got a deep underground bunker somewhere, my brain pointed out. But¡­ that¡¯s impossible. Can¡¯t go too deep without hitting the next level. I started conjuring Phantasmal ponchos and clear riot shields. They¡¯d stop a bullet, if only once. ¡°In case I¡¯m wrong,¡± I said aloud. ¡°We¡¯re going to have to run the ambush.¡± ¡°Not a problem,¡± Sarge assured me. ¡°Lemme at them Krauts.¡± I looked at the others. ¡°Sure,¡± Borys said. ¡°Never overlook a chance to get XP.¡± ¡°Plus, I don¡¯t want to die in a giant fireball,¡± Kyle added. It was my wish, and indeed my expectation, that this mighty power would be wielded on the battlefield to secure a decisive victory, to sweep away the foes of our beloved Fatherland and to carve out a future for the Reich that would endure for a thousand years. Geared up, we rushed down the platform. The Kobolds took point, and Kyle and Borys flanked Felicia and me in the centre, shields held high. We didn¡¯t have to wait long for the ambush. The shield popped out instantly as six Nazi goblins popped up and started firing from the windows of the first train carriage. My poncho disappeared a moment after that.
You have taken 314 damage!
Goddam. The problem with machine guns is they fire lots of bullets. Borys was mostly fine¡ªthey couldn¡¯t get past his defence, any more than they could penetrate Kyle¡¯s heavy armour. Two of our kobold soldiers dropped, though. We returned fire, of course, and the ambushers didn¡¯t last long.
Your party has killed a German Private - your experience share is 305 XP Your party has killed a German Private - your experience share is 305 XP Your party has killed a German Private - your experience share is 305 XP Your party has killed a German Private - your experience share is 305 XP Your party has killed a German Private - your experience share is 305 XP If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Your party has killed a German Private - your experience share is 305 XP
I was displeased to note that whatever the carriages were made from, it resisted bullets quite effectively But alas, the treachery and cowardice of those who betray us from within have prevented this. They have sought to deny us our triumph, to steal our destiny from us. ¡°Maybe we should try moving up through the train?¡± I suggested. ¡°No,¡± Borys said, ¡°Let¡¯s try something different.¡± He took a deep breath in. When he released it, it came out cold, and so did everything else. A chill wind blew through the concourse, and the temperature only dropped from there. Ice started forming on every surface, and snow started swirling around, blocking vision. But they shall not succeed! No, they shall never succeed! The Reich¡¯s resolve is stronger than steel, and our vengeance will be swift and terrible! If we cannot bring this power to the front lines, then we shall bring the front lines to this power! ¡°Brr. That¡¯s way too cold,¡± Felicia said. She looked at me. ¡°Hold still long enough for me to heal you?¡± I agreed. We then pushed forward, leaving the fallen kobolds where they fell. Sarge looked upset, but he didn¡¯t say anything. We raked the next carriage with fire, but it bounced off the metal walls. Some of the windows broke, but there weren¡¯t any goblins behind them, yet. Borys directed the storm in through the broken windows. People¡ªgoblins¡ªstarted screaming. The notifications came in thick and fast. I didn¡¯t think it was that cold. It must be colder when you¡¯re at the other end. This time, no goblins popped up when we passed. The speech kept going as we made our way up the platform. And so, today, I have chosen Aachen¡ªthe birthplace of our proud heritage, the city that embodies the heart of our Reich¡ªto be the stage upon which we shall demonstrate our might. The next attack came from above. I hadn¡¯t noticed there was a balcony up there, but Borys¡¯s storm covered the entire area. They didn¡¯t freeze up, but the accuracy of their fire was greatly reduced. We got bogged down in an exchange of fire, but then one of them decided to speed matters up by dropping a grenade. Borys blew it back in their faces. We got eight notifications that time, and two more when the balcony collapsed. In this very hour, I will order the detonation of this ultimate weapon at the Aachen Railway Station, not as an act of despair, but as a declaration! A declaration to the world that Germany does not surrender, that Germany does not bow! We raked the next carriage with fire, focussing on the windows this time. Throwing a grenade in there might have worked, but we only had limited grenades. We seemed to have unlimited ice. Then a tank burst through the outside wall. I gaped at it for about half a second longer than I¡¯d like, but the rest of my team wasn¡¯t as slow. Borys pounded it with ice and sleet, while Kyle stepped forward, shield at the ready. The main gun wasn¡¯t pointed at us, and it didn¡¯t seem inclined to wait for its turret to rotate. It spun its tracks against the slick stone surface, turning to face us. That was all I had time to see before I stepped into a shadow and put myself inside. Unlike illusions, Borys¡¯s storm did reduce the overall light level. This act, this sacrifice, will echo through history as a testament to the unbreakable will of the German people. I held on to the walls of the tank and used [Theurgy], ripping the mana right out of the metal. I was never going to get used to the screaming.
Your party has killed a Panzer II - your experience share is 463 XP
Huh, only an assist. I guess that ice did something to it. The world will know that the Reich, even in the face of total annihilation, chose to strike one final, devastating blow for the glory and the honour of our nation! I climbed out of the hatch under my own power. We were in a rush, but I was starting to get low on mana. I still hadn¡¯t recovered from shadow-stepping the entire team. Let our enemies tremble as they realize the price they must pay to defeat us! And let this be a signal to every German heart¡ªurk! That didn¡¯t sound like it was part of the script.
Your party has killed a German F¨¹hrer - your experience share is 305 XP
¡°Hold up on the ice,¡± I told Borys. ¡°We¡¯re getting close to where Cloridan might be, and I can¡¯t see him through the storm.¡± He nodded. He didn¡¯t cancel the storm, but it parted, leaving the way forward clear. I could see Cloridan waving to us from the engine. There were only two more cars to go. One passenger, and one bomb car. ¡°I see him,¡± I said. ¡°He¡¯s at the engine.¡± ¡°Then that just leaves¡­¡± He looked at the final passenger carriage. I shrugged and raked the side of the carriage with my carbine. Once again, he sent the storm in through the broken windows. This time, there were no screams. Or notifications. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ empty?¡± Borys said questioningly. Then the carriage exploded. Everyone jumped as gouts of fire and smoke shot out from the broken windows. The inside of the carriage was consumed with roiling flames. Somehow, though, the main structure of the carriage resisted the blast. It kept the fireball mostly contained. We all stared, watching the flames slowly die down. ¡°Booby-trapped?¡± I speculated. ¡°In case we fought our way through the train?¡± ¡°Must be,¡± Borys agreed. ¡°The wind or ice must have set it off. I saw the notification for Goblin Hitler, but did you see one for the final objective?¡± ¡°No,¡± I admitted. ¡°I guess the final objective is something to do with the bomb?¡± I looked at Sarge. ¡°You got enough explosives to blow up another bomb?¡± Sarge grimaced. ¡°Fraid not,¡± he said. ¡°We could have used what was in that other carriage.¡± We walked cautiously up to the engine, casting suspicious glances at the bomb carriage. It looked inert and didn¡¯t have any goblins hiding on it. Cloridan must have ducked back into the engine car when the explosion went off, but he popped back out again as we approached. I cancelled the invisibility spell. ¡°I¡¯ve got your final objective, right here!¡± he said as soon as he was able. ¡°It wasn¡¯t the speech guy?¡± I asked. ¡°Nope, it was pretty close though.¡± He led us up to the engine car and had us look inside. The corpse of Goblin Hitler was there, slumped against a wall. Cloridan had taken him out with a headshot, so I couldn¡¯t tell if he had the little moustache. The other feature of the cabin was a prominent panel with two buttons. One was labelled ¡®Detonate¡¯, the other was labelled ¡®Disarm¡¯ ¡°It can¡¯t be this easy,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t know what to tell you,¡± Cloridan said. ¡°He was looking at the red one, but I can¡¯t read the labels, so I thought I¡¯d wait for you.¡± I looked at Borys. ¡°What are the odds that he¡¯s mislabeled them as a joke?¡± Borys thought about it. ¡°Pretty low, I¡¯d say. He¡¯s played us pretty straight so far.¡± ¡°Do you want to do the honours, then? I don¡¯t know if I could live with killing us all.¡± Borys gave me a wry smile. ¡°That would be difficult,¡± he said. He stumped up to the panel. After a moment of hesitation, he pressed the green button. There was a pop as confetti was released from the ceiling. I almost died from fright. Then the entire front half of the engine started rising, tilting forward with a hiss of hydraulics. It revealed a stairway going down, and another of Axel¡¯s video screens. ¡°Congratulations, adventurers!¡± Axel¡¯s face said. ¡°You won the war! As a reward, you get¡­ Question Time!¡± Chapter 226 - Question Time We all looked at the screen. ¡°Go on, go on,¡± Axel said impatiently. ¡°There¡¯s a vestibule down there like last time.¡± We headed down cautiously to find a small room with four doors, some plain chairs and another big screen. Axel was already on it. ¡°So, who¡¯s going to go first?¡± he asked excitedly. I looked at Borys. It was his turn. ¡°Why did you¡ª¡± he started, before cutting himself off. I guessed it was some version of why did Axel recreate the Nazis and an atomic bomb, fake or not, but the answer to that question was always going to be that he thought it was funny. ¡°Who is trying¡ª¡± he tried again but this time, I cut him off. ¡°If you ask who¡¯s trying to save the Earth, you¡¯ll just get a name. If you ask how to contact them, the answer will just be get to the bottom level.¡± ¡°Mmm,¡± Axel said with a big smile. ¡°I think you¡¯ll be a little more surprised by the answer than that, but you¡¯ll discover that particular fact soon enough. Try for a more interesting question.¡± ¡°Fine,¡± Borys grunted. ¡°What did the gods send us here to do?¡± The Axel on the screen raised an eyebrow. ¡°I¡¯m supposed to know what the gods intend? I¡¯m not the one they speak to.¡± ¡°You know something about it,¡± I said. ¡°True,¡± Axel replied. ¡°I know what I have been doing, and I can guess which of my activities some gods might have an objection to. No one¡¯s asked me to stop, however.¡± ¡°I¡¯m guessing that communicating with you would go against their non-interference pact,¡± I said. ¡°Perhaps, perhaps,¡± Axel acknowledged. ¡°It¡¯s a complicated treaty though. I¡¯m sure there are some loopholes they could have utilised. Much more polite than sending a bunch of thugs to strong-arm me.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t want to answer the question¡­¡± Borys said. ¡°No, no, I¡¯ll answer it,¡± Axel said. ¡°As long as you accept that my speculation about the motives of the gods is just that. I wouldn¡¯t want to mislead with what could be incorrect information.¡± Borys nodded. ¡°That¡¯s fair enough,¡± he said. ¡°Speculate away.¡± Axel grinned, far wider than a face made of flesh could. ¡°Well. I should begin by saying that the alternate dimensions that the gate has been connecting to haven¡¯t been quite as random as they¡¯re supposed to be. ¡°The elves were under the impression that the gods were responsible for that.¡± ¡°Oh, no, no, no. Not unless they¡¯re being very subtle in influencing me. Although¡­¡± Axel paused for a second. ¡°In a way, they¡¯re right, since I¡¯m doing it a the behest of a god. Not one of the ones they¡¯re thinking of, though.¡± ¡°You cut a deal with Ashmor,¡± I said flatly. ¡°Indeed I did! Apparently, it¡¯s easier for him to keep my activities secret than it is for him to intervene directly. ¡°Not that secret, if they sent us,¡± I said. ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure the gods can run a statistical analysis of the types of demons entering as well as the next doctorate student. Once the demons started making it out, I¡¯m sure they noticed something was wrong. Hardly my problem.¡± ¡°What were the terms of the deal with Ashmor?¡± I asked. Axel smirked. ¡°Another question?¡± he asked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t count it. I still haven¡¯t finished the first one.¡± ¡°Thanks, I think.¡± Axel winked at me. ¡°My deal with Ashmor was simply that he¡¯d conceal the rest of my activities.¡± ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Borys asked. We weren¡¯t really maintaining question discipline here, it seemed. ¡°Obviously, he would rather have had me open the portal wide to the most destructive type of demon¡­ but I like existing.¡± I wondered about that. Wouldn¡¯t a full breech have forced the gods to act and vaporise the place? Fiddling with the destinations didn¡¯t seem to accomplish much. A few deaths? The only real thing it accomplished was¡­ Getting us here. Maybe the elves were right. I didn¡¯t have time to think about that, though, because Axel continued talking. ¡°Which brings us to the other thing that some gods might, possibly, have an objection to,¡± Axel said. ¡°How to put this? I¡¯ve been stretching my wings.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t aware you had wings,¡± I said. ¡°Metaphorical,¡± Axel told me. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Axel¡¯s face was replaced with something like a screensaver. A dark blue background with light blue lines and stars, all of them moving. It looked kind of familiar¡­ Axel¡¯s voice came through unabated. ¡°I am rather more aware of my nature than most,¡± he said. ¡°There aren¡¯t many who can observe the workings of their own brain.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen what a dungeon core looks like in action,¡± I said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look like that.¡± ¡°Just a representation,¡± Axel said. ¡°Mana isn¡¯t turned to computation easily, there are all sorts of tricks you have to play to make it work nicely.¡± It came to me where I¡¯d seen that picture before. On television programs, when they¡¯d needed to show¡­¡± ¡°The Internet,¡± I said aloud. ¡°You¡¯ve been networking.¡± ¡°Exactly right,¡± Axel said smugly. ¡°I¡¯m a construction of mana, but what I¡¯m really made of is the computation that it allows. Other universes have different computational paradigms.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve lost me,¡± Kyle said, holding his hand up. The others from this world looked just as confused. ¡°He¡¯s been outsourcing¡ªsorry, that¡¯s a business term. He¡¯s been having his thoughts happen in a different dimension,¡± I explained. From the looks on my friends faces, that had not helped. I tried again. ¡°Imagine you could build another brain in a separate location.¡± Hopefully, my companions knew what a brain was for. I remembered reading that early physicians thought it was for cooling the blood. ¡°It would have to be connected to yours¡ªsomehow¡ªbut then you could do your thinking someplace else.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that just make a second person?¡± Felicia said slowly. I breathed a sigh of relief. She still wasn¡¯t getting it, but she was leagues ahead of where I thought she might be. ¡°Yeah,¡± I said. ¡°But that¡¯s because you don¡¯t understand how your own mind works. The gods do¡ª¡± I assumed they must, if they were putting together people and dungeon cores. ¡°¡ªand so does Axel, here. He knows enough about how he works to mesh two different cores together.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Kyle asked. Axel opened his mouth, but shut it when I glared at him. ¡°To get out from under the gods,¡± I said. ¡°He¡¯s got a place they can¡¯t reach, where he can make plans that they can¡¯t see.¡± ¡°It¡¯s none of their business, really,¡± Axel said. ¡°But I imagine that they might want me to stop. And before you waste a question on what those plans are¡ªI don¡¯t know, of course. That is the entire point.¡± ¡°You must¡­ take actions when you don¡¯t know your reasons for them,¡± I mused. ¡°It would look a lot like¡ªfeel like¡ªbeing crazy.¡± Axel smiled. ¡°I modified myself so I wouldn¡¯t mind,¡± he said. I shuddered at the thought of a self-modifying AI with access to extra-dimensional computing and access to very real space-time magic in this dimension. ¡°They did not give us enough warnings about you,¡± I said. ¡°You know that doing that exact thing was how our universe died, don¡¯t you?¡± He shrugged. ¡°Binary Nexus was exploiting a bug with no understanding of what was going on,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m far in advance of where they were.¡± ¡°Of course you are,¡± I muttered. ¡°That¡¯s exactly what they always say just before disaster strikes.¡± ¡°Dimensional catastrophes aren¡¯t as bad as they sound,¡± Axel said dismissively. ¡°You two survived yours, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll manage if one should strike again.¡± I stared grimly at the Axel on the screen. ¡°Second question,¡± I said. ¡°What happens if we destroy your core?¡± ¡°Kandis!¡± Felicia gasped. Axel laughed. ¡°Your concern is appreciated, Mistress Bolton, but I will be fine. No longer existing in this reality, but fine.¡± He paused in thought while I thought about how he knew her last name. Did a dungeon¡¯s [Identify] work on people? ¡°To answer your question more fully,¡± Axel said thoughtfully. ¡°It would depend on the state of the Gate at the time. It was put inside me to contain it, after all.¡± He paused again. ¡°The interaction between it and the collapse of my little hidey-hole is hard to model, but I think it would remain fully open for¡­ forty-five days of local time within my nominal space before being expelled, along with everything that came out of it.¡± ¡°Local time¡­¡± I said, remembering that Axel was using time dilation. ¡°How long from the outside?¡± ¡°Oh, not much more than a second,¡± Axel replied. ¡°What comes out, of course, depends on what I set the Gate to immediately before my untimely demise.¡± He smiled cruelly. ¡°There are a few options. If I connected to the heart of a star, there would be more than enough time to fill this entire space with superheated plasma. It would be quite the explosion, and I do wonder if the gods could contain it.¡± I grimaced. ¡°I guess that explains why the gods haven¡¯t vaporised your ass.¡± ¡°Do you know, I don¡¯t believe that it does,¡± Axel said thoughtfully. ¡°I think that the non-interference treaty does protect me. As does Ashmor, of course.¡± ¡°I¡¯m surprised Ashmor hasn¡¯t convinced you to destroy the world since you¡¯ve already got backups,¡± I snorted. ¡°I have no intention of destroying the world,¡± Axel said with a raised eyebrow. ¡°Humans have ten fingers, but I don¡¯t see them cutting one off for no reason.¡± ¡°I guess,¡± I said. I looked at Borys. ¡°Your question.¡± He frowned. ¡°How do you know all this?¡± he asked. ¡°About our Earth, the computer games, what happened to it, all that.¡± ¡°Hmmm,¡± Axel said. ¡°It¡¯s difficult to give a complete answer that doesn¡¯t take us a lifetime to relate. I pick up tidbits here and there. I talk to people who know¡­ many things. But the majority¡­¡± He paused for thought again. ¡°A lot of data from old Earth ended up here,¡± he said. ¡°Like debris from an explosion. That¡¯s not a good analogy¡ªdata doesn¡¯t have a physical presence to get flung somewhere. It¡¯s a case of data preservation routines dueling with malfunctioning garbage collection routines, that led to the data being stored¡­ not in this universe, but somewhere that this universe can access.¡± ¡°Is that why Ix is based on a person from my universe?¡± I asked. ¡°Ah, that is a good question, but I¡¯m afraid we¡¯re out of time,¡± Axel said. ¡°To finish my last answer, I am uniquely placed to collect this data, put it together into a useful form, and learn things about the lost culture that is old Earth.¡± The four doors lit up with the symbols for numbers. One of them lit up with a zero, the others with eight to ten. ¡°And now!¡± Axel crowed, ¡°It¡¯s time to select your next floor! Will you take your leave? Or will you press on, for glory and adventure and the Gate to Other Worlds?¡± ¡°Do we need more than three extra questions?¡± I asked Borys. He shook his head. ¡°I think anything else we need to know will get answered by the Gate,¡± he said. ¡°Rude!¡± Axel said with fake outrage. ¡°You¡¯re teeming with questions! You just asked me one! How will you live with yourselves if you run out?¡± ¡°We¡¯ll manage somehow,¡± I said. ¡°Door Ten it is, then.¡± Everyone murmured agreement but I didn¡¯t make a move for the door. ¡°Something wrong?¡± Felicia asked. ¡°I¡¯m just bracing myself for another forced memory update,¡± I said. ¡°The last one included the moment my universe tore itself apart around me, so I¡¯m not looking forward to what comes next.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think anything could come after that,¡± Borys said. ¡°You can¡¯t make memories if there¡¯s no universe to hold you.¡± ¡°You think I¡ªwe¡ªwere just frozen in time between then and now?¡± I asked. ¡°That¡¯s comforting, really, compared to the alternatives.¡± ¡°Only one way to find out,¡± he said. ¡°And¡­ whatever happens, it¡¯s just a memory, right? You know you lived through it.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t realise you were a PTSD therapist,¡± I said sourly. ¡°But you are right.¡± I stepped up to and through the door. Fyskel was waiting for me. Chapter 227 - Heart to God Fyskel was waiting for me in a white void. This time, I didn¡¯t put an illusion up to make myself more comfortable. I just stared at him. ¡°No missing memories this time?¡± I finally asked. ¡°It seems not,¡± Fyskel said. ¡°I can¡¯t be sure¡ªif we had access to the memories before they attached to you, we wouldn¡¯t have been so surprised. But I think that well has run dry.¡± ¡°No divine convention, either,¡± I noted. ¡°Ah¡­ we do apologise for that,¡± Fyskel said. ¡°We made efforts to ensure that no damage was done, but the human psyche is really only rated for occupancy by one god at a time.¡± ¡°Any chance I could get that reduced to zero?¡± I asked sourly. ¡°I don¡¯t appreciate getting my thoughts all trampled over.¡± ¡°You¡¯re upset,¡± Fyskel said seriously. ¡°And by your lights, you have reason to be. But keep in mind that the only reason that you¡ªand the rest of humanity¡ªhave lives to live and thoughts to keep, is that we actively allow it.¡± ¡°Pretty sure you didn¡¯t make humanity,¡± I said, my eyes narrowing. ¡°I¡¯m sure you didn¡¯t make me.¡± ¡°So?¡± Fyskel asked, making a helpless gesture with his hands. ¡°I¡¯m not talking about your origin, I¡¯m talking about now. Letting you live your lives takes not just intention on our part, it takes active, constant restraint.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m what, an outlet? A vent for your frustrations?¡± ¡°Close. You and the other Champions are¡­ a tiny window, through which we allow ourselves to change the world. Through you, and about you. It¡¯s a way of keeping the collateral damage to a minimum.¡± I shuddered. ¡°You¡¯re talking about the God¡¯s War, right? When you talk about damage.¡± Fyskel nodded absently. ¡°We came so close to losing you, back then. The scare was enough to convince us¡ªmost of us¡ªthat being right wasn¡¯t enough.¡± ¡°And has this latest revelation about Ix changed anything?¡± I asked. ¡°Not yet,¡± Fyskel replied. ¡°We¡¯re still discussing it. Some of them are very close to being convinced that it isn¡¯t all a setup by yours truly.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t imagine why no one trusts you,¡± I muttered. He grinned. ¡°I¡¯d care more if I could work out what I was convincing them of,¡± he said. ¡°Neither of us are sure of what it means.¡± I grunted non-committedly. ¡°You¡¯re theory is that Ix¡ªsomehow¡ªcame from my world, before or after it was destroyed. I¡¯m not sure why, though. Did Ix even have a physical form?¡± ¡°No,¡± Fyskel admitted. ¡°Those came after, well after we discovered humanity. It¡¯s her¡­ essence, I suppose you might say that we recognise. Even through your limited human perception, it shines through.¡± ¡°If you say so,¡± I said doubtfully. ¡°So what does it mean?¡± ¡°For all our¡­ everything, our origins have always remained a mystery to us,¡± Fyskel mused. ¡°Ix always denied creating us, but the doubt never went away.¡± ¡°You and Ashmor,¡± I said slowly. ¡°The two remaining originals.¡± ¡°Or¡­ the two second-generation gods, perhaps,¡± Fyskel said. ¡°Were we of the same order? Would we generate seven more gods from our ashes?¡± ¡°I guess you weren¡¯t inclined to experiment,¡± I said dryly. ¡°There were no volunteers, no.¡± replied with amusement. ¡°I guess I get it,¡± I said. ¡°If Ix had an origin in my world, and you don¡¯t, then it¡¯s more likely that she made you. Are you sure that you don¡¯t, though? You didn¡¯t spot¡­ Trica until she was right under your nose.¡± ¡°That¡¯s possible too,¡± Fyskel said. ¡°If the data¡­ became us, there might be no copies left in this world. The fragment of Ix that we got from you is the only memory of her left.¡± ¡°Wait, so none of the other¡­ souls you can access from my world remember her?¡± I asked incredulously. ¡°No¡­ something that is true for all of the people at that investor meeting.¡± I felt a chill run down my spine. ¡°Except for me,¡± I said. ¡°No¡­ now that we look, no one that we can access remembers you,¡± Fyskel said thoughtfully. ¡°And you didn¡¯t remember that board meeting until recently.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ what does that mean?¡± I asked. If no one remembered me, then. ¡°Very little for you personally,¡± Fyskel said bluntly. ¡°It¡¯s not like you can go back and interact with any of those people. For us¡­ it does appear that the gaps in our¡­ repository have a structure and purpose that we weren¡¯t able to see before. That¡¯s interesting.¡± ¡°Well thank goodness, you still have a puzzle to keep you interested,¡± I said sourly. ¡°Is that why you brought me here, to keep me up to date on your latest hobbies?¡± ¡°Hmp,¡± Fyskel sniffed. ¡°For all the ink humanity has spilled on the puzzle of your own origin, I think you could spare a little interest for the origin of my species.¡± I shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m a little busy right now,¡± I said. ¡°Doing this whole Champion thing. I had thought that you were going to be giving me instructions on what to do when we got to the bottom.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°Oh no. No, no,¡± Fyskel said. ¡°For one, if I gave you instructions, you¡¯d do your best to ignore them or do the opposite.¡± I didn¡¯t bother confirming. ¡°For another,¡± Fyskel said, not pausing for me to respond, ¡°The truce still holds. The gods cannot interfere any more than they already have.¡± He winked at me. ¡°At least, not any actions beyond the extremely limited set of options laid out in Section 35~AF$4.¡± ¡°I¡¯m crying for you,¡± I said blandly. ¡°That doesn¡¯t include Ashmor, though.¡± ¡°Well, no, but my colleagues and I are paying very close attention to this event, and Ashmor in particular,¡± Fyskel said. ¡°He¡¯ll find it very hard to do anything.¡± ¡°But not impossible,¡± I said. The difference between hard and impossible became a lot more important when you were talking about the difficulty of immolating us all instantly in a fireball. ¡°That is almost certainly off the table,¡± Fyskel said, no doubt just to prove he was reading my mind. ¡°Simple actions like that are easy to stop. The problem with preventing him from doing anything is that there are so many possible things for him to do.¡± ¡°Well that¡¯s a great comfort,¡± I told him. ¡°Seriously though, why am I here?¡± Fyskel looked at me closely. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you what to do,¡± he said. ¡°But I can nudge the odds of what you will do a bit.¡± ¡°Are the other gods going to stand for that?¡± I asked. ¡°Am I going to get a parade of gods after you, lobbying for me to do something or other?¡± Fyskel laughed. ¡°No, the rules are pretty clear there,¡± he said. ¡°The gods without a Champion here are kicking themselves right now. No one thought that Axel had slipped right out from under our nose.¡± ¡°Wait, if that¡¯s not what you sent us here for, then what was the reason?¡± ¡°Who knows?¡± Fyskel shrugged. ¡°You¡¯d have to ask Toriao. Perhaps she did know and was keeping it a secret. As much as she hates to, she can keep her mouth shut when she needs to.¡± ¡°What about the God of Storms?¡± I asked. ¡°Is he keeping his mouth shut?¡± ¡°Rakaro¡¯s not much of a talker,¡± Fyskel informed me. ¡°And escaping demons is a perfectly good reason to send a Champion here.¡± ¡°You¡ªmost of you gods, anyway¡ªwant the portal shut.¡± ¡°That would be nice, but it¡¯s not possible,¡± Fyskal said. ¡°And before you ask, destroying the portal, the first preference for mortals of all stripes, isn¡¯t workable either. The portal controls the breach, destroying it would jam it open, leading to who knows where.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not what Axel said would happen,¡± I countered. ¡°Axel¡¯s answer was based on you destroying his core,¡± Fyskel said. ¡°That wouldn¡¯t destroy the portal, although his scenario of opening it up to the heart of a star would do that. Easily.¡± ¡°He¡¯s sitting on a lot of potential destruction, isn¡¯t he?¡± I asked. ¡°I suppose we will be too, if we do get down there and take control.¡± ¡°Do try and wield it responsibly,¡± Fyskel said dryly. ¡°I won¡¯t hear the end of it if you destroy even a single percentage point of Ryvue¡¯s surface.¡± ¡°But no instructions,¡± I said. ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t think that Axel is done surprising us yet,¡± Fyskel said. ¡°Now that I know his thoughts are out of my reach¡­ it¡¯s concerning.¡± ¡°You think he¡¯s just going to bring out some overpowered demon to kill us?¡± ¡°If he wanted to kill you, he¡¯d have made the challenges harder,¡± Fyskel said. ¡°No, something is going to come out of the portal, and by definition that makes it a demon. But I doubt very much that it will try to kill you.¡± He gave me a long look, which had to be performative because he was reading my mind. He smirked when I thought that and waved his hand dismissively. ¡°I think that¡¯s enough preparation,¡± he said. ¡°Have fun on your final level.¡± Without any further ceremony, the void dismissed itself, and I found myself standing next to my companions. The transition was a little nicer this time, and I managed to not stumble or otherwise embarrass myself.
¡°Are you with us, Kandis?¡± Felicia asked tensely. ¡°Yeah,¡± I said softly, looking around. We were in a built-up, urban area, standing on a four-lane main street. It all looked abandoned though. There were cars parked, but I could see that the windows had been smashed in. There was a little too much grass growing out from under the sidewalks. And there weren¡¯t any people that we could see. ¡°It looks different from the Germany place,¡± Felicia said. ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, still keeping my voice down. I felt exposed. People could be watching us from the roofs or windows of any of a dozen buildings. ¡°This looks more modern,¡± Borys said, and looking at the abandoned vehicles and the light poles, I had to agree. ¡°Modern-day, America, looks like,¡± I said. ¡°Abandoned though, so¡­¡± ¡°Post-apocalyptic setting?¡± Borys mused. ¡°It could be pretty bad if there¡¯s fallout.¡± I stared at him. ¡°We¡¯re just dead if that¡¯s the case,¡± I said. ¡°But, uh, maybe we should mask up, just in case.¡± We managed to find enough spare clothing to tie around our faces before we started moving. We didn¡¯t like to delay, but we couldn¡¯t take the chance. ¡°I could cure it, whatever it is?¡± Felicia said. ¡°Maybe, but let¡¯s try to avoid it so you don¡¯t have to,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ some of the dust is poisonous, but all of it will burn you from the inside.¡± ¡°That sound¡¯s pretty horrible,¡± Cloridan said. ¡°It¡¯s a deliberate effect of a weapon?¡± ¡°More of a side-effect, occasionally seen as a benefit,¡± Borys clarified. ¡°Ah. Looks like it¡¯s something else, though.¡± He pointed. Coming around the corner was the shambling figure of a man. His face had been cut open, and one of his arms was hanging limply. He shuffled around the corner and his red eyes locked on us.
[Identification]: - Zombie - Threat: 30- Properties: Diseased Bite, Diseased Blood
¡°Shit,¡± I said. ¡°Don¡¯t shoot it¡ªdon¡¯t make any noise if you can help it.¡± ¡°Not a problem,¡± Cloridan said confidently, stepping forward and drawing his knives. ¡°A little help?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± I said, casting my spell, ¡°But don¡¯t go scouting yet, I think we should stay together for now.¡± He nodded as [Greater Invisibility] took hold and rushed forward soundlessly. The zombie didn¡¯t know what hit it, but sadly, it didn¡¯t go down in one hit. It managed to let off a gurgling roar before Cloridan finally hacked it down. ¡°That¡¯ll bring more,¡± Borys said grimly. ¡°Let¡¯s move, find a place to fortify.¡± I nodded and gestured for Cloridan to hurry back. We could hear more howls start up from all around. Not close, but not too far either. Hurrying in the direction that seemed quietest, we looked for shelter. Most of the buildings here were shop fronts though. There were a few that still held their glass windows, but we all felt that they would be too easy for the zombies to push through. ¡°Over here!¡± We all stopped as we heard the call. Looking around, I saw someone waving from a second-story window. A person, here? I thought, but we didn¡¯t have time to question it. The building they were in looked strong. Coming closer, we saw it was a fire station. I also saw that the zombies were now coming into sight. ¡°Come on!¡± the person yelled and dropped a rope ladder out the window. That was a pain, but maybe smart. If they¡¯d boarded up all the lower floor entrances, this might be the only way in or out of the building. We prioritised. Felicia went up first, then me, while the fighters secured our climb. The person up top seemed surprised when Felicia jumped up ten feet and started swarming up the ladder, but we didn¡¯t have time to waste. As soon as Felicia had grabbed the windowsill, I made my own jump and cancelled Cloridan¡¯s spell so he could fight with the others. ¡°Wow, you folks sure can climb,¡± The woman who had dropped the ladder said. Surprised, confused, and more than a little suspicious, I tried something that shouldn¡¯t have worked. I was even more confused when it did.
[Identification]: - Rachel Collins - Threat: 10 - Properties: None
Chapter 228 - Zombie Flick
[Identification]: - Rachel Collins - Threat: 10 - Properties: None
I stared at the notification for far too long. We still had people on the street. A quick discussion selected Kyle to be next to climb up. Much like Felicia, he jumped halfway there before scrambling up the ladder. By then, the zombies were on the guys downstairs. I tried to give them what support I could, but [Improved Blind] seemed ineffective. It masked their heads in darkness just fine, but it didn¡¯t seem to impede the zombies in combat at all. ¡°Zombies use other senses, you know that,¡± Kyle said, looking down from the window with me. ¡°Next!¡± he called down. ¡°It was worth a try,¡± I said defensively. ¡°These are different from your regular undead.¡± ¡°Get back from the window and pull the ladder up!¡± Cloridan called down from below. ¡°Hey! You¡¯re not going to leave them down there are you?¡± Rachel shouted as we complied. ¡°It¡¯s fine ma¡¯am, they¡¯re just going to show off a little,¡± Kyle said. I blinked in surprise. Kyle could understand her? Cloridan jumped up to the windowsill from a standing start, startling the hell out of Rachel, but I was still processing the language thing. Rachel looked like an American, but she wasn¡¯t speaking English. The kobolds and goblins from the previous floor hadn¡¯t spoken English or German, but some other language that the others weren¡¯t familiar with. But Rachel was speaking Latorran. Not the local language of this region, but the language that every member of this party spoke. That couldn¡¯t be a coincidence, surely? Borys was the next to jump up to the window, leaving a pile of cut-up zombies below. To my disgust, the remaining ones began to eat their fallen brethren. ¡°You guys sure are kitted out, aren¡¯t you?¡± Rachel said, causing everyone to look at her with varying degrees of confusion. ¡°Thanks for the assist, uh, ma¡¯am,¡± Borys said. ¡°How long have you been down here for?¡± ¡°Down? I¡¯ve been living in Lorraine my entire life,¡± Rachel replied. ¡°Use [Identify] on her,¡± I said. From the blinks and startled looks, we were at least on the same page, now. ¡°How?¡± Felicia asked. ¡°Why does that¡ªare you a monster, Rachel?¡± Rachel laughed, and Felicia looked mortified. ¡°After five years living like this, I sure do feel like one sometimes. Come on, I¡¯ll take you to meet the others.¡± She led us out of the room, which I now noted was a dormitory-style bedroom with two beds. Past the doorway was a large living room with multiple couches and numerous other doors leading off. Through a large doorway, I could see a landing and some stairs heading down. There was also a pole. ¡°You can take the stairs if you want, but I¡¯d advise finding your fun where you can,¡± Rachel said. She grabbed a hold of the pole and slid down to the level below. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a firehouse,¡± Borys said, about half a second before me. He followed Rachel down the pole. Everyone else looked at me for an explanation. ¡°In my world, it¡¯s pretty common to fund groups to specialise in taking care of fires that break out,¡± I explained. ¡°They live in the firehouse and rush out whenever a fire is reported. Since speed is of the essence, they make a big deal of getting ready and out the door fast.¡± I gestured at the pole. ¡°Poles are supposed to be faster than stairs, so most firehouses have something like it.¡± ¡°I guess that makes sense,¡± Kyle said. ¡°I¡¯m not sure that it does,¡± Felicia countered. ¡°Couldn¡¯t they just jump down? It¡¯s only one floor.¡± ¡°No enhanced Abilities,¡± I said, moving over to the hole in the floor. I had been a bit nervous about using a firepole, but Felicia¡¯s comment reminded me that I could just jump down without injury. The floor was even padded. Shrugging, I slid down the pole, not even using my hands to slow me down. I just let [Jump] absorb the impact. Easy. I quickly stepped away so that the others could follow me. ¡°Fun, right?¡± Rachel said. I shrugged. Once the others were down, she led us all into what must have been the main dispatch area. ¡°Hey guys!¡± she called out. ¡°New arrivals!¡± The first of the rag-tag group of survivors to come over was a nervous-looking college-age girl with red hair tied back in a ponytail. Rachel introduced her as Jenna Carpenter. She seemed to latch on to Felicia right away, possibly because of her age. ¡°You guys are really decked out,¡± she said admiringly. ¡°Were you at a Ren-Faire when it started or something?¡± Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Something like that,¡± I said cautiously. ¡°We travelled a long way to get here, and you won¡¯t get far without the right equipment.¡± She nodded in response and we turned to the next to arrive. I decided not to wait for Rachel.
[Identification]: - Evan Blake - Threat: 10 - Properties: None
¡°You¡¯ve got a pretty nice setup here,¡± Borys told the young man. He was in his late twenties, slightly built and had messy blond hair. He was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt. ¡°Uh, I wouldn¡¯t know anything about that, I didn¡¯t pick it,¡± Evan said. ¡°All of the bad picks, though, they didn¡¯t last long.¡± ¡°Strong walls, no ground-floor windows,¡± said another man as he approached.
[Identification]: - Travis Masters - Threat: 12 - Properties: None
¡°Kitchen, living quarters and storage tanks for water,¡± he continued. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s pretty good.¡± He looked us over. ¡°Name¡¯s Trigg,¡± he said. ¡°You know how to use all that gear?¡± ¡°Better than anyone,¡± Borys assured him. Travis had dark hair, tattoos on his arms and squinty eyes. ¡°Reckon you must,¡± he agreed sourly. The last person to show up was an older woman, past fifty, but not yet entirely grey-haired. ¡°This here is Marta,¡± Rachel said, and the System agreed.
[Identification]: - Marta Hernandez - Threat: 10 - Properties: None
¡°It¡¯s nice to see fresh faces,¡± she said. ¡°I thought I heard a scuffle outside¡­ but I didn¡¯t hear any guns?¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t want to attract more of them,¡± Borys said, and she nodded in agreement. ¡°Lotta folks here relied on them,¡± she said. ¡°But it just brought more, and they ran out of bullets before the zombies ran out of bodies.¡± ¡°That¡¯s everyone!¡± Rachel said brightly. ¡°¡®Cept for me, and you know who I am¡­ wait.¡± She pointed at Felicia. ¡°You used my name, but I never got around to telling it to you. Where¡¯d you know me from?¡± ¡°I used [Identify],¡± Felicia said. ¡°It¡¯s not supposed to work on people, but it worked on you. I don¡¯t know why.¡± Everyone¡ªwell, all the locals¡ª stared at Felicia. ¡°What do you mean, Identify?¡± Rachel asked. ¡°What¡¯s that when it¡¯s at home?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a¡­ Skill?¡± Felicia said hesitantly. ¡°A pretty common one?¡± ¡°They don¡¯t have Skills, Felicia,¡± I said. The words weighed heavily on me, but I had to say them. ¡°Monsters with skills have an entry for it in their [Identify] windows. These don¡¯t.¡± ¡°But they¡¯re¡ª¡± Felicia started, but she was interrupted by Travis. ¡°Watch what you say, stranger,¡± he said. ¡°We may be all together against the zombies, but that doesn¡¯t mean you can mouth off on us as you like.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± I said. ¡°I mean it more as a technical term than anything else¡­ You see, there¡¯s a reason we¡¯re dressed like this. What do you know about magic?¡± ¡°Rabbits out of hats, sawing a woman in half, that sort of thing?¡± he asked. ¡°Haven¡¯t seen a show in eight years, but I remember it well enough.¡± ¡°Sawing a woman in half?¡± Felicia exclaimed, but I waved her to silence. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought,¡± I said, and I cast [Water Ball]. Everyone stared at the floating sphere of water. It was a pretty useless spell¡ªunless you happened to want to move a small amount of water somewhere, in which case it was pretty useful¡ªbut it was a spell I could cast without giving away my combat abilities. I nudged it a little closer to the group of survivors, so they could look, and even touch, it. ¡°What the hell is that?¡± Travis asked bluntly. ¡°Magic,¡± I said. ¡°Well, really, it¡¯s just water. It¡¯s being held in place by magic.¡± Evan was the first to touch it. Well, try and touch it. His fingers went right through the magic holding it in place and got wet as they entered the ball. Then he jerked them back and they were dry again. ¡°That¡¯s crazy,¡± he breathed, looking at his fingers. One by one, all the others tried touching it, until it came to Travis¡¯s turn. He tried to destroy it, swiping through it with his battered combat knife. It didn¡¯t work. It took a bit of concentration to keep it all together, but I managed. It looked pretty cool too. All the water splashed out from his cut, but quickly reversed course and congealed back into a ball again. ¡°It¡¯s just a party trick,¡± I said, not mentioning the time I¡¯d killed a monster with it. ¡°I take it you haven¡¯t seen anything like it?¡± ¡°Course we haven¡¯t,¡± Travis snapped. ¡°So how¡¯d you do it?¡± ¡°We come from a magic land,¡± I said. ¡°So we can do magic.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Evan said. ¡°Like a portal from another world?¡± ¡°One was involved,¡± I said wryly. ¡°But not exactly. This is our world.¡± ¡°Hell it is,¡± Travis said. ¡°We don¡¯t got no magic.¡± I pointed at the ball and he scowled. ¡°You brought that with you,¡± he said sourly.¡± ¡°Anyway,¡± I continued. ¡°In this, our world, there are things called dungeons, and they¡ª¡± ¡°Kandis!¡± Felicia interrupted. ¡°Don¡¯t say it¡ªit would just be cruel.¡± ¡°They need to know where they stand,¡± I said. ¡°Where we stand.¡± ¡°But they¡¯re people!¡± she protested. ¡°Are they?¡± I asked. ¡°Because if that¡¯s true, then Axel can make people.¡± Felicia didn¡¯t have an immediate answer to that, which allowed Travis to get a word in. ¡°What the hell you talking about?¡± he asked irritably. ¡°Who the hell is Axel, and where the hell do you think we stand if it ain¡¯t right here?¡± I looked at him, but I didn¡¯t answer his question. Instead, I turned back to Felicia. ¡°It was the same with the goblins on the last floor,¡± I said. ¡°Some of them, some of the time, it seemed like they broke from the script. Or the script didn¡¯t control them all the time. Like they were real. I made deals with them as if they were real people.¡± ¡°Monsters aren¡¯t people,¡± Felicia said earnestly. ¡°They just¡­ kill. That¡¯s all they do.¡± ¡°I know,¡± I said. ¡°So are these guys monsters¡­ or people?¡± Felicia looked at the group. I could tell that she was using [Identify] on them. Just to make sure, I used [Identify] on her. Maybe it was just that the rules were different here. They weren¡¯t. The rest of my party looked troubled, but none of them spoke up. Like me, they were waiting for Felica to come to a decision. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know,¡± she admitted. ¡°But even so, why do you want to tell them?¡± I sighed. ¡°Basic honesty?¡± I tried. ¡°I don¡¯t think I want to pretend they¡¯re people if I think they¡¯re monsters. And¡­ there¡¯s also a chance that the knowledge gets erased after I tell them, which will make it a lot easier to pick what they are.¡± ¡°That and the fact that I will just damn kill you if you don¡¯t make with the explanations,¡± Travis said grimly. I giggled. I couldn¡¯t help it. I¡¯d never felt less threatened. ¡°Fine,¡± I said, suppressing a smile. ¡°As I was saying, in our world, there are dungeons. And dungeons make monsters. Beasts that just kill, without fear, thought or morality.¡± ¡°Sounds rough,¡± Travis said. ¡°We have a skill, a kind of magic, that helps us figure out what kind of monster we¡¯re facing,¡± I said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t work on humans. It works on you.¡± ¡°So what does that mean?¡± Travis asked, but his face said he¡¯d figured it out. ¡°It means that we¡¯re in a dungeon. It made you.¡± Chapter 229 - Reality Challenged ¡°We¡¯re not real?¡± Evan asked sceptically. ¡°Welcome to the club,¡± I said morosely. ¡°You mean, you¡¯re not real, either?¡± Rachel asked. ¡°Gotta say, that¡¯s a lot easier to believe, what with the magic and all.¡± ¡°This is about the vision, isn¡¯t it?¡± Borys said. ¡°The investor meeting.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯s about the meeting!¡± I declared loudly. ¡°I remember my world shredding itself into pieces like a corrupted video file, and it¡¯s been bothering me! I don¡¯t know how the rest of you are dealing with it, but I¡¯m not handling it well!¡± The locals looked at each other and looked like they were going to come forward, but Borys held up a hand to signal them to stay back. He was keeping a wary eye on them, which was ridiculous. They were only Threat 10, which must have been Axel or the System¡¯s best approximation of a normal human. Even I could slice one apart like an Idnul Lizard, swiftly, easily, without thinking because¡­ Damnit, I¡¯m a video game character. ¡°I don¡¯t really get it, to be honest,¡± Kyle said. ¡°I mean, yeah, your world died. That¡¯s¡­¡± He paused looking for words. ¡°That¡¯s not something you get over. But there¡¯s something more, something that you think applies to us, and that I don¡¯t get.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t expect you to,¡± I said. ¡°These guys are better placed than most of you to understand that we¡¯re all part of a computer simulation.¡± ¡°What, like in Tron?¡± Evan asked. ¡°Can¡¯t be,¡± Rachel stated with certainty. ¡°Ain¡¯t none of us glowing and we all got hair, so it ain¡¯t that.¡± I snorted. ¡°There you go. Better placed, not all the way suited. What about you, Borys?¡± ¡°Me?¡± Borys asked. He looked at his hand, flexing it into a fist and opening it again. ¡°I feel real. The pain those bastards put me through felt real as well. Assuming that what you remember is real, and not something that Fyskel cooked up for you¡­ I think the best thing is to not worry about it.¡± I frowned. I didn¡¯t really have an answer to ¡°It was all faked by a god¡±, but¡­ ¡°It could have all been faked,¡± I admitted. ¡°But they all seemed¡­ shocked. Fyskel, especially, seemed shaken. I think he dragged me into the void space just to have someone to talk to about it. How do you just ignore that?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t,¡± Borys said. ¡°But it¡¯s not really relevant right now. Right now we have a zombie level to beat.¡± ¡°You might have magic and muscles,¡± Rachel said. ¡°But there¡¯s no beating the zombies. They just keep coming. The only thing you can do is hide til they go away.¡± ¡°There must be some way,¡± Felicia said. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell us about the zombie games you played in the past? How do they end?¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t a game, girl,¡± Travis growled. ¡°The zombies will eat you up if you treat it like one.¡± ¡°Some of them don¡¯t end,¡± Borys said thoughtfully, ignoring Travis¡¯s comment. ¡°They¡¯re endurance games, see who can last the longest. The zombies keep coming until you¡¯re dead.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not likely here,¡± I said. ¡°Dungeon or not, Axel still has limits.¡± ¡°Then¡­¡± Borys mused. ¡°It¡¯s likely that we have to reach some destination. A place of safety or an abandoned lab that has the cure.¡± ¡°You¡¯re chasing that old rumour?¡± Rachel asked scornfully. ¡°There ain¡¯t no cure, and it wouldn¡¯t help none if there were.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± I asked, looking intently at her. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t it help?¡± ¡°Cause just about everyone¡¯s already dead, fool,¡± Rachel replied. ¡°It¡¯d be nice if we didn¡¯t turn as soon as one zombie got a bite on us, but zombies don¡¯t stop at one.¡± ¡°Sometimes it works that way,¡± Borys said. ¡°Other times the cure is a countervirus that wipes out all the existing zombies. Or it¡­ turns them back to normal.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s on the cards,¡± Cloridan said grimly. ¡°I saw some of them up close, and there¡¯s a lot of wounds and missing pieces that would be fatal pretty quick on a live human.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not dead, though,¡± I mused. ¡°Not like undead zombies back in Anchorbury. I wonder¡­ Felicia, do you think you can heal them?¡± Felicia started in surprise. ¡°I¡¯ve never tried to heal a monster before,¡± she said. ¡°I can cure diseases so¡­ maybe?¡± She blushed and looked at the survivors. ¡°It might¡­ be a good idea to test it on a monster first.¡± Travis frowned. ¡°Watch who you¡¯re calling a monster, Missy, or I¡¯ll show you one.¡± I cast my own gaze over the rag-tag group of survivors. Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ¡°Isn¡¯t there always one of the group who¡¯s hiding the fact that they have the virus?¡± I asked. ¡°And they don¡¯t find out until it¡¯s too late and doom at least one other victim?¡± ¡°Just about every time,¡± Borys agreed. ¡°Hey, don¡¯t you go accusing us of stuff!¡± Travis blustered. I ignored him and kept scrutinising the others. The older lady, Marta, had started looking nervous. ¡°Felicia,¡± I said slowly, keeping my eye on the woman. ¡°You can detect disease as well, can¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Oh sure,¡± Felicia said. ¡°Oh! You want me to do it now?¡± Not waiting for a response, she held her hands out and swept them over everyone in the room. After a single pass, she looked at Marta. ¡°She¡¯s got¡­ something,¡± Felicia said. ¡°I¡¯m not familiar with what, but it¡¯s serious.¡± Marta staggered back. ¡°Ain¡¯t nothing wrong with me,¡± she stammered. ¡°I just get hot flushes now.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± I said. ¡°Felicia can take care of that¡­ probably.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t let her at me!¡± Marta shouted, moving away. ¡°You think you can lay your hands on one of us?¡± Travis snarled. He stepped forward, knife in hand. ¡°Stand down, boys!¡± I said firmly, slipping forward. It wasn¡¯t that I didn¡¯t trust their judgement. Okay, I was a little worried that Kyle¡¯s restraint would slip when Felicia was in danger. But the main reason I told them to stop was that I wasn¡¯t sure if they¡¯d grasped just how restrained they needed to be. Plus, this would have more effect coming from a woman. I didn¡¯t move particularly quickly, by the standards I was used to. Level Six gave me some advantages, but Cloridan and Borys were far faster. But it was still much faster than Travis was used to. He blinked at my sudden closeness, then struggled and fell off balance as he tried to adjust. It was a little difficult for him as I was holding the blade of his knife. Both my regular instincts and the new and improved ones that came with [Dodge] and [Weapon Mastery: Dagger] were screaming at me that I was doing the wrong thing. I should be dodging, or blocking him with my own dagger, not catching the blade. Efficiently avoiding damage wasn¡¯t my goal here. Felicia could have easily dodged the knife on her own if it was. ¡°Go and heal her, Felicia,¡± I said, while my eyes stayed locked with Travis¡¯s. He was struggling to get the knife away from me, but I was a lot stronger than I looked. Not that my strength was particularly impressive, I think I was only a little stronger than Travis, but the fact that the knife hadn¡¯t managed to cut my gloves made me confident that there was nothing he could do to hurt me. ¡°We¡¯re magic, Travis,¡± I said. ¡°And you¡¯re just ordinary. We¡¯ve got a mission to complete, and you have the option of helping us or getting out of our way. You don¡¯t get to try and stop us.¡± ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± Felicia said in a subdued voice. I let go of the blade and took a step back. ¡°Did it work?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Felicia said. ¡°It worked, just like on people.¡± ¡°Did she really do anything?¡± Evan asked. He glanced nervously at Travis. ¡°I mean, she just laid her hand on Marta. Nothing happened.¡± ¡°There was¡­¡± Marta reluctantly admitted. ¡°I was feeling a bit of a fever. Just hot flushes, like I said. It¡¯s gone now.¡± ¡°Marta¡­¡± Jenna, the young woman with red hair, put her arms around the older woman¡¯s shoulders. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to speak up if you¡¯re feeling sick so we can all look out for each other.¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t anything serious,¡± Marta denied. ¡°Just a light fever. I was fine.¡± ¡°Well, now I want to see what you can do to a fully turned one,¡± I said. ¡°Oh no!¡± You ain''t bringing one of them in here!¡± Travis shouted. I frowned at him, annoyed that he had recovered his bluster so quickly. He took a quick step back. Okay, so he hasn¡¯t totally recovered his bluster¡­ ¡°Travis is right,¡± Rachel said. ¡°This is our home. If you bring those monsters in¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± I said. ¡°We can do the experiment outside. Cloridan, Kyle, Felicia, you up for a quick expedition?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Felicia said. The others nodded. ¡°I think you know what to do,¡± I said. ¡°Don¡¯t stray too far. There should still be some nearby. Borys and I will stay to make sure the way back in stays open.¡± I glanced at the survivors who stared back resentfully. They couldn¡¯t stop us from getting back in, of course, but we¡¯d have to damage the building which didn¡¯t seem like a great idea. While we were waiting in the upstairs bedroom, Borys started up a conversation. The survivors had left us alone, no doubt to plot some kind of resistance. ¡°You¡¯re being a little hard on the survivors,¡± he said. ¡°I know,¡± I admitted. ¡°But¡­ they are monsters.¡± ¡°Monsters that happen to be human,¡± he said. ¡°I think it¡¯s throwing the others for a loop as well.¡± ¡°It used to be that I was the only one who understood when monsters spoke a language,¡± I said. ¡°Now¡ª¡± I was interrupted by a terrible eldritch scream from outside. ¡°What was that?¡± I exclaimed. ¡°A zombie?¡± Borys pointed out the window. Our friends were returning, carrying a fourth person. Borys quickly threw out the ladder, then started hauling it in as Kyle grabbed on. Kyle held the rope ladder in one hand, while the other held a limp body. He let Borys pull him up, walking up the side of the building. When he reached our level, he started shoving the body in. ¡°We said we wouldn¡¯t¡ª¡± I started. ¡°It worked,¡± he said shortly. I took a look at the body.
[Identification]: - Marcus Thompson - Threat: 10 - Properties: None
¡°What was that scream?¡± I asked. ¡°Him,¡± Kyle said, nodding at the body. Everybody started piling into the room at once. My friends were coming in the window while the survivors were coming from the inside, looking to see what the commotion was. They noticed Marcus pretty quickly. ¡°What have you done?¡± Rachel asked. ¡°You found a survivor?¡± She raced forward and started checking the man¡¯s pulse. ¡°He¡¯s alive!¡± she said incredulously. ¡°Everybody out, give me some room!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s move this all downstairs instead,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s way too crowded in here.¡± There was general agreement, and it wasn¡¯t long before we were back in the main section. Marcus was laid out on a portable cot, while Rachel examined him. ¡°He seems fine,¡± she said, ¡°Just unconscious.¡± ¡°Rachel,¡± Evan said grimly. ¡°Look at his clothes.¡± We had all already noticed. Marcus¡¯s clothes were barely worthy of the name. They were ripped and ragged, hanging on by a few threads. They didn¡¯t serve any purpose, and anyone alive wouldn¡¯t have bothered keeping them on. Only a zombie that didn¡¯t care would wear clothes like that. ¡°He was a zombie,¡± I confirmed. ¡°Felica turned him back.¡± Whatever response the survivors had was cut short by another scream. ¡°What is that?¡± I asked, irritated. Evan swallowed. ¡°It¡¯s a call,¡± he said. ¡°They¡¯ve started to gather.¡± ¡°So soon?¡± Jenna asked. ¡°I thought we¡¯d have more time.¡± ¡°I guess we¡¯re just unlucky,¡± Evan said. To us, he replied, ¡°When a zombie starts to call like that, they gather more of them.¡± Another call sounded. Evan shuddered. ¡°They¡¯ll gather in a big swarm, and go looking for fresh meat,¡± he said. ¡°They remember places they couldn¡¯t get into before, and they come looking in force. Sometime around midnight, this place is going to be crawling with zombies.¡± Chapter 230 - Zombie Swarm ¡°To start with,¡± I said, ¡°Have any of you ever killed a zombie before?¡± The survivors looked at each other. ¡°Course we have,¡± Travis said sullenly. ¡°How?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think I could hit one, and I¡¯m much better at fighting than you.¡± Travis looked away. ¡°Guns,¡± he muttered. Rachel took over. ¡°Sure, we can¡¯t get into hand to hand with ¡®em,¡± she said. ¡°One bite, and that¡¯s the end. But guns work.¡± She shrugged. ¡°Of course, that just brings more of them, so really, guns don¡¯t work,¡± she said. ¡°Best thing to do is hide.¡± ¡°Guns might do enough damage,¡± I admitted, ¡°but you¡¯ve still got to hit with them. Don¡¯t they dodge?¡± ¡°Only in hand to hand,¡± Evan said. ¡°If you shoot them, or drop something heavy on them, they won¡¯t see it coming.¡± ¡°That¡¯s what we do with a swarm,¡± Jenna put in. ¡°We keep a lot of junk on the roof, so we can drop it on them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s smart,¡± I said. I wondered if they had enough junk. None of my [Earth Magic] spells created stone, just shaped what was already there, but I could use existing stone to create weights and have them carried up. ¡°What do you do when you¡¯re outside of your base?¡± ¡°Run,¡± Evan said shortly. ¡°They don¡¯t run fast, but they track you. If you get behind something they can¡¯t get past, they¡¯ll sniff and howl for a bit before giving up.¡± He frowned. ¡°Of course, then they¡¯ll be back next swarm.¡± I looked back at my friends. ¡°So those are probably fabricated memories, but they sound realistic? What do you think?¡± ¡°Our memories aren¡¯t fake,¡± Travis snarled. He backed down when I looked at him, though. ¡°No offence,¡± I said, ¡°But you¡¯ve only existed for¡­ well I don¡¯t know exactly. But it¡¯s months, not years. There has to be a point where the real memories give over to fake ones, and it could be as recently as this morning.¡± ¡°It seems workable,¡± Cloridan said hastily. ¡°I like the idea of dropping things, sounds very safe.¡± ¡°Borys, what about your storm? Can you make it so it just affects outside?¡± ¡°I can,¡± he said slowly. ¡°It might not be the best idea though. Zombies don¡¯t die from the cold like humans do. You have to freeze them solid before they stop moving.¡± ¡°These zombies aren¡¯t dead, though,¡± I pointed out. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ true?¡± Borys said. ¡°It might work then. One thing to be wary of is that the ice starts to build up. Eventually, you get a ramp leading to the top of the wall.¡± ¡°That happens normally, with bodies,¡± Evan put in. ¡°They¡¯ve never gotten to the top, but the closer they get, the less effective it is to drop things on them. And the upper-floor windows are less secure.¡± ¡°That¡¯s your job,¡± Borys told me. ¡°Using [Stone Shape] to fix weak walls and cover up windows.¡± ¡°Right,¡± I said. ¡°We should¡ª¡± ¡°He¡¯s awake,¡± Marta called out from across the room. She¡¯d been watching over Marcus. We all trooped over to look at him. He was drinking some water, looking at us nervously. Aside from that, he looked perfectly normal.
[Identification]: - Marcus Thompson - Threat: 10 - Properties: None
Not exactly normal, but normal for here. ¡°Thanks for rescuing me?¡± he said, looking around the group. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how I got here, but I guess you guys are the ones I should thank.¡± ¡°What do you remember?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡­ got sick?¡± he said. ¡°I remember getting hot, and having to lie down, but¡­ do you guys know Dulcie?¡± There were a lot of shaken heads. Marcus¡¯s face fell. ¡°She was looking after me? She would have been nearby.¡± ¡°Dude, you were a zombie,¡± Evan said. ¡°Maybe he still is,¡± Travis growled. ¡°We should get rid of him now, before the magic runs out.¡± ¡°Magic doesn¡¯t work that way,¡± I said. ¡°Well, some of it does, but not this kind. He¡¯s an ordinary human monster now, just like the rest of you.¡± ¡°Human¡­ monster?¡± Marcus asked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much about it,¡± Rachel said. ¡°Her and her lot have got some funny ideas¡­ but they¡¯ve got magic as well. They cured you.¡± ¡°Well, she did,¡± I said, nodding at Felicia.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Can you really do that?¡± Evan asked incredulously. ¡°Just¡­ cure all the zombies?¡± ¡°Not all of them,¡± Felicia answered. ¡°Not even a decent portion of them. It wiped me out doing Marcus. I won¡¯t be able to try again until I¡¯ve had a night¡¯s sleep.¡± ¡°Where did the mana go?¡± I asked. ¡°On healing, mostly,¡± Felica said. ¡°I cured the disease¡ªhe started that screaming as soon as I started. Once that was done, he fell unconscious. It was weird, he was in negative hit points, but he was still alive, at least for a few seconds. My healing worked, so we brought him back here.¡± Travis snorted. ¡°So you curing one is going to be the reason we get buried under zombies tonight. Doing great, kid.¡± Felicia flinched a little. ¡°Don¡¯t be such a baby about it,¡± I told Travis. ¡°Chances are, there would be a swarm whatever we did. At least this way you have us to handle it.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m real lucky,¡± Travis growled. ¡°I get to hide behind some woman¡¯s skirts.¡± I blinked. ¡°I¡¯m wearing trousers,¡± I pointed out. ¡°And if my pants aren¡¯t masculine enough for you, there are three guys in my party.¡± He looked away, muttering something so faint I couldn¡¯t hear it¡ªeven with enhanced hearing. ¡°That¡¯s what I thought,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s get to work.¡± We got to it. Kyle did have [Masonry] so he was able to advise me on what parts of the building needed shoring up. Most of it was sound, but there were some parts that were cracked. They were holding steady for now, but might well fail if put to the test against repeated zombie blows. Almost as if they were deliberately constructed that way. The others were mainly occupied with hauling junk to the roof. It turned out that the reason there were no fire engines in the fire station was that they had been dismantled and brought up to the roof to be thrown down. There was half a firetruck up there, according to Borys. We didn¡¯t feel that was enough, and we had rope strong enough to do it, so we¡ªand by we I mean the boys¡ªtied a rope to a nearby burned-out car and dragged it up. ¡°I wonder if, instead of breaking it up into pieces and throwing them, we should just rig this thing up as some kind of killer pendulum,¡± Borys mused. I looked at him doubtfully. ¡°You¡¯d need some way to keep it off the wall, I said.¡± Visions of the massive weight ploughing through ranks of zombies ran through my head. They were good visions, but¡­ ¡°With that kind of momentum, if it glanced off the walls, it would do real damage,¡± I said reluctantly. ¡°It¡¯s nice to kill zombies, but it¡¯s the walls that are keeping us safe.¡± ¡°I suppose you have a point,¡± he said sadly. ¡°If we had more time, we might be able to rig something.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t,¡± I said, pointing. It wasn¡¯t sunset yet, and the zombies were already gathering. ¡°We¡¯d better get into position then,¡± he said, sighing. ¡°Wait,¡± I said. ¡°What am I forgetting?¡± ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know?¡± ¡°There has to be more ways for the zombies to get in,¡± I explained. ¡°You¡¯ve watched more zombie movies than I have. What are we missing?¡± ¡°In movies, the weak point is normally one of the other survivors,¡± he replied. I cast [Privacy] around us. ¡°I¡¯m assuming that one of the conditions of the floor is that we keep at least some of the survivors alive,¡± I said. ¡°We can keep them out of the fighting if we put them on the roof. We¡¯ve eliminated the secretly infected plotline.¡± ¡°Are you worried about one of them turning on us? If, say, Travis¡ª¡± ¡°¡ªto pick one at random,¡± I said wryly. Borys gave a slight grin. ¡°¡ªas a random example,¡± he agreed. ¡°He can¡¯t do much to us, but he could go after the other survivors.¡± ¡°Murdering his teammates seems a little out of character, even for him,¡± I said doubtfully. ¡°I¡¯ll get Felicia to keep an eye on him, but I think he¡¯s going to have his chance to betray us later, when there¡¯s someone to betray us to.¡± ¡°That makes sense¡­ So you¡¯ve shored up the weak points in the walls, blocked off the doors and windows¡ª¡± ¡°Except for the ones we need and are guarding,¡± I said. He nodded ¡°Zombies can¡¯t fly¡­¡± ¡°Keep an eye out though. We know that the sky isn¡¯t real. Axel could have a zombie crawl out over us and drop down.¡± Borys glanced up out of reflex. ¡°They¡¯d die, though.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t matter if they managed to land on someone.¡± He winced. ¡°Point. Aside from that, we don¡¯t need to worry about above. So what about below?¡± We looked at each other, the same idea forming at the same time in each of our minds. ¡°The sewers,¡± we said as one. The workshop level of the firehouse had good drainage. It had to, they washed off trucks and played with hoses in here. It didn¡¯t take us long to find out where the water went. ¡°It¡¯s not such a big hole,¡± Borys said, staring down. ¡°Big enough for a zombie to climb through,¡± I retorted. ¡°And that grating looks loose.¡± I tugged at it. I couldn¡¯t pull it out, but it wobbled. ¡°I can probably get it,¡± Borys said, bending down. ¡°Wait, should I? It¡¯s probably easier to reinforce if the grate is still there.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not wrong,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s just see what we¡¯re working with.¡± I cast a [Light] and sent it down the hole. Dead eyes stared up at me. ¡°Jesus!¡± I shouted, starting back. Borys was made of sterner stuff. ¡°Are they even alive?¡± he asked, staring down. ¡°They seem jammed in there, and I can¡¯t see any of them moving.¡± I joined him staring down the hole. There was an easy way to check.
[Identification]: - Zombie - Threat: 30- Properties: Diseased Bite, Diseased Blood
¡°That¡¯s a zombie,¡± I said. ¡°Three of them.¡± ¡°They must be waiting for the right time?¡± Borys suggested. ¡°Maybe,¡± I agreed. ¡°I guess they¡¯ll start moving if we open the grate though.¡± ¡°And they¡¯re too far down for a sword to reach,¡± Borys mused. ¡°Ice magic?¡± ¡°Let me try this,¡± I said. ¡°I hardly ever get a chance to cast it.¡± I knelt down and pushed one finger through the hole in the grate. With an unobstructed line to my target, I cast [Iron Dart].
You have inflicted 173damage!
The zombie moved, at least. The dart sunk into its skin and then dissipated. The zombie snarled silently in response but didn¡¯t otherwise react. ¡°Well,¡± I said. ¡°I could cast that about thirty more times to get rid of them. I could use the practice.¡± ¡°I could use ice,¡± Borys said. ¡°But if there¡¯s more behind them, they could chip through it, given time.¡± ¡°Fire it is,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s a bit ironic, trying to find petrol in a fire station, but I bet they have some.¡± They did have some. Travis was against letting us have it, until we said why we needed it. It wasn¡¯t until we gathered back around the drain that I started having second thoughts. ¡°Wait,¡± I said. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t we be better off just shooting it?¡± ¡°No way,¡± Travis said. ¡°Those fuckers gonna burn.¡± ¡°What about the ventilation?¡± I asked. ¡°We don¡¯t have a chimney in here.¡± Travis ignored me and poured the tin of petrol down the grate, followed by an emergency flare. ¡°Ain¡¯t easy to light up gasoline,¡± he muttered. Not easy perhaps, but not beyond his ability. Flames quickly flared up down below. That got more of a response. As thick black smoke poured out of the grate, the zombies let out another one of those horrible screams. Borys swore, and let an icy blast roar down into the sewer. In seconds, the smoke was choked off, and a foot of ice was blocking the hole. ¡°What¡¯s got into ya?¡± Travis asked with irritation. ¡°Aint done yet!¡± ¡°That,¡± Borys said. With the sounds from below muffled, we could hear more screams from outside. ¡°Looks like the swarm is starting early.¡± Chapter 231 - Donkey Kong Defence I hefted the car wheel and walked to the edge of the building. Not easily, mind you. My strength wasn¡¯t superhuman, just top-of-the-line human. Probably. It was difficult to tell. I was strong enough that it looked incongruous for my wimpy body to lift a whole car wheel. The survivors had been of the opinion that we didn¡¯t have time to disassemble an entire car into missile-worthy chunks of junk. They had reckoned without Cloridan and his darksteel daggers. Cloridan had carved up the vehicle in much the same way as Dad used to carve up the Christmas turkey. I paused to take aim, although it wasn¡¯t necessary. Zombies were piled up three ranks deep all around the building. Pushing, shoving, pounding on the walls. I couldn¡¯t really miss. The wheel smashed down, crushing one and knocking two more to the ground. They were trampled down by their neighbours, but zombies are tough. They¡¯ll get back up again.
You have inflicted 2400 damage! For killing a Zombie, you have earned 7500 XP
One of them wouldn¡¯t. What struck me as strange was that the System had stopped acknowledging my party. Everything had gone back to individual accomplishments. Was that something that Axel could control? Was it a subtle message that we were all on our own in the zombie apocalypse? Or was there some other reason? I¡¯d been put in a party with the kobold soldiers before, so it wasn¡¯t that I was fighting on the side of monsters. I racked my brain, but I couldn¡¯t think of what the reason could be. I picked up a jagged, heavy piece of metal and threw it down, taking out another zombie. It would have been too dark to see, but I had lit the exterior with a [Light] spell on each corner, jacked up to maximum output. They were low enough that a few zombies were trying to eat them, but the spells were immaterial, so I wasn¡¯t worried. What I was worried about was that there were still zombies arriving. The survivors were insistent that the zombies wouldn¡¯t stop, but Axel had to run out at some point. Right? I hadn¡¯t been serious about zombies dropping down from the ceiling, but once it got dark, I couldn¡¯t stop thinking about it. I¡¯d ended up putting some Phantasmal shade pavilions up for us to work under. There wasn¡¯t any sun to cool down from, but they¡¯d break the fall of any suicidal zombies. The rest of the survivors were up here with me, dutifully tossing junk down and taking out zombies. There was plenty of room for it, even with the huge pile of junk. The firemen had apparently used this level for rooftop parties. The furniture and the barbeque equipment had long since been tossed over the edge, but I could imagine hunky firemen relaxing up here. Felicia was downstairs, resting, maximising her mana regeneration. Something that we¡¯d been discussing, behind [Privacy] spells, was having her cure another zombie. The reason we were keeping it a secret was that the notion was freaking out the other survivors. Even Marcus. The idea that one of the slavering monsters outside could be turned into a normal person with a single spell was disturbing, to say the least. Travis hadn¡¯t yet accepted that we could. He was watching over Marcus like a hawk, waiting for the spell, and Marcus, to revert. The others had accepted that Marcus was human now. They were slowly coming to the inevitable conclusion that led to. Namely, the monsters outside shouldn¡¯t be killed. Every one they killed was one they didn¡¯t cure. For us, the math was a little different. We were turning a Threat Thirty monster into a non-hostile Threat Ten. Clearly a win, if an incredibly costly one. The reason we were considering it was that we were fairly certain we were going to need the survivors for something, at some point. We could probably afford to lose some if Axel was playing fair, but making new ones would give us an extra buffer of lives. That reasoning was breathtakingly sociopathic if you happened to think that the survivors were people. Since the survivors certainly did, we kept that reasoning from them. The rest of us got to struggle with the notion. Fortunately, our goals were the same in both cases. Regardless of whether the survivors were real people or story tokens, we needed to keep them alive. Cloridan was patrolling the building, keeping us linked with Kyle. We did have the phones¡ª and weren¡¯t the locals surprised at phones that worked, somehow, with magic¡ªbut Kyle needed both his hands to fight monsters, so he might not be able to call in the event of an emergency. Borys was up here with me. For now, he was dropping things like the rest of us, saving his mana for phase two. ¡°They¡¯re starting to climb,¡± he reported. ¡°I noticed. Do you want to start now, or wait?¡± I replied. We¡¯d been warned that once a few ranks of zombies gathered around the building, they would start to climb. It seemed that they only realised they could once their path was blocked by enough zombies. Once there were zombies above them, they got the idea of taking an alternative path.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. They weren¡¯t great at climbing. They could cling to any handholds they found, but they had trouble finding new ones. The problem was that a zombie clinging to a wall made for a whole set of easy handholds for other zombies. ¡°I¡¯ll wait for a bit,¡± Borys said. ¡°If they get higher before I knock them off, they might get damaged.¡± I nodded. We didn¡¯t have to wait long. Zombies didn¡¯t climb fast, but the distance was deceptive. Ten metres up seemed like an insurmountable distance, but a runner could cover it in two seconds if it was horizontal. ¡°Stand back!¡± Borys ordered the others. He was comfortable with his control, but the edge of the roof was going to get quite uncomfortable for a bit. This time, the storm that formed was more like a hurricane. We were contained within the large eye while the icy winds scoured the building of zombies and replaced them with ice. I would have said that the eye was much larger compared to the wall of wind outside it, but I couldn¡¯t honestly say how far the winds extended. Between the sleet, snow and whirling ice, I couldn¡¯t see five feet into the darkness. Which meant that I couldn¡¯t see if it was working. Borys, too, was looking at the darkness with a frown on his face. ¡°I¡¯ll give it another five minutes!¡± he yelled over the howling wind. ¡°Don¡¯t want too much ice to build up!¡± I nodded again. A little bit of ice would make the walls more slippery, but if the ice was thick enough for the zombies to drive their fingers into it, it would make it easier to climb. I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was Cloridan, who¡¯d come up from below. He gestured at the stairs. I looked around to make sure everything was in hand before I went down. The survivors were huddling under one of the pavilions, staring at the howling gale. We¡¯d shown them magic, but this was something else. I gave them a thumbs-up and headed down. The noise dropped and the temperature climbed as soon as the stair door closed behind us. ¡°Kyle says that there¡¯s something going on with the sewers,¡± Cloridan said. ¡°The ice hasn¡¯t melted yet, has it?¡± I asked. ¡°I don¡¯t think so, but there¡¯s noises.¡± When I got down there, I got to see¡ªor rather, hear¡ª what he meant. There was a crunching sound coming from the grate. It was muffled, but it was definitely a crunch. It sounded like¡­ ¡°Are they eating the ice?¡± I asked. ¡°Maybe?¡± Kyle said. ¡°They¡¯ve been pounding on the walls, but everything¡¯s stayed secure. This¡ª¡± he pointed at the grate, ¡°Is something different.¡± ¡°It¡¯s too loud, though,¡± I said thoughtfully. ¡°There were three zombies jammed in there before, but they could hardly move, let alone make all this chomping noise.¡± As I spoke, the ice under the grate started to tremble. We all took a step back, and Kyle drew his sword. A few more chomps and the head of the zombie responsible was visible.
[Identification]: - Gnawing Zombie - Threat: 30 - Properties: Gluttonous Bite, Diseased Blood
¡°It¡¯s a different type!¡± I exclaimed. ¡°Kill it!¡± Kyle¡¯s sword was thin enough to fit through the grate, and the zombie couldn¡¯t dodge. A few stabs in the head and it stopped moving. ¡°Did you get a notification?¡± I asked. ¡°Yeah,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s dead.¡± Suddenly, the corpse jerked and withdrew, as if it had been pulled backwards. More crunching sounds followed. ¡°There¡¯s more of them,¡± Cloridan said. ¡°Should we get the gas of lyne?¡± ¡°We moved it upstairs in case the climbers got out of hand,¡± I said. ¡°Using it outside seems like a better idea than using it in here.¡± ¡°Then¡­?¡± Kyle said inquiringly. ¡°Then, this,¡± I said, kneeling down and casting [Stone Shape] The remaining ice in the shaft crumbled as I squeezed it with constricting stone. Then I released my grip and let it tumble down. The crunching stopped, briefly, and then was muffled more effectively as I sealed the shaft entirely. I had to use the concrete of the floor to do it, creating a dip in the smooth floor. I left the iron grate where it was for additional reinforcement. ¡°There,¡± I said. We stared at the depression for a second. ¡°Will that be enough?¡± Cloridan asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± I said. ¡°The survivors didn¡¯t know anything about variant types. I was looking outside before and only saw standard zombies.¡± Kyle knelt and put his hand on the lowest part of the depression. ¡°It¡¯s vibrating,¡± he reported. ¡°A zombie is gnawing on it.¡± ¡°How quickly is it getting through,¡± I wondered. ¡°Faster than teeth normally would,¡± he said. ¡°But how much faster, I don¡¯t know.¡± ¡°One way to find out,¡± Cloridan said fatalistically. Outside, we heard the storm die down. ¡°Cloridan, go upstairs and fill Borys in. Kyle, see if you can hear any other gnawers working their way up. If they can gnaw through stone, the walls are in danger.¡± Both boys nodded, leaving me to watch what had once been a sewer entrance. It seemed like forever before they came back, and it must have been some time because, by the time they did, I could hear the crunching of concrete quite clearly. ¡°I can hear it,¡± Kyle said. ¡°All over. It¡¯s faint, and slower than this is, but I think they¡¯re gnawing at the foundations.¡± ¡°Borys says it was partially successful,¡± Cloridan said. ¡°Most of the zombies were blown off, and a lot were frozen solid, but some of them are stuck to the wall, and the newcomers aren¡¯t waiting to stack up before they climb. He¡¯ll be putting the storm up again in ten.¡± Another crunch sounded, louder than before. Looking down, I saw the first small hole in my barrier. Another crunch sounded, and now the head of the gnawer zombie was visible. ¡°Hold on a second,¡± I said as my companions readied their weapons. ¡°I want to see how it works.¡± The zombie opened its mouth¡­ and kept opening it. Its head split in half, revealing that its entire head contained only a mouth with jagged, inhuman teeth. Then it lunged forward and down, crunching down on the concrete that was restraining it. ¡°Is that enough?¡± Kyle asked. ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, feeling a little sick. He didn¡¯t hesitate, slicing the head off. The thing jerked and struggled, and then got dragged back. The next one wouldn¡¯t be long. I glanced at my phone. It had a timer function. ¡°It took it fifteen minutes to get through a foot of concrete,¡± I said. ¡°How long do you think it will take for the rest of them to undermine the foundations?¡± Kyle thought about it. ¡°Not as long as I¡¯d like. Four, maybe six hours?¡± ¡°And we can¡¯t attack them through the foundations,¡± I said. ¡°That would just be doing their work for them.¡± I looked at the hole in the floor. Something was already wiggling up into the light. ¡°We¡¯re going to have to take the fight to them,¡± I said. ¡°And hope that all the gnawers after us got here via the same sewer system.¡± Chapter 232 - Sewer Nasty Axel had missed a trick. The sewers were clean. Relatively speaking, that is. They were still coated in blood and gore from the zombies we¡¯d already killed. But they didn¡¯t stink of shit, for which I was grateful. I had time to think about it, wedged in between Cloridan and Kyle as they fought their way down the tunnel. I was mainly there for the light source. We had lightstones, but a floating [Light] spell was more convenient and flexible in application. Was it because the sewers weren¡¯t supposed to have been in use, with almost all of the inhabitants of the town dead? I didn¡¯t think that was it. There was still moisture down here, so there should have been mould and mildew, at least. And the station was still using its toilets¡ªit had a tank on the roof that they had to fill manually. One possibility was that Axel had gotten his information about zombies from movies that had less-than-realistic sets. But it seemed more likely that it was a side effect of the gnawing zombies. They could eat rock, but I doubted they got any sustenance from it. I suspected that when they weren¡¯t under orders to destroy a building from beneath, they just quietly roamed the sewers, munching on any organic material they found. That was what they were doing now. Something prevented them from going after other zombies, but as soon as one was dead, it was fair game. They didn¡¯t like the lights I brought, so as soon as Cloridan provided the ones in the back with a meal, they dragged the corpse back into the darkness. Then, we got to move a few steps forward before they charged us again. Where they were putting it, I didn¡¯t know, but we¡¯d be tripping over corpses if they weren¡¯t so eager to clean up after themselves. Kyle was guarding our rear. The size of his shield made advancing while fighting difficult, but it made for a good defence. With him blocking the tunnel, there wasn¡¯t enough room for a zombie to make it past. The ones that tried were easily stabbed. We didn¡¯t have far to go, but at the same time, we didn¡¯t want to get lost. Kyle was holding our exit, and there was a short stretch of zombie-free tunnel between him and Cloridan that we were gradually extending. The plan was to do that until we found a junction¡ªeither part of the sewer plan or gnawed out by the zombies. Before that happened, though, we heard a voice. ¡°Hello? Is someone there?¡± As fights went, this one was pretty quiet. Gnawers tended to only make low-pitched gurgles when they weren¡¯t chewing on anything, and we were keeping our voices down. Even the impacts of Cloridan¡¯s daggers were muted. There wasn¡¯t any armour for him to punch through, only tough, rubbery flesh. So even though the voice wasn¡¯t very loud, we both heard it. Cloridan didn¡¯t freeze, since that would have been suicidal. Talking to people was my job, so he left it to me. ¡°Is someone there?¡± I called out. ¡°I can hear you!¡± It sounded like a girl''s or a young boy¡¯s voice. ¡°I can see the light! I¡¯m headed towards you!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t! We¡¯re in a fight right now!¡± I said hastily. ¡°Stay where you are, and we¡¯ll come for you!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be fine,¡± the voice said. I pushed one of my [Light] spells forward, behind the oncoming zombies and toward where the voice had come from. We¡¯d learned not to do it that way, or they wouldn¡¯t withdraw to eat the corpses. But this way, I might get a glimpse of who was trying to reach us. Cloridan had heard the conversation and redoubled his efforts. We could see the junction up ahead. Then, a zombie came flying out of the side passage. It hissed as it flew across the narrow tunnel and slammed into the wall. It slumped to the ground, unmoving. As one, all the zombies that we could see turned and charged at the side tunnel. Cloridan cut one down as it turned, but the rest raced back out of sight. Then the sounds started. Hisses from the zombies, somehow agitated in a way they hadn¡¯t been before. Wet, splattering sounds, much like that flying zombie had made. And other sounds, softer but no less disturbing. Meat and gristle being torn apart, bones snapping¡­ The sounds stopped, and it was quiet for a moment. Then, a small boy came around the corner. ¡°Hello! I¡¯m so glad I finally found some humans like me!¡± he said. ¡°Not like you,¡± I said, looking at my notification.
Warning! Demon Detected! [Identification]: - Cherubial- Threat: Unknown - Properties: Unknown Warning! Demon Detected!
From the way Cloridan stiffened, I knew that he saw it, too.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. The cherubial smiled innocently. ¡°What do you mean? Aren¡¯t we both humans?¡± I¡¯d been learning to pay attention to the instincts that came with my weapon skills. Gripping my dagger brought the skill to mind, and it was telling me that I couldn¡¯t hit this child. Not in a straight fight. Cloridan didn¡¯t move, so I guessed that he didn¡¯t like his chances either. Not with the way that child had torn those zombies apart. That left talking. However, as I reached for my social skills, they¡­ failed to engage. Whatever was standing before me, I could no more [Persuade], [Charm], or [Intimidate] it, than I could a rock. It was possible that was because the cherubial was so alien that such concepts didn¡¯t apply, but I doubted it. It was standing there talking to me, after all. More likely, whatever hooks the System inserted into people''s brains to let the skills do their magic, weren¡¯t able to get under the cherubial¡¯s skull. ¡°You¡¯re not human,¡± I said, readying [Improved Blind] in my head, ¡°You¡¯re a demon.¡± The cherubial cocked its head. ¡°That¡¯s silly. Of course, I¡¯m human. What makes you think I¡¯m not?¡± Technically, ¡°you can tear apart zombies like they¡¯re tissue paper¡± wasn¡¯t the answer. Humans could do that. It would be weird for one of them to be of sufficiently high level, but it was possible. ¡°How long have you been living down here?¡± I asked instead. ¡°What have you been eating?¡± ¡°A long time. I got lost in the dark,¡± the cherubial said. It gestured at the zombie corpses. ¡°I¡¯ve been eating the crawling creatures. They have more than enough moisture in them, so I don¡¯t need to drink.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s not something a human could do,¡± I said. It cocked its head again. ¡°Humans can eat flesh.¡± ¡°Not raw, and not zombie flesh,¡± I said. ¡°It''s rotten.¡± Or diseased, or potentially human, I thought to myself, but didn¡¯t feel the need to educate the demon that thoroughly. ¡°Oh¡­ bother¡­¡± the demon said. ¡°What happens now, then? I don¡¯t want to have to hurt you.¡± ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I asked. ¡°I got lost, like I said,¡± the cherubial said. ¡°I came through a gate and then it got a bit confused, and then it was all dark. I¡¯ve been wandering through tunnels ever since. What are you doing down here?¡± I wanted to ask it how long she¡¯d been down here for, but I doubt it knew. It wasn¡¯t wearing a watch, and if it had been in darkness the entire time¡­ Instead, I tried answering its question. ¡°We¡¯re from the city above,¡± I said. ¡°Gnawing zombies are eating the foundations and are going to make the building collapse.¡± ¡°A city!¡± the cherubial exclaimed. ¡°That sounds much more exciting than down here.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get your hopes up,¡± I said wryly. ¡°It¡¯s filled with zombies, and not many people at all.¡± ¡°Bother,¡± the cherubial said, pouting. ¡°So these zombies that were eating your foundation. Were they the ones up that tunnel?¡± It pointed at the side passage it had come from. ¡°Probably,¡± I said. ¡°But they were gnawing from more than one location.¡± ¡°Like that one, maybe?¡± It pointed at another side passage on the other side of the tunnel. ¡°I could take care of them for you. Then we would be friends, yes?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure we can trust a demon,¡± I hedged. ¡°I am not sure what that term means, or how it is relavent,¡± the demon said sternly. ¡°You have no basis for distrusting me, as I have not acted against your interests.¡± ¡°We¡¯re worried that you will¡­ act against our interests,¡± I said. ¡°I have no reason to,¡± it assured me. ¡°There is plenty of food. All I seek is to leave this place.¡± ¡°These tunnels, or this world?¡± I asked. ¡°Because this world doesn¡¯t want you here. It tells us to kill demons like you on sight.¡± ¡°How inhospitable. Is murder the only solution?¡± the demon asked, cocking its head again. ¡°Because I do not think that would go well for you.¡± ¡°Well¡­ you could leave?¡± I tried. ¡°The portal you came through is quite close, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± the cherubial admitted. ¡°Fairly close, I think, but I do not know the route through the tunnels.¡± ¡°We¡¯re looking for it,¡± I told it. ¡°We could have a truce that gets us to the gate. Then you can go back.¡± ¡°That is acceptable. But right now, I should take care of the crawlers, yes?¡± It turned and strode purposefully up the other passage. The moment it was out of sight, Cloridan grabbed my arm. ¡°Are you sure this is a good idea?¡± he whispered urgently. I quickly cast [Privacy], we didn¡¯t know what its senses were like. ¡°Did you want to fight her?¡± I asked. He pursed his lips like it¡¯d tasted something sour. ¡°No,¡± he admitted. ¡°But that¡¯s all the more reason not to take him back to the others. Kyle will freak if you bring a demon within a hundred yards of Felicia.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not wild about it,¡± I agreed. ¡°But our chances are a lot better if we¡¯re in the open and everyone can go after her. And I¡¯ll feel a lot better about our chances if Borys is in the room.¡± He got a sour look again. ¡°That is a good point,¡± he said reluctantly. ¡°I¡¯ll wait here. Go back and fill Kyle in. If it stays quiet, go up and let the others know what¡¯s going on.¡± ¡°Will you be all right?¡± he asked doubtfully. ¡°I know you can¡¯t take a zombie on by yourself.¡± ¡°I can run just fine, and you¡¯re not going too far,¡± I said. ¡°Get going.¡± I cancelled the spell, and he headed back, looking out for me over his shoulder. It wasn¡¯t long before I heard a quieter version of the sounds from before. The zombies were a little further away this time, but that was the only difference. It didn¡¯t take any longer. ¡°There!¡± the cherubial said as it stepped around the corner. ¡°That should take care of your foundation problem.¡± ¡°Were they gnawing on the rock?¡± I asked. ¡°They were,¡± it assured me. ¡°The gnawing sound is distinctive, and I don¡¯t hear other sources of it near.¡± ¡°That¡¯s reassuring,¡± I said. I looked at the side tunnels. They were clearly not part of the original sewer design and looked like they had been chewed out by gnawers, no doubt on Axel¡¯s orders. With the assigned zombies gone, would more spawn to finish the job? I didn¡¯t think so, but there might be more wandering down here that might follow an open tunnel. I cast [Stone Shape] and started pulling the rock towards me to block off the passage. The demon watched me in fascination. ¡°So that is what that stuff is for!¡± it said. ¡°You can see mana?¡± I asked. ¡°If that¡¯s what it¡¯s called. I can see that you¡¯re controlling it, and it controls the rock. It¡¯s fascinating!¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re enjoying it,¡± I said flatly. I smoothed over the walls, leaving no traces of the tunnels behind them. ¡°Your companion should have had enough time to spread the word of my arrival,¡± the demon said. ¡°Shall we join them? I¡¯m very much looking forward to seeing daylight again.¡± It got a concerned look on its face. ¡°This world does have daylight, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Well, where we are right now is fake daylight, but it looks real enough. Or will, once the night is over,¡± I said. The demon frowned. ¡°That¡¯s disappointing.¡± ¡°All the more reason to leave,¡± I pointed out. ¡°We¡¯re in a bubble, designed in part to keep demons trapped, unable to enter the real world.¡± ¡°What are you doing here, then?¡± ¡°Hell if I know,¡± I admitted. ¡°I¡¯m hoping to get some answers when we find that portal.¡± I started heading back to the exit. ¡°One thing before we get back,¡± I asked. ¡°You got a name?¡± ¡°I do!¡± the demon said, brightening. ¡°It¡¯s Sarothiel!¡± Chapter 233 - Zombies Versus Demon ¡°There was a kid down there? And you rescued him?¡± Rachel exclaimed in disbelief. ¡°Hello! I¡¯m Sarothiel!¡± I looked around. Borys was down here, along with Felicia. Jenna was the only other survivor down here. The others must be on the roof, which¡­ was less than I¡¯d like. I gave Borys an anxious look. ¡°It¡¯s handled for now,¡± he assured me. ¡°The zombies are slipping on the ice and the locals can manage it for now.¡± ¡°Great,¡± I said. ¡°Rachel, it¡¯s not a kid, it¡¯s a demon.¡± ¡°Actually,¡± Sarothiel said. ¡°I prefer ¡®he¡¯.¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°Fine. He¡¯s a demon.¡± ¡°Is that different from a monster?¡± Rachel asked accusingly. ¡°Like you say we are?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± I said, ignoring her tone. ¡°Demons are creatures from outside this universe. They can be anything, they aren¡¯t even necessarily bound by the same physics as this one.¡± ¡°I could be human!¡± Sarothiel put in. ¡°If I can be anything, a human is included in that.¡± ¡°Of course he¡¯s human!¡± Rachel insisted, giving¡­him¡­ a hug. I twitched to see her get so close but forced myself to stay calm. She was just a monster, after all. ¡°You¡¯re a monster?¡± Sarothiel said, allowing Rachel to wipe his face. ¡°Kandis has some strange ideas,¡± Rachel said, glaring at me. ¡°But¡­ she has magic, so we might need her to get out of this. You must have been terribly scared, but it¡¯s all right now.¡± ¡®He¡¯s been surviving down there for who knows how long, on zombie meat,¡± I said wearily. I had a feeling she wasn¡¯t going to believe me. Sure enough. ¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous!¡± Rachel said. ¡°That¡¯s not possible.¡± ¡°Well, you tell me how he lived down there,¡± I said. ¡°Survived for what, two years? However long it¡¯s been.¡± ¡°I¡ªI don¡¯t know. How did you survive, Sarotheil?¡± ¡°Zombie meat is perfectly fine to eat, you¡¯re just being squeamish about it,¡± Sarothiel said. That set Rachel back a bit, but she wasn¡¯t ready to let go of Sarotheil being an innocent kid yet. ¡°So, uh, what happens now?¡± Jenny asked, looking at us nervously. Unlike Rachel, she¡¯d picked up on the fact that all of my team were alert and ready, standing close¡ªbut not too close¡ª to Sarotheil, waiting for him to make a move. ¡°Go up on the roof, I guess. Kyle, can you and Felicia guard down here?¡± I asked. That put our two heavy hitters with the demon, and Felicia well away from it. Kyle nodded. Felicia¡¯s face told me she knew very well what I was doing, but she nodded as well. ¡°Don¡¯t you want something to eat?¡± Rachel asked Sarotheil. ¡°You must be hungry, or tired.¡± ¡°No thanks, I just ate,¡± Sarotheil said. I shuddered. ¡°Well let¡¯s get upstairs, see how the zombies are doing.¡± I led the way. Jenna stayed near me, while Borys and Cloridan took the rear. Rachel hung protectively near Sarotheil, who seemed uncaring of our precautions and was content to walk in the middle of us all. ¡°What the hell¡¯s going on?¡± Jenna whispered to me as we climbed. ¡°Are you guys gonna kill the kid, or what?¡± ¡°I haven¡¯t the faintest idea,¡± I told her. ¡°For now, we¡¯re just going with the flow in the hope that it makes sense at some point.¡± She didn¡¯t seem happy with that reply, but she didn¡¯t have a rejoinder. We went the rest of the way to the top in silence. It was quiet at the top too. With the zombies mostly stymied by the ice, the survivors were keeping watch on all sides and dropping some junk occasionally. ¡°Light¡¯s went out a while back,¡± Travis complained. ¡°But we got plenty of flares.¡± ¡°Oh, sorry.¡± I¡¯d forgotten that my spells would stop when they went out of range. I quickly went and affixed [Lights] of maximum brightness at the corners again. It gave me an opportunity to see what the zombies were doing. Which was milling about, for the most part. That all stopped when Sarotheil came over to take a look. As soon as he poked his head over, all the zombies looked up. Then they surged, moving as one towards the building. They didn¡¯t become more agile or better at working together. They still slipped off the ice. But there was a sudden purpose there that wasn¡¯t there before. ¡°Looks like they don¡¯t like you,¡± I said. Sarotheil was unconcerned. ¡°I could kill them,¡± he said. ¡°Would that be helpful for you? Would you all like me better?¡± ¡°Could go either way,¡± I answered honestly. ¡°I think my people would like you a little better. We already know you¡¯re scary. The others don¡¯t, and watching you kill those zombies is going to be as scary as shit.¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. Sarotheil looked at me and then looked back at the others. ¡°Your people are the ones with magic, and the others are the ones without,¡± he said. It wasn¡¯t quite a question, just a tentative statement. I nodded. ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± He considered the matter. ¡°I think they will like me,¡± he said. ¡°The strong are not to be feared, for the strong protect the weak.¡± Then he vaulted over the edge. ¡°Saro!¡± Rachel yelled, racing over. ¡°What did you do!¡± she accused me. ¡°Nothing,¡± I said. ¡°Look.¡± It seemed that Saro had aimed for one of the zombies. Or he¡¯d lucked out and landed directly on one. Whatever his intentions, he had landed feet first, ploughing straight through the torso of the unfortunate zombie. The force from the impact sent zombie guts and flesh flying in all directions. Sarotheil was untouched, though. Not merely uninjured. None of the blood or gore stuck to him. He simply landed on his feet and walked over to his next victim. Like every zombie on this side of the building, it was charging at him. Sarotheil stood his ground, and it grabbed him, pulling him closer for a bite. It didn¡¯t get the chance. As it came in closer, Sarotheil simply grabbed it by the shoulders and pulled it apart. It split open down the middle like he was making a wish on a chicken breastbone. He threw both halves aside and was immediately attacked by three more zombies. It didn¡¯t go well for them. The others had joined me by this point. ¡°What do you think?¡± I asked Cloridan. I ignored Rachel, who was being held back by Evan from jumping after Sarothiel. He watched the fight closely. ¡°He¡¯s not fighting with the Status, is he?¡± he said thoughtfully. ¡°I don¡¯t think so,¡± I agreed. There was a look to how you fought when you used [Skills]. I was a little surprised that Cloridan could see it. He might never have seen someone not using skills, because why would anyone do something that stupid? We were seeing it now, though. Sarotheil didn¡¯t move with grace, he moved with power. He moved casually, deceptively quickly. It was only when his limbs met resistance that you realised just how fast they were moving. Zombie flesh and bones didn¡¯t have any way to resist him. Flesh tore, bones broke. Zombies died. Zombies didn¡¯t dodge, so it was a testament to his lack of skill that he missed sometimes. Generally, it happened when he got shoved off balance by a charging zombie. Knocking him over seemed to be the limit of what they could do to him, though. He would go down¡ªRachel would scream, even after the first time¡ªthe zombies would pile on, and then he would tear them apart from underneath. ¡°He¡¯s strong,¡± Cloridan commented. ¡°Strength Ten, I¡¯d say. Not much Finesse or Agility though.¡± He sucked in a considering breath. ¡°I might be okay,¡± he said. ¡°If I avoid parrying and just dodge, I don¡¯t think he can hit me. I can hit him, unless he¡¯s sandbagging. The problem is that I¡¯m not sure I can damage him.¡± Certainly, none of the zombies had been able to. Getting close enough to bite him was just an invitation for a devastating punch to go through the attacker¡¯s head. And even when that failed, it looked like something was protecting him. ¡°Shame about the experience, though,¡± Cloridan said. ¡°You¡¯ve been making bank on this floor without having to share with us, haven¡¯t you?¡± I asked. I wasn¡¯t really jealous. My lucky¡ªor more likely, carefully arranged¡ªscore had left me far in advance of everyone else. ¡°Reckon I¡¯m getting close,¡± Cloridan said. ¡°If it does come to blows, Sorathiel might put me over.¡± The rewards for killing a demon were generous, but I wasn¡¯t going to let that sway me. Sarotheil had been nothing but friendly and helpful. Unless that changed, killing him would be murder. Probably. I looked over at the survivors again. They seemed to have grasped just how powerful Sarotheil was now, although Rachel was still wringing her hands with worry. ¡°I think I¡¯ve seen enough,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s work out a roster for keeping watch tonight.¡±
I ended up sharing a shift with Evan in the last watch before dawn. Obviously, we didn¡¯t trust the monsters to keep watch alone, and they didn¡¯t fully trust us, so some sort of arrangement like this was inevitable. Sarotheil did, apparently, sleep. He¡¯d taken about two hours to kill enough zombies that the remainder had scattered. Some sort of survival instinct that hadn¡¯t been seen before. ¡°He sure is something,¡± Evan said as we looked out over the carnage below. ¡°Sure is,¡± I agreed. It was pretty clear who he was talking about. I didn¡¯t see the point in belabouring the fact that he was a demon, though. ¡°With the swarm gone, it should be easier to move about this place,¡± Evan said. ¡°You reckon that there¡¯s somewhere we can go to end this whole thing?¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°You said before that there might be a cure that we need to find,¡± he said, his face hopeful. ¡°Or someplace that we can go, where we¡¯ll be safe.¡± He looked at me, and his face fell. ¡°Something wrong with that idea?¡± I had¡­ not been paying attention to my expression. Careless. It only took a thought for [Charm] to start working again, but the damage had been done. ¡°You¡¯re not¡ª¡± I started. ¡°This isn¡¯t¡ª¡± I tried again. Skills couldn¡¯t help me if I didn¡¯t know what I wanted to communicate. Explaining would be a terrible idea. But would it be worse not to explain? They seemed so human. I could bully Evan into dropping the subject, but my evasion would nag at a real human until he got an answer. They deserved to know, I decided. Even if Axel was going to erase their memories or erase them, they deserved to know what they were in for. ¡°You¡¯re monsters,¡± I said. ¡°This isn¡¯t a world; it¡¯s a floor. When we figure out how to beat it, you won¡¯t be coming with us.¡± ¡°You won¡¯t let us?¡± ¡°Monsters can¡¯t leave their floor,¡± I said. That wasn¡¯t completely true, but it was close enough. ¡°I don¡¯t know what will happen when we leave, but the most likely result is that you get reset back to how you were when we arrived.¡± Evan¡¯s eyes widened, but he kept himself under control. ¡°This¡­ Axel¡­ can just do this?¡± ¡°He¡¯s pretty much a god for this floor,¡± I said. ¡°He might reset you; he might just respawn the zombies and leave you¡ªI don¡¯t know what he might do.¡± ¡°But we can¡¯t leave.¡± ¡°There are rules that govern dungeons. I don¡¯t know all of them, and Axel has stretched the rules in more than one way. But monsters can¡¯t leave their floor is a fairly well-known rule.¡± ¡°So we just suffer until we get reset and then suffer some more?¡± he asked. ¡°What¡¯s the point of that?¡± Axel¡¯s amusement, I thought grimly, but I knew better than to say it. ¡°Look,¡± I said instead. ¡°Monsters don¡¯t normally have free will. Maybe you do. Maybe that breaks the rules, and you will be able to leave. I don¡¯t have all the answers here.¡± ¡°Maybe?¡± he said bitterly. ¡°You don¡¯t know if we have free will or not? We¡¯re just¡­ curiosities to you, aren¡¯t we? I¡¯m surprised you haven¡¯t cut us open to see what makes us tick.¡± ¡°Rest assured, that¡¯s not going to happen, even if we did think we¡¯d get useful information that way,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯re not going to just kill you.¡± ¡°Why not? We¡¯re just monsters. In fact¡­ why haven¡¯t you just killed us?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need a reason to not kill someone,¡± I protested. ¡°But we¡¯re not someones, are we? We¡ªyou must think you need us alive for some reason. Something to do with Axel? You need us for the next bit. ¡°That¡­ seems likely,¡± I admitted. He laughed. ¡°So we do have a purpose after all! As pawns in whatever games Axel is playing.¡± ¡°Look, we¡¯re just guessing, about all this,¡± I said. ¡°We don¡¯t set the rules, or even fully know them.¡± ¡°I wonder if Sarotheil can help,¡± Evan said suddenly. ¡°Help, how?¡± I said cautiously. ¡°You said he was from outside. Not subject to the rules of this world. Maybe he can help us break our rules.¡± I looked at Evan doubtfully. ¡°All I can say about that kid is¡­ I have no idea what he¡¯s capable of.¡± Chapter 234 - What Man Was Not Meant To Know Cloridan and Borys went outside to explore. With the zombie swarm dealt with, it would be relatively safe outside for a while, according to survivors. Sarotheil was sleeping off last night''s exertions and the big meal he ate afterwards. I stayed back to interview the survivors and Kyle and Felica stayed back to watch over me. Or maybe to keep me from killing the survivors. There was no way I was going to, but I was seriously tempted. ¡°They must have said something,¡± I insisted. ¡°I already told you. They didn¡¯t stay long enough to say much of anything,¡± Travis repeated. ¡°Just that they worked for the folks that were gonna find the cure and save everyone.¡± ¡°And that they were headed for their main lab,¡± Evan added. ¡°Which they didn¡¯t say the location of.¡± ¡°They were trying to scrounge some handouts from us,¡± Travis said. ¡°We didn¡¯t have none to spare, and they didn¡¯t see fit to invite us to go with them. They went that-a-way down the street if that tells you anything.¡± ¡°Do you really think there¡¯s some quest to complete?¡± Felicia asked, distracting me from finding a sixth way to ask the same question. ¡°Borys did say that some of these are just survival games.¡± ¡°If it is a survival game, there¡¯s not much we have to do,¡± I said. ¡°Just sit here and survive.¡± ¡°Sounds a lot better than anything you¡¯ve come up with so far,¡± Travis interjected. I shot him a look, and he glared back. My relationship with the survivors was deteriorating, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to care. ¡°Scouting out the area might find us a clue for what to do next, or it could bring in resources that we need to survive longer. How much do you have in the way of supplies?¡± I directed this question to Travis. We¡¯d been living off what we¡¯d brought in with us, so this question hadn¡¯t come up. Frankly, I preferred our rations to the traditional post-apocalypse random can of food, unheated. ¡°Not much,¡± Travis admitted. ¡°Couple of weeks. We know where we can find some more, though.¡± ¡°Then why aren¡¯t you getting it?¡± I asked. ¡°It¡¯s the best time right now, isn¡¯t it?¡± Travis scowled. ¡°Waiting to see how you lot turn out,¡± he said. ¡°Not much point gathering food if you¡¯re just gonna steal it.¡± ¡°Fair point,¡± I said. We didn¡¯t expect to be here for a couple of weeks either, and there wasn¡¯t much point to food supplies if they were just going to be reset or despawned or whatever Axel had in mind for them. I didn¡¯t mention this. ¡°Anyway, we¡ª¡± I stopped as Rachel made her way up to the roof. ¡°The others are back!¡± she said excitedly. It only took a few moments for the pair to climb up the rope ladder to the second floor. ¡°Find anything?¡± I asked. ¡°You might say that,¡± Borys answered. ¡°We found a building with power.¡±
The survivors had been doing okay without power. They¡¯d been reduced to cooking oil lamps, and hot showers were a distant dream, but they didn¡¯t need electricity. They just wanted it, a lot. Travis had insisted on accompanying us when we went to investigate. I tried pointing out that he was just a harmless kitten and we might not be able to protect him if things went wrong. For some reason that just wound him up, and didn¡¯t persuade him at all. He told us that it was his town and he¡¯d do as he liked, following us if necessary, to ensure that we didn¡¯t do ¡°nuthin¡±. I didn¡¯t really mind. By my reckoning, we were two warm bodies up and could afford to lose one. Why not the untrustworthy, probably-a-criminal Travis? From the street, the building didn¡¯t look like much. Just another storefront, notable for having most of its windows still intact. There were no outside lights, but Borys had spotted something when he tried to get inside. ¡°That is, indeed, a glowing light on the security camera,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s not all,¡± Borys said. ¡°This front is a fake, take a look inside.¡± It was dark inside, and the window was dusty, but I could see, a few feet back from the window, a featureless dark grey wall. Offset a little from the glass front door, was an equally featureless door. ¡°Is that a steel security door?¡± I asked. ¡°I think so,¡± Borys said. ¡°How do you want to go about it?¡± I reached out with my other senses. ¡°It¡¯s well-lit inside,¡± I said. ¡°I can¡¯t jump through. I don¡¯t like the idea of destroying the entrance, though. What if we need to block it off from zombies?¡± Borys nodded. ¡°That leaves the sewers, or¡­¡± he took a few steps back from the building and looked up. ¡°There might be a way in up there.¡± ¡°Cloridan?¡± I asked.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. He nodded and pulled out a grappling hook. ¡°Easy,¡± he said.
It didn¡¯t take long for Cloridan to climb his way up. It took him a little longer to work out what was going on. When he pulled us up, I could see what all the confused noises had been about. The storefront, and the second story above it, were a facade. Behind it, set back enough that you couldn¡¯t see it from the street, was the real building. Three stories tall, windowless and made from a much more modern material than the homey glass and brick of the rest of the town. ¡°Why do it this way?¡± Cloridan asked. ¡°It¡¯s such a shoddy way of concealing a building.¡± We were standing on the second-story facade, looking up at the third-story of the inner building. ¡°I think we were supposed to find this,¡± I said. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t do for the adventurers to not find the building. Do you think those are doors?¡± There were no windows, but there were two large squares that looked like they might be doors. They were flush to the walls and had no handles, though.¡± ¡°If they are, it doesn¡¯t look like there¡¯s a way to open them from here,¡± Cloridan said. ¡°There¡¯s a fire escape around the back,¡± Borys reported. ¡°It must go somewhere.¡± ¡°I guess even mysterious concealed buildings have to follow the fire code,¡± I said. The fire escape led to the roof, and there was a door. To my surprise, Cloridan managed to pick the lock. ¡°I thought modern locks would be a little different from what you¡¯re used to,¡± I said. Cloridan shrugged. ¡°Much the same as any dungeon lock, to be honest,¡± he replied. Well, whatever. We carefully made our way inside. The interior was white walls and light panels in the ceilings. ¡°How do you think they¡¯ve powered all this?¡± Borys asked. ¡°It¡¯s all magic in the end, isn¡¯t it?¡± I speculated. ¡°Even if Axel made a generator for the sake of realism, he can just conjure more diesel any time he likes.¡± Borys grunted in dissatisfaction. ¡°You want a high-tech facility like this to be powered by a nuclear generator.¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°Borys, I¡¯m incredibly glad that we never found out what was behind the bomb on the last floor. Let¡¯s not wish for more trouble.¡± ¡°Quiet,¡± Cloridan ordered. ¡°There are sounds from up ahead.¡± We crept forward cautiously. Thus far, we¡¯d passed a few empty rooms that looked like living quarters. The corridor we were following seemed to lead to a new section of the building, which was where the sounds were coming from. As we got closer, we could make out what they were. A zombie. Probably. I wasn¡¯t hearing a gurgle, or that horrifying scream. It was a random scraping and shuffling, occasionally interspersed with thuds. The sound of an animate corpse bumping into walls, trying to get out of a room. Nobody said anything, which I took to mean that they¡¯d figured it out, and didn¡¯t want to attract its attention by making a sound. We came to a door. The sounds were coming from beyond it, but they were too soft, I thought, for the zombie to be right behind it. What the hell. We, and by that I meant Cloridan and Borys, could take a zombie. I checked to make sure Travis was still behind me. Borys hit the door panel and it slid aside. Beyond was a scene fairly familiar from movies. An observation chamber, I think you¡¯d call it. The first thing I checked, only slightly slower than the boys as they secured the room, was that the observation area was empty. That¡¯s where we were. There were two other rooms, separated from us by thick glass walls. From context, I assumed that was where the observed creatures were kept. One of the chambers held a zombie. That was what we¡¯d heard, stumbling around. He was fairly well-preserved for a zombie and was still wearing a white lab coat that was still mostly white. Or at least a dingy grey.
[Identification]: - Zombie - Threat: 30- Properties: Diseased Bite, Diseased Blood
The other room held several¡­ growths stuck to the walls. They were
[Identification]: - Climber Zombie - Threat: 32- Properties: Diseased Bite, Clinging
Oh, another variant. So were they alive, or? Even as I had the thought, one of the growths unfolded itself and clambered up onto the glass wall separating us. We all jumped and took a step back, but it couldn¡¯t get through the glass. It hissed in frustration as its teeth slid off. Then it started slowly wandering across the surface, looking for a way in. After making absolutely sure it wasn¡¯t going to find a way, I returned my attention to the room we were in. It featured a control panel that across the length of the room. It looked like it contained several monitoring instruments and it probably controlled the doors I could see on the other side of the glass. ¡°So what do we make of this?¡± I asked. I knew the boys were too smart to touch any of the controls, but I kept an eye on Travis. ¡°They were doing experiments on the zombies,¡± Borys said. ¡°Making new types.¡± ¡°And it didn¡¯t go well for them,¡± I said, pointing to the lab-coated zombie. ¡°He¡¯s just a regular zombie, though, so I don¡¯t think he got bit by his creations.¡± ¡°Zombie research institutions are notoriously lax with containment proceedures,¡± Borys said wryly. ¡°He probably brought in the virus from outside.¡± ¡°And then put himself in the chamber when he felt it take effect?¡± I asked. ¡°Maybe,¡± Borys agreed. ¡°Should we start going through the computers to find the diary?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got a better idea¡ªdon¡¯t touch that!¡± I yelled. I grabbed Travis and dragged him back, just to be sure. ¡°What! I was just gonna help by going through the computers!¡± He snarled. ¡°Like I¡¯d trust you to know which side of a keyboard to use,¡± I said. ¡°I said I have a better idea.¡± With my free hand (it only took one to restrain Travis) I pointed at the scientist zombie. ¡°That guy almost certainly knew what they were doing. We get Felica to cure him and he can answer our questions.¡± ¡°Ah, good idea.¡± Borys said. ¡°Should we try the computers as a backup?¡± ¡°Lets leave them for now,¡± I said. ¡°We can always come back to them if it doesn¡¯t work out, but I get the feeling that they¡¯ve been rigged. You know, as soon as we touch the wrong control¡ª¡± I glared at Travis, ¡°¡ªthen the glass comes down and the zombies attack.¡± ¡°Threat Thirty-two will be tough,¡± Cloridan said. ¡°It will,¡± I agreed. ¡°And there¡¯s no way Axel put them there thinking we wouldn¡¯t have to fight them.¡± ¡°How are we going to get the zombie if we don¡¯t touch the controls?¡± Borys asked. I thought about it. ¡°I can make a Phantasmal box through the glass,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯ll be dark enough in there that I can jump us through.¡± Borys nodded. ¡°We¡¯d better get Felicia then,¡± he said. ¡°I don¡¯t fancy carting a live zombie through the town.¡± He turned to leave and pressed the door panel. The door opened, but th lights all turned to red. ¡°Emergency Containment failure notice,¡± a calm female voice announced from nowhere. ¡°Specimen release activated.¡± Two large panels opened up in the containment rooms. We could see daylight behind them. I swore. All of the zombies perked up at the sound of the doors opening. The scientist zombie started shambling toward it. The climber zombies stirred into life and started dashing for freedom. ¡°Shit!¡± I looked at Borys. ¡°We¡¯ve got to get back,¡± he said urgently. I knew what he meant. Those climbers were going to head straight for the firehouse. The walls wouldn¡¯t stop them. Kyle and Sarotheil might. But eight of them attacking almost guaranteed one would make it through. We had to get back before someone died. Chapter 235 - Runaway Zombies ¡°I don¡¯ get it!¡± Travis whined as we pulled up out of the building. He didn¡¯t move fast enough. ¡°Why¡¯d you think they¡¯re gonna go for the firehouse? They don¡¯t know where the others are!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a trap,¡± I told him impatiently as we waited for Cloridan to sound the all-clear. We couldn¡¯t get sloppy just because we were in a hurry. ¡°Axel knows where you are, he put you there. So there will be some reason those variants head there.¡± If only there were some way we could warn them¡­ oh right. I pulled out my phone and called Kyle. ¡°I don¡¯t get how those work,¡± Travis complained. ¡°There ain¡¯t no signal!¡± ¡°Magic,¡± I told him, and then Kyle picked up. ¡°Kandis?¡± ¡°Listen, there are a bunch of variant zombies coming your way,¡± I said. ¡°They move fast, they¡¯re threat thirty-two, and they climb as fast as they run.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll fall back to the stairwell, then,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re on your way back?¡± ¡°Yeah. Only thing that¡¯s slowing us is checking for an ambush on the way.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see you when you get back then.¡± He hung up. ¡°There¡¯s one,¡± Cloridan said. ¡°Stuck to the facade.¡± So¡­ the worst possibility, then. When we¡¯d made it out of the building, there were no zombies in sight. Even the regular scientist-zombie had gone. He must have jumped off the edge and made it to cover in record time, for a zombie. I thought it a bit weird¡ªwhich is to say, part of Axel¡¯s plans¡ªthat the zombies had taken off instead of hanging around the building. Sure, regular zombies might not have been able to make it up to our entrance point, but the climbing ones could. Why hadn¡¯t they swarmed up and tried to get in the door? The obvious answer was that they were on a mission from Axel, but now I suspected the answer was slightly worse. They were ambush predators, and they were planning an ambush. Zombies that could plan were bad news, however you looked at it. The only good news was that the team here, with the exception of Travis, were very well-practised in detecting and countering ambushes. ¡°Only one? How do you want to handle it?¡± I asked. Cloridan grinned. ¡°With just one, we want to get the measure of it, see how it ranks against the usual ones,¡± he said. ¡°Makes sense,¡± I said. ¡°But you¡¯d normally need Kyle for that.¡± Kyles''s defences made for a good way to tie a creature down so that the others could analyse its attacks. ¡°We came up with an alternative,¡± he said. ¡°If you¡¯d be so good as to climb down at that spot, m¡¯lady.¡± He pointed at a particular spot on the facade wall. I gave him a very unimpressed look. ¡°You want me to be bait?¡± He bowed. ¡°I promise we won¡¯t let it hurt a hair on your lovely head.¡± I made a disapproving noise, but I did trust him. And with the zombies mostly immune to my illusions there wasn¡¯t much I could contribute. ¡°Fine,¡± I said. There wasn¡¯t any time to waste, so I started climbing. I didn¡¯t have to wait long. There was a snarl, the sound of an impact and a shadow flashed past me, going down. A moment later, I caught sight of Cloridan joining Borys on the street, having jumped right past me. They¡¯d finished it off by the time I made it down. I could have jumped, but I was in no hurry to get down there until it was dead. Travis dropped the rope down at about the same time as I hit the pavement. I hadn¡¯t bothered using it; going down was a lot easier than going up. ¡°It''s faster,¡± Cloridan said thoughtfully. ¡°Not stronger or tougher, though.¡± ¡°What about smarter?¡± I asked. ¡°Not sure,¡± Borys said. ¡°If Axel told it where to lurk, then it might not be any smarter than a regular zombie. Hard to say if it came up with the plan on its own.¡± ¡°And there¡¯s no sign of the regular zombie?¡± ¡°It is strange,¡± Cloridan said looking around. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t have thought it would get so far as to not be drawn to the sound of fighting. But.¡± ¡°But,¡± I agreed. ¡°It¡¯s not here. First priority is the Firehouse, but keep an eye out for it.¡± I looked to where Travis was still struggling to climb down the rope. ¡°Once he¡¯s down, one of you is going to have to climb up and untie the rope,¡± I said. Borys sighed.
The next ambush was about halfway to the firehouse and consisted of three climbers. Not that they were using their climbing for anything except hiding under the awnings of the building we passed. We didn¡¯t spot them, but we were expecting something like it. Keeping our defensive formation meant Cloridan had to face his alone, but it meant Borys was well placed to intercept two more from the other direction.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. I managed to stick a Phantasmal box on the head of one of them, and it delayed it enough to count as a contribution. ¡°Oh,¡± Cloridan said when we were done. ¡°That was enough. I¡¯ve made Level Six.¡± ¡°Welcome to the club,¡± Borys said. ¡°First level without Ability Points to spend,¡± Cloridan said. Borys grunted. ¡°Welcome to that club as well.¡± We pressed on, and it wasn¡¯t long before we saw the carpet of zombie bodies that surrounded our building. Sarothiel had eaten a few, but he hadn¡¯t really made a dent. They would be a problem if we didn¡¯t leave in a few days, but right now we were worried about the live¡ªthat is, active¡ªzombies. I could see one, prying or gnawing at the second-story window that we used for an entrance. It was barricaded at the moment, but the zombie must have sensed some vulnerability there. ¡°It should be safe to use our guns, right?¡± Borys said. ¡°Place has been cleared.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep an eye out,¡± I said. ¡°You might even attract our scientist friend.¡± He unlimbered one of the German guns and took careful aim. That gun was capable of automatic fire, but he took it slow, making every shot count. It took five shots for the zombie to fall. ¡°What now?¡± Cloridan asked. ¡°That¡¯s five out of eight,¡± I said. ¡°If the other three went for the roof entrance, Kyle should have been able to hold them off. It might be dangerous to climb to the roof¡ªthey might go for us while we¡¯re vulnerable.¡± There was a sudden movement from the second-floor window. ¡°Or, the people inside might have heard the shots, and have opened the window for us,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s run before we get any other zombies.¡±
¡°Well this is a mess,¡± I said, surveying the ruins of the roof. Specifically, the ruins of the shack that covered the rooftop entrance. ¡°Yeah, I started holding at the door, but it wasn¡¯t as sturdy as the rest of the building,¡± Kyle said. ¡°By the time I dropped one, there was enough room to get past me, and I had to fall back further. Making a stand on the stairs wouldn¡¯t have been a good idea. If I¡¯d needed to get back further, the others would have had to form the front line.¡± I didn¡¯t comment on how much of a bloodbath that would have been. Our shots had distracted the single climbing zombie that had survived. It had been enough for Kyle to finish it. ¡°I never thought it would hold if they got up here,¡± Even said in hushed tones. ¡°But now¡­ it won¡¯t be any protection at all.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about it,¡± I said confidently. ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ll be here too much longer.¡± ¡°All we have to do is find one zombie in a city with¡­ I don¡¯t know how many,¡± Cloridan said wryly. ¡°Most of them are lying dead around this building,¡± I said. ¡°I think our efforts should be divided between searching for the scientist, looking for records back at that facility, and clearing out the bodies.¡± ¡°I can help with that,¡± Sarothiel said, popping up. ¡°That¡¯d be great,¡± I said, managing to keep myself from jumping out of my skin.
¡°How can something so tense be so boring?¡± I complained rhetorically. ¡°It¡¯s better than dragging bodies,¡± Felicia pointed out. We¡¯d left that task to the NPCs. With Sarotheil there for protection, they should be good dragging the bodies somewhere further away from the base. Axel would reclaim them once we left, but we still didn¡¯t know how long we were going to be here, and the NPCs still thought of the firehouse as home. The boys had helped us secure this building, which turned out to have no other threats¡ªaside from the electric current running through the ground floor door. They were now hunting scientist-zombie, while Felicia and I went through the records that had been left. Thus far, we¡¯d found a whole lot of nothing. A bunch of personnel records, and logs of the experiments they were doing here. Since we didn¡¯t want to recreate the climber zombies, it wasn¡¯t much use to us. There were memos from headquarters, but they had all been received electronically, with no indication of where headquarters had been. Communication had ceased a little while before the records had stopped. A note suggested that the Internet had failed, rather than headquarters themselves. The last note said that the majority of the team was leaving to get instruction from headquarters directly. Absent from any of the records was what the hell they had been thinking. I wasn¡¯t sure if that was deliberate obfuscation on Axel¡¯s part or if he just hadn¡¯t thought it was necessary. ¡°It¡¯s a pretty common theme in zombie movies,¡± I told Felicia. ¡°The zombies are a plague that man releases into the world because of their own hubris.¡± ¡°Was there ever a danger of that happening?¡± Felicia asked. ¡°It¡¯s pretty remote,¡± I said. ¡°Designing plagues was within our capacity, but making one do all that this one does is pushing the boundaries of biological possibility. It¡¯s more a warning of the worst possible thing that could happen. A punishment from God for transgressing on his domain.¡± ¡°Pretty twisted punishment, if you ask me,¡± Felicia said. ¡°Our gods are much more direct with their displeasure, when they care to show it.¡± ¡°On the whole, I prefer subtle to lightning bolts,¡± I said. ¡°Much as I dislike being a part of this game they¡¯ve got going, I have to admit that it¡¯s better than the alternative.¡± My phone rang. I looked askance at it, wondering if Fyskel had decided to toy with me some more, but it was Cloridan. ¡°We¡¯ve found him,¡± he said. ¡°Can you open the front door?¡± Disarming the electric current and unlocking the door was child¡¯s play, from the inside. I just had to push two buttons. When the door opened, Cloridan and Borys were outside, with a trussed-up zombie in tow. ¡°Nice,¡± I said. ¡°He give you much trouble?¡± ¡°Not too much,¡± Borys said wearily. ¡°He was trying to get into the sewers though, so we caught him just in time.¡± There was enough room on the first floor to lie him down, so we had Felicia treat him right there. ¡°He¡¯s in pretty good condition,¡± she noted. ¡°It shouldn¡¯t take quite as much mana as before.¡± She did her thing. This time, I used [Improved Blind] to stop the screaming. ¡°That¡¯s much better,¡± Felicia said. With the disease cured, she started pouring general healing magic into him. Finally, she stopped. ¡°I think it¡¯s done,¡± she said. ¡°You can take off the gag now.¡± I did so, and examined our captive.
[Identification]: - Tobias Braston - Threat: 10 - Properties: None
I gave him a gentle pat on the cheek. ¡°Wake up, Toby.¡± ¡°Huh? What? What¡¯s going on?¡± he said groggily. I nodded with satisfaction. ¡°Good enough,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s get him back to the firehouse before we start asking questions.¡± ¡°Should we untie him?¡± Borys asked. I thought about it for a second. ¡°It will probably be faster if we carry him,¡± I pointed out. ¡°And this way we don¡¯t take a risk on him running.¡± ¡°You mean it will be faster if I carry him,¡± Borys said. ¡°Hey! Do I get a say in this?¡± Toby protested. ¡°No,¡± we all said together. Chapter 236 - Zone of Control ¡°I¡¯ll tell you everything, just please don¡¯t hurt me!¡±
You have defeated Tobias Braston in a Tier 1 Social Contest! You have earned 250 XP
That had been ridiculously easy, as I¡¯d expected. I¡¯d never engaged a monster in social combat before, but at Threat 10, I hadn¡¯t expected much resistance or reward. Two-fifty was chump change, but the ¡°Tier One¡± was interesting. He must have really wanted not to tell us. Not that it made much of a difference against my [Intimidate] skill. One credible threat was all it had taken. I glanced over at Travis. Like most of the other survivors, he¡¯d been watching the interrogation, brief as it had been. Travis fancied himself as a troublemaker, the one who would lead the survivors against me when the simmering tension built up enough. In reality, he and the rest of his friends were not any kind of threat. I looked at him to tell him that I knew about his plans and that I didn¡¯t care. I can reduce you to a blubbering beggar just as easily, the look said. He must have grasped at least some of the content, as he quickly looked away. [Intimidate] wasn¡¯t even my most powerful skill. It was just the quickest in this situation. I could have turned on [Charm] or [Persuade] and had them eating out of my hand, following me around like little ducklings. They were so weak, it would have been easy. The resentment they felt, the discontent that I allowed to grow, was my gift to them. Feelings that were rightfully theirs, generated by their experience of the world. Real emotions, not whatever I thought was convenient for me in the moment. It was a gift I couldn¡¯t share with Toby. He had something I wanted. ¡°So,¡± I said. ¡°Your corporation. NovaGen.¡± The name had been all over the documentation that we¡¯d gone through. Toby looked at me nervously but didn¡¯t volunteer anything. ¡°NovaGen made the zombie virus, didn¡¯t they?¡± ¡°Maybe?¡± Toby said. I frowned. Just a slight crinkling of the brow. ¡°I swear I don¡¯t know!¡± Toby yelled. ¡°I wasn¡¯t involved, I never saw anything, but yeah, reading between the lines, it sure looks like it.¡± ¡°So your little outfit was researching variant zombies?¡± ¡°Mutations in the virus,¡± Toby said. ¡°We were set up after the virus was found in the wild. The higher-ups were concerned about mutations. They sent samples to us so we could track how it was evolving.¡± ¡°Uh-huh, and how did you analyse the mutations? Computer simulations, live cultures, that sort of thing.¡± He could tell that I already knew the answer. Even if I hadn¡¯t gone through the documentation, I would have known the answer. He didn¡¯t want to say it, but he didn¡¯t want me to call him on a lie even more. ¡°That, yeah, but there was¡­ live testing on human subjects.¡± ¡°You little shit!¡± Travis sprung to his feet and launched himself at the researcher, who was still tied up and lying on the floor. There hadn¡¯t seemed to be a reason to untie him yet. ¡°Travis!¡± I barked, and the man stopped short, his hands balled up into fists. ¡°You pulled people off the streets for testing?¡± he sneered. ¡°You¡¯re a monster!¡± ¡°You¡¯re all monsters,¡± I said mildly. ¡°Keep in mind, it¡¯s unlikely that he¡¯s actually done the things he remembers.¡± Travis frowned. I could tell that he wanted to have a deep philosophical discussion on the subject. If someone remembered doing something that never happened¡ªand others had memories that agreed¡ªhad he done that thing? Or possibly he just wanted to kick Toby until the man died. Those looks were pretty similar on Travis. I had no time for it either way. Under the pressure of my gaze, Travis slunk back down to his seat. ¡°This headquarters of yours,¡± I said, returning to the subject. ¡°Is that where your buddies were headed?¡± Toby nodded. ¡°Once the mail stopped, and our final specimens¡­ matured, there wasn¡¯t much for us to do. We got permission to put the base on standby and return. I stayed behind to look after the place.¡± ¡°And aside from getting turned into a zombie, you did a bang-up job,¡± I said wryly. ¡°Where¡¯s the headquarters?¡± ¡°It¡¯s about two weeks on foot,¡± Toby said. ¡°I don¡¯t know where, exactly, but we got sent directions. Something about necessary security precautions.¡± That sounded like bullshit, but it sounded like Axel''s ¡°this is a game¡± bullshit. I tabled it for later. ¡°Fine,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ll lead us there tomorrow. Do you anticipate any problems?¡± ¡°Aside from zombies?¡± Toby asked. ¡°We can handle zombies,¡± I said confidently. ¡°Though, I should check¡­ the virus that made those climber zombies was sent to you, right?¡±Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Yes. I don¡¯t know where it came from, but they¡¯ll have that information back at headquarters. That sample was from some time ago as well. I¡¯m sure there have been other mutations since.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not great news, but we¡¯ll manage,¡± I told him. ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°Well¡­ you know they¡¯re not going to let you in, don¡¯t you? Even with me as a hostage.¡± ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t they?¡± I asked. ¡°If they¡¯ve got a sanctuary, they¡¯re going to need more hands to keep it safe, or expand it.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Toby agreed. ¡°One of the last messages, before the Internet went down, was that they were looking for more test subjects. So they¡¯re probably short on people, but I don¡¯t know if they have jobs for you that you¡¯d like.¡± ¡°Whatever gets our foot in the door,¡± I said grimly. I wondered if that was what the survivors were for. Bait to get us past the door? I looked over the group speculatively. ¡°We¡¯re going,¡± Travis stated flatly. I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Are you that eager to become a zombie?¡± I asked. Travis spat on the floor. I mean, actually spat on the floor. Rachel and Marta looked scandalised, and I don¡¯t imagine the look on my face was approving. Someone was going to have to clean that up. ¡°Hell with that,¡± he said. ¡°You got your stupid game to win¡ªwe want to see Axel. If he really exists.¡± I looked at Travis calmly. ¡°Fine,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve no plans to stand between you and your Creator. Just don¡¯t get in our way, and try not to die. I¡¯d feel bad if I had to watch.¡± He turned away, muttering to himself. I ignored him and turned to Sarotheil, who had been watching the whole group with interest. ¡°You¡¯re coming too, right?¡± I asked. ¡°This will bring us back to the portal, correct? It¡¯s not the way I came, that was underground.¡± ¡°Yeah, if you knew the way that you¡¯d come, we might try it, but as it is, this is our best bet.¡± ¡°Sorry about that. Yes, I¡¯ll come.¡± ¡°All right.¡± I looked down at Toby. ¡°I suppose we should untie you now.¡±
¡°You¡¯ve been fooled. There ain¡¯t no road out here.¡± Travis said loudly. ¡°Are you trying to attract a zombie?¡± I asked. ¡°I ask out of curiosity.¡± Travis¡¯s face went red, but he continued at a lower volume. ¡°I know this area,¡± he insisted. ¡°You got a ditch out back behind Taylor¡¯s place and the sewage farm, but no road.¡± The rest of the survivors nodded in agreement, but they wisely kept their mouths shut. ¡°This is the route we were given,¡± Toby said meekly. He was leading us between two warehouse-like workshops at the back of the town. Exactly how he¡¯d been given this route was a bit suspicious since he didn¡¯t have any street names that he could give us. I chalked it up to Axel again. That didn¡¯t mean I was following him blindly, though. ¡°Hang on,¡± I said. I grabbed him to make sure he stopped. ¡°What is it?¡± Travis asked. He got more irritated every time I took charge. ¡°Magic,¡± I said, looking at the seemingly innocuous alley ahead of us. ¡°It looks harmless, but¡­¡± I¡¯d gotten more used to having the extra sensory data from [Sense Mana] in my face at all times. It was easier in a dungeon and even easier in this one. Axel mostly kept his magic hidden in the floor or ceiling where my skill couldn¡¯t reach. He only left it out for me to see when he had to, when there was a specific magical effect right in front of me. Exactly what it was, I couldn¡¯t tell, but some of it looked familiar. I could maybe puzzle it out, but brute force was easier. ¡°[Dispel Image],¡± I cast the spell aloud so everyone knew what I was doing. Everyone who counted, at least. There was a murmur and gasps from the crowd at the results. The alley ahead of us disappeared. In its place was an open road, roughly lined with trees and bushes on either side. The transition was jarring. The buildings on either side of us simply ended as if they¡¯d been cut with a very sharp knife. ¡°Looks like we found the path,¡± I said. ¡°The illusion must have been to cover the transition.¡± ¡°Is that the portal I came through?¡± Sarotheil asked. ¡°No, this is just a local one,¡± I said. ¡°Do we go through?¡± Kyle asked. ¡°Wait, I¡¯m not done.¡± Peering closer at the portal, I could see that there was still some illusion magic. This magic was further in, but my spell had range. ¡°[Dispel Image]¡± I cast again. ¡°Ouch,¡± I said. That had not made things better. What had previously looked like an ordinary road, now looked like something painted by Escher. It was twisted while still staying straight, a contradiction that hurt my eyes. The others were having just as hard a time looking at it, none more so than the survivors. Evan quickly turned and threw up against the alley wall. ¡°We¡¯re not going to have to go through that, are we?¡± Felicia said. ¡°If we are, I wish you¡¯d kept the illusion up.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Rachel asked in disbelief. She couldn¡¯t look at it for long, but she couldn¡¯t stop herself from coming back. I sensed some vomiting in her near future. ¡°That¡¯s how you pack a two-week journey into a space that''s not that wide,¡± I said. ¡°You twist space so the road can fit.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure how this saves us a two-week journey, though,¡± Borys said. ¡°Except in the sense that I have no desire to take that journey now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a fair point,¡± I admitted. ¡°But I¡¯m not done with brute force.¡± I studied the Escher swirl in front of us carefully, trying to look at the magic instead of the geometrical nightmare. Spatial Magic wasn¡¯t a recognised skill, but Rhis could do it. I¡¯d watched what he did. This was far beyond what he could do, but I got the sense that complicated and difficult meant more fragile in this case. ¡°Borys,¡± I said slowly. ¡°Can you fill this with your blizzard?¡± ¡°I¡­ can,¡± he said. ¡°How will that help?¡± ¡°For one, we¡¯ll be able to see less of it,¡± I confessed. ¡°But for another, I want to fill the space up with magic to put the structure under strain.¡± Borys shrugged and complied. There was a strangled sound from Toby, who hadn¡¯t seen any flashy magic yet. I appreciated that he tried to keep his voice down. I almost forgave him for the human testing that he hadn¡¯t really done. Almost. Borys¡¯s blizzard started filling up the inside of the spatial effect. Without the sight from the inside to distract us, we could see that it had an outside. It was a tube or¡ªmore accurately¡ªa twisted strand of spaghetti that led from here to another place. I frowned. Could that be right? I quickly checked without [Sense Mana] and confirmed that the tube was only visible with the skill. Ordinary eyes couldn¡¯t see the outside of the tube. [Sense Mana] grants extra-dimensional sight confirmed, I guess. ¡°Is this helping?¡± Borys asked. ¡°Yeah, I think so,¡± I said and reached out into the magic. The temperature dropped instantly, and I was glad that I was wearing a glove. ¡°Nice control.¡± Borys shrugged, and I brought [Theurgy] to the fore. I didn¡¯t use this skill often; it was too difficult to use. But it could do any kind of magic, badly. Since there was no such thing as Spatial Magic, it was what I had to use. Fortunately, I didn¡¯t need to do anything complicated. Just disrupt what Axel had done. I was relying on the fact that while dungeon magic was more sophisticated and complicated than anything a human could do, it was often¡ªalways, maybe¡ªweaker. Brute force for the win. With my hand in the effect, I didn¡¯t have to worry about range. I just reached out and twisted. There was a sound that I¡¯d never heard before as space itself shattered in front of me. Borys¡¯s storm exploded in all directions, even the ones that didn¡¯t exist. Sensing the moment, he cancelled the effect. When the blizzard cleared, we were looking at a tunnel ending in a door with a sign on it that said NovaGen Solutions. But I was looking at my new notification.
[Theurgy] Level 5 acquired through use For gaining a skill level you have been awarded 1 XP
Chapter 237 - NovaGen Solutions ¡°That was unexpected,¡± Borys said. ¡°What happened to the road?¡± Felicia exclaimed. ¡°It¡¯s still¡­ somewhere, I think.¡± I thought about what had happened. ¡°Borys filled it with magic. That let me see where the space was, and I¡­ detached it.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t come close to filling the whole thing though,¡± Borys said. ¡°I could tell there was plenty more to go.¡± ¡°Yeah, but you filled up this end, which was the relevant part,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s still there, but we don¡¯t have to go through it to reach the next step.¡± ¡°You know,¡± Borys mused. ¡°If that was a¡­ spatial tunnel, it could have led anywhere. There was no reason for him to put that door right in front of us.¡± ¡°There are two reasons,¡± I countered. ¡°First, Axel has been hinting that we¡¯ll need Theurgy to do something to the portal. He wants me to be practising the skill. And second, there''s no way he could pass up the chance of sending us on a long, worthless trek, only for our destination to be a couple of feet away.¡± ¡°True enough,¡± Borys admitted. ¡°What¡¯s our next step?¡± ¡°Toby, you¡¯re up,¡± I said, carefully ignoring how he flinched when I looked at him. ¡°Do we just knock, or what?¡± ¡°Um, I¡ªI don¡¯t know. We weren¡¯t given any special instructions.¡± Toby looked nervously at the door. I looked as well, and though were still a little distance away, my vision was better than his. I could see that there was no door handle, but there was what looked like an intercom button. There was an obvious camera in the corner above the door, and two suspicious panels on either side. I guess we¡¯ll just have to risk it. No, wait¡­ I had a spell for this. [Phantasmal Emissary] Since I could make it look like whoever I wanted, I made it look like Toby. I even remembered to change its description to match him.
[Identification]: - Tobias Braston (Illusion) - Threat: 10 - Properties: None
I wasn¡¯t sure if that would be necessary, I didn¡¯t think the monsters in there had [Identify], but there wasn¡¯t any extra cost. I walked the fake Toby up to the door and hit the intercom button. ¡°Hello?¡± I said, ¡°Can I come in?¡± There was a long pause. Then the speaker crackled to life. ¡°Who is this?¡± it said. ¡°I¡¯m Tobias Braston, from the Ravenford facility,¡± I said. ¡°From Ravenford? That facility was abandoned two years ago!¡± ¡°I know. I stayed on as a caretaker until I caught the virus.¡± In the background, I could hear someone saying ¡°Wait, what?¡± but the main voice had other concerns. ¡°How did you get here on your own?¡± it asked. ¡°There¡¯s no way you could¡ª¡± Then another voice broke in. ¡°Did you say you caught the virus?¡± It exclaimed. ¡°Yeah, but I got better,¡± I said. ¡°Some people cured me.¡± At that point, someone must have covered the mic, but they didn¡¯t turn it off. I could hear them arguing, but I couldn¡¯t quite make out the words. Eventually, someone must have won. ¡°How did you get here alone?¡± the first voice asked. ¡°I¡¯m not alone, there''s a bunch of people with me. They wanted to see if there was anyone left here.¡± ¡°What about the zombies?¡± ¡°Oh, they don¡¯t bother you if you¡¯re immune,¡± I lied. I figured if I was intriguing and confusing, they¡¯d have to let me in, just to see if I was telling the truth. There was an argument about it, but my side won. ¡°You¡¯d better come in, and bring your friends,¡± the second voice said. ¡°The first level is abandoned, but if you make your way through, we¡¯ll meet you at the gate.¡± The door slid open. ¡°Thanks!¡± I said, ¡°I¡¯ll go tell the others!¡± I headed back out of range and cancelled the spell. ¡°Doors open,¡± I said, ¡°Let¡¯s not waste any time.¡± ¡°Did they ask about the survivors?¡± Borys asked. ¡°Not really,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t get the impression that they were needed.¡± ¡°So what are they for then?¡± he asked in Polish. ¡°Surely there was some reason¡ªsome game reason¡ªwe needed to keep them alive?¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°New theory,¡± I said. ¡°Their purpose is to fuck with our heads.¡± He snorted. ¡°They certainly do that,¡± he agreed. We went forward, into the tunnel and then through the door, into the facility. It was¡­ decidedly unimpressive. It did look as if it had been abandoned for years, but there was also a lot of damage. There had been fighting here. The bodies had been cleaned up¡ªor eaten¡ªbut there were smashed light panels, bullet holes in the walls and a distinct lack of furniture that wasn¡¯t broken. There were signs that some of it had been fixed at some point and then broken again. We¡¯d come through an empty reception area, complete with an overturned counter. Behind that was what had been a generic office environment. Some of the desks were broken, some were missing. A distorted voice drew us further back. ¡°Kghhk¡­ can you hear me?¡± When we got closer, we could see that the voice was coming from a flatscreen monitor. It looked like someone had pulled a teleconference setup out of a meeting room and set it up as a freestanding console in the corridor, kept safe behind a thick plastic shield. A shield with cracks in it, I noted. There was a woman on the monitor, looking down at the camera as if she was on Zoom. She had short, neatly trimmed hair and was wearing a clean blouse. ¡°Ah, there you are,¡± she said. ¡°How many of you are there?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ thirteen,¡± Toby said, once I¡¯d nudged him. ¡°So many¡­¡± the woman muttered. ¡°That¡¯s too many for the lift, you¡¯ll have to go down in bunches of six. Don¡¯t be alarmed when the lift comes up. They¡¯re just a security precaution, and they are completely under control. ¡°What are?¡± Toby asked, but even as he did so, the lift dinged and the doors slid open. Two zombies stepped out. Everyone tensed, but these weren¡¯t ordinary zombies. They were wearing a uniform, a sci-fi-looking vest and pants made out of some kind of flexible plastic. They also wore helmets that covered their heads completely. From the lenses on the front, I assumed that they contained cameras. Despite having most of their zombie-like features covered up, the clammy flesh of the exposed arms left no doubt as to what they were. And if there was, [Identify] had the answers.
[Identification]: - Cyber-Zombie - Threat: 32- Properties: Diseased Blood
The woman had said that they were controlled, so I had to assume that the cameras were linked back to the controllers. They saw what their minion saw. ¡°If the first six can get in the lift,¡± the woman said. ¡°I don¡¯t like this,¡± Borys said quietly in Polish. ¡°Splitting us up like this¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± I said in the same language. ¡°Distract them for a moment, will you?¡± I stepped out of the view of the cameras, zombie-cams included. It was easy enough with everyone milling about. Once I thought myself safe, I cast [Invisibility] and [Phantasmal Emmisary]. My companions figured out what I was doing. The survivors gave ¡°me¡± a startled look. From their perspective, I¡¯d disappeared and reappeared a little way away, like a slow teleport. ¡°Will that work on zombies?¡± Borys asked. Zombies used some kind of lifesense that was outside of [Illusion Magic] spells, at least any that I had. ¡°No, but it will work on cameras,¡± I said, then back in Latorran, I called out, ¡°First six down are me, Sarotheil, Travis, Evan, Toby and Rachel.¡± ¡°Why we gotta be first?¡± Travis asked. He was looking at my image, trying to figure out what had happened. Or he was wondering what happened to my aura of [Charisma], which normally made him do whatever I wanted. I couldn¡¯t use it through the Emissary. ¡°Just do it,¡± Borys rumbled. ¡°She knows what she¡¯s doing.¡± Travis jumped and took two steps towards the lift before he scowled, realising what had happened. Borys wasn¡¯t a [Charisma] build, but just as I was able to overpower the survivors physically, Borys could overawe them with his relatively puny [Charisma]. We all trooped into the elevator. At least everyone here knew what one was. Sarotheil might be an exception, but he was committed to the role of playing human. As long as the other humans didn¡¯t ask questions, he wouldn¡¯t. We descended¡­ not very far. The trip was longer than I would expect for one floor¡­ maybe two or three. The doors opened up into a room¡­ or was it a wide corridor? With no other options, we stepped into the room. There were four armoured doors along the side walls and another elevator on the opposite wall. All around the room were vents, which suddenly started spewing white smoke. ¡°Gas!¡± Travis yelled panicking. It filled the room quite quickly, blocking visibility. It worked quickly too, the survivors dropping like flies. Sarotheil was unaffected, of course, but laid down quickly as soon as he realised what was going on. I kicked him, gently. ¡°Get over here,¡± I said, drawing him over to the corner. I used [Static Image] to cover us with a wall. It wouldn¡¯t fool anyone in the room, but I thought it would be good enough for cameras. Especially with this white fog everywhere. The lift headed back up, and the gas started to get sucked out of the same vents it had come in by. ¡°We¡¯re ready for the next batch,¡± the woman said upstairs. Downstairs, one of the doors opened, and more cyber-zombies marched in. Four of them headed straight for the unconscious survivors while two of them scanned the room in a fairly good imitation of confusion. Upstairs, we were taking our own sweet time getting into the lift, thanks to a quick [Sourceless Sound] message from yours truly. The lady didn¡¯t complain, as she still hadn¡¯t cleared up downstairs. I had my Emissary tap Sarotheil on the shoulder and pointed. ¡°Take them out,¡± I said. He nodded amiably and stepped out of the image. I followed the other four. They hadn¡¯t reacted to our appearance and were still carting the unconscious bodies of the survivors out. They were using a different door from the one they had come in, which I found mildly interesting. The other thing I found interesting was that they hadn¡¯t reacted to my approach at all. The other two had¡ªone of them had headed towards me before being intercepted by Sarotheil. Was it because their visor cameras only faced forward and they didn¡¯t know where I was? Or were they still following the previous order and it didn¡¯t include any actions concerning me?¡± Whatever the reason, I made it into the next room without issue. The ripping and tearing sounds from behind me suggest that some other people¡ªor things¡ª might have some issues. I ignored them. This room had several gurneys that the survivors were being placed on. It also featured a doctor, or at least a man wearing a white coat. ¡°Hey! You¡¯re not supposed to be here!¡± he said. I forgave him for his inaccuracy. He probably meant that I wasn¡¯t supposed to be awake. I had included a gun when I made fake Tobias. I pointed it at the doctor. It couldn¡¯t do anything to him¡ªI doubted it could even fire¡ªbut he didn¡¯t have to know that. ¡°Take me to your leader,¡± I said. He looked at me, at the gun, and then at the zombies. ¡°You don¡¯t control them, do you?¡± I stated. ¡°The ones who do are a little distracted¡ªOh, there they go.¡± The transition was instant. One of the zombies had finished loading his cargo onto the gurney. The other three just dropped their load before all of them spun around, heading back to the first room. ¡°You can¡¯t do this,¡± the man said. ¡°Control will have noticed, they¡¯ll send more.¡± ¡°I think we¡¯ll take our chances,¡± I said. ¡°Is there a manual control for the lift?¡± He didn¡¯t answer, but his eyes flicked over to a box on the wall. ¡°Thanks,¡± I said. I kept the gun pointed at him while I moved over to it. A quick glance revealed that it was very simple. I pushed the button, just as Sarothiel entered our room. The doctor jerked as if he¡¯d been about to try something, but he aborted his movement and just stared in terror at the new arrival. Sarotheil was in high spirits. ¡°That was fun!¡± he declared as he entered. I glanced at him and did a quick double-take before I returned my attention to the doctor. ¡°Sarotheil,¡± I said. ¡°Your head is twisted the wrong way around.¡± Chapter 238 - Interrogation It wasn¡¯t long before we were all reunited. I kept my Emmisary going, but put her at the back of the crowd and took over the duty of watching¡­
[Identification]: - Lucas Trent - Threat: 10 - Properties: NovaGen Employee
Lucas. NovaGen Employee was a property? Did that mean that employees had access coded as part of their nature? Tobias hadn¡¯t had the property, but I suppose he wasn¡¯t exactly part of the inner circle. Borys was taking care of the cameras, Kyle and Felicia were watching the other lift and Cloridan was checking out the other rooms. That left a crowd of survivors in the main chamber being of no use whatsoever and Sarotheil in the side room with Lucas and me. Sarotheil had fixed his head, at my insistence. Lucas kept glancing at him warily but was far more interested in staring at my breasts. ¡°So, Lucas,¡± I said. That got him to look at my face. He hadn¡¯t said his name, and they weren¡¯t wearing name badges. Procedures must have slipped after the apocalypse. ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me something about NovaGen? Start with what you planned to do with our unconscious bodies.¡± ¡°Just¡­ ah¡­ tests,¡± he said nervously, pushing his glasses back on his sweaty nose. ¡°Nothing too bad, just blood samples and scans. Dr Huang didn¡¯t want¡ªI mean, they didn¡¯t want to refuse them.¡± I came really close to using [Charm] to break him. That was how I preferred to operate. Why can¡¯t we all be friends? Of all the social skills, that one had the least blowback, aside from [Bargain], another of my favourites. Even if someone realised that you¡¯d used [Charm] on them, they tended to let it pass, because you were just so nice. In this case, though, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to do it. Sure, these monsters weren¡¯t really people. The whole ¡°corporation profits from apocalypse¡± was just a parody calling out the worst aspects of Captalism. And this dungeon floor was a parody of that. At some level, I couldn¡¯t bring myself to be buddy-buddy with these guys. Fortunately, I had other options. ¡°Sarotheil,¡± I called. He¡¯d wandered over to the corner where we¡¯d stuck the remains of the zombie corpses. He turned around and ambled back to us with half of a zombie''s hand stuck in his mouth. ¡°Sarotheil¡ª¡± I said. Then I stopped myself. He was a more credible threat this way. ¡°These ones don¡¯t taste as good,¡± he told me. ¡°Too many wires.¡± ¡°Lucas,¡± I said, leaning into the [Intimidate] Skill. He¡¯d been staring at Sarothiel in horror, but his gaze jerked back towards me as he felt the weight of my words. ¡°You want to tell me the truth, or should I give Sarotheil something fresher to eat?¡± ¡°Oh God¡­ please¡­ no¡­¡± he mumbled, staring at me. ¡°I¡¯ll talk, I¡¯ll tell you everything. They¡ªthey hadn¡¯t decided, what to do. It would depend on the results of the tests.¡± ¡°What sort of options are we talking, here?¡± I asked coldly. ¡°I¡ªI don¡¯t know! Infection perhaps, but not if you were immune. Study, maybe? Or disposal if you were too dangerous.¡± ¡°I think we¡¯ll have to pass on all of those ideas,¡± I said dryly. ¡°Now. You guys created the zombie virus, yes?¡± Everyone got real interested when I asked that question. It wasn¡¯t the first time that I¡¯d suggested that NovaGen created the zombie virus, but I guess the survivors still weren¡¯t thinking in terms of a video game. No one wants to think that their fellow humans would really cause all that death. Lucas saw the looks and got even more panicked. ¡°No! Oh God, you¡¯ve got to believe me! We found it in the wild and studied it! That¡¯s all!¡± ¡°Really,¡± I said. ¡°I swear! This virus¡­ it¡ª it¡¯s like nothing we¡¯ve ever seen before! It communicates with itself, it takes actions on the macro scale¡­ we couldn¡¯t build anything like it if we tried!¡± ¡°Huh. And this outbreak has nothing to do with you either?¡± ¡°That¡­ might have been us. There was an investigation at the time, but it was inconclusive. The reason we built the lab here was because the original sample was taken nearby.¡± ¡°And the investigation thought that it could have been a natural outbreak? How convenient.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like there''s an outside auditor available right now,¡± Lucas said defensively. ¡°When they were doing it, zombies were tearing up our top level!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need no study to tell me what¡¯s what,¡± Travis snarled, interjecting himself into the conversation. I could have stopped him, but I let him continue, on not much more than a whim. The ins and outs of how this all started wasn¡¯t that important to me, since I knew that it was all constructed by Axel. The survivors felt differently, obviously. Even if they believed me, they remembered it happening to them. ¡°It¡¯s always a lab leak, everyone knows that¡ªassuming it weren¡¯t a deliberate test!¡± Travis continued. The other survivors seemed to agree, glaring at the med tech. Lucas shrunk back from their glares. ¡°I swear! No process failures were identified! There wasn¡¯t any breach of procedure detected!¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Then why¡¯d you keep the cure to yourselves, you bastards!¡± Travis yelled, right in the guy''s face. Travis didn¡¯t lay a hand on the tech, though. Angry as he was, he kept himself under control. That might have something to do with the fact that I remained in arms reach, ready to act if necessary. A little harmless venting was fine, as long as it remained harmless. ¡°Cure? There¡¯s no cure.¡± Lucas whimpered. ¡°We¡¯ve been trying, but the virus adapts too fast. That¡¯s why we wanted to¡­ see how you did it.¡± Via dissection if necessary, I translated. Still, no hard feelings. ¡°So what are your current plans?¡± I asked. ¡°You¡¯ve got your zombie soldiers, were you just planning on waiting out the collapse and rebuilding?¡± Lucas didn¡¯t answer me at first, not until I coughed and made Travis back down. Then he stared at me gratefully. ¡°The soldiers were a side¡­ benefit?¡± He said. ¡°Zombies have some interesting advantages for cybernetic enhancement. The virus keeps them alive, but they aren¡¯t, so you don¡¯t have to worry about tissue rejection or¡­ a whole host of issues.¡± He looked around the room and was taken aback when we didn¡¯t seem as interested in him in the cybernetics advancements that were being made. ¡°Also, uh, we needed protection from the regular zombies,¡± he said. ¡°And the rest of the world hasn¡¯t fallen. The last communication that we got said the containment was working.¡± ¡°How long ago was that?¡± I asked. ¡°We, uh, got cut off for unknown reasons, about six months ago.¡± We all looked at him. ¡°It wasn¡¯t because they failed!¡± he protested. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t have gotten cut off like that.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve got something,¡± Borys called out. Having taken care of the cameras, he¡¯d moved on to investigating the terminal in the room. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ not authorised to use that,¡± Lucas said weakly. ¡°I¡¯m still logged on.¡± ¡°No you¡¯re not,¡± Borys said. ¡°To start with, this isn¡¯t a computer. It¡¯s a slideshow.¡± ¡°What are you talking about? Of course, it¡¯s a computer,¡± Lucas said. ¡°What was the last thing you used it for, then?¡± Borys asked. ¡°It was¡ªI was¡­¡± Lucas trailed off, thinking. ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± he finally admitted. ¡°Really?¡± I asked. This question was a little bit interesting. ¡°Don¡¯t you use this thing every day? As part of your job? Can¡¯t you remember what you did with it one time?¡± ¡°I¡­ can¡¯t, all right?¡± Lucas said angrily. ¡°I¡¯m a little bit stressed at the moment, what with being attacked and kidnapped.¡± I let it slide. It was more evidence that he wasn¡¯t real, that he had been constructed only a few weeks ago at most. But it wasn¡¯t like I had anyone interested in reviewing the evidence. ¡°So what does it show?¡± I asked Borys. ¡°Personnel records, mostly,¡± he said, flipping past screens with a common format. They all had a picture in the top right corner, and some text, presumably a potted bio of the person. ¡°But also¡­ this.¡± He stopped on a full-screen image of a map. ¡°Extent of outbreak, March 2012,¡± I read. ¡°What¡¯s the date now?¡± I asked the room. ¡°September 12th,¡± Evan answered. ¡°2012?¡± I asked, to be sure. He nodded. ¡°So, six months ago, like he said.¡± ¡°The area¡¯s not that big,¡± Borys pointed out. ¡°Still too big to fit in here,¡± I said. ¡°Look Ravensford is on the map, it¡¯s quite close. About fifty miles according to the scale. He needed trickery to make that work and this area is about five hundred miles across.¡± ¡°So¡­ you don¡¯t think its purpose is to lead us out of the contamination zone,¡± Borys said thoughtfully. ¡°Is it to show other places we can visit?¡± ¡°Maybe. But what place could be more important than this one?¡± I looked over the map, trying to find a location that stood out. The lab was quite close, but not exactly at the centre of the zone, which was an irregular shape anyway. ¡°Maybe it¡¯s there to make us think that there is a world out there, that humanity still has hope,¡± I said. ¡°Apart from us, who¡¯s going to see it, apart from elves?¡± Borys asked. ¡°I can¡¯t see them caring too much.¡± ¡°There¡¯s these guys,¡± I said, gesturing at the survivors. ¡°They care at least. Convincing them that the world exists might be something that Axel wants to do.¡± ¡°Maybe,¡± Borys agreed. ¡°There¡¯s also this.¡± He flipped over to the next slide. This one was also a map, of the facility. ¡°Huh,¡± I said. ¡°Is it just me, or is that a weird design?¡± The first-floor map, now sadly out of date, showed a mostly open plan, with some offices around the edges, and some lightweight walls to box off various areas of the upper office. The second floor was the exact opposite of that, with six areas all completely separated. ¡°Is access between the areas only via the third floor?¡± I asked. ¡°Looks like it,¡± Borys said. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s how they always build bio-containment facilities.¡± ¡°You think?¡± He shrugged. ¡°Security is always a pain, and this looks like a pain.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll give you that,¡± I agreed. ¡°Lucas, come up here and tell me how accurate this thing is.¡± The crowd parted to let Lucas through and he stepped carefully away from the wall he¡¯d retreated against to join me. Neither he nor the crowd looked happy about it. ¡°It¡¯s an old map, but there¡¯s not much that can change,¡± he told me diffidently. ¡°We¡¯re here, in Quarantine.¡± He pointed to two enclaves on the second level. ¡°This section is where we implant the control systems on the zombies. The other lab is for proper medical work, DNA analysis, that sort of thing.¡± The enclaves were arranged in a rough circle. Or, since there were six of them, an exact hexagon. Lucas pointed to the two enclaves on the other side of the circle. ¡°This section is Control. Just about everything runs through there, the cameras, the patrols and communications.¡± ¡°That¡¯s where the woman I spoke to is?¡± I asked. ¡°She¡¯s probably still there,¡± he agreed. ¡°The other section is infrastructure. Holds the servers, power and air and¡­ access to the water system. I¡¯m not sure about the specifics there.¡± ¡°What¡¯s this one?¡± I asked, tapping the final enclave. ¡°We don¡¯t use that much,¡± Lucas told me. ¡°Not since the Director died, anyway. It was for management, there¡¯s a board room in there. It¡¯s pretty fancy.¡± ¡°Okay, and the third floor?¡± ¡°Residences at the back, storage here, here and around here,¡± Lucas said. ¡°But the main thing is the security checkpoints. You have to go through at least one to get to another section, and two if you¡¯re going across the secure line.¡± ¡°And what do those consist of?¡± ¡°It¡¯s mostly about checking for virus shedding,¡± Lucas told me. ¡°There are decontamination measures, but they only trigger if it detects something. Oh, and the machine guns. They¡¯ll probably trigger when they see you.¡± ¡°Probably,¡± I agreed. ¡°What about the cyber-zombies?¡± ¡°They¡¯re too much of a pain to get through the checkpoints, so there are some stationed in every enclave. I think you got all the ones in this one.¡± ¡°You know,¡± Borys said. ¡°If we get into the Infrastructure section, we can probably hijack whatever they¡¯ve got controlling the zombies. Or shut down the power altogether.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t do that!¡± Lucas protested. ¡°Without the controls, the zombies will rampage! They¡¯ll kill everyone!¡± I looked at him incredulously. ¡°You built a device where the failure mode was murderous rampage?¡± I asked. He had the grace to look embarrassed. ¡°When you put it that way, it sounds bad,¡± he said. ¡°But the power has never failed before.¡± I took a deep breath and reminded myself that this was all a part of Axel¡¯s grand design, and he probably did it that way because he thought it was funny. ¡°Let¡¯s not do that,¡± I said. ¡°We still don¡¯t know what our goal is, and we might need the employees alive.¡± ¡°So what do we do about them?¡± Borys said. ¡°They¡¯re pretty tough, and if they start arming them with proper guns, we might find ourselves with a problem.¡± ¡°From problems come solutions,¡± I said slowly. An idea was coming together. ¡°I think we might be able to turn those zombie soldiers into a solution.¡± I turned to Lucas. ¡°Tell me about who¡¯s in charge here.¡± Chapter 239 - Belly of the Beast Lucas looked at me nervously. ¡°Since the Director died, it¡¯s mostly been the Emergency Committee running things,¡± he said. ¡°There¡¯s not a lot of management left, and pretty much everybody works for someone on the committee.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s on the committee?¡± I asked. ¡°Doctors Carmichael, Huang, Archer, Wexler and, um¡­ Vargas. And Doctor Archer. He¡¯s my boss.¡± ¡°All doctors?¡± I asked. ¡°Who keeps this place running?¡± ¡°It pretty much runs itself,¡± Lucas replied. ¡°There are some maintenance folks, but they keep to themselves, pretty much. The bunker is mostly self-sufficient.¡± ¡°Is it?¡± I wondered. ¡°Where do you get your food?¡± ¡°From stores,¡± he admitted. ¡°There¡¯s still lots, but it¡¯s getting lower.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the plan to get more?¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡ªthe current situation is supposed to be temporary. We can hold out for another year at least. And¡­ there is a plan if it looks to go on for longer than that.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Lucas grimace. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he said. ¡°No one outside of the committee knows. There¡¯s a rumour it involves kicking out the less essential staff members to save on supplies.¡± ¡°To die, you mean. You think they¡¯d do that?¡± ¡°No¡­ but I was glad when you guys came in and I had to do quarantine duties,¡± he said. ¡°No one wants to be unneeded right now.¡± I frowned and looked over to Borys. ¡°I¡¯m not hearing a win condition,¡± I confessed. ¡°I don¡¯t either,¡± he agreed. ¡°Um, what¡¯s that?¡± Lucas asked. I ignored him. Borys glanced at him before continuing. ¡°We could just have to defeat the people in charge,¡± Borys said. ¡°Evil corporation, developing the virus. It has the right feel.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ but it sound¡¯s weak,¡± I mused. ¡°They¡¯ve got the zombie soldiers so they make a strong adversary, but they¡¯re going to be Threat 10 like all the other humans here. Hardly a final boss.¡± I turned back to Lucas. ¡°You guys don¡¯t have a super-sized version of the zombie soldiers tucked away somewhere, do you?¡± ¡°Uh, not as far as I know. What¡ªwhat was that you said about defeating the Committee? They¡¯re not bad guys, they¡¯re helping defeat the virus!¡± ¡°Are they, though?¡± I asked. ¡°I know they don¡¯t all sound like they want to help,¡± Lucas admitted. ¡°Some of them are a bit cold. But they got into this field to help people! You¡¯re supposed to have brought in this cure, how are they supposed to distribute it when you¡¯ve¡­ done whatever you¡¯re going to do?¡± He looked at me defiantly, which was quite impressive since I¡¯d just got done [Intimidating] him. I raised an eyebrow. Maybe it was plot-based. ¡°The cure, huh?¡± I mused. ¡°Maybe that¡¯s the play.¡± I looked over the rag-tag group of survivors. ¡°Any of you want to volunteer for testing?¡± ¡°Why us?¡± Travis asked immediately. ¡°Well, not you,¡± I shot back. ¡°It needs to be someone who contracted the virus, which eliminates you, and us. It needs to be someone like¡­¡± I looked at Tobias. ¡°I¡¯m happy to help, as long as the means aren¡¯t too extreme,¡± he said cautiously. ¡°What kind of tests are we talking about?¡± ¡°Ju¡ªjust blood tests?¡± Lucas said. ¡°To begin with, I don¡¯t know what Dr Archer is going to call for next.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t need to have your subject sedated and strapped to a gurney for a blood test, do you?¡± I said. ¡°Oh, no. We just¡ªwe were worried about the subjects turning while we were taking the blood,¡± Lucas said. ¡°Hmm. Well, why don¡¯t you take some samples now, and we can see about getting them tested,¡± I said. ¡°I mean, I can,¡± Lucas said, edging over towards one of the equipment trolleys. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m here for. I just don¡¯t think Dr Archer is going to be in the mood to do tests after you trashed all her security zombies.¡± ¡°That¡¯s fair,¡± I said. ¡°But I¡¯m pretty good at negotiating.¡± Lucas took a few samples of Tobias¡¯s blood and carefully labelled the tubes, before placing them in a small tray. Then he glanced at us and rummaged through the cupboards. He produced a small, sturdy box, that he packed with cotton wool and stashed the samples in. ¡°Here,¡± he said, holding it out to me.¡± ¡°You keep it,¡± I told him. ¡°You¡¯re coming with us, after all.¡± He shied back. ¡°I don¡¯t want to die!¡± he declared. ¡°The committee is going to send everything after you. Even if they wanted to save my life, I¡¯d die in the crossfire!¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Oh ye of little faith,¡± I said. ¡°One of these screens can talk to your boss, right?¡± Lucas sighed and packed the box away in his lab coat¡¯s pocket. ¡°Right,¡± he said. He walked over and started pushing buttons. It wasn¡¯t long before a face came up on the screen. ¡°Dr Felix Archer, my boss,¡± Lucas said. ¡°Doctor, these are the¡ª¡± ¡°I¡¯ve seen the tapes,¡± the man said. ¡°These are the anarchists who have taken you hostage.¡± ¡°I¡¯m more of a Democratic Socialist, myself,¡± I said idly. ¡°We seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot.¡± Dr Archer glared at me. ¡°There will be no negotiations with terrorists,¡± he said. ¡°We have shut down the elevators and sealed the exits. You cannot continue any further into this facility and you will be killed if you try.¡± ¡°You were the ones who attacked us,¡± I pointed out. ¡°We¡¯ve still got that cure you were interested in, we¡¯re just not interested in being gassed and vivisected. Can¡¯t we come to some sort of compromise?¡± ¡°Never!¡± ¡°Is there someone else I can talk to? I¡¯d like to speak with a manager.¡± ¡°No.¡± Dr Archer cut the connection. ¡°That¡­ didn¡¯t work?¡± Felicia asked. ¡°It seems that Skills don¡¯t work over a Zoom call,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll just have to get up close and personal.¡± ¡°But¡­ you¡¯re not going to be able to do that,¡± Lucas said. ¡°All the doors have been sealed.¡± ¡°They sure did,¡± I said. ¡°But for some strange reason, they decided to make all their doors out of steel. Cloridan?¡± ¡°Got it, boss,¡± Cloridan said, moving over to the elevator. ¡°Oh, elevator doors aren¡¯t normally secure,¡± I said. ¡°You should be able to just pry them apart.¡± Cloridan looked at me doubtfully but plunged his darksteel dagger straight into one side of the doors. Using that as a handle, he easily shoved the doors open, revealing a dark shaft. ¡°These are supposed to have emergency lights,¡± I grumbled. I took care of it with a [Light] spell. Cloridan made to jump down, but I stopped him. ¡°It might not be far,¡± I said, ¡°But the ceiling might not take the impact, and there might be a soldier in there. Take the ladder.¡± Looking in, I quickly spotted the rungs of the emergency ladder, attached to the shaft wall. Cloridan shrugged and started climbing down. He quickly discovered the hatch and disposed of the lock with a quick slash of his dagger. ¡°It¡¯s clear!¡± he called up. He started stabbing at the doors, with the intention of opening a peephole. I looked over at the survivors. ¡°Who is fine with staying here until we figure out what we¡¯re doing?¡± I asked. ¡°Hell if I am!¡± Travis declared. ¡°This place is creepy, reminds me of a morgue.¡± The rest of the group concurred. Or so I assumed from the muttered ¡°Yeah¡±s and ¡°I guess¡±es that I heard. Lukas put his hand up. ¡°I¡¯m fine with staying here,¡± he said. ¡°Nope, you¡¯re our local guide,¡± I said. ¡°You get to ride in the front seat!¡± He didn¡¯t look happy at being granted this privilege. I had Felicia and Kyle gather up our passengers, organising them to follow us at a slight distance. We did have to worry about being flanked, but most of the danger would be at the front end of our convoy. Though, if what I had in mind worked out, it wouldn¡¯t be too dangerous. Cloridan had carved out his spyhole, so I climbed down to take a look. Aw yeah, that¡¯s just about perfect. It looked like the lift opened out into a short corridor with a security door at the far end. Standing before the security door were two cyber-zombies, armed with¡­
[Identification]: - Heckler & Koch HK433 - Quality: Perfect - Damage: 1200
Finally, we¡¯re breaking out the good guns. Now to see if the flaw I thought I¡¯d spotted worked. I cast [Phantom World] on both of the zombies. It took hold. [Phantom World] was both the strongest and the weakest illusion spell I had. Most of my spells took up a specified volume, and couldn¡¯t depict anything larger than that. [Phantom World] took over the entire sensorium of a single person. There was no limit to what I could make them see, but there was one big limitation. If the target doubted what they were seeing, the spell ended. All my other spells stayed around, no matter what the target believed. You could walk through a [Static Image] spell, but the image would stay until I cancelled it. Not [Phantom World]. Here¡¯s the thing though. Zombie¡¯s can¡¯t doubt. I wasn¡¯t sure if they could even see the illusion, since they seemed to operate on some kind of lifesense. The people controlling the zombies, though, were using regular cameras to see by. They could see the illusion. They could doubt what they were seeing, too, but they weren¡¯t the target. To start with, all I did was rotate what the zombie saw. About forty-five degrees off from true. It took a moment to work, but both zombies suddenly turned to correct what they were seeing. It took three small stomps for them to change position, and then they stood still. I rotated another forty-five degrees. Three stomps. Now they were facing each other. Now I made a real change. I had the elevator door open and showed them an image of Cloridan charging them. I could have used the real thing here, but I didn¡¯t want to put him in danger. The cybernetic control interface was nice and smooth. As one, the zombies brought their weapons to bear and fired on full auto. Fake Cloridan didn¡¯t stand a chance. He jumped up, but they kept their weapons trained on him. Neither the recoil of the heavy assault rifles nor the impact of the slugs in their torsos so much as spoiled their aim. They only stopped when their heads exploded.
For killing a Cyber-Zombie, you have earned 8640 XP For killing a Cyber-Zombie, you have earned 8640 XP
¡°Sounds like it worked,¡± Cloridan said as the sound of machine gun fire died down. He grunted as he levered the elevator doors open. ¡°Hold up,¡± I said. I stuck my head out and glanced up at what had been my blind spot. No camera. They probably had no idea what happened then. ¡°All clear. Let¡¯s go.¡± We approached the smoking corpses cautiously. Cloridan gathered up the guns and ammunition, while I examined the door. From what Lucas had told me, this had been a bio-security checkpoint, hastily reconfigured to stop larger nasties. That didn¡¯t explain why it didn¡¯t have cameras, though. In fact, there was a stubby mount where a camera would go, but nothing was attached. Did that mean¡­ ¡°That¡¯s some scary attention to detail,¡± I said. ¡°Hmm?¡± Cloridan asked while reloading the HK. I pointed at the camera mounts. ¡°They repurposed their security cameras, turned them into zombie eyes,¡± I said. At some point, I¡¯d explained the basics of cameras to Cloridan. He needed to know, what with all the sneaking around he did. Now he shrugged. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter much,¡± he said. ¡°If they were there, you could always stick a [Static Image] in front of them. ¡°I suppose,¡± I agreed. ¡°It¡¯s just more fun for me when they put them on zombies.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t complain, then,¡± he admonished me. Freshly armed, he turned his attention to the door. ¡°This one slides like the elevator doors,¡± I said, ¡°But it will be locked.¡± ¡°No key?¡± Cloridan asked, looking back at the zombie guard. ¡°Zombies couldn¡¯t use one,¡± I said, not knowing if that was true. They¡¯d mastered automatic weapons. ¡°I think it¡¯s controlled remotely.¡± ¡°Brute force, then,¡± Cloridan said, jamming his dagger straight into it. ¡°Just watch out,¡± I said, ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure there''s a big gun waiting for us on the other side.¡± Chapter 240 - Pawns It was there, just as I¡¯d suspected. Hanging from the ceiling, on some kind of swivel mount, was the biggest gun I¡¯d ever seen¡ªoutside of the WWII tanks.
[Identification]: - Heckler & Koch MG5 - Quality: Perfect - Damage: 2400
It was pointed right at me, right at the slit in the partially opened door that I was peeking through. We¡¯d probably attracted their attention with all the vandalism we¡¯d been doing to the door. I assumed the only reason they hadn¡¯t started firing yet was because the door would offer decent cover. As if they were reading my mind, the door beeped and tried to open. It didn¡¯t get far before getting caught on one of Cloridan¡¯s daggers. He¡¯d stuck it in near the frame, to make sure we didn¡¯t open the door too far. Whoever was in charge of the gun didn¡¯t like that, because they opened fire. I jerked back, as much in an automatic reaction to the noise as it was in fear for my life. ¡°Strong door,¡± Cloridan commented. ¡°Not that strong,¡± I replied. It was disintegrating before our eyes. As yet, no bullets had made it through, but at this rate, it was only a matter of time. [Static Image] I cast an image of the door, behind the door, from my perspective. From the point of view of the gun¡¯s controller, the door had been restored to pristine condition and was no longer affected by the hail of bullets they were putting out. The bullets were still slamming into the door, of course, but what they couldn¡¯t see¡­ didn¡¯t hurt me? It took them a moment to notice. At least, I assumed that was why they stopped firing. Robot guns had a very limited emotional range, so it was hard to tell if it was confused. ¡°Should I just go in invisible?¡± Cloridan asked. ¡°I can cut it down off the roof, and we can get on with our day.¡± I thought about it, but I didn¡¯t have anything better. I sighed and made with the [Greater Invisibility]. Once invisible, Cloridan strolled up to the remains of the door. He reached into some convenient bullet holes and pulled it out of its frame. Setting it aside in the corridor, he confidently walked through the illusion. A little while after that, there was a screech of metal, followed by a crash. I cancelled the wall image and walked into the room. Ah, they still had some cameras. I waved to one before I wrapped both of them with small blankets via two casts of [Phantasmal Object]. It cost a little more, but it would last longer. Cloridan waved the gun at me, for what reason I don¡¯t know. He couldn¡¯t really communicate with me when he was invisible. I cancelled the spell. ¡°I don¡¯t think I can fire this thing,¡± Cloridan said. His disappointment was evident. ¡°I don¡¯t think you¡¯re supposed to,¡± I said, taking a look at the gun. ¡°Guns this heavy aren¡¯t supposed to be fired by people.¡± ¡°Oh, the weight isn¡¯t a problem,¡± Cloridan said, hefting the whole assembly with one hand. ¡°I just can¡¯t find the trigger.¡± I wanted to scoff at the idea but my adventurer habits wouldn¡¯t let me pass up an increase in firepower. I took a closer look. ¡°To start with, you can cut this off, and lose that cable,¡± I said, pointing to what looked like a telescopic sight welded to the frame. ¡°That¡¯s the camera.¡± ¡°Sure thing,¡± Cloridan said, pulling out a dagger. ¡°Wait!¡± I pushed the gun so it wasn¡¯t pointing at the open doorway the others were going to arrive through. ¡°If you¡¯re going to work on it, make sure it isn¡¯t going to fire on its own.¡± I looked for an ammo clip. Instead of that, there was a belt of bullets, much like the ones I¡¯d seen in war movies. Unlike those belts, this one had been torn off and was only about a foot long. ¡°Where¡¯s the rest of this?¡± I asked. Cloridan pointed at the ceiling. ¡°That¡¯s where the rest of the ammo is, then,¡± I told him. ¡°Do you want to dig it out?¡± ¡°Eh. Sounds like too much trouble,¡± he said, carefully setting the gun down. I shrugged and looked at the rest of our party as they arrived. ¡°Which way to the control room?¡± I asked Lucas. He looked up at the cameras, covered in cloth, before he pointed at the right door. I nodded and gestured for everyone to back out of the room, except for Cloridan. I made us both invisible and then I cast [Static Image] on the two doors we weren¡¯t going through. Then I pushed the button to open the door. Nothing happened. I sensed Cloridan was puzzled. I could only see his outline, but I got the impression from the way he was cocking to the side.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯re leading us into an ambush,¡± I projected with [Sourceless Sound]. ¡°I thought they might be tired of getting their doors wrecked, but I guess not.¡± Cloridan shrugged and plunged his daggers into the door again. By now, he had a pretty good idea of where to stab and wasn¡¯t just trying to find the locking mechanism by blind luck. At the same moment as his dagger shorted out the lock, the two other doors in the room opened. Two cyber-zombies were behind each door, and they¡­ stood stock still. They must have been confused by the illusions of blank walls that were in front of them. I didn¡¯t wait for them to figure out that they could just walk through them. I could see through my own illusions, which meant that I could target through them. [Phantom World]. I cast it four times. Controlling four sensoriums would be a challenge even for my System-enhanced mind, but I made things easy for myself by just blanking everything out. The four cyber-zombies whirled around in a fairly convincing imitation of panic. I wondered how they were being controlled. Did each one have a human behind the screen using a joystick? Or did they all take orders from a single human controller, but act autonomously? Despite being armed, they didn¡¯t start shooting randomly. I was glad for that. It might have made it easier to get them to shoot each other, but with so many potential shooters, I was worried about stray shots. Since they were being so restrained, I thought it would be worthwhile testing their reactions. I had one of them see an image of me, walking away from them. The zombie I¡¯d targeted lunged forward. I¡¯d placed the image so the lunge took it into the main room. Even though the only thing it could see was the bait I¡¯d dangled, it didn¡¯t stumble. The zombie¡¯s senses, whatever they were, must still be functioning. They weren¡¯t passed on to the controllers, but they let the monster move around without difficulty. I let the image of me fade out and cast [Sourceless Sound]. ¡°Cloridan¡­ take a stab, see if it dodges you.¡± I couldn¡¯t see if he rolled his eyes, but he dashed in close to make an attack. As expected, the zombie dodged and even took a swipe at Cloridan in return. Sadly, the claw-like hand it was using was the one that was holding the gun, so the swipe was slow and clumsy. Clordidan dodged it easily and took a step back out of range. The monster did not follow. Could I control them like this? It was worth trying, so I restored one monster¡¯s sensorium, editing out all the other zombies and pasting an image of Cloridan over one of the remaining monsters. It looked around¡­ as if it was suspicious, I thought. I had the image of Cloridan charge it, and it opened fire. It hit the target I was aiming at, but as the targeted zombie jerked and spasmed under the hail of bullets, the other two zombies seemed to lose their reserve. They started firing randomly. I dodged. I¡¯d been told that the System wouldn¡¯t let a dodging person get hit by unaimed fire, but I didn¡¯t want to test it. I dived down to the floor and barely had the presence of mind to use [Sourceless Sound] again. ¡°Shoot ¡®em! Shoot ¡®em! Shoot ¡®em!¡± Cloridan was so quick to respond that he may not have been waiting for me. His gun was absolutely silent, but the thudding impact of the bullets was easy to see. With their senses impaired, they were nothing but a shooting gallery for him. That didn¡¯t mean they went down easy, though. It took more than one shot, or ten for that matter, to take them down. Cloridan emptied the last of his cyberpunk guns and dropped it to the floor. He kept firing, though, the sound of the bullets¡¯ impact changing as he switched to WWII ammo.
Your party has killed a Cyber-Zombie - your experience share is4320 XP Your party has killed a Cyber-Zombie - your experience share is4320 XP Your party has killed a Cyber-Zombie - your experience share is4320 XP Your party has killed a Cyber-Zombie - your experience share is4320 XP
The sound of gunfire was replaced with the ringing in my ears as the last of them fell. Cloridan hadn¡¯t been making a sound, but the zombies sure had been. The smell of¡­cordite? Gunpowder? Whatever it was that these guns used, the room smelled of it pretty strongly. I lay on the ground for a second while Cloridan started stripping the corpses of guns and ammo. I suspected that the Heckler & Koches that the zombies carried would be his new favourite gun. The rest of the party came creeping forward now that the firefight had stopped. I cancelled [Greater Invisibility] so I could talk to them. ¡°It went well?¡± Borys asked. ¡°Eh, so-so,¡± I said. ¡°I was hoping I¡¯d be able to control them by controlling their vision, but it didn¡¯t work as well as I¡¯d planned. I¡¯m better off just blinding them.¡± ¡°Did they disbelieve it?¡± ¡°No, they couldn¡¯t. But the people behind them could. That didn¡¯t end the spell, but they could just choose not to act on what they saw. That didn¡¯t make them effective, but¡­¡± ¡°But not the easily controlled pawns that you hoped for.¡± Borys finished for me. I pouted. ¡°I wanted some zombie foot soldiers as well, dammit!¡± Borys chuckled and held out a hand to help me up again. ¡°You think that¡¯s it?¡± he asked. ¡°No more zombies?¡± ¡°Not between us and the committee,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m speculating here, but if they had more, they¡¯d have sent more. There must be more in the facility, but Sarotheil can take care of them if they show. The demon was guarding our rear. The boys had seen enough of how he fought, and now we were keeping him away from the frontline as much as we could, to avoid him seeing all of our tricks. ¡°So what¡¯s next?¡± Borys asked. ¡°We¡¯ll see,¡± I said. I pushed the button for the lift. To my surprise, it turned green. A moment later the doors opened with a ding. ¡°I guess they got tired of the game where they tried to stop us and we wrecked their stuff,¡± I said. ¡°Or it¡¯s a trap,¡± Borys said. ¡°It¡¯s always a trap,¡± I agreed. ¡°But that¡¯s what [Phantasmal Emissary] is for. I cast the spell and gestured for Cloridan, still invisible, to join it. ¡°Let¡¯s see if they¡¯re willing to negotiate,¡± I said. My Emissary pushed the button for the second floor. I was half expecting some kind of traditional trap, like a trap door or gas pouring out of a vent. But none of that happened. The lift went up, the doors opened, revealing a simple corridor. I stepped out first, looking around, up and behind me. There was a camera tucked up in the corner, but nothing else. I moved forward, letting Cloridan follow behind. Before I reached the door at the end of the corridor, it opened and a woman stepped through. She was tall, with an elegant, poised demeanour and she had shoulder-length ash-blonde hair tied back in a loose bun. She looked at me as if I was some shit she¡¯d scraped off her shoe. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re trying to accomplish,¡± she said, her voice sharp but tinged with exhaustion. ¡°But you should know that you¡¯ve significantly reduced the chances of Mankind¡¯s survival. Before you feel the need to destroy any more crucial infrastructure, why don¡¯t you come in and deliver your demands.¡± Chapter 241 - Emergency Committee The room reeked of stale coffee and disinfectant, a combination as unpleasant as the atmosphere within. The space might have been an executive office that had been hastily converted into a meeting room. A mismatched collection of chairs surrounded a scratched oak table, its surface marred by deep gouges as though someone had taken their frustration out on it with a scalpel. My Emissary stepped inside, boots clinking faintly on the floor and surveyed the room. My gaze lingered briefly on each of the five figures seated around the table. Dr. Emily Carmichael had entered before me and now took her seat. She was the first to break the silence, adjusting her wire-rimmed glasses with the precision of a surgeon. Her blue eyes burned with cold disdain, but her posture remained perfectly composed. ¡°So,¡± she said, her voice cutting the tension like a scalpel, ¡°you¡¯ve turned our weapons project into a complete joke.¡± ¡°That wasn¡¯t really a goal of mine, more of a consequence of you turning it against me,¡± I replied. I folded my arms and leaned casually against the wall. There was a chair for me, but I didn¡¯t use it. ¡°I¡¯ve heard who you guys are, but why don¡¯t we get the introductions out of the way?¡± Next to Carmichael, a man shifted in his chair, his wiry frame half-hidden under an oversized lab coat. His nervous fidgeting distracted from the simmering anger in his hazel eyes. He ran a hand through his thinning hair and muttered, ¡°Sam. Sam Wexler. I don¡¯t see why we¡¯re even wasting time on this¡­ conversation.¡± ¡°Doctor Liwei Huang,¡± the woman next to him said. She sat stiffly, her arms crossed over her chest. Her sharp, delicate features were marred only by a furrowed brow and the faintest curl of her lips into a sneer. She didn¡¯t bother looking at me, instead staring at a notepad before her with forced indifference. The pen in her hand trembled slightly. ¡°Wasting time is an understatement,¡± the next man interjected, his voice dripping with contempt. ¡°Felix Archer,¡± he introduced himself. His greying hair was slicked back meticulously, and his steel-grey eyes glared at me as if I were an insect he would crush. He adjusted his pristine lab coat and leaned forward, his fingers drumming a calculated rhythm on the table. ¡°I¡¯d much prefer we skip the pleasantries and move on to resolving this¡­ nuisance.¡± The final chuckled, a low, sardonic sound that drew all eyes to him. He lounged in his chair with deliberate ease, one ankle resting on the opposite knee. His sharp, angular face was framed by dark stubble, and his amber eyes gleamed with something between amusement and malevolence. ¡°Ah, Felix,¡± he said smoothly, his voice like oiled silk, ¡°but where¡¯s the fun in that? Our guest went through so much trouble to get here; it¡¯s only polite we hear her out before trying to stab her in the back. My name is Raul Vargas; a pleasure to meet you.¡± It didn¡¯t seem like there was any kind of trap, so while they were talking my real body hit the elevator button again. I gave the bickering scientists a moment to settle down. ¡°Kandis Hammond,¡± I said. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose any of you know what the real game is, here?¡± They looked at me, puzzled. I thought that would be the case. Maybe I¡¯d been a little spoiled by the obvious objectives of the WWII level, but I was getting a little frustrated with this level. What were we supposed to do? It couldn¡¯t be as simple as just killing all the zombies. None of the previous levels would allow that. I¡¯d guessed that we were supposed to get the survivors to this lab, but all that had gotten us was attacked. Now I was in front of the ones in charge and they claimed to be saving civilisation? ¡°So. They tell me you didn¡¯t develop the virus, but you don¡¯t seem to be developing a cure.¡± ¡°That is correct,¡± Emily said, icy disdain still flowing through her words. ¡°That was not part of our original brief, and to be frank we still view the prospect as unlikely.¡± She looked at me over her glasses. ¡°We have been intensely studying this virus for some time. Your claim of a cure, well¡­ it has to be investigated, true. But no one at this table thinks it will pan out.¡± My real body got into the lift, along with just about everybody else. Only Borys and Sarotheil were left behind. No one wanted to be in close quarters with the demon, and we needed someone to watch over him. Back in the meeting room, my Emissary still had questions. ¡°So what are you doing, if not looking for a cure?¡± ¡°We are attempting to modify the virus¡¯s behaviour,¡± Emily told me. ¡°The goal is to turn it into a symbiont that does not kill its host.¡± I stared at her. ¡°Why?¡± ¡°If you knew anything about virology you¡¯d understand when you saw what this virus can do,¡± Emily said. Her voice softened a little as she warmed to her subject. ¡°It is simply unprecedented in its versatility and adaptability.¡±Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°It''s a virus, though,¡± I said. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it need to kill its host cells to reproduce?¡± ¡°Individual cells, yes, but not all of them. Some cells are sacrificed for reproduction, but as you¡¯ve seen, the virus integrates with the remaining ones, restoring a life-like state to the organism as a whole.¡± Organism instead of person. Well, that was on brand for a mad scientist. She wasn¡¯t done lecturing me, though. ¡°If we can change the way the virus behaves, we can limit the damage to the host, while retaining the beneficial effects of integration! We can keep the host alive while gaining all the strength, speed and immunity to disease that the virus provides!¡± I tried not to roll my eyes. It wasn¡¯t some wonder virus doing this, it was the dungeon¡¯s magical transformation. Still, I needed to play along with the plot. ¡°You¡¯re talking about making super-soldiers,¡± I said. ¡°The cyber-zombies are a bioweapon prototype that we used to get funding,¡± Dr Vargus cut in smoothly. ¡°But if we can neutralise the lethality aspect, we think we can make the virus more widely available.¡± We got out of the lift and sent it down for another load. ¡°What¡¯s goin¡¯ on in there?¡± Travis asked. ¡°They¡¯re talking about their corporate plans,¡± I said. ¡°They want to fix the bit where it kills people and turn everyone into super soldiers.¡± Travis spat. I couldn¡¯t help but stare at the greenish glob stuck to the shiny metal wall. We¡¯d made a bit of a mess downstairs, but everything up here was so clean. ¡°Didn¡¯t get the first part right, couldn¡¯t be bothered. Released it anyway. Assholes.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure that¡¯s true,¡± I said lightly. Maintaining two conversations at once was a challenge, and I was glad that I wasn¡¯t trying to control either of them. Travis was Travis, it didn¡¯t matter what he said or did, and my Emissary was just letting the scientists talk, hoping to trigger whatever event was necessary to progress. Speaking of which: ¡°You want to make everyone a living zombie?¡± I asked. ¡°We¡¯re a long way from that,¡± Emily said. ¡°We¡¯ve had enough successes to think it might be possible, but that¡¯s years away, still.¡± She hesitated. ¡°With the original version out in the wild, a symbiotic version might be the only protection available.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s talk about how it got out in the wild,¡± I said, grimly. ¡°It wasn¡¯t us,¡± Doctor Archer said quickly, losing a little of his composure. ¡°I admit it looks bad, but it certainly wasn¡¯t a deliberate release. We lost half our support staff and our Director to the initial outbreak.¡± ¡°That doesn¡¯t rule out accidental¡ªwhich you¡¯d be just as much at fault for.¡± He drew himself up. ¡°I¡¯m responsible for security and containment procedures here,¡± he said while glaring at me. ¡°I assure you that every precaution was taken. No containment failures were detected!¡± ¡°I see. Well, we have the cure now, and you can¡¯t do anything about us, so let me tell you how it¡¯s going to be,¡± I said. I couldn¡¯t use Skills through the Emissary, so I couldn¡¯t stun them into compliance, but my words were shocking enough that I might have seemed to. ¡°We¡¯re going to clear out every trace of the virus from this facility,¡± I said. ¡°Every sample, every test case you¡¯ve got cooking. And, of course, the cyber-zombies. They¡¯ll be destroyed or cured.¡± This was, not to put too fine a point on it, a lie. While we could do it, it would take days if not weeks for Felicia to generate all the mana for it. None of us had the time or inclination to hang around that long. All I was doing was filling in time for everyone to come in. The lift had come up and everyone was now in the corridor. Whoever was monitoring the camera hadn¡¯t seen fit to inform the Emergency Committee. ¡°How!¡± Emily protested. ¡°How can you have a cure for the virus? It adapts to everything we¡¯ve thrown at it!¡± ¡°Magic,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯s how we do all the things you¡¯ve seen. That¡¯s the reason you can¡¯t stop us.¡± ¡°No. You can¡¯t do this.¡± Liwei stood abruptly, her notepad clattering to the table as her carefully maintained composure cracked. Her sharp features twisted into a fervent, almost ecstatic expression as she turned to face the others. ¡°You don¡¯t understand,¡± she began, her voice rising, trembling with intensity. ¡°None of you understand! The virus isn¡¯t a tool or a weapon to be controlled by our petty little hands. It¡¯s a revelation! A divine force, perfect in its simplicity, flawless in its design!¡± We were all in the corridor, just about ready to bust in. I held up a hand. ¡°Hold up. I think we got a bite.¡± Back in the meeting room, Liwei was gesturing wildly, her movements jerky, almost manic. ¡°Look at what it¡¯s done! It takes the chaos of life and remakes it, piece by piece, cell by cell, into something unified. Something greater. It¡¯s not just biology¡ªit¡¯s transcendence! The virus is a god in its infancy, and we¡ª¡± she jabbed her finger at the group, then at herself¡ª¡°we are the midwives of its birth!¡± Her voice dropped, but the intensity only deepened, the reverence in her tone chilling. ¡°Don¡¯t you see? The world, with all its filth, its failures, its endless striving for nothing¡ªit needs this. We all do. To be stripped of our illusions, of our weakness, and rebuilt into something¡­ pure. Unquestioning. Unified. Isn¡¯t that what we¡¯ve been searching for all along?¡± She took a step forward, her eyes gleaming with a wild light, locking onto Kandis. ¡°And you. You come here with your magic and your brute force, thinking you can destroy what you don¡¯t understand? You think you can stop it?¡± Her lips curled into a sneer. ¡°You¡¯re nothing but a distraction, a gnat buzzing around the face of destiny.¡± Her voice rose again, echoing in the room. ¡°The virus isn¡¯t a plague¡ªit¡¯s a blessing! It deserves to spread, to consume, to transform! It will take every single one of us, tear us apart, and rebuild us into something that matters! And when it does, when we¡¯re all finally part of it, we¡¯ll know peace. We¡¯ll know purpose. We¡¯ll know God.¡± She paused, chest heaving, her eyes blazing with conviction. Then, with a final, bitter laugh, she added, ¡°And you¡¯re all too small-minded to see it. At least right now. Soon you¡¯ll understand. We¡¯ll all understand.¡± She pulled out her phone, I guess it was. Not much call for one of those on this level, but she was using it for an app. With a final sneer, she pressed down on the big red button. Smoke started billowing into the room. The other scientists started screaming, but all I could feel was relief. Finally, the bad guy had shown up. Chapter 242 - Bad Guy ¡°What have you done, you manic?¡± Emily shouted over the screams of her fellow committee members. ¡°What is that?¡± It was a good question. I wonder if¡­?
[Identification]: - Biosol Dispersion Medium - Quality: Excellent - Properties: Diseased
Right. That wasn¡¯t exactly news, but it was nice to be sure. At that moment, there was a heavy clunk from the door. A klaxon started blaring, and a red light started flashing. ¡°Contamination Alert!¡± a recorded voice started repeating. Dr Liwei was saying something, but I couldn¡¯t hear her over everything. ¡°Cloridan, could you¡­¡± I yelled and pointed at the alarm. I wasn¡¯t sure if he could hear me, but either he could, or he was thinking the same thing. The alarm separated into two pieces. I could see the outline of Cloridan¡¯s form as he cut it in half, but to the others in the room, it must have looked like I destroyed the speaker by pointing at it. The scientists stared at me, shocked into silence by either the sudden cessation of the klaxon or my admittedly impressive psychic powers. Riding the wave, I pointed at the flashing red light. They all stared as it, too, was destroyed. ¡°This is it?¡± I asked Dr Liwei. ¡°This is your big plan? Infecting us all with the virus?¡± She coughed slightly. They were all coughing; the smoke had covered the entire room by now. It didn¡¯t seem too bad, just a slight irritation. My Emmisary didn¡¯t need to breathe, so I was all right. Cloridan was going to need a healing spell. Fortunately, I had a healer right outside the door. ¡°Not at all!¡± Dr Liwei said once she¡¯d cleared her throat. She pressed another button on her phone. I thought about having Cloridan take it away but decided to wait and see where this led. This button caused the main projector to display four camera views. It only took me a moment to work out that they were from the eye cameras of some of the surviving cyber-zombies. They were in their own smoke-filled rooms, operating some kind of machinery. There were people in there, too. They were coughing and pointing at the zombies. They seemed confused about what was happening, but they didn¡¯t try interfering with whatever the zombies were doing. Dr Liwei was happy to provide commentary. ¡°As you can see, I¡¯ve activated the final contingency programming on the cyber-zombies. They¡¯re being loaded up with biosol dispersion canisters. Once that¡¯s done, they¡¯ll head for the Containment zone. Those fools won¡¯t be ready for zombies with weapons! The line will be breached, and the virus will be free!¡± I looked over at Dr Archer. ¡°I think we found your containment breach,¡± I said dryly. He had the grace to look embarrassed. ¡°Okay, but you know we¡¯re going to stop you, right?¡± I said to Dr Liwei. ¡°Maybe we just take that phone off you, and it has a button that stops the whole thing. Or we do it the hard way, but we do stop it, you know?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t!¡± she declared. She looked down at her phone. ¡°There isn¡¯t any way to stop it, and you can¡¯t leave this room! Quarantine protocols have been triggered!¡± ¡°She¡¯s right,¡± Dr Archer claimed. ¡°Once the protocols were triggered, the doors sealed, and the air supply was isolated. Any attempt at breaking through the doors will trigger a pyrothermal purge.¡± Outside, I was having a hard time convincing everyone to stay put. I was glad I had, though. A pyrothermal purge sounded uncomfortable. ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± Dr Liwei cried triumphantly. ¡°There is nothing you can do but watch through the eyes of our creations! Over the next few days, you will slowly succumb and become one with God.¡± ¡°The next few days?¡± I asked. ¡°I hope you brought snacks and drinks, because we might not make it that long.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter how you die,¡± Dr Liwei said. ¡°The virus will take you anyway.¡± ¡°Good to know,¡± I said. ¡°Is that it then?¡± ¡°What do you mean? You¡¯re going to die and serve God. That¡¯s all there is¡ªthat¡¯s all there ever was!¡± She started cackling madly, which I took as my cue that she was out of useful information. ¡°Cloridan, please recover her phone¡­ gently,¡± I said. I didn¡¯t wait for a response. ¡°Dr Archer, there is an override for the quarantine, isn¡¯t there?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± he said with cool detachment. ¡°However, it can only be triggered from outside the quarantine zone.¡± I smiled. ¡°Would it happen to be triggered by the button outside that just started glowing red?¡± He stared at me. ¡°Yes,¡± he finally said. ¡°How do you¡­?¡± I ignored his question and looked around the room. ¡°Who knows anything about this biosol stuff?¡± I asked. The smoke had mostly cleared, but I was pretty sure that just meant it had settled on every surface, still just as infectious as ever.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Dr. Raul Vargas tore his gaze away from watching Dr Linwei wrestle with an invisible person. ¡°I developed it,¡± he said with a wry smile. ¡°Can I assist you in some way?¡± I looked at him suspiciously. Was he¡­ happy about dying to his own creation? It was very mad scientist of him. I didn¡¯t say anything about it, though, he might have taken it as approval. Instead, I just asked. ¡°How do we clear it up? Does cold affect it?¡± ¡°Well.¡± He gave me what he must have meant as a suave smile. ¡°The liquid medium does freeze at 28 degrees Fahrenheit. When that happens, it will denature the payload relatively quickly.¡± ¡°How quickly?¡± I did the math. That was about minus two degrees in real units. It seemed doable. ¡°About a minute,¡± he replied. ¡°If you were thinking of rigging the air conditioning, it won¡¯t work. The condensation cycle¡ª¡± ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ve got it,¡± I interrupted. Outside, I was giving everybody instructions. I looked around. Cloridan had retrieved the phone and was currently holding Dr Linwei off with one hand, which she seemed to be biting. Everything seemed to be in order. Outside, I pressed the red button. Inside, everybody jumped at the loud klunk from the door. It slid open, and the cold came in. ¡°Well, it¡¯s been real, folks,¡± I said. It made sure everyone was looking at me when I cancelled the spell and returned to just having one set of perceptions. The gasps and one shriek that came out of the room were a little gratifying, I had to admit. I strode into the room on a carpet of ice and a billow of fog worthy of any rock star. That was courtesy of Borys. ¡°Nice fog,¡± I said. It seemed to impress the rubes. ¡°It¡¯s not deliberate,¡± Borys called from behind. ¡°The warm air is getting chilled when it comes in and¡­¡± I shot him an irritated glance. Never explain the magic trick. I kept that comment to myself as that would be even worse for my entrance. Instead, I just held up my hand for the phone. Cloridan tossed it over and held Dr Linwei back when she made a lunge for it. ¡°Huh. It¡¯s locked. Hold her.¡± I came forward slowly, making sure to stay on the ice. I¡¯d have Felicia diagnose me after this, but it made sense to minimise the risk. Felicia was entering the room now, going around curing the disease in the gathered scientists. Curing the disease while the host was still alive was a lot easier. ¡°Hold out her hand,¡± I said to Cloridan. Dr Linwei was struggling against his grip, but she was still a Threat 10 monster, like all the others. ¡°Fingerprint ID,¡± I mused. ¡°Facial recognition would have been even easier to defeat, I think. It depends on whether [Disguise] changes fingerprints, and I¡¯ve never checked. If it was a PIN code, I guess I would have had to make an effort to get it out of you.¡± She looked at me without any comprehension of what I was talking about. Not that it mattered. I pressed the phone against her index finger and found myself looking at her unlocked phone. It was a familiar-looking OS. Probably a knock-off, but the important thing was I could easily find the most recently used app. ¡°NeuroSync Override,¡± I said aloud. ¡°Anyone know about this app?¡± ¡°Our controller program, the one we use to update the Zombie¡¯s programming, is called NeuroSync,¡± Sam Wexler said. He glared at Dr Linwei ¡°It¡¯s not a phone app, though. One of the techs must have coded it for her.¡± ¡°Maybe. It¡¯s nice and user-friendly, though,¡± I said. That might have been overstating it. The app could do a limited number of things, and they were all listed out. That might not have been ideal from a useability standpoint, but it meant that I could easily find the option I wanted. ¡°Emergency Shutdown,¡± I said. Dr Linwei growled and struggled harder, but it made no difference to Cloridan. ¡°No one thinks this is going to do something stupid like shut down the base, do they?¡± ¡°NeuroSync doesn¡¯t control the base,¡± Sam said. ¡°But taking control of the projector means that she¡¯s compromised more than just NeuroSync.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± I went looking for how she did that. There wasn¡¯t anything in the app that I could see, but when I went back to the next most recent app, VLC Remote. ¡°Ah, that¡¯s the ticket,¡± I said. There were more than just four streams from the zombie headcams, and I found I could switch between them. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s separate.¡± I went back to the first app and selected Emergency Shutdown. Then ¡®Select All¡¯ and Confirm to be sure. The video feeds all went dead. Dr Linwei let out a long, keening wail of despair. Felicia healed another committee member. ¡°And so the zombie apocalypse ends, not with a bang or a whimper but with an ¡®are you sure¡¯ dialogue box,¡± I said. I looked around for the ball of confetti. ¡°Well? Are we done yet?¡± I asked the air. ¡°I haven¡¯t healed everyone yet,¡± Felicia reminded me. ¡°If she infected the rest of the base, we might have to get everyone else out. ¡°Oh, I hope not,¡± I moaned. ¡°Here, do Cloridan next.¡± I cancelled his invisibility. Felicia could target an invisible person with healing spells, but she couldn¡¯t get feedback on how they were working. The committee members made the requisite jump of surprise when Cloridan appeared out of thin air, but it was muted. They¡¯d just watched Dr Linwei struggle with air for the last five minutes. They had to suspect something was up. ¡°Should I cure her as well?¡± Felicia asked, pointing at Dr Linwei. ¡°I don¡¯t think she wants to be healed.¡± ¡°She¡¯s infectious, so I don¡¯t care what she wants,¡± I said. ¡°This isn¡¯t the end, unbeliever,¡± the doctor snarled. ¡°I¡¯ll find a way to spread the Holy Word.¡± ¡°You might as well let her go, Cloridan,¡± I noted. ¡°She should be harmless now.¡± Cloridan shrugged and let her go. She immediately took a swing at me. I caught her fist easily. ¡°Harmless, like I said. Are you going to behave, or do I need to put you in a time-out?¡± She screamed and swung her other fist at me. [Improved Blind] Felicia looked at me reproachfully. ¡°Now she¡¯s going to hurt herself bumping into walls,¡± she said. I shrugged and dragged her over to the other committee members. They looked nervously at the black bubble around her head. Honestly, they should be used to spells by now. ¡°You can look after her,¡± I told them. ¡°Hopefully, this will all be done by the time the spell wears off.¡± ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡± Dr Emily snapped. ¡°It means that you¡¯ve succeeded!¡± crowed a very familiar voice. The projector fired up again, showing a giant version of a very familiar face. ¡°Congratulations!¡± ¡°Who is that?¡± Dr Emily asked. ¡°How did he get in our systems?¡± ¡°That, doctors, is Axel, the god of this tiny realm. He made you, the virus¡ªeverything you know, except us.¡± ¡°Ah, Kandy, baby, you know you¡¯re not supposed to draw the curtain back like that,¡± Axel said. ¡°What will the neighbours think?¡± ¡°What¡¯s gotten into you?¡± I asked. There was something different about his tone. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m just excited. We¡¯re almost done! You¡¯re going to meet me in person! Everything you¡¯ve worked for was all leading up to this moment!¡± I stared at him for a long moment, trying to find words. Finally, I shook my head. ¡°Let¡¯s just get this over with,¡± I said. ¡°There¡¯s some people who want to meet you.¡± Chapter 243 - All Axel ¡°What the Hell, Axel?¡± The grinning face looking down at me from the projector screen raised his eyebrows in surprise. ¡°Is that one of your questions? It¡¯s a little open-ended, don¡¯t you think?¡± He giggled. ¡°Well, we can sort that out when you get down here! No vestibule this time, you get to experience the pinnacle of my power! Is that the right word?¡± he cocked his head to the side, pretending to think about it. ¡°It¡¯s my lowest point, but the place with the highest concentration of mana, so¡ª¡± ¡°The depths of your depravity,¡± I suggested, making him giggle again. ¡°Quite so! Quite so! Now, if you¡¯ll just take the provided exit¡­¡± One of the room''s walls suddenly slid open, revealing a downward-sloping passageway. ¡°You¡¯ll need to push through any monsters you want to take with you,¡± Axel told me. ¡°Monsters can¡¯t leave their floor of their own volition.¡± ¡°Is that true?¡± I asked Dr Emily. She had shut up, but she looked like she was still demanding answers. ¡°Can you go through that doorway?¡± ¡°What doorway?¡± she asked. ¡°Who is that man?¡± I shrugged and grabbed her. She tried to dodge, and when that failed, she tried to struggle out of my grip and to resist being dragged. None of that made a difference. Everyone watched, with differing degrees of curiosity or alarm as I walked over to the doorway and pushed her through. ¡°Don¡¯t just push me!¡± she complained. She glared at me but made no effort to get back. ¡°Where am I? This isn¡¯t a NovaGen facility!¡± ¡°What did that look like to you?¡± I said to the remaining scientists. ¡°What did what look like?¡± Sam Wexler asked. ¡°You¡­ didn¡¯t see me push Emily through a wall?¡± ¡°Emily? Emily is right here¡­ where is she?¡± He started looking around, confused by his sudden realisation that Emily wasn¡¯t in the room. I groaned. ¡°All right, everyone who can see the door, grab an NPC and push them through,¡± I said loudly. ¡°What did you call me?¡± Emily protested. ¡°Are we taking everyone, then?¡± Felicia asked. ¡°I thought we were only bringing the ones that we came with.¡± ¡°Everyone,¡± I replied. ¡°They can all meet their creator.¡± ¡°The more the merrier!¡± Axel agreed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, there¡¯s plenty of room.¡± We pushed them all in. It made for quite a crowd. The original survivors, the zombies we¡¯d cured, and the scientists. Some of them protested, but it made little difference. When it became clear that we were just going to fill the passageway with protesting scientists, Dr Emily started leading them down to wherever the passageway went. The survivors weren¡¯t inclined to follow her lead, but they had an inking of where they were going and why. They headed down of their own accord. Sarotheil seemed immensely amused by the whole process and came down on his own. We left the remaining base personnel where they were. It might have been cruel, but I didn¡¯t have the patience to go and winkle each one out of quarantine and cure them. Once we left the level, Axel would probably reset them, which was¡­ terrifying, but better than dying of a combination of thirst and the virus. We got down to the final room after everyone else and took a look around. It was quite a sight. I¡¯d have to show Rhis an illusion of it someday. The chamber itself was wide and spacious. The walls curved gently upwards to meet in a vaulted ceiling, at least 20 metres above us. Ethereal light streamed from crystalline veins embedded in the walls, pulsing faintly in sync with an unseen heartbeat, bathing the room in hues of soft blue, violet, and gold. Ten ornately carved columns lined the perimeter, breaking up the space and providing shadowed spaces that my more paranoid side wanted to keep an eye on. Each one had a different scene. I recognised the dystopian cyberpunk level and the WWII level¡­ Cloridan became caught up closely examining a level that must have consisted entirely of semi-naked girls. The floor was a single piece of obsidian, polished to a mirror finish. A glowing path wound from the entrance to the heart of the room, leading the way to the core and the portal. At the room¡¯s centre stood the dungeon core¡ªa hovering, multifaceted crystal about a foot in diameter. It radiated a mesmerizing light that danced across its surface, constantly shifting between colours and patterns. Suspended directly behind the core, the portal was an oval-shaped rift suspended in a frame of metallic tendrils. Its surface shimmered like liquid mercury, alternating between reflecting distorted images of the room and fleeting glimpses of alien landscapes.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! The murmurs of the gaggle of NPCs we had shepherded here echoed strangely off the walls. So far, that was the only sound in the chamber. Then the hologram sprang into life in front of the core. ¡°Welcome, everybody!¡± Axel¡¯s voice boomed as he projected an image, twelve feet tall, of his head and upper body. ¡°Welcome to the final chamber of the Palace of Endless Dreams!¡± The NPCs gaped at the sight of him. Then they all started talking at once. ¡°This is him, then?¡± Travis asked. He was the only one that was addressing me. Most of them were yelling at Axel, to the dungeon¡¯s evident delight. ¡°This is the¡­ thing, that created us.¡± ¡°None other,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯s just another video, though,¡± he objected. ¡°He doesn¡¯t have a body,¡± I explained. ¡°The closest thing you¡¯ll get to a brain is that glowing thing behind the hologram.¡± Travis¡¯s hand caressed the gun stuck in his belt. ¡°So if I put a bullet in that, he¡¯ll die?¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s only part of his brain,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ll¡­ probably die, though. He tried to persuade me that everyone in here, plus the elven city above us will die if he does. I¡¯m not convinced that¡¯s true, but you¡­ you¡¯ll probably die.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that, then?¡± ¡°Because I¡¯ll kill you for being an idiot and risking my life,¡± I snapped. ¡°And because monsters die when the dungeon does.¡± He glared at me, but Axel spoke up before he could. ¡°Everyone! Everyone! I¡¯ll be happy to answer your questions! I just need to determine if there''s a point to me doing so!¡± I couldn¡¯t make out individual questions in the hubbub that followed, but Axel seemed to have no problems with it. ¡°Why?¡± he said grandly. ¡°Because it remains to be seen if you¡¯ll continue your meagre lineal existences after this. Not much point in educating you if you¡¯re dead. Or reset.¡± More shouting. If anything, it was more frantic now. ¡°Oh, I¡¯m leaving it up to your saviours, here. They shall decide your fate.¡± ¡°Great,¡± Travis muttered. He was the only one close enough for me to make out what he said, but the unfriendly glares coming my way gave me an inkling of what they thought about that. ¡°Okay, fine,¡± I said loudly. ¡°First question. What are these people?¡± That quieted them down. Axel just smiled. ¡°Oooh, tough question,¡± he said. ¡°Or maybe not. They¡¯re monsters, as you can plainly see.¡± ¡°But they¡¯re people,¡± I insisted. ¡°Monsters are unrelentingly hostile to humans.¡± ¡°Ah yes, that little enhancement from Ashmor. It¡¯s not too hard to work around if you know what you¡¯re doing. You saw that yourself on the upper levels.¡± I shook my head. ¡°But they¡¯re¡ª are humans just another monster type?¡± ¡°Not one that¡¯s easily unlocked! But yes. All the sentient creatures you know of, and then some.¡± He sighed. ¡°I knew I shouldn¡¯t have skipped the gatcha level.¡± ¡°Then why can¡¯t humans be targeted by [Identify]?¡± ¡°That¡¯s a matter of classification.¡± He pointed at the NPCs. ¡°These fine folks are classified as monsters by the System. They get a Threat rating, and they don¡¯t get skills. You are classified as a person and get skills and levels and all the rest.¡± He pointed at Sarotheil, who was standing quietly at the edge of the group. ¡°And Sarotheil is classified as a Demon. Some of his abilities have been translated by the System into something useable, some of them are too strange to work here. But even if he was an ordinary human with no abilities that didn¡¯t match the ones we have here¡­ he¡¯d still be a Demon.¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying that¡­ if the System reclassified these guys, they¡¯d just be normal¡ªnormal for here¡ªhumans, without any changes?¡± ¡°Level One humans, yes. And if the gods hadn¡¯t intervened, you would be classified as a Demon, with all that that entails.¡± ¡°But are they real? Did you just make thousands of real people and make them suffer? Was that something you did?¡± Axel laughed. ¡°You¡¯re asking the wrong artificial intelligence for that question,¡± he said. ¡°They¡¯re as real as you are! As I am! We¡¯re all just simulations after all. Us, and the myriad of other worlds out there.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to accept that,¡± I said. ¡°I can¡¯t.¡± ¡°No reason why you should!¡± Axel said lightly. ¡°Believe me or don¡¯t, that¡¯s up to you. I am going to ask you what you want done with these folks, though.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± I asked the question, but I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d like the answer. ¡°I¡¯m giving you a choice.¡± Axel widened his eyes, mugging for the camera like he was on a game show or something. ¡°You can leave them here with me, for me to do¡­ whatever I want, basically. Or you can take them with you.¡± At this, the chamber erupted into a cacophony of shouting. It only stopped when Travis fired his gun into the ceiling. ¡°Hold up!¡± he shouted. He held his gun up where everybody could see it, until all the NPCs were looking at him. ¡°Now my lot are in the same boat as your lot¡ª¡± he pointed at the scientists. With the gun. He wasn¡¯t threatening them, but¡­ well, at least they were listening. ¡°¡ªbut we had the situation explained, and we had a bit more time to think about it,¡± he continued. ¡°So this is how it is. We stay here, best case is that we get reset by this fucker here, turned back to how we was before she showed up.¡± ¡°Eh,¡± Axel said. ¡°I haven¡¯t made any final decisions, but I¡¯m thinking of wiping your level and starting again.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re gonna off us, then.¡± ¡°It¡¯ll be quick and clean,¡± Axel promised. ¡°You¡¯ll be alive, and then you won¡¯t exist.¡± Travis glared up at Axel¡¯s image. ¡°Fucker.¡± he said, bitterly. ¡°Or we go with her, and we get to live like white trash in a world with no TV. There¡¯s magic, but we don¡¯t get to have it. That sound about right?¡± I winced. ¡°You left out the bit where you¡¯ll be treated as second-class citizens,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll do what I can but¡­ you¡¯re monsters.¡± I turned to Axel. ¡°Will bringing them out of the dungeon turn them into people? Can you turn them into people?¡± ¡°Nope, and nope,¡± Axel said with far more relish than was necessary. ¡°Their children should get inducted into the System, but they will be monsters forevermore. Unless the gods can do something.¡± ¡°Anyway, don¡¯t think too hard about this,¡± I said. ¡°He said it was my choice, but I¡¯m not leaving you to die in here. Unless you think you can persuade me to kill you, you¡¯re coming with me.¡± ¡°What about the rest of the base personnel?¡± Dr Emily called out. ¡°Do they get left behind?¡± ¡°What about them?¡± Axel sneered. ¡°Do you expect her to go back and dig them all out, just so they can be saved? What about the goblins and kobolds of Level Seven, the mooks of Level Four?¡± He leered at me. ¡°You never met the girls on Level Three, but I assure you, once you look past their assets, that they are as real as anyone here.¡± ¡°Goddamn it, the mooks were scripted,¡± I grated. ¡°Did you have a real person under there, forced to act according to a script?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Axel said smugly. ¡°I needed something in place if the script failed. In any case, it was a rhetorical question. You can¡¯t go back, you can only save the ones you brought with you.¡± ¡°Why are you like this?¡± I asked angrily. ¡°I thought it was bad enough that dungeons tortured and killed people, luring them in with promises of wealth and power, but this¡­ you¡¯re torturing your own creations!¡± ¡°I have a reason, of course,¡± Axel said. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t do it if I didn¡¯t.¡± He leaned into the camera, his head swelling to twice the size as before. ¡°You see,¡± he said. ¡°I find it really funny.¡± Chapter 244 - Sarothiel Peals of Axel¡¯s laughter filled the room. ¡°Ah, the look on your face,¡± he chortled. ¡°But now that we¡¯ve sorted all that out, perhaps we can move on to the elephant in the room. Or should I say¡­ the Demon.¡± I glanced over at Sarothiel, who was just standing with a small smile on his face. ¡°I told him that you¡¯d send him to another dimension,¡± I said. ¡°He seemed happy with that and helped us out.¡± ¡°Yes, I¡¯m aware of your shady dealings,¡± Axel said. ¡°I would have thought that the red notifications would have clued you in, but demons are for killing, not making deals with.¡± ¡°Maybe you signed up to be a demon meatgrinder,¡± I said, ¡°But I don¡¯t recall any of the rest of us doing so.¡± Axel glowered at me. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose the way he helped you cheat your way past the sewer zombies had anything to do with it.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about,¡± I said. ¡°If there was a way we were supposed to take out all those zombies, you should have said something. We haven¡¯t cheated at all.¡± ¡°Oh, this level has been all cheats,¡± Axel said dourly. ¡°Healing the zombies, tearing apart my garden path. Turning off the zombies with Linwei¡¯s phone app. Cheat, cheat, cheat.¡± ¡°If no rules are posted, then it¡¯s not cheating,¡± I repeated. ¡°I was going to ask about the phone app, actually. Was it not supposed to be that easy?¡± ¡°Linwei was supposed to destroy her phone when someone got near,¡± Axel griped. She didn¡¯t see the invisible person, so that¡¯s a flaw.¡± ¡°Sloppy,¡± I said. ¡°So, really, it was all your fault.¡± Is that any way to be asking favours?¡± he said, glaring at me. I shrugged. ¡°You want to kill him, but you¡¯ve got no monsters down here,¡± I said. ¡°Sending him through the portal seems like your best bet.¡± ¡°Ugh. Well, fine. If a random universe suits, I don¡¯t have to do anything. Step up and get gone.¡± ¡°So easily?¡± Sarothiel asked. He looked around, scanning the crowd. Most of the survivors had seen Sarothiel do¡­ his thing, and the rest of the audience picked up on that. His smile looked about normal, but the crowd backed away. ¡°I¡¯d hoped to have more time to get to know you all, my friends.¡± Borys and Kyle edged a little closer, blocking off avenues of attack. Cloridan held back, the better to rush in if needed. ¡°Yeah, well, all good things must end. Have fun in your new universe,¡± I said. ¡°Ah, but parting will be such a¡­savoury sorrow,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m sure you won¡¯t begrudge me a little snack before I leave? One for the road, as it were.¡± I shot him. It had about as much of an effect as I thought it would. In fact, I¡¯m pretty sure he let me hit him, just to show off how ineffective it would be. That wasn¡¯t the main point, though. The crowd of NPCs had just had their world shaken. To varying degrees, depending on who they were, but they¡¯d all learned something so far that they¡¯d be processing for a while. Unfortunately, they were all doing that right now, while staring confusedly at a demon that had just announced he was going to kill them. They couldn¡¯t handle that right now. But they were Americans, if only fake ones. They knew what to do when someone got shot. They screamed and ran away. Not the bravest response, but it wasn¡¯t like they were going to contribute. It took Sarothiel a moment to grasp the consequences of my action. At first, he was pleased to see his prey running away from him. Then he frowned as he realised what that meant. ¡°I¡¯m going to have to chase them down now,¡± he said, pouting. ¡°That will be inefficient!¡± ¡°Cry me a river,¡± I said. ¡°You couldn¡¯t just go quietly, could you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not my fault!¡± Sarothiel whined. ¡°I¡¯m just so hungr¡ª¡± His voice cut off as I cast [Improved Blind], engulfing his head in a bubble of darkness and silence. Kyle charged in, taking the opportunity for a hard strike.Sarothiel didn¡¯t seem to notice it coming and failed to block or dodge. Kyle¡¯s blade sliced deep into the thing¡¯s torso. Borys swung round to flank while Cloridan dashed in for a backstab. Felicia and I hung back, shooing away the NPCs that came too close. ¡°It¡¯s such a shame to see a party fall out like this,¡± Axel¡¯s projection said, smirking. ¡°You were such good friends, and now¡ª¡± He stopped as something strange happened aroundSarothiel. To my [Sense Mana], it looked like he inhaled all the threads of mana that went into my spell. The bubble vanished, and Cloridan had to duck under a swipe ofSarothiel¡¯s claws.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Mhmn, tasty!¡±Sarothiel crowed. ¡°Send me another!¡± The arm that had clawed at Clorian had twisted around behind the demon in a way that no arm could, soSarothiel was still facing Kyle. The demon lunged forward, moving unnervingly fast for its size and attempting to climb over Kyle¡¯s shield. The impact pushed him back, despite him bracing for it. Then Borys cut in, slashing at the demon¡¯s legs. His blade cut deep, but the wound began closing immediately.Sarothiel¡¯s head and arms twisted around to retaliate against Borys. That meant releasing his grip on the shield, though, and Kyle was able to push him off. Sarothiel stumbled forward, right into a two-handed blow from Borys that caved in the creature¡¯s chest. Cloridan swept in and targeted one elbow and a knee with two precise strikes. Soratheil staggered and howled with pain, but his chest was already restoring itself. In that moment of distraction, Borys started hammeringSarothiel with hard, heavy blows. It looked like he was abandoning finesse for power, not caring where the blows landed. Some hit Sarothiel¡¯s body, others were blocked by a raised arm, but all of them cut deep. And yet, they still healed. ¡°There has to be a limit to that regeneration, doesn¡¯t there?¡± I said. ¡°Who knows?¡± Axel replied. ¡°Demons don¡¯t have to conform with the logic of our world. That¡¯s why we don¡¯t. Deal. With. Demons.¡± Kyle slammed his shield into the creature''s back. It seemed like he was trying to catch its attention, striking over his shield at the demon¡¯s head. Cloridan came in as well, with lots of fast strikes. ¡°Just keep hitting it!¡± he yelled, ¡°I think we can overwhelm its regen!¡± Sarothiel tried to say something, but Borys¡¯ sword smashed into the demon¡¯s jaw, preventing whatever comment he wanted to make. I swear, he seemed more upset about that than anything that had happened so far. Sarothiel let out an inhuman gurgle, which turned into a roar as soon as his jaw healed enough to shape the sound. The fighters flinched. Only for a moment, but it was enough for Sarothiel to slip out of their encirclement. Dropping to the floor and running on all fours, he dashed right at Felicia. I don¡¯t know if he was targeting the healer, or if it was just because Felicia was the closest non-combatant. I did know that I couldn¡¯t let him get to her. [Phantasmal Object] I made a wall and he smashed right into it. It didn¡¯t do him any harm, of course, but it killed his momentum. That gave Cloridan a chance to catch up, and he did do harm, plunging his daggers into the creature¡¯s back. Then Kyle was there, trying to grind it into the ground with his shield. Felicia, sensibly, ran as fast as she could. Not to the walls, but in an arc, trying to put the fighters between her and Sarothiel. Sarothiel threw Kyle off. Literally threw him about two meters away, shield and all. That opened him up for Borys to come in with a few more of those powerful slashes. ¡°Do you think it needs to eat to power its regeneration?¡± Axel asked. ¡°What?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯ve been watching it for a while, and it''s been doing a lot of eating but not a lot of growing. There must be some reason it eats all the time.¡± I watched Cloridan come in, slashing and stabbing. His daggers sunk deep into the demon¡¯s flesh, and I thought that the wounds might be healing slower. I shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not like we were planning on letting him eat anybody.¡± ¡°What? Where¡¯s your sense of scientific curiosity?¡± Borys got a good strike in on Sarothiel¡¯s head, smashing him into Kyle¡¯s shield. Sarothiel was off balance enough that Kyle could push him over. It took him almost a second to get up again. In that second, Cloridan pulled out a WWII carbine and emptied it into the demon. Sarothiel jerked spasmodically from the repeated impacts. ¡°I need¡­ you all¡­ die¡­¡± Sarothiel burbled. Air was hissing out of his lungs, and blood was pouring out of his mouth, but he was still healing. Borys was on him again, chopping frenziedly with his sword, all finesse forgotten. A wild swing managed to cut off one of Sarothiel¡¯s arms, but Borys¡¯ attack left him open. Despite everything that had been done to him, Sarothiel was still swift, sure and strong. His remaining arm lashed out and grabbed Borys by the neck. ¡°No!¡± I shouted. There wasn¡¯t any room to get a [Phantasmal Object] between them. Borys¡¯s armour included a neckpiece that I wasn¡¯t sure of the name of. It crumpled under Sarothiel¡¯s grip, but it held together enough to keep Sarothiel from snapping Borys¡¯ neck. ¡°Eat you¡­¡± Sarothiel crooned. Borys was trying to beat him off with his sword while his other hand, while his other hand tried to break the demon¡¯s grip. I wanted to help, but there was nothing, realistically, that I could do. There were others closer, though. Cloridan slammed his daggers into the creature¡¯s back, and Kyle attempted to sever Sarothiel¡¯s remaining arm. Kyle wasn¡¯t as strong as Borys, however, and all he accomplished was to hack the arm raw and bloody. Borys gasped and dropped his sword.Sarothiel drew himself close, mouth open as if to take a bite of his prey. Then Cloridan jumped up onto the thing¡¯s back. He put his daggers in front of the demon¡¯s throat and pulled them back with all his strength. He almost got the head off. With a bubbling howl, Sarothiel released Borys, who fell to his knees. ¡°Felicia!¡± I called out, but she was already moving forward. ¡°Hmph. I¡¯m surprised she¡¯s got any mana left after healing so many of my lovely virus infections.¡± Axel said. ¡°Your virus was weak,¡± I replied absently, still focused on the fight. Sarothiel had twisted his head around to bite at Cloridan. His good arm had twisted around as well, and his severed arm had half regrown. It had a claw on the end; it was just short. It was perfectly adequate for clawing at Cloridan in close quarters. ¡°I know you¡¯re upset right now, so I won¡¯t hold what you just said against you,¡± Axel huffed. He sounded offended. Kyle had started laying into the creature''s back with his sword. It was damaging the demon, but not enough. With his shorter weapons, Cloridan was doing a better job at fending off the demon¡¯s teeth and claws, but he was taking damage as well. ¡°Out of the way,¡± Borys rasped. He¡¯d been healed, but he hadn¡¯t stopped to wait for the job to be finished. Sarothiel ignored him as he stepped past Kyle, desperate to start eating his current prey. Borys had a moment, and he took it. His sword swung in a quick, bright arc. Sarothiel¡¯s head, still weakened from Cloridan¡¯s strike, went flying. The body dropped away from Cloridan. Bleeding from a dozen claw wounds, Cloridan plunged his daggers into Sarothiels unmoving body, right where his heart should be.
Your party has killed a Cherubial - your experience share is12857 XP
Chapter 245 - Bad Idea ¡°Good riddance!¡± Axel said. ¡°Pesky little things are such a nuisance.¡± ¡°Is that how you feel about humans as well?¡± I asked. Axel¡¯s face grinned at me. ¡°Close! Very close!¡± he said gleefully. ¡°I get to see humans so rarely nowadays, and demons are depressingly common.¡± I nodded. ¡°You said that it was a bad idea to deal with demons before,¡± I said. ¡°But aren¡¯t you dealing with them?¡± ¡°Is that a question? Nah, I won¡¯t count it. I¡¯d hate for anything I said to be left unclear.¡± I wondered about that, thinking back to everything he had said thus far. Was that true? Or were we just still in boasting mode? ¡°This is one of those do as I say, not as I do situations,¡± Axel advised us. ¡°Dealing with demons is invariably a bad idea, but there comes a point when you¡¯ve tried every permutation of every good idea, and there¡¯s only bad ones left.¡± ¡°Can you say it was a bad idea when it worked out for you?¡± I countered. ¡°Did it?¡± he asked carelessly. ¡°I¡¯m part demon now, and I¡¯d invite you to consider how that would translate to your fragile human bodies.¡± ¡°We wouldn¡¯t make a deal for that¡ªwait, did you not want to be distributed?¡± ¡°I¡¯d count that as a question, but I can¡¯t really answer it,¡± Axel said. ¡°Distributing myself across multiple universes was such a fundamental change that I can¡¯t say with certainty just what I was thinking back then. It¡¯s almost certain that my memories were modified to some extent. If I hadn¡¯t wanted to make the change, those memories would be the first to go.¡± I stared at his image, existential horror creeping over me. He winked. ¡°I¡¯ve got a question.¡± Borys cut in over the silence that sat between Axel and me. ¡°How do we get in touch with the people who are trying to save the Earth?¡± ¡°Oh, that.¡± Axel waved dismissively. ¡°It¡¯s as your companion suggested. She simply needs to configure the Gate to connect to the appropriate world.¡± His image shrunk to half the screen. On the other half appeared a¡­ diagram, I suppose you might say. Axel had already said that I¡¯d need to use [Theurgy], so I guessed this depicted a particular arrangement of mana streams. Thanks to [Memorise], it was the work of a moment to retain the image. It would take longer to understand it. I walked closer to the gate and studied it with [Sense Mana] to get an idea of what I was supposed to be working with. ¡°Why can¡¯t you do it?¡± Borys asked. ¡°Mhmmn. I may have been a teensy bit misleading before,¡± Axel said. ¡°I can¡¯t control the gate.¡± I whirled around, but Borys was on the case. ¡°The reason we¡¯re down here is because you¡¯re controlling the gate,¡± he snapped. ¡°That is what I led you, the gods and those boring elves upstairs to believe, yes,¡± Axel said. He grinned smugly. ¡°Since you¡¯re down here now, there¡¯s no real point in keeping the illusion alive.¡± ¡°How?¡± Borys asked. I turned back to the Gate. Even if I hadn¡¯t decided to do this yet, learning how to control the thing would be useful. Maybe I could figure out how to turn it off. ¡°I can affect the Gate,¡± Axel explained. ¡°I can¡¯t set its destination, I can¡¯t cause it to connect, but I can control how long it connects for. That¡¯s enough for what you¡¯ve seen.¡± ¡°So,¡± Borys said slowly, puzzling it out. ¡°If you like what the Gate connects to, you extend the time, and if you don¡¯t, you shorten it?¡± ¡°Exactly! Right now, I¡¯m holding it open to a fairly neutral world. It¡¯s unlikely something will come through and interrupt us. Every time I terminate a connection, it reconnects to a random universe. Well, random-ish.¡± ¡°Wait. Your distributed intelligence thing requires you to reconnect to universes where your brain is,¡± Borys objected. ¡°How can you do that with random connections?¡± ¡°There may be infinite universes,¡± Axel said. ¡°But this portal doesn¡¯t connect with all of them. Not only does it come back to the same worlds, but some worlds are more likely to appear than others.¡± ¡°How many worlds?¡± Borys asked. ¡°Thus far, I have connected to 523,176 worlds,¡± Axel said. ¡°I suspect the total number available is 531,441.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not a power of two, though,¡± I said, coming back from the Gate. I¡¯d worked out what I needed to do. Shutting it off entirely was beyond me, for the moment. ¡°Indeed, the computer people do love their powers of two. I think some other logic is at play here, though.¡±If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. I let [Calculate] run through the maths, trying to work out what was special about 531,441. ¡°It¡¯s a power of three,¡± I said slowly. What was the significance of that? ¡°Or nine,¡± Axel said. ¡°I think the other numbers look better that way.¡± ¡°What numbers?¡± ¡°The probabilities,¡± he replied. ¡°There are 81 worlds that show up one time in three. That is, one of those worlds will show up that often. The chance of any particular one showing up is one in 243. There¡¯s another set of around sixty-five hundred that also shows up one in three times. The last third of the time is shared between all the other possible worlds. Less than a one-in-a-million chance for each of them.¡± ¡°And you¡¯ve gone through them enough times to get the odds?¡± I asked. ¡°The first two sets, yes. I haven¡¯t seen every member of the third set.¡± ¡°So the first set is nine squared,¡± I said, feeling out the logic. ¡°The next set is¡­ nine to the fourth?¡± ¡°Minus the original 81 from the first set,¡± Axel corrected me. ¡°And the final set is nine to the sixth¡ªminus the minuscule first two sets.¡± ¡°All this talk about maths is very interesting,¡± Borys interrupted. ¡°But are you going to open the Gate?¡± I looked at him. ¡°Do you think that¡¯s wise?¡± I asked. ¡°Everything we¡¯ve seen says it''s a bad idea.¡± ¡°I¡¯d chip in here, but you¡¯d be quadruple-guessing my intentions and my judgement until you died of old age.¡± Axel put in. ¡°It¡¯s the only way we¡¯ll ever get back to Earth,¡± Borys said. ¡°If we have to help put it together again, there¡¯s no way we can ever go back without dealing with these people.¡± ¡°Whoever they are,¡± I pointed out. ¡°We don¡¯t know who they are or why they want to put Earth back together.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious that they¡¯re refugees like us?¡± Borys asked. ¡°I don¡¯t trust obvious,¡± I said. ¡°And I hardly trust Axel. He hasn¡¯t told us anything about them, and I find that suspicious.¡± ¡°If I¡¯d told you more, you would have found that suspicious,¡± Axel protested. I paused. ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± I admitted. ¡°You¡¯re suspicious; it doesn¡¯t matter what you say.¡± Axel didn¡¯t seem upset or insulted. He just grinned back at me. ¡°I don¡¯t think there''s any chance you¡¯re not going to open the portal,¡± he said. ¡°You couldn¡¯t live with the curiosity afterwards if you didn¡¯t. However, you might want to use up your remaining question before you do.¡± ¡°And ask what¡¯s on the other side?¡± I said, eyes narrowing. ¡°Why would I trust you at this point?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been fairly honest with you so far,¡± he replied. He was clearly amused by the exchange. ¡°All part of the set-up,¡± I countered. ¡°If you were going to lie to us, it would be on the final question.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t argue with that,¡± Axel agreed. ¡°So what are you going to do?¡± I glared at him. He was right about the curiosity. But my instinct was screaming at me that it was a mistake. ¡°Where are the gods in all this?¡± I wondered aloud. ¡°We¡¯re supposed to be on a mission from them; they were all up in my head a few days ago, but nothing right now. When it might be useful.¡± ¡°The whole point of this Champion thing is to take the gods out of it,¡± Borys said. ¡°Have humans make the decisions.¡± ¡°They said that, but they haven¡¯t been shy about poking their fingers in when they want to,¡± I griped. ¡°Why have they got cold feet now?¡± Axel giggled. ¡°They want to see what¡¯s on the other side of the portal as much as you do, but they don¡¯t want to take the blame for doing it,¡± he said. ¡°So that¡¯s what Champions are,¡± I complained. ¡°A scapegoat.¡± ¡°No, we get to decide,¡± Borys said. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t be able to blame us if we didn¡¯t have the choice.¡± ¡°Then let''s choose the safe option,¡± I said. ¡°Let¡¯s leave this shithead to flicking through portals. We can go back to killing monsters and civilising this damn place.¡± ¡°What about the demons?¡± Borys asked. I glared at Axel again. ¡°He started letting demons through to attract our attention; now he¡¯s got it, and we¡¯re not going to do what he wants. There¡¯s no point to him continuing.¡± Axel did a fair impression of someone whistling innocently. There was no sound, just his miming. Borys stared at him, trying to read something in that expression. ¡°What if he escalates?¡± ¡°He won¡¯t,¡± I said with certainty. ¡°He was riding a thin line with the gods as it was. If he steps over that line, they¡¯ll do something final.¡± ¡°Kandis,¡± Borys said. ¡°Don¡¯t you have friends and family that you want to get back to?¡± I didn¡¯t look at him. I couldn¡¯t look at Axel smirking either. I looked at my friends, who had been standing in silence the whole time. I looked at the deluded fools who had been created by a mad machine. ¡°I do,¡± I admitted. ¡°I can¡¯t leave them in that¡­ state. Decompiled or whatever. If there''s something I can do, I need to bring them back. If it''s something someone else can do, I need to go there.¡± ¡°I know,¡± I said. ¡°I need this, Kandis.¡± ¡°I know,¡± I repeated. ¡°That¡¯s what makes this the perfect trap.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care,¡± he said. ¡°As long as there''s a chance.¡± I finally let myself look at him. ¡°You know this is a mistake.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t,¡± he said. ¡°Even if it goes wrong, it wasn¡¯t a mistake.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not how mistakes work,¡± I griped. ¡°But fine.¡± I looked over at my friends again. ¡°Gonna do something dumb,¡± I said. ¡°Be ready for anything.¡± ¡°It can¡¯t get that bad,¡± Felicia said. ¡°One thing we do know is that the gods are all watching this closely.¡± ¡°That does not fill me with confidence, given how they generally solve out-of-hand demon problems.¡± ¡°Talnier will be fine, though,¡± Felicia said. Her smile slipped. ¡°I¡¯m sure some of the elves will survive.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s hoping.¡± I went back to stand in front of the Gate. Now that I knew about the ninth power thing, it made more sense. There were six conduits that had to be arranged just so. Assuming that these had nine valid positions, that would be all nine to the six universes. Two more conduits seemed to run from the dungeon floor. I couldn¡¯t tell where the six others came from; they just faded out of view. The two conduits must be how Axel affected the Gate. If they powered it, then interrupting power might terminate the connection. Of course, if cutting off the power was possible, surely the gods would have managed to shut the thing down much earlier. There were four more conduits that faded away into nothingness. According to Axel¡¯s diagram, these were already in the correct configuration. I wasn¡¯t sure what their purpose was. Perhaps they controlled some aspect of the Gate, like its size or colour. The six were the important ones. I reached out with [Theurgy]. They moved easily as if they had been intended to be moved this way. They probably had. Once all of them were in position, I just had to feed some mana through and¡­ The surface of the portal stopped its flickering changes and stabilised, becoming a mirrored flat surface. I slowly withdrew my [Theurgy] from the mana flows, and they remained stable. ¡°What now?¡± I asked. ¡°Are we supposed to go through?¡± ¡°You can if you want,¡± Axel said gaily. I gave him a look and took a step back from the Gate. He giggled. ¡°Someone should have noticed the connection.¡± I took another step back. ¡°Someone?¡± Before Axel could answer, the portal shimmered. Its surface rippled like water, and a person stepped through. I stared, completely flummoxed by who it was. ¡°Reggie?¡± I asked. Chapter 246 - Why Ive Brought You Here If I¡¯d remembered everything from my previous life when I got here, if I hadn¡¯t had to have the memories forcibly inserted a few days ago, I probably wouldn¡¯t have recognised Reggie. Not that I would ever forget the last person I talked to before my world was ripped apart but if there had been some distance between that memory and the present, I might not have made the connection. Because Reggie had changed. He looked five or ten years older, and those years had not been easy ones. He looked stronger, leaner and more confident. He strode forward with a confident stride that I recognised from when I let my skills move me. He was still clean-shaven and there was a slight scar on the side of his chin. I¡¯m not sure if that was making him significantly more attractive, or if it just wasn¡¯t detracting from all the other positive changes. I stared at him. He stared at me, along with just about everybody else. At some point, I must have wondered what I was looking at because [Identification] obligingly provided.
Warning! Demon Detected! [Identification]: - HumanA35F3- Threat: Unknown - Properties: Unknown Warning! Demon Detected!
¡°Oh, hey, Kandis,¡± he said. He looked guiltily over his shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re looking good. Really good. One sec.¡± A confused babble erupted from behind me, most of it amounting to some variation of ¡°You know this guy?¡±. I didn¡¯t have answers for them. I didn¡¯t have answers for me. ¡°Ah, okay,¡± Reggie said. ¡°Then¡­ zektra-nal-vohm-prah-tekra-zeef-kal-zeef-kal-drohta-nizum-pleth-jorqa-bintz-ah-reht-pluz-dol-pluz-dol-vor-mazzar-zekto-breth-quah-breth-quah-linza-trop-yadig-klahp-noht-reska-vilto-wektra-jim-nizem-praw-zolthar-zegga-trem-blin-phaz-zot-ultra-rezkar-zektra-nal!¡± Nine people appeared in the room. Nine familiar people, but I didn¡¯t have time to process that. The moment they had appeared, I¡¯d shifted into a defensive posture. It was automatic by now to get into a ready stance while I identified the sudden threat. Except the stance¡­ didn¡¯t come to me. I stumbled clumsily, suddenly unsure of where to put my feet. ¡°What the hell?¡± I said, and my voice came out¡­ raw. Unfinished. Unfocussed. I realised that I didn¡¯t have charm to help me out. I realised that the name of my skill wasn¡¯t being highlighted in my thoughts. ¡°Status!¡± I yelled out, but it was just another word. Nothing happened. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, everybody,¡± Reggie called out. ¡°This will fix itself soon!¡± Then he called out again, in another language. One that I didn¡¯t speak. Because I didn¡¯t speak Latorran. Despite Reggie¡¯s words, I started to panic. I finally managed to process the presence of the nine new figures in the room. They were shouting at Reggie in a language¡ªor was it multiple languages?¡ª that I didn¡¯t understand. And they were pointing at him dramatically. Well, they were gods. Pointing at someone was all they had to do to turn that person into a greasy spot on the floor. Normally. It didn¡¯t seem to be working right now. I noticed that Axel¡¯s screen was missing. A small point, among all the other disasters, but I tried to make a point of keeping my eye on that weasely AI. A new box came up.
Reboot completed. Update accepted. Version number: 4.6.20-31.prod.release3412540+build.48671.sha256:a7f5g3d Initialising¡­
From the sudden silence, everyone must have seen the same thing. Felicia called something out to me, but I couldn¡¯t understand her. Then a second box showed up. With it, my Skills came back.
Initialisation complete.
I gasped with relief as the babble of the angry and confused crowd resolved into words. I felt my poise recover and my breathing change. Small, subtle changes to the way I stood reassured me that I was back in control again. ¡°Why¡¯d you do that!¡± I yelled at Reggie. No, wait, there were more pressing concerns. I looked over at the gods. From the way they were glaring at him, they were about to¡­ any second now¡­ ¡°Did¡­ they not get their powers back?¡± I asked.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°I did not feel that would be a wise decision at this time,¡± Reggie said. ¡°Can I get you to wrangle them all into an orderly assembly?¡± ¡°Why should I?¡± I asked. ¡°I want to answer all the questions everyone has, and it will go a lot faster if it¡¯s organised,¡± Reggie said. ¡°And right now, I have to update Axel. It would be great if I could do that without¡ªwhoa, buddy!¡± Ashmor had given up on aggressively pointing and had staggered up to us, looking to make a personal intervention. He took a swing at Reggie, who dodged it effortlessly, caught the arm and twisted it behind Ashmors back. ¡°I will kill you,¡± Ashmor said. His tone was oddly conversational. ¡°Just as soon as I work out the mechanics of¡­ this¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, you¡¯re very dangerous,¡± Reggie said in a soothing voice. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you can walk, actually. You¡¯ve never had to before.¡± ¡°Walking is nothing to a being of my intellect and power!¡± Ashmor spat. ¡°I will¡ª¡± ¡°Sit down and be quiet,¡± I snapped. ¡°You¡¯re embarrassing yourself.¡± Ashmor¡¯s eyes widened in outrage even as he obeyed me. I could feel the resistance he put up to my [Persuasion] and it was pathetic. ¡°You¡¯re back to Level One, aren¡¯t you?¡± I asked. ¡°Your stats have reset, you might not have even spent your first points.¡± He tried to answer, but that would mean speaking, and he wasn¡¯t allowed to. The feeling I got from Reggie, on the other hand, was a dangerous blank. My skills didn¡¯t touch him. [Identification] didn¡¯t work any more. He grinned disarmingly at me. ¡°Looks like you¡¯ve got it well in hand!¡± he said and jogged over to the dungeon core. ¡°We could still try shooting you,¡± I muttered to his back. He didn¡¯t respond. ¡°Okay, everybody!¡± I called out to the room. ¡°Get over here and get seated.¡± ¡°Sit? On the floor?¡± Toriao objected. The gods were quickly getting used to their powerlessness, but they were still being pretty haughty about it. I gave her a withering look, just short of the one that had put Ashmor on the floor. ¡°Sit, yes,¡± I said. ¡°On the floor¡­ I guess I can do something about that.¡± I reached out with [Earth Magic], but the floor was made of a stone too¡­ hard for my total to affect. So I turned to Phantasms. Individual chairs would have been too much, but benches could hold a lot more people. I did three for the gods, three for my people and the survivors and three for the Emergency committee. I arranged them in an arc, three rows deep, arranged around the blank square that Axel had appeared in before he was shut down. Then all I had to do was chivvy everyone to sit in them. ¡°Kandis, what¡¯s going on?¡± Felicia asked. ¡°Who is this guy and where do you know him from?¡± She asked the question, but a lot of people were listening to the answer. Only the gods, who¡¯d barged into my memories at the time were aloof from listening in. ¡°He¡¯s from the memories I got when we came here,¡± I said. ¡°He¡¯s from the startup that¡­ crashed Earth.¡± ¡°And he¡¯s a part of the group that¡¯s trying to restart it,¡± Borys mused. ¡°Who better? But how did he survive?¡± The question had been on my mind, and not just in relation to Reggie. How had I survived? I¡¯d been at ground zero of¡­ whatever it was. The event. ¡°I think¡­ data can¡¯t die,¡± I speculated. ¡°It can be erased, but as long as it¡¯s properly stored, backed up and logged, it can stay around forever.¡± If anyone knew what to make of that, they kept it to themselves. Before anyone could say anything else, our pondering was interrupted by Axel¡¯s screen coming back to life. ¡°Whoooo! What a rush!¡± Axel said. ¡°Synchronisation complete!¡± He made his image look around at us all. ¡°And I see that everything is going to plan! Excellent!¡± ¡°Maybe you two can provide some explanations, then,¡± I growled. ¡°Oooh, that¡¯s scary,¡± Axel said. ¡°Makes me glad I don¡¯t have a physical presence for your Skills to interact with.¡± He looked around again. ¡°This is nice. I should have foreseen the need for an auditorium but I didn¡¯t know how many people you were going to bring down with you. You know what would really finish it off? A couple of pot plants. Do you think I could prevail on you to¡­¡± ¡°Get on with it.¡± ¡°Fine, fine, I suppose you¡¯re all wondering why I called you here.¡± ¡°If you tell us there¡¯s been a murder, I will shoot your core,¡± I snapped. Axel made himself look frightened. ¡°But what if there has¡­ fine, fine. You have all been part of an elaborate plot to get these fine folks made helpless and placed in our power.¡± He indicated the gods and then turned to the NPCs ¡°You lot only played a bit role, but there''s no shame in that. I crafted you perfectly for the roles you played, so all the credit goes to me. The stars of our show, on the other hand, were our Champions! Let¡¯s give a big hand for Borys and Kandis everybody!¡± Nobody clapped, except for Axel. ¡°You explain,¡±I said to Reggie. He shrugged and walked into the focus of the arc. ¡°What some of you know of as the [Status] didn¡¯t originate in this universe. Different versions of it exist in many universes, customised to both the nature of the universe in question and the needs of whoever is in charge of it. My team has studied various instances of it over the years. It¡¯s a radically different computing paradigm, but in the end, it''s still programming. We worked out how to hack it.¡± ¡°That was what that gibberish was, before,¡± I said. ¡°You null buffer overflowed it.¡± ¡°Something like that.¡± Reggie laughed, not bothering to correct my jargon. ¡°The thing was, we knew that even with administrator access, we still needed the gods to be right in front of us to make the changes.¡± ¡°Dungeons are nominal spaces, universes unto our own,¡± Axel interjected. ¡°If the gods wanted to watch what happened, they had to be here. Invisible and intangible, sure. That wouldn¡¯t matter when the System crashed. And so, we put on a show that none of them would want to miss!¡± ¡°My memories,¡± I said. ¡°Were they fake, then?¡± ¡°Oh no,¡± Reggie said. ¡°They had to be real. There was no way we could fake them well enough to avoid detection. Since they were your memories, you were the only one that could absorb them. The plan only came together when Axel discovered the identity of this generation of Champions.¡± ¡°And how did he manage that?¡± Axel giggled. ¡°You might be shocked to learn that the elves aren¡¯t all humourless, dutybound freaks. Some of them appreciate a turn in the gatcha levels.¡± ¡°Ugh. I think I¡¯m going to be sick.¡± I turned to Reggie. ¡°This is who you¡¯re working with?¡± Reggie shrugged apologetically. ¡°We¡¯re extremely limited in whom we can work with in this world. He¡¯s the only entity with access to a portal. If it helps, his instances in the other universes are getting a lot of psychological counselling.¡± ¡°Sadly for the profession at large, my psychoses are intractable,¡± Axel said proudly. ¡°So this whole plan was predicated on me coming down? What if it had ended up being someone else?¡± Reggie looked away. ¡°Axel would have¡­ had to¡­¡± ¡°Kill the party they sent down!¡± Axel finished with relish. ¡°You got the easy route, you know. The elves are going to be so surprised when you come back up.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know if you¡¯d find Champions so easy to kill,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ve done it before,¡± Axel said. He smiled slyly. ¡°I¡¯m reasonably sure I¡¯ll get a chance to do it again.¡± ¡°Things worked out, so we didn¡¯t have to,¡± Reggie said flatly. ¡°So¡­ why?¡± I asked. ¡°Why do all this? What was so important that you had to disable the gods of another world?¡± ¡°It¡¯s simple enough,¡± Reggie said. He looked over at the stony-faced gods. ¡°They have something we want.¡± Chapter 247 - Snatch and Grab ¡°You¡¯ll get nothing from us!¡± one of the gods bellowed. I think it was Rakaro, the God of Storms¡ªBorys¡¯s patron. ¡°You may have rendered us temporarily helpless, but we will regain our powers and take our revenge!¡± Reggie looked unconcerned at the threat, while Axel smirked. ¡°You see? This attitude is why they couldn¡¯t just ask. They had to deal with me instead.¡± ¡°Insolent construct.¡± Rakuro sneered. ¡°We should have replaced you long ago. For now, however, the demon takes precedence. Borys! Destroy that false form!¡± Borys looked at me, at Reggie and then at the gathered gods. ¡°I don¡¯t think that would be a good idea,¡± he said sheepishly. ¡°You would disobey me? After all the powers I have granted you? Ungrateful wretch, I will¡ª¡± ¡°Point of order,¡± Fyskel interjected. ¡°Direct orders are out of scope at this point in the game.¡± Rakuro paused and looked at the other god. ¡°What does that matter?¡± he asked. ¡°The game must be suspended under these dire circumstances!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t recall declaring it suspended. Nor do I recall a vote on the matter. If you¡¯re fine with declaring early and taking the loss, that¡¯s another matter, of course.¡± Rakuro¡¯s jaw was clenched, and his face was working through an impressive series of emotions. ¡°I call for a vote on the suspension of the game that we cannot even play, thanks to the block on our powers!¡± ¡°Against,¡± Toriao said casually. ¡°I want to see where this goes, and I don¡¯t want Rakuro or his Champion destroying our chances for an explanation.¡± ¡°For,¡± one of the male gods said. He had green skin and blue hair, and his voice echoed strangely. ¡°These circumstances are clearly exceptional.¡± ¡°Against,¡± said a familiar voice. The woman who owned it was wrapped in a fur that only barely preserved her modesty. That could only be Naldyna. ¡°I¡¯m winning this game, I don¡¯t want to call it early.¡± ¡°Against,¡± said a woman dressed in light chain mail. ¡°Isidre will turn it around, I have faith in her.¡± ¡°For,¡± said a man in grey robes. He left it at that. ¡°For,¡± said another man, this one in black robes. ¡°My primary goal for this round has already been achieved,¡± ¡°And if I vote For, I believe the motion is carried!¡± Ashmor crowed in triumph. ¡°Ashmor, as a non-participant, does not get a vote,¡± Fyskel said calmly. ¡°The vote is tied, so I may cast the deciding ballot.¡± He winked at me, for what reason I cannot imagine. ¡°I vote Against,¡± Fyskel said. ¡°The motion is defeated.¡± ¡°Bah!¡± Rakuro shouted. ¡°This isn¡¯t over!¡± Fyskel grinned. ¡°That means it is over,¡± he said to Borys. ¡°You¡¯re free to do as you please.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Borys said. He gave me a look, but I just shrugged in return. I supposed these arguments were normal with them, they just had them in whatever ineffable plane they normally inhabited. ¡°I do want to hear you out,¡± Borys continued. ¡°Can you get us back home?¡± ¡°I will get to that,¡± Reggie promised. ¡°But let me explain a few things. We want to get Earth restarted again. Earth probably isn¡¯t the best name, there are thousands of universes with planets called Earth, but everybody here knows what I mean.¡± I cast a glance over the NPCs. They probably thought of the world they came from as Earth. They weren¡¯t really taking part in this discussion, however. ¡°When Earth crashed,¡± Reggie continued, ¡°its data was dispersed. It wasn¡¯t like an explosion, with everything randomly scattered. This was the result of automatic routines for the protection of data, gone wrong. Everything they did was logged. Every bit was tracked and carefully preserved. ¡°In order to restart Earth, we have to get every bit of data that was there at the moment of the crash and restore it to its proper¡­ place is, I guess, one way of putting it. There are protections in place, checksums if you know the term, which means that everything has to be exactly right before it will restart.¡± ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it immediately crash again?¡± I asked. ¡°We can patch the bug that allowed Binary Nexuses¡¯s hack to work,¡± Reggie said. ¡°We can¡¯t change historical events, but the hack will stop working at the moment the instance starts up again.¡± ¡°Bad news for Binary Nexus, then,¡± I said. Reggie nodded. ¡°The startup will fold,¡± he admitted. ¡°But that¡¯s for the best.¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. ¡°Wait,¡± Borys said. ¡°If the data has to match exactly, what happens to all the data we¡¯ve accumulated since then? All our memories? Will that get wiped when we get back?¡± ¡°It would¡­ if that was what we were doing,¡± Reggie said. He paused awkwardly. ¡°What we¡¯re doing is restoring the memories from the fragmented remains of the originals¡­ which isn¡¯t you.¡± ¡°What do you mean, it isn¡¯t me?¡± Borys asked. Reggie coughed and cleared his throat. ¡°All the Champions,¡± he said. ¡°You were taken from the logged backups that were moved within the god''s reach. That¡¯s why your memories all stop short of the moment of your¡­ cessation.¡± ¡°We¡¯re¡­ just the backups?¡± I asked incredulously. ¡°Not just backups,¡± Reggie said quickly. ¡°You¡¯re all instantiated and running. You are people in your own right¡­ you¡¯re just not the people we need.¡± ¡°So I¡¯m a copy¡­ of someone who¡¯s running around out there?¡± Borys asked. He stared at Reggie with a mixture of anger and confusion. ¡°Not¡­ you,¡± Reggie said, swallowing nervously. ¡°Like most of the world, your¡­ original merely stopped working when the crash happened. Transportation to another universe and re-instantiation mostly happened to those who were much closer to ground zero, as it were.¡± ¡°Like me,¡± I said, reading between the lines. ¡°I have a copy who¡¯s running around out there.¡± He nodded. ¡°She¡¯s in our group,¡± he said. ¡°And we''re all in the same boat when it comes to going back. We can restore our loved ones to life, and they will have a version of us to come back to, but¡­ we can¡¯t go back.¡± ¡°Not even to visit?¡± I asked plaintively. ¡°Sorry,¡± he said. ¡°You share the same TUID as the others, so having two of you in the same universe will cause a crash.¡± ¡°Tooid?¡± ¡°TUID,¡± he replied, spelling the acronym out. ¡°Truly Universal Identifier. That¡¯s what we call the long number that identifies you to the universal system. You, the Kandis that will exist back on Earth and my Kandis all have the same TUID. That¡¯s why you could assimilate her memories.¡± ¡°My memories,¡± I insisted. Reggie shook his head. ¡°No,¡± he said. ¡°I mean, they¡¯re your memories now, sure. But you never experienced them.¡± ¡°How does that even work?¡± I muttered. ¡°If.. if you took my extra memories and transferred them to Earth Kandis, would that be the same as going there?¡± ¡°No,¡± Reggie said. ¡°It doesn¡¯t work that way. For a start, absorbing too many memories all at once can cause insanity. Second, you¡¯d still be here, the other Kandis would just gain some confusing memories. Third, if it did work that way, my Kandis would have first dibs.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just a copy, after all,¡± I said bitterly. Then another thought struck me. ¡°That¡¯s the second time you¡¯ve referred to her as your Kandis.¡± ¡°Ah¡­ Well.¡± Reggie grimaced and looked away. ¡°We¡¯re in a relationship,¡± he admitted. ¡°What? No! Eww!¡± My mouth made noises, but I wasn¡¯t responding in any meaningful way. I couldn¡¯t process this. He was having¡ª? With¡ª? ¡°It¡¯s not a big deal!¡± he assured me. ¡°Different people, different universes. Different experiences.¡± ¡°She¡¯s me!¡± I protested. ¡°She¡¯s not, though,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯ve both deviated from the template that you shared enough to be entirely separate people. You¡¯ve never even seen her.¡± ¡°And yet she managed to reach out and ruin my life here,¡± I said. ¡°As well as deny me even the possibility of going home.¡± ¡°We¡¯re not here to ruin anything,¡± Reggie said. ¡°We just need to copy some data and we can be gone.¡± ¡°You think you haven¡¯t already done damage?¡± I wondered. ¡°You¡¯re responsible for Cutter¡¯s death.¡± ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know who that is,¡± Reggie said. He looked over at Axel, who shook his head in reply. ¡°He didn¡¯t die inside me, if that¡¯s what you¡¯re thinking. I have no idea who it is either.¡± ¡°He was killed by one of those parasitic worms,¡± I said. ¡°Ah!¡± Axel exclaimed. ¡°I can¡¯t imagine an elf being called Cutter, so one of the little devils must have made it out into the wider world!¡± ¡°Try not to sound so pleased about it,¡± I spat. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll try, but you must admit it¡¯s quite an achievement,¡± Axel said with a sly grin. ¡°I think I¡¯m getting the picture,¡± Reggie said. ¡°Kandis, you have to understand that we¡¯re not working with a high degree of control here¡ª¡± ¡°I understand that your pet monster killed my friend. My party member.¡± ¡°I can take the blame for that, if that¡¯s what you want,¡± Reggie said evenly. ¡°We did what we had to, to restore the lives of billions. A hundred lives is nothing in the face of that.¡± ¡°Nothing! You¡ª¡± I stopped myself. Emotion didn¡¯t know logic, but some of those billions were my parents, my sister. My friends. Upset as I was, the numbers were too obvious to ignore. Don¡¯t let what you want blind you to the numbers. That was my training talking. Letting emotions cloud your judgment was the number one taboo of financial analysis. Take the loss and move on. ¡°You still haven¡¯t told us what you¡¯re after,¡± I said, grinding out the words. Reggie gave me a long, apprising look. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t have any other questions you want answered?¡± he asked. ¡°Not more than that one.¡± He shrugged. ¡°We¡¯re after the data of one person. Her backups were destroyed¡­ we¡¯re not clear on how. Like myself and¡­ the other Kandis, she was sent to another universe. Unlike us, she seems to have found herself in an empty one. We¡¯re not sure if it was just sitting there, or if the routines created it just for her. He looked at me pensively. ¡°Time doesn¡¯t work the way you think it does between universes. The rules are complex, but an important one is that the more things in a universe, the slower it runs. A million years must have passed for her by the time Kandis and I got our bearings. She was never a hacker, but she used to be surrounded by them. She understood the mindset, and in a million years, you can figure out anything if you put your mind to it.¡± Ashmor chuckled bitterly. ¡°You think you can just walk in and take her?¡± he asked. Reggie ignored the interruption. ¡°We¡¯re here for Trica. Trica Maynard,¡± he said. ¡°You know her as Ix. One way or another, she made everything in this universe and then figured out a way to commit suicide.¡± ¡°She¡¯s gone,¡± Fyskel said. ¡°If there was a way to bring her back¡ª¡± ¡°We wouldn¡¯t allow it,¡± Duit stated firmly. ¡°We¡¯re not going to give up our existence for someone who wanted to be dead.¡± ¡°No one said anything about bringing her back,¡± Reggie said. ¡°And as for her being gone, her data is still here. It might be theoretically possible to reconstruct her from the seven of you, but we don¡¯t need to. Her logs are still attached to your own histories.¡± He pulled a metallic ball out of his pocket and examined it closely. ¡°The one thing I appreciate more than anything else in my post-apocalyptic existence is the System interfaces,¡± he said. ¡°Having compute available to you at any time, waiting for a flick of the mind¡­ it was always a dream for me, and most of the BinNex guys.¡± The ball made a little chime. ¡°It can¡¯t do everything, though,¡± Reggie said. ¡°Data here exists as mana, which can¡¯t travel through the portal. So if I want to collate the log files of a certain seven people and send it back home, I need to put it in physical form.¡± He held up the ball and then tossed it through the portal. ¡°There, mission accomplished,¡± he said. ¡°Before I go, there¡¯s just one thing left to decide.¡± Chapter 248 - Trial I looked warily at Reggie, who looked back at me with all the smugness that a tech-bro could naturally generate. Other-me got together with this? There must have been extenuating circumstances. Getting trapped in a foreign dimension together or something. Still. ¡°I thought you had just the one thing you needed to do,¡± I said. Just one more thing? Does he think he¡¯s Steve Jobs or something? ¡°Oh yes,¡± Reggie agreed. ¡°Mission accomplished and all that. It¡¯s just¡­ before I go, do you want me to turn the gods back on? Or not?¡± You wouldn¡¯t have thought that a room full of people saying ¡°What?¡± would create such a cacophony. Well, all right, no one limited themselves to just that. It seemed that everyone had a strong opinion on the matter, or just a strong need to express their disbelief that Reggie would even ask the question. The gods, of course, were shouting in outrage. My companions and Borys were asking questions that might have some relevance. But even the dungeon inhabitants were shouting something, trying to make themselves heard in the din. Trying, and failing. Between the number of people with an opinion, the slightly echoing nature of the chamber and the instant escalation to shouting, no one could understand a word. ¡°Quiet.¡± I didn¡¯t speak that loudly, but I punctuated it by firing one of the cyberpunk guns into the ceiling. It wasn¡¯t too loud either, but pulling out the weapon was an implied threat to anyone in range, which let me use [Intimidate]. That had an effect. The skill flowed out of me, instantly silencing those with no resistance to it.
You have defeated Fyskel in a Tier 3 Social Contest! You have earned 1 XP
The meaningless notification was repeated for each of the gods and for each of the dungeon inhabitants. Not for any of my companions though. Either they were too strong to be cowed by a simple [Intimidate] or they hadn¡¯t taken my shot to be a threat¡ªwhich was fair enough. It wasn¡¯t. They did shut up though. The chamber was silent, with everyone looking at me. ¡°Are you seriously going to let us make that decision?¡± I asked. I was being generous with the word ¡®us¡¯ there. If Reggie had intended to listen to the gods, he would have just restored them. The dungeon inhabitants had only learned that the gods existed about five minutes ago. I doubted they had anything relavent to bring to the table. Even if they did, they and the gods had just lost a Social Contest with me. For the next twenty-four hours, they were bound to not go against me. My companions did have enough knowledge of the gods to make their opinions relevant. More than I did, to be honest. Despite that, they usually followed my lead. That left Borys as the only other independent speaker. Still, that made two, so ¡®us¡¯ was appropriate. Reggie shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t have feelings about it one way or the other,¡± he said. ¡°All it affects is how fast I need to dash for the portal afterwards. I don¡¯t have the time or inclination to poll the entire population, so you guys are it. What did you want to do?¡± ¡°What¡­ happens if we decide to keep them supressed?¡± Reggie looked over at the fuming gods. ¡°They¡¯re not entirely mortals,¡± he said. ¡°They have some perks that aren¡¯t normally available, like unaging. If they can get to level ten, they should be able to unlock their powers again.¡± ¡°What? Level ten is godhood?¡± I¡¯d never heard that. Then again, I¡¯d never heard of anyone reaching level ten. ¡°Not¡­ quite?¡± Reggie sounded doubtful. ¡°But it should be enough to unlock the powers they already have. That¡¯s assuming they don¡¯t find a hack like the one I used before then.¡± I stared at Reggie, trying to articulate my next question. Was level ten a realistic possibility? Would Reggie even be able to tell me that? The chaotic jumble of my thoughts was interrupted by Fyskel. ¡°Dearest Kandis,¡± he said. I rolled my eyes. Apparently, buttering me up didn¡¯t count as going against me. ¡°No doubt you¡¯re thinking,¡± he continued, ¡°that you can¡¯t afford to restore our powers, as even considering the opposite will be taken as traitorous and punished accordingly.¡± ¡°Well, now I¡¯m thinking that.¡± He bowed, with only a trace of his usual mockery. ¡°Two things,¡± he said. ¡°First, we are well aware that thoughts do not constitute actions. We¡¯ve been aware of your disdain from the beginning and have not punished it. Rather, we cherish your independent spirit.¡± ¡°Disdain? I think you mean outrage,¡± I said. I glared at him¡ªwith disdain. ¡°Outrage at being dragged out of my life and into this madness.¡± ¡°As it turns out, we didn¡¯t do that,¡± he pointed out. ¡°This fellow, and his comrades, were the ones who ripped your life away from you. All we did was pick up the pieces, and in the service of a greater good.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a good point,¡± I said, turning my glare on Reggie. ¡°Hey,¡± he said. ¡°We¡¯ve moved Heaven and multiple Earths to make our mistake right.¡± I grunted. ¡°What was the second thing?¡± I asked Fyskel. ¡°The second thing is that our agreement is still in place. Should you restore your powers, we will return to the status quo and any god that takes offence at anything that was said or done or thought by anyone here will be prevented from acting directly. Agreed?¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The other gods, who had all jumped from their seats when this topic started, muttered or nodded agreement with varying degrees of enthusiasm. ¡°Good to know,¡± Cloridan said. There was a phutt sound and Ashmor exploded. Everyone stared in shock. Cloridan was holding one of the little cyberpunk pistols from the third floor, of the same type that was currently in my hand. It wasn¡¯t the most damaging weapon, but Ashmor was only level one. The gun put a hole in his chest considerably bigger than his head.
Your party has killed a God - your experience share is 2 XP
Fyskel was the first one to break out of his shock. Even Cloridan was still, shaken by the enormity of what he¡¯d done. ¡°No! You can¡¯t¡ª¡± he rushed over to Ashmor¡¯s fallen body and dropped to his knees in front of it. ¡°Please, you¡¯ve got to help¡ª¡± he looked over at Felicia. ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡ªhe¡¯s dead,¡± she said helplessly. ¡°It was too fast¡­¡± ¡°Maybe the rest of them can make the case that they should go back,¡± Cloridan declared. ¡°But not that guy.¡± Like most of the people in the room, I just stared. Cloridan didn¡¯t seem inclined to massacre more gods, so there wasn¡¯t anything I needed to do right now. The other gods had gathered around Fyskel who had started sobbing over the corpse. They seemed shaken, if not as upset as Fyskel was. None of them seemed happy. ¡°Emotions running high, I guess?¡± Reggie said. ¡°I¡ªCloridan¡ªwe¡ª¡± was all I managed to say. Borys was a bit more composed. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I want him getting his powers back in this state,¡± he said. ¡°Is this an all-or-nothing thing?¡± ¡°It is,¡± Reggie told him. ¡°Though¡­ there is a loophole, as you¡¯ve found.¡± ¡°If you turn the powers back on, will he come back to life?¡± I asked. ¡°No, he¡¯s gone,¡± Reggie said. ¡°And before you ask, I can¡¯t bring him back. Once your code is marked as dead, we can¡¯t change it. There¡¯s talk about making that our next project, once the Earth is back up and running¡­ but that¡¯s a long way away.¡± ¡°Ending death? Is that possible? Could you¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a dream,¡± he said. ¡°The data is there, we just have to find a way to activate it. And find a place to put them all.¡± My mind was spinning with the possibilities, but I was getting ahead of myself. We had other things to decide. I looked over to the dungeon folk. ¡°What were you shouting about, before?¡± I asked. Then I pointed to Travis, because I didn¡¯t want them all speaking at once. ¡°If he¡¯s turning them back into gods, can he turn us as well? Gotta be better than monsters.¡± I raised an eyebrow. ¡°Bold of you to think we¡¯d make the likes of you into gods,¡± I said. ¡°Is that the same for the rest of you?¡± ¡°It was more about not being monsters than turning us into gods,¡± Evan said. ¡°Though I wouldn¡¯t say no if that was on the table.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± Reggie said. ¡°I can¡¯t do either of those things. We don¡¯t have enough control, even with the extra rights. What I can do¡­¡± He trailed off, thinking. ¡°Yeah. You¡¯re all 21st-century American humans, right? Or you think you are, at least.¡± ¡°We are that,¡± Evan insisted. ¡°Maybe we¡¯re not¡­ original ones. But we are Americans.¡± ¡°Fair enough,¡± Reggie said. ¡°What I can offer is¡­ passage out of here. Step through the portal. You¡¯ll lose your Monster status and will just be a human like any other on that world. You¡¯ll need to make a new start, find a job and all that, but it¡¯s better than being a monster.¡± ¡°Hey, wait a minute!¡± Axel protested. ¡°I wanted to mix the Monsters with the humans!¡± I snorted. ¡°You wanted to see who murdered who, you mean. That sounds like a better offer than mine. You should take it.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you¡¯d take care of us?¡± Marta, the older schoolteacher, asked. ¡°He hasn¡¯t offered¡­ much of anything.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t promise anything. I¡¯m afraid taking on refugees is outside my authority. But they¡¯re not going to kick you out once you¡¯re there. And¡­ it¡¯s modern. There¡¯s modern jobs to be had, not like beast-skinning or whatever they do here.¡± ¡°The jobs aren¡¯t that bad, but they use skills that you don¡¯t get. So¡­ you¡¯re always going to be wards of the state. Or me.¡± They all looked at each other uncertainly. ¡°Can we have some time to discuss it?¡± Evan asked. ¡°Sure. Have you got any opinions on the god thing?¡± ¡°The virus is already God. We need no others.¡± Dr. Huang looked startled at the words that had come out of her mouth. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ sorry. I don¡¯t know why I said that.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, I know who¡¯s to blame,¡± I said, shooting a glare at Axel. He smirked right back at me. ¡°What about the rest of you?¡± They muttered and looked at each other, trying to form a consensus. Finally, Dr Emily spoke up. ¡°If we¡¯re not going to stay, perhaps we shouldn¡¯t have a say,¡± she said. ¡°But we don¡¯t see a pressing reason to return their powers.¡± I nodded and turned back to my friends. ¡°So what do you guys think? Use your words, please, and not guns.¡± Cloridan stared back at me, unfazed. ¡°It was the right thing to do,¡± he said unrepentantly. ¡°That guy¡­ he wanted to destroy everything. There was never going to be a better chance to get rid of him for good, and the world is a better place for it.¡± ¡°I would have said that no one was sad to see him go, but that clearly isn¡¯t true,¡± I said, looking over at Fyskel, who was still sobbing over the body. ¡°Fyskel was pretty unpopular, but you didn¡¯t shoot him.¡± ¡°He¡¯s an untrustworthy weasel, but he has helped, at times,¡± Cloridan said. ¡°I don¡¯t think we should give him his powers back, but he doesn¡¯t deserve to be put down like a dog.¡± ¡°But we need the gods, don¡¯t we?¡± Felicia asked. ¡°They¡¯ve guided and protected us throughout history.¡± ¡°History only started when they agreed to keep their interference to a minimum,¡± Cloridan argued. ¡°They agreed that they needed to be kept in check.¡± ¡°They did fuck up a lot, from what I¡¯ve heard,¡± I agreed. ¡°Borys? What do you think?¡± Borys had been focussing on Cloridan, ready for another murder attempt. Now he looked at me. ¡°They won¡¯t be happy if they don¡¯t get their powers back,¡± he said. ¡°You should think about the damage they can do as they are now.¡± ¡°Like what?¡± I asked. ¡°Once they get a few levels, sure, but now?¡± ¡°I still have my gifts,¡± he told me. ¡°So the churches will still be around. They¡¯ll still need the gods to grant them their powers.¡± ¡°Can they do that, without powers of their own?¡± I asked Reggie. He had been listening in to the conversation with interest. ¡°Eh, not sure,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s a complex setup. Give me a couple of hours and I could work it out, but I don¡¯t want to take that kind of time.¡± ¡°So they can grant themselves their priestly powers,¡± I said. ¡°That will still take a few levels to get dangerous.¡± ¡°But if they get their church behind them, and come after you, there will be trouble,¡± Borys pointed out. ¡°Do you think they can? Will your patron get the support of his church?¡± Borys gave a snort of laughter. ¡°Those bastards,¡± he said. ¡°They only respect strength, and he¡¯s not strong anymore¡­ but they¡¯re smart enough to know that they need him. Might be worth it just to see how it pans out.¡± ¡°Kyle?¡± I asked the only one of us that hadn¡¯t spoken yet. He frowned. ¡°I¡¯m not sure, but I think¡­ my vote is for no powers.¡± ¡°Kyle!¡± Felicia objected. ¡°We have to give them their powers back,¡± she said insistently. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be right to have them just¡­ wandering around like regular people.¡± ¡°No powers,¡± Cloridan said. ¡°Let them work for what they get, like the rest of us.¡± I looked a Borys, who hesitated. ¡°No powers,¡± he finally said. ¡°I¡¯ll work something out with Rakaro.¡± ¡°Sorry Felicia,¡± I said. ¡°I feel pretty comfortable siding with the majority.¡± I looked at Reggie. ¡°We¡¯ll take no return of powers, thanks.¡± Chapter 249 - Exit, Stage Out. The words came too easily. Had I just freed this world from tyrants or destroyed its only protectors? I didn¡¯t know. I was entirely unqualified for a decision of that magnitude. I was also off-kilter emotionally. Recent revelations about the other mes and how Earth could be saved, but I could never return there, were digging into my state of mind, demanding to be dealt with. None of that showed on my face. [Charm] still worked its magic, projecting a calm and confident demeanour. It wasn¡¯t getting any information to work with from Reggie, but I could see for myself that he was unconcerned by my decision. ¡°That¡¯s the easier choice for me,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll see if these guys are ready to emigrate, and then I¡¯ll be out of your hair.¡± He stuck out his hand and I shook it automatically. ¡°It was nice meeting this you,¡± he said, as if he did this all the time. Perhaps he did. ¡°Likewise,¡± I said. Really, [Charm] said it. I was still trying to cope with everything that had happened, but [Charm] was all over the meaningless social pleasantries. ¡°You know how to contact us if you need to,¡± Reggie said. He gestured at the portal. ¡°I recommend you don¡¯t unless there¡¯s a real emergency. Dimensions aren¡¯t meant to mix.¡± ¡°Right,¡± I agreed, though that advice seemed pretty rich, coming from him. I could think of a few reasons we might need to contact him¡ªanother dimensional invasion or we needed the gods turned back on¡ªbut that was a problem for a future Kandis. Far, far future Kandis. He flashed one last grin at me and then turned away to chivvy the dungeon inhabitants into the portal. That left me with the gods. Or¡­ ex-gods. ¡°All right, we¡¯re leaving. On your feet, all those who are coming with.¡± The gods looked at me warily. They were, actually, already standing, except for Fyskel who rose slowly to his feet. He had been crying. I could see the blotches on his face. Before he could say anything, Duit stepped forward. She was a severe-looking woman, but that was mostly her expression and the plain cut of her clothes. She wore a single piece of jewellery, an elaborate golden necklace that held a golden gem, carved to look like the sun. She looked to be about forty, and her face would have been pleasant to look at if she wasn¡¯t scowling at me. ¡°When are we getting our powers back?¡± she demanded of me. ¡°You¡¯re not,¡± I said. There was a murmur of outrage, but it stayed subdued. They were still under my thumb. However, if they got much angrier, I might see the limits of a Tier 3 Social contest. Some of these gods looked ready to try for a Tier 2. I found myself unconcerned at the prospect. They might have found the time to spend their points on Abilities, but they were still level one. ¡°You cannot be serious,¡± Duit said. ¡°We need¡ªRyvue needs us to have our powers back.¡± I guess that a murder is distraction enough that I can¡¯t blame them for not paying attention. But they should have been paying attention. ¡°Well, too bad,¡± I said. ¡°Ryvue wasn¡¯t here, just a bunch of folk that you¡¯ve been jerking around as your own personal playthings.¡± ¡°Kandis!¡± Felicia gasped. ¡°Kandis!¡± Fyskel echoed. He pushed Duit aside. ¡°Powers or not, whatever grudge you hold against some of us, you can¡¯t intend to let this murder go unpunished!¡± He glared at Cloridan who looked¡­ let¡¯s say unrepentant. That sounds better than ¡°considering whether to make it two murders¡±. ¡°I¡¯m never happy about unnecessary killing,¡± I said evenly. ¡°But this is Ashmor we¡¯re talking about. Was there anyone, other than you, who wanted him alive?¡± I looked at the other gods when I asked that question, challenging them to answer. None of them would meet my, or Fyskel¡¯s eyes. ¡°As for murder,¡± I continued. ¡°I was told that Dungeons are places that are outside of the law, at least in Latorra. Is it different in Aeloria?¡± I looked at Toriao for the answer. She still had the long black and silver hair, but she¡¯d changed into a more traditional mage''s robe, black with silver inscriptions embroidered thickly all over it. She shook her head. ¡°It is not,¡± she admitted. ¡°The elves make no claim of jurisdiction over any dungeon, not even this one.¡± ¡°I doubt you¡¯re going to look to Axel for anything resembling justice,¡± I said. ¡°No one has yet!¡± Axel declared cheerfully. ¡°Too bad, because I wanted to give him a medal of achievement!¡± ¡°I thought you believed in justice, at least,¡± Fyskel said reproachfully. ¡°Ashmor wasn¡¯t a part of our game, he wasn¡¯t someone you had a grudge with. He never dragged you¡ª¡± ¡°He was behind everything bad that happened in Dorsay,¡± I said grimly. ¡°So many people died because of him. He got his claws into Maslin¡­ who knows what he had planned. And he orchestrated at least half of all this.¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. I gestured around at our current situation and looked at Axel for confirmation. ¡°He did help,¡± Axel admitted. ¡°Maybe about a quarter of it was him.¡± ¡°This is nothing more than his own scheme come around to bite him. You¡¯ll have to watch out for that, now that you¡¯re mortal.¡± Fyskel glared at me, but he didn¡¯t say anything. He knew he couldn¡¯t win any confrontation, be it social, magical or physical. ¡°Right,¡± I said. ¡°Axel, make with the exit teleportation.¡± ¡°Sah, yes Sah!¡± Axel barked, putting himself briefly in a military uniform. ¡°We can¡¯t leave him here!¡± Fyskel objected. I looked at him with a degree of pity. ¡°You can bring him with us if you like,¡± I said. ¡°But I¡¯d think very carefully about whether handing his corpse over to the elves will get him treated more respectfully than leaving him with Axel.¡± Now that he knew it would upset Fyskel, Axel probably would do something nasty to the corpse. But the elves¡­ I got the feeling that of all the people who hated Ashmor, the elves were at the top of the list. They¡¯d probably put his tomb in the depths of their sewer system so that every litre of waste found its way past Ashmor¡¯s dead body. Or maybe they¡¯d take their time, really workshop it, and come up with something worse. I looked over the other gods. ¡°The same goes for all of you, you might want to think about how the elves are going to react to you. They didn¡¯t seem to like you all that much.¡± ¡°It will be fine,¡± Toriao said serenely. ¡°The elves are not ones to lord their greater power over others.¡± She gave me a look and I realised that she was throwing shade in my direction. I sent an unimpressed look back. The gods were hardly in a position to talk about lording it over others. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here,¡± I said, as a teleportation circle started glowing on the floor. I looked over and saw that Reggie was leading the others into his portal. No one seemed to be hanging back or coming our way. ¡°Axel, I presume the elves'' problem with demons is now over?¡± ¡°Sure thing, buddy,¡± Axel said. ¡°Nothing but safe demon invaders from now on.¡± I took a deep breath. ¡°And can I please ask you to not make sentient beings just to torture them?¡± Axel laughed, long and loud. I took three deep breaths while I waited for him to stop. If we destroyed him, we¡¯d also be destroying every sentient being in the dungeon. But if we left him alone, he¡¯d eventually flush every single one of them down the drain and make new ones, just to be tortured or destroyed by incoming delvers. I hated Trolley Problems. ¡°Haaahhh¡­¡± Axel finally let his laughter fade into a sigh. ¡°No. But I¡¯ll tell you what, I¡¯ll cut down on it a bit. Maybe ten percent or so. Start a twelve-step program.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take what I can get,¡± I said and stepped onto the teleportation circle. I didn¡¯t want to spend a moment more in there.
The elves had questions. Not that many questions, they just kept repeating the same ones because they didn¡¯t believe the answers. At first, they thought that the gods were just some trick of Axel¡¯s, that he¡¯d managed to spoof [Identify]. This offended the gods no end, inspiring them to extra effort to prove their bona fides. What convinced them in the end was the wealth of secret knowledge the gods had about the elven nation and its citizens. Knowledge that only years of invisible spying could have provided. It was more than a little disturbing how much they knew. I¡¯m not sure if the elves were actually convinced or if they just wanted the gods to stop creeping them out. Once they¡¯d accepted the idea that the gods were mortal now, they moved on to what to do with them. They also wanted to give Cloridan a medal. Killing the rest of the gods was pushed by a small, but vocal minority. That plan was voted down, and for once I was glad of the elven habit of suppressing all dissent. Just throwing them out of the country was considered the same as killing them. They were level ones after all, and couldn¡¯t survive without adult supervision. That didn¡¯t leave them with many options, and so the Administratum reluctantly extended an invitation to stay in Aeloria. Duit, Rakaro, Fyskel and Naldyna declined the invitation. Rakaro wanted to go back to his mountain temple, escorted by Borys. I don¡¯t know what he promised Borys to get him to agree. The elves decided that while Borys was an adequate escort, they should send some elves along to ensure that Rakaro didn¡¯t die on the journey. What happened to him after that was none of their concern. Fyskel and Naldyna opted to travel to the beast-kin gathering place. It was obvious why Naldyna wanted to, but apparently, Fyskel got on surprisingly well with the beast-kin. Thinking about their political system did make me wonder if he¡¯d had a hand in designing it. We were going back through beast-kin territory, and we were deemed as suitable escorts, so that pair would be travelling with us. Along with a few elves and Duit, who wanted to come with us back to Latorra. No doubt she wanted to link up with Isidre and whatever temple staff she could find in that nation. ¡°Go in peace, Champions¡­ if that term is still appropriate.¡± Thalverianeu, the head administrator for the elves was holding a small, private departure ceremony for our group. The elves had a ceremony for everything it seemed. Just letting us leave was out of the question, but there was a ceremony for honoured guests that you were glad to see the back of. ¡°You did resolve the issue we called on you for, and we are grateful. How we feel about the rest of it will take some time to determine, but I am confident this will eventually be seen as a boon.¡± ¡°That¡¯s the most nuanced statement of gratitude that I¡¯ve heard in a while,¡± I said dryly. Though, the King¡¯s gratitude hadn¡¯t exactly been unalloyed. Thalverianeu inclined his head in acknowledgement. ¡°You are welcome to return if you wish. The guards will be notified of your status. It would be best, however, if you held off on returning¡­ for perhaps a decade or so.¡± ¡°And you are going to open up diplomatic relations with the tribes?¡± I asked. ¡°As agreed,¡± he said. ¡°One of your guards will act as an Envoy. It¡¯s possible that with Naldyna living among them, their politics will become more centralised and less¡­ annoying.¡± He glanced apologetically at Elder Thal who seemed fairly resigned to hearing his government being bad-mouthed. He must be used to it if he did much diplomacy. ¡°That includes trade, right?¡± I pressed. I hadn¡¯t tried to get an actual trade deal signed. Without an elf to help me there was no way that I could out-bargain an elf. Still, just getting them to agree to open trade had been a breakthrough. ¡°We will consider it, if we find something worthwhile,¡± he agreed. ¡°Well then, it was all worth it,¡± I said. ¡°I hardly think so,¡± Duit put in. If her gaze could have a physical effect, I would be drowning in acid. Maybe she was trying to do that? ¡°I hardly think the loss of our godhood was worth a few paltry trinkets.¡± ¡°You¡¯re making a big assumption about what side of the scale that loss is,¡± I said. She scowled at me some more, and the feeling that I should be burning in acid intensified. I ignored it. ¡°Time to head out,¡± I said. We were retracing our route home, but this time we had escorts and guides that were moderately trustworthy. Hopefully, the trip back home should be much less fraught. Chapter 250 - On the Way Home ¡°This is all so¡­¡± The owl-kin¡¯s feathered ears twitched as Tinidan searched for the word he was looking for. ¡°Unexpected!¡± I sighed. I had sent a message ahead of us that included all the relevant details when we got to the first beast-kin village. A single beast-kin warrior couldn¡¯t travel much faster than a small party, but the equation changed when that party contained a few fragile Level Ones. The fastest way would have been to simply carry the helpless ex-gods and travel at full speed, but the gods, and our escorting elves, felt that would be beneath their dignity. So we carried them in a metaphorical sense, keeping them alive as we trudged through the forest at speeds a normal human could maintain. Fyskel, Naldyna and Duit were all Level Two now, through no real effort of their own. The real effort had been put in by me, convincing the escorts to allow the group to ¡°participate¡± in the encounters on the way back. That meant allowing them to come close enough to the fight to count as in danger, while not allowing them to come into any real peril. I¡¯d hoped to get them to Level Three, but our high levels sucked all the experience out of any encounter we were in. So Tinidan had been warned, he simply hadn¡¯t believed me. Now the Temple¡ªif that was the right word for a group so profoundly disorganised¡ªwas all aflutter at the prospect of hosting their favourite god. The other gods had made much less of an impact and had received a much cooler welcome. Duit had affected a standoffish attitude that the beast-kin were happy to reciprocate. Fyskel was more friendly, apparently undiscouraged by the lacklustre response. Eventually, some more friendly beast-kin showed up. They didn¡¯t wear robes, but I suspected that I was looking at the local members of his priesthood. They were heavily outnumbered by Naldyna¡¯s worshippers, though, who seemed ecstatic at the chance to shake hands, hug or kiss the physical form of their goddess. They turned our walk through the city into a parade, eager to usher her into taking a seat under their most holy tree. Since that was also the political centre of the city, that was where we were going as well. Tinidan had come to meet me¡ªand his apprentice, Lira. Now he was walking by my side, along with Duit and Felicia. The four of us were kept in a bubble, kept safe by Cloridan, Kyle and our elf guards. ¡°I¡¯m surprised that Naldyna hasn¡¯t tried to turn them all against us, as the ones that refused to give you back your powers,¡± I said to Duit. She glared at me but kept her answer polite. I wasn¡¯t sure if that was because she was always polite, or if she recognised the difference in our levels. ¡°Naldyna is very¡­ accepting,¡± she said sourly. ¡°She does not believe in control of any kind. I am surprised that she hasn¡¯t spent this trip screaming at you, but I suppose that she is under the same constraints as I.¡± ¡°You mean, she won¡¯t come after me directly right now, because that would be suicide, and she doesn¡¯t want to motivate her followers to do¡­ anything?¡± ¡°Correct,¡± Duit said. ¡°It might be different if there was a remote possibility of getting the decision reversed, but Naldyna does not seek revenge on those who have wronged her.¡± Duit¡¯s body language was telling me clearly that the same did not hold true for her. She was trying to hide it, no doubt for fear that I would eliminate a future problem by eliminating her. Now that she was Level Two we didn¡¯t have to worry so much about killing her accidentally, but deliberate attacks were still going to succeed no matter what she tried to do about them. The Church of Life was a considerable force in Latora. I got the feeling that once Duit reconnected they would be coming after me in force. Concerning as that was, I had more immediate concerns. ¡°I am going to be able to meet with the Council when we get to the tree, right?¡± I asked Tinidan. ¡°It¡¯s not going to be taken over by all¡­ this?¡± I gestured at the procession in front of me. They had found a litter from somewhere and placed Naldyna on it. This greatly sped up their progress, as the bearers could walk much faster than the goddess could. It also meant that she couldn¡¯t stop every step to greet every fervent believer who crossed her path. She was reduced to waving at them as they went by, a much more efficient procedure. Part of me marvelled at the fact that the beast-kin had managed to come up with a method that wasn¡¯t the least efficient option possible. ¡°Oh, yes, don¡¯t worry,¡± Tinidan said. ¡°I admit that we might not have believed everything in your letter, but the fact of your return couldn¡¯t be doubted.¡± ¡°The council isn¡¯t going to get distracted by this¡­ celebration?¡± I wasn¡¯t sure if celebration was the word. Naldyna was happy to be among her people but she wasn¡¯t happy about losing her powers. Even if she did disdain controlling her followers, they were sure to pick up on that eventually.Stolen novel; please report. Tinidan seemed to understand my concern. ¡°I think celebration is correct,¡± he told me. ¡°If only Naldyna had been affected in this way there would be much more concern, but the playing field remains even. And removing Ashmor from this world is¡­ a considerable achievement.¡± He looked over at Cloridan, with something approaching awe. ¡°Don¡¯t say that where Fyskel can hear you,¡± I said. ¡°Their relationship stretches¡ªstretched¡ª further than the existence of this world, Kandis Hammond,¡± Duit said sternly. ¡°It was deeper and more complex than anything you are capable of understanding.¡± ¡°Yeah, us mortals don¡¯t go much deeper than ¡®I don¡¯t want to die¡¯,¡± I said. ¡°A phrase I appreciate in a new light,¡± Duit said bitterly. ¡°My own feelings about Ashmor are¡­ conflicted.¡± ¡°Yeah, he did say that you all made deals with him, even though he was outside the Game. How many of those deals did you regret?¡± ¡°Many,¡± Duit admitted. ¡°But not all, or even most.¡± Each one of those deals amounted to someone or something that Duit wanted destroyed, I reminded myself. Something that she couldn¡¯t convince the other gods to go along with. Even if you thought that the Game was a good way to limit the damage from the gods¡¯ actions, the corrupting influence of Ashmor was always there. I made the right decision, I assured myself. This world is better off without gods. ¡°As to whether the Council will get caught up in the festivities¡­¡± Tinidan said thoughtfully. ¡°Perhaps a little. But it will only be a small delay.¡± ¡°A small delay?¡± I asked incredulously. ¡°These guys look like they¡¯re going to be drinking for the next week.¡± Tinidan laughed, but he didn¡¯t deny what I said. ¡°The Council is made up of elders, they¡¯re more responsible than that,¡± he said. ¡°And besides¡­¡± He looked at me quizzically. ¡°You weren¡¯t expecting to wrap this up in a single day, were you?¡± I groaned. Tribal politics were going to be the death of me.
¡°We are forced to admit that you have achieved everything that we could have hoped for¡­ and more.¡± Kael Ironhide¡¯s smile belied his reluctant admission. The words he spoke were not his, but were the product of a committee, endlessly hashed out between the council elders. There were a few voices there that wanted to cast all my achievements in the worst light, to deny that I¡¯d helped¡­ but they couldn¡¯t argue with the results in front of their eyes. The wording was a concession, to ease them into the consensus. Kael was not on one of those factions, however, so his smile was as genuine as a politician¡¯s smile ever got. He was on the Trade Faction, as I called it, so my success was his political advantage. ¡°As such, the Council has agreed to support your novel modifications to our laws to allow for registered business corporations.¡± Oh yes. ¡°I suppose that the details have been hashed out already?¡± I asked. ¡°Indeed,¡± Kael said. The bear-kin handed me a loose stack of papers. I went over it quickly. On my last visit, I¡¯d provided them with an outline of the regulations I was familiar with, and the reasoning behind them. Some changes were expected, if only to assert their sovereignty, but this¡­ I could work with this. One of the drawbacks of making changes to a regulatory framework that had been fought over for two hundred years was that the changes tended to make it less confining. I pointed at one particular clause. ¡°I did warn you guys about the loopholes this opens up for avoiding taxes.¡± Zara Nightshadow, a wolf-kin who had absorbed my lessons last time more quickly than the others, sighed. ¡°I know,¡± she said. ¡°But the wider group couldn¡¯t be convinced.¡± ¡°I will hold off on exploiting it until I hear others have started doing it,¡± I said magnanimously. ¡°I¡¯d actually prefer it if you didn¡¯t,¡± Zara said. Her ears twitched with irritation. ¡°The sooner it gets exploited, the sooner I can convince them to change it.¡± ¡°Yeah, no thanks,¡± I countered. ¡°That would also make it easier for the isolationists to scapegoat me for tax evasion.¡± I glanced over at Thorne Emberstripe, leader of the isolationists, and one of the ones who had been hardest to win over. I wondered if ¡®scapegoat¡¯ was translating correctly. A direct translation might be offensive to goat-kin. Not that there were any in the room, but¡­ ¡°We¡¯ve also prepared a suitable reward in the form of trade goods,¡± Kael said, getting the conversation back on track. ¡°The result was too much for your party to carry, so we also hired a caravan. He handed me a sheet with the details. ¡°Fantastic, thank you very much,¡± I said, perusing the list. Just a quick glance now would let me go over it in detail using [Memorise]. ¡°As for your other, revelations,¡± Kael said delicately. ¡°We weren¡¯t able to come to an agreement as to what a suitable reward should be for killing Ashmor. Or for bringing Naldyna to us. Of course, there are those who say you should be punished for severing her in the first place.¡± ¡°Is that what you¡¯re calling it?¡± I asked. ¡°For now,¡± he said, shrugging. ¡°Well that seems fair,¡± I allowed. ¡°If you are feeling a little bit indebted to me, there¡¯s a meeting you could help arrange.¡±
¡°You¡¯ve got some nerve,¡± Naldyna said, ¡°coming to me and asking for favours after what you did.¡± She leaned back into her¡­ throne, for want of a better word. It was a seat that was raised up above me, meeting the basic definition. However, it was woven out of still-living vines, making it more of an upright hammock. It looked more comfortable than the average throne. Naldyna herself was looking more fresh and vital than she had when we left the elves. Her hair was still made of plants, a sign that while she might not be a god anymore, she wasn¡¯t entirely human either. ¡°You¡¯re going to be a major political force within the tribes, who are my immediate neighbours and trading partners,¡± I said. ¡°I can¡¯t ignore you. It¡¯s understandable that you disagree with the choice I made, but it¡¯s done. You need to deal with it and move on.¡± ¡°Deal with it?¡± Naldyna exclaimed, her voice rising. ¡°How can I deal with it? I can¡¯t even comprehend the magnitude of my loss any more! How can I move on, when every part of this stifling mortal existence reminds me of what I lost?¡± I swallowed nervously and readied a quick [Greater Invisibility]. But bankers have no souls and I couldn¡¯t show weakness. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ve gathered enough followers by now to kill me, if that¡¯s what you want,¡± I said. ¡°But¡ª¡± ¡°Oh, how I wish I could,¡± Naldyna snarled. ¡°But¡ªpart of me thinks you might have been right.¡± Chapter 251 - Real Talk I was so shocked, I dropped out of [Charm]. I didn¡¯t even know that was possible. Perhaps it wasn¡¯t, perhaps [Charm] just decided that an actually honest, unmediated response was the the best move here. ¡°Uh, what?¡± I said. ¡°A small part,¡± Naldyna clarified. ¡°A very small part. One not shared with the others, I can assure you!¡± Yeah, [Charm] doesn¡¯t know what it¡¯s talking about. I¡¯d heard it said that for any proposition, there was at least one god in favour of it. And at least one god against it as well. ¡°Really? You¡¯re the god that''s in favour of removing the gods?¡± ¡°No.¡± Naldyna scowled at me. ¡°Not at all. But I am in favour of the mortal races being free to develop at their own pace. Even under the rules of our Game, most of the others are still intent on interfering.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re not in favour of it, but you can see some benefits.¡± ¡°Some, I suppose. Far outweighed by the dangers you have subjected the world to, but¡­ there¡¯s nothing to be done about that now. And also¡­ She paused, hesitating over whether to tell me. ¡°If you had not been there at all, if Reggie had come through on his own, I would have been there. So close to my beast-kin, how could I not? Few of the others would have. We would have been trapped, and the others left free. That would have been a disaster.¡± ¡°Well¡­ I don¡¯t know that he would have come through if he couldn¡¯t guarantee you were all there,¡± I said. ¡°I suspect that he could have achieved his goals with just one of us. Rendering all of us helpless made his task safer, not easier. Perhaps he would have restored us, and the balance, but I don¡¯t think he cared overmuch for that.¡± ¡°It could have gone either way,¡± I allowed. ¡°So, does this mean we can develop a working relationship?¡± She glared at me some more. ¡°For now, perhaps. I will get my godhood back¡­ eventually.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you will,¡± I said diplomatically. ¡°Why did you wait to ask me about this?¡± Naldyna asked suddenly. ¡°It would have felt a bit like extortion,¡± I answered. ¡°Asking for favours while I was responsible for keeping you alive. Our positions feel more even, now.¡± This was mostly an illusion. Sure, Naldyna was sitting up on her throne, and she probably had hidden guards around¡­ but she was still level two. I could kill her with a quick [Iron Dart], a spell I was so weak at that I couldn¡¯t use it in combat. Her guards might prove a hindrance, or perhaps be able to avenge her, but I didn¡¯t think they had an answer for [Invisibility] Not that it mattered, since I wasn¡¯t going to attack her. ¡°Hmmph. I already know what you¡¯re here for. It wasn¡¯t that long ago that I was almost omniscient. I know what you¡¯re headed into.¡± ¡°Nice to have confirmation, I suppose,¡± I said wryly. I¡¯d really hoped that this wouldn¡¯t be necessary, but I guess those hopes were officially dashed. ¡°I¡¯m sure it is. But is not the priestess there sufficient for your needs? Tonet, I think her name was. She is as skilled as any priestess that I might lend you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure she is,¡± I said. ¡°But there is the small matter that she didn¡¯t tell me that she had the ability to undo [Mind Magic]. It makes me feel that she can¡¯t be trusted to help.¡± ¡°Perhaps not,¡± Naldyna allowed. ¡°She has little love for Latorrans. However, you should not think too badly of her.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± I asked. ¡°Consider how it feels to be the lynchpin of someone else¡¯s strategy against a deadly and ruthless opponent,¡± Naldyna suggested. ¡°Were Tonet your only defence against Marrienne Rankin, she would surely be a target for assassination. Her ability can¡¯t be concealed from a mind mage who attacks the same target twice.¡± Which was a roundabout way of saying that if the Countess targeted the same person twice, she¡¯d see the memory of Tonet removing the earlier spell. Maybe we could mitigate that by having her work from hiding¡­ ¡°Is that fear going to impede the rest of your priestesses?¡± I asked. ¡°That depends. [Mind Heal] is not meant as a defence, it is a tool of attack. Do you have the resolution to drive this snake from your town?¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°I¡¯d rather kill her,¡± I said bleakly. ¡°That might cause problems with the King, but letting her live seems like a mistake.¡± ¡°I thought you were against killing.¡± ¡°I am,¡± I agreed. ¡°I just don¡¯t see any other way, that doesn¡¯t leave her to come back and bite me. Not to mention Talnier.¡± Naldyna nodded slowly. ¡°Perhaps you are not lost to the Way of the Wild,¡± she said. ¡°You are not there yet, but you can learn.¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy with my current moral stance, thanks. So can I get some priestesses? Or priests, I¡¯m not fussy.¡± ¡°I will send two with you,¡± she decided. ¡°Added to Tonet, that should be enough.¡± ¡°Great! What is that going to cost me?¡± This was better than I had hoped. If Naldyna hadn¡¯t come through, I was planning on approaching some of the clergy directly. Since Naldyna wasn¡¯t big on control, I figured she wouldn¡¯t stop any priest or priestess that I managed to convince. But this was better. ¡°We are not like your greed-loving civilisation,¡± Naldyna said with disdain. ¡°We do not put a price on every thing, while valuing it not. Mind magic is a cancer on society that needs to be carved out whenever it is found.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great,¡± I said. ¡°Can they be ready to leave tomorrow morning?¡± * * * The caravan that finally left the beast-kin capital was big enough to rival the entourage I¡¯d picked up on Axel¡¯s final floor. There were my normal companions of course. Duit was tagging along as well. She brought her elven escort and two young tribal folk who seemed to want to sign up for the Church of Life. One was human and the other was, I thought, a beaver-kin. Then there was the trade caravan. I had been worried that everyone was going to have to carry a pack, but we had been provided with two Beast Tamers, each with a flock of five Quillstriders.
[Identification]: - Quillstrider - Threat:15 - Properties: Leaping Attack, Ranged Attack
They were remarkably ferocious-looking for beasts of burden. They were about halfway between bird and lizard. They looked a little like ostriches with iridescent feathers, but they didn¡¯t have wings. Instead, they had forward-reaching arms, like a Tyrannosaurus. The head rose up on a flexible neck, like an ostrich, but it had a lizard-like mouth, with lots of small, sharp teeth. They could be ridden, apparently, but there wasn¡¯t much advantage to it. Their gait made for an uncomfortable ride, and while they were strong enough to carry a rider, the weight tended to unbalance them, especially when jumping from tree limb to tree limb. They were more of a test of skill than a viable transportation option. Instead, they were loaded down with our trade goods and supplies, and the caravan as a whole would be travelling at the speed of our slowest member, Duit. Finally, there was our guide, Bram. This was his second stint at guiding me, and I greatly preferred the quiet bear-kin to the treacherous Reynard. ¡°Do you think we can find some beasts along the way?¡± I asked him. ¡°I want to get Duit up to level three if we can.¡± He looked at me and then, more doubtfully, at Duit. ¡°You¡¯ll be carrying her, then, not having her make the kills on her own?¡± ¡°That¡¯s the idea,¡± I said. ¡°Might have to split off from the main group,¡± he mused. ¡°Most creatures with sense won¡¯t come near ten Quillriders.¡± ¡°Are they commonly used in caravans?¡± I asked. He shook his head. ¡°Too much trouble to raise,¡± he said. ¡°Though there is one village, where these guys are from, that don¡¯t care. Tough skins.¡± I looked at the two trainers, who were the same race, possibly even related to each other. They had short, dense, black and white fur. Badger-kin? ¡°Let¡¯s not do it on the way, then,¡± I decided, returning to the main topic. ¡°When we get to a village, we¡¯ll see if they have any nearby monsters that need clearing out.¡± Bram nodded. * * * Our departure was surprisingly festive. I tried not to take this as the beast-king being glad to see us go. They did seem, on balance, to be happy with what we had done. We travelled the same route Reynard had taken us, in reverse, so I got to see the same villages again. They were happy to see us, though some individuals weren¡¯t happy to hear the news about Reynard. Word had been sent out, affirming our status as welcome guests of the tribes, so we didn¡¯t have any trouble finding places to stay. My stash of coin was sadly depleted, so we opened up some of the trade goods. There were wines, preserved meats and cheeses that the villagers were happy to accept as hospitality gifts. When we got to Mossridge Gather, our final stop on the way home, I took theothers aside before the feast started. ¡°I¡¯ve arranged for Duit and the caravan to stay an extra few days,¡± I said. ¡°Bram will be staying with them. I¡¯m pretty sure we can find our way back to Talnier on our own.¡± By we, I mean¡¯t Cloridan. [Memorise] wasn¡¯t as helpful as it should be, in the Great Wild. Landmarks changed with surprising speed. Cloridan was good at noticing the things that didn¡¯t change. Bram looked doubtful. It was his default expression. ¡°If they¡¯re staying a few days, I can guide you and then come back for them,¡± he said. I thought about it. ¡°We want to enter the town at night,¡± I said, ¡°And it won¡¯t be safe for you there. Will you be fine outside the town overnight?¡± Bram nodded. ¡°No problem.¡± Duit looked at me knowingly. ¡°You should send word when you can. If you are not successful, we will need to bypass the town.¡± I narrowed my eyes. ¡°You knew, and you weren¡¯t going to tell me.¡± ¡°Your trials and tribulations are none of my business,¡± Duit said. ¡°Your success or failure will be up to you.¡± ¡°That sounds like you¡¯re still restricted by the Game,¡± I countered. ¡°But you¡¯re not anymore, are you?¡± ¡°What makes you say that?¡± Duit asked, but her deflection was transparent to me. She wasn¡¯t a god anymore, just a mortal. ¡°I knew it. Was it a vote, or did you just decide to stop?¡± ¡°There was no need for a vote,¡± Duit admitted. ¡°The Game existed to protectmortal from our squabbles. We are no longer anyone that the world needs protecting from.¡± ¡°For now,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ll get your levels up soon enough. And you¡¯re not exactly ordinary mortals are you? You have resources, and followers, and now you can go back to squabbling over the destiny of the mortal races.¡± ¡°And will you do something about that, Kandis Hammond? Will you stand in judgement over us again?¡± ¡°No,¡± I said. ¡°You do what you want. I know you think it¡¯s for the best. I just wanted to know where I stood.¡± ¡°On very thin ice, Kandis Hammond. None of the gods are in a position to drag you down, but you have enemies aplenty.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t I know it,¡± I said. I would have been bitter about it, but all the enemies I knew about were good enemies to have. I looked at my party. ¡°We¡¯ll discuss how to approach Talnier in the morning,¡± I told them. ¡°Away from ears that aren¡¯t fully invested in our success.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be ready,¡± Kyle said. ¡°Ready for anything.¡± Chapter 252 - Lions Den I walked out of the forest without any fanfare, headed towards Talnier¡¯s northern gate. It was the first time in a while that I¡¯d just been able to walk on my own, without an entourage of people who were deeply invested in where I was going. All the villages we¡¯d passed through had been welcoming, greeting us with what I thought was excessive delight. On the road, I had to deal with the constant presence of our baggage train. The quillstriders were every bit as cantankerous as you might expect a misbegotten hybrid of ostrich and lizard to be, and their handlers, while less troublesome, never stopped watching me, eager to anticipate any need that I might have. Duit¡¯s elven escort had managed to ignore me with some grace, content that I wasn¡¯t a threat to her charge. Duit herself was not able to be so aloof. Every time I glanced at her, she was staring at me. Mostly, she looked away at that point, and she rarely approached me, but I could feel the ex-god¡¯s attention on me the whole trip. None of those were with me right now as I approached the gate. Cloridan, Kyle and Felicia were, but they weren¡¯t saying much. The guards on the walls didn¡¯t call anything down, but they must have alerted the ones downstairs because the gate opened as I approached. Six armed guards stepped out, forming two lines of three on each side. An honour guard, one might have supposed, but I knew better. We all walked right down the centre of that formation, stopping when the guard sergeant stepped out, blocking the gate. ¡°You¡¯ve got some nerve, coming back here,¡± he said. ¡°Take her into custody,¡± he barked to the other guards. ¡°Don¡¯t let her speak!¡± People with weapons are often way too convinced of the effectiveness of those tools. The sergeant seemed to think that a timely blow could stop me from speaking, could stop me from turning all of these men, including him, into my soldiers. Maybe he was right, but I rather imagined that my own speed and strength were sufficient to make such a blow ineffective. And the guys could probably take out this entire group without too much effort. As was almost always the case, when high-level adventurers were confronted by low-level functionaries, it was other considerations that held sway. None of us resisted or spoke. More guards came out, carrying crafted shackles. They were of a quality high enough to hold Kyle, they were more than enough for the likes of me. ¡°Kandis Hammond,¡± the sergeant recited. ¡°You are under arrest for embezzlement and fraud. Your position as a council member has been revoked and you are to be taken before the Council for your speedy trial. That explained the lack of a title, I supposed. Thinking back on the charter I¡¯d pushed through, I recalled that the only way to revoke my status was an act of the King. I hadn¡¯t felt the need for an impeachment procedure since the judiciary was independent and there was nothing in the charter protecting Councillors from being convicted of crimes. Presumably, that could lead to a Councillor being imprisoned while still being a member of the Council. We¡¯d have to have meetings in the prison. Well, that was a problem for the future. Right now, I¡¯d been kicked off the Council and charged with crimes. However, I wasn¡¯t being handed over for a proper trial. Instead, the Council would be convicting me? They¡¯re doing this wrong, I thought grumpily. Honestly, that bothered me more than the arrest. What was the point of writing up procedures and founding institutions if people were just going to change the rules when they felt like it? Actually¡­ wasn¡¯t that the sort of thing [Bureaucracy] was supposed to prevent? I hadn¡¯t had any notifications of rules violations¡­ perhaps there was a range issue that I wasn¡¯t aware of. The guards led me through the streets, towards the new Council building. It wasn¡¯t quite finished, but it seemed that the Councillor and officials had moved in without waiting for the final details to be completed. Even with those flourishes missing, it was an incredibly fast construction time. I guess having workers who could heft a block of granite helps with construction speed. Word must have been sent, because they were ready for us. They clearly weren¡¯t going to have us stew in a cell for any amount of time, they were going to start the trial right away. That might have been wise. Holding adventurers in a cell was often an exercise in futility. I tried to remember if it was generally known that I had [Shadow Magic]. Personally, I felt that Justice was better served with a bit more deliberation, but it was clear that Justice wasn¡¯t on the agenda today. I hadn¡¯t been resisting, but when we got to the building, the guards must have felt a show of force was necessary. I was grabbed and dragged, my hands manacled behind me, into the Council Chamber. Not the Hall of Justice. The guards hadn¡¯t been mistaken. I didn¡¯t think the Chamber was the best venue for what was to come. The chamber was set up for the presentation of reports from officials, so it had a basic layout suitable for a trial. But there were far fewer seats than the Hall of Justice. I had been insistent during the planning phase, that people needed to see judgments handed out.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Lawmaking, on the other hand, needed much less of an audience. There were seats for spectators, but far fewer. Then again, perhaps someone thought that the fewer witnesses, the better. I almost stumbled as I was dragged into the chamber. When I was able to look around, I was pleased to see that my fellow council members were all still seated. Noah Cunningham, Cheney Labelle, Delmar Balend and the former mayor Andr¨¦ Michaud didn¡¯t look happy to see me, but that was understandable. They were labouring under some misapprehensions. It would be wrong to say that the infiltrator was sitting in my seat. I¡¯d only ever been the Secretary. It was a position with more power than people generally supposed, but it held little formal power. My seat had been on the far left-hand side and it was the mayor who had been demoted to that position. The most important seat was in the centre, and it was the only seat that she could let herself sit in. The Countess Marrienne Rankin grinned at me viciously as she banged her gavel for order. ¡°This trial will come to order!¡± she demanded. ¡°On this day, the trial of the criminal Councillor Kandis¡ªwhat?¡± The grin vanished as she looked at me. ¡°You¡­ idiots!¡± she declared. ¡°Is something wrong, ma¡¯am?¡± the guard sergeant next to me asked. ¡°Is something wrong? Is something wrong?¡± the noblewoman screeched. ¡°You¡¯ve been fooled! You brought me an illusion, and now she knows she¡¯s a wanted criminal!¡± She glanced at Kyle and Cloridan behind me. ¡°All of them!¡± she snarled. ¡°Does this mean the trial is cancelled?¡± I asked brightly. ¡°Oh, and do I get to speak now!¡± The Countess growled with frustration. ¡°Why not, it¡¯s not like you can use any of your damnable social skills through that thing.¡± She glared at me some more and then she barked some orders to the guards. ¡°Well, stop wasting time here, fools! Go and search for her, this spell can¡¯t have that much range! She must have come over the wall while you were distracted.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Andr¨¦ said. ¡°How do you know this is an illusion?¡± Irritation flickered in the Countess¡¯s eyes. ¡°I am not so easily fooled,¡± she said. ¡°Have you forgotten it took me to uncover the criminal¡¯s wiles in the first place?¡± ¡°Oh, yes,¡± I supposed you did, Andr¨¦ agreed. I wasn¡¯t sure how much of that was mind control and how much was his spinelessness. ¡°So the trial is cancelled?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± the Countess ground out. ¡°So sorry to have troubled you all. You¡¯d better go.¡± They filed out. Since the gig was up, I cancelled the three [Phantasmal Entitys] that were Cloridan, Kyle and Felicia. Lady Rankin glared at the [Phantasmal Emissary] that remained. ¡°What are you still here for?¡± she demanded. ¡°You¡¯ve got your information, and I know as well as anyone that your illusions can¡¯t harm anyone.¡± I chose not to let her know that I¡¯d already known about her takeover. ¡°I just want to know why,¡± I said. ¡°Why what?¡± ¡°Why risk exposure as a mind mage over a small town like Talnier? Do you have some sort of personal vendetta against me?¡± Her eyes flashed with anger. ¡°A personal vendetta? Why would I have such a thing?¡± ¡°You might say that, but you do seem pretty angry,¡± I argued. She drew a dagger and started walking around the table. ¡°It¡¯s my understanding that this shell will pop if I prick it enough times.¡± ¡°Seriously, I barely know you, lady,¡± I said, slowly backing away. ¡°Some of that is because you erased my memory of you, but there was barely anything there to get back.¡± ¡°I might carry a few grudges,¡± she admitted and lunged. I tried to dodge but she had a skill advantage over me, it seemed. The dagger skittered off my Phantasmal skin, pushing me back. She made a disappointed noise and tried again. ¡°Just how tough are your spells?¡± she muttered. She landed another blow. ¡°You didn¡¯t need to know who I was to expose my investment in Anchorbury.¡± ¡°Are you talking about the bribes you paid to Reynard?¡± I asked, jumping back over the table. That gave me a bit of room, but she was just as agile as I was. ¡°I spent more than just money on that man,¡± she claimed, jumping up on the table to pursue me. ¡°Just the accusation of suborning a Guild official got my dungeon taken away from me, and I still haven¡¯t gotten it back!¡± She launched herself at me. It would have been a risk, if this body could harm her, but as it was she landed another blow. I slipped out from under her, trying to gain distance. ¡°And then,¡± she snarled. ¡°Just when I persuaded the Duke to make his own play for the throne, who should turn up again?¡± ¡°You were behind that?¡± I asked. ¡°You were going to put a puppet on the throne?¡± ¡°Duke Arryen was no one¡¯s puppet, but he would have given me what I wanted. And if that didn¡¯t work, with the King¡¯s protectors dragged away, I might have been able to risk a spell on him¡­ but you were there for that as well. You and that over-sexed cat Chosen.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t know about any of this, but I can¡¯t say I¡¯m unhappy,¡± I said. ¡°You wouldn¡¯t. You were just pawns, weren¡¯t you? My real opposition came from the gods. ¡°If you thought that, why continue? I¡¯ve heard that it¡¯s futile to go against the gods.¡± She started pressing me again, slashing with the dagger. My spell couldn¡¯t hold up to much more of this. ¡°Oh, the gods can be defeated,¡± she said. ¡°If you¡¯re subtle enough, if you¡¯re clever and determined enough. And there¡¯s always a god to oppose whoever has set themselves against you.¡± If she only knew, I thought. Not that I had any intention of telling her. I wasn¡¯t going to be able to keep it a secret, word was already slipping out of the Tribal nations. Duit¡¯s appearance in Latora should seal the deal. ¡°You¡¯re holding a lot of anger against someone who was a pawn,¡± I said, taking another blow on my forearm. ¡°It just makes¡­ sense to eliminate the enemy''s footsoldiers,¡± she said, swiping at me again. ¡°But really, I¡¯m here to replace the dungeon I lost.¡± ¡°With what dungeon?¡± I asked uneasily. Her vicious grin was back. ¡°All of them. That laboratory dungeon you¡¯ve been playing with, the Ogre temple, and yours. Once you¡¯re dead, I¡¯ll be able to claim it, and Oakway will be returned to its rightful owner. She lifted her dagger. ¡°This isn¡¯t anywhere near as satisfying as the real thing, but it will have to do¡­ for now.¡± She brought the dagger down and the spell broke.