9.8

Team B is under attack. Nota sent to Eve, interrupting her current experiments on Ritual circle multi-level matrixes. Eve had caught her Tome of Dust up on everything using the same split-moment trick she applied in combat.

Are they winning, losing, or calling for help? Eve sent as she made a slight adjustment to the Ritual Matrix. She was on the verge of a breakthrough. It had taken almost two days for the hobgoblin crew of eight to make it within shouting distance of the goblin plains. Surely they could last a few more hours until she figured out six-dimensional space!

The hobgoblins are calling for help and entrenching themselves into a defensive formation. Nota replied from where she was watching a silver screen and Eve simultaneously.

I can’t let my previous efforts go to waste. Eve replied, letting out a deep sigh before freezing the Ritual Matrix in place with her Witch’s Dust. Eve’s paper chair floated away from the testing table to face the silver screen. Her current room was less a bedroom and more a lab since the inability to sleep effectively nixed the need for a resting place. Nothing was more comfortable than meditating mid-air, so the bed had been donated to science. Currently, her bed was serving as a seed pod incubator for various plants that needed specific growth conditions. Unobtrusive vines handled the seedlings plants because Eve drew the line to care for Kudzu’s mini-garden.

Like a movie with only numbers as the name, the hobgoblins were making a final stand while desperately awaiting reinforcements. Eve watched multiple goblins rushing to assist, yet none was close enough to save the day. Eve’s eyes narrowed as she considered her options. The bugs had learned enough to send a sizable portion of forces.

I never did like insects. Eve thought as she reached a choice. Better to let bugs do what bugs do best, squish!

Leaning forward in her chair, Eve split the moment as both scorpions and hobgoblins engaged. Her fingers twitched as she intervened in lightning moments like a chess maestro responding to novice moves. Hobgoblins found themselves teleported around the battlefield, always in a position to strike a crippling, if not fatal, blow. The Tier Four goblins quickly realized that something was aiding them, taking full advantage of each reposition to cut deep into enemy forces.

Eve carefully began to slow the teleporting, and the hobgoblins were quick on the uptake. When a teleport didn’t occur after twenty scorpions remained, the hobgoblins shouted, instantly reorganizing their line. Bows twanged from the back, dropping the numbers to sixteen against eight, and Eve could see the scorpions beginning to lose morale. It was no surprise to her that when a goblin raiding party managed to come within eyesight of the fight, the bug’s morale shattered. Eve watched in interest as all the scorpions placed a hand on the remaining female fighter. There was a flash of bronze light, and only fifteen scorpions remained to battle.

Searching through her silver sparrow drone camera, her eyes pinpointed the female fighter. She was moving under the sands, almost three-quarters of the way back to the oasis. It was a different type of teleportation compared to Eve’s, more than likely requiring sand to work. Otherwise, it made little sense why the scorpions didn’t create a base in goblin territory. With a teleport that didn’t require contact with the Sand Element, they could easily create something impossible for the average raiding band to counter.

Unless the Goblin Titans that Rak’noth spoke of would respond to something like that? Eve thought as she decided to let the female scorpion escape. The Hidden Ones must not be able to leave the oasis vulnerable to other races in the desert. So, the likelihood of something nasty in the plains being on hand if the Goblin Titans leave is high, too.

Eve nodded. It would make sense if factors held the Tier Sixes on each side. Tier Fives could easily fight a horde to a standstill, especially one filled with cannibal green midgets weakened by travel. A quick teleport allowed Eve to arrive at the victorious goblins before they started chopping bodies into food. Witch’s Dust concealed her form, even as she eliminated the fodder goblins and four hobgoblins that attempted to attack her.

All the Tier Four corpses were gathered to be teleported to the Sacrifice for Power permanent ritual circle. Tier Five corpses, on the other hand, Eve instead decided to Devour and Craft. It was time to raise Levels and get close to Tier-cap. The more of her leveling she could outsource like this, the more slaves would be left for Kudzu, Felix, and the Hut. Witch’s Dust made quick work of all the Tier Fives, and their mana filled her Library nicely. Eve placed a hand on the Tier Four stack of corpses before teleporting them. She looked at the area and ensured the four hobgoblins were marked for the future.

It took little effort to burn the forty-nine Tier Four corpses for Slots. Eve ignored the Slot Spam choosing to focus on her Talisman of Dust and the use of Craft to create new runes upon it. After several hours of work, she put the talisman away to look at her new Status.

Level: 3,500

Race: Dust Witch

Class: Witch of the Dust Library

Profession: Dust-Talisman Librarian

Affinities (4): Paper, Ink, Space, Dust

Health: 177,000/177,000 (17,700 HPs regen)

Mana: 177,000/177,000 (177,000 MPs regen)

Stats: Str 17,700; Dex; 17,700; Con 17,700; Wis 17,700; Int 17,700; Charm 17,700

Free Stats: 41,800

Slots: 408,404,444

Item:

Talisman of Dust II

Witch's Ink Athame

Witch's Paper Candle

Tome of Dust

Zone:

Library of Dust II

Only a hundred Levels per Tier Five. That’s mediocre. Nota chimed in as Eve consumed the remains of both scorpion and goblin heroes from the Library.

Perks can take some of the slack, but this is depressing. Eve replied in her mind. If calculated from the Slot ratio for Tier Four compared to Five, I’m looking at twenty Levels per slave.

Diminishing returns will hit as soon as we are within five hundred Levels of Tier Five. At that point, a fifty percent cut will occur, increasing the number of slaves required. Nota said, her tone grim. A hundred and fifty slaves at least to hit Tier Five.

It isn’t a terrible number. Eve replied, musing. Just expensive.

Kudzu, Felix, and the Hut do not have experience multipliers. Nota pointed out. The best choice would be to feed Felix exclusively. If he hits Tier Four, then Five, and then forms the Dungeon, you could farm again.

Get a humanoid body for Kudzu to pull down experience in the dungeon, and then farm goblins to feed the Hut? Eve sent to Nota.

It could work. Nota said.

It will work. Eve replied as she dusted off her hands. Back to six-dimensional Rune Matrixes, then.

She entered her room and sat down on a conjured chair in front of her frozen ritual matrix runes. It took a few minutes to reverse Witch’s Dust slowly without letting everything collapse. As she began working once more on creating a stable Ritual Matrix, Eve said, “Kudzu, how awake do you think the Matriarch is?”

“She is Dreaming, and deep at that.” one of Kudzu’s vines tending the tiny mini-garden replied as it turned to face her. Eve nodded as she shifted the Ritual runes like a colored cube game from Earth, searching for the win.

“If we carve runes in the walls, underneath her, and above, we can layer a possible instant kill trap. It might be possible to force her into Felix’s Dungeon, and if we can do that….” Eve trailed off as she licked her lips.

“A renewable Tier Six source of experience,” Kudzu said with hunger.

“It all depends on the Perks everyone selects. I have three in mind that synchronize right now.” Eve said as she lost a finger shifting the Ritual runes too fast. Snapping the finger back on until Witch’s Dust fused it back, she continued, “Everyone has two choices, now that Nota is awake. I can pay for twelve first Tier Perks, four of my own, and eight from consensus. If I can’t increase the Perk Tiers until Tier Six again, that’s fine, I’ll just stockpile Slots to max them all at once then.”

“Have you considered what will happen once the Matriarch dies? A gap in the established hierarchy of forces will bring war.” Kudzu said.

Eve smiled as a single pane of Ritual runes went green, “Let them come. At the Fourth Tier, I kill Fives. At Fives, I’ll eat Six. At Six, I’ll Devour Sevens. Once I reach Seven, I will start searching for a way out. I suspect Dust prevents exit through the Void. If that’s true, I’m sure my brother has already arranged passage out if I have no other choice.”

“How would your brother arrange escape?” Kudzu asked.

“Bribery, of course, probably with a side of highly effective death threats. Dust has existed since before the System, and immortals fear nothing so much as complete annihilation. Especially when it can be easily avoided. As for how I am certain my brother and Dust have met, that’s easy.” Eve’s eyes glinted as she turned another side of her Ritual Matrix green, “My brother is awesome, so awesome that favor from him moves even an eldritch entity like Dust to save my life from the Void. I have zero doubt that cashing in my favor required a meeting in person. If my brother couldn’t find where I am from that meeting, my faith would be utterly shattered in his awesomeness.”

“Then why would using that route to escape be a last resort?” Kudzu replied.

Eve rolled her eyes before saying, “Do you understand how utterly horrific it would be for my little brother to be able to hold the fact that I only escaped the Prison Plane with his assistance for the rest of my immortal life!?”

“…of course, how could I fail to see that, clearly having no siblings of my own to grasp such logic should not have impaired my judgment at all,” Kudzu replied in a tone dry enough to turn the swamp to the desert.

“Indeed,” Eve said, as a third side of the Ritual Matrix went green before she registered the sarcasm.

“Currently, I am expanding the territory controlled. It is a slow process as scaled birds have moved into the trees between us and goblin territory.” Kudzu said as his vine formed the image of a wyvern in green.

“Do you need help?” Eve said as she turned a fourth side of the Ritual matrix green.

“Help? Against birds? Are you sick?” Kudzu said, his tone sharp.

“A slip of the tongue, my dear green minion. I, of course, would never doubt your ability to solo entire flocks.” Eve said smoothly, recovering from the faux pas, turning a fifth part of the Ritual matrix green; she prepared for the final breakthrough before being interrupted by Kudzu.

“There’s a flying bird made of metal approach. Should I shoot it down?” Kudzu said eagerly.

Eve paused, thinking hard.

“No, that would be our power leveling supplies arriving,” Eve said, staring at the almostcompleted Ritual matrix. With a sigh, she froze it in Witch’s Dust again before moving to head out.

An extravagant airship hovered about a kilometer up and around ten away from the swamp. It had enough gun ports to qualify for a Race change to hedgehog Eve was certain. She observed the blimp and propeller combination that glowed with enchantments from top to bottom. Rolling her eyes, Eve concealed her mana reading to register as Tier One. While it wouldn’t fool Jeffery T. Wellington, there was no telling who else might be on the airship. Eve raised an eyebrow as the ship moved to hover directly in the center of the swamp before descending grandly. She face-palmed as it landed directly over her location before dropping a long ramp.

“Kudzu, they are selling us wonderful things.” Eve said out of the side of her mouth, “Don’t eat the metal bird, please.”

“This time, Boom-Slicer, I can let it go. But explain to the brain-dead merchant that there is no second chance.” Kudzu hissed.

“Of course. He cracked my Sacrifice for Power runes with that landing stunt.” Eve said, reweaving her entire outfit to consist of a fifty-percent pointy hat and fifty-percent pissed of witch robes. Truth sat as a monocle on her right eye while Bloodshifted into matching silver fingerless gloves.

Jeffery T. Wellington walked down the ramp like a conquering hero until he caught sight of Eve’s expression. He approached a short stumble and recovery later, followed by a golden-haired elf, a half-demon, and a gaggle of female minions. Slaves started to pour out of the airship, easily being corralled by Kudzu before he shuffled them off into a section reserved for the humanoid livestock.

“My dear alchemical genius!” Jeffery said, “Allow me to introduce my beloved ally and friend, the Golden Prince!”

Eve stared directly at the new arrival and said in a frosty tone as Witch’s Dust started to circulate, “No contract, no reason to keep you alive, blondie.” She didn’t miss the sharp grin Jeffery gave his dear friend.

“I told you so, Goldie, but you refused to listen. Alas! I can only move to the side here while you bargain for your life.” the drow merchant said, hastily moving his gaggle of women and apparent half-demon lieutenant to the side. Eve snapped her fingers, creating paper tables and chairs to spectate with.

The blonde elf rolled his eyes and said, “I have better connections than that sack of shit. Allow me to talk terms, please?”

Eve shrugged. One shady merchant was the same as another to her. She was only taking a hard stance to maximize benefits. If the gold elf couldn’t meet or exceed Wellington, though, he was only Tier Five.